This is Susan Rios' Fiona's Place
One of my favorite paintings.
My issue of the new Victoria came today. I'm just a tad disappointed in the premier issue but I'm going to subscribe for a year and see how it evolves. My very first issue of that magazine was one that had Susan Rios in it. She touched my heart with her paintings and lithographs and I've acquired a few of them - the limited edition lithographs. Susan is my favorite painter. I just feel like I could slip into any of her paintings and be comfortable living there.
The article I like best today was the one on Alexandra Stoddard. I have many of her books and actually tried to fashion my home around her books. She lives graciously and is a very spiritual person. I remember I would go to the stores and buy beautiful fountain pens and various colors of inks. I even bought a Filofax and carried it for awhile. I'd purchase file folders, envelopes and copying paper in beautiful colors. I'd buy lovely writing papers and cards, beautiful and colorful boxes for storage, colored staplers and staples, colored pencils, colored tacks, ribbons and just about anything that brought joy to me. (To see some of these things, go to the end of my oldest blogs and you'll see how I organized my home and office with tips from this lady.) She soooo influenced the way I looked at things.
I started buying and using beautiful tablecloths and stemware even when we would just put water or juices in them. I want to live beautifully!
I wrote to her once and she actually wrote back to me. She is definitely an influence in how I live my home life. I loved the card she sent me and laminated it and put it in my planner, which is where I put all the stuff I'd want to have with me if I had to evacuate my home unexpectedly. However, my planner was stolen about 3 years ago when visiting in California and with it the card from her and some letters from my granddaughter. There were things in that planner than can never be replaced. Musings and notes, sketches, ideas, diagrams and plans of things I'll never ever remember again. How the dimensions should be when I make a box out of heavy card stock. How to make exquisite ribbon roses taught to me by a japanese women in Oregon that I've never ever seen anyone else make. Sad but they are all things "of the dust."
The photo of Alexandra - known as Sandy to her friends - in Victoria was less than flattering and I wish they had done a better job because I've seen her from 25 years ago and she was a beautiful woman, but I do think I'll write to Alexandra Stoddard again and see if she responds.
