Beth S Macre ~ Art Journal

The Calendar says January...

2012-01-16T13:33:00.001-06:00

...but the weather doesn't really say January! So far January has been fairly calm, weather wise anyway. Temps have been up and down, but not extremely cold. That's fine with me, but I do love snow and would like to see at least one or two good snows this year! Before the holidays we had two snow showers that covered the ground, but not the roads. Snow days are really good days for some good creative time.

So this weekend was a three day weekend, in celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday. Friday was my birthday, so it was a good start to the 3 day weekend. But it is almost over. I started a dog portrait commission this weekend. I know that is different for me, but I am enjoying it and hope to work on more samples so that I can start doing more pet and people portraits, not just home portraits. The dog portrait that I am doing is being drawn in color with colored pencils. I will post pictures after the customer approves the portrait and the recipient has received the gift!

Pen and Ink House Portrait

I have finished one pen and ink commission early in January and have a few more orders that I can work on in the next couple of months. But I am excited to work in color for a change! I guess that is why I do so many different media and styles. I like variety!

Beth♥

Cheers to 2011 and Welcome 2012!

2011-12-31T18:23:00.000-06:00

Pen and Ink - 11 x 14
by Beth S. Macre 2011 © 2011

Two more pen and ink commissions that I did this year. I couldn't post them until after Christmas, so here they are.

The pen and ink drawings have kept me busy this year and I appreciate all of the positive feedback from everyone. I hope to have the opportunity to continue to create drawings for those who want to capture memories of home to give as gifts, or for yourselves.

In the coming year, I hope to add some other subjects to my commission works. I am working on creating a portfolio of portraits of both people and pets to offer for commissions. Look for updates in the near future.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Beth♥

Pen and Ink - 11 x 14
by Beth S. Macre 2011 © 2011

Christmas Commissions

2011-12-27T11:51:00.000-06:00

Now that Christmas is over, I can slow down and relax...for a few days anyway! It was down to the wire before Christmas, but I finished my last pen and ink commission on Christmas Eve! Thank goodness my customer knew ahead of time that it would be close, but she was excited and very understanding. They picked it up Christmas Eve and were very happy with it.

Pen and Ink House Commission
11 x 14

Another commission that I completed for a Christmas gift was picked up last week and my customer (Sarah) seemed extremely excited and pleased with the drawing! This was her childhood home that they have recently sold, so it was very special to her and her family. It is special to me also, because this house is down the street from a house where we used to live and my daughter spent more than a few nights in this home with her childhood friend, Sarah. The days when the girls were playing together, beginning in Kindergarten, turned into days of riding around together in high school, and now they are attending the same University and making more memories attending football games and other activities. Homes are such special places for families to make memories and I believe that is why so many people enjoy having a drawing of their home to preserve those memories.

Below is the lake house drawing that was delivered Christmas Eve.

Pen and Ink House Commission
16 x 20

I have a few more drawings that I made for customers for Christmas, but I want to make sure the gifts have been given before posting them online. I also have more pen and ink commissions to start, but I will be taking a short break from pen and inks and working on some other projects for a change of pace.

Hope you made some great memories in your home this year.

Beth♥

The Christmas Trees and Creative Wrapping

2011-12-26T10:15:00.000-06:00

The Christmas tree doodles were created for samples for my students. I wanted them to created 'non-traditional' but creative Christmas trees. Not the typical tree with lights and ornaments.

Colored Pencil Heart Tree
by Me

Acrylic Painting Starry Night Tree
by Beth Macre

The gift wrapping was done by my daughter. This is her creative outlet. She loves to make pretty packages. She used an idea that she found on Pinterest. The idea is to use yarn, instead of ribbon on the packages.
She did a great job and most of all...I didn't have to wrap one present!

Packages wrapped by my daughter.

Pretty Packages under the Tree

By now, all of the packages have been opened.

Hope you all had a nice Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Beth♥

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T23:06:00.000-06:00

Colored Pencil ACEO
by Me

Dreaming of a White Christmas...

2011-12-21T17:49:00.001-06:00

Colored Pencil ACEO
by Me

We never have a true white Christmas, but I would love to have at least see some snow on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I love snow. I thought I would share this version of Santa, that I drew, in his long john pjs and the snowy night background, in hopes that we see some snow around Christmas.

Shopping is mostly done. Wrapping is mostly done... thanks to my daughter! Drawing commission is in the works and that is what I will be spending the rest of the week working to finish by Christmas Eve! After Christmas I will be able to share the pen and ink home commissions. I don't want to take the chance of someone recognizing their house before they receive their gift.

Hope you have a safe and Merry white Christmas (if you want one)!

Beth♥

Vacation?

2011-12-17T15:30:00.002-06:00

Colored Pencil ACEO
by Me

Wow, the time goes by so quickly when you a very busy! Semester finals are over, tests are graded and posted, room closed up for the break. Now for the baking, drawing, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, and traveling...whew...I need a nap!

Beth♥

Random thoughts about art and Christmas List...

2011-12-11T10:06:00.001-06:00

Colored pencil ACEO

Trying to get things done before Christmas, so I can't really post photos of my current projects, so I thought I would just post some of my past Christmas Minis and some random thoughts...both art and Christmas related. I thought this Santa drawing was appropriate for this post.

I have more Santa minis that I will post between now and Christmas!

1. I love Pinterest! I just started using it recently and I'm amazed at the talented and creative people out there! I put a follow me button on the right column of my blog, if you want to check it out. But be warned, it can be addictive. I have to limit myself. (I can spend as much time on Etsy as I do on Pinterest!)

2. I can't wait until Christmas vacation, which starts in 5 days!

3. I love watching Christmas movies on Hallmark and Lifetime Channels while drawing commissions. (Even the ones that I have seen multiple times and can be quite cheesy).

4. I love snow and would really love to have snow at Christmas...and even after Christmas!

5. I am looking forward to Christmas with my parents. Its our family tradition and I can't imagine what it would be like without it.

6. Christmas shopping is stressful for me and I am not finished! My Christmas wish is to simplify Christmas shopping.

7. I'm in the mood for some Chocolate chip cookies. My favorite cookie.

8. ...oh and if Santa is reading this list...or one of his helpers...I would like a simple sewing machine. I have some art project ideas that I need a sewing machine for!

9. ...a small table top kiln would be nice too, but I don't think Santa makes those! ;-)

10. hmmm...my list stops here for now. I need to grade papers. Bah humbug! (I do not like grading papers!)

Beth♥

What's Going on In My Studio?

2011-11-30T21:35:00.001-06:00

Pen and Ink Commission
Beth S. Macre© 2011

It's crunch time in the studio! Now that Thanksgiving is over, its time to get pen and ink commissions started and finished. I have a few left to do before Christmas, Then I will start on some that are not Christmas gift commissions. So, I will be working on pen and ink drawings for a while. This one is the latest that I can show. It was a birthday gift commission and it has been delivered and given to the owner of the lake house. Although it has a lot of windows, it was fun to draw and the customer is happy! I haven't had much time to work with clay, but I hope to be able to do that over Christmas break.

