A Wee Bit Warped - Shelly Massey

Hideout

2012-02-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

Lately

2012-02-08T07:37:00.001-08:00

Something old, something new...

2012-01-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

Koi, 12" by 48"

...nothing borrowed, some parts blue. Not quite as catchy as the original.

Using some of my old license plate stash to make something new. This one is the first in a series of at least three. Having fun painting and playing around.

And the winner is...

2012-01-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

Well, this was supposed to happen Friday, but I got busy and waited until today to do the drawing for my thank you giveaway.

AND, another thank you for all the lovely comments. I'd hug you all right now if I could, so consider yourselves properly squeezed.

I put all of your names on a list and let the random number generator (random.org) do the work. Without further ado, the winners are....

Drink painting - #2 on my list - Roc Nicolas
Happy painting - #16 on my list - Kirsty Wertz

Congratulations! I'll send you emails so you can send me back your addresses.

Thank You!

2012-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

I just had such a strange and wonderful moment. I was looking at my art blog statistics, and I saw that Pinterest was one of the sources for people linking to my blog. Holy moly, you can't believe how surprised I was when I clicked on the link and saw this!

You can see it for yourself right here --> LINK

One of the pins (not shown above) had more than 20 repins. Holy moly again. Between that and the fact that I'm up to 30,000 page views on the blog and just one person away from 200 people who like my facebook page, I'm blown away. I'm just so thankful.

And to express my thanks, I'd like to have a little giveaway! I'm giving away these two little original paintings away to two of you sweet people. Just leave a comment here on this blog post or over on facebook. If you comment "anonymously" (meaning that you don't have an account), just be sure to leave your name so I know who you are! Next Friday (January 27th), I'll draw two names and announce the winners!

Thank you again so much. I hope you can imagine just how much your support means to me.

Moody Blues

2012-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Oh how I wish I knew why Blogger insists on turning my photos sideways. Anyway...

After I made the painting above, my husband told me that when I'm moody, I make better paintings. Well, in his defense, that's not exactly what he said. He said that when I'm in a happy mood, I make happy, whimsical work. And that when I'm frustrated or sad, I make more detailed, serious work. Which is the work of mine that he likes for the most part. (He has some good reason to say this, I suppose, because I was super cranky about something just before I made this painting.)

I'm a wee bit moody lately, which might explain why the painting I was showing you last time has now become the one below instead. Mainly I just liked the size of the canvas, and I felt like continuing my sunflower series, but perhaps mood had something to do with it. This is just the first layer, so I'll have to show you what it looks like after a few more sessions.

2012 so far

2012-01-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

2012 is starting out kind of interesting. A mix of work, art, home projects, cleaning, and rearranging.

On the art front, I decided to try to finish up some work that I've had in progress. I've been fighting with the painting below for about five years. Ok, it sat in the corner for most of those five years, but still. Enough already. Here's how the battle went. I painted some background...

Then the blue took over. Blech. My paintbrush made me do it, I swear.

The gesso comes in to try to help. Take that, blue background! I'll show you.

Maybe some flower petals now.

Ummm... the blue took over again. And so it sits (for maybe another five years).

I've been working on a few other things.... My first chronological journal which also happens to be transparent/translucent in the center. I started this as a class idea (which maybe I'll teach someday), but for now it's going to be my account of 2012.

And I rescued this project. I originally made it as a calendar entry for CPS, and it had words on it to match their theme. Honestly I like it much better without the words. That's very unusual for me, but I always thought the words weren't the right words for this piece anyway. Maybe I'll make some other ones, and maybe even get them framed in a shallow shadowbox. Whoohoo!

And right now I'm off to do a painting project of a different sort. My office has had paint swatches on the wall for at least 6 months (maybe longer). Doug picked up the paint over the weekend, so I'm going to at least get started. No "before" photos because this room is trashed (and by trashed, I don't mean cute piles of stuff sitting around... I mean a full on disaster area.) Wish me luck.

A Gift

2011-12-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas, and I decided to ~~make myself crazy by attempting to paint a pet portrait for the first time at the very last minute~~ challenge myself by doing something I hadn't done before. My mother-in-law's dog Chip got hit by a car a few days ago, and I thought she'd like a portrait of him to commemorate his life. Here's how it turned out.

We had a nice Christmas, and Santa brought Harper new toys to keep her busy. As we speak, she's using her new art station keyboard to make drawings on an old computer we set up for her. When she's not using the computer, she's getting her exercise on the mini-trampoline from Grandma and Grandpa.

Hope you had a really nice Christmas and are continuing to enjoy the holidays!

Hope your Christmas was very...

2011-12-26T07:09:00.001-08:00

Deck the Halls

2011-12-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

Having a fun day making cookies and last minute gift projects. Hope you're having a wonderful holiday!

Another not about art post

2011-12-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

Harper said this morning that when we went to Home Depot that she wanted to get supplies to build a rocket ship so we could go to Mars. Which explains this afternoon's post nap project...

A not about art post

2011-12-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

Non-art news flash! I got my hair colored and cut! WOOHOO!!!

On the left, the just got outta bed and took my preschooler to school look. (Ok, for school drop off, I had a pony tail, but that wasn't really a good photo for showing "before" hair disaster.)

And on the right, the not so great photo of my "after" hair. In person, it's much better, and I'm much less green. (Grinch, anyone?) We seriously need new lighting in Harper's bathroom.

And the back!

P.S. Taking a photo of the back of your head is not as easy as you'd think. Go ahead and try. I dare ya. :)

Doodles of Christmas Past

2011-12-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Found these yesterday in an old sketchbook and thought I'd share. I put these in my little black and white doodle journal last year too, so I guess I must like them or something. :) The four calling birds are my favorite.

Journaling + Studio Wall

2011-12-07T04:29:00.000-08:00

Merry (early) Christmas to me!

2011-12-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

I first saw this piece of art that Kim Rae Nugent was selling on her Etsy site and just had to have it. Unfortunately at the time, it was reserved for someone else. It must have been really meant for me though because a few weeks after I drooled on my computer screen over it (and let Kim know that I wanted the piece if it didn't work out with the other person), she let me know that whomever had originally wanted it didn't reply to emails. And... she said that if I still wanted it, the piece was mine! YAHOOOOO!!!! I had the great pleasure of meeting Kim at the Inspire My Life art retreat this summer. Kim is a very talented artist, instructor, and is also the author of the inspiring book Interactive Art Workshop. And to top that all off, she's a lot of fun too!
Her beautiful creation is now hanging in a special spot on our fireplace.
P.S. A special THANKS goes to Kim Geiser. Without Kim G., I never would have met Kim Rae Nugent or all of the other special people that Kim G. pulled together for a magical art-filled weekend. That time was one of the highlights of my whole year!

Quote Collecting

2011-11-22T04:40:00.000-08:00

I've been collecting quotes for a bit and decided to start keeping them all in one place so I can find them later for journaling.Ummm... I wish I could tell you why this photo is sideways. Because I didn't take it that way.
Other than doodling quotes, I've been super busy. Super busy recovering from a cold, that is. Ugh. I am not a good sick person. It's just a cold, and I'm mostly recovered. When not reclining on the couch or working, I've been trying to clear the chaos around here. Thinking about putting up Christmas decorations. Probably my way of avoiding the mountain of laundry that needs to be done.

Hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving! We're not having Thanksgiving until Saturday, so we'll be headed to the movie theater to see the Muppets!

Back to Basics

2011-11-09T13:43:00.001-08:00

I've been flailing about on several projects and not really finding my way, so today I decided to get back to the basics. Here's a little painting/sketch I started in my big journal today.I'm going to keep with fundamental drawing and painting work to see where it takes me. P.S. That's my Daddy. You'll just have to imagine him not sketched out in purple and green. :)

Wishes are tricky things...

2011-10-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

When I was in Petaluma at Art Is You, Sallianne and Ellen gave each of us three wish ribbons. You have a friend (or multiple friends) tie the ribbons on your left wrist, and you make a wish as each one gets tied on.

As my first ribbon went on (tied on by the lovely Cathy Dorris), I wasn't really prepared to make my wishes. The first thing that came to mind was "I wish I could stay."

Later that day I missed my flight home.

I guess I should be careful what I wish for. The outcome in this case wasn't bad - I managed to get another flight, ended up staying in Petaluma an extra day, met up with wonderful friends, and generally made the best of my mistake.

I'm telling you this slightly embarassing story (I mean, really, who misses their flight?!?) because about a year and a half ago, I made another wish that didn't quite turn out as I'd expected. I wished to teach one class at Artfest. (You can read the wish post HERE.)

