a known and an unknown

have you guys checked out my art retreat website yet? whatcha waiting for - only 12 spots are available, make sure one has your name on it!

in my previous post, i wanted to get the word out about the retreat, but today, i want to fill you in a bit on the makings of this retreat.

recently i received some not so pretty feedback of my work/art and i have to say it threw me for a loop. not necessarily the negative criticism, because i welcome that, i really do. i spent many years working as a graphic designer at an atlanta advertising agency where my work was constantly violated with a red marker. if that doesn't make for a thick skin, nothing will. criticism only results in a better product, i truly believe.

what threw me for a loop was the fact that i was judged for being a relatively unknown artist (i was actually told that) - not one of the power players that seem to populate the west coast of our country. i firmly believe that if you have a blind viewing of my art next to one of the power players pieces, that mine would hold it's own and therefore is just as worthy. yet, some opportunities are only given to the "popular" people based on who they are and how many blog followers they have and not what they create. which leads me to the question of how do you go from being an unknown to a known in whatever field holds your passion?

the answer for me is to become a doer. AN ARTIST. A DREAMER. A DOER - that is my new title for this little adventure jenni and i have created. yep, it is even on my business card.

have you ever tried to list your best qualities and worst qualities? chances are the worst column is easier to write. the one thing i know for sure would be in my best column is that i am a doer. i do not sit and talk incessantly about what i want to do. well, ok, i might talk for a few days, but at some point, i will go out and do what i am dreaming about. the only way to become and achieve what you want to be in life is to put one foot in front of the other and make experiences happen for yourself. make yourself be a "known" instead of waiting for someone to discover you.

which comes back to why i wanted to start an art retreat in atlanta. one, the southern states are seriously lacking in this department and if not us, then who is going to do it? and two, i absolutely cannot wait to help people discover a creative life. to show them techniques that work for me and products they might never have seen. to experience 3 days of creative bonding and friendship that will open their eyes and instill in them the creative spark which for me, is infinitely better and much cheaper than therapy!

an artist, a dreamer and a doer

this might possibly be the most exciting news i have written about on this blog. like. ever!

i want to officially announce a new art retreat – Southern Circle Retreats

after flying all over the country to attend art retreats, my friend, jenni horne, and i decided that there was a serious need for an art retreat in the south, atlanta to be exact since that is where we both live.

jenni and i are teaching 3 classes and have a full weekend of goodness planned for the attendees and well, you just need to hop over to the new blog to read all about it!

i am most definitely over the moon excited about this new path in my life as an ARTIST. DREAMER. DOER.

nautical themes and furniture

nautical themed nursery anyone? this hombre 3-drawer dresser and step stool has just been dropped off at the boneyard on raymond hill.

thank you all for your support of my new booth and retail location. it has been tons of fun creating special goodies to brighten up your home!

a laundry room and a house tour

next stop on the house tour is my laundry room or as my friend joy calls it - my galoshy room.

pretty basic rectangle that contains washer/dryer, microwave (because i hate having it on my kitchen counter), and hooks for coats and book bags. a few months back i painted it "marmalade" by behr and am still getting used to it. this room is definitely not short on natural light, so it is a bright space that definitely keeps you awake!

i again bought a grouping of 6 ikea frames and am slowly working on collecting illustrations i love. the current ones i have can be found here and here. 

for something a bit unusual, i hung this vintage yellow chandelier close to the ceiling (so my husband wouldn't hit his head :) with a teal painted ceiling medallion. the unexpected pop of color on the ceiling is what i love most in the room.

tulips and paintings

happy wednesday - go out and buy yourself some flowers for hump day :)

sentimental sewing and boxes

my mom recently drove down and brought a bunch of boxes of things left over from my childhood. in it was some sweet doll clothing that my aunt had stitched for my mom in the 50's. sentimental objects like this are hard because you don't really want a child to use them, but what else are you going to do with them. because of this, they typically end up in a box where no one can appreciate them.

i decided to put this skirt and top on display by using a shadowbox i had lying around. first, i covered a piece of foam core with a vintage sheet, then i tacked the clothing to the foam core with tiny pins. i sealed up the back of the shadowbox and that was it.

quick custom sentimental artwork - definitely the best kind!

camellia and a canvas

i love my camellia drawing so much, that i find myself using it over and over in different applications. this is a 5x7 piece on a cradled canvas that i made a few days ago. i used vintage paper, golden fluid acrylics, a white gellyroll pen for highlights, pattern paper and...

vintage crocheted trim to finish it off.

now, the question is - what do i do with all these canvases i am making???

squirrels and a tutorial

well, my year on the May Arts design team has come to an end. i have loved working with their ribbon throughout the year and creating out of the box projects. my goal when starting this job was to transform the ribbon into something it wasn't originally intended for and i think i succeeded. for one of my final projects, i created a stuffie squirrel with a rather fluffy may arts ribbon fringe tail.

this is my first (of hopefully many) stuffie patterns, so bear with me, it definitely gave me some challenges :)

click here to make this cuteness!

a hall bath and a house tour

next up is my hall bath which is at the end of the hallway between the kitchen and family room. geez, it is hard to get a good pic of a room this size.

my mom painted the flower canvas probably sometime in the 70's and gifted it to me a few years back.

the lyrics to van morisson's "these are the days" line the length of the room. if you have the ability to create vector art on your computer, you can send artwork to someone who has a vinyl printer and get something 100% custom. i think this 8' x 4' sheet of vinyl cost something crazy like $35. now that is a cheap statement piece. just bring your patience to the table when you are installing text this long :)

probably too much info, but i think it is so sweet when i hear my munchkins reading out loud the words while doing their business.

above the toilet is a shelf that contains other family work. the watercolor flowers is a recent piece of my mom's and the smaller piece is from one of my brothers. he gave it to me for my 21st birthday and it is so very beautiful. i really need to take a close up pic, but it is an illustration of a deer sitting under a tree with clouds and birds in the sky. he then channeled william morris and created a wild flower border around the scene. now you know where i get it from, right???