Keeping a Low Profile

Hi there. How are you?

You may have noticed, that I have been keeping a low profile on the interwebs lately. Until this past week, I've done very little posting on my Facebook fan page, Twitter, or Instagram.  I haven't posted here on my blog for well over a month now. It was time for me to step back from it all for a bit.

I'd like to believe that being active on social media leads to more sales. The truth is, it really doesn't. At least not right now. It just makes me feel good to get those likes, comments, replies and retweets. But those good feelings are not really what I'm after! Besides that, social media can be such a time suck! How many times have have I sat on the couch in front of the TV while mindlessly trolling my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds? Gross!

I find that I can waste the most amount of time on Facebook.......It's the nosy part of me that likes to know what's going on with everyone else. To make it easier to keep myself off Facebook, I deleted the app on my phone. I still do have the "Pages" and "Paper" app, but I do find that my time trolling Facebook has diminished greatly!

Instead of spending time online, I've been:

• Spending time in my studio, making things and learning about selling wholesale. 
• Spending more quality time with Matt and Jack. 
• Enjoying the hell out of this beautiful summer.
• Exercising every day. (More on that later.)

Now that I've got a little more time on my hands and some new exciting projects to spread the word about, I will be posting more regularly on social media. But I won't let it take over my time anymore!

How do you keep social media from sucking your time? Do tell.

Ta-ta. 

Etsy Updates!

"Unwind" 8" x 8" archival print

Hi! How are you? Can you believe it's almost August?

It's been busy around here.  My stepson Jack has been staying with us, so we've been taking lots of little side trips around Southern Illinois. We also took a week long trip up to Rockford and Wisconsin, saw a concert, and had an art show. (More about the art show later.)

My long neglected Etsy shoppe is finally getting a facelift. I'll be slowly adding new prints and originals to the mix.  My newest addition is "Unwind", an 8" x 8" archival print of a piece I sold earlier this summer.

Doesn't this print just scream "dog days" of summer?  Bring a little bit of summer nostalgia to your home year round by hanging this print on your wall.  (Those cold, dark, winter days will be here before you know it!)

Thanks for looking! Enjoy the last day of July. Are you doing anything exciting in these "dog days" of summer? Do share.

Ta-ta for now. 

Summer Vacation Photos

 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Well hi! How's the weekend going?

I spent the day compiling all of our pics from the Johnson family trip to Kenya and Budapest into a Shutterfly book.
Thought you'd like to see the results. 

Enjoy!

Summer Hues

Happy Sunday Funday friends!

Summer has arrived in Southern Illinois.  The summer clothes and flip flops are out. The AC has been going full blast for days and at 9am it's already 81 degrees!

All this sun and heat inspired the color palette of this little cutie.  "Fun" measures just 4"x4" and was created on a tiny cradled hardboard. 

Ta-Ta for now. 

Summer Plans

African Love by Lola and Cash on Etsy

Hi there! How are you?

Big news in the Johansson house. I'm taking a trip to Africa and Budapest this summer!

The Johnson/Johansson clan will first be heading to Nairobi, Kenya and the campus of First Love International Ministries. Matt's father is a board member and founding member of this amazing institution, that operates 9 orphanages and schools all over the world.  We will spend a week working with children in the Kibera slum. 

We will then go on a 3 day safari at Maasai Mara National Reserve. Wow!

Typography Art Poster by Legacy House Art on Etsy

Our excursion ends with a trip to Budapest, Hungary, where Matt's brother Luke and his family live. (Luke works for the US Embassy.) We'll get to meet the new baby girl who should be born any day now, and spend 4 days with Cindy and William (Luke's wife and son.) 

This is a once in a lifetime trip for me. I feel so lucky to be a part of this fabulous family.

Do you have any big summer plans? Do share! 

Ta-ta for now.

Starting Off Small

It finally feels like summer.

My schedule has cleared and my days are mostly my own. I'm slowly working my way back into my summer routine and art making. I find it difficult sometimes to regain my art "mojo" after a long absence from creating. I decided not to push myself too hard, but just start small.

Over the last week or so, I've made these little floral ACEO's.  They are nothing totally innovative or groundbreaking, just something I know and understand. I do feel the need change things up and try something new. Unfortunately, I don't know quite what that is yet. Until then, I'll keep plugging away, and it will come to me.

Tried and True is available for sale in my Etsy shoppe. The others will be up for sale shortly.

Ta-Ta.

Wish I Could

Matt is away with union work, so I have had much time to catch up on art making. Besides the Greenwich Village show in September, it looks as if I will be doing two holiday shows. I've got to build up that inventory.

My love affair with the Bic pen continues. So many different marks can be made as well as a full range of values can be made. Plus, I just think its pretty darn cool to work with such a mundane material.