My wish to teach at just one art retreat turned into teaching at six events this year and quite a wild ride. It was amazing, but really not what I expected. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the most wonderful, creative, amazing people, and I wouldn't trade this year's experiences for anything.

But, remember that "be careful what you wish for" idea?

Well, if you read my last post and my growing pains post, you'll know that while I've been so thankful for everything that has happened this year, I've also been overwhelmed.

SO, after thinking and thinking (and even more thinking) over the last month, I made a decision yesterday (my 39th birthday!). I decided that I'll only be travelling to teach at one event next year (Art & Soul Vegas) which I've already contractually commited to. Long story short, I need a break to figure out where I'm headed before continuing on this ride. I need time to spend with my family and to make my art. I need to play and experiment and enjoy making some art for myself.

I am sure there are unexpected adventures coming up in 2012, but instead of planning my life out a year or more ahead of time, I'll be taking life as it comes.

Besides, my new friends tied on two more wish ribbons. Who knows what will happen?! ;)

Transitions are HARD.

2011-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

I can definitely say I haven't mastered my new schedule. All summer it was busy, busy, busy with teaching and vacations and First Fridays down at the studio. After all of that, it seems like I can't focus long enough to pick up a paintbrush. (Yes, I recently made eight million (or so) coffee mug paintings, but that's not REALLY what I'm supposed to be working on. Oh yes, class proposals, I hear you over there taunting me.)

So if I let some of the thoughts in my head fly out, they go like this:

[ A BIG DISCLAIMER BEFORE YOU READ THIS - I'm really not looking for you to answer these questions... Truly these are things I have to answer for myself. These are just the kind of annoying, buzzing thoughts that go around in my head while I'm trying to figure out what direction I'm headed in. Which I am sure is NORMAL. I'm publishing them here because it usually helps me to write down/purge all the junk out of my head so I can KEEP MOVING FORWARD. ]

- When I originally proposed to teach for Artfest, I really, really hoped I'd get in. I was beyond thrilled when I did. What I didn't expect was for the "yes" answers to keep coming from other retreats. All of those "yes" answers have pushed my life out of its comfort zone which has both delighted me and stretched me this year. I have met my people, my tribe of fellow creatives.

- I didn't make it into Artfest for 2012. I can't help but wonder if I am really good enough for this teaching thing or were those projects just not my best work? (Mostly I sit on the side of those projects not being my best work... but the lack of confidence demons love to rear their ugly heads when I'm not moving forward.)

- I decided not to propose for Art Unraveled 2012. Did I do the right thing? What if they don't have me back? [Note to self: make freaking awesome proposals so they do.]

- Running around the country from April to September put a decent amount of strain on my family life. Is it worth it? Will removing a few events make things better?

- I've said yes too much. Some of that is because I didn't really know what I was saying yes to. Some is because I have a fear that if I say no for now, that's no forever. Some of my yesses have been for family time/vacations which is good, but it also has "stolen" my art time and kept me from feeling like I am on some sort of regular schedule.

I guess overall, I'm pretty far out of my comfort zone. All of the patterns I've set for myself over the last few years have been knocked askew. I know that after some time, I'll get the hang of this. I'm just having a little trouble being patient in the meantime.

My new mantra: KEEP MOVING FORWARD! KEEP MOVING FORWARD! KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Home Studio

2011-10-12T08:02:00.001-07:00

And I thought you might want to see how the home studio is coming along too. :)
I'm definitely still in the moving in phase with nothing on the walls yet, but it's starting to get functional and homey. Really pleased with the natural light, but now I need to work out the artificial lighting situation. Probably will put up a flexible track lighting situation. AND I'm very pleased with my $10 bookcase from Salvation Army. I had planned to paint it, but once I got it in the room, I decided it was just fine with a little polishing and removal of the bottom doors. Lots of space for my books and journals now (good thing too, because there are lots more in my basement).
Happy creating!

Studio

2011-10-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hi there... I hope you're having a good week so far! I thought you might want to see photos from the studio from last week's First Friday and to see where all of those coffee and tea mug paintings ended up.

Random Ramblings

2011-10-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been up since 4 AM which means that you're about to be treated to some early morning random ramblings.

I've been thinking about a retrospective post for the year. Who needs to wait all the way until the new year for a look back? Not me! Kind of ridiculous how much has happened this year and how much I've learned.

My upstairs studio has awesome sunlight (see above), and I'm loving it.

Also loving having my art stuff back at home. The downtown studio is great, but it's not practical for my work style/schedule.

Thanks to my husband, I have a great appreciation for dimmers. I've always liked task lighting better than overhead lights, but tiptoeing around in the just barely on lights that I turned on in the wee hours this morning makes me appreciate all the dimmers hubby has installed all the more. Thanks, Doug!

I've been having some great chats with my daughter lately and sharing some art time with her. I'm not the best at sharing my art space with a little person who "steals" supplies right from under my nose, but I'm working on it.

I'm glad to be home after all my traveling this year. I figured out that I've been away from home for 55 days this year.

I had some awesome chats with Amy Powers while at Art Is You Petaluma. I'm saving an especially enlightening one (well it was for me at least) for a later post.

I'm putting in an extra day a week at the "real" job. :-/ is what I have to say about that. I'm still part time, so I should just be glad for that. (And I'm happy to help because they need it, but just sad to lose art time.)

Finally starting to feel like we're getting settled in at home (we moved in three years ago September... how time flies). Now we just have a million loose ends to finish up before we tackle the next remodeling project.

Hungry now.

And finally... my best creation below. Three is a pretty cool age, and we're pretty darn lucky to have such a cool kid.

No real explanation...

2011-10-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

...for why I felt the need to start 17 paintings of mugs. I guess I just had to, and that's that. I'm taking on more work hours (at the "real" job) because they need help, so hopefully I'll have enough time to finish some/all of these for First Friday down at the studio. Hope you all have a great and artful week!

Art Is...You Petaluma!

2011-09-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Art Is You Petaluma was amazing! If you think these people look happy, it's because they were! We had such a great time creating, laughing and sharing. Or maybe they're just so darn happy because we had such a beautiful place to create. That first photo above is from our classroom full of windows!

P.S. Somehow I don't have a photo of the amazing and inspiring Marlene Haveron. Link to her blog where hopefully she'll post her finished project. Not only was Marlene an amazing helper to Sallianne and Ellen, she was also wonderful to have in class. Hugs to you, Aunty M!

P.P.S. I had a lot more text for you in this post, but this is my third round trying to write this blog post and keep all of the photos in it (blogger and I are not friends today evidently...), so I'm calling the happy faces above good enough for now.

Weekend Doodling

2011-09-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

We took a trip in the RV this weekend, and I got a little bit of doodling time while Harper and Doug were exploring.

This last work-in-progress feels a little bit Michelle Allen-y to me for some reason. Probably because I'm in love with her whimsical work. Which reminds me... as much as I love looking around at everyone's artwork, I'm a little more of a mimic than I'd like to be. I see something and it influences me. Which is good, but sometimes makes me crazy too.

Ok, I'm off to get some work done. Two days at the "day" job and then it's off to Petaluma for Art Is You!

Countdown to Art Is Petaluma...

2011-09-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

The kits are shipped. The supplies are starting to go into piles. I'm almost ready.

There are just two more spots in my each of my classes, so if you want to join in making some whimsical wonderful work, sign up!

License to Create

Playtime

I bet Martha Stewart doesn't have these problems...

2011-09-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Old table at Salvation Army that appears ideal for art space

Small doorway

Dremel tool

Hammer

2 holes in the wall

5,682 swear words

Journaling Journey with Paper Cowgirls!

2011-09-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

In August, I had the lucky experience (ok, there was a good bit of planning involved on the fabulous head Paper Cowgirl Cindy Mayfield's part too... not just luck) of getting to go back to Waxahachie, Texas to teach a two day journaling class called Journaling Journey. We had a ridiculous amount of fun creating journals and playing. Some of the ladies (yes, you, Susan and Shannon!) just couldn't quit and kept journaling until after 10 PM on our first day!

We did a little house project to work on loosening up and playing with color. Everyone's turned out so FUN!

The talented Sandra Feazel joined us for a bit to play!

Look at Shannon's pop up girl! (Looks like Blogger doesn't want to play nice and put my photos in the direction I want them... Sorry!!!) Shannon was one of our late night journalers. :)

Peggy's sweet singing cowboy collage for her grandson. Had a great time sitting next to you, Peggy!

THE Miss Cindy Mayfield's dream collage. How's your cousin Tim, Miss Cindy? :)

Cindy Gilstrap's awesome collage... She took a MUCH better photo on her blog... check it out! (Plus you just need to visit her adorable blog because it's so stinking cute.)

