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.