Beth♥

Looking forward to Thanksgiving Break!

2011-11-18T22:02:00.001-06:00

Only 2 more days of work until Thanksgiving break! I am so ready! It has been one of those weeks! I'm looking forward to spending time with family and having our traditional family Thanksgiving dinner. After Thanksgiving my daughter will be here to help put up the Christmas tree. She loves to decorate for Christmas and has already decorated her tree. She sent this photo of an ornament that I made for her. She is a big Razorback fan, so she would probably decorate her whole tree with Razorback decorations, if she had enough! Guess I need to work on some different ideas for next year.

I have spent some time this week working on another pen and ink commission after finishing the last one. I won't be able to share the current pen and ink until after Christmas. So I will just share some of the house ornaments that I have made recently, some of which are for sale in my Etsy shop. Sooo...if you need a new handmade ornament for your Christmas tree, feel free to check out my Etsy shop.

Have a great weekend!

Beth♥

Tis the Season...?

2011-11-08T20:37:00.001-06:00

"Wipe Ur Paws"
Acrylic painting 10 x 10 in
Beth S Macre© 2011

...to be stressed...for me that is. I really do love the Fall season and the Holidays from Thanksgiving to Christmas. But it really has become a stressful time for me. The pressure to do so much in so little time sucks some of the joy out of the season. I'm thinking that one of my top goals for 2012 will be to eliminate the extra stress from my life. I know its early to be thinking about the new year, but some things will have to go. I'm really hoping that 2012 will be better for everyone.

Relax and enjoy life will be at the top of my list. Creating art and spending time with family and friends is more important than filling out useless paperwork. Right?
So I wanted to share my latest whimsical paintings. I love the fun and whimsical art, because it makes me smile.

"Go Hogs!"
Acrylic painting 10 x 10 in.
Beth S Macre© 2011

Beth♥

Getting Ready for the Fall Festival

2011-10-30T13:02:00.001-05:00

I usually do not participate in Fall Festivals as a vendor, but since I have not been able to go to any art festivals this year, I decided to do a small local one. I will have a booth at the Westminster Village Fall Festival next Saturday. So if you are local, stop by and see me in my booth. The vendors will be inside the Ramey Center and my booth will be located just inside the door to the left. I will be selling my little clay houses and some of my whimsical acrylic paintings. The best thing about this is that we do not have to travel more than 10 minutes (at the most) to get there! But I would love to do more art shows in the future. It is just too difficult when trying to work full time.

I also have colored pencil paintings currently on display at St. George's Episcopal Church in Germantown, TN, with the Memphis Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America, until Nov. 7th.

Shown are photos of my booth from the Norcross Art Festival that I attended last Fall.

Working Small with Pen and Ink

2011-10-23T19:13:00.001-05:00

Rockin' on the Porch
Ink and Colored Pencil
Beth S. Macre © 2011

I organize an ATC exchange on the Colored Pencil Forum called ScribbleTalk. I have a wonderful collection of original art from a variety of artists from all over the country and some international artists. ATCs are very small works of art. They are 3 1/2 inches x 2 1/2 inches. Today I posted the most recent exchange on ScribbleTalk. I managed to finish this one for the exchange this time. It will be going to its new home in North Carolina. I will receive one from an artist who lives in Oregon.

My inspiration was from a photo that I took while on a trip this summer with my old friends from high school. I posted a photo of the front porch here. I'm sure at some point, this porch or house will be in another work of art from me. Right now its still in my mind, but it will be done someday.

Have a nice week!

Beth♥

I Love Connecting with other Artists!

2011-10-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

I recently received an email from an artist named Teresa, whom I met at an art festival in Georgia last year. She contacted me about creating some churches for her to give as gifts. So this is what I came up with. I have created some churches before, but I believe I will create more and in different styles. I love meeting other artists through art shows, organizations, and even online artists friends. You never know when you will make a new friend!

Beth♥

The Busy Fall Season

2011-10-12T19:25:00.000-05:00

I love Fall weather and it has started to feel more and more like fall in the last couple of weeks. I just wish I could slow down and enjoy this season. But fall seems to be one of my busiest times of the year. But I will try to enjoy it as I can...and as long as my allergies will let me. Unfortunately, with fall comes the sinus problems.

But as for me and my art, I have had a little time to work on some pen and ink commissions. One of which has been completed and delivered to the recipient of a birthday gift, so I can post a photo. The recipient is very pleased and sent me a very nice Thank You note.

Now on to the next.

Beth♥

The Balancing Act

2011-09-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

"Butterflower"
Colored pencil and Black Sharpie Pen

I am trying my best to balance out my school teaching duties with my own artistic goals, which is important as an art teacher, without getting overwhelmed. Plus I also have a personal life to keep into the equation. Sometimes I am tempted to chose not to participate in activities with friends and family, because I am so busy with everything else, which is not good. So that is what I am struggling with. I really want to do it all, but unfortunately, I have to sleep sometime during the 24 hours a day that we are given.
This week was an especially busy week at work, so I was extra tired and got little accomplished after work each day. There are so many creative projects that I would love to start, but right now the time is just not available. I will definitely need to cut back on those time wasting activities that accomplish nothing, except procrastination.
But this little drawing shown is a drawing I did with my students who were working on line designs with black pens and colored pencils. I call it 'Butterflower' because it started out as a Flower, then I added the antennae and the flowing lines. I just thought it looked alot like a butterfly too. I'm not sure if it is finished yet. I need to decide how I will use it. I also have a black and white digital image of the design, so I may play around with adding different colors in photoshop.

Well I'm off to go work on some clay projects then more pen and ink house projects.
Have a nice weekend!

Beth♥

Creating my own Mini Art Gallery...

2011-09-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

Miniature Clay Art Galleries

One of these days I would like to have an art gallery/studio...but for now, I'll have to just create my own mini ones. Here is a photo of a couple that I have created. I need to get busy creating a lot of new houses. I recently sold quite a few houses and need to restock...which is a good thing! Now I just need to make the time to create.

Hope you are having a nice holiday weekend!

Beth♥

I Finally Made a Website!

2011-08-05T20:39:00.002-05:00

Colored Pencil ATC
Beth S. Macre ©2008

For several years, I have been wanting to create a website, but did not really know how to get started. I even bought a domain name and everything. Then I found blogger back in 2007 and decided to try that out. It was pretty easy to create. I like being able to add the stories to go along with the photos too, even though sometimes I just don't have much to say. So I started to search for a place to create a website that was easy to make and keep up to date myself. I did not want to depend on someone else to update. So, I found a website that has free versions that can be upgraded if you want. So I set one up in a couple of days. Right now it is pretty simple, but that is what I wanted. My blog is linked to my website through the page tabs across the top and the website is linked back to the blog through the tabs across the page. It also has a contact page with current prices for my commissions. Hopefully one day I will be able to post times for art lessons or classes.

