Friday, August 08, 2008

Art in Ashland recap

I'm back from Art in Ashland and recovering from 5 days of fun and creativity that I'm finding hard to capture in words, so I have LOTS of photos to share.
The event was held at the gorgeous historic Ashland Springs Hotel in Ashland, Oregon.
There was a delightful terrace area off the ball room where the workshops took place. Here is Cassondra, Michelle, myself and Hope giddy to all be together:)The first night there was an opening reception with goodie bags for us all, food, wine, shopping and creating. We were all delighted that we were about to begin a wonderful weekend together.
Cuties Pam and Amy were selling their wares.
Anahata and her mother Gina. What an amazing mother/daughter team they are!

The first day was Pam's class. I created this Autumn/Halloween journal to fill with inspiration for my favorite time of year.

I have been fortunate enough to take classes from Pam a few times a year over the past few years. She's always a wonderful teacher and inspiration.

Michelle brought tons of goodies in a gorgeous color palette.
Here she is working on a "play" page we made in class.

The second day was Amy Hanna's jewelry class. The night before Natalie did a demo for us on working with clay that turns to silver. It's so stinkin' cool. She even brought a little kiln with her. That girl thinks of everything! I made the Artsy Mama pennant below.These are the necklaces I made in Amy's class. I had never made jewelry before using wire wrapping. I found it challenging and a lot of fun. Can't wait to connect more things with this technique.

Sally Jean and Pam showcasing their necklaces from the day.
Cassondra made this gorgeous piece of art.

Here are the pals again about to get on the double decker bus to go over to the PaPaYa studios.

The PaPaYa world headquarters!! Gorgeous.



It was amazing to see Anahata's original pieces.

Kathleen and Hope hanging out at the studio. Kathleen is a designer for PaPaYa. What a dream job!
I *heart* inspiration boards.

The third day was Anahata's class. This was really challenging for me. Trying to turn off my critical "monkey mind" and play. I came up with this large canvas below.

Hope and Kathleen working on their masterpieces. The work that came out of this class was absolutely breathtaking.

Cassondra's gorgeous creation.
Dana's bright, vibrant art work.

Anahata during the show and tell at the end of the event. She is absolutely brilliant inside and out.
Natalie's wonderful canvas creation.

Romy was a doll and created such fabulous art! Jennifer's unique style was stunning.

Elisabeth did some amazing work with soft tones.

Amy made some really fun work.

We were all wowed by Christine's Marie Antoinette inspired piece.

Rebecca with her stunning piece.

The last night we had an event at the store PRIZE in downtown Ashland. We were all like kids in a candy shop. Really...check out all this old fashioned candy.

Anahata put on an unforgetable event.

Relaxing in our room on the last night. Enjoying our art, Bailey's shivers and giggles.

In other news, both of the Sweet and Sinister blogs are now full. I had a 100 person limit for each blog and was truly amazed to see them fill so quickly. Next year I will try to figure out a way to open it to everyone interested. Thanks for understanding.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, August 01, 2008

Off to Ashland, Oregon....

I am in frantic packing mode as I get ready for Art in Ashland this weekend. I leave tomorrow morning and will be hanging with some fabulous gals through next Wednesday. I am super excited!! I made this little journal above embellishing and binding a card from PaPaYa! Anahata is the gracious host of this fabulous event and we will be visiting the PaPaYa! studio and warehouse. Can you say heaven?! I hope to add bits of this and that along my journey.
I know that I left you all hanging with the wonderfully written estate sale ad in the last post. I met up with my new "estate sale buddy" Jennifer Murphy. We stood out in the rain on a stormy Thursday morning. I must say that the ad was very creatively written and certainly made an average sale sound fantastic! I came out with some treasures and so did Jennifer, so we were happy. I think I have a new partner in crime:)

This little girls dress will reside in Chloe's room this winter. The blue velvet is gorgeous!
Sign ups for the Sweet and Sinister Blog will be on hold while I am gone.
Catch ya in a week!!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Your own estate sale ad...

These photos are some of my recent treasures. This time of year I'm just not sure what to do with all my stuff. I'm finding that having lots out in the cooler months, particularly at Halloween and Christmas gives a sort of comfort and warmth. I find that in these days of 90 degrees with a dew point in the 70's, I don't want to many things to clutter our home. I also am in the phase of cleaning house before I leave, so I'm especially aware of how much I have out right now. Some spring bits of this and that, summer of course, and even some autumn decor is starting to show itself. Yikes!Then this morning I saw this ad in the paper for an estate sale...

An Extraordinary Sale Thur & Fri 9-3, sat-9-12 This sale tells the 80 year life story of a fascinating woman who kept, saved, and acquired throughout her life. From her childhood: Baby toys, clothes (Shirley Temple dress w/photo), Storybook Dolls, charm bracelets more. From her High School & College days: a fascination for fashion and a degree in fashion design: Wonderful 50’s and 60’s CLOTHING & loads of accessories. FURS, Handbags, Sewing galore incl buttons & trim. She loved GLAMOUR: huge collection of JEWELRY (glitz, bling, and gold, stunning sapphire/diamond ring). She entertained: Royal Worcester "Viceroy" (for 12), fine Japanese Kyoto porcelain (bl/wh), loads of stemware, silver (Kirk sterl serv for 8) And she loved HOLIDAYS! Endless decor for every holiday of the year. From her mother: Wedding dress & more, Pottery: Rookwood, Weller, Red Wing; her Havilland, Russel Wright for 4, mahog tilt top tbl/chrs, vintage linens, fine applique quilt. Retro Furn: 50’s red sectional sofa, Funky light fixtures, Round Bed, Blk vinyl sofa. CONTEMPORARY FURN: lots of glass & chrome incl. a dining set w/6 pristine uph chrs, Etagere, great designer chrome rocker, Drexel china cabinets, Teak Lowboys, more. Framed tapestries, some paper ephemera, books, LP’s & 78’s, sheet music, lots of newer kitchen, frames, home office, QUANTITY household supplies...ABSOLUTELY PACKED and filled with surprises incl three filled cases of jewelry & smalls. A see to believe sale!
I love how this was written, so personal, so intriguing. Of course I plan to head over there tomorrow and take a peek inside this woman's life. It also made me think of what my own estate sale ad will look like some day. No, I'm not talking about my obituary, which will focus on family and what I spent my time here on earth doing, but my estate sale ad...what kind of stuff did I have. What would your estate sale ad sound like?

In housekeeping news of a different sort, the partner gitches in the Sweet and Sinister Swap seem to be all ironed out. The second blog is filling up quickly. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. I'm glad you're enjoying the fun things I have planned. If you've paid and haven't seen your invite to join the blog, check your PayPal email address. I have several invites out there that haven't been accepted yet. If you need me to send your invite to a different email other than your PayPal let me know at artsy_mama@hotmail.com

Thanks!