Illustration Friday: Clear

This weeks Illustration Friday theme is clear. I love interpreting these themes and relating them back to impressions some of my pieces have left on me. This piece's title is Float. The idea of 3 people floating on a lake having a picnic on a clear Sunday afternoon, fully dressed up, makes me smile. I partly wish that we had these kinds of formalities in our rituals today, but the other half of me is glad I wont ever have to sit in a tiny boat in a bustle. LOL. I guess I want history, with logic and sweatpants!

Felt Club this Sunday!

Bummed Etsy is down for the weekend??? Well I have a solution! If you are in LA and looking to do some indie craft shopping this weekend, come by and check out the Felt Club! There will be 2 dozen vendors all showing off their wares, including Darling Design and Hotdog n' Bun!

Shop News!

This weekend Etsy will be offline so that the much anticipated switch from Beta to V2 can be implimented! I am so excited to arrange my new shop in to categories and make it easier to navigate! So at Midnight EST tonight through Monday morning my online shop will be unavailabe. Seems like the perfect time to introduce my new Holiday Shop! The new shop is chock full of Christmas cards, t-shirts and sweatshirts, journals and tote bags. I can personally recommend the organic tees and the totes. I carry mine everywhere! Right now, through November 19th, you will receive 25% off all ornaments and cards! Yeah, thats right! Time to shop!!

What a week!!

Sorry to be MIA this week, but holy moly it has been a big one! So many things have come up, I have been clamoring to get everything accomplished AND be ready for the Felt Club on Sunday!

First off, I had the pleasure of meeting Vanessa De Vargas, a.k.a. Turquoise, this week! Vanessa is an Interior Designer and contributing writer on Apartment Therapy: LA. She was also recently featured in the New York Times! (We were both written up together last week on decor8! )What an awesome lady! I went and checked out her store on Abbott Kinney and let me tell you, it is gorgeous! This weekend Turquoise is showing off her skills at the 3rd Annual West Coast Style Show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium here in LA. She is designing a huge dining room/living room space and she was kind enough to select 2 of my pieces to include in her rooms! This is a HUGE event, starting off tonight with a benefit sneak preview in honor of the Lupus Foundation. It is open to the public Saturday 11-7 and Sunday 11-5. There will be lectures throughout the days and vignettes by lots of renowned LA designers. Tickets are $10.00. If you are into design, this is sure to be a stellar weekend!!!! I will be checking out the scene on Saturday morning and will be sure to take lots of pics if I can!

OK-lots more to come!! Be back in a bit!

SPC Glamor-wk 1

So last week, on Halloween, my SPC was all about my non existent desire to dress up for Halloween, but later that evening it seems that something happened. I am thinking it may have been a little too much wine, at least that is the story I am sticking to! I decided to be a kitty while answering the door, and painted my nose black with eyeliner, which apparently doesn't stay put on your nose either! (I don't know about you, but my eyeliner and mascara are always all over my eyes at the end of the day! Which is SO glam!) We had a bunch of friends over and while relaxing after a long evening of door answering and dancing around we all started switching costume elements, and I must say that I kind of miss being a blond when I see this photo! The whole look is just too much fun! And yes, kind of glamorous!

So if you haven't figured it out yet, this months theme for the Self Portrait Challenge is glamor. Prepare to giggle and laugh. A girl covered in glue all day sees very little glamor! We shall see what I come up with!

Illustration Friday: Smoke

This weeks Illustration Friday theme is smoke and this immediately makes me think of cigarettes, and from there I think about how our perception has changed so dramatically over the decades as to how harmful smoking is. I find it hard to believe that people ever wanted to smoke in their office buildings, in restaurants, even in their beds. Whenever I watch an old movie and someone lights up in a space that is completely, and rightfully, off limits today, I kind of cringe. I have chosen this piece, Ron, as my IF for the week because he just looks like the kind of guy that worked in that kind of office where they all had secretaries with pin curls and ashtrays on their desks. Can you see it??

Terry and art

On Halloween morning I got the chance to hangout with my friend Terry, who I went to college with. Terry is awesome! He has such a great and unadulterated outlook on life. I love hanging out with him. He flew to LA from NYC to check out the opening of Marilyn Mansons art gallery on Melrose and we spent part of the afternoon trying to find it. I am so glad we did! I got a chance to take a quick peak in the gallery while they were setting up and wow! I had no idea Manson was a painter, and wow. Hung on the freshly painted walls where these gorgeous ornate black frames, with black mattes, displaying some of the coolest watercolor portraits I have seen. We were there for maybe 5 minutes, and the work left a mark on me. It is poignant and of course the subject matter is a at times disturbing, but it does exactly what art should do. You feel it. It marks you. The detail and craftsmanship are amazing. They actually kind of reminded me of Franceso Clemente, my all time favorite artist.

If you'd like to check out some of Manson's work, you can click here, but I am warning you, some of the subject matter may be hard to handle.

And here is an interesting article about Manson teaching an art class at Temple University.

Creative TECHniques

Today the third issue of Creative TECHniques hits newstands! I am so excited to share that inside is a great 4 page interview I did with them, and that they chose to use my portrait Jamey & Adam for the cover! This is a fun magazine full of great projects that merge craft and technology! It will get you thinking in all different directions! It is inspiring and really fun. Please make sure you check it out!!

Free Hugs Campaign

This video is inspirational and just makes me smile. I hope you enjoy it!

She's A Betty!

Just a quick thank you to the fab She's a Betty blog for including me in Volume 1 of their holiday picks! There is lots of fun on this blog! You should check it out!!

Holiday Goodies!

It is about that time for all of the holiday music, jingle bells, sugar cookies, snow, and turkey that make the end of the year so delicious! I love the holidays, especially our trips to NY for Thanksgiving. There is nothing in Los Angeles that compares to that crisp air feeling of the East Coast in November. I can't wait!

I have been working hard on fun new holiday items and have just added them all to my shop. I have put together some great stocking stuffers, as well as gift tags, and a few prints. Also coming soon will be my holiday shop featuring great tote bags, Christmas Cards, and lots of other fun goodies! But more on that later!

Happy Halloween!!

BOO!!!
One day only sale! All Halloween items in my shop are 20% off today only! Prices as marked, they are all the first items in the shop list. Happy Halloween!!

Imperfection-wk 5

This week the Self Portrait Challenge happens to fall on Halloween!! Too many crazy and stressful events have gone on in the last week for me to wallow in imperfection. Today I want to celebrate the fun. I want to haunt and spook, and give away TONS of candy! We decorated the front of our home over the weekend and Tom was very proud of his decorating skills. We were lazy, and busy, this year and didn't carve our own pumpkins, but I kind of like the Targét version! They really illuminate the front stoop and look killer in the dark!

I guess my one Halloween imperfection would have to be that I dont really enjoy dressing up. Costumes just dont seem to be my thing. I will however indulge and slap on a hat, or kitty ears, or something of that nature. This photo was taken in 2004 in San Francisco. We went to dinner at a yummy place that I cant remember the name of, where the projected the original "Vanished" on a wall. I am sure that once we have kids, and the magic of the day is fresh and bright, I will get sucked in, but for now, this will have to do!

Illustration Friday: Wind

This weeks Illustration Friday theme is wind, and although we are in Fall, and it has been unfortunately very windy here in LA for the last 2 days, this is the image I conjure when faced with this word.

I think that one of the most interesting things I have learned since becoming a full time artist is how encompassing of the 5 senses each image it to me. A lot of my memories are triggered by smells, or sounds, and I seem to incorporate certain background noises or sensations with my experience of each finished piece. I guess part of it is that we have all had a picnic at the park, and although this image is not on of my personal memories, it is familiar. It triggers personal memories.

This is Celine, and she is enjoying an afternoon at the local park with her new love. There is a warm wind blowing that wafts in the sweet scent of freshly cut grass, and I can hear the clanging chains of the swing set nearby. I can hear the kids make that unmistakable THUD when they jump off of the monkey rings and land in the sand, and I taste the grit of the sandy splash. I can see the colors and patterns of the butterflies and the wind tosses them about.

I think I might need to have a picnic this weekend!! Right after the CRAFT: magazine party! Happy Friday!

Upcoming Shows

Many people have emailed me asking for a schedule of holiday events for the upcoming holiday shopping season. So here is a breakdown of all of my upcoming fun!!!


NOVEMBER 12th: FELT CLUB
11am-6pm | THE ECHO, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park
You can see the fabulous list of vendors participating here!

NOVEMBER 18th: Sous Le Soleil
12-5 | 330 Redwood Dr. Pasadena
15-20 artists sharing their wares at a gorgeous home in Pasadena! Live music. Fun! Fun! Fun!

December 3rd: Home boutique in Woodland Hills, CA!
Paula Smail from Henry Road will also be participating! I Can't wait! More details to come. Join the mailing list on my homepage if you would like more info on this event.

DECEMBER 9th: XL FELT CLUB Event
12pm-7pm | THE UKRAINIAN CULTURAL CENTER
4315 Melrose Ave. @ Heliotrope
This event is going to be HUGE! Over 70 crafters are participating. You can see the vendor list here.

DECEMBER 10th: ROSE BOWL
With HannahMade under the canopy in the Arts & Crafts Section, booth 843B (or there abouts, they always seem to move us one to the left, or one to the right)!


ALSO!!!! This weekend is the CRAFT: magazine launch party in Los Angeles. I am going to definitely be checking that out! The event is sponsored by Felt Club and there are going to be amazing door prizes and events going on! I will be sure to take some photos!

One Step Closer

OK-so I got my logo back up (YAY!) . . . but now how do I get rid of the superfluous wording beneath it?? I do not heart beta blogger!

Any suggestions anyone??

Real Simple-finally!

YAY! It is finally here! The November Real Simple has hit the stands and I am so excited to see the article! It is surreal to see my family photos in a magazine, but it is very cool, of course! That is a school photo of my dad, and a fabulous photo of my grandmother! She was super stylish! She turned 92 last week! Amazing!

The other 3 women in the article have extremely interesting stories. Be sure that you check out the issue!

Imperfection-wk 4

My imperfection confession for this week is that, at the age of 29, I am still a nail biter. I am not proud of this fact, but I don't seem to be be able to do anything about it. My hands get so dry when I am working, that that leads to dry hands, which leads to bitten nails, and so on and so forth. And the glue I use is particularly fond of nail enamel. It will stick to polish like superglue! So manicures are a waste of time for me. My hands may be clean and tidy for a week or two, but inevitably it all goes to pot.

This photo was taken at a lovely birthday dinner that we attended a week or so ago (Happy Birthday Randee!). There was this funny, sparkly man who befriended our table and told us all about his working with disadvantaged kids and young adults. He went to the trunk of his giant Cadillac and pulled out the big box of Wet n' Wild beauty supplies and told us to pick something. Jamey picked the glitter nail polish, and then began painting her nails at the table (luckily we were seated on the patio). Despite my knowledge of the formaldehyde and chemicals in these polishes, I joined in and have spent the last 10 days picking at what is left of the sparkles. My poor, dry hands are a mess! How can something so sad, come from something so sparkly?? LOL. I should just get out the Acetone and clean 'em up! Maybe later . . .

If you'd like to see more imperfections, check out the Self Portrait Challenge site.

Website Finally up!

After years, and I mean YEARS, of having a URL, and no homepage, I can finally, and very happily, share that my homepage is now live! Now, I can just gove out one web address, instead of 3! Yay!

I would like to thank the magical and mystical Kay Stoner for all of her web expertise. If you need programming and design help, Kay's your go to gal!

If you would like to be part of my brand spanking new Mailing List to get updates on all shows, sales and special invitations to events, then be sure to sign up! I promise, your email address is safe with me!

Happy weekend!

lets see if this works . . .

For those of you who missed it, I totally screwed up the blog. Beta is not my friend! I am glad that I have been able to get the posts back up, but now I have to figure out how to replace my header . . . anyone rememebr how to do that in Beta?? All help and advice would be appreciated. I have the code ready to go, but cant remember where to place it! So I am here, trying to figure it out!

Back soon . . .