Art for Art's Sake

For the second year in a row, I participated in Cape Ann Art Haven's annual buoy auction.  The basic concept is: Art Haven selects a collection of local artists to create art on blank buoys, which are auctioned off to support their programs for the year.  It's a gathering of local artists, students, kids, families, and people who appreciate supporting the arts in the Gloucester community.

Here is a snapshot of the event, in the lovely Gloucester Cruiseport

Last year, I painted my mermaid buoy with oil paints, but sadly I was not able to attend the auction.  This year however, I got to experience the event and see my buoy displayed in the silent auction, and watch the kids' buoys get sold in the live auction.  I also got to hear about what's been happening at Art Haven over the past year and what they have in store for the coming year.  It was a great time!  People were very enthusiastic and raised a lot of money to support Cape Ann Art Haven, which is expanding their program significantly this year--I'm very excited for them!

It was wonderful to wander around and look at the other artists' buoys, as well as the kids buoys and a display of the paintings, drawings, pottery, sewing, and other artwork done by teenage students who participated in the program.

A selection of photos I took at the event using Instagram on my iPod--
The gorgeous ocean buoy in the lower right is by my talented friend Sarah Brooks,
whose brother David is the founder of Art Haven.

For my buoy this year, I went with a topic that I've become more and more interested in over the past few years: female aviators of the early 20th century.  The most well-known of these is, of course, Amelia Earhart--but she inspired, and was inspired by, many other female aviators.  I love to search for old photographs of women climbing into piper cubs or biplanes, eager for adventure and equipped with skills in navigation and aeronautical sciences.  For my buoy, I worked from a handful of inspirational photos I found online to portray an aviatrix from that time period.  She is a fictional character, though most people at the auction referred to it as the "Amelia Earhart buoy".

I used acrylic paints for the figure and the silhouette of the plane behind her

Once I'd painted my figure and the silhouette of a small aircraft behind her, I (painstakingly) cut up a map of New England and modge-podged it onto the buoy as a backdrop for my aviatrix.  When painting the figure, I aimed at the style of vintage posters of that era, which use bold solid colors and high contrast, with limited details.

Making art in order to support a place for kids and teens to create art is a great feeling.  I love that Cape Ann Art Haven is a place where creativity can be unleashed, which some kids don't experience in any other places--here, they can try any kind of medium available, and can be surrounded by adults who take art and creativity seriously and infect kids with their own enthusiasm for it.  I can't wait to see how the program will grow in the coming year, with more space than ever and more students participating!

A Crafty Project

If you haven't visited my other blog yet, now's the time to hop-skip-jump on over and check out a crafty Vintage Book Collage I made this week!  Read all about it right here: Hither, Dither, Down

Surrender

Watercolor on tinted pastel paper.  Quote paraphrased from Toni Morrison "Song of Solomon".

I made this painting for my Dad as a birthday gift.  He tells me stories about his days of flying small airplanes like Cessnas (though his favorite is the Piper Cub).  It has become one of my life goals to learn to fly a small airplane.  I've read some books about learning to fly, which helps to take the romantic edge off and remind me that flying is pretty complicated and there are risks, but I am resolute in my wish to learn anyway.  I've also developed a love of learning about the golden era of flight, when people like Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh were braving the unknown territory of the sky.  Another goal of mine is to write a children's book about a young brave Aviatrix of the 30s or 40s.  Dad makes sure I don't forget about that goal often :).

This quote popped into my head while I was researching aviation for this painting.  It has particular resonance with me right now, as I've lately hit some of life's turbulence.  I'm pretty good at going with the flow, but when I do get afraid, I have a Faith that reassures me that all will be well, however things end up.  This quote reminds me that the wind may get rough sometimes, but resisting it can only make things worse.  Trust it to take you onward, let yourself be buffeted and know that you will come out whole after the storm.  "If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it."  Beautiful.

