Boo!

I'm having so much fun making Halloween goodies this week. From signs, candles, treat cones and more orange and black paint is everywhere. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because there is no other time that kids can knock and everyone's door in the neighborhood and be greeted with candy! I think I might even dress up this year to give out the goodies.

Fall Show Preview

I have been working furiously in the studio on items for the Hearts and Hands Emporium at First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Ga. The show dates are September 18 & 19. As a bonus if you mention this blog I'll give you $5 off any purchase of $25 at the show. My focus is on holiday items right now with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner. The signs, bottle wraps and frames would all make great teacher and hostess gifts and are all priced $20 and under. I'll also have some of my large frames there along with cards by Annie VanAmberg (my sister) and maybe some of my mom's items as well. Yes, my entire family is right brained. I'll have more items updated as we get closer to the show and after the show I'll post remaining items in my etsy store. If you can't come to the show and see something you like, just post a comment and I'll get back with you.

Well back to painting and creating!

fun shopping

So here are the promised photo's of my favorite store in Newnan The Vintage Flea. They carry a mix of antiques and new home accessories, clothing, jewelry and art.

This donkey we found outside a great antiques/garden store in Senoia, Georgia (just east of Newnan). I couln't afford a $500 piece of garden art so I opted for a picture instead!

I'm recycling bottle caps into my art for some fun whimsical items. I'll try to take some photo's this week to share with you.

Last Days of Summer Break

I can't believe summer break is almost over. The boys and I have had so much fun this summer and I'm disappointed to see it ending. We're in Newnan right now visiting my parents and I'm enjoying the antiques and shopping offered here. We're headed to one of my favorite stores today in downtown Newnan, The Vintage Flea. I'll take some pictures to post later so you can see why I love it so.

Downtown Newnan, Georgia

With school starting next week I will have more time in my studio to get ready for the upcoming fall shows I'm doing. Did I mention my studio is finally completed? I'll post those pics too when I get back in Gainesville. My first show will be in September at the First Baptist Church of Gainesville Hearts and Hands show and I'm starting to book any home shows for November this month. If you are interested in hosting a show, and yes there are benefits, let me know.

Enjoy these last few days of summer, I know I will.

Mushrooms and Dragonflies

Well, just to name a few. I've updated my etsy site and my new items are now available. Also, my frames are on sale-marked down to $75. I'm discontinuing the frames so get them while you still can.

postcards from life

With so many new ways to communicate the art of writing has been on the way out for some time. I think it's fascinating to read an old postcard, letter or just hand written notes by a loved one. Better yet a love letter in the midst of new love. I don't think reading text messages is going to have quite the same effect.

So a postcard from my grandfather to his wife and girls inspired this piece. He drove a greyhound bus for some 30 odd years and was on the road writing notes home to assure them of his safe arrival and such. Such a simple act done with love and now documented for my generation to look back on and get all sentimental about (and let me tell you I am really sentimental).

first of many

I'm working on a series of collages that I hope to turn into prints, notecards and more. This is the first version and it's still in progress, Eventually I work it out into a larger size, this one is just a 5X5 canvas. It's been fun learning new techniques and trying them out.

I've also discovered that SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) Atlanta offers community education classes and workshops and I'm so excited that I'll get to take classes in the future. I'm also looking for other creative folk to start a group with so if you're in the North Georgia area and looking for some creative fun let me know.

Monsters Everywhere

Well since summer is here some of my creative juices have to go to my children's activities. Today we read 'Leonardo the Terrible Monster' by Mo Willems. It's a great book and lots of fun to read. After we read it we created our own monster and talked about who he was, what he liked and what made him sad. It was fun and easy to boot.

Yesterday we had a surprise 'monster' in the garden in the form of a black snake. I'm not a fan of snakes myself but my boys love them so we got a nice view from the basement window of a garden snake in his element...my garden.

Jumping for Joy with Inspiration

I'm back from a trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina that has left me full of inspiraitons for my artwork. I've never experienced so much discovery at the beach before and it was so exciting. I saw sand dollars, starfish, sting ray (swam right by me!), crab and some unknown sea creature my boys call a baby sting ray. The weather was rainy and sunny and both had a beauty and mystery all their own.

My collage work is really developing nicely. I've started creating my own collage papers using all the paper that invades my house daily through mail, school reminders and church reminders. I layer with stamping and painting to create a totally unique papers to collage with.

I have three shows on the schedule for this fall. Two shows are back to back in September and one is in October. I'll have more details as we get closer.

Spring Break in Savannah

I just returned home from a wonderful trip to Savannah, Georgia. I wanted to tell you about some of my favorite shops there. These are pictures from The Paris Market, which had great home accessories, furniture, art, books and more. Other shops I visited included One Fish Two Fish, @ home - a vintage general store and Architectural Elements. We had the most amazing dinner at Bistro Savannah, a restaurant featuring only organic, in-season regional foods including fresh goat cheese and local produce and seafood. We also took a walking tour by Architectural Tours of Savannah which was fabulous. I really think I could live in Savannah (if I could only afford it).

The Great Frame makeover

Well, I'm finally doing what I really wanted to do with my frames. When I started this journey I made the frames and stuck to the quotes to be safe, since I knew this was safe. My original idea was to paint the frames decoratively with graphic elements. So, when I was asked for a donation for the Children of Grace preschool I decided to follow my heart instead. My promise to myself and my customer is that each frame will be original and one of a kind. Mass producing is so boring anyway. I've also done a small painting that will be added to my etsy site today. Check back often to see where this new direction has taken me and my art.

Life is more than food and the body more than clothes

This piece is more mixed media fun as I'm exploring all the possiblities of images, old papers and paint.

I started the layers with tissue paper, an old recipe, one of my photo's and one my mom took of me as a girl. There are words also written all along the edges of the piece that you can't see from the picture. One side says "consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn. Yet God feeds them."

The premise is that the bird represents the raven. That God clothes and protects him beautifully and simply while I sometimes worry how my needs will be met. The cupcake and the lollipop represent the abundance of God and the crown is my identity as a daughter of the king.

The issue of food and fashion is also a topic that women struggle with in our culture. I know I do. Worrying about what I eat (not if) or what I'm wearing is so wasteful. These are the things God provides even to the birds, how much more He does for me.

The Beginning of the New

Here is the beginning of the new. This piece started with the red sketch I posted last week. Through layers of paper, gel medium, paint and oil pastels I began to take what was old and make it my new. This piece (still unfinished) is about the conflicting ideas women are given regarding self worth, beauty and acceptance. the words through the middle of the piece include statements like "Put on some lipstick" to "It's what on the inside that counts". The figure is resting with the weight of these statements on her but, her foundation is firm. She is her fathers daughter, unconditionally loved and pleasing to him.

A New Direction

A new year, a new point of view calls us to make changes we hope to incorporate into our lives. Whether it's weight loss, positive thinking, going green or praying daily it is a goal. I have many goals for 2009, and a new direction in my art is one. Art vs. Commerce has long been an artists dilema. Can you balance the work you want to create with work that is profitable? I hope so, because in 2009 I'm going to try to follow my creative instincts more than my marketing instincts. My work will not be drastically different but it will come more from me and who I am rather than what I think others are or want.

Here are some sketches of what I'm working on. I'm looking at the simpler side. I'm starting at the beginning again by drawing and sketching more and looking at receipts and expenditures less. On that note I'm off to my studio (the basement!) to get to work and to gain some peace while letting my creative juices flow.