Artful Adventures

You don't want to miss this give-away!

 

This flag was made by KC Willis, "The Women-The Flag",measuring 32"x50"-that's huge!  The first one of these that she made in the series is in the permanent collection of The Cowgirl Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas.  In a couple of weeks, she'll be having a drawing & some lucky person will win this one!  Are you curious yet, want to know why, need to know how to enter? Just go back & read the post, spread the word on your own blog, linking to KC's best plan yet (more about that in a minute) then go back & leave a comment on KC's blog post that you've done all this, and you're in the drawing-easy!!  Now, her "best plan yet" is that KC is going to share her extensive marketing expertise in a group called KC Willis Marketing Mindset, Navigating the Art Market.  This woman is a bundle of energy, and she wouldn't have accomplished what she has without a lot of hard work, and a lot good marketing sense.  There has to be a balance,time for making art, time to market so that the art moves on & finds it's rightful owner, and time for a life-well, at least I'm hoping there's time for a little life here & there:)  So spread the word, try to win the flag, and think about joining us on this marketing journey! 

Want to win a free E-Book?

Then you'd better be quick:)  This past week, the MMCA Marketplace posted another great interview, this time with Kelly Watson of Womenwise Marketing.  She just released her book, "Small Business Blogging Blueprint: Your Step-By-Step Guide To Building A Blog That Skyrockets Traffic And Sales".  The drawing will be tomorrow, Oct.13, all you have to do is go the Marketplace Blog, read Kelly's interview, leave a comment, and the lucky winner will be pulled from the names of those that left comments.  Quick, easy, and the interview is fantastic besides!  Win-Win situation if I ever saw one!

More Show Report

Several of you have asked for more of what's become known as "the Show Report", so here goes:)  The show runs until Aug. 22, at Off the Wheel Pottery in Egg Harbor, up in Door County.  The gallery itself is one end of an old barn that's been converted for gallery use, but not in the traditional sense of the word.  There's this one white wall that's been installed to section off the gallery space from the rest of the barn.  The other walls are still the old barn boards, complete with the open spaces between the barnboards that let the natural light come streaming in.  I was in such a panic getting ready, that I remembered that wall being endless, and was worried I'd never have enough to fill it, and actually ended up bringing too much!  Bet that'll never happen again:) 

When you walk in the door to the gallery, "The Girls" are straight ahead, front & center!  Those are each 2'x3' , just to give you an idea of the size of the walls, and they're hung quite high  with displays of Renee's pottery beneath them-worked out perfectly. 

It's hard to see on here, but Gary built a jewelry display case that's hanging just to the left of the door.  He made it out of an old window that he hinged for the front and built a box type structure on the back to attach it to.  Not the best description, but you get the idea.  There's more jewelry in Renee's studio, and if you happen to get up there, make sure to go into her studio to see her work-you'll fall in love with it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Besides wall art & jewelry (now why is this text all underlined?) I brought along some journals that I made out of the pages of nature prints that I did last year after reading LK Ludwig's book, Mixed Media Nature Journals.  If you don't already own this book, treat yourself and get a copy, it's a great one!  No blank white pages in these books-these 6"x12" books are loaded with color & various leaf prints from foliage around the yard.  Time consuming, but well worth it!  Try it, you'll be hooked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the opening (and apparently the underling is here to stay also!) it went just fine!  A steady flow of people that were all so nice, and I was a nervous wreck for no reason! I knew I had done work that I felt good about, so it was all fine, really.  Funny part though, I had ordered some clothes to wear from Oh My Guaze, wanting something to wear that was a little funkier.  I waited til the last minute to order, and as a result I got them at the last minute-just a few hours before we left for the show!  Someone was looking over me on that one-they fit, were comfortable, and was just the look that I wanted-whew!  There's actually more to this story about the show and how it all came about, but that'll be for another day.  Starting tomorrow there's another blog event you won't want to miss out on!  Seth Apter of The Altered Page is hosting an event that he's calling Buried Treasure.  All participants are asked to repost at least one of their favorite posts from their blogs, a way for bloggers to get to know each other better, and read something special in the process.  Something you won't want to miss!  Since I'll be participating, I'll see you all tomorrow!

It 's a Show & you're invited!

