things i'm fond of today

Instagram and newly painted white walls.



Now, that the walls look like a blank canvas, I imagine drawing on them one day. Like this . . .

Lovely drawings by Melissa Castrillon.

Still a huge fan of Doug Johnston's totes and baskets. 

Beautiful work by Amelia Herbertson.

Diggin' the simple, artsy spaces of Sandra Juto (above) and Camilla Engman. 

And I really want this for my home. . .

Gorgeous yarn scrap cushion by Renilde de Peuter.

show and tell: swaps

There are times when I think we should go back to the barter system.   I have yet to trade my art for more practical things, like chickens or grain.  But I have had the good fortune to swap my art for some pretty sweet stuff.  Here's a look at a few recent trades with some talented folks. 

These hexagonal shelves in my bedroom were custom made by furniture craftsman and fellow blogger, Josh Jackson.  Working only with reclaimed wood,  Josh salvaged the wood for these shelves from the living room of an L.A. home.  

I really love how the shelves finish off the room. To see more of Josh's handiwork, go to his website here.  Josh is also a very gifted writer, capturing the beauty and fragility of life on his blog, Jack at Random.  A must read, especially for those who have lost a child in utero. 

This beautiful silk blouse was made by Dani Kishino of Xsilk.  The silk is hand dyed in small batches using non-toxic dyes.  Dani also hand paints on some of her shirts, which can be found in her Etsy shop here.  So comfortable and flattering, this blouse has become my new favorite piece in my wardrobe. 

I've been a big fan of Natasha Newton's handpainted rocks for awhile now.  We connected this summer via Etsy, and we decided to swap painted rocks.  These beauties came from the beaches of Suffolk, England.  That's about a 5000 mile trip!  Be sure to check out more of Natasha's lovely art  here. 

Some of you may recall that I've run a couple of swap-a-thons in the past.  This is where I swap credit in my shop for items that readers make or already own.  It's been a year and a half since the last one, so I'm thinking it's time to run another swap-a-thon.  (And my tea selection is quite pathetic, so I'm really hoping that a winner or two can help me out with this.)



Look for more details and not so subtle hints in the next post. 

new projects in the works

Working from home, I often get sidetracked with house projects.  This week, I painted the living room, dining room, and my daughter's room a nice milky white color (Yolo Colorhouse Imagine 04 to be exact).  Nothing like a new coat of paint to freshen things up a bit.  And, by the looks of it, I think we got the cat's approval. 

I really should be working on some paintings, but I've been focusing on a few new project ideas, including some glass magnets, art pendants, and a mini book of my creative works.  It's taking a bit of time to flesh out the details, but things are slowly coming along.  I'm hoping to upload a magnet set and a couple of necklaces to my Etsy shop within the week. 

my week

we hiked the wilson river trail in the tillamook forest, about 50 miles west of portland

picked up textured treasures along the way and visited the sleek forest center

[view from a 40 ft lookout tower]

latest craigslist find: '80s patio furniture set for $10

nothing a little scrubbing and paint can't fix

dinner with the hubby at the koi fusion [korean and mexican] cart

k-dog: kosher hot dog with kimchee sauerkraut, bulgogi, seaweed flakes, and japanese mayo

"open sky"

6 x 6 painting on birch panel

my week

dusk in portland

backyard

25 feet of backbreaking work // now onto our next project - painting our house black!

So we bought a used car, built the rock wall, and I finished the collection for tomorrow's online show [more on that in the next post].  No wonder I'm beat. . . but no rest for the weary! Gotta finish one more interview, upload a painting or two into my shop, and start another project for Prana. And that's just my to-do list.  Add the kids' end of the school year events, and we've offically got mayhem.  At least I don't have a classroom to put away for the summer.  That was my least favorite task as a teacher.  Nothing like cleaning up after 180 kids.  

This is my latest work in progress.  I deconstructed a 18" x 18" oil painting I started several years ago and used oil pastel over it to create a scene of the Columbia Gorge.  I'm at one of those stopping points when you just stare at the art work for an annoyingly long time and chant, what to do, what to do. 

I heart Portland

Just when I thought I made it through Portland's damp fall and winter without falling ill, I caught a bug this week that has kept me in bed the last few days.  Ugh.  No fun at all.  I try to make the most of it by watching a lot of funny clips from The Ellen Show.  I figure laughter is the best medicine. That and spicy Korean soup.



I don't have any new works to share with you all, since my art production is at a standstill for the moment.  But I did have an idea for a new monthly series called I heart Portland.  I was born and raised in Portland, so I like to think that I know a few things about the Rose City.  Did you know, for example, that there is a volcano (granted, a dormant one) in city limits?  Thanks to a three week unit on Portland in my high school history class, I have a wealth of fun and trivial facts like this. . . all to be revealed in due time my friends. 

[unless noted, all photos by me]

It's April, and that means tulips.  Lots and lots of tulips.  Just 30 minutes south of Portland is the Tulip Fest in Woodburn, Oregon.  It's a spectacular display of flowers that lasts for just a month. 

