a room made into a painting!

Here is the progress of my mom's studio remodel: she has transformed a clinical white room into a three dimensional painting inspired by Matisse, an artist famous for his vibrant colors and abstracted human shapes. It is amazing what form and color can do to a room.
This is now a special room and I think now even in the winter it will radiate inspiration for creation. I don't claim to be an expert in how to change a space into an art studio but I agree with others that changing a space to reflect how it will be used is essential. If this room looked like an office I think it would be harder to create in.
My mom and I have discussed how each section of the studio will be used and when she painted the studio she had in mind where the most color would go to reflect how that area was to be used. The left back corner will be used for sketching,painting,imagining and the right back corner will be used for sculpting and wheel throwing mostly. Therefore, most of the bright colors are concentrated on that back wall to encourage creativity--that is the idea anyhow.
Changing the color,or colors, is a pretty inexpensive way to remodel a room for a different use. My mom found that getting the small sample size paint cans was a cheap way to try color combinations. Light greatly effects how color looks in a room and painting small swatches really helps see if a certain color will work in a room. Notice too the cool small size paint roller my mom used and the handy red bucket with its plastic shower cap-type cover to keep in the moisture.

painting in black....

Here are some in progress pics of what I've been making in my mom's clay studio. Some of them are made with regular groleg clay and the couple with their hearts cut out is made from paper clay. I really liked the idea of drawing into the clay and also painting on it. I was inspired by the awesome modern dance photos that I posted several weeks ago...it made me want to draw couples instead of single people.

Sunday afternoon tea and sculpture browsing...

I've been visiting my mom at Fox Island and looking at some clay pieces I'm working on inspired by couples' dance poses. Looking at sculpture on etsy, I found some wonderful head sculptures that inspire me too.
Artists include: Cheshire cat by tonytahoe
Who am I by ceramiclove
polymer clay sculpture by deetsy
Spring tide by cobaltmoonchild
Yellow head by jennymendes
The Missing Name Creation by ceramiclove
Cat head with cherry by murtondishes
Ed by mwedge

New Monday faves...thinking about dolls

I have been thinking about dolls and mannequins that look partly human and partly robot. I'm trying to create a series based on people that you can see inside and outside...i'm in that weird in between stage of art where you don't really like what you've created but you hope that you are getting somewhere. What do you do when you are on the fence about your work? Do something else? Here are some of my favorite etsy doll-themed work.
The artists are : Baby Fight-print by Frankenkitty, Kitchen Fairy art doll by Shadovnia, Lee, a handmade doll by RoseLullabyDolls, marionette Columbina by AMCreatures, Phillipe doll by foxcat, Original pastel doll drawing by elephantwalk, The FOXY One-Eyed Pussy by MicroCirqueRinka

A new beginning--clearing out the old

This has been quite a month so far, opportunities to be in an art show "Disturbia" and a 'Cash Flow Art Show' coming this Thursday and Friday. My beloved grandma Lisa died one day before her 90th birthday...and so its been a strange topsy turvy feeling. I did get to visit with her before she died...about 2 weeks before when she was visiting my parents. She was a great supporter of my art work and her life was full and creative so she was a great role model of a working writer. I have a great feeling of creative momentum inspired by her and a wonderful non-traditional doll-making class.
As for my etsy shop, I am going to clear out most of the art that has been there too long and list my newer work. And on my blog I want to hear from you my viewer and reader and hear what you are interested in seeing. I want to hear what you like about my blog and what more you'd like to see. I appreciate all of you that comment and read here, thanks very much for your support!

the Art category is hidden on Etsy...sign this petition if you agree

This petition will hopefully help the Art category from getting hidden on the front page of etsy. Please take a look and if you agree, sign it.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/artonetsy/index.html

Presenting the wonderful jeweler AmongTheRuins

I am happy to have Kim's interview and pictures. I haven't interviewed a jeweler yet and am curious to see what she has to say. Her work is very original and beautifully made which is what drew me to her pieces. There are a few jewelers that are artists as well and she is definitely one of them.

1) How long have you been selling on etsy? I have been on Etsy four months now.

2) Do you have advice for etsy newbies? Go to the chat rooms, read the forums, visit the virtual labs. The people on Etsy are so incredibly helpful and generous with their knowledge. Take advantage of that! Also get on as many networking services as you can handle - Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc. I have had sales directly from those places. It is how you get your name out there and let people find you.

Be patient! It takes time to build a business and especially an internet business. You may have a terrific product and a great looking shop, but it will still take time to get your name out there where people will find you.

