Made another sale!

Oh, I hope you weren't putting off buying this one from my Etsy store. It's gone, baby, gone!
My commission client remembered me, and came back for a little more. She bought this notebook for a friend's going-away gift. The best part: the client said, "I was thinking, 'oh, I'll just pick up a notebook at Barnes and Noble' and then I thought, 'wait, why don't I just call Lisa?' "

I'll be savoring that for a while.

Since I brought her a selection to look at in person, she bought it then, so I just took the notebook down from Etsy. However, I've re-listed some other notebooks, so see if there's anything you'd like to take home. You can click on the link in the first sentence of this post. Or use the Etsy widget on the right side of the page, and click on "YoLisaLisa."

Oh. My. God.

On the back of the can: "Promotes and restores sexual desire, improves circulation and sexual function. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease."

Ya think?

Oh, I just fell off my ass laughing at the packaging. Just wait until I go back to the store and take a picture of the "Sweet Love Rolls." I am not kidding about that name.
The Husband and I decided to investigate the offerings of this market that re-opened up the street from us. We thought it was going to be strictly fresh produce, but it's like the marvelous mega-ethnic market -- with a gigantic selection. Mexican/Central American, Asian (and I do mean all over Asia) and eastern European products, stuff I've seen or read about before as well as things I'd never seen. It was like being back in LA!

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

There were at least five different options to buy durian fruit, for example. Durian is a southeast Asian fruit that smells so strong (read: knock-you-on-your-ass stink) that Thailand doesn't allow

it to be carried on public transportation. Don't ask me why this man apparently didn't get that memo.Photo courtesy Wikipedia

It cannot be imported to this country unless it's frozen first. On my first visit to my father-in-law and stepmother-in-law's house, he served a durian and mango sticky rice dessert to see if I'd eat it.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The texture is like a kidney from a cadaver. I think. I don't eat zombie flesh, as a rule.

At the local market, they had thawed durian, whole frozen durian, two brands of frozen slices, and durian "essence," which I can only assume is used as a cooking ingredient/weapon.

The Husband just needed some Thai curry paste for Sunday dinner, and I grabbed a couple other things as well. What I really wanted to do was spend more time taking pictures of the various packagings... the non-alcoholic malt drink apparently made in a Greek monastery... the snacks with anime-style cartoons (Julie would just plotz in there!)... the preserved stuff that probably hasn't been approved for consumption by pregnant women and the elderly... the list goes on.

I ain't tryin' out that Aphrodite stuff until after I see my doctor next week.

Genius. Genius, I tell you

The Boy is showing an interest in "reading" on his own, and he seems to have an inkling on counting things (especially the number of M&Ms that we occasionally dole out). So we started him in a phonics class and then a math class at day care last week, and apparently he's really enjoying himself. Nothing hard-core: the kids his age only do 20 minutes a day in these optional classes, which is about the length of any other activity they do.
My favorite comment on his progress: "He also enjoyed writing in his journal!"

I'm kvelling!

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about

Hey y'all -- exciting news! I've been picked to be next month's Gypsy Bonfire contributor!

Now I know I don't have to tell you much about Lisa Hoffman. She's one of the journal contributors of True Colors: A Palette of Collaborative Art Journals. Actually, Lisa originated two journals; one was lost in the mail for a bit, so she started another. (Isn't that book like visual crack? Except without the need for rehab.)

On her blog, she has a section where she invites people to tell stories. The kind of stories you'd hear if you were actually hanging out in person. The idea is to provide a place where all us like-minded folks can get to know each other better, even if we never meet in person. So I dug up some pictures of when I was Skeeny (skinny as all get out) and coughed up a few words to string it all together. Lisa and I talked last Friday, and we're officially sharing all sorts of inappropriate information with each other. (Kidding!) Find out which story made the cut.

And tell everyone to tune in May first! Hey, that's May Day. (Try not to think too hard about what dancing around the maypole means.)

Have I mentioned that you guys rock?

Well, you do. Submit to the pleasure and admit that you rock.

Thanks for reading and commenting. It means the world to me, and it makes me dig my virtual toe in the dirt with pleasure.

