Who's that?

Clint Eastwood via SARAH LIM/Detroit Free Press
Clint Eastwood is in town...kind of cool ,huh? He's filming his latest movie, “Gran Torino”, here in Royal Oak, and in neighboring Grosse Pointe Shores. (Read all about that here.) Michigan is granting production cost rebates to producers choosing to film their movies here. At RIC, where I leased the studio, the property manager informed me that several SCI-FI films where being made on the fourth and fifth floors of the building. Rumor has it 13 movies are being shot here within the next six months. Please, oh please, tell me Brad Pitt is in one of those movies! Johnny Depp? George Clooney?

she stuck a feather in her hair...

Here's another girl on wood I'm working on. I have a selection of Amy Bulter papers that I'm cutting up, using as collars and hair ornaments. I think they have a nice vintage feel to them, which suits the curvy wooden plaques. I hope to finish her tomorrow...

Oo la la...

Equus Elegans, 36 x 48 by Timothy Chapman
I had to share this man's work found via Abby Creek Art... I pull alot of inspiration from animals and pattern, and I adore the way Timothy combines the two. Very vibrant and highly detailed. Love it. See more of his work here.

Seriously?

What in the heck is this? A chair made from dirty tube socks? I passed this while driving today(obviously it was left curbside for trash day) ...I couldn't resist taking a picture. My daughter says "Mom when can we get a chair like that? We could just put some paint on it, and make it beautiful." Sheesh, I don't think so. Yikes!

Fair child...

I've been a bit scarce this week, sorry... I'm spending all my "free" time ripping out cabinets, painting walls, putting up shelves, trying to organize myself. A 3 hour trip to IKEA and a dozen white labeled boxes later, I'm starting to see the light. After working on the Alphabet Series for so long, I'm in the mood to do a more painterly piece. I worked on the above image today, inspired by vintage photographs of porcelain skinned ladies wearing dainty lace collars + giant blossoms pinned in their hair. She's a bit ghostly I think. I kind of like that about her.

All the Alaphabet Series originals have been sold, so I'll be adding alphabet prints to the shop over the weekend if you have your eye on a particular letter or two or three :)

Have a great weekend!

Just looking...

Odd Fellow Antiques @ 3248 W. 12 Mile, Berkley

Yesterday I treated myself to a visit with a local antiques dealer. (I might be in the market for a storage piece, so why not look around, right?) The friendly folks at Odd Fellow Antiques have 2 levels of showcase space, packed to max with all kinds of goodies. I didn't find the piece I was looking for, but here's a few snapshots of their wares. They carry 1800's French pieces, Mid-Century Modern, and everything in between. The price tags range from garage sale thrifty to never in my life will I be able to afford that! Pay them a visit if you're in the area :)

Yummilicious...

Something about summer makes me crave cobbler in the worst way. When I was little my mom would take my siblings and I to pick wild blackberries, growing along the edges of dirt roads in the countryside. We would brave snakes, poison ivy, and thorns to fill our baskets with those sweet little berries. A cobbler would no-doubt soon follow. I made this Triple Berry Cobbler over the weekend and it is TO-DIE-FOR...
Ingredients:
1 cup blackberries

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
2/3 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In an 8 inch square baking dish, mix blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, 3 tablespoons sugar, and orange juice. Set aside. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually add flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are combined. Drop batter by rounded tablespoons over berry mixture. Cover as much of the filling as possible.
Bake in oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Top with vanilla ice cream, enjoy!

(I used all organic ingredients, but of course you could adjust the recipe to suit whatever you have on hand. Good luck on not eating the whole thing!)

Yellow Monday...

Photo via cauchy09's on Flickr.

Found via Doorsixteen on Flickr.

Found via Mofo on Flickr.

I'm crushing on yellow today. Hope everyone is having bright bright sun shiny day!

SHOP UPDATE MONDAY JULY 21ST...

Preview the whole set here.
After several weeks of cutting and gluing all 26 letters of the alphabet are completed! Woohoo!!! This is the largest project I've ever taken on and it's been a ton of fun. I'm very excited about putting these on Etsy. Shop update MONDAY, July 21st! (I'll start posting them around 9am) Catch a little alphabet buzz over at Ohdeedoh, Apartment Therapy's kiddie/parent blog.
Until Monday...

Read it...

Eat,Pray,Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Lovely summer read. (And the only book I've read in a while, shame on me.) I'm two thirds of the way through, and I've already bought a second copy and given it as a gift. Buy it. Read it. Love it.

A - Z.

