horizontal surfaces are for . . .

ART PROJECTS!!!!

the studio workspace

the "art bar"

the breakfast table

the dining room table

While I'm waiting for wax to melt in the studio and for the temperature to warm-up so I can go outside to do some sanding and for paint to dry, I thought I'd share a little story about my sweet husband, Patrick with you.

When we built the house we owned last, we included my first studio which I absolutely LOVED.
One day Patrick came home from work to see every horizontal surface covered with plates that I had collaged for a Christmas artisan fair.  And he said "I thought when we built you a studio, this wouldn't happen any more."  Well, of course, I just laughed and said something about that wasn't in a contract, was it?

Art projects just expand to fill the space alotted and then they overflow. Or maybe explode is a better word for it.  I am currently working on some large pieces that just don't fit anywhere but where we should do our eating.  But this is "picked up" -- I wish I'd taken the pictures a few days ago when one of the sofas and the ottoman were covered too. 

(oh, there's not a picture of the bar becuz it's covered in Halloween decorations, not art projects -- I took them down but I never got them boxed up LOL)

Have a fun day arting everyone.

working in the studio

I've been quite busy working in the studio lately.

These are two of the pieces still in process.

I'm also working on three projects for my art group

(I missed a couple during tax season)

But the main thing I've been doing is revamping the studio.

Actually,  the only thing I've FINISHED is revamping the studio.

It's going to work so much better - for day to day studio time,

arting with friends and maybe some classes.

You can see a lot more pictures on my facebook page by clicking here.

You can see what it looked like before the revamp by clicking here.

Of course, my brain has come up with lots of other things to do

but I think I'm going to stick with making art this week.

Thanks for stopping by - Sherry

Organizational Help Needed

I really need your help fellow paper artists and collage artists:

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR PAPERS & IMAGES

SO THEY'RE ACCESSIBLE BUT NOT ALL OVER EVERYTHING?

I did file mine in a 3 drawer lateral file cabinet but found that new stuff just piled up. Now I have two huge tubs of paper to be filed!!! AND I realized that I haven't really been pulling from the drawers enough.

I guess I should add that the file cabinet is full. I have TONS of paper. I thought about buying shelving or drawers from the craft supply store but I would have to buy soooooooooooo many. I have more paper than anyone I know - and some of them have a LOT!

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you ~ Sherry

Art Journaling Again *YAY*

My studio is so close to being set up that I actually found time to journal again!! YAY!!

I started with a paper that I'd dyed, watercolored & collaged a long time ago (I have a lot of these pre-made journaling papers - it's so much fun to do that once I start, I can't stop) and used a Sharpie white poster pen, #6 pencil & regular black sharpie to do some writing. That was all I planned on doing as I was sitting in front of the TV since my desk had a K charm bracelet covering it's surface.

I didn't plan on writing anything significant - I just wanted to put pen to paper - so there was no great out-pouring of emotion, just a little letter play. But after I finished the writing, I noticed the kinda skin-tone area to the right and just had to draw the eye under the long tail on the G (I love to draw eyes) which became half a face. Then photo tape with more white poster paint and voila, a journal page. FINALLY.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have some creative time again, not to mention a creative space (expect pictures soon). Though I know you understand if this is your "thing" too ~ Sherry

PS - Don't forget to enter the giveaway - results of the drawing will be posted tomorrow night.

Moving - but where?

We put our gorgeous house on the market on September 26th (click here to see my earlier post). And we had a contract on it on October 14th.

18 DAYS!!!

Based on what's been happening in our neighborhood sales-wise, we were expecting it to take at least two months so this was quite the surprise.

The good news is that I can quit making the bed. The bad news is that I can't start making art, I have to start packing BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING.

Not only was the sale fast, the closing is fast - November 5th. So we're looking for houses. If we find one that's move-in ready and we can miraculously close that on the 5th, then it's one move and the packing is a pain, but normal. But if it takes longer to close, then everything goes into a pod except what we need to live for a few weeks. And if we don't find one or if the one we find needs lots of work, we have to pack some stuff to go to storage, some to an apartment.

YIKES!!!
What does this mean for my art?
Or my studio and my supplies?
Guess I'll let you know as soon as I know!
Or if everything continues to move this fast, guess I'll let you know after I get where I'm going! ~ Sherry

Recovery Time in the Studio

As I may have mentioned before, in addition to being a mix-media artist, I'm an accountant - it's the way I pay for art supplies. As you may not know if you're not into accounting, this Thursday is another IRS deadline: 401(k) reports are due. That's what I'm doing these days.

And I'm exasperated and worn out. There are clients who didn't send in their "stuff" until last week and it was so wrong that I have to spend days correcting it. I know they're well-meaning clients and probably perfectly nice people but . . .

