Art Making in the North

Plan Z

2012-01-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

With apologies to Plankton, I felt like I was reverting to evil plan Z thisweek. After several different attempts and ideas for my Alaska Fiber Festival Wearable Art entry thatwere just not gelling, I finally found an idea that I could run with. Thankgoodness. I’m showing you just a sneak peek for now… Frustratingly, there is no "on demand create” switch on my body –though I wish there were. My first coupleof ideas for my entry were shot down (by me) after doing some reference imagesearches, I came across images of similar designs that had already been created–DOH! One early idea was a dress in the shape of hand painted, Tyvek sculpted butterfly wings I wanted tocall “Mariposa Metamorphic” -already done. Then,my idea for the “Read Queen,” a play on the Red Queen reinvented was going tobe a red and black dress of sculptural books and magazine pages was just NOT structurally working as I had hoped. Aftersewing numerous pages from books, dying a thrift store wedding dress as a base inmy NEW LG washing machine (I was panicked I was going to stain the machine usingthe Black RIT!) came out old lady lavender instead of BLACK, arrrgh, so I finally gave up thatidea. Even after seeing that one of my original ideas had already been done Istubbornly kept at it and ground it right into the frozen ground until it dieda slow depressing death until it was no longer fun. Then while feeling sorry for myself and farting aroundin my studio it came to me! I changed my thinking to try and create somethingthat I LIKED MAKING instead of something that I HAVE TO DO or a piece that NEEDS TO WOW. Sounds easy enough,but sometimes I get so focused on the wrong direction and intention, like the JUDGING and the CONTEST portion of the Fiber Festival that I easily lose sight of the best part,the CREATIVE PROCESS and making. I put way too many self imposed high expectations on my entry even before I began. Fearing that my entry wasn't going to be "good enough" started to derail my ART MAKING even before I started MAKING the ART, silly me. I'm back on track and LOVING the direction my new piece is taking.

-P.S. There is still plenty of time for YOU to make something, entries are not due until February 3 and is open to all mediums! If you are out of state and would like to participate, I'd be happy to help coordinate the delivery of your piece. For for more information and entry rules visit the Fiber Festival web site.

Oh, and did I mention there is $2,000 in prize money up for grabs?!!

The find of the week was my VINTAGE dress maker mannequin! Isn't she just FAB!

She was immediately put to work fitting my Wearable Art entry for the Fiber Festival.

Check out the entries from the 2011 Show for a little inspiration at http://www.alaskafiberfestival.org/

This Weather is for the Bad Witch

2012-01-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

As if Alaska’s record breaking snow wasn’t enough, now Anchorage has been plunged into a deep freeze with temps from -5 to -20, cold even for South Central Alaska! I can’t complain to Kristen up in Fairbanks though, her temps are regularly -20 below and they saw it drop to -40 below this week! All this winter weather has made me a bit fussy because it’s too damn cold to really be outside enjoying the beautiful snow and getting some much needed, regular exercise. I actually LIKE the winter and if you think I’m grumpy –whoa, you should be among some of Anchorage’s drivers! With the cold snap I thought this week was the perfect time to work on another art quilt with the Wizard of Oz theme fabric I found in a clearance bin. Only this week I didn’t add the good witch on the art quilt just added the legs and ruby red slippers coming out from under the old farmhouse!!

This was the first "Are You A Good Witch or a Bad Witch I" I created. It's about 14" x 18" art quilt using cotton fabric, free motion stitching, bead embellishment, and digital image transfers.

"Are You A Good Witch or a Bad Witch II" about 12" wide x 21" tall (not measuring the legs and ruby red slippers) art quilt using cotton fabric, free motion stitching, bead and button embellishment, and digital image transfers.

All of my samples, sales sheets, price lists and positivethoughts are with my sales rep company, Karen Sobolesky and Company thisweekend at the 2012 Alaska Wholesale Gift Show. If you are a qualified buyerthere is still time to register and the show is being held at the Dena’inaCivic and Convention Center, Thursday 1/19 3-7pm, Friday 1/20 10:00 am – 6pm, and Saturday 1/21from 10:00 am – 5pm.

Big Huge Color

2012-01-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

This free app called the Color Palette Generator, automatically creating a color palette from any photo, I found on the Cold Feet Quilter’s Blog. I’mnot sure what I will use the app/utility for yet but one thing I do know is I can use allthe help I can get when it comes to color! I’m always looking for new designsof color wheels (or as I like to call them –Bravery Wheels!) and ways to learnmore about the use of color. With this free app you simply upload a photo and withthe click of the “Create>>” button and Big Huge Labs automatically generatesa color palette you can use for your art making projects. Big Huge Labs “Helping you do cool stuff with your digital photos since2005. :-) Have fun with your photos!” has other fun and free “toys, games and utilities” to use with images. Big Huge Labs has a whole menu of timesucking fun to offer! This weekend when I have a couple of hours to burn I’mgoing to check out the Cube, Bead Art , Captioner and Framer apps! After browsing their site I wanted to title this Blog post "Big Huge Time Suck" but the apps were clever, FREE and fun I thought that would be mean. So grab your favorite beverage, a file of images and have some fun and be ready to blow a few hours on your computer :)

Using my latest fiber pieces I uploaded them into the Color Palette Generator. "Chooseor upload a photo and a color palette based on the colors in the photo will begenerated automatically. Use it to help with art projects, website design, oreven with decorating your home.

Snow Power

2012-01-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

Seems Alaska is receiving all the snow for the entire U.S.!Alaska’s weather has even had CNN watching. We’ve set a new record for snowfallin the month of January, ALREADY and with even more snow on the way, it’s beena great time to stay INSIDE the studio and sew. Here is a link to the imagesfrom the snowfall in the outlying cities of Valdez and Cordova that appeared inthe Anchorage Daily News. With some of my deadline projects out of the way I’vewanted to work some more on my powerline series using image transfers, fabric painting, embellishing and free motion stitching. The new TAP artist transferpaper provided a smoother image for me to sew and paint over. These pieces havegiven me an opportunity to practice my sewing when I slow down enough to quilt “properly.”I tend to not want to follow the “rules” of traditional sewing or quilting. It’sa gentle balance because the perfectionist in me would like to already be anexpert at sewing the basics but I’ll need at least another week, just kidding, I’m stilllight years away but enjoying the journey! I’m working on avoiding puckering, maintaining proper tension adjustment, avoiding uneven stitches with my free motion sewing and taking more care with my finishwork. Part of my steep learning curve is my desire to use new and different materials, fabrics, designs and embellishments. At least with the kind of winter we're having, the garden won’t even be thawed out until July giving me PLENTY of time inthe studio!

Art quilt, part of the "Powerline" series is about 13" x 30" tall. Cotton fabric, digital image transfers, fabric paints with free motion stitching.

Art quilt, part of the "Powerline" series is about 14" x 16.5" tall. Cotton fabric, digital image transfers, fabric paints with free motion stitching.

In a Small World Lives Memory Lane

2012-01-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I ran into a high school friend David atCity Market. David is cool, he was cool even in high school. In his high schoollife he was a fantastic artisan and potter in D-21. D-21 as it was called wasthe infamous Art Room at Dimond High School. Today, David is a successful andamazing carpenter. It was through David that Daddy-O and I met our currentelectrical contractor that installed our power box, panels and upgraded ourelectrical for my kilns, plasma cutters and welder at the old house (he's getting a call this summer for the new house needs!). Welders should never bewithout a good electrician and thanks to David we have one for life! David andI were reminiscing on one of our morning meet-ups over morning coffee and hementioned that our old art teacher Mr. S, who also happens to be a verysuccessful potter, is now teaching in China. David and Mr. S have occasionallye-mailed one another along with a few other of our D-21 art peeps.

Directly above is a page from my high school yearbook showing the Art Room at D-21. That's me in the upper right corner! The other photo, upper left, is a picture of Mr. S talking with a student in 1980. The smaller inset is of another art teacher Mrs. P, who also happened to be a vendor at the Spenard Farmer's Market last summer selling her art!

Over theHoliday break I received an e-mail from an old high school boyfriend, Steve. Hewas happy to read on the internet that I was still an artist and even making aliving at it. Steve shared that he is now also an artist as well as a teacher in Seattle.He wasn’t one of our regular D-21 crew because he spent most of his creativetime with the theater crowd. Approaching 50 years old and ready for a change,Steve wrote he was about to be moving to China and had written and illustrateda book "A Place For My Stuff" about downsizing and his process that lead up to the big life change. The book was available on Blurb so I ordered it and when it arrived I put it under theChristmas tree. Finally able to sit down with my morning tea I had a chance toread through it. It’s a lovely story full of wonderful illustrations of places I'm familiar with in Seattle. Throughthe book I was able to catch a glimmer of what my old high school friend hasbeen up to the last 30 years. The coolest part of the story is at a Holiday Open House both David and I were at, I shared that Steve isnow in China and teaching at the same school as Mr. S! After all these years, it's still a small world.

"A Place For My Stuff" An Illustrated Journal by my high school friend Steven Reddy. Available from Blurb.
Steve writes "All of the location sketches were done on-site with black Uni-ball pens in spiral-bound tablets of 90lb. all-purpose paper. I shade them with very diluted India ink washes with Utrecht's Nylon Sable brushes, and color them with whatever watercolors are handy. Sometimes I'll apply highlights with a white Jelly Roll pen."

No Big Deal

2012-01-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

"Queen Nefer-Cindy" Self portrait sculpture
made from life-size plaster casting, found object
paint brushes, paint tubes, gold leaf.

Normally I don’t make any New Year’s resolutions because Ican’t keep them for longer than about 10 days. I’m usually rejuvenated in theFall and somehow have always considered my “New Year” to be in September. Weirdhuh? Maybe not so weird when I think about it, because my birthday is inSeptember. Hmm, birth, rebirth, New Year? In thinking about how I see thecoming New Year, three words did pop into my head this morning that I’m goingto try and live by in 2012, No-Big-Deal. I’m going to try and not make such abig deal about things. Try and not turninto (more of) a curmudgeon or not let my spirit get older. OK, I admit this wasafter I had a total moment of “road anger” on New Year’s Day after some guydriving behind us LAID HIS HORN ON me as the light turned green because Iwas WAITING FOR A PEDISTRIAN TO SLOWLY CROSS THE ICY STREET in the cross walk! This really set me off and asI calmed down I thought to myself I am NOT going to throw my car in reverse at a HIGH RATE OF SPEED or to have negative energy set thedirection of my New Year! Truth be it known, Daddy-O (who was riding with me) andI both were ready to kick this young punk's ass in the grocery store (liquor store) parkinglot where both cars were heading. Then we saw that he was about 90 years old andfelt sorry for the old, cranky, fat fart. He was in more of a hurry than we were toget our New Year’s beverages!

I’ve had a couple of e-mails from artist friends who wantto make more art in the coming New Year. They asked me how to get back into theswing of more art making, or what do I do to re-inspire myself. I wish it werea bit more magical for me but before I start any creative project, my houseneeds to be in order. My studio needs to be de-cluttered, or “first thingsfirst” as I like to say. It’s different for everybody but I would alsorecommend, surrounding yourself with all things artful, be kind to yourprocess, let yourself up, kick the critic out of the room and be physically andmentally fit. Three books in my library that I also like to refer to are Creative Time and Space, Creative Awakenings, and Drawing Lab. Here is also a link for ten waysto stimulate your creative juices and generate fresh inspiration - Ten Tips to Inspire Creativity. I have a handful of REALLY COOL projects I'm working on that I'll be able to share in the coming weeks. We are taking today to "get our house in order" before the post Holiday, work week of real life turns us into our mere mortal selves at the stroke of midnight tonight! Happy New Year dear Blog friends, I appreciate your faithful reading.

My Mom sent this photo of me when I was about two. This is how I want to picture myself in 2012 -HOLD ON!

HaPPY, hApPy, H@ppY New YEAR BloG PeepS!

2011-12-31T19:21:00.000-08:00

The happy film from Karim Zariffa on Vimeo.

Speaking of Green

2011-12-27T10:24:00.000-08:00

We saw the new Muppet Movie over the weekend! I LOVE the muppets and when Kermit sings "The Rainbow Connection" I tear up, probably because it makes me think of the incredible talent of Jim Henson -another soul who was ahead of his time and passed much too soon. Some of my friends also know I have always secretly wanted to be a muppet designer.

