Monthly Archives: November 2012

Friday How-To for You!

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But first, this Special Reminder! Open House/Open Studio tomorrow, 3-7, 119 Robinhood – there is so much food I’m starting to panic – leftovers till the new year! Come get fed, steal some art ideas, pick up a free little shard face and see which blog subscriber wins a custom shard face pin (I’ll email the results to subscribers tomorrow). Now back to our regularly scheduled How-To for You.

Check out this cool little folder ornament that has a note or a wish inside. You can hang it, put it on a package – it’s easy for kids to make, too.

Here are the steps:

Want more cool ideas? Sign up for a workshop in 2013!

 

30 Shades – up and ready for prime time

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I went to La Vida Gallery today to meet Steve Bennett, the art/culture columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, to talk about my series of paintings. I’d never seen all thirty of them at once – yay! They work really well as a series!

Steve was so easy to talk to – I love reading his stories about art and artists. He’s a good journalist with a finger on the pulse of the San Antonio community. The newspaper editor and the readers are very lucky to have him. The interview should be out sometime next week, but in the meantime, I just can’t wait to share how the paintings look on the gallery wall – thanks to Matt Weissler for hanging so many paintings so straight! Please come to the opening on Friday, December 7th – besides these paintings, you’ll get to see and meet Oaxacan Master Carvers and Painters Jacobo and Maria Angeles, and Chef Susana Trilling.

 

Collage on Canvas – Gina and me

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Gina and I had scheduled an unannounced Collage on Canvas workshop several months ago, and it ended up being a very enjoyable one-on-one afternoon. Gina is a talented crafts-person in her own right and has made some beautiful journals for me – today she brought photos and mementos from her trips to Ireland. The hardest part was deciding on the central image. She chose a Irish beach photograph she had taken, and she also had shells from that same beach, including a razor clam shell that ended up being an integral part of the composition. We had a great time going back and forth about colors and textures and her collage is just lovely, organic and serene. Take a look.

Spirit Doll from Louise

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I love receiving comments and photos from other artisans who have used my faces in creative ways, particularly in Spirit Dolls because there is so much meaning, positive energy and symbolism in those constructions. Look at this photo and read the comments from Louise in Washington state, and you’ll see what I mean – the face and body have almost come to life:

Several months ago I purchased some of your lovely face shards and although it has taken me a while, I finally completed a Spirit Doll which I named, “Plant Woman of the Pacific Northwest Woods”, in honor of my commitment to deepening my knowledge of the medicine of the local plants. ~ Louise


 

 

New Workshops!

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Arg. Every time I type “workshops” lately, it comes out “wrokshops.” Just had to correct another one – but the new workshop schedule for January and February is up and ready for signup. Yay, I’m excited! So many people have asked me to repeat the shard face workshops in which participants make their own faces and ornaments (and then have me fire them) that I’m offering two session, one in January and one in February. We’ll also have a second part at Ann Pearce’s jewelry studio where we take the fired pieces and turn them into fabulous jewelry. Here’s a video from one of the previous sessions – nice work!

The other February workshop is a variation of the earlier chapbook construction sessions. It will be a Valentine’s day kind of thing with printing on silk and will extend the idea of the chapbook to include envelopes and pockets. That should be fun, too. If you’d like to know more, click on the cover below to get a printable copy of the brochure:

And if you know you want to sign up, you can do it with PayPal on my website on this page at the bottom. And get one for a friend – what a fine Christmas present – totally original <big smile>.

 

 

A Thanksgiving lagniappe

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You probably know that a “lagniappe” is a small gift given in appreciation – and I am so appreciative of all my friends who have come along with me on my sometimes meandering art trail. Here’s a small Thanksgiving “thanks.” Click on the image below and get the link to a free collage sheet called Venice that you can print out, cut up, transfer,use as wrapping paper for small presents – whatever you  like! This is one of a series of five that I have sold on my first Etsy site.

And if you are a blog subscriber, email me to get links to four more – if you’d like to subscribe to my Shards blog and get the other sheets, just go to the blog homepage and click on the right subscription window. I love keeping in touch with friends

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

That the birds of worry and care
fly about your head
This you cannot change
But that they build nests in your hair
This you can prevent.
             — Chinese Proverb

Stamp It Out

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I just got home from Boston last night – a shopping highlight was Black Ink in Back Bay, a great paper/giftie/cool stuff shop. They had some interesting rubber stamps with potential. I admit to scoffing at one time about rubber stamping, but it has a goofy appeal that is kind of infectious. It’s fun to make strange collages by stamping unexpected objects together, and it helps in a pinch if you need a quick gift card. Here are a few stamps that I picked up at Black Ink and just now used for cards:

So it’s not high art, but it’s fun – one of my favorite sources for stamps is Pink Flamingo on Etsy. Checkout this baby from their shop:
They would look interesting with chickens on their heads.Anyone else got good stamp sources or stamp ideas? Yeah, it’s kitschy, but hey . . .

 

Wax and Images – new ideas

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One thing about being away from home – it gives you time to think about new projects. Since I met Michelle Belto (see a link to her new book, Wax and Paper Workshop in my Book links, right) I’ve really been intrigued with the idea of embedding images under thin layers of wax. The closest I’ve come to using encaustic wax is this piece for my 30 Shades of Twilight show on Dec. 7th.

You might be interested in this online tutorial from artist Haley Nagy, whose work is included in Michelle’s book – I was. When I get home, I’ll experiment. Maybe we can have a workshop on the process?

Signing out from Boston, off to a paper shop on Beacon Street!

 

 

 

Blogging from Boston

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What a glorious weekend to be in Boston – I’m staying in the Beacon Hill neighborhood just across from the Boston Public Garden where I went walking this morning. The trees are a zillion different colors – I expect that some of these images will show up in my work soon. Plans are to see the Boston Museum of Art before we leave on Tuesday – I could get used to visiting here often.