I've been inspired by Matt's Scandinavian design book, copyright 1961. I'm drawn to the clean lines and sparse spaces depicted in it's pages.

As soon as I started this last piece "Wish I Could" I knew it was going to have a melancholic feeling. There is an empty chair that seems to look out through the curtained window. The weather appears bright and sunny, so why are you inside? I wonder.

I don't think that this original piece will be listed for sale on Etsy. I'm keeping it for Greenwich. But, if you just have to have it, please let me know. I'm sure we can work something out. "Wish I Could" will be listed on Etsy a large 12" x 15" print shortly.

Speaking of "Supersized" 12" x 15" prints, have you entered the giveaway yet?

P.S. I promise I will finish up my recap of the Italy trip soon. I just got a little distracted.

Arrivederci!

I'm Back!

Ciao Friends!

I've been home from Italy for about a week now, and am finally getting back into the groove of things. What a trip!

Our Italian adventure started off in Venice. Such an interesting city - no cars, just sidewalks and canals for boats. I loved the layers of age visible on all the buildings. Matt and I enjoyed walking around the Island and sampling the local foods like sarde en sour (sweet, pickled sardines). It sounds awful but really does taste delicious! Our travel guru Rick Steves recommended that we order "misto" plates when dining in Venice. A misto plate is basically a combination a restaurant's antipastos and boy was Stevie right on the money. One night we ate octopus, sardines, grilled polenta and mussels.....and that was just the appetizer!


On two separate occasions while in Venice, I ran into Travel Channel personality Andrew Zimmern. He was nice enough to take a picture with us. We didn't get to talk to him for very long, so we don't know what he was shooting. We'll be watching Bizzare Foods to find out.

Something else quite newsworthy happened in Venice....Matt and I got engaged! We're so very excited and so is the rest of the Mullin and Johnson clans. We are planning a "destination" wedding in California wine country for June 2011.

After 2 nights in Venice, we rented a car and headed south. More on Verona and Florence in my next post.

Arriverderci.

Art On the Lawn

A week from today, I will be out at Rockford College, participating in Art on the Lawn. Slowly but surely, all the preparation for this show is being completed.

If you've been following things on Facebook or Twitter this week, you will have heard about my tent trauma! I ordered an EZ-Up tent on Ebay a few weeks back and was impatiently awaiting its arrival. (Yes I meant "impatient"......I am a terrible waiter!!) When the massive package finally appeared on my porch this week I was relieved for about a minute. I opened it up to realize that the side panels were missing! I immediately contacted the seller about the whereabouts of the tent sides, and never heard back. Tomorrow I start the process of getting some sort of refund via Ebay if I don't hear from the seller or receive the panels. Grrr. Luckily, a local twitter pal saw my crabby tweets and offered up her sides for the weekend.

My next goal is figuring out how I will hang my work on the panels that Matt and I constructed this weekend. I don't want a repeat of my last show!!!!

So, if you are in the Rockford area next weekend, come out to see me and my art. There are 63 other artists in the event as well, so I guess you could come and see them too.

The Details:

Art On the Lawn

Sunday, June 13th from 10 am to 5 pm

Rockford College Burpee Commons

5050 E State Street

$3.00 Admission

Busy Bee

I was quite prolific this past weekend, and managed to create four new ACEO's. I'm on a kick with yellow right now. Yellow feels warm and summery, and reminds me that I will soon be on summer vacation!!!!

My first big show of the summer is right around the corner. Art on the Lawn takes place Sunday, June 13th on the Rockford College campus. I've got a new tent on the way and with the help of my trusty manfriend Matthew, will be putting the finishing touches this weekend on some panels to hang my work on. This outdoor show thing is certainly a lot of work! I am praying for a beautiful summer day and lots of eager art collectors to come my way. Mama needs some Italy spending money!!!

I found out today that I was accepted into the Greenwich Village art show at the Rockford Art Museum in September. I'm psyched and am looking forward to having another reason to use my tent.

Ta-ta for now!

Renewed and Relaxed

This week, I am thankful to be a teacher. Though my job is a struggle and a stress, I am afforded time off to renew, recharge and relax.

Spring Break couldn't have come at a better time this year. One of my teaching partners had to have emergency surgery and was out most of the last month. I had to take over one of her classes, which meant that I lost my plan time. It was definitely wearing on me.

I'm only a few days into my spring break, but decompression is already happening. My art "mojo" has returned. (I was having a hard time making anything for a while.) My head is clear and I'm motivated!

I just finished "My Dear Acquaintance" yesterday and have started two more pieces this morning. I used more of my vintage stamps in this piece. Frank Lloyd Wright, Grace Kelly, George Washington and Paul Dudley White MD all make an appearance in this piece.

