vacations eve

Welp, tomorrow is the day I make my way out of this country for the first time ever. I can't believe I haven't been out of the country yet, especially considering how much I love to explore new places...crazy. Anyway, I'm off work for a whole week, and I just finished packing!

Work has been going great lately. The new windows are finished and on display. There is a sale tent blocking one out of the three so I can only show you pictures of two of them but here they are!

It is a 13' x 6' 200 lb double sided wooden panel with canvas stretched over it. I made the frame out of 2 by 3's and a lot of braces and boy is it heavy. Then I covered both sides with 1/8' wood because the back can be seen from the inside.

To give a 3d element to the painting we used water color paper that I drew on with oil pastels and then dyed which were later cut out by the whole team. Thanks guys! 

The 3rd window is a potted plant display of lavender and other plants resembling the painting. I wrapped raw canvas around some of the pots, used prop pots for others, and wooden crates to give it a gardening feel. 

This is an image of the detailing I did on the back of the canvas to give it a little something extra when you view it from the inside. It was shellac'd and then I lightly dusted paint through some lace to give it a pattern before I put another coat of shellac on.

This is the last display I completed with my current visual manager. She is moving on to work with her sister - very happy for her. So I will be part of a new visual team as soon as they decide who my new partner in crime will be. No one will be able to replace her but I'm curious to see what the future holds. We move into a brand new store in August just a couple miles down the road so these are the last window displays I will do in out high-glare, termite infested windows! I'm sure my art room will be downsized in the new store since its one of the biggest in the company right now but I'll be trading up in terms of windows and cleanliness! woohoo

Thats all for me folks, I will be off the radar for a week so if you need me feel free to email me at laurenskunta@gmail.com. If you want to send me your address maybe you'll get a post card ;)

Mind, Body, and Soul

Its our last weekend without anything crazy to do and we are SOAKING IT UP. Saturday morning came around and we slept in, cleaned the apt, and went to brunch at Jack & Nellie's. They have a live jazz band during brunch and serve some classic breakfast food with mimosas. I got the special for the day which was a lox scramble with cream cheese, chives, and capers and was served with potatoes and an english muffin. Mmmm. Mike got the corned beef hash with 2 poached eggs on top.

After brunch we decided to try out my parents birthday present to me which was the sandless beach mat from Hammacher Schlemmer. Its this 10' x 10' mat originally created for military use that lets sand through one side and doesn't let it back through the other side. Basically you can lay on the mat all day without getting sand all over you and any sand you bring on the mat will just fall right through it where it belongs. It was awesome!

We spent a couple hours in the afternoon at the beach relaxing, jumping in the ocean once, and watching these sand surfers with their huge kite-like sails. After getting a significant sunburn on my tuchas we headed to pick up some bathing suits for vacation. After a little bit of searching we each left with a new suit and a short list of a few other things we needed to pick up for the trip. Good thing we got some relaxation practice in for our trip!

Today we worked on our mind, bodies, and souls without even knowing it! During breakfast we watched Rock City church, as we do most Sundays. These past few weeks they have been interviewing Christian Ohio State athleletes on how they keep their faith, how it inspires them, etc. After church we went on a couple mile walk into the center of forest hills, and spent some time in the book store. We each chose some books to bring to the beach - one relaxing, and one motivational. On our long walk home we stopped in a health food juicing cafe. I got a juice with lemon, apple, carrot, beet, cucumber, and ginger in it - woot woot. So there you go - mind, body, and soul on a Sunday morning. Great way to spend the afternoon before the world cup tonight!

Since I've been on a little bit of a blog hiatus I must share that LAST weekend we went to Boston! We saw a red sox game, walked around the city, and of course had some lobster sandwiches out of a fresh seafood shack in cambridge. Fenway park was amazing and we sat by some really great people that were pretty upset that the red sox lost and the Indians won. We both agreed Boston is a little more our style of city because it felt more close knit. I would drive back just for the lobster sandwiches if I could. Check it out!

Jones Beach

Today was a wonderful work day. It’s really nice to be surrounded by people who appreciate you and your work, and want to have conversations about it. I’ve been doing more commissioned work on the side and even though its more work, it definitely keeps my creative juices flowing. The extra money doesn’t hurt either. I'm working on the new window displays now and this is the window I'm most excited about so far. Its basically a 13 foot mural so as always I'll share with you as soon as its not top secret!

In other news about a week ago we ventured out to Jones Beach and took a walk. We pretty much had our own little portion of the beach which is such a nice break from the city life. Any time we are actually in NYC for a whole weekend you will be able to find us there. Can’t wait till the water is warm enough to swim!

Speaking of constantly being on the go, do you ever get the feeling that you simultaneously never have time to just sit down while also feeling like you’re not doing enough? I feel that we should always be learning. I am way to young to get stuck in a routine of wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep. Rinse, lather, repeat. To make sure I’m always moving forward we’ve decided to take up lessons on a new subject every so often. As his birthday gift to me, Mike and I will be taking sailing lessons and after that I have plans to become an amateur wine maker. After than, who knows? maybe dog trainer? Anyway, lots coming up this summer so I'm very excited. 

Boston this weekend to see an Indians game at Fenway, my birthday the weekend after that, and then we're off to Belize! When I come back there is camping, and a visit from mom so I'll make sure to take breaks to keep you posted.

Here is an obligatory dinner picture for you.