Funky Art Queen

OMG!  What a great shot! I took this picture last week of our Goldie/Lord Sebastian and I did not realize that the background of the Project Runway judges would show up like this.  It looks like he is in front of the stage and he is not happy with the discussion!  LOL I love that show!  I love the creativity and the pressure to create within budget limits and theme oriented boundaries. I noticed....during the commercials that there is a new show coming called something about accessories.  I want to do that.  Hmmmm......could I stand the pressure?  Could I work with the crazies that they bring to the show?  I don't know....but it is so exciting to watch these wonderful young and sometimes not so young people step into action and create! It's just lovely to watch.  Bravo to all of them....my heart breaks when they get voted off....I scream with joy when they win!  I'm so proud of the artists/designers for putting themselves out there! ...

O h my goodness, my favorite time of the  year.  Time for the fairies to come out soon from their winter sleep.  I could not wait to start working on the front of their home  and their pond as a kind welcome to them.  I just want them to keep coming back.  So, I found them this fabulous door on Etsy by Jay Beesmer  at Wooden Treasures , from North Carolina!  It arrived today and it is more beautiful in person!  I love it Jay and the fairies will too.  The butterfly, well that is right up our alley around here in funky queendom.  THANKS Jay! As a side note, Jay and his wife at Lovingly Crafted ...are quite the brilliant wood artists.  You just have to go and check them out on Etsy. Here is a close up of the door! Do you believe in fairies?  I hope you do!  Isn't it enchanting to imagine that the fairies do all kinds of magical things at night while we are sleeping?  I would love to know what your thoughts are ...

We get so caught up in our lives and then suddenly it hits us, we have not heard from so and so for some time.  That happened to me this weekend.  I suddenly wondered what in the world had happened to my blog friend Deb from "Deb Did It" .  She is ever so faithful in responding to my blogs and Facebook notes.....something was obviously not right as I had not heard from her for some time.   So, I went to her blog and discovered the dismal news. Apparently, while they were traveling away ( I believe Florida-correct me if I'm wrong) the pipes in their beautiful, historical home (I believe it was originally built in 1915) decided that since they were frozen, they would take this time to bust and flood the entire house.  Deb and her husband came home to a flood and a house that was almost destroyed.  It looks as though all they have left is a skeleton of a house. So, now they are dealing with the fact that their home and their livelihood has been all bu...

H ere it is just a few days until Christmas.....(211 days to be exact). So, to celebrate, I created these two little elf stuffies. LOL....now you surely think I am going crazy especially after the last post. No, I just decided to participate in the Cloth Paper Scissors reader challenge for "winter holiday critter stuffies". I'm telling you, this CPS for May/June 2009 was one of the best ever for me. I was so inspired and challenged by several things. I was first inspired by the article by Pam Carriker on page 51 and thus moved to create this piece of art. Then, because of all that inspiration, I got out the Jan/Feb issue and found inspiration in the article by Sharon Tomlinson about incorporating images from paper napkins in your mixed media and came up with this: Anyway, I sent in my email about my stuffies and I hope they get accepted. But, even if they don't, I was moved to create and that makes me happy! THANKS CPS!!!

This is my newest piece of art. I was still inspired by Pam Carriker's article in CPS. I love the whole modeling paste thing. I was really concerned that some people use molding paste and some use modeling paste until yesterday I read in CPS (someone else's article...forgive me as I can't remember) that these are the same thing. Golden calls it "molding" and liquitex calls it "modeling". Any way, mystery solved! Yay! I want a big ole bucket of the stuff. Oh the texture it adds-love love love it!!! By the way, the substrate was a 12"X12" piece of wood. I love working on wood because of the durability. I was also inspired by Sharon Tomlinson's article in the Jan-Feb issue of CPS about using paper napkins in your art. (Page 62). The flowers in the top left are from paper napkins. Oh, they are so translucent. I want to experiment more with putting print behind them and layering more like she suggests in her article. Anyway, it is a good messag...

I ran across this wonderful and whimsical artist several weeks ago when her work was featured on Etsy. I have enjoyed looking at her work and I know you will too. Meet Catherine Reece from Northern California. She is a creative woman who has been working in clay for over thirteen years. She was kind enough to let me interview her for this blog. Please enjoy. Tell us about who you are, what do you want to say as a statement about you? My name is Catherine Reece and I live in Dublin, California (just east of Oakland). I am married and a mother of two kids. I have been professionally selling my pottery for 8 years. I was waiting for my husband to graduate from design school and find a job while i worked and played with clay. Over a few years I began to build a small business selling my pottery. MY husband didn't find the job of his dreams and so he joined my in the studio as my partner. Now we make our living as artists selling pottery.I think I am still trying to figure that out. ...

