Spotlight: Authors and Artists | Valentina Expressions

Spotlight: Bonnie Smith

27 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #ColorCombinations, #ColorsOfZodiacCancerSign, #DesigningWithZodiacSigns, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #ZodiacandDesign, #ZodiacColors

Bonnie Smith

As a designer, I visit art galleries to meet artists and learn about new art in the world, that’s how I met Bonnie J. Smith. “She is a California based textile artist whose artworks have been exhibited at United Nations Headquarters around the globe. Smith’s textile artworks have also been exhibited in London, Paris, Japan, and Taiwan to name a few locations. Smith is a self-taught textile artist who has taken Master Dyeing Studies from Joan Morris, a professor at Dartmouth University. In 2016 Smith was the recipient of the “Leigh Weimers Award and Grant”.

Bonnie created the celebrated textile series “Swimming Upstream”, which tells her story of recovery after a work-related injury that forced her to use a wheelchair for over a year. Once the textile series was completed she realized the artworks were not just about her but anyone trying to swim upstream through life. The series has been exhibited widely and received “The Health Care Heroes Award” from VotersInjuredatWork.org and was featured at The Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, United Kingdom in 2017.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Swimming Up Stream

Thoughts of the Mind, Interpretation in Indigo

Her indigo installation “Thoughts of the Mind, Interpretations in Indigo” and the subsequent book of the same name tell her story of persecution endured by her, her family and surrounding neighbors while living in a small town because they belonged to the out of favor religion.”
For this installation, she dyed 60,000 feet of string in a bath of Indigo blue. Imagine!

The book is available at https://www.blurb.com/b/5239967-thoughts-of-the-mind-interpretations-in-indigo

In her words, she says: “My textile artworks are about what I see and know. What I see is the terrain of California and specifically the drought that is affecting my state. Watching the progression of our environment into an abyss has overwhelmed me. Creating my textile artworks has allowed me to push this alarming message further out into the world. She has been invited to exhibit her “Drought” series at Visions Art Museum, San Diego in 2021.
What I know is family and all that the subject entails. As my immediate family has gotten older it became my desire to let my family know how much they mean to me and celebrate them. Many people in our society simply fly under the radar and they need to be celebrated.
It is my aspiration in life to keep telling my stories and that of others.”

Bonnie was a guest in one of my TV shows, titled “Swimming Up Stream” just like her art series. It was a fun show, watch it here, if you like.

SwimmingUpStream – TV Show – On stage Bonnie, Valentina, and Crew

Get social with Bonnie Smith here:

www.bonniejofiberarts.com

www.bonniejosmithfiberarts.blogspot.com

BonnieSmith 5800 – Instagram

bjs8934@gmail.com

Facebook

Image by 13smok from Pixabay

Bonnie participated in my book launch and tour for my new book ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, Second Edition and as a token of my gratitude she is receiving a color reading of her zodiac sign. She was born under the sign of Cancer (the crab), June 21-July 21. Her element is Water where her soul likes to rest and relax, the Moon is her ruler, a feminine planet. The dominant colors of this sign are White and Silver, secondary colors but equally important are Lavender, Blue, Azure, and Black colors. Now, I understand her fascination with Blue Indigo.

I am going to create a meditation room where Bonnie can think and conceive her future work. I am sure she creates in a space conducive to her art, perhaps this post will give her new ideas. For this exercise, Bonnie must choose a room facing the rising sun or where she can admire the sunset for the entire time she will use this room, a room that has the quality and feel of a garden. Nature is balance and harmony, it provides instant relaxation, that’s the reason I envision a room inspired to nature filled with indoor plants, baubles topiaries, and driftwood.
To satisfy her Cancer element, the room must have a large vase with shells in the sand, scented plants, a water fountain to block external noises and emulate the sea waves movement.

Moonstone is the most appropriate stone for a person born under Cancer, other personal touches might be soft music, bells, wind chimes, artwork, beeswax scented candles, and anything that makes a peaceful environment.

