purplebabydaddies

winter work

2008-02-10T18:31:00.000-05:00

All the above are works in progress as we make our way through the the thickest part of the winter now. Having pure colors to work with counteracts the browns, greys, and whites of deep winter. We are filling our galleries with flowers, flamingoes, mermaids, and doing a bit of of our original work.

January 2008

2008-01-26T12:24:00.000-05:00

hello again!

2008-01-24T19:41:00.000-05:00

Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair (August 11, 2007)

2007-08-13T06:57:00.000-05:00

after the show, the beach

2007-08-13T06:52:00.000-05:00

Purplebabydaddies at the Ann Arbor Art Fair

2007-07-21T21:38:00.000-05:00

We're back, amazingly enough, in the exact spot where Markel and I met 15 years ago today! For anyone who doesn't know, the Ann Arbor Fairs are an extravaganza, the largest art fair in the country, the world, as a matter of fact. There are 4 major fairs and 3 or 4 unofficial fairs, plus every merchant in town either rents out their sidewalk space or exhibits their wares, outside, themselves.

We have been busy with our store(s) for the past 8 years (one on Liberty Street in Ann Arbor and then two subsequent locations in Key West), but now that we have closed all of the stores we are back to doing art fairs. Hal Stevens, who used to run the Ohio Designer Shows and knows us from there, called us and offered us an exhibit spot last winter. Of all of the thousands of spaces in this whole town that we could have been offered it just so happened that he offered us the spot where Markel and I first met and fell in love.

We have been back in Ann Arbor since last Fall. We have been wrapped in a cocoon of our own making, rejuvenating, recuperating from the devastating loss of our beloved store. What can you do but pick up the pieces, reassemble them, learn, and make something of equal or surpassing beauty.

We have been selling wholesale for the past 11 months to the wonderful galleries from around the country who loyally buy from us again and again. This was the official beginning of our return to doing art fairs, made more auspiciously special by magically occuring in the exact space where Markel and I first met and began our lives together as a family and as collaborating artists for the first time exactly 15 years ago today.

In spite of the fact that we didn't advertise, we were amazed and flattered by how many of our loyal and enthusiastic collectors found us. Scary clouds filled with tornadoes swirled around us on Thursday causing damage in nearby towns, and a very shaky Michigan economy dampened overall sales somewhat, but all in all we had a good show. It was like a 4 day reunion party, running into our friends who stopped by to visit and sit in our extra chairs, friends who didn't know we were back in town who were surprised to find us, and customers who have been collecting our work for years, some since we first began showing, came and added pieces to their collections . Thank you so much everyone who came and said hello and bought from us. We are truly glad to be back in our beloved and bustlingly thriving, Ann Arbor.
Is there anything lovelier than an art fair morning, strolling with coffees and a bagel. The weather was gorgeous after the storms passed by on Thursday.
You can see our work in the background. We were beside a lovely display of fountains by artists from Arizona.
Everything was a big hit.....Now on to Charlevoix Waterfront Fair on August 11th. In closing, a couple of little quotes that have helped me through the hard times.

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you're a vegetarian. -Dennis Wholey

...and

Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness. -Jean Vanier

bye-bye babies

2007-07-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

Well, off they went, our last two little boys, with an adorable family.....sigh. This is Allene with her two grand-children. She came for one of the puppies and left with two!!! Her daughter and grand-children had a little bit to do with that....but, we are actually thrilled with her decision because Angel and Corky loved to wrestle and play with one another and then would curl up together to sleep. That's why Allene took them both. She wanted them each to have a playmate and dog companionship. I've always thought dogs who are pack animals are happier in pairs. I think they are going to have a charmed life, wintering in South Carolina and summers back in Ann Arbor.

In spite of how good we feel about the match it's been a sad couple of days around here. Lucy the mother of the pups has been looking for them ever since they left, a concern Allene and her family had, and that I didn't realize would be an issue. We've been giving her extra attention and treats.

Thw reason I wasn't more prepared for her worried behavior I remembered, is that we have always kept at least one puppy from every litter, or a close family member or friend has kept one and they visited every day.... so the mama has always had at least one puppy to be with....and so have we. It's a little pitiful around here right now as we get used to having all three of them gone.....poof, did it ever happen? Thankfully, our friend took one, so we will be able to watch him grow up, though they live an hour away.
We just got the final wholesale orders out the door and down the road and now we are in full swing for the Ann Arbor Art Fairs in mid-July with the Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair in mid-August close on Ann Arbor's heels. (Don't worry Lisa, we're working on your small flower, which will be gracing your garden soon....)

The pieces shown above and below are mini-sculptures heading for Somerset Gallery in Ocean City, Maryland
Mini-mermaids for Somerset Gallery in Ocean City, Maryland.

It's all about the Shi-chi's

2007-07-01T19:39:00.000-05:00

It's all about the shi-chi's for a minute because we have two shi-chi's for sale. I have listed them in the Ann Arbor News with a link to this blog. ( If you're looking for art, don't give up, scroll down, or click on one of the labels on the right hand side of the page).

Shi-Chi's are a hybrid breed, the result of breeding a full breed shih-tzu male, (both parents are shown below) with a full breed chihuahua female. There were three puppies in this litter, all male. The were born on May 10th, 2007 between 2a.m. and 4a.m. This is the second litter we've had of shi-chi's. They are wonderful dogs. These puppies will be 6-10 pounds when full grown

The listing came out today and the price is misquoted as being $600 for each, but we are actually asking $350 for each of them. Corrections will be in the paper by tuesday, the 3rd of July.

If you have found this site and you're interested in one of these puppies come and see them. Money is not the object, finding good homes is the most important thing to us.

This is Jack, the handsome 9 pound shih-tzu father of the puppies. Lucy, their 7 pound chihuahua mother is shown below. Lucy is the daughter of a 5 pound short hair chihuahua and a 7 pound long-hair chihuahua (a litter mate of a dog owned by Madonna).
Call us if you want to meet these little boys in person. There are a lot more photos of these little boys taken from their birth and every week since, click on shi-chi's listed under labels, under this post.
Call if you're interested-
$350 each- 734-657-7734

shi-chi's all grown up and ready for families

2007-06-29T13:46:00.000-05:00

shi-chi's 8 weeks old

2007-06-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

I put the ad in the Ann Arbor News classified just a few minutes ago with a link to this blog. It will start running on the 1st of July, this Sunday The time has gone by so quickly. Our good friend took one of the puppies already, the person who owned the grandparents of Lucy, shown here with one of the pups for sale. If you're at this site specifically to see the puppies, click on the link below, that says shi-chi's

Letting it Happen

2007-06-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

Can I really be 52 years old? It doesn't seem possible to me to be at an age that I considered as a child, even as a young adult, to be so old. I wince at the thought of how I projected my idea of someone as being old on others as recently as last year....I don't feel any different than I did at 32 , or 28. Now I know that even my mother and her sisters in their 70's and 80's feel that way too. Our bodies age but our spirits continue to renew and transform.

Has the counter-culture generation decided to age differently, to redefine aging? Probably so, it has redefined everything else. I am encouraged and excited to see alternatively minded communities forming for aging hippies, baby-boomers, particularly artists who haven't got much of a retirement plan in place....who, "if it felt good, did it"

The mother of invention is leading people to form back to the land, communal type, living arrangements. Shared land, studios, gardens, meals, yoga, exercise, swimming pools, pool halls. We are all so much better off as a community. We can do so much more when we put money, ideas, entertainment, information together. Stripped of convention, the baby boomers are going to figure it out.

I am trying out letting my hair go grey. It's a big step and I reconsider it often, but so far I'm liking it. My hair grows so quickly that I was having to recover the grey every 4 weeks. I can't afford the time or the money that it takes to go to the salon and have it done professionally and I hated how it turned out when I tried to do it myself. Unfortunately, you can't go get your hair died grey to make growing out the color easier and the other the other option to cut it all off and start over isn't much better. I'm just winging it, letting it grow out, multi-colored as it is. My inspiration are the beautiful women who I encounter everywhere I go with beautiful grey hair.

I'm inspired by Kiki Smith, top photo. Gorgeous, isn't she?......And also one of the most influential women artists in the world today. Her sculptures and prints present life, women, nature with all of it's grittiness, beauty, mess. She doesn't idealize it, she shows the truth.....the woman in her painting, sitting prettily in the garden has grass stains on her knees, mud on her elbows.

Another subject for her is art about the holy spirit, magic, spirituality, the big mystery that's so hard to pin down, yet so lovely to consider. She is known to be a big collaborator, loving to share studio/work space, working with people who know techniques that she utilizes to create her work
....and then there is this glowing, ethereal, lovely woman. This is a photograph of Betty Silverstein from the book, Wise Women: A Celebration of Their Insights, Courage, and Beauty, by the renowned photographer Joyce Tennyson. Betty is quoted in the book as saying, "People often stop me now and tell me I'm beautiful. I never had this happen when I was younger. So for me aging has, at least on the surface, made others more interested in me and who I am".
.....then there is this wild woman, an artist/designer who dies her hair yellow-orange. I can't promise that I won't go there too. I'll do whatever I feel like doing at the time. No rules of the hair color kind bind me. I have other rules: to be kind, do my best to do the right thing, keep growing, expanding, learning, creating and thinking outside of the box....big rules, no matter what color my hair is.

