A New Year's Giveaway...

Wild Hare No.5

(party animal)

Wild Hare No.5 (party animal) is looking for a new home for the new year.  Anyone who leaves a comment, hope, dream or resolution between now and midnight on New Year's Day will be entered in a random (name in the hat) drawing to win this 5" x 2.5" original encaustic painting.   I will announce the winner and share my hopes for the new year on January 2nd.  Tonight I will raise my glass to all who have visited this little blog in 2014.  I appreciate your insight, comments and support and am hosting this giveaway as a small thank you.  Best of luck to you and Cheers to 2015!

Ending with new beginnings....

Over break,  I have been up working early while the house is still quiet.  The top images are from the same small piece and the bottom row is a photo of a tree in my backyard and the large(ish) piece it inspired. The tree is full of character and sits next to a slightly larger evergreen and I really love the visual of the two of them out there together, throughout the year.  I feel as if I am moving in a slightly different direction and ending the year with new beginnings. I often think of a passage by Ernest Hemingway 'A Movaeable Feast' where he says that he never stops working until he knows what comes next.  That is how I try to work.  To create with energy and passion and move things forward and to stop and let go knowing what will be layered on when I get back into the studio.  Here is the quote from 'A Moveable Feast' which I listened to on CD while knitting a sweater a few years back:

"The best way is to always stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day, you will never be stuck.  Always stop while you are doing good and don't think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day.  That way your subconscious will work on it all the time.  But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired  before you start."   

                    -Ernest Hemingway

and while I was looking for that quote I came across this one which I love too...especially the line  about coming to your work and warming as you create and the line about being empty and never empty but filling...

"When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible.  There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write.  You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.  You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again.  You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that.  When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling..."

              -Ernest Hemingway

One Of A Kind Booth Photos...

Someone had asked to see images of my display/booth at The One Of A Kind Fair.  The Etsy area was set up as an open concept with each vendor having a 5'x5' space marked out.  I was a little worried about how I was going to display my work with no walls or columns to hang things on but I worked it out.  After lots of searching I lucked into an old retail fixture at a Habitat for Humanity shop and with a quick coat of high gloss white paint it was perfect.  I added a gloss white shelf fixture from IKEA and repurposed a small table base I had into a small desk with storage underneath and a countertop to package paintings.  I machine stitched bags in three sizes out of unbleached parchment and ordered stickers from MOO to seal them.  All in all things went very smoothly and in the end I was so happy to be on an aisle with lots of open space.  I really expected to be overwhelmed and wiped out but at the end of each day I felt tired but energized.  It was great talking to people about the process and seeing people connect with my work.  I can't thanks my friends and family enough for encouraging me to take this leap and for supporting me every step of the way.  It really does take a village...

Winter white...

Snowbird

Wild Hare No.4

Emotional Block No. 27

(that's just what i was thinking)

I think this is my winter palette.  I have a few other pieces in the works that share the same winter white vibe with small pops of color.  It's funny how shifts in the seasons and  in the landscape find their way into my work when I'm not paying attention.  It's like I'm working, working, working and then when I look at what I've created I see a connection, a story, a vibe that reflects what's going on inside and outside my window.  That's a good thing.  That's the thing that makes a piece worker not work. Makes it believable or proves it to to be too forced or contrived.  I guess that's why I like to work on a few pieces at once, so they can jostle for attention, give and take from each other and find where they fit in.  The little blocks of wood are not too different from all of us trying to find ourselves, be ourselves and all the time absorbing and reflecting all that is around us. 

Wishing you a weekend filled with warmth, joy and togetherness.

Recap, regroup, add color...

new work

Hello there.  I'm back from my big adventure in The Windy City and I have to tell you it was an amazing experience!!!  It was so far out of my comfort zone that while I felt organized and prepared when I headed to Chicago, I truly had no idea what to expect. I knew I had to get to the docks, unload, file paperwork, get badges, check into the hotel, set up and prepare for massive crowds of people. I also knew my Mom and Dad, Chuck and some very dear friends were going to be there to help me out at different times over the 4 day event (BIG thanks and big HUGS). What I didn't know was that the Etsy support team would be super, super awesome and that my fellow Etsy Artists would be like little family.  I learned so much by participating in this show and am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that 67 pieces found new homes.  For reals. I feel like an empty nester.  Yesterday after I finished unpacking I got right back to work playing with color and shape.  My One Of A Kind Show adventure was educational, exhausting and energizing all at the same time.  I'm not sure if it's something I would do again next year.  I have a few smaller shows lined up that may be more my speed but then again maybe...

xx-

road trip...

The day has finally arrived and 12 weeks worth of work are packaged up and ready to head to the One Of A Kind Fair with me this morning.  There is so much more than painting that goes into preparing for a show of this size and while I'm sure there will be something I forgot but I'm super excited to be setting off on this adventure.  If you are anywhere near Chicago you are invited to visit The Merchandise Mart  and say hi to me in booth E32.  If not, have a fabulous weekend and wish me luck!

xx-

B