Birthday Weekend!

When I was little I used to say that the "trees are getting all dressed-up for my birthday." Well, this year they've made sure not to disappoint! Everywhere you look the leaves are changing to beautiful shades of red, gold, and orange :: I ♥ this time of year!! Tomorrow I celebrate my birthday with those I love - they're being very secretive about what they're planning...should be fun! :) 
Have a great weekend!

photos by yours truly

North Shore Woods

I finished carving two of the birch trees for my next print last night! The detail and size are causing it take a bit longer to complete, but I'm really happy with how it's coming along and am getting excited to ink and print it when it's done!

mnartist.org

My leaf print is on the homepage of mnartists today! :) 

National Coffee Day

Today we celebrate the one addiction that most of us share :: coffee! I enjoyed a BOGO at Caribou Coffee this morning with my mom. ♥ Lots of sipping and chatting, just the way I like it! :) I encourage you to take a break sometime today and partake in this years National Coffee Day. Enjoy!

Art for your Fingers

I've never really been a fan of nail art, but this simple design is kinda cool. Do you dig it?

image via honestly...wtf

Clouds

Today's forecast resembles Cloud Study by John Constable, ca. 1822. A fine day to be cozy inside with a steaming cup of coffee and a good book.   

pic via TATE

Masterpiece Bags

I've lusted over these bags ever since seeing them a few years ago. The idea of repurposing a vintage oil painting into a truly one-of-a-kind, handmade tote is brilliant! Created by Leslie Oschmann for Swarm, you can purchase these Still Life bags at Anthropologie...there are lots of other designs/paintings to choose from! :) 

photos from anthropologie's website

Birch & Aspen

Birch and aspen trees are so beautiful, especially this time of year! I can't wait to begin sketching designs for my next print inspired by these towering trees. 
Have a wonderful weekend!

photo by yours truly 

Married

This Norway bank ad is hilarious, had to share! 

Fresh Ink :: l'oliva with gouache

I just finished adding gouache to the leaves and olives and am very happy with how it turned out! I mentioned in my post last Friday that I was both excited and nervous to try another technique....but I'm so glad I did! I really like the varying shades in the olives I was able to achieve by adding more or less water to the gouache.  
What do you think? Would you like to see more prints done this way in the future?

Art in my Mailbox

I received my little Leaf Identification print by Bess Callard yesterday! I can't wait to get it nicely framed and display it on the wall for all to see! Thanks again to Bess Callard, Sarah Gunn, and Pure Green Magazine for this great giveway :: I'm thrilled to have won! :)

Visions for the Future

Over the past few weeks I've seen a lot of calendars for the upcoming year in stores and online and it's had me thinking...I would love to eventually create a calendar using my prints! I thought I would share a few that I've found to be particularly inspiring.
Hope you have a happy week!

2012 Floral Wall Calendar by Leah Duncan

2010 Letterpress Calendar by 1canoe2

2012 Calendar by aruricards

Fresh Ink :: l'oliva

The olives are finally inked and printed! With this print I'm experimenting a bit with some other mediums :: that said it's still not quite complete, ack! I have to let the ink dry a couple days and then I'll be adding some gouache. I've not used gouache in conjunction with printmaking before so I'm both excited and nervous to see what the result will be! 
FYI :: The ink color I used is more of a burnt umber, I know it looks more black in the photo.
Happy weekend!

Slowly but Surely

The combination of an insanely busy work schedule and a more detailed print is slowing things down a bit more than I'd like. Today's goal :: finish carving out the olives, then printing! Stay tuned...

Front Page of Etsy!

My little feather print made it to the front page of Etsy last night :: promptly resulting in another sale! Yay! I'll be mailing it off to Ontario this afternoon...  :)

Inspirational Artists :: Pretty Potholes

Artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera walks the streets of Paris and patches unsightly potholes and cracks in the street with colorful braided yarn. They're such a playful addition to a typically monochromatic urban setting!

pics by the artist

Olive Progress So Far

Here's a glimpse at how my olive block carving is coming along so far. Next step is carefully carving out the leaves and olives. Check back to see it printed in the next day or two!

Nicety Take Two & Three

Katie over at south main wrote a super nice post about Wooden Spoon Editions yesterday! You can check out what she said here. Thanks Katie :: keeps me motivated to print more! :)


I also just discovered that I was included in an Etsy share list with seven other artists on Row House Nest! You can check out the post here. Super nice :: thanks Meagan!