Do everything you can to get better at your craft. Learn new techniques and skills. Constantly hone the ones you have. Take classes or find artists who are willing to mentor you. You can learn just about anything from the internet. There are tutorials in almost every subject and craft! I have learned so much just by Googling different techniques I wanted to learn.

3) What are 3 fave etsy stores and why? RiverOtterWidget is one of my favorites. He makes incredible steampunk art lamps and wood carvings. He encouraged me so much when I first started out.

BlueNostalgia is a favorite of mine because she makes simply beautiful jewelry! Every piece in her shop is just eye candy to me!! Plus she's a great chatter.

beadifulbaublesSC is another jewelry maker who is a favorite. Her designs are exquisite! Her use of color is wonderful! And she is the sweetest lady!!

4) What are your fave pieces in your shop and why? My favorite pieces in my shop are the necklaces made from steel wire. Those include Rhapsody, Clara's Necklace, Forever Chained, and Key To The Dungeon. I have the most fun making those. It is really hard work and I get lots of ouchies, but I love hammering the wire and bending it and forming it. I love to see the final result because I don't have a picture in my mind while I'm creating them, I just "go with the flow" and see what happens as I go! So it's always a bit of surprise for me.


5) What plans do you have for your shop? I plan to keep growing my shop and expanding my inventory. I'm in the very beginning of my business now, so I plan to just keep working and finding new ways to get my name out there.

6) How long have you been creating art? I've been creating art for most of my life, but in such small ways until this last year or so. I always liked to draw, but only played around with it occasionally. I dabbled in jewelry making many years ago, but never really found my passion in it. It's only in the past 12 months that I really have found a passion for art.

7) Who are your art heroes? I'm afraid I don't have any art heroes yet!

8) Where do your ideas come from? Sometimes I see things in nature that inspire me. Sometimes it's other peoples' designs that give me a new idea. Sometimes an idea just pops into my head. Those are the really cool ones. Most of the ideas are more like feelings, and not visual ideas, per se. I'll have a feeling for what I want a piece to evoke emotionally and work from that, with only very vague ideas of the physical shapes involved and colors.

9) What do you do when you have a creative block? I find the best remedy for creative block is to stop trying to create. Go away from my work area and so something completely different. I'll know when the creative flow is back again and when to return to the studio. It is hard to do because I feel such a drive to produce new items. But pushing directly against creative blocks, for me, just does not work. I have to shut it down completely and redirect my mind. I may do some housework, or walk the dog, or play a game. Just anything to occupy my mind in a different direction. That always loosens things up again eventually.

10) What other interests do you have that feed into your art? I love to look at urban ruins, especially those of old psychiatric hospitals and asylums. I know that sounds a bit dark, but the architecture on those places was so incredible! And the stories that those walls hold are stories that I want to listen to. So much humanity was lost behind those walls and it's the only thing I can do, is to listen to their stories.

I have been a musician since I was very young. I love music. I love to listen to it and I love to play it. I am a violinist and pianist. I am very inspired by music in my jewelry art. Many times when I feel a bit dull, I put on some music and that dullness vanishes. I am especially partial to classical music. The choices are absolutely endless in the classical genre, for what mood, what color, what shape you want to hear. It seems infinite! It is so rich!

My new special in my etsy shop!

I love my pendants but now I want more of them to find homes...so I'm doing a buy one get one free deal until they move. Here are pics of my lovely pendants!

Netamir's wonderful store...check it out!

Its the awesometastic interview with MarmaladeNina!!

1. How long have you been selling on etsy?
April 11 2009, so I am fairly new to ETSY..and I am hooked all ready. I was recomended by a friend to take a look,I decided all though I had not heard much about it here in England Id take a chance by trying my hand to becoming a seller.

2. Do you have advice for etsy newbies?
Well Im a Newbie myself but I guess that nothing ventured nothing gained! Keep adding new stuff when you can to keep your listings busy and use the showcase and look at hints from the other sellers on how to become a respected Etsy shop.

