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Many of us may have an interest or passion we return to throughout our lives. For me, one of these is printmaking. My first experience with printmaking occurred right after high school at the Glassell School of Art in Houston. During the printmaking class we lived the learning as we explored a range of the intaglio printmaking methods; drypoint etching, chemical etching, and aquatint. Later during the sessions on lithography, we were assigned a block of Belgian stone and tasked with cleaning off the old image, creating one of our own and running it through a printing press.

The essence of an object well aged brings character to a room. The same can be said for a garden. Deep rusty orange terra cotta pots and planters are ubiquitous in the Texas Hill Country. Eventually over time terra cotta pots will develop a whitened and greenish coloration on top of the natural rusty orange color. Not having the patience to wait for the patina to appear on my terra cotta pots spawned a search for a way to hasten the aging process.

When you live in the Texas Hill Country where the outside comes inside through dramatic views of gently rolling hills, rocky canyons, and tree lined arroyos, it is appropriate for us to consider interior design which recognizes and incorporates aspects of these elements. Drying and pressing native plants is one way; an alternative to this is to the botanical silhouette.

My fascination with espalier, or training plants to grow on walls harks back to childhood when we had a yellow flowered, heavily scented Carolina Jasmine vine growing on the fence. Later, when married with dogs, we were probably the only couple who had a vine covered dog run. Here, in this photo taken during a two-week summer tour of Italy with my sister, ivy growing on wires strung between posts to create a living fence could be seen outside more than one villa in Montecatini Terme, Italy.

Renewing and repurposing furniture you already own is one of the most satisfying experiences! Yes, it does take some amount of courage though less bravery is needed when the piece has outlived its current purpose. Here is a glimpse of my large vintage table in its new form. Read on for the full story!