Portland has some of the greatest cheap eats around.  Here's one of my guilty pleasures.  Poutine from Potato Champion! 

"Keep Portland Weird" is a popular bumper sticker in town.  Portlanders take pride in being "different."

[images: crafted-systems.com]

Crafted Systems is the brainchild of Portland-based designer Aurelie Tu.  She partners with the local YWCA shelter to create her modern home collection.  Each product is made from 100% natural wool felt and is handmade here in Portland. 

Making a blanket from Pendelton scraps

Some folks have a weakness to chocolate, little bunnies, or Johnny Depp.  Mine is Pendleton fabric.  I stopped by the Pendleton fabric store on Friday and couldn't resist buying beautiful scraps of wool from their $3 a pound bins.  The blanket scraps weighed in at a little over 2 pounds, which was a steal.  In addition to the fabric, I picked up some white wool tape to join the fabric pieces together.  

When I got home, I arranged the fabric pieces on the floor and then trimmed the frayed edges. 

I cut the wool tape in half lengthwise and started sewing the tape onto the edges of the remnants.  Once I was done with one seam, I flipped the blanket over and repeated this step.



[One of the friendly Pendleton store employees, who had made a blanket from remnants, recommended using a zigzag stitch to join the fabric edges together before laying down the wool tape.  Of course, the zigzag function quit working on my machine at the start of the project, so I skipped this step.]  

After all the strips were sewn together, I finished the blanket with wool tape folded over the outside edge.

To personalize the blanket, I embroidered the year on one side and our family name on the other.  Since it's a nice heavy wool,  it'll make the perfect blanket to wrap up in around a camp bonfire.  I do love those cool summer nights in Oregon. 

Over the weekend, I also found this fantastic Pendleton weekender bag at an estate sale for $15.  The gods must be happy with me.

things i'm fond of today

latest work by street artist tellas

left: beautiful piece on flickr by common elements;  right: graduation project by kirstie van noort, a student at design academy in eindhoven, netherlands

aunt by inca pan

this put a smile on my face today.  photo by artist sabine timm.

New works, "Canopy" and "Gold Moon"

Remember the demo in my last post?  That vibrant red background was used as an underlayer in my lastest work, Canopy.  With most of my works, I start with warms colors and finish with cooler hues, like blues and greens.  Even though the layer of red isn't very noticeable in the finished painting, the subtle hints of it underneath is what keeps the painting from looking really flat.



Sometimes I find that the blues I use in my art don't translate very well in print form.  With Canopy, the blues turned out a little greener than the original, but I still liked the end result.  I placed the print in an old frame and temporarily hung it on the reclaimed wood headboard in my bedroom.  Is it just me, or does the framed print give off a black velvet painting vibe?

I also finished this piece- gold moon.  This is an original work on maple wood panel.  Both Canopy and gold moon are currently available in my Etsy shop.



My Etsy shop is going through some changes at the moment.  I'm sure many of you etsy sellers have already heard of direct checkout.  My shop is part of the initial rollout, so now transactions can be made without leaving the Etsy site.  Hurray!  This means that those without Paypal accounts can now shop with convenience on Etsy. 



Starting March 1, I'll be paring down my print collection.  Many of the items that I'll be discontinuing have been moved to the second page of my shop.  Additionally, I'll be instituting a price increase on select prints [first time since opening my shop].   Most prints will go from $20 to $25. 



With all this change, I thought it was time to revamp the header in my shop, too.  Here's what I came up with late last night:

My Etsy shop was not the only thing that saw changes this week. I think spring fever has hit me big time! We dropped off a trunk load of stuff at Goodwill, pawned off other unwanted items to friends and family, and even tackled a few mini projects around the house.  My current domestic focus is the bedroom.  This past weekend I painted yellow chevrons on the door to add a bit of cheer in our room. 

creative spaces

Some current shots of artists' homes and studios . . .

Olivia Jeffries

Geninne D Zlatkis

Renilde de Peuter

Nathalie Chikhi

João Rodrigues

Ana Ventura

things i'm fond of today

The Obliteration Room.  Installation by Yuki Nakano.  Visitors help "obliterate" a white room by adhering colored dots on walls and furniture.  The top photo was taken on day one.  The bottom photo is seven weeks later.  The Obliteration Room is currently at the Gallery of Modern Art in Queensland, Australia. 

Furniture by Los Angeles-based designer Tanya Aguiniga.  Shown are Felt Chairs, Birch Bench, and Zinacantan (steel and wool yarn).

Cendrine Rovini.  I've been following Cendrine's art for awhile now.  This particular piece, La récolte d'oraisons, is one I'm particularly fond of.    It's part of her current solo exhibition "Liquid Vermeil" at the Da-End Gallery in Paris.  Cendrine talks about her latest works in this video.

Bags and slippers (linen and leather) by Tarco Nakazato.  I love the color combinations and graphic elements.

Cal Lane.  Lane describes her art as "pullling together industrial and domestic life." Above are two of my favorite works of hers: Plasma cut steel wheelbarrow (2007) and Dirt Lace installation at Purchase Collage, New York (2004).