Summertime

2007-06-16T06:42:00.000-05:00

This is still a blog about art, though my recent postings haven't exactly reflected that. Has anyone else noticed that blogging goes a little slower in the summer, the writing of them as well as the reading of them? We are still working hard, making pieces for our orders, spending the better part of our days working, but when we aren't working there are barbeques, a glorious front porch to sit and dream on, walks to Ann Arbor's bustling downtown, puppies, children, families and friends to play with, gardens to grow. I write the blog in my mind, though enjoying the long summer days seems to be what is capturing me. Happy Summer.

Shichi's:4.5 weeks old

2007-06-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind in the 4 week old pics of these little guys. They become more fun by the minute. They are really starting to play now, rolling and biting each others tails and barking these little miniature barks that are adorable.

I have introduced puppy food this week, moistened with lots of water, which they have been very interested in. They sniff it and then back up and jump a little, then come back and sniff again, tossing themselves sideways comically. They seem delighted with this new event, a little confused, but figuring it out. As usual the last born, Angel, the trail blazer was the first to actually spend a significant amount of time eating.

Lucy, their Mom, even though I have continued to cook a hearty mash consisting of chicken, brown rice, peas and corn which I feed her three times a day, climbs into the wading pool, the puppies' daytime home, and promptly polishes off all of the moistened puppy chow that I have set out for them, on top of all of the food she has been getting. Eating is her favorite thing in the whole wide world. I'm going to have to separate Mom from pups at meal times. She is still nursing them of course, but not as much as she had been.
Corky is completely sweet, very mellow and cuddly.
My husband Markel with Peanut....this really gives a good perspective on how tiny they really are. I'm guessing that they will be between 5-8 pounds full grown.
This is Angel, the trail blazer and the one that we will keep.....I think. I love them all and can't imagine saying good-bye to any of them. This week we will start on their shots.

I will list them for sale in the classified section of the Ann Arbor News with greater intention when they are 6 weeks old, but not let them go till they are 8 weeks old, which will be the 1oth of July. If anyone is interested, Corky and Peanut will be for sale (it freaks me out to even talk about them being for sale....they are still very much my babies and I am going to carefully screen potential buyers).

We are charging $600 each. For more information on designer ShiChi's, a recognized hybrid breed, click on shichi

.....Get in touch if you think you might like to have one of these babies for your own. They are going to be mellow, smart, tiny dogs who will be completely devoted to whoever decides to adopt them. leslievictorialeland@hotmail.com for inquiries about buying a pup.

Fireworks for Miss Junie

2007-06-08T14:41:00.000-05:00

Purplebabydaddies is not only involved in the making of art, we also are involved in producing fabulous people and puppies (4 week old shi-chi pics in a day or two)....

So yes, we've been working hard making artwork, but the big news is that, Oh my, Miss June has turned two this week!

I swear to you, one day they are newborns and the next day they are 25. It happens faster than you think, all of you young families out there. I remember how grueling being a young parent can be, the sleeplessness, the tantrums, the endless laundry, so trust me, I'm not here lecturing.

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding and yet hardest things you will ever do, but the amazing thing is that, one day, they are newborns, and then the next day, they are all grown up, with newborns of their own. I'm not kidding, life may be long, but it can also go very fast.....Advice to take or leave: listen to the grandparents in your life, when they suggest that you savor these years and realize that parenting your children will be the most important thing that you ever do (along with all of the other very important things that you do).

But I digress, what is this grand-parenting phenomenom? I mean we love our kids but then our grandchildren come along and you LOVE them, just like that, in CAPITOL LETTERS and it's not just me, this is a "thing", a "condition". My fellow grand-parent friends are infected too, so I know it's not just Markel and I. A common explanation that I hear is that grand-parents go ga-ga because they don't have the same responsibility for the kids that they once had with their own children so they enjoy them more, but I don't think that's all of it, maybe a part, but not the big important reason.

I think the love and connection is heightened also because of the gained perspective of the time factor; you realize how fleeting and precious these years of littleness are, and how important they are in building self-esteem, sense of self, all of the things that make the foundations for a healthy adult....and you don't get those years back. Speaking for myself and some of my friends we've realized some things that we would have liked to have done better with our own children, from that birds-eye-view perspective. One thing I know for certain is that you want to be sure to arm these precious babies with as much strength of character, kindness, and integrity as you can, as they go out into this complicated world we live in as independant adults.

Grandparents have seen that those teeming little bundles of emotion, willfullness, and desire that you alternately wrangle and are enchanted by on a daily basis, do grow up and become adults, who you can actually enjoy as fellow adult people, even when they are still your children ....or your own parents for that matter, the great-grand-parents. My parents are still the life of every party, cracking jokes, singing songs, talking politics. I remember watching their parties from the bannister. Now we are at the parties all together. How wonderful to appreciate them as parents, children, and as peers.

Amazing to think that, god willing and a firm knock on wood, Markel and I will have the pleasure of enjoying our grandchildren as adults some day as well. Right now though, I am delighted with their delightful and delicious, 2-year and 8 year-old-ishness.

We have two other daughters who haven't even gotten started on this whole baby thing and when they do we'll want to go and be with them....that will be a juggle because one is in New Hampshire and the other one is in Manhattan (they are both talking about having babies in the next few years)and then we have these darlings in Michigan.....

My opinionated opinion is that this country is just too big and in our culture we all go apart way too easily. I like the idea of families doing the best that they can to stay in the same vicinity, though I know it isn't always possible, and breaks a lot of hearts. As artists we are lucky; we can make our art work anywhere.....and voila, here we are back at art.
this is our darling Michael, who will always be our first grandchild......and who likes to be assured that we remember that.
diligently waiting for birthday dinner (which was well worth the wait)....
my darling birthday girl with her new Dora the explorer doll, and moi.

oh and psssssst: If you came here looking for art, not my musings on being a grand-parent, click on design line on the list of labels or click on this- leslie and markel's original art.....that will at least get you started.
Ciao!

Pulling it Together

2007-06-01T17:42:00.000-05:00

We have had one of those weeks where many outside tasks have demanded our attention and so today, at last, we have had one of those lovely days where we could devote our entire day to work...... which was going swimmingly until I broke a glass while I was washing dishes and badly cut my finger. It might need a stitch, but since we don't have health insurance we bandaged it up and on I went, not willing to spend another day away from working. Sitting in an emergency room is not my idea of how I want to spend a day, especially after spending half a day yesterday, waiting to renew our driver's licenses and then an afternoon of physicals at our doctor's office.
We have flowers, fish, cats, suns all in the works and so it was with a great deal of accomplishment that we were able to finish the two cats and sun today....completely.
This guy is going to Garden Argosy, the gallery in Sarasota that carries our work.
A green version, from the same litter, also heading to the same gallery in Sarasota.
....And a sun for my younger sister Mary, who was a mermaid in another life.

We are determined to completely finish more tomorrow. Nothing is planned. We are sequestering ourselves because suddenly we have a very full bulletin board of work and so it's time to get busy.

making friends with the barn

2007-06-01T17:10:00.000-05:00

We found our house and studio on craigslist from Key West and made all of the arrangements through e-mail. We knew when we arrived that the barn was going to be getting a new roof and that the old roof was going to be taken down, right to the top of the stone on the second floor, and that we wouldn't be able to use it till it was all done. Today was a momentous day! Everything is finished and all of the detritus shown in this photo in front of the barn has been cleaned up and cleared away. It is completely our space. With all of the debris gone I even found a lovely bricked in flower bed right in front of the barn, begging for flowers
This is a truly gorgeous building, the oldest stone building of it's kind in Ann Arbor, built in 1898.
Markel setting up for mosaic base making.
The barn has an immense wood-burning furnace with blowers that works just fine. It needs to be cleaned some time before the fall and some of the stovepipe needs to be replaced. We've hardly even set up the work-space. We're getting the feel of the place first.
This is my favorite part, the second floor, notice the new roof beams. It's a big open area and both Markel and I will use it to make our bigger works. Markel is talking about some big sculpture and maybe some large paintings too. He's been writing every morning for over a month now, a long time desire, that I am so happy to see him fulfilling. Maybe some of his condensed ideas will end up in his painting.
Our front porch, my flower box newly planted, and our beautiful neighborhood. Our neighbors, who are also artists, have the most beautiful garden on our block, lush and intricate. I love this neighborhood.

Shi-Chi's: Three Weeks Old

2007-06-01T16:40:00.000-05:00

Mr. Corky, the first born- He is the most laid back little guy. He just melts into your hands when he is picked up and is very quiet and cuddly. He remains the largest of the three pups. The other two puppies have actually emitted their first little barks.

They are all the fattest little guys. The special diet that we are feeding their mother Lucy seems to be working just fine. I'm sure keeping up with nursing these three is hard...After the weird dog food scare my vet suggested that I make a big pot of chicken, rice and vegies (broccoli, cauliflower, onions cause upset stomachs; I used corn and peas). I refrigerate it and then reconstitute it with warm water and feed it to her three times a day. Cottage cheese is good for her too, since it provides much needed calcium. She also has a full bowl of puppy kibble at all times as advised by the vet. Actually, he had me put her on puppy food while whe was pregnant, for the extra nutrients.
Peanut was posing! I got so many good shots of him. he actually came toward the camera and laid just so....He's becoming fluffy and I'm waiting to see how fluffy they become.
This is Angel, the tiniest and the third born, also the trail-blazer. He opened his eyes first, and stood and then walked, on all four legs first.

