Reorganized and it feels so good! Sing it with me~!

A few weeks ago I was super slammed with commissions and trying to get work done for So Co and Little Monster when I decided that that would be a good time to stop everything and reorganize my studio. Since the space is only a 10'x10' bedroom in my house every inch must be used effectively, and that just wasn't happening. I constantly found myself at the dining room table, or on the floor in our entry when I had multiple projects going at once. One morning I made a very sleep-eyed decision that I had had it and just started moving things around. This is nothing new for me. I used to do these types of big re-arrangings on a whim all through my childhood. When I was 13 I actually took a knife to my Laura Ashley wallpaper because it was just so time for a change . . . but that is a story for another day.

Anyway! So by the end of the day my closet space had been stacked sky high, which was so much smarter than it was before. Now all of my files and the TV and the button making materials, etc have a home that isn't the floor! Yay for floor space!

On his way home from work Tom stopped and bought a cheapy door to fashion into a counter top for me. Lets face it, I am going to destroy it anyway, so it doesn't have to be granite! Just something I can cover with glue, and not worry about catching with the exacto! The file drawers (Ikea!) that couldn't fit in the closet made a great table base. I can still get my legs under the surface and work comfortably! Tom also sawed a shelf in half that he had made me for my previous set up so that my giant printer would have somewhere to live. Thank GOD he is handy and has power tools!!

My most recent epiphany was that I could make the far right table all about sewing. This way the sewing machine stays off the dining room table for most projects, and is in easy reach so that I have a hope of finishing the projects I started with my initial enthusiasm. Once I put it in the closet in February (!!) when we had visitors it stayed there and I just forgot about it! That is not good since now I cant wait to get back into the sewing! Make it accessible and I will do it!

Oh, and the ball! That is the best "chair" ever! We had to notch the table so that the ball would go under and store itself there, but I can easily pull it out and roll it over to the other work surface in a heart beat, and my back or ass wont kill at the end of the day because I have been sitting on a hard surface for 12 hours! Funny but true!

Also, Charlie can hide under the table and be out of site when the ball is stored. He loves it under there! So now we are all happy and it is back to work!

Experimentation

I have been experimenting with creating pieces on wood. I love the wood grain coming through, and the organic feeling of the surface.
This one is Talia4, and she is now available in my shop!

Prints framed!

I was perusing blogland a couple days ago when I came across this awesome photo on a blog belonging to Anastasia, a client of mine in Australia! (Very cool blog by the way!) I was so excited to see how someone has framed my prints and so I immediately had to email and ask if I could blog about the pic!

I love the frames! Thank you so much Anastasia for lending me your pic!

Mr. Famous

A recent commission. I was lucky to get to met the real life Mr. Famous at the So Co Bazaar!! That was pretty cool!

Tote Bags

Lately I have been trying to make "green" changes to my life, and one of the most significant changes has been trying to conserve disposable materials. One of the coolest solutions I have found is to carry a tote bag with me when I leave the house to run errands or go to the grocery store. That way I dont have to collect tons of plastic bags at each stop. I can fill up my tote and when I get home everything is easily carried into the house!


I am very excited to announce that large Tote bags are finally available in my Shop! These have great long straps so everything is balanced well and you dont have and armpit full of bulky stuff! (I hate that!) They are 100% cotton canvas and are totally durable, and with 6 designs to choose from, pretty stylish if I do say so myself!

To help everyone get a little "Greener" I am offering free shipping on all tote bags now through June 17th. Simply enter the code "TOTE" in the message to seller box upon check out and wait for a revised invoice.

Happy Weekend!

IF: Suit

Today's IF theme is suit! Funny how the brain immediately goes to a mens 3 piece or business suit. I have been working on a series of vintage women in bathing suits at the beach, and it took a minute for me to change the direction of my thinking.

I think that is my favorite part of these IF exercises, the immediate thoughts that run into my head, and then the "and what else could it be" that I then go think about. One word carries so much initial thought. It is nice to stretch it and really sort of be creative with the theme. This is the part of school I kind of miss!

So here are the 3 ladies in their suits! I would rather be in this kind of suit, than the formal one! And that is saying A LOT! ;)
Happy weekend~

5280 Magazine

I am so excited to finally get to share the Illustration that I did for 5280, a local magazine in Denver! The whole project was so fun and I was honored to be asked to create the art. If you are in the area, make sure you check out the mag. I just got my first issue, and it is awesome, even though I live in Los Angeles!


