So I hope I’m not boring you guys to death with art pictures. I guess I could think up some melodrama to write about, but honestly, not a whole lot happens when you sit in a room by yourself all day long just making stuff.

I did go to the post office this morning (see!? how! thrilling!!) to send the lime winged flower bracelet off to its new owner. One thing about being a crazy person who never leaves the house during the day? you miss out on all the other crazy people and carnival cooties who DO like to leave their houses in the middle of the day. And apparently they like to congregate at the post office. Go figure.

So that was my big doin’s for the day.

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I got another prison letter from the dickhead ex-bf. He thinks I’m not writing to him because i’m “jealous he has a new girlfriend.” bahahaha! yeah. That one went right in the trash, too.

And then I contemplated the feasibility of building a bonfire in my backyard, so I can burn the rest of the crap he’s stuck me with.

Other than that, i don’t want to get into it. It’s too lame to spend my mental energy on.

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So. Rabbit story time!

Ugmoe the bunny’s big adventure this afternoon was snooping around the steps outside, while I opened the front door to fetch the mail. I think he enjoys the sunshine and fresh air smells, but he’s still a little nervous out in the open if I’m not nearby. Meanwhile, the local squirrels were shooting him the stinkeye from up in their tree. But Ugs played it all cool- he knows he’s a hardcore playa and them squirrels was try’na cop his style. That’s just how Ugmoe rolls.

And then he went back inside and had a cookie.

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Me, i’m not nearly such a pimp. But! I did start a new drawing. I think it’s kind of an owl, but it’s a little psychedelic and sorta resembles a Furby. See what I mean?? it’s freaking me out. I think I need to fill some more things in, add color, and then de-Furbify it if at all possible.

When Matt got home we worked on projects for a little while; he was finishing his mosaic (which looks amazing, it’s got ROBOTS!!), and I worked on finishing up those three little mosaics i started a while back.

They’re almost done, and will be up on the Etsy…….. uh, maybe tomorrow?  I put a bunch of other new stuffs on there- since I snagged a showcase spot for tomorrow-  including some of my handmade beads and that handpainted paper I posted the other day.

In other news, I have a job interview tomorrow at three. It’s only part time, and it’s retail (ugh), but it’s at this really nice artisan gallery downtown. Hopefully it will not only supplement my income and allow me to keep on keepin’ on with the art, but maybe also be a source of some inspiration and also help me get some insider info on how to place my work in high-end stores. Plus I get to play dress up and look all posh and sophisticated when I go to work. Wish me luck ; )

Hey, I finally finished the mosaic I started in class a few weeks ago.

Not bad for my first try, eh?

It’s really neat how different it looks now. I was a little anxious about the grout, since a.) there was more than one color to choose from, each of which could dramatically affect the overall look, and b.) i didn’t want to scratch the hell out of the more delicate things i stuck on there.

But i like what i chose…. it looks like beach sand, which is perfect for the ocean / tidewash theme i was going for. My favorite bits are the lady hidden under the bubble and the octopus with the freshwater pearls. There’s still a few spots i could go in and clean up, but for the most part I’m all done. Woohoo!

I’ve been trying to boost my fashion illustration portfolio a bit, so today i did this. My inspiration is my friend Ryan- who is super stylish and puts clothes together in unexpected (yet tres chic!) new ways.

Matilda, who likes to sit on my lap while I work on the computer,
says,

“Let’s do online shopping!”

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It’s finally looking a little springy around here. I woke up this morning and heard a warm wind in the trees, and the people walking their dogs outside were wearing only light jackets. I stood in the doorway in my PJ’s for a while, and the rabbit scampered out from behind me to stand on the front step and have a sniff of the balmy air. His ear was up. I think he knows it’s spring, too.

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In other news, I have to find a job. I’m especially frustrated at one place in particular that I’ve applied to, this art center near where Matt works. They are looking for a teacher to work with mentally handicapped people, whose artwork is then shown in their craft gallery, which then supports the larger non-profit organization. Right up my alley, right? Well, I’ve applied for the same position FOUR times in the past two years, each and every time they hire a new teacher. I’ve even applied to be their graphic designer when that job came up. Nada. Not a peep from anyone, no matter who I’ve emailed or called or even when I stood on their frigging doorstep with a big smile and my resume and portfolio in hand. And it’s not like I’m not qualified- quite the opposite, I’m freaking awesome!- but I still get no love from these people. Which makes me wonder, who the heck ARE they hiring? Aaargh.

You know what? this is karma. Serves me right, this is some kinda payback for everytime I’ve ever jokingly called somebody a retard.

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but you know what? Art makes everything better. It’s story and picture time!!

Sooo, a while back I painted these big sheets of paper, which is part of my process for making Artisan Paper Beads.  I had some great response to just the papers themselves, and a few people wanted them to cut up and use in collages or scrapbooking or whatnot. So I made three big sheets in each of the primary colors, with lots of metallic highlights and patterns and textures and iridescent bits.

Lovely! You could frame them and hang them up on the wall, even.
So of course I hacked them all up into smaller pieces, HAHA. 
I’m going to sell them on Etsy in packs of 3.

Each sheet is still pretty kickass and beautiful on its own, and also very handy for making stuff like this.:

You could get even fancier, i suppose. And by the way, that’s my best friend kerri. i have a feeling she is going to kill me now. ; )

“I’m just not that creative.”

