Art-is-you 2009

i began my journey to Art-is-you on a very gusty and overcast day. driving in Tucker's big econoline van, packed to the gills with art supplies, class kits, display stuff for vendor night, stuff to sell on vendor night, luggage and my 2 favorite pillows. the wind was so bad, i had to death grip the steering wheel to keep the van from being whipped around. it was a little stressful to say the least. so if you were driving behind me, i apologize for going so slow!
i taught 4 classes; all of them so different from the next. i did a sewing class, a jewelry class, a soldering class and a collage class. i loved everyone of them and received so many compliments from my students after class was over. we worked very hard and all left with an almost completed project.
there were many friends to see and new ones to meet. i ended up spending a lot of time with di, taryn and jane and we bonded over silly things, interesting people and our similarities.
i found people to be extremely helpful and for the most part, everyone, although tired, wore a constant smile on their face.
i wanted to thank all the vendors who were so helpful to me with selling my stuff or watching over it while i was in class (scott, lenny, terri, linda and the bead girl). it was sad to say goodbye as that close knit, "girlfriend power" feeling of art camaraderie just does not happen enough. but i know we will get to see each other soon and i look forward to it.

(click on image to see enlarged photo)

check out my apron

I asked Holly Stinnett to make me an apron for a venue i am attending in Oct. (Art-is in Connecticut). I am attending the Cornonation of Alice and we decided that we would be wearing aprons. so i felt i must be prepared with a show stopping apron and immediately thought of Holly. After a few emails we came up with a game plan, i sent her a few images and VIOLA! look what she came up with. my criteria was vintage and shabby chic colors: blue, yellow, pink & green. A boy did she deliver! i told her that when it arrived today that my hair was a disaster, wearing pj bottoms, a skanky tank top, no bra, etc. but that the minute i put my apron on, i felt beautiful!

Advertising opportunity

still more "new blog" talk

teresa over at Cedar Junction is almost finished with my banner, so i'm pretty excited. i've picked out a free background for now, but once things get busier, i will move to a 3 column panel to accomodate the advertising i anticipate. this blog has more readers, so i wanted to post this info here about advertising opportunities on my new blog, flea market junkture. it's great exposure for your small business. If you would like to advertise on my new blog, please email me at keeshagirl4@aol.com and i'll give you more information. I'm looking for businesses that utilize junk, thrift, antique, found objects, salvaged or if you have a pending event (flea market, barn/trunk sale or indie art).

I'm happy to announce my first two ad sponsors. "Art is", the east coast retreat held in Connecticut. the dates for this years event is Oct. 8,9,10 & 11. check out their website to see the great classes being offered and schedule of fun events. (i'm teaching there as well!) My second ad sponsor is "Handmade Faire", held in Medford, NJ. I participated in this show last year and had such a great time, great art and met lots of nice people. unfortunately this year, i just don't have the time (as in making inventory!) to participate, but i might stop by to say hello to all my friends and show my support.

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p.s. the new banner is unvieled, come take a look.

Pif's

a few months ago, i put a note on my blog for 3 people who were interested in participating in a PIF with me. Basically you "pay it forward" to 3 people by giving them a piece of handmade art. the time frame was a year. the other night when i was busy making some mini snippet journals (pocket snippets!) to sell at Artnsoul in Hampton, i thought these would be perfect PIF's. these are the 3 i made special for my particpants. now upon receiving their PIF's they will pay it forward to 3 more people. "Snippets" are little fabric collages i make and will be teaching for the first time at Art is, in October.

first class at Art is, "Cherished Snippets"

Here are pictures from the first class i will be teaching at

Art is. we will be using snippets of leftover material, fabric, tapestry, tulle, lace, hankies, deconstructed material, etc. plus and image to create a fabric collage that we will use to create our own personal journal cover. i love creating these as they are very simple and a great way to upcycle pieces that your would normally just toss out.

Registration is now open!

registration for "Art is you", an East coast art retreat is now open. from the link above, scroll down to the bottom of the page, where you will find the workshops listed starting on thursday. there are many great workshops (mine included, which i will blog about next), so have fun going through the classes to see what might entice you to attend. feel free to email me with any questions if i can help out in any way.