With happy shades of Kermit on my mind I was inspired to create my own little green world after seeing a photo in a magazine of unique and fun ways to create Holiday centerpieces. I was inspired to create my own ornament terrarium style diorama -sorry, no frogs but I did have other supplies on hand. When I think of other people’s terrariums, I think ofclunky, huge, recycled water cooler bottles with the insides sweating anddripping with so much moisture you can’t clearly see the tangle of overgrownplants. Terrariums don’t have to be big and clunky and now there are many more unique varieties of plantings available. I picked up some clear, glass ornaments at thethrift store originally market $1, but anything Christmas was five items forone dollar, so they were only about 30 cents for the box! The hardest part was finding smallsucculents and moss for my mini terrariums at the end of December in Anchorage. This a photo link of the kind of moss I was looking for, but no luck. There is plentyof similar moss in my garden, unfortunately it’s now under 2 feet of snow and frozen dormant! Ialready had some potting soil and fun little HO railroad scale cows for myornament terrarium that I could use. A funnel made it easy to get the potting soil in the smallopening, a wooden skewer helped plant the succulents, pat the soil down and afew clean Q-tips helped to clean the inside of the glass ornament. We'll see how the little orb world will grow with our low winter light.

I foundsome inspiring terrarium art and imagery while reading that terrariums aremaking a comeback. Garden Design dot com featured Terrarium Ornaments inspiredby the work of Paula Hayes that was at the New York Museum of Modern Art and checkout these moss placemats using "SuperMoss" that rolls out like wallpaper -ooo the possibilities! The Fern and Mossery also has a Blog on all things terrarium and The New York Timesran an article on “Terrariums Make a Comback.” Check out the work by Michelle Inciarrano and Katy Maslow who now sell their terrariums at a Brooklyn FleaMarket under the name Twig Terrariums. Don’t worry, I don’t have yet ANOTHER medium I'm jumping into,it was just fun getting a bit of dirt under my nails during December in Alaska!

xOx

I like this photo I took of Kristen on Christmas eve, working in my studio like one of Santa's elves to finish her handmade gifts to family and friends.

Wishing you the gift of time spent with family and friends!

2011-12-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

All is well in our corner of the world. I've got the studio staffed so we may spend the weekend eating, celebrating and opening endless Old English Holiday Crackers with family and friends! I picked up two boxes of the fancy party favors that have us all laughing and trying to solve the silly little jokes and riddles inside!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Big Brother Love

2011-12-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

For Willie's Christmas present to Gus, Will called and asked if I would make up some big brother coupons. Will wants to spend more time with Gus and their age difference sometimes makes it a bit harder with all of our differing schedules, but these coupons just might do the trick! I used new and old photos of the kids with a list of ideas Will gave me. Here are just a few of coupons that I think make a GREAT gift of TIME.

Celebrating Winter Solstice With a Full House

2011-12-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

The studio has been in full production and set up an area for Kristen's sewing machine. I've been sewing and packaging the Raven Garden Flags along with working on other fiber art projects!

This Alaskan celebrates the Winter Solstice with joy offinally seeing the 18-plus hours (on Dec. 21, Anchorage sunrise occurs at 10:14 a.m. with sunset following five hours and 27 minutes later at 3:41 p.m.) of darkness wane and having a full house! Andtrue to years past my studio is humming and the family is a buzzing thisHoliday week. With Kristen home for the winter break, all of my offspring havebeen able to gather at our house laughing, eating and squabbling. The familiar soundsof sibling rivalry occurring in adult size bodies are strangely comforting tome. Though probably not as exciting as seeing Daddy-O in his full constructionand tool belt regalia as he starts on our “new” old house interior renovations duringhis winter break! I’ve made room in the studio for Kristen’s sewing machine andhave loved the company while I work. Of course we’re fighting over the choiceof my music playing vs. her streaming Law and Order or CSI… nothing a little hot Apple Cider with CaptainMorgan’s won’t cure!

This is the new insert for the Raven Garden Flags!
They retail for $28 and have been fun to make while brightening up the studio.

This is the hang tag I designed to be stapled at the top of the new Art Cloth squares. The size is 8.5" tall x 11" wide, horizontal, and gets folded down the middle to a finish size of 4.25" x 11" supporting the 12" x 12" squares flat so the customer can view the entire cloth pattern.

Art Cloth Fun

2011-12-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

After purchasing some beautiful 100% cotton Batik fabric from the Quilted Raven, I was inspired to make some 12" x 12" Art Cloth. I've had several requests from loyal customers for Art Cloth panels that they could sew into small art quilts, pillows and wall hangings. What an opportunity for me to fling some paint around the studio! I made a mess, cutting out custom foam shapes, altering my rubber stamp collection and trying various acrylic paints, fabric paint, Jacquard inks, FW Acrylic Artists Inks. After painting, printing and stamping in layers, I heat set all of the cloth. The pieces where I used high intensity glitter paints, I think, turned out the best. I'm working on the custom hang tags now and the panels will be available at the Quilted Raven!

I need to get the studio cleaned up and add an extra table for Kristen's sewing machine. She's coming home tomorrow for the Holiday break and my studio is going to look like Santa's workshop because we're going to be knee deep in team ART MAKING!

One place I forgot to clean up yesterday was the bathroom near my studio where Daddy-O found my large, rubber halibut and other fish molds floating and soaking in the sink when he went to shave this morning! Thankfully he's used to life with an artist!

Personalizing

2011-12-10T09:30:00.001-08:00

Iordered some woven labels from “It’s Mine!” to sew to the back of my artquilts. I had been using a fine point sharpie to write the title of the quiltalong with my name but wanted to add a more professional touch. Sometimes thesharpie was hard to see against the darker fabrics and feel that these labels, once sewn on, will alsolast a bit longer with the work. “It’s Mine!” offers a number of differentstyles and it was hard to choose which style would be the most versatile.Before I ordered I looked through my growing stack of small art quilts andsettled on the white stitching on navy, simple, horizontal design. The labelsarrived as promised and even earlier than stated! Just in time for a couple ofspecial gift-giving projects I’ve finished. With the large selection of styles and sizes, these labels are also perfect for artisans working in fiber arts, sew in clothing for kids going to day care, camp or for an elder person's belongings in an assisted living facility.

The last couple of weeksI’ve had loyal customers call and request gift certificates for Holidaygift-giving. If customers were not able to find what they wanted at theGallery, or wanted something specially created, a gift certificate works great.I need to take care and stash the money I receive from the certificates so I’venot spent it before the work is completed –not so easily done, especiallyduring the Holidays! I purchased some cool paper and larger presentationfolders at the office supply store to use for the certificates (printed up in wordusing a fancy-italic font, Sterling, along with my logo) and added my new gold foil labels for atouch of sparkle. I feel the added touches make for better gift giving insteadof just an ordinary white envelope. For a finishing touch, I’m going to tie a lovely sheer purple ribbonaround the outside of the folders after the customer views the certificate –anddouble checks my spelling!

"hiBEARnation" art quilt detail. I had fun free-motion stitching the den grass in gold and brown threads and the ice and snows in aqua and blue threads.

And speaking of finished –the bearin a den quilt is finished. I’m thinking of turning him into a pattern becauseit was so much fun to make! I enjoyed cutting the swirling browns of the den,the blues and whites of the ice and snow. I was thinking he could even be abrown bear if somebody chose. Oh, and before I forget, here is a wonderful linkto some FREE Holiday Gift Tags! “How About Orange” one of my favoritecreative Blogs is offering these downloadable and very cool labels for FREE! Iwas thinking of printing them onto whole sheet label paper and tah-daa they areready to address and stick on your gifts (you are finished with yourshopping-right?)! Here is the link to the cool, FREE GIFT TAGS!

Completed "hiBEARnation" art quilt, 14" x 14".

A Bear Den Kind of Day

2011-12-04T18:02:00.001-08:00

After reading the article "Art is in the House" in Cloth Paper Scissors, I was inspired to make some "home" art. I was liking the idea of art making various types of homes like animal dens, cabins, Quinzhee (ice shelters) or other non traditional shelters.

Today we are having crazy high winds (from 118 MPH to 58 MPH!), a strong Chinook which made the temps climb into the 40's and 50's. The National Weather Service reported

...HURRICANE FORCE WIND GUSTS AND UNSEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES FOR

SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...

A POWERFUL STORM MADE IT'S WAY OVER SOUTHCENTRAL OVERNIGHT BRINGING WITH IT HURRICANE FORCE WINDS AND WARM TEMPERATURES TO MUCH OF ANCHORAGE AND NORTHWARD."

All of our beautiful, early season snow is now puddles of blowing water. Spruce tree needles and fallen birch branches are littering our yard. I moved away from a large picture window this morning where I was enjoying the Sunday paper and my coffee (actually Daddy-O treated me to a Skinny Latte with a half shot of Caramel(!) before he went skiing -big smooch here). The winds were so strong that an enormous Spruce tree was swaying and bouncing in the wind and the house shook with the strong, early morning gusts. Thankfully everything at the new house is secure and our trees are healthy. It's the neighbor's birch trees I'm a bit worried about... one tree deposited an enormous branch, larger than my car(!) in our side yard. The tree looks a bit rotten... Some people have lost their power, felled trees are across driveways and side roads are ice rinks. If the temps drop we may get a weather day from school tomorrow. I know Gus is keeping his fingers crossed.

Working in my cozy studio, looking out through the rain spattered windows, I could hear the wind howling through the porch pickets. Poor Olive, is curled up tight on the floor right next to me, following me everywhere and the gusts of wind come and go! This weather makes me feel like curling up with a good book and a mug of tea! Which is exactly what I did after making this mini art quilt. I still need to quilt the piece which will make the bear's details stand out. Maybe I will get to do that if we get a weather day tomorrow?! My new book this week is "The Secret of Lost Things" by Sheriday Hay. I treat myself to about a novel a week from the thrift stores or Title Wave Books -and on these stormy days it's my little indulgence to read during the day and not save my reading for night time!

Taking Care of Business

2011-11-30T21:17:00.001-08:00

This week I’m working hard to takecare of the business side of my art making. I’m on deadline to submit the catalog adfor Karen Sobolesky and Company, my sales rep. Hard to believe that the ordersare already starting to come in for Spring and Summer sales! I also needed todevelop a wholesale price list and print, package and finalize the art printsI’ll be offering. For added information “about the artist” for the customer I printeda small label that will go on the back of each print, and the customembossed, gold foil label appears on the front.

All this business made itnecessary for me to still make time to play. I made another small art quiltafter being inspired by the last heart-themed piece. The Artist Transfer Paper worked better thanexpected by being able to add line color using my colored pencils. I also hadfun using some glass beads for added texture and details. The black bird in the lower left was also a transfer but I used metallic blue paint to highlight the wing area. The transfer didn't take too well to the seam so I filled it in with a black Sharpie. I hand painted gold metallic tree branches, rays and spirals for a little added pizazz.

BIG Art on Small Business Saturday

2011-11-26T19:17:00.001-08:00

My friend Wendy Gingel gets a big congratulations for having
her work accepted in the Anchorage Museum's Earth, Fire and Fiber XXVIII show this year (3 PIECES!!). She also has an impressive schedule lined up including: New Works in Tile, The International Contemporary Gallery -Anchorage, December 1 -31, 2011 and the Smithsonian Craft Show, Smithsonian National Building Museum, Washington DC April 19-22, 2012.

The Gingell Ceramics booth today at the Anchorage Museum Craft Weekend. We were only able to visit briefly as Wendy was busy bubble wrapping all sizes of her SOLD original ceramic ware! Her booth looked great and customers were purchasing not only the smaller works but the large, impressive platters and bowls. I can't wait to see her large wall tiles at the upcoming First Friday show next week!

Small Business Saturday may have been celebrated across the country but BIG ART was being sold at the Anchorage Museum Craft Weekend! I was fortunate to be able to shop "local" yesterday and today and saw many of my talented artist friends and their inspiring booths. I also enjoyed visiting all of the authors at the Read Alaska Book Fair that happened on the upper level of the Museum during the juried Craft Fair.

"The Lindas!" Artists Linda Weatherwax and Linda Smith
at their ever lovely booth today at Museum Craft Weekend.
The "Lindas" are normally my Bad Girls of the North neighbors and
I missed seeing them this year because of our big move.

Terri Atwell with Beadwitched. Daddy-O purchased
me a pair of Pearl, Iolite and Sterling Silver earrings from Terri. Cool how
he shopped while he was skiing today at Alyeska, huh?!

