Incredibly Creative Day!!

I think I've discovered the secret (for me anyway) to loosing weight. Just hang out in the studio with no kids around for six hours straight, making art and having fun. OMG!! I took the kids to school this morning, came home and went to "my room" determined not to let anything get in the way of making art today. I finished three pieces that I had started before, began and finished two and started another three new ones. I listed five new things in my etsy store today as well. I didn't actually come up for food and water until after 2.

Let me know what you think of my new stuff. It's mostly watercolor, but, there are a few other things in there too just for fun. If you want to see more detail shots or even purchase one, just visit my etsy site (http://www.studiomelange.etsy.com).

"Penny Rug Pair"

More of my colorful circle shapes.

"Leon"

Recently, there was a fatal car accident here in Denver where a man slammed his vehicle into an ice cream shop. Ironically, I had already begun working on this piece. Two women and a little boy were killed that day. This painting is dedicated to them.

"I Always Miss You When You're Gone"
When my husband is out of town on business, I never sleep very well, but, my little pink water bottle at least helps keep me warm.

"Cupcake"

Seems everyone is using cupcakes for their subject matter, so I thought I would try one too. I really like the colorful nature of these little treats. Next month I have a cupcake chunky book swap coming up over at mailartworld, so I thought this would get me in the mood to start painting some for my swap buddies. I have to create eight in all. Better get cake-in, huh?!

Thanks for stopping in. You're visits mean so much to me. Really they do!

Halloween Swap

Hi all. Hope you're enjoying the amazing colors of fall and the crisp weather. Really today it's rather soggy here and not very crisp. It's more of a cold day so I'm hold up in the house working on Buddy designs and relaxing a bit too. The pile of laundry on the bed keeps calling me to be folded, but, frankly I'm ignoring it.

These are a couple of postcards I created for the Halloween postcard swap over at mailartworld. I will never be as fantastic at collage as my buddy Roc, but, I'll keep trying. The first one is called "Shellie the Skellie's Favorite Mask" and the second is "Bo Peep Clown Skellie". I think the second one is a bit disturbing, but, then again, it's Halloween and what better time to bring out the creepy stuff, right?

Funky, Fantasy Flowers

This week I actually had a moment to play around with some art. What a nice change of pace from the activities I have been doing for the last month. Between trying to finish up our basement project and getting my Slumber Buddies going, I haven't set aside any creative time at all. Shame on me. If you are familiar with my work from the last year or so you know that I have been playing with flower and other botanical shapes. It's fun to see what kind of weird unusual things I can come up with. While I'm working on these images I catch myself wondering if they are in fact all that fantastical. Perhaps somewhere in South America or in Africa, there is a flower or leaf that looks like mine. There are some very strange looking animal and insect species on earth. Why not plants too?

This card was just for fun.

...and these three cards were made for a trade with one of my atc buddies over at atcsforall. We agreed to do a tryptic of three cards using the theme of "fantasy flowers". She commented that after seeing this, a great thud was heard in the land and the local handsome firemen had to come and revive her. Shucks, that made my day.

ABC School Days Postcard Challenge

No time to chat tonight, but, wanted to share this goofy postcard I made for the school days postcard challenge over at mailartworld. Normally I don't do collage, but, thought I would for this one. I'll be curious to see how she goes through the mail with those funky cut corners.

Modigliani makes me sad.

Recently I joined a postcard trading group at mailart.com. The idea is to create a 4"x6" postcard that will make it through the mail. The postal stamps etc that get added to the card in transit are intended to add to the flavor of the card. Above are a couple that I made this last week. More cirular images.

Something else interesting... I was researching ancient symbols this week for an illustration assignment I picked up. I stumbled across some information about native american medicine wheels in Alberta that were made out of stone. The really great thing is that many of the markings that appear on my circular art resemble the medicine wheels in Alberta. Do-do-do-do.... (Twilight Zone music). All the more evidence to me that my circular art is a mind clearing meditational process for me. My husband says you can take the girl out of Boulder, but, you can't take the Boulder out of the girl. That's a good thing I would say.





I just finished making the following cards for a swap at illustratedatcs.com. Man, it was really hard to get them done. I've been in a really good mood lately and I had a hard time painting sad. Ya know?!

If Modigliani ever did close ups, I imagine they might look something like this.

I've also been messing around with more swashy floral cards for a little balance in the anti-Modigliani mode. I really enjoy this light and airy style. It's so fresh and carefree. It also helps me deal with summer's nearing end. Wahhhh! Although fall IS pretty darn nice. Even if I don't live in Vermont or New York state.

TGIF

"Thank goodness I figured it out"... and "Thank goodness it's Friday" too.




Here is the logo I developed to go along with my new line of buddies. Pretty exciting!! Let me know what you think of it. More pillow designs are coming to me all the time and I'm loving that part of this process. The hard part for me is the business side of things. I don't even want to think about what taxes are going to be like. I can handle marketing and production stuff, but, Lord help me, I sure need assistance with the other details. Thanks to Martha and Wendy and everyone else who has supported and guided me in my decision to move forward with this idea. Your help has been invaluable to me.

The kids have a long weekend, but, our time will be anything but relaxing. Between football, working on the basement trim and other family projects, we'll all be glad when Tuesday comes I think. Hopefully, I will be able to get some art done this weekend and take a break from other more grueling matters.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Please welcome my new friends.

Perhaps you have noticed the newest addition on the side bar of my blog. Seven very cute, cuddly and full of personality creatures that I call Slumber Buddies. Where did they come from? While we were on vacation this summer in New York, my six year old, Colby, realized that he had forgotten his favorite teddy bear, Jackson. He was very upset and wouldn't go to sleep without some sort of animal to snuggle with and there were no stunt doubles available anywhere at the hotel we were staying at. What I did have was a small travel pillow and a sharpie... and "Vwala!", an idea was born. I drew eyes, a nose and some little teeth on the pillow case and suddenly Colby was happy as a clam with his new friend, which he decided to name "Guy". When we came home I set to work on the designs and now I'm full swing with a new company and all the goodies that go with it. I'm still making art of course, because... well, I can't help it, but, for now the Buddies are taking up much of my time. More on that process later.

I also joined the postcard group on mailartworld.com, which I am sad to say, I haven't had a second to do anything for. I cut out postcards last night, with the hope that if I have them laying around, that I'll pick them up and work on them while I'm watching tv or in a spare moment.

Recently I submitted some of my atcs to a collaborative book project that fellow art card enthusiast, Sal Scheibe put together called "Artist Trading Cards: The Best of IllustratedATCs.com 2007". I just recieved my copy of the book, which is being sold at lulu.com. I'm so proud to be included in the book with so many other very talented people and I'm also very impressed with the overall quality of the book. On a side note, all the proceeds from the sale of the book are going to charity.

Another project on my plate these past few months is the completion of our basement finishing project. It's been a long process, and I've learned a great deal, but, thankfully, it's almost done. We hope to have the trim and carpet done in a couple of weeks. Wahoo!! My husband is calling it his "man cave." Sounds fine by me as long as I get to see him from time to time.

I've added a couple of new "places you gotta visit". Be sure to check out What's Up Roc's blog. This woman is seriously creative with a wonderful personality to go with it. She never ceases to amaze me with the incredible collage work that she does. We're not talking about pasting down a couple of elements and calling it done. She combines elements and creative techniques in a way that is fresh and fun. No matter what, I'll bet her work will get a chuckle out of you

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Here are a few pics from our vacation this summer. Hope you enjoy them.