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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:37:28 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>Words from Shell</category><category>Life Dance IV ketubah</category><category>ketubot</category><category>wedding</category><category>symbolic imagery</category><category>bat mitzvah gift</category><category>chuppot</category><category>washington bridal showcase</category><category>wedding gifts</category><category>wedding 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design</category><category>Happy Clients</category><category>paul smith rugs</category><title>Shell Artistree</title><description>Art, Inspiration (Weddings and beyond), and Beautiful Things...Musings by fine artist Shell Rummel</description><link>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>123</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ShellArtistree" /><feedburner:info uri="shellartistree" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><feedburner:emailServiceId>ShellArtistree</feedburner:emailServiceId><feedburner:feedburnerHostname>http://feedburner.google.com</feedburner:feedburnerHostname><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-1086844186523622742</guid><pubDate>Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:49:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-06-30T13:15:44.234-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fine art licensing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">textiles</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">manufacturer</category><title>New Textile Collection Samples Have Arrived!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://www.shellartistree.com/"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624061829081665650" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cx0QBHC1o8M/Tgyub50_EHI/AAAAAAAAAww/v40J04EP8UM/s400/textilesamples.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HaOj8ibPgoo/TgytaKTb8BI/AAAAAAAAAwo/rHtFi-Eolqc/s1600/textilesamples.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.shellartistree.com/collections/organics-i-~-alchemy.html"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624060587042109154" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o6_X-JmFAJY/TgytTm3rduI/AAAAAAAAAwg/wdUnEtqEg1M/s400/textilescloseup.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.shellartistree.com/collections/organics-iv-~-talisman.html"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624060038175102754" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6NvyvwC-ROo/TgyszqLllyI/AAAAAAAAAwY/4iTkBayJE3Q/s400/textiles.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Happiness is:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Seeing your watercolor artwork printed on luxurious silk and cotton fabric. Can't tell you how pleased I am with the way the colors and designs translate to fabric...They are beautiful!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Now, we simply have to find a manufacturer who agrees ;) &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Game on! &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;~Shell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-1086844186523622742?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/EpW1VGMvU0o/new-textile-collection-samples-have.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cx0QBHC1o8M/Tgyub50_EHI/AAAAAAAAAww/v40J04EP8UM/s72-c/textilesamples.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-textile-collection-samples-have.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-3697108742578430502</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-04-14T09:39:02.767-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exhibition</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">watercolors</category><title>Deep Within ~ on Exhibit at The Art League</title><description>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M1LVrqGFTUE/Tab1coeuUNI/AAAAAAAAAwA/Yl5rRSGo2Wc/s1600/Deep%2BWithin%2Bcopy.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 275px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595429459305844946" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M1LVrqGFTUE/Tab1coeuUNI/AAAAAAAAAwA/Yl5rRSGo2Wc/s400/Deep%2BWithin%2Bcopy.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;Some things are meant to remain, forever, deep within.... &lt;/em&gt;~&lt;em&gt; Shell&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Very pleased that my ink and watercolor painting, Deep Within, was juried into the Art League's "Remains" exhibit for the month of April. The Remains show explored the theme of "things left behind". Artists were encouraged to broadly explore the concept of loss, whether a physical loss or an emotional one. You can see more pics of the wonderful gallery space at The Torpedo Factory Art space, &lt;a href="http://shellartistree.posterous.com/deep-withinrevisted"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#339999;"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff6600;"&gt;here on my Posterous Blog&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Hoping local friends will get a chance to stop by the gallery during the month to see the exhibit and enjoy all the incredible art The Torpedo Factory has to offer. -Shell&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-3697108742578430502?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/02ymwIk_E9Q/deep-within-on-exhibit-at-art-league.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M1LVrqGFTUE/Tab1coeuUNI/AAAAAAAAAwA/Yl5rRSGo2Wc/s72-c/Deep%2BWithin%2Bcopy.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/04/deep-within-on-exhibit-at-art-league.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-2703097016927998227</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-03-15T08:13:47.051-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fine art licensing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><title>Beyond the Horizon...</title><description>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXt8Wvn9w-I/TX5XiwWva1I/AAAAAAAAAvk/dt95sBJSCQ4/s1600/alchemyblogpost%2Bcopy.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583996842593446738" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXt8Wvn9w-I/TX5XiwWva1I/AAAAAAAAAvk/dt95sBJSCQ4/s400/alchemyblogpost%2Bcopy.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/03/floating-along-with-tide.html"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;Last week&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/a&gt;I announced that my company, Shell Artistree, has licensed my collection of best selling Ketubah art to a company called Ketubah.com, an industry giant who will now produce and sell those products on my behalf. This in itself is huge news, but really, it's only part of the story.....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Over the years, I have had success licensing my artwork and I have always enjoyed the process of working with a manufacturer, tweaking my art to fit their needs. I believed that my art could have a broader reach within a variety of mainstream markets, particularly those that cater to high-end home decor and accessories...I could envision it with ease. Fine art licensing was a natural fit for my art.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wheels in motion, I decided to pursue my vision for creating a fine art licensing division of Shell Artistree. Fine art licensing allows an artist to offer their art to manufacturers for use on their products such as textiles, rugs, stationery products, accessories, apparel, etc. The beauty of licensing is that the same design can be licensed over and over again to different manufacturers and for use on many different products at one time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To fulfill this vision, I conceptualized and created collections based on my watercolor paintings. This was an artistically prolific time for me. I was painting daily and I was dreaming about textile patterns:) I then worked with my team to design a gorgeous website which would become my online portfolio, introducing manufacturers to my available artwork.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, it is with deep personal pride, that I announce the launch of &lt;a href="http://www.shellartistree.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;www.shellartistree.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;which showcases samplings of my newest collections of available artwork, suitable for fine art licensing. I invite you to explore the new website, click around on each of the thumbnail images so you can see full patterns emerge, read the artist statements… It is truly a labor of love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I believe that the quality of my art as well as my passion for new ventures will carry me along towards my goals and visions. I have learned that there is always a new mystery around the corner, as long as you are open to receiving it. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Shell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tlqmibe-B50/TX5XB0VcUmI/AAAAAAAAAvU/ff-fdw3W0r8/s1600/alchemyblogpost%2Bcopy.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-2703097016927998227?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/8cAy1GLEaPc/beyond-horizon.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXt8Wvn9w-I/TX5XiwWva1I/AAAAAAAAAvk/dt95sBJSCQ4/s72-c/alchemyblogpost%2Bcopy.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>10</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/03/beyond-horizon.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-4741271553355666340</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-03-09T17:01:54.168-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ketubah.com</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Ketubah</category><title>Floating Along with the Tide...</title><description>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1A4cj0KJKkQ/TXft1lQT9HI/AAAAAAAAAvE/JNJPpsCFseM/s1600/Depths2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582191767938397298" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 173px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1A4cj0KJKkQ/TXft1lQT9HI/AAAAAAAAAvE/JNJPpsCFseM/s400/Depths2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8mJZKOuVfE/TXfrrkZSJ_I/AAAAAAAAAu8/Jdx_QH-1WGw/s1600/sand%2B3%2Bpiece.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sometimes, the only way to move forward is to take a deep breath, thoughtfully reassess, quietly release and then, allow the tide to gently carry you forward again...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;When I first began designing Ketubot over 10 years ago, most of the Ketubah designs on the market at that time were rather traditional in design. I was inspired to try something new! Those first designs, which ultimately became the cornerstone of my entire collection, incorporated traditional, biblical symbolic imagery but in a fresh and modern way. This contemporary twist appealed to me as a painter. I liked the challenge of trying to depict traditional and timeless concepts of love, such as commitment, individuality, family and loyalty in an artistic and visual way.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The resulting Ketubah designs resonated deeply with modern wedding couples. Finally, they were able to find a Ketubah that honored both the tradition of the Ketubah as a ritual object as well fulfill their desire to purchase a fine art piece and begin their personal art collection. My Ketubah designs have always appealed to true art lovers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the last 10 years my company, Shell Artistree LLC has worked with literally, thousands of wedding couples. My collection has grown and evolved over time, but my personal design aesthetic and commitment to designing beautiful artwork that stands the test of time and that my clients will be proud to hang in their home, has remained the same. It has been an honor, to create for you. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is time though, to again try something new! &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;I am proud to announce a new partnership between my company, Shell Artistree and Ketubah.com, the number one Ketubah provider in North America!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As of March 1, 2011, my best-selling, modern Ketubah design collection will be exclusively produced and sold by Ketubah.com. All of my beloved and timeless Ketubah designs are still featured on &lt;a href="http://ketubahtree.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;our newly updated Ketubahtree website&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/a&gt;so please do browse our Ketubah galleries to see our Best Selling Ketubot as well as my newest Ketubah designs. As always, we will feature an assortment of fine art prints and coordinating art products. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Ketubah sizes, Pricing, Ketubah Text choices, Ketubah Personalization and Customization inquires as well as to place your order, simply click on the Ordering Information button located on each &lt;a href="http://www.ketubahtree.com/category/all-ketubah-designs.html"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;Ketubah page&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. When placing your order, please do mention code KTWEB100 so that Ketubah.com will know that my studio has referred you. If you have any questions during this time of transition, please don't hesitate to contact us in our studio. We are here to help you!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As for the Shell Artistree Studio, we are embarking on a new journey, a new beginning that inspires and energizes the artist in me. Many exciting opportunities are waiting, just over the horizon. Take my hand and float along? &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More news, coming soon! &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Shell &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-4741271553355666340?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/Ddwxro6sIo0/floating-along-with-tide.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1A4cj0KJKkQ/TXft1lQT9HI/AAAAAAAAAvE/JNJPpsCFseM/s72-c/Depths2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/03/floating-along-with-tide.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-5932467986714618270</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:56:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-02-24T09:36:12.040-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Maureen Doallas</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Neruda's Memoirs</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>Neruda's Memoirs ~ Poetry by Maureen Doallas</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1CeQi3WS7k/TWZkKjp1WjI/AAAAAAAAAuM/XqlroVh9eSs/s1600/maureenneruda.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577255321077111346" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1CeQi3WS7k/TWZkKjp1WjI/AAAAAAAAAuM/XqlroVh9eSs/s400/maureenneruda.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sore Chasing Dreams&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sore with chasing&lt;br /&gt;dreams, I scatter&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;fresh-bought seed&lt;br /&gt;in un-neat rows.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ravens, wheeling&lt;br /&gt;through cotton-balled clouds,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;show me the meaning&lt;br /&gt;of passion&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;at ground level.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;___________________________________________&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Always thrilling, to receive a new book in the mail. Even more so, when the book is written by someone you know and admire.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/"&gt;Maureen Doallas &lt;/a&gt;is an extraordinary writer. I enjoy her writing immensely. Her poetic words are clever, smart, thought provoking and the imagery she conveys through her words is vividly beautiful. This is a woman who writes from a deeper place...and she brings you along. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Always happy to support a fellow artist, I ordered Maureen's book, &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nerudas-Memoirs-Poems-Maureen-Doallas/dp/0984553134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1296517771&amp;amp;sr=1-1"&gt;Neruda's Memoirs&lt;/a&gt;. It arrived last week and I've slowly been savoring her poetry. A bit unconventional in my approach, I tend to skip around when reading...choosing at random a passage or poem...whatever happens to catch my eye at the moment. Like all good books, I will read and reread over and over again, until I have had my fill. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;One more poem that resonated deeply for me, this cold, late winter's morning....Enjoy!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Spring Thaw&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Heads up:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;tiny shoots&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;break earth's shell&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;spring up&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;from winter's&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;bed of dreams&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;showing us&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;how to make&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;a comeback&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;every time &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/"&gt;Maureen's website&lt;/a&gt; ~ worth checking out! &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-5932467986714618270?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/4eWtLLg_O2E/nerudas-memoirs-poetry-by-maureen.