It's Finally Here!!!!!!!

Dream Big Star Baby
I used a baby photo of Emma in the center of the star, so she's famous!

I received my copy today of May/June Somerset Studio magazine. My artwork is in it! I never tried to be published until last year. I sent one collage in for their "10" issue and later a few more for the "Blue" issue. They didn't print my first submission, but they liked it and still have it. I was so excited to find out they wanted two of my pieces for the "Blue" theme. Somerset Studio has a couple more of mine, so who knows?

I'm thinking of sending a few more in for different issues and other publications. I'm very excited about this, but being published isn't a huge goal of mine. But it is an esteem boost!

Why is this woman smiling?
Because she's in Somerset Studio magazine!

I'll put on photos of the other art piece tomorrow. And I'll let you know how the career talk at school went. :-)

My Mom, The Junk Artist

My Mom, The Junk Artist

That is how my daughter thinks of me.

Actually she loves junk, so from this 9 year-old it is a compliment! This all started with a note home from school. The teachers were looking for parents to talk to the 3rd graders about their careers. Emma wanted me to come in a talk about being an artist. I thought "Ok, sounds like fun." So next Tuesday is the big day. How do I explain to a bunch of kids what I do?

I asked Emma what she told people, when they ask what I do for a living. Her answer was "I tell them that you are an artist" OK so far so good. "How do you answer if they ask 'what kind of artist?’ Emma quickly replied, "She's a junk artist" Mmmmm, Ok, not the answer I would give. Emma explained then that she tells people "She uses old books and stuff people don't want and turn it into art". That sounds better to me.

Don't get me wrong, I love junk! But I never thought of myself as a junk artist. I transform junk into something more, something it was never intended to be. A lowly rusty washer can be elevated to the centerpiece of a pendant. An old water damaged chemistry book, becomes the background paper for many a collage.

exhibit 1. Chemistry book

I guess it IS all a matter of perception. So I understand when Emma comes home from school with a pocket full of "treasures". She found them on the playground for her mom to turn into art. So maybe I am a junk artist!

exhibit 2. Collaged Mirror Frame (without mirror)

-----I also posted this on the Wisconsin Street Team (WIST) blog

Something New

I just finished this one. No name for it yet. It is approx 15 inches tall.

side 1

side 2

side 3 -my fav!

side 4

Happy Easter!

We have proof! E.B. is real!

Little chick

This was the Easter storytime project at the library. Cute huh

Little feather

Etsy update

Good Coffee ATC

I added a few more charms today. I finished 2 more collages and I'm feeling very productive!

****Factoid****

Since I finally got DSl, I've been listening to the radio in iTunes.
My Fav is WOXY Vintage (old-school modern, alternative and punk).
Fun stuff, check it out!

Finally some new stuff and a few thoughts.....just a few

These are bookmarks I made from a recent collage. The collage combines my love of reading, birds, and plants. I'm going to add twine or ribbon and send them off to Craftstravaganza for swag bags!!!

I have been working, just not taking photos and listing. I added 2 charms on Etsy and more to come! I'm not sure if I want to list anything larger yet.

....thoughts....

I've had this blog for just over 6 months and I'm still trying to "find my feet". What is my goal? What should I say? I'm not the journaling type. I don't want to talk about my family and kids in detail. I know lots of blogger who do, but I'm nervous in this day and age throwing my kids out there. I don't want to talk about anything heavy, like religion or politics. I like to talk about art, but what to say? I admit I don't have grand, high falutin reasons for making what I do. I just have a need to create...I have to get it out.

Sometimes just sketching in my book is enough. Sometimes not. I have tons of unfinished pieces in my basement. I may finish some, though probably not all. Most I'll probably cannibalize for other projects. My purpose in art is to make people smile. I'm drawn to the patina that comes with age, items that seem to have no value to anyone, but I also love all things childlike. Bright colors, simple shapes, and an attachment to home and family.

I guess that is enough for now...

Etsy Charm Swap

All the charms I received in the mail are below. I listed every one's shop name and links.

