Daily Ramblings-In The Studio- Post 2

It seems all I really need is to work in my studio to get over my blues. I've been so busy with getting our new store ready, that I have not had time to be blue.

 Right now I'm really tired as we have been working like madmen to get our floor ready for our thrift store. The roof was leaking which made the retro 70s goldenrod carpet smell like a mildew factory. Fortunately, Pete and his crew pulled it up and out of the store. Then we had to scrape the glue off the floor. That took two days. The floor was finally ready to paint today.

Seriously, we gould just sit back on our butts and let Pete and his crew do it. They are getting paid after all. But, we probably wouldn't get into our store by the New Year, if we waited for them.

So far, our building has no air and no toilet. The toilet was suppossed to be put in today. The crew has been telling us that it will be put in today for weeks now. It's a little frustrating.  It's either walk to Kmart or pee in a cup.  You can probably guess which one I chose.

Sorry to be gross.

Here's what I've been working on in the studio this week.

It's made of wire and paper mache.



I started working on the record mandalas quite awhile back and figured it was time to get them done. I like to use leftover paint as much as I can. I used the pink from the papermache dress form. One record bowl is I am Woman by Helen Reddy and the other is Neil Diamond's Jonathan Livingston Seagull . They were meant to be experiment for the record bowls, but I think they will get to stay as mandalas.

I've been working on this altered book for years. It's time I get this baby finished. I will have to show you more of the pages next week.

Until next time,
Kim
AKA Rabbit

Artist Interview: OrelDesigns- Be the light

1.Tell us about yourself.   My name is Luz which means "light" in Spanish. I am from the Dominican Republic but came to United States in 1997 to live in Miami, Florida with my 2 year old boy. I met my husband right before hurracaine Katrina and got married two years later in 2007. We moved to Lafayette, Lousiana, but the transition was really hard for me and my husband who also loves Florida decided it was time to move back there. We moved, stayed there for 2 years (2009 - 2011) but two months ago we had to move back to Lafayette, because of my husband's job. Because I have not found a job, I decided to turn my passion to create jewelry into my business, and to use my name as my concept. "Be the light" is what every woman has to be.

2. Were you always an artist or did you discover your creative path later in life?
My family has a lot of artistic people, photographers, architects, and publicists, but I never was too much into art, but it was in my blood I guess....

Eight years ago in one of my trips to my beautiful island, one of my cousins was making jewelry and I asked her to teach me. I was hooked. When came back to the USA from my vacation, I started taking every class I could: knotting, wire wrapping, stringing, everything. I started buying beads, supplies, findings, I could not stop until today.

3. Can you walk us through your creative process?
It is simple, I am always looking and thinking about things.... Then I start imagining colors, music, sometimes they get crazy in my head... but I always have a lot of pieces of paper everywhere and write everything that comes to my mind.
Because it is not easy when you are mom, wife, employee, woman, friend, sister, daugther, sometimes it gets overwhelming because you just want to be creating, working, thinking about your own things. But it is important to find and have a balance in everything you do.

4. Can we peek into your studio? Are you a Felix or an Oscar? It is really, really messy. So yes I'm an Oscar. 5. What do you do when you get blocked? When I get blocked I get extremely anxious and my studio ends up being a mess, because I forced myself to create something, but creativity does not happen. It takes me probably two days to straight it out again.

6. What does your art mean to you? My art means a lot to me because it is the way to communicate with others. We can transmit a lot of messages with art. I am a little bit shy but when tt pertains to what I make I can talk and talk and talk... It makes me feel free and I believe that every talent is a gift from God and we have to use it for good.

7. Where do you get your inspiration? I get inspired by almost everything. The fact that I am from an island makes me feel calm just to think about water, colors, sound of a palm tree with the wind... But one thing I have realized is that I need to feel in peace in order to be creative...Those crazy times in life do not help me... That is why I walk every day, love to listen music because that way my spirit gets peace and calm. Also I ask God that He blesses the talent He gave me and allows me to create pieces that has a meaning for whoever gets them.

