Somerset Studio: A Fearless Surprise

So here's a little story. I received the latest issue of Somerset Studio yesterday and just a little bit ago, I cracked open the cover and read the Letter From the Editor. As I read through Christen's letter and she mentioned the theme for the May/June issue being Fearless, I remembered that I had submitted a few of my Fearless Faces months ago. I immediately thumbed through the magazine and about fell out of my chair: there was a whole page devoted to three of my Fearless Faces. Yikes Almighty! I'm still trembling with excitement.

Fearless: The Show

I have a show coming up at Venti's Cafe in downtown Salem. It will begin on May 7th and run through the end of June. I've been madly working on the pieces for the show, a selection of Fearless Faces and textural/mixed media pieces. I'm not having any type of opening reception, but I wanted to have a simple show card to let people know where they can go to see some of my recent work. Since my Photoshop skills are nil, I asked my friend Tory to come help me put a show card together. We met this week at my home office and she had me sit in the driver's seat while she used a long, thin letter opener as a pointer to direct me in what buttons to push. Here we are in various stages of the process:





The cards are ready to be picked up from the printers, but here's a preview:

Stepping Back in Time

I was roaming in downtown Corvallis on Monday afternoon when I stumbled upon a little shop on S.W. 3rd: B & J Bookbinding. It was like stepping back in time. There were several bright red presses and lots of printer's drawers filled with old school type. They had sheets of handmade paper and lots of colorful journals. You can imagine how excited I was.












I purchased a few little teeny tiny journals for my visual journaling group and then when I selected four little journals for my grandkids (the kind woman offered to add their names in gold foil for free). If you live in the northwest and ever find yourself in downtown Corvallis, I encourage you to stop in for a peek.

Curious Texture

I completed six pieces of artwork that I started at Artfest last Thursday and Friday while in Mary Beth Shaw's two classes (read about the classes here). Lots of texture and only a three-coor palette. No need to say more, other than it is tricky to photograph glossy art!

Don't Be Ordinary

Round five of the Altered Board Book swap I'm participating in occurred this week and wanting to be early rather than late, I got my pages done quick as a wink. I received Destree's book on Wednesday (she's the coordinator of our swap) and just have to share her amazing cover.


Some peeks at what the other artists in the swap have done on their pages.




Anatomy of my pages . . . texture, collage elements, paint, rubber stamps, pen, and tape.







Some close-ups of my pages.




How the book looked as I prepared to package it up and send it on to Wisconsin.

Artfest Vendor Night: Controlled Chaos

Friday night at Artfest is Vendor Night. a fabulous opportunity for teachers to sell their art and for a few outside vendors to peddle their vintage treasures. Tory, who was teaching at Artfest, had reserved a table and invited Steph and myself to join her. We jumped at the opportunity to be on the other side of the table. Here's how the evening evolved . . . .

Hooking up our flamin' trailer to haul our Artfest vendor night goodies to the airplane hanger:


Minor glitch with the hook-up:


Setting up our table:



All ready to rock 'n roll:




I am always amazed by the number of shoppers. There is an electric, frenzied feel -- wanting to look, touch, buy, and get on to the next booth before all the good stuff is scooped up!





We all had fun . . . and made a little pocket money. Thank you to everyone who bought my journals, nicho kits, Fearless Faces, and Funky Junkyard Birds. I am honored you chose my stuff in light of your many choices. (You can see what I was selling by clicking here.)