I don't know if having a website is any better than a blog, but its just another place for my artwork to be seen. Time will tell. So check it out...if you are interested in seeing what I do. Thanks for looking.

www.bethsmacrestudio.weebly.com

Beth♥

Summer break is almost over!

2011-07-29T15:29:00.004-05:00

New houses in my Etsy shop.

Just thought I would share a couple of photos of some houses that I've finished lately. As you can see, I have added a few accessories to my items that I sell. I will be working to get a lot more finished and ready to list in my Etsy shop and more to ship to a couple of actual shops as soon as possible. (More about that when I get them ready to go!) The ones in these photos are listed in my HeartHomes Etsy shop.

I go back to work next week. Where did the summer go? I have orders for custom pen and ink drawings that I am working on too, so I have more than enough to keep me busy! Guess I need to cut back on playing games on Facebook! Sorry neighbors...;-)...

Beth♥

Back home for a few days...

2011-07-22T17:00:00.009-05:00

Dallas, TX

...from the CPSA convention and exhibition in Dallas, TX. That is the Colored Pencil Society of America, for anyone who does not know what CPSA is. This year the convention was held in Dallas, TX where it was a balmy...well...just plain HOT... 100-105 degrees every day that we were there. But it was just as hot back home in Arkansas, so I couldn't escape it! But I was indoors most of the time anyway.

The convention was very nice, as usual. I spent the entire week with artists from around the country, who have similar interests as me. I also made some new friends that I look forward to staying in contact with. I really believe that artists who belong to the CPSA are the friendliest bunch of people! I enjoyed the entire week, but was ready to get home to rest. But I am off again this weekend to go visit with family, so this post will be short.

We made a side trip on Friday to the butterfly garden in Dallas. We took pictures for as long as we could stand being in the butterfly room. We took a lot of pictures, that i expect to see some in future works of art. It wasn't too bad, but it was a little muggy in there. We had to get back to get ready for the awards night banquet.

View the award winning entries here: CPSA.org
It was a beautiful show this year. Next year the show will be held in Cincinnati. I look forward to going to that one and seeing a part of the country that I haven't seen!

Beth♥

What makes a home?

2011-07-05T19:43:00.001-05:00

I love houses. I create houses. I take pictures of houses. I draw houses. At one time, I even thought I might want to be an architect. But I actually just like drawing houses and buildings. So I decided to pursue my 2nd love, that was art. I often found myself including houses and parts of buildings in my drawings. I take lots of pictures of houses to get ideas for drawings and clay houses too. I had the pleasure of being a guest in a home recently. The house was very cute with lots of character. You could really see the personality of the homeowners come through the decorative items in and around the home. The love and personality made this house a home.

Hmmmm....this one could become drawing or a HeartHome...

Beth♥

Annual Girlfriend Reunion...

2011-06-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

38 yr. old gum wrapper chain.
Cindy and I started creating this in Jr. High School.
Each one of us took home a piece of the chain.,

Last year, some of the girlsthat I went to junior high school, high school, and college with, decided thatwe should get together. All 6 of us had gone on with our separate livesover the year, getting jobs, getting married, having kids, and some of us hadmoved away from our hometown. We occasionally kept in contact through theyears, but as time went by, it was less and less frequent. But in 2005tragedy struck one of the 'girls'. Her tragedy brought us all back intocontact through email and other occasional meetings. Her tragedy made merealize that we should not let time and our busy lives cause us to lose contactwith people that were important in our lives. The 5 other girls(including me) were connected because of her. We wanted to be supportive toher and each other during this time. But because of the distance that separatesus and so much time had passed, it was not easy to be there for her, exceptthrough prayer, phone calls, and emails. About 2 years ago, with the help ofFacebook, I started talking to these girls and we started trying to plan a tripor weekend together. Finally, last year, our 1st Annual Girlfriend Reunionhappened. We had so much fun talking and laughing and spending timetogether, that we decided to do this every year. This past weekend we hadour 2nd Annual Girlfriend Reunion. The picture of the bird garland was hanging in the kitchen of the house where we stayed. It is so cute and reminds me of the 6 friends that are connected by our friendships. Again, we had a great weekend togethermaking more happy memories and made our plans for our next reunion in 2012. Life is too short to lose contact with family and friend that you love.

Contact an old friend today...

Beth♥

What did you do during the summer...back in the day?

2011-06-16T13:03:00.111-05:00

Tiny Clay House
Listed on Etsy

When I was in school, we filled our summers with activities that took some creativity and imagination. I have always liked to do artsy and crafty things, but I think that came about because we had to entertain ourselves. I have always enjoyed creating little houses and villages and creating little imaginary places. Even to the point of creating a little village in the dirt, using moss for the grass and little sticks for trees, and the little boxcars that I played with back then. Yes, I played with dolls some too, but little cars were up there on my playtime to do list. We had to find things to do to entertain ourselves during the long summer months. (summer vacation was actually 3 months long back then...in the 60s and 70s). Of course, this was before I was old enough to drive, so I had plenty of time to fill during the summer. This was also before video games, cell phones, computers or internet, and probably even cable TV! I don't remember when we actually started getting Cable, but I do remember the summer when the only thing on the 3 channels (+Educational the channel with things like Mr. Rogers...ugh) that we got on TV was non-stop coverage of court hearings about some boring old political corruption called Watergate! Being too young to drive, I was pretty much stuck at home to play outside in the heat, ride my bike to a friends house, or ride my bike to the pool. I even played softball a few summers, even though I am not athletic...at all! My sister was the athletic one. I was the creative one. I certainly was not interested in watching Watergate hearings. So when it was too hot to go outside, we (my sister and I) spent time reading books, playing games, and stitching designs on dish cloths for our Mom, going to friends houses, talking on the telephone (that was plugged into the wall). I didn't have a lot of art supplies like paint or clay or access to a kiln back then. I can only imagine what I would have done if I had had that! (After I started driving, that's another story!) But now I am never 'bored' or have 'nothing' to do. I have paint, colored pencils, and clay to create my little houses and buildings and accessories. So this summer will be filled with some creative time, mixed with time to relax and watch some TV (not much), even though there are 100s of stations on the TV now, and internet time (which I love), and maybe even a little cleaning around the house (not too much).

What did you do during your summer break...back in your day?

Beth♥

More experiments with textures

2011-06-12T22:58:00.090-05:00

Just thought I would show an experiment before I show current projects. Currently I'm working on some custom clay tiles that aren't finished, then I have some
pen and ink custom home portraits. So for now I will show a project that I worked on a few months ago. Along with my students, I have been experimenting with mixed media paintings. I tend to be very detailed with colored pencils and pen and ink, so I love the looseness of working with torn papers and modeling paste for textures and layering the variety of media allowing for previous layers to show through in places. Here is a piece that I experimented with, although I still feel like its not quite finished. The roof of the house needs another section on the right side. Although I was going for whimsical, it looks a little off balanced, so I am going to add a little more to it.

