giving it a go...

"Flirt" and "Like A Million Bucks" available in my Etsy Shop ! (sold & sold) Prints available!

These two are finished, and I am quite pleased with them. It's always satisfying to try something new. I hope to photograph them tonight and get them into my etsy shop. And in other news....I put down a deposit to hold my new studio!!! I just wanted a day or two to digest all the info before I fully commit to anything. While my husband was in the background whispering "do it" do it" , I was thinking...is there anything I've forgotten, is this what I really want, can I really handle all this quite space? It is lovely though...800 sq. ft of raw space, super high ceilings, an entire wall of floor to ceiling windows, GREAT LIGHT! I have a feeling I'll be giving them a call first thing in the morning with the go-ahead. :)

stitching a picture or two...

The first photo is a glimpse of the beautiful scenery I enjoyed over the weekend. We spent 2 nights, sans kids, in Grayling, Michigan canoeing on the Manistee River. It was a lovely time, filled with nature, campfires, laughs, and lots and lots of smores! How can three ingredients be so very yummy? The second photo is a peek at a new idea I'm exploring. (You can click on the image to enlarge for detailing.) I'm really inspired by fabric and patterns and fashion, so this is an attempt to further inject them into my art. I think I will be trying my hand at a few florals and still lifes as well. Must get thimble though!!! The paper is very sturdy (Arches 100% cotton watercolor paper) and I tea stained it beforehand, so I could get a nice contrast between the embroidery and the background. Tomorrow we go to tour the available spaces at the studio center. I'm very hopeful that it will be my new workspace! :) I'll keep you posted...

in need of a little change...

Her First Cotton Candy

"Um, so it's candy and it's cotton, and I can eat it.

Mom are you for real?"

The night before I left for Vegas, my husband I attended an open studio event at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit. For years we've passed those buildings and I always assumed they were abandoned. They're not. The buildings are definetly sporting that urban decay look...if you know what I mean. But within, there are artists of all sorts. Painters, photographers, fashion designers, architects, sculpters, furniture makers, glass blowers...the list goes on and on. The center is a mere 10 minutes by car from our home. So of course I immediately envisioned myself setting up shop there...lots of space for my artful things, no more reaching past dirty clothes in the laundry room to find my Golden gel and brushes. No more retrieving my scanner from a corner atop the kitchen cabinets, and a real home for my new ginormous printer, which is currently stuffed in the coat closet. I'm checking rates and availability....and keeping my fingers crossed...