Seagrove studio turned studio

Turning this studio into a studio!  Even though it's vacation week, I can't drift too far from my work!  This beachy studio is so cozy and relaxing, but it also bright and beautiful for getting some creative work done!

Lovely Landscapes

Whew, even though I've only taught 3.5 days this week, I am tuckered!  Thankfully, I got a second wind just now and have managed to finish two mini-landscapes inspired by this lovely photo by my father in law, D. Noel:

Isn't it an absolutely gorgeous photo and lovely source of inspiration?!   After a recent critique, I've been reflecting upon developing a new line within my work that pushes into a more fine arts realm.  So, this is what I've come up with... which do you like?!  

Image 1- Mixed media (paint, paper, oil pastel on canvas board)

Image 2- Entirely paper (wanted to push myself to adapt my current medium)

I'd love to know your thoughts- you can't hurt my feelings (I teach high schoolers, remember?!)

Weird Week Wednesday

What a weird week it's been!?  There is absolutely no snow on the ground, yet I'm basking in the glory of a five day weekend and a three day studio week!  I'm loving it :)

Here are some updates since Sunday...
Family trees are now on Etsy and I'm working on a new one for Ellie!

Also since I've been teaching so little this week, there has been plenty of time to think about my upcoming Watkin's Community Education Layered Image workshop this weekend!  I've come up with a way to make the mixed media process less daunting and more fun for the workshop students!  These mini-boards will sequence the process so students can follow along, but apply their own designs.

I've even had time to think about how I would like to structure this summer's Places in Paper workshop.  Right now, though, I think I'll use these mini-surfaces to experiment with some new styles!

Finally, the JD letters are all boxed up and ready to go to Germany!  Such a fun project and coming soon to my etsy shop :)

Week in Review

This week has been, well, it's been great and not so great.  The week started with a crunch to get my first Etsy order shipped out on Tuesday (great!).  Check it out:

rough shot of first Etsy sale!

The week stayed positive with my school's basketball team winning their regional game, which meant a little less time in the studio, but totally worth it!

Then, for the bad news.  Found out on Friday I was not accepted into an upcoming craft show :(  After some encouraging words from my sis, I'm in a better place about the situation and am excited to submit an application to a fair that will better fit my work style later in the fall!

Yesterday began with a conference presented by Tennessee Craft on connecting to your customer.  Lots of great info!  The last sessions got overwhelming when talking about wholesaling to galleries... okay that's like a bazillion years away for me!  But, I met some great folks, had some interesting conversations, and mostly realized that a lot of what I'm doing isn't wrong!

http://thetaca.org/connect-to-your-customer.html

I also had a little time to reflect on past artmaking by sending in information for the Hamblet catalog.  Seems like May of 2009 and January of 2011 are a long time ago now.  It's great to see continued connections through my body of work, even though it has changed quite a bit!

The artful fun continued into the evening with the first Saturday art crawl downtown on 5th Ave.  

While I love seeing the work and indulging in some hippie donuts, I have to admit I always walk away from the artwalk (and craft fairs, boutiques, and even checking out etsy) feeling completely overwhelmed about how "behind" I am in the artmaking process.  I SO want to be at the level of those artists and makers, but I have to remember that, for now, I have to balance my studio time with a pretty cool gig- teaching art to the most awesome kiddos in Nashville!  

Not gonna lie, still hoping for a snow day tomorrow, though :)