A sweet, whimsical vintage-y page from Susan's journal. Susan was one of our late nighter's too!

One of Miss Melissa's works in progress. Melissa is my soul twin PLUS bling!

Somehow I missed getting any decent photos of Dina and her daughter Natalie's work. They were kind of jammed into the corner working away in creative bliss.

Here are some of the girls working away... oh, the fun of it! Miss you!

You're going to laugh...

2011-09-06T10:43:00.001-07:00

First you're probably going to laugh at these really bad photos. And then maybe you'll wonder why I'm posting them. Then you're going to laugh because I'm moving my studio again. Yes, again!

(OR, maybe you're just shaking your head in dismay wondering why I keep moving my stuff and not getting any art done. I know I'm doing a little bit of that.)

The studio has been in my office, in the dining room, down in the basement, and all the way downtown. I love the studio downtown, and I'll be keeping it as a gallery and for teaching classes (starting in October!). But what's NOT working with the downtown studio is that I can't sneak there during Harper's nap time or after she goes to bed. I can't get there on lunch hours. Those were all my prime art making times before I started working part-time at my necessary job.

SO, the really bad photos are "before" photos of my new working studio upstairs (an extra guest room that's just been mainly sitting there since we moved in). It has a lovely window overlooking the front yard and an even lovelier HUGE closet!

Every time I thought about using this space for art, I'd look in there, see the wallpaper, and just walk right back out. Quickly. So yesterday, I used my Labor Day for just that.... LABOR. The "fun" labor of wallpaper removal. And it wasn't so bad. Right now, my in-laws are upstairs painting the room a lovely shade of deep gray-beige called Eiffel Tower.

I may have finally found a space where my art making can really call home. HAPPINESS.

Expect some better photos in the next few weeks!

Growing Pains

2011-09-04T01:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I woke up at 4 AM. I do my best thinking in the morning, and this morning's train of thought has me thinking about my work/life/art balance that I've been trying to achieve.

2011 has been amazing so far. I've feel like I've finally found "my people". People who I feel like I've known all my life after just hanging out for a few minutes. People who get me and my art. People who I never would have met had I not taken this leap.

But, all is not perfect here in Shelly-land. You see, in my attempts to balance my life, the art side of the scale has pretty much taken over. There are definitely parts of this adventure that I never really thought about at the start. Teaching at six events all over the country this year all sounded very reasonable at the time. Here's what I didn't think about...preparation for an art retreat (for me) goes something like this:

A year in advance (sometimes more than a year), I submit projects. Typically it takes a month to figure out and create samples for three workshops.

Then I wait anxiously to find out if I got accepted or not. Generally the waiting time is filled with preparations for projects for another event.

If I'm accepted, then I book the hotel for the event because the last thing you want to find out is that you don't have a place to stay.

A month or so before the event, I book my airline ticket and my rental car. (That reminds me, it's time to book my ticket to California for Art Is...You.)

Approximately three weeks before the event, my brain starts to worry over kits that I need to get shipped. Those of you who know me well know that this involves creating about fifteen lists. Ok, probably more than that.

Now that I've opened a studio, somewhere in here is also taken up with First Friday/Second Look Saturday down at the art studio... which means there's studio clean up, work to hang and price, food and drinks to buy and prepare, and then the event to attend.

Ok, back to the retreats. About two weeks before the event, I actually have enough lists formed and enough shopping done to make the kits. Then a trip to the post office to ship the kit materials OR if I'm going to attempt to haul everything with me, I start a new worry about whether or not all of the giant piles of stuff will fit in my suitcase and whether or not it will hit the airline weight limits or not. (Ummm... one of the trips my suitcase was 12.5 pounds over. Imagine my glee at getting to try to figure out how to repack all of that into my already crammed carry ons.)

About that same time (two weeks out), I start writing handouts for class. This usually finishes up by printing out the handouts about five minutes before I leave for the airport.

About one week out, I get out my suitcase thinking that I will pack early.

At one week out, I also start dragging back even more supplies from my art studio downtown.

This is also the point when I start tripping over everything in my office because there are piles everywhere. And when I start freaking out if my daughter comes into the office, because invariably she would like to have exactly what I need for class. And who wouldn't want all that fun stuff?!?

The night before the trip, I pack everything up. The suitcase is 90% art supplies, 10% clothes and toiletries.

Then I repack it because the suitcase feels too heavy. (I think my carry-on bag weighed 50 pounds last time with another 50 pounds in my suitcase.)

And now we get to go to the airport. I won't bore you with the fun details of lugging 100 pounds of stuff to and through airports. If you have kids or pack like usually I do for a non-art related trip (three weeks of clothes for two days of trip), you've all been there.

FINALLY, THE FUN PART! A year after the start, I get to hang out with fun people and teach classes! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh no, time to go home already. Didn't I just get here? I'm sad to leave my new art friends, but at least the suitcase is a little lighter this time. Maybe only 90 pounds of stuff to lug back instead of 100.

I get home, reunite with my family, and collapse for about a week or until I remember that next year's class proposals are due or that I still haven't done the mountain of laundry that was there before I left for class.

Whew! Just writing all of that almost wore me out. And now multiply all of that times SIX.

With all of that said, I think I'm going to scale back a little bit for 2012. I only have three events booked so far (two Art Is...You events and Art & Soul), and I think I'll try to add just one or two more. PLUS, I'll be attending Artfest as a student this year, so that counts (in my husband's mind) as one more event. That will make five or six for the year.

I love this new life and all of the doors that have been opening for me. I'm sure I'll be sad when I read about/hear about events that I'm not able to attend, but my body, my brain, and my family will thank me. Well, they'll thank me once I get the laundry and dishes done, I'm sure. :)

Art Unraveled - Part 2

2011-08-30T02:29:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun time in the License to Create class at Art Unraveled! I love how these pieces adapt themselves to the artist making them. I never dreamed that would happen when I formed the class originally. So great to see everyone make the box their own again!Not everyone got to finish in class (some of the ladies had to leave our art haven and go back to the reality of their necessary jobs), but hopefully everyone enjoyed the class and got enough creative energy from class to finish off their pieces.

At Art Unraveled, I had the great pleasure of seeing the talented jewelry artist Diana Frey again which reminded me that I haven't sent you to look at her finished piece from the Artfest license plate box class. It turned out awesome, so go peek! -> LINK

And if you're in the mood for more Art Unraveled photos, check out my other talented art friend Betti Zucker's post about Art Unraveled... so much fun! It was great to see you again, Betti! -> LINK

Linda and Chuck worked hard to create an amazing event. I was sad to leave Art Unraveled so soon, but I was happy to get back to my family after another great art adventure.

Next adventure on our list... Journaling Journey with Paper Cowgirls!

Traveling and Journaling and Happenings! OH MY!

2011-08-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

OH MY! So much has been going on that I am getting further and further behind on posting. I'll try to catch up. So here are a few more photos from Inspire My Life. We had so much fun in the lettering class too. Lettering is quite possibly my favorite thing to do... the ladies seemed to enjoy it too.

Here's Kristi trying out some different styles. She's a doodler too!Judy showing off her work!After Wisconsin, I hopped a plane to Phoenix for Art Unraveled. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but as usual, the mutual love of art was a common bond. The first class I taught was the Birdy on a Branch class. Katie, Shannon, Renee and Liz were so much fun to hang out with! Check out their awesome birdies! Katie and her sweet birdy! Katie is a landscape designer and put that to use making a home for her bird. Can you see all the little rocks she made from paper clay? So fabulous! She was definitely a natural on this project.And I have to mention that sweet Liz (below) emailed me a question prior to class and then was so kind as to offer her home as a place to stay and to drive me around! We had a really lovely time getting to know each other. Thank you so much Liz! (Aren't art people amazing in their generosity?!?! LOVE!) And she made a colorful purple birdie with a fun, funky hat!Renee wouldn't let me take her photo with hers... :) BUT... I did get this shot of her birdy on display. Renee pushed the boundaries and drilled a big hole in her box for the branch to go through which I thought was an AWESOME idea. (I had another one of my "why didn't I think of that" moments!) Loved the snap eyes too!And here is Shannon and her wonderful birdie. Don't you love the colors she used?! And the eyes she hand painted were so perfect for her bird. Love her style! AND check out her name badge... wish I had gotten a better picture, but it was so cool in person.
Everyone was so much fun, and we had a great time getting to know each other.
So here's a secret... so when class sign ups are lower, at first I get a little bummed. Only because I'm trying to do this artist as a job thing (bigger classes = more money at the end). BUT... then when I'm teaching a small class like the birdy class, I'm just thrilled at how much fun it is to teach a small class. We get to hang out, chat, and create. SO... don't tell my hubby (cause he likes money), but I won't be sad if my classes stay kinda small for a while. :)
Coming up next... License to Create class at Art Unraveled, then Journaling Journey at Paper Cowgirl!