Original, hand fabricated jewelry by Susan Serna.

Susan Serna of Flora de la Luna who creates
jewelry in silver, gold and fine gemstones.

Elise Strauss' booth with her beautiful
lamp work beads.
My favorite was an incredible "Ringed Seal" necklace.
Customers were lining up
to have a chance to purchase her limited
edition Dancing Bear glass ornaments and
her one of a kind feature beads!

Elise Strauss of Koi Creek Beads

As If Moving Wasn't Enough

2011-11-22T13:41:00.001-08:00

Spoiler alert –if you don’t like to read Blogs that have TMI (especially girly TMI), just look at the pictures today. I should also share that I feelby reading other people’s Blogs I usually learn something or by reading aboutsimilar life situations of other people I find comfort in knowing we're not so alone in this crazy world –which prompted me to share the events of the last couple weeks completelyunrelated to the big move.

This is Speedy-Carve rubber blocks that
I carved into with the tools. I then used
metallic acrylic paints to "stamp"
onto the fabric.

First off, before I launch into my mammogram storyeverything is fine. In October I went to get my annual mammogram (which Ihadn’t managed to make time for in the last three years…) and got a call backthat they wanted to “take a closer look(!!)” at something in my right breast.Well, as you can imagine this threw me into a total panic –especially since wewere right in the middle of the house sale/purchase. I don’t do cancer threatsvery well and was at times paralyzed by fear and finding that I had to “talkmyself down” on several occasions. I went back to the imaging center for my“closer look” scan, then got ANOTHER CALL that they now wanted to do a biopsy,B-I-O-P-S-Y…holy crap. What a horrible word, B-I-O-P-S-Y, not crap. I wasn’table to schedule the biopsy until last last week because after the procedureyou aren’t supposed to move your arm, lift anything heavier that a gallon ofmilk etc. Yeah right! Like I would be able to sit still while my house was FULLof boxes needing to get unpacked. Soooo, I finally was able to have the B-I-O-P-S-Yearly last week and at the end of last week and got word that all was fine –justsome “calcifications” which are perfectly normal for a woman “of my age.” Idon’t mind saying that it hurt like hell and is still really tender. I did getsome good “medicine” to help me through the procedure and my sister was with me,both of which helped a lot. I also don’t mind saying that I wasn’t real quickto answer the phone the last couple of weeks either. I did make this cool miniart quilt though. I used ink jet printer transfers, stamping, hand beading andfree motion sewing. It doesn’t have any booby art (sorry guys) but I did useimagery that expressed how I’ve been feeling.

The finished quilted fiber art piece is about 9" wide x 16" tall.
I used colored pencils to hand color and embellish the heart, body, moon and butterflies because the transfers had enough "tooth" to take the coloring.

Take the Challenge!

2011-11-19T09:20:00.001-08:00

A shout out and CHALLENGE to my artist friends (Duke, Katie, Wendy, Steve, Mary, Gina, Amanda, Linda, Joyce, Jamie, Ann, Lance, Chris, Sheila, Marieke, Kim, Jana... just to name a few)

I'm inspired and want to enter the "Eye of the Beholder Wearable Art Show" and I want you to enter too! These events are always better with new, diverse and abundant entries.

The event is scheduled for Friday, March 9, 2012 in Anchorage and is open to artists of ALL MEDIA (I'm thinking maybe METAL, wood, fiber, plastics/vinyl, recycle items, canvas, Tyvek...??)

Application deadline is Friday, February 3, 2012 (plenty of time for you to plan, design and enter your creation!) And the best part... there is $2,000 in prize money!

For entry form and rules go to www.alaskafiberfestival.org

For a wonderful dose of COLOR and inspiration check out the AK Fiber Fest link above and the photos from the 2010 show -it's just FAB!

Now where was I...

2011-11-17T18:24:00.001-08:00

This whole moving thing reallythrew a monkey wrench into my daily life and definitely into my art making.It’s taken much longer than I expected to get settled and up and runningart-wise. We’re still not settled. Then throw in some major NECESSARY houserepairs -including a leaking roof, plumbing issues and a few other items thatwere not even on our immediate “to-do” list… Add to those old house issues a record snow,unseasonable high winds, freezing temps and winter that blew in with avengeance from day one AND STAYED. Despite my best attempts I’ve been finding it hard to dive rightinto my new studio space and start happily creating. It’s taking me more timethan I’d like to admit to get things “just so.” I’m learning a lot more aboutthe way I work and what I “need” to be creative and how sacred my space isto me. I need clutter put away, material and supplies to be organized, laundry, house keepingetc. -if not completely done at least underway. Yeah, right like that's going to happen on a regular basis with a studio in the home! The good news is, my new studio is full ofsunshine (when it’s not snowing) and by diving right into a few fiber projectsI’m getting the space a bit more to my liking and while searching for fabric Iunloaded another 4 storage tubs! Oh, and speaking of moving, I'm not going to move my Blog to my web site, it's just not as fun. I miss the comments, I miss the process and it's not any easier. Thanks for hangin' with me while I chase my tail!

Miss Olive needed to get a new fleece doggie jacket and booties with all the new snow and cold temps!

Follow Me!

2011-11-12T11:13:00.001-08:00

There is a new Blog post on my web site...

http://www.cindyshakedesign.com/p/blog.html

Sneak a peek into my new studio area!

Follow Me!

2011-10-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

There is a new Blog post on my web site...
http://www.cindyshakedesign.com/p/blog.html

How to meet the neighbors -Day 1...

New Blog post... "Getting some fresh air BEFORE..."

New Blog post... "Inspired Stress"

http://www.cindyshakedesign.com/p/blog.html

Simplify

2011-10-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

In my youth I adopted the adage“Go Forth and Multiply,” not so much in the biblical sense but I applied thesaying to my multiple mediums of art making, business opportunities, husbands,children, my never ending variety of pets etc. Lately, I’m practicing more of a“Move On and Simplify” attitude, and it feels great! With our upcominghousehold and studio move (the new house is just five minutes away from ourcurrent house but a bit smaller) I was forced to scale down, consolidate, clean up andREORGANIZE. I was also forced to better FOCUS on my business(es) and art making. Moreimportantly how and WHERE I perform my art making. Today I will also be moving myBlog to my web site. Don’t break up with me and stop reading or drop me fromyour Blog Rolls –that would make me so sad, please UPDATE your links with thisnew link to my Blog. I’ll still have regular posts and photos of what I’m up toin the studio, rants (of course!) and the ups and downs of being an artist, sneak peeksabout the fam and photos of living the good life in Alaska -but it will just belocated on my web site under the “BLOG” tab. I'm simplifying!

10 years ago, it was confirmed...
I really did look more like my dad!

This is a great time to move onand celebrate my newfound simplifying focus. These reflections and changes have reenergizedme and reminded me of the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead. For the last10 years, October has traditionally been a very difficult month for me.Specifically, the day of October 23. On October 23, 2000 I was COMPLETELYSHOCKED to have been diagnosed with AML Leukemia during an appointment for whatI thought was the stomach flu. The rug was yanked out from under my entire family11 years ago when I was flown overnight to the University of WashingtonMedical Center for emergency treatment of Leukemia, that would last about a year.Thankfully, I’m in TOTAL remission and after 10 years medical professionalslike to kick us survivors into the “CURED” category of statistics. I’m way toosuperstitious to say I’m “cured” and would be a liar if I said I don’t thinkabout it much anymore –at least it’s down to thinking about the effects of beingsick weekly instead of hourly. I would not be here today if it weren’t for theprofessionals at UW Med Center, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the manydonors at the Puget Sound Blood Center, who generously gave me their blood andmatched donor platelets throughout my treatment (BTW, donate blood whenever youcan, it really does save lives -I’m living proof). I am happy to say that this year, for the first time, I feel I’mapproaching October 23 with a whole palette of possibilities and a positive mentaloutlook on a calm, HEALTHY future. Thanks to those of you who have purchased and enjoyed my art, for yourthoughtful comments, reading my posts and overall support and friendship. Nowbookmark my new Blog link and keep reading and sharing –I live for thosecomments!

Movin' On

2011-10-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

I posted on FB that my heavy-duty vise needed a
new home. My friend and fellow welder,
Jody B. adopted it! Thanks Jody :)

The buyers of our house want toclose on or before November 3. While both sales on the homes appear to be goingswimmingly, I won’t say we have “bought a new house” until the keys are in hand or the first (of many!) mortgage payment is made. There are still SO MANYimportant details that have to be done that have NOTHING to do with the actualpurging, packing or moving. There are the home inspections, the “health andsafety repairs” that MUST be done on both properties, appointments forinstallers, plumbing/heating and electrical inspectors, as-built surveys,appraisals, realtors, mortgage companies, title companies, costs, FEES and more fees. Buthands down the big daily project for me has been downsizing my metal shop/garage and an overall organizing and purging of the house and studio. We will need to build a shopand garage at the new house when time and money allow. Currently there is acharming, vintage single car garage and ALL of our tools will need to fitinside for the winter. I will have a nice, roomy and sunny studio in the housebut it will be a bit smaller than what I’ve been used to. All of this hasforced me to take a hard look at what actual art making I will be doing in thenext year and letting go of the unnecessary art supplies and tools. Myheavy-duty vise didn’t make the cut this weekend. She’s been sweet, and evenheld my anvel (which I’m not letting go) but the space the vise and base wouldtake up made it necessary for her to find a new home with my friend Jody B.Jody, makes these killer fire bowls and his vise had just broke a couple weeksago- good timing for him, huh?! I also had a dozen gridwall panels that I’dused in shows that weighed a ton, and also took up a lot of space. With noshows scheduled for me in the near future, bye-bye panels. Happy to say thatthe Girdwood Center for Visual Arts via Gina E. adopted all of my gridwallpanels. Knowing that these and other items will be put to good use warms my ArtHeart. I’m staying on task but this has been an emotional month for me. Besides being reminded at everyRubbermaid tub I empty that I may have hoarding tendencies, watching that visedrive away atop Jody’s flat bed trailer was tough. Last night it looked like my littlepony literally riding away from me in the sunset.

Big Talk Betty Crock

2011-10-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

My original business cards and tags I used to use that has the "flaming heart" which I loved but was always difficult to reproduce.

My latest business cards I ordered from Vistaprint. I'm using these mainly for handing out when I do art teacher sub work for the school district. They have my contact info and sub ID number on them (which I've blurred out).

More (older) business cards and tags I still sometimes use but will need to get switched out.

More (older) business cards and tags I also sometimes use that will get switched out.

My current package design for the Art Quilt Patterns

My current logo for my web site and gold foil labels I just ordered.
I think this is the logo will start appearing on everything, hopefully reflecting
more of my fabric and illustrative work. The typeface
is much easier to read than the older logo.

My (older) current printed banner for shows.
It has been visually effective but got a bit tired
and tattered from the Market usage this summer.
Time for a fresh look.

As many of my friends and familymembers know, it’s easy for me to hand out advice. Especially advice on graphicdesign, marketing and advertising. I preach the importance of branding, havinga clear message about your work or services and more importantly to have a welldesigned logo. As the volunteer vendor coordinator for the Spenard Farmer's Market, all summer I encouragedvendors at the market for increased sales to have “professionallooking, creative signage and business cards that clearly communicates to thecustomer who you are, what you are selling and how they can contact you.” Iprovided vendors with effective booth and business marketing ideas using my 20+years of expertise as a marketing and design professional. With all of these“opinions” how can my own branding and design message be so convoluted?! Whileneeding to create another wholesale price list for my sales rep for my newAlaska souvenir items, I realized that I do not have a consistent logo. I haveseveral variations of my logo or graphics that I like to use. From artful tagsthat I use on my metal sculptures (that sometimes double as my business cards), graphic and bold postcard mailers, to a typeface that I use on the line of Art Quilt Pattern’s packaging and evenanother look that I’ve been using for my digital social media communicationsand web site. I recently added to this convoluted mix by ordering some “cute”business cards from Vistaprint!! What was I thinking?! My goal is to pull allof these “looks” together, honestly evaluate what works best for the broadspectrum of art making that I do and have one logo, and one look that best “brands”my artistic message. Taking a bit of my own advice, in my opinion, I’ve gota lot of work to do. A daily horoscope recently put it best, “Dear Virgo, tryand have a day without an opinion and focus on the task at hand.”

