You are invited to our Spring Studio Sale on Saturday, April 30th from 10am - 4 pm
gift ideas for mom, grads...even a little something for yourself...
Jody Cain of Latitude Studios and Christine Stoll of Christine Stoll Jewelry will be joining me...
vintage treasures, upcycled jewelry, collage prints and paintings are just some of the items
we'll have to entice you...mark it on your calendar...
If its the first weekend in December, then it must be time for the annual Phinney Winter Festival...its a fabulous artisan show in Seattle...115 artists, live music, food and plenty of holiday cheer - what's not to love!
This is the 14th year that I'm participating in this show...I've got to say that its one of my favorites...not only for the new friends I meet as well as connecting with old acquaintances, but I get to finish up my holiday gift shopping...I'm a big supporter of buy local, buy handmade.
In addition to my original mixed media art collages, I'll have plenty of affordable gift items too...
Hot off the press, these folded notecards with fabulous vintage images...
Art tags that can adorn a gift, enliven a bulletin board or even be a bookmark...
Collage journals, all one of a kind...a place to record thoughts, remember ideas, start
that first novel or just keep a list of anything you like...
Hope that you'll stop by and say hello...I'm in the Blue Building on the second floor...introduce yourself and tell me you read about the show on either my blog, my Facebook page or Instagram and there will be a free gift for you!
its that time of year again...the holiday art shows and festivals abound!
I hope that you will consider giving a gift of art this season...whether its for a treasured friend, a loving sibling, a helpful neighbor or even a little something for yourself, a hand crafted gift can mean so much more than one bought at the shopping mall.
I have two upcoming shows -
First up - Holiday Studio Sale this coming Saturday, November 21, 10 am - 4pm, at my home in Everett. Jody Cain of Latitude Studios and Christine Stoll of Christine Stoll Jewelry will be joining me...a little bit of something for everyone!
then its the annual Phinney show...a perennial Seattle favorite...
always lots of great artists and plenty of gift giving ideas!
I hope to see you at one or the other - maybe both!
and if neither are convenient, remember I have an Etsy shop with notecards and petite prints - if you mention that you are buying a gift, I will ship direct to the recipient and will gift wrap your purchase for free.
I was recently asked by a friend about how I begin a collage...do I have an idea and then go looking for the materials to pull it together...or do I start with a piece of ephemera that inspires me and go from there...
I thought for a minute...it really had me stop for a moment and consider...
"How do I begin?"
More often than not, its a piece of paper, a scrap of material, a torn page, a faded photograph that sets my mind wheeling...thus begins the process...
My most recent collage series started with a trio of vintage seed packets...ones that I picked up many years ago...the vivid colored vegetables along with their European monikers motivated me to action...I started collecting materials...
I painted three wooden boards coordinating pastel colors...and glued down the first layer of papers...since I wanted these three collages to relate to one another, I used similar (though not identical) papers with each collage...
The names of each of the vegetables included reference to three European cities so that guided my choices...London, Paris and Florence...old atlas maps, historical timelines and garden/botanical pages were all gleaned for inclusion...I wanted to include a piece of silverware on each collage for the crowning touch...auditioning forks for the Florence collage was a challenge...which one would fit the best...
Eventually all fell into place...the trio now complete...
You can see this trio for yourself...I'll be one of the artists participating in the Fresh Paint art show this coming weekend, August 15-16 at the Everett Marina...
please, stop by, say hi and chat with me a bit...I'd love to see you...
While looking for something in my office the other day...which I can't even remember what it was at this point...
I came across a folder of collage materials...
I will often collect materials for a piece and put them all together in a folder so that the ideas and theme stay intact...
I started this folder eight years ago...for the first time I was exhibiting at Fresh Paint Art Festival...I had cut out the letters from an old Crate & Barrel shopping bag...and the flowers were cut from a wallpaper sample book...there's also a magazine ad of a Holstein cow...I guess it was the black & white idea tying it all together...
I prepped a canvas today to finish up this collage...minus the cow...
you can see the completed piece at Fresh Paint, August 15-16 at the Everett Marina...I hope you'll stop by...
I've been working on collages for summer art shows...
and in keeping with my word(s) for the year, dig deep, I am doing just that...
I've dug out a few past collages that somehow didn't work...
and taking them apart...removing some elements, tearing apart others, cutting portions out...
and then combining the elements back together, strengthening the composition, adding in new objects, layering on paint or transfers...
This piece originally started out much larger with a long vertical orientation...I cut it apart and turned one of the cut paper portions on its side...other torn pieces were discarded or sanded down...
I've had the typewriter key image for a while...it was an transfer process on metal that went awry...forgot to flip the image before printing...but it was still compelling so I held onto it...and for good reason...
