Brochure

Thanks to Apple's 30 day free trial of iwork I was able to knock out a pretty decent brochure today, I'm not in a position to have one made professionally yet. This one is just to raise awareness anyway...we're still trying to figure out how to schedule and charge, but slowly we are getting clearer on want we want for the studio.
I was finally able to talk with a couple of the other artist who will be holding workshops in My Studio and we came up with some pretty fun ideas.......I'm excited!

Display Case

I found my first display case for the studio/shop today out at a large local thrift shop.....I got it for 20 bucks! Looks like it might have originally been an entertainment center?
There's a light inside at the top and I'm going to create a clock in the round part up at the top. It looks like the previous owner had some fabric on the inside back and left some double sided sticky tape behind....gonna have to clean it up a bit.
I'm also waiting to see pictures of some display cases that are for sale about an hour and a half away from me. The price is really good and they are also lighted. I'm really hoping they're in good shape and I can get them.....fingers crossed!

Well, saw the pictures and they were nice, but turns out I had to pass on the display cases :-( Couldn't find someone to help load/move them, and they would have had to stand on their sides to fit in my truck blocking the view out the back window (I hate that) and driving with all that glass in the back.....well, a bit nerve wracking.
I'm looking at two others on Saturday, each 6' long, that's longer than the others, and the price is lower......and...... they're local. They're not as nice as the ones I'm passing on, not as much display room, but it'll be a good opportunity to flex my creative muscles :-)

Ya never know what you'll find.

I was getting ready to post on Craigslist this morning when I came across this person's work. What fun. The cups sell on Etsy for about $250. You can see more here.

Welcome Lauren!

Lauren Steurer will be holding jewelry workshops at My Studio in Lake Worth, Fl. Here are some examples of Lauren's work.

This class is intended to help the student understand basic techniques in order to develop an individual style expressed in wire jewelry. It will incorporate wire, beads, charms, handmade and found objects. The class will be offered on three levels, introducing new tools, techniques and possibilities limited only by your imagination. The beginning class will show basic wire jewelry design concepts and how to make connecting links which are use to attach clasps, chains, and charms. The second-level class will show how to integrate your own handmade wire creations into your design and use beads. The third-level class will use store bought (or handmade) jigs for twisted wire creations, teaching some well-used forms and how to make original designs also.
Please email me for more information.

Finished the nursery

Finished up the nursery yesterday, I was so tired and anxious to get home (an hour and 45 min. drive!) that I forgot to take final pictures.....but here's the work from Saturday. Sunday I added more palms, a mommy giraffe next to the little guy here, an elephant, and a lion.

Today is sort of a day off, I'm burning some DVD's for a MuralClassesToGo purchaser and I'm going to check out two potential cleaning clients......gotta keep that 'steady' work for when the mural work slows down. Tomorrow its back to Jensen Beach to finish up the powder room at the condo model and look at a possible mural job in another development in Stuart.

Need to work on scale

I really need to work on my scale.....make one thing the wrong size and it throws everything off. See if you can figure out what I mean in this mural.
She did decide the right side needed something after all.
This one is done, today I clean. This weekend I'll be doing another nursery, this one with animals. Here's a sketch for one of the walls.
I'm starting to get interest from artists who would like to display/sell their work at My Studio :-)

Karen wants her groove back

All the recent months of whoa-is-me down time took a toll on my skills, but I feel it coming back :-) OK.....today's work. I'm going to change the water line, I need to find a picture to reference. Also want to work on the bottom right corner to make it look a little more natural. Should be able to finish this up tomorrow........do the trees (she does not want the trees on the right like in the sketch), fix the stuff I mentioned above, add some birds, shells, starfish, vintage bucket and shovel, do the shading, and the owners dog running up the beach.....piece of cake :-)

Powder room progress

Here's how the powder room is going......I'm so not happy with the flowers, I never enjoy painting flowers, perhaps I need to take a class. Have to go back in a week or so to finish up.