These were postcards I handed out at the Market. I used a more graphic look to tie in with the Market logo. At the time I was also trying to advertise for the Market but this look didn't tie into any of my "logos." I even had print ads that ran using this format.

As the Geese Fly so Does Time

2011-10-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning at 7am as I metthe tow truck driver to get the Market lot cleared (the cars are just relocated to another area of the parking lot), the crisp Fall air and inkydarkness was a gentle reminder that summer is behind us. As the Geese flewoverhead practicing their V formations the last Spenard Farmer’s Market was onSaturday. Officially, the majority of my volunteer commitment as the MarketVendor Coordinator and PR point person is finished… well for a couple months atleast! And not a weekend too soon! Our real estate swaps are keeping me busywith paperwork and cleaning but are going well. We’re waiting for the finalreports from the home inspections that were both completed on Friday. It’sstill all a bit stressful but exciting at the same time. I need to makeanother pass through the house and studio for even more purging and donating.

My new Vistaprint businesscards arrived last week and I love them! Fun, affordable and easy to order withtheir existing templates. I also ordered some new gold foil embossed seals forthe ABC Books and my art prints. Gold foil labels always add to the packaging. Iused Maverick Label because of their quick turnaround and low prices. Thelabels are due to ship this week and we’ll see how their quality and turnaroundis. It’s also time to design a new fabric design for the Quilted Raven. Ialready have several new designs drawn out and now it’s time to get them indigital form to see how the fabric will paginate. I’m happy to report that ALL of thebolts of the “Batik Raven Fabric” SOLD OUT this summer at the Quilted Raven! The popularity was partly due to thedesign and to the effective color ways that Jana had selected.

Gus earned his Brown Belt in Tae Kwon Do at Champ TKD Saturday. Thank you to Master YU, Ms. Young and Instructor Timmy –what a GREAT Do Jang Champ TKD is!

Happy Wholesaling

2011-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Planning is in full swing forpreseason buying for the wholesale gift shows and markets. I’m lucky to behooked up with a really great sales rep, Karen Sobolesky and Company.Karen and her team are creative, sincere, professional and rep a bunch ofreally cool lines. I’ve decided to build a wholesale line of my work andreprint the Alaska Animal Alphabet book, print a new line of children’s artprints, design and illustrate a new Alaska children’s activity book, offer newreleases of my Art Quilt Patterns along with a couple more of my creations forthe wholesale gift market. The souvenir gift market in Alaska is very strongand with proper profit margin planning, creating for selling wholesale is a lotof fun. With a good sales rep it’s also a lot less work for me than me trying toregularly sell retail or only have my work on consignment at Galleries. I still need to puttogether my wholesale order sheets for Karen and design some custom foil labels forthe art prints and books but I’ve had my hands full getting all of the creativecomponents designed and "sample ready" for her showroom. Several of my original designs I’ve decidedto scrap. Sometimes right after I finish an illustration or design I reallylove the work but I've learned I need to have a “cooling off period” and try and look objectivelyat the work when considering if it will be a good seller for the retail market. Even then, nothing is a sure thing. I’m reviewing the budget and timeline with my printer in Hong Kong for the reprinting of the hardbound Alaska ABC book. The over sea printing costs make it much more cost effective forme to be able to wholesale a professional, hard bound book that will have a reasonable retailprice of around $10 each. The activity book, the art prints and patterns areall printed here in Alaska –an important point to most souvenir shoppers. I’m abit out of practice juggling all of the new deadlines for the various projectsI have going on but would rather be working on the wholesale line than packingboxes for the move!

A Birch Tree at Gus' X-Country meet today near the APU Mosley Sports Center. The colors were so vibrant they made me happy but made my eyes water!

NEW Art Quilt Pattern Available!

2011-09-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Husky Howl! is my latest Art Quilt Pattern available. The finished size is 14" x 14". Contact me if you'd like to place a wholesale order or to find a Quilt Shop nearest you, see the link on my website under "Art Quilt Patterns."

Work Space

2011-09-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

It appears we have sold our house.Our real estate agent, Jamie Harvey, did a fantastic job of marketing our house,even having it professionally photographed. There were back to back showingswithin the first 24 hours of being listed and the first people to look at itmade us a full price offer. Of course, there are still lots of details andpaper work to follow but we are thrilled! Our offer was accepted on the “new”house we are buying downtown (only about a mile away) and all parties involved in the transactions arelooking forward to speedy closings. I’m thrilled to not have to keep our homeas clean as it’s ever been on a 24/7 basis any longer. By getting the houseready to sell, it meant I had to have my entire work area and studio presentable with notone article of clothing left on the floor or dog hair evident. We bought extrapaper towels, 409, new rugs and even a new and improved wet/dry Swiffer oncethe house was listed! I hauled over 2,000 pounds of scrap steel to the metalrecyclers and parted with the majority of my steel stash. My studio and garagegot a deep cleaning and purging. Unfortunately, with the need to keep the housein “show ready” condition I haven’t dared plasma cut or weld in the garage/shoparea. All metal work production has had to be put on hold. I’m a little nervousto be changing up the way I work –just when I was feeling better about HOW andWHERE I work. It’s exciting but also making my tummy a little rumbly…

Giving and Sharing

2011-09-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

DeDe and me at the Oklahoma Commons, Habitat For Humanity Project. Hopefully, in February or March he will move his family into a new home that they will have purchased after also have contributed to over 500 hours of labor on. Construction will continue throughout the winter months and volunteers are always needed (see my link below).

Dark skies and cool sprinklesgreeted us Sunday morning at 6am as we started hauling our “inventory” out ontothe driveway. We raised our favorite Jolly Roger pirate flag, hung the postersand balloons letting Garage Salers know they had arrived at “Garage SaleNirvana!” I’d used social media streams to alert everyone that my “Artist’sGarage Sale” would be open for business by 8am sharp, rain or shine. By 10amthe sun was shining and all of the steel sculptures and the best of the artistsupplies had homes! WHEW! I STILL hauled a TRUCK LOAD of leftovers to thethrift store Monday morning but the dirty deed of the big cleanout and purgewas done and we had a pocket full of cash for pizza and beer!

Yesterday, I was invited to help ourfriends at Fire Island Bakery work on a Habitat for Humanity project for one oftheir long-time employees, DeDe. The project is called the Oklahoma (the nameof the street where the project is) Commons located in a picturesque site onthe East side of town. As the Chugach mountains received their first dusting ofsnow, and the Birch trees were glowing, our Fire Island Bakery work crew helped logman-hours that would count toward DeDe’s 500 hours he would need to put towardshis home before he would be able to purchase the home from Habitat forHumanity. Not only did I learn some valuable construction skills, I learned that Habitat for Humanity does not GIVE AWAY the homes to the poor and that Jimmy Carter did not start the organization. It was a wonderful day of not only sharing, but learning about ourcommunity and even more about the “Myths (and facts) about Habitat for Humanity.” If you'd like to volunteer in Anchorage here is the link.

Will’s girlfriend, Kimberly is offto Washington D.C. for the Susan Komen 3-Day for the Cure Walk this week! TheSusan G. Komen  3-Day for the Cure® is a 60-mile walk over the course of threedays. Net proceeds from the 3-Day for the Cure are invested in breastcancer  research and community programs. She wanted me to make her some flags tohang on the outside of their pink dome tents that the participants sleep in. Iused Alaska Flags featuring the Big Dipper and the North Star with yellow flagsthat can be signed by other participants during the event as a keepsake forKim. You GO GIRL!

From Alaska with Love!

A Breath of Fresh Air

2011-09-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

The big news is we decided to listand sell our house in town and are buying another house in a downtown neighborhoodwe’ve been wanting to live in for a few years. We are a bit overwhelmed withthe to-do list and all that’s necessary to get the house ready and sold quickly.I started with cleaning out the studio and the garage is already FILLED with “treasures”that I decided to sell at a garage sale on Sunday. I have extra art supplies,materials from various mediums I’ve tried once, artists seconds and other cr@p that’smaking me think I may be a closet art supply hoarder! What inspired me to havethe garage sale is looking at some of the price tags on these things that werehardly used AND some of the artists seconds shouldn't just be tossed -I'm hoping to give them good homes on Sunday. I also have easily filled several bags that are going to the thrift store. I must be a really GREAT organizer because stuff is coming out of nowhere!

The Science field trip yesterdaywith Gus’ class was to Potter’s Marsh, Portage Glacier and hiking the Byron Glacier Trail. They needed chaperones and I needed a day off that was filledwith fresh air and the fall colors. We had picnic lunches and even stopped at an overlook and watchedthe salmon that were spawning in a creek. Normally, Portage Valley is socked in with thickcloud layers and it rains sideways but yesterday's mild weather allowed us tosee the glaciers and the 8^th grade class stayed dry the whole hike! Westepped off of one bus and Gus stepped onto another and as I followed in my car, we were off to hisX-Country running meet in North Birchwood. We had a FULL day of fresh air andexercise and mom was ready for a Kodiak Brown Ale and a couple of Advil when I got home!

Watercolor Week

2011-09-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Friends came over for Bear Toothpizza and growler beer on Saturday and rather than let the kids plug in the Wii or a movieafter dinner I wanted them come into the studio to create some fish prints. The lasttime I used the “squishy fishies” was in January. I’ve been meaning to playwith them this summer…where does time go?! The fish molds are from Acorn Naturalists and a few are part of theGyotaku kit. Here is a link to a Gyotaku or “fish printing” video. I had thekids make fish prints on paper and after getting the desired image we printedonto blank note cards. I decided to further embellish my note card prints withwater colors. Our young friend P screened the fish head on the front of her cards and the tail on to the back! They looked really good when the kids used the pearlized acrylic paints.

It’s been a busy water color weekin the studio. I’m still working on the children’s illustrations and am sohappy with how they are turning out I may consider creating matted prints and notecards from the designs. I need to figure out the details of the production flow and scanning, printing etc. if I publish them for a wholesale market -details, details, costs, and more costs! Below is the latest illustration which is about 8” x 10”and called “Moose over the Moon.” It was supposed to be “The Cow Jumps Over the Moon” (play onthe word cow –as in a female cow moose) but after it was done I remembered thatCow Moose DO NOT have antlers! –DOH!

This Old Dog Still Hunts

2011-09-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

The Art Masking Fluid had a funky,stinky smell that wafted through the studio when I unscrewed the top. What wasworse, when I brushed the chunky fluid on my illustration board it YELLOWED thepaper! Aaack! It’s been a while since I used the masking fluid on an illustrationproject and even longer since I’ve purchased any new illustration board. Thingshave changed. The price on my old, stinky bottle of fluid says $6.09 and thenew bottle I picked up at the same art store this weekend cost me $13.89. Myfavorite illustration board, peelable LetraMax 2200 is no longer carried and Ihad to buy several other sheets to “experiment” on. I’m picky about mymaterials, process and tools to achieve a certain look when doing illustrationwork. I’m fussy because I’m out of practice –way out of practice. The stinky,fermented, yellowed masking fluid said it all! Setting frustrations aside, I’mhappy to have been commissioned to create some happy and whimsicalillustrations based on my Children’s Alphabet Book illustrations. The salesgirl at Blaine’s Art Supply was super patient with me –even letting me thumbthrough and finger every type of paper and illustration board they had instock. She quietly listened to me grumble about the way I like the paper tohave enough “tooth” to grab the inks (I use 25 year old Windsor and NewtonWatercolour Inks) yet float long enough to suspend my stokes until I have achance to blend and complete them. The paper or board needed to be bright enough toreflect and promote the colors and not suck them into the board like a cheapsponge or pill with too many brush strokes. I know, a bit over the top –butguess what? Even though I was reluctant and skeptical to try some new paper the sales professional recommend, she picked out the PERFECT substitute for the old illustrationboard! Beautiful, Strathmore Bristol Water Colour Paper that is workingswimmingly –similarly to the old 2200 board I’d gotten used to and even better.The new fluid is fun (and clean) and I’m working out all the kinks as I try andremember the general tips and tricks for water color rules of application toachieve a successful finished design. I’m going to blame my pickiness on myinner Virgo, but me needing to now use my reading glasses to do illustrationwork is just another reminder of how long it’s been since I’ve painted!

How fun is this?! Ever wonder how those "Street View" Google Maps shots were captured? Look what has been cruising around downtown Anchorage! I saw a guy working on one of the car top mounted cameras and it looks like a giant lens covered lolly pop when it is vertical! I've been told that the Google Maps drivers/photographers won't talk to anybody but I took these pictures early this morning on our dog "walkies" as the cars were parked at the Inlet Towers.

