Keep calm and carry on...

Right. So I made a ton of scrabble tile pendants to have on hand as stock for my Etsy shop, and after they had cured for about a week they started to crack right down the middle. Lost about 80% of the finished pendants. Pfffttt. Then I saw on the Etsy Forums that I was not the only one who has had Diamond Glaze do this lately. Well, now I know what happened, but am scrambling to fill the orders I have. OOOooohhh yes- some kinda fun we havin now!I have switched to another brand of glaze, so I'm hoping there will be no more problems. Will post disaster pics in morning.

It's Backup Day everybody! Back up those important files to a disk right now! I recently had a hard drive crash on me, and I lost everything. Photos, taxes, banners, everything! And I still can't remember where I got the fonts I had, so those are gone forever too. I am the queen of back up now- I don't want to have to redo everything ever again- OOhhhh, the files I lost. *snivel*

AAwwwwww, little Fred, the brown porcupine pendant has found a new home! He is going to be bundled up and sent to live with a nice lady in Montana. Bon voyage, freddy!

And on and on...

It just continues- you would think in a mountain town they would know how to use a snowplow, but nope. Had to walk to store to get shipping supplies, and that was very dangerous. I am grateful that our power has stayed on, I know there have been outages all over. Please stay on- All I have is electric heat, and it's damn cold!

First Snow...

Welcome to sunny Northern California! First snow of the season last night, and it is very cold. This taken out the window of my office room today- shot one, the view during a break in the storm, and shot 2 is the second wave lurking on the mountain tops waiting to come in. *sigh*.

A Brand New Adventure

I have been busy- very busy. Was working a regular job to pay bills until I ran outta there screaming. yuch. So now I am on an art break of sorts, because I am somewhat blocked on large paintings. I have about 40 paintings piled up that are about two-thirds finished, and I can't seem to finish them.
SO, I am making jewelry again, and it has been a while. I am currently making pendants and other jewelry- alot of it. Will be listing them on Etsy before the weekend. I am loving it! So easy to finish, so easy to know when I am done. I will put up a widget for my Etsy store when I get these things listed for anyone who wants to check it out. I promise to try to post here at least once a week- I have more time now!

Photos above show: Top photo- variety of pendants finished, have not attached bails yet. All hand painted or stamped or even collaged.
Second photo- 2 more of the same.
Third photo- works in progress- the circle is about 1&1/2 inches- little squares are scrabble tile size at less than an inch. Chunky square in photo 2 is 1 inch square and will have dangle beads when done.
Photo 4- finished pendant in black and white.

Please forgive the blurry no-detail having scans- I am still having a horrible time figuring out how to get good close ups with dig cam.

Whats new?

I have to pass on to you Jane Devin's blog, Which includes a little item called WTF Fridays. Way to go Jane! I love it. Also, I have encouraged you all to check out Linda Woods page before, and I'm doing it again. These 2 Arty Bloggers are the greatest- You will laugh your ass off. GO THERE NOW! I am putting permanent links to both in the link hall of fame- right column.

UPDATE: Sadly, for whatever strange reason god only knows, the woman has deleted her archives and wtf fridays do not really exist anymore. I hate it when ppl do that. Stop deleting people!

Almost lost my way...

And while he was talking, I was thinking- "if you are looking for steady, predictable, perfect, submissive, you are shopping in the wrong store baby. This is the hot, smart, fascinating and incredibly amazing risk-taking woman store." JEEEEEEZZZZZ. Life is way too short not to live loud, spending all your time trying to avoid danger and risk. Screw that. Never surrender.

"SHE SAID BABY IF YOU WANNA BE WILD, YOU GOT A LOT TO LEARN"
Bruce Springsteen
(say it like you mean it)

I'm a lurker...

I am still here, just dealing with a bunch of drama and illness. I am takin a little break- be back soon with a ton more art and crazy stuff...very unhappy with the photos of my paintings, gotta get that figured out soon!Finally got letters from Wes- I can't stand how much I miss him. He took my smile with him I think. That's him on the right.

listings-

I am listing all my rubber stamps(I have way too many) on Ebay this week- take them away, please!

Quote of the day:

Either work hard or you might as well quit-
M.C. Hammer

word.

hehehe

And so it shall ever be...