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1CeQi3WS7k/TWZkKjp1WjI/AAAAAAAAAuM/XqlroVh9eSs/s72-c/maureenneruda.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/02/nerudas-memoirs-poetry-by-maureen.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-6675106100036386281</guid><pubDate>Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-03-07T12:45:18.471-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">New York Times</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ketubahtree.com</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Ketubah</category><title>We made the New York Times!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYWis0gcl3E/TVvjqnX69hI/AAAAAAAAAuE/1nK2_HWx8J8/s1600/design_the-gift-of-love_1_lg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574299285064447506" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 309px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYWis0gcl3E/TVvjqnX69hI/AAAAAAAAAuE/1nK2_HWx8J8/s400/design_the-gift-of-love_1_lg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"...this piece of paper, this beautiful piece of art, is the sign of our covenant.” ~Sally Austin&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/12religion.html?_r=1"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;Christians Embrace a Jewish Wedding Tradition~ New York Times &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;(click to read)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A sweet mention in the New York Times!! The article features Sally and Mark Austin, one of our &lt;a href="http://www.ketubahtree.com/"&gt;Ketubahtree.com &lt;/a&gt;wedding clients, non Jews, who wanted to incorporate the Jewish tradition of signing a Ketubah (A wedding certificate that combines beautiful artwork and wedding vows) into their wedding ceremony. We were thrilled to be able to recommend one of our couples to be interviewed for the &lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/12religion.html?_r=1"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;New York Times article&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/a&gt;and even happier to see acknowledgment of this growing trend. Then again, our studio has been proudly creating ketubot for Jewish, Interfaith and Non Jewish couples for over 10 years ;) We wish the best to the Austin's and thank them, for their kind words about our art.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~Shell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shell-Artistree-LLC/110266074264"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993300;"&gt;Are you following Shell Artistree on Facebook? Please join me there!&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-6675106100036386281?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/4-hDcAoarhQ/we-made-new-york-times.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYWis0gcl3E/TVvjqnX69hI/AAAAAAAAAuE/1nK2_HWx8J8/s72-c/design_the-gift-of-love_1_lg.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/02/we-made-new-york-times.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-3532786620041190609</guid><pubDate>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-01-11T15:07:06.725-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Friendship</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><title>For A Moment...</title><description>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypanP-fhI/AAAAAAAAAt4/QE7JpE0pBXw/s1600/flowers3.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561005914573405714" style="WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypanP-fhI/AAAAAAAAAt4/QE7JpE0pBXw/s400/flowers3.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypNbpf46I/AAAAAAAAAtw/YEDMBMb1GT8/s1600/flowers1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561005688120927138" style="WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypNbpf46I/AAAAAAAAAtw/YEDMBMb1GT8/s400/flowers1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypHm1VR2I/AAAAAAAAAto/Ti_eqIdh7TA/s1600/flowers2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561005588044138338" style="WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 283px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypHm1VR2I/AAAAAAAAAto/Ti_eqIdh7TA/s400/flowers2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;"If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for a moment."~Georgia O'Keefe&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;The most MAGNIFICENT flowers just arrived in my studio. They are glorious! Fresh and bright and green…and their scent...mmm...like heaven. A beautiful friend sent them my way, bringing me a little touch of Spring as Snowflakes fall teasingly from my sky. I know she will be thrilled to see that I have shared them with all of you ~ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;This kindness, never to be forgotten. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;~Shell&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-3532786620041190609?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/SSQxaPydxPc/for-moment.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TSypanP-fhI/AAAAAAAAAt4/QE7JpE0pBXw/s72-c/flowers3.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2011/01/for-moment.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-1344892280629032517</guid><pubDate>Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-21T10:29:50.698-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ketubahtree.com</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">wedding</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">jewish wedding</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Michelle "Shell" Rummel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Budget Ketubah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">jewish wedding traditions</category><title>My Ketubah Art Was Featured in Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TMBTwfO59mI/AAAAAAAAAtU/LbvOi3i2Bko/s1600/mws2313_fall10_ad_0381_xl.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530512434893813346" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TMBTwfO59mI/AAAAAAAAAtU/LbvOi3i2Bko/s400/mws2313_fall10_ad_0381_xl.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;What a sweet surprise to see a beautiful picture of one of my &lt;a href="http://ketubahtree.com/category/all-ketubah-designs.html"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993399;"&gt;Ketubah&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; (custom fine art wedding certificate) designs featured in a wedding spread within the Fall issue of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Amanda and Douglas's storybook wedding took place in Italy at Villa del Balbianello, a stunning chateau on Lake Como. The couple looked picture perfect and the setting, sublime. I am honored that they chose my popular &lt;a href="http://ketubahtree.com/shop/ahava.html"&gt;"&lt;span style="color:#993399;"&gt;Ahava" Ketubah design&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and thrilled to see a great photograph of Doug signing the Ketubah on wedding day. &lt;a href="http://bit.ly/9TIHXY"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993399;"&gt;Click here&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; to see more beautiful photos from this enchanting wedding on MarthaStewartWeddings.com. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I invite you to visit my &lt;a href="http://ketubahtree.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993399;"&gt;Ketubah Tree&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; website to see all of our fine art Ketubot, Wedding certificates, Invitations and program covers. Ketubah Tree is a division of &lt;a href="http://shellartistree.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#993399;"&gt;Shell Artistree Fine Art and Licensing.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;~Shell&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-1344892280629032517?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/OP-Enq2u0fs/my-ketubah-art-was-in-martha-stewart.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TMBTwfO59mI/AAAAAAAAAtU/LbvOi3i2Bko/s72-c/mws2313_fall10_ad_0381_xl.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-ketubah-art-was-in-martha-stewart.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-6222552985650632631</guid><pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-07-03T06:30:47.135-05:00</atom:updated><title>Floating out....</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TC8djfzhgYI/AAAAAAAAAtE/yaN4RQNC5v0/s1600/feather1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489638966458155394" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TC8djfzhgYI/AAAAAAAAAtE/yaN4RQNC5v0/s400/feather1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Take my hand and sway with me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I’ll float along in the current of you….&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pull me close,&lt;br /&gt;Feel my heartbeat staccato pulse dance.&lt;br /&gt;Hide me in the folds of your love.