Last craft fair of the year and new Etsy listings

painted bird ornaments

 Yesterday at Irving Elementary School in Oak Park, I participated in the final craft fair of the year.  Having my stock in the American Artworks Gallery in Forest Park, I made a couple more batches of birds.  One is pieced with block printed wings and eyes.  The other is hand painted with sharpie drawings.  I also made some new garlands with contact paper and various scraps.  These were fun to make because they are little prisms of your collections:  lists, scrap paper, junk mail, etc.  They are like fragmented time capsules.  Finally, I had this idea of making soft, square heads with painted faces covered in vinyl.  I had five planned, but only one was executed.  Either the vinyl or my leaving my machine on overnight made my machine toast.  I'm taking it to the fix-it man this week because I have lots of sewing projects planned for the new year!

I added these items to my Etsy Shop along with some items from our Day Of The Dead show if you are in need of last minute gifts.  I am available to ship anytime this week through Thursday.  Friday, I am heading abroad with my family to South Africa for a couple of weeks.  So, you probably won't hear from me for awhile as it will be difficult to post; although, there will likely be a plethora of things to share.  I'll be sure to have a few good posts when I return.  I'm taking embroidery work with me, sketch books, and a camera, of course. 

PS Happy New Year!  I'm looking forward to building on this year and adding some new enterprises as well!

contact paper garlands

printed bird ornaments

cube head

2014 Calendar!

 So it's that time of year----when, it ends, and a new one begins. My sister Lisa and I, as huge fans of the Dolphin Studio Calendar,  took inspiration to create our own hand printed calendar.  We hand carved original designs into 8"x 10" linoleum, and then hand printed them with black Speedball water-based ink onto 8 1/2" x 11" 100 lb. card stock from the French Paper Company.  Four luscious colors (blue, orange, green, and gold) are featured.  This wall calendar will be clipped together and hung by a binder clip and could even be framed in a 8" x 10" frame.  I designed/printed March, May, July, August, November, and December.  Lisa designed/printed February, June, September, and October.  Jeff (Lisa's husband and my brother-in-law) designed/printed January and April.  This lovely collection will be made available in my Etsy shop soon, but if you'd like to email me or message me on Facebook if you are interested in purchasing one.  Also, we'll be selling them at Irving Craft Fair this Saturday, 12/14/13 from 9:00 until 1:00.  Happy New Year!
Forgot to mention that we are selling them for 28 dollars.  We have not determined shipping, but we'll have that soon.

Chicago Homicides in November related to gun violence

Gentilis Williamson, Mark Villanueva, LaChris Hendricks, Jeffery Whiters, Tyshon Anderson, Irbinzon Gonzalez, Brandon Torres, Amanda Fitch, Javier Gonzalez, Michael Walker,  Divorite Diggins, Uriel Quinones, Michael Sullivan, Aaron Hubbard, Steven Marshall, Demarco Powell, Phillip Curtis, Jose Rodriguez, Corderro Brown, Jason Jernigan, Jason Jernigan, Antonio Cooper, Luis Villasenor, Saul Salgado,

For more information: http://homicides.redeyechicago.com/date/2013/11/

Chickencitas

stitch work on Lupe piece for OPAL's Dec. show

 I painted some 6" x 6"canvases for the December 6th show at the ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora. The requirement for the show is that the pieces be 6" x 6".  I was listening to a podcast about raising chickens in your backyard and was inspired to paint some.  I was working on the first one when my Honduran house guest referred to them as "chickencitas", and so, was named this series. 

Cicada Pi

I'm really excited to be showing work in a new gallery which is opening in Oak Park called Cicada Pi.  The space is really exciting and inspiring.  Veronica Fremont, the owner, is a metal artist with a penchant for collecting interesting things.  You can glimpse a bit of the laboratory aesthetic below.  Here is a picture of a quick display of my paintings.

I'll keep you posted as to the specifics of the opening.  Until then, I encourage you to "like" Cicada Pi on Facebook.

Pilgrim Enrichment Week 4 (Final Week)

Finished owl

 I very much enjoyed my experience teaching pre-schoolers.  I had a really great group of kids and learned a lot from them.  Their approach to art is so absent of anxiety and full of bravery and experimentation.  They are fluid, fun, and work without hesitation.   I love that they savor the various processes--such as pushing paint around on paper, running their hands through a bowl of uncooked pasta, and marveling at color of all kinds.  I can totally relate. 

Today, I was trying to survey what projects they liked best and which they didn't favor.  Each student named a different preferred project, but nobody said they disliked anything except Penelope who said she didn't like getting glue on her hands.  At any rate, I came away with a renewed interest in teaching and very much inspired to be more experimental, flexible, and playful in my own work.  I definitely need to splatter some paint or get glue on my hands and see what happens.  

finished owl (glue not dried yet)

Finished owl

colored pasta and pipe cleaners

sculpture with styrofoam base, pipe cleaners, and pasta

Home for peg person.  This one is for a tiger, actually

Peek A Boo

Ornaments made of cardboard discs with slots cut into them and yarn tucked into slots.  A couple of these are jelly fish

Another Domicile.  Note: tape is colored/patterned masking tape

Pinwheel Enters Brick and Morter

It's consumer season, and I decided to try selling my merchandise in an actual store in addition to  the virtual Etsy one and gypsy-likev art/craft fairs.  This week I took my burgeoning bins of goods and unloaded them at American Artworks Gallery in Forest Park.  This is a co-op type business where the artist members contribute towards rent and the owner takes a percentage of the sales.  If ever there was a time to try this method out, it is now.  If you are in the neighborhood and want to do some shopping or just want to check out the work of 74 artisans/artists than do take a look.  The Gallery is on Madison St. in Forest Park which is great scene for restaurants and boutiques.   You won't be bored.  That is all. 

Packaged Garland (I don't have a picture of the shop, check out the website!)

Pilgrim Friday Enrichment: Pillows and Acrons

 Here are the pillows all stuffed and stitched.  I love these and am sure the kids will too when they get them back on Friday.  Penelope has been cuddling hers all day and even took it to bed.  I included some individual photos of them and of some of the acorns.  I didn't get a group acorn shot because I was afraid I'd mix them up and forget whose was whose.  They are tricky to identify-no place to scribble a name. 

Birds and Garlands

snowflake garlands

nesting dolls and gnomes awaiting their string

bird eyes

Garlandia

Batch of Birds with printed eyes and wings