Each color has a psychological value and influences any emotion. The mood I want to create for the meditation/creation room is soft and harmonious. I will limit the color combination to three or four colors. In her fabric creations, Bonnie uses a lot of indigo blues, thus this room will have azure walls and large dark blue throw pillows. However, light blue walls can make a room feel chilly, to balance this effect warm hues accessories, furnishing and fabrics will do the trick. Natural light is very important for this room, and sheer window treatment is equally important to let it blow softly in the breeze and carry the scents of nature in. The floor is rigorously real wood treated in the silver-grey wash and some comfortable white (dominant colors) club chairs will complete the picture.

Meditation Room-ColorConcept for a Cancer born person

This concludes the series of color readings. I want to thank everyone for your participation in my book launch and tour. It has been fun and rewarding, I am very grateful to have had the chance to know a bit more about all of you and that is priceless. Thank you. 🙏🏻

Now, allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition. It happened at the end of last month and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping to take the book on tour.

©Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

The book is all about colors, color emotions, color vibrations, color atmospheres, color compositions, color analysis and any which way one wants to use them: in design the interior rooms of any space, in fashion, in food, and/or in more mystical ways. Just remember, colors speak a message, your message…
Visit my Amazon Author’s Page
Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books so far, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional, practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host. Valentina Design Universe is the label under which she produces her shows in the studio and online. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Get a copy of her books on
Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spotlight: Robbie Cheadle

20 Nov 2019 20 Comments

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #ColorCombinations, #ColorVibrations, #DesigningWithZodiacSigns, #PiscesColorPalette, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #ZodiacColors

Robbie Cheadle

I read somewhere that Robbie, as a girl would have liked to be called Princess Cherry Blossom.
I would have liked to be called a princess, but my father told me that Italy (my native country) had long divorced the monarchy and there wasn’t going to be any princess in our homes, sigh, 😞🙁.

“Robbie, short for Roberta, is an author with six published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with her son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about her mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with her mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of Robbie’s children’s books are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.”

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Robbie Cheadle’s Books

This is not all Robbie has produced. It seems she has “recently branched into young adult, adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential her children’s books from her adult writing, these will be published under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. Robbie’s first supernatural, young adult book, Through the Nethergate, published as Roberta Eaton Cheadle has recently become available.
Robbie has two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award-winning author, Dan Alatorre, and three short stories in the short story murder mystery collection, Death Among Us, edited by Stephen Bentley. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.”

Death Among Us

About Death Among Us, Robbie says:
“Who knew death could be so eclectic?
Relish this mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up of short stories.
Murder and mystery have been the staple of literature and films for years. This anthology of short stories will thrill and entertain you. Some will also make you laugh out loud. Others will stop and make you think.
Think of this murder mystery short story anthology as a book version of appetizers or starters, hors d’oeuvre, meze, or antipasti. It can be read as fillers between books or, as is the case in some countries, as a bookish meze – in its own right.
There are murder mystery styles and locations to suit all tastes: detective fiction, serial killers, sci-fi, histfic, England, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The Great Lakes, Las Vegas, the Nevada desert, Mexico and more in an exquisite exposition of the art of short storytelling.
These stories come from an international cast of authors; some with bestselling books, others are emerging or new talents. Their roots, cultures, and life experiences are as diverse as their writing styles.
But one thing binds them together: they know how to tell a story.”

Robbie has also recently published a poetry collection, Open a new door, together with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
Books by Robbie and Michael Cheadle
Sir Chocolate books – currently available in hard copy and as ebooks
A5 format for children aged 6 to 9 years.”

Follow Robbie Cheadle at:
Blog: https://bakeandwrite.co.za/

Blog: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/blog/

Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter

Follow Roberta Eaton at:

Twitter, Facebook, Blog

Purchase all Robbie and co-author’s Books from:
https://www.amazon.com/author/robbiecheadle
http://tinyurl.com/zdokqjr

Robbie is a Pisces – Febr.19-Mar. 20 – Her element is water. She is receiving the color reading for her zodiac sign as a sign of my gratitude for participating in my book launch and tour for ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition, published at the end of last month.