Thank you Alese!! This project was a dream! I LOVED working with you and am so delighted by the final printed article! xoxoxox

Weekend Update

What a crazy weekend! As I mentioned in my post last week, this past weekend was the So Co Bazaar. It was a lovely afternoon overlooking the ocean! I met lots of awesome people, including my blog friend Christine Adolph, who I am with in the above photo! It was so awesome to finally get to meet her and her gorgeous family in person! She was so kind and sweet! Thank you Christine!!!


Monday was the Little Monster Market at the Sunnyside Pre-School in Studio City, CA. We (for anyone who doesn't know, I often share a booth with HannahMade) re-configured our booth for this one, and the change was really nice.

As you can see, Hannah liked it too! LOL

We met some amazing creators and I can't wait for Felt Club, as many of them will be there too!

Hannah and I really enjoy doing the craft fairs together and are thinking of venturing beyond the borders of LA. Do you have a favorite craft fair where you are? If so, please leave a comment with the name, and you never know, we may just be coming to a town near you!

This weekend's Gonna ROCK!

I swear I haven't abandoned my blog!!! I have been working really hard to get lots of work done for upcoming shows. This weekend is going to be hectic with the So Co Bazaar in Dana Point, and the Little Monster Market on Monday. With so much work hanging in Long Beach, I really had to rebuild my stock! That said, I have tons of new work and I cant wait to get the tent up and hang out in the sun! I have added tote bags and a couple of 11"x 14" prints to my array of products and am just so excited that we (HannahMade and I) are back doing shows. We took some time off in the winter, but now, we're back!!!

If you make it to the So Co Bazaar or Little Monster Market be sure to say hi if you're there!

Click here for a map to the Little Monster Market. See you this weekend!

IF: Signs

I was pretty much stumped by this week's IF theme signs. I like the juxtapositions in this piece. The the high collar and complete sexlessness of the late 1800's-early 1900's, against the more feminine and flirty 50's and 60's. Today we are so far over the top, with the socialites and their lack underpants. . . . I guess we can just chock it up to a sign of the times.

Getting ready for So Co

I am getting really excited about the upcoming So Co Bazaar. I mean, I was looking forward to it before, but now that I have seen the list of vendors and I know there is going to be live music, I am so excited! The Pawnshop Kings will be going on at noon. It is a beautiful setting, and there are great vendors! It is going to be such a fun day! Here is a sneak peak at the site . . .

So mark your calendars if you are in Southern California!! June 2nd is going to ROCK!

The New Do!

The end result of a great haircut! I am still getting used to the fact that I am a short haired blond, but I feel so much lighter! The chopped hair will be mailed off to Locks of Love. Doesnt look like much in the Ziploc. So odd, because it felt like so much hair when it was still on my head!

Snip snip here, snip snip there

Hard to believe it was 1 year ago when Jamey loped off her locks to donate and inspired me to do the same. I am so excited to say that today is the day! This morning I am off to see Brig for a long overdue and well deserved hair chopping. Not just a cut, but a total chop! I will mail off the ponytail and say adieu!! I think it is an awesome thing to be able to make such a huge contribution to someones life by really just doing nothing out of the ordinary other than growing your hair! I wish we could see after pics once the hair is utilized!

I haven't had long hair like this since high school, and now I remember why! It is just too much to handle. I feel drab and heavy headed under all this length! It is always a fun challenge to see how long I can take the growing. I am now saying uncle!

I followed this poor woman and her friend to a few booths at the Rose Bowl on Sunday trying to catch up to them and ask if I could snap a picture of her lovely haircut. (Yes Tyn, I totally stalked her!) So this may be my new do. If anyone can make that happen, it is Brig! Not sure I will go blond, but you never know what may strike my fancy. . . .

I will be sure to post some after photos later on!

District Weekly Review!

Thank you so much to Theo Douglas of the District Weekly for this awesome review of my solo show at {open}. This is my first real art review, and I am oh so very proud!!! ;)

SPC: On the Street week 2

This weekend I definitely hit the street! Saturday morning my friends Jamey, Adam and I participated in the Revlon Run/Walk which is a 5k event to help raise money toward Womens Cancers. I am proud to say that I finished 18119 out of 33685. LOL Can you believe they clocked us! I love that! Too funny. It took us 1 hour and 39 minutes, 40 minutes of which were spent trying to make a left into the gates of the LA Coliseum. We had a ton of fun walking through downtown LA. The course was all around USC. There is a lot of cool old architecture and signage down there! This is the second time I have participated in the event. The first was in 2001 in NYC. That started in Midtown and went all through Central Park. It was also cool to walk through the streets on NYC early in the a.m. with no cars whizzing by.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me on the walk. I was able to raise $550.00 of my $1000 goal. I was really impressed to have raised that much! I mentioned back in this post that all sponsors would receive a 10% off coupon to be used toward one order from my Etsy store as a thank you. They are taking donations until June 15th, so I will extend the incentive through then. It is not too late to make a difference and reap the rewards!!

This picture was taken just as we were getting started. You can see more photos from the event here.

Modish Summer Gift Guide

Today the Modish Summer Gift Guide launched. There are so many great gift idea, an designers to discover. I foud a few I had never seen before, whose items I LOVE, including HannahMade, Alicia Bock, and LEAF. The best part is that most of the shops have offered a discount code of some sort to all Modish readers!


My new 11x14 "To Vera" Prints are featured. You'll have to go to the guide to see my special offer!

Happy Shopping!

(All images courtesy of Modish)

SPC: On the Street

May on the SPC is all about photos from the street, which for a person who hardly leaves the house is pretty challenging! I work from home and so, most days I am busy here, not out in the big bad world! So this month I will push myself to venture outside, and click a pic!

Last weekend we took a trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo. The views were amazing, but I have to say that the animals all seemed on the depressed side, which made me feel very conflicted. I haven't been to a zoo in easily 15 years, and was so excited to get to see the Flamingos and Giraffes (My FAVORITES!) but really the zoo was sad and the animals were so restricted. Each individual habitat did not seem suited to the specific animal. Rather that they had just squeezed in enough areas so that they could have the standard variety of animals to qualify as a "Zoo". It made me sad to see the lions and gorillas in itty bitty spaces.

The penguins, however, had no problems. They were all diving and swimming like crazy. Their tank was huge and they were active and so fun. One actually tried to chew my sleeve through the glass. It was hysterical. I really enjoyed watching them go!

So leaving the house isn't so scary, I'll admit it! Maybe I'll get out onto the street again this week . . . . LOL

Parker and Dixie

Two recently completed commissions! Both are 16" x 20".

IF: Neighbor

For this week's IF theme neighbor, I bring you someone looking to meet all of hers! This piece, Housewarming, is all about independence and owning your very first home and all of the excitement that goes along with the experience!! Meeting your new neighbors is always fun! OK, mostly fun. . . .

Hive Gallery Opening 5/5

This piece, Sonya6, will be in the May Group show at Hive Gallery in downtown LA. While dropping off my piece I saw the other work in the show, and it was AWESOME! Even the lovely Miss. Mindy is in the show as well! Her works are amazing!

Here is the info:
THE HIVE GALLERY GROUP SHOW AND PERFORMANCES!!
May 5th 8PM to 12:30AM / suggested donation $7
729 S. Spring St. LA, CA 90014
Exhibit runs: May 5th - May 27th

So, Saturdays opening was a big hit! I am so excited to share that the art was well received and lots of pieces and prints sold! It was so nice to meet people and talk about the work.

This is a picture of me with a lovely artist I have become friendly with named Mike Foss. We had the pleasure of seeing his work in person last weekend at the Brewery Artwalk in Downtown LA. He works out of a studio at {open} and hung out for the show!

The show will be hanging through June, and I will be attending
You can check out more photos from the night {open}'s Grand Opening blowout in the new location May 26th.
If you are in the area, you have to check out this awesome store! They have all kinds of rare books and cool finds. I scored that cool paperback copy of "Please Dont Eat The Daisies" (one of my favorite all time movies) thats in my hand. They have all kinds of excitement planned for the Grand opening, including a few of Long Beaches top DJs. I cant wait!

You can check out more photos from the night here. A big thank you to everyone who made the night a huge success!