Some of the layers include: paint, then torn papers with architectural details and musical notes, tissue paper (crinkled up), black pastel for sketch, more paint, more layers, more paint. I didn't take photos as I went. I really need to start taking photos along the way. But here are some close ups so you can see the layers and the textures.

Enjoy the process!

Beth♥

Blog or Website?

2011-06-09T11:35:00.113-05:00

HeartHomes

...or both? If I want to market my art, what is the most effective use of my time and money? I have been blogging for several years now. Before I discovered the blogging world, I was journaling about my art on my computer, which no one saw except me. Then I found blogs and it took me awhile to get the courage to actually start my own. I really didn't think I had anything to say, much less anyone would want to read about it. Well, along the way I did pick up some readers and met some very nice artists. I have no idea how much this blog is actually read, but for me its still more about journaling about what I'm doing with my art. I'm not sure that it has any effect on marketing my art, but I guess it gets my work seen by some people, at least. Being from a small town, there are no art galleries or local places that sell original art. (That's the subject for another blog post.) I do have online shops where I sell my artwork and I have links on the sidebar of this blog, set up to both of my Etsy shops, Hearthomes, where I sell my little clay houses, and BMacre, which I sell my pen and ink drawings and other drawings and paintings. I also set up a page on Facebook to display my artwork, which has brought in some business from local people, which is great! It has always been hard for me to talk about myself and show what I do either because (1) I feel like no one is interested, or (2) it feels a little like showing off. But I can't sell my work if I don't show it to people, right? ...This is why I did not go into sales, but I'm learning.

Custom Pen and Ink
House Portrait

So my dilemma is, should I have a website? Do people actually go look at websites that stay the same for long periods of time? How often do websites get changed? So far, having the blog and facebook page has worked for me. I can very easily add pictures of what I am working on currently. But would a website make a difference? I have a free website with WIX, but it is very limited on what I can add to it. And it needs updating if I keep it. But I think that if I have a website, I will be using my domain name. Problem is, I just don't know how to set up a website, or the time to learn anything very difficult.

If you have any thoughts on this subject, I would like to hear your comments.

Beth♥

Time to Straighten Up the Studio!

2011-06-04T17:45:00.026-05:00

Now that school is officially out, I have plans to get into my own studio and get creative. Before I can do that, I must get it organized though. Or at least put things away. Summer will be over before I know it! I have several projects that are waiting to be started, plus I have several that I want to work on. Shown is a sample of a few houses that I was able to work in over the last few weeks. I've also been experimenting with different accessories, like the fencing. So, I hope to get to work soon. Now off to straighten up the studio.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Beth♥

One more week...

2011-05-28T10:38:00.042-05:00

...and I will have more time to sleep, play with clay, draw, paint, and maybe even take some time to clean the house and paint my studio! I've been avoiding that last one for a long time now. If you knew how much stuff is in my studio, you would understand! If you are an artist, you understand! It is definitely due for a good clearing out of things that I don't use anymore, but that takes time to go through and decide what to do with those things that are perfectly good art supplies!

Mixed Media Collage
Acrylics, paper, and feathers

So for now, I will just share a couple of photos of projects that I have been working on at school with my students. The Altered Book project is a work in progress. And the Mixed Media Project might be finished. You never know when I may decide that it needs something else.
Have a great weekend!
Beth♥

Altered Book pages
Some progress...but not complete

Adding a New Blog...

2011-05-21T20:06:00.001-05:00

...to my list of things to do! Yes, I know what you are thinking, if you have kept up with this blog! When do you have time to keep up another blog? Right, well sometimes I get so busy with school related stuff that I don't have time to work on my own art, but there are so many cool things that my students are working on and I wanted to have a place to share some of those things. I also create projects for demonstrations for my students, so I think this new blog will be a better place to post those pictures. So this new blog , Mrs. Macre's Art Room, is going to be about what goes on in my Art Class. I have been teaching for 28 years, and so many people that I know have no idea what we do, or how talented my students can be. So I hope that you will check it out occasionally. Right now it only has one post, but I hope to go back through my files and add some pictures from the past and add new things as we go.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Beth♥

Yellow Rubber Duck ATC

2011-05-20T06:00:00.003-05:00

Yellow Rubber Duck ATC
Colored Pencil on UArt paper
Beth S. Macre © 2009

Just thought I would share a colored pencil piece that I did over a year ago, but never posted it, for some reason. Anyway, I painted a dog portrait for my niece with the yellow rubber ducky. I enjoyed painting it so much that I drew it for an ATC exchange a while back. At the time, I planned to do some more things using the Rubber ducky theme, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I think I will try to do something with soon.

Have a great Friday!
Beth♥

It Makes a Village...

2011-05-18T21:55:00.058-05:00

...well, if I put together all of the little houses that I have made over the last 2 years, I would have a pretty good size village! I haven't had much time to make many new houses lately, but I did manage to get a few done this month. Two of these are now listed in my Etsy shop. The third was a custom order. I will be working on more new ones very soon. I am also working on some new accessories to add to the collection.

Miniature Clay Heart Home

The last one shown here, is a custom ordered Heart Home. The customer showed me one that she wanted hers to look like, but she wanted it personalized. I have a custom order listing in my Etsy shop for larger houses or I can create a custom listing for my customers who want to order special details to a smaller heart home or add some extra accessories that I do not have listed.

Custom Order that is Personalized on the side.

Beth♥

Countdown until School is Out for the Summer!

2011-05-14T13:26:00.002-05:00

Letter Heart Magnets

...11 more days with students (I'm not counting the weekends!), plus 3 days after that for teacher in-service and wrapping up the school year. Seniors finished up their tests earlier this week, so it has been a little quieter around the school. So I am ready for summer break to get here so I can get started on my 'to do' list. Each year I make a list of things to do. Some get done, some don't, because the break goes by so fast! And next year we will be starting back to school a week earlier, so the break will go by even faster! But, I plan to use a lot of my time working on art projects and getting my studio re-organized. It looks like a hurricane went through it. Maybe I will post before and after photos! We'll see. I have several things to list in my Etsy shop. Mostly little houses and little heart magnets. I paint letters on the little hearts and put a magnet on the back. I'm going to list these in my Etsy shop as soon as I can. I will be taking special orders for these as well. So if you see a color or design that you like, but need a different letter, just send me a 'convo' through my Etsy shop or my Facebook page. I will be happy to make you one or several!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
Beth♥

Mother's Day Rest...

2011-05-08T15:46:00.034-05:00

Custom Pen and Ink House Portrait
Beth S. Macre © 2011

I guess I could have taken my husband up on the offer to go to J'town and go out to eat, but honestly, I just wanted to spend my Mother's day doing nothing. Well, nothing except relax at home. So that is what I'm doing. I felt like I just needed some time to relax! I've spent the last several weeks rushing around trying to get things done for work and I actually feel like I can rest today without feeling guilty about not working on something on my 'To Do list'.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were at the Dunwoody Art Festival, in Georgia. We had a wonderful time and I would love to be there this weekend too, but it just didn't work out for this year. It's probably a good thing that it didn't work out, because I have been working, it feels like, non-stop, on commissions, as well as school projects.