Journaling...

2011-08-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Before I continue with my list of topics to catch up on (see previous post), I thought I'd share some of my journal pages in progress. I had a lot of time to work on my journal over the last few weeks (flight got cancelled and new flight was 8 hours later than my airport arrival, journaling with friends in the evenings, long flights, etc.) Here's some of what I worked on!

Here's to...

2011-08-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a toast to...

... Getting to see my family after seven long (but fun-filled) days away.

... Having so much going on that I have to number my blog topics (see below).

... Finally cleaning the bathroom. And doing laundry. And (finally) grouting the kitchen backsplash. (I know those don't seem like things to toast to, but if you knew how long those things had been waiting, you'd know they were toast worthy.)

... Peeking at the Art of Giving e-class that my friend Regina Lord is teaching. OH my goodness, it looks wonderful. Hopefully soon I'll be toasting to getting to actually do the class!

... Catching up!

I am so far behind in blogging that I have to break up everything that has been happening into multiple posts!

1) I am teaching a 2-day journaling class in Waxahachie, TX on August 19-20th. We'll make a journal, experiment with backgrounds, and play with journaling techniques. It's not too late to join us, so head over to the Paper Cowgirl blog to sign up! Here's the link --> LINK

2) I just got back from a whirlwind 7-day trip to Manitowoc, WI for Kim Geiser's Inspire My Life art retreat. I seriously haven't laughed so much in a long, long time. Such creativity and fun! Here are some photos, but you'd be better off going to Carolyn's flickr site to see her amazing set of photos... Link to Carolyn's flickr set --> LINK
Coming up next... 3) Art Unraveled and 4) At the Studio

Been playin...

2011-07-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Often deadlines get me moving ahead on a project.

But sometimes I do everything except the thing I need to do to meet the deadlines. Like now for example... This morning I played with my new Copic markers instead of tackling anything on my to do list (well, I did actually do the dishes, so that should count for something).

Even though I have always loved markers, somehow I didn't jump on the Copic marker bandwagon until just now. Here's my first attempt... I have a lot to learn!

Oh, and sometimes when I have too many deadlines and a to do list a mile long, I just run around in panicked circles willy-nilly all over the place. I guess playing with my Copics is better than that option.

Art Day 1 Recap + Art Day 2 Plans

2011-07-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, I swear I won't debrief you on EVERY art day I get to have... but just so that I can record what I accomplished, I'm documenting. So....

Yesterday, I:

-Walked my daughter over to her Mimi's house because it was a beautiful morning
- Started a painting to get warmed up
- Created 3 of the 5 collages for my Inspire My Life "Love Your Letters" class + started the backgrounds for the 2 remaining
- Finished the backs of the flower bouquets for my Inspire My Life "Don't Be Blue Bouquet" class
- Prepped 10 boards for some transfers I want to do
- Started creating class kits for the four classes coming up at the end of July
- Worked on a gift

Today I'm going to:

- Take some photos of my progress so I have photos to share with you :)
- Finish the remaining 2 collages
- Make a new "Birdy on a Branch" for Art Unraveled so I can prepare for that class
- Finish the gift I worked on yesterday
- Continue assembling class kits and figure out how big the pile of stuff is that I need to take
- Maybe make a trip to the lumber store to get wood for finishing up class kits for the "License to Create" class

Ready. Set. GO!!!

A Beginning

2011-07-14T04:19:00.000-07:00

It feels like I haven't posted anything for a while (even though I just posted about Regina's awesome class that I'm taking in August)...

Today feels like a beginning. Actually, last week was the beginning and I've been feeling whispers of beginning, but today feels like THE day. TODAY is my first full art day down at the studio now that I've reduced my hours at my job to part time. I'm waiting to say WAHOOOOOO until I actually create something!

Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more artsy posts from me in the future.

I also have some events coming up very soon... Inspire My Life in Manitowoc, WI and Art Unravelled in Phoenix, AZ. If you haven't signed up yet, PLEASE DO! Would love to see you. :)
AND, Art Is... You Petaluma is coming up in September. If you're going to be there, let me know!

Backtracking a bit... and because I don't want to leave you without a picture. Last week I got to spend my off days from work visiting my long time wonderful best friend Judy. Also got to see long time friends Tom and Melissa and to visit Greenville, SC - one of my favorite cities. Such a great time - here we are getting ready to go out. Could I be any paler??! :)
Uh oh... I hear a bump upstairs. Miss Harper must be awake. Time for some Mommy-Daughter morning time!

Gratitude, Giving and GREATNESS!!!

2011-07-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am sure I don't need one more thing to do in August. But guess what... I'm gonna do one more thing anyway! My art friend Regina Lord is teaching an e-course called The Art of Giving. I need reminders to stop and be grateful for all that I have in the midst of all the craziness. AND, Regina is awesomely talented...(She's the GREATNESS part in the blog post title.) I can't wait!

I hope you'll join me! Here's a link to Regina's blog and all the info! --> LINK

More doodles in the journal...

2011-06-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Seriously. Awesome.

2011-06-27T12:43:00.003-07:00

I got the best surprise present in the mail today! Lotus of Whymsicallotus embroidered another one of my coloring book doodles and sent it to me! Oh, if you could only see my huge smile! I LOVE it!!!!

Journaling

2011-06-27T06:52:00.001-07:00

Love those Paper Cowgirls!

2011-06-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

Oh wow... those Paper Cowgirls sure do know how to have a party! Seriously, I felt so welcomed and had such a great time. It was hard to leave! Here are some pics from my adventures, but I didn't take even close to enough... SO... at the end of the post are some links to other places to see lots more photos!

Here's me and the fabulous Jennifer Stewart. She is a super fun and super organized teacher! Below our picture is what we made in class and then a photo of the adorable little pins that Jennifer made for us (and put on a bag of yummy chocolate!)!Some of the cowgirls visiting and picking up their registration/badges.The next class I took was from the adorable Lisa McIlvain. We played in wax and each made a wonderful little hanging piece. Another really fun class!The next morning I woke up before the crack of dawn (crying toddler/baby in the hotel room next door), so I got to work writing out some love for my students.Here's what their spots looked like at the table.And I can't even tell you enough about these girls standing with me in the next photo. On the left is Melissa Hines. Ummm... this girl and I must have been separated at birth. We do the same kind of day job, we both work from home, and we got along like two peas in a pod. The only thing that she does that I don't do is BLING! But, she's trying to rub off on me. :) AND in the middle is THE head cowgirl herself, Cindy Mayfield. She has been a fabulous support and friend to me since we bumped into each other on the internet. She's a talented artist, event organizer, and just all around wonderful. Seriously, I love these two girls. I'd move to Texas to be their neighbor if I could.I just love you two girls!

Ok, and now to send you off to some people who actually took photos!

Vicki at Homespun Hugs and Calico Kisses took my class and made a beautiful collage. (Hi Vicki!!!)
Here's a link to her post -- LINK

Vicki has a lot more photos of our class. Hopefully I'll be tagging them to my new facebook page... Shelly Massey Art. Here's a link to that too -- LINK

I hope she doesn't mind... but Nicki Loyd took my class and posted her awesome collage on facebook. Love the colors she chose! I stole a copy... here it is! :) (Hi to you too, Nicki!)
The fabulous Cindy Mayfield posted her super-cool page on her blog too -- LINK

I had the pleasure of getting to know Pamela Huntington much better during Paper Cowgirl. She's a spectacular artist and truly a splendid person. If you ever get a chance to take a class from her, GRAB IT! She took some lovely photos of the events and I can pretty much guarantee that before you know it, you'll be lost in her blog. -- LINK

Starting Again

2011-06-07T04:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time to move on now, right? I'm ready.

What's up next?
This weekend I'll be teaching 20 lovely people at the Paper Cowgirl retreat. I'm thrilled that they all signed up, so I'd better get my head in the game!

I'm teaching them my art journaling/collage style. The class is just THREE hours, so I hope I can compact it all into that time. At any rate, we're going to have a ton of fun!

I'll be taking two classes too, and I hear these cowgirls are hard to keep up with. Should be a blast!

After that...
When I get back it's time to work on magazine submissions. I've been pokey getting around to that goal.

And then...
I'll be working on kits for Inspire My Life, Art Unraveled, and Art Is...You.