They kind of drag themselves around for the first three weeks. They just began to walk on all four legs yesterday, very shakily at first, which was adorable and not easy since they have really short little legs and big fat bodies. They also are starting to show the first signs of play, rolling toward one another, throwing themselves in a very comical fashion, chewing each other's faces. Markel and I just sit and watch them.

They are indeed waking up, leaving the newborn stage and becoming roly-poly puppies. It is really gratifying seeing how fast they progress.

We just started to move them into the common living area during the day and then back into their cozy bedroom nest with us at night because Lucy, the mom, likes to be near us at all times. I bought a small plastic kiddie pool, making one portion of it a bed and lining the other part with paper, which gets them started on the idea of peeing on paper.

That's the latest on the pups world- more next week.

Deep in the Thick of It

2007-05-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

It's not all about the shi-chi puppies (but since I mentioned them, 3 week old puppy pics will be coming in a day or two)....we do still make and sell art....though I must admit that the last week has been very rich in living life and enjoying family and friends. It has been a beautiful couple of days. Memorial Day in Michigan arrived after two dark, contemplative, rain-filled, incubative days as a spectacularly bright, sunny, shiny day. I must admit that the dark days were lovely in their own right and oh, how all of the new gardens desparately needed the rain.

Ann Arbor, a great city for families and people in general, has a fabulous string of community pools and parks that all opened this last weekend. My daughter and two grandchildren and I walked the 10 minute walk from their new house, to their neighborhood pool at Buhr Park, where other family members joined us. Our extended family spent most of Monday afternoon up to our necks in cool, beautiful water and then we topped off the day with a barbecue in the evening.

We discovered that my almost 2-year old grand-daughter Juniper most likely has mermaid roots. Being a Michigan baby she hasn't been exposed to much swimming time, but she took to the water with enthusiasm. Michael, her older brother is already a fish. He was a Key West boy for the first 5 years of his life, where swimming in crystal clear, white sandy-bottom, carribean waters is a daily event so it was hard for him not to grow fins.

The day was ideal....there was literally nothing wrong with it from start to finish. Winter is officially over.

Back to work on Tuesday, which is always really, really nice after a fun-filled, work-free, few days. I'm always ready to get back into it. We have a full schedule of orders on the bulletin board, including an order from Somerset Jewelers Gallery, who we have sold to for the past 4-5 years, in Ocean City, Maryland. I'd love to include a link to their store but they don't keep a website. We're pulling everything together, working simultaneously on cats, flamingoes, suns, fish, flowers.

The photos above show a cat before it's features have been added and a fish in the early stages.

Flamingoes with their base coat, waiting for glass, eyes, wings.

Large Flower tops primed and ready for action.

Flowers in progress with cat eyes on the table too.

I haven't been getting to my paintings as much I would like. The arrival of summer is directing any extra time that I have, outside to dig in the garden, fill my front porch flower boxes with new soil and flowers, spray paint the wicker furniture I picked up on craigslist, have cook-outs with the whole family at our friend (and my daughter's mother-in-law) Yvonne's house (we share grandchildren).......plus the less exciting tasks of renewing licenses (YAY- Michigan driver's licenses mean we can start using the library), going to doctor's appointments, shopping for art materials, and all of that other necessary and very time consuming stuff that we have to do to keep everything working. Don't even ask me how the inside of my house looks today. Total disaster zone.

Life has gotten speedy all of a sudden, but I keep telling myself it's all a matter of balance. I'm with you Catherine....my new friend who carries our work at The Red Shoes in Ann Arbor was just talking about the busy-ness of her life the other day, and how easy it is to feel hectic. Indeed, and in spite of how crazy it can make you feel trying to figure out the way to get it all done, it's much better than feeling bored. No boredom here. Too, too busy making life happen.

Shi-Chi's: Week Two / Very Sad News

2007-05-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

Michael, our grandson is with us after school today. I enlisted him to help me take 2 week old birthday photos of the puppies this afternoon. At the time of this writing Michael hasn't been told yet that his dog Jack, who I showed photos of a couple of days ago, accidentally escaped from the yard during the chaos of the move into his family's new house, was hit by a car, and has died today.

Michael is already going through a lot with the move to the new house, a disruption in his life. He is losing his neighborhood friends, which is very hard. It's a very good move for the family, but it can be a very big adjustment for kids, especially at first. Now, losing his dog too, will be very difficult. We picked him up right after school today, but it is appropriate that his mother and father tell him the news themselves so we haven't said anything. Watching him with the puppies this afternoon has been touching.

It has been a very sad and tragic day for all of us. My daughter Liz's family and all of our extended family, who live nearby, and knew Jack well, are in mourning for him. We all loved Jack. He was a superb very sweet dog.
Jack, the charming shih-tzu, and handsome father of the shi-chi's.

Shi-Chi's Week Two: Introducing Corky

2007-05-23T16:42:00.000-05:00

Here's the big boy who I had to encourage to come out and play.....the puppy boy, not the human boy (the human boy, our grandson Michael, always wants to play).

After laboring for longer than his mother Lucy should have had to, it was clear I was going to have to go in after him. The only part of Corky that was out were a pair of teeny, darling feet still encased in his placental sac.

My puppy delivery (whelping....if you want to be technical) references told me that after the length of time that Lucy had been straining to deliver the puppy, if I didn't go in and try to pull him out manually, his mother Lucy might die. I've whelped three litters of pups but this is the first time of having to face this dilemma....... and chihuahua's are so little. It also said that the puppy might die in the process. Naturally, our dog Lucy was giving birth at 3:00 a.m. so we were on our own. My poor husband Markel, sat by me the whole time, helplessly, but helpfully supportive.

Trembling with panic and fear I put my gloves on and managed to slip my hand around his little body and pull him out. Lucy was not happy. In shih-tzu/chihuahua terms he seemed huge and as I slid him out he kept on coming and coming and coming out of his mother. There is no way he would have come out by himself. He was tightly wedged in there. I really had to pull and Lucy was so exhausted by her efforts. I am so grateful that it was a success.

I was worried that I had hurt her or introduced infection until the next day when we took the whole litter and mama into the the vet who pronounced mother Lucy and her babies healthy and having come through the birthing process with flying colors, in spite of the initially tenuous situation.

I have decided to name the little guys for the time that we have them, until they go with their new families at age 8-10 weeks.....puppy one, puppy two, puppy three just wasn't cutting it anymore.

We call this little guy, (puppy number one), Corky, because after the cork (him) was out of the bottle, the rest of the puppies were born with ease. He is very calm and cuddly. I'm thinking that he will actually lighten up and be blond or taffy colored like his mother Lucy, or he might be a little like Lucy's father, who was a beautiful dark brown with gold tips, a long-haired chihuahua named Winslow, who we knew in Key West and who fathered Lucy and her brother Pippin.

....and Peanut- the champion nurser

2007-05-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

Peanut was born second, soon after I pulled out or should I say freed his brother Corky. Peanut was born face first , very easily, with no trouble. He immediately, after being licked clean by his mother, began nursing and has been enthusiastic about his favorite pastime, eating, ever since. He has inherited his father's coloring. He will grow lighter in all of the areas that are brown . He is a complete dear, the last one to open his eyes.

....and Angel- The last one born, the littlest of the three

2007-05-23T16:21:00.000-05:00

Here he is. Outside on the front porch for the first time in his short little life. Looking at his face in the photo I am noticing the striking white marking on his forehead.
So sweet. He has a very laid back personality so far, and was the first of the three to open his eyes. I must admit that he is the one I have been leaning toward if we decide to keep one, but who knows, I am in love with all of them.

Below is a photo taken immediately after birth, and here we are today, at exactly 2 weeks old. Now it's going to get fun. They grow rapidly in the next three weeks. Lucy remains an attentive and devoted mother. Their coats reminded me of little seals when they were born.

purplebabydaddies at Red Shoes in Ann Arbor

2007-05-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

Here we are....our flowers gracing the front of Red Shoes. I am really glad that our Michigan customers can find us now. The store is located at 332 South Ashley in Ann Arbor, one block off of Main Street, behind the Ark (telephone-734-913-5554).
This is a close-up shot of the fairy door. If you look to the bottom right of the front door of the shop, you'll spot it. It often has tiny gifts left by people for the fairies. Inside the shop, you can leave a note to the tiny inhabitants.
this is the fairy door from the inside, looking out.

Red Shoes.....check it out.

Room to grow

2007-05-18T17:14:00.000-05:00

The big news of the day is the house that my daughter Liz is moving into. I got to go with her to pick up her keys and share in her first moments of life in the house. We walked through, examining every nook and cranny, musing and dreaming of designing those rooms. I could see the wheels turning in my daughter's mind as we studied the rooms. This is her family's first house, as opposed to an apartment or duplex. That means a fenced in yard of their own, a bedroom for each of the kids, a finished playroom in the basement and her own washer and dryer right at the bottom of the stairs. Big stuff for a hard working girl. They will probably be here for a long time to come.

