Groovyglass

Making a Fresh Start

2011-01-10T18:27:00Z

So here it is the 10th of January and I feel like I'm just now getting started with the New Year. Better late than never. Every year I tell myself I'm going to be better about blogging but this year I think I'm finally up to the task. If you asked anyone that knew me, they would say I'm a pretty outgoing person with a lot of friends. They would also say I have a way with words. However when it comes to putting myself out there and actually saying, okay, I've got to write something for my blog, this feeling of dread comes over me and yet, I don't know why. Whenever I send an email to someone, I don't usually have a loss for words but when I have to be Johnny on the spot, then I feel like I'm doing something I have to do instead of something I want to do. So I guess the simple solution would be to want to want a blog entry. Right? Right! That's easy enough. So today I guess I wanted to write a blog entry and here it is.

While I was writing all this, I just looked down at a stack of books I just pounced on at the used bookstore I went to last Wednesday. I just discovered a new author, Jennifer Greene. I'm reading the book The Woman Most Likely To. So far so good. It was reviewed by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and if you've never read any of her books, you must treat yourself to one especially if you want a good laugh. I have yet to read one where I don't have a full out belly laugh in every one of them.

Also if you have any books that you can recommend that are romantic comedy or even female sleuth type stuff that also has humor in it, I love to find new authors. Plus I'm hoping if nothing else, it will give me new material to write about.

As for what's on the drawing board where my art is concerned, I'm back to painting on glass so expect to see more of that coming up. Also I'm going to try to come out with a new design for my prints of paintings etc.

Victor and I also have art in a new gallery in Scottsdale called The Noise Gallery. I have yet to visit it but I heard it has a great Rock and Roll theme to it.

I also regret to announce that Loveland Boutique in Tempe where I had also been carrying my art closed down a couple of months ago as well. I was really sad to see that place shut down because not only did they have cute clothes, but they really made it a fun place to hang out. I will miss that place.

I also start the new year on a sad note. It was just a couple of months ago that I had to say goodbye to my favorite cat in the whole world, Monroe. He was 10 years old. For the past 4 years he suffered with mega colon and then for the past 2 years he also had an auto immune disease that would make him severely anemic. Through my own research and special care that Victor and I gave him, we were able to keep him around even with both conditions going on. It was probably from all the medications he was on that caused his liver to finally give out and also cause diabetes.

He was always on the table laying there to watch whatever I create. So now when I attempt to make something new, I always have the feeling like something is missing. I know he's still watching from up above only because he was always too curious not to. I just know I miss him every day.

Halloween is coming

2010-09-24T16:43:00Z

I'm so excited that I've learned how to finally maneuver Photoshop. I feel like I'm just getting warmed up with possibilities. I've been working on some new Halloween images for pendants or tshirts, or cards, etc. I'm also taking images that I painted some years ago and bringing in new backgrounds to give them a fresh new look.

Learning from tutorials

2010-09-17T15:34:00Z

I can't tell you how much fun I'm having with Photoshop. I guess all I can do is show you a couple of before and after pics. I'm not done with the dutch girl that has color in it but I'm just playing around.

Learning about layers in Photoshop

2010-09-14T16:45:00Z

In the past I've only used Photoshop to resize an image or brighten it or some other basic function. I always felt like every time I tried to work with layers, I couldn't get back to the layer I was working on or I would totally screw something up and couldn't get it back. Well, my niece is becoming an amazing photographer Jessica Yousif Photography and is especially a whiz with Photoshop. Well she just started her first semester at Scad Art School in Savannah, GA for photography.

I had picked up a copy of the new Somerset Digital Studio Somerset Digital Studio and was in total awe. I was reading how one of the artists had manipulated her art and called my niece to ask her a question about it. Well, that one question totally changed my world for me where Photoshop is concerned. However, she only told me enough to create about a dozen more questions in my mind. Thankfully I'm able to have a better understanding of some of the online tutorials out there and feel like I can actually follow them now and understand what they are talking about.

My new knowledge has given me a new vision for my art and is showing me new possibilities for the vintage ladies in glass in my last post. Due to some distractions at home, I still haven't finished the necklaces but I did get farther with them, just not finished. But when I learned my new techniques in photoshop, however, that also caused a detour in getting them done. I do feel though that the detour was a happy detour and will lead to yet another direction in my art to enhance what I've currently been doing.