Even though I had a grat excuse to not be spending so much time on the computer, I shouldn't have just vanished as I did-for that I apologize.  But----please do celebrate my very first show with me!  The very talented potter, Renee' Schwaller of Off the Wheel Pottery invited me to be her featured artist this summer, showing my art along with her fabulous pottery in her gallery which is a renovated barn.  I really haven't said a whole lot about it to many people for all these months because, well, I quess because I had to see it to believe it.  We hung the work yesterday, I saw, and I believe!  The opening reception is this Friday, the 19th-and for some reason I'm not even freaking out about it, odd for me.  After that, it's quick get ready for that hip replacement on the 24th, see if I have any better luck this time around than I did in
December!  What would the odds be, really, of finding another blood clot or something else to postphone it again?   So, it's going to happen this time!  And hopefully, by the time of surgery, I'll still be grinning about what a fun reception I had:)

A lot of Linky Love Today

In the last couple of days, I've been out & about online trying to play a quick game of catch up, in between everything else I'm doing here.  It's been fun so I want to share some of what I found.  First, did you know that Bernie Berlin of A Place to Bark Animal Rescue is running a charity auction on Ebay, with all the proceeds going to help build a new kennel for her animal rescue effort.  The auction consists of artwork that a lot of us donated to Bernie to help her raise funds for the rescue.  So if you want to add to your art collection, and help the critters at the same time, this is a great way to do it!  She's got the piece that I donated up for auction right now, so click & see, and make sure to go back often as many more pieces will be added throughout the month.  If you want to do even more shopping, go check out my shop over at MMCA Marketplace.  There are 14 shops to choose from, including Sue Minier who was featured in a recent Cloth Paper Scissors article with her beautiful fabric collages.  The one featured in the article sold right away, but there's plenty more to see-I'd love to own one of those myself!  And while you're over there, click on over to the MMCA blog and read Christine Goldbeck's book review, which is the first in a series to follow soon.  In the meantime, Andrew is doing his own interpretation of an advent calendar, as only Andrew would do, and also posted a photo essay today.  If you're not familiar with his blog, you'll be fascinated with the photos that he takes & the art that he makes.  My friend Debi, has a brand new website for her shop in Houston, Yaya Chique, if you're in the area, I'd be running over there quick to see her work in person!  And while your at it, check out her blog & see some of her home decorations.  Valley Ridge Art Studio has their 2009 line up of classes posted, how do you choose from this selection of some of the best teachers around?  Have you stopped by this blog yet, I love it over there!  It's fresh & fun, with recipes & tips in the sidebar and some wonderful free images to use, a very generous offer!  There's more, but just one more for tonight.  Last but certainly not least, Christi made a beautiful post about 29 days of giving and yes, she's giving something away for 29 days, but go read about it, the project is growing!  This should keep you busy for awhile, and if you find any fun or interesting links, let me know, remind me if I know them, but better yet everyone who reads the comments can then find even more places to pop into! 

Still celebrating!

 

This morning we woke up to our first snowfall of the season, and it suddenly felt much colder than what it really is.  But we have a nice toasty warm house to stay in, so I can't complain.  In fact, it's something to celebrate-yes, even though I haven't been posting daily, I have found reason to celebrate everyday.  Have you?  In fact, we even picked up more candles, this is fun!  And if you have no clue what I'm talking about, you'll need to scroll down & read the previous post.  Done reading?  OK, then on to more celerating!  Gary had a follow up post op appointment last week, and is now the proud owner of a leg without a cast, still on crutches for another month, but the cast is gone & he can ditch the sweatpants & go back to wearing jeans-that's the part that he's celebrating:)   

Yesterday we made a quick stop at Kele Alpaca for the artists reception held for those participating in the Holiday Sale.   It always feels good to walk in and see my mixed media collages hanging on the wall, wierd, but good.  The place was packed, I mean seriously packed with a line you wouldn't believe waiting to check out.  Crowded to the point that we didn't stay long (we'll go back maybe tomorrow) and headed up to the Flying Pig for a cup of coffee before going home.  Robyn & Susan are back from vacation looking well rested, and gearing up for the holiday season.  Welcome home-that was worth a candle or 2!  Hanging from the cupola above the 2nd floor of the gallery was this sculpture of 2 boys climbing a ladder, it's made from packing tape with the willing models being 2 little boys that frequent the place with their parents.  Isn't it cool?  Directly beneath them is the ground floor and the tables where we sit for coffee, what you're seeing behind them is the 2nd floor.  If you want directions how to do that packing tape thing, you'll have to email them!   