So in an effort to recover from last week and build up strength for the next week, I'm going to spend today doing things I love. First, there was a fattening breakfast. Then we bought flowers for the garden. Then I went shopping for boots (OMG, they are SO awesome), jewelry, a jacket and a couple sweater dresses. It is amazing (and kinda sad?) how great a new pair of shoes can make me feel. Bring it on clients: I have new, incredible high-heeled black boots and I know how to use them!!!!

But after I finish writing this, I'm going to do what soothes my soul the most: spend time in my studio. Even if all I do is reorganize art supplies, time in the studio both calms and invigorates me. There's just something about touching all the fun goodies that soothes and inspires me. (The only problem with reorganizing is that then I can't find anything!)

Today I won't be reorganizing or even just playing around. I'm going to "finish" the book I started with a group of friends on 9/24 (you can read more in the previous post). It's titled ART INSPIRATION: ENCOURAGING WORDS FOR THE CREATIVE SOUL. I put the word finish in quotes becuz this book has so many pockets that I can keep adding quotes and sayings indefinitely.

Life and work can be exhausting. So, restore yourself this weekend - whether that means time in your studio or a hot bath (I plan to do that later today too) or reading a book (hmmm, can I fit that in too?) or a walk or shoe shopping or prayer and meditation ~ Sherry

Another New Medium

As I may have mentioned, Patrick and I are getting our house prepped to put on the market. A big part of that prep has been containing the art supplies.

You see, and forgive me if I've already said this here, one of the drawbacks, maybe the only one, to being a mixed-media artist is that I have to have all the supplies for all the different media. Oil paints. Oil paint sticks. Water soluable oil pastels. Rubber stamps. Ink. Encaustic. Acrylics (fluid and heavy body). Gels. Polymers. Resins. And, my gosh, the PAPER! It's everywhere! And as an assemblage artist, I can't see one piece of refuse without thinking, "hmmmmm, if I did . . . I could make . . . with that". So not only do I have tons of art supplies, I have tons of junk.

So I've kind of been bemoaning my non-choice of a particular medium as I filled up the storage unit with art supplies and junk. But what did I do with my birthday gift cards? I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a jewelry glass kiln that works in the microwave. Then I bought a new soldering iron. And more glass. And solder. I'm just a sucker for almost everything artsy-fartsy related. Unless it involves meticulous cutting. Yuck.

I had a fun day experimenting with the kiln and glass today with my BFF Roz. Hopefully I'll melt something that's worth photographing soon. And, yes, believe it or not, a microwave kiln WORKS!!! I wonder if metal clay would work in there or . . . Wait, Sherry, you have to draw the line somewhere.

Or do I? ~ Sherry

My Mannequin Arrived!!!

I've been wanting a regular size* mannequin/dress form for awhile but didn't want to spend the big bucks. I found one last week in the ebay store DISPLAY MANNEQUINS. The seller was great to work with and she arrived in less than a week. Patrick put her together and she's currently wearing a scarf I just finished altering. I'll put up a photo Sunday - the day I actually get to be in the studio during daylight hours.

I'm really excited to photograph my jewelry and scarves and shawls on the mannequin. Which means more work on the website. Which unfortunately means less time making jewelry or art journal pages. PLUS she looks really cool standing in the studio. Oh yeah, I need to photograph the updated studio too.

~ Sherry

* regular size means a 4/6 - NOT Sherry size. Yes, I've lost two sizes but I think I was the size of this mannequin in 3rd grade (minus the boobs of course).

Please Pardon My Mess

I bought a magazine/book the other day called ARTFUL BLOGGING and realized while reading it that my blog needed some work. So Please Pardon My Mess while the site is being remodeled. Again. Of course, the main thing I need to work on is posting more pictures and more frequently. But with all this room reorganizing and blog remodeling, I haven't done much art for awhile.

Oh! I did finish this cute little purse. I recycled the body from an old purse I had made (I'd worn thru the body of it).

I guess I better go get to work ~ Sherry

The Art Room Project

So much to say and so little time. Guess I'll divide it into multiple posts as I take some time off from this new "project" I've created for myself.

Project? Oooooooooooooooo, that sounds exciting! Well, yes, but certainly not in the typical way.

You see, we're talking about putting the house on the market (a long, but good story - at least if it sells!!) and we decided we needed to do some upkeep beforehand. Not repairs but weeding thru stuff. Since Patrick went out of town and I have a three day weekend (one of the future posts), I decided to gut my art studio. Out came all six mis-matched storage units and the tables - oh, my gosh, this room is HUMONGOUS!! In went matching shelves and storage bins that I had been collecting for just such a purpose.

WOW! It looks amazing - but I'm not done yet. The living room looks kind of messy right now as I sort thru stuff to move out to the garage (the storage facility for Studio Pashnada). I have a little over 24 hours to finish this portion of the project. That's when Patrick comes home and I'll surprise him.

Then the computer corner and the file cabinet wall. Then I'll post some pictures of the final product. (I forgot to photograph it in all it's beauty before I started).

Talk to you later ~ I gotta go sort some stuff ~ Sherry