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!