And Finally!

Almost there!

And... it just keeps going...

Still some Christmas left...

More days of Christmas...

A few days of Christmas...

Remodeling!

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

Another Exciting Announcement!

Yes, another one!!!

I found out this weekend that I'll be teaching two classes at Art Unraveled in Phoenix, AZ in August 2011!

I'm teaching the Birdy on a Branch class and the License to Create class.

The schedule isn't posted yet, but it's going up very soon (this week, I think). Keep your eye out... http://www.artunraveled.com/

I woke up this morning thinking my wish really is coming true. It kind of blows my mind a wee bit. :)

{Whew!}

My Art Is...West Coast workshops are completed! {Whew, again!} The location of the retreat moved, so it's now in Petaluma, CA. September 22-27, 2011.

It's been crazier than crazy around here. Work (the non-art work, that is) is overloaded and mostly overwhelming. AND Harper and I both managed to get some kind of flu bug. AND the workshops for Art Is... were due! At least that meant I got to do some art in my "free time". Oh, and did I mention that we're remodeling our kitchen too? {A third Whew!}

Without further ado, here are my workshops!

Mixed Media Playtime

Book and Box

AND, I'm sending the License to Create license plate box class too, but you've seen that once or twice. :)

An Exciting Announcement!

In September 2011, the creators of Art Is.... are headed out west to Sacramento Petaluma, CA, and I'm going with them! I'll be teaching along side quite a line up of fabulous artists. Check the list out here: LINK to facebook announcement

I'm super excited! If you're in the area, I hope you can come! Oh heck, even if you're not in the area, I hope you can figure out a way to get there... we're going to have so much fun!

Post soon about the workshops I'll be teaching... Stay tuned!

Well this is just a pity.

I can't believe I haven't posted for a month. {Big sigh.} If you've been patient enough to keep checking the blog, THANK YOU.

For those of you who asked about my medical test last month, THANK YOU very much for your kind comments and concern. I was having some testing done because my left arm wasn't feeling right (there's a funny in that, I know) and my left cheek kept twitching. In the end, the doctors and tests couldn't find anything wrong with my arm. I've been trying to pay close attention to how I sit and lean on my left. I think it's helping some, but that arm still feels kinda funny and my cheek twitches like crazy when I'm stressed (a lot lately) or tired (a lot lately). At any rate, it looks like only time will tell on this one.

I'm working on some workshops for a surprise announcement. Stay tuned!

I need to...

Edited moments later to add: So when I created this, I was thinking about my art, and that I just need to be brave about the whole thing because I know it will all turn out for the best in the end. Actually, I saw the word "travel" upside down and somehow misread it to read "be brave." I thought that was an important message from my subconscious :), so I made this little collage. Then as I was loading it onto the blog, I remembered that tomorrow I have to go to the neurologist for this exam where I guess they poke little needles into you and send electrical pulses into your muscles. And I then decided that this Be Brave message was just something I needed to hear on more than just the art stuff.

Just thought you might be interested in how this quick collage came to be.

Up and Down

Well, it's been an up and down weekend. I've just been alternately encouraged by progress around the house, and then crabby about who knows what. My energy levels have been all over the map this weekend. At any rate, I made some progress with taming the beast that is my current art space today thanks to some IKEA shelving. There's still work to do with organizing (as you can see) and shoving things down into the basement (which depresses me a bit for reasons I won't go into right now)... BUT... I felt like I had done enough clean up to allow myself to do a little bit of late evening creating.

I felt like I needed a reminder that I can still do this. Even if it doesn't feel all that possible right now. I will find a way to make my art dreams happen.

Messages for today.

Ummmmm...

I have no idea where this country-ish styled thing came from. Well, I KNOW where it came from... my little art desk creation from last night. But it doesn't feel like my style at all. Does that ever happen to you?

I made something.

Yes, that's right. I finally made something. I'm not sure it's finished, but I'm calling it "ok" for now.And I have to admit, it was hard to even get this far. I'm out of the magic groove of daily creating. I miss that magic.

Note to self:
You created something. And that is good enough.

This might be part of the problem...

There could be another reason no art is happening around here. The art room is a DISASTER. And I don't work so well in DISASTER areas. When I came back from the art fair, I dumped everything in the middle of the room. I worked on cleaning up a bit this morning, and at least there's a table now with a few inches of space to work in. Now if I could just find time to paint the walls. (Ok, not gonna happen any time soon... I know.)

CELEBRATING!

We are CELEBRATING! Why are we celebrating? Because over the weekend I managed to pull together my workshop applications for Art Unravelled 2011. YAYYYYYY!

I'm submitting some things you've seen before, but at this point, even that requires celebration. Here's what I sent:

License To Create

A license plate treasure box.

Art Journal To Go

A box that holds a journal and supplies.

Birdy on Branch

A mixed-media, art journaling birdy standing proudly on her branch.(Detail)We'll see what happens!

Still Here & Still Swamped

Oh yes, I'm still here. And I've been doing my very best not to whine to the world about how completely buried I am. I'll leave it at this... I was crazy to accept the offer for the manager position at work. Crazy, I tell you.

