Here's Wonder land

The third in a series of three using vintage sheet music from The Sweetest Song, love poems I hand wrote from Pablo Neruda, and some pages from an old book called A Romny and Raq. It's called Wonder land and just a little bit inspired by Alice, but mostly by the idea of being full of wonder and awe from nature and all the little surprises it brings.

Wonder land

I just created a new painting entitled "Wonder land" yesterday and I'm not going to post it yet, cause I wanted to show how much "wonderland' was create today with our sudden snowfall. This is the second round of snow this year, which, is definitely a treat for us in the south where it really is not typical to have significant snowfall in the winter. The most amazing thing I realize is that since I grew up with major snowfall in MI, and b&*$ched about it all the time, it is so nostalgic to have snow falling and realize how quiet it becomes as the snow builds up. We have skylights and when the snow covers them like a blanket, the whole house takes on this wonderful light, and outside, I can hardly hear the traffic on Clarendon Ave., there's almost an insulation of sound. You feel cocooned inside-and it really is an amazing feeling to feel safe, and snug and warm. K and I shared hot chocolate this afternoon and the family watched a movie at 5:30 pm. These are the things that seem so mundane, but are indeed very decadent on a Friday afternoon. Getting ready to settle down to watch the opening ceremonies of the winter olympics!

The Sweetest Song

A couple of paintings I did using a more muted and limited color palette, experimenting with pinks, reds, and all the variations in between. They came together with a bit of a struggle in that it was hard to create contrast with the tones of pinks and red. But after creating some depth with linework and some subtle burnt umber accents, the imagery emerged in a soft way that surprised me in its subtlety. Many layers of old book pages, music, patterned and textured papers, handwritten poetry (Pablo Neruda) and chinese tea papers are layered in the background.

Life drawings

I was finally motivated to photograph some of my life drawing work from college for my sister-in-law who requested some prints for their apartment in Chicago. Most of these pieces were done on 18x24 newsprint and they have been sitting in my flat files for over 15 years! And there were few others done with oil pastel on Rives BFK. Rives has such an amazing buttery quality and I still have a stack of leftover sheets in my flat files. It may be time to pull some out and experiment with a few ideas. Some good nostalgia was stirred up paging through these old drawings and inspires me to get back to traditional drawing roots.

The three images she picked to create a Parisian feel, oo la la!

Oiseau 2-the melody story

Here is the second piece in my story box series entitled Oiseau 2. (bad photo though, it was rainy outside and didn't get to shoot it in natural light) Both of my oiseau pieces are over at the Decatur Gallery and will be displayed through February 19. Decatur Gallery is having a reception on Saturday, February 13, 5-10 pm on Valentine's weekend and then they will be moved to the Avondale Community Club for Art Night on February 20. A little traveling show, if you will. There will be more of these 10" x 10" story boxes to come, it will be cool to see where the theme takes me!

Story boxes-new series

A new piece just finished over here entitled "oiseau" and it's part of my "story boxes" collection. Actually, my sister-in-law gave me the idea because that's what she called them when she first saw them and it just was the perfect idea (thanks Nicolette!). My daughter found this little red bird on the ground during the Christmas village event at Stone Mountain and so this piece revolved around that "find"

I was struggling with titles and such, and I thought since I've got this thing with birds going on (and who doesn't lately?) I would title the series "A Melody Story" These story boxes will have a recurring theme of music and birds, nature and singing, just down-right loopy, happy, whimsical references to all that makes your imagination soar, when you hear a song, a bird sing, or even the sound of wind through trees. The magic of sounds that put you in a certain mood, trigger a memory or just plain make you appreciate today.

Great finds at Decatur Estate

Yesterday, I visited Decatur Estate after running some errands. I LOVE this place which is full of mid-century, vintage and antique items in 6000 sq. ft. of space. I usually hunt for old books and frames, antique plates and odd furniture, but today I found some really out of the ordinary items. An old wooden fabric stamp, which will come in handy for some paintings where some nice texture is needed,



















four decoupaged Japanese trays that will be re-purposed into some original works,


















a really interesting Japanese publication full of black and white photography and line work-the pages of characters will be used for collage elements.

















And finally, a couple old books, one of which is a 1949 copy of Wuthering Heights. I've been trying to read this book for years, and I know it's a classic and people rave about it, but I am TRYING to get through it, keep putting it down, starting again. I will finish it one day and be one of those people who rave about it, but until then I have this lovely copy to admire.

