Dandy Candy!!

Oh boy am I in trouble now! A lovely parcel arrived this morning. It's my goodies from my Dandy Candy swap. Sandy who had my name treated me to copious amounts of Jelly Belly beans, which she put in this gorgeous vintage glass container. See the little faerie? Adorable!

In case you were wondering, my favourite flavours are:
1. buttered popcorn
2. cuppachino

3. pina colada

4. lemon lime

My least favourite flavour? Black licorice! Black jelly beans get tossed out the window when I am driving and the crows eat them off the highway. YUCK! My dear friend Lisa has already spoken for the offending ones. (Real friends eat the bad ones.)

Many thanks Sandy for such a great swap. I know I am going to love having it in my studio and who wouldn't be inspired nibbling on one of 50 flavours of jelly beans?!? Personally, I think jelly beans and creativity go together. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!)

*nibble nibble*

Creative Sunday

This is just one of the new goodies now available in the Tattered Edge Mercantile. I found this wonderful retro aqua coloured paper that I fell in love with yesterday and couldn't wait to use it to make something. The little 2 1/2 tag is a vintage gas pump price tag. It was perfect for this journal cover.

Last night I actually woke to thunder, much to my delight. After having a prolonged heatwave (with temps hovering around 38-40C) I am so pleased that it has cooled off and rained. I just feel so much better when it's cool. There's nothing uglier than scorched lawns-brown grass is hideous!

The 4 & 20 Blackbirds collaborative that my friend Penn was hosting is almost finished so I will likely have my book some time later this week. I am excited-I got a peek at it yesterday and WOW! The books just keep getting better and better!

A Wee Bite of Eyecandy

I received some new plates of rubber from Paper Artsy late last week and I finally have time to sit down and do a bit of design work with them. This is what I made this morning, in between laundry and a trip to the mall to scout digital cameras for my son. (Yes, I am the queen of multitasking!) Anyway, I made this pendant using two drawer plates, some wire and beads and a vintage subway tolken. On the back is another image for the PA rubber plates. I really enjoyed making this and I might make a few for sale in the Tattered Edge Mercantile some time next week. (I need to pick up more drawer plates first.)

We are enjoying am overcast and markedly cooler day here on the West Coast. It's not raining, but there's a nice breeze blowing and it's about 14C which is a welcome relief from last week's blistering heat wave. It was up to 40C here last week and let me tell you, the heat just sucked the creativity out of my bones! I would be very pleased if it rained this evening-I love lying in bed listening to the rain as I fall asleep.

It's interesting how many of my artsy friends have been experiencing a creative slump. I also find it funny how we all go into panic mode when it happens and try to push through it, instead of recognizing that it's our creative brain's way of saying it needs a break. You can't always be drawing from the creative well without stopping sometimes to fill it up. Sometimes you just need to go off and do something completely unrelated to art or take a class and learn something new so that you can come back to your work with a new perspective and fresh inspiration. It's always this thought of "What if..?!?" that scares us-what if we never have another idea?!? What if we never make another piece of art?!? What if the well dries up?!? It's a scarey thought, but usually if we can just grant ourselves permission to take a break, we will be rewarded with inspiration anew. Sometimes you just have to have to go on faith. The more you try and force it, the more it will elude you and you will just become angry and frustrated with yourself and that's definately not the mindspace that will lead to creative work. So, if you are having this experience right now, hang in there. It will pass!

Okay, time for me to get back to work! I want to get a few things done before I head out to a grand opening for a new scrapbooking store with a friend. They are having huge sales for their opening and I am going to see if there's anything I need. (Ha!Ha!)

!Viva la Musica!

I have been working my butt off so yesterday I decided to take 5 and go over to the mall for a bit. It's good to give your creative brain a rest sometimes. I decided to treat myself to two new albums I had been yearning for. Kt Tunstall's music is really cool and you might know Ray Davies from the Kinks. (Thanks Liz for pointing this out! I love that Liz loves alot of the same music as I do and is so savvy about it!)

