New Anatomical Hearts

I made more hearts!  I really enjoy playing with this design and was happy to have an excuse to work on more (because I delivered some to a great shop in Lawrence called Essential Goods!).  I've been able to add more pretty textures and salvage pages from original texts.

3.5" x 5" painted fence wood, paper, vinyl

5" x 7" painted fence wood, paper, vinyl
You can see where these started here.

I will try to have them all up on my Etsy site in the next few days, but computer work really bums me out, so I have to go in shifts...

Anatomical Imagery!

Found in the shed last summer, I recovered a dozen pages from what I assume was a very awesome book with anatomical diagrams and pictures.  Alas, most of the book was gobbled up by critters.  I rediscovered the pages yesterday in my studio when I was tiding up.  So I'll share some here!

The Bones!

Cross-section of head

See and hear with these things.

The Arm.

The Leg and Foot.

I thought I'd sell these through The Retro Ranch's Etsy store, but I really like them, so I might hang on to them and eventually frame them up or something.  Wish I knew anything about the book they came from or the year it was published...  Now, I just need to find more walls...

Old Fence, New Art

This summer I purchased a Tuff Shed.  It's a dream--just wish it was bigger!  (Show and tell about that in a future post.) I now have a place to put my art inventory and tent set up stuff that is only three steps from my truck.  Before, I was going up and down the basement stairs 25 times (literally--I counted) every time I had to load or unload for a show.

I took this opportunity to salvage the fence that had to come down in order to construct the shed...at least, what was left after ALL THE TERMITES OMG IT WAS HORRIFYING!

Anyway, I cut the slats down to 7" lengths, and then did some sanding and painting magic before adding some paper and vinyl in the popular anatomical heart design.  Multiples are fun!

Buh-bye, sucka!

I managed to get 90 pieces measuring 5 x 7 inches

Add some paint!

Sand it and add more paint!

"Fabric paper" with vinyl on painted wood

I like leaving the back rough to help tell the story.

I'm working on more of these for my spring shows and will have them in my booth regardless of if I'm showing clocks or "fine art."  People like 'em and I like making them.

After I deliver some to Essential Goods in Lawrence, I'll add the remaining piece up on my Etsy shop.

Completely Random Things

I've been neglectful, so here's some random stuff!

Been listening to a lot of The Beatles lately.

This illustration is ridiculous.  Poor Ringo.

Experimenting more.

Salvaged wood, acrylic paint, fabric paper, vinyl, gel medium

5 x 7 matboard, used tea bag paper, paint, vinyl

Dreaming about a larger studio so I can more fully realize all my artistic endeavors.

This would be an adorable little backyard studio if it was
in my price range and my backyard was bigger...
Not a lot of room here in the heart of the city.

Prepping for the Loring Park show in lovely Minneapolis.

From last year's show in this amazing park next to the Walker Art Center.

Making lots of table top clocks.

I love making these.  I'm going to try to have a huge back stock for the holidays.

Eating a lot of ice cream, especially when I'm on the road.

Sweet glorious bowl of heaven from Des Moines's (Pleasant Hill to be more accurate) Over the Top.
Go there.  Go there now.

Made It: Experimentals & Flower Clocks

I've been tinkering around with many different materials the last couple weeks.  First, let's see some new desk clocks:

California Poppy

Field Daisy

Partridge-Peas

Thistle

Mayflower

I found a 1964 field guide to North America's wild flowers, and the images are just the perfect size to fit my mini table top clocks.  They're listed on Etsy.  I want to make a gazillion more, but I also want to make a different line of work that is categorized as "non-clock" and I'm really trying to actually plan this stuff out.  So I've been having fun playing around.

Here's some of the prototypes:

Large painted nails and string from the barn, leftover wood for the frame,
and salvaged painted wood as the backer.

8 x 10 matboard, early 1900s booklet pages, paint, vinyl.

5 x 7 matboard, painted hymnal page, vinyl.

5 x 7 matboard, 1970s seed catalog page, paint, vinyl.

I don't know quite where I'm going yet with the nail things, but I'm ruminating...I really like the TV and the skeletons, which will fit in with my small anatomical hearts...

But here's a biggie!
10 x 12 including frame; found wood, paint, "fabric paper," vinyl

I have many more painted papers to play with, so watch out!

I'm getting ready for a yard sale this weekend--my first ever!  There are two or three bins of old art I'm going to try to unload and maybe some clocks that just never sold but are fine otherwise.  If you're in KC, check out the Hyde Park Neighborhood Yard Sale on Saturday, June 14th (my half-birthday, BTW, in case you want to drop by some cupcakes or half of a whole cake).  Hopefully it won't be sweltering and/or raining...?

Oklahoma City Gamble

Last week I spent six days outside, eating flying dirt from gusty winds, in the heart of Oklahoma City during the Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts.  This was my fifth year in the show, and I feel very lucky to have participated even once, let alone five times in this massive, marathon of a festival.  I didn't know I was going to be in, though, until right before the show started...like, twelve hours before it started.

Alright, so, if you don't know, nearly all art shows are juried.  This means that an artist submits an application with images of their work, info about their process, and a small(ish) fee.  The organizers keep this fee regardless of acceptance into the show.  A person will be informed if they are in, waitlisted, or rejected.  For this show, I was put on the waitlist, as I was last year.  In 2013, however, I was called the Friday before the show began (so, three days before the show began) off the "limbo list" and asked to participate.  Luckily, I was plugging away all winter with the hopes that this would happen.  Some people are called months before the show, some right at the end.