Our swap hostess...Glazed and Confuzed
A sterling bracelet and a cute glass ladybug.

Creative Muse
This is a feast for the senses! Ok don't eat it, but the rest.
Colorfully dyed silk ribbon made into a fuschia blossom and .........filled with lavender!
I love this charm and it says a lot b-cuz I don't like PINK!

Fallen Angel Jewelry
Very cute little guy, gecko???? My daughter loves this one.

Luna 2005
Beautiful pale turquoise blue and aluminum charm with bead dangly

No Duplicates
Lives up to her name.....
Paper and glass beads with a brass found object. (maybe from an old clock???)

Mamacita Beadworks
Pewter, I love pewter...so earthy. Architectural feel, good contrast to the other charms.

Blueberry Jewellery
Very cute and jingly....my fav colors!

Holly's Rainbow
This charm is made from saltdough. So it is light, and has an earth quality.
This is my name in ancient Ogham alphabet...cooooool.
My kids both love this one.

Moony
These are polymer clay that look like stone, small and dangly
OK I thought I'd put my two worst pics together!!!! sorry guys :-(

Crye
This is a terrific lightweight polymer heart with an embossed design.

Julie*Ann
This is a wonderful burgandy polymer clay charm w/ an "X" in braille
My photo wasn't that great.

Elena Mary
A nice heavy charm...with a hemitite sun. I'll put this one in the center of my bracelet.

Squirrel Girl 68
Beautiful amber colored beads!!!

Papernclay
This yummy greean and coppery polymer clay chrms looks great with the one above.

Chickadee Social Club
Two fer one! Yeah!

Nursery Rhyme ATC

Ok I'm finally getting around to post pics of the ATCs I received in the ARTchix Studio Nursery Rhyme swap.

The spinner card ATC is from Christiana Robertson, the little bird one is from Jeri Mihm, the star wand one from Tanya Borchert and finally the Twinkle Star card from Suzie Dufresne. Thanx ladies!!!

I really enjoy doing the swaps, but I have gotten so busy lately. Later I'll post the results from the Etsy charm swap. I have one other chunky book I'm waiting for, but other than that, no swaps for a while!!! Or at least until I see one that looks really fun!

foundlings

A few new collages.

Scrabble Charms ---How many points are your intials worth?

My initials are 14 points. I would have thought an "X" would be worth more! I made these little charms today. A little different than others I've seen. They hang at an angle and I lined the holes with tube rivets. I haven't made tube rivets in years and I only cracked 2. Yeah!


I just keep soldering away on my glass charms. Some I will make into necklaces with silk ribbon, beads, and more charms. The others I will sell as loose charms, like the others on Etsy.

Water's a bit deep

Snow melt + Photoshop= Fun

I'm working on more plant themed collages. Maybe I'll call them "foundlings"? A mix of "founders" (IE ancestors) and "seedlings". Still thinking on it.

March In Wisconsin pt2

A few days later and now it is warm (50). We still have lots of snow on the ground, so the family went out for a big snowball fight! Wow I'm exhausted! The snow is still deep (18") in places but now it is heavy and wet. My sweet hubby decided it was fun to make me his main target. I feel bruised and sore. The kids fav target was my bottom. LOL!
Instead of cocoa, we all wanted cold drinks when were done. Good way to spend a Sat afternoon.

Remodeling in Progress

I am changing a few things on my blog....so things might look a bit wonky!

March in Wisconsin

In our woods

Not a good picture, but look at them!

I love to watch the birds at my feeders. On the worst days, there they are. I know it is a matter of survival to find food everyday. I was outside shoveling, being pelted with bb size hail that hurt! There are those little juncos, doves, cardinals, nuthatches, and chickadees at the feeders. We get a few different woodpeckers also. Thru sleet and snow...they are there. I never get good pics of them though...hard thru the window screen.
The other day I look out and I was invaded by turkeys! There is a large flock living in the woods, but they rarely come into our yard. They must have been very hungry!

February

I really hate February! Usually by this time of the winter, I start to go a bit "stir-crazy". Sunny days are ok, I play cat. I sit in the sun whenever possible. Dreary days are the worst.

I haven't gotten too much made in the last 2 weeks. I have a stack of designs and sketches. I just haven't gotten in the basement to my dungeon studio. Soon.

So far I had made these charms for a swap and to sell. They are made from small images from Artchix, bits of paper, and an old yardstick. Fun Huh!

I bought a new, well different vehicle today. I am now a mini van owner. I like the van, but I already miss my old car. It was a Nissan Altima. Good family car. We just needed room to carry more passengers and I needed more room, for art fairs.

Not much to say

I'm still working on some new stuff.

I got an order of beautiful ribbon to go with my charms today! Yeah!

The ATC on the left is for a swap. The rest I made are on my flickr site. This is my fav.

The full nursery rhyme is:

Mary had a pretty bird,

Feathers bright and yellow;

Slender legs, upon my word,

He was a pretty fellow.

The sweetest notes he always sang,

Which much delighted Mary;

And near the cage she'd ever sit,

To hear her own canary.

Brrrrrrr! Baby it's cold outside

I love that song. And it is cold outside. Here in the dairy state it was minus 13 when I got up this morning! Now it warmed up to a balmy minus 3. I actually don't mind the weather. Of course, I'm not outside for too long either. At least it is sunny, as long as the sun's shining I'm fine.

I just list my new round charms. I'm working on cutting the glass even smaller to make some charm bracelets. Fun fun.

The amaryllis bulb I got for xmas is bloomming beautifully. A bit of warmth on a cold day.

Charms galore

I made a bunch of charms this week. I think they turned out well. I realized if I'm going to do art fairs this summer, I'll need to make hundreds of these. I will also need a lot more designs. I just get bored using the same images more than a few times.

I prefer circular shapes, so I finally ordered a lens cutter. I'm looking forward to making round charms, both for pendants and charm bracelets.

I'm not doing so well on my art daily challenge. I do work on something everyday, but I don't finish something daily. I have a stack of new sketches for collages, I haven't started any yet. I need to make more assemblages, but they don't always come easy for me. When the idea/ spark is there, I know exactly what to put where. Otherwise, I can't force it.

I sent off my pages for the latest chunky book swap I'm in. The theme this time was "In the Name of Love". Very fun!

The last one I did was "White" themed. I got my finished book last weekend. Beautiful. I have to post pics on Flickr. I have a nursery rhyme ATC swap coming up, then no more for a while!

ATC pt 2

My Daughter wanted to make some too. Not bad Huh!

ATC pt 1

I'm working on a few ATCs...Just as I finished this one I sent it out! I have 6 others I need to scan. They are for a swap. I also have a few other charm designs. I'm adding them here and there to my Etsy shop.

I'm In

I've been accepted to Craftstravaganza Art and Craft fair. It's at the end of April in Minneapolis. Yeah! I hope this will be a fun day. I'm excited. More later.

New Charms

I'm working on some new charms. Though these will not each be an original collage. Before I spent too much time on each one to sell for the price I marked them at. I will scan in each finished collage then print them out in a high quality copy. Then I will add a back design and text. These I will sell them individually with ribbon, chain, cord, etc...

I have so much fun working on them. Almost like ATC. Tiny little gems!

January Art

I really need to get moving and list more artwork on Etsy. This collage is 4x4 inches plus the ribbon hanger. I made four collages yesterday this size. I'm also working on some collage sheets that I will sell as pdf files. No shipping cost, easy to download and people can print it out anyway they want, cardstock, transparency, transfer paper, etc...

I have a few art pieces I made last year that I've never listed yet!

I'm still trying to decide how many fairs I want to do this year and which ones to apply for. So far, I want to do Craftstravaganza April in MN, Artapalooza again Sept in Iowa, and maybe one around Chicago in Dec. Other than that, there are tons here in WI all summer.

I will soon add a link to the side for my flickr site. I am trying to create a new piece everyday. A challenge. Some have turned out well, others so-so. But it is good to put aside the time for myself each day.