This is the sketch of the mural I'm starting tomorrow.

I've mentioned Theresa Cheek's blog before, but its so worth mentioning again.....and again.
Check out these over the top interiors posted on her blog......gorgeous!!

Started on the powder room

Got started on the powder room today........did a trompe l'oeil shuttered window over the toilet and started laying out a scene on another wall.....it'll be cypress trees and potted flowers.
Even did a little more work on the foyer mural......I just don't like how 'clean' it looks. Do I need to soften up edges and dirty it up a bit??? I'd like to learn to paint a bit looser.

Well Crap!

Why does it take a photo of my work to see what needs to be fixed.......wonky pots and left tree to dark at bottom. Fortunately I go back tomorrow to start the powder room and can fix the mistakes.....geesh....lol.
I think it might be time for a new camera too.......I know I'm not shaking that much!

Working on her finishing touches

Tiffany did a great job and I suspect I may have created some competition :-) I hope she continues to pursue her dream. As we were out of time, I left her with some things to think about, a few changes/additions she may want to consider. I also left her with my favorite book recommendations and encouraged her to avail herself of all the knowledge and support she can get on my two favorite forums... fauxforum.com and muralsplus.com
I look forward to my next class :-)
Today its back to the condo model to make adjustments on the mural I did there and to begin work in the powder room.
I'm not sure yet whats being done in there, but here's some before pics.
This week I'll also be doing a nursery. This is the sketch for that job.
So.....a very busy week.

Last Day Tomorrow

We're almost there.

Student Shows Up Teacher

Tiffany continues to do really well. Today?.....I think she even out did me. There's a couple of things I want her to go back over, but when it came to working on the leaves of the bird of paradise plant?............she won :-) I did the ones on the right....... she, as you can see, gave great care to working on the ones on the left. Great job Tiffany!

Progress Report

End of day two and the background landscaping is almost complete. Some changes were made to the land mass in the background to compensate for its feeling closer to the viewer than planned (she's working on that here)....and a bit more has to be done to the 'lawn' to make it feel more natural and less thought out. Tiffany is doing great and what I like about her is that she seems to have a natural eye or feel for what is not quite right.....it is so important to be able to look at your work objectively and know when changes need to be made.

New Student

A new student, Tiffany, started yesterday and is doing quite well. I gave her pictures of things that I liked and wanted to see in a mural and she came up with a very nice design that incorporated everything that I requested (as her 'client').....tropical foliage/flowers, a bit of water, a tile patio, columns, and a touch of wildlife. I will post here as it develops.

Studios Ready!!

Yeah!......finished up working on the studio today. The smooth wall is up for the canvases, puttied, sanded, and painted....floor refreshed......the chill area put together. I still need to change out the lighting and add more storage in the back room but, I'm ready to rock n roll.....student coming in tomorrow for a five day private session....I CAN'T WAIT!
This studio is also available for other artists to rent to hold their own workshops....if you know of anyone, spread the word :-)

Cool!

My bear powder room mural made it onto the Better After blog :-)

Lesson learned

Don't stray from the original design. When I return to the condo where I've been working on the mural in the previous post, I need to change the pedestals/urns in the foreground to the short pot with the taller trees that was in the original sketch below....the decorator does not like the alteration. While I'm there I'll also be doing something in a powder room.
I finally got all my necessary licensing for the studio and I've been busy juggling getting it ready for the first class next week, mural commissions and cleaning gigs. What a change from just a month ago. Its so good to be busy again!!!

Still Not Done.....sigh

A couple of little touch-ups/tweeks and I want to add some randomly placed cobblestone patterns in the street, the suggestion of a tile roof on the yellow house, window boxes, maybe a nice size step at the doors of the yellow and red-ish houses to again take away some of the height of the doors. Won't be back tomorrow....other commitments. I've also been asked to do something in a powder room at the same place, so when a design is settled on for that I'll also complete the mural.
Can you tell how tired I am, my hands were actually shaking when I photograph this.....sorry about the blurry pic.