Did ya know?
It's not too late to sign up for my classes at:

Inspire My Life - Manitowoc, WI - July 28-30
I am teaching:
- Love Your Letters - I'll give all my tricks for creating cool lettering on your art pieces
- Don't be Blue Bouquet - A sweet mixed media bouquet of flowers

Art Unraveled - Phoenix, AZ - August 1-9 (I'm teaching on August 2 and 3.)
I am teaching:
- License to Create - A fun mixed media license plate box
- Birdy on a Branch - A fanciful mixed media birdy perched on a branch

Art Is...West Coast - Petaluma, CA - September 22-27 (I'm teaching on Sept 22 and 23.)
I am teaching:
- Mixed Media Playtime - A whimsical framed license plate mixed media scene
- And the ever popular License to Create class. :)

Come and join in the fun!!

P.S. AND... to top it all off.... I've continued my 15% off sale on Etsy. I'll end it after Paper Cowgirl, so you have about one week left to save on fun greeting cards, prints, and paintings! Just enter 15PERCENT at checkout to save 15% on your order!

Working hard to find the silver lining...

2011-06-06T13:00:00.001-07:00

I just got the email that I didn't make the Artfest cut. I'm trying to find a positive here, but because I just got the news, I don't know how to turn it around to something not super sad yet. I'm sure there's good there somewhere... might just take a few hours or days to find it.

[Edited to add]
OK, collecting my list of upsides already because I really (REALLY) don't like to be sad.

Upside 1:
I can sell one of the proposal samples to the guy who really, really wanted to buy it on Friday.

Upside 2:
I can reuse the projects for another event if I want to.

It was a nailbiter....

2011-06-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

But the Artfest proposals are DONE. {Whew!} They will ship via Fed Ex in the morning. I'll go ahead and share them with you now... just because I like ya.

This one is called All Turned Around.

And this one is called Open and Shut.

One Workshop Down...

2011-05-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-05-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-16T16:53:00.001-07:00

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...

2011-05-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-05-10T04:33:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-05-09T05:03:00.001-07:00

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!

----------------------------------

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."

----------------------------------

Another said,

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

----------------------------------

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!"
----------------------------------

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

2011-05-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

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.

One more Q+A

2011-04-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Erin had another question, so I thought I'd share the answer with everyone.

Erin asked:
Do they tell you what to put in a proposal? Where do you even begin?
I'll start with the where do you even begin (as far as proposing) part. Seriously, the internet was my best friend in figuring out where to start. I sort of stalked the teachers from Artfest on their blogs and websites to see where they were teaching. I looked up the blogs and websites from the events and figured out contact information. Then I emailed the event coordinators to ask for an application or for submission information.

I think if there's a location nearby to you that offers classes, you could just email them to ask about how they pick their teachers.

The submission part varies by event. Here's my experience so far:
Artfest
Contact: Teesha Moore
Last year, Artfest asked for photos of four samples of each project. This year, they are are asking for at least multiple samples rather than specifically specifying four samples. They also ask that you fill out a workshop proposal form for each project. You have to mail in the packet of photos (I did nice, large print outs from my inkjet printer) and the workshop proposal forms. You also send a brief biography.

Art & Soul
Contact: Glenny Moir
Art & Soul prefers that you send in actual samples of the project, but you can also send photos if you'd like. Last year I sent samples. This year, I sent photos. You also fill out a workshop proposal for each project to send in too.

Art Is You
Contact: Sallianne McClelland, Ellen Purtill-Legare
Art Is You is a little different. They just ask that you email photos of samples of your work. They decide to accept you as an instructor based on your samples, and then when an event comes up, they ask you to submit proposal(s) for workshops.

Paper Cowgirl
Contact: Cindy Mayfield
Paper Cowgirl asks for submissions via email. There isn't a specific application form, but the same basic info is needed - description, supply list, class fee, etc.

Inspire My Life
Contact: Kim Geiser
Inspire My Life retreat asks for submissions via email. Again, no specific application form, but you'll need the same basic information.

And of course, the list goes on. Those are just the ones I proposed for last year. For 2012, I'm going to try to expand to a few more.

About workshop application forms...
In case you're wondering, the application forms aren't intimidating at all. They ask for very simple, practical information like a workshop description, the supply list, kit fee (if any), maximum number in class, and some ask for the amount that you charge. If there are evening or partial day classes at the event, the application asks if your class is 6 hours (full day) or 3 hours (partial).

If you have more questions, ask 'em! :)

Greeting Cards, Coloring Books, and Coupon Code!

2011-04-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

I posted some greeting cards and coloring books in my Etsy shop! I also posted some original pieces that haven't been available for sale before. Hope you'll go check them out. AND...

To celebrate, until May 31st, you can enter the coupon code 15PERCENT when you are completing your Etsy order for 15% off!

Something's in the air...

2011-04-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Springtime is a good time to think about transitions, don't you think?

And did you know that I'm terrible at keeping my own secrets? Everyone else's secrets are safe with me, but I tell mine two seconds after I know. For example, I took my pregnancy test at work during lunch time one day (did I mention that I'm not patient either?), and I had to call my hubby immediately after so that I wouldn't have to hold onto the news for the rest of the day. Ummm... and I might have told a co-worker the news first because she saw my face as I was coming out of the bathroom. Oh, and the pregnancy test in my hand may have been a give-away too.

My little secret has to wait until around July. Maybe June if I can't stand it any more. Whew... that's a long time to wait. If you know me at all though, you can probably guess my secret.
P.S. I am NOT pregnant. :)

Wishing you a...

2011-04-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

Art Workshop Teaching - Questions + Answers

2011-04-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

At Artfest, I got asked a few questions frequently enough that I thought maybe you'd want to hear them (and the answers) too!

Do you get paid to teach?
Yes, teachers are paid per student in the class. (At least this is the way it works for everything I've proposed for so far.)

How much do you get paid?
The amount varies depending on the event and the length of the class. Some events let you set the amount while some events set the amount. The average for a 6 hour class (full day class) is around $90 per student. Side note: This may sound like a good bit, but teachers pay for travel, shipping, lodging and food too.

What is the process for proposing to teach?
I was lucky enough to have a first time teacher at the 2010 Artfest - Michelle Allen. She was very approachable, so I felt comfortable asking her how she did it. All I had to do was email the retreat coordinator (Teesha Moore in the case of Artfest) and ask for an application to teach. The coordinator emails the info packet and application which tells you all the details, deadlines, etc.

When do you propose?
Submission of proposals happens long before the event. I'm currently submitting workshops for 2012. For example, this year for Artfest, proposals for 2012 are due (in Teesha's hands) by June 3, 2011. The actual Artfest event is March 28-April 1, 2012. That's pretty far to think ahead!

What is your daily schedule like?
My daughter Harper wakes us up around 7:00 or 7:30 in the morning. We get some breakfast (almost always oatmeal with raisins for both of us, milk for her, tea for me (more info than you wanted? LOL!)) and then she plays, watches TV, or looks at books while I do some kind of art related task that won't interest her too much like blogging, looking for art retreat information, or sometimes doodling while Harper doodles too.

At 9, my mother-in-law comes over to pick up Harper (my work hours are 9 to 6), and I get to work. I work remotely as a software analyst. Around noon if I don't have any meetings, I do some art instead of eating and then make something quick to eat at my desk. I have a separate office for work. Locking myself in there with just breaks for tea (and the bathroom, of course) keeps me focused.

If I get a quick break, even though I know it would be better to take a quick walk outside, I usually spend the break doing some art related task like priming a couple boards or gluing something that I know can dry while I'm back to work.

At 6, my mother-in-law brings Harper back (yes, I know I'm lucky to have this kind of day care for many, many reasons). We eat dinner with Daddy, play and read until her bedtime at 8.

Evenings vary depending on my art deadlines. If I'm close to a deadline, I do art time from 8 until bedtime (around 10) every night. Sometimes that cuts into the 6-8 PM time with Harper too if I'm running behind. If I'm not close to an art deadline, I only do art time on some evenings. Other evenings I hang out by my hubby to watch a movie.

Any other questions?
I'm sure there were more questions and answers, and I'll post as I remember them... but if you have questions, feel free to ask!

Lessons Learned

2011-04-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

Lea took this photo of my embellishments table setup at the License to Create Workshop.

I learned quite a few things during my first teaching experience that I'd do a bit differently next time. And I realized that there are some things I'm going to keep on doing too. Here's what I learned so far on this adventure...

- Expense and Shipping. When I created my first workshops, I was just thinking about what would be fun for students to make and for me to teach. In the future when I create a project, I have to think more about the expense and supplies. I shipped four large, heavy boxes halfway across the country and then back. Not a cheap move. That means I either need to charge a kit fee if I'm bringing most of the stuff OR I need to be more thoughtful about making the projects with non-specialized items in the first place so that students can bring the supplies.