3. What are 3 fave etsy stores and why?
Fave stores where can I start? There is so much fantastic talent but in my short time there is a few of many that has caught my attention and I feel drawn to taking pleasure at their brilliant creations.
SCRUMDIDLYUMP.
Well I smile at the humour and fun that comes from this fantastic artist, I feel that her work oozes personality and I like that. I guess that her ideas are straight from the heart.. I can visualise her creating them which I think is important to a buyer as to love handmade is to love the creativity that is within the object.I particularly like the awkwardness of some of the designs such as the cake stand and it is much better to see something that is not defined as a perfect and symetrical shape..so simply fantastic shes a great artist.
TIENNE REI FINE ART.
Beautiful artist! Fantastic use of colour.. I am drawn to the vivid pieces of art work that she paints..her female subjects are beautiful and the busy design is just wonderful..what can I say except Beautiful take a look.
BLACK EYED SUZIE.
This artist has been featured allready and compliments are perhaps allready flowing..but my own personal love of her work is brimming with admiration. Allthough I am not a collector of dolls, if I were to be.. these are the ones that I would love to own.The Victorian look of the dolls and the gothic pale skin and the large sad eyes are just the kind of design that draws one in. I have seen other dolls on here but allthough there are some fantastic artists creating them.. for me Black eyed Suzie's are the cream on my tea!

4.What are your fave pieces in your shop and why?
Wow..me??? My fave that is there at the moment without a doubt has to be my Turquoise blue and greens..large mermaid bowl listing-23546922. Why? well I just love it and was very reluctant to sell it..it is here at home on my big table awaiting a home and I suppose I shan't be too sad if it remains. I just love the glazes and the pictures do not do the colours justice..the bowl is stunning and is a fantastic centre piece.
My second fave is the large green blue wavy edged mermaid bowl listing-23546922. Why? Because it is vivid and yet again the pics do not do it true justice. The bowl is like a functional painting in my eyes and the textures are plentiful.
My third is a close second the large green and gold mermaid bowl..listing 23554239. This is a very interesting piece and is carved underneath as well as inside. I love to look at the busy design and all my bowls are to me a canvas to create a scene inspired by the ocean.

5. What plans do you have for your shop?
My plans are brimming!!I am new but I feel ambitious and am working on new designs at the moment and I am very excited at the moment I can display them. A lot of my work that is on ETSY at present is my older stuff and I feel that my sculpture has since been developed incredibly..so watch this space. I would like to say though that sometimes things are a little slow moving as I have to drive 28 miles to take my work to be fired..phew..so hence I am prowling for my own electric kiln apart from the Raku kiln that I own.

6. How long have you been creating art?
Art to me was something I was creating from an early age in the simplest way unknowingly.
For example Mudpies in mums garden..cutting out faces with a pair of scissors and card in maths class at school..and building a wooden fort in my son reece's room when he wasn't looking.

7.Who are your art heroes?
My art heroes are Ron Murek,Gustav Klimt and anyone else that tries their hand at creativity.

8.Where do your ideas come from?
My ideas come from childhood dreams and stories..things that I see for example a vision I cannot explain it is just there in my mind and my hands draw it..I am captivated by rich colours and my imagination runs wild..

9.What do you do when you have a creative block?
If I have creative block I try to escape the things that may be causing it..I try to see the funny side of dilemmas and so I meet up with a friend and just laugh about life and its woes and then I feel good and am ready to go again. Or wash my hands have a cup of tea and a break and start again!

10.What other interests do you have that feed into your art?
Other interests that feed into my art..are perhaps just use of colour and surface decoration, I am a very decorative person..and it finds its way into everything..I also love mythology.. maybe there is an element of that..and I have an interest in bizzarre items I think that creeps through most definately...
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New Interview with etsy artist netamir!

Here is another interview with a wonderful artist who has some creative, unique pieces in her etsy shop. I have never seen cloth used in this way and I knew other creative people would be inspired by her work.

1) How long have you been selling on etsy?

I began on Dec 2005; it was short while after I quilted a work as a fashion designer in a commercial company.

2) Do you have advice for etsy newbies?

Patience! This is the most important one.
Good photos would do a lot for your promoting. Enjoy what you are doing; you wouldn't get rich out of it so you must at least, have fun.
Flickr, twitter and blogging are helpful tools.
Luck, is sometimes necessary too.

3) What are 3 fave etsy stores and why?
Holli,
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=64858
Beautiful dolls and illustrations by Argentine artist Paola Zakimi. I love her funny and sad characters, I like the way she combines humor with melancholy at her work.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5085167
kjoo,
Crochet and Felt accessories by the Portuguese artist Maria Joao Ribeiro. I like to see designs that doesn't look like anything I have saw before, and Maria's are exactly that, they are original and innovative, well crafted and beautify designed.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5219973&ga_search_query=yoko&ga_search_type=seller_usernames
Yoko,
She is amazing, she makes me smile every time I see anything by her and she makes it in such a whimsical and sophisticated way.
Take a look at the title of her store.