This year, I wasn't called on Friday...or Saturday...or Sunday.  This made me very sad.  I decided to just pack my truck (because I have a new camper shell!) and go down to OKC the day of set up and wait for artists to drop out.  Normally, I am highly risk-averse and would never do this kind of thing.  But a fellow artist friend of mine encouraged me, as did my lovely husband, and I bit the bullet and drove five-and-a-half hours south on I-35.  I arrived at the festival grounds around 3:30, checked in with the volunteers who were coordinating to let them know I was there and ready to go, and had myself a margarita down the block.  As usual, Oklahoma weather is unpredictable, and as I was going back to the truck to plug the meter, a shower popped up.

Lovely view of Reno Ave. during a deluge

By this time I just knew I wasn't going to be in the show and had started thinking about what I'd do for the  next couple days as a tourist.  I had friends in the show and in town, so I knew I would have some fun if Plan B was my fate. 

After the shower stopped, I walked back to the festival to sit in the group of stand-bys.  That's when I got the call.  I was in!  I had mixed emotions at this point, and the margarita didn't help.  It was 7 p.m.  The show officially opened at 7: 30 a.m. the next day.  I threw my stuff up on the walls, tried to get my space in decent shape, and headed to my hotel (I was staying with my encouraging friend) by 10 p.m.

On with the show!

Bright and early Tuesday morning, I managed to get my clocks up and organized.

I had been working on new sizes for the season between small and large
 (let's call them medium, okay?) and seeing them all together the first time was pretty cool.

I also added some small art blocks of anatomical hearts made from
 wood, paint, paper, and vinyl.  I used this opportunity to
focus group this new line of work, and I was pleased with the way my audience
responded to them, and the fun things they said about them I never would have thought of.

My old (new) friend, The Devon Tower, keeping watch over the show.

Last minute large clock I made before heading down, this is 24" x 24".
Many people loved it, but no one adopted this one.  I'll make some
smaller versions for future shows.

 My neighbors, who endured wind and heat and sun and wind and dirt and wind:

Holly Sue Foss, serigraphy artist and one of the happiest women I've never met.

Darren Olson, photographer, ice cream enthusiast (like me!) and stand up guy.

Steve Palmer, glass artist with a great tolerance for my late-in-show salty language and
general good-time-haver.

Doesn't hurt that they're all from the Minneapolis area, either.  Nice folks!

That's me on Day 6 of the show.  You can see my superior engineering skills in
rigging a way to keep my work from flying off the wall during the extensive
wind happenings.  "Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain," FOR REALZ.

 I packed it all up on Sunday, got some delightful Braum's ice cream, and made it home to Kansas City by Monday at 4.  I'm still exhausted, but excited to make more work to replace what sold. 

This festival pulled me not only because it is generally a good business opportunity, but also because I have made real friends surrounding the event, including volunteers, artists, and buyers.  I had a great time and hopefully will get in again next year, just a little sooner!

I get to head back down to Oklahoma for Tulsa International Mayfest, May 15-18.  This is my first year in the show and first time ever in Tulsa, so it will be fun to see the difference a few miles makes between crowds.  

In the meantime, I'll be trying to fluff my Etsy shop and update my website, along with making work and doing all the things a normal human does.  I'm a lucky gal.

Making It: Really Big Clock

Alright, I skipped March.  BUT!  I was working, so it's okay.  I've been trying to nail down some shows and have been dealing with the logistics of that (hotel rooms! inventory! tent rentals! insurance! business things!).  But I did manage to take some pictures while I was making a 24" x 24" clock in the random multicolored orzo burst pattern that has stuck a chord with customers.

GO BIG OR GO HOME, or whatever.

Naked except for my reflection.  Notice the sanded-with-love background.

All full!  Once I get the mechanism in and hands on for testing purposes I'll be sure to
share the final product.

 This took me several days and I took lots of breaks going back and forth between projects so that I didn't go completely burst-crazy.  But I couldn't stop!  So I made more!

5 x 5 inches

8 x 8 inches

6 x 18 inches, stacked orzo

8 x 8 inches on black background

 And just for fun, and because I already have them ready, I'll throw in some of my other orzos.

Here!

12 x 12, blue with silver, grey, blue, yellow, black, white, and green

12 x 12, sanded aluminum with orange, yellow, blue, white, and green

9 x 12, yellow with blues and greens

6 x 18, orange with blues

8 x 8, sanded aluminum with green, turquoise, and purple

8 x 8, cream with neutral browns and greys

5 x 5, black and white

5 x 5, periwinkle with greys, pink, and peach

5 x 5, mustard with red, brown, black, and white

5 x 5, reflective silver with black and shimmery grey

5 x 5, peacock blue with gold

5 x 5, white with blues and black

5 x 5, white with light blue

5 x 5, yellow with blues and orange

 Most of these are ready for sale at my Etsy shop, and if they don't sell by the time I hit the road, they'll make a real world debut either in late April or early May (still waiting to hear from one show...).

I have more!  But I thought I'd stop procrastinating and throw these up here since it's been a ridiculously long time.

ETA: I just realized I doubled up on some of these clocks from last time, but...whatever.  Twice as nice!