When I am working sometimes I listen to music via my computer. I like to use Pandora which I have mentioned before. Ray Davies' song "Other People's Lives" (Click here and scroll down the page to where you can listen to it.) came up one day and I loved it so I decided to buy the album. What I love about Pandora is that I am exposed to music I might not otherwise hear. (I only listen to the radio in the car-I can't stand commercials when I want to listen to music.)

In other news, the Tattered Edge Mercantile is doing well. I am surprised (though pleasantly so) about all the custom orders I have had for my inclusion journals. I am making them as time allows. It's been a busy summer so far. I am trying to clear my plate somewhat before I go away on holiday. I think it's easier to relax when you know you don't have a pile of stuff needing your attention on your desk. And if you can't relax while on holidays, what the point?!?

Speaking of holidays, my guys took yesterday off and went tubing at Alouette Lake. They put in on the river and floated down. Apparently there were parts where the river had rapids strewn with rocks. My husband gashed his elbow and knee on the way down, but they said they had a good day. I guess for guys it's not fun till someone's bleeding! Me, I would have got out when I spotted the rocks-I'm not that reckless!

Blogger seems to back up and running-they have had problems the last few days in case you were wondering where I went. Lots of us who use Blogger were frustrated. Hopefully they have it fixed now!

Anyway, I had better get back to work if I want to be free in time for my holidays! Thankfully it's overcast and much cooler today. YAY!!

News From the Cave

Ah treasures and delights came from the magical mail box this morning. Several new rubber plates, German scrap and *splodgers from Paper Artsy. I can't wait to get started on some new design work for them. I just realized this morning that I have now been working with them for 2 years! WOW! How quickly time flies when you're having fun!


These are the little buttons Sarah Fishburn sent me about a week ago, just because. I just adore little buttons.

Thanks to everyone who posted about ways to cope with the heat. I certainly learned alot. I hope you are all heeding your own advice and keeping cool. It's amazing how quickly people can become ill tempered when they get too hot, myself included. I especially hate the migraines I get when it's too hot for me. Bring on the autumn I say!! I am ready for jeans, sweaters, crisp days, wind, falling leaves and pumpkins. All these things make me immensely happy! In the meantime, I am hibernating with the fans going full blast and munching freezies and fresh fruit. Hey-whatever works! I just wish it would cool down enough at night that people could get a decent night's sleep. Being hot and tired is no fun.

*Splodgers are a plain plastic credit card-like thing for spreading paint, gesso, etc.

Hot Dog Days of Summer

Okay, everyone I know is complaining about the heat. It's hot just about everywhere and it's definately hotter than normal. You can't tell me we aren't having global warming!

That said, I am inviting you to post and let me know what you do to beat the heat. I am NOT a hot weather girl so I am hoping you will share what helps you cope when it gets smokin' hot and I might learn something. If nothing else, perhaps it will distract you for a nano second and you might just feel better about the weather.

Here are my strategies:
-Long cool showers. I find if my thick curley hair is wet, I feel so much better.
-Ice tea, slurpees, mocha frappachinos. (Ahh Starbucks!)
-Freezies. Not only do they taste good, but I love the colours and they remind me of when I was a kid.
-Bare feet.
-FANS running day and night!
-100 % Cotton clothes.
-the BBQ-if I have to cook, then let it be outside and let it be delicious.
-Ice cold fresh fruit.

Okay, your turn, post away!

And might I point out that you will NEVER hear me compain about the cold? I am good to -41C. (Canadians are born with a natural antifreeze in their veins...or maybe it's just us Winnipeggers!) *wink*

These Things Go Hand in Hand

I wanted to put this out there because I have been thinking about it alot lately. This whole art thing is alot of work and sometimes, people struggle along the path. While not everyone is looking to make a big time career out of their art, lots of us just want to work at something we love and feel passionate about. Sometimes opportunity finds us and sometimes we have to go looking.

Part of what's hard about it all is that in many ways, it's something you have to do on your own. There's a sort of trial by fire thing that happens, whereby you have to work really hard and hope you also have a bit of luck to be successful and while I have absolutely nothing agaist "earning my stripes", I think sometimes it can be both frustrating and lonely. So much of what we do as artist involves sitting in our studios, alone, working. It's rare that we get the opportunity to talk to other artists about their experiences and perhaps glean some information about how they go about doing what they do. For me, in most areas of my life, I have benefitted immensely from listening and observing other people, asking questions and doing my own research. It's the my own style of learning by doing, coupled with feedback from others that takes me from an idea or desire into realizing the goal.