- The Vendor Table. Vendor marketplaces are great for exposure, but I'll probably limit having a vendor table to maybe just Arfest. The vendor table means more shipping charges. And an upside/downside is that I don't really get to shop the market. Upside is that I don't spend money, but downside is that I don't really go around looking at what everyone else is up to.

- Speaking of vendor tables though, I did ok with sales on vendor marketplace night, but I really needed to have some more mid-range items in the $25-$50 range.

- Trades. I have a whole post coming up about the Artfest trades which were spectacular this year. BUT, I'll probably have to mass produce my trades next year for events where I teach. I saw that a lot of the teachers took that route. I love the handmade trades, but it was seriously a tight squeeze to fit them into the schedule and the suitcase this time. In making this art thing a business, I would probably have been better off focusing on making vendor table items. (I have to admit that not having handmade trades makes me sad, but I need to learn that I'll have to make trade offs to make this business work.)

- Be CONFIDENT! As someone who is coming from art as a long time hobby to art as a business, I tend to "undersell" my artistic abilities. (Have you heard the words "Oh, it's just this thing that I do" coming out of your mouth? If so, you're underselling too!) I don't want to be big headed about it, but I need to teach what I know without fear. (Thank you, Diana and Inez!!!)

- Find time to rest and play. Artfest is a pretty exhausting experience as a student and as a teacher. I'll try to find a few minutes to really rest my mind and to enjoy the experience in the future.

- Absorb the moment. I would call my first art workshop teaching experience a success. What I wanted more than anything was for my students to take my project and teaching and to make the project their own. And they did! I don't think every event will be quite as busy as Artfest was for me, but I want to be mindful to absorb the moments as they happen and to try to reflect on the experience day by day instead of running from event to event and storing it all up to think about at the end.

And finally...

- BE BRAVE! Teesha and Tracy mentioned being brave several times throughout the Artfest event. I can't even tell you how much this resonates with me. I wanted to teach, so I set aside my fears, worked hard, and reached out for it. I still have a head swirling with fears, but I'm going to keep pushing them out of the way and reaching for the next brave thing. I hope you'll do the same!

P.S. If you have any thoughts/experience to share, I'd love to hear!!

Coming down from my Artfest High

2011-04-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, the best part about Artfest is the people. It was so inspiring to be around all of those creative, friendly, open people and to be lucky enough to enjoy the Artfest experience again. It was different this time - a lot more work, a little less play - but still amazing.

My brain is kind of headed in several directions these days with where I'm headed next and all the things that I want/need to do. I'm trying the one-step-at-a-time approach... if only I were more patient!

And a couple of blog posts by other artists that have me thinking...
- In Carla Sonheim's recent post about Artfest, she wrote that we might feel a bit down after the excitement and activity of Artfest. Boy, am I feeling that.
- And then in a non-related Artfest post by Kelly Rae Roberts, she quoted from Marianne Williamson's book... a quote about how it's not that we fear that we're inadequate... we fear we are powerful. Really thinking about that quote too and trying to figure out how to let loose and be confident in myself.

And today my boxes from Artfest arrived back home. Glad to see all my stuff made it back. Not sure where it's all going to go though. OHHHHH, and this directly fits into an upcoming post about all the lessons I learned during my first time teaching.

Even more posts coming about Artfest... I hope you can stand it. Want to show you the awesome trades from this year and then some lessons learned. OH, and then a post about the fun I'll be having next and some exciting announcements!

Artfest - The Final Events

2011-04-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

Our last Artfest evening was spent with looking at everyone's work at the Show and Tell event. It was fun to look at everyone's creations. Then Lea, Lisa, Kari (my housemates) and I went out for a nice dinner downtown. We got back in time for Lea and I to do some last evening journaling with the ladies in dorm 225. Janne Robberstad has a much better post than I can put together --> HERE In the morning, we had to pack up to go. We were all pretty exhausted and barely out of our pajamas, but we took this funny picture before we left. The wind was blowing HARD, and we managed to be leaving at a time when no one else was out and about. We could have taken more photos, but we decided to just go with the funny original.

I love you, Sweeties!

I'll have at least one last wrap up post for Artfest. Still have a few thoughts left and some looking ahead, but I'm waiting to recover from my return travels yesterday from Washington.

Artfest 2011 - Iron Chef Artist

2011-04-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday night was the Iron Chef Artist event. They gave us 45 minutes and a bag of random stuff to make an art piece. Ok, I've mentioned this a million times it seems like, but it's worth mentioning again... Iron Chef Artist was the fastest 45 minutes of my life. Lea was kind enough to come tell me when I only had 20 minutes left. I have no idea what happened to the first 25 minutes. At 20 minutes to go, I seriously did not think I would have a piece finished at all. With 10 minutes to go, I had to disassemble and reassemble the whole thing. I want to say it was fun, but it was more like insane. I'll have to work up some bravery about signing up if they decide to do this event again next year.

All the photos below are Lea's. (Thank you, Lea!)

So here's me entering the USO where the event was held. We were lucky enough to be staying in a house just right across from the USO.This is the event space... soon to be filled up with a whole crowd of folks who watched us make our pieces.

Here's the photo of the bag of stuff we had to work with. It's a little hard to see, but there's a Barbie doll, board canvas, wood box, foam pieces, plastic spider, and other random flotsam.

This is me cutting the legs off of the spider. I should have figured out how to use the whole thing somehow, but once I started cutting, I couldn't be stopped.Here's me with my end piece. I was just happy to have something to show at the end. I look more relaxed here than I felt, that's for sure!

I'll have to see if I can find someone who took and posted more photos. Some of the pieces were really funny!

OH, and all the pieces were put up for silent auction. I was super happy that mine sold!

Artfest 2011 - The Extracurriculars

2011-04-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

So besides all the classes, Artfest also has lots of extra activities. It's a stretch to fit everything in (especially for those of us who are still adjusting from east coast time and want to go to sleep at 8 PM pacific time). One of the extracurricular activites is the vendor marketplace on Friday evening. Here's my table at the marketplace. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out! I had some original pieces, prints, coloring books and greeting cards. The coloring books were a pretty big hit. I'd like to make another one soon, I think. Plus, I'll put my extra ones on Etsy pretty soon if anyone is interested.And here's my table with me behind it. Seriously, I swear my boobs aren't that big in real life... it was the lighting. (Hi Mom! - I can see you shaking your head at me right now. We all know I get this say anything gene from Dad, so don't worry... no one will blame you.) :) I'll get the Iron Chef Artist photos from my friend Lea tomorrow. Oh boy, was that ever a crazy challenge...

The Artfest story continues soon! Tomorrow is my last day here in Washington (I stayed out here an extra week for my day job). I can't wait to get home to see my sweet girl and my hubby. And then to make some art!

Artfest 2011!!! Game Time Class

2011-04-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

My second Artfest class to show you is the Game Time chess board class. There were two fabulous women in the class - Jennifer Lynch and Inez Gray. Because our class size was so small, we got to have a fun day of creating and getting to know each other. These two really gave me more than they'll ever know.

Here's Jennifer hard at work on cutting the chess board squares. Our class ran a little long, and Jennifer had to get packed up quickly to go have some fun at the tulip festival. Jennifer was such fun to have in class and worked really hard on her piece. I wasn't able to snap a picture of her final piece, but I'll ask Jennifer to send me one so I can share her lovely game!

Jennifer also creates pottery at a local studio, and I was lucky enough to get not just one, but two of her awesome ceramic buttons. You can have some of Jennifer's work too! --> Check out Jennifer's Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/lynch to see her yummy pieces!

And now I'd like you to meet Inez Gray. I'm pretty much in awe of this woman. She runs not one, but two salons in Seattle (http://www.habitude.com/) and has more than 100 employees. Yes, I typed that right... more than 100! On top of that, this busy lady has three children! It was really inspring to talk with Inez. She's such a well grounded soul. Ok, back to class... Inez found the most adorable gnome contact paper and made a really fabulous nature themed board. Inez usually works in tin to create her artwork and said that collaging was new to her. I think she's a natural, and I can't wait to see what she does with what she learned. (P.S. to Inez - I heard lots of great comments about your piece at the Show & Tell!)

I was so blessed to have Jennifer and Inez as a part of my teaching journey. Thank you both!

Artfest 2011!!!

2011-04-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Shelly Massey, and I am your Artfest workshop teacher for today!

How awesome is that?! Seriously, did all of that just happen?!?!?! Or am I having the most amazing dream ever?

It was AMAZING!!!