Last day of Artfest classes

Whew! Sorry for dropping out for a whole week with no explanation. I'd like to think I blog without obligation, but apparently that is just not the case. We did lose power over the weekend because it snowed (and yes, it was just OUR neighborhood; we saw everyone else's lights a-twinkling).
Anyway. Day three of Artfest classes had me in Bee Shay's "Handful of Curiosity" class, preparing a tiny little journal case and journal pages. How 'bout this for a sample?
First it was down to the beach, and its stinging wind, to collect anything that struck our fancy.
It could be rocks, driftwood, kelp...
(Yeah, those are all kelp. Even the center one: I was praying it wasn't a used condom. But it had this lovely deep red center, and wavy edges which made me think it was some sort of jellyfish.)
Even some little crab remains.

And then we headed back to class to think on what we'd collected, and why. Then we wrote our thoughts on heavy printmaking paper that we dyed with Adirondack re-inkers. I had all sorts of deep thoughts on the beach: the footprints/pawprints/bird tracks, side by side on the sand, making me think how we all share this little bitty planet...
I thought about jellyfish (because of the kelp I picked up) taking over the seas because of humans overfishing around the world... But most of that slid right off my brain due to fatigue, once we got settled back into the classroom. Such is life and Artfest.

Bee also taught us how to carve little stamps (I can see why that's so addictive), and how to pierce the lid of the tin to attach items on the front. And this was with a small hand-cranked drill, not a Dremel! (Maybe if I get one of those, I won't make so much dang noise at 12:30am making art. Nah.)

As usual, things seemed to click for me in class about 2.5 hours before we had to pack up, so I dashed madly to finish up. I had even less ability to think through the panic because I was so damn tired, so Bee kindly helped me finish the ties that keep the journal in place under the tin lid.

Then Bee and LK Ludwig took our (mostly) finished journals to Show and Tell, where everyone gets a chance to see what everyone else has been up to in their classes. One of mine is center row on the left... again, I was so bleary-eyed I didn't even notice my second tin was up in the right corner.
I managed to do one page in that journal before I had to throw myself into the other portions of class. Still amazed that I got anything done, much less two separate tins.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled Artfest coverage

Another of my new dorm-mates posted a comment -- the talented Celeste. You'll find her in one of the bonfire pictures in the previous Artfest post. I just love it when I know where to find y'all online!

Once again, I have no idea how I made it to Vendor Night, seeing's how I was so dog-tired after another full day of arting. But Morag and I made it to the big ol' hangar where it was being staged. You see why I say "staged" instead of "held":
These are people attending Artfest, as well as Port Townsend locals who were interested in the art. Yes, it was crowded, but not as slammed as the Vendor Night at Art & Soul in Portland, because that was in a couple of large hotel break-out rooms. Plus there was all that overhead space dissipating some of the body heat. So it was warm enough to make you take off your jacket, but not dance-club-crowded.

I made a couple of circuits, because there was no way to move like an assembly line -- people want to look more closely or chitchat with the artist. You had to get in where you could. So when the crowd eased a bit, I saw LK Ludwig close to the front:
Anahata Katkin, selling like crazy (I promised to post a good pic!):
Nina Bagley (she liked my calling card design!) and her pal Misty Mawn, right next door:
I took pics of the necklaces Nina made for both of them. Nina teased me about sneaking in a boob shot.
Catherine Witherell, parting with one of her articulated pendant lovelies:
She took a little time to browse through my artist book:
... and I took advantage of her weakness to scoot in and take a couple pix from the inside of the vendor ring.
Look! In the dark sweater -- a guy at Artfest who's not teaching! (You may have noticed these events tend to be, um, estrogen-rich.)

Another circuit... this time I ran into some of my friends, like Stacie:She's naughty. It says so right there.
And here's Kecia, my Art & Soul roomie. She's a trained professional, kids. Don't try this at home.
And Laren, trying on a necklace (she's on the left):

I knew going in that I probably wouldn't be able to afford anything; most everything I'd love to take home was at least $225 or more. Which is almost as much as an Artfest class. But surprise -- I did find a little something I could afford, at Pamela Huntington's table!
She made a little articulated circus acrobat, and gave him a wire tightrope to walk on. I love the doorknocker, and the text above:
And then I stayed up far later than I should've again, at the "afterparty" we had in our dorm. Someone even had those plastic bracelets they give you to enter a party, so we figured that made our "club" official. Lots of fun.

Next time, on Blogging Queen: Last day of classes, and why the black kids always eat together in the cafeteria.

Why yes, it is, in fact, all about me.

Lots of fun in LK Ludwig's "This is Me" class. The above picture is printed on rice paper -- I still can't believe it turned out so well. I cut the paper down to 8.5x11 size, and set the "Properties" to "Other Specialty Papers." I also kept the other, regular papers in the printer to keep the rice paper closer to the feed part (does that make sense?) and held down the regular papers by hand while the rice paper fed through.