The art block winner

I meant to post the winner of my Been Caught Stealing art block! Sorry ya'll. Anyhow, I was really inspired by all of the posts but was very touched by Jessica's:

"I would love to win this, because I would use it in my classroom! I am an English and Journalism teacher at a small town high school in North Carolina. I am always looking for new ways to inspire the kids and bring out their creativity. It would be very easy for me to get my hands on reclaimed wood, so I would use this in my classroom as a class project at the beginning of the 2nd semester, which starts right after Christmas! I would ask them to paint something that represents who they are INSIDE, and then they can share it with the class! Thank you for creating such inspiring art!"

Isn't that so sweet? I hope she sends me an update about her project, it will be so cool to see what her students come up with!
Congrats Jessica!

Little Love bird ornament

So in honor of twelfth night (I know, it's now past 3 kings day), the official end of Christmas, and I'm going to show you one remnant of the holiday season anyhow! I created this little bird last spring right after Valentine's Day and she was hanging in my studio over K's art table watching over her daily creative adventures. I always like to make an ornament for our exchange but didn't have time to create one specifically for the event, so I reluctantly took down little love bird, wrapped her carefully in tissue and off we went to the party. My friend Dottie ended up snagging the little tweet after being stolen 3 times (the limit) I'm very happy to see my little love bird go to a good home even though I'll miss her spinning around overhead. Adieu my dear.

Taking Flight

I was looking for some books on creativity the end of this last year, and decided on a book called "Taking Flight" It's been awhile since I've read a creativity book and thought it was good timing with the new year to be inspired with some different techniques and subject matter. I have a few ideas so far and just received a big order from Dick Blick of paint, paintbrushes, mediums and cradled wood boxes. So exciting to get new stuff! In addition to my smaller works I like to create, I'm going to start painting a bit bigger, 18x18 and 24x24. With the new year, it's so motivating to get a fresh start after a nice break! I'm really looking forward to the kids going back to school next week-it's just perfect timing and I hope to have a lot of sketches to show soon-stay tuned!

The rest of the girls

I finished the rest of the girl's portraits last Friday and getting ready to ship them out to Arkansas today. The buyer was VERY happy when I sent her the final jpeg images last week! What started out as a cute idea for a Cmas gift for her friends became something very special in the end.





















It was very cool to learn about each girl along the way-all through emails and pictures. The buyer's journey took on something more as well-she really was choked up when she saw the final images and just can't wait to give them to her friends during New Year's celebrations.






















So as I was wrapping them up last night with brown paper and bubble wrap and securing them in a box, it occurred to me that this was the last time I would be able to look at the originals before they are sent on their way. It made me a little sad, but knowing they will mean so much to these girls makes it all worthwhile.

the girls

This week is the final push for finishing portraits for 4 friends in the midwest. Rachelle commissioned me to create portraits of herself and friends for Cmas gifts.

I finished Monica this weekend and really loved how her expression turned out. She's originally from Denver and a snowboarder. She's the laid-back dreamer and a has an artistic quality about her. She struggled with her path, and has changed majors a half dozen times until finally settling into applying for pharmacy grad schools.

Monica, 8x10 mixed media on canvas

Giveaway-Art Block!

In the spirit of the season, I've decided to host a giveaway! But, in order to make this fun, and in light of a recent negative moment I experienced, I'd like to hear about a time you had to "rise above" a situation, take the high road, so to speak- where you kept your cool and just let it go.

***(ammended 12/16, since this giveaway ends tomorrow, and there haven't been many posts-this is my first giveaway after all and I am learning how to promote this kind of thing-I'm opening up the comments to "why would you like to own this block or where would you display it?"***

So, list your comments here, and on Thursday, December 17, I will choose the best response (in my humble opinion) and the winner will receive my Been Caught Stealing block from my shop. A little treasure for those of you who enjoy dreamy, whimsical things like that. Open to USA residents only! Thanks!