Raise your hand if you are tired of looking at the pic of my husband on my last blog?! Heehee. Not that he isn't cute and all, but we artists/creative people need lots of eye candy stimulation. We get bored so easy. My apologies for not blogging lately. I've been busy dahling! I have been commissioned to do a very large 48"X60" piece of art. Oh my goodness...just trying to get the canvas in my car carefully was an adventure. But, I got it home safely and I have been working on it every evening when I get off from work. So that is my excuse for being slow on the blog. Anyway, for now, let me point you to my other blog "I Must Share This" so you can meet "Sam" a new artist I discovered on Etsy. I think you will probably recognize her work if you are a big Etsy fan. Go and check out the interview. Comments welcome and encouraged!

So, I sold my Typographic Blocks yesterday on Etsy. I plan to make more because truthfully, I really love them and plan to put some in the living room with all my other typographic things. They are just so interesting to me for some reason. But, what I really wanted to tell you about is the person who purchased them. I'm kinda nosey so I always have to go and see who bought my pieces. So, I went to her Etsy site , which led me to her blog , which led me to her web site. She calls herself "redbirthmark" as she was born with a birthmark on one of her hands. You just have to go and read about her and look at her fabulous art work!

My little ATC Valentine Doll made it to her home. I love how Marah can take my art and make it look so amazing. I just had to show you this. She was kind enough to let me borrow this pic that she took of her. Marah is a Graphic Designer and she has an amazing eye for beauty and interestingness. She is the one who created my beautiful blog banner using some of my art. You can see some of her designs here at Etsy . Go and check her out .

Thanks to all who are participating in the Art Supply Swap. It is going to be so much fun! I have already started preparing my box. It's kind of like old times when we used to decorate a shoe box for Valentines. But now, our treats are different. But, chocolate is still a good idea! Heehee. Thanks again to all. Remember the deadline to participate is Feb 3rd and deadline to mail your surprise is Feb 14th. Laurel Burch-1999 Self Portrait I want to take a moment to introduce you to an artist that a new friend of mine introduced me to. Thanks Donna. You may have already known about this lady/artist. I did not know I was familiar with her until yesterday when Donna told me about her. Coincidentally, my husband had bought me a journal with her art on it for Christmas recently. Wow. Anyway, I have always been drawn to her art and just never knew (or took the time) to know who she was. Take a moment to read her story. She is even more amazing to me now. Please go and read about her and v...

A mixed media piece inspired by Chagall and Karen Michael. I called it, "The Bird". Lesley Chandler

OK enough whining! My last two posts were so depressing! Shew! Did I lose you? Hope you were not coming here for cheering up the past few days. I'm better...my son is home for the weekend and I'm getting better at accepting all this. So to lighten things up a bit, I'm sharing this funny baby pic of me. Look at that smile and that big old fat tummy-I don't look much different now...that is in the tummy part! Heehee So, last night I was looking at African Art on the internet. Just an image search for "African Art" led me to some of the most beautiful and colorful pieces. I want you to check it out if you have a chance: Martin Bulinya was one of my personal favorites. You just have to go and experience his art. Then click on "home" from his site and check out many of the others. I'm inspired to do some more pencil works using Martin Bulinya's works as inspiration. So, hopefully I can come up with something to post this weekend. Meanwhile, I...

Discovered a new artist and had to clip some of her work for my inspiration journal. I wanted to share her work with you. Here is my journal entry and a link to her site: http://cynthiamarkert.com will add more later...gotta get to work!

Life is funny isn't it? Why do I say that today? Well, I was thinking about my adventure at the Celebration of Arts in Midland yesterday. Renea, Heather, and I attended this event yesterday morning. I was so excited the minute I walked in to the Midland Convention Center! I could see booth after booth of beautiful art. We looked and looked and enjoyed conversations with the artists. Some of the artists were local and some from as far away as Ohio I believe. While talking to these artists, I did my own little personal survey and was delighted to discover that so many of them were self-taught artists. I suppose that was an encouragement to me! Anyway, about the "life is funny part". Renea and I happened upon booth that caught our eye. It was just the kind of art we love. Such depth, texture, and imagination. Even inspirational! We stayed there for some time before I realized I had discovered this artist in an ad once for an Art Gallery in Fredricksberg, Texas. I had actuall...