&lt;br /&gt;Keep me warm.&lt;br /&gt;Sing to me and share your words.&lt;br /&gt;And when my eyes grow heavy,&lt;br /&gt;Let me rest….&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cover me in cotton and sing me to sleep.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Words © 2010 Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;br /&gt;Photograph by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/treehouse1977/2892417805/&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-6222552985650632631?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/A5Hw1Q6DYm0/floating-out.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TC8djfzhgYI/AAAAAAAAAtE/yaN4RQNC5v0/s72-c/feather1.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/07/floating-out.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-708071713630320537</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:21:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-06-01T09:35:14.255-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">modern ketubah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">jewish wedding</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Michelle "Shell" Rummel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Budget Ketubah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Life Dance IV ketubah</category><title>The Kindest Words from Happy Ketubah Clients</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TAUZRGhQebI/AAAAAAAAAs8/-9pc3MS710M/s1600/design_life-dance-4-ketubah_1_lg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477812303364651442" style="WIDTH: 309px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TAUZRGhQebI/AAAAAAAAAs8/-9pc3MS710M/s400/design_life-dance-4-ketubah_1_lg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Your energy is beautiful and I am so happy to have one of your Ketubahs." ~Faith&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wow. Sometimes my clients say the most lovely things....xo&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here, Faith's letter in full:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Michelle,&lt;br /&gt;I just ordered one of your ketubahs for my wedding...I love the design, Life Dance IV. It was hard to choose because all of your work is beautiful. You are also a beautiful writer (I checked out your blog). I was wondering what your inspiration was for the ketubah I chose. I read somewhere on your blog or website that when any individual chooses a particular ketubah, it is reflective of his or her self in some way. Curious about the one I chose and what that might say about me. I like the use of color and the detail. I love all of your work and enjoy reading your blog. Your energy is beautiful and I am so happy to have one of your ketubahs.&lt;br /&gt;Faith"&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And my reply:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"Faith, &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;You chose one of my best selling Ketubah designs. It is based on a design whose edition originally sold out within a few years. Life Dance 4 is so solid…a design I am most proud of. The imagery depicted is all biblical in nature, but with a modern sensibility and I believe that clients who resonate with this special design usually do so because of the beautiful integration of modern imagery with traditional elements of love, family and commitment. I can tell you that I loved painting this and after designing ketubot for 10 years, it is still one of my favorites.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;~Shell" &lt;/em&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-708071713630320537?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/44BdTxuQ908/kindest-words-from-happy-ketubah.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/TAUZRGhQebI/AAAAAAAAAs8/-9pc3MS710M/s72-c/design_life-dance-4-ketubah_1_lg.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/06/kindest-words-from-happy-ketubah.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-9025700496850614020</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 17:47:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-05-24T13:13:27.372-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bar and Bat Mitzvah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bat mitzvah gift print</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bar mitzvah gift print</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">unique Mitzvah gift</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">appropriate gifts for Bat and Bar Mitzvah</category><title>Give the Gift of Art- Fine Art B'nai Mitzvah Gift Prints</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mitzvahartistree.com/mt/bnai-mitzvah-gifts-types.php"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S_q_MXmjPPI/AAAAAAAAAs0/m3r80YhW5aI/s400/design_blessings-bat-mitzvah-gift-print_39_lg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474898516237303026" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;Designed to coordinate with our B'nai Mitzvah Invitation collection, each  Gift Print features your child's name in English and Hebrew, their Bar/Bat  Mitzvah date, and the biblical phrase, "May your eyes shine with the light of Torah and your face reflect the  brightness of the heavens", in English and Hebrew.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;Each Gift Print is printed on 8.5 x 11" fine art archival paper and is  professionally matted in an elegant white matte, to finished size, 11 x 14". The  matted print is then slipped into a protective archival sleeve. Framing options available too for a more complete presentation!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;Fine art is always appropriate for gift giving, and our beautiful gift prints are a unique and thoughtful gift to commemorate a child becoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mitzvahartistree.com/mt/bnai-mitzvah-gifts-types.php"&gt;Click here to see our entire B'nai Mitzvah Gift Print Collection! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-9025700496850614020?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/QWewmGVGG9k/give-gift-of-art-fine-art-bnai-mitzvah.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S_q_MXmjPPI/AAAAAAAAAs0/m3r80YhW5aI/s72-c/design_blessings-bat-mitzvah-gift-print_39_lg.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/05/give-gift-of-art-fine-art-bnai-mitzvah.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-8616069434391179179</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 May 2010 14:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-05-13T10:01:23.861-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">wedding</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Ketubah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Budget Ketubah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Ketubah discount</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Promotions</category><title>Ketubah Sale ~ In Time for Wedding Season</title><description>&lt;a href="http://www.ketubahtree.com/special-offers/spring-special-promotion-package.html"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470767174033203346" style="WIDTH: 370px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S-wRwmkd4JI/AAAAAAAAAss/jazu_CAV5Xo/s400/special_spring-special-promoation-package_.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wedding season is now upon us and our studio is busy creating beautiful custom Ketubot for our wedding clients. In honor of Spring, our full size Ketubah designs are currently 20% off through May 31, 2010. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.ketubahtree.com/special-offers/spring-special-promotion-package.html"&gt;Click here for Promotion details! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-8616069434391179179?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/cNWx3htBs1c/ketubah-sale-in-time-for-wedding-season.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S-wRwmkd4JI/AAAAAAAAAss/jazu_CAV5Xo/s72-c/special_spring-special-promoation-package_.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/05/ketubah-sale-in-time-for-wedding-season.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-2319368096791481706</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 May 2010 14:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-05-03T09:57:57.737-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bat Mitzvah Invitations</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bar and Bat Mitzvah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bnai Mitzvah invitations</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bar Mitzvah Invitations</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Mitzvah Invitations</category><title>Bar &amp; Bat Mitzvah Invitation Reps and Dealers Wanted!