Guest Blogger Series:Lesley Riley

 Lesley is an artist, art instructor and author of numerous 
books. Her Lesley Riley’s TAP™, Transfer Artist Paper, has been 
named as the most innovative new product at (CHA) 
The Crafts and Hobby Association.
This is a little glimpse inside her collection and studio.
I am honored to have Lesley Riley as The Glossy Project's first Guest Blogger.
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This is a corner of my studio table. 
I love the mix of textures and containers that I store my tools in. 
Wicker, alabaster, silvered glass. 
The vintage flash card reminds me to say thanks 
daily for the gift that is art.

Every good coach has a coach. 
This is a Fragment composition book cover I am creating for 
my coach & mentor Fabienne Frederickson (http://www.ClientAttraction.com), 
the pink is her brand color, the quote, her favorite...and coincidently, mine too.

Blue is my favorite color and my brand color too. 
The TAP transfer is from a photo I took last year at 
the Artful Journey retreat where I was teaching. 
We were housed in an old convent and this is the hand of
 the Virgin Mary statue in the dorms. 
To me the open hand signifies so many things, all good.

My vintage bookend. 

There's a little boy to match but I love having her sitting on my table.

 She's a reminder of childhood innocence - a place from which I try to create. 

She also represents my other love, reading. 

The painting in the background is from a class I took 

with Misty Mawn last year at Art & Soul. 

When I'm not playing with fabric, I play with paint. 

It's the same pull I have between reading and making art.

I am enamored by the beauty in silvered glass. 
I collect it - both vintage and modern. 
The contrast between the colored pencils and the silver just makes my heart sing. 
I'm on a quest to capture that mirrored silver glow in fabric - not easy! 
So they sit there on my table serving both as function and inspiration. 

Another thing I collect is bowls. 
(Yes, I have a silvered glass bowl too.) 
This hand-made shallow salad bowl serves as a thread bowl. 

Once I choose the colors I need, into the bowl they go 
awaiting their turn on the spindle. 
The thing is, they're all so pretty there, 
jumbled together that I hate to get organized and put them away.

I saw all of these elements laying on the table when i was taking these photos. 
I instantly saw a composition in white. 
All the snow outside is certainly having an impact. 
There's that silver again! 
I love that the old dictionary page has ponder at the top. 
Winter is a time for pondering and some days, that's all I can do. 
I await the flowers of spring!

Lesley Riley
LesleyRiley.com
ArtistSuccess.com
Art & Soul Radio