Anybody I have met born under this sign is a very friendly, compassionate, artistic, intuitive, musical, and a gentle person. Pisces people are equal parts rational and mystical, they make friends easily and are devoted lovers, they are balanced and emotional, artistic and pragmatic. My niece is among these people, 17 years old, an aspiring ballerina, who is the nicest person one will ever meet.

The colors of Pisces are hues and values of Purple. They include lilac, violet, mauve, purple and sea green, which is the accent color of the water sign, all the colors girls and young women love.
The planet Neptune with its luminous light blue color rules Robbie’s life if she was born in February, and the planet Uranus with its streaks of yellow, brown and red color rule over her Pisces sign if she was born in March. Mixing the colors of these two planets will make nice combinations.

Fish-Pixabay

Her website is named “bake and write” if I understand correctly, Robbie bakes the recipes in her kid’s books. I have seen her baking area in a few videos, it seems pretty plain, no offense Robbie, perhaps you really wanted to keep a minimal style, white and clean look. On the contrary, for the sake of this color reading, I want to stir things up a bit and imagine her baking area a colorful, playful place.

Bakery_Pisces_Colors

Water is a vital element for life on Earth, in ancient times was a sign of prosperity. To invite abundance in her baking space, I would cover one wall with a water image, either in the Northside of her space, East, or Southeast areas and opposite to the water image, I would hang a large mirror as a necessary item to double the water effect, thus double the abundance. I would paint the rest of the walls in a soothing seafoam.

I have always been in favor of preparing food in cheerful kitchens. Today, kitchen appliances come in a variety of colors and that’s a good thing. For Robbie’s bakery, I envision all the fun, colorful appliances shown in my photos. Water element likes wood and glass, these can be the spices shelves or decorative branches with glass planters. Large or small crystal rocks to echo the bottom of the sea or a beach bank will finish the space reproducing the water element in harmony. I hope she likes it.

These color readings I am conceiving for those who have participated in my book launch are meant to show things in the colors they are born into, by no means are to be taken as criticisms. Life becomes easier if we follow the colors of planets and stars that revolved around us at the moment we came into the light. Although, I would love to see realized some of these color readings.

Now, please allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition. Since its publication, the book has gone on a virtual tour in many countries and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping with the promotion.

Red-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

Spotlight: Sally Cronin

15 Nov 2019 60 Comments

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #AquariusColors, #DecoratingForAquarius, #DecoratingWithZodiac, #PlanetColors, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #ZodiacAndColors

Sally Cronin

I met Sally Cronin in the blogosphere, simply by casually checking out bloggers and reading their stories. I liked what I was reading on Sally’s Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and I wanted to be part of her world. “There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet” ~ William Butler Yeats said it, and I made it my philosophy.

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Sally Cronin’s Covers for 2018

In her words Sally says: “After a career in customer, facing roles in the hospitality, retail, advertising, and telecommunications industry, I wrote and published my first book in 1999 called Size Matters, about my weight loss journey, losing 150lbs in 18 months. This was followed by 11 further fiction and non-fiction books, including a number of short story collections. My aim was to create a watering hole on my blog to provide a wide number of topics to chat about…..This year in September 2019, Smorgasbord in its current format, celebrated its 6th anniversary. I cannot take all the credit for the blog as I have an amazing group of contributors who bring their expertise and talent to the weekly line-up.
As important as my own promotion is, I believe it’s important to support others within our community. I offer a number of FREE promotional opportunities on my blog, linked to my social media”

Latest book: Tales from the Irish Garden
Get social with Sally Cronin here: Amazon, Blog, Linkedin, Twitter, MeWe

I congratulate her on the 6th anniversary of the Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and the willingness to share her journey in losing weight, one of the hardest things to do for everyone embarking on this enterprise. Well done Sally.