I have so many things to tell you... about my fabulous students, the fantastic projects they created, and all the extra activities like the welcome event, the INSANE Iron Chef Artist event, Vendor Marketplace, and a little art-ing with friends. First... let me show you the fabulous work of my students from my License to Create class! Diana Frey created an Anahata Katkin inspired piece which I think is turning out wonderfully. I'll show you some of the beautiful up close details in an upcoming post. She's still adding hair and flowers, so I hope she'll post a finished picture at her blog so we can see her final piece! --> LINK Susan Morris told me almost as soon as I met her that she wasn't the artist in the family (she's sisters with Diana Frey above), but I beg to differ! Susan created a witch inspired piece with witch's boots and all. She was planning to add a quote and more embellishments, so... Susan, I hope you'll send me a final picture so I can post it! Allow me to introduce you to the sweet, sweet Gail Cowan. Gail came to the class unsure what she was going to create, but in the end, she made the most adorable piece with a house so sweet that I just wanted to live in it. (Can you see that precious birdie on top of the tree???) Gail is studying graphic design, and if you ask me (she let me peek at her amazing journal), she could be teaching all of us soon! Gail was still planning to embellish her piece further, so...Gail, please send me a final pic too!!! Kim Owen pulled together a piece that I'm completely crushing on. She was working on a dog topper for her piece, but when it wasn't working the way she wanted to, she completed her box with some cooler-than-cool rusty metal pieces. I really loved how she made it her own! This is Shelley Rozen, and her really fun and colorful piece! She pushed the boundaries with the plastercloth and wire and fashioned the adorable green glasses for her heart. The paint color on the heart was a cool iridescent that you can't really see in the pic, but is so beautiful in person. Shelley - you'll have to send me the awesome inspiration quote that you're adding (and that I keep forgetting) and pics of the final piece! Nola Unger created a soulful piece centered around the Kathmandu license plates that she brought to class. (She even gave me one! Thank you, Nola!) It was so much fun to watch how her mountain and prayer flags came together on the top. She really seemed to be having a great time with embellishing and pulling together her meaningful piece. You're an awesome student, Nola!And last, but certainly not least, this is Julie Primozich and her stylish piece. Julie was working on a really ambitious mermaid topper (which I still want to see finished, Julie!) but decided to take the piece in a different direction with fun embellishments. OH, and in class, there was a funny moment when my students showed me that magnets stick to license plates. I'm going to be sure to let my future students know about this "A-HA!" (why didn't I think of that) moment. I love Julie's piece and hope she'll send a final picture for me to post!

I couldn't be more thrilled or proud of my students. They did such an amazing job and really filled my heart such fond memories. They were my first class and fulfilled my wish in bigger ways than they will ever know.

Coming soon... the Game Time class students and stories from our fun day together!

Truths

2011-03-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

So if you read this blog, you know that Artfest is next week. Whenever I have a free minute, I'm pretty consumed with thinking about it.

Here's are some truths in my head right now:

- I'm nervous but ridiculously excited.

- If you wish for something and then work really, really hard, it can happen.

- Ignoring your fears is really empowering but still scary.

- The idea of teaching and proclaiming "I AM AN ARTIST" has dredged up some "unfun" confidence and identity issues. Who am I to think that I am good enough to teach? Is my art any good? Who am I really? Am I artsy enough?

(Side Note about this one - I think this is normal and expected. I'm trying to take a huge leap that has taken me 20+ years to reach, so it's going to take me some more time to get adjusted.)

- I need to find my local artistic community.

- I want to find a better way to describe my artistic style. I don't think "fun and whimsical" is going to do it for me any more.

- I want to be able to accept that "fun and whimsical" is good enough - even if that's not how I want to describe my art to people who I don't think will "get it."

- I want to quit overthinking everything. (Obviously I'm having trouble with this one.)

- I have so many ideas for things I want to do that my head may just pop. Almost everything I look at gives me a new idea. (For example, just adding the line drawing image above makes me want to do some coloring of my line drawings using PhotoShop to play around with different color palettes.)

This is going to be a bumpy but exciting ride. Hang on!!!

Registration is OPEN!

2011-03-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited to announce that registration for Inspire My Life art retreat in Manitowoc, WI is OPEN!!!!

Here is the link to the registration site: LINK

I'm teaching the Don't Be Blue Bouquet class on Friday, July 29th from 6-9 PM... ...and Love Your Letters on Saturday, July 30th from 3-6 PM. More detailed descriptions are available on the registration site or on the "Workshops I Teach" tab on my blog above.

Class sizes are limited to 10 people. I hope people sign up! I'm so very thrilled to get to be part of a smaller retreat where we can all hang out and create.

P.S. Registrations is still open for Art Unraveled in Phoenix, AZ in August and Art Is You Petaluma in Petaluma, CA in September.

Hope to meet you at one of these fun events!

And in other news...

2011-03-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

It's been all about Artfest around here lately (YAY! Just ONE week until I am in Washington and headed towards all the fun!!), but I thought I'd also post that I am taking another shot at proposing workshops for Art & Soul. Just sent them for Art & Soul 2012. Yes, you read that right... 2012.

It's hard for me to think so far ahead, but I'm just going to have to get used to it! :)

Time for Artfest Trades

2011-03-27T14:08:00.001-07:00

I feel like I'm down to the wire here, but I'm going to get these done!

I'm doing a different take on last year's trades because my poor little overworked brain only had a little time to think up an idea this time. Will show you the final result before I ship myself out for Artfest.

It's all about perspective

2011-03-25T05:13:00.000-07:00

You might look around this place our little family calls home and see...

the sink is full of dishes
the laundry is in such huge piles that my husband has started referring to them as haystacks
there's remodeling dust everywhere (and I mean everywhere)

I look around and see...

a house trying to open up and reach its potential
time spent building block castles, knocking them down, and building them again
art projects everywhere and packing for Artfest in progress

This crazy, busy life might not suit everyone, but we're making it work for us right now.

I have some exciting news cooking, but it needs a few more weeks to come together. Can't wait to share!

Harper Doodles

2011-03-18T07:25:00.001-07:00

I've been doodling a lot in the mornings lately on materials for my upcoming workshops. This morning my daughter Harper joined in the fun proclaiming, "I want to be an artist, Mama!" Here's her doodle from this morning...
(She's only two, so I'm the one who wrote her name - as demanded by my little artist - and then the date, of course.) :)

Announcing...

2011-03-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

I think it's ok to now announce that....

I'll be teaching at Kim Geiser's Inspire My Life retreat at the end of July in Manitowoc, Wisconsin!!!!

The registration site will be up at the end of the month, but the main site is at http://inspiremyliferetreat.blogspot.com/ You can look for updates there if you want some of the general info.

I'll be teaching the Don't Be Blue Bouquet mixed media flowers class and Love Your Letters class.

SO excited!!!

Artfest! It's NOT too late!

2011-03-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Artfest registrations are still open until March 15th, so it's not too late to sign up!

Artfest is such an amazing experience - April 6th through April 10th in Port Townsend, Washington. You won't want to miss the fun!

AND... if you're interested... my classes still have spots available. :)

License to Create is scheduled for Friday, April 8th. We'll be making these funky license plate boxes to hold our all our treasures. (Ok, ok... I fill mine with candy, but they'd be a good place to hide just about anything. Maybe I'll put my trades from Artfest into my next one.)

Game Time is scheduled for Saturday, April 9th. I've been thinking about a cowboys versus varmits theme for the sample I work on demoing with the class. We'll see if that turns out. Or maybe astronauts versus aliens?

I really hope to see you there!

Where have I been lately?

2011-03-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

I suppose that says it (sort of). I've been pretty underwater lately. I recently decided to take some positive actions (positive in my opinion, at least) to get my workload under control so I can reclaim my life. It's been very crazy the last six months or so. I'm going to try to fill the next six months with fun and positive decisions to get myself back on track.

Hopefully that means you'll see more of me around here. I miss you.

YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

2011-02-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

So I'm kinda freaking out here. In such a good way.

My Paper Cowgirl class is sold out already. I am so grateful and excited and wow... just lucky. So lucky that this journey keeps going.

WOW.

Paper Cowgirl Registrations OPEN!

2011-02-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all,
(I'm trying out my Texan today for this special occasion.)

Paper Cowgirl registration just opened today! YIPPPEEEEE!!

I'll be teaching on Saturday, June 11th. I hope you'll be able to come to this special retreat. Details here --> LINK

I'm teaching a new journaling class called Journaling Jump Start. We'll be making an 8 by 10 art journaling page... and having tons of fun at the same time!

And if my class isn't your cup of tea, there are several other tempting classes. I'm planning to take at least one myself! :) Hope to see you there!