You can sure tell that Gary's more mobile these days, I have pictures to post again:)  I'm so bad at that, just can't seem to take a decent photo to save my soul, but Gary does have an eye for it-light a candle for that one because this blog would be awfully boring without his pictures!  Now if I could only get him to take it more seriously, just enough to even just enter a few local photography contests or something.  But maybe he wouldn't enjoy it then, so it's up to him.  Last week I had my annual physical and came out of there with a clean bill of health.  While there, I noticed that my ortho doctor's name was on their board-what the heck??  This man is the best, seriously!  He replaced a hip over 8 years ago, did some repair on my knee once, but he'd been out of network on our insurance for a few years, so even though I knew I had a bad hip I was toughing it out (after a bad, horrible experience with another ortho) as long as I could stand it.  Turns out he's been back in network for about a year (why don't insurance companies keep us better informed?) and he was coming to the clinic the following day.  And---they got me in-yay!!  I've never been so happy to see a doctor in my life!  As I suspected, the other hip is bone on bone and needs to be replaced-but he can do it & get it done this year before our insurance coverage changes on the first of January when it would cost us a chunk of change.  So on Dec. 17 I'm going in for a hip replacement with a doctor that I trust, and I'll have a matched set of metal hips:)  Lots & lots of candles for all that!  Between getting that hip fixed, and the magic that the pain clinic is working on me, I'll be a new woman by spring!  The last few years I've dropped the ball more often than I care to admit, and haven't been myself at all, constant pain will do that to you.  But there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it appears that Murphy's Law has quit circling overhead & has moved on. 

It's deer season here, I hate the thought of deer being shot, but after hitting a few with a car over the years, I do understand the need to keep the numbers under control-I think.  As a kid, we were raised on venison, but with Gary not being a hunter, I haven't eaten any in years.  A friend was telling me yesterday that her husband had gotten his deer & she was cooking up steaks for dinner, and I told her much I used to love a good venison steak.  About 1/2 or so later, she comes in the front door with a steak for me (she lives across the street) wrpped in foil, still warm & ready to eat.  What a treat!  It was delicious, but I have to admit that I had to make a conscious effort to not picture a deer in our yard while I was eating it.  But I do the same thing whenever I eat meat, I just can't think about it.  And it doesn't stop me from eating a good steak!  To change the subject, did you read this post on Tammy Vitale's blog?  it's a great one, well they all are, but I particularly enjoyed this one where she shared an article by Christine Kane, well worth reading.  So much so that I ran right over & signed up for Christine's weekly e-zine called "Live Creative".  Somewhere along the line I'd lost the link to her blog, so thanks, Tammy, for bringing it back to my attention!  And if you aren't already signed up to recieve Alyson Stanfield's Art Biz Blog, give yourself an early Christmas gift & go sign up.  Today it was about showing gratitude, not just showing it but really feeling it.  She's right, and it seems to fit in with our 37 days of celebrating, we're all trying to live better lives, right?  And on that note, it's time to go watch the Packer game, but not before I share my steak with you:)

Care to join me in a Celebration?

 

Recently I wrote about a book I've been reading, Life is a Verb, written by Patti Digh.  Within the covers of this book are challenges, they are either"action" which is a quick writing assignment, or "movement" which is something to do every day for the next 37 days.  It's such a busy time of year, but still wanting to do something to keep on track with this book through the holidays, I chose the section the talks about how we should celebrate big events as well as the small everyday events, and do it up right by celebrating with birthday candles.  Now this I can handle!  So I'm challenging myself to find something everyday to celebrate, and light up a birthday candle (or 2 or 10) and have some fun with it.  If anyone cares to join me, post your celebrations on your blog and come back here & leave a link with your comment so not only myself, but anyone reading can go see what we're all celebrating about.  If that's too much, just leave me a quick comment & tell me what you want to celebrate-I really do want to hear!  I'll start-for the past week I've been doing battle with our insurance company & the doctor's office since they've decided this gigantic bill I've been creating at the pain management clinic should be our responsibility to pay, even though we pay nearly $1000/month for coverage.  BUT, the anger was making me crazy, so instead I'll choose to celebrate that we have insurance to begin with, I know too many that don't, and I'm also celebrating that the treatment is working and I feel sooooo much better!  Easy enough, right?  There's 2 right off the bat:)  And if that's not enough to convince you, go on over & read this post that was made today by my friend, Tammy Vitale.  Sometimes we seem to think on the same wavelength, and today was one of those days.  So, go find something to celebrate and come on back & tell me about it-pretty please:) 