Aquarius-Pixabay

As a sign of my gratitude for her participation in my book launch, Sally is receiving a color reading based on her zodiac sign. Sally, being an Aquarian, Jan. 20-Feb.18, is a very generous person and has a broad perspective on things that matter. Her element is Air and the ruling planets are Saturn and Uranus. Due to various gas surrounding these two planets, Saturn takes on a beautiful pale yellow with hints of orange and light brown; for the same reason and the addition of other molecules, the planet Uranus takes on a beautiful blue-green color. These are the major colors for Sally, with an immission of turquoise and violet.
Aquarians have an amiable, cheery disposition and abound in social charisma.

On her Smargasboard she featured one of my curious posts about the trick of wine and fennel. I gather she likes to eat in good company and engages in interesting conversations. I envision one of her table settings for “al fresco” dining, conceived with her native colors. Her table will be covered with a pale yellow tablecloth, on top of which I will place turquoise plates and drinking glasses with all her colors. Bronze flatware will be in perfect harmony with the air element of her sign and so are the funky colorful chairs framed with black wood. One of her stones is the black pearl, not a good thing. Instead, I want to give her something to make the “al fresco” dining a real fun experience: turquoise glow in the dark garden pebbles stones made by UNIME, that she can put in all her pots or scatter around a pathway.

Aquarius Dining Colors

I would do this for my home, in fact, I just ordered those glow in the dark pebbles. I hope she likes it.

My book launch will continue for a few days, please allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition . It happened at the end of last month and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping to take the book on tour.

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition

Spotlight: Joy Ruffen-Oake

09 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #ColorCombinations, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #SagittariusColors, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ZodiacColors

Joy Ruffen0Oake

Among many bad habits and the perception of a distorted reality the Internet has created, there is no doubt, it has made the world much smaller and connected us with people we would have never had the chance to meet. It was the case with Mrs. Joy Ruffen-Oake and myself. Joy is a fine fashion stylist, image consultant, and public speaker. I met her just by chance on Facebook. “Her passion and purpose is for women to feel incredible about themselves on the inside and to look equally amazing on the outside. She teaches how to acquire the look of elegance and sophistication, with ease. When her clients walk into a room, they command it by projecting confidence, integrity, and charisma, firmly standing in their power.” Joy is all about “Inspiring Passion, Potential, and Purpose!” I started to follow her on Facebook for the message she spread on colors, fashion, style, and some issues regarding women. I felt we were on the same wavelength and I had to contact her. She conducts online shows through Belive, I watch her any time possible. In fact, I was a guest on her show once. Joy is a skilled interviewer, watch us talking about fashion, colors, body shapes and much more. https://youtu.be/FXzIb-lWmYM

Visit her https://joyruffen.com

Facebook; YouTube; Pinterest; Twitter; LinkedIn

(Click on each picture to view it larger).

Joy participated in my book launch of ©RED- A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition. As a sign of my gratitude, she is receiving a color reading for her zodiac sign. She is a Sagittarius, November 22 – December 21. People born under this sign, whose element is FIRE, are friendly, energetic, sincere, open, love colors, love adventures, travel and exploring. The ruling planet is Jupiter, the planet of fortune, one of the most colorful planets, which according to the winds and storms, picks up shades of white, red, orange, brown and yellow. However, the Sagittarius is dominated by purple, plum, dark/light blue and cream.