8. As an artist, what do you want to be best remembered for? I want to be remembered as the woman who thinks "every woman has to be the light" to those around her. Bring light to others and you will be happy!!

Do you have a day job? If so how do you balance your practical life with your creative one? If not, what's your day look like? In Florida I had a day job, It was a stressful one as an account executive in an export company. Since we moved 2 1/2 months ago I am not working at this time.
When I was working it was really hard to find a balance between my art and my job because it was so stressful that it sometimes just killed my creative process and only during the quiet weekends was when I could create pieces, but all the time I was thinking about the designs on my mind.
Here in Louisiana I have more time for myself and I am feeling more inspired.

10. Who's your favorite artists and/or style. I have a lot of favorities, to mention some of them:
Frida Khalo, Candido Bido (He is a dominican painter), Oscar de la Renta, Penny Preville. Ohhh and I love Rosa Oriol (Creator of Tous teddy bear)

11. Any advice for beginning artists? Never get discouraged, there is always somebody saying it is not going to work. Just trust in yourself and in your talent. God does not make mistakes.

You can connect with Luz on facebook
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Orel-Design/251525434860824

Calamity Crow Studio

It's just a coincidence that I happen to have another artist interview of a studio with the name of Crow. Calamity Crow Studio. (I can't help it, I like crows. Also she is a fellow rabbit owner.)

1.Tell us about yourself.
Hello! My name is Brittany. I grew up in Tennessee and currently live in Florida (although I hate the heat and the beach so I will be moving soon). My husband and I own (or are owned by) two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, two guinea pigs, a chinchilla, and a rabbit. Animals are a huge part of my life and, as a result, my art.

2. Were you always an artist or did you discover your creative path later in life?
I guess I have always been an artist. I tend to be very introspective and keep to myself. I have always prefered drawing or reading to hanging out with people, and that started at a very young age. My parents were also a big influence. My dad makes walking sticks, tables, and small carvings all out of "found" wood and my mom makes all kinds of paper crafts. My mom and I still make paper crafts together.

3. Can you walk us through your creative process?
I try to be as organic as possible, but since I am trying to sell my art now I have been struggling with balancing how much I "need" to create and how much I "want" to create. It generally comes in spurts though. When I have inspiration, I usually end up sitting down for a few hours straight and making many pieces at once. I am also a writer and this process absolutely mirrors my writing process. I may not write anything for weeks, and then suddenly I sit down and write for hours.

4. Can we peek into your studio? Are you a Felix or an Oscar?
Felix. My husband is the Oscar! I am very fastidious about my "studio," which has a tendency to move around my house depending on where I feel like working. I have a set of drawers with all my supplies organized and when I am done, everything goes directly back to where it belongs.

5. What do you do when you get blocked?
Spend time with my animals, spend time in nature, or watch movies. I am greatly inspired by film and I love to watch movies as I work.

6. What does your art mean to you?
It's cliche, but everything. There is no way to duplicate the beauty, relief, and release that comes from self expression.

7. Where do you get your inspiration?
Nature and animals. The mountains, especially in fall, are my favorite place to spend a day and then come home and create.
8. As an artist, what do you want to be best remembered for?
Expressing the natural world.

9. Do you have a day job? If so how do you balance your practical life with your creative one? If not, what's your day look like?
Yes, I am an editorial assistant. I also just finished my BA and am currently applying to grad schools. I am not only very organized in my working and creative spaces, I organize my time fastidiously. I think the way I balance them is in part making my creative life part of my practical life. When I am relaxing at night and watching TV or a movie, I am probably also working on something. When I am on vacation, I am looking for inspiration and keep a notebook with me. In my down time at work, I am sketching. I like being busy which helps too. I never mind doing and/or thinking about three things at once.

