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 . . .

Thanks Lia!

This photo was posted to Flickr by one of my clients! I am so excited to see the piece, Jodie, in her new home!! Thank you Lia!!

Lia is also a collage artist! You can see her beautiful work on her Flickr page.

Imperfection-wk 3!

This weeks imperfect Self Portrait Challenge post is all about my knitting debacles. As you can see, I am a semi-beginner!

Let this be a lesson to all of you semi-beginner knitters out there who think that you can put down a project for a year, and then remember what the heck you were doing when you finally decide to resume the process!

I started the lace on the right last year around Thanksgiving on our trip to visit Toms parents. I don't think I have picked it up since, and could not remember what pattern I had been knitting in any of my various books and printouts. Once I was relatively certain (did I say relatively?) I had identified the original pattern, I realized I would never figure out which row I had stopped at. In my infinite wisdom (HA!) I thought that I would turn this into a scarf that had lacy ends, and a stockinette stitch center (is that what that stitch is called?). When the middle finally wrapped my neck twice, I started the other end . . . . but the laces do not match! HA! Oh well!! This will be my eccentric artist scarf. I will wear it under jackets!

At second glance, I realize that the original lace pattern was this pattern by Susan Lawrence. It is a gorgeous pattern, and hopefully I will make something from it later on. I am sort of, but not really, embarrassed to admit that I knit this!! It will be funky, but it will be the first thing that I finish that I will keep. Granted, because I would never subject a friend to wearing my Frankensteinish mistake scarf!

If you are a knitter, check out this post on Creative Swoon. It has great resources for patterns, yarns and is all based on a great scarf drive that SuperNaturale is holding to benefit Sanctuary For Families, a very worthy group that helps battered women and children.

Black and Orange

Penelope Dullaghan, the brains behind Illustration Friday, is holding an illustration contest in honor of Halloween! Click on the link to see all of the entries for the Black and Orange Illustration Contest.

Great Day!

Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored Jamey, Orliyah and me. Together we managed to raise over $1300.00 in about a week! We had such a great time on the walk. You can see photos of the adventure here.

Last Chance to Sponsor Me!

I hope that your Saturday is treating you well. It is a little rainy here which I am hoping will clear up in time for the AIDS Walk LA that I will participating in tomorrow with 2 of my friends.

If you would like to make a donation to help me meet my goal, please click here!

Lovely write up!

Just a quick thank you to Victoria Smith, the fab gal behind SF Girl By Bay. If you aren't familiar with this blog, you should be, especially if you live in the San Francisco area!! (Heads up ladies!) Victoria has the most amazing collection of flea market finds and decorative pieces. She is kind enough to post pictures of her apartment on Flickr. Here you will find no shortage of inspiration!!!

With what she calls her Bohemian Modern Style, Victoria's blog shares fun places in and around San Francisco to shop for great pieces to add to your own collections! Victoria also has a site, Petite Flea, where you can buy items that she has collected to create her own cyber flea market of sorts! But you have to be fast! Once an item sells, thats it!

Also, today marks Victorias first column with Apartment Therapy: SF. This will be a weekly column, and todays was a great guide to flea market shopping including great tips on what to take with you to ensure that you are prepared when you find the perfect item for your home!

(Header image courtesy of Victoria Smith)

Illustration Friday: Smitten

On my last outing to the flea market I came across a few images that just made my blood rush and made me want to come directly home and start working on. This photo was one of them!

This weeks Illustration Friday theme is smitten, and I certainly am smitten with her, as I am sure was every man who crossed her path! She reminds me of a young Elizabeth Taylor! The whole image is so romantic. This piece is 6"x 8", and I am inthe process of working on a huge version, 30" x 40".

Real Simple November!

I am so excited to finally announce that I will be part of an article in the November issue of Real Simple magazine. The article focuses on four women who have taken unusual and creative paths to preserving their family history! This is my first national publication and I had a great time doing a photo shoot back in September. The photographer was Johnny Miller, and his work is gorgeous. He traveled all over the country to each of the four womens locations and took our portraits. I have never done a photo shoot before. It was all very surreal!

Here a few polaroids from the shoot! I can't wait to see the issue. It should be out in the next week or so. You can be sure that I will post about the spread when it comes out!

Recent Commission

Here is a quick shot of a recent commission. This piece was a wedding gift given as a gift certificate so that the couple could choose their own subject matter and I was delighted when they sent me photos of the Brooklyn Bridge! The couple lives in Brooklyns DUMBO neighborhood, located just by the bridge overpass. I am pretty excited about the finished piece. I am still in the process of sealing it, but I cant wait to see shots of it in the happy couples new home!

Desiree

Here is a new Halloween-ish piece, Desiree, I uploaded to my shop this week. I have been saving that skeleton page from this great old dictionary for a while now! I am so excited when I finally use pieces of paper that I covet and they work well in a piece! It is a great diagram!

SPC-Imperfection Wk 2

I have been totally stumped all day as to what to post as my imperfection this week. I realize that I am censoring myself because it is hard to share your less than stellar sides with the world! That made me realize that my self censorship defeats the whole purpose of participating in the Self Portrait Challenge. I am human and the whole point of this excerise is to be honest, and sometimes honesty is not pretty! And man oh man did I get a wake up call when Hannah sent me her pics from out day at the Rose Bowl! Yikes! Not only is my posture like that of a 130 year old, but I definitely need to have my jaw wired shut, and fast! And why am I making that face! Don't I know that I am in public? So there you go, a full body profile. I will think of this image the next time I let my shoulders down and my back slouch!

BTW- I was the featured Sunday Slice last Sunday on SPC. Thanks Bekka!

The Rose Bowl rocked!!

Just a quick note tonight to share photos from the Rose Bowl Craft Fair Hannah and I participated in this weekend. We had a blast! Our canopy was the best investment ever! We met tons of really cool people and some awesome vendors! I would have to say that a fine time was had by all!

To see the photos I took at the event, click here.

AIDS Walk LA

The AIDS Walk is next weekend in Los Angeles and I will be walking with some friends. It is kind of last minute, but I had no idea that this event was going on until today. I have been in my own little art world lately!

If you would like to make a donation to help my reach my fund-raising goal, that would be fantastic! I am so excited to see what I can do!!

It isn't too late to register! If you are in the LA area, check out their site for all of the info!

Illustration Friday: Trouble

Who doesn't like to get in a little trouble every now and then?? I know I do!

This weeks Illustration Friday theme is trouble. I love this photo. His name is Jeremy, and he has a look on his face like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He has that "Who me?" kind of expression. So devilish! I love it!

Rose Bowl this weekend!!!

Once again Hannah and I are participating in the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA. The last event was tons of fun, and we have since invested in a canopy so no more strategically rolling the umbrella based to protect the lip balms and artwork every 10 minutes! I will, however miss the end of day tan line surprise! You never know what funky line will be burned into your skin!

Our space is number 843B. The map above is a rough outline of where the space is. The image is a screenshot from the new Flickr Map feature! Have you seen this?? You can find the location that a picture was taken on a huge Goolgle World-like map and share and search via locations! Pretty cool! Now you can click on the link and figure out the directions to the Rose Bowl! Again, if you do make it, please come by and say hi!

Dont Duck a Breast Exam!

October is Breast Cancer awareness month, a time for all of us to be reminded that early detection is crucial in the fight for survival. We all have to be conscious of our bodies and make sure that we have our yearly check ups and physicals!!

The wonderful Munchkin Inc., a company that creates fun baby products that anyone with their own munchkin is surely familiar with, is working hard to make sure that women "Don't Duck A Breast Exam" by introducing a pink ribbon inspired rubber ducky like the one above. To coincide with their mission to help raise awareness Munchkin Inc. has started Project Pink. There are lots of fun ways to help support a good cause, and this is no exception! Oct. 1-30th Munchkin is auctioning off celebrity decorated pink ducks on ebay! Celebs such as Allison Janney, Stacey Keibler, Reese Witherspoon and Martin Sheen designed one of a kind pink ducks to be part of the auctions. 100% of all of the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

By the way, these ducks are awesome! They have an indicator on the bottom that lets you know when the bath water is too hot for your babies skin! Love this concept! So smart! So go bid on one!!

SPC-Imperfection wk 1

The Self Portrait Challenge theme for the month of October is imperfection. Lovely, lovely imperfection. I give you my thumb, once clean, and now marred with a jagged inch and a half long scar that was gained from an unfortunate and stupid run in with an Exacto knife. Of course. With the frequency that I handle an exacto, I am amazed to have all my digits in place!

Aaah, lovely lovely imperfection. How I do bask in all of its glory! This is going to be an interesting month!

Happy October!!

I am so glad the Fall is here! Hopefully our heat will now go away, and it will be pleasantly cool around here! Yesterday, October 1st, was the first rain in a long time. The sky was gray and the air was slighty crisp. YAY!













This is my favorite time of year! All of my senses are happy! The weather is wonderful, and the scents from the kitchen are more heavenly. I am inspried by the stories and traditions that each holiday brings. October is a month of fun with great imagery and spooky stories! Halloween is upon us, and in honor I have created a few pieces to commemorate the season! Both prints and the originals are available in my Etsy shop.

Illustration Friday: Quiet

How I do love quiet, which happens to be the theme for this weeks Illustration Friday. This is Camille2, a piece I finished yesterday. This is the kind of image that makes me think of complete peace. The kind where your mind is so empty that you find yourself noticing the dust that is floating in a ray of sunlight, like little dancing granuels of pixie dust or something. I like those moments. I imagine that this photo was probably taken early on a Sunday morning, before the neighbors are up making noise. I can envision the steaming mug of coffee on the table in front of her, and imagine the smell of eggs and sausage in the air. TGIF!

Stephanie

This is a piece I just finished. Her name is Stephanie. She is on a super deep 2 5/8" canvas which is awesome, in case you were wondering! It gives the piece such great weight and presence. I am so excited by the finished image! My favorite part? On the upper right hand side is a piece asking How much longer will you have to beg? Ha!

SPC-With Someone-wk 4

I am sure that everyone and their mother has now played around with the new Photo Booth feature that comes with the new Macs. A friend of mine recently got a new iBook and we decided it would be fun to experiment. This is a photo of me with my friend Lanas neighbor Chas. I never knew my head could be quite this square!

This is my post for week four of the with someone Self Portrait Challenge theme. Can't wait to see what the new theme will be for October!