Basically, "This is Me" was an altered book class on self-portraiture. In the class materials, she asked us to print out pictures of ourselves on various types of paper, in various sizes. Here's one on photo paper that I painted with iridescent paint...
Textured paper...

Papyrus (the photo in the middle is of my mom in London)...
Even some regular color photocopies.

Then LK taught us how to alter them in various ways. Some I already knew how to do, like water transfers from crappy photo paper. But a new one on me was embedding photos in layers of sewing pattern and blank tissue paper.
The photos are on the next-to-last layer, stamped with a Michaels-type foam stamp, then covered with a blank sheet of tissue paper to pull them all together. So it's a very lightweight, dreamy kind of page; how thin it is depends on how many layers you use.

Another favorite: spraying patina onto brass or copper mesh. We used various items to create masks against the mesh pages.
LK also showed us a masking method that I used to draw my hand pointing. The lacy pattern is a second mask.LK had told us to think about various favorite expressions or sayings, a couple of which I decided to do on the mesh.
I wasn't expecting to finish the project, just learn the techniques, and I didn't. But it should turn into something pretty interesting, which I'll post when I've recovered from Artfest. This class was fairly stress-free, but the prep was kinda scary. I was just worried that I'd forget something, and I had no idea how to use some of the stuff. But it was a lot of fun.

Next post: Vendor Night madness.

What's that smell?

Hot dogs...
S'mores... Actually, I don't really like s'mores much because of the marshmallows. Yes, this means I am a bad American.

Sorry about the delay in posting. The rest of life had the nerve to get in the way.

Mostly, the bonfire is a chance to art while you're hangin' with everyone else, or just a chance to hang and watch other people art. There's Celeste, Kristi, Cheryl and Layla (waving), faced by Nicole.
I don't have an art journal, just a notebook where I write or try to sketch stick figure versions of ideas. Nothing like this:
But I made Julie drive Amy Lee and me down to the beach anyway to go to the bonfire.
That's the thing about Artfest: You're wiped, but you don't want to miss anything! If you were concentrating this hard on classes at home, you'd never make it to an extracurricular activity -- you'd just wolf something down and crawl into bed.
Random violinist, but she did add atmosphere. Lots of chips, beer, hot dogs, s'mores... and gossip. That's where I talked to the three or four other people who were unhappy about the class I talked about in the first post. It came up like this: "So what did you take today?" "How'd it go?" I finally got tired enough of rehashing it that I just rolled my eyes in response after a while.

And after the bonfire, I still ended up staying up even later! Oy. I got a good night's sleep, but man, it's like living three days in one!

Next post: Day two of classes, with LK Ludwig.

"One time, at art camp..."

I'm back -- and crammed to the gills full of Artfest fun and wisdom! Prepare to be inundated for the next week or so. There's just so much to show and tell.The ferry trip and drive through the Olympic Peninsula was pleasant and uneventful. I meant to stop in at the "festal virgins fountain" (aka the Haller fountain) but once I saw the "Welcome to Port Townsend" sign, I couldn't stop until I got to Fort Worden.
My home for the next half-week: dorm 202, front view.
I was on the second floor.
Uh-huh. All the way up there, and no elevators (this was built waaaaay before disabled-access laws, plus it's a former Army barracks.) In spite of having brought way too much stuff, I managed to get it all settled in the right room.
The fantastic four:Cheryl, Liesel, Layla and me.

So I went to stand in line to register, and enter my "Dryad and Child" into the gallery. I think it was only about a half-hour after the Artfest office opened, but it was crammed with people dying to get the party started. Like Maya and Cindy.
Surprise -- I had a hard time focusing on the task at hand, so Cindy pointed out what I needed to pick up and look through. See those big-ass name buttons? Those are actually lifesavers -- your brain quickly becomes too crammed full of techniques and new info to remember people's names.

I found some mint fudge in my welcome pack, so that also helped me keep going. Then I met two more new friends, Amy Lee and Janine.
We took in the sights...... until dinnertime, when I met Julie for the first time in real life!
She's on the left, talking to Tiphoni, one of the instructors and Teesha's daughter.