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S97ejfVd6KI/AAAAAAAAAsk/PzGzUjDao3o/s1600/design_kindness-bat-mitzvah-invitation_1_lg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467051698962688162" style="WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S97ejfVd6KI/AAAAAAAAAsk/PzGzUjDao3o/s400/design_kindness-bat-mitzvah-invitation_1_lg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S97eN-cKT2I/AAAAAAAAAsc/cihgSbtlfks/s1600/design_free-spirit-bat-mitzvah-invitation_65_lg.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's been months in the making, but our studio is finally ready to offer our gorgeous and unique Bar and Bat Mitzvah Invitations to a select group of Dealer Representatives! Dealer interest has been strong and so now we begin interviewing Reps across the country to find outgoing, established, motivated and professional representatives who think our B'nai Mitzvah Invitation collection is fabulous! Know anyone outstanding? Or have a favorite local store that carries upscale invitations? &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Our own clients/friends are usually a terrific resource for us....We are open to ideas and suggestions :) &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mitzvahartistree.com/mt/wholesalers.php"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#6633ff;"&gt;Click here for more information about our Dealer Representative program!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-2319368096791481706?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/Pixrqef6j0s/bar-bat-mitzvah-invitation-reps-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S97ejfVd6KI/AAAAAAAAAsk/PzGzUjDao3o/s72-c/design_kindness-bat-mitzvah-invitation_1_lg.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>4</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/05/bar-bat-mitzvah-invitation-reps-and.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-1862392970537531139</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-03-19T12:16:41.718-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">O'Keeffe</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Inspiration</category><title>Georgia O'Keeffe Abstractions</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S6OtmfZ5YqI/AAAAAAAAAsU/-j43cPWAmwM/s1600-h/okeeffe5.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450390850825183906" style="WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S6OtmfZ5YqI/AAAAAAAAAsU/-j43cPWAmwM/s400/okeeffe5.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S5ZmKcTumqI/AAAAAAAAAr8/zyM2cdzPXds/s1600-h/oKeeffe_MusicPink-and-Blue-No-2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446653128934857378" style="WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S5ZmKcTumqI/AAAAAAAAAr8/zyM2cdzPXds/s400/oKeeffe_MusicPink-and-Blue-No-2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S5Zmmb4ifvI/AAAAAAAAAsM/WsTKCI4C7ug/s1600-h/stieglitz-hands.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446653609857154802" style="WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S5Zmmb4ifvI/AAAAAAAAAsM/WsTKCI4C7ug/s400/stieglitz-hands.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for~ Georgia O'Keeffe&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A recent visit to the &lt;a href="http://www.phillipscollection.org/exhibitions/current/index.aspx"&gt;Phillips Collection museum in Washington DC &lt;/a&gt;to see the Georgia O'Keeffe Abstractions exhibit left me newly inspired and exhilarated. Featuring more than 100 Watercolor and Oil paintings, this gorgeous exhibit focuses on O'Keeffe's lesser known Abstract works...beautiful gems, delicate and serene.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have seen O'Keeffe's work up close before...notably her most famous, and easily recognizable paintings of animal skulls, seashells and sensual flowers. However many times I stood before those famous works, as lovely as they were, never was I moved to silence. I viewed the art and certainly enjoyed the simplicity of the way in which she seemed to so effortlessly capture objects, but that's where it ended for me. I never had a &lt;a href="http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2008/03/all-my-love-original-watercolor.html"&gt;"Gustav Klimt Moment"&lt;/a&gt; as I like to call it....a moment where, when viewing a piece of art, all else falls away, leaving just me and the painting alone in the room...my own breath and heartbeat, the only sounds I hear. That is, until I saw the Abstractions exhibit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This collection of paintings is so gentle, sensual, evocative, erotic and dreamy. Her color palettes go from soft and serene to joltingly energetic. Her lines are exquisite and each piece evokes feeling, emotion, sensitivity and thought. There is an honest integrity in O'Keeffe's work. A genuineness and a purity of soul that comes through so strongly in those brushstrokes. In the end, her abstract paintings ultimately &lt;em&gt;feel&lt;/em&gt; like an abstracted portrait of a woman who simply wanted to paint what she felt inside. And I can't help but relate so deeply to that part of her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And so, with that clarity of thought filling me, validating me, empowering me... I pick up my paintbrush, turn up the music and simply, paint....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~Shell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Credits and Resources: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Series 1 Number 4, painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1918 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Music, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Pink and Blue No. 2, painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1918&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe, by Alfred Stieglitz&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-1862392970537531139?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/ZHxxZvs5-EE/georgia-okeeffe-abstractions.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S6OtmfZ5YqI/AAAAAAAAAsU/-j43cPWAmwM/s72-c/okeeffe5.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>4</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/03/georgia-okeeffe-abstractions.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-2501932552717337544</guid><pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-19T12:23:11.912-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">watercolors</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Inspiration</category><title>Dreaming Big...</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S37GDSBYbyI/AAAAAAAAAr0/svGBK8nIkuM/s1600-h/ink+pen+drip.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440003159589678882" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S37GDSBYbyI/AAAAAAAAAr0/svGBK8nIkuM/s400/ink+pen+drip.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;The sweetest visions come to me like a slow, steady drip coursing through my veins...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;They take their own sweet time, breaking surface, swirling, rolling, deftly dancing their way through quarry's of questions and what ifs, defying logic and good sense.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;But isn't that what the best dreams are made of? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;The ideas that stick, slide under skin and skillfully skim the ridges and roadblocks. They sink silently and fall beside me, waiting for tides to gently shake me awake so I can touch them with the gifts inside and bring them, lovingly, to life. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;--Shell&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"&gt;Words and Original Watercolor © 2010 Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-2501932552717337544?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/LAWISimkS0A/dreaming-big.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S37GDSBYbyI/AAAAAAAAAr0/svGBK8nIkuM/s72-c/ink+pen+drip.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>3</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/02/dreaming-big.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-6272207153275353245</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:48:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-13T20:20:16.068-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giving back</category><title>Teach Your Children Well....</title><description>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3WJCOAY6EI/AAAAAAAAArE/47k7JpEBUcM/s1600-h/proclamation6.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437402796332214338" style="WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3WJCOAY6EI/AAAAAAAAArE/47k7JpEBUcM/s400/proclamation6.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"&lt;em&gt;You know you're directly making an impact when you see the people you are helping. They were so grateful. It was so touching."~&lt;/em&gt;Jordan Rummel, 16 year old&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My son, Jordan Rummel and his friend, Marissa Bialek, Juniors at Fairfax High School co-founded Project BOND (Beginning to Open New Doors), a volunteer organization which strengthens family ties, helps children and assists people with emotional or physical disabilities, as well as those suffering economic hardship. Projects have included participating in charitable programs with Fannie Mae, the Salvation Army, the Lamb Shelter and the Capital Area Foodbank.