I'm going to be cranking out this floral/tree themed pieces for a while as I will be peddling my wares at a spring flower themed show on May 8th in Sterling, Illinois. There isn't a web page for this event, but I did manage to find a Facebook event page. I also found out that I got accepted to the Art on the Lawn show at Rockford College on June 13th. I'll be busy, but motivated to make some money for my upcoming trip to Italia!

"My Dear Acquaintance" is available for sale on Etsy.

Have a great week. Hopefully I will have more work to show off later this week.

Falling Food

Last weekend, Jack (my boyfriend's 9 year old son) and I did some drawing in our sketchbooks. Jack started drawing every food he could think of. (He says it's his best subject.) I love how he included cast shadow for each of the foods.

We were running out of ideas of foods to draw, so I got out the illustrated Italian book my mom had given us. (We are traveling to Italy this summer and attempting to learn some Italian.) I decided to include the Italian names with each illustration.

In other news, my passport arrived this week! With my airfare now bought and paid for and my passport in hand, I'm almost ready for my Italian adventure. Matt has booked all of our lodgings in Venice, Tuscany, Florence, and Rome. Now we just wait until June!

Happy Sunday friends.

Happy New Year

Happy 2010 friends! I hope that this new year brings many good things to all.

Sadly, I've reached the end of my 2 week vacation and I am reluctantly thinking about going back to work tomorrow. Its been a glorious 2 weeks and I've relished all of my free time!

During the break I made some new art for the shop and further experimented with oil painting. I am working on a small oil painting of my own and Matt and I collaborated once again on a larger piece. Both are close to finished. I'll be sure to post when they are complete. I created the cute little "Valentiny" ACEO, which is for sale on Etsy. It will also be available as a card in the near future for all your Valentine needs. I'm also cooking up some tiny ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") valentines with matching tiny little envelopes.

Happily, I said goodbye to two large original mixed media pieces during the holiday season. "Petals and Postage" (above) sold at the Wallblank holiday show and "Necessity Breeds Invention" (below) was sold via Etsy to an old friend of mine. These are the first mixed media pieces of this size (8" x 10") that I've sold. I'm happy to see that going big is finally paying off and it motivates me to make more in this size.

I'm looking forward to 2010 and there are already some big plans in the works. I am hoping to enter and show at 2 local juried art shows AND......go to Italy!!! I'm working on a passport at the moment and am trying to sock away all of the money I can to make the trip happen. Wish me luck.

Off to enjoy the last few hours of freedom. Ta Ta!

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.

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.

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.

Going Home to Roost Interview!

Hi! Another beautiful summer day here. Sunny and bright and a refreshing cool breeze in the air. San Diego weather! This must be why my brother has no intentions on moving away from his Ocean Beach, San Diego home.

Just wanted to let you know that I was interviewed by Bonnie Forkner on her beautiful blog "Going Home to Roost." Thanks so much Bonnie!

Click here for the direct link to my interview.

Enjoy the day friends.

Bounty From the Farmer's Market

Farmers Market July 15 2009, originally uploaded by Jennifer Mullin.

I am an admitted farmer's market junkie. I adore the freshest of fresh, locally grown goodies I buy there each week.

My love of the farmer's market really began in 2006, when I spent the summer in Portland, Oregon. The climate and overall "greeness" of Portland make it a Farmer's Market hotbed. I was astounded by the number of different fruits and vegetables available. And the artisanal cheeses! Some of the best goat cheese I've ever tasted came from the farmer's market.

I came home later that summer, ready to shop at Rockford's farmer's market. But in 2006, they left much to be desired. Unfortunately, many of the vendor were selling produce they'd bought from the wholesaler. There were very few actual vendors selling locally grown goods. It was disappointing.

The farmer's markets have come along way since then. Gone are the "faux" farmers, now replaced by dozens of local farmers producing anything from garlic to beets! Today I bought garlic, carrots (I love how they look with the tops still attached!), organic mixed greens, cucumber and rasberries. Yum. I purposely scheduled a dinner with my parents for tomorrow night so I could buy what I need from the farmer's market. Can't wait to cook with my yummies.

If you haven't already, be sure to enter my giveaway. Have a great day friends!

WallBlank - Sending Summer to You

I'm very excited to be working with Wallblank. This is a Rockford based company (my hometown) that works with many different artists to offer a different print every day of the week. The prints are very sharp and affordable.

Yesterday (Thursday) "Sending Summer to You" was featured at Wallblank. This is a piece that I originally made for my friend Sarah and its one of my current favorites! This 12" x 12" limited edition print will be available for a week or until its sold out on the Wallblank website.

While you are there, check out the work of my former students, Cari Wayman and Jay Schaul. Both are very talented photographers!

Happy Weekend.