Treasury!

Finally! I got a treasury! If you are not an etsy regular, the treasury is a place where people hand-pick items, usually with some kind of theme. There can only be a certain number of treasuries at the same time, though, so it can be really hard to snag one! I got one by accident last night--woo hoo for happy accidents!! Anyway, short post today, I just wanted to share. If you haven't done so already, vote in my poll to the right, then scroll down to my "Portraiture" post and leave a comment so you can be entered to win a free pendant!

Portraiture & Contest!

Last year around this time, I was painting this. A portrait of my good friend Alisha Marchewka. She is a high school art teacher, and a brilliant artist. So she came up with the idea of painting portraits of each other and exchanging them as holiday presents. Fun! I will have to take a picture of the one she did of me as well--it is really awesome!

I am obviously by no means a photo-realist when it comes to painting. I have the ability to do a pretty life-like rendering if necessary, but it's really just not something that I enjoy. I do, however, love painting people, and as you can see from most of my work it is very figurative. Usually the people I paint are in my head, but I have been thinking a lot lately about doing more portraits. Some that I just randomly want to make, but also custom portraits.

What I would be offering would not be traditional portraiture. It would be highly stylized, like the one above (keep in mind that I know Alisha well & put some of her personality into the painting, which I may not be able to do as much with strangers), or like this one.

Alright, now that you've seen some examples, take a look at the poll at the top right of my blog and cast your vote! Then put a comment in this post to let me know that you voted. On November 23, I will randomly choose 1 voter, who will win a free owl pendant! Thanks for the input!

Black & White

Only days ago, I began to list my newest creations--a limited edition series of 9 black & white owl pendants. There must be something about them, because they are already selling, and getting a LOT of hits! So cool. I like them a lot because I drew them all free-hand, so each one is unique in it's owly personality. I am also experimenting with new packaging, and so far so good. They come in a very attractive little package, framed by a fabulous piece of fine art paper. Before shipping, I wrap the whole thing in a bow so it is perfect for gift-giving. Cute!

Autumnal Wonder

Autumn. My favorite season of the year for so many reasons.

First, of course, the leaves. No matter how many pass, each year I am astounded by the brilliant colors of the leaves turning as though I had never seen the sight before. I can get lost staring at the landscape around me. And the sweet, buried smell as they slowly rot and become part of the ground below. The cold aroma of the coming Winter filling my lungs with each deep breath.

Also, the sadness. It may sound strange, but Autumn has always brought with it a subtle, sad feeling that creeps into my heart, and I love that feeling. It is the feeling of introspection, of change, of solitude. The trees shed their leaves, preparing themselves for the freezing Winter before they are able to finally renew in the Spring. The Autumnal sadness feels to me as though I am shedding something of my younger self, getting ready to hunker down and take a deep Winter look inside, hopefully learning something new about myself so the following year can be brighter and more fulfilling.

Back to the leaves. It is not only their visual aesthetic that is so appealing to me. It is the every-satisfying crunch crackle crunch sound-feeling as I walk through them. Ask just about anyone that really knows me, and they probably know that I will alter my path in order to walk through the leaves (Warning to all who leave tempting piles raked but not bagged!!!). Even my daughter laughs at me, then joins in, as I run through the piles surrounding her school each morning. They inspire me to run, to skip, to be young and show it.

Then, of course, there are Halloween and Thanksgiving. My feelings about both of these holidays have changed over the years, but I love the dressing up, the parties, the friends and family. The moderate weather. Sweaters. Comfort food. Certainly a season worthy of favorite.

I killed the tooth fairy.

I did it. I killed the tooth fairy. Now I feel guilty about, but what was I to do?!?

Here's how it happened. Last night before dinner, I was sitting at my computer editing photos of my pendants. Indigo crawled into my lap to cuddle as I clicked away. We were talking about the woman pendants--she decided some of them looked like her, some like me, and was telling me which was which. In sweet 7-year-old fashion, she asked me to make one that looked just like her and list it on etsy, telling everyone that it was her.

Suddenly, mid-conversation, she pulled away from me a little bit and looked directly at me. "Mama," she said, "Tell me the truth now. Do NOT even lie. Is the tooth fairy real?"

I stumbled for a second in shock of the question. I have always felt a pang of guilt surrounding the tooth fairy, Santa, and other such creatures that are fun to pretend about but are really a big, fat, lie. My stomach turned a bit as I tried to decide what to say. Gain some time, answer with a question, "Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?"

"Ma-ma! For real! You have to tell me the truth. Is the tooth fairy real or is it you that comes in and puts the money in there?"

I sighed. I have always been honest with her, sometimes giving kid-versions of things, but still being honest. And I expect her to do the same. At her young age, we have even talked about periods and how babies are made, in answer to her questions. I just couldn't lie to such a straightforward question. "Yes, honey, the tooth fairy is really me. I'm sorry to tell you that, but it is just a game that we play."

"So it was you that wrote those tiny notes from the tooth fairy?"

"Yes, it was me. How do you feel about that?" She put her head on my shoulder and hid her face a bit. "Are you okay Sweetie?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Pause. "So, what about Santa Claus?"

Sewing is Sexy

Stephen LaFrance. He's an amazing photographer, a talented graphic designer, and now, he sews. I may be biased since he is also my boyfriend, but all bias aside he is truly talented. And I am so proud that he could toss aside his worries of appearing girlie and break out his sewing machine to make his latest idea happen.

He lives in an old apartment building right of of very hip Belmont in Portland, OR. The front door of his apartment hangs about an inch above the hardwood floors, so every time the weather gets chilly, you can imagine the draft and the heating bill that flies out from under that door!

Now, we've all seen draft dodgers before--those little long pillows that go across the door. But what happens when you close the door from the outside? That cute little pillow is left far from the doorway, doing no good whatsoever. Now, enter..........the new, improved draft dodger, designed by Steve! It has a long velcro strip (or magnets if you have a steel door), so when you leave the room, voila! That nasty gap at the bottom of your door is still covered. Your house stays warmer, you save money on your heating bill, and it looks sooooo much nicer than a plastic weather-strip (not to mention it is better insulated).

Check out boywhosews.etsy.com.

I'm BaaaAck!

New York City. It was an experience, I'll tell you that! I am still sorting out some of my feelings from the whole thing, and getting over the mad flying back and forth in such a short time period, so I'm not going to say much.

I have to be honest, there were some serious flaws in the whole weekend that absolutely should not have happened. But I am a "make the best of it" kind of person, so I would rather talk about the good parts here and deal with the bad parts where they need to be dealt with.

Taking over the Etsy Labs and the Brooklyn Indie Market was really fun, and I met some really awesome people, etsy and non etsy alike :) I felt like I was 18 again sleeping in an air mattress on the half pipe that takes up one edge of the Labs, and I had the chance to get to know some of my pdx etsy teammates even better than before. I also got to have lunch with my cousin, which was short but very sweet.

Finally, I learned a LOT. Like, a show in New York is no different than a show at home--you never know how it will go so you just have to make the best of it. And that, no matter what is happening all around them, people will choose to experience the same exact situation in a wide variety of ways. I also learned that I have a super-power clown-car suitcase--in on little carry-on roller wheely suitcase, I packed enough stuff (four small paintings, 30 pendants, hand-painted cards, ACEO's, display items, business cards, tablecloth, and Steve's photographs!) to cover 4 feet of table space very attractively: :)

I am SO glad to be home, but I do not regret this experience in the least. Hopefully it will pave the way to more traveling and art selling in the future......