So with that said, here is a little before and after of what I did with one photo that is going to be the background for a piece of art I'm creating. This is a boutique I've got some of my jewelry and accessories in. Loveland Boutique

Don't fall over

2010-08-31T17:40:00Z

Hopefully you're sitting down otherwise you'll fall over from the shock of seeing a blog entry from me. It's been ages and oodles since I posted anything. There is a couple reasons for all of that. I think at the end of December I was just kind of feeling numb. We had a good friend pass away the day after Christmas after we watched her battle with cancer for a couple of years. She put up a good fight but in the end, lost the battle at only 57. Right after that, I was hearing of friends and other family members having cancer and it was really putting me in a slump. Instead of trying to work through it all, I just froze up and did nothing. I was still creating a few things but just kind of making more of what I had already made in the past so I wasn't feeling creative. In addition to that sales were really slow and I don't know if anyone else gets like me but you start to feel like if nobody is buying what you make, why keep making it.

My slump lasted quite a long time, probably 6 months or a little longer seeing as it's now the end of August and tomorrow will be a new month of September. During that time my hard drive also took a dump and I didn't realize it but I hadn't backed up anything on my computer since the end of December. So I lost 6 months of images I had created in addition to my girlfriends wedding photos and I had some of the only pictures of her reception. I had managed to send her some of them but I felt really careless not backing those up.

Sometimes when I'm in a slump like this, it helps if I work in a different medium. I started creating hair clips and broochs. I didn't sell any online but they were being well received in Loveland Boutique in Tempe that my items are in.

So finally after a long stretch of what I'll call a creative incubation period, I've finally come up with something new. I'm just trying to finish them now in a way that do all my hard work some justice. Here is a sampling of what I'm working on. These will be finished in to jewelry and wall art pieces. I think it's going to require me to get my soldering back out as well. As of right now, I've fused the sepia image to the glass and then come in with glass paint and fused that in to give them an old fashioned hand tinted look. Then, I couldn't help myself, I outlined them with more glass paint and here they are so far.

So far I've gotten positive feedback on them and some good ideas on how to finish them which I'm definitely going to be taking a few people up on their ideas. And thank you so much again, for your good ideas and taking the time out to offer suggestions.

So until next time you need to sit down because you got a blog entry from me, for now, I bid you farewell.

This should be week 7 but it's actually week 6

2009-12-17T22:30:00Z

Ok, so where have I been? What was I thinking when I signed on for this? I'm a week behind and week 5 turned out so bad I didn't even post it. I got so frustrated with it that I did't even take a final picture of it and tried to fix it a million times and finally had to give up on it. So until after the holidays are over, I'm still trying to get my 1 painting finished a week (behind one now) but I won't be pulling names out of the hat for random ideas. I have to paint what's comfortable for me right now in order to stay commited and I will make up the one week I missed too. PLUS and I know I didn't announce the winner of my little miss winter miss but I will announce that shortly too. Sorry if you've been waiting. I've just had too much on my plate and not enough hours in the day.

So here is the newest painting I wanted to share with you. I call it Mr. Crows Outing

The Winter Miss Week 4 Finished

2009-12-01T00:09:00Z

Ok, finally here she is, The Winter Miss. If you would like to win a free print of her, make a comment on my blog here and you'll be entered to win. I'll announce the winner on Friday of this week. I hope to have week 5 finished this week which will be back on track.

Running Behind

2009-11-29T23:39:00Z

Ok, I'm a little behind on week 4 but I wanted to show you that I am working on it. I hope to be done tomorrow with a little luck. But I already know what week 5 is going to be and that's incubating in my head at least. Here is week 4 in progress. Still working on every area throughout. Here are the 2 pics I've got so far.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T14:18:00Z

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a great day and fun visiting wth friends and family.

I had the most hilarious dream last night I've got to share. I had a dream that Victor and I were getting married. Everyone was gathering in the church but for some reason I had forgotten everything in my preparation to get ready. No nylons, no shoes, didn't take a shower, have dirty hair, hair legs the list goes on. I can't find any place to take a shower. So I try to go to the store in the meantime to get nylons and shoes. I end up getting a long black wig so I don't have to wash my hair, I find these hot pink tights for nylons and they don't have any shoes and I end up buying slippers. Somehow, nobody managed to think of getting a bouquet for me and I'm picking plastic flowers out of the arrangements in the hallway of the church.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or church I should say, the natives are getting restless. It's way beyond the point of I'm running a little behind and now we're running out of time becasue there is another wedding scheduled after ours. So we make a decision and get a message to all our guests, to go ahead and go to the reception and eat because we'll get married afterwards.

