So I Gathered...

When Art Overtakes Life...

So I have been remiss in posting these last few weeks.  I always get a bit flustered the three or four weeks before the Bayou City Art Festival in October and many things around the house start to fall through the cracks.  I opened up the silverware drawer the other day looking for a spoon, and that made my stick of Burr-Life, precariously perched on the upper counter where I have been working fall into the empty drawer with a resounding crash.  The silverware drawer was empty because I had not unloaded the dishwasher and the sink was filled with dirty dishes that couldn't be loaded into the dishwasher because it was full...sigh.  I decided then and there to try and play catch up!  I tried to tidy the house a bit, but this little girl just stared back at me from a pile of stuff on the kitchen counter, knowing it won't really be clean until after the art festival...

We have had quite a few firsts around here lately...first day of school...

first lost tooth...

First piano lesson, first Irish step dancing lesson, first uttering of "I don't want to take piano, Irish step dancing, fill in the blank, lessons!", first show and tell, first lost live preying mantis in the classroom (don't ask!), etc.  In between all of this, I am trying to build inventory for the October show in Houston...

I finally managed to find where this computer stored the photos from the opening reception at Robot Art Gallery at the beginning of September...

Paul and I had a great time at the opening!  Again, it was pretty cool to see my work up on walls that weren't my own, lol!  Here are a few views...

Here is Paul looking at work by photographer Kevin Rayhons.  Kevin's botanical prints were just spectacular!

Here are our two favorites...

This is Andrew, the one who found me on ETSY!  Some examples of his work are behind us...

I was introduced to the Michael Mehl, the coordinator and curator of Foto Septiembre, a month-long event that takes place in San Antonio every year.  He then introduced me to Patricia Mendoza who had started this event in Mexico and we had a lovely talk about her work and my work.  She is a well-known historian and artist and is curating a show on the written word and letters in Mexico.  She expressed  an interest in my work because I use original, historical papers in my boxes and might be in contact to have some of my work exhibited in a lovely space in Oaxaca, Mexico.  We will see what happens!

All in all, a very fun evening!  A big thank you to Andrew and Lara and everyone else at Robot Creative for granting me such a lovely opportunity!

I also managed to squeeze in during this time some new work for my ETSY store.  I just love these little pendants made from tiny gem tintypes and hope you do too!

I feel another give away coming on!  If you leave a comment on this post before midnight on Saturday, September 26, I will put your name in for a drawing for this pendant...

I also squeezed in teaching a couple of classes this past weekend for a group who had requested it.  Here are some pictures of their wonderful Butterfly Box projects...

And here are the results of Polymer Pixie Pins, which I hadn't taught before...

We had a great time!  I am always interested in teaching, so if you have a group that would like to have me come out, just email me and let me know.  Of course, you can also come to a workshop at any of the art retreats that I will be at next year!   Oh, and because I had had several requests and after 2 or 3 hours of banging my head against my computer screen, I finally added a Google Friends Follower widget, so you can join up if you like!  And I also had a huge mail-out (250+) of dues notices and invitations to join for a club that I work for that had to be out by September 15.  So many things to do, so little time...

I usually sit at the computer in the morning to take care of all of the computer stuff that builds up, but I have changed this schedule because I am now trying to exercise in the mornings.  Right before school started, Fiona reached over and grabbed a handful (!) of flab on my stomach as we were sitting on the couch.  I decided that that wouldn't do, so I started a walking workout after we walk the mile to school each morning.  Two weeks into it and already the jeans are fitting better!  However, my computer time suffers.  So, to those of you whom I owe emails, bear with me!  I will also try to post more regularly, but again, that might fall behind due to trying to squeeze in as much studio time as I can when Fiona is in school.  Thanks for your patience!  Off to play with the butterflies!

