Through my Eyes - Texture

Here is a mosaic of pictures I took this summer that feature texture through my eyes. I hope they inspire you to use some texture in your creations. If you haven't already done so, remember to go to PCAGOE.com to vote for your favorite piece in the Texture Challenge! You can see my entry in the previous post.



1. Macro 365/161, 2. Macro 365/161, 3. Macro 365/160, 4. Macro 365/155, 5. Macro 365/140, 6. Bronze gingko- Macro 365/132, 7. Macro 365/125, 8. macro 365/107, 9. DSCF9912

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

**If you are ever inspired to create something from one of my posts, please let me know as I would love to be able to write a post and share it with my readers.**

Back to Bloggin & the PCAGOE Challenge

Hi everyone! I hope some of you are still here after I took most of the summer off. My kids started school this past week (YEAH!), so we are getting back into a routine and blogging will become a regular part of that routine. I look forward to exploring inspiration and offering suggestions for those in a creative rut. There will be artist interviews and I will share my latest pieces and their inspiration. There may even be a few contests and more collaborative projects too. So without further ado, I'm getting started:

The PCAGOE is having it's monthly challenge and this one was right up my alley, Texture. I created this 8x10" canvas as my entry.























I wanted to create something that really showcased just the texture, so rather than distressing the clay pieces I left them the flat white and orange. The trees and the "leaves" are heavily textured with different patterns. Some of the detail is lost in my photo, ( I really have to work on photographing my art pieces). As with most of my pieces, I want to make this a series using different textures and colors. All of the textured pieces were created using my own hand carved stamps. This piece will eventually make it into my Etsy shop, but I am currently working on a set-up to create and offer prints and I want to get my art pieces scanned before I offer the originals for sale. With the kids in school, I hope to start making 2-3 original art pieces a week as I am enjoying creating the larger scale pieces and I have 1001 a ideas (thank goodness for sketchbooks).

You can vote for your favorite entry and be entered to win a pirze at PCAGOE.com from starting today, Sept. 1st through midnight EST, Sept. 3rd. Here are all of this months entries:

See You at Crafty Bastards!

Here are some sneak peaks of some new things I will have at my booth (#53)at Crafty Bastards this Saturday:


























































Hope to see you there. Mention my blog and get 10% off your purchase!

Finally 1000 & A celebration sale

I did it! 1000 sales! Thanks so much to Lisa & Laura for getting me to 1000 and 1001! I love that both those sales were to people who saw the sale on the blog. Soooo to celebrate 1000 I am having another blog exclusive sale. I am offering 20% off your total purchase from today, June 25 - midnight EST Friday June 27th. Just type "celebrate1000" in the message to seller at checkout and wait to pay until you receive an adjusted invoice in your e-mail. Take advantage of this sale while you can as I don't plan another anytime soon!

Thanks again for all your support!! I'll be back with more inspiration in July! Here are a few inspiring shots I got from "Second Chance" a salvage yard in Baltimore. I was there this past weekend to do a photo shoot with BEST.

SALE!!! SALE!!!!! SALE!!!!

I am only 1 sale away from hitting 1000!!!! So........I am having a blog exclusive sale! Sales 1000 and 1001 will receive 25% off their order & free shipping and will receive a free item of their choice (up to a $25 value). Just put blog1000sales in the message to seller and wait for me to send you an invoice before paying. If you forget and pay, I will refund the discounted amount to you! This is only for sales # 1000 & 1001, so when I've hit 1001 it's over. This discount can not be combined with any other offer.

Here's a sneak peak at some new wall art I am working on. These are still works in progress, so they aren't finished yet. They will be available at the Crafty Bastards Show on Saturday, June 28th in Silver Spring, MD. Any that don't sell will be added to my Etsy shop the first week of July.

I'm Still Here!!!! - BPP News & Updates

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, I have been soooo busy with the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. I have had to put the ole blog on the backburner. This will probably be my last post for another 2 weeks as I have a craft show I am working on while trying to keep my boys occupied. I have some good artist interviews to post, but I want to make sure I have the time to do them justice and not just posting them quickly. Here is the latest from Block Party Press:

Early this year I joined the "Baltimore Etsy Street Team" (BEST) which is a group of artists in the Baltimore Area region. Look out for more info, projects and events from this group. We have a great blog going with great info about events and art happenings in the Baltimore area.

I started a new 365 group on Flickr featuring Macro shots (my latest obsession) called Macro 365: A Closer Look. Myself and those participating will be taking at least 1 macro shot a day for 365 days. Sounds difficult, but it really isn't if you carry your camera with you wherever you go and keep your eyes open for interesting things to take a "closer look" at! Don't be afraid to join the group. I am not a task master, so if you miss a few days so what, just pick up where you left off. If you are too busy to join, just come and check out the amazing creative and inspiring shots from our group members. Once I get back to bloggin, I will be featuring shots from this great group! Here's my set of shots :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blockpartypress/sets/72157604273666018/
Here's today's Macro shot (day 94) & my favorite shot (day 35) so far:













Here are some new items I've recently added to the shop:



















I've been published in the book "1000 Jewelry inspirations" along with a bunch of other Etsy sellers. I haven't gotten my book yet, so I haven't seen what made the cut, but a little bird told me one of my retro trees is on the back cover.