4) What are your fave pieces in your shop and why?
It's a difficult question to answer as to a mother who should answer which child she prefers.
But If I must I would say that the "let's cloth it" collection is my favorite as it came out of my art installation "scraps".

5) What plans do you have for your shop?
I just split my store into two, now I am selling my dolls at my second store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7252436
I want to populate this store, the dolls there are getting bored, and they need more attention and company now.
Afterwards I have some ideas for more shoes and "let's cloth it" designs.

6) How long have you been creating art?
Since I can remember my self, as a little girl I was painting all the time, later on I was also crocheting and sewing with my mother and grandmother. I always attended after school art classes and at the age of 15 I moved to art high school.

7) Who are your art heroes?
Elsa Schiaparelli in fashion

Louise Bourgeois and Annette Messager in fine art.

And
Rosa Pomar, Camilla Engman, Sandra Monat, and many more artists I met through the web.

8) Where do your ideas come from?
It is difficult to say, it is a combination of sources, sometimes it is people on the street and sometimes it is materials I use.
The creation itself is also great source of inspiration for me as well as the unique communication I have with people through the web.
The story about my shoes making can illustrate it best:
At the beginning I had only dolls at my store, I really liked to design unique garments and accessories for them, then a customer who envy their unique style asked me if it is possible for me to scale up my dolls slippers for her feet.
I was working three weeks to find the best materials and developed the scaled up pattern, this is how I began with the slippers. Shortly afterwards a customer who likes the slippers wished to go out with them, this is how I began with the shoes making…

9) What do you do when you have a creative block?
Take a nap.

10) What other interests do you have that feed into your art?
I love Movies, music, reading and just wandering around.

The drama of my apartment figures!

I have lots of figures, action figures,body parts of dolls hanging around my apartment and I was looking at them the other day and took more pics because I was drawn in to their dramas just being next to each other. This isn't a bad idea for a background for art pieces for etsy or any other site. As long as the picture isn't too complicated to look at, it can really draw people in to your work if the surrounding environment is cool.

Interview with the fabulous Jeffery Heft of HeftArt

I am just starting to post interviews with artists on Etsy that I admire. I want to help them get some exposure and focus on their process as artists and sellers. If you read this blog, please send some feedback! I asked questions that I thought readers would be interested in but I am still learning how to do this so help me out. I came to Etsy more as a fine artist so that is my focus...and i want to create a dialogue with other artists so we can feel supported and inspired. This blog is for anyone though, crafts people, artists, art admirers, bored people...etc.
I saw Jeffery Heft's art on etsy and immediately saw a distinctive voice in his pieces...I think you will love his work as well.

1) How long have you been selling on etsy?
I opened my Etsy shop in December of 2006 as an experiment in selling the handmade relief prints that I was beginning to create. At the time I was selling my other types of work (paintings and monotypes) through brick & mortar galleries.

2) Do you have advice for etsy newbies?
Just the basics. Search Etsy for the kind of work you are making. Compare quality and price to see where your work fits in. Etsy is really very mainstream in the types of work that do well. List and renew often to keep your product at the front of the line, so to speak.

3) What are your fave pieces in your shop and why?
Difficult to choose 3 favorites from my shop - the choices would change from day to day. Today I suppose I might pick "Redhead", "Cat Eat Cat World", and "Release." "Redhead" came from an enjoyment of the many woodpeckers I see about the house. I live next to the woods so I see Pileated, Red-bellied, Northern Flicker, Downy, & Hairy woodpeckers. "Cat Eat Cat World" is just an amused comment on a couple of relationships I've witnessed. "Release" came about during the year my mother was fighting lung cancer.

4) What plans do you have for your shop?
My plans for the shop are to keep adding new handmade relief printmaking work. I'm also working on some new collagraphs. I've had requests for low cost reproductions and I'm considering how that might work for me

5) How long have you been creating art?
Since I was a little kid. If you check out the bio page on my website (www.brainplay.net) you'll see a photo of me at 5 yrs old in front of a painting easel.
6) Who are your art heroes?
Too many to list, and the list is varied. Jack Kirby to Hokusai. Rembrandt to de Kooning. Goya to Hanselaar. That's just 2d work - I could go on and on.

7) Where do your ideas come from?
Observation interior and exterior. I'm very interested in narrative so the many things I read can become entangled in the imagery also.

8)What do you do when you have a creative block?
I've never really had a problem with creative block.

9) What other interests do you have that feed into your art?
Pretty much anything that interests me can end up influencing my artwork. My artwork many times functions as a way to process and understand my life experiences.


Jeffrey Heft
www.brainplay.net
www.heftart.etsy.com