Advent Artwork on Awoken Words

This year on Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for encouragement.  Without it, I would never have gone from dreaming of opening an Etsy shop to actually going through all the hard work (and worry and doubt) of opening one.  I would not be making artwork so frequently without the encouragement I get from fellow artists and family and friends.  So a big Thank You!! to all who are reading this, because YOU encouraged me and continue to do so!

My little drawing desk in my home studio--taken with instagram

Next week Advent begins, and now the painting I made for the Advent season is available to buy as prints in my shop here.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Emmanuel

This year I have started to prepare for the Christmas season in advance.  For me, Advent has begun early.  It's been a nice, slow transition that will help me not to panic when December 1st hits, which is when I usually start to worry about all the work that needs to get done before Christmas.  I've gotten a major head start on a few hand-made gifts that I knew would need lots of time to complete, and I have started the shopping as well.  But maybe the best way I've eased myself into the season of Advent is by making this painting for our church's Advent bulletins:

Gouache on tinted pastel paper

The theme for our Advent services this year is 'Emmanuel: God with us'.  Having no more to go on than that phrase, my thoughts led me to the angels who came to announce the amazing news of Jesus' birth.  Such an event merits the most glorious fanfare, and I imagine that nothing could have held back the outburst of joy and amazement that those angels longed to share with the people to whom Jesus had come.  Yet what strikes me most of all is that the angels did not appear in the king's palace with this announcement, and they came not to the houses of noble men who were sleeping warm and content with their families.  The angels came to the frosty fields where shepherds shivered in mud-caked cloaks,  keeping their watch through the long dark hours over their flocks.  The announcement that God had come to live with us, "Emmanuel!", was joyously pronounced to the men whom no king's herald would deign to speak to: the hard-working and humble, their hands calloused and dirty from earning their simple living.  It makes me smile to think of such men being the recipients of the news that would change the fate of all men's souls, and to think of the glory radiating from those angels warming the poor shepherds startled out of their midnight watch.

Advent is a time to prepare, and to reflect on this pronouncement of the angels: Emmanuel is here; God is now among us.

Etsy Shop Grand Opening!

Hurrah hurray!  I am simply pleased as punch to announce that my Etsy shop is now open!  I am selling high quality prints of my original illustrations.

You can visit my shop by clicking here:  Awoken Words

Here's a little preview of what it looks like:

I'd love for you to drop by to take a look, and perhaps keep in mind that holidays are on the horizon, and artwork makes a spiffy gift!  ^_^
I'll be adding more pieces to the shop gradually, including some originals and maybe some framed pieces.  If you'd like to keep up with my new work, you can "like" my shop page on Facebook here:
Awoken Words on Facebook .

Finally getting my shop up and running makes me feel like this...

(image found on lonelyplanetimages.com)

In fact, it almost feels like I'm a little kid again and it's my birthday...

(photo taken by Dad, I think)

With all this excitement, it's almost too good to be true...

Wowza!

Pinch me!

Anyways, thanks for all the support I've received as I've worked toward this goal.  I think this will be a fun way to share my work and build a strong portfolio!

And now to make some more art!

Print Progress

I am reaching the final stages of operation: set up Etsy shop.  I did my research and selected a place to get my prints made, and ordered a "test" print of my piece "The Leaves' Laughter".  Here is the print:

"The Leaves' Laughter", printed on archival matte paper, 8 by 12 inches with a 1-inch border

Overall, I am thrilled with how the print turned out!  I found the ordering process very easy, it was delivered in a timely fashion, and the packaging was good.  Today I've been tinkering with my own packaging options, and in the spirit of recycling I have re-used the packaging my print was shipped in, but with some modifications.  I turned the white cardboard envelope inside-out, taped it back up, and added some custom stamping to it for that hand-made look:

My next steps are to finish soft-proofing all my digital image files, and then create my item listings, and then I will be open for business!  My goal is to be open by the first week of November, just in time for holiday shopping :) .

What do you think of the packaging?  Do you mind that it's recycled?  Anyone have tips on mailing artwork they'd like to share?