More on Etsy

While updating my shop I decided to add these two pieces. They were currently for sale only as notecards but now I'm selling the original works. Take a look!

New Work On Etsy

I'm still at my parents' house so to keep me busy I brought home all my markers and pens and paper. I feel like I packed like a little kid who has to have all her toys. But I made a couple of pieces that I put in my shop. Those are the top two images. I got some new gel pens for Christmas that I really love. They are metallic colors and give a good line quality.

The bottom photo is not in the shop but will be soon. It's a photo from my studio that's a little blurry but a quick documentation of what my studio looked like at the end of the semester. To see more pics go here.

Today my best friend Claudia is coming to visit and tomorrow she's driving me to the airport. I'm ready to get back to my regular life. I miss people and my apartment and my studio and a few dogs.

I hope everyone is having a nice post holiday weekend.

More Yummy Sculptures

Okay, so I have to admit something. I stumbled upon some of this work and read that the artist was Nick Cave. So, I thought it was the singer Nick Cave and was so excited to tell all my Nick Cave Fan Friends that he's a visual artist also. Seriously, I was overeager excited about it. Plus I'm crazy nuts about this artwork. Luckily before I posted on here and made a big deal about Nick Cave making this work I researched a bit more and realized it is not singer/songwriter Nick Cave. I hope the visual artist Cave doesn't have to deal with this mix-up too much.

I'm crazy about this work! I think it would completely frighten me if I saw it in person and that's what makes me like it. I love when work can attract you and make you shudder at the same time.

I also like how decorative and fashiony the top pieces are. They seem like haute couture ghosts. My favorite.

I also love Nick Cave the songwriter. Also attractive and creepy. Doesn't it make sense that I would have thought this was his work?

I got the bottom image from this site. The top image is from this site where Mr. Cave is part of the faculty. There you can also find his resume and more information about his work.

wow wow wow!

I found this amazing image today by Maurizio Cattelan. It's title Not Afraid of Love. If you know me you know I'm head over heels for this amazing sculpture. I'm not familliar with the artist but can't wait to learn more. Isn't this beautiful? My favorite animal and my favorite scary character!

Boy Art

Today I'm setting aside my usual Etsy feature but it will return soon. I've been looking for some of my favorite male artists to show on here and while doing that I realized there's a completely different sensibility than the work from yesterday. I also found it harder to think of male artists I like and it's not because I'm too hardcore about girl power, I think it's just because the aesthetics that I'm into right now seem to be a little more female-friendly. But these are some artists that make me feel just fine.

This first image is Travis Millard. I ran across his work when I was doing a research project for my printmaking class. I was trying to find images from artists who make monstery creatures and couldn't be more happy to find his work. This image gives me the creeps but I can't quit looking at it. Travis has a great website with lots more great work, that's where I got this image. Check it out here.

Next is Chris Uphues. Over the past year in grad school people have told me during every crit to look at this artist. I do! I look! He's got lots of great drawings but every time I think of him I think of this image. Until I see him in person I will forever think of this image as his self-portrait. Go look at his website for a variety of work. It's where I took this pic!

This next artist is Francesco Clemente. He's an amazing artist who I discovered when I watched Great Expectations in high school. It may sound cheesy but his work in that movie excited me so much about making art. It definitely gave me more of a push into the art world. Since the movie I've discovered more of his great work but my favorite has always been the work from the movie. I wonder if he would hate knowing that?

And an oldie but a goody is Paul Klee. I've loved his work for so long. His aesthetic fits in so well with what's happening now. It makes me wonder what he would be doing if he were alive and young today. I think he'd be a bad ass printmaker and maybe I'd get to meet him at a conference. Wishful thinking?

And finally for today's list...I'm cheating and putting a woman artist. Ida Applebroog has made a lot of different art over the years and this seems to be part of her latest body of work. I love everything she does but for a while I wasn't as crazy about this series. I've really come around to it lately, however because I love how creepy it is. And bizarre. She talks about this work in the Art21 series. If you've never seen those videos check them out for even more amazing artists!

