Rustic design straight from my heart. I love the woods, the smell, the animals, the sounds and the ever changing nuances of the environment. For many years I have loved the Smoky Mountains and had come there as a visitor to see and enjoy the inspirations such as the work found in this portfolio. Then one day when the time was right and ‘now or never’ rolled into focus, I came to live in the mountains of East Tennessee. I finely reached my dream. To have dreamed since my earliest exposure to the woods and after a life that somehow resembled an Fellini movie, I landed in a log cabin in the Smokies. I have had a wonderful, exciting life with a wonderful husband, Hal Jackson, whom my father referred to as “a most remarkable man,” filled with memories, dreams and fantasy and excursion. From the small town where the orange groves grew, to England, France, Switzerland and a home in the Kolonaki area of Athens, Greece, to trade shows in Los Angeles and design forums in New York and a most beautiful home in Kansas City, Missouri, I still fantasized about the woods, painting and living the area - I reached the cabin in the woods!
These designs were largely done in gouache. Many of the images in this portfolio were licensed as cards, welcome mats, ‘wovens’, and ceramics. I am now optimizing these images to be used on products for gifts, cards and accessories, and a variety of apparel products. My shop which contains hunt, domestic wild animals, log cabins and related material is Mountain Holidays. I will be creating another rustic lodge shop in 2009 with images from this portfolio as well as new work inspired by the woods I now live in and enjoy.
A word on the designs in this portfolio: These images were inspired while staying in our cabins in the Smoky Mountains. The animals were a continual delight coming and going just outside my door. Deer, fox, bear and lots of little fellows and an unending parade of insects. While most of the visits were in the fall and winter parts of the year, living here year round opens the door of opportunity for new work from all seasons. This is just an example of the style and mediums I used to build this collection.
The images which follow are a sampling of the standing portfolio and I have combined the different collections.
FALL/LODGE DESIGNS
FALL/LODGE DESIGNS II