10. What's your favorite artists and/or style.
I feel like a broken record, but anything natural or having to do with animals. I love to see natural elements used in new and surprising ways.

11. Any advice for beginning artists?
Your art is wonderful. End of story. Make it, make it, and then make some more!

Rabbit: I really love peeking into artist studios. Thank you Brittany for this awesome interview.

She is also involved in The Fabulous Animal Rescue project.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80284129/calamity-crow-studio-for-the-fabulous?ref=af_new_item

You can find her here at Facebook
www.facebook.com/calamity-crow-studio#!/pages/Calamity-Crow-Studio/11500...

Stop by and tell her RabbitDog sent you.

And her etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CalamityCrowStudio

New Book Corner Post

While animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself. Ayn Rand, The New Intellectual, 1961 (Sublime Spaces, Visionary Worlds)

http://rabbitdogprints.blogspot.com/p/book-corner-sunday.html

Sunday Book Corner

Saturday: In the studio

Hope you will stop by and see what's happening in the studio.Here's a sneak peek.

Here's the link:
http://rabbitdogprints.blogspot.com/p/in-studio.html

Artist Interviews: Shout Your Art From The Rooftops

"You’ll find your own unique voice and when you do, shout your art from the rooftops. " Rachel Birdsell


I hope you will check out my new artist interview with Rachel from CuriousCrowDesigns

She describes her artwork as: Creepy, weird, fun, found object art. As soon as I saw her quirky little characters I knew I had to interview her! 

The link to her interview is here:
Rachel from CuriousCrowDesigns

Until tomorrow,
Kim
AKA Rabbit

Book Corner Sunday

Book Corner Sunday- 8/7/2011

I usually have at lest three of four books going at one time. 

The books I'm reading right now are:

#1 Women Who Run With Wolves

This book is so amazing and has touched my life with the retelling of fairy tales as learning stories for women's lives. I'm currently reading it right now. The story that I'm reading is Sealskin, Soulskin

#2 Collage Lab

I'm loving this book as it has 52 investigations to develop your collage style. The art teacher in me absolutely loves the fact that is each investigation has its own learning objective. 

The two authors have  launched a blog Collage Lab by two: A Year of Collage

dedicated to the new book Collage Lab. They plan to follow the plan and complete the weekly labs over the next year, publishing their findings, opinions, and artwork as they go. 

I'm moseying over to that blog pronto!

#3 Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists 

 I'm finding this book to be very inspiring and has led me to new techniques I have never used before.

I've done collage before but I completely colored my images and backgrounds using watercolor. This go around I'm using imagery from old photos and have playing with backgrounds in new ways. My substrate has changed too. Before I used old posterboard, now I'm placing all of my collages on canvas. Makes it super easy to display.

#4 Except The Queen

Oh my goodness, I just loved this book!  Two fey sisters uncover the Queens secret and let it slip out. The Queen banishes them from the world of fairy and they become old, lose their magic and are separated from each other. The book is so charming and I hated it for it to end. I got hooked on the short story in The Fair Folk, then was pleased to find it was a whole book.

So bloggers, I'm wondering: Are you readers? If so what are you reading right now. 

Do share!

Can't wait to read your comments, and I'm sure I'll be heading over to the library for more fabulous books!

Until tomorrow,

Kim

AKA Rabbit


Note I orginally posted this yesterday on Sunday. I was playing with the page feature and I was not what I expected, so I'm posting it today. I probably will be posting twice today!

Sunday Book Corner

The Hunt For The Perfect Thrift Shop

So how's my blogging schedule coming along? Great in theory, in practice, it's going to take awhile. Getting artist and creative people interviews lined up is going to take prior planning on my part, but I'll get there! Right now it's the dream I'm shooting for. It's what I hope it becomes, rather than what it is at this moment.

According to schedule, I should be blogging about flea market finds.  I really love to shop for things from garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. Owning our own thrift store might be possible for us at this time. My husband had an Oldies, but Goodies store, way back when, so he has the experience required to help our dream along. Now all we need is a building and inventory. We have been going to garage sales looking to add to our inventory.