DarkWorkX:1638-Pixabay

I wanted to create a color palette for Joy “the traveler”. Every time I see her in her show, she is wearing the right colors for her zodiac sign, my color reading for her would be pointless, I thought.
Instead, a concept colors for the entrance landing of her home might sound more extravagant. I imagine her house is tastefully decorated, and perhaps her entry landing does not need much, in that case, it would be just a good exercise for me. We never know….
She lives in Florida, where the weather is pretty toasty and bold colors do well. If she has a traditional entrance wood door, I envision a purple Bougainvillea on one side and white oleander on the other side. If she does not have an elegant traditional door, then a painted door, yellow or light blue would be a good alternative and my choice of the two previous plants would still look good. Then, I want to add her zodiac sign’s element, RED, in the forms of poppies and brown cones solar lights. On the opposite side of the fire element, her sign needs a water feature to reflect the sunlight. Potted birds of paradise plants that embody some of her bright zodiac colors will lead to the front door. Last, to complete the picture of her entrance landing, I would place near the door, a nice jardinière displaying turquoise and yellow stones, her lucky stones. I hope she likes it.

Sagittarius Entry Landing Colors

Now, please allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition . It happened only a week days ago and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping to take the book on tour.

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

Spotlight: James J. Cudney IV

04 Nov 2019 10 Comments

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #ColorCombinations, #ColorMood, #ColorVibrations, #PiscesColorPalette, #PiscesZodiacColors, #REDAVoyageIntoColors

James J. Cudney IV

I met James J. Cudney IV, during my latest book launch. His name caught my eyes, due to the “IV” at the end of his name, as the fourth in the line of something… I thought he must be royal. Names to me have a meaning, and history, James’s name has a high resonance.

He says about him: “James is my given name, but most folks call me Jay. I live in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and graduated from Moravian College. I spent fifteen years building a technology career in the retail, sports, media, and entertainment industries. I’m a voracious reader in my favorite genres (thriller, suspense, contemporary, mystery, and historical fiction), as books transport me to a different world where I can immerse myself in so many fantastic cultures and places. Writing has been a part of my life as much as my heart, my mind, and my body. I decided to pursue my passion by dusting off the creativity inside my head and drafting outlines for several novels. I quickly realized I was back in my element growing happier and more excited with life each day. My goal in writing is to connect with readers who want to be part of great stories and who enjoy interacting with authors. To get a strong picture of who I am, check out my author website or my blog.”

He is social on Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, Linkedin.

Cudney – Latest Release

Websites & Blog: Webiste, Blog, Next Chapter Pub.

List of Published Books
Watching Glass Shatter (October 2017)
Father Figure (April 2018)

Braxton Campus Mysteries
Academic Curveball – #1 (October 2018)
Broken Heart Attack – #2 (November 2018)
Flower Power Trip – #3 (March 2019)
Mistaken Identity Crisis – #4 (June 2019)
Haunted House Ghost – #5 (October 2019)

James accepted to participate in my book launch and tour, he has been so helpful in showing me new ways to do a launch, thus as a sign of my gratitude he is receiving a color reading from which he can deduce his advantage. In our choice of colors, we must consider first the favorable colors we are born into under our zodiac sign, those are the colors others respond to positively and when they do, guess what happens? Doors open and opportunities come our way.

Pisces-154193_640-Pixabay

James was born under the zodiac sign of Pisces – Febr.19-Mar. 20, a lovely water sign that makes people very friendly, compassionate, artistic, intuitive, musical, and gentle. I bet he either listens to music a lot or plays a musical instrument. His creative side is writing books and he wrote a lot of them.
The colors of his zodiac sign are hues and values of Purple, on the cool side of the color spectrum. They include lilac, violet, mauve, purple and sea green, which is the accent color of the water sign.

In one of his living spaces, James might want to consider one purple color block wall and the rest of the walls painted in light blue. The planet Neptune with its luminous light blue color rule James if he was born in February, and the planet Uranus with its streaks of yellow, brown and red color rules over his Pisces sign if he was born in March. James can consider all this mix of colors in his life expressions.