It what it is

It is what it is, those were the sage words of a friend of mine yesterday when we were talking about how Murphy's Law has been circling overhead here for a couple of weeks, leaving in it's wake a dusty blog, unfinished projects, and a host of other things that I won't bore you with.  Sometimes life happens, priorities shift, emails don't get answered, posts don't get made, art sits unfinished, and what can I say except "it is what it is", and move forward from here.  That said, anyone read any good books lately?  If not, I'm working on one that you NEED, in fact everyone you know needs this book! 

Not too long ago, I stumbled onto it at Amazon, and something about it told me that I really needed this book, and I'm so glad that I followed my instincts.  As intended by the author, Patti Digh, you'll find yourself carrying it with you everywhere, writing notes in the wide margins, and find yourself wanting to live a better life, be aware of your surroundings and become an active participant in it all.  Seriously, treat yourself to this one, you won't regret it! 

As for me, this is where I've been for the better part of the last 2 plus weeks, Home.  With the exception of a couple of dearly needed road trips to the Flying Pig, and several trips to doctors & hospitals, we've been parked here.  But Gary's 2 weeks of no driving restriction has been lifted, so things are looking up.  I have so much more to say, but after spending an hour writing a post last night and having it suddenly disappear, and then trying it again earlier today & Explorer deciding it needed to shut down in the middle of it, that the 3rd time's a charm rule should kick in right about now, but no sense pushing it:) 

Look what I just found-a give away!

Go check this out, Karine Ardault is doing a blog giveaway!  And while you're there, make sure yuo look at her photos of a safari.  If you like critters like I like critters, you're going to love this blog!  And the art is wonderful, something else for you all to drool over:)  Karine is also an artist in the MMCA Marketplace along with about a dozen of us.  The marketplace has been getting a ton of traffic and sales are starting, so it''s all good-and exciting!  Enjoy Karine's blog, I know I sure did!

Wylde Women Award

Tammy Vitale has started a new blogger award, and made the artwork pictured above for the occasion.  She named me as her inaugural receipient-now how cool is that!  Thanks, Tammy!  Here's the rules as she wrote them: 

Introducing the Wylde Women Award to give to your favorite Wylde Woman blogger.  Here are the rules:

1.  You can give it to one or one hundred or any number inbetween - it's up to you.  Make sure you link to their site in your post.

2.  Link back to this blogsite (http://www.TammyVitale.com/) (so I can go visit all these wonderful women.

Purpose of the Award:  To send love and acknowledgement to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.

This is a tough one-there are so many of you out there that fit that description, with Tammy herself at the top of the list!  That said, this is a good way to introduce a friend of mine, Amanda Davie, she's got a heart of gold and puts the needs of others (especially critters!) ahead of her own.  Annie Lockhart is a friend that I met at a class a couple of years ago, she hops in that old car of hers & hits the road when the urge hits, and is a good one for practical jokes, in fact I still owe her one!  Besides that we share the same birthday, and seem to think alike on so many things, scary, huh:)  Andrew Borloz is a fascinating man (ok, we'll call him a Wylde Man) that I met at a class last year, and I never tire of watching how he views the world around us and shares through his photographs.  There can't be a list of Wylde Women without including Nina Bagley, There's not another living soul that I can think of that lives her live more fully or with more joy than Nina.  Jen Worden is a friend of mine from Nova Scotia, who is always willing to share, teach, and lives a very full life, this woman is fearless & has my utmost admiration.  Debbie Overton is a fellow blogger who had a dream, and it's about to all come true for her with opening her new online business, MMCA Marketplace.  Last but not least is Miz Carla who really is a wild woman-lol!  I adore her, besides being able to always put a smile on my face, she's just a good all around human being, something we all should be.   OK, I'm stopping here, although I could go on & on.  So go check these folks out, and be sure to stop at Tammy's blog, too!  Well, it seems that I lied-lol!  After publishing this post, I just had to come back in and edit it to include Deb Trotter, she just cracks me up and her posts are always fun to read, not ot mention the great artwork.  Ok, now I'm really stopping:)