The food was great, and then the frenzy continued -- this time with trades. (These are optional little gifts given as a little "nice to meet you." They can be anything you want, like artist trading cards or charms.) I didn't even have to get out of my seat! A lot of people were so excited, they finished dinner and began going from table to table, offering to trade.
Afterwards, we all went to the first-day meeting, where Teesha and Tracy introduced our instructors. Then we were free to go to the Art Asylum, which is a room where you can journal...or make something from the donated odds and ends.I was way too wired to focus that much, but I did show people the artist book I began at Art & Soul last October.

Day two of Artfest is coming... gotta continue my re-entry into the rest of my life.

He cooks, he supports my habit -- AND he makes art for me!

Okay, this is a major first. You know The Husband is my personal Art Enabler. He's encouraged me to go to both Art & Soul last year, and Artfest this year. He waited patiently until I got up the nerve to sell my notebooks on Etsy, and at the holiday craft fair at work. He thinks my stuff is cool.

But this time he went beyond... and made art for me!

Sci-Fi Bride, by The Husband

As I said in the last post, we're both big sci-fi/fantasy fans. So The Husband created this piece to express our shared lurve, and love of sci-fi. The collage was created using six public domain images, plus one of our wedding photos. (I bought me some hair for the occasion.)

I look like the Creator and Destroyer of Worlds. With a veil and a pretty little bouquet. Cool.

He also made and framed another poster, this one to celebrate our adoration of "Little Britain". (Warning: major time-suck -- do not visit that site unless you've got time and privacy.) He used to hate the "We are Ladies" sketch, in which the two comedians play not-very-convincing transvestites who love Victorian-era dresses. But he found more public domain art of men in Victorian drag, so I guess The Husband couldn't resist.

Yes, he's wonderful. No, you can't borrow him.

Happy fifth anniversary, sweetie

Don't stand too close. It'll take a chunk outta ya.
I might've mentioned in an earlier post that I make art for The Husband each year for our anniversary. It's our fifth, so the traditional gift is made of wood. But really, who wants a wooden gift that hasn't been altered? Then, under the influence of Jane Wynn's Altered Curiosities, I realized I had the foundation of this anniversary's gift.

The Husband and I share a love of Terry Pratchett's Discworld. One of the recurring "characters" is The Luggage, as described on Wikipedia:

It is a large chest made of sapient pearwood (a magical, intelligent plant which is nearly extinct, impervious to magic, and only grows in a few places outside the Agatean Empire, generally on sites of very old magic). It can produce hundreds of little legs protruding from its underside and can move very fast if the need arises. It has been described as "half suitcase, half homicidal maniac."

So I started with a balsa wood box I'd gotten for another project. I painted it with bronze paint, then patina.
I cut "teeth" into the top and bottom, then painted the teeth off-white, then added more patina over the tooth paint. (Really should've cut them before I painted the box, but I was so excited about trying the patina!)

Oh, and then the Dremel cutting wheel comes out! Oh, yeah. There is nothing like the smell of friction-melted, amputated toy soldier legs.
Except for friction-melted, amputated fake Barbie legs, of course.

And you can add McDonald's action figurine legs for variety. I attached them with epoxy putty from the hardware store.
Again, try not to jump the gun with the paint... like I did... again. You'll need to attach one row of legs, then paint, then attach another row. Otherwise you'll need a really skinny paintbrush to get around the corners to paint everything.
I lined the inside with a textured red paper, and then collaged the tags.
The Husband immediately put it up on the mantle. He knew what I was making, but he still liked the way it came out. Oh, but you have to see the art he made for me!

Pocket art, display art

Voila! The magic of Photoshop... the expertise of The Husband... and now I have official business-type calling cards. The Husband gently nudged me to get it done, and man, it was about time. One more step closer to being ready for Artfest.

And if you're going to Artfest, please stop by the gallery area, where my assemblage "Dryad and Child" will be available for purchase.
I know I'm offering this to an audience of artists, in a place where the artists are hoping to make some money to recoup their retreat expenses.

But still... if the piece isn't your thing, talk it up to your friends back home who would like it. You've seen this grow and change -- you're practically a midwife to this baby! Help me find a home for these two.

Tagged and bagged

The fabulous pink-slingin' Julie tagged me the other day! Prepare to learn more than you ever wanted to know about me.

Julie says I must:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

It is a bit of a job so even if you just wanted to post the facts that would be fun!!!

Here goes:
1. The little bitty circle scar next to my nose is a chicken pox scar I got when I was three. I didn't like how it felt when my hand brushed up against it, so I scratched it off in the bathtub.

