everybody else is doing it

Here is the best of my research, my faves in the folk art flower department as I prepare to paint my shutters. I figure, there aren't many places you can get away with painting fancy swiss scenes on the side of your house, garage doors or shutters. But living in Midway UT has afforded me this special opportunity. And so, I will join the ranks of folk art painting on the outside of my house, just as soon as I can design something I find appropriate.
Links to the artists in case you want to see more of their art.

From the top left:

1. Inaluxe, etsy shop here.

2. Swiss biscuit tin, google "swiss folk flowers" image search.

3. Embroidery, pattern here.

4. Traditional Polish folk design.

5. Red Lantern folk art, Mukashi Collection, find it here.

6. Wycinanki, Polish paper art.

7. American folk art quilt.

8. Kalocsa embroidery design, pattern here.

9. Kalocsa embroidery design, pattern here.

10. Swedish folk art embroidery, pattern here.

11. American folk art quilt.

12. Green Garden Stamps, etsy shop here.

13. Karla Gerard, website here.

14. Swedish folk flowers, embroidery.
15. Hungarian folk art embroidery.
16. Wycinanki, Polish paper art.

time to apply

If you're (anywhere) near the area (Provo UT) and you make some funky craft or art... you might want to apply for the Winter 2010 Beehive Bazaar coming up December 1-4th. Applications are being accepted until September 29th. Get all the info at thebeehivebazaar.com

handmade goodies

In a bunch of images, all neatly arranged, my haul from the Spring 2010 Beehive Bazaar.
To see more pictures, get some facts or artists & crafter details- go to my flickr page.

gallery strollin'- Park City

We put the kids on autopilot Friday night and took off for a few hours to dine on our favorite mexican food in Park City, (El Chubasco) and have a look at some art.
We used to go out way more often when the kids were little, keeping our favorite babysitter busy most weekends, but it seems like we hardly ever get a moment to breathe now much less go out for an entire evening. Those tweens have plans of their own on the weekends- parent chauffeurs' essential. It was a treat to sneak away for a bit.
We stumbled upon Denise Duong's mixed media artwork in Phoenix Gallery and fell in love. I wished I'd been more than just window shopping.
We've got some quizzical weather going on as well- not very cold up there in PC, not much snow either... creepy.

journaling

I'm a very serious journal keeper when I travel, not so much when I'm at home. But I get motivated after a trip. I enjoy the record keeping, cutting and pasting, coloring (now I just need to draw more...) and of course the looking back aspect. I guess what this all means is that I should travel more.
I've started sewing in the journal, just for fun or just a super smart way to add some more pages when you run out of space. Your extra maps, special papers, speeding tickets (that's Steve O's department not mine) can be easily included and don't go spilling out all over the floor evert time the journal is opened. More journal pictures here.
One of our most favorite pieces of art by Tatzu Nishi, War And Peace and In Between remembered here. In a nutshell, he built a temporary 'house' structures around two sculptures in front of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. When you walk into the 'house' the horse from the sculpture is standing on a bed in the bedroom, or (like in the picture) the rider's head and arm are on display on a coffee table with the horses head in a cupboard. Very funny, clever, creative-art that makes you smile.

a huge thanks

I just want to shout out Thank You to everyone out there who came to the Beehive Bazaar and bought my goods. I feel extremely thankful for everyone's support of my stitchery. With over 50 vendors the Bazaar was bigger and better than ever this December. We were tickled with the crowds of folks who showed up to shop it up.
It was amazing to see the support locals gave to the show, to handmade goods, to their fellow Utah residents. All of the artists involved put a crazy amount of time and effort into creating their wares- it's nice when all your hard work pays off in the end.

Here are a few things I picked up at this years show:

Yeah, that 2 1/2 ft tall brown paper mache reindeer is standing on my hearth next to the wood stove. The kids want to ride it, and can't stop touching it. So cleverly made by Hiedi Blackwelder. I also took home a couple of the collage trees from the picture to be added to my growing collection of tiny, crafty Christmas trees made by Hailey Liechty.

Super cute little pockets wall hanging made by Molly Call- my favorite part is that I don't own any of the fabric it's made out of. It may sound silly, but that's huge for me.

Absolutely hilarious 'siblings with hamster heads' collage art by Jami Schuur that will be hanging on my Christmas tree, and maybe somewhere else for the rest of the year.

Darling snowman gourd made by Jeni Gochnour.

This kitty on roller skates was snatched up before I could make up my mind, darn it. Dallas Russell- you always make the greatest little dolls.

a truly saucy dwelling

I have a special place in my heart for objects pulled from the trash and fix/altered/overhauled/painted. What is it about free that is so darn appealing? So what if it doesn't turn out exactly the way you pictured? Just chuck it back into the trash.
I ran across this saucy room makeover with the recycled TV's dresser today. The ideas for kitsching things up are inspiring to the budget minded- and who's not these days- to see the rest of the space look here.