Works in progress-

I have not posted, so I'm gonna put out the piece I'm working on right now. As usual, it's not finished. I get a bunch of ideas for paintings, so I start them- then I get half way through it or a little more, and I hit a wall. So I have to set it aside and wait to find the solution so I can finish it. I tried on this one to finish up, cause I was so close to being done, and now I don't like it and have to fix the part I don't like. I'm gonna post it anyway to put a pic with pretty colors on my blog and get a post of something up. This thing is actually bigger than it shows, but only this much will fit in the scanner.

working-

I am working hard- listing, cleaning, sewing, painting- painting, sewing, listing, cleaning... got to get stuff finished. I'm still listing items from studio cleaning, it's a slow process. I am determined to have 2 listings posted on etsy by tuesday to open my store there. thats all for now.

Listing Mania!

As I said before, I am cleaning up the studio- I am getting buried alive in books, magazines, papers, fabrics, and on and on. SOoo, I am listing all my doubles of magazines and anything else I can stand to part with on Ebay starting this week. I think I will clear out some rubber stamps too... I am also cleaning out the closets too- Lets see what I come up with next- I am started with the amazing Quilting Arts Magazine- I have 2 or even three copies of most issues, so out they go!
Check my listings here .

Thank You God!

I am so filled with gratitude today- it is a beautiful sunny spring day in the mountains, and I am alive and walking around! I have nothing- and it is OK today. Thank you!

So I am painting like a fiend, I don't even know where these paintings are coming from, they are just pouring out and it doesn't even feel like me doing it. When I stop and take a step back for a second, I can't believe I just painted that! Such a strange feeling... Anyway, I collaged this one part of a painting, and I didn't like it, so I painted over it, but it still had a harsh paper edge showing through so I decided that I would just get out my x-acto knife and cut off the offending paper so I can finish this painting... I bet you can guess where this is going next- yep, I cut the CANVAS! AHHHHHHHHHHH! Oy. Now I have to figure out how to patch it so it doesn't show, and this is the best painting I have ever done. whaaaahhhh..... ( no pictures of this, I just can't stand to.) Now I am whining about it here and searching the net for patch ideas- I was gonna try wood next for painting on, I think that is a very good idea. I am having chai spice black tea and skinny salty pretzel sticks to make me feel better...

Banner Making 101

Whoo-hooo! I finished my first banner! Whew- the learning curve on this stuff is steep! Fonts, imaging program, HTML, oy. I never dreamed I would care what a pixel is. My new banner is a tiny bit rough, but I love it completely. I like all the colors. I actually made it on a black background, but since the blog is black you can't see that. Now that I know how to do this, I can change the pictures on the banner whenever I want, or change any part of it. BUT, this has taken way too much time, and I must get back to work- banner-playing not bringing any money in. TTFN (means ta-ta for now, as in tigger, oh, nevermind)

will work for food...

Took a short break from cleaning (it's a big job) to paint and glue- this pic is an update on the picture below of the bright green piece I started. Lets see, I collaged stuff on, then drew outline of main parts in pencil, then I painted about 10 layers, then stopped for about a week cause I didn't like where it was going. When I looked at it today I liked it more, so I painted it again, then started collaging more green tissue paper on it to tie together the bottom more. It is getting better, but it's not done. I am really starting to like it though. I am trying so many new things on this, thanks to Suzi and Wyanne and the other goddesses, I think that is why it is going so slow. I saw Karen Woods site and the contest they had, and they constantly are talking about all kinds of food over there. She asks everyone what they are eating or what they had for lunch, so when I go to her site I always get hungry, even if I just ate. You can check her site out here. OK, back to work...

Icandothis,Icandothis,Ican...

Decided to clean studio, can't work can't FIND anything, big mess no fun. Now I really can't work until I'm done cause everything is torn apart. I have this vision in my head of what this space will feel like when I'm finished, I will be able to get things MADE when I can just sit and get to work. I've found all kinds of cool stuff I didn't even know I had- OH! Theres my watercolors! I was wondering where those went...
I am really struggling with negative thoughts on a constant basis now, so I cruise the net to get inspired. Today was Suziblu of course, with a link to a radio interview with Tascha in Toronto, and several amazing new paintings. She was exactly what I needed! Then there is Wyanne, who made a new video for Youtube today and a beautiful new painting.And the Altered diva with her color drenched work- and Gritty arts Jane. These ladies are real inspiration. Thank god for internet, which will allow me to live as a full time artist! Thank god for art buyers! And thanks for youtube, flickr, and blogs!!!!