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Recently Jordan and Marissa were honored by the City of Fairfax with a Proclamation by the Mayor and the City Council. It was a very exciting evening for the kids and culminated with an interview in our local newpsaper. You can read the article in full here:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=337347&amp;amp;paper=63&amp;amp;cat=104"&gt;&lt;span style="color:#663333;"&gt;Click HERE to read the article in the Fairfax Connection newspaper&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To get involoved or simply to learn more about Project BOND, please visit the website&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" &gt; &lt;a href="http://www.projectbond.net"&gt;www.projectbond.net&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And, yes, I'm a very proud Mama;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3WO-H9j6EI/AAAAAAAAArc/4H3tMBaRLDw/s1600-h/Copy+of+proclamation5.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437409323060029506" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 391px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3WO-H9j6EI/AAAAAAAAArc/4H3tMBaRLDw/s400/Copy+of+proclamation5.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3WMIyAlmwI/AAAAAAAAArU/y_w-d7Sespg/s1600-h/proclamation5.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-6272207153275353245?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/30Zut3RF4Qc/teach-your-children-well.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3WJCOAY6EI/AAAAAAAAArE/47k7JpEBUcM/s72-c/proclamation6.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/02/teach-your-children-well.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-2034324554929777190</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-02-11T16:31:10.910-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Inspiration</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><title>Baby It's Cold Outside...</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3R1yZc-MrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/7Qb1wdx2Arc/s1600-h/sunrise.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437100158829343410" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3R1yZc-MrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/7Qb1wdx2Arc/s400/sunrise.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3RtGHLULoI/AAAAAAAAAq0/KjmSAfeW0Hk/s1600-h/sunrise2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437090601916182146" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3RtGHLULoI/AAAAAAAAAq0/KjmSAfeW0Hk/s400/sunrise2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;How can one not be inspired by this? &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Look past the ice and &lt;em&gt;see&lt;/em&gt; the texture, the sensual line, the shadows, the refraction of light, the colors (yes! Colors such as lilac, pale pink and the softest golds)...the delicate translucence. I see so much more than icicles when I look upon these stunning images and all I'm thinking, dreaming, longing to do is try to capture the magnificence in a watercolor painting....&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Inspiration is the key to any artists true success. It's that magic Muse, that often indefinable yet, oh so recognizable spark that marks the beginning of an idea or vision. It moves you towards creation and often guides you along the way. For me, that moment of inspiration usually begins with the distinct physical sensation of pulse quickening and heart beats which makes perfect sense to me...When we truly pay attention we notice that the heart leads the way, most of the time. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Such is the case with many of my new paintings and designs here in the studio. I've been paying attention to the natural beauty around me and I've been newly inspired and refocused on painting during these cold Winter months. I look forward to sharing my new work with our clients, galleries, stores and friends in the coming weeks. Good stuff coming, that I hope will make your heart beat just a little faster.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;~Shell&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Words and Images by Shell Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;© 2010 Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-2034324554929777190?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/7twYCEZOprY/baby-its-cold-outside.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/S3R1yZc-MrI/AAAAAAAAAq8/7Qb1wdx2Arc/s72-c/sunrise.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2010/02/baby-its-cold-outside.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-6608095665873973572</guid><pubDate>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-12-09T16:44:33.866-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Art Studio</category><title>Thank You for a Wonderful Open House</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SyAQ5JvvbtI/AAAAAAAAAqk/R49YP1lSstk/s1600-h/pillows2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413345326154084050" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SyAQ5JvvbtI/AAAAAAAAAqk/R49YP1lSstk/s400/pillows2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/Sx67_oSxyiI/AAAAAAAAAqc/k0_ERWHLrXQ/s1600-h/shelldeb.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Our stunning new silk pillow collection&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;It was wonderful to see so many friends at our annual Studio Open House! For two days, we opened our doors and invited family, friends and collectors to browse our artwork and new product lines amidst a casual, relaxed and easy atmosphere. It is always a pleasure to see you! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our event! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;~Shell&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://poetreestudio.com/Annualopenhouse2009.asp"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color:#663333;"&gt;Please click here&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;span style="color:#663333;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;to view memorable photos from our event&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;All artwork and collections are available for purchase on our &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://poetreestudio.com/index.asp"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;color:#663333;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Poetreestudio.com website&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="color:#663333;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-6608095665873973572?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/6G6syGd7Nr0/want-tour-of-our-art-studio-come-take.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SyAQ5JvvbtI/AAAAAAAAAqk/R49YP1lSstk/s72-c/pillows2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/12/want-tour-of-our-art-studio-come-take.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-6369347753863895948</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-11-30T14:42:54.633-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Art Studio</category><title>Holiday Open House - Roadtrip anyone?</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SvRc8WNSsdI/AAAAAAAAAp8/MVfmrzupqJc/s1600-h/shellspalette.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401044044947304914" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SvRc8WNSsdI/AAAAAAAAAp8/MVfmrzupqJc/s400/shellspalette.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Please join us for our annual Holiday Studio Open House. Thursday December 3rd and 4th. For details including our studio address, please view the full invitation by clicking the link below.  We'd love to see you!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;click here to view the Invitation: &lt;a style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #669999; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs054/1101501422167/archive/1102855406945.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"&gt;2009 Holiday Studio Open House&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-6369347753863895948?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/jOboFXiug8Q/holiday-open-house-come-visit-studio.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SvRc8WNSsdI/AAAAAAAAAp8/MVfmrzupqJc/s72-c/shellspalette.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/11/holiday-open-house-come-visit-studio.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-5979334091211290410</guid><pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:21:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-10-29T16:15:21.023-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bar and Bat Mitzvah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Mitzvah Invitations</category><title>MitzvahArtistree.com Website Re-Design is Complete!