Ok. Done with that.

Now on to my current art dilemma. I want, want, want to get my workshop applications in for Art Unravelled, but the deadline for applications is September 15th. I've been trying very hard to get to it, but many, many 10 to 14 hour work days + a two year old who wants her Mama (+ a Mama who wants her two year old who is extra funny and sweet and cuddly lately) are making that very difficult. SOMEHOW, I will pull it together.

One of my challenges for doing workshop applications is that you have to think about submitting about a year in advance of the actual event. That's a heck of a lot of thinking ahead. Another event, Artiscape, is due today. I just don't think that's going to happen no matter how much I want it. My "I can do anything! I can do it all!" mentality is kind of being squashed lately. I still know (like my last post said) that this will pass. But in the meantime, it's a struggle.

Can I tell you a secret?

Do you promise to not think I'm losing it? (Well, I am... a little bit.)

Here goes...

You know the messages I put on my artwork? Fly... Dream... Seek Big Adventures? Yep, those messages. Well, I put them out into the world for you, but...

I make those messages for me.

Because I need to hear them and see them. OFTEN. They keep me moving forward. They remind me of where I want to go and why I am here. They keep me sane.

"Old" collage with message I need to hear. Oh yeah, and I'm posting "old" art because new art just isn't happening right now.

What IS happening right now is that I'm going through a time of complete upheaval because my job is taking over my life. There's no breathing room, no thinking room, no peace. NO ART.

I have to think this is only temporary. My sanity REQUIRES me to think this is only temporary. If I've learned anything over the years it's that these kinds of upheavals don't last forever. There has to be a break. I'm just trying to keep it together until that break appears. I'm trying to be nice to myself and keep all the other pressures to a minimum wherever I can. Which isn't easy. But I'm going to keep trying.

Artfest 2011: Register! It's not too late!

There's still time to register for Artfest 2011! Here's the link to the class list --> LINK!

And direct links to my classes:

License to Create

Game Time

Teesha opens all of the registrations at the same time on September 3rd, and then starts placing people into classes until they fill up. And they do fill up! :)

Even if you're not signing up for my class, I'd love to know that you're going to Artfest! One of the best parts of the event is meeting everyone.

EXCITED!!!!! Don't miss out on THE event that truly changed my life. Hope to see you there!

AND...

I found this while I was getting the links for my classes.... the artist photos. It's funny to see my photos mixed in there with all the other artists. It made me laugh.

There and Back Again: The Art Booth Experience

I survived my first arts and craft festival!

Ok, that wasn't really how I wanted to start my blog post about the experience, but that's what came out when I started typing.

Let's try that again...

I won an award at the Salt Fork Arts and Crafts festival! (Celebrate the successes, learn from the "failures", right?)

I was very honored to win the William Saling award titled "The William Saling Memorial Award; In memory of long-time exhibitor Bill Saling; for an Amusing, Delightful Work of Exceptional Craftsmanship" for my license plate box. William "Bill" Saling was an exhibitor at the festival for 30 years. The greatest part about winning this award was that it came with stories. Several people stopped by to tell me about Bill Saling and how humorous and entertaining he was. Evidently he was quite the well loved character. As his art, he made wood pieces including clog dancers. Bill passed away a few years ago. From one of the stories I heard, he passed away at his desk while creating his art. I managed to find some of his clog dancers online, and was even able to order one. This one... :)

I would have loved to have met Bill Saling, but I'll have to settle for reminding other people of him.

Ok, so finally... the booth. I'm a little hesitant to show you because it didn't turn out quite as I had planned. Oh, and the photo I managed to take was after a larger piece sold (the white empty board in the back left) which left a gap. I took down the that piece of pegboard after that and put some small paintings on the black shutter. It would have been nice to have down at least the back wall to have a white background, but it was tooooo hot. I had to take advantage of whatever breezes were coming through to cool down.

Overall, I did ok with sales... there were ups and downs, and overall I would have liked to sell more, but for my first show, it was ok.

Mainly I learned:

- A lot about what I need to think about for having a booth on a hill. I really hadn't planned for that, and it threw everything kind of out of whack

- I need a better way to create wall space too while also planning for the curveball from being at an angle.

- I need to put something more "impactful" visually on the front of the booth. Some of the vendors had signs you could read from two miles away. Ok, maybe only one mile away.

- Oh, and did anyone know that August is hot? :) We did get to sweat a bit. Probably didn't hurt me to lose a few pounds of water weight.

- I need to spend more time figuring out if an event is right for me. It's kind of hard to tell, so maybe it will be a trial and error for the first year. I did get some helpful advice about events where I might fit in from some people who visited my booth.

People had interesting comments:

Most of the people who stayed for a bit had very nice things to say. Here are a few of the nice things I heard: Clever, talented, fun, happy, whimsical.

Here are some of the things that I'm still working on interpreting: Different, strange, and never seen anything like this before. I'm going to take all of those things as a compliment for now.

In other art related news:

1) My wish to teach at an Art & Soul event might not be over after all. We'll see...

