IF: Wedding

I love every aspect of this image of the bride, in her gorgeous dress, with a glowing smile! She is the quintessential image of a wedding!

Birthday Gift Tags!

I am realy excited to share that my Birthday gift tags are now available in my Etsy shop! The back ha a simple birthday wish, leaving plenty of room to write in your own message! I love the way they came out! This little boy just makes me smile!

Rudy and Helen

One of the commissions that I recently finished was of my client Nicole's grandfather. Shortly after his death she contacted me to ask if I could do a piece that would commemorate her love for him. The connection that Nicole had to her grandfather was palpable, and it was so much more than an honor to have been trusted with such a touching portrait. Thank you so much Nicole, for sending me pics of the piece in it's home!!!

September Artist at p!ay

I have really had mush for brains for the past week 2 weeks or so! I am so scattered all over the house and everything is a mess! I completely neglected to blog about my pieces being on display for the month of September at p!ay Hair Lounge in Simi Valley, CA.

Let me tell you a little bit about p!ay. Depending on how often you read this blog you may have heard me talk about the über-talented Miss Brig who was responsible for my blond-ness, and more recently my, my brunettey-ness. She is so good at what she does that I only have to say a sentence or 2, and I am all set. This is the easiest my hair has EVER been, and I have some annoying hair, so that says A LOT!

About a year ago Brig opened her own salon taking a fresh approach to the boring old salons. Each station has personalized Barbie that represents the stylist who calls that spot home. (This one's Brig!)

Everything about the place is personable and awesome. No wonder it is a wild success! All of the stylists in the joint are totally funky fresh, and at the tippy top of their game. Every time I am there the place is jumping. Because Brigs approach to her business is so new and fresh, she and the folks over at Bumble and Bumble are BFF's, so much so that they just flew Miss. Brig out to the B&B Headquarters in NYC to give a speech. She is just too much!

What was my point. . . . oh yeah, so, I am the featured "Artist Every Month" for September. Every month there will be something new and cool hanging in this area. It is lots of fun to check out the newest installation while your head is wrapped in foil! If your in the area, get over there and check out p!ay!

Opening Success!!

A quick THANK YOU to everyone who came out last night to check out the show! I am always so nervous at these events and I had a really great time! The feedback was super positive which made my leap out of my "portrait box" a lot easier! (duh, right!) Sometimes you just need to stand in a room with complete strangers and hear a nice comment to feel like all is well with the final outcome!

I want to make sure to say a HUGE thank you to Kelly, owner and genius behind Regeneration, for all of her kindness and support! I am really flattered and proud to have been asked to hang in your lovely shop!!!

The totally awesomely talented CJ Metzger came out to see the show and I am so honored that she decided to add this piece to her personal collection. The surprise bonus of the night is this picture, of CJ with antlers. When I put the camera card in the reader and this popped up, I laughed out loud. It is kismet!! I love it! Thank you CJ!

1. Pieces of Us flyer, 2. Roots, 3. Momentum, 4. Solitude, 5. Swing Love2, 6. Anger and Fear, 7. Georgette, 8. Sexology, 9. Mother and Child, 10. Man, 11. Inner Workings, 12. Stop Worrying, 13. Heart, 14. Love and Marriage, 15. Balance, 16. Ray of Light, 17. Growth, 18. Amelia2, 19. Love, 20. Pure Excitement

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Sneak peak

I just got home from hanging the show, and I AM SO EXCITED! The collection came together really well. I can't wait to share it!

If you are local, I hope to see you tomorrow night at Regeneration. If you are interested in a piece, they can be purchased remotely by contacting Kelly at Regeneration via email through the site, or at 323.344.0430.

IF: Momentum

Ahhhh, Momentum.
Something I have been struggling with all week!! I was pressed for time trying to finish pieces for tomorrow nights opening, and feeling the pressure big time! Of course, it is all worth it once the collection is complete! The sense of accomplishment is wonderful thing!

Pieces of Us

This Saturday is the opening night of my Pieces of Us show at Regeneration! I am so excited to hang the pieces and see the reactions. Excited and scared, but mostly excited! LOL

I am just glad that the day has come! Here is the info for the show:
Pieces of Us
Sept 8-Oct 4, 2007

opening reception
September 8th, 6-10pm
Regeneration
1649 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca 90041
323.344.0430
www.shopregeneration.com
tues-sun 12-6

These pieces are all born from personal events that have been going on in the past few months. I don't really talk about those things here on the blog, but as an artist, it is bound to come out in my work! I also kept a strong influence on using scraps of paper and materials, whether they be the remnants from previous projects, or found metal objects from the street. Regeneration is a shop with an important message. They only sell and carry recycled goods, and I think that it is important to keep in that theme. By honoring their mission, I was forced to stretch my artistic brain and work only within what was in a certain box I have of scrap. Luckily, when a piece is too small for my other boxes that I think it will get lost on the bottom, I toss it in the "smaller" scrap box, and some of those gorgeous papers are still pretty large. (I swear, there is a method to my madness! ;)

I also want to take a minute to thank everyone for their supportive words and emails since I started sharing the pieces! It means a lot to me that you take the time to share your words with me!! My confidence got a well needed shot in the arm! THANK YOU!

If you would like to see pictures of the pieces so far, you can go here. I will be adding more this afternoon!

I will probably very quite until after the show. SO much to do! Next week I will post pics from lots of recent events! A lot has been going on that I need to share!

Yowser!

Holy Moly!! 800 Hearts!!

IF: alphabet

B is for Butterfly. The Butterfly has pretty wings.

See more at Illustration Friday.

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.