Art That's Easy on the Eyes

2011-09-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

From my graphic design days I havean extensive library of stock images that I’ve kept and used over the years.Many of the images are on CD and are fun to sort through and use them now in myfiber art or metal work. I recently used the Artville Pop Life CD whichcontains over 50 images designed by Paul Gilligan whose bold illustrations were“inspired by Roy Lichtenstein and the 60’s comic book artists who inspiredhim.” One of the creative things I miss from working in advertising is writingheadlines. By adding creative copywriting to some of my art making I can get still my advertising “fix” now and then!My latest small art quilt is called “Art That’s Easy on the Eyes” and is about17” x 17” using iron-on transfers, button embellishments and free motionsewing. My first transfer that I made I forgot that I needed to “flop” any texton the digital file so it will read correctly once transferred –DOH! I ended upjust cutting of the backwards text and will use the guy’s head on anotherproject. In trying to find a link for Artville, which produced great stockimages, has since been bought out by Getty Images.

My artist friends Laura Walter andWendy Gingell created pieces for the Art With Books Show at the Z.J. Loussac Library. I’m taking Gus to the library tonight for the opening and to vote onour favorite pieces. “Localartists create artwork in which a key component is books as part of the 25thanniversary celebration of Z.J. Loussac Public Library. If you are in Anchorage, come to the receptionon level 3, enjoy lemonade and cookies, vote for your favorite piece for thePeople's Choice Award and check out the amazing pieces created specifically forthis exhibit. Don't miss this event which includes some very special suprises!The exhibit will remain up until the end of September.”

Finally More Catching Than Fishing

2011-08-29T10:29:00.001-07:00

While the Bad Girls of the North are selling my metal work up at the State Fair (thank you GIRLS!), we decided to have a little summer R and R on the Kenai River -or what's left of our summer! Gus and I went down to my Uncle's fishing lodge and celebrated my Uncle's birthday as they prepare to button up the cabins for the winter. The Silver's were a bit elusive but we all limited out on Rainbow's and Dolly Varden. I've been fishing most of my life but have only managed to ever catch one King Salmon years ago with my Dad on the same river. Yesterday on the Kenai I caught two!! Of course they've spawned and are out of season

and had to be released, but even my aunt caught one! Three monster Kings in one day -crazy! It was a thrilling trip and to fight two, 50 pound-plus fish on trout gear felt GREAT! Gus has retained his title of "Rainbow Warrior" as he bested us all with his fishing skills -that kid has concentrated patience. Our boat was hooking up with every drift and I admit the best part was having those King's on the line as we drifted by the GUIDE BOATS loaded with paying customers!! Yeah, I was so excited I was showing off a bit -hope that doesn't hurt my fish karma, but I felt I was DUE!

Last Drift of the day is always hard -good bye sweet summer!

Macy’s Great American Elf Adventure

2011-08-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I have a not so secret dream to be a cake decorator… well, I’ve had my chance –sort of. Macy’s department store is sponsoring a contest to design the newest Elf balloon for the 2011 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in the Macy's Great American Elf Adventure. The best part is the PRIZE is a trip for four to NYC to watch the parade AND see the winning Elf design made into a huge parade balloon! Anchorage was one of the cities selected to participate even though we do not have a Macy’s physical store, though I’m sure Alaskan’s on-line purchases make up for it. KD /PR hosted a special event to give away 150 of these little guys FREE to anyone who wanted to decorate an Elf and enter the contest… and who could resist?!

My idea was to design and decorate a “Birthday Cake Elf” because it will be the 85^th birthday of the Thanksgiving Day Parade and I LOVE birthday cakes. I had all sorts of fun doing the research and learning more about the history of the parade and all that goes into the historic balloons –FASCINATING stuff! Keep your fingers crossed, everyone who entered will find out on August 30 if they are one of the LUCKY 85 finalists that will then let fans vote on their favorite Elf balloon design. Though, wouldn’t a BIRTHDAY CAKE ELF BALLOON be the best?!

Speaking of birthdays… Daddy-O turned the big Five-Oh today! (and no, we don't have any snow YET but it's one of my favorite pictures of Derek) Happy birthday to my hunky husband –we all know you’d rather be skiing than eating birthday cake!

Repair Shop

2011-08-19T19:16:00.001-07:00

The Pinwheel sculpture I made and sold a few years ago for the Alaska Botanical Garden Outdoor Art Show was in desperate need of repair. The customers who had purchased the piece told me that high winds directly off of Cook Inlet had damaged all three metal pinwheels shortly after they placed it in their yard. I originally designed the piece so the pinwheels would actually move with ease but the sculpture wasn’t designed or reinforced to move fast or continually. I used galvanized metal so the pinwheels would be impervious to the weather but was too weak. The majority of the sculpture is made of ¼” steel plate and was more than sturdy enough but the

poor pinwheels flew so fast they spun right off of their bolt mounts -repeatedly! Though I love them, Kinetic sculptures are in a whole other arena that I don’t have too much experience in. The repairs were tricky because I no longer had any of my patterns and had to re-cut and

weld three new pinwheels. At least I was able to use the old pieces as templates and guides. More importantly I feel so much better knowing the sculpture goes “home” tomorrow and doesn’t look so broken and sad!

For those of you sweltering in the summer heat how about a FREE trip to the Antarctic?! Kristen sent me this from the National Science Foundation: The Antarctic Artists and Writers Program furnishes U.S. Antarctic Program operational support, and round-trip economy air tickets between the United States and the Southern Hemisphere, to artists and writers whose work requires them to be in the Antarctic to complete their proposed project. It does not provide funds for salary, materials, completion of the envisioned works, or any other purpose. Hurry, the deadline is September 12, 2011. Here is the link.

The Creative Process –and all of the ugliness that entails…

2011-08-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

It’s pouring rain this morning. Great for the grass and garden, horrible for plasma cutting. The moisture in the air causes twice as many consumables to be used on the tips of my plasma cutter. That means it’s twice as expensive for me to cut when it’s raining. I’m fussy because I have a stack of work to do but am finding it hard to find the “internal power” I like to have when I’m art making. I’ve also been a bit moody and contemplative with way too many existential thoughts (I'm even burning some lovely Nag Champa Agarbatti incense in the studio right now). Because of the rain, I was going to do some illustration work but my studio had projects and materials (cr@p) stacked everywhere –didn’t I just ORGANIZE this place?! The clean area where I have the best light and work surface for illustration work needed cleaning and organizing –even my computer area isn’t very inspiring to work at with it so crowded. So, I took back my studio and made my illustrating area more “me” and inviting. I think I’m also in a “mood” because as I thought more about it, yesterday was the first day in 21 years of “back to school” first days I didn’t get to walk my kid into the school building. At least Gus let me get a quick picture of him on his first day of 8^th grade with a look of “C’mon Mom my friends are waiting for me!”

I picked up this book at the Thrift store this week titled The Visual Arts As Human Experience. I’m always looking for a clear cut explanation of how us artists work or academic opinions on art that will hopefully provide affirmations that I am a “real artist.” Sadly, I’m unable to identify with the majority of observations and explanations. I would like a guidebook to help me through my highs and lows of being an artist. I realize it’s probably called therapy –but I don’t do

groups or therapy. I think it’s kind of like SAD -Seasonal Affective Disorder –except I LOVE fall and winter. Maybe it’s just called PAD, Pouting Artist Disorder! The final chapter did have an interesting excerpt;

“The means required by the artist to progress from stage to stage toward an order objectively embodied in a work of art are evolved from the most recent stage. In this respect, his moving toward completion of his work is similar to physical or chemical chain reactions. But in differentiation to these senseless reactions, the progressive stages in the process of creative activity are managed through laborious effort and often painful toil. The intermittent rewards come with the knowledge of each successive stage achieved toward unity. And with the final work of embodiment and order achieved toward unity. And with the final work of embodiment and order achieved, with the objective form at last given to what started as a shapeless ghost, the artist experiences the joy of equilibrium existing between the old and the new. Yet if he really be an artist, his completed work will suffice only as another experience that will serve to reactivate him toward a renewed vision and the embodiment in artistic from of still another unique insight.”

The Visual Arts As Human Experience, The Creative Process: A summary of Its Nature by DONALD L. WEISMANN

Back To School -Already?!

2011-08-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Not only have the birds been practicing flying in V formations but I made my first school lunch of the year yesterday morning as Daddy-O turned into a pumpkin because the teachers had to return to school. When Gus goes back to school (next Tuesday) I do the "It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year" dance but when Derek goes back I’m lonely for the first couple of weeks and have to recreate my daily routine and schedule making for a much more productive work schedule. Before the school year routine set in we were able to get in a fishing trip to Whittier last week. We did more fishing than catching –but that’s OK, in our house there is no such thing as a bad day of fishing! PLUS my friend Margaret D. turned me onto these WONDERFUL little treats called “Sofia Champagne” in a can!! Technically it's sparkling wine -but who cares when you can toss a lovely octagon, foil quad-pack in the cooler!

My latest art quilt was inspired by some FAB fabric I picked up at the Quilted Raven. Jana has the most beautiful collection of batik fabrics. A series of deep blues inspired me to want to make a flying crane with the contrast of the bird against this series of blues. I may turn it into another pattern to help fill out my line of art quilt patterns. Currently my designs have more Pacific Northwest

themed designs and I’d like to offer a wider variety of designs to larger markets. I’m finally feeling a bit more comfortable with my sewing machine and the back of the quilt looked much better after the free motion stitching. I’d been having a hell of a time with the correct tension setting and the thread would tangle up and frustrate the cr@p out of me. It’s been total operator learning curve errors, sprinkled with immediate high expectations and extreme impatience.

My approach to this quilt was a bit different as I created the design as I made it with no pattern before hand. Normally I start out with a drawn design in hand. I also learned that I need a deeper stash of colors in my fabric inventory. I had no whites whatsoever and not enough contrasting colors for the crane’s wing shadows and had to do a bit of shopping right in the middle of my piecing.

To make a pattern based on my finished design, I knew it would be tough to see my piecing details after I did my free motion sewing so I made a black and white copy of the crane after it was cut, pieced and ironed into place on the quilt backing. The black and white copy did a good job of highlighting the areas that I need more contrast and provided me a great base design that I can scan and drop into Adobe Illustrator to digitally create a pattern.

Happy Birthday to Gus-Gus who turned 14(!) on Sunday.

xOx

Meet Wendy Gingell

2011-08-07T14:03:00.001-07:00

Meet my friend Wendy Gingell of Gingell Ceramics. Wendy recently moved to Alaska from Washington and we have become fast friends, nudging one another out of our studios for weekly, girly-artist breakfasts, Farmer Market meet-ups or a quick morning of coffee fun! I'm fascinated by Wendy and her work -she's even attended the BIG east coast shows and her work is collected by loyal customers across the country. While unassuming she is also fearless. I want this to rub off on me. Wendy creates "hand built and functionally made ceramics, with love and heart especially for you." My favorite are her "little emotional monsters" pieces. The photo at left is of Wendy at the Spenard Farmer's Market this summer. If you are not able to attend a SOFA show or can't make it to Boston or Chicago -come see her on Saturdays at the Spenard Farmer's Market here in Anchorage! Wendy recently interviewed me for her series of artist interviews. Meet Wendy and maybe get to know a little more about me too, right here.

Taking Off

2011-08-03T17:12:00.001-07:00

Daddy-O just returned from a week in Hydaburg, Alaska where he took part in a Rural Alaska Native Culture Camp as part of the Rose Urban Rural Teacher Exchange. He had the opportunity to work with Haida Native Master Totem Carvers and participate in Alaska Native subsistence activities. Luck ducky. He was able to see ancient, historic petroglyphs and take part in the raising of a Haida carved totem, which was even printed in the Anchorage Daily News this morning (I recognized his backside)! Hydaburg is in Southeast Alaska near Ketchikan where it’s closer to go to Seattle than it is to Anchorage.