That said, I would like to encourage all you artists out there who are reading this, to think seriously about taking someone under your wing if you see an opportunity to do so and help them through what you know. It doesn't have to be a formal thing, but if someone is for example looking to get connected to a group you are in because they admire it and have something to offer, then point them in the right direction to get connected. If someone wants to apply for an event and you have done so in the past yourself, help them figure out what they can do to make their application the best it can be. Put yourself out there!

When you help someone else, you not only bless them with your gifts, but you also get to have a good feeling in your heart. There is a quote that like that says: "The more you give away, the more you get to keep for yourself." There is nothing more beautiful than a generousity of spirit.

Catching Up!

Hello Folks! Yes, I am still breathing. Slowly but surely, I am feeling better. Still feeling a bit tired, but on the mend.

Yesterday, I receieve a blog comment in my email. As most of you know, I moderate my comments and here's why: the comment was obviously from a bot of some sort. It was all about me being a loyal customer for some online drug company. I believe the bot glommed onto my blog because my last post had the word "cipro" in the title. It went on and on about its great online drug ordering, etc. etc. Completely annoying, but the beauty of moderating my comments is that it will never appear on my blog! YAY!! With a punch of a button, it is gone into the cavernous black hole of cyber space! The really dumb thing is that Canadians do not order drugs online and this stupid bot implied I was one of their best customers. ROFL! Yeah right!

Anyway, I know I have shared this photo before but I was going through images on my harddrive the other day and was reminded how much I like it, so here it is. It was taken about this time last summer in Vancouver just down the street from where I usually park when I go the the monthly ATC swap. Is the sky blue or what?!? That's pretty much how it has been the last few days here-hot and sunny.

Last week I got a lovely little packet from Sarah Fishburn. She sent me a collection of teeny little buttons with her artwork on them. I collect them (Don't ask why-I honestly don't know-I just love 'em!) and either put them on my messenger bag or stick them into the interior roof of my car. Thanks so much Sarah-they are wonderful!!

The Tatterededge Mercantile is humming along. I am pleased to have sold some journals and have also done some commission work. It's nice to know my journals are going to good homes! I am thinking about what I would like to add next.

I also wanted to share with you that the lovely and talented Lisa Call has started a blog. I have added it to my blog roll to the right, but here's a quick link so you can take a peek. I think the great thing about blogs is that they allow you to "have a visit" with friends every day. I love knowing what other artist pals are working on, what inspires them, what's happening in their lives. All hail the mighty blog!! LOL!

Okay, time for this girl to get to work for a bit. My son took the day off work today and I am sure once he's up he will have some sort of agenda that involves me driving him somewhere. Last week we went to the movies and he asked me last night if I wanted to go again. I think I see "The Omen" in my future. He and I love horror movies, my husband does not, so we have mother-son bonding time at the theatre.

Thank God for Cipro!

Well, I guess the antibiotics finally kicked in! I am feeling a tad better, finally. Here it is 5 p.m. and I have yet to take any Advil. That's a good sign. (Well that and the fact that I have enough of my engines firing that I actually felt like sitting down and working!)

I spent the day today creating ATCs for tomorrow's swap in Vancouver. I decided to just play around layering paper and sewing. It's not rocket science, but it will do. Not bad considering the week I've had!

In other news. I was invited to submit some art for consideration for publication so I am really excited. This is the kind of work that lights a fire under me and I love the challenge. I imagine this will be my focus for the next little while, as well as working on my fall classes. Sometimes I think I need a 48 hour day to get everything done that I want to do!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Beads on the Brain

Yes, I am still alive. I am just dealing with a particularily nasty ear/sinus infection-one of the chronic joys of being me. I have been suffering since Saturday and just today looked sick enough that my doc walked in and said "You look like you are in pain." when she saw me. (One of the huge downfalls of having a very high pain tolerance is that by the time someone realizes you are ill, it's gone beyind the mild stage.)

