Archive for April, 2009
The next show I’ll be at is the Spring Blossom Art Festival in Nashville, Indiana. Nashville is my home town, so I’m happy to be a part of this festival. Dates are May 8th through the 10th. I’ll set up shop on the Village Green, not too far from Gallery by the Green.
Nashville once had a strong connection with the arts, which weakened over time with the growth of so many shops carrying mostly imported items. In recent years though, there has been a resurgence in the arts in Brown County. Artists have moved into the area, new galleries have opened up, and new arts organizations have formed. Many energetic, enthusiastic people are working together to revitalize the art scene, and the Spring Blossom Art Festival is one of many things in the works.
Keep your fingers crossed that we have good weather for the show and come out to show your support of the arts! There will be dozens of artists set up, food, entertainment, etc. I’m scurrying around creating some new goodies for the show (when I can pull myself away from the garden)—hope to see you there!
April 29th, 2009
What I like best about setting up my booth at art fairs is meeting the people who buy my art. When I sell things through a gallery I rarely get any feedback or information on the folks who liked my stuff. After doing several shows, I’m happy to say I have repeat customers. I may not know their names, but their faces I do, and there’s a smile of recognition that gets exchanged.
It’s touching to hear comments like “We have one of your paintings at home, and we just love it.” Or, “I gave my niece one of your necklaces for Christmas and I don’t think she’s taken it off since.” It’s fun to see who buys what and to hear who it’s for. Like the guy who bought a bracelet for his new step-mom because he wanted her to like him. Or the lady who chose the little bird nest pin for her friend who’s a birder.
And of course I hear a lot of cat stories. “I’m a cat person, too.” They confide, knowing I won’t think they’re crazy because they have three, or five, or thirteen cats. They admire my cards with images of my cats, saying, “Oh, that looks just like Binky.” Or Fluffy, or Norman. I love making that connection with people. I guess that’s why I do this blog, too. It’s my way of letting people know a bit about me and my art. So when they buy a painting, it’s not just paint on canvas. It’s a work by Monique who lives in Brown County, in a painted house, with all those cats, chickens and a garden, and a long-suffering, very patient husband.
April 26th, 2009
I’ve been working on some miniature paintings lately—it’s a fun way to work out the logistics for future larger paintings. Usually my minis are 4″X6″ or 5″X7″ but I like a challenge, so I’ve done some that are more like 2″X3″. Working small allows me to block in areas of color and make major changes quickly. If it doesn’t work out the way I planned, I haven’t invested a lot of time or materials. When I work small, I don’t get caught up in details, and instead focus on color, shape and light.
Some subjects lend themselves to minis, like cats and chickens. But even tiny landscapes can become a window offering escape to a special place. The minis are mostly painted on canvas boards, the tiniest ones I have to custom make to fit the little frames. I also like painting on the wider, gallery wrap canvases. These paintings are intended to be frameless, allowing the image to float on the surface. Because of their width, they can stand on a shelf or a desk. I paint the edges in a muted gold for a finished look, giving the painting the effect of a fine gem in a brushed gold setting.
Gallery by the Green in Nashville usually has a selection of my “Little Gems” (as Charlotte calls them) and I also take them to the shows I do. They’re easier to transport than large paintings, and are pretty affordable ($25-$100). I have a solo show in October at the Brown County Art Gallery and plan to have a good showing of minis there, along with my larger works. Of course I’ll have them here at my studio for the Brown County Studio Tour in June.
April 22nd, 2009
Come see me at the Luna Festival at the Showers Plaza in Bloomington! It’s a fun filled event with lots of art, music and information, all in the support and celebration of women artists and entrepreneurs. I was at the Luna Festival last year as a visitor and was very impressed with the talent I saw there. So it was an honor to be accepted into this year’s event.
Space at the show is a little tight, so I won’t have my full array of goodies, but hope to squeeze in a little of everything. I’ve been working on some new jewelry pieces and some new miniature paintings. I’ve gotten addicted to sock yarn—not to make socks from, but fingerless gloves. They’re a great solution to chilly offices and studios—no more cold hands! Sock yarn is light weight and I love the colors and patterns. I can’t stop thinking spring (today I planted 144 gladiolus bulbs) and it works its way into my art. I made some sweet little bird’s nest pins, and one that’s a pea pod with green cats-eye beads for peas. Well, break’s over, I have 120 more glads to plant.
April 17th, 2009
Our new chicks have arrived on the farm! We have ten new babies, all different breeds, all pullets. I considered getting a rooster, but decided against it—the last one we had wasn’t a such nice guy. We ordered our chicks from our local feed store where we can order as many or as few as we want. When the chicks arrive, they give us a call and we get to pick the ones we want. It’s fun to go in and see these tubs full of cheeping chicks, keeping cozy under the heat lamps. There’s a big grey cat there that seems to be just drooling over them, though the folks there say he never tries to catch one.
Some folks advise against adding new chickens to an old flock, saying it upsets the pecking order. This may be true, but only for a few days till they work things out. When the new chickens are old enough, we sneak them into the hen house at night. The next morning the old chickens wake up to meet their new house mates, whom they seem to accept pretty quickly. Having plenty of outside space to spread out allows room for their different personalities and relationships. Which you might not think chickens would have, but they do.
Over the years, our flock has become a colorful mixture of different breeds, all different ages. Some hens no longer lay, but as I’m not ready to butcher an old friend for the stew pot, the chickens are allowed to live out their lives. Goldie, our big Buff Orpington, at six years old is our oldest hen. Coyotes and hawks have been a problem at times, so the flock has a fenced in yard with trees for protection. Most of the year we open up their yard and let them free-range, which they love. When it’s cold or snowy, they prefer to stay in the chicken house, under the heat lamp. The ducks prefer to go out no matter the weather.
Chickens in the garden can be good and bad. They eat a lot of bugs, but they will dig up plants and eat that first tomato that you were just waiting to ripen up a little more. So we fenced in the gardens too, and allow the chickens in at certain times of the year- mostly fall and early, early spring.
April 8th, 2009
I can’t stop myself. I’ll paint anything if it stands still. When we moved into our house, I could finally turn myself loose. After years of renting where repainting was not allowed, suddenly I had a whole house to do with as I pleased. So we painted the walls in blues, greens, yellows and soft purples—each room is a different color.
Why stop there? The living room floor is done ugly vinyl fake wood tiles—which we couldn’t afford to rip up and replace with something more attractive. So I painted it. The mud room floor was grey cement—so I painted it to look like bricks and added moss and vines. A neighbor stopped by and noted “How cute, you painted ivy on the bricks.” “And I painted the bricks too.” She did a double take—she thought the bricks were real.
Some art is short lived, sadly. After I painted the boot box in the mud room with vines and birds, Molly (our black lab mix) scratched and chewed most of it off. Sigh. That’s life with pets. Maybe I’ll go paint flowers on the porch floor….
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A Painted Door
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A Painted Floor
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Kitchen Walls & Door
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Cellar Door
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Mudroom Floor
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Boot Box Lid
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April 3rd, 2009
hought about saying I’d run out of cats, so no more Cat of the Month entries—April Fools.
Continue Reading April 3rd, 2009