A dark photo, I know. I just quickly snapped a shot of them laying on the dining table. All I need to do to finish them is a bit of stitching and add their respective letters. Then scan them, all 26...I'm shooting for a shop update next week. I will post all letters in their completed state, on Flickr, before then...

Taking it easy...

Wading off into the weekend...I hope you have a good one too!

The other side of art...

So the last few days I've been attending to the less exciting part of being an artist. I've re-ordered shipping supplies, cleaned out my stash of paper scraps, designed new business cards and mailing labels, printed wholesale linesheets, and created a flash ad. The later two were firsts for me, and I'm no photoshop wizard, so the process was painfully slow. However, considering I prefer to have all the skills it takes to run my business on my own, it was high time I learned. Not that I have done everything on my own...I have sent many emails over the past year to other artists (and fellow bloggers) who have given me such generous advice on everything from printers and scanners, to marketing and pricing commercial illustrations. There have also been a host of other blog keepers and shop owners who have been gracious enough to feature my art on their sites, which has given me much needed exposure... and an overall warm and fuzzy feeling. One night, while watching tv, which I rarely do, I heard some late night host state that "blogging is for people who don't have friends in real life." Ha! If it weren't for this blog, I would have missed out on many opportunities to connect with such lovely people. I'd be armed with alot less knowledge, confidence, and inspiration, that's for sure. So thanks for stopping by my blog...and please, don't be shy...I really enjoy your comments...

Back to work on Q, R, S, T.....

O-wl & P-ear...

Introducing O & P of the alphabet series...unfinished, but they still wanted to make an appearance here. I'm excited about this project and I'm currently entertaining the idea of having these printed into special edition flashcards :) I know I'm not keen on the illustrations I find on most flashcards in the big box stores. My girls have tested and approved the idea, so they've passed the initial quality test. And they would make dandy lil' gifts...

And squealing with excitement here... Irene of Bloesem and Bloesem Kids (hands-down the best blog ever for modern tots and their families) had this to say about my art today. *blushing*

Stay tuned for more of the ABC's...

Studio vs. Home

Ahem...a word about the studio ...

Many of you have emailed me wondering when there will be more updates about the new space I acquired at RIC ... (Thanks for your interest.) It played out a bit like this...

Signed lease, spent days cleaning, painted entire space white (actually my husband did), hung lots of new pendant lamps, bought desk, storage furniture, moved all my things in... then hated it. Don't get me wrong, the space itself is lovely. There are many talented artists/ small business owners working at RIC. The leasing staff is the best. The new Russell Baazar is an exciting new addition to the complex... lots of good happening here...

However, for me, it just wasn't the right fit. For years, I've longed to have a space of my own, where I could spread out, have lots of accessible storage, be around other creative types, etc...So, imagine my surprise when I felt completely uninspired there. The complex sits amongst many industrial buildings near a freeway.. (Think noisy semis, one after the other.) Outside my wall of windows, the view consisted mostly of a slice of sky and lots of concrete and pavement. I sat there and longed to be home... where I can hear the neighborhood kids laughing, listen to the birds sing, eat lunch on a blanket amongst my flowers. I terribly missed all the comforts of home. So I put in my notice to vacate the space, and they had it toured and re-leased within the hour. Of course, the place looked sharp.

So anyway, there you have it. I really appreciate all of you who said such nice things about the space and encourged me to moved forward. I don't regret giving it a go. I'm back at home now and I have a new appreciation of my surroundings. All is well :)

Supplies in the shop...

Attention Craft Divas and Artists...I added a few supplies to my Etsy Shop this morning...snag some goodies while I de-clutter my work space :)

About the weekend...

We had a magnificent holiday weekend! Great weather, awesome food, (yes, I ate tons of frozen custard), sandy beaches (Lake Michigan), plus a few fireworks... Lots of new photos added to my Flickr . Take a peek !

Off for a few days...

I'm signing off for a few days...the family and I are headed to Winthrop Harbor, Illinois for the weekend. We'll be a mile from the beach, which weather permitting, I'm sure we'll frequent. My in-laws own a quaint little sandwich shop there, the Dockside Deli, which also serves amazing homemade frozen custard. So here's to lounging in the sand and consuming large amounts of cold creamy goodness :) Above is photo of some of the things I'll be getting rid of upon my return. I have many many stretched canvases ( I have several cases) and canvas boards that I no longer need. I bought them in bulk quite some time ago, and now I use mostly paper and wood. They are smaller sizes, 5x7, 6x6, 5x5, etc. I'll probably list them under Etsy's supply category...but if you're interested, let me know, and I'll send you the details. I'll meet you here in a few days....enjoy the holiday weekend !!!