Beautiful, green Ann Arbor in May. This is their new street from their new front yard.....
....and the backyard, complete with a sturdy play structure. During our exploration of the yard we found among other things, peonies, lilac bushes of every color, and a generous patch of lily of the valley.....
Inside there are sweet rooms, lots of windows and gorgeous wood floors. Oh boy, now the work of moving (with a 2 year old and 7 year old) begins.

This is Jack, the Shi-chi's father

2007-05-18T16:58:00.000-05:00

Handsome Jack with the sweet face, the fluffy, 100% shih-tzu, part of the new little puppy equation, the shi part of the shi-chi mix. The puppies have short hair now, but even shih-tzu puppies have short hair when they're born. In the next few weeks the pups will be fluffing up.
Jack has his summer hair-cut here; normally his hair would be extremely long. He's a great dog, sweet-tempered, great with kids, tempering the chihuahua personality which can be high strung......to put it mildly.

studies for a new painting and design work in progress

2007-05-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

In the midst of making the design work going to galleries, I'm about to start another painting and have taken some preliminary photos to get started.....more original work here

I have been drawn to fruit bowls as a subject for a long time now. When I paint them, they symbolize to me, abundance, beauty, health, the whole idea that the most important things are simple, that we can be fulfilled without needing/having a lot of stuff....good friends, good food, books, a good garage sale, dance, art, learning, music, conversation, family-this is what we need more of, what we can't have enough of.

Have you noticed how hard it is for human beings to share fairly? We have so much on this earth, in this country, and yet so many people are starving, don't have what they need, even in my own town, right here in Ann Arbor. Then other individuals are so rich, with so much more than they need, and they crave more, can't have enough. The people who are really puzzling are those who, even though they have so much, don't want anyone else to have as much as them, or anything at all. Some human beings can be a little over-rated I think.

Still, I think I see more of an awareness growing and I hope that I am seeing an expanding consciousness. Certainly, we can't all truly be happy till everyone is taken care of. Giving up hope that human beings will evolve into a kinder species isn't worth the pain.

If we were logical, the future would be bleak indeed. But we are more than logical. We are human beings and we have faith, and we have hope, and we can work. -Jacques Cousteau

"Wait'll next year" is the favorite cry of baseball fans, football fans, hockey fans, and gardeners.
-Robert Orben

Shi-Chi's at one week

2007-05-17T13:10:00.000-05:00

purplebabydaddie puppies. We've made it to the one week mark with these little guys, the first week being the most critical. They can't regulate their body temperature, are completely dependant, like human babies. They can't see until their eyes open around day 13, can't hear, but they have a keen sense of smell that motivates them to crawl toward their mother in order to nurse, which they do with gusto. Look at how fat they are.

Lucy, their Mom is great. She had a few tough days at the beginning when she needed to go out every hour to go to the bathroom, even through the night. Changing her diet helped that. We made a big pot of chicken soup with brown rice and vegetables and separated a large portion of it, before spicing it for human consumption. She has loved the soup. We add a lot of water to it at the suggestion of the vet, because she wasn't drinking enough. Lucy seems calm and happy. She spends most of her time with the pups either nursing or just all curled up together.

We're going to be getting to the fun part. They really start to develop quickly between the 2nd and 5th weeks. I'll keep on posting about them each week.

purplebabydaddies in Ann Arbor at Red Shoes

2007-05-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

Tadaaaaah! Finally. It's taken us a little while but we are finally showing in southeast Michigan, in Ann Arbor, where we got started on this crazy stuff such a long time ago. We're at Red Shoes ,a most creative and jam-packed with goodness store. We are back in Michigan after 7 years in the Florida Keys and we think we are better than ever, wiser and more seasoned.

Red Shoes, Catherine Thursby's delicious store, is off the beaten track at 332 South Ashley (located just one block off of Ann Arbor's fabulous Main street) If you haven't discovered her store, you are missing something special, and when you do go, you're in for a big treat. Catherine, the lovely owner, features her own artwork which is funky and great, vintage finds, art by other's (like us), and other yummy things for the home, you and the kiddles in your life. I want one of everything when I go in there. Her hours are
10-6, Monday through Saturday.

We are extremely honored that she will be carrying our work locally. We dropped off fish, a hummingbird, a butterfly, some flowers. We'll be adding more to her store over the coming weeks, including suns, mini scupture, a little of this and a little of that.

Make sure you click on the link above for Catherines entertaining and witty blog where she posts all of the wonderful new things that she has added to her store, talks about her latest projects and other people type things.
Click here, Red Shoes website for more info....oh, and make sure and check out her fairy inhabitants.

Fair Warning: The next few posts are all about puppies, kids and our new, Michigan front porch. For more purplebabydaddies art keep on scrolling.

mother's day

2007-05-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all! Back to work this morning, but we had a lovely weekend with puppies, parties, kids, food. Our front porch is ready for action- the more the merrier. Come on over!

Junie B. and the Shi-Chi's

2007-05-12T13:28:00.000-05:00

Junie B. and the shi-chi's (shih-tzu/chihuahua mixed pups).....but not together, together, because Junie would love to squeeeeeeeeeze them.

If you're looking for purplebabydaddies art work you'll have to keep on scrolling and scrolling because we are having a little too much real person, living-a-life-kind-of-fun for a few days...birthdays, mother's day, puppies, gorgeous weather.

Last night we had a houseful of friends and family for a potluck to celebrate my b-day and mother's day. My mother and father brought a big pan of their famous lasagna and a home-made strawberry-rhubarb pie. My childhood friend Sue, who I met in 5th grade when we went to Catholic school together, came too. We bonded immediately when as 10 year olds we discovered that we had the same birthday and we have been friends ever since.....many, many, many years. She brought her daughter Jillian and was laden with food and gifts (which is so her) plus the most decadent home-made chocolate torte cake, that was more like fudge than cake. I am the happiest when my house is filled to bursting, which it was. I had the camera all set and then proceeded to forget to pick it up the whole night.

I am truly blessed. It was a great party, but as usual I missed our daughter Eva who is having a big life in New Hampshire and Vanessa with her equally big life in NYC..

Update on Lucy and the pups: The whole little family, Lucy and the puppies, took a trip to our neighborhood vet, "The Affordable Vet" (and it was), only 2 blocks away, yesterday morning. Mother and pups were pronounced healthy and safe. We loved the vet and the staff there and found out that the vet tech, who has whelped many litters of her own, used to work on Marathon Key at the Dolphin Research Center which we know and love. The vet asked Markel and I if we had named them.....nope, so far it's just One, Two, and Three.....

Lucy has come through this as a champ. She wasn't too happy last night though with the house full. She was sequestered in the bedroom tolerating tiny peeks from family and friends, but she wasn't happy, she yelled (in bark-speak) at all of us to keep it down......"I have little babies in here you know". As soon as everyone left she settled down. I think every woman who has given birth knows how protective you are when you have that new little baby. Lucy is a stellar mom.

Other good news of the art related sort. Dyan from Island Style, in Key West, called on Wednesday because someone came in to her store and bought an entire grouping of pieces, 13 in all, and wiped her out of all her flowers in various sizes. We have to send her an emergency shipment. Just for the record, the most sold at one time was 24 pieces to a woman at an art fair in Chicago, who bought 13 for herself, and then came back the next day and bought 11 more for her sister, because she knew her sister would want her to give her some of the ones she had bought for herself and she didn't want to have to.

Other, other good news.......we will be selling our work locally at the most delightfully winsome store, RED SHOES, 332 South Ashley in Ann Arbor, owned by the most adorable proprietess, Catherine Thursby, who sells her own artwork, a to-die-for collection of fantastic vintage finds, other artist's art work, and assorted charming goodies. Going into her store is an instantaneous way to lift your spirits. I will be posting pics of her store soon after we get some of our work to her. We are so honored to be added to her collection of wonderful things.....and you know she has to have something special going on there because she has been graced with fairy inhabitants....check out the link to the fairy door stories, Urban-Fairy Doors, above right, for something very, very cool.

I've added a link to Catherine's store, Red Shoes on the top right of the page. Please take a look even if you don't live in Michigan, because her website is pure eye-candy. She also writes a delightful blog, Red Shoes Blog, also linked above, that is sweet, always entertaining and fun to keep up with. More about her store soon, when we bring her our work, but right now mama Lucy is whining to go out, so more later.

The big event- Lucy's three sons

2007-05-10T10:27:00.000-05:00

This is Lucy, the daughter of our chihuahua Penny, sister of our little Emma. Penny was the mother of our beloved Emma and the mother of Lucy (her father was a long-haired chihuahua). Emma was killed by a car last fall soon after we moved to Michigan.
These puppies are Shi-Chi's, half Shih-Tzu/half Chihuahua. Their father is a Shih-Tzu, the same father that fathered Emma. Lucy is a chihuahua. Her father was a very handsome long-haired chihuahua named Winslow.
It was a bit of scare. I had to pull the first puppy out, the little brown one. I could see little feet, but after 40 minutes of straining he wasn't being born. I consulted my puppy whelping websites and they all said that I was going to have to pull him out, but that it might kill him. Shaking like a leaf, I reached up, glove on and was able to get a grip on his little body and gently pull. He came out squalling, full of vigor. Lucy went to work on him and thank goodness he is fine.
Today we will take Lucy and the pups into the vet because my fingers might have introduced bacteria that could cause an infection.
The other two puppies were born at 45 minute intervals with no trouble, breathing immediately, showing vigor and nursing right away. Lucy is proving to be a devoted mother.
The three pups and I share a birthday..... YAY!!!!!

birthday puppies

2007-05-10T09:50:00.000-05:00

Here they are. My birthday present. These three little guys were born in the early morning hours- three boys and Lucy did beautifully. She is a great mother, instantly attentive.

this week's batch.....frogs, leslie suns and....