We've bought a ton of baby girl clothes, boys and men clothes. We even chanced on a garage sale that was closing. They had already loaded up the truck and were going to take it to Goodwill.

It was good timing for us! We bought a truckload of clothes, books, and toys for cheap. It was almost as exciting as a treasure hunt because we had no idea what was there. I have boxes I haven't even looked in yet, being as it has been heat record breaking hot.

Now our porch is so loaded down with inventory. We will have to get a storage unit soon.

Where we live in Missouri is loaded, and I mean loaded with thrift stores. Some are almost on top of each other, they are that close. We are looking to move somewhere else so that we don't have so much competion.

We have looked for a building and the prices are outrageous, considering that the buildings are all tore up! Honestly, I had no idea. It was disappointing to say the least. I, at least, expected buildings that were habitable. I was wrong. Several buildings that we looked at, had the ceiling tiles ripped out and linoleum gone too. It was just a plain concrete floor, and wires hanging from the ceiling. One had no lights! Previous renters had taken extension cords and had plugged in lights that way.  It literally was an empty shell. We would have to pay beaucoup bucks for the privilege of remodeling the building before we could even move in. Needless to say, we are not stupid, or made of money, nor do we have time to do a fixer upper!

We are looking at two cute little buildings right now. One is a house that we could sell from and live in at the same time which would cut overhead costs and living expenses somewhat. Another is just a one level building. Wherever we go we will have to move to.  We are keeping our fingers crossed for a building that we can sell from and live in. It would make things easier for us financially, but then again do we really want to work and live in the same place?

Dean is the agent for the building and he told us about a little house that was a few miles down the road. Only two problems with that place, it's small and I mean small. The other problem was that a skunk had crawled under the house and had died.

Anyway, the hunt continues!

On a happy note, I got from the truckload of stuff headed to goodwill: a sewing kit filled with lace, and an old yearbook from the 1930s. I've used some of the stuff in 3 mixed media collages.

I'll let you take a peek at them Saturday. You can see the two finished ones in my flicker stream to the right.

Until tomorrow,
Kim
AKA Rabbit

Blogging Schedule/ Promotional Frenzy Great Etsy Team

 I've been thinking that I need a regular blog schedule. I want to blog everyday and I believe it's important so that you, dear readers will stick around. Plus, if I have a schedule I won't have to deal with the dreaded, "what will I blog about" issue. I had other blogs, still have them in fact, but I don't blog regularly over there. Keeping up with 3 blogs, might be too much, for me, but I'm getting better at blogging consistently, over here on RabbitDog.

So, here's my blog schedule.

Sunday Book Corner
Monday: History and Info (Can you tell I'm a teacher?)
Tuesday: Free Vintage  Illustrations
Wednesday: Artist Interviews
Thursday: Flea market finds
Friday: Friday Finds
Saturday-What's happening in the studio.

I feel really good about this, excited and ready get started.

Just wondering bloggers: Do you have a blogging schedule, and how often do you blog a week?

Please share your blogging experiences!
_________________________________________________________________________________
PROMOTIONAL FRENZY ETSY TEAM

I wanted to tell you about this great Etsy team. The team so far has been wonderful! Right now we are having a MEGASPECIALS PROMO EVENT!


 The team is having a HUGE sale event for the ENTIRE month of August. There are over 50 Etsy shops participating in the event with great sales that are too good to miss! You can learn more on both facebook and twitter:

www.facebook.com/promofrenzy

www.twitter.com/promofrenzy

You can search "promofrenzyteam" in Etsy and find many wonderful handmade items from members of the team. Here is the link.

Etsy MEGA FRENZY search

Our shop special is 20% off everything in our shop! Use the coupon code FRENZYSPECIAL at checkout. 
Until tomorrow,
Kim
AKA Rabbit