First Time Ever!

For the first time since I purchased my camera the memory card is empty! I've gone through and finally gotten the photos in the right folders and processed some of the images into usable sizes. I still need to go through all the New Orleans photos and share those with the ladies from the trip. In the mean time, I'm planning to fill the card back up starting in a few hours since I'll be in Chicago!

The trip was questionable yesterday after I came home more tired than I have ever been in my life. The husband was skeptical about our weekend plans. But today, I feel refreshed and ready to hit the windy city. I do have some puppy guilt about taking them to be boarded since we can't pick them up until Tuesday am. Holiday on Monday and all. We found a place that looks awesome so they can have their own puppy door in and out so that helps a little. Still would rather be able to have them home on Monday.

Anyway, I've added some random photos from the card to share until I can get back to the art pics and new Chicago additions.

These are pics of a commissioned piece from my friend Suzanne. It was a birthday gift to her friend Elizabeth who is a fellow graphic designer. They have an awesome business together where they screen print on organic onesies, tees, etc. Seriously, if you need an incredible shower gift check out Sutecchi




This was a birdbath that was in my Mom's yard for years and I topped it with a St. Francis statue I got in Mexico on a family trip. I love them together and it feels very relic like. I love the faded blue on the pots. This photo is also old enough that you can see the old fence we replaced in November!



One of my latest etsy finds from a bead seller in Austin, I'd provide the link if I could find the store - I'll update if I find it. I can't wait to do something fabulous with them but in the meantime I open the bead drawer just get the imagination going.



Enough for now. I've got to get the last minute packing done and then we're off! Deep dish pizza, Field Museum and shopping (they have an actual Dick Blick store!!!) are all on the to do list!

Have a great weekend.

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!

In Progress

This is my studio work top as it stands at 1:01 am (cst) and I'm considering trying to sleep again but it's probably hopeless. I've reached the tired but not sleepy stage and these couple of projects are helping my mind to race since they clearly need something but I'm not sure what and I can't move on to all the jewelry projects I want to work on until I clear at least a little space.

I am, however, thrilled to have found a product called "bangle bling" in the $1.00 bin at Michaels. I picked up about 7 packages: gold, silver and mixed colors. They're tiny sequin like things that I think have the perfect vintagey sparkly bling quality (similar to vintage swaravoski but nowhere near as pricey) that I'm convinced all pieces need. All was not well at Michaels as I was horrified to discover that they don't carry crepe paper. This is inconceivable (yes, this word means exactly what I think it does!) to me so that's my quest for tomorrow.

My other comfort, besides bizarre craft finds, is Abby who is never very far away. She's such a sweet girl, to me anyway, and is just a giant snuggle bug - except to the UPS guy (another cutie!) who she's convinced is storming the house with every delivery and requires her to go into full attack mode. He delivered something fairly late last week and we happened to be home. Abby got away from me and made it to the porch. He smiled the biggest smile and said he'd always wondered what she looked like since she always "talked to him" when he had something to drop off. Seriously, how cute is that? She sounds like a 500 pound ferocious beast with her hackles up and the "don't mess with my house" growl and bark but he just looks at as chatting. That is clearly a sign of the holiday spirit at work people.

Tomorrow, I hope to have pics of all the german dolls Rolland and I finally got settled. We did a little bit of eBay craziness and I think I've cornered the market on vintage white german dolls. I do become slightly obsessed with the idea that if I love something I need to have hundreds of that thing just in case catastrophe strikes and they're no longer available. Yes, this is a storage problem and I'm seeking help; mostly at IKEA. :)

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.

Findings

I got some fun goodies in the mail. I love all the yummy silvers, pinks, and greens in addition to the regular chains. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but I think I've got some pendants and charms that are just waiting for these babies. :)

I've just finished reading Kat Richardson's latest book and it was awesome! It's an urban fantasy but she combines folklore, history and fiction beautifully. I highly recommend this one.

Birthday loot

I met a friend for dinner last week, she's a great friend who's amazingly talented, and she went a little nuts for the b-day gift. Seriously, I've got the pictures to prove it! She gave me a bag filled with really lovely beads and crystals and I've gone a little nuts with it all.

I made a 3 strand necklace that is really pretty, if I do say so myself, but the beads really did all the work. All of the beads and crystals are shades of white, pink, black and gray (if you don't count it as a shade of black). I love how it all works together with different textures and colors. The hubby was very skeptical as I was putting it all together but he came around in the end. I still want to make a few soldered pieces to add as pendants to some beaded pieces but I'm having time management issues again. I love my new job but the commute is still a beating and when I get home I want to veg out or go to the studio for a few hours... hard to do when you have a bed time! :) Oh well, it'll work out. Maybe I'll try to figure out a way to do art riding the train downtown. How many odd looks could I get?