It's official! Family, friends, fans, followers, and curious cats alike: Come Friday, Jan. 4th at 2pm EST / 11am PST there will be quite the little unveiling of original paintings both small and biggish along with new prints of favorites and other things in the shop.
I hope everyone's holiday went well! Mine was gloriously relaxing. Spent time with the family, of course, but also got to have a wonderful silent break for myself, in which I made myself peppermint hot cocoa and brainstormed painting ideas. Nothing quite beats that.
The presents were all a hit. I gave everyone hand-painted pottery made by myself and a select few also got homemade candied walnuts and pecans as well, which turned out dang good if I may say so. I definitely need to make more.
Today I also played around in the sketchbook, working out painting ideas and various color combinations.
I have some smallish works to finish up tonight as well and then will hopefully have enough time to begin some larger ones.This has been quite the month for the shoppe! Thank you all for your wonderfully kind words and support! I can't wait for 2008. There's some fun things in store, oh yes....
I leave you now to go watch a movie and eat a quick parmesan garlic pasta dinner (thank you, Pasta Roni), laid atop a dark ship sailing on another fine adventure....
First up is this incredible wee whale pin made by the ever-so-talented Casey of Elegant Musings (picture above is from her site).
He's every bit as handsome as in the photo and came unbelievably lovingly packaged. I am so, so thankful to have this little guy on my jacket! Casey has temporarily closed her Etst shop for the holidays, but will be back up and running the day after Christmas (and I can't wait!).
I also received this cutie stuffed gnome ornament (complete with an itty bitty jingle bell attached to his hanger!) from Sweet Ninja. I think it would be hilarious to have a whole army of these on your tree...(photo below is from her site).
And, lastly, I splurged and bought this incredible hand-spun cotton octopus ornament from Vintage By Crystal (photo below from her site).
I found him one night while browsing Etsy and was awestruck but resisted getting him because I had just bought a handful of ornaments from other Etsy sellers. I woke up the next morning realizing I had to have him no matter what. I'm *so* glad I snagged him. Hand-spun, hand-painted, and his arms are even wired so you can bend them into snaggly positions. Truly keepsake quality. And look how amazing he is in the tree! I'll be buying more of her whimsies soon.
And this lovely screenprinted birdie ornament from Things Are Better With A Parrott:
I think collecting handmade ornaments may just be a new obsession of mine. I just want to go out and snag all sorts of gorgeous, weird, and lovingly hand-crafted ornaments from other artisans.And, speaking of ornaments, you certainly need a tree to display them on, no? I have a small aqua tinsel retro-modern tree that I love dearly (you just can't find nice aqua ones anywhere! What gives?) but wanted to get a slightly larger white tree this year, preferably that I could put lights on (the tinsel trees are unlightable due to fire hazards, unless you get a safety pre-lit one).
I searched everywhere and finally wound up trekking through a new Kohl's store in the area. Well, what do you know, they were having a massive Christmas sale and I got a 3 foot pre-lit white tree for under $20 (originally $40). Mega score. It's so perfect! Perfect size, shape, and it lights up, which makes me very, very happy indeed. Here it is, all decked out in funky ornaments in my living room:
Here's a close-up:
And here are some close shots of some of my fave ornaments on it:
My palace guard was collected on my recent trip to England in glorious London.
I made a bunch of Beatles ornaments a couple years ago for a Beatles-themed tree and four of them are made just like the one above--that is to say, out of toilet paper tubes. I cut them in half, painted them black, then mod-podged my favorite panoramic Beatles shots on each one. A little ribbon and decorative trim and voila! Instant kitschy ornament! I really need to make some more of these.
They look so happy together! And hidden in this rather horrid late-night photo are two little whale paintings (not finished yet, but when they are, they'll be doosies). Paint-stained hands, ships, AND whales? Life is good.
And I also finally finished painting up this circus-inspired pie plate at work (the text reads "The 2 Headed Buck Klaus Jr"). 6 months. That's how long this one has been sitting on the back burner. When I started it, I was so thrilled with how it was coming along, but after seeing it nearly every day unfinished and begging for me to sit down and add the final touches, I became horribly disinterested in it. I'm still undecided on whether or not I'm gonna keep it or give it away.
In between work and painting, I've also been watching a whole lot of movies. Went and saw No Country For Old Men, which I loved (what an amazing comeback for those Coen bros. My goodness). That movie still gives me the chills--and I saw it more than a week ago. Also recently watched these goodies:
Hadn't seen Titus, but always wanted to (*loved* it! Julie Taymor does such stunning work), and of course, Dr. Strangelove is an old friend (but one that I hadn't seen in ages and ages).
A big hug and word of thanks to friends, family, fellow blog readers, collectors, lurkers, supporters, and everyone else for all their wonderful words of encouragement this year. I love you all dearly! My first show went off without a hitch in Seattle, despite the somewhat rickety weather (snow one day, lots 'o rain the next) and lots of learning experiences (#1--invest in a backdrop/screen of some sort, unless you want to be engulfed in the screenprinted tees of your neighbor). I was nervous and excited but getting to meet so many of you first-hand was such a joy. Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in my own little odd digital realm online, but meeting folks at the show who knew me or recognized my art or bought from me on Etsy brought me right back to reality. You guys are swell!
I'm slowly getting items that didn't sell at the show listed into the shop, including Squiddy Note Cards!! Yes! You read correctly!
The nautilus ones always get lots of comments on Etsy, so I had decided for the show to branch out a little with a couple more designs. I think the squid ones are my new faves--I even love them more than the nautilus cards, which is a tall task, let me tell you. There's only two packs of the squid ones at the moment...
Mr. Frosty charm is live in the shop at the moment, with the Lollipop Guild charm design to come in the next day. *UPDATE: Both designs are all sold out! Thank you!*
So, while there may not be any more sculptural pieces available, that just means there will be more art--including lots more originals (of both the larger, extravagant kind along with the smaller, extremely affordable kind) and prints, as well as other fun surprises. And of course, I will keep you all posted.
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