An ART garage sale !!!

This weekend I decided to host an art garage sale, right in my back yard!
I put up tons of my paintings, collages, felts up on display as well as pottery, knit bags, etc.
I'm very excited to sell some work !! Plus I think having garage sales are FUN!
It's been a long time since I did one, (like I'm talking 15 yrs or so)
It suppose to be a gorgous weekend too! Lots of sun!

Wish me luck!!! :)

Spring time is HERE!!

Inspired by the recent uplifting change of weather, I have created a"Spring time" wedding album-- with birds, eggs, and of course brides!!!

Check out the lastest recent work on http://www.artistmadealbums.com/recentwork.html

Book binding is fun!

I did some book binding back when I was undergrad, taking all different art studio classes. In fact, fibers was one of my favorite courses while earning my Fine Arts degree. Thats when I learned how to hand felt things, and make handmade paper, and some book binding. (oh, man that was over 13 years ago!!!! ) Doesnt feel that long ago.

Now I have my own business, designing and hand making all my own books for the wedding photo albums featured in http://artistmadealbums.com/ and I really enjoy making them. There are many different stages to making a book, the first part is cutting the book board, measuring is extremely important so that everything lines up right. If the parts and pieces don't fit together, then you can't make the book. After measuring and cutting everything, you piece it together using linen tape, next you drill the hole where the screw posts go on both the front and back sides of the book. Next measure and cut the book cloth to cover the board, this not only gives it the main color and texture but makes it more endurable. Glue the book cloth down, and make sure everything lines up right. Lastly measure and glue your choice of decorative paper on the inside cover of front and back. And you are done!!!!

The thing I like the most about the screw post way of book binding, is that you can take it apart, by undoing the screws if you need to add more pages to the photo album. I think this is extremely valuable since alot of times you can always find more pictures to include, that way your album can continue growing and evolving!

Pottery and such...

Just got back from the pottery open studio, I wish they had more hours, this time they cut back to like only 3 days a week and they are all back to back, Tues, Wed, Thrusday, which is kind of unhelpful if you have projects that need to dry or you don't want to get too dry. If they are too dry then you can't trim them and you're screwed. Timing is a very large part of pottery and with such inflexible hours, it makes it very annoying and extremely challenging.

So today for example, I had plates that I made thrown on the wheel, four of them from my class on monday and two from last week that we're drying... well, the two I had thrown last week were too wet to trim on Monday (in class) but TOO dry today!! urghhh... I trimmed them the best I could. Then I'm faced with the dimlemna of do I trim the ones from Monday -today or wait till next Monday (since there's no open studio b/w today and MOnday) so those are my only options, luckly almost all of the plates were ready to be trimmed except for one-- I just waited till the last min for the wet plate and carefully trimmed it up anyways.

I am trying to make a set of plates to replace ones that my boyfriend still has , and that we both use all the time , that were from his previous marriage , that he got as wedding presents. I don't have much against them except for the association of his former life and they aren't much to look at... brown with dark blue flowers painted on in the middle. I know I can do MUCH better then that! AND how cool will it be to eat off my very own plates EVERYday!!! SO much fun!!

I will post some pictures of the plates when I get done with them. Plates are very tricky, because there are some many steps and stages where things can go wrong, and I have broken and/or had cracks happen right up to the very last final stages. As it stands right now I have 6 that are trimmed up and drying, hopefully they will all survive .. [fingers crossed]

New work to check out!!

This is my lastest update to recent work!!!

I've added more photos to recent work on Artist made albums. Check out this very unique photo album, with original mixed media collage artwork on the front and back of it. Each photo album is custom made with YOU in mind! Once you send me your info, email and best time to reach you, your free consultation will help me get an idea of the size, color of your album as well as some themes for the artwork that you'd like included, or maybe you want me to just create something for you and be surprised!!! I feel that you are well deserving of something as unique and as special as you for your wedding day photos! After all that time and energy spent into making the wedding perfect and exactly how you want it down to the very last detail, why not get the perfect wedding album to show off those photos of your wedding pictures to your friends and family! No one album is the same, no replications, each one is original, handcrafted and completely one of a kind!

http://www.artistmadealbums.com/

ARTIST made ALBUMS

Hello everyone! check out this website, featuring my line of customized wedding albums, I use mixed media /collage to create a one-of-a-kind work of art on the cover of a beautiful album to display all your wedding day photos- why use a pre-fabricated, boring album when you could have you very own original artwork created in the form of a functional photo book!! I work with you to come up with the colors and themes you want in your artwork to go along with the feel you want to display your wedding pictures! What could be more perfect!?

Take a look! http://www.artistmadealbums.com/

hey, hey, its your birthday

It's my birthday today, I am 31 years old. Don't feel 31 at all, but what is 31 suppose to feel like? I imagined when I was a kid that 31 was a grown-up, you'd feel like you knew what life was about, you'd have a serious job, lots of responsiblities, married, kids, a house. I have none of things, not right now at least. 31 is nothing like what I thought it would be. And thats a good thing, because I'm making it up as I go along!

Birthdays are a time of reflection for me, I compare, look back, where was I a year ago today, how much has changed, how do I feel about it. my life so far. Its a natural checking in point, I've done this for a while, its not anything new I started as I got "older". I think I always have. Even as a kid I was very aware of myself, of life and of time passing.

Time is a funny thing, it doesn't seem to have any laws that govern it, it makes up it's own rules. Sometimes it feels like it passes by really quickly and at the same time like it's standing still. Music can transport me back to a very real, relived moment in time. Almost errie, how instant this happens, and the longer ago the music was from the more intense the effects it has. Once the music is embedded in a moment of time, it can not be reassigned. For example, Rainer Maria as soon as I put that cd on, it transports me back to my early twenties, got tormented and angry I was, how raw I felt my emotions, and memories of me blasting it in my pea-green bedroom -wishing I had had better parents. I see myself then, smile, and it's hard to even imagine that was me, the same person that's here now. How much we grow and evolve and change. Not all, not everyone grows and changes with time, it's not to be assumed or taken for granted. I worked hard to come as far as I have, a driving force still at work in me to never settle for less, to always strive to become better, stronger, happier, and be a force of change rather then letting life just happen,,, because we only have one life to live.

Unlike how I thought as a child, that when you get to be 30 something, you just have a grown-up life, I realize, we don't just know things or have things because we are a certain age, its a conscious effort, nothing is handed to us, we have to go out there and get it. Life is what you make it. We have complete and total say over what are life is and how it is turning out. Thats a wonderful and frightening thing! Means we have no one to blame and everything to gain!