That’s what Matty’s mother said at first when I took out the box of beads I’d brought to show her. Pink, soft green, aqua, lemon yellow and lilac.

“Be BRAVE!!” I said.

So she cautiously picked out some colors that she liked, and I showed her how to put the beads together to make a pair of dangly earrings. It was remarkably simple. We made a few more pairs together till she got the hang of it, and as it turns out she’s got an amazing sense of color and design. She made a lot of beautiful things with all the baubles I brought along. Even better, she had a lot of fun, just being creative!

To encourage her, I took photos of all the things she made, designed a little logo for her jewelry line, and set up a shop on Etsy. She thinks it’s just about the best thing ever

Check out Nancy’s Etsy Shop

Etsy Buy Handmade ntdesigns

(and help me score points with my boyfriend’s mom!! hahaha)

Awesomesauce. I just sold one of my bracelets on Etsy. What a nice surprise to wake up to on this [still] snowy morning!

More where this came from <3

At this moment?

1.) Xanga taking its sweet-ass time loading my photos
2.) Xanga not even showing my photos when they’re loaded
3.) Complainers. Ha!

   

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

This is pretty much what I wake up to everyday. Ugmoe and Matilda like to “help” me make the bed.
This usually involves some tunneling under blankets and squealing for breakfast and whiskery kisses and getting fur all over the bedspread. Gee, thanks a heap, you guys.

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Oh, and that cool orange pillow in that photo – the bunny with the fangs- my best friend / sister-in-arts makes those, and lots of other stuff too. She’s a far better painter than I, and she’s working on some new collages that are really breathtaking. You all should go look. She’s amazing.

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Also- Hats! I finally got around to photographing the rest of the hats i made, just in time for spring. The snow hasn’t melted here yet, but I’m pretty sick of wearing drab winter colors myself. These are lightweight but will still  keep your ears warm until the thaw comes. You can see the rest on my Flickr.

 

     

As promised, the results of our studio-space makeover.

A little background first: Matty and I live on the first floor of  a
big old house on a hill, with high ceilings and huge windows that let
in all kinds of light. It’s even got a [defunct] marble fireplace in
the main room, which plays host to a couple of gargoyles, a Buddha,
some rocks, lots of photos and a bunch of artwork. We’ve lived here for about a year, and it is home. We absolutely love the place,
and with the exception of the stupid frigging oil furnace, we have
loved it ever since we first walked in the door.

At first we crammed all of our studio stuff into the second bedroom,
and that worked pretty well for some time. It was a little cramped
because of the narrow shape, plus the rabbit’s stuff, books, stereo,
computers, etc were all in there with us; and overall it simply wasn’t
as lovely and bright and airy as the living room. As it happens we don’t get many
guests, and we don’t do a lot of sitting around, so the front room was
always disused and vacant- such a shame!

However, this summer, I kept
finding myself wanting to hang out around the big bay window in the
front room, and sit in the sunshine that came streaming in everyday.
But all my art stuff was in the little room! So the living room wasn’t
optimally cozy for just -living- in, and the workspace wasn’t as
appealing as it could be for art-making. and as you have probably
noticed, making art is an important endeavor in this household.

This is an eclectic photo-panorama of the original studio setup; clicky for large.
There sure was a lot going on in there.

And this is the original livingroom setup, which was a total waste of space.

So then I hit on a plan: we’ll do the ol’ switcheroo on the two rooms!
Move the workspace into the big beautiful front room, where we’ll have plenty
of space to create, and set up the little room as a quiet, relaxing
lounge area.   Plus it ‘s an excuse to hit up Ikea, and what’s not to love about that?

So I drew up some plans, took a lot of measurements, and planned out what we’d need for new furniture in shelving. I got us a bunch of modular bookcases and a new desk for Matt, and as a treat I also bought the coffee table we wanted for the new loungey room; it has a glass top and compartments underneath for displaying little treasures.

Here’s our cozy room, formerly known as the studio.
Ugmoe the rabbit likes it better this way.

And voila! part of the new studio. Did I mention I have a lot of stuff? because i have a lot of stuff. yep.

Hey, this is where i write my blog! neat.

Matt’s workspace. Hey, look, a godzilla clock!

And in the big bay window, a space for painting. Oh, blank canvas, how you taunt me…….

All in all, it worked out pretty good. I’m pretty proud of my design skills on ths one. I  was able to make do with a lot of things we already had, simply by arranging them more efficiently. I still have a few things to sort out, and details like curtains and shelves and framed art still need to be addressed, but we’re really happy and it’s pretty wonderful so far!

is working on a new invention….. a hand-painted robot clock!

Seriously, I’m not the only creative person in this household. Matt is so awesome, I can’t even begin to explain it to you.

However, I am sometimes cool, too. I finished three little mosaics today, as well as the big “Marmalade” one and the top of a jewelry box. now they just need to get grouted.

There’s all kinds of neat details on this thing. like that little copper box at the bottom? it opens up and there’s a heart inside. I like the owl at the top, too. I feel like the whole thing tells some kind of story.

The photos came out kinda dark, but here’s the small mosaics I made.

cobalt & aquamarine

teal & sea green

plum & rose

I also took some photos of our new studio, where all this hot shit is happenin’, but that will have to wait for tomorrow ; )