Little Monster Market

YAY! Coming up on Tuesday, it is Little Monster Market time again!!! This kid inspired craft fair is so much fun! Hannah and I will be there under our tent! Melissa and the Squeegees will be rockin out! Last time the kids had so much fun dancing around to the performers! It was a fantastic day! This fair is growing by leaps and bounds! I can't wait to set up and check out all of the fabulous vendors!

So rest up on Labor Day, cause Tuesday is all about partying kiddie-style!

SPC-pattern wk4

As August draws to a close, this is the last week of Patterns on SPC. The above shot is from our Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl where we got to enjoy music from the HB Orchestra, and the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies! The Bowl is an awesome place to see a concert. It is outdoors and you can pack a picnic, which in our cases meant preparing enough food to feed a family for a week. (You dont even want to see us try to camp!)

This is a shot of Tom and Hannah weighed down by their bags, although you can barely see them through the arty blur! It is a wild schlep to the top, where the benches are, but as you saw from the video I posted yesterday, it is totally worth it! I have such severe blisters from wearing actual shoes, not my standard foam Old Navy flip flops, that I will probably be stuck in said flip flops for the next 3 months!

I occasionally enjoy the concept of self portrait as an experience seen from my point of view. An image related to my experience is as much a self portrait as this photo below. It is of the places I have been, things I have seen, and the people I love.

For those who would like a shot with me in it rather than one that I took, here is a funny bowling pic. We went to Pinz last week for a company party with hubby's office, and had a blast! I love the pins lined up as soldiers, like they are on patrol, and the bowling ball on it's way to kick some butt!

Gulp!

Two questions .. . 1). How in trouble is the future of this country??? and 2). How did Mario Lopez keep a straight face???

Hollywood Bowl

I thought I would test out Bloggers new video feature with this fun snippet from our evening at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend. The video is a bit rough, but you can see how cool the historic venue is! The audio is kinda nuts with lots of hooting and hollering, but there were fireworks, and we are nerds. There is also a quick cameo by miss HannahMade. She had no idea I was filming. . . !

Historic LA

Before heading over to the spray paint extraveganza on Sunday, Hannah and I had brunch and then ventured over to the Barnsdall Arts Market. I am embarrassed to say that I dont know much about Hollywood, and so it is really fun to get to discover parts of this city, that I grew up in (yikes!), that I have never seen before. It is almost like I am a tourist, in my hometown. (Pathetic really) I loved this view of the iconic Capital Records building as we drove through the Hollywood hills.

This was the view from our parking space at Barnsdall Park. That is the Hollywood sign on the left, and the Griffith Park Observatory way off in the distant on top of the mountain to the right of the lamppost. Such a gorgeous view!

I really just wanted to share these pics. You can read all about our adventures at Barnsdall on Creative Swoon.

Abbott Kinney!

I am SO excited!!!! Hannah and I have been eagerly awaiting word, and we found out last night that we have been accepted into the Abbott Kinney Street Festival on Sept. 30th! Dubbed at the ultimate block party, there is tons of music, food and over 300 vendors! They guestimate that over 100,000 people visit the festival each year, which is a staggering number really. I am sure it is going to be a CRAZY day!

SPC: Patterns Wk3

There is a certain time of the afternoon when the sun is just about to set (I guess that would be dusk . . .) and the most AMAZING light comes pouring through the west facing windows of the house. Some days the sun glows red, and I love to sit in the dark and watch the different firey hues cascade across the room. I find a lot of peace and stillness in these moments, which I dont get very often. It is a lovely interruption to my day.

To see more patterns, click here.

Preparing for Pieces of Us

I have a show opening September 8th at Regeneration in Eagle Rock, CA called Pieces of Us.

As my friends have so eloquently put it, it is time for me to share that I am far more than just a one trick pony! My inspirations go beyond my portraits. I really enjoy collage that experiments with layers and materials. They are all still very graphic, because that is my aesthetic, but not every one of them needs to be a narrative as it pertains to a photograph. Some may speak of love, anger or frustration. Some may set a mood and a scene just through shape and color. The juxtaposition of different materials and themes that wouldn't normally be combined totally turns me on. Expecting the unexpected, or at least hoping for happy accidents, can also be exhilarating. Nothing is never totally as it is planned (not matter how much I wish it were) and that is a really really good thing!

I have been so nervous to share these pieces, and to reveal the work that I do outside of my portraits. For this show I will be mixing in the portraits along side of the canvases. These pieces are all designed to explore the "mechanics" of man and nature. 95% of the papers and materials are scraps or found objects. There will be many more to come. I am working hard to get everything done for the show!