2) I got an invitation today to exhibit at the Oglebayfest in Wheeling, WV at the beginning of October. I'm working to figure out if I'm going to do it or not. It has mainly been a crafts event in the past, but they're working to make it more of an arts event. I probably fit somewhere in between (Artsy Craft? Crafty Art?) , so it might work for me, but I still have concerns that I might not fit in.

In other only somewhat related news:

1) I got a promotion to manager. My first day was yesterday. This is somewhat related to my art because it probably will mean I'll have less time for it. Instead of spending my lunch hour creating art, I'll probably be in a meeting. We'll see...It's feeling a bit overwhelming right now, but I'll wait to let things settle down a bit.

2) I have a lot of travel in the next couple of months. The upside is that I'll get to see friends - especially my dear friend Lea who is pregnant and has another wee one that I haven't met yet. Can't wait!

This morning...

It's poker chip pendants time. I like how these look, but they are frustrating me a bit because I don't like glue on my fingers. Lots of finger wiping going on around here... I'd better just get used to it because I think I'm making pins too.

Some of today's work...

Made four journals so far today using the technique I described a few days ago for the covers and the binding technique I learned at Teesha Moore's class. Three more to go (for now). :)

A message to me + you

Greeting Card Design

I'd be fibbing if I told you I wasn't a little stressed about the art fair preparations. So many projects going on at the same time, but none of them finished. I'm trying to keep my wits about me and remind myself to just keep moving ahead. In the past, I've let myself be paralyzed by huge projects, and then I found myself rushing at the end to get it all done. I've been trying to tackle all of the art fair work at a pretty steady pace, but it still feels like a lot. Whenever I felt the urge to run away from it, I just find at least one manageable task to do that keeps me moving forward towards my goal. Here's how my brain works now:

Me in panic: Feel frustrated about a creative-type project?
Me in response: Stuff greeting cards in envelopes or some other mindless task that has to be done.

Me in panic: Back aching because I've been bent over a project for too many hours?
Me in response: Sit on the couch and doodle in the art fair coloring book I'm working on.

Me in panic: Completely out of ideas?
Me in response: Look through sketchbook for five minutes and get inspired.

Me in panic: Want to run away or just take a nap to ignore the huge pile of work?
Me in reponse: Walk in art room and pick just one small thing to do. One small thing leads to working on twelve things, and voila, work gets done!

As long as I'm moving forward, I'm pretty sure it's all going to turn out in the end.

Five days left and counting... Back to work! :)

Only as high...

Miss Harper slept in this morning until 8:30. As much as I like to hang out with her in the morning before she goes over to Grammy's house, I also like some good early morning art time.

Repeated some quotes that I seem to be addicted to. They just ring true to me. Whenever I feel like I don't know where I'm going, if I read one of these quotes, I get back on track.

The quotes don't read quite right... I probably would have done them differently if I was doing it again, but then... it was more the process of writing them down for me than about the final piece. I might have to make a "how to read this painting" accompanying note for this one. :)

Happy dreaming to all of you!

Just one more

Managed to squeeze in one more. Not done, but I wanted you to know...

Who needs to eat anyway?

Today's lunch time project. Thank goodness for heat guns. Still working on the eyes of these guys a bit, but getting there...

Something Different

Trying some small paintings for the art fair. I'd say they are still drafts at this point, but I thought I'd share anyway.

Hello

My new business cards arrived today. Glossy and fun. I was going to put one of my collage images or something on the front with my contact info on the back, but then... I saw the "HELLO my name is" background. And it just had to happen. They kinda make me laugh a little. And that seems like a good thing.

And the countdown begins...

On Friday, I was officially accepted into the Salt Fork Arts & Crafts Festival in Cambridge, OH. AND it's in less than two weeks - August 13, 14, and 15. HOLY MOLY.


That means there's a whole lotta stuff going on around here. We set up the new tent canopy over the weekend and figured out how I'm going to hang stuff for "walls". Now, it's time to just keep cranking out work whenever I can!I'm planning to offer:
- License plate boxes
- Birdies on branches
- Birds on eggs
- Greeting cards
- Journals
- Prints
- Paintings
- Chess boards with pieces

And if I get super productive:
- Mixed media poker chip necklaces
- Art journal kits
- Painted muslin stuffies


The hardest part for me to figure out is the pricing. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!!!

Fly!

Greeting Card Design.

Another animal with wings. They seem to be calling to me. :) This gal needed some extra encouragement to fly, so she got some balloons too.

Doesn't Look Like Much Yet...

BUT! I was so darn excited about how fast this little journal came together that I just had to share.

Canvas + Heavyweight cardboard/tagboard + Heatnbond Ultrahold iron-on adhesive + Gaffers tape (7gypsies in this case) = A quicker than quick journal! I just ironed on the adhesive to a piece of canvas, placed down the tagboard, folded over the canvas so the tagboard was enclosed, and ironed away. I cut off the extra canvas and put the gaffers tape over the raw edges.

Now I just need to sew in the three signatures, and I'll be done!

This Evening's Project