The week off from my normal mommy/wifey duties was nice

–Gus and I enjoyed several pizza nights and got on a root beer float dessert kick. I was able to get a few days of sewing in as I had Will take Gus running to get in shape for cross country that is coming up and also take him on his big brother errands. One of my new art quilts I finished I will hopefully be turning into a new pattern. I’m working on the technical drawing and design now. The polka dot fabric was from my stash that I picked up on the Sequim trip turns out to be from Kaffee Fasset –one of my favorite designers. I should have guessed, I LOVE his fabrics. I’m taking a week off also from welding to get caught up on the

pattern projects, sewing and general studio work. My last Farmer’s Market selling garden art was on the 23^rd because I need to start welding up sculptures for the state fair and replenish the Gallery. I'll plug the welder and plasma cutter in next week. Daddy-O just bought me a new fishing pole… It’s an Ugly Stik –don’t worry there’s no hidden message other than school starts for him next week and time is ticking AND my other pole "went for a swim" on their last float trip. At least it wasn’t my favorite Mother's Day fly rod.

Market COLOR!

2011-07-31T13:01:00.001-07:00

Just had to share some of the COLOR yesterday at the Spenard Farmer's Market! I'm inspired...

Some of the season's first carrots and lovely sunflowers from Spring Creek Farms.

Beautiful tomatoes from Glacier Valley Farms.

Fresh cut flowers and cauliflower from one of the best looking booths, Alisa Baker of Grass Roots.

First Things First

2011-07-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

While my head my be filled with new ideas and my body reenergized from our mini-vacation I can’t even begin to work in my studio unless it’s organized and picked up. I left with a flurry of multiple projects mid stream. Before I allowed myself to sit at the new sewing machine I was forced to do some housekeeping which resulted in one huge garbage bag being filled for recycle, another for the trash and yet another for the thrift store. Whew. I don’t know about you but I can’t even begin to work unless all of my grinch-chores (as Daddy-O and I affectionately call them –regardless of who is performing them) are done. This can be problematic especially since I work “at home” –and when are the housekeeping duties EVER completely done?! After spending some time in the studio a good

thing happened, I fell back in love with my workspace. It was fun to think about why I surround myself with the things that I’ve collected or posted on the multiple bulletin boards and have things arranged the way I do. We’ve worked hard to create a space for creating and feel fortunate that I have the space that I do –the whole lower level of our house. I was appreciating the custom work tables Daddy-O built for me –the perfect height for tall body and long arms. Being away also meant I was out of shape. I’d forgotten the quick tutorial on my new sewing machine. It took me a few hours to get reacquainted and in the groove. I was able to finally finish the sample for my latest pattern “Husky Howl” that I should have had completed this Spring…oh well. I’m treating myself to one more day in the studio working on another fun fiber project before getting back out to the garage/shop area and plugging in the welder. Even though my last Market day was this last Saturday, I have a list of pieces that need to be done for Katie’s Gallery and they have been oh-so-patient. The best part is Daddy-O and Gus even made a trip to the metal recycle yard for me and even my steel pile is now organized!

Sample for my latest pattern design "Husky Howl."

Several of my Dahlia's are in bloom! This flower has multiple blossoms on one stem, and all are from Master Gardener, Sue Merriman.

Shrunken Heads

2011-07-21T10:08:00.001-07:00

Before my little break to Sequim, WA to visit my parents and to attend the Lavender Festival, I think my head was feeling like Kristen’s shrunken Styrofoam tests! Usually she and the crew would bring a decorated beautician Styrofoam head for the test but Kristen forgot hers at home this time. She was able to use a couple of cups and a Styrofoam block and e-mailed us these pictures and wrote; “today we did a cast to ~2000 m in the Beaufort Sea, and got to "shrink" styrofoam cups. Here's the pix of my two items- a styrofoam cup and a square styro test tube rack.” She is on the USCGC Healy with the NASA ICESCAPE 2011.

With my brain back to near normal size, I came back and have been ready to work. The welder gets plugged back in today and my new sewing machine will have to wait a few more days until I get some pieces welded up for Saturday's Spenard Farmer's Market. My latest pattern “Husky & Friends” is ready for distribution and I already have orders to fill. I followed up on inquiries, answered requests, filled orders, sent out a few e-mail cold calls for my patterns and was pleasantly surprised at the positive responses. Amazing what happens when you make the time to take care of business! I’m actually a bit embarrassed that I let a few administrative sales things slip this summer. What inspired me to jump back on that business pony was visiting several Quilt Shops in WA and talking with reps at the Sequim Quilt Show. After seeing what’s out

there and the wonderful selection of fabrics and patterns I felt I had something to offer them and my confidence was up a bit more. For my needle felting this winter, I also purchased a huge bag of wool in a variety of colors form Olga’s Yurt of Fiber. Island Quilter from Vashon, WA had the most amazing selection of vibrant cotton fabrics. The polka dot fat quarters were irresistible and even the packaging was cool. So, just like the Styrofoam, I stuffed it all in our carry-on luggage for the trip home to my studio!

My latest Art Quilt Pattern "Husky & Friends!" The finished size is 10" x 26". My plan was to have it ready for sale with this year's Iditarod (back in March!) oh well, it's ready now, just in time for the 2012 race!

Report from the Sequim, WA Lavender Festival

2011-07-17T08:55:00.001-07:00

Great art, music and a bar set in the most beautiful fields of Lavender. Every Lavender Farm on tour hosts arts and crafts vendors, live music, gourmet food AND wine, beer, Lavender Margarita's and my FAVORITE, Champagne with Blackberry liquor topped with a fresh sprig of Lavender! Of course I've had to sample all of them. Now that's the way to tour a farm!

The Sequim Lavender Festival continues to inspire me. The color, the vendor booths (over 150 at 2 locations!), the artisans from across the country and of course the incredible farms. Even though the Lavender plants are a bit delayed in their blooming this year, some of the darker varieties are offering color for festival goers on the farm tours. A special surprise for me yesterday was the "Quilt Show" which had over 200 art quilts AND vendors... more on that later!

Lavender, Art and Color, OH MY!

2011-07-15T09:13:00.001-07:00

Gus and I are in Sequim, (rhymes with swim) WA on the Olympic Peninsula. My parents retired to Sequim from Alaska a few years ago seeking weather that was a bit more hospitable to year round golf and doesn’t require the ownership of a snowblower. Lucky for us wecan now visit not only family but a vibrant and inspiring arts community. This weekend is the annual Sequim Lavender Farm Faire and Tour and the annual Sequim Studio Tour.

At least 30,000 people are expected to visit Sequim this weekend to attend this legacy rich area and

tour some of the worlds’ most beautiful Lavender farms. In addition to all of the COLOR, the arts and craft fairs, demonstrations, farm tours, culinary programs, music and other city-wide events, the Sequim Artists are opening up their studios all weekend.

Another artful treat is that my Dad and Mom both have their art on display this month! Mom’s work is included in a group show “A Tribute To Blooms” at the Sequim Museum and Arts Center and one of her ceramic sunflower vases had the magic red dot on it! Dad is the featured artist at the Blue Whole Gallery, 129 Washington Street in downtown Sequim. His assemblage work is in the front

window area for all the Lavender Festival visitors to see (and buy!). While gallery hopping yesterday I liked the work of Karin Anderson. Her work is illustrative and happy and I purchased some of her Giclee art cards. I’m filling my little black Moleskine book with ideas and inspirations –all of this color has my head exploding with ideas! I’m filling my memory card with digital images of color and textures too. OK, more later, we’re off to the rolling acres of all things PURPLE! Thank you to Daddy-O and Willie who are covering form me and are on doggie and Market duty this week.

xOx

I'm keeping color swatches of ideas filling up my little black Moleskine book!

On the Edmonds-Kingston ferry.

The Difference Between What Dudes and Chicks Do Best

2011-07-11T13:47:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks worth of scrap ready to go to AK Metal Recyclers.

The guys went fishing and I have a couple of days to myself. With absolutely promising NOT to fire the welder up or do any accounting, paperwork, house keeping or fill customer orders, I took the day OFF. I’ve been in need of some down time not involving art making (I know, how could I even say such a thing!). After a breakfast of FRESH Tamales (my favorite), the first thing I did do was go to REI and treat myself to a new pair of TEVA sandals and a new purse for Gus and my upcoming trip to the Sequim, WA Lavender

Festival this week. Then, I got my hair trimmed, treated myself to new magazines at Barnes & Noble, rented a chick-flick and bought root bear float ingredients. I also went thrift store shopping and found a TREASURE that made me think of Keren, who I can’t wait to show it to!

Sometimes inspiration sneaks up on me. Keren Lowell’s Mobile Mending booth at the Spenard Farmer’s Market is one of the coolest ideas I’ve seen. From the beginning, her vendor application stood out to our vendor committee. “I would set up a mobile clothing repair booth with a treadle sewing machine, and mend any kind of

cloth, upholstery, accessories, shoes, sports equipment.” I appreciate her resourcefulness and her unique approach of how to market her talents, creating a customer base of what would have been traditionally untapped business. I must have had Keren on my mind today at the thrift store when I found this gem. It’s a Domestic Rotary Electric Sewing Machine that works beautifully! Even the light bulb still works! What sold me were all of the accessories that came with it, including the ORIGINAL Instruction manual AND the ORIGINAL GUARANTEE! The eerie thing is, when I looked at the date of purchase on the original customer’s certificate… it was 63 years ago within two days! The date of purchase was 7-9-48 in Wyoming! How cool is that?!

My thrift store find, a 1948 Domestic Rotary Electric Sewing machine that works BEAUTIFULLY!

3 dudes doing what guys do best, load the cooler, load the boats and going fishing! Derek and Gus with Kristen's boyfriend Nelson.

Is discombobulated even a word?

2011-07-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

My art making has felt discombobulated the last few weeks. I’ll have short bouts of inspiration and productivity but the duration is lacking –now that I write those words, they sound like a commercial for older adult males… After 30 plus years of art making it’s frustrating to feel the need to change up the way I’m used to working. I’d love for my productivity to be at it’s peak when opportunities for earning potential are also at their peak. I’ve never been able to switch the art making on and off or turn the art making dial to HIGH output. To try and find my groove usually means I need to get back to basics –in my case that includes drawing and sketching. I even pulled out some of my

favorite "artist self help” books like “Creative Time and Space,” “Creative Awakenings” and “Kaleidoscope –ideas and projects to spark your creativity.” Mainly, I like these books for the pictures and reading about other artists and their processes. These books tend to get me out of my “creating safely” zone. I’m feeling the need to be dangerous with my art making –doesn’t that sound fun? Not sure how I will get there though. I did unpack my new sewing machine and finally got the new bobbins wound and the machine threaded. That would go under the category of being productive NOT being dangerous. The piece I decided to give my new Janome a test drive on was unfortunately a very SAFE piece –I had a much more dangerous fiber art piece in my mind but was surprised how average the sunflower mini-quilt came out. On the upside, my stitches are soooo much easier to make and I didn’t need to adjust the tension

once or untangle one thread snarl ball! WOW, what a difference the new machine made. I even used the TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) with much more success when transferring to fabric instead of metal. I created some sunflower centers in Photoshop and printed them onto the TAP sub straight using the ink the HP printer.

We went to the downtown Anchorage 4^th of July parade this weekend. Normally, we are at the Girdwood Forest Fair but with the Farmer’s Market on Saturday we decided to stay off of the highway and hang out in town. What a treat both the weather and parade were! We are lucky to be able to walk downtown from our house and Daddy-O even packed snacks, 4^th of July flags and our camp chairs in his new Technica ski backpack!

Red, White and Blue All American Spenard Farmer's Market!

2011-07-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Eric Unrein of P and M Gardens had their booth FILLED with baskets and containers loaded with red, white and blue flowers. Their display was beautiful and Eric won first place in the "most patriotic booth display" at the Spenard Farmer's Market!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

What started off as one of the rainiest Saturdays yesterday turned into one of the best sales days I've had at the Spenard Farmer's Market! I woke up about 4:30 am Saturday morning thinking I had left both of the hoses on in the yard it was raining so hard! Both Derek and I thought our sales were going to be dismal between the rain and the holiday weekend. We also thought we'd be forced to eat the coolers of freshly harvested Kachemak Bay Oysters that were

shipped to him on Friday if they didn't all sell. Oh, how wrong we were! The vendors lined up to check in on time and as the rain subsided by mid morning the loyal Market customers came to shop! Many vendors sold out by noon, including Daddy-O! Even my passion project, the "Blooming Artist Youth Booth" is growing! It gives me such satisfaction to see these emerging artists able to sell their creations and earn money for their talents and efforts. All of the vendors were in a patriotic and celebratory mood yesterday and almost everyone dressed up their booths to vie for the "most patriotic booth display" award. Flags were flown and the music played as we loaded up our market bags with FRESH caught King Salmon, AK Spot Shrimp, K-Bay Oysters, just picked spinach, salad greens and even Mozzarella cheese. We wanted to spread a little of our earnings back to our vendor friends. Our holiday grill will be full again tonight with King Salmon fillets with garlic and lemon butter -mmmmmm!