2007-05-04T10:53:00.000-05:00

Frogs, suns, hummingbirds, butterflies ready to make the long trek to their respective galleries- Garden Argosy in Sarasota, Dennison-Moran Gallery in Naples and Island Style Galleries in Key West and on Sanibel.

......hummingbirds and butterflies

2007-05-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

....all ready to go on their big journey to the galleries where they will be for sale. (Click on the links at the top part of the page to connect with galleries).

Coming along slowly

2007-05-03T11:58:00.000-05:00

This is the progression on the painting, "They Had The Feeling That They Were Surrounded". Along with the design work that we have been making for galleries I have been working on this painting, which is really a love letter to my mother Phyllis, and her two sisters, June and Margaret.

It really is true that artists dream in front of their work. I didn't set out to make this about my mother and my aunts. It just happened that the figures began to feel like them and I found myself thinking of them, which then compounded their existence in the painting.

My mother and her two sisters have always been very close and still are in a way that is impressive and profound. These sisters are drawing strength from one another, like my mother and her two sisters protect and enliven one another. The souls of their guardian angels, parents, relatives, friends hover around them.

Though I seem to most prominently feel my mother and my aunts in this painting, my sisters, my daughters, my grand-daughter are in this painting too. In each face I can see little bits of each of them. They take turns in my thoughts as the paintbrush continues to define the figures, fleshing them out. We are all so connected of course.

The youngest girl is my mother, but she is also my sister Lynne, my daughter Liz, and my grand-daughter June. The eldest daughter is my Aunt June, but she is also my cousin Carol and me. The middle sister is my Aunt Margie, but she is also my daughter Eva and my sister Mary. My grandmother and grandfather, guardian angels and others who love us, who have died, hover around us all, caressing, whispering and guiding.

How are we really doing?

2007-05-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Perisistence and determination alone are omnipotent".
- Calvin Coolidge

A loyal customer, who is also a friend, wrote and asked me how I was really doing. She noticed that I haven't been doing much of the diary part of our re-invention and I've been thinking about her question all weekend and realizing a few things.

The first thing is the whole nature of blogs, which can be interesting to the person who writes them, but also feel like a bit of a shot in the dark to the writer, a bit of self-indulgence,as in," will anyone really even read this, or want to"? I do appreciate that people have been keeping up with us, and apologize for not providing more information on our progress. The truth is we've been having a really rough time, an important, valuable, growing time, but a hard time. I haven't wanted to burden anyone with our woes, our struggles.

The old cliche of being artists and not business people causes eyes to roll and I don't blame anyone for eye-rolling. Our own eyes are rolling, believe me, but the absolute truth is that if I were an artist with a big money making potential like we had, and I didn't have a business background, or a dad with a business background.....the FIRST money I'd spend, before going another step, would be on hiring a good accountant/book-keeper with a background in retail and/or art, who likes you, is smart, likes your work and is willing to tell you the absolute and sometimes unpopular truth about the money and what you should and should not do with it.

Dot those I's, cross those T's, go forth with all of your little ducks in a row. We really did not know what we were doing with the riches of our success and unfortunately we didn't get the right help until it was too late for our beloved store. Would we have actually accepted the help? Another question entirely.

So how are we? I am still, 18 months after closing, mourning the loss of our store. We closed in November of 2005 after 4 hurricanes struck in 4 months. I'm still reconciling what doesn't seem fair to us, a risk that is part of life, that it was too late to save the store, after we had finally overhauled and streamlined the business making it smaller and more efficient. We had whittled our staff down to a very tiny, handleable crew (2 people besides Markel and I), moved out of a large, expensive studio into a house where we could work for a third of the price of the studio. We were so excited to make it work. The amazing and wonderful thing was that a smaller operation was going to make us more money and be so much less to handle greatly decreasing our work load. Our store was a little cherry and it had been the biggest money maker in our bloated venture.

We had finally found a talented mentor/business manager who was very hands on and had shown us that we could be out of debt within a year if we made radical changes, persevered, worked hard, stayed focused.....but as fate would have it, the 4 hurricanes struck, knocking us down and oooooooout.

It's now May of 2007, 18 months later and 12 months after writing about why we closed our store. It has been an extrememly tough haul. We moved from the Florida Keys last August, back to Ann Arbor, MI to be near our grandchildren (which has been of paramount importance), family and old friends. We are running a smaller business, picking up and starting over. We know we have to move on and I have been trying. I know it does no good to keep on mourning the store and I am working at moving on.....In these 18 months Markel and I have uncovered every stone, examined every mis-step going back to our beginning....(and even before our beginning to our individual beginnings). We have suffered from our loss and our deep financial debts....and here is where I am tempted to erase all of what I've written, but I won't, because this is what is honest.....it hasn't been easy and we've been discouraged, humiliated, grieving, worried, reclusive. We still owe a lot of money to people we love, who believed in us. That has been the largest sorrow, disappointing people who counted on us and trusted us.

We, mostly I, admittedly fell down for awhile, unable to see the way, paralyzed by stress and loss. Our good friends and family have helped us and we are back to struggling the good struggle, doing our artwork, working on our inner selves, the important kind of internal work that is honest and searing, that reveals new growth making positive steps forward possible... We absolutely know that in the scheme of things we are so blessed.

Markel and I are clearer now about our future than ever before, our vision as a team, our direction forward. We are both, as a team thankful for the design line, which sells so well and has been so good to us and has such devoted followers and collectors. Now that we are making it all ourselves we see it improving and continuing to evolve. We are fortunate to have the design line as our "day job', with our original work an arm's length away.

When our operation was so big and unwieldy with the store and art fairs, wholesale, a big studio, 20 employees, everything felt so out of control. Being small and concentrated has brought us back to making work for a very few galleries, looking toward to doing some art fairs, working on our original pieces, maintaining a smaller work life that is easier for us to handle and control. In summary, we're ok, still a little battered, definitely wiser, still not quite over the loss of the store, but knowing that we have to move on for our own good and those who depend on us. We haven't given up, that's the important thing and our strongest intention is to set things right, repay our debts even if it takes the rest of our lives to do it, and do it all better this time.....I'm even allowing myself to dream that another store might be in my future someday....we'll see,

Thank you so much for all of your kind words and for the show of support to everyone who has written to us. Thanks for wanting to know how we are.

"I bend, but I do not break" -Jean de La Fontaine

mini sculpture

2007-04-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

The mini's are hand-painted table top size sculpture. Shown above are mini flowers, fish, cats and leslie suns.

Our design line

2007-04-23T14:31:00.000-05:00

To see examples of our whole design line click on the link below that says "design line". Some of you have requested photos of our full line to help you decide what you'd like to order. Hope this helps. The photos above are examples of the hummingbird and flower, butterfly and flower and a frog. The frog is shown as a close-up, but it does come with a stem and mosaic base.

Singing the blues: flowers for Garden Argosy in Sarasota

2007-04-23T11:36:00.000-05:00

The great thing about painting these flowers is the total freedom it offers us to play with the paint and color them imaginatively and vividly. When I have these on my table in front of me it is absolutely impossible to be gloomy. Painting them is sheer enjoyment.
Spring is bursting out all over and these flowers have places to go, people to see, homes to engrace. This particular crop of tiny flowers and a whole bunch of other great work is making its way to Garden Argosy in Sarasota.

more Leslie suns for Maddi's

2007-04-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

....more suns on their way to maddi's gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina. They have a nice collection of Leslie and Markel suns made for the wall and standing with a stem and mosaic base.

Send Flowers

2007-04-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

The flowers that never die, a spectacular garden that can keep on growing. Buy an entire grouping, add slowly to your collection each year, or just buy one outstanding piece and enjoy it for many, many years to come. These flowers offer a breath of springtime, a touch of summer all year round and are suitable for indoor or outdoor placement.
Flowers are sold in 5 sizes: large (6ft. plus), medium (51/2 feet tall), small (4.5-5ft. tall), tiny (3.5-4feet), and tabletop (12-18 inches).
All flowers come with a hand-made, mosaic (using hand-painted glass) concrete base.

small pieces

2007-04-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

These are examples from our tabletop line of sculpture, all hand painted and one of a kind. A little bit of purplebabydaddies goes a long way.

yellow flower examples

2007-04-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

There is absolutely no better way to chase away the winter grays than with a bright yellow flower that will bloom all year round. Make a garden in your kitchen, your foyer, your bathroom. Live with spring and summer year round. Call or e-mail for prices. There is a link to galleries that carry these flowers on the top of the page or you can can get in touch with us directly. What are you waiting for? Support your artists....;)!

purplebabydaddies at Maddi's Gallery

2007-03-18T17:14:00.000-05:00

The first shipment this week of March 18th, 2007, to Maddi's Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina will be suns for the wall and standing suns. For more information on Maddi's Gallery, please click on the link for Maddi's Gallery on the top right of the page under the heading: galleries that carry our work.