If you would like to see more pieces, you can see them here.

Spray Paint and Stencils!

Sunday afternoon I got to go hang out at Tyn's with some of the coolest crafters I have ever met. I have been very lucky to be welcomed into their "craft pack" (Tyn, Kari, Paul and Joe, Mike, and Tamara to name a few!), and they inspire me every time!!!

This weekend I was introduced to spray paint and stencils. Not sure if it was the heat, the clouds of toxic paint mist, or if someone slipped me a mickey, but I went spray paint crazy! It was a completely freeing and liberating experience to not really know what would be the end result of each squirt of the can. I tend to plan my projects out, but that would not have been possible here.

These were a few of my finished pieces sent inside to lean and dry. That middle one was done on the inside of a hardcover book. Ripping up books? Right up my alley! I think that one might be my favorite of the creations I made that day!

This one was my grand finale. By the end, I was exhausted and hungry and just plain disgusting from sweating like a madwoman (I was the Howie of the event with the ever present drip of sweat on the end of my nose!). I kept pushing myself to do more and more! (I was having way too much fun!) In a feverish flurry, I sprayed wildly and threw down stencils with wild abandon. Like the last 5 minutes on the fourth of July, I gave it everything I had. And it was a little too much! LOL

Tyn and I swapped pieces, so now this one lives with me! I haven't hung her up yet, but I will. . . I absolutely love it! Thank you Tyn!!!!

You can see more photos from the day here.

IF: Captain

Someone has to navigate!

See more captains on Illustration Friday.

Sneak peak

I have been feverishly working on a new brand new website for myself at www.michellecaplan.com, complete with actual pages and the whole shebang! I cant wait to share it and graduate my cyber-presence to the next stage. I am excited to say that the entire thing was done using the new iWeb Apple just released. It is so easy, and so much more affordable than hiring a designer (sorry to all the designers, but its true!). Being trained as a print designer, and not understanding the technical side of web design at all, has frustrated me for a long time. I loved my homepage at first, but then when updating even the simple "News" section became a confusing chore, my level of frustration hit the roof. I dont want to have to rely on someone else just to update or tweak.
Thank you iWeb for making life just a little bit easier.

If you can drag and drop, you can too can have a new site! I started on Saturday, and have done nothing else since cracking the seal on the box, including one dizzying night that went until 4am. Once the juices start to flow, and it all starts to come together, you can't stop! I am sure that there will be more pages to come, but for now, I am happy as a clam!

As soon as my DNS transfer is complete, the site will go live! Keep a look out!

SPC: Patterns Wk2

I have never been very good at keeping up appearances when it comes to hair dyeing. There are at least 100 things on my to do list ahead of "get my roots done." But that is not how the life of a bottle blond goes.

My second Patterns photo is the last that will be seen of my blond hair. Tomorrow I go back to being a brunette. It was fun to revisit my towheaded childhood days, but I just cant keep up! Every 6 weeks my skin starts to itch at how ridiculous it looks to have 3/4 inch roots haloing my forehead every time I pull my hair back. That tell tale skunky pattern that labels me uninterested in my appearance and too lazy to haul ass to the salon. I do care! I swear! Furthermore, I love the salon I go to, and the fantabulous hair genie that is Brig, but this is slightly ridiculous.

And just as my poor niece had figured out that I was the same Aunt Mimi that had the long brown hair. . . .

Recent Wedding Commission

I love the energy and fun of this photo! It was a lot of fun to work on!
The finished piece is 18" x 24".

SPC: Patterns week 1

The headlights create a pattern of red dots that disappear into infinity while I sit and wait to continue on my journey. This is L.A. and one of the reasons I am so glad to work from home!

Check out SPC for more patterns!

Dream a Little Dream!

My piece, Mrs. Willis & Mrs. Sears3 will be included in this months group show at The Hive Gallery! Opening is this Saturday night! See you there!

Self Portrait Challenge-Wk 5-Elements

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, hubby and I took a trip to NY to visit family and our newborn niece!! This is my portrait of me holding Jennifer Rose! She is so sweet and good. A new life, and essential element for the world to go 'round! You have to swaddle her tight though, because she wriggles free every time! She is just simply too gorgeous for words and we are both so excited to have gotten to meet her!

Happy Client!