Anyway, enough whining. Let's talk ART!! Awhile back, I was looking at books on Amazon, seeing what was new and in the course of surfing, discovered a book called "A String and a Prayer". It looked really interesting so I put in a request for my library to purchase it and then promptly forgot all about it. (If you remember I am stealthily building up the mixed media section of my local library, one book at a time. *grin*)

(There would be a picture here if blogger would cooperate!!)

So yesterday I got an email notification that "A String and a Prayer" had arrived. YAY! So on my way to get my perscription filled, I stopped in at the library and picked it up. It's a great little book about making and using prayer beads. Now I am a spiritual person (in no way religious) and I have always thought prayer beads were interesting, mainly as a personal thing that would help you focus your energy in creating your intentions. I think sometimes with everything that goes on in our daily lives, it's hard to find that quiet still place inside yourself and I think prayer beads might be a good way to help facilitate that.

The book talks about all the different world religions that use prayer beads and what materials are used for the beads, what the significance of the number of beads mean and also the symbolism behind the colours used. It was really, really interesting. It also gave simple instruction about stringing prayer beads into the various traditional forms that people use. There were stories about why people made prayer bead strings and the effect they had on the people they gave them to.

I just really liked the idea that you could make strings specifically for say someone who is ill, as a tangible way to show your are sending them your love and good thoughts for their healing. Can you imagine how deeply touching it would be to be on the receiving end of that? I think that could be a very powerful gift.

The only thing I missed from the book is for there to be some instruction on how to make handmade beads from a variety of materials. Perhaps I can source out some ideas for that online though. I like the idea of making the beads too. Maybe I should check out polymer clay? I don't know anything about it.

Anyway, I thought I would share this with you all, mainly because as you can imagine, it's hard to make art when I am feeling so awful and I thought this was a very interesting idea. I have a friend who is very close to my heart and I would like to make and send her something special for the 5th anniversary of 9/11 and this might just be it. Now I just need to think about what types of beads I would like to use.

Update!

New handmade goodies are now available in the mercantile! Postal Pendants and Coil Bound Tag Journals have just been added!

Summer Fun!

I thought I would make a quick post to let you know that if you are in the Vancouver area and are looking to take some mixed media classes, I am teaching over the summer. My classes are being offered in here and so far I have the following booked:
Altered Books Condensed
Altered Books, Come Again
An Introduction to Collage
Fast & Fun Postal Pendants

If you are interested in learning more, you can join the Tattered Edge Yahoo Group, which is a low volume email list where I share information about where and when my classes are being offered and you can also view samples of each class in the photos section of the group.

To enquire or register for upcoming classes, just send me an email and I will give you all the details!

Hope to see you there!!

Sunday Afternoon in the Studio

I have come to the conclusion that you can never predict when you will get inspired nor what you will get inspired about. This morning I sat down to work on some binding and ended up having a brainwave about something completely unrelated. As a result, I have spent the lion's share of the day creating these pendants.

I think they would make a fun class but aside from that, I haven't really decided what to do with them yet. Maybe I will make some for my Etsy shop.

In the meantime, I am struggling badly with a migraine that decided to hit last night just before we got to the movie theatre. We went to see the new Pirates of the Carribean (never, never go the day after it opens-big mistake!) and ended up not being able to see it till 9 p.m. By the time the film was 3/4 of the way through, I was decidedly ill, enough so that my husband had to drive us home-I just couldn't function enough to drive. It's better today, though only slightly so I am limping along.

Okay, back to work for me! *wink*

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Last night we rented 'The World's Fastest Indian" starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and I have to say it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long, long time.

It's a true story about a New Zealander named Burt Monro, who dreams of travelling to the Bonneville saltflats in Utah to test the speed of his classic Indian motorcycle. The story is beautifully told and Sir Anthony is just fantastic in it. It's one of those films that will make you laugh and cry. (I looked over at my husband at one point and he was all tear-eyed, though he denies it!)