Leslie Victoria Leland paintings- February 2007

2007-02-23T17:44:00.000-05:00

Coloring I
See the World: Receive and Give
Coloring II

purplebabydaddies studios- fall/winter 2007

2007-02-10T23:18:00.000-05:00

Big contrast going from the Keys to Michigan. It has been a weird winter, 40's- high 50's and am I remembering 60's (?......pacific northwest weather). In any case, then it plunged into the subzero's.
Note the wild fluctuations in the weather. Very weird, and how very monumental and impressive, this earth's reaction is, to what is hurting it.
Winter has really put me into a reflective state. It is so cocoon-like. There is a real drawing in which I must say I have enjoyed, but oh the weather. It has been extreme.
I am here for a very good reason though and would rather be absolutely nowhere else...(for now, most likely a fairly long now).
In any case, Markel and I have continued to do our work for our galleries (listed below) and we are slowly storing up work for art fairs and a gallery showing at some point, we haven't even started looking for galleries yet. We're still reacquainting ourselves with stretching our wings. It's a balance that we're always striving to accomplish.

We actually notice feeling guilty when we take time out of the design work to do our originals. Frustrating when you can't take the time to really be creative, but the sculpture and paintings are a future sale, while the design work remains popular and instant money ( and here's where I have to say thank goodness, so fortunate that we have work that sells so well). In any case, I think we've been doing a lot better with our balancing act, slow and steady go the turtles.

I've added a lot so don't forget to scroll down.

We will be showing at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs in July. More information coming,

or call 1-734-883-5797

email: leslievictorialeland@hotmail.com

Fall-Winter (2006-2007) Work by Markel and Leslie

2007-02-10T22:32:00.000-05:00

markel sculpture

2007-02-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

leslie's paintings

2007-02-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

markel's new sculpture

2007-02-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

leslie's faces on metal

2007-02-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

large and medium sized flower tops

2007-02-10T21:32:00.000-05:00

Leslie's suns- table size and for the wall

2007-02-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

Mini flowers and wall pieces

2007-01-21T09:27:00.000-05:00

We are well known for our standing sculptures, which we still make and sell, however we have added mini sculptures and wall pieces to our repertoire.

Having our store in Key West and serving a traveling clientele who we shipped to regularly, alerted us to the fact that pieces that easily fit in a suitcase like the mini's and smaller wall pieces do, were an attractive alternative for easier, more economic transport, .
Our customers also requested pieces for the wall and more affordable pieces, which is why we have developed the mini-size sculptures for a table-top. All of our work is available for sale without the stem and base, with a wire added for hanging indoor or outside on a patio, pool, or deck wall.

The top photo shows a collection of the mini flowers that we do, and a mini cat at far left.

Also shown, in middle photo above, a wall fish. They come in sizes from tiny, 9 inches to as big as a customer wants. The one shown is approximately 24 inches long.
Bottom photo- Wall sun by Markel. This one is large- about 30inches x 30 inches. We also do these much smaller and much larger.

The mini's

2007-01-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

This is a new item for us. Mini sculptures, each one original, hand-painted by Markel and Leslie. They replace the paper print line that we once did and that were approximately the same size, 10inches- 24 inches tall. The prints were xerox copies of our original work which were flat, applied to metal and then embellished.
We like these a lot better and they are all original.
Retail prices range from $65 - $95.

This is a wall sun by leslie, 16 x 16 inches, and available in a range of sizes.

Mini- sun by Markel.
Mini cat

Mini flowers and fish

2006-11-27T09:18:00.000-05:00

mini flowers with bug and mosaic base: $85

wall fish: $45( 8-10inches)-$300 (60inches)

shown: orange fish- $175

blue/green fish- $145

Small Fish and Mini Cats

2006-11-27T09:09:00.000-05:00

We have added small standing 3-d fish to our design line that come with a mosaic base. They retail for $225 and up for larger sizes.

The mini cats retail for $75.

new painting

2006-11-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

work on the painting that I started in the Keys is progressing slowly in between working on the design line.

Florida trip- Fall 2006

2006-11-15T07:21:00.000-05:00

Markel in the backyard of our friend's house in Naples. We took a fast trip to Florida to make a million bases to leave at the galleries that carry us in Florida.
This mermaid is on sale at Sanibel, Florida's Island Style Gallery.
New painting by Leslie
Millions of bases for our sculptures that sell at Dennison-Moran in Naples and Island Style in Key West and Sanibel Island in Florida.

purplebabydaddies: More Mirrors

2006-06-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

More mirrors in a larger size.
We can do them any size!

purplebabydaddies: new 3-D cats

2006-06-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

New cats....made of fiberglass bodies (instead of flat metal), they can still be placed outdoors. Bodies formed by markel and painted by leslie

purplebabydaddies: new 3-D mermaids

2006-06-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

Markel has done it again....another development, that started with the fish and suns and will probably extend to everything he designs.

The once flat metal mermaids have taken on form, built with fiberglass bodies, they are very strong and suitable for outdoor placement.
On these particular mermaids, Markel built the forms, Leslie painted them....though it isn't always the case, we don't have a set formula for the design work which we divide between us....

A red head and a blonde, both full of spice and vinegar.

purplebabydaddies: painting and talking to Lynne

2006-05-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

I stayed up till 3:30 am last night with my paint brush in one hand, and the telephone in the other, talking to my sister Lynne.....about- a half of a million sister type things.

I think the painting is done....This has many, many layers of paint, which I like, because it gives the surface a very rich, luscious texture. It's small, 10in.x8in.
It feels so good to be painting.

purplebabydaddies: Huge Flowers

2006-05-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

purplebabydaddies: Huge Flowers

2006-05-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

This is a purplebabydaddies flower, sure to make a statement wherever it is placed. It is suitable for outdoor placement, but people put them everywhere- foyers, by hot tubs, bathrooms, kitchens.
Last year a woman bought one from us saying that it was her 11th flower and all of them were in her kitchen, a huge indoor flower garden.
They come in all sizes. The one shown at the left is a medium-sized one. It is 5ft. 8inches tall, but the size range available is from 15 inches tall to over 6ft. and the prices range from $95 to $325.
Each one comes with a handmade mosaic base embedded with glass hand-painted by the artists.

purplebaydaddies: flowers and flamingoes

2006-05-28T11:08:00.000-05:00

Flowers and flamingoes, indoor-outdoor sculpture by Leslie and Markel Leland available for sale now at
Dennison- Moran Gallery in Naples

1-239-263-0590
Island Style Galleries in Key West

1-305-292-7800
Sanibel Island

1-239-472-6657
Though we make many flowers and flamingoes, each piece is painted and embellished differently, a one of a kind piece.

Stay tuned for 3-D cats and mermaids.

purplebabydaddies: on e-bay?

2006-05-22T18:07:00.000-05:00

An enterprising seller has decided to give selling our work on ebay a whirl, with a couple of my pieces. We know nothing about Ebay so we're glad she is trying, and we are happy to provide her with the work to sell.

This is one of my pieces that she has listed. The face is painted on primed, galvanized steel, attached to a copper stem, which is anchored in a hand-made mosaic base embedded with hand-painted glass
and a painted border.

It is 15 inches tall and the widest part of the base is 10 inches.
Like most of our pieces it is treated with laquer so that it could placed outside on a deck, or garden table, or used inside, anywhere....

It is ebay item number-7417372233 in case you're interested in seeing how it's doing.

There is also a small panting of mine and a very nice small Markel sculpture.

We enjoy making the art, and other people enjoy selling it. Perfect combination.
Something new, purplebabydaddies adventures in e-bay land.

purplebabydaddies: back to making mirrors

2006-05-21T17:10:00.000-05:00

New Mirrors by purplebabydaddies designs, painted by Leslie Leland, can be purchased at Island Style Galleries in Key West and on Sanibel Island, as well as Dennison-Moran Gallery in Naples, Florida.

The one shown on right comes with a wire on the back and is ready to hang.
It measures 15inches (from the top of the flower to the bottom)by 15 inches, but they can be made in any size.

on right:
detail of flower and butterfly

materials: galvanized metal, acrylic paint, clay, and wire

purplebabydaddies: large wall suns

2006-05-18T15:50:00.000-05:00

This is a markel sun for the wall and suitable for placement inside or out. It is 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet. Colors shown are not necessarily true as it is difficult to accurately photograph and print them. It is very vivid and hot in color.
This is a close-up of the markel sun shown above, a mixture of painted metal, wire, hand-painted glass, and clay.
Markel sun for the wall in cool colors, also 2.5 feet x 2.5 feet and suitable for indoor or outdoor palcement.
Close-up of Markel sun from above. The suns were completed on May 18th, 2006 and are available from Island Style Gallery in Key West- 305-292-7800

purplebabydaddies: New Faces in New Sizes

2006-05-17T10:20:00.000-05:00

Markel and Leslie Leland, designers and producers of the purplebabydaddies design line have reprised the tabletop sculpture sunface that they briefly began making last spring.

It is as detailed as the larger pieces but it's smaller size makes a place on the mantle or an outdoor garden table an easy addition.

On the studio table, very close to being finished are two large markel sunfaces specifically made for the wall.

