Opportunity and Filling the Wallet

I really need to keep this thing updated more frequently.

I've been working on magnets and slowly getting prints framed via acceptance into shows. Can't complain too much.

I stopped by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum on Wednesday with a fellow printmaker. She currently has prints for sale in their gift shop. After much conversation, the guy behind the desk expressed interest in getting more local artists into the shop. My colleague mentioned me as an artist and the ice broke. I don't do much in the realm of food or drink themed work, but I'm not against it. When I mentioned that I do fleur de lis magnets, he gave me his card and asked me to email him some images. Wow! My magnets in a SECOND location!?? That's pretty sweet! The museum is also located in a nice tourist-y spot downtown so here's to hoping this works out for the better (although they are relocating soon). I may end up in production mode soon.

Thursday evening, R.H.I.N.O. Contemporary Art Gallery had their opening reception of the "Muses" show. I was in it. So were other friends. I gave them the Vitruvian Man print. Everyone seems to like it. At $175.00, my fingers are crossed that it sells. Yeah, the magnets are a nice little money maker, but I'd love to focus on my printmaking more and get some income coming in from what I went to school for.

Which brings me to my broke status.....

Tomorrow (and possibly this evening), I plan on taking nice photos of all of my work; prints, paintings, crafty stuff, etc. I think I may open an Etsy account to try to sell my work. I'll also set something up locally as well. I have to move my work. It just sits in my apartment gathering dust, wishing it had a better life making someone's home more colorful and artsy. And yes, I may have to move it all at discount. I have no money to rent a car for the trip home during Thanksgiving. My bills are barely staying afloat. Something has to give here. I'm trying not to sell my belongings, which I considered.

I'll keep you posted. An art sale coming soon!

Printing for The Balvenie Rare Crafts Roadshow

The etching I created for the Balvenie event came out nice! After Melissa letterpressed the text, I guess I was a bit surprised at how well it looked. I haven't done a drypoint etching in years and on plexi glass......well it's been at least a decade! Since I printed the decorative part of the print, I really didn't want it to be too definitive. I used a light brownish-orange for the color. Looks pretty good!

What sucked a little was that we didn't have a capital "S" for Sauce, so we had to elaborate hence the word "Glaze" in the title. It bothered me at first but when you actually read the whole title together, it doesn't sound too bad.


I don't usually use plexi glass when doing any kind of printmaking. That in mind, I did manage to forget what kind of matrix I was using. After I ran my first proof, I mindlessly decided to use acetone to clean my plate off. Mistake!! Of course, I realized my mistake as soon as I started rinsing it off. Yeah, acetone eats plexi glass.......why did I forget about that!? Concerned that I screwed up big time, I set it aside and prayed. When I inked it back up the next day, I prayed again. I mean we were going to be on camera and I certainly didn't want to make an ass of myself. As I pulled the print off of the press, a smile came across my face. SUCCESS!! No crazy marks from the acetone or from me running my fingernails across the plate. Whew!

I started running an edition at 10:00am. The film crew didn't show up on my side of the studio until 4:00pm. Basically, I had a lot of time to print........and I did.

Our thank you/parting gift from The Balvenie was a 17 year old bottle of scotch whisky. Oh boy! I have no plans to drink it anytime soon. Special occasions ONLY!

We have about 75 prints! Seventy-five hand-pulled prints..........of a recipe. They are all for sale in the gallery. So, if you are an art lover and can appreciate the fine art of printmaking, then it really doesn't matter what the subject is, does it? Come check them out and buy one!

We took photos with Balvenie Brand Ambassador, Andrew Weir. I served bread pudding to him and Melissa and we took a bite while cameras rolled. Kinda cheesy, I know. But we had a fantastic time!!









Who knew I'd find a new appreciation for scotch whisky!?

Mental Fuzziness

I am in artistic disarray right now.  

I have no clue which project to focus on, what deadline to meet first (you would think it's the one looming over my head) or whether or not to ditch activities with friends in order to get shit done.  I can't decide: work on my paintings, turn those sketches into prints, pump out some magnets, work on one of the three projects that NEED to be finished within the next week, learn how to sew (no, I do not know how....stop laughing) or just shut the hell up.  A friend of mine said it perfectly today; "When I get to an indecisive point in whatever I'm making, I walk away, thinking,'oh I'll just get to it later'".  Wow!  That's precisely what I'm feeling!  My focus is off.  Way off.  I'll quit doing something that's near genius and, well I don't know, start washing my dishes (mainly because I can't stand to see dirty dishes in the sink).....or talking to my cat or calling my best friend.....or......update a blog.

Maybe I should entertain you for a brief moment on some random thoughts:

Random thought #1:

I find people completely annoying.  It's in the details really.  

Random thought #2:

Not so sure I want kids.  I thought I did, with me about to hit my mid-30s and all.....but......I think I'd be completely fine with none.  Or, I'll just adopt. 

Random thought #3:

I need an art studio that I can actually close off from the rest of my dwelling.  I'm constantly worried that my cat, Sasha, is going to swallow/eat/taste/play with something she has no business messing with.  It is a silly, yet not so unrealistic, fear.

Random thought #4:

I need a F*$@ING vacation!!!!!

Bored you yet?

Ok, list for the next seven days:

*finish a friend's stamp design

*create a drypoint etching for a hand-printed recipe (this needs to be done in more like 4 days)

*make 20 more magnets

*seal/varnish two paintings

I think that's enough to keep me busy on the artistic front.

and..........................GO!

What tha??

There are times when I think I overextend myself. Adding on to my plate over and over again until suddenly, I can't keep up anymore. I forget to do things, stay on track and if I don't make a list....well.....you can probably bet your ass it will not get accomplished.

My November show was nice. Everything came together just as I planned it to, with a little help from an absolute wonderful friend of mine. Did Isell anything? Nope. That's the only downfall to all that time I spent on it. However, the little magnets I've been making over the last two years seem to find their way into the homes of New Orleans. I'm ok with that. I'm currently working on a new stock and there will be new images to admire, in addition to the best-selling marbled paper magnets. I need to get into a production mode. I will admit, it's easier said than done, especially when finances do not allow you to stock your supplies up in preparation for mass production. Bleh!

My friend, Melissa, and I had a little holiday card-making workshop in December. The whole thing was a wonderful idea, but we think it needsto be arranged for an earlier time, say October-ish. The cards came out well. Melissa letter-pressed the inside of the cards and people decorated the outside. We had a lot fun!

I decided to take some time away from art and focus my mind more on myself. I don't pay attention to myself much. So, I signed up for a 30 day yoga challenge. Oh I finished it and finished it good! I feel great. I feel mentally rejuvenated. So, maybe I can start working on something that will put some money in my pocket. After all, it is Mardi Gras season in The Big Easy!