It was also discovered that Victor had forgotten the rings and was substituting with cigar bands.

By this time I'm so late I figure I might as well go back to my house and get everything I forgot. I take a shower, put on a long dress, hiding any hairy legs or pink stockings and fluffy bunny slippers. I had some braided thing in my hair but didn't care at least it wasn't that long black wig.

I get back to the church where everyone is back now, well fed and looking a little tossed more like the salad they had for dinner. But then all of a sudden the music starts and I've got a Rainbow bright wedding. I mean they came out in a 7 course parade. First all these little girls came out in pink tu tu's and dropped daisy's and rose petals all over the aisle. (where did they get flowers I'm wondering) Then these acrobats all dressed in blue tumble down the aisle, literally. All the yellow girls had these medieval headdresses on with drapery hanging from each point. I don't remember what the red and purple people were doing but I believe I woke up at some point around there.

OH and for some reason I had a zillion donuts that we decided to eat for breakfast. But I had a donut for everyone.

I guess everything worked out but I went in to a fit of laughter trying to tell Victor about this dream. If any of you want to take a stab at guess what all this means, I'm all ears. It was just toooo funny. OH, Victor said that fact that we told everyone to just go ahead and eat before we got married just means that we have easy going friends. Well, I agree but I also think it might have had something to do about sampling the extra pumpkin pie filling we baked beside the pie that was left over. It must have been the pumpkin pie spice.

I just told my niece about my dream and she said it just means I need to be more celebrated. HA

OH and on another note here is my results of what I baked in the kiln yesterday. It isn't a total success as the images faded. This was my first time trying these but it gives you an idea of what's coming.

Have a Great day!!!

And the winner for week 3 is Nobody

2009-11-23T17:23:00Z

Ok, I'm sad. Nobody made any comments on this painting so therefore, nobody is entered in the drawing making the winner, noone. I know that people are busy this week etc with the holiday this week.

I will say, that I had pulled an idea out of the hat to paint but I'm going to put off for next week so I can do it justice as I'm busy this week with company coming myself. So instead, I'll have the one I drew this week be for next week and I'll paint something else this week of my choosing.

I did list prints of the White Queen on Etsy today for only $5.00 for the next 2 days. Then the price will go up.

I hope everyone has a great week and doesn't stress out over everything they need to get done. If everything doesn't get done, Oh Well.

Take Care

Week 3 Reveal The White Queen

2009-11-19T21:24:00Z

I've finished my painting for week 3. It was a painting of my choice and this was what I chose. It is the White Queen from the up coming movie Alice in Wonderland. I hope to eventually do all the characters and this was the first one.

Someone will still be winning a free print. So if you want to win a free print of this painting, just post a comment on this post to be entered to win. I'll announce the winner hopefully by Monday.

Seasonal ideas

2009-11-16T13:37:00Z

Good morning people, and that is actually a greeting, not describing people in the morning that behave appropriately.

First I want to thank you for all your great ideas. I'm loving them. When you submit an idea though, I want you to think of the theme, and if your idea is painted and you win a free print, will it be something others will want to hang on their wall all year long? And think also, if other people will want it hanging on their wall all year long if they want to buy a print. I'm mentioning this because I'm getting a lot of very seasonal themes here and as a general rule I don't paint seasonal paintings. And as much as I'd love to paint a picture of you and your baby, that's more of a commisionable request and not a generalized idea for my 52 week challenge. I realize that I painted a very seasonal painting when I put a snowman and mittens in my first painting, but even I don't want all those kinds of paintings on my wall all year long.

Let me give you an example of a painting my friend Julie Fillo did. I know I keep mentioning her but she really was a huge inspiration to me in this whole idea. But she had the idea of a housedress. So she painted a girl, in a dress but the dress was actually a house with a door, windows and I think the little girl had a chimney sticking out of her head.

Also I want to mention, that currently I'm not able to accept commissions. I may open that door in the near future but right now I've got other commitments I'm working on.