I have some pieces in the first show of the super cute Fact & Fancy Gallery's "Wet Paint Show" in Brooklyn, New York. They are having a reception on the 21st. If you are in the area make sure to stop by.



















This is what's really keeping me busy.... I'll be at the Washington City Paper's "Crafty Bastards Show" on Saturday, June 28, 2008, 10am-5pm at the Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center at 8230 Georgia Ave. (Google Maps) in artist-friendly Silver Spring, MD. Come on by and see my stuff in person. I would love to meet you!


Finally, I am only 4 sales away from hitting 1000!!!! So........I am having a blog exclusive sale! Sales 97 through 1001 will receive 25% off their order & free shipping and # 1000 will receive a free magnet set of their choice (up to a $25 value). Just put blog1000sales in the message to seller and wait for me to send you an invoice before paying. If you forget and pay, I will refund the discounted amount to you! This is only for sales # 997-1001, so when I've hit 1001 it's over. The only place I have posted this exclusive sale is here on my blog (do you feel special?). This discount can not be combined with any other offer.

Well, that's the wrap-up. I'll be back again again in about 2 weeks with some new posts! Happy summer!

Inspired by Paper, leftovers and a Secret Desire - Artist feature with Marisa from Mlee.etsy.com

Hey there everyone. So sorry for the long hiatus, but I have had a lot going on plus a bad sinus infection, sick kids, another case of mystery hives (my son) and lots of making and planning for some new things. I have also been rounding up some interviews from some of my favorite Etsy artists. So at least if I am too busy for a lot of posting, I will be able to share some inspiration with you.

My latest feature is from one of my favorites, Marisa Swinghammer of mlee.etsy.com. She was one of the first shops that I added to my favorites on Etsy and I always enjoy seeing the new things she creates. She specializes in woodblock prints which feature layers of colors, patterns and imagery that together create fantastic pieces that seem to move and change each time you look at them. Recently she has been doing some fantastic collages using some of her printed pieces, gocco prints from sketches, washi and other beautiful papers and even some sewing. Below Marisa details the inspiration for one of her latest collages:


What inspired this piece?
My love of all things paper, my inability to throw anything away and my secret desire to be a quilt maker.

Can you detail how you translated your inspiration into your work of art?
My focus for the last two years has been woodblock printmaking and of course I have had my share of failed pieces. Unable to throw anything out I have kept these pieces tucked away, sometimes for weeks sometimes for years and use them in various projects. This piece started with one of those failed pieces ripped up and merged threw stitching and collaging with other papers hand printed and found.

Where do you tend to find inspiration for your art pieces?
Nature, namely the colors and basic shapes that come from nature that I see during my daily walks with my young daughter. The female form and shape. The various art papers and ephemera I have collected over the years along with my own hand printed woodblock and Gocco papers. The world is filled with so much to inspire me if I keep my eyes open.

Any advice for someone feeling uninspired?
First I would tell them that it is OK to feel uninspired and not to force creation when your body and mind may need a break. But at the same time ways that have often brought me out of creative slumps are daily drawing without worrying about a finished product and free thought journal writing. Getting out and looking around at life is always helpful as well.

You can find more of Marisa's work here:
http://mleeprints.blogspot.com
http://mlee.etsy.com
http://www.trunkt.org/mlee
http://www.flickr.com/photos/m_lee

Some helpful links:
http://printsy.blogspot.com/
http://www.imcclains.com/
http://www.dickblick.com/
http://www.danielsmith.com/
http://www.papermojo.com/

I too have quilt envy and wish that I had the patience to learn, but I love how Marisa has taken her hidden desire to quilt and used it to "quilt" a collage. She has done something similar to quilting in that she has taken several unrelated items (think quilting fabric patterns) and brought them together to create one cohesive piece. Each piece on it's own is significant and beautiful, but once it is added to the other pieces, it creates something spectacular. I also love that she used her own past pieces (even so called "mess-ups") as inspiration and that she continued to recycle her work rather than throw it out. At one time she offered collage packs of her "leftovers" in her shop and I was actually lucky enough to get some and they inspired me to create this ACEO.











I hope she doesn't mind that I punched a bunch of holes in her papers, but I really wanted to see all of the color combinations together and the funny thing is that the final result reminds me of a patchwork quilt. So take some time this week to check out Marisa's work (buy a piece or two too, you won't be disappointed), create something inspired by a secret desire, and use your leftovers to create something new or share them with other artists and inspire them to create!