Anyway, it's just out on DVD and I highly recommend it. I plan to buy it, I liked it that much!

de-FUNK-ifying

I have been rhuminating on a number of things in the last few days, written posts and then deleted them. Sometimes I have so much to say and then end up saying nothing because I don't even know where to begin..

I guess it starts with this thought that entered my head and that probably needs to come out in my art somehow. What popped into my head was "Sometimes the world weighed heavy on her heart." and that about says it all. I have three friends who are dealing with cancer in their families right now. One has lost her aunt and the other two are in the process of losing their fathers to it. If you know nothing else about me, it's that I have the softest of hearts and it pains me to see my friends hurting. I just feel the need to do something even though the only thing I can really do is be supportive and available. (Good ole crisis line training!)

So..that said, I think there are two things I can do to cheer myself up. One is to make a run to the movie theatre this weekend to see the new Pirates of the Carribean movie (luv me some Jack Sparrow! ARRR Matey!!) and the other is to share my "Super Model in the fan" photos.


There was this huge fan in the dining hall at AFF and these gorgeous super models just appeared out of nowhere and starting striking poses for their adoring fans. We were all laughing our heads off and snapping away. It's amazing what a lack of sleep combined with dash of heatstroke can do! You can't say artists don't know how to have fun when we are gathered together! *grin*

NEWS!!

At long last, I have finally decided to wade into the waters of selling some of my art. I just set up the Tattered Edge Mercantile at Etsy and would like to invite you to visit.

If there is something you would like to see in my shop, please shoot me an email (just go to my website and hit the email button!) and I while I can't make any promises, I will see what I can do. It's always good to get suggestions and feedback. (But please be kind!)

I will be adding a link to the mercantile on the sidebar of my blog, as well as on my links page of my website in case you forget to bookmark it. I will be adding new items as often as I can, so check back from time to time!

THANKS!

Happy Dance!! Happy Dance!!

I am very happy to report that my friend DJ Pettitt has just created a blog! I couldn't be happier. DJ is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We've been exchanging emails for awhile and finally got to meet one another at AFF a couple of weeks ago. To know DJ is to love her-she is just such a kind and generous spirit and in a word, lovely. She is also a very gifted artist and teacher-I loved her Artfolio class and I am having a ball using what I learned.

So.. go on and have peek at her shiney new blog and leave a comment or two. I am sure you will enjoy hearing from her!

Holiday Wishes

Happy 4th to all my American friends! Have a safe and happy celebration.

*Photo taken when I was in NYC Summer 2004.

Digging Out!

There has been a flurry of activity in my little studio since I got home from AFF. As you can see, my desk is cluttered with projects on the go. (This is the tame version!) I am almost finished my Artfolio from DJ class. I just need to bind it and get the signatures sewn in.

I have also launched an collaborative ATC book as a quick summer project. I wanted to try something a bit different and thought this would be fun. There is another really cool collaborative project Penn and I have been discussing that will likely launch in late August and I can hardly wait for that one! It's going to be fabulous. In the meantime, I am patiently awaiting the completion of the 4 & 20 Blackbirds. It's looking mighty fine thus far and I think it's probably the best one yet!

I have another project in the works that I will tell you all about soon. That's all I am saying! *wink*

In the meantime, today is the "stat" for Canada Day (July 1st) which fell on a Saturday so my guys are off work and we are going to head out to see Superman Returns shortly. Christoper Reeves will always be the real Superman in my heart, but I do want to see this one. It is stifling hot here again today so spending part of the afternoon in an air conditioned theatre, snarfing popcorn (it's a food group ya know!) seems like a good plan to me.

If anyone is looking for a good summer read, I am currently enjoying "The Last Templar" by Raymond Khoury. If you liked "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown you will probably appreciate this one. I am about 1/2 way through and loving it.

Bonne Fete Canada!

HAPPY CANADA DAY! to all my fellow Canadians! WOOHOO!!

( This concludes my big whoop celebration of the day. WHEW! That was exhausting. Next year maybe I will just wave my paper flag and be done with it.)

As is the typical Canadian custom, no big plans for the day, since I am working on a commission today and tomorrow but maybe my guys will remember to fire up the BBQ at some point.