In less than one month, I'll be in Portland...hosting ArtPartyPortland and having an inspiring wild time with 14 other creatives...
And though this event is sold out, there's still an opportunity to get in on a part of the fun...
As part of ArtPartyPortland, we are spending Friday at Junk Bonanza...one of the country's premier vintage/antique/artisan shows is coming to Portland for its inaugural launch in the Pacific Northwest.
I can't wait...as you likely know, I love Junk...in all its forms...and it doesn't even have to be something I buy (though I'm sure there will be some money exchanged!) but the eye-candy...the inspiring vignettes...the overflow of creative ideas...the plethora of photo opps...I'm sure I will be on junk overload!
But wait...you could join us at the show...Junk Bonanza is sponsoring two free General Admission tickets that I'm giving away here on the blog...good for any day of the show (October 9-11) And if you decide to visit the show on Friday morning, October 9 (when I will be there with my Art Party group), I'll be happy to meet up with you...and give you a big junker's hug...and an autographed copy of the Oct/Nov issue of Cottages & Bungalows magazine that features my junk-inspired home.
OK - ready...here's the deal...
1. Visit Junk Bonanza's Facebook page and like it.
2. Leave me a comment letting me know that you want in on the drawing - remember to either have your email active on your blogger profile or leave your email in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.
3. Want to enter more than once? Follow both Junk Bonanza and me, four corners design on Instagram...let me know on an IG post that you're a new follower...
4. The winner will be announced here on the blog on September 16...so you have until midnight on September 15 to get in on this junking fun.
Its going to be a grand adventure...I hope to see you at the show!
September 16 follow-up...
Congrats Mindy! You are the winner of the two Junk Bonanza tickets - Enjoy!
The end of summer is turning into quite the exciting time...so much happening...so much on the horizon...
First and foremost - I am proud to have our home featured in the October/November issue of Cottages & Bungalows magazine...
Last October, Jickie Torres, editor and Bret Gum, photographer spent a long and crazy day here...photographing every nook and cranny...here's a few shots to show you what goes on behind the camera...
A quick run to the local grocery store provided pumpkins for a seasonal touch...
I was so glad that it was a glorious sunny day...it made the house shine...
Lots going on in the background while getting the perfect shot...
Even Calvin had to get in on all the activity...
stealing Jickie's heart...
At the end of day, all were tired and exhausted...and it was hard to have to wait so long to see how it all turned out...
But I'm pleased as can be with it...and I invite you to pick up a copy at your local newsstand or grocery store...I share lots of ideas for incorporating vintage treasures into your home...I think you'll enjoy it...
Yesterday I actually got out my real camera...as opposed to my phone...and shot some still photos. I'm on deadline for a magazine article about holiday gift wrapping (yes, its August, its hot and dry but I'm trying to get in the Christmas spirit as I write this piece due on Monday) and I needed a couple of pictures to complete my tutorial.
I decided to play around a bit after I got the shots I needed...I was reminded this week of a book I own when I saw a shot on Instagram by Barb of Keeping With the Times, where she used the book "A Life Less Ordinary" as a prop...I was inspired...
Its a beautiful book...filled with simple and uncluttered images...and attests to the beauty of friendship between two women...
And it made me think...about my own life...it is a life less ordinary...for the last 15 years, I've been pursuing my ambition to be an artist...and though I am not rolling in the dough, I am rich in other ways...deciding how I spend my time, determining how my energy will be used, discovering a wealth of talents...
And I too have some wonderful friendships that have formed along the way...both within my local community as well as online...others who support what I am doing, offering encouragement along the way, building a network that strengthens all who participate...
One of which is Barb of Keeping With the Times...today I'm linking up to her Instagram post Sunday Sundries...which encourages each of us to celebrate whatever we wish...today I celebrate my life less ordinary...and the friends who are a part of it...
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...
it doesn't take much...as I was rummaging through a stack of papers and ephemera looking for pieces to include in a giant collage I am working on, I spied it...an old library check-out card...
my mind started spinning...putting the card aside, I kept it out of the pile so I could return to it...
and spin the tale that spoke to me...
Having a few days off due to the holiday here in the US has given me hours of time in the workshop studio...which in the middle of winter is too cold to work in, but during the heat wave we are having, it is pure heaven...
Creating new pieces for my next summer show, Fresh Paint, at the Everett Marina, August 15 & 16...
And I must apologize for my tardiness in responding to comments...once again, there's a glitch with Blogger which is sending all my comments to some nether world that I don't have access to...I'm trying to tinker with it, but please bear with me...I do appreciate that you not only stop to read my blog, but that you take the time to comment...thank you!