P.S. Spread the word! I need at least ten people to sign up! :)

OWOH Giveaway Winners!

2011-02-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

OWOH blog hopping was a crazy ride, but a really fun one! There are so many talented people out there in the world that I probably never would have run into.

And now for the big announcement!

I originally said I was giving away three prize packs, but I'm expanding it a bit.

My first commenter Lotus at http://whymsicallotus.blogspot.com/ will be getting a present just for being FIRST! I've got your address Lotus, so no need to resend. :)

Three randomly picked winners to receive the prize packs next...

#62 is Amy at http://atypicalgirl.wordpress.com/

#96 is Heidi at http://myhidingplaceincyberspace.blogspot.com/

#46 is Barb at http://babesbybarb.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much to all who visited my blog during OWOH!

Studio Before and After

2011-02-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

I've been working in the evenings to find some kind of order in the space now known as Shelly's Studio. I used to have about three art spaces (some of which even had windows {sigh}), but now it's all shoved into one area in the basement. It has taken a while to recover from all that shoving and sadness over losing my real windows.

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can see any difference between the "before" and the "after", but I'm still happy with the progress.

The "Before" (AKA total and completely unusable chaos)The "After" (somewhat less chaos and fairly usable)

Harper even has a space to work (the dark table on the left), and eventually there's even space (further to the left) that already has some work tables where I might (if I can find people who are interested around here) even teach small classes someday. There's a little kitchen (ok, only a bar, sink and little fridge, but still cute for refreshments) and a nice bathroom over there too. We'll see... :)

More Exciting News!

2011-02-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled to announce that I'll be teaching at Paper Cowgirl in June this year! The event is in Waxahachie, TX just outside of Dallas and is put on by the fabulous Cindy Mayfield. Cindy and her friend Tina Wright started the event, but sadly Tina passed away in early 2010 after a battle with cancer. Tina's family and friends encouraged Cindy to continue with retreat, so Cindy is carrying the creative torch.

I'm teaching a new class called Journaling Jump Start. Class details will be posted on the Paper Cowgirl site soon, but there are awesome collages of all of the classes.

Head over HERE to see!

SO EXCITED!!!

Hey, where's the art, lady?

2011-02-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here it is!!!

I've been trying to pull together some 3-hour classes for a while now so that I could propose for CREATE Mixed Media Art Retreat in Chicago. (I have to send at least two 6-hour classes and two 3-hour classes.)

This weekend I worked up an idea that's been bubbling on a back burner for a while... I call it my Don't Be Blue Bouquet workshop. Just one little hang up though... the online application for the retreat disappeared! So, we'll see if I get to propose all my classes after all. I hope so!!!

And, I came up with another 3-hour workshop to teach about lettering -- Love Your Letters There are more images that go along with this one, but you get the idea (I hope). :)

Have a great week!

More about me?

2011-02-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok... so you might be getting tired of the me, me, me stuff going on around here.

(Hey, where's the art, lady?) :)

BUT...

I was just featured on the Art Is blog in the Artist Spotlight. If you can stand to read just a little bit more about me, here's the link to my interview. LINK

Be sure to click on the Art Is blog heading so you can read about all of the other artists in their spotlights! I find reading the spotlights so fascinating and somehow reassuring. Or, I'm just an artist stalker. You decide.

Hello One World One Heart!

2011-01-30T04:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog, One World One Heart neighbors!

Thanks for stopping by!

My name is Shelly Massey, and I'm excited to be participating in this event for the first time.

I currently live in Middletown, Ohio, but as an adult, I've also called South Carolina, Kansas and Washington (state) my home. I'm an artist, but also a workshop instructor, a wife, a mama to a two and a half year old daughter, and a manager and senior analyst for a software company based in Washington state.

In 2011, I'm realizing some big dreams. I'll be teaching at at least three art retreats - Artfest, Art Unravelled, and Art Is. And I'm even working on setting up a couple more for this year! It's been quite an adventure so far... one that has stretched me quite a bit, but it's been worth it.

I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know you were here. At the end of the fifth and final One World One Heart party, I'll be giving away the following package to THREE people randomly selected who comment on this post.

The prize package:

An art print of my original collage
A collage paper pack of vintage papers
A copy of my original coloring book of doodles (fun for all ages!)
Two of my original greeting cards

Here are two of the art prints I'm giving away. (The other one is at the top of this post.)

Thanks so much again for stopping by! I plan to make it around to all of your blogs to say hi too!

Happy One World One Heart Party to you!

P.S. Here's a link to the One World One Heart blog links --> LINK (I'm #415 on the list.)

Happy exploring!

One World One Heart Party Starts Tomorrow!

2011-01-30T04:26:00.000-08:00

Hi! There's a great event that starts tomorrow called One World One Heart. Between now and mid February, bloggers from around the world send in blog post links to Lisa of A Whimsical Bohemian. She collects them into a big list so we can all visit and get to know each other. Participants put giveaways on their blogs and everyone leaves comments on the giveaway post to say "HI, nice to meet you" and for a chance to win the giveaway.

Check back tomorrow for my "HELLO One World One Heart" and giveaway post. Looking forward to visiting as many of the participants as I can to say hi. (This is my first year participating, but last year there were around 1,000 participants I think!)

Whiny Doodle

2011-01-27T14:32:00.000-08:00

Fair warning: Today's doodle is a wee bit whiny. I moved all my art stuff to our basement so that (in theory) I could continue making art while the remodeling stuff is going on. What happened is that ten zillion other things ended up down there too - and it's all stacked up in piles that cannot be ignored very easily. So, I guess only more doodles until I get some time to clean up down there.

Check this out!

2011-01-24T11:12:00.001-08:00

Last year I took Jennifer Lee's e-course "The Right-Brain Business Plan" as a way to help me move forward with my goal to become a full time artist and workshop instructor.

Recently, I was approached to do a Spotlight for Jennifer's website. I was thrilled and honored!

Here's a link the site...you can see my spotlight if you scroll down or if you go to the Spotlight button.

LINK

Be sure to check out the rest of Jenn's site too. Her class is a great help to anyone trying to pull together a plan or trying to figure out how to move ahead with a business idea.

Doodles...

2011-01-22T14:05:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a whirlwind around here. There's time to breathe between the gusts though so I've been continuing to doodle in my little journal.

Back to playing with Harper, working, doodling and dusting (I have dusted and vacuumed more in the last two months than in my whole life. Oh wait, that's not really saying much considering my previous history for dusting and vacuuming. Well, it's still A LOT. The remodeling is coming along, but we probably still have a month of dust - er, I mean work - left.)

Motivation

2011-01-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

So sometimes what motivates me isn't a success, it's a failure. You see, I made the art journal above and the journal box for a workshop class proposal. It was my second take on the journal in a box idea (the first one didn't make the art retreat workshop cut either), so I was a bit disheartened when I found out that I wouldn't be teaching this class. So how does that motivate me? Well, now I'm determined to use the dickens out of this sweet little journal. All of the recent doodles I've posted have been in this little journal, and I love it more and more. I guess this is another one of my "find your happy place" moments... I don't like for a good thing to go sour because of something out of my control, so I try to find a way to make it happy (or at least happier) so I can feel better about it.

Goals

2011-01-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

I'm still adding goals, but this is what I have for now. Last year's mid-year goal setting after Artfest certainly helped me to stay motivated and on track. Announcing to the world, "Hey, here's what I'm going to do!" helped keep me accountable. I didn't meet all of those goals, but I don't really think that's the point. I had a target, and hit the bullseye from my point of view.

Back to our regular programming...

2011-01-04T11:07:00.001-08:00

I've been working on this off and on since Thanksgiving or so, and I finally finished it last night. It's my entry for the Cloth Paper Scissors 2012 "On the street where I live" themed calendar contest. Keep your fingers crossed... I really want to win!

And Finally!

2010-12-31T04:51:00.000-08:00

Almost there!

2010-12-30T08:11:00.001-08:00

And... it just keeps going...

2010-12-29T06:24:00.001-08:00

Still some Christmas left...

2010-12-28T03:37:00.000-08:00

More days of Christmas...

2010-12-23T06:05:00.001-08:00

A few days of Christmas...

2010-12-22T10:58:00.001-08:00

Remodeling!

2010-12-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

Erin asked for remodeling photos, so here you go, Erin! I've been posting them over at our family blog if you want to keep up with our insane project to how things turn out.

Kitchen before (Hello, 1990s vinyl!)Kitchen now (Hello useable floor plan!) Countertop measurements were made today. Now we just have to wait (and wait) for the fabrication and install... 3-5 weeks I think. I have the fun job of recoloring all the grout at some point soon. We picked a color that's too light!Front entry beforeFront entry today