Little treasure boxes

This past Sunday night was my first ever holiday sale at my friend Heather Pyles' house. It was so much fun and great to hang out with friends and other sellers! You know I have partnered with Connie Fontova of Hang on Sister to do a limited edition line of my artwork on her bottlecap and glass tile jewelry. And I had come across these cute chipboard boxes and knew I had to make custom keepsake boxes with artwork to match the jewelry. I only did 6, just to see how they would be received. Well, I sold almost all of them! I also did 5 ornaments, and sadly, I didn't photograph them, but they all sold as well. So it makes me so happy to see those little precious things go off to new homes! I got a few custom orders for more boxes, and I think I'll experiment with some small wooden ones as well. fun, fun, fun!

Field Trip Holiday Pop-up Show

I subscribe to Daily Candy Atlanta (www.dailycandy.com) and received an email this morning about Field Trip. A new holiday shop in Athens, GA that is run by two sisters, Rinne Allen and Lucy Gillis who have been "traveling and collecting one-of-a-kind antiques and artisanal goodies since they were kids" It's located in the historic Hawthorne House foyer, 1073 South Milledge Ave.

The show starts today and runs through Dec. 24. I am definitely taking a road trip to check this out! I love any excuse to visit Athens, which is one of those places that surprises you with how artsy it can be-maybe even more so than Atlanta at times.

I'm especially intrigued by their bonus gift wrapping with recycled materials and natural fabrics (using the Japanese furoshiki technique) and topped with vintage stamps. I mean, seriously, all I want is the gift wrap!

The girls, a portrait commission

I received an email to my Etsy shop recently with a request to do four portraits for a girl and her three friends. She wants to give the portraits as gifts for Christmas and commissioned me to create images similar to my Lovely Mysticals series. This is a very exciting project because I've been wanting to do some portrait work and wasn't sure how to get started. My style is not necessarily painting a realistic likeness, but more about capturing a personality. And this is a process I've been working at off and on for the last year or so.

I just submitted the sketches to the buyer, and awaiting feedback. She provided "bios" and several photographs of each girl for reference. The first round is below, and anticipate revisions to "nail it" for her, but I'm very happy with the results so far and hope she likes them too!

A Night at the Museum

With two days before The Museum School silent auction, our committee is furiously wrapping up final details and acquiring last minute donations! There have been so many people working behind the scenes, and with the state charter interview behind us, I think everyone is ready to let off some steam and relax Saturday night. There are some awesome auction items and with the great team we have doing set-up and decorations, it's sure to be a party people will talk about for awhile!

The theme is "A Night at the Museum" and we're taking themes from old art and artifacts -from the funky to traditional. And with a venue like Bart Webb Studios, it's just a perfect setting for our night! The auction catalog cover is the only visual we created for this event to keep costs down. But we're using elements of the design for a small run of tickets, item descriptions and posters at the event. I used a watercolor-ish texture on canvas as a background and created a parchment effect. Flourishes in coral and turquoise are bright contrasts against the sepia tones of the artwork.

Didn't purchase your tickets yet? www.themuseumschool.org

Whitespace Gallery

Just stumbled onto this very cool gallery in Atlanta on Edgewood. I haven't actually visited yet, but came across the website when I was reading a forum about an event they have called For-Ever-Green. It's a "green" show and if I had anything 100% organic, archival, compostable and such, I would love to apply to exhibit! The site is beautifully done and the photography is awesome! The pic above is from the Dec. 2008 show. I hope to check it out this year, and so should you! Exhibit runs Dec. 3-6.

http://www.whitespace814.com/

Hang on Sister jewelry collaboration

Here's the bottlecap and glass tile necklaces I promised to post. I didn't take a very good photo this morning, the light was weird outside, but it will do for now! I'm working on some custom painted boxes to house some of these lovelies for the holiday season. They are super cute and will be themed for each necklace-I hope to finish them this week and will show them as soon as they're finished!

Chastain Park Art Festival a success!

This weekend was the first Chastain Park Art Festival and besides the really, really cold weather, people came out to see the artists! Saturday was pretty bone chilling and I did ok considering the weather with sales, but Sunday was sunny and beautiful and LOTS of people came out, thank goodness! I sold a lot of my art blocks, a few originals and five necklaces from Hang on Sister-which I will photograph for the next post.

















So I took a few pictures of my booth with my phone, it turned out so cute! I didn't even really have a plan for setup, but Friday I got an idea and quickly took a leftover piece of cedar from our deck, screwed in a bunch of leftover screws to hang my blocks and it worked out so fabulous. It really made a difference in my display. I also used a wire picture holder turned on its side to display the hanging necklaces.

Thanks to all who came out to see me and supporting the festival!