Crazy and Disorganized

Very slow going... I keep bouncing back and forth between collage/painting, then back to sewing, and back and forth. I found this wonderful youtube video making artist named Suziblu- she has inspired me so much! I can't stop watching her videos. I have been painting and gluing and sketching like crazy for the first time in a long time; it is so much fun! I have about 20 items to sell, but they are all about two-thirds finished. So now I am trying to get serious and finish them one by one before starting anything new. I have finally set up my Etsy shop, and the user name I picked is Bluefingerstudios. I had to pick a name to sign up, and at the time my fingers were very blue from dying fabric and painting, so there it is- my new name. Eventually I hope to consolidate all my selling under this new name. Nothing in my fabulous new shop yet... I will post the link when shop opens. Now I am trying to find time to create a brand new banner that can go on the top of my blog, my shop, my Ebay about me page, and anyplace else I want to paste it! Hopefully that will be my next post. Until then, I must get back to painting/gluing/sewing/ etc....
A couple pics of work in progress-

Play Day

I have declared today a play day. Was feeling pretty stressed, so I decided that even tho I have no cashola, I would go to the local super pricey store and buy art supplies to pick up my spirits. The pretty and sunny day helped too. I BOUGHT CRAYONS! And I mean the big box, people. 96 gorgeous colors to play with. And, 4 pink colors of paint to play with also. I always buy all the pretty blue and green colors, but I had almost no red or pink. Since I decided to practice painting faces again I will need them.
I am having swirling thoughtitis- so many projects I want to do... Painting, collage, sewing, quilting, journal, writing, blah blah blah yatta yatta. So I guess my main goal for this weekend is to make goals. First is going to have to be to make some money, but I also have to get to these other things also. I'm making a list of the projects in my head so that I will not stress so much- just work down the list and add more as I go along! It really does help to dump them on paper and move on.
Well, to follow up on previous posts, this is the big quilt show weekend. I never got the fabric done to sell there, and they never sent me the ap to sell there, so that was a big wash. Dying fabric is on the project list though, and I will sell it online while looking for other quilt shows once it is ready. I'm also going to make pretty stuff to sell with my hand dyed fabric, probably on Etsy. Watch for my store opening in the next couple of weeks...
Once I gave myself permission to do this stuff my head is exploding with ideas- The only difference between a working artist and a starving artist is marketing skills. There are so many great resources on the net to help, inspiring people to uplift you and keep you going, and very good examples of successful artists to follow, I can't remember why I didn't do this before.

*SiGh*

I sit around waiting, but find out now that the big box with my future inside has not left to come to me yet... I really need that box to come. I have not been able to sleep since this whole thing started- I need to work hard if I'm ever going to sleep again. They say it should be here tomorrow, but the show I need to have an inventory for is in 12 days! If I am to enter it, I need my supplies! Oh UPS guy, I hope you have a lead foot and a good safety record...

The Big Day Has Finally Arrived!

I have wanted to live my creative dream forever, but as many people have experienced that dream was pushed away by demands of everyday life, like earning a living. I let my dreams almost die because of worrying how to pay the electric bill each month. Well- not now. I realize that after putting these dreams off till later my whole life, later was never gonna come! I arrive at middle age seeing that I only have so much time left, and if I don't do this stuff now it will never happen!
Soooo, this week, for the first time in my life, I have been told that the job I HATE no longer welcomes my presence thank you very much, and I will consider this to be my soul-saving blessing in disguise. With what money I have left from ex-job, I have just now mailed away for a huge box of amazing supplies from Dharma, and having NO income at this point I will start my adventure. Very Scary!
Right now all the negative thoughts are swirling in my head- "what are you thinking? you will be homeless! You are no artist! Get a job!
I have been fairly successful for one week now shooting these down with positive thoughts- a very new process to me. If others can do this, then so can I! I am so grateful to the people who have blogged similar situations lately- You all have no idea how much your words mean to me.
Online order was this AM, which is Friday, so now I have to wait until Monday for UPS guy to bring me my future. Come on, UPS!
Thanks for letting me ramble- until next post- praying and crossed fingers- Maureen

Motivation?

I have created this space to help motivate myself to complete the artwork I've started and share my process with everyone. Here I put a pic of my smaller design wall pinned to the hideous purple wall in my studio- these are 2 quilts in the beginning stages side by side. I'm using mostly hand dyed fabrics, but there are a couple of commercial prints in there too. I need to make a bigger design area. This wall changes every day- I constantly rearrange it.

As far as I understand it, you cannot blog pics of completed quilts if you want to enter them in major contests, so until that changes I am probably not going to show the completed quilts here unless I know they are not going into a contest.