Great new givewaway!
Posted on December 2, 2008
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The Altered Abbey, a fantastic shop run by A gal named Chrysti is having a monster 29-day giveaway! Lots of stuff up for grabs including a $100 gift certificate at the Altered Abbey. She and a bunch of her friends have teamed up with a ton of goodies to hand out to lucky winners. All you have to do is check back on her blog (or subscribe to it) for instructions.
We love art but not artists…
Posted on November 11, 2008
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I know this has probably made its rounds but I feel it’s an important thing to see. A 2003 survey to measure USAmericans’ attitudes towards art an artists says that we as a whole value art highly (96%) but not many value artists themselves (27%). This is a very odd paradox, but nothing that I haven’t felt as an emerging artist myself…
Read the article at UnitedStatesArtists.org.
Book Necklaces!
Posted on October 22, 2008
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These book necklaces are the newest addition to my not-so-coherent line of products. Made of polymer clay, paper, charms & other metal bits, they’re mounted on 24″ gunmetal, brass or copper & steel chain.
Look for them on etsy soon!
Five Things to Remember when Working with Polymer Clay
Posted on October 12, 2008
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I have been working on a new project with polymer clay (photos & descriptions to come later). I’ve used it before but not to make so many things at a time. So here are a few things I’ve learned:
- If you’re going to attach metal objects to the clay, just make an impression of it in the clay before baking and glue it on later.
- Sand & buff before you attach your metal objects (my favorite adhesive is E6000).
- Always sand with a sanding block that you can use in water. Polymer clay dust is not fun to have in your nasal cavities/lungs/sinuses/eyes.
- When using steel wool to buff your pieces, wear protective gear. This means long sleeves, mask and full apron (leather if you have one).
- Rhinestones, no matter how well you remember them being glass, are probably plastic, and do not bake well.
When I finish my polyclay pieces, I prefer a matte sheen so I wet sand the rough edges & imperfections with a fine sanding block, follow up with a vigorous rub with steel wool (I have the “0″ steel wool) and then buff with my dremel buffing attachment. I think I should probably invest in a buffing wheel — the kind you attach to a workbench — at some point. It’ll make my wrists happy.
Winning Prizes & Upcoming Festival
Posted on October 8, 2008
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Earlier this month I entered the North Cobb Arts League Fall Juried Exhibition with a painting I’d been working on for a couple months and two of my handmade books. One is “Snake” which is available on Etsy, and the other is a book I called “Light” with polymer clay covers & all sorts of fiber-y papers inside. It was the first Juried art show I’ve ever entered, and my first painting since my college painting class (in which I produced a series of rather embarrassing paintings of nudes… I can’t help it if they switched from a voluptuous woman to a twig!!).
To my surprise, my painting won First Place in the Acrylic & Oils category!
My two books, “Snake” and “Light” won Third in the 3-D category.
Needless to say I was a happy camper! You can see everything on display (including the REST of the wonderful artwork) ’till October 20 at The Art Station - Big Shanty in Kennesaw, GA.
Oh, and pass by Art on the Lawn this October 18 & 19 at the same place. It’s from 10am - 4pm on both days, includes food, music, demonstrations & 20 local artists including yours truly. Since I’m on the board of the North Cobb Arts League, I know who the vendors are and it’ll be a fantastic opportunity to get a jump on your holiday shopping!
Possibly switching gears
Posted on September 8, 2008
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I want my life to look. I am not a fan of mass-production, and don’t feel that I can take that route. I don’t think that selling my art & craft will be the way I make my living since it requires being a factory of sorts. I will continue to sell, but not focus on that aspect.
I love to teach - and I’ve been realizing this more & more lately. So I started a class based around an idea I’ve had rolling around in my head. It’s tentatively titled “Art Journaling for the Intimidated” but I’m not married to it. I’m taking about 12 people, some who haven’t even picked up a paint brush, through a process from writing, to doodling to a full-fledged mixed media journal page in 4 weeks. This is my testing ground. Students aren’t paying much in the way of class fees, but there is a supply fee.
My goal with this is to formulate a set class to teach elsewhere and to create an on-line class for those who can’t come to where I am.
I will still make & sell my journals, so don’t be too disappointed. I’ll probably only do 1 or 2 festivals a year and concentrate on actual art shows - showing some of the more elaborate journals and even my completed art journals. We’ll see how that goes.
I’ll keep ARRRT! updated as much as possible with details on how my class is going, where else I’ll be teaching, and when the online class is launched.
Etsy Tuesday - one day late
Posted on June 25, 2008
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Didn’t plan well enough, and 18 of my favorites just isn’t doable, so I’ll feature one new (new to me) artist a week on Etsy Tuesday.
This week I’m featuring Ingrid Dijkers, a jewelry artist from Michigan. Her limited edition mixed-media “Vessel Collages” are superb and I definitely would love to own one… or two. She calls them reliquaries “shrouded in mystery.” An apt description. At the moment her pieces range from $38 - $66. You can find out more about her on her blog & website as well as her Etsy site.
Etsy Tuesday…
Posted on June 17, 2008
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I figured I needed a bit more structure to my blog so here’s the inaugural post of “Etsy Tuesday” where I post some of my favorite products on Etsy using their Poster Sketch tool. Clicking on the image below will take you to the larger view on Flickr. Below the image is a list of the items and links directly to them on Etsy.
1. Solitude Pendant 2. I Make Art Magnet 3. Baby Blue Bird 4. Hand Printed Coin Pouch 5. Little Black Bird Sculpture 6. Red Abyss 7. Hand Felted Vessel
8. The Raven Poe Pendant 9. Stuck To You 10. Trees Trees Trees 11. Girl Spots 12. Say I Love You 13. Tiny Book of Illustrations 14. Pathway 15. Ethnographie Wooden Panel 16. Earl
Plurk… Plurk
Posted on June 15, 2008
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Just in case Twitter wasn’t enough, I decided to join Plurk. Wanna play?
1001 Journals
Posted on June 15, 2008
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1001 Journals picked up where 1000 Journals left off. This is a wildly successful mail-art project that I tried to participate in, but all the journals were closed when I got word of it. So now I’m sifting through the current open journals to see which one I want to do.
I’ve also ordered the 1000 Journals book from Amazon. I’ll post a mini-review when I’ve had time to digest it.
Here’s a great video on how to start art journaling:
