Illustration Friday: Garden

I know I've posted this illustration previously, but it was so perfect for today's Illustration Friday topic that I couldn't resist reposting. This was a commissioned painting I did last summer. My client was giving it to her friend as a baby shower gift.

HGTV Update

As you probably already know, the minute the calendar changed to March, I figured it was time to contact HGTV to get my air date for the episode of "That's Clever" that I'm due to be featured on. They said to call in the spring, and I figure March = spring, right? So, on Monday I e-mailed the contact at the address given to me after my taping, and awaited a reply.

Well, I finally heard back last night. I was told the 400 season still has yet to air...and apparently I'm part of the 500 season. What does that mean to me? First, it means I'm not going to be on tv any time soon. Not this season, anyway. Second, it means I have to call back in the fall. It sounds like my show is at least put together, and my contact gave me the number for my episode (HCLVR-560 - if that means anything to you), there just isn't a date when it'll air as of yet.

I mean, I'm a patient girl, but all the hope I had for any kind of national publicity in the near future has just crumbled. I mean, it'll happen eventually. They have my show and it will air, but it could very realistically be 1 1/2 to 2 years from the time they taped me to the time the show airs. Good things come to those who wait, right?

I have a whole new perspective regarding cable tv now. Exactly how old ARE those reality shows I've been watching? Have those people been back at home 2 years after their adventure...knitting and waiting to be famous? Wow.

*Sigh*

Wednesday picture blog

I've really been trying hard to stay on-topic with this blog. It's supposed to be my forum for art, illustration, and craft-related subjects. That said, it's totally ok to break your own rules once in a while, right? This isn't really art-related, but I figured, "Eh, why not?" I'm feeling very blah today. Like I got a case of the blues for no good reason. Maybe it's because there's still nothing but a snowscape around here that I feel the need to brighten things up. (With any luck, it'll inspire spring to get here quicker!)

Here are some pics from last year of one of my favorite spots of all time, Pickity Place. It's a 200 year old cottage out in the middle of nowhere. It was the inspiration for the illustrations in the 1948 Little Golden Books version of Little Red Riding Hood. They have the most amazing (and totally affordable) gourmet lunch - just take a look at their online menu. Make sure you call to book your reservation weeks in advance - they fill up fast! There's a greenhouse, herb and flower gardens, and quaint gift shops. I grew up going there and it's still pretty much instant happiness for me: I took this pic on the way there. Ah...

We've arrived! This is where you have lunch. I'm kind of in love with that twisty old tree. Here's some shots from the herb and flower gardens around the cottage:

Tiger lilies

Teeny strawberries

Big fat bumble bee sitting on a flower. I love big furry fat bumble bees! You guys must have figured that out by now...seeing as how I sculpt bees out of clay and sell 'em on Etsy. (o:

Here's a little secret about me: sunflowers scare me. Oh yeah, they make me totally uncomfortable. I'm sorry, but no flower should be 7-8 feet tall. I feel like one of them is going to lean down to my ear and say, "Feed me, Seymour!!!" Agghghh!!!

Sleeping kitty. Though I'm terribly allergic, you can't help but say "Awww" to a cat sleeping in a puddle of sunshine. Pickity Place used to have sheep. I remember them from my trips there as a kid. They don't anymore, but I wish they did. I'd probably have photos of them too!

There. I just cheered myself up.

I don't know if it did anything for you, but I'm inspired to go ask my husband to make a lunch reservation for us.

Just a little update

No word back yet from the folks at HGTV regarding when my show will air. I'm going to give them a week or so to e-mail me and then I'm gonna start calling!

This morning I joined my local Etsy street team. I'm now included on their Yahoo Groups mailing list. They also have a very cool little blog. I'm pretty excited. I love meeting local artists and crafters. It's great to be part of a creative community. Unfortunately, I don't always have the time to meet up with my SCBWI crit group, so I'm hoping this team will be another outlet for me.

In other news, I have my typography class tonight. It's pretty warm out right now, but by this evening we're supposed to get a "wintry mix" that'll make driving conditions rather icy. Why must this happen every night that I have a lengthy commute to and from school? I'm done with winter. Really.

That's about it for a Tuesday update. I hope to have some ATCs to show you at some point in the (very) near-future.

Spring is in the air date...

Can you believe it's already March 3? Though the calendar and the 6 foot (plus) snowbanks around my house tell me otherwise, I officially consider it spring. As far as I'm concerned, that means it's time for me to contact HGTV.
For those of you who weren't aware, I was taped for an episode of "That's Clever" last summer. The crew was over my house for over 8 hours (phew!). After everything wrapped up, the producer gave me a little slip of paper with contact info on it. It instructed me to e-mail or call in the spring of '08 in order to find out the air date for the episode I'd be on. "Spring" a is fairly vague term. Especially seeing as how we got April blizzards here last year. I decided it was better to start bugging HGTV sooner rather than later. God forbid I miss my episode! "That's Clever" is on every morning, 5 days a week with 3 artists featured on each show. I don't even know how to set my VCR, and we certainly don't have TiVo. It's absolutely necessary that I find out the date way in advance!
I decided that today was the day to start bugging them for a date. I'll keep you posted if (and when) I hear back.
It's a fun/goofy show, and I know I was certainly silly during the taping (beware - bad puns abound!)...so I may live to regret telling all of you when my episode will be on. Even if I wind up looking sort of ridiculous, national exposure has got to be better than none! I'm excited and mildly mortified at the prospect.

In other news, my hubby and I went on our "date" to Barnes and Nobles last night. We both spent the entirety of our gift cards...plus $9. I bought 3 books - Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith, Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton (can you tell what I'm currently back in college for? Lol.), and Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin.
I'm probably most excited about the Keri Smith book and the Artist Trading Card book. Both will force me to relax, play, make a mess and have fun making art again...with no major expectations of the outcome. I was actually dreaming about ATCs (artist trading cards) last night - how ridiculous is that? (Etsy calls them ACEOs = art cards, editions, and originals.) I love the idea of ATCs - it's just a little baseball-card sized piece of original art that you trade with another artist for one of their cards. You can collect all kinds of mini gems through trading your own tiny pieces. Some people sell 'em. I imagine this happens even more frequently with the very collectible ones created by notable artists. Personally, I don't like the idea of selling ACEOs, I feel that it sort of defeats the purpose and the spirit of the movement. I would love to find a good group for ATC trades, so if you know of any online or in the New England area, let me know. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself...I should make some of my own little cards first! I'll post 'em up here once I start creating. (o: I can't wait to get started!

"Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week."

The above blog title is a quote from Joseph Addison. I'm feeling very wordy today. You've been warned! (o:

This is the view out my studio window this morning:

Tomorrow, it's back to work for me after a week-long vacation. I'd like to say I'm going to make the best of this beautiful day, but it'll probably involve staying indoors....especially since today's plans have changed. Unfortunately, Holly's come down with the same flu-like illness the rest of us had all month, so it looks like I won't be doing the 2 hour drive to visit her after all. (Feel better, doll!)

I've got more to do inside the house today than out (it's freezing cold, anyway). Maybe I'll actually get my homework done so I don't have to stress out on Monday night. I've also decided to try having a sale in my Etsy shop. I know I said I was going to ignore my shop for a while, but a little attention won't kill me. Starting today, big plush characters will be $5 off and all prints will be $3 off. The sale could be a week long, it could be all month long - we'll see how it goes. I just felt like I wanted to mix it up a bit.

I may not be going on a road trip today, but my hubby has given me the consolation prize of a trip with him to Barnes and Nobles after he gets out of work this evening. The two of us are huge bookworms and we both have gift certificates burning holes in our pockets. Anyone have any reading recommendations?

Since my brain has been on books today, I remembered one my mother gave me quite some time ago called "Affirmations for Artists" by Eric Maisel. It's full of great quotes from other writers, artists, and musicians. I decided to post a quote today. (That is, a quote from the book....aside from the other one I already posted.) Maybe it'll be a regular thing...I don't know. I do love a good quote. Anyway, here you go:

"Art is an idea. It is not enough to draw, paint, and sculpt. An artist should be able to think." -Gurdon Woods

I try to explain this to non-artists all the time. You know when you're at a museum and someone scoffs at a painting saying, "I could do that!" or worse, "My five year old could do that!" Well, guess what? At the time that painting was done, no one had done it. Sometimes, it's not the actual art as much as the concept behind it that was so revolutionary. Making art in a new and controversial way broke down walls that had been up for hundreds of years. That is why that piece is hanging up in the museum.

I remember my first illustration course in my major. It was the final critique for the semester, and the guy was tough. At the time, my drawing skills weren't quite living up to the strength of my concepts. I remember my professor telling me, "Your concepts are strong. Some people are strong in technique, but their concepts are weak. Those who don't think on a conceptual level can't really change that fact. It's better to be where you are - you can always work on improving your technical skills." That's always stuck with me.

I think good art should have a strong idea and should make you think. But then again, I'm an illustrator. Our goals are a little bit different from those of a fine artist. After all, it's our job to get a message across or tell a story. Maybe that's why I think the way I do. But I'm still a sucker for fine art with a strong concept. I love it even more when the materials used in a piece are married to the idea. Here's an example - I was at the Armory Show last year in NYC when I saw this piece:

"The Abduction From the Seraglio," a woven rug by Cristi Pogacean. She used the stereotype of the Persian carpet, the title of a Mozart opera (which features Westernized representations of Turkish music), and a now all-too-familiar Middle Eastern hostage scene (with the hooded terrorists pointing giant guns at their victims) to express her point. It disturbed me, but was also probably my favorite piece at the show.

Anyway, time to get off my soapbox. I've got stuff to do today! Enjoy your Sunday, everyone. I hope it's as sunny and lovely in your part of the world as it is here. (o;

March? Madness!!!

Welcome to March first in my neck of the woods:

4 to 8 inches of snow today! This was not the pic I had planned for this morning. I was hoping to have "before" and "after" pictures of my studio. I wanted to dazzle all of you with how organized and clean it was, but uhhhmmm...that's not the case yet. I don't know what happened to me this week, but my vacation turned me into a zombie. I didn't get a whole lot done. I spent some time with my sis, which was nice. But, my biggest accomplishments were getting hedgie's front nails cut and booking an estimate for some much-needed work on our house. Woo-hoo! Don't get me wrong, I did start cleaning...I just didn't finish.

It probably is just a fantasy that I'll get it done this weekend at all. I've got homework to do today, and tomorrow I have a trip planned to go see my friend Holly. She's a fellow RISD alumni and illustrator. So, I figured I'd talk about her today.

A long time ago, I decided to base one of my plush characters on Holly. Here's my interpretation:

I can't even begin to describe Holly's work or style. It's a bit strange - sometimes funny, sometimes creepy but always lovely. She incorporates vintage elements into her collage pieces, and her illustrations and paintings take inspiration from different cultures around the world. Maybe it's better if I just show you a few of her pieces:

Holly doesn't have an online shop yet, though I wish she did! She's still working on her website and it's almost done. The only category still missing is her 3-D work. Wait until you see her rod puppets! They're amazing. She used to do these crazy little drag queen finger puppets that I was in love with too. Feel free to contact her for more information on commission work. I believe all her info is included on her site. To get a look at more of her gorgeously detailed art, and to read her bio, go here. It's like a free trip to an eclectic, exotic and beautiful little world! (o;