A Birdie and Bucktown

"Female Cardinal" 8" x 8" mixed media on cradled hardboard, $150.

Hi there. How are you? 

Yep, I went there....Another bird piece! This one features the female cardinal my favorite feathered friend. I know that most prefer pretty red male cardinal, I like the female's "mohawk" and her slightly rounded form. Are in you interested in purchasing this cutie? Do get in touch. 

Next Weekend: Bucktown Arts Fest!

Next weekend, Matt and I will be packing the Element and heading up to Chicago for the fabulous Bucktown Arts Fest. Join me Saturday August 24th and Sunday August 25th, from 11 am to 7pm in Senior Citizens Memorial Park. Find me in booth #18, which is located right on the park grounds. I'll have some brand new work debuting here. Hope you can join me!

And last but not least....

I've got a birthday coming up over Labor Day weekend. I've decided to celebrate with a "BOGO" print sale in my Etsy shop. Details forthcoming. Be excited!

So, ta-ta for now. Do enjoy your weekend friends! 

The Sketchbook Project 2012

I just finished up my most recent Moleskine sketchbook. This is my last page. 

This Bic pen drawing does a good job visually illustrating my life at the moment. Busy, crazy, overwhelmed are some common words in my vocabulary as of late. (More about this in the weeks to come!) 

Now that I've finished up my Moleskine, I can get started on my The Sketchbook Project sketchbook that I received in the mail this weekend.  

The sketchbook has 32 pages that measure 5.25" x 7.25".  It's a little larger than I'm used to, as my Molskines are just 3.5" x 5.5".  I should soon have more time on my hands, so I'm sure I'll be able to adapt to the larger size.

When signing up for  The Sketchbook Project, you choose from one of 30 or so themes as a jumping off point for your sketches. I chose "Along the line".  Seemed pretty apropos for me and my very linear, often maze like doodles.

I have until Jan 31, 2012 to complete the sketchbook and mail it back to the Art House Coop. As noted on The Sketchbook Project website:

• "It's like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks. Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the world. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view."

I'm really excited to be a part of this and hope to make it to the Chicago tour stop in May.


I will be chronicling my progress in my sketchbook here on my blog and on my Flickr photostream.  Be sure to harass me if you don't see me posting!


Happy Columbus Day. Ta-Ta for now!

 

A Solo Sunday

Today I took a trip into Chicago by my lonesome, and had a great time!

I made the 1.5 hour drive into the Wicker Park neighborhood on this gorgeous sunny day to attend the Renegade Craft Fair. This was the fair that I had applied for but didn't get accepted into. I wanted to check it out anyhow. I made some fun purchases and met some of my fellow ETSY sellers.
This little cutie came from Baumbirdy. The fabric is handscreened and then stretched in an embroidery hoop. Embroidery hoops are so hip right now, I just had to have one for myself! Sorry, they don't sell these in their etsy shop, but they do sell beautiful wedding related paper goods.

I also purchased these adorable tea towels from UrbanPosture. They are hand printed with eco-friendly ink and at just $5.00 each, I couldn't pass them up. I intend to give these as gifts, but I don't know if I will be able to part with them!

My favorite Etsy purchase of the day was this sweet ceramic pendant from Circa Ceramics. Doesn't this just scream art teacher? I will definitely be wearing this to school this week. It was great to meet Nancy (one-half of Circa Ceramics) and to put a face with an avatar. (She and I have corresponded over Twitter.) She gave me some great leads about some art fairs to look into for next year. I hope that our paths will cross at another fair sometime, she's great!

After Renegade, I headed down I-90 to Ikea. I had their famous Swedish meatballs for lunch. It was really quite yummy. Who knew that lingonberries went well with meatballs and gravy?? At Ikea I picked up a load of frames for my upcoming Artscene show and headed home.

I'm tired and sunburned, but so glad I took my solo trip! It was create to see art, meet some fellow artsy types and spend some quality time with myself.

Have a great week my friends!