Adorn Me! 2010

So we can finally let you know that the Adorn Me! website is up and running!  Hurry on over to see the fabulous workshop offerings for this jewelry-only event hostessed by Linda Young of Art Unraveled fame. This event will take place March 2-7 2010, in Houston, TX.  The line-up for instructors is stellar and includes Keith LoBue, Thomas Mann, Deryn Mentock, Sherri Haab, Richard Salley, Amy Hanna, Diana Frey, Diane Cook, Melissa Manley and many others!  I am planning on taking a few classes myself!  

I will be teaching a NEW class, Pixie Pins!  Are you tired of the pixie thing yet?  I am certainly not!  These are Lazer-Tran images baked onto metal and accented with all sorts of fun accessories that are attached with various cold connections.   I made one batch of these pins back in 2003 to sell at Art Continuum and I sold out on vendor night!  If I may say, Tim Holtz had to have one and Thomas Mann purchased one for his mother.  I have not made any since, but I might have a few for vendor night, wink!  I think this class will be lots of fun, so come join me next March!

I was also invited to teach my Butterfly Boxes class in Houston, TX  this November on Saturday, the 21st, at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.  If you haven't visited the Center, I highly recommend it!  They usually have a spectacular ongoing exhibition, along with working artists' spaces and a great gallery, The Asher Gallery...which will be carrying some of my Perching Pixies this October!

And another note:  Art and Soul in Hampton, VA 2010 has MOVED up their online registration opening to September 13 from October 13, so make sure and check out the website and make your decisions!  I hope to see you there!

It's Been a Quiet Week...

So it turns out that Fiona had a bad case of the flu that is rampaging through the kindergarten classes at her school.  

Several classes had half of the students out with illness.  I experienced a very bad moment on Wednesday when my neighbor told me that her son's teacher had sent an email that there were confirmed cases of swine flu.  Trying not to freak too much, I called the school and they said yes, lots of students were ill.  I immediately called the doctor and got Fiona in.  She was miserable that day with 104 temp, headache and sneezing her head off.  We managed to see the doctor after a round with the receptionist who was giving me a hard time about my insurance card that I had left at home in my hurry.  I told her I really didn't care about the insurance and would pay what they wanted!  The doctor said yes, it looked like the flu and to just make her comfortable as I could.  He could test for the H1N1 virus, but there was nothing they could do because the one treatment they had needed to be taken within the first 24 hours.  So, back home to get her settled...

Harley didn't mind the couch bed being open all week...

 

As I said in the title of this post, it has been very quiet without Fiona's exuberance.  I spent my time taking care of her, playing games, listening to endless Disney cartoons and making crafts like this to entertain her...

I have to hand it to Martha Stewart's craft team...these packaged projects have every little thing ready to go for you...although my pig does look a bit like a large pink cat.  I suppose I can't blame that on Martha...

Poor Fiona would fall asleep at odd times.  I came in to find her like this one afternoon...

I received very little sleep this week and was running on fumes by the time our closing came around on Friday morning.  My mom came to watch Fiona while I ran around to several banks gathering up money to take to the closing.  I almost went over the counter and strangled one poor teller when they put a limit on what I could withdraw at one time...but everything went fine and after signing a mountain of papers, the refinance loan was closed.  I won't be completely easy until I hear that everything funds on September 9.  I had the gallery opening in San Antonio that evening, but I will post about that later.  It was pretty exciting!

Here are a few things I worked on during my down time.  Have you ever had an idea right in the middle of doing something else and you have to drop what you are doing to follow it through?  Well, that is what happened with these pieces!  

The idea hit to make these gem tintypes into little pendants and I had to do it!  I am calling them Altered Gems.  I draw and collage on them, then cover them with a coat of resin.  

I will attach a necklace bail to them and hang them on thin cables.  I am very excited about them and already have a few favorites that I will have a hard time selling.  (If you click on the photo you can see a larger version and be able to read the text on the pendants.)   I hope to get them in my ETSY store in the next week or two.  I will let you know...

Let me know what you think...