2. When my brother and I watched cartoons as a kid, we used to call dibs on the characters. This means you have to speak up quick at the beginning of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, or your animated alter ego will spend the next half-hour bitching about that wascally wabbit.

3. My favorite color is a very specific shade of scarlet. Not orangey red, not fire truck red, not candy-apple red.

4. My favorite expression of my father's was "The first hundred years are always the hardest." He always attributed that sentiment to his older brother, but I've never once heard my uncle say it.

5. If I keep my elbows bent for more than about five minutes, when I straighten them out, they make a loud snap that sounds like I'm cracking my knuckles next to an amplifier.

6. I paid for most of my college education with winnings from a game show. It was called "Body Language" and I won about $27,000 from a week's worth of victories.

7. I want real-life scientists to figure out how to tesser, so I can live on the same street as all my friends and loved ones. (Man, I miss Madeleine L'Engle.)

I tag these peoples to carry on the tradition: Ricë, Jan, Stacie B., Lisa H., Evil Greg, Paula, and Deryn. I realize not all of you will participate. But I tagged you because you hold the secrets of the universe, and you've been dying for my command to reveal said pearls of wisdom.

The reveal

And here it is: the commissioned altered notebook! Fret no more, and rejoice, for I have finally gotten off my ass and posted the finished piece.

The client was delighted, and ran her hands over the covers eagerly, flipping them open and looking at it from all angles. I tell you, it felt like I'd given her the bestest birthday gift ever.
The color blending worked out well with the background paper, and the red beads on the side picked up the map's road lines as I'd planned. Kinda looks like colored sugar for cupcakes, but I resisted the temptation to shake some into my mouth and enjoy the crunchiness. You're proud of me for that, I can tell.
I used an inset map of Rome for the back, and ran that 7 Gypsies gaffer tape along the bottom edge of the front and back cover. (I love their products, but man, they really need to make their website more user-friendly. Would it kill them to add a search function?) Then I inked up the edges to take the squeaky-clean feel down a couple notches.
I remembered to ask the client to tell a friend about me, and she said, "oh, I should tell my book club about this!" Which I thought was a fabulous idea, and then she topped herself. "Oh, wait -- I was going to give it [the notebook] to my husband [next] Tuesday, but my book club's this Thursday. I'll bring it to the book club, and then I'll wrap it up and give it to my husband on Tuesday."

Excellent idea! Couldn't have said it better myself.

What the hell is that?!

It's breaking local art news, that's what.

SEATTLE, 9:15pm PST -- Art fueled up at a local gas station tonight, driven by artist Andy Green.
Green said he altered his van for Burning Man 2007. The left side of the van gave a nod to its creator's name, decorated with swooping letters reading "Green Burrito Verde." The word "Kundalini" appeared on the back; a ladder was strapped to the front.
The right side of the vehicle read "Tacos Tantric Tuneup." Another motorist pumping gas asked Green if he actually sold tacos from the van.
Green said he gave them away. It was unclear whether he was joking. The van's interior was crowded with bongo drums and other items, but a food preparation area was not clearly visible under the strings of green and white lights.
Green, a Seattle resident, says he plans to add "a percussion tortilla" around the exterior of the van for Burning Man 2008.

***

Thanks to Andy Green for answering my questions and letting me take pictures. See, this is why you carry a camera with you! (Oh, the irony: Three years after I carried a camera phone for work and never used it, I use my own for a blog post. Damn, I should've used the video function.)

ATCs on Flickr

You can see all my Artfest ATCs on my Flickr page. Dude, check it out.

Last one!

I counted twice just to make sure -- once like I was dealing cards, then once grouping them into five sets of five plus two.

So now all I have to do is scan them (or take pictures of the more 3-D ones), put them in a big plastic baggie, and ship them off with the shipping/handling cost for the organizer Bee Shay. It took me about a month, but mainly because I allowed for pauses when I didn't have time to art, or I felt like designing instead of assembling. You know what really helped? Doing two or sometimes three when I intended to do just one.

27 ATCs! Oy!

The best part of the day

Rocking The Boy into sleepiness after a bath: I get three minutes of The Boy resting his head on my chest, sucking his thumb, his other fingers curled up against a patch of my bare skin at my collarbone.

This one's for The Husband

If you love author Terry Pratchett, you'll love this quiz. I'm Nanny Ogg. I'm slightly less likely to be Greebo, Lord Vetinari or Death.

It makes a lot more sense if you read Pratchett.