Have a look at these artists. Hopefully you'll discover someone new that makes you as excited as I am.

If you celebrated Christmas, Happy Christmas Eve. If you live in parts of the world where Christmas is today, Merry Christmas. And if you celebrated Festivus than I hope you get out all your grievances! ( ;

Art Blog

Today I wanted to post some images of art that I love. I'm constantly looking at art and keeping an eye on what's going on in the art world. these are some artists I've really loved over the years, old and new. check it out! and check out their sites, too!

First is painter Squeak Carnwath. She's a West Coast artist who makes beautiful paintings full of color and prints through Tandem Press. Her work helps me think of new ways of setting up compositions. This image is from her website.

My close friends and I all have a love affair with Nan Goldin's photography. It started when one of our friends checked out a book of her work and we couldn't quit passing the book around. Her photos depict people around her; friends, lovers, herself. Nothing feels staged, they all seem very genuine and the viewer gets to feel like a true voyeur. I don't think she has a website but you can learn more about her here.

I discovered Kime Buzzelli's work randomly on myspace.com. She owns Show Pony Boutique in Echo Park, a store as lovely as her work. I've noticed lately that she's been receiving a lot of press for her work lately which is well deserved. This image is from her myspace.

I don't remember how I discovered Amy Morken but I'm so glad I did. Actually, I think it was because of an assignment my undergrad printmaking teacher gave us. We had to look through an Art in America magazine and find an artist to do a paper about. It was her way to get us to look at contemporary artists and I'm glad for that. I love Amy Morken's work. From her color to compositions to characters, there's so much happening. She's represented by the Claire Oliver Gallery and you can see more of her work here where I got this image.

And finally a printmaker. Lisa Bulawsky has been an artist whose work I've been looking at for a long time. She works and teaches in St. Louis. She's an artist who is constantly making work, whether it's two dimensional, video or performance. I've met her a handful of times and I'm always reminded of what a neat person she is. Check out her website and discover for yourself. This image is from her website.

I just realized after collecting all these artists that they are all female artists. That was not intentional and this is only a tiny dent in the list of artists I love. I will make another list soon that will be more male friendly. Happy looking and I hope you're all ready for the holidays!

Favorite Things

Since I've been at my parents' place I've been a little on the lazy side. I brought some good paper and drawing supplies with me but I've mostly been doodling. I have, however, been catching up on my new favorite show Mad Men. It started innocently. I finished the last disc of season one before I came home. Since I can't get my netflix here I thought I would download only one episode just to see what was going to happen in the next episode. After watching that episode I thought I may as well buy the next three from Itunes so I wouldn't have to get the first disc of season 2 from Netflix. Now I'm on to episode 8 and I can choose to stop there... but with seven more days to go here I feel like I will end up watching the whole season. I did get a gift certificate to Itunes.

Have you seen Mad Men? I feel like most people know what it is by now. It's so beautiful and glamorous but I sort of hate the main character. Maybe I'm suppose to hate him. I read a good article in the latest Bust magazine about the Mad Women of the time. I think advertising could be an interesting job. Does anyone remember Amanda (Heather Locklear) on Melrose Place? She was in advertising and was probably a female version of Don Draper. Is that a horrible connection I just made? Sorry, pop culture.

Another thing I'm loving is my new mustache necklace made by one of my best friends, Cameron Cox. She whipped up a different mustache for each of my friends and we wore them when we were in Clemson for my other best friend Claudia's show. Third best friend Janey was there also. Claudia's art show was beautiful. Her work has grown so much since we were in undergrad together. For some dumb reason I didn't get any picture of her work installed. We barely got to the show before it was over. Waking up at five in the morning and driving straight to South Caroline from the Chicagoland area was rough and pictures were a little far from our mind. I bought a piece from Claudia that was sort of a collaborative piece. I drew images and she shot them into a screen and printed them. I think it's called Nerds with Nerves and it's about how she and I both love parties but we also have a touch of social anxiety. We have to find ways to make those two things work together. It's a neat piece and when I have it in my possession I will photograph it and post it here. I realize this was suppose to be about the mustache necklace and it went this way.... sorry, Cameron. I love the necklace!