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SunPocWpgQI/AAAAAAAAAp0/aUkn0-I8Rr0/s1600-h/promiselarge.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398073922093154562" style="WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SunPocWpgQI/AAAAAAAAAp0/aUkn0-I8Rr0/s400/promiselarge.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;I am so proud to announce the re-launch of our &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mitzvahartistree.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Mitzvahartistree.com &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;website! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Our newly designed site showcases our artistic, Eco-Friendly B'nai Mitzvah Invitation collections and thoughtful gift ideas for honoring this milestone celebration. I have been busy painting several new designs for the season and am excited to share them. I hope my art inspires and delights you and your child!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;~Shell&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Resources and Credits: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Promise Bat Mitzvah Invitation &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Artist: Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;All artwork © 2009 Michelle Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-5979334091211290410?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/323GpEUhMB4/mitzvahartistreecom-website-re-design.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SunPocWpgQI/AAAAAAAAAp0/aUkn0-I8Rr0/s72-c/promiselarge.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/10/mitzvahartistreecom-website-re-design.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-3657426002930584175</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-10-26T15:31:30.202-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Bar and Bat Mitzvah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Twitter</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><title>A Girl's Gotta Do, What  A Girl's Gotta Do....</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SuYD4teqqNI/AAAAAAAAAps/PnnO1D6vocQ/s1600-h/DSC03979.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SuYD4teqqNI/AAAAAAAAAps/PnnO1D6vocQ/s400/DSC03979.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397005476265896146" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This week, I've done my best to block out distractions (Twitter, Blip,  unannounced studio visits, Twitter, long lunches ...did I mention Twitter??)   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I seem quieter than usual, it's only because I am  working hard behind the scenes to re-launch our Mitzvah Artistree website.  As anyone who has ever designed a website knows, the process feels a bit  like moving a mountain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The&lt;a href="http://www.mitzvahartistree.com/"&gt; www.mitzvahartistree.com&lt;/a&gt; website showcases our popular B'nai Mitzvah Invitation collection. Our invitation designs are literally flying out the door lately and our original website couldn't keep up. We have spent the better part of 4 months redesigning and restructuring the site to make it more user friendly and visually beautiful. It has been a massive undertaking, requiring hours of focused dedication from my wonderful staff.  The website is almost ready to re-launch (fingers crossed &amp;amp; holding of breath).  I expect we will go "live" any moment now. It looks fantastic and we know it will do good things for my art.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the meantime, la la la la la....I &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;can't&lt;/span&gt; hear you.  Shhhh.... I am busy working.....;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~Shell&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-3657426002930584175?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/_CnuQrnJP-o/girls-gotta-do-what-girls-gotta-do.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SuYD4teqqNI/AAAAAAAAAps/PnnO1D6vocQ/s72-c/DSC03979.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/10/girls-gotta-do-what-girls-gotta-do.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-5466910334771882079</guid><pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:49:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-28T11:57:23.219-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Michelle "Shell" Rummel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Ketubah</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>Cool Winds Wrap Me</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SsDEi6OI0OI/AAAAAAAAApk/FYqC59OIImc/s1600-h/Meant+to+be-September2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386521258358264034" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 264px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SsDEi6OI0OI/AAAAAAAAApk/FYqC59OIImc/s400/Meant+to+be-September2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I beg the summer sun to linger longer (the music's still playing...come, dance with me?) but it only laughs as it dips deep and slides electric into the shadows...leaving me standing naked and alone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cool winds wrap me...can't get warm.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I shiver.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheltering leaves blanket me as the last of bluegreen summer scent floats towards fingertips and drips down bark, over bare shoulders....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Resources and credits: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Meant To Be - original watercolor painting by Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Poetry by Michelle "Shell" Rummel &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;© Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SsDDyHBqGBI/AAAAAAAAApU/MZKkcb3yIEk/s1600-h/Meant+to+be-September2.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-5466910334771882079?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/qxV_7DAyMb4/cool-winds-wrap-me.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SsDEi6OI0OI/AAAAAAAAApk/FYqC59OIImc/s72-c/Meant+to+be-September2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/09/cool-winds-wrap-me.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-4512148775581208518</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-05T12:56:31.457-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Michelle "Shell" Rummel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Song of Myself</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Walt Whitman</category><title>A Comfort Beyond Words</title><description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SqFhuBkB85I/AAAAAAAAAo8/qvALdao6JAI/s1600-h/waltfinal.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377686873378517906" style="WIDTH: 288px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SqFhuBkB85I/AAAAAAAAAo8/qvALdao6JAI/s400/waltfinal.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SqFkbV2rleI/AAAAAAAAApM/jvCcWYIm2LM/s1600-h/walt2final.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377689850942821858" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SqFkbV2rleI/AAAAAAAAApM/jvCcWYIm2LM/s400/walt2final.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br&gt;You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;~ W. Whitman&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I always feel an inherent sadness as the last days of summer slowly roll by. August into September, this transition, leaves me aching for the warmth of summer sun, gone too soon as we slide swiftly into September. I find myself missing the heat well before it's even gone. Yes, a true artist's soul, complete with just a touch of melancholy angst.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In times of transition, I look to surround myself with comfort of mind, body and soul. A fresh new book... Rest, if my body will accept it...Music to bring inspiration or to steady my breathing... Those I love, pulled even closer to wrap my heart warm.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And then there's Walt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I carry a small condensed pocket classic edition of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself with me everywhere I go. Tiny enough to fit within my hands, each morning I sift through the tattered dog eared pages looking for phrases of inspiration, energy, purpose to begin my day. Each evening I look once more for his magic words to calm, to soothe, to reassure. A master at visual imagery, Whitman's epic poem, a celebration of self as it relates to the magnificent beauty of the earth, sky and world around him...wonderfully exuberant, spiritual, soulful, sensual, playful, peaceful and at times, a little heavy handed as well. All elements and words combine with grace...part of his charm for sure and for me, the ultimate guilty pleasure...a comfort beyond words. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;Farewell beautiful summer sun....&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SqFkJqV7QcI/AAAAAAAAApE/VVgXm___usI/s1600-h/walt2final.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Credits and resources: Walt Whitman Song of Myself, Shambhala Pocket Classics&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Edited by Stephen Mitchell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-4512148775581208518?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/qjKWWHrp8a0/i-celebrate-myself.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/SqFhuBkB85I/AAAAAAAAAo8/qvALdao6JAI/s72-c/waltfinal.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>5</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-celebrate-myself.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-5976410810671639835</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-27T16:34:29.914-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">photography</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brigitte Lacombe</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Michelle "Shell" Rummel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Charlie Rose</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Inspiration</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Words from Shell</category><title>You Just Know It...When It's Right</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So72I_OuU7I/AAAAAAAAAok/NjN62nqWWHk/s1600-h/lacombe.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372502039772156850" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So72I_OuU7I/AAAAAAAAAok/NjN62nqWWHk/s400/lacombe.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So715VS6pVI/AAAAAAAAAoU/LuVRIDo46kk/s1600-h/cate.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372501770817414482" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So715VS6pVI/AAAAAAAAAoU/LuVRIDo46kk/s400/cate.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So71t1OXHzI/AAAAAAAAAoM/gBNH76dptPs/s1600-h/bobdylan.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372501573229813554" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So71t1OXHzI/AAAAAAAAAoM/gBNH76dptPs/s400/bobdylan.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/Spamjrgk03I/AAAAAAAAAos/E_KREcO44Xs/s1600-h/streep.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374666337218253682" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/Spamjrgk03I/AAAAAAAAAos/E_KREcO44Xs/s400/streep.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Several weeks ago, one of my favorite people on twitter, Steve Finikiotis (@finikiotis ~YES, follow him! He is elegance, eloquence, intelligence and compassion combined!) posted a link to a marvelous interview by Charlie Rose of iconic French Photographer, Brigitte Lacombe. It was a long interview but well worth the time investment. Lacombe offered a poignant and informative insight into her process of capturing the world's most beautiful and interesting faces on film. The interview coincided with the launch of her newest book titled 'anima/persona'.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lacombe, arrestingly beautiful in her simplicity, was clearly anxious in front of the camera. I listened and watched intently as Rose skillfully led her through a series of gentle and intimate questions that allowed her to talk freely about her passion...it was fascinating and endearing to see her soften as her words began to flow with more ease. The more she spoke, she charmed me (and obviously, Rose as well) and by the end, I considered myself a fan for life.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lacombe explained how capturing an image is most often instinctive...there are no words to describe 'how' it occurs, rather it is the feeling of the moment, without thought. Her job , she said, is to put her subjects in the best light, acknowledging that the best photos are ones where the subject is fearless, giving up his/her will, in essence surrendering to the moment. When it is 'there', visually, &lt;em&gt;you just know it&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Naturally, as an artist myself, Lacombe's words resonated deeply. Some of my best work has come during moments of surrender. Creativity often flourishes when the walls of boundary and constraint are gently lowered. For me, when I am painting and the colors mix and melt and the line and design flows with grace and purpose, well... as Brigitte would say, &lt;em&gt;you just know it.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A mysterious large and heavy package recently arrived on my doorstep. As I peeled away the wrapping, to my complete surprise, I discovered I was holding Lacombe's book, 'anima/persona' within my own two hands. A belated birthday gift from my family, proving that they actually do hear me when I wax poetic about the things that move and inspire me. This magnificent book, a collectors dream, is a stunning collection that I will forever treasure.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~Shell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Credits and Resources:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The interview...please watch when you have time to truly enjoy and absorb. It's lovely, I promise... &lt;a href="http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10512"&gt;http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10512&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Book: Photographer Brigitte Lacombe, anima/persona &lt;a href="http://www.artbook.com/9783865216441.html"&gt;http://www.artbook.com/9783865216441.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Special thanks to my dear friend, Steve Finikiotis for being a constant source of positive inspiration. Please visit Steve's blog and you'll quickly get a sense of how unique this gentleman is: &lt;a href="http://ospreyvision.com/blog/steve/"&gt;http://ospreyvision.com/blog/steve/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And on twitter: &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/finikiotis"&gt;http://twitter.com/finikiotis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-5976410810671639835?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/_OI4Bgzluwo/you-just-know-itwhen-its-right.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So72I_OuU7I/AAAAAAAAAok/NjN62nqWWHk/s72-c/lacombe.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/08/you-just-know-itwhen-its-right.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904360177841952995.post-4260507847920390031</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:47:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-20T18:39:29.013-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">watercolors</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Michelle "Shell" Rummel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">poetry</category><title>She Swayed Me</title><description>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So2_HZZcHlI/AAAAAAAAAoE/DzoVufb8mfs/s1600-h/sheswayedme_LG.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372160064320446034" style="WIDTH: 306px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So2_HZZcHlI/AAAAAAAAAoE/DzoVufb8mfs/s400/sheswayedme_LG.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Am here between the earth and sky, floating, rolling, wondering why. It's taking so long to be found...I barely breathe... no sound.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But then, you find me in the grass, hold me tight and make it last. Take my hand in yours, you'll see...it fits just right, this part of me...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's clearly meant to be.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You'll feel me slide beneath your skin, anchored to your soul within. Setting sun and sinking sky, wind sways but you won't question why.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You'll only know that this feels right, this swaying onset of nights light. So lay with me, let's dream, let's sleep...sway with me, into the deep.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Credits and Resources: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;She Swayed Me, Original watercolor painting by artist, Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;Original Poetry by Michelle "Shell" Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:78%;"&gt;All artwork © 2009 Michelle Rummel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4904360177841952995-4260507847920390031?l=shellartistree.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ShellArtistree/~3/yr9o605ryks/she-swayed-me.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Shell Rummel)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cZTjTXu43rU/So2_HZZcHlI/AAAAAAAAAoE/DzoVufb8mfs/s72-c/sheswayedme_LG.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://shellartistree.blogspot.com/2009/08/she-swayed-me.html</feedburner:origLink></item></channel></rss>