Markel continues to increase the complexity of the surface design with his use of metal, paint, wire, glass, plastic and clay. The finished pieces will be shown on this site within the next few days.

The new-sized suns will be available for sale at Dennison-Moran Gallery in Naples and at Island Style galleries in Key West and on Sanibel Island very soon. Please call the galleries for information on purchasing one.

purplebabydaddies: Hurricane Wilma- October 2005

2006-05-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

Top picture: Our god-daughter, Marisa, pointing to how high the water came up during the flood.

Middle: My friend Martha's (Marisa's mother's) house where we weathered the storm

Bottom: Leslie, photo taken on May 10, 2006

We were very lucky.
Markel and I had evacuated to that house, my friend Martha's house, after putting our cars up on high ground at the local middle school. We didn't want to leave because if the storm bypassed us, as they often do, we needed to be able to open the store right away. We had already lost so much money with the 3 other storms that had hit the Keys before Wilma last summer.

We had weathered the whole night of the storm,wide awake and finally fallen asleep when Eva woke me up at 9am to ask how we were doing-
When I opened the front door to look outside, that's when I saw the floodwaters, which were still rising! What a sight; I couldn't believe it.

The houses on either sides of Martha's house are at ground level and they were full of seawater, boats driven by teen-age boys were going down the middle of the street trying to help people in trouble, and cars still parked out front were filled with water. We had no idea how much higher the water was going to go, but fortunately it stopped rising where Marisa is pointing.

Martha (who evacuated to Michigan with her family) had a storage shed in her backyard which had come loose and impaled itself on the fence leading to the back. All of the contents of her shed were ruined and belongings were floating all over the back, bobbing in the water.......all of her stored antique and new Christmas ornaments, books, artwork by her parents, photographs, paperwork....it was heartbreaking to see.

Our own house on Ramrod Key is also at ground level and we just assumed that it had been flooded. When the flood waters receded later on that day, we managed to drive to our house to survey the damage we were amazed to find that our house hadn't flooded. Apparently our property is on one of the highest parts of Ramrod Key. The water rose two inches according to our next door neighbor. Our storage place was also dry and our cars were safe. Our store didn't flood either. We were very lucky! Some people lost everything, cars, furniture, photos.....you name it. We were very lucky, because like many others down here we have no insurance.....for those who did, there are a lot of car dealers and furniture store owners who had a very good year.

purplebabydaddies: Markel Leland New Work

2006-05-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

3-D sculpture before painting it
Leslie and Markel- May 2006

The Changing Painting

2006-05-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

Painting is a little like sculpting. You can carve away the image you're looking for, adding paint and "carving" into the image again.

I have to be careful of the emotional state that I'm in when I paint because it always come through in the image, especially the face.
The photos show the progression of the painting, the top being first and the last being where it is now, still not done.

Markel and I watched the DVD Capote a few nights ago and the face I painted in the second frame reminded me of the face of the actor who played thekiller Capote befriended.... that bothered me, so I altered it, then it became the face of a woman I know, who I am not very fond of.....and that didn't set well either, so now, in the last frame I'm happier with that face, but not completely settled on it.

Last night Markel and I watched a documentary about David Hockney where he talked about painting his mother's face over 12 times until he got it where he wanted it.....which illustrates the wonders and plasticity of paint

purplebabydaddies: Markel Leland- Then.....

2006-05-08T15:58:00.000-05:00

markel leland- early work from the early 1990's

purplebabydaddies:.....and now

2006-05-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

markel leland, May 2006, working on the background of what will be a 3-D figure

purplebabydaddies: Back to the Beginning

2006-05-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

Photos above show early work (from the early 1990's) by purplebabydaddies designer,
Markel Leland
After a decade devoted to developing the purplebabydaddies design line Markel Leland is once again making a return to the creation of original artworks.
Though he and his wife Leslie are still creating the popular design line which sells in galleries nationally, they are both working on larger scale works in preparation for a gallery showing.

purplebabydaddies: Why we Closed the Store.

2006-05-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

The photos above show a painting in progress, still unfinished, and a photo of the actual still life that I was working from.

WARNING: The following blog entry is the longest writing I will probably ever do on this blog. It is the story of us closing our store. It is long and boring, an exercise in self-indulgence, interesting probably only to people who wondered what the heck happened to our store in Key West. Beyond it are more photos of art work, so feel free to skip this long writing and view the ART!

After delivering artwork to Island Style in Key West on Friday evening, we took Saturday and Sunday as days to work on our own pieces. We are dividing our time between making design line art work for the three galleries that carry the purplebabydaddies design line and working on a body of work to present as a gallery showing in a fine art gallery.

Do people really spend a lot of time reading blogspots? I guess I see myself gearing this toward the people on our mailing list who lost track of us when we closed down our store and went into seclusion.

We went into seclusion to regain our composure, get over the loss of our store, and figure out what we were going to do with the mountain of debt that we were left with, after 4 hurricanes hit us last summer, and we suddenly had a store full of merchandise and display furniture that we had to pack up within 3 days.

We were already fragile due to the hurricane season the year before. Two bad years in a row seemed impossible. Key West wasn't affected directly, 2 summers ago in 2004, but almost all of the rest of Florida was, and instead of coming to the Keys on vacation, like they usually did, a majority of Floridians were busy putting roofs on their houses. Retail sales were already down going into the hurricane season last summer.

.....Ironically, we had finally and gratefully, given up on our dreams of a big purplebabydaddies operation with a store, a wholesale design line selling to galleries nationally, a website, all being done with no reserve capitol. In fact, we were in debt, bailing water out of the boat as fast as we could. We had hired a bookeeper, finally, who showed us that we could have a pretty good business, a simpler life, pay off our debt, if we just did it all ourselves. As an artist friend from Ann Arbor used to say, "Keep it small, keep it all".

So, we whittled down our employees from 12 people to 1 person, which was emotionally wrenching in itself, letting long-time faithful employees go and others who depended on us for a job. If we wanted to save the business and pay our bills it was the only way and at first, it was going pretty well.

I was able to paint in the store, Markel and his 1 studio assisstant were able to make enough to keep the store stocked. We were planning on making a lot more of our original pieces. Out the window went the website and wholesaling to the 30 galleries who bought from us. We were concentrating on the store and wholesaling to 2 galleries, Island Style and Dennison- Moran. The store was capable of making good money all on it's own, and I LOVED my store.

We weren't out of the woods financially, we owed a lot of money, and we were consistently late paying the store rent, but we could see that by the end of the season in May 2006, we would have the bulk of our debts paid off if we kept our nose to the grindstone and worked really hard all year and kept our overhead low.

This was a very significant change for us. We had been trying to go large-scale for about 10 years and had made every mistake in the book- paying too much for materials, not hiring a professional book-keeper and accountant, paying our employees too much, not charging enough for our work, renting very expensive stores, also being two artist types with no business experience, who weren't as organized as we needed to be, and most significantly we didn't have enough capitol.

It's amazing we lasted as long as we did, and it's probably too bad that we did, because the stress we've been under has been horrendous. Thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars passed through our hands.

I know this sounds trite, but we did learn so much about the business of art, running a store, about ourselves and our capabilities, and our goals.

We had stopped being artists. We became slaves to our design line, which we love. We are proud of it and it's successful and continues to sell like crazy. but only making the design line is not what we wanted. The original idea, which was Markel's, was that we would make a design line, that could be made by others, bringing in money, so that we could make our original work.

I wasn't keen on the idea in the beginning, I was happy sharing a house and studio with my husband, each of us doing our own work, traipsing off to art fairs to sell, all over the country.

We jumped in to the project together, but before long I was having to run the whole operation. I was adequate at it, and wanted to get some expert help like a bookeeper but Markel is a renaissance man and felt that we could do it all ourselves. He wasn't cut out for managing people at all. It's not that he didn't work hard, he was a very hard worker, continually fine-tuning and improving the design line. He was inconsistent and dis-interested in the nuts and bolts of the operation and ambivalent about the whole big mess, but we had orders to fill and people depending on us for paychecks, and then a store to run.....so began our ten year stint as the stressed out owners of a business that was continually in crisis.

It was about that time that I stopped painting. I think that has been the biggest problem, that Markel stopped doing experimental, push the envelope and stretch art works and I stopped painting altogether.

Markel was doing very edgy, emotionally-charged, raw work that sold incredibly well when I first met him and I was painting my canvasses, when we took this other road. One of the main motivations was that Markel was disheartened by taking work that he had suffered over, some tortured, wrenched out of a deep place, emotionally-charged piece, to a show, and have a person, look at it, say, "Wow, that's fun!", slap a check in his hand and walk away with the piece. It's a little like someone coming and taking one of your children away. Never easy. I think he's resolved that issue. We'll see.

But, I've gotten way ahead of myself.....So, there we were, our new plan in place, working 7 days a week, overhead cut WAY back, just praying to be able to keep our heads above water till the tourist season started again in late October......but then the hurricanes started coming. One in July, then another in August, then September and finally the biggie in October, Hurricane Wilma, which flooded the homes and businesses of residents from Key West to the top of the Keys, AND happened right when our biggest event, Fantasy Fest, a 10 day extravaganza that brings in a huge crowd, lots of money and marks the end of a long, hot, slow season in a huge, blow-out, town- wide, wonderful party.

Every time a storm comes all of the tourists are evacuated, businesses and houses have to be battened down for the impending storm and then residents are asked to evacuate. It is exhausting physically, emotionally it is paralyzing- we knew we were losing money, fear of the potential damage of the impending storm is unnerving......

FOUR STORMS!!! FOUR STORE CLOSINGS!!!
FOUR EVACUATIONS!!!

We had been doing so well in the early summer. Surprisingly, Key West, in June and July, half of August was always relatively good for us; lots of families, international travelers, enjoying balmy nights and warm waters. Both of us sold major pieces in the $2000-$3000 range, I had found a great rhythm in the store and was beginning to make some headway on our bills, but with each successive storm we slipped further behind.

After the 4th storm we were two and a half months (of $5500.00 a month rent), behind in the rent, and had given all the money we had left, $3000, to our landlady, in good faith, promising to pay all of the rent due and the back-rent and late fees by the end of January, by making weekly payments to her, something that was absolutely do-able if she was willing to wait. She took the money, indicating that she would work with us, and then out of the blue, a few days later she came into the store and slapped a 3-Day eviction notice on our counter! Complete Shock!

Later we found out that a store owner down the block had off-handedly mentioned to our landlady that we had mentioned thinking of moving our location to a less hurricane prone place after we got financially stable, which is true, we did say that, but it was in response to the stress of the 4 hurricanes and everyone was freaking out, and we were just having a conversation....and who knows what we would have actually done. In any case, upon hearing the news, our landlady reportedly became very agitated and a day later we had the 3-day eviction notice on our counter. Sigh.

So, we went. Maybe we could have fought harder, but we didn't have any more strength, no one to go too, we already owed everyone we knew money.....we waved the surrender flag and decided to close. With the help of good friends, (amazingly we were out of there in 5 days), the store that I had felt that I could have kept into my old age was gone. Displays that I have been collecting for years were given away, put out on the street, merchandise was packed up and is in storage. Our security deposit of two months covered the back rent we owed, thank goodness.

Divine Intervention? Maybe, maybe not, I still regret losing the store. If it was divine intervention, it didn't feel like that until just recently.

My feelings of loss and failure, worries about how we were going to make money, feelings of guilt about money owed to people we love, artists we care about, were so paralyzing that I could barely move for months. markel did better. I was the one who loved the store and knew how good it was and what it's potential was.

We lived on very little money in those first months as we re-invented our business. We didn't even have money for materials at first. Those were dark months and we had a hard time asking for help, because people had already given us so much help. Fortunately, our families and close friends helped us even though we didn't ask. I have never been so devastated. Having something that I put so much work, money, time, love into suddenly being gone in 5 days has taken some time to get over.

We closed the store in the beginning of November and now it's the beginning of May. I'd say that we have just started feeling optimistic and good again. Our life is smaller and we are regaining our health. We lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pasta with parmesan cheese and olive oil and hostess cupcakes because we couldn't manage anything more complex. I couldn't even go to the store. Markel had to go and that's all he could seem to manage to buy......I gained 40 pounds.

We're better, our life is more manageable, slower-paced. We are responsible for less people since we don't have anyone working for us. Our design line artwork is much better because we're making it all ourselves. We're on South Beach Diet, cooking wonderful food everyday and the weight is dropping off.....we are walking and riding bikes, reading, watching movies from Netflix and making art, slowly re-establishing ourselves so we can get at that big pile of bills we still owe.

In fact, I feel very grateful that Markel and I get to get up everyday and make art, work at our house, take time out for a bike ride or a swim, that we are safe and healthy, making progress, and we have the time to work on our larger pieces. I miss my store, still, but I am ok.

My biggest regret is not having been able to pay off our debts, but we're determined to pay them. It will just take longer.

We're both scared of, and motivated by the same thing- dying before we fulfill our potentials as artists, so we're figuring it out and working at making each day count.

More New Work at Island Style-Key West

2006-05-05T20:44:00.000-05:00

These are new purplebabydaddies works on sale at Island Style gallery in Key West, FL

purplebabydaddies at Island Style Gallery- May 2006

2006-05-04T16:41:00.000-05:00

These are new sculptures that Markel Leland has
delivered to Island Style Gallery at 620 Duval Street in Key West, FL

Call Island Style at 1-305-292-7800 for information about purchasing.

Markel Leland, the creator of purplebabydaddies, is showing at Island Style, 620 Duval Street, Key West

2006-05-04T00:11:00.000-05:00

The sun face shown below, a Markel Leland signature piece, is almost completed. Markel and Leslie Leland will be delivering newly completed sculpture and wall pieces to the popular Key West Gallery, Island Style, Friday, the 5th of May, 2006. The gallery has been selling the purplebabydaddies design line in Key West since purplebabydaddies closed their doors in November of 2005.The photo below is a close-up of the labor inensive works Markel Leland creates out of metal, wire, painted glass, and clay. They are all suitable for indoor-outdoor use.
please call Island Style at 1-305-292-7800
or visit the store at
620 Duval Street
Key West, FL 33040
to inquire about the availability of pieces.

We will be posting more photos of completed purplebabydaddies pieces at the gallery itself on this Friday, 5/05/06

The painting above is 5inches by 5inches
and was completed on May 3, 2006
by Leslie Leland.

Her paintings are sold directly through her.
For more information on their availability

please contact her at:
leslievictoria@msn.com
Leslie and Markel- 1996

Hello and thanks for looking

2006-04-30T14:27:00.000-05:00

here it is, the funky little store that didn't survive the hurricane season of 2005....and the next photo is our little Michael. He talked his Aunt Eva into offering him up for sale (no one can say NO to this kid)- good thing we got there just as someone was buying him for $100,000,000,000,000,000.00, we very quickly put a stop to the sale. Poor Aunt Eva was crying and wringing her hands and Michael had begun to change his mind at the last minute.
The last photo is of the very funky studio living space we lived in for almost three years. It was completely destroyed during the storm season of 2005, and we had to move out.

Welcome to www.purplebabydaddies.blogspot.com

2006-04-30T01:42:00.000-05:00

Before I start writing out long essays about the loss of our store, the state of our business now, and our continuing artwork, and whatever else pops into my head I want to post some photos of the work we've been doing. I will be posting new photos often, and Markel will be writing from time to time also.

We have supported ourselves this last year, since closing our store in November of 2005, by supplying 3 galleries with our work, Dennison-Moran gallery in Naples, Florida and two Island Style Galleries, one on Sanibel Island, Florida and the other in Key West. Garden Argosy, in Sarasota also has our new work.

The new design-line work is in those galleries for sale. Our paintings and sculpture are in the early development stage and indeed some of the paintings of mine, shown here, are still in progress. Our plan is to create a show's worth. We are starting to look for gallery representation right now of a different kind then the gift galleries that show our standing, design-line sculpture.

It's been a very heart-wrenching year, a humbling, ego-crushing year, but we are enjoying a much more reflective, slower-paced life, much more conducive to creating more contemplative and ambitious artworks, and we are finally adjusting to being artist's and not store owners, which seems now to be a blessing in disguise. We are very fortunate to be able to get up and make art everyday.

enjoy the photos......

lots of purplebabydaddies art work

2006-04-30T01:39:00.000-05:00

one of our darling tiny flowers

little painting/little sculpture

2006-04-30T01:29:00.000-05:00

This is a tiny little painting that signals my return to doing my own work, in addition to painting the design line that we sell to galleries. It's very fitting for me that I gave it to my godmother, my cherished Aunt Margie for her 82nd birthday.
this fish is part of our new mini-sculpture line. It's about 12 inches long and 24 inches high, including the stem, mosaic base, and extensions.

new art work by leslie and markel

2006-04-30T00:27:00.000-05:00

not the greatest photo, but this is a very cool little original sculpture by Markel
close-up of new 3-D Spring 2006 jumping fish for the wall or on a rod in a mosaic base
close-up of hand-made mosaic base by leslie and markel
frog by markel

swimming and making art

2006-04-30T00:17:00.000-05:00

this is a magical little spot for someone who loves shallow sandbars. It's my favorite spot to sit and dream.
this is part of our new mini-sculpture line. It's about 18 inches high with the mosaic base and this fish is about 14 inches long

this is a mini-sculpture sun for tabletops, when our large size ones are just more than a customer can bargain for.

purplebabydaddie's life: at home on the range

2006-04-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

This is Eva's bike, but I get to use it till she can get it up to New Hampshire. It's the most wonderful bike I've ever ridden.
Leslie at the secret swimming hole.
the glorious swimming hole, just a mile from our house.
Leslie's work space

new work by Leslie and Markel

2006-04-29T23:32:00.000-05:00

This flamingo is one of Markel's new pieces this spring. He has branched out into 3-dimensional work
tiny fish for the wall
medium flower top
close-up of medium flower

new work by Leslie and Markel

2006-04-29T23:27:00.000-05:00

This is a work in progress by leslie, a painting started over two years ago that my daughter Liz posed for. Now that our lives are turning back into focusing on our original work I am finally being able to work on it again.....not, not finished, but soon.
this is a tiny painting that I did in between making pieces for the galleries that sell our design line, also in progress
part of the new Markel, Spring-2006 design line. He has become bored with the flat metal and gone into
3-D forms
classic leslie sun