One of my latest pen and ink portraits is posted here. It is a house that is going to be moved or torn down to make room for a new house, so the customer wanted it to be preserved in a drawing. I completed another pen and ink portrait, just yesterday, that I will post later. It was a commissioned piece for Mother's Day, so I will wait a bit.
Hope you are having a wonderful Mother's Day, doing what you want to the most!

Have a great weekend!

Beth♥

District Wide Art Show

2011-04-29T22:38:00.051-05:00

So another hectic week has passed. Thursday was the 2nd annual district-wide art show. All of the art teachers at the different levels collect their best artwork throughout the year and display them all together. We also feature entertainment by the districts choirs, bands, and the ballroom dance students at the high school. We had a great turnout of parents, students, teachers and people from the community. I was exhausted from hanging the show, then attending the event, then taking everything down. The artwork had to be taken down last night, because the multi purpose building is also being used for the Prom this weekend, so decorations had to be finished today. But it is all worth it for the community to see what talent our students have.

Art 3 and 4 Artwork

Art 2 Artwork

3D artwork and Classroom Mural
by 8th graders...students of Ms. Barnard

Me with the Middle School Art Teacher, Ms. Barnard

Our Superintendant speaking with one of our City Councilman.

BHS Students Admiring Artwork...and posing for the camera!

So this is what I worked on all week and wore myself out! Looking forward to spending the next week with my Seniors for the last time! Always bittersweet!

Have a great weekend!

Beth♥

Colored Pencil Workshop

2011-04-16T15:45:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I attended a colored pencil workshop in Memphis. The workshop instructor was Toni James. She is an amazing portrait artist from Arizona, and I am fortunate enough to be friends with her, so she agreed to come to Memphis to do a workshop for our chapter. I love to go to workshops and learn new techniques, but her techniques I really think that I will make use of. I haven't done alot of colored pencil drawing lately, because of all of the pen and ink house commissions that I've been doing. But colored pencils are one of my favorite mediums and I hope to get more practice using them and actually do some portraits.

(and yes...I am tall and she is short! In that photo, it looks like I'm almost a full head taller! )

Toni is a natural teacher and did a wonderful job explaining and demonstrating exactly how she creates the beautiful portraits that she does. She is shown above starting her demo on the eye that we worked on day one. I was very pleased with the results that I achieved. And I think that everyone there was too.

Memphis Chapter CPSA
End of Day 1
Toni James Workshop

On another note, school will be out in about 7 weeks for me. I cannot wait to really get alot done this summer in my art studio. I may even finish painting the walls in here. But who wants to stop to paint the walls when you can create other stuff like portraits, houses, and just spend time thinking of new things to do!?

Have a great weekend!

Beth♥

Pen and Ink and More

2011-04-08T08:32:00.001-05:00

Sorry for such a long pause between posts. I've been trying to stay caught up with everything else that needs my attention. I just finished 2 pen and ink drawings and need to start 3 more! School is beginning to wind down. We are looking at our last 8 weeks of school. Much of that time is used for state testing and getting the seniors ready for their departure! And trying to keep them on task! The seniors come down with an 'illness' called senioritis..and about now it ready starts to get more intense. They see the end of this road and are a little panicky trying to figure out which road to take after graduation! And I can't blame them. It is such a serious and important decision.

I'm on my way to a Colored Pencil Portrait Workshop with Toni James this weekend and I'm really looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend!

Beth♥

Altered Book Project Update and Spring Break

2011-03-24T09:54:00.000-05:00

Well Spring Break is more than half over. I haven't worked much on art yet, but the rest of the week will be devoted to creative time. The first half of the week(and weekend), was taken up with time spent visiting family. It was nice to get out of town for a few days, but as always, it was nice to get home. Yesterday I spent some time adding some things to my Etsy shop. I have several things to add, but each one takes time, so I have to work on a few at a time.

Spring is officially here and I finally saw some trees and daffodils blooming this week. The weather has been nice, but it is supposed to change tomorrow and get cooler. So it will be easy to stay inside and work on art related projects! But I will be looking for more signs of Spring and warmer weather to come.

I mentioned in an earlier post, that one of my classes is working on Altered Book projects. These are made from discarded books and can be made into anything you can imagine. They could be made into journals, scrapbooks, or simply a work of art. Here are some photos of more of my pages from the altered book project. This is definitely a project to work on over time (at least for me). I have painted and glued together more pages. Some pages are completely painted, some are painted partially allowing the text and illustrations to show through the paint.

This is the Title Page of the Book, "Drawing with Ink". I have painted a glaze over both pages allowing some of the text and illustrations from the book to show through. This is just step 1. I will be adding more things to these pages as I go.

Step One: Starry Night Page

These two pages were simply painted blue with some swirls. There was an image of a handprint on the right side page that I allowed to show through the paint.

Step Two: Starry Night Page

Here I have glued an image and some text that was on one of the pages that I removed from the book. It is an illustration of Vincent Van Gogh with some biographical info. in the text. I tore the edges to roughen up the look. I will be adding more to these pages in the future and I will post some updated pictures when I do.

Tips for altering books (so far):

~ remove several pages throughout the book. The pages will get thicker as you add paint and glue things onto the pages. This will help keep the thickness of the book manageable. You will probably want it to close when its finished. I removed pages that did not have elements that I want to use in my design and I removed some with images that I will glue onto other pages.

~ glue some pages together to create a more rigid surface to paint on. Look for images or text that can be used in your design. You can cut 'windows' in some pages to allow the next page to partially show through.

~ Take photos of the book before you begin...I forgot to do that! And more photos as you go. I like to look at the progress and it helps to have step by step photos when teaching a new project. This is my first altered book, so I need examples to show my students. I also have some books that shows altered book techniques, to show my students.

I'm working on more pen and ink drawings this week. I will post photos when I finish the set of 2 drawings. I finished this one a few weeks ago.

Pen and Ink Home Portrait
8 x 10 inches

Thanks for looking!

Beth♥

Looking for Spring Break and Spring Weather!

2011-03-12T12:25:00.005-06:00

One more week until spring break and I'm really looking forward to having a little break. Even though I have alot to do during the break and before then. This week was the last week of the quarter at school, so I've been busy grading papers while keeping the students on task with their current projects. They are ready for a break too, so no explanations necessary on how hyper most of the students are! I am also looking forward to some warmer weather! Its been so cool and damp lately. I now some sunshine will bring along with it some energy and motivation! I've been really wanting to get into some clay lately, but haven't had the time, so I'm going to make the time today.

Before I go off to the studio though, I was reading through some blogs that I follow and found a post on one that mentions that their is a 'widget' that you can post Treasuries from Etsy, on your blog. This is news to me, so I thought that I would try it out also. My little houses have been featured in a lot of treasuries lately and I really appreciate all of the Etsy members who include me in their treasuries!