One of Frank Wendling's Chocolate Lily's that takes 3 years to grow from seed! I was taking this photo just as the sun came out at the Market.

The veggies are rolling in now! Fresh lettuce from Glacier Valley Farms.

After buying a dozen for us, Daddy-O was sold out of Kachemak Bay Oysters by noon!

One of Brooke Heppinstall's Lilies!

My booth was off to a wet start in the morning!

Mobile Mending's Keren Lowell dressed her booth up with a Betsy Ross theme (complete with photo's and history) to enter the most patriotic booth contest and won second place! She mends things for customers while they wait -how cool is that?!

Where Do Ideas Come From?

2011-07-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Derek took this picture of me this week while I temporarily set up my office at the dining room table. I pop in and out of the shop while welding to take care of business, answer e-mails etc. One prospective market vendor said "thanks, for getting back to me so quickly, you must work at your computer all the time!" Now they know my secret!

Listening to Talk of the Nation this week, host Neil Conan was at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “Each year, leaders and innovators converge on the Aspen Ideas Festival to "think big." But just where do great ideas come from? Sandy Speicher, Director of Design for Learning at IDEO, Amit Chatterjee, CEO of Hara, and artist Eric Fischl explain where they find inspiration.” This show inspired me to consider how and where my ideas come from. One thing is clear, I have not had enough “quiet time.” Most of my ideas used to come to me while taking a shower or driving and now they tend to happen while we are at our cabin in Girdwood. We haven’t had much down time this summer and I was actually thinking about winter yesterday… That thought alone probably jinxed our summer weather yet to come! I was thinking about the slow

er pace of winter, the calmness and having more TIME to think, create and be still. While I love the daylight and heat of the summer months, it seems like Alaskans cram a year’s worth of living into 90 days of summer! My goal for the rest of the summer is to try and slow down my pace of this so far, busy, busy summer. Right after I crank out this STACK of special orders, Gallery pieces, keep up on my daily Vendor Coordinator duties for the Spenard Farmer’s Market, dedicate some family time to the guys while getting in a little exercise for this tired old body THEN be inspired with some new ideas for art making…

It doesn't seem fair to celebrate my NEW SEWING MACHINE while my sweet Kristen is out at sea for the next month and a half with NASA'S ICESCAPE 2011. She would be giddy for a chance to sew samples for me on my NEW Janome instead of our vintage Singer Athena 2000! I'm working on a couple of new pattern designs and the old Athena finally told me she was ready to retire. Of course Kristen told me that a couple of years ago!

We all need a Guardian from time to time

2011-06-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is an e-mail I received from a customer that made my day. I'm sharing it with their permission...

“Dear Ms Shake,

I just bought one of your pieces at the Sevigny Gallery and I wanted to tell you that it has great meaning to me. It's a piece featuring the Raven, it's surrounded by metalwork twigs...I'm a lawyer who has just moved to Alaska and I can only keep the really great job I got by passing the Alaska Bar exam which is a month from now. (I am already a lawyer but the last Bar exam I took was a very long time ago.)

I am very nervous about it and I don't know if you know it, but the Bar examiners are so tricky. They try to trap you into going with a wrong answer choice. So I knew I needed help, and that's when I saw your piece in the gallery as I walked home from work, and I thought, "This Raven will help me, because he can see through any tricks!"

I actually haven't even put my Raven up on the wall, instead he is on the table with all the materials as I study and I visualize him literally selecting the correct multiple choice bubbles on the sheet with his beak! After I do pass the Bar, Corvus will have a place of honor in my office.

I originally went into the Sevigny Gallery because we bought a house and I am looking for sculpture for the yard, and after I pass the Bar, I am looking forward to that -- I've noted where you sell your pieces.

But I did want to pass on my appreciation for making a really engaging piece that just makes me feel like I have a Guardian!”

Looks Like a Raven, Acts Like a Raven –A Raven By Any Other Name?

2011-06-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hers are above and mine are below.

Is copying really the best form of flattery? Or do “great minds” really think alike? I’ve known many artists over the years whose work has been copied, replicated, altered, duplicated, inspired, and flat out ripped off. I’ve had an experience in every one of those categories with my art making being on the receiving end. Sometimes copyright infringement is hard to prove but I know it when I feel it. When I see visual art that’s similar to something I’ve already created my stomach tightens and my heart rate quickens. For me it is an emotional experience. When I first saw another company’s Ravens silk screened onto squares of batik fabric I thought they looked very similar to the Raven Quilt Panels and Raven Garden Flags that Jana and I have been producing for over a year. After researching copyright definitions, consulting with other artists and legal professionals I wanted to have a better understanding of what really was considered copyright infringement. Whitney Smith’s Sprout Vase was clearly ripped-off by a major retailer though most of her copyright issues have stemmed from her work “inspiring” other ETSY artists! This is what the United States Copyright Office says:

What is copyright infringement? As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html

After making a couple of calls and speaking directly to the company owner who is distributing the Raven Panels and who I’ve known for years, I learned that more than likely this is a situation of the similar Raven Quilt Panels being a case of a creative process that ended up with a VERY similar product but without malice or intentional copyright infringement. That’s what I’m hoping. Nevertheless, I did follow up with an e-mail to the proprietor of the company to make her aware of the similarity by attaching copies of our packaging covers showing our copyright mark. Here is what my first e-mail said in part:

“Thanks for taking my call this morning. As promised I'm sending you images of the batik Raven panels Jana and I already sell. I was surprised to see how similar your Ravens silk screened onto the various batik fabrics are to our designs we created, produced and started selling last year. I was the designer and the original idea of Raven Garden Flags was also mine. Jana's idea was to sell the silk screened panels in the Quilted Raven for quilts, flags or other projects. I'm hoping that you reconsider selling such a similar product.”

Her reply explained how her company came to produce such a similar product and claimed she had not seen Jana and my Raven panels before. She also claimed it should be OK to sell her product because at the moment Jana was only selling her Raven Quilt panels at one of her stores The Quilted Raven. However, my two final points in response were that our distribution is not her concern and ultimately “while I appreciate the process that led you to create a similar product, after seeing such a similar idea I felt it was my responsibility to make you aware of our pre-existing product design so we may protect our copyright.”

Caught in the Eye of Fear Tonight

2011-06-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

I had just set the water sprinklers on the front and back lawns. We sat down to eat our grilled pork chops, fresh asparagus, steamed rice with a lovely salad using all fresh greens from the Market. Daddy-O and I were eating on TV trays after a busy, busy work day, enjoying the company of one another and watching the nothingness of NBC re-runs when an Emergency Broadcast blared that ugly panic sound and messages rolled and flashed across the screen… TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED FOR DUTCH HARBOR FOLLOWING A 7.3 PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE THAT STRUCK 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF AMUTKA PASS… that is exactly where Kristen is, in Dutch Harbor getting ready to board the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy for another scientific research trip. I immediately was able to reach her via our cell phones. She was napping thankfully on board the ship which was still in the harbor. I had reached her before she had heard what was happening and as we were talking all hell broke loose as the emergency warning system went into effect for all of Dutch Harbor and on board the ship. The worst part was I could hear the emergency sirens blaring in the background while Kristen was running to find her lab mate so they could await further safety instructions. She could see the “coasties” running to board the boat who hd been on shore leave, residents of Dutch Harbor fleeing for higher ground all while the horrible sound of the sirens were wailing. She could see little kids in pajamas running to higher ground, cars going 80 mph trying to reach the highest parts of the island, everybody exiting the town any way they could. The entire fleet of fishing trawlers and boats were trying to leave the harbor desperate to reach deeper water. Kristen had to hang up and called seconds later to report that the Tusanami was due to hit in 26 minutes! She had to go again and would call me back as soon as she could. I felt like I was going to throw up. I surfed all the available web sites for information and 15 minutes into the dreaded 26 minutes the Tsunami warning was cancelled. I still feel like I’m going to throw up my pork chop and my cocktail(s) are sitting at the top of my throat. Tears spilled from my eyes and Derek hugged me. All I could visualize is the Japanese man who rode out the horrific Tsunami in Japan aboard his large fishing boat. Kristen called me back and said the worst part was watching the exodus from aboard their huge vessel feeling helpless. As we hung up, I said “I love you -be safe” having a bit more meaning tonight.

On a less dramatic note, here is a sculpture I made this week after being inspired by one of my Hosta's finally coming up. I was supposed to be knee deep in production work but just had to make something inspired from Nature. Interesting that is was something from the ground and not the sea...

Family Affair

2011-06-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

"Three Dudes Selling Fresh Stuff From the Sea!"

L to R, Mike Nakada of Northern Lights Oyster Co., Derek and Gordon Scott of the FV/ Early Times with Alaska Spot Shrimp enjoying a day at the Market.

The Spenard Farmer’s Market is a real family affair this summer. As the Market’s volunteer Vendor Coordinator I usually hear the vendor news and issues first hand. And so it was when Mike Nakada the owner of the Northern Lights Oyster Company found himself without anyone to sell his Oysters after an employee unexpectedly quit on him just as the Market season was starting. The Northern Lights Oyster Company, a certified shellfish aquaculture farm, features FRESH Kachemak Bay Oysters and is one of our most popular booths at the Market, usually selling out by noon each Saturday. Since Mike is busy tending the Oyster Farm in K-Bay near Homer, Alaska (a mere 6 hour drive away from Anchorage) it was nearly impossible for him to find another Market seller on such short notice and I just couldn’t let the Market be without Oysters! What is a good Vendor Coordinator to do but volunteer Daddy-O for the task!

Derek is regularly at the Market with me each Saturday helping Willie to set up and take down my Garden Art booth and visit with friends. With Willie helping run my booth while I tend to my Market duties, Derek now helps Mike by running the Kachemak Bay Oyster booth! The Oysters are shipped freshly harvested from the cool waters and quick-shipped right to us for the Market opening. Derek pops the back open on our truck and has a day of happy customers and visiting with our long-time friend Gordon Scott who sells Prince William Sound Alaska Spot Shrimp right next to him. After we are all set up, you can see Gus running back and forth under the guise of offering to help but it’s usually to see who will buy him a hot dog or a Hawaiian shave ice…

Bad Dogs, Roosters and the Garden

2011-06-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy week! I had such a good time making a pack of "Bad Dogs" for the Spenard Farmer's Market on Saturday that I was laughing as I was welding their psycho eyes on their frenzied faces! But the best part was the reaction from the employees at the hardware store when I bought 4 lengths of heavy duty chain. They wondered what exactly I was chaining up and I said just a pack of wild dogs... I also made a couple of Roosters that sold quickly Saturday. One went happily home with my sweet friend and potter Kris Bliss. Kris' work can be found at galleries across the state. The welder gets plugged in first thing Monday morning and on the production list are a couple of baby "Steel Wool" sheep, another Rooster and a fun piece I've been wanting to make for a few weeks now...

The Alaska Botanical Garden Outdoor Art Show and 14th Annual Garden Fair was this weekend. After six years as the volunteer Outdoor Art Show coordinator, I passed my magic garden wand to fellow metal artist, Marieke Heatwole this year! One of my favorite events and absolutely the BEST venue to highlight outdoor sculpture. A favorite submission this year was a pair of Tori Gates hand crafted in wood by artisan Paul Button. The Gala and Show was even more fun by being able to assist rather than completely coordinate this year, freeing me up to socialize and enjoy the beautiful food and Moose's Tooth IPA on tap. The Show kicked off with the sold-out Thursday night Gala. There was abundant food, music, BEVERAGES and ART all under sunny skies. There were a record number of works with many selling the night of the Gala -all to support the beautiful Alaska Botanical Garden.

Derek and Gus helped with the Outdoor Art Show set-up

Ryan Morman's large steel and concrete sculpture gets unloaded -which was voted "People's Choice" for 2011. Congratulations Ryan!

Marieke Heatwole's found object and welded steel sculpture "Vinca."

Isolde Gibson'e hand formed clay sculptures "Raven Buddies" sold quickly! They were cleverly mounted on black PVC.

