Art Chick Shtick

Fashonista-wear for Country Living Fair 2009: I AM a spoiled child

I am a spoiled child
I hope
Every moment is as beautiful as crayons
I hope
I can draw on my beloved paper
a clumsy freedom
an eye never cry
a sky
a feather and a leaf belongs to it
a light green night and an apple
I want to draw the morning
the dew
all the smiles I have seen
draw all young love
which never experiences pain
...

Gu cheng I am a spoiled child

Of course we're all excited about the Country Living Fair 2009--not just the artwork but about what we're wearing.  Sophia and I have spent the afternoon wrestling over an exciting package that came in the mail today...check it out:

 

 

They're not from Anthropologie, they're from ETSY! 

Here's the link to idea2lifestyle's shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5874423

I was totally lured in by the poetry and the great photography--the shipping is super fast and the talented seller is awesomely friendly.  Love it.  Got it!

yes! it's Bret from Flight of the Conchords on lead ukulele!!!

While I pack my bags for another adventure-filled summer in Woodstock, I leave you a musical interude for those who share my love of hip-hop and ukulele:

Irrational Exuberance

Since I'm back to painting and drinking way too much Red Bull, I suspect I've finally recovered from Jen's Winter Extravaganza-O-megliarama, otherwise known as The HeART of Winter.  I mean WOW!, it was pretty!!! And pretty amazing to have all of us Earth Angel-ists together--we were so noisy that Jill Weiner had to be appointed dorm moniter to keep the giggling under contol.

Back at home... the kids have been keeping me really busy--David and Jacob are having band practice at my house 24/7 and now they're both playing rugby, Sophia has declared herself a vegetarian, I suspect because Adam sustained a cracked rib from being tackled by a vegan as he put away his groceries, and Tasie has finally figured out how to get out of Puerto Rico and is now searching for errant Rolling Stones on Mustique.

And I've been house-shopping...I think I've found a good one, although since it's an abandoned mansion and I'm truthfully the biggest chicken you've ever known, I suspect I would probably not last one night there alone.  But it is really nice--and a bargain!

It's directly across the street from the Franklin Park, home of the Franklin Park Conservatory, AND it's right down the street from the Columbus Museum of Art so I can't help but think what a nice studio it would be, don't you think?

Just in case I needed to throw an all-night dance party (that happens, you know) the third floor would be just great--it really does have an orchestra pit and a ballroom--perfect for my disco ball collection!

It is a bit large--I think I could get my entire studio AND my art collection AND all my kids and animals in there:

(Bob says as long as there's a basketball court he's fine with it--I have to admire his sense of priorities)

IN THE MEANWHILE...

What has garnered my irrational exuberance is my new paintings. 

Well, to call them paintings isn't quite accurate, and the hint is they're sitting sideways. 

If we still have internet service after the blizzard hits tomorrow I will post secret sneak peak images, otherwise they're being bundled up and sent to NY. 

If you want to be first in line you might want to start emailing Jen now--she LOVES it when you guys do that!

THE RUMORS ARE TRUE! my MiXed meDia Necklaces will debut at The heART of WinTer 2008

`It seems very pretty,' she said when she had finished it, `but it's rather hard to understand!'

(You see she didn't like to confess, even to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.)

`Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas -- only I don't exactly know what they are! 

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Old images of my paintings are the centerpieces of my NEW Mixed Media Necklaces that will debut at the HeART of WinTer show in early February.  I don't have files of all of my old paintings but there are plenty to choose from. 

If there is a painting in particular that you would like on a necklace please get in touch with me(not likely) or the ever-more-accessible Jen O'Connor--I am willing to customize a little but I can't do true custom orders without getting nauseous...

The centerpieces are mixed media on stainless--the backs are cool papers and everything is oxidized and really pretty in that old jumbled way I love. They look like paper in the images but they're actually very,very solid--I had to go through several orders of metal to get it the right thickness--not too thin but not so heavy that give you a headache.  There are brass castings from vintage molds, escutcheons, old transit tokens and important "stuff" I've been collecting for years, semi-precious and otherwise cool stones and old czech beads, and whatever else I can get my hands on that has some kind of Bohemian chicness.  The oxidized, solid brass chains are all different styles--different lengths are fastened together with more objects d'art.  And the fasteners are mostly pretty cool oxidized copper or brass swirls and toggles but I am trying to get some others that are old and you know, just something that looks like something I would use--so stay tuned! 

Tasie grabbed a few when she was home for the holidays and reports that they're a hit at Sundance.

Serge-O-Mania!

It's sweater weather in Ohio and I have to say, I really have great sweaters. Well, let me rephrase that. I have fantastic recycled cashmere sweater things. About .5% were actually purchased at retail, the rest were rather surreptitiously "acquired."

I'm a fiend about finding cashmere at thrift stores--and Columbus, Ohio has some of the best thrift stores ever for cashmere sweaters.  January is the prime month for new cashmere sweaters--you wouldn't believe how many people get them as holiday presents and then donate them--totally cool by me.

So I've been trying to use up my stash so I'll be ready for the onslaught of new old sweaters. I'm terrifically OCD (Obsessive Creativity Disorder) about sorting and storing them--I kinda think I like the hunting and gathering more than the actual sewing.

Last year I was all about felting which is, of course, now so-ho-hum-so-last-year. And the felting thing can be rather disgusting if you start with raw fleece.  Please don't send me hate-mail if you're a member of some national sheep herding association--there is no denying that picking "natural material" ( aka poo) out of a fleece is anything buy tedious  and time-consuming.  It's just gross--sorry.

Alright, so now it's time for Serge-O-Mania! 

I (finally) got a new Husqvarna overlock machine for my birthday--and I was completely enthralled until I found out that this company that prides itself in high quality Swedish manufacturing and engineering was actually importing their overlock machines from China.  I mean that really, really wasn't what was represented when we went to purchase it so after a week of complaining I gave up and sat down to sew.  Even if you don't know how to sew you can make things with a serger--they're so fast and fun!

(I'll post the pics  and finish the tutorial as soon as I get my camera to function properly--or maybe they just look better in person.  Or maybe I just think they do...)

Penmanship and Spenerican Script

Since I did not take opera singing lessons like I wanted to this year I'm going to try something a little more practical for my new year's goal--I'm learning to learn to control my handwriting (it's HUGE!) and learn Spencerian Script!

(and as soon as I master my new camera I will insert some examples of my work...)