I thought I was finished with the collage but something seemed to be missing...the theme of the piece is "all in the day's work of a bird"
a feather tied on with jute twine was the last serendipitous touch...
Reconstruction has been happening on other fronts too...with all the changes in social media, I've been thinking about the best creative outlet for me...re-examining what works and what doesn't...maybe you've noticed that blog posts have diminished...when I started blogging five years ago, this was the only mechanism for sharing one's inspired thoughts and ideas...though I love this format for more in-depth topics, it is not my sole platform any more...so my schedule for blog posts is going to change from 2-3 per week to 2-3 per month...but if you want a daily hit of four corners design, please hop over to Instagram...my user name is fourcornersdesign...its quick, its on the go, its a photo with a tagline...a little hit of eye candy each day...
and if you want to see my collage work up close and personal...please visit me at my upcoming show -
Shoreline Arts Festival, June 27-28...I'll be in the Artist Marketplace...get all the details on the event here
I remember the first Earth Day in 1970...I'm glad that we are still giving a nod to the Earth and all its wonders...and I am still hopeful that more and more of us come to realize that we must treat this planet with all the love and respect we give our personal homes...because, in the big picture, the Earth is our ultimate home...
This idea of treating the Earth wisely is part of what fuels my art...foraging from those things that others throw away and find no value in...finding new life in remnants of the past...creating combinations of everyday ephemera.
I'm pleased to have three of my collage assemblages included in a gallery show at the Schack Art Center which is all about recycled art. "Saving the Environment: Sustainable Art" runs at the Center from April 23 - May 30; the opening reception is tomorrow evening from 5-8 pm at the Center which is located in downtown Everett.
If you're in the neighborhood, stop on by...I'll be there...along with plenty of great art to amaze you...you'll be surprised at what others may think is junk can be turned into fantastic art with just a bit of insight and inspiration...
Recently I learned of an online creative community that was new to me...The Woven Tale Press.
It is a community of artisans - writers, photographers, artists, brought together by a diverse editorial group who offer a "collection of eclectic culling of the creative web". In addition to regular artist posts, they publish a monthly e-magazine "to highlight the blog post otherwise buried in a blogger's archives; the painting or photograph from an artist's site worthy of greater focus than its singular web page; the innovative, the funny,
the offbeat."
The March issue was just released...and I'm pleased to have two of my digital collages featured.
I am in excellent company in this issue...my artistic friend David Hayes of Clearer Reflections has a multi-page spread of his incredible photographic stills...
I hope that you will check it out...and discover a few gems for yourself...
to view the entire issue, click here
and to visit The Woven Tale Press website, click here
Stuck on an idea for a holiday gift Looking for something unique and inspirational?
I have the answer - give art!
I have three suggestions here for you - check them out...
#1 - Inspirational Quotes Illustrated by Lesley Riley is a wonderful compilation of quotes
paired with a piece of art created by over 100 artists...
one of which happens to be me...I can now share my page since the book has hit the stands...
Each page is perforated so that you can remove the pages and post them wherever you need a shot of inspiration...
You can order the book from North Light Shop or on Amazon.
and if you want a little inspiration on your computer screen...my image (along with three other artist's creations from the book) is available as a downloadable wallpaper...a little bonus gift from the publisher... click here for the link...
#2 - 5 x 5 Series curated by Seth Apter is an exhibit that grew out of his book, The Pulse of Mixed Media. Artists could submit an artistic interpretation of three different questions related to creating art and finding inspiration. All of those submissions are now on display at The Empty Spaces Project, a gallery in Putnam, CT...
if you are in the area, I urge you to stop by. Click here for the link that describes the exhibit...
But if you are not nearby, you can still enjoy the gallery show...and own a piece (or give as a gift) yourself. All of the compositions are for sale...and all at a reasonable price...especially considering that it is original art...from some of the best known names in mixed-media collage work...You can view the entire collection and make your purchases on Seth Apter's site - click here
And yes, I have two pieces in this show...
such an honor...
#3 - Mounted Petite Prints
I have a few of my Mounted Petite Prints available in my etsy shop. These digital prints, mounted on painted salvaged wood and finished with a wax coating, are ready to hang...and ready to give as a gift...or keep for yourself...click here for the details...
Hope that gives you a few ideas for gift giving...now I just need to finish up a few projects myself and then its on to gift wrapping...one of my favorite parts of the holiday...I'll have some ideas to share about that next week...
from gift tags made from my leftover studio sale postcards...
tied up with a bit of green garden twine...
to a christmas stocking sewn up from a worn out wool sweater...
to an ornament crafted from a wooden curtain ring...
just a few of the creations you'll find in my booth at the Phinney Winter Festival...
hope to see you there...
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