Steel and fused glass birdbath collaborative piece “Vampyroteuthis Infernalis Bird Sanctuary” by Thaddeus De Bois and Laura Mendola

Fans are Friends Too!

2011-06-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

Downtown Anchorage was hopping yesterday! The sunshine had the visitors from near and far happily shopping, eating and sightseeing. The new Batik fabric I designed for Jana’s Quilted Raven store arrived in time for the summer season and has enjoyed positive sales and comments. I wanted to get a peek at the new bolts and color ways of the finished product and decided to pop into the store yesterday. When I walked in several shoppers were happily picking out fabric gifts for quilting friends at home and for their personal stashes. Tracy M. from Louisville, Kentucky was impressed with the selection and even more happy to meet “the designer” of some of the art quilt patterns

and the Raven fabric. I was greeted with hugs and photo opportunities! What a boost for any artist’s ego! Tracy’s husband Nat was the ultimate gentleman and a very PATIENT shopping partner while all of us laughed, shared stories, iPhone photos, perused and talked all things fabric and quilting! You’ve got a keeper Tracy! As we said in the shop yesterday “we HEART Kentucky!” The success of the fabric is due to the colors Jana selected just as much as the design. The “Ravens on Branches” has been selling as fat quarters as well as by the entire bolt! The design process was a bit longer than I’m used to as we waited months for the first strike offs to arrive then another few months for the actual fabric to arrive in the store. With the success of this design, Jana and I have several

others in the works. Jana has one of the nicest collections of quality batik fabric found anywhere and this was echoed by the customers yesterday!

Visitors to the Quilted Raven, Nat and Tracy M. from Louisville, Kentucky

First Friday and History Fish

2011-06-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a chance to finish a set of "History Fish" for the Show at Katie's. I enjoy making these fish because it gives me a chance to upcycle some of my scrap steel. After I draw and cut a large base fish design I try and plasma cut interesting pieces of the steel left over from a large 4' x 8' sheet and keep them in my "cool scrap bin."

Though sometimes the "cool scrap bin" becomes the "crap scrap bin" if it starts to overflow, collect shop dust and starts to look like work if I want to use it -making me not want dig. If I maintain the pile I tend to want to use the scraps on a regular basis otherwise it's off to Alaska Metal Recyclers with a TRUCK LOAD of good scrap. These fish are about 24" wide with an enamel fini

sh. After I weld the fish together I give them a clear coat enamel finish which provides a smooth tooth for the brushed on enamel paint. For the enamel color I use One Shot Sign Painter's Enamel. It's hand brush applied full strength with the desired color blends then hand rubbed off using industrial strength rags. I usually go over the finished piece with with highlights of orange or other contrasting colors for highlights with a very dry brush.

First Friday at Katie's Gallery was packed. She knows how to throw a pARTy! I wish Katie was able to enjoy the evening more -she works her tail off! She was behind the register the entire time -which is good for the Gallery and all of the artists she has in her place but tough to soak up all the good vibes, art, music and food. I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for all Katie and Barb did Friday night to ensure it was a packed house all night long. THANKS LADIES! That is a picture of Katie working the register, Barb is packaging up some art AND working the beverage counter. Daddy-O had a chance to visit with other teachers on summer hiatus and Gus stepped in to help pour fresh ice tea for customers and had fun as well as the junior barkeep. The flowers were sent to the Gallery from my parents. xox The other photo is of talented artists, Duke Russell and Lance Lekander pictured with me. I was happy to see them as there were several great shows downtown Friday night and everyone was trying to make the rounds. Anchorage has one of the BEST artist communities that is LOADED with talented people. Thank goodness we have First Fridays otherwise some of us artists don't get out of the studio nearly enough.

Just Gelling

2011-06-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

My poor finger tips are rubbed completely raw and I probably don’t have any finger prints left! The Gel Medium Transfer worked fine on the steel after a couple of test prints but the

rubbing became a bit tedious. I tried to use some overhead transparency film onto the Gel Medium as in the vid eo but the image didn’t transfer at all. Maybe my film was old? It even rinsed clean! I did like the effect of one of my powerline images on the film though…that can be another project in the near future. There are several methods you can use in transferring images. For the Gel Medium Transfer process I did, I painted a thick coat of Golden’s Gel Medium onto the steel and placed a fresh, full color laser print image down

onto the gel. the images I used were both digital images I have taken myself of Ravens and Nature as well as a few Royalty-free images I have on CD's. I usually digitally enhance the images in Photoshop to bump up the saturation and sharpen the overall photo for better contrast. Next, I Burnished the paper smooth to remove any air bubbles, making sure that the laser image was in full contact with the gel and steel substraight. After about 2-3 hours of drying time, I moistened the paper and began to rub the paper off of the now “acrylic” image. I also needed to apply a clear coat of spray enamel to further enhance the images. To give the wall sculptures a more artful look, I hammered words onto pieces of copper and cold riveted the copper to the steel. I used a set of leather punch alphabet tools and my anvil to hammer the words. Overall I like the effect but want to experiment further with the idea of transferring a clearer, graphic image onto steel. And I have not given up on finding a straight

pass through ink jet printer. There were a couple of used units on Amazon but I’m leary of buying any used computer equipment let alone over the internet. We’ll see, I still have a whole roll of aluminum flashing just waiting for that art making project!

Transfer Fits and Starts

2011-05-31T08:05:00.001-07:00

How is it when faced with a deadline my head becomes filled with additional ideas and projects?! I can shoot off in a completely different creative direction at any given moment when faced with a deadline –and still force myself to make the deadline! My advertising agency days not only taught me the art and discipline of billing in 15 minute increments but creative multi-tasking must have been seared into my brain as well. At this point in my career I admit it wears me out. Or to be honest, when I shoot off in another direction, with all of the effort I exert I expect success with every endeavor. I realize that’s not very realistic or conducive to the art of making art.

Where things took a left was when I became inspired after watching a

YouTube video on “Recycling a Beverage Can to a Digital Print.” (I know, being on the computer can be such a time-waste-vortex!) My mind raced with ideas of imagesI wanted to transfer onto the steel bases with welded “branches” as borders. I was going to cold rivet the aluminum panels onto the steel bases –even using funky, cool copper rivets with little brass and aluminum washers as added details. On his visit to the hardware store, Daddy-O was even kind enough to buy me a big role of aluminum flashing to feed into my as yet un-purchased printer! I’ve mentioned before I am constantly intrigued with learning how to use various transfer methods on EVERY type of sub-straight material. My original idea was to use the Lesley Riley TAP Sheets I purchased a few months ago, and had been saving, onto the steel but it didn’t work so hot. I ate up 3 of the package’s 5 sheets trying for a smooth and even image. I’m not sure if the paper is too old or what, but I was really disappointed. I even visited the office supply store yesterday to buy a "straight pass through" ink jet printer as

shown in the video (this would be my 4^th new and different type of printer) that could be fed the thicker media like the aluminum but I can’t find one in town with the straight pass through feed feature that’s under $1,000. I’m back to probably using a Gel Medium Transfer with color laser prints (thankfully, I already have a really nice HP color laser printer). I’ll need to go to the art supply store today and buy more Gel Transfer Medium -but at least I know the transfers work on steel because I’ve used this process before. I just really wanted to try this ink jet application on aluminum –darn-it!

My First Friday Show opens at Katie Sevigny’s Gallery, Friday, June 3^rd. THIS FRIDAY –how can it be June already, where did May go?! For the last few weeks I have been working on several pieces that I’m really pleased with, including wall sculptures that I’m finally using my clay “Pods” in. I will also have a couple of masks using hand built clay combined with plasma cut and welded steel and copper.

BOO!

2011-05-27T21:10:00.001-07:00

Fresh Sunflowers for the Spenard Farmer's Market!

The hardest part of being self-employed is the discipline it takes to go to work on a sunny, gorgeous day –which were few and far between last summer in Anchorage! Plus I’m feeling “all deserving” because I have been working really hard and after I put more than a full week in I just want to reward myself with food and drink on the deck or be digging in my garden. But that’s not possible if I’m to take advantage of all the sales opportunities that are out there from June through August –peak art buying time. PLUS I’ve got a show opening at Katie Sevigny’s Gallery and I am the First Friday featured artist for June which I didn’t necessarily forget about but am finding it hard to believe IT’S NEXT WEEK! Holy cr@p. Good thing I’ve been stashing a few choice pieces aside in the studio -but I definitely need to kick it up from now until Friday when the Show opens! Ooooo boy do I want to goof off. School’s out and both my guys are home. I’ve had to adjust my routine and learn to work around Daddy-O and Gus being underfoot. They are underfoot in a good way but I’m not used to competing for tools, house space, the telephone or computers etc. Derek and Gus will start painting and tearing out all of our carpeting and replacing it with hardwood floors this week, and so starts the summer of destruction-reconstruction-resurrection. Thankfully, Daddy-O and I have been through SEVERAL remodels and know that our marriage can survive. What has been really nice is handing over the House Frau chores to Derek, what a sweetie (in the manliest way!). Every summer we do a bit of a role reversal and I feel like the luckiest

Art Girl around to have my man pitch in and take over all of the shopping and fix us dinner each night!

Wednesday night we took a break to enjoy a clear blue, warm night, by taking a Ghost Tour. Yes, Ghost Tours of Anchorage is hosted by KLEF Radio’s Rick Goodfellow. Rick plays host and historian on the almost two-hour downtown Anchorage walking tour full of mystery and history of Anchorage’s past. As you may or may not know Gus is completely captivated by all things haunted.

Gus even brought along his EMF detector, note book and mini tape recorder while Derek and I simply enjoyed the post dinner exercise and watching Gus’ eyes go the size of saucers at some of the scarier tales!

Sunshine Makes All the Difference

2011-05-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

What a relief to wake to somewhat sunny skies early Saturday morning. At the Market, weather is everything. Last year Anchorage saw one of the rainiest summer's on record and the Market attendance reflected it. Saturday's kickoff was FANTASTIC! Customers and vendors were all smiles. There were no glitches with the check-in and set-up of 40 plus vendors. I was a bit harried checking everyone in, collecting the booth fees, while cars filled the Market unloading their wares. Daddy-O, Will and Gus has my booth set-up just as I checked the final vendor in. It was definitely a team effort. My new wireless credit card machine even WORKED flawlessly! whew. I didn't have a chance to take more pictures but KTVA Channel 11 Photo Journalist, Ken Fankhauser was at the Market and created this wonderful segment for the weekend news! CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Watch the KTVA news segment by Photo Journalist Ken Fankhauser.

Just for fun...

A friend and customer who purchased one of my large, outdoor sculptures of a Sandhill Crane sent us these pictures. Look at the Pheasant in the lower left of the photo. Pheasants are not indigenous to Alaska although they are seen from time to time. The Pheasant has apparently become quite smitten with the sculpture and has been a constant companion of the steel Crane!

Market Butterflies

2011-05-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today it's detail work. The welder is unplugged and the steel sculptures are awaiting pricing and tagging. I'm also pricing, tagging a few felted pieces that I'll have for sale at the Spenard Farmer's Market tomorrow. What's a market without sheep right?!

I'll be loading my plastic tubs of all the necessary show supplies, including my new wireless credit machine goodies. After months of research on wireless merchant options I settled on the purchase of a

Veriphone Nurit 8000. Now I can accept and verify credit cards wirelessly. Not only will this save me time from having to upload the manual sales slips at the end of the day but it saves the customer time from having to wait for me to hand-write out their purchase, run their card through the ol' "knuckle buster" and hope the sales slip is still legible!

Last night a few of us including Daddy-O, spray painted the vendor space numbers on the parking lot where

the Market will be. Now we all have permanent parking lot yellow finger tips! Doing the final walk-thru gave me butterflies for tomorrow. We have a full Market of 40 plus vendors with a waiting list for vendors wanting to participate if there

are any no-shows, which I doubt there will be. The sold-out Market is great news but has made my volunteer Vendor Coordinator job über-busy. The Market committee is only slightly nervous about the opening day coinciding with doomsday... I'm in pretty good shape, not for the rapture, but inventory wise and have been really focusing on striking a balance with life/wife/mom, art making and volunteer work. School was out yesterday and has added a new element to my day with Gus home so I'm going to put him to work! Both Derek, Gus and Will are on line to help me load and set up and manage my booth the Market tomorrow and is always such a welcome making the day go quickly. Having my guys around also helps quell my butterflies for the Market and perhaps for the end of the world should it happen...