I especially love the dental impression under the terrarium and the not-my-family portrait from Goodwill.

recap

I'm in summer mode, which means some things fall through the cracks while I scramble to party/entertain/motivate the children while keeping things clean/organized/weeded around here. Here is a photo recap of the last week of our lives.
Father's Day brunch on the back porch.

A Father's Day walk to our neighbor's pond.

What is happening when I am out doing some triathlon training- the kids are getting into the Halloween costumes, jazzing up the little brother cop up the Sharpie mustache and patch of chest hair. He wore the hairy embellishments until they wore off in the pool a few days later. What can I say, it's summertime.

Self portrait, is there anything better than 8 year old chiclet teeth?

I slaved all week cleaning out every closet, the crawl space and the garage in preparation for yard sale Saturday. Here is one of the treasures I came across- a photo collage of out 11 year old as a chubby little baby. I love this series of pictures. (click on the picture to see a bigger version)

some goods from the Beehive Bazaar

As you may have noticed- I'm all about the mosaic these days. I can't seem to settle on just one picture so I keep using this website that makes mosaics, that aren't too small to really see the pictures unlike the tiny mosaics flickr makes. Here are all the goods I picked up at the Bazaar last weekend. I fell in love with many groovy items for sale by all the amazing Utah artists that participated. I'm not going to map and label every item here, but they are all labeled by artist on my flickr page, so you can look there if you really have to know who made what.

taking time to smell the flowers

I really am trying this year to notice spring. It seems like over the last few years I pause from the hecticness of life and realize I've completely missed spring and it's already full blown summer before I know it. So, even though it's back to freezing today, I stopped rushing around and took some pictures. I love springtime, especially the blossoms on the trees and I hope it doesn't snow today- like predicted.

a long time coming

I have been wanting to make a jeweled Christmas tree for years now. My mother-in-law has one she made back in the day... that even has lights on it. I have been haphazardly collecting costume jewelry in pursuit of someday getting around to it for years too. I finally got my crap together in January- got a frame, some fancy fabric, made a few final ebay costume jewelry lot purchases and as February approached.... decided to make a heart instead. I still plan on making a Christmas tree, I mean really- who can have too many of this type of fancy decor in their house? (maybe I need to make an Easter egg and a pumpkin too) Just kidding and I'll tell you why, this crazy heart, when all the numbers are in- was not cheap. Myself and then my posterity better cherish this little baby forever, I'm talking specific mention in the will, custody battles and so on.

Vernazza, Italy

In the middle of a national forest on the northern coast of Italy right next to France are five villages ("Cinque Terre" in Italian) perched on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We instantly fell in love. It was just our style- lots of water and cliffs to jump from, tiny winding streets, flowers spilling from window boxes, not very many tourists, just a handful of cars, and miles and miles of hiking or biking trails. Truly a picture perfect place. This picture is in the village of Vernazza, the swimming was wonderful.


Walking up through the village the storefront of this artist caught our eye. His name is Antonio Greco and he is a native of Vernazza. I took this picture because I couldn't get enough of his art- especially now that I fancy myself a driftwood/collage devotee, artist in training, so-to-speak. Take at look at his other works of collage art here, he also collaborates with his wife Michele Lilley and artist Maya Von Geldern to make purses and jewelry- you can see their goods here. I really loved all of their art, it gave me all sorts of inspiration to get crazy with the collage. And I so love the internet because although I didn't buy anything that day- Christmas is right around the corner and online shopping is so easy.

driftwooding

In the absence of fabric or a sewing machine on this summers trip I found I myself itching to make something. I wanted to keep a journal of the trip, but make it un-boring unlike so many of my previous journaling attempts.
I have never before been a serious journal keeper, I always try for awhile then stop for no good reason other then time constraints, lack of personal motivation, and perhaps the thought that what I have to say is dumb and no one will ever want to read it. My lovely spouse- on the other hand- is a fabulous journal keeper. He has stacks of journals, all filled up with words, drawings, pictures and "driftwood".
Driftwood goes back to a Saturday Night Live reference from the 80's. Does anyone remember John Malkovich's driftwood artist sketch? Very funny...(I think I'll look for it on youtube later)
Anyway... "driftwood" refers to found objects- put into one's journal. It became the catch phrase of the summer. It always made me chuckle it when one of my kids would nonchalantly rip off a corner of some poster we passed, hand it to me and say, "Here you go Mom, some driftwood."
I decided that this trip of a lifetime needed to be documented for the family. Just words are visually a bit boring, so I took a lesson from the master- Steve O and started adding driftwood, drawings, some watercolors, and glitter. What I discovered was a surprisingly pleasant and interesting way to keep a journal. It satisfied all of my creative urges and documented the trip. I didn't get much reading done this summer, but I wrote everyday, went through about 20 glue sticks, and had lots of fun picking up driftwood (a.k.a. trash) all over Europe.
I think I'm hooked on paper now. I have continued the driftwood tradition since I have been home, not everyday- but close. I think it's a habit that is worth acquiring, so- I am going to try and keep at it for good....you know- for posterity.