I was also going to make a list of artists I like but I feel like I've already written a book that would rival War and Peace in length. Guess I'm making up for lost time. Today I will compile a list of artists and images and will be ready bright and early tomorrow with a new post. I also go to the dentist tomorrow. The post will be the best part of my day.

Happy Holidays!

A Little Time Away

I haven't disappeared. I'm just taking a little break from the computer and getting stuff finished up for Christmas break. I go home tomorrow for ten days. There's little to do there so I can finally catch up on all my blogs and other favorite internet sites. I'll be back soon with Etsy features and the story behind the above photo. Take care and the following days and bundle up if you're in the snowy side of the world.

Etsy Feature Wednesday

I'm back from a very long trip. It was a whirlwind. We left Friday and came back Sunday. From Northern Illinois to Clemson, South Carolina and back, with a stop in Kentucky in between. I want to post some pictures on here soon but today is the Etsy feature day and I'm excited to share this artist.

I recently recieved this photograph for my birthday. I love this image so much, it reminds me of Twin Peaks. Last night I was looking closely and realized the name on the back is someone I went to college with. She was a few years ahead of me but was someone whose work I've always admired. And now I have a piece of her work!

Jessica Wolf is an artist based in Cincinnati and her online shop's name is Libellus. She has different kinds of work in her shop including hand-bound books and mixed media prints.

The top picture of the above three is titled The Letter to No One. It's one of my favorite pieces. And the next two are handmade sketchbooks. I love the way she photographs her work.

Check out the shop now and then spend the rest of the day finding your old college classmates on Etsy!

Stacey Gets Fierce

Just put this in my shop.  She's tough and will make you want to do things for yourself!

Things to look at People to See

I admit it's been a while since I checked my Flickr account so when I did I was greated with a new contact named Decor8. After looking through the many beautiful photos I discovered my own work! I was featured on Decor8's blog as part of her Etsy Take Five Tuesday! This blog is really great. I was checking it over today and I think there might be a bit of technical difficulties that today's blog explains, but they are working on it. Check out the blog, it's really beautiful.

Something else to report. Tomorrow I'm waking up at four in the morning and am driving 13 hours to Clemson, South Carolina to see my best friend's MFA show. I'm so excited to see her work. She sent the above pic in an email so I could get a sneak preview. Now I'm giving the world a sneak preview....I hope she doesn't mind. I don't think she reads my blog anyway...Pfft. I'm going to be gone all weekend. My travel partner and I will drive straight to Clemson tomorrow night. Saturday we'll drive to Kentucky where my family lives and then Sunday it's back to DeKalb and back to finals week. It's probably a bad time to leave town considering I have critiques next week but it's my BFF. Plus I have a fabulous trashy party dress to wear!

And finally, I promise I will quit begging soon but if you haven't yet, please please please check out papernstitch and maybe vote for me? You just click on my shop and click on the heart next to the above picture. The person with the most votes at the end of the exhibition gets a free month. Also, if you're interested in exhibiting on papernstitch there's a new call for entries right now. Thanks so much in advance!

Etsy Feature Wednesday. On Wednesday!

Aye yi yi! Today's Feature is a fairly new discovery of mine. I first read about Julia Pott in Nylon magazine when they featured her handmade temporary tattoos. Thanks to that I found her amazing blog, etsy shop and animations. Julia's work is so fresh and funny. Her videos are incredibly charming. My First Crush is so sweet and sincere. Yesterday I should have been working, I should have been buying gifts for others, I should have not been shopping for me... But I bought these stickers! (for me)!

Read her blog here and buy her work here!

Happy Day

Everyone have a great yummy delicious day! I will be traveling most of today. My biggest wish is that I can pack everything in my suitcase and not lose my luggage.
Picture found here.

Etsy Feature Wednesday...on Friday!