Looking at some of his online photos, I had the impression he is a playful person, ready to please others and a very likable person. I want to seduce him (not in a literal way) with an outfit in the colors he was born into, which are beneficial to him. With these colors, he will charm and attract the right people or situations to him.
He might never wear this color combination, I hardly see American men in the purple hues, but at least he will consider it, I am sure. His personality created this color palette for me. As a designer, my goal is to dress men and women or design their homes for their character not just for the current trends. The concept board is self-explanatory, it includes all the colors for a Pisces person, with the choice of shoes as the color accent. I hope he likes it.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Pisces Color Palette

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

Spotlight: Debby Gies

02 Nov 2019 31 Comments

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #AuthorDebbyGies, #GeminiColors, #LivingRoomColorsForGemini, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ZdodiaColors

Debby Gies

The authors’ community is a great one, I found a lot of support and vivid communications. These are people who write, their words flow like the waters of a river. I discovered so many new books and have met so many fine writers, one of which is author Debby Gies Canadian born.

Debby is a non-fiction author/memoir writer who adopted the pen name of D.G.Kaye. She writes about her life experiences, matters of the heart, and women issues.
At the question of why I write, she says: “I love to write to tell stories that have lessons in them and hope to empowers others by sharing my own experiences. I write raw and honest, hoping that others can relate and find that we always have a choice to move from a negative space to a positive one. We need only the courage to take the leap.”

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Debby Gies – Six books

She describes herself as optimistic, funny, worry-wart. Of course, she was born under a Gemini sign, forever young at heart.
Visit her website: www.dgkayewriter.com
her social platforms Twitter , Facebook, Linkedin, and her award page.

She is participating in my new book launch and as a token of my gratitude, she is receiving color information regarding her zodiac sign: Gemini.

zodiac-sign-DarkWorkX-Pixabay

Debby is a true Gemini – May 22 to June 21. For her, I want to make up a living room in her colors. Gemini’s main color is Yellow. She lives in Toronto, I am sure she can use some yellow to brighten the grey, snowy days of Canada. There’s nothing better to cure the cold winter blues than the cheerful yellow.

Her lucky number is five and it is a protective number. it’s advisable to spread the color yellow in five ways, or in five rooms throughout her house by using yellow accessories, yellow curtains, yellow tone lights, yellow linens, yellow bath towel, and yellow flowers.

Yellow is the color of the naval chakra located in the stomach area, but our stomach is directly connected with the brain, with our intelligence and the power of setting goals. In fact, the stomach is called the “second brain”. Yellow is the color to use for manifesting something new, one wishes to happen. The yellow I want to use in her living room will be paired with bright blue, green and geometric patterns, perhaps I will accent the room with Pink, White, or Red.

My concept for her living room made of modern pieces, mixed with neo-classic and Victorian-style came out intentionally imperfect because I see Debby as a person who likes mutability and changes. I have seen her home style in a couple of photos, she appears to be a traditionalist, thus she might like a little stirring up in a different style.

Yellow Over Chestnut

I started with a reclaimed chestnut hardwood floor because bright brown is suiting to a Gemini character, it grounds the person born under this sign and it is a warm element for Canada weather. I see a modern velvet or ultra suede blue sofa with pink and yellow pillows. I envision a seating arrangement with yellow chairs of different styles. In my photo, I have included one neo-classic chair and one Victorian-style chair, however many different styles can be possible, as long as the pairing is done tastefully. The white color will balance the room, such as ceramic vases, in fact, the example vases I found can easily go from the aquarium to the hallway. White fresh flowers will balance the room as well, not just any white flowers, lily of the valley is the Gemini’s lucky flower. The variety of whimsical lamps will add a touch of originality to the room and a lot of character. Finish the room with many green plants with long foliage. I hope Debby will like it.

Now, allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition . It happened only a few days ago and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping to take the book on tour.

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

Spotlight: Melissa Muldoon

31 Oct 2019 2 Comments

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #ColorCoordination, #ColorEnergy, #ColorfulInteriors, #ColorMood, #ColorVibrations, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

Melissa Muldoon

I have known author Melissa Muldoon for a few years, she is part of the Italian community in my area. She is an extraordinary lover of Italy, its language, arts, food, people and everything Italy produces. She transfers to her followers her love of Italy through her novels and language programs set in Italy. She travels with groups to the country where they learn while having fun.
I think in another life Melissa was born in Italy.