I know I probably wasn't specific enough when I first threw all my requests out there and I'm sorry if I'm hurting anyones feelings here. The whole idea here is to spark creative ideas from you and also to spark mine as well and to make me stretch and grow as an artist and not be so stuck in my box of "girls".

I also want to mention that this week I'm going to be painting something that I saw that speaks to me. I'm not saying what that is right now but at the end of the week, it will be reveled. There will also be a give away and I'll tell you what you have to do to enter to win a free print.

Again, thanks for all the great ideas. Keep them coming but again, ask yourself, is it something you want on your walls all year long.

Have a great day!!!

New winner Sue Frumerie

2009-11-11T18:35:00Z

And the winner is, Sue Frumerie with her idea of Sleeping Pet. I know this dog has his eyes open, but he's laying down and I couldn't resist painting him. I just thought he had the most precious eyes. I also knew Sue has greyhound dogs. Sue, you'll be receiving your print in the mail very soon. Thank you so much for the idea.

Additions to the Challenge

2009-11-11T14:07:00Z

I've finished the painting for this week and will be ready to post it hopefully later today or tomorrow. There were a couple challenges in this painting but I think I finally figured it out. This will give me time to work on some new ideas I've got in my head. I've been wanting to do the Alice in Wonderland characters so hopefully I can squeeze them in between my weekly drawings.

I forgot to mention a couple things about my original challenge. First of all, a person can only win 1 free print a month. And 2nd, I've got some seasonal ideas in the hat right now and I'll probably pull those out in relationship to the season ending. I didn't get a Santa Clause idea but I've got some other Xmas themed ideas that will come out a few weeks before Xmas because it will be too late to paint them for this year.

So please continue to give me new ideas so I can have them to pull from. OH and occasionally some of you will submit an idea that just speaks to me right then and there. I might just choose to paint that idea and that will be the painting for the week instead of drawing a random idea.

I'm getting some really good ideas and this has been really good for me because it's challenging me to do things I wouldn't normally do. Thanks again for submitting them. Don't stop now.

And the winner of week one is.....

2009-11-07T16:11:00Z

JoAnn West!!! She submitted the idea of Winter Storm and this is my interpretation. I like the way it came out and I have to admit I was challenged which is the whole idea of this. It's too easy to paint in my safety zone but I don't feel I'll grow as an artist if I always do. So this is how I'm choosing to grow.

JoAnn is going to get a free print and other prints will be available on Etsy later today.

52 week Challenge

2009-10-30T22:02:00Z

Well, I'm making it public so therefore I'm committed. I got this idea from an artsy friend of mine, Julie Fillo. She committed herself to painting a different painting every week for 52 weeks. So this is my spin on it.

Every week for 52 weeks, I'm going to be painting a different painting. I will be making 12 prints of that painting and listing them on Etsy. For the first couple days the prints will be available for a low price (I'll determine that by the end of next week but I'm talking a low price) then after that the price will go up. Also someone will win a free print every week as well. Either I will ask for ideas every week and who ever submits the winning idea (pulled from a hat, or cup or shoe or whatever vessel I have available to me at that moment) will be the winning recipient of the print. Or some weeks I might just paint my own thing and just tell you to post a comment on my blog to be entered in the contest. I have artistic license to use your idea however I choose. I just ask that it not be a really horrific idea. I have no interest in painting someone being stabbed or having an arm cut off. But even if it's a Zombie, I get to put my own spin on it. And if it's too gross, and I draw your name, we'll figure something out.

Today is October 30, 2009. I'm asking for ideas from now till Sunday evening. On Monday I'll draw a name and start the new painting and that will be painting number 1. I will hopefully have the new painting posted by Friday and will post the winner too. And the cycle will continue.

I didn't flush these ideas out too long so there could be some changes along the way depending on how I see my schedule evolving. This should be the basics though. I'll be picking ideas from Facebook and from messages left here. So let the ideas begin.

New Items on ebay

2009-03-28T00:49:00Z

I just added new items on ebay. Here is what you can expect to see. Click on the individual picture and it will take you to the listings.

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Welcome

2009-02-14T16:05:07Z

Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.

For those of you that followed my old blog at Blogspot, you can read archived entries by going to http://groovyglass.blogspot.com