I missed my normal Wednesday feature because of travels and hectic family events but I want to be sure to feature this shop before the weekend is over. Bliss Candles is a shop with many beautiful candles that have so many great scents. There are a lot of great scents for summer and winter. The packaging is beautiful and would make a great Christmas gift/stocking stuffer. Bliss Candles is having a sale through Monday so check it out now for great deals. Also, check out their blog here for more info. Buy your candles here!!

Tacky, Campy and Beautiful

I did something silly. If you've seen my work you may have noticed my recent obsession with triangle flags. There's something so beautiful about them. So after spending a day going all over town (much to the delight of my driver who just wanted to go home) I finally found my triangle banner at a party store. I don't know why I didn't immediately think of the party store (much to the delight of my driver who just wanted to go home). So I had my flag but I didn't know where to put it. I considered putting it in my studio but I was afraid I wouldn't see it often enough. So one day when I got a gust of enery and determination to clean my messy apaprtment I finally decided to hang the flags. My apartment has now gone as completely camp as it can. I feel a little like I'm living in a car lot. But I love it! And it's such eye candy! They make the bleak TV area a little more festive now. What do you think? Too tacky? ( :

The Night Before the Night Before Thanksgiving.

I'm trying to tie up loose ends before I fly home for Thanksgiving. Instead of packing I've been watching Strangers With Candy with some of my friends. I love that show! This is a small effort at being productive... Posting a new blog... right? Success!

The above picture is a photo of the spoons I was using the other day when I was silkscreening. I love all the yummy colors! These colors helped me produce one of my newer pieces, Monster Towers. I wish the spoons would stay that way forever.

Tomorrow is my Etsy Feature day. I will try my hardest to do the post tomorrow but it may be later at night. Look for it here, and happy holidays!!

Amy Louise Waits

I just added this little piece to my Etsy shop.  It's titled Amy Louise Waits and it's all about waiting around optimistically for something perfect to happen.  You can find it here.  It's also on papernstitch.com here.  Don't forget if you haven't already, go to papernstitch and vote for my shop if you would be so kind.  All you have to do is quickly register in the top right corner and then click on my shop, abeautifulparty, and click the heart on the avatar. Thank you thank you for doing this for me!

Things to See Sounds to Hear

I was catching up on blogs during breaks at work and while looking at A Faciful Twist's blog I discovered some videos that I had no idea existed. Since I'm at work I haven't been able to watch them all but I really want to encourage everyone to check them out. The Eternal Children has six parts. This should get you to the first video. It features many of my favorite singers including Cocorosie and Antony Hegarty. Without trying to sound super cheesy their music moves me so much. I have some really sad memories associated with the Antony and the Johnsons CD so I can't listen to it very often but it's absolutely beautiful. And I've loved Cocorosie since they made their first album in their bathroom. Check them out and watch the The Eternal Children videos. They are very inspiring.

Here are some music videos to check out also.

Hope There's Someone- Antony and the Johnsons

Rainbow Warriors - Cocorosie

Little Houses

I just did some drawings of these little houses. They are made of gel pens and house little ghost families.  Unfortunately I got some ink where it shouldn't be so I don't feel right trying to sell these in etsy.  Instead I'm thinking of making digital prints or else getting some cards made with these houses on them.  What do you think?  Anyone make gyclee prints of their work? Do you use a particular place that is nice but affordable? Please let me know.

Today I helped rake leaves and had fantasies of making a bonfire and roasting marshmallows.  This will happen soon, I hope.

New Art On Etsy

I'm having computer problems it seems and I'm not able to upload the main image of my new work called Monster Towers.  You can see the full piece on my etsy site here.  I'm really excited about these new monsters I'm creating.  At my last critique my professor said I was getting to comfortable with my ghost character and that I should start inventing new guys.  These came about when I was painting a lot in my studio.  I love the way paint drips down so I was trying to emulate that in a controlled way.  The main shapes are screenprinted on and then I drew into them with gel pen and prisma colors.  Be looking for more monsters like these coming soon!

Tags!

Maria-Thérèse Andersson at afiori tagged my blog and asked me to write eight things about myself and tag eight others to do the same. Lets see how this goes...