I love seeing where the pieces go once they leave my hands! I was just perusing Flickr and came across a couple shots of one of my clients home. She lives in Switzerland and has a few shots up sharing her interior design, the nooks and crannies of her home! I was super excited to see a few of the pieces up in her living room!


Thank you so much Janine for posting these!!!

IF: Moon

This piece was a wedding commission done as a gift for a clients friend, and it was such an amazing piece to work on! I imagine these two dancing at their wedding under a full moon, with strings of light hung above their heads illuminating their first dance! What an awesome moment to get to portray!

Felt Club

I have been trying so hard all week to get around to blogging all about last weekends Felt Club! I have been busting my chops trying to tie up loose ends and prepare for a trip that hubby and I are taking this weekend! We leave tomorrow for NY to meet our new niece born last Friday! There were so many projects to finish and bits of life to clear up that were neglected in the preparation for FC. I have sooooo many things to share, and just not enough hours in the day!

Overall, the event was a huge success! The line started forming around 9:30am, with eager people wanting to snag a swag bag staking their spots! Once the doors opened, it was nonstop crafty shopping, classes, and yummy food all day long! There were actually so many people that halfway through the day the caterer ran out of food, and by 4, the ice cream shop around the corner was all sold out too!

I didn't just sell at FC, I shopped! And man oh man did I score!

I bought this awesome stuffed Owl and the bunny pouch from Sewing Stars. That girl is a whiz with the sewing machine! Her designs are just took gorgeous for words. There was a stuffed Octopus that I would have bought in a second if I had a child! I have a bit of an Owl obsession lately, and this little guy is just perfection. He is corduroy, raw silk, felt, crushed velvet and cotton. AMAZING! And the pouch is the perfect size for my Ipod and earphones. Perfect for easy accessibility in my carry-on!

This cluthchy-tote was from Summer Salt Design who I am happy to share nearly sold out COMPLETELY in the first 2 hours of the day. Nicole, the brains behind the fab items, was our neighbor and the nicest girl. You have to check out her website! That whole pear is hand quilted in 1x1" squares. I dont think I would have the patience!

Not to be outdone, little miss HannahMade's side of our table was packed the ENTIRE day. I was exhausted just watching her! It was so amazing to see people trying on her gorgeous jewelry and have their eyes light up! I definitely learned a thing or two from her!

My Shop has been updated with all of the pieces I have remaining. It was an awesome show and I want to be sure to say thank you to everyone who came out and said hi! I know it was hot and crowded and we all really appreciated all of the people who showed up! As has been already said, FC has outgrown its venue, and the winter show is going to be held in a more suitable location! I cant wait to see what Jenny comes up with! If you would like to check out pics from the event, see the Felt Club Flickr pool.

OK-I am off to finish laundry and pack. Its 10pm and I haven't even had dinner yet! Have an awesome rest of the week and weekend! I will be back with pics of my new niece (!!!!) and of our time in Sag Harbor (did I mention we get to go to Sag Saturday-Monday? More on that later!) next week!

Felt Club YAY!

I took a little blogger break this week to get ready for tomorrows much anticipated Felt Club.

FC has been all over the news this week, including an awesome interview with founder Jenny Ryan in the LA Times. I am so excited to see how this show is going to go, and to see all of the amazing vendors and classes! Hannah and I will be sharing a table! We have been setting up our mock design all week so that day of will be smooth as silk!

Oh, and the above image is yesterdays Etsy homepage selected entirely by the Felt Club! Etsy is one of the events sponsors and will have a table to greet people! The whole thing is just going to be a huge craft-athon event! I will be sure to take LOTS of pictures to share on Monday! If you are in the area and make it there, please be sure to say hi!

Craft on people!

Felt Club XL: July 15th!

Yay! Less than a week to go! Hannah and I are going to be vendors at the XL: Summer Felt Club event! In case you missed the Holiday show, let me share with you how AWESOME this fair is!! At this months event there will be over 70 vendors, amazing swag bags, yummy food, lots of entertainment, and crazy door prizes!! You wont believe that THAT much amazing craftsmanship and creativity can be contained under one roof! Here is a glimpse of last years crafty madness:


There will be DJs keeping us entertained, and fun hands-on craft demonstrations. Last year, there were gift bags for the first 250 people to enter the building (and were gone in the first 7 minutes!) This year they are bigger and better than ever, so get there early and stake a spot in line!

FELT CLUB: XL SUMMER
SUNDAY, JULY 15
11am-7pm
@ THE UKRAINIAN CULTURAL CENTER
4315 Melrose Ave. @ Heliotrope
Los Angeles, CA 90029