gray girl art

Count down

4 school residencies in the works.
2 shows this weekend.
1 new ornament design to finish up today.

In being mindful that there is an economic downturn, I'm working on
a new ornament that is cute, handmade and affordable.

We'll see if I succeed.

Not my day.

So very, very slow at The Market on Saturday.

'Twas very, very cold, as well.

I wore wool and fleece and cashmere.
In layers.
And sat with my blanket.
Drinking hot mint tea.

Was mostly clear all day, when the weather called for rain, so that was a nice surprise.
But I think I saw that if one was reluctant to take their hands out of their pockets, one was not about to make purchases. I'm sure someone had a great day, just not me.

But got a spot in the BIG Christmas Bazaar. The show will be held this coming weekend after Thanksgiving and the first weekend of December at The Expo Center in Portland, OR.
I'll be in the Handmade section. 400 booths in handmade, 1,000 booths in total.
That is one big show!

I have a few new ideas floating around in my head, we'll see if they get made for any upcoming events.

Turn it all around

I was feeling a bit low yesterday, then last night we went out and saw our local-marching-band-gone-calypso, March Fourth, and today I am enlivened and re-energized.
Might help that I have them blaring on the stereo right now.

It was so very good to go out to see live music.
Music one can dance to with their young child.
Music that also has their very own stilt walkers and flashy dance hall girls.

March Fourth is like a bunch of bands came together and exploded. Mix of uniforms, leather, garters, polka dots, bowler hats, sequins, waxed mustaches, spikey hair; so groovy, powerful, and in your face in a wild and heartfelt way. Trumpets, sax, drums, cow bells, add a guitar and bass, and you have some great New Orleans inspired tunes.

I feel so much better today!

Mulling

Swirly, twirly flowers.

I have a wonderful red banner for my outdoor booth. It has my business name (Oh My Stars) and a little blurb (Handcrafted Whimsical Gifts). It has stars on it, too.

I'm thinking of using these fabu flowers as an inside booth sign. If I have both of them (red on outside of the tent, limey teal inside) is it too much? Is there some color coordinating I want to defer to so there is not too much visual stimuli? Color overload?

But...
I like it.
It's casual and playful in a swirly, twirly sorta way.
And I like using my work as part of the sign.

I also like this potential phrase:
Inspiring organization one chalkboard at a time.

Cuz, you know, that's what I might be doing.

To the market we will go....

After three days of selling at various venues and two days of not-quite-working in the studio, today is a work day.

I'm energized.
Have ideas.
Am excited about the season.

Wholesale orders are all filled. I may get a few last minute orders, but for now, it's all retail. And the retail is selling at The Market, my Studio Sale (December 11th, Friday 8am-4pm, one day only!), and I called about the BIG Holiday Bazaar to get a booth, but they are full in the handcrafted section. I was offered a space 'close to' Handmade, and I said no. If I'm going to do the show, I really need to be with the other handcrafted artists. They may get a few cancelations this week, and if so, I'm on their fill in list and they will give me a call.

So, there ya go.

In the meantime, I have this Holiday Project that I've been slowly working on for two years for my own house. Two years. I really want to commit to finishing it next week; before Thanksgiving. We'll see.

Two holiday shows down

Itty bitty booth space: 4feet x 6feet, how is one supposed to move around in there?! (See the new little birdies on the tree? They were very popular! Yay!)

My friend Kristine and her space.

Bewildered vendors: where are the people, people?

Not shown in its entirety, my fabulous new tu-tu!

4th grade art. For a few years now, a fellow vendors son has drawn pictures on my chalkboards. This is one sample, and there were many.

The Llewellyn show was slow, which was disappointing and frustrating, from both a sales point of view and as a fundraising effort, too.

On the other hand, the Abernethy show was fantabulous.

Go figure.

Today I made more of the new ceramic birdies, they may be ready for this weekend at The Market, or may be for the following weekend.

I'm considering applying for one more BIG show which is held on TWO weekends.
It's a huge crap shoot because it is a huge mix of handcrafts and imports.

But it is held indoors, a major plus. It is a reasonable cost for the amount of time you are there. The spaces are 10 ftx10 ft, a nice size. It's local, so no traveling.
Tom has offered to sell for me, and I can still go down to Portland Saturday Market.

But...all that import stuff keeps me from jumping up and down and saying 'yes!'

Mary Oliver quote

This custom chalkboard is just lovely.
I love the square shape, the balance of the teal border, the intriguing quote.
Mary Oliver is a beautiful poet, with a most deeply touching embrace of the natural world.

I think I've read this 20 times, and it still speaks to me. (I guess that is good writing.)

Handmade Ceramic Bird Ornaments

These bird are made from a low fire clay, which just means they are not intended to be left outside. They are about 2" in length, probably a little less. Each is hand cut one at a time. There is a lot of smoothing and fussing about (mostly the fussing about is in my head), but I'm pretty tickled to see them finished. 13.Nov. 09.

Ceramic Bird, eye colored black.

I brush on black glaze, and then quickly smudge it off, leaving a slight wash of color.

Highlight the beak with black.

Put a dollop of glaze for the wing. When the clay was wet and I was cutting and smoothing the bird shape, I put a thumb print indentation for the wing. It got mostly covered up with the pool of glaze, but I still like the action of making the wing that way.

Bunches o' birds fresh from the kiln fire last night.

Viola! The finished piece.

Show #2 this weekend

I'll be here at the Abernethy Holiday Sale this Sunday November 15th 11am-4pm.
2421 SE Orange St., in the Ladds Addition neighborhood, in Portland, OR.

Show #1 this weekend

This is where I'll be this weekend. Friday 2:15pm-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm.
6301 SE 14th Ave, Portland, OR 97202

There will be AMAZING handcrafted goods here. Fabu skirts, wonderful fabric bags, colorful fused glass...magnetic chalkboards.....

And, as Tom said this morning (on his, um, 49th birthday), the debut of my new ceramic birds. I glaze fire today, we'll see if they make me oh-so-happy to display tomorrow.