finished flock

Phew! I have been working like crazy the past two weeks, which hasn't left a lot of time or good lighting for photos or blogging. Even with poor lighting (seriously- we get like one hour a day these days, and I'm usually using that to work- not shoot) I wanted to show you these anyway. These, along with this piece I posted a few weeks ago, will be heading over to the Cedarburg Cultural Center for their annual Miniatures show. My first juried show of the year, and I'm really excited to see what kind of work these little guys will be hanging alongside.

If you're in the area, the show opens January 29th, and closes February 27th...definitely stop by and check it out.

We've got a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, but it's crazy cold out, so I think I may stay inside and make some pumpkin muffins and maybe paint the hallway. Next week I'll try to get some shots of the latest I've made for sincerely handmade...some fun stuff came out of last weekend's trip to Madison for antiquing and crafting!

in progress

Happy New Year!

I really had so many intentions of posting through the holidays...I'd intended to show off our gorgeous Christmas tree, some great cooking, and the piles of snow we had. But- as is usually the case- I was having too much fun in the moment to snap any good pictures and post them. I hope you were having just as much fun being in your holiday moments.

I thought I'd post a few pieces I've been working on this week. I've gotten into a miniatures show in Cedarburg, with a maximum dimension of 5 inches square. I typically work small usually 6-7" square...but then frame in a 10x10" shadowbox frame. For this show, 5x5" is the max- frame and all. So I'm working on cradeled boards, and it's been fun:

I'm enjoying letting the image area wrap around the sides, and the boards are really strong- very forgiving in terms of layering things on and scraping & sanding off. It's also nice to save time (and money) on framing...but to tell the truth, I really prefer my usual method of creating my own surface by layering together vintage papers and just working right on that without a heavy backer. I like the feel of the paper and the irregularities of it- not to mention the option of running it through the sewing machine for added line and texture. I also like the feeling of a finished piece floating in a shadowbox frame. However- 5" square is really tiny when it includes the frame, so cradeled boards it was!

I'm heading to a art/craft weekend in Madison this weekend- am determined to build up my sincerely handmade stock, as I've got a few local options for showing & selling cropping up.

I'm also excited to be taking my first ever online course- "in the fishbowl", led by Marisa Haedike of the amazing Creative Thursday . I've followed Marisa's blog for well over a year and can only imagine what a great class I'm in for.

So- it feels like I'm heading out into 2011 with purpose, and I'm interested to see where it'll take me.