----------8 things about me---------

*I'm originally from a tiny town in Kentucky that is dry (no alcohol) but has bootleggers in the trailer park. It's like prohibition without all the cool jazz clubs and hip clothes.

* I love the cool, crisp sound of ice popping in water and also love it when someone's voice sounds that way. It gives me chills.

* I draw ghosts but I don't think I've ever seen a ghost and I never want to see a ghost but I kind of want to see a ghost... follow?

* I can't stand the sound of a chain rattling.

* I'm afraid of the dark.

* I may like hearing ice pop but I absolutely hate hearing people chew ice. It gives me chills so bad it takes my breath away.

* I tend to make up stories for a lot of people I see and they are often terribly sad stories that leave me depressed for the rest of the day.

* I have had a cold for the past three months. It won't go away!

And now to tag eight others:

A Fanciful Twist
Jennyfur's Sketchbook and Oddities
Leililaloo
Lilidoll
Millions Of People Happy
The Crochet Bakery
Local Monster
The Yellow Elephant


I also received this awesome Blog award from The Yellow Elephant. I'm suppose to pass it on to five other bloggers. With so many great blogs it's hard to just choose five.

afiori- she keeps a great blog and is always so kind and encouraging of my work. Thank You!
inside a black apple - I've always loved this blog. Emily Martin's work is beautiful and she's a neat person.
aesthetic outburst- A definite favorite and Abbey Hendrickson is an amazing artist.
the Adventures of Cassie - a classmate and friend, her work is so beautiful.
Paper and Stitch -a beautiful blog and they do so much for the indie art community.

Okay. That was hard. I think i distributed out awards and tags to great bloggers but there are many many more blogs that i love love love. another day...
have a good friday!

thank you thank you

Here's another of my favorite birthday party photos. This is a family photo. My mother is the cute little baby on the left side that looks like she's anxious for cake and balloons. My uncle is the smug little boy on the left with the suspenders. He's my father's brother. There may be other cousins or relatives in the photo but I haven't been able to identify them. This is my absolute favorite party photo. Look at the balloons! And the party dresses! Don't you want to be there?

I want to thank everyone for the great comments I've been receiving on my posts. It looks like I'm getting some new readers so Welcome welcome! I've also received a few blog awards and tags and am anxious to get to those but today I'm a little strapped for time because I'm getting to the studio so late and need to get some plates etching and some drawings started. Tomorrow may be a little easier to slow down. Today my morning was filled with waffles and crossword puzzles and a little sample of Joan Baez music and it was quite delightful. I hope th rest of my day is just as nice. And yours too...

Etsy Feature Wednesday

I just recently posted in the Etsy forum about my weekly feature and had many people respond for consideration. It was so hard choosing a shop for this week because there were so many great responses but this shop has been a favorite for quite a while. BritishCreamTea is a shop filled with yummy delicous felt treats. I love how beautiful food can look and when it's made of felt it can last forever.
There are many many items in the shop and they are all made from recycled felt. Since it's birthday party month for me I definitely have my eye on the cupcake.

I just discoverd the blog for this shop and I'm very excited to start reading. Look for it here.

Happy Hump Day.

Sitting Pretty Studio: Kisses Card Set Giveaway

Sitting Pretty Studio: Kisses Card Set Giveaway

And the Theme Is Birthdays...

A friend of mine found these old photos and gave them to me because I have a current obsession with old birthday photos.  Since this month is my birthday month I thought I would share these.  For my birthday I really want to have an old fashioned birthday party where everyone dresses in their Sunday best and doilies are laid out on the table and fancy balloons and streamers decorate the place.  But instead I'll be flying back to Illinois on my birthday and I don't think I can get the airport to do anything special. So instead I'll reminisce with other people's memories. 

These two pictures are unrelated but I think it would be so magical if they were the same person.  I wish I wish I wish....

Most of the photos I have are are family photos but it's my new favorite thing to look for at antique/thrift stores.  I'm thinking about doing a print series with the images.  More on that in the future.

Happy happy birthday to anyone. It should be your birthday everyday, minus the aging.