#ZodiacColors | 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: 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