Yeah.

So I haven't really left the house other than to walk Chloe and to go to the Dairy Queen by our house in about a week...weird...I am not really sure how I feel about that.

Isn't Dairy Queen a really weird name when you think about it? Dairy. Queen. Like the Queen of all Dairies? Hhhmmm...weird.

Anyway, I am leaving the house today! Michael has been teaching this painting class to some high school students the last few weeks. It's like this summer program that Cranbrook offers, which os pretty cool. So tonight they are having a little gallery opening for the students and their paintings. I think that's pretty cute. So I am going to go check it out! yay! I love that kinda thing.

Not a lot going on this weekend. I got my wheat paste and paper yesterday so I will be spending most of my weekend with my press! I might do some screen printing too. We shall see.

Dude! What is up with Etsy sales this month? It's actually really depressing...I am trying to stay positive but it's kinda hard...

I am using this time to get my shop all stocked up and ready for the holidays, and I also have applied to a couple of really big art/craft fairs in the area, so I am trying to get ready for those too. If I am accepted that is...but even though I am really busy, it's hard not to get bummed out about sales...oh well. I am sure things will pick up soon. I KNOW they will!!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

I Like Thursdays

I have so many little things to do!

It's kind of annoying. I hate doing all the little things that need to get done. I feel like I am not getting any work done, when really I am. I like big projects. Big projects make me feel like I got something done. Like I did a lot of work...

Anyway, I posted a new painting today, and yesterday. I got to work on some of the 83 panels that I have today. I think I am going to work on them in groups of six. I can handle six.

Tomorrow is Cranbrook Graduation. There is going to be a big party tomorrow night, and I have a feeling it's going to be a little crazy. Those sculpture kids know how to party, and the painting department isn't exactly tame either :)

The Final Countdown

I have had Europe's song, The Final Countdown, in my head for the past three days.

This is the last week of school at Cranbrook. Everyone has to be out of their studios by today...at noon. I guess it's past noon. Anyway, they are done.

That means we have one year. One year left here. Only one year to go. We're half way there.
Uh oh. No I have Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" in my head. Awesome!

Anyway. The panels are done. I have a little over a hundred! I think that is going to be plenty.

The lilacs are in full bloom right now. I have some sitting on my desk, and they smell amazing. It's wet a drizzly outside and I am fully enjoying it. One week until New York and I couldn't be more excited.

We are storing one of Heather Blackwell's paintings for the summer. It's a portrait of one of the students in the sculpture department. Heather is an amazing painter. Amazing. She brought over the painting last night and I think I must have studied it for a half hour. I wish I could paint like her. This painting is 6 feet tall, and I think we are going to hang it in our bedroom. I'll get a better picture of it once it's hung up...

That's all I got :)

I Can Feel It

Today is going to be a good day.

A really good day.

I don't know why....but it is.

So we found out that we won't be able to use the Cranbrook wood shop over the summer.
That means we won't be able to build any panels. For Four months.

Did I freak out? Oh, just a little.

So last night we went to Home Depot and stocked up on handi panels and 1 x 2s.
Michael is planning on building all the panels that he can over the next few days.
Hopefully that will last me the summer. If not... I am sure I can figure something out.

It's a wonderful rainy, gray, and wet morning. It reminds me of home :)

Alright, I am getting ready to go for my run.
It's Thursday. Have a good Thursday. Stay hydrated.

Radical.

Dude. totally radical. I think radical needs to make a comeback. Ok. Maybe not.

Anyway, I got a really exciting note in my "real" mail yesterday, along with a nice check, from Kari at PaperCuts and Gluesticks Gallery. She asked if I would like to have a solo show in her gallery!!!
I was going to post it in my blog yesterday, but I thought I would e-mail her first, just to see if it was really true. She e-mailed me this morning to say yes! She also let me know that The Plain Dealer Newspaper in Cleveland interviewed her yesterday about her gallery, and that is looks as though they might include some of my work!! yay for us!! So I am really excited about that, and I think I freaked Chloe out a bit with my 20 minute happy dance.
This is going to be my first solo show in a "real" gallery!
Don't get me wrong. I love showing in coffee places and with other artists in group shows, but this is different. I am already starting to plan my outfit for the opening...

Also, I made my 100th sale on Etsy yesterday. I am officially a rock star.

My block print is almost done. I am hoping to print it today, by hand. No press, but I am still hoping to sneak into the Cranbrook print department and use theirs. I hear that no one on the department even uses the presses anymore, and a few years ago the former print instructor demanded that all but two presses be taken out side and left to rust because he claimed print was dead. How sad.

Speaking of print...I am going to be working one night at Utrecht to help with their inventory. Meaning that I will now get the Utrecht discount, meaning that I can afford to buy my screen printing supplies. Yay! I have a lot of ideas, now I just need the materials.

Panels are made and ready to get some gesso, paper, and paint on them. These ones are extra special. You will see, when I am done with them, just what I am talking about. It's cool. Trust me.

So that's that. Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday afternoon.

p.s. I am officially going to NYC in May. :)
Details to follow soon. eeee!

Friday

It's Friday.
Hooray!

Ok, so I don't have a regular job so I guess it's not that big of a deal...but Fridays always have such a nice energy to them.

Anyway, I posted two new paintings today, and sold one. That's awesome.

I got a great convo from a woman in Oregon, Janice, sharing some really great websites with me.

www.kristindeluga.com
www.liztran.com

These are two wonderful artists you should check em out :)

Not a whole lot going on today. Chloe got to meet my neighbor Josh's dog, Georgia, today. I think she's a pretty shy puppy when it comes to other dogs. She kinda ran away...
Georgia is a long haired dachshund with crazy coloring and one blue eye and one brown eye.
She has her own myspace : http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=55846171

Alright, speaking of Chloe I should post a picture and get home to her...
Mike took this picture. It's a picture of the sculpture just outside the Cranbrook art muesum at night. He took it with our new camera.

Snow Storms!

Hoy cow.
The entire Michigan region is under snow storm advisory today and tomorrow.
Then Saturday, and early Sunday we are going to get sleet and ice. Fun stuff. I guess I wouldn't care so much if Michael didn't have to be a t school on Sunday...

I hate driving in snow and ice. It terrifies me.

Looks like maybe he'll have to drive so I can just stay home.

So I posted a couple of new paintings last week and three sold. Awesome.
I wish I could keep up. I'm working on some new pieces right now, and I am also going to do some bigger pieces. I'm not sure the bigger pieces will sell as well. I have to price them a bit higher and I don't think people like spending more than 100 bucks on Etsy. But, we'll see what happens. I have a show at the Fresh Pot in Portland in April, so maybe if they don't sell on Etsy I can put them in that show.

It's Friday. Yay. That means Michael has his one day off a week with me tomorrow. I'm excited.
Chloe is good. We trained her to use a nudge a bell to let us know she needs to go out. She's about 75% there. I think a couple more weeks and she'll have it down. She's a smart muffin.

I took her to visit the Cranbrook painting studios the other night and she just about lost her mind. All the women were like "OMG!!!!" She's soooooo cute!!!" It's good for her to get out though. I'm sure there will be many more visits there.

Okie...back to work and back to browsing the internet. My favorite pastime these days.