I ♥ Nice People

I love nice people and Ruth over at hello7seven is certainly one of them! She created the sweetest little treasury called A Walk in the Woods on Etsy built around my Twig & Leaf print. Made my day! :) You can read the post she wrote about Wooden Spoon Editions here. Thanks again Ruth!!

Here's to a good week!

Let's start the week off right with a little hand dancing :)

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I hope to be printing soon....work and life in general have been particularly busy these last couple weeks. 
I'm excited to experiment a bit with some different mediums this next print :: stay tuned!

HandmadeMN

I am so thrilled to join the HandmadeMN street team on Etsy! My application was accepted this morning, and I just finished creating my profile and uploading images of my artwork :) Feels good!

Books That Inspire Creative Thought

I wanted to share a few design books I've been paging through lately. If you're ever in a creative slump, I've found that looking through books similar to these can really help inspire productive thought. Bonus, they look lovely on a coffee table or book shelf! :)

Creative Walls : How to Display and Enjoy your Treasured Collections 

by Geraldine James

Graphic Europe by Ziggy Hanaor

Open Studios by Lotta Jansdotter

Olive

I've had a difficult time deciding what my next print will be of...but I finally decided on it today :: olives! Their taste, silvery leaves of the trees they grow on, and beautiful purple and green color are sure to inspire me while sketching. 
Below you'll see some pictures I took when we lived in Italy a few years ago in an olive grove at Villa Adriana and in Fiesole. It's certain that I'll be drawing from these for inspiration!

pics taken by yours truly 

Meh to Yea!

After returning home from a very long day at work yesterday, I received an email (with glass of wine in hand) saying I won the giveaway I had entered last week! I love the prints by Bess Callard and am thrilled to have won one! :) Definitely helped my day go from meh to yea! 
A big thank you to Sarah Gunn : Wall Candy!

Inspirational Artists :: Crayon Carvings

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend! I can't believe the summer has come and gone already!!

Diem Chau is best known for her extremely intricate crayon carvings. Inspired by both storytelling and myth, she strives to create vignettes of fleeting memory, gesture, and form. Diem decided to use crayons for their fragility and reminders of childhood. Here she has carved the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. I don't think I'll ever look at a box of crayons the same again! :)  

all pics courtesy of the artist
via if it's hip, it's here

Experience Art In Person

After spending a year studying art history in Florence, Italy, where most of my classes took place in various museums in and around the city - the idea that art is meant to be experienced in person was reaffirmed and forever solidified in my mind. It's difficult to achieve an authentic response to a work of art when it's glaring back at you from your computer screen or from a page in a book. 
Going to an art museum is a wonderful way to expose yourself to different cultures around the world, brush up on your history, and gain new perspectives. This holiday weekend would be a great one to get out and explore what your city has to offer! I've included a list of art museums in the Twin Cities below to help you get started.  

Minneapolis Institute of Art :: Free daily admission, Third Thursdays from 6-9 pm, and Target Family Day one Sunday every month where you'll have a blast making art, going on artful adventures, meeting local artists, musicians, dancers, and storytellers, and more! 


Walker Art Center :: $10 adults; $8 seniors (65+); $6 students (with ID), Target Free Thursday Nights 5-9 pm, Free First Saturdays every month.


The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden :: Free daily admission, adjacent to the Walker Art Center, the largest urban sculpture garden in the country.

Weisman Art Museum :: Free daily admission - the museum is currently closed to the public through fall 2011 as part of its major expansion project. 

The Museum of Russian Art :: $7 adults; voluntary donations are suggested for students and are accepted on behalf of children. 

If the cost of admission is an issue, the Museum Adventure Pass offers Twin Cities metro library members free admission for up to 2 people at participating museums and other organizations. What a deal! 

Fresh Ink :: Twig & Leaf

The last few days have been a bit cooler here and have me thinking of fall. The fall is my favorite time of year for a couple reasons :: the biggies are our wedding anniversary, and my birthday. I also LOVE the fall for it's crisp evenings, cozy layers, and seeing all the fall colors everywhere you turn. 

I was hoping the ink I mixed would of been a little more orange...I was going for more of a warm bittersweet color. On the palette it was perfect, but then printed on the paper it came out a touch more red than I had hoped. Ah well, I still am happy with how it turned out!

:: Don't forget to check out my Etsy shop for more prints ::