Art Candy

Alternative Spaces

 

I was invited to hang my pastel paintings in a local family run coffee cafe called Black Sheep Coffee in South Saint Paul a few weeks ago. I met the owner's daughter-in-law 7 years ago at an art fair when I was just starting out. A few years went by before my friend contacted me to ask if I'd be willing to hang my work in her mom-in-law's new coffee shop...I happily agreed. As it turned out I ended up selling a large painting and a couple of smaller pieces that I had in the shop...I was really surprised because it was quite unexpected. I was just hoping for a little exposure at the time, so a big sale was a giant bonus! It's been four years since the last time that I had anything in the shop so getting an invite to hang work there again makes it feel like I've come full circle. The great thing about it is that her shop is still hanging in there as am I with my artwork. My work has changed a bit since the last time, matured a bit. Who knows maybe I will get that added bonus of adopting out a painting once more.

Wanted... the Perfect Studio Mate

 

Last week I decided that it was high time to get another studio mate to share my space with. I have been going solo for the last few months and have been putting off the inevitable.  So I kicked myself into high gear and made flyers and posted my rental on MNartists.org and Craigs list. I have had pretty good response but artists are in general looking for cheap space and a lot of it.

I had one person ask me where they could find a 3000 square foot studio for as little rent as posible....Hmmm, lets see, maybe in an alternate universe. Is there even such a thing as cheap space that doesn't exist in the basement of a dilapidated building in the middle of nowhere? Please, I want to know!

Okay, enough ranting. I did however meet with a couple of people who were definite possibilities. I am crossing my fingers.

Lovely Little Cards

Yesterday I spent the day down at the studio for our buildings holiday hours. It was a long slow day with only a few people stopping in to browse around. So lets just say that I had ample time to get a few things done. I have been thinking about creating cards out of my work again and designing some images specifically for that purpose. Since I have been focusing a lot of studio time on my mother series I decided to stay in the theme and create a couple of Madonna images and turn them into christmas cards. 

 
I added a little glitter embellishment  to the halo and star on the cards to finish them off. They are now the newest editions to my Etsy shop.

Shameless Self Promotion

I made this cool little ad badge for my shop so I thought I'd post it! 

The Motherhood Project

I have been working on a project that relates to motherhood... given that I have been in the throws of raising my brood for the last 14 years I definitely think it is worth exploring. My initial idea started out with the inspiration coming from 17th century Italian Madonna paintings that I saw at the National Gallery in Washington D.C.. I wondered what the Madonna image would look like now,in my neighborhood filled with soccer moms and mini vans. But the more I thought about it the more I felt like I wanted to tell the story of many mothers and their varying experiences in raising children. The project is definitely in its early stages and I am still trying to figure out how the images will convey the story and what they should look like. I decided to create a few paintings as a jumping off point to see where they might lead. This is what I have so far...they are still in progress.

 

 

 
 
 
 

First Thursday

November really zoomed by! It's time for another another first Thursday open studio tour in the arts district here in Minneapolis. I have added new paintings to my floppy hat series and have started a new series about motherhood inspired by the stories of other moms in my life. 

 

Holiday Open Studio Sale

The Elves...okay the elf in the studio has been creating away! I will be holding holiday studio hours every Saturday starting November 28 thru December 19th. My studio will be open from 11am to 4pm as will many other studios in the Northrup King Building. Everything in my studio will be %10 off the original purchase price during this event. I will also be having a collectors sale where I will be taking %30 off of original art from older series of work. This is definitely a great time to come down and find something unique!

You can also shop my sale online by visiting my Etsy Shop

 

Fly!

Just thought I'd post another little addition to my ever growing bird series...it seems that bird IS the word!

This one is a bit larger "16x16" and  called Aviary.

The Singing Imeldas

 I have been busily creating away in the studio over the past few weeks and am proud to show off my newest little creations! These are the second series of six 6"x6" paintings that I have dubbed the singing Imelda Series( think Imelda Marcos but with birds instead of shoes). 

My first set sold during Art Attack. My plan originally was to make as many as it would take to fill a wall in my studio like a painted aviary.

I have posted this second set on my Etsy Shop for sale individually...but they really do look great hanging together!

Recovering from an Art Attack

My building had its 12th annual all building three day open studio tour and it was a busy one! I had a couple of friends showing their work which added a little variety to my space and also the opportunity for the occasional restroom break. My friend Joel showed off his amazing wood sculpture and turnings and my friend Leann shared her photo realistic transparent watercolors. I showed off a few new paintings and shared some experimental monotype prints from a new series I am planning( more to come on that later)...