Melissa Muldoon is the author of three novels set in Italy: “Dreaming Sophia,” “Waking Isabella,” and “Eternally Artemisia.”

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DreamingSophiaBook-Website-Front-Page-3Books

Melissa Muldoon’s 3 Books

Eternally Artemisia – Melissa Muldoon

I adore this video of her latest release Eternally Artemisia, click here to watch it – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKurWrS4TVM&t=10s
The music has a feeling of almightiness, one can feel the power of a few people designated to rule in epic times when women had no voice…Well…, I leave to you the rest of this intriguing story.

All three books tell the stories of American women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future for themselves in Italy. Her second book, “Waking Isabella,” has been translated into Italian — “Il risveglio di Isabella.” All three books are available on Amazon in print and e-pub.

Recently, Dianne Hales, author of La Bella Lingua, reviewed “Eternally Artemisia” and gave it 5 Stars. “A true Renaissance woman, Melissa Muldoon weaves her passions for art and Italy into a stirring saga that sweeps across centuries. As her time-traveling heroine Maddie reconnects with kindred souls, we meet Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th–century artist who overcame rape and ignominy to gain respect and acclaim. Historic figures such as Galileo and Mussolini also come to life in this intricately plotted novel, but the women who defy all constraints to take control of their destinies are the ones who prove to be eternally fascinating.”

Melissa writes an interesting dual-language blog La Studentessa Matta (the crazy students). Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Melissa Muldoon is participating in my blog tour for the launch of my new book and as a token of my appreciation, she is receiving a reading based on the color of her zodiac sign: Aries, March 21 – April 19.

Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay

“Aries being the first sign of the zodiac shows all the strong signs of Spring, when nature “explode” in a rainbow of colors and beauty. Similarly, the pulse of the sign is also expressed through the color of this sign’s governor, planet Mars, named after the Roman God of war. Mars is a sign that belongs to the element of fire and its flame symbolizes the nuances of Aries’s temperament. People born under this sign are energetic, curious, determined individuals. The colors in the flame of fire, from red to pink to fuchsia well characterize the people with this fiery sign when they select colors for their living space or for the clothes they wear.”
Excerpt from my book ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition.

Contrary to what happens to other people when wearing red, Aries people feel calm when red surrounds them or when they wear red, especially if the red color is mixed with light yellows and off-white or cream colors.

What can I design for a writer better than a writing/library room? This is how I envision the colors for that particular room suitable to an Aries.

Aries Colors – Fire Element

I see Melissa’s writing room enveloped in red and cream with touches of wood, perfect for the warmth of a fire element of Aries. I gave her a nice desk made of Sheesham wood, with a comfortable teak/leather lounge chair where she can fantasize on the next book plot, a striped upholstered cream chair paired with a French spool side table, all set on a cream rug. I see one brick wall and three walls painted in an interesting and elegant Modelo design over a faux finished red paint. I want to add many pillows with a pale yellow/cream designs to soften the red walls, colorful floor lamps and table lamps in Maroccan style.

Melissa, black does not harmonize well with other people around you and represents Saturn, your sworn enemy. I have seen you wearing black, think about it of the negative effect it has on you. You can flaunt any value of red with a little something to calm it down, as I said above. The other colors that agree with your Aries sign are saffron, golden yellow, mustard, and rust. Of course, you can wear any color you want, but you were born in these warm colors, like magic, anything is more favorable to you if you wear them. I hope you like it.

Now, please allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition . It just happened and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping me to take the book on tour.