Thanks for looking!

Beth♥

Here is one of the latest treasuries.

Altered Book Experiments and More

2011-03-06T15:06:00.001-06:00

I just finished another pen and ink commission and have 3 more waiting to be started. Commissions are good. Lack of time to play and experiment makes me sad. Spring Break is in two weeks! I'm hoping that that break will give me a boost of motivation! This dreary, rainy weather has me in a funk this weekend. So I thought I would post a picture of my pink dog sculpture to add something whimsical. As a project in one of my classes, we made sculptures out of plaster strips. As a demo for the project, I created this dog. I didn't take pictures as I created her. She looked pretty rough at first and I didn't think she would make it to the final stage, but I think the pink color and the face added just what she needed. Some of my students named her Rex, but we later decided on Roxy after she was painted pink! Later I will post a picture of some of their projects, if they want them posted online.

Another project that we are working on is Altered Books. I was able to get ahold of some old books that were being discarded from the library. I collected several stacks with the idea of doing a class project with altered art books. I'm showing a few shots of the altered book that I have been working on. My advanced art class is working on this altered book project as an ongoing project for the rest of the semester, as they have time. I am trying to work on one with them, when I have a little time. They see me working on projects that they do and that helps to inspire them with what they can do with their books. They also inspire me, so it works both ways. This is a new medium to me and it reminds me alot of mixed media collage, but in a book format. I have seen some examples that artists used a journals along with their artwork. So it looked pretty interesting to me and I hope to finish it, but it may take awhile, with all of the other projects that I need to be working on. I'll post more photos as I go.

The first photo shows the book cover that I have already painted. I plan to add some more things to the cover later. The second photo is the inside of the back of the book that I painted. The old library checkout card and pocket are painted also. I didn't want to remove them. I wanted them to be part of the art.

Thanks for looking!

Beth♥

Latest Hearthomes from the Kiln

2011-02-23T20:24:00.000-06:00

Just thought I would share photos of the houses that came out of the kiln this morning.

I need to get busy making more houses. My stock is getting low!

I will be listing all of these houses in my Etsy shop over the next few days.

Thanks for looking!
Beth♥

Artist Spotlight - Tim Hunter

2011-02-19T10:25:00.001-06:00

By Tim Hunter © 2011
ATC in Colored Pencil

I wanted to share the illustration that I received in the mail a few days ago. I asked an online artist friend to create an illustration of me. He makes the cutest illustrations and I hope that he will be illustrating a children's book someday! So I sent him some sketches that I had done and he took those and added his touch and this is what he came up with. I think its perfect! If you know me, you know that the glasses on top of the head are perfect! They are either on my head or on the tip of my nose. Those that know me also know that I wear alot of turtlenecks and light blue is one of my favorite colors! Pink is also one of my favorite colors and he added the pink scarf, which I thought was perfect too.
Tim Hunter is the artist/illustrator of this little gem. Check out his Etsy shop: Timbo's Art and Hambo's Stamps where he and his wife Monica create and sell Rubber and Digital Stamps. Hope you will check out both of his sites.

This illustration is ATC size, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, done in colored pencil and ink.

I think it is important to support, not only handmade, but American made. So please consider supporting the creative individuals that are working very hard to make a living, or just to supplement their incomes. And understand that an artist works as hard to create, as your local professionals that you hire and pay good money for their services.

Support an Artist Today!
Beth ♥

Hearts and Clay

2011-02-14T19:45:00.000-06:00

So Valentines Day has come and almost gone. These holidays always sneak up on me. But my little houses all have hearts on them, so I have sent many of them off to new homes over the last few weeks. So I will be busy making more little houses to restock my Etsy shop! Which is a good thing!

Me in front of my Artwork on display at Bennetts Nursery in Jonesboro.

My display includes my colored pencil artwork also.

Last week I attended the artist reception for the opening of the "Love of Art" Show in Jonesboro. The weather had been terrible most of the week with snow and extremely cold weather, but Thursday turned out to be warm enough to melt away alot of the snow. So we traveled to Jonesboro for the opening. I'm glad that we were able to go. I met some very nice people, including several artists who are displaying their art in the show also. The show will be up until March 10th.

Happy Valentines Day!

Beth

What makes You Smile?

2011-02-02T16:56:00.000-06:00

I got an email today from the writer of this blog called Bunny's Carrots . She said that my little houses make her smile. That is exactly what my intentions are with my little houses! So its always nice to hear from people who get that feeling from my houses. So thank you to Amanda at Bunny's Carrots for featuring my houses on her blog today, along with the little houses from The Little Red Door Etsy Shop.

This month my HeartHomes Shop on Etsy has been busier than I expected. I thought after Christmas that things may slow down a bit, but I have been pleasantly surprised to be wrong! I have sold several of my hearthomes and I have several pen and ink orders for this spring to start working on. Plus I am getting ready for the show in Jonesboro. I need to finish the latest batch of houses for the show.

So, what kind of art makes you smile? Do you like realistic art, whimsical art, abstract art? Do you want art just to hang on the wall? Or do you like 3D art to display? I would love to hear your opinions!

What makes you smile?
Beth

Featured on CAAT Team Blog

2011-01-29T11:20:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard of Etsy before, then you should check it out! There are thousands of unique sellers on Etsy. But Etsy is a place for handmade work by artists and craftsmen/women to sell their work. If you have read this blog before, you probably know that I have 2 shops on Etsy. One is call HeartHomes and the other was my first shop, Beth's Art and Clay Designs.

I am a member of a team on Etsy called CAAT which stands for 'Complimentary Art and Things'. It is a team that helps to showcase and promote artists that sell their art on Etsy. Today I am being featured on the team blog. I hope you will check it out and the other artists in the group!

CAAT TEAM BLOG

Hope you enjoyed my feature! And thanks to the Caat Team
Beth

Bennett's Love of Art Show

2011-01-22T09:21:00.000-06:00

I will have some of my art on display and for sale at Bennett's Nursery in Jonesboro, AR February10th through March 10th. There will be other artists works on display as well, so I hope you will stop by and shop for some beautiful and original art! There will be an opening reception on February 10th, from 7 PM to 9 PM.

I will add more information closer to the opening.

Have a nice day!
♥ Beth ♥

Did I mention that I Love Snow?

2011-01-21T22:54:00.001-06:00

I have another long weekend, thanks to the snow day that we got today. The snow started falling Thursday around noon. Once the sleet and freezing rain switched over to snow, our students really started getting excited and totally focused on when they would let us out of school. Of course, most of our students have little experience driving on the frozen stuff, so I had to agree that we needed to let school out before the roads got too bad. Finally the word came that school would let out at 2:20. That's less than an hour early, but I guess its better than the usual 3:15. I went out to my car to clear off the windows about 1:30, but had to clear them off again at 2:25 when I was leaving the school.. The snow was coming down pretty fast. Well, I'm sure that I've mentioned before that I do LOVE snow! I love to watch it snow, I love to photograph the snow...I just love it. But I do know that I would not love to live in the North where they have to shovel the snow, because it doesn't melt before the next snow. Around here, it snows, we enjoy looking at it for a few days, if we are lucky, and then it melts. We may get one or two good snows (where everything is covered with the white stuff) during a good winter. The sun came out for a little while this morning, but don't let the road fool you, it was covered with ice. The temps were very cold last night, so the roads were pretty slippery this morning.

So Friday, on my snow day, I just felt like taking it easy and enjoying the time off. Saturday, I hope to be able to spend the day working on some art projects that are waiting for me.

Hope you have time to be creative this weekend,
Beth

I've been featured!

2011-01-20T18:53:00.000-06:00

I've been featured in a blog called "The Redheads Homestead'. Susan is a fellow artist on Etsy and has featured my blog on her blog. She sent me some questions to answer, so if there is anything that you ever wanted to know about my Etsy shop and my inspiration, well you can find it here.

You can visit Susan's Etsy Shop here, Susan Williams Designs, where she sells her beautiful jewelry designs, so go take a look!

Thanks, Susan, for the feature!
Beth

Long Weekend for Creating!

2011-01-15T10:33:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to have a long weekend to have extra time for creating! The cold weather is slowing down my productivity! I've been spending more time wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, but I need to get busy creating! I'm hoping for some warmer weather and sunshine soon. I have worked on some clay houses this week and will be working on more soon. I have a few orders of pen and ink house portraits to work on over the next few weeks. I would love to pull out my colored pencils and work on something different, but that will have to wait. I'm signing up for a couple of art events to show my work in February, so I need to stop hibernating and start creating.

Check out the hanging hearts that I have created. Valentines Day is coming up!

Have a nice weekend!
♥ Beth ♥

New Year, Fresh Start

2011-01-04T21:03:00.002-06:00

I don't make New Years resolutions, but I do love a fresh start and the prospect of new opportunities. Last year was definitely a busy year in all aspects of my life. My art has kept me extremely busy at the same time my teaching job has kept me extremely busy. The busy season leading up to Christmas was especially good, for which I am thankful for. But for now, I am taking things a little slower for a few weeks. I realized that I must take time off to recharge. School started back Monday, so I'm back to work with my students which is very inspiring to me. So I'm looking forward to new ideas and making some decisions and looking for new opportunities.

Hope you have many blessings and opportunities in 2011!
Beth

Resting and Reflecting on 2010

2010-12-28T14:14:00.001-06:00

Pen and Ink Commission
Beth S Macre© 2010

Well its been awhile since I posted in my blog. Its been a very hectic 2010, but especially leading up to Christmas. I was commissioned to do several pen and ink home portraits for Christmas. Although I love doing them, the added pressure of getting them all done in time for Christmas on top of working full time, was stressful to say the least! I hope to do more in the future, just not all right before Christmas!
2010 has been a busy one and I will be happy to say goodbye to 2010 and hope for a less stress filled 2011. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and hoping the economy will keep getting better and better!

I hope everyone has a great New Year and stay safe and close to your loved ones.
Beth

Peace Painting

2010-12-06T17:53:00.000-06:00

Peace...don't we all wish for Peace. Peace in the world, peace at home, peace at work, or simply peace in our hearts. This is something that I pray for every day. Somedays I have it, some days, not so much. But to me, a freshly fallen snow is about the closest to Peace as I can be.

So, the studio in Searcy, Second Saturday Studio, asked the artists to create a piece that illustrates the word Peace. This painting will be on display and for sale December 11th at the Studio in Searcy, Arkansas. I thought I would experiment with mixed media, texture, but also include a home, which seems to be my favorite subject. Here are a couple of photos of the painting, as it was finished. The second photo was taken from the side, so you can see, the texture and the fact that the painting wraps around the
side of the canvas.

So, I hope you find Peace daily, but especially this season.
Beth

Black Friday Sale in my Etsy Shop

2010-11-26T11:50:00.001-06:00

I decided to have offer a discount in my Etsy Shop in celebration of

Black Friday/weekend. So this coupon code is good today through

Monday at midnight!

Etsy just introduced coupon codes for Etsy shops that wish to participate.

I am offering a 10% discount on all items in my Hearthomes shop and in my original Etsy shop bmacre shop for the entire weekend. These shops have my clay houses and tiles, paintings, and pen and ink drawings. For a 10% discount,

before shipping, use this coupon code... IHEARTHOME ... Pre-made
items are guaranteed for Christmas delivery with payment. Custom orders
cannot be guaranteed for Christmas delivery because of the time needed
to create and make. Again, CUSTOM ORDERS will not be ready in time for Christmas. So do not order custom orders unless it is for a date AFTER mid January!

So stop by HeartHomes.etsy.com or bmacre.etsy.com see if there is anything that you would like to purchase!

Have Fun Shopping This Weekend...
Beth

Thanksgiving Week

2010-11-21T17:28:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that it is already Thanksgiving week! Only two days to work the day job this week, but I have plenty to work on. I now have 5 pen and ink commissions to get done by Christmas, plus a some custom clay houses that I need to finish before Christmas.! So yes, I am getting a little overwhelmed with all that I have to finish! The pressure is on. I can't share the pen and ink that I am working on now, because it is for a Christmas gift for a local family. Don't want to give anything away. I guess the only piece that I can share right now is a Pen and Ink of a local church that I drew as a commission and has already been delivered.

So, I am very thankful to have all of these projects in the works. Hope you have alot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Beth

The Holiday Rush has begun!

2010-11-13T19:48:00.000-06:00

Pen and Ink
Commission 2010

This is my latest commission. All of those windows was really a challenge, but I finally got them done! I've even finished another pen and ink commission since I finished this one. Now on to the next 4 commissions! Love the commissions, just wish I were doing this full time, not moonlighting! One of these days.
Have a nice weekend!
Beth

Juggling plates...

2010-10-24T10:57:00.001-05:00

I am juggling creative time with my day job and and trying to get some rest. This time of year is so busy at work with parent/teacher conferences, paperwork, lesson plans, after school activities. At the same time, I want to work on my own art and creative projects. My body is telling me to slow down or crash...so I am choosing to slow down for a bit. I will be working on my creative projects though. Those are the ones that heal my mind and body the most. But I have to force myself to get rest. I can't sit still very long and would stay up late at night if I could, but I know that I need more sleep!

Here are a couple of fall paintings that I have worked on this year. I love the colors of fall. These paintings will be in my Etsy shop soon.

The Art Festival Booth Changes

2010-10-05T18:29:00.001-05:00

Norcross ~ October 2010

I have TWO whole art festivals under my belt now! And I have made progress! After the festival that I went to on Mother's Day weekend, last spring, it was suggested to me to work on my booth appearance. I took that great advice, and worked hard to create my new booth look. I knew that it wasn't the most professional looking booth to begin with, but it was the best that we could do for the first show. We really didn't know what to expect or what we were doing. Starting from scratch was hard. But I think it paid off at our second art festival in Norcross. I needed a white tent to lighten up the display and a better way to display my mini houses. So I designed some shelves and asked my talented Dad to build them for me and he really came through and did a great job. I asked my mother to sew some table skirts for the new taller tables that we created from saw horses and boards. She is a very talented seamstress. I think it turned out pretty nice. We will continue to make changes to improve on what we have now. In the 3rd photo, you can see a window behind my booth. Inside that window is a little paper cut out of a house (bottom photo). When we were unpacking our booth the first day at the festival, we saw that house in the window and knew that it was a sign that we were meant to be there that weekend! The house even has a little heart on it...just like my little houses do.

Booth before

My next business goal is to find art shows that are closer to home. The 8 hour drive is really hard to do. So I will be looking for some shows in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri. If you know of any good ones, I'm open to suggestions!

I would love to hear what you think about my booth and if you have any other ideas. I'm still working on making it cuter and easier to pack.

~Beth

Booth After Makeover...
Display table with new shelves and table skirt.

Little House in the Window
(behind my booth)

2010-09-23T21:37:00.001-05:00

Its getting down to the wire now. One more week before we go to our next art festival. We've been getting things ready to go, so I've been a little quiet lately. School started 5 weeks ago so, I've been doing double duty since then. I have been working on my clay tiles and houses, and I've been working on some new paintings to take along. If only I could clone myself to have 'me' stay home to paint, so that I could paint at home and go to my 'day' job!

Come see me in Norcross, Georgia! Oct. 2nd & 3rd!
Beth

New School Year Begins...

2010-08-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

...and I'm already exhausted!

Starting a new school year is always exciting and exhausting! There are so many things that have to be done and standing on a concrete floor all day can be hard on the legs! But its always exciting to see the students come in. Many of them are so excited to be back in art and that makes me feel great! I am so thankful to have so many great students! It makes my job so fun.

Only 5 more weeks to get ready for the art show! So, I have to get busy again this weekend! I finally received my new business cards this week. I ordered some of the mini moo cards a few weeks ago. For some reason the package had to travel many many miles all over the country before they came to my house though! I like the little card size, but I'm NOT extremely happy with the color of some of the photos on the cards. I must go back and check the photos that I submitted, but I don't think they looked quite like they appear on the cards. But they will have to do for this year. Overall they look pretty good. Here are some photos of the cards. I like the little boxes that the cards came in.

If any of you artists have any recommendations or tips for business card printing companies, I would love to hear them!

~ Beth

Norcross Art Festival

2010-08-13T23:43:00.000-05:00

This summer, time has flown by! I am going to be very busy over the next 7 weeks! Not only does school start in a few days, but I am going back to Georgia in October for another great Art Festival. This one is in Norcross, Georgia. I am excited about going, but I do have a lot to do to get ready for it. The Norcross Art Fest will be held October 2nd and 3rd, 2010. I may be a little quiet on here until after this festival, but you will know I am working hard to get ready for this event.

~Beth

Latest from the studio...

2010-08-05T12:59:00.001-05:00

I've been finishing up several projects. I go back to work next week, so I need to get as much done as I can. Here are some of the finished houses that I posted earlier before they were fired.

This summer has gone by so fast! Of course it did start a week later than it should have, but since then its been a big blur. This is already my last full week of time off. I won't call it a vacation because I certainly haven't laid around all summer. I've been working non-stop on art projects...and that is great! But that also makes the time go by so quickly! I do feel like I've been very productive and that is a great feeling! I am getting ready for some art shows this fall, so I need to be productive!

This week I've tried to get caught up on several more projects. Last weekend, I made the drive over to the other corner of the state to visit my daughter. After the weekend of eating out, pedicures, shopping, and just enjoying some time together, I came home ready to get busy in the studio. It was nice to spend time away from home and the studio for a few days, but I have lots to do before school starts.

Last week I spent some time in my class room cleaning out closets and throwing away 'stuff'' . If you are an art teacher, you know how that 'stuff' can pile up quickly! Art teachers are always looking for projects that make use of the 'stuff''! But after being in the same class room for 23 years, it needed a good purging.

Thanks for looking! ~Beth

Photoshop and hands back in clay today...

2010-07-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would post a photo of some of the clay houses I've been working on the past week. There are many more on the drying shelf. These are just a few that I picked out to photograph. They are little larger than the ones that I've been selling. These range from about 3" to 5" tall. Most of the ones before ranged from 2" to 3 1/2" tall. I will still be making those, but I'm also adding this larger size to the 'collection'. The taller one, with the cut out windows, will have an opening in the bottom for a candle. I plan to make a series of those as well.

I am also trying to learn how to do some things on photoshop. I need a new banner on my Etsy shop, so I am trying out some new designs, but I need help with the Photoshop Elements. I have been looking on You Tube for tutorials. There are alot to weed through, but there are some pretty helpful ones. So I've been working on that when I have a little computer time. But I really wish it were easier to use! We didn't have computer classes when I was in college...or at least anything that I can use now! If you know what data punched cards are, then you know what I'm talking about. It seems so ancient, but it was ony about 30 years ago! But that is a whole new post to fill up with 'technology' of the 80's!
So enjoy your PCs and your laptops! They've come a long way!
~Beth

Latest Pen and Ink Drawing and Facebook

2010-07-19T19:30:00.001-05:00

I'm feeling like a broken record this month! I have had more pen and ink commissions come in this month than I have in a few years! This is my latest. I guess that word of mouth is partly the reason for the sudden interest in the pen and ink drawings. But I love it and these little house commissions are only 8 x 10 inches, so they do not take too long to complete.

I also post photos of my latest work on Facebook , on my 'Fan Page' (separate than my personal page). And I have found that it really makes my artwork visible and makes people aware of what I do. So, I have found it beneficial to participate in the 'social networking'. Although, at first, I found it very difficult to post pictures of my work, so publicly! Its still difficult, but its getting easier. Some people that I know from everyday life, have told me that they did not know that I was an artist! So that is a positive thing and I get good feedback on my work from people that I have, or someone that I know has, some connection with.

In other news, I am also still working with clay. I have been accepted to show and sell my work at the Norcross Art Festival in Norcross, GA in October, so I will be busy behind the scenes working on many, many more clay tiles, houses, ornaments, and more! The photo to the left shows some beads that are in the process of being glazed. The beads are added to the hanging houses and ornaments. I will post more photos as I go. I'm beginning to get a little panicky though....I realized the other day that I only have 3 1/2 weeks until I go back to work to my full time teaching job! So I have to get as much done now as I possibly can. I always feel this panic about this time though. Lots to do and not enough time to do it in, but I am so thankful to be able to do what I love.

Stayed tuned for updates! ~ Beth

New Blog and New Pen and Ink

2010-07-14T20:55:00.000-05:00

Image from My New Blog:
View from the Highