Back to my Artistic Roots

Aloha - Oil on Canvas, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

In college, I was introduced to oil paints and working with them felt so natural that I was instantly hooked. I'd been painting for years with acrylics and was successful, but once I touched oils, there was no going back. The way oils move on the canvas, their glow and transparency just could not be matched with acrylics. I found an abstract style that worked for me and painted like crazy through college and a couple of years beyond.

Oil paint does have its constraints and over time it became more impractical for me to work with them. First, there is the smell......Though a pleasant one, it permeates everything. When I lived in Arizona I used to paint out on my deck when it wasn't 100 degrees, but that got old really fast. There is also the issue of the solvents involved. Just how do you properly dispose of them? In college, we just had a big jug that it got poured into. What was I to do at home?

Long story short, I went back to painting with acrylics, then moved onto watercolors and eventually stopped painting altogether. It must be at least 5 years since I have painted with acrylics and maybe 2 years since I've worked with watercolor.

This week, I completed my first oil painting in almost 10 years! My boyfriend Matt is a painter and he encouraged me to try it out again. (Check out Matt's work here.) He's got a great space for painting in his house and even stretched the canvas, so how could I refuse? We worked together on "Aloha" which measures 4' x 7'. Because it was so large, we could easily paint at the same time. His style is more fast loose, mine more deliberate, but it works and we were successful!

There is already been some interest from others to buy it, but I don't think Matt would let that happen! Its currently displayed proudly in his living room, where I think it will stay for some time.

I am starting a tiny 8" x 10" canvas of my own today, and I foresee much more painting in my future. I truly had forgotten just how much I love it and how good I feel when I paint. Hopefully you will see some of my paintings up on Etsy soon.

Happy Sunday.

***ALOHA is available as a giclee print in Matt's shop. Click here.

Free Shipping Friends!

Peace Love Joy, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

As the snow falls this afternoon, its truly "beginning to look a lot like Christmas."

I'm feeling the holiday spirit today and decided to offer free worldwide shipping on all of my prints! Big, not so big, and tiny are all included. The last day to take advantage of this offer is Saturday, December 19th. So hurry it up!!

* This is a holiday card that I designed for Winnebago County Medical Alliance. It was sent out to 800 doctors in the area. I don't currently have these available in my shop, but if you are interested in purchasing some, give me a shout.

Praying for a snow day! Cheers.

Holiday Art Show - This Weekend

Hi! I cannot believe it is December already and the holiday season is in full swing. Its going to be crazy from here until the end of the year for me.

This weekend I will be participating in the Women in Artx3 Holiday Art Show. I will have a selection of originals, prints, holiday gift tags and greeting cards available for sale. 20% of the profits from this show will be donated to Crusader Clinic and Rockford Career College. So shop away and support two worthy local institutions.

Black Friday Sale

Happy Thanksgiving friends! I wish you all health, happiness and good eats.

I will be participating in the Etsy Black Friday sale and will be offering FREE worldwide shipping on everything in my shop. I've got a large selection of originals and prints for sale. Hundreds of other Etsy sellers are also participating in this promotion. Just search "etsyfreeshipping" and "etsyholidaysale".

Free shipping will be available in my shop Friday, November 27 through Tuesday, December 1st.

Happy shopping.

Happy Little Trees

hilltop, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

I managed to crank this out yesterday while my students were working. Its simple, but sweet. No ink for this one - it will be sold as is for just $10.00. I'll post the link here when its up on Etsy.

Happy Thursday.

Accidental Art

I had a chance to sit down and make some art this past weekend. "Accidental Art" measures just 5" x 5" and was fashioned out of magazine. All the bits and pieces were adhered to a warm gray cardstock that I then embellished with a sepia tech pen and a white gel pen.

I'm really into clouds at the moment, and I came about this particular technique in a very accidental manner. I managed to accidentally get glue on a piece of paper and then stick it somewhere that it didn't belong. When I realized my dorky-ness, I tried to remove it but was left with the white residue of the paper. I liked the look of what was left and now repeat the technique on purpose all the time.

Accidental Art is available for sale on Etsy.

I'm hoping to be more active on Etsy and on the blog in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more art.

Falling Back

Well Hi there! Its been a while.

The last month of my life has been utterly insane, and my "art" life has been pushed to the wayside. That pesky "real" life has gotten in the way. Slowly, things are getting back to normal...Well, as normal as they can be in my life.

On the Etsy front, I've got a new locket for sale in the fab and famous Polarity shop. The "Take Time to Breathe" locket features 3 magnetic interchangeable lids, including the "Where I Belong" print along with "Floral Improv # 5". In Cat's signature style, the third lid features a page from the dictionary with the word BREATHE.


Cat creates these adorable, industrial little lockets from a recycled steel auto part to which she silver soldered a little eyehook. I love the "green" aspect of these.

I did manage to make some new art today. I'll leave that to post another day. Have a great week my friends.

Stay a While.......please

Its finally finished. "Stay a While" measures 8" x 8" and was created on a cradled hardboard panel. I think I started this piece back in August, before school was in session, so I'm happy to have this one completed. I will be submitting this piece along with two others to the Midwestern - a show at the Rockford Art Museum. I'm hoping that one of the pieces gets juried in.

Now that things at school are slowing down, I'm trying to get back into the swing of "arting" again. Its been difficult for me to get going, and come up with some new ideas. I've decided to start small, and make some ACEO's. I made a little tree piece today and am quite happy with it. I hope to have more new work to show you soon.

Happy fall friends.

Coming Down From my Art High

This weekend was the Artscene show at Wallblank. I had a great time showing in the beautiful industrial space. I sold some work, made some good contacts and most importantly got to connect with real live artists and the art community! After such a fabulous weekend of art, its been a struggle to get back into my "real" life these past few days.

Though I work in the art field every day as a teacher, interacting with other adult artists is so important and so needed by me. This is one aspect of high school and college art that I miss. I like having others around who can edit my work, give feedback, and bounce ideas off of.

I became fast friends with the seven artists that I exhibited with and we came up with the idea of forming an art club. We'd get together to make art, talk about art, critique each others work, and just be art "geeky" together. I'm really hoping this works out. It would be nice to be around others who speak my "language".

As I come down from my art "high", I'm sad that I don't have another art show lined up for the near future. Local folks, would you be interested in putting together a holiday show?

Happy Tuesday.

Sneak Peak of the Wallblank Show!

Tease for Cover Your Walls — Fall Art Scene at the BrewHouse from Pablo Korona on Vimeo.

So looking forward to Artscene at Wallblank! Pablo Korona, a fellow Boylan grad shot this video.

Artscene This Weekend

I'm thrilled to be participating in Artscene this weekend at Wallblank Gallery. I will be showing with seven other artists in a beautiful gallery space at the the old Brewhouse on Prairie Street. We will be exhibiting and selling fine art prints and originals. With two other shows going on in the Brewhouse at the same time, you can see 30 artists in one place! Should be fun.

(Photo by Brian Milo)

The show runs Friday, October 2nd from 5-9 PM and Saturday, October 3rd from 3-9 pm. There are 45 venues around Rockford showing art over the weekend. Make a night or a weekend of it!

For more information, visit the Fall Artscene website.

Hope to see you there.

Off the Grid

Its been a horrible week for electronics in my house. My phone and computer both bit the bullet this week! Being "off the grid" has made me realize just how dependent we can become on technology.

I spent 2 hours on the phone with the T-Mobile tech support yesterday trying to fix my ailing Blackberry. I guess my problem was quite severe because I talked to 3 different people in the US as well as a tech in India and another in Canada! After the 5th tech and no answers, they finally decided send me a replacement phone. What a waste of a day!

My Etsy shop has been very quiet this week, which is both a blessing and a curse. With limited internet access, I haven't been relisting or twittering very often, and I've realized just how many visitors this drives to my shop. I'm lucky in a way that its been slow, and that I haven't sold any prints. I couldn't even print one right now! I'm hoping that a friend of a friend can fix my computer this week, otherwise I will be investing in an IMac sooner than I had expected to. I was lucky to get an external hard drive for my birthday a few weeks back, so all of my art files are safe and sound, thank goodness!

Oh, I forgot to mention that my hair dryer died too.

I really hope that next week is better and that next week I have some new art to show you. Cheers.

A Solo Sunday

Today I took a trip into Chicago by my lonesome, and had a great time!

I made the 1.5 hour drive into the Wicker Park neighborhood on this gorgeous sunny day to attend the Renegade Craft Fair. This was the fair that I had applied for but didn't get accepted into. I wanted to check it out anyhow. I made some fun purchases and met some of my fellow ETSY sellers.
This little cutie came from Baumbirdy. The fabric is handscreened and then stretched in an embroidery hoop. Embroidery hoops are so hip right now, I just had to have one for myself! Sorry, they don't sell these in their etsy shop, but they do sell beautiful wedding related paper goods.

I also purchased these adorable tea towels from UrbanPosture. They are hand printed with eco-friendly ink and at just $5.00 each, I couldn't pass them up. I intend to give these as gifts, but I don't know if I will be able to part with them!

My favorite Etsy purchase of the day was this sweet ceramic pendant from Circa Ceramics. Doesn't this just scream art teacher? I will definitely be wearing this to school this week. It was great to meet Nancy (one-half of Circa Ceramics) and to put a face with an avatar. (She and I have corresponded over Twitter.) She gave me some great leads about some art fairs to look into for next year. I hope that our paths will cross at another fair sometime, she's great!

After Renegade, I headed down I-90 to Ikea. I had their famous Swedish meatballs for lunch. It was really quite yummy. Who knew that lingonberries went well with meatballs and gravy?? At Ikea I picked up a load of frames for my upcoming Artscene show and headed home.

I'm tired and sunburned, but so glad I took my solo trip! It was create to see art, meet some fellow artsy types and spend some quality time with myself.

Have a great week my friends!

Where To Next?

Happy Friday Friends! I was able to survive my second week of school and am looking forward to making some art this weekend.

For quite some time now I have been working on my floral series. I must have done 30 pieces in the last year that had some type of flower in them. Recently, I revisited my chairs, and now have made 5 new pieces in that series. I could still crank out more chairs (and probably will), but I think its time for a new direction. But what?

This is where you come in my loyal blog readers. What type of subject/s would you like to see me tackle next? I'd love to hear what you think. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

To further entice you into responding, I'm giving away an 8" x 10" Red Room print to one lucky person who comments on this post. The winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, September 19th.

Thanks for your help!!

Goodbye Summer Life. Hello Teacher Life

Happy Labor Day friends. I hope that you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather and extra day off.

I am about to start my second week back to school. It went well, but I am still not used for how busy and tired I am when teaching. I came home every day last week and had to nap! When I'm at work there is really no down time (unless you count my 20 minute lunch) and I rarely even have a chance to sit down. My blog may be neglected in the next few weeks as I get back into the swing of things. Sorry, I'll miss you!

I'm trying to get a few more pieces done before my Artscene appearance at Wallblank on October 2nd and 3rd. I will leave you with my newest work in progress, "Stay a While". All the cutting and pasting is complete, now I have to embellish with ink.

Last day for the "Chair Sale". Pick up a print today before prices go up!

Ta Ta for now.

New Art Supplies Breeds New Art

This is my first ever piece on cradled hardboard. I'm hooked! I love the firmness of working on wood and the detail it allows me to create. I finished this piece off with some UV-resistant acrylic sealant and now its ready to hang. I have a show coming up in a few weeks and the less framing I have to do the better.

Thanks to my flickr friend LethaColleen, I started using mounting film (basically glue in a sheet form) on this piece. Its the best! The pieces stay nice and flat and theres no glue seeping out of edges. It also makes it possible for me to still embellish with pen/ink on the hardboard surface, something I can't do when working on canvas.

New art supply finds are the best! Hardboard and mounting film may just revolutionize my work!

"I'll Be There", the print is available for sale in my Etsy shop and is included in my Chair Sale.

Have a good week all. I'm actually a little excited for my first full week with my art babies.

Feelin' the Love

Yesterday, my "Good Vibe" mixed media piece was featured on the front page of Etsy and consequently sold! I never actually got to see this front page - I was busy at school getting ready for the kiddies to come. It's amazing how much exposure being on the Etsy front page brings to your shop. I got 30 new hearts yesterday! I'm a little sad to see "A Good Vibe" go....Its really one of my favorite pieces I made this summer. On the other hand its fun to think that someone in California now owns this original piece of art that I made!!

Again today, I noticed that I was getting a lot of views and hearts in my shop. I did some investigating and found out that I have a piece featured in the Etsy "Shades of Peridot" Gift guide and was today's featured artist on Papernstitch, an awesome art and design blog. (This month I have a shop on Papernstitch - check it out here.)

I am feeling like all of the hard work I have put into my art is really starting to pay off. I'm certainly feelin' the love today! I am looking forward to a big holiday season and hope that someday art can be less of a summer job and more of a full time job.

Today was the first day of school (with students.) More to come on that subject tomorrow.

Back to School Sketchbook

Monday was my first day back to work: teacher institute. Just as I had predicted, I spent the entire time drawing in my sketchbook. I know some people believe its rude to doodle/sketch while others are talking, but it really does keep me focused and in my seat. I'm listening, I swear! Another half-day institute today. Hopefully I'll have something else good to show you.

Blog Shout Outs

On Friday, my "Where I Belong" print was featured on the Scoutie Girl blog feature, "The Weekly Dig". This is a very cool big deal! Scoutie Girl, a design blog which focuses on handmade goods gets on average 13,000 unique visitors per month! Its so fun to see my work out there in the blogosphere.


On Sunday, Brandi of the Etsy shop Sweetharvey featured one of my original ACEO's on her blog. Brandi has a very cute letterpress shop and her work is right up my alley.

I'm heading back to work today. As you read this I am at the Teacher Retreat and most likely doodling in my sketchbook while I listen to the speaker. I don't know how often I will be posting to the blog during the school year. I'm hoping to still update at least twice a week, but my time is rarely my own when I am teaching.

My Chair Sale is still going on until Sunday, Sept 6th. Check it!

Have a great week. Patronize these fab blogs.

A Uninvited Guest

Thursday already! My, this week has flown. I've been trying to savor my last little bits of summer as I head back to work on Monday.

As the school year begins, my to-do list lengthens and sometimes that makes it hard for me to sleep. I can't seem to get my mind to turn off. That's exactly what happened on Tuesday.

After fighting sleep for several hours, I got out of bed at 3:00 AM and went into the studio to get on the computer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something moving in the hallway. I got up and found a BAT flying around my bedroom!!!!

I don't really know what happened next, but I did manage to get it out of my bedroom and into the studio, closing the door behind it. I just was too freaked and too tired to deal with it at 3:00 AM.

When I got up in the morning, I slowly opened the studio door to look for the bat and hatch a plan to get it out. It was nowhere to be found! I looked in the closet, under all the furniture, behind the blinds and could't find it. Not knowing where the bat was made it even worse! Was it going to pop out and bite me when I least expected?

The day went on and I started to almost forget about my furry intruder. I was in and out of my studio all day and even thought that maybe the bat had gotten out somehow. Well, I wasn't that lucky. While I was sitting at my computer, I heard a scratching noise, and realized it was coming from behind a large painting I have hanging on the wall. I bravely peered behind the stretchers and found that blasted bat! Now I had to get it out!!!

I took the screen off the window in hopes I could direct the bat out. I got a broom and swiped at the bat. It fell on the floor and just laid there, all curled up. I poked at it with the broom again, trying to get it into a bag. Thats when it came to life. The wings unfurled, it hissed and snarled at me, showing its creepy little teeth. (I'm sure the neighbors heard me screaming bloody murder at this point.) I wacked at the bat with the broom trying to stun it, as I know its illegal to kill bats now. But it still hissed and showed those fangs. Instinct kicked in and I wacked and wacked and it still hissed and came back for more!!! Eventually the bat latched itself onto the broom and I was able to pitch it out the window.

When I went outside to put the screen back in, I found my uninivited guest on the ground just below the window. Don't worry, it wasn't dead and it was gone after a few minutes. I did manage to snap a picture for posterity before it flew off. Ewww!

Two Reasons to Sale-A-Brate! (ha)

This is my last week of freedom before I'm back to the grind of school. I'm also introducing a new line of chair pieces to my shop. Seemed like two good reasons to Sale-A-Brate!

All of my 5"x 7" chair prints are reduced to just $5.00. That's half off!

All of my new 8" x 8" chair prints are initially being offered at $10.00. After the sale they will be priced at $18.00.

Get a set of four ACEO sized chair prints for just $10.00 - Thats $2.00 a print people!

There is even one original, "The Red Room" marked half off! (Sorry, my 3 newbie original chairs are not on sale.)

All of my prints are created with archival pigment inks and are printed on smooth matte archival paper. The colors are bright, the detail is sharp and will remain that way for decades to come!

Visit the "Chair Sale" section of my shop to see all works included in the sale.

The Chair Sale runs until Monday September 6th.

Lazy Day

Yesterday was quite an eventful day. School and art supply shopping in Schamburg and then a Cubs game at Wrigley. What should have been the most fun part of the trip (the game itself) was pretty much a nightmare! The Phillies opened the game wide open in the 4th inning, with two 3-run homers and 8 total runs. Embarrassing!

After yesterday's overindulgences, I'm feeling pretty lazy today. I was so unmotivated this morning I even skipped yoga. I never skip yoga! Shame on me. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself, realizing that soon I really won't have time to be lazy. Next week is my last week of freedom before the onslaught of school!

I leave you with my newest piece "A Mod Spot." It seems like a nice place to waste away a lazy summer day.

ACEO Four Pack!

ACEO's (Art, Card, Edition, Original) are easily the most popular item in my shop. Those tiny 2.5" x 3.5" beauties can be made quick and sold inexpensively. I often make them while I'm at school and the kiddies are busy working.

When I got my fancy-dancy Epson R2880 printer I started selling ACEO prints. These have also become quite popular and a great way to collect my art on the cheap.

I've decided to offer a "4-Pack" of my ACEO prints at a discount. You can choose any 4 ACEO prints from my shop and pay just $14! My ACEO prints sell for $4.00 each, so buy a 4-Pack and save two bucks.

Check out the "Tiny Prints" section of my Etsy shop.

Off to Yoga. Have a great day!

In My Place - My Newest Work

I've been in a bit of an artistic frenzy the past few days. I'm realizing that my summer is coming to an end and I won't have as much time to devote to art in the coming months.

I have been creating floral pieces all summer, and have grown a little tired of them. (Don't worry, they'll be back!) I sat down at my desk on Friday without a plan and created this! I've done chairs before - I created a whole series of them in 2007. But I have to say that this is the best one yet!!!! There is something very endearing about this little space.

A chair piece takes much more time and concentration to create that the florals do. When I'm working on a floral piece, its very much an improv. I find come great colors and patterns in my magazines and start cutting away. I have to do more planning with the chairs. Each piece has to fit together, so the cuts have to be precise. I pay attention to the value of the pieces, so that there is somewhat of an illusion of depth. The floor and the chair have to work together to create a sense of perspective. The whole process is labor intensive. I spent a good five hours on this piece.

"In My Place" is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Have a great week.

A Friday Find

A few weeks back I came across Meltbrianna in an Etsy Finds email. I was immediately in love with her eco friendly shop! As she states in her shop announcement, "Melt Brianna is flurry of handmade projects and lovely randomness. From clothing and accessories to original art works, all of the materials are recycled and reincarnated into a truly unique item to cherish."

Brianna has a knack for turning a rather ordinary clothing piece into something fun and quirky. I adore this "Truffle Shuffle Ruffle Dress". She's removed the sleeves and added the ruffle at the chest. And, believe it or not, its only $17.00! What a steal!

I bought the adorable "Super Mushroom Magic" sweatshirt from Brianna. Anyone who knows me knows about my obsession with cardigans, so I couldn't pass this one up. Brianna covered an ugly "Aeropostale" logo with the super cute mushroom applique. I've worn this several times and get all sorts of complements!

Brianna can also be found here:

Blog: http://meltbrianna.wordpress.com/
Myspace: www.myspace/meltbrianna
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/melt-brianna/
Cosa Verde: http://cosaverde.com/store/meltbrianna/

High Tea in the 17th Century

I just spent the most amazing afternoon with six other women, having high tea at the Brewster-Randall House in Janesville, Wisconsin. The private home is owned by French national Yoinai DuKunze, who cooked us amazing European style meal.

Yo (as he's commonly known) has an amazing life story that he shares with you throughout the four hour meal and house tour. He came to the United States five years ago to receive a heart transplant. He knew that he would have to stay in the States for some time to recover, and didn't want to rent. After seeing pictures of it on the internet, Yo bought the rundown 1840's Victorian home. He's lovingly restored it and has decorated it with 17th century furnishings that he shipped over from his family home in France. Besides shipping over 10 shipping containers of furniture, he also shipped 4 Olympic caliber horses and 5 dogs! If you couldn't tell already, Yo comes from a very wealthy family. They have a chateau in the south of France that has been in his family for 300 years for goodness sake! And I'm telling you the short version of the story!

Now for the food! We started with hor d'oeuvres on the sun porch including brie baked in brioche, olive and anchovy bruschetta, bacon and quail on toast points, with a champagne and pomegranate punch. I really could have just ate this and have been in heaven, but we had two more courses to go!

We were served our main course in the dining room. I wasn't able to get a really good shot of this room, it was a bit dark. But I did manage to snap this pic of the chandolier. Amazing! Our lunch consisted of pheasant quiche, french green beans, potatoes and the most decadent croissant ever. We ate, we talked, we ate some more. It was very leisurely and relaxing.

For desert we were served an Italian style cheescake with fresh berries, a lemon tartane, and French press coffee with lavender infused creme. Delish!

The whole event was a foodies paradise. And don't get me started on the interior design. I could have walked around that house for another four hours! I could write and write about this experience. What a day!

If you'd like to see more photos of the house, head on over to my flickr photostream.

A Little Bit Disappointed

A few months back I applied to the Renegade Craft Fair, that will be held in Chicago in September. I haven't ever done a show of this size, where I'd have to put together my own booth, but thought this could be a good opportunity for me. I've been making work all summer in the hopes that I got in.

Today I found out that I was not chosen. Bummer. On the positive side, I get the hefty $300.00 booth fee back that I had shelled out.

I'm disappointed that I don't have a show lined up for the fall now. I have a lot of work that needs to be seen and sold!!!! I am hoping to do Artscene somewhere this fall. (Artscene is a twice yearly event in Rockford, where businesses and galleries all over town host art exhibitions.) If anyone knows of any places looking for exhibitors for Artscene, please let me know!

I'm also looking to do a holiday show somewhere, and I would appreciate your suggestions. I'd be willing to do a good holiday market in the Rockford, Chicago, or Madison areas.

Until then, I'm concentrating on Etsy and I guess I have to start thinking about school since its now August! I'll leave you with this currently unnamed piece. (Suggestions appreciated.) This little piece measures 5" x 5" and was completed on mustard colored paper. It will be for sale in my Etsy shop just as soon as I come up with a name.

Cheers.

Lazy Summer Days Coming To an End

I have to admit, I've been a little lazy when it came to arting and blogging this week. It's the last week of July....The last full month of summer vacation. In less than a month, I'll be back to work. Ugh.

This is my newest piece. "Need to Know" measures 5" x 5" and was created on blue cardstock. I was feeling the need to move away from the neutral color palette I've adopted this summer and I'm happy with the results.

This weekend my artwork will be exhibited in the Culture Tent at Festa Italiana in Rockford. Festa is a yearly celebration of Italian culture that my family and I have been involved with for years. My brother Kyle and I were founding members of the Amici Italiani Youth Dance Troupe back in 1989. My mom was the co-director of the group and still is. Its fun to have a connection to your heritage like this.

There is an artist "meet and greet" in the Culture Tent on Saturday, from 4-6 pm if you'd like to come out and meet the artists. I'll be there!

Happy weekend all!

Weighing In on "More to Love"

Last night "More to Love" premiered on Fox. As stated on the Fox website, " MORE TO LOVE, the new dating competition show from Mike Fleiss ("The Bachelor"), follows one regular guy's search for love among a group of real women determined to prove that love comes in all shapes and sizes." OK, so this premise sounds noble enough to me and I will admit that I have been known to watch The Bachelor, so I turned on "More to Love" last night. The new bachelor, 26-year-old Luke Conley was milling around the first cocktail party, meeting his new dating prospects. As each new woman was introduced, her name, height and weight appeared on the screen. I promptly changed the channel.

Why on earth was it necessary to reveal the height and weight of each woman? You don't see this on The Bachelor and Bachelorette. This doesn't seem to jive with the stated intentions of the show, that all people, no matter what their size, want love. What does their weight have to do with finding love? I wonder if the women who are participating in "More to Love" were aware that their weight would be revealed. Would any woman want their weight revealed on national television? The whole thing just disgusts me and brings to light some of my own insecurities.

Like most women, I obsess about my weight. I know that to most people, I look healthy and normal. But at 5'3" and 144 pounds, I am in the "Overweight" category of the BMI scale (Body Mass Index.) (I can't believe I just wrote that and am about to post this on the internet!!) I've got a gut that bothers me to no end. My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts and tells me that I look great. That doesn't seem to appease me, I still obsess. I work out on average 5 times a week and watch what I eat and drink. I feel like I'm always on a diet or thinking about a diet. I've been trying to lose 10 pounds for 2 years.

I wonder if I will get to a point in my life where I will let this obsession go, and be comfortable with my body. I don't know if that day will ever come. My cute and tiny mom who weighs less than I do obsesses about her weight just as much as I do. I know that part of the reason I obsess is because she does. (Not blaming you mamma, but it's the truth!)

I hope that someday I can embrace myself as is. I hope that someday our national obsession with the perfect body will turn into a national obsession with health and happiness. Someday.

A Fun One

A Fun One - An ACEO, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

There are times when I make art and I am just satisfied with the end product. There are other times when I'm just plain thrilled with what I made.

Meet "A Fun One". There is just something about this piece that I love! I don't even know exactly what it is, but it works. This isn't my favorite color scheme (the red, yellow, and blue triad can be difficult to pull off) and the flowers themselves aren't particularly novel. But it all comes together to create a very pleasing little piece.

"A Fun One" is available in my Etsy Shop.

Go Cubs Go

Cacciatores and Cubs, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

My parents took my boyfriend and I to a Cubs game yesterday. What a great day!

Pre-game festivities commenced at Goose Island brewery, eating ballpark fare for lunch washed down with some 312 brews. We met up with my uncle Joe and aunt Chrissy here, who were also going to the game.

Wrigley Field may be ancient, but there's just nothing like the atmosphere there or the Cubs fans who love it. So much tradition in that place!

The weather for the game was perfect - upper 70's or low 80's, a little overcast, and a breeze. We had great seats and watched the Cubs win 8-5 over the Cinci Reds. 4 home runs, lots of action, and good company.

Lets see if the Cubs can pull off another win at home today. Go Cubs Go!

My Delve Onto Canvas

For quite some time, patrons have been asking me to make larger sized pieces. I resisted, there is something very endearing to me about tiny art. Eventually I decided to try out a bigger format and using a support other than paper.

I had a set of 8" x 10" stretched canvases sitting around my studio for years and decided start with those. I forgot how much fun it is to glue with gloss medium and really how much easier it is. I don't have to worry if it oozes out the edges like I do with my PVA glue on paper.

Instead of using a micron pen to add the detail, I used paint. It had been ages since I had painted and I was worried that I'd lost my mojo. But, the more I did, the better I got. I remembered how nice it is to be able to repaint something that doesn't quite look right, which is just not possible with ink and paper!

Stretched canvases don't necessarily require framing, which is major plus for me.They look great as is, especially with 1.5" or 2" stretchers like I've been using. I haven't yet found a good and economical way to frame my paper pieces.

I quickly worked through my collection of canvases and have since then purchased a bulk order from MisterArt.com. I got a great deal and fast shipping. I'd certainly order from them again!

My next support adventure will be cradled hardboard. A few of my Flickr friends have inspired me to try these!

What is your favorite support? I'd love to hear.