One Workshop Down...

And two to go. They're close, so close... but it's the final details that are the kickers. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't panicking a little bit.

I was going to hold off on showing the proposals, but what the heck... Here's the first one.

It's called Wallflower.

Whew! Ummm... and Ahem...

Whew!
I just worked three long days down at the studio on my Artfest proposals. And they still aren't done. (And I did plenty of work on them before those three days.) Oh, and did I mention that the deadline for having the proposals in Teesha's hands is FRIDAY? ACK!!! Sadly, it looks like a FedEx delivery will be needed this year. I'd like to blame it on procrastination or something, but I really didn't.
Ummm...
I got an email today (along with all the other Art & Soul subscribers) that said that the Art & Soul class lineup for Virginia 2012 will be posted tomorrow. Which I think means I didn't make the cut. Trying not to think about it much... Not exactly sure how I feel about it yet anyway.
Ahem...
[OR that funny throat clearing sound you make before an announcement]
I am transitioning to part time at work starting in July! Ok, ok... it's not as awesome as saying I will be a full time artist in July, but it's a start!!!

What is better than a doodle?

An embroidered doodle!!! Lotus of Whymsicallotus asked to use one of my doodles as an embroidery pattern, and LOOK what she made!!!! It's SOOOO cool!!! (and makes me wish I had the patience for any kind of sewing work) --> LINK

Journal Pages In Progress

My art friend Tammy over at The Gypsy Chronicles just posted about having art deadlines and then working on everything else except the art projects that you need to work on. That pretty much explains the art journal pages I started above. Well, that and all the rain we've been having.

This art journal is HUGE as far as journal pages go (for me, anyway). The pages are each 10" by 14.5" or so. I love this book, but the pages seem to take forever to really fill to the overflowing "more is more" state that I like to create. I'd say the pages above are only about half done or so.

Wish I had somethin' finished to show ya...

Hello, sweet peoples!

There are lots of projects going on around here... ALL still in progress. Exploring new materials and textures while trying at the same time to still make the projects look like my style.

I had a thought the other day while I was figuring out workshop ideas:
I have a feeling that some of the other workshop teachers take a little different approach than I do when it comes to creating workshops. It seems like they are teaching what they know and have mastered. I seem to make workshops projects with materials and even techniques that I've never even used before. I'm definitely not saying one approach is bad or good... What I do know is... The approach I've been using is nervewracking! I never know if the project is going to turn out or not until I'm about halfway done. Maybe that's the beauty of mixed media? Anything goes, so all materials and techniques are fair game? If only there weren't deadlines... Oh wait, that keeps me moving forward... so, thank goodness for deadlines.
OK, enough rambling for today...

In conclusion:
The good news is that there's progress.
The bad news is that there's A LOT left to do.

For now, enjoy my new pencil holder and some other detail shots. Hope you're having a great week so far!

Making Art Again

Thought you might want to see a little something besides the studio... The picture is a detail of one of my Art Is...You proposals. I managed to get the concepts and some photos of the work in progress sent out yesterday.

Proposal-wise, up next are Artfest proposals. They're due at the end of the month!

In case you DO want to see studio pictures (it's pretty much ready!), I just posted some on Flickr: LINK

I'll be hanging out down at the studio on Wednesday night for Middletown's Broad Street Bash - a free music event downtown right next to the art studio. I'm sure I'll report how it went! :)

Even more studio...

Here's what it looks like this morning... It's really coming together, I think. But I can feel myself sloooowing down energy-wise. Going to keep moving forward, but maybe after a little nap! :)

More studio...

Yep, it's still almost all about the new studio around here. It needs to be ready to show by Wednesday!

The "before"

After today's painting and furniture assembling...

Tomorrow the art goes on the walls. I may not get my actual studio for art making moved into the space until next weekend, but at least the space will be ready for showing. More pics soon!

A first peek

After I ran an errand today, I stopped by the art center because I just can't stand waiting!

I can't show you the inside of the new studio yet, but I can show you where it is! Here's just a bit inside the front doors of the Pendleton Art Center. This is the lobby where the cafe and tables are. I had a very yummy spinach and artichoke flatbread from there today. Looks like I won't go hungry. OH, and you can just see a peek of my studio under the "PAY HERE" sign. We're getting warmer! It's just at the end (first door on the left). Here's my front door! The protective plastic is still on the door, so we can't see in! BOO!!!

And here's the view looking back. You can't really tell from the photos, but the studios are long (deep?). More photos soon!

Think I've got enough?

So if you haven't heard yet (I've been shouting it from the rooftops on facebook), I'm getting an artist's studio downtown!!! My mom was in town, and we went down to the art center on Saturday to check it out. When we got home, I started pulling all sorts of art stuff out of the basement and put it in my living room. (Thankfully it's pretty bare until we pick some furniture, so there's lots of room!)

I get the keys on Thursday, and I'm super excited! Photos soon!

Toot Your Own Horn!

One of the things I'm working on is promotion. It's not really a strong point of mine. (See? I should be saying that I'm awesome at promotion or something, right? Ok, that would just be untrue at this point!)

In the spirit of promoting, I wanted to share some of the really sweet comments I received after teaching at Artfest. I sent out surveys using SurveyMonkey (a free online survey tool) so I could collect feedback. I got the idea from my day job where we ask our customers to fill out a survey for every training we provide. I get some of my best stuff for performance reviews from there!

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One student said,

"Super organized, but also adept at meandering through the day as needed based on student's strengths, questions, challenges and ideas."

"Very supportive, encouraging and upbeat... Positive energy and creativity was OOOOOOOZING from the room!"

"Loved the class... Loved you... Loved working with wood and tools and plaster and paints. A perfect day and my favorite project from Artfest. I would sign up to take another class from you in a heartbeat."

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Another said,

"I enjoyed the class VERY much; thanks for teaching it!"

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And another said,

"I loved your enthusiasm. It was definitely contagious. Your genuine love of art showed in your personality... I thought our class was a lot of fun!"
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A BIG THANK YOU to the students who responded to the survey. I'm planning to start a testimonials page soon so I can keep these very sweet thoughts handy!

Do YOU have some horn tooting to do? I'd love to hear what you're doing!!!

Miscellany

Lots going on around here, but not much to show art-wise yet. I'm preparing class proposals for Artfest 2012 and Art Is...You 2012. I'll have something to share with you soon!

I'm super thankful that I already sent Art & Soul proposals for 2012, because that would probably be just one thing too many to accomplish in the month of May.

It's May already, but I'll still have some Artfest posts to share. Just have to find the time to do it!

My friend Heather whom I had the awesome pleasure of meeting in person while I was out in Washington was my first greeting card order! She posted a picture here --> LINK Check out her Etsy site too... she makes the most adorable jewelry and other wonderfully funky creations!

I'm getting ready to create a new studio in my house (yes, another). Basement studio living just isn't for me. My hubby told me we have to finish our other remodeling projects before I can start on another room, so we've been working to get things done!

Here's the dining room in progress. We're going to set it up as a sitting room for now because I can't seem to decide on a dining room table. My mom is here visiting to watch Harper this week while my mother-in-law is on vacation, so that meant that we had extra motivation to get a guest room done.
And we're working on the backsplash grout in the kitchen. You only get to see this half of the kitchen though because the other side is still disasterous.