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

Spotlight: Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

28 Oct 2019 61 Comments

by Valentina in Spotlight: Authors and Artists Tags: #ColorCoordination, #ColorEnergy, #ColorsandFood, #ColorScheme, #ColorsForInteriors, #FashionColors, #REDAVoyageIntoColors, #TeaganRíordáinGenevieneAuthor

Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

I met author Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene by chance while visiting writers and creative people in my blogosphere. Her unusual name attracted me, I thought she might have been French (I never did ask), and that wasn’t the only thing that jumped to my eyes. She posted on Google+ a beautiful cover of her coming book “The Delta Pearl”. I was in love with this picture, the sepia tone evokes travel by steamboat, elegant women, mystery, love intrigues, nostalgia, perhaps these are my dreams. I knew nothing about Teagan, I started to read her and share her work. We became friends.

“Teagan’s work is colored by her experiences from living in the southern states and the southwest (of the USA). Teagan most often writes in the fantasy genre, but she also writes cozy mysteries and steampunk. Whether it’s a 1920s mystery, a steampunk adventure, or an urban fantasy, her stories have a strong element of whimsy. There are no extremes in violence, sex, or profanity.” Take a look at her Author Page and her books on Amazon
The Three Things Serial Story, Murder at the Bijou, and A Ghost in the Kitchen

Her latest release is the third in a series of whimsical Roaring Twenties novels. She took us on “a wild ride on a magical trolley through haunted Savannah, Georgia.”

She writes blogs as well. Her blog “Teagan’s Books” contains serial stories written according to “things” from viewers. www.teagansbooks.com
She asks her audience to leave “words” in the blog comments, words that represent things and she will use them in her serial stories. This is a fun way to get the inspiration going.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

The Delta Pearl – Teagan Geneviene

3 Pip Ingredients covers – Teagan Geneviene

Someone in Kitchen Promo Ghost Kitchen – Teagan Geneviene

Teagan is participating in my new book launch and as a token of my gratitude, she is receiving information regarding her zodiac sign: Cancer or the Crab, June 21-July 21. She prefers to identify herself as the “Moon Girl” in fact, the ruler of Cancer is the Moon. Lunar power is feminine, I bet you, Teagan wears a lot of silver jewelry.

Image by 13smok from Pixabay – Moon Over The Crab

A person born under the Cancer sign likes to relax around the water, which is the element of the crab. If Teagan believes in the theory of Feng Shui as a way to harmonize her home and her personal image, then her water element calls for Lavender, Blue, Azure, and Black colors. It doesn’t mean a room and everything in it must be decorated rigorously in one of these colors only. It simply means that a room will have the dominant color of her personality and all the other colors in the room will create harmony and comfort the “Crab” person seeks. White is the dominant color of the person born under the Crab (Cancer) sign. This person is highly imaginative, loves the arts, lives in a mysterious aura, and the powerful lunar energy he/she lives under, impacts the creativity.

I would suggest for Teagan a mysterious and fantasy room. Let’s take a bedroom and let’s turn it into a “silvery” moon atmosphere her soul needs to restore her creativity with the perfect sleep.

Silvery Moon Atmosphere – Valentina Interiors & Designs

Open the photo and the mysterious silvery mood is quite perceptible. White dominates the character of the Cancer sign. White walls to me are very boring, thus I came up with a gradient paint that starts with a relaxing ocean color at the bottom ending in a shaded white color up above towards the ceiling. The floor is a very original blue distressed wood. Bedding is light grey with light yellow designs and a white headboard. I added one lavender velvet accent chair and a few blue chairs. Furniture, sheer window treatment, door frames, and moldings need to be white to echo her dominant zodiac color. I like to see a lot of crystal side lamps and crystal wall sconces to fill the room with beautiful sparkle reflections all over the walls. Crystal quartz scattered throughout the house, a water source, such as a table fountain and a fountain at the front door would be a nice addition. I hope she likes it.

I knew another woman born in the sign of Cancer. She liked only purple, she lived and dressed in purple. I never saw her in the color of her zodiac. She was a busy body woman, always agitated and always looking to grab the next thing. Perhaps she would have been calmer if she had worn colors suitable to her soul.

Now, a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition . It just happened and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping to take the book on tour.

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola