Art Show

Phoenix

I'm incredibly behind in posting but wanted to share all the goodies from my trip to visit the amazing and lovely Maija in Phoenix. She graciously invited me to stay with her while we went to Terri Brush's class hosted by Melrose Vintage. This is a pic of their gorgeous sign. I love the mix of retro/vintage and shabby chic.


The classes were held in the courtyard of a fabulous house in a lovely neighbor not too far from the Melrose area. All of the houses looked like they were from the 1920's-1940's with lots of character, stained glass with streets lined with palm trees. If I didn't know it could be up to 117 in the summer this neighbor could convince me to relocate. Alas, I'm scared of melting in the summer sun! I'm sticking with lots of visits.


A great pic of me and Maija taken by the lovely Tricia. She had a super cool printer that printed out these amazing pics in different styles including calendars. I've got my eye on a new toy!

The immensely talented Terri Brush, and a weird pic of me. Terri's class was one of my best classes ever. She does a great job of gearing it towards all levels so that beginners and more experienced artists all learned new techniques with everyone taking home awesome finished pieces. Terri and the Melrose ladies also went above and beyond in terms of supplying everyone with anything they might need including finished necklaces from Terri, sweet treats and all the sparkly goodies one might need to finish a piece. If you get an opportunity to attend a class, I can't recommend it enough.

One of my finished pieces - shield bracelet that I've worn 3 times since coming home!

Previously mentioned sparkly goodies!


p.s. For any foodie nerds out there, Maija also took me to the Trader Joe's where I wanted to take home one of everything! I settled on peanut butter, assorted chocolate and some recyclable bags since I can't resist a graphic bag!

p.s.s. Next post, I'll catch you up on this weekend and some of my new favorite shopping haunts. Plus, tomorrow is the premiere of V and I'm super excited as well as a giant geek!

Latest fun

I have been obsessed with Lisa Kaus's Dollies and wanted to take one of her workshops but so far it hasn't been doable with the schedule or the budget. I decided to tackle one on my own and it's been in pieces on my desk for a couple of months but she finally came together. I decided to layer her necklaces just like I would mine and added a little sparkle. I definitely have not mastered Lisa's beautiful glazing and layering, or the limb attachment trickery, but as a studio muse I think she's pretty good.

Now, for my other obsession, charm bracelets. My husband started one for me forever ago which is gold, not the most budget friendly, so I decided to start one in silver for places we've visited (pictured). I'm not sure the chain is going to work since it tends to get tangled but I love all the little collected charms. One of my favorites has to be the carriage from New Orleans and the Sherlock Holmes collection from London. This is giving me the perfect reason to scope out more trips!

Inspiration

I've been finding that I'm lacking inspiration lately. I'm contemplating settling in this weekend for some sure fire inspirational favorites like this and this and also this. I may also start working through this one with the exercises. I bought a new journal that just needs to be broken in and filled with lots of pretty things. I've also had a necklace sitting on my desk that I've been working on for 3 months now without noticeable progress. The sad part is that I know exactly what I want to do and it's simple wire wrapping and wire looping but so far, still only two sad beads have been attached. :)

I just got in some new beads perfect for earrings... see I think the books are working already!

Scotty Charm

This little guy I made a couple of weeks ago but wanted to share him with you guys. There's just something about this illustration that I found adorable like he's just about ready to pounce for a treat or kisses. He hasn't completely decided yet. I added instant age with my favorite charcoal pencil and a favorite number grouping just because I love typography and can't stop myself. Now, I wear him whenever possible! He's inspired a few new things I need to get up in the etsy store fairly quickly or I'm not going to make the monthly addition update goal I set for myself.

In other non art news we have lost all internet and cable at our houses for reasons AT&T have been unable to explain. Hopefully someone will be providing answers between 4-9 tonight. Yep, that's perilously close to my bedtime! We're hoping they mean close to 4. In the meantime, my internet access from home will be pretty limited but I have ways around it. :) Without cable or internet to entertain me, I've been perusing Amy Hanna's new book and I love it. She's such an inspiration and just generally an awesome women so I encourage anyone who loves vintage, jewelry or pretty things to grab this one at the first opportunity.

Slow moving Saturday

This is one of the favorite groupings in the house. It's got a great mining photo I found at the flea market (framing made it gorgeous but not quite a bargain), lovely prints from The Black Apple and a photo I got at the artists' market in Portland. I've been inspired by lot's of decorating blogs so decided to do my own little decorating update.

I did manage to get a few updates to my own Etsy shop today. One of my resolutions was to add to the shop monthly so I made it in the nick of time. I'm working on a couple of larger shrine pieces and may add one or two of those. I do have a tendency to get attached to the things I make probably because I tend to make things that I specifically like. Go figure! :)

I've been frantically trying to catch up to the latest in the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. They are the perfect historical romances and I find I stay in the bath tub far longer than I intend when reading them! These books also have lovely covers that I find really yummy.

Sunday's plan involves leaving the house for breakfast and a movie. We're thinking Taken looks like a good choice for the movie. I'm not sure we've seen a movie since this fall, we've become quite the homebodies!

Only half-dressed

This one is still in progress. She definitely needs a little something to perk her up although I'm very happy with how the charcoal pencil (thank you for the awesome tip Sally Jean - and if you could send the pendant I ordered in Sept or reply to my email I would be overjoyed!!!) really adds dimension and instant age/grit to the box.

I'm thinking of adding in some crayon coloring but have to admit I'm concerned about jacking it up but I just need to try it and add until I have a final result that I love. Tolerate. Don't mind. But, I have to tell you guys that I slam into the giant brick wall where I get nervous about experimentation. I have no idea why since it's just a fun kind of piece made with a broken doll, a $3 ornament, a cardboard box, paint and glitter so not a large or expensive cash output here. Still I hate to admit that the two months I've been working on it slowly were a waste but somehow everything feels like an art project that's getting graded by a super strict art teacher at the end and I really want that "A" and a gold star damn it! Okay, I'm just going to add some color, numbers, whatever I find on the desk and get over it.

Well, let me sleep on it.

Love Box

I've been working on this box since last week trying to get the paint layers right plus all the layers of paint and collage. I can't even say how happy I am with the results. I've talked about my love of Lisa Kaus here before but I really appreciate how open she's been with her work and techniques so I was able to create my own interpretation of her pieces since it's unlikely I'll be able to attend a class soon. Although it's definitely on my wish list for 2009!

The photo shows how I started with a few layers of paint. I wished I had taken step by step photos but I would be working on it then remember I should've taken a pic! Here's my step by step process. The base was two round wood chip boxes from Michael's that I gessoed then used absorbent ground on the entire piece. I coated with a few coats of red/pink/iridescent silver mixed with glazing liquid. Next I added a glaze of iridescent stainless steel (golden) and glazing liquid then started on the finishings. I discovered a nice trick of creating the scallops and circles with charcoal pencil so when I went in with the white paint the charcoal created a nice aging effect. The entire pieces were aged with charcoal pencil and I sealed them with workable fixative so the charcoal doesn't smear. Finally I added the collaged text, glitter and 3d elements (like the washers I keep on hand just for such purposes!). The final step was to use epoxy (this holds like magic) to connect the boxes together add the green handle, dice and doll head. Now, the entire piece is going to the mantle!

New Day New Post

I'm feeling much better about the world and my general state of well-being. Well, except for the part where I whacked myself in the head with the car door while trying to load the puppies in the car for doggie day care - seriously, clumsiest person on the planet. But even that doesn't have me down. Today's the last day of work before the holiday week and I plan to spend tomorrow with the puppies in the new studio. I've got tons of pics to show of the new construction on the patio, arty goodness and finally Silver Bella updates, whew! Big plans people, big plans!

But, in the mean time, I wanted to share a quick link with you in case you've been looking for a special way to give for the holidays. Kelly Rae Roberts has an incredibly inspiring story on her blog today. Check it out and if you have the means, give a little something to start the holiday season.

Pretty Little Felts

This book is awesome! Julie is one of the brilliant and lovely creators of the Art Nest and her new book is wonderful. It's full of projects that convince me I might actually be able to sew and give the perfect gifts for the holidays. Once I get done with all the travel in the next couple of weeks, I think I have my new projects lined up!

Colonial Crow

So when I saw this post on Jane Wynn's blog I headed to her Etsy shop  fast enough that I think it made one of those Wiley Coyote skidding noises. I was fast enough that I was able to snap it up and now it's all mine! I've worn it several times but today was the first day it ventured into the work world and it got lots of attention! I saw several looks of envy and there were lots of "it's fabulous" comments. Suzanne and I have been in a bit of necklace competition lately and she has declared me the winner. I'm not saying it was this piece but there you go. :)

Chandeliers Everywhere

I love chandeliers and was thrilled to see this pendant at Michael's. I wanted to keep it simple so I had the black stone beads and just used the annealed steel (I love the black on black scheme with wire and bead) to make the chain and closure. I think I'm getting better at these closures and the wire wrapping. I really have been trying to use some of my existing supplies and just supplementing with a few things here and there. So far so good.

My next plan is to use several pieces to make a charm necklace type thing. It's inspired by Deryn Mentock, Kelly Snelling and Amy Hanna . It's still in the percolating stage so I'll keep you updated as it develops.

Muses

I've got some of my favorite inspiration pieces framed and on the studio wall where they are the perfect muses. Two of these are prints from Emily Martin and the other is from the Saint Victor Diaries. I love them and think they look awesome!

More Lisa Kaus inspirations

A co-worker of my husband's requested some tins of her own so I made these for her this weekend. Thanks to a tip from Tina these dried in a jiffy!

Art and Soul Retreat

I've gone to two classes at the Art & Soul Retreat here in Dallas and they have both been fantastic! Thursday was Linda & Opie O'Brien's Tintastic which was amazing. I purchased a small anvil for the class and used! It's awesome to now own and utilize and anvil... seriously, I may have crossed into some kind of weird cartoon twilight zone with my love of my new anvil. I'll have to take a picture but for now, I've got photos of the class and the bracelet I made. This experience was amazing as these are two unbelievably talented people who have a real passion for art and creating. They were encouraging and inspiring so it made for a wonderful environment... take their class if you ever get the chance.

Today, I took Laurie Mika's Mosaic Icons, also fabulous, and I have tiles in the oven as we speak. Laurie did a great job of teaching us to trust the process and if we hate it, wipe it off and start over. She has a great spirit and truly encouraged all of us. I'm really happy with how my project turned out and am trying to keep up with all the great art ideas she's inspired.

Birthday Card

This is a b-day card and ATC I made for my sister-in-law. I really hope she likes Paris and France! I may have gone a little overboard with the collaging but I'm doing it in 10 minutes or less... inspired by Claudine Hellmuth's quick collage to get my card in the mail (her birthday is Thursday and it must travel 2 states. I'm hoping for the best!) pretty quickly I decided on a French theme and away I went. Hopefully she'll like it, it's certainly not Hallmark! I added an ATC for her that she can pull out of the pocket on the card as an extra surprise.

Expand Your Horizons

This is the message of a new ATC I made for myself for my b-day... well, it's tomorrow but I want to be able to hang it up in my cube at work. I want something that it's pretty and arty but also a reminder to get out there and take some risks. It's ok to make a fool of yourself and try something new! I think it turned out really well and love that it's all girlie with flowers and poofy ribbon... it's a very cute and cuddly tough love!

The hubby's taking me out to a snazzy restaurant for my birthday, but not too snazzy to have individual macaroni and cheese in cast iron skillets! I'm going to wear my still pretty new cowgirl shirt with sequins (by Vanilla Sugar which is my new favorite brand) with a black silk skirt that swirls if a twirl... not that I would twirl or anything. Anyway, I was inspired to channel my inner cowgirl after reading Deb Trotter's art blog ,which is fabulous, and watching a little too much Paula Deen on the food network!

Whew!

Family has packed up and headed home! We're shopped out (I have the blisters to prove it!) but it was fun and we had a great time. The rain didn't slow us down at all and we certainly did our part to help with the economy. I got some great boots, a few pair actually, inspired by Deb Trotter's blog that I've recently found myself addicted to, so I'll have to post pics. I've got a few days before I start my new job and I've got high art hopes.

Keep you posted...