On the road to the Farm Chicks show

All of the prep, paint, glue and nails has come down to this...this morning I leave for The Farm Chicks Show...
I'm like a bird taking flight - off into the blue yonder...







In the midst of all the packing and organizing, I was struck with a moment of inspiration of what to do with those rusted springs that I bought last year at the Farm Chicks show...a bit of old cocoa mat hanging basket liner...a handful of feathers...a wooden bird covered with vintage wallpaper...a specially chosen dictionary word for good measure...

If you're coming to the show...I'm in Booth 170, Bay 2...
please stop and say hi!

If you're not coming...you can live vicariously through my posts on my four corners design Facebook page...didn't know that I had a FB page?...well, its time to hop over, check it out and "like" my page so you can stay in the loop with what's going on at the show...

So now you know what I'll be doing this coming weekend - what about you?  Whatever your plans are for this first weekend in June, I hope that it gladdens your heart...

A package deal

Its down to the wire now...almost ready to hit the road to Farm Chicks...all of the art/cards/projects/junk has been packed and priced...there's just a few more details to finish up...

And those details pertain to the rest of the package...from what you view when you approach my booth - to the goodies you see inside - to what you take away - even if its only a business card...I have planned for all of it... those of you who know me understand that little happens by accident...but when everything flows together, there's a cohesiveness...and you and your product are recognized and remembered.

Since this is an indoor show, I wanted a different display for my artwork...I didn't want to use my outdoor canopy frame...so I decided to construct a basic frame out of galvanized pipe, from which I will hang my display panels which hold my artwork...the metal pipe fits in perfectly with the junk vibe of my work.  I enlisted the help of two of my cohorts at Lowe's...Dennis and Ron in the plumbing department...they were godsends!  I came to them with my initial idea...they helped me figured out the details...and then cut and threaded all of the pipe...and they didn't think I was crazy...especially when Dennis told me he used to work at the Reno Lowe's and would always know when Burning Man was close at hand by the odd requests for building things that were a bit out of the ordinary...

When all the pipe was cut, threaded and assembled in sections, Dennis drew me a diagram of the display, color coded nonetheless...

I can't thank the two of them enough for their expertise, time and patience...

The other project that required expertise assistance were the aprons I made for myself and the Southern Man to wear during the show...I wanted to have at hand all of the necessities for transacting business...an apron seemed the logical answer...I looked around my studio for materials...and came across several director chair covers that I picked up for pennies a couple of years ago...I liked the colors and the fabric and thought they might be useful some day...that day arrived...I went to work...

I took the completed aprons to Kate of Full Circle Studio...and she applied my logo onto the front of each apron, using her hot iron press...its the crowning touch!

There are certainly a thousand and one details to remember...good thing I'm a list maker...
can one ever be too organized?

Investigating inspiration

I always jump at the chance to visit an artist's studio...I'm completely mesmerized by their space...how is it organized...or not...what surrounds them in their creative area...what are their tools and their raw materials...

So when Kate of Full Circle Studio suggested we get together to swap creative ideas, I immediately checked my calendar and put the date in ink!




Before we started on our project of experimenting with transferring my collage images to fabric, I had a chance to investigate and look around...





The desk area...

The worktable...with a lovely view of the garden...

One of Kate's inspiration boards...

Soon enough it was time to get to work...Kate has a commercial grade hot press iron...she creates the most beautiful images that are printed onto flour sack towels (available for sale here!)  She thought that some of my images might lend itself to this process...I brought along a variety of fabrics to dabble with...

First the files were set up in Photoshop and the images printed onto transfer paper...

the hot iron press...
yes, that's the temperature...363 degrees...

placing the transfer onto the fabric...

smoothing out the fabric
once the transfer is complete...

















And here it is...the towel with my transferred design...

 
 

























But this was only part of the fun we had...can't wait to share what else we printed up that day...

Reborn

Left for scrap in a corner of the junk yard...I could see the potential...

Peeling black paint...a warped plywood top...but there was something there...

I took it home...stripped off the paint...
shined up the chrome...decided to let the natural patina of the steel show its true colors...

Gave it a new solid wood top...
whitewashed the wood...













finished the edge with vintage surveyor's tape... 





























Ready for its trip to The Farm Chicks show...ready to give a bright idea to someone else that this is the perfect desk for their home...

The beauty of form & function

Last weekend I had a spare moment...and stopped in at an estate sale here in town...I love it when the ad mentions "...have lived in house for 63 years, everything must go..."

I  didn't make it over to the house until the end of the sale...so slimmer pickin's...that's fine by me...
really need to keep my accumulation under control...

My modus operandi is to always hit the garage and basement first...in this case, there was quite a cache of tools in the garage...with one BIG box of screwdrivers...I looked through the contents...and was really struck by the variety, texture and color of the wood handles...yes, all wood handles...no plastic to be seen.  I have an idea of a large multi media collage that I want to create for my summer art show - Fresh Paint held in Everett -
here's what I picked up...all for $2.00...

the diversity of the shapes and textures of the wood handles captivated me...such workmanship in their construction...no wonder they've lasted so long...

the shape of the handle providing placement of the palm...and the design within the wood to ensure a good grip...worn patina that belies their usefulness...

I also picked up this vintage black metal lunch box...
did the owner carry his lunch to work as a carpenter or handyman?

Whatever their prior history might have been...I will be giving these tools a new story...as I work to incorporate them as part of my art assemblage...details later this summer...

I'm packing my suitcase...

Do you remember playing that game as a child..."I'm packing my suitcase and I'm taking..." and then each person listed an item in the suitcase, starting with the letter A and continuing on through the alphabet...

Well, I'm packing my suitcase...and I'm taking an aluminum A...and a bounty of buttons...and a collection of cut-outs...and you get the idea...












This morning I'm traveling to Whidbey Island (a ferry ride across Puget Sound from here) and taking a two day workshop from Seth Apter...called Mixed Media Memoire.  Seth is a renown multi-media artist from NYC who has been a tremendous supporter of my work...so when I heard that he would be leading a workshop at the Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville, I just had to be there (many thanks to the Southern Man for underwriting a portion of this adventure!)

The workshop will combine bookbinding techniques with collage applications...I've been busy collecting the items on the supply list...as well as those special ephemera treasures that will make my book truly unique.  Here's a small sampling of what I have packed...and yes, I am packing all my supplies in one of my vintage suitcases...it only seemed right!

The above quote is a page from an old Anthropologie catalog...I've always loved it...
its been hanging on the bulletin board in my studio for 10 years...time to use it...

pages from dictionaries and reference books always provide inspiration...













I'll be staying overnight with my artist friend Wendy Lee Lynds...so of course I needed to pack a hostess gift...wine and chocolates...wrapped in an old burlap sack...tied up with a length of cloth surveyor's tape and embellished with a metal "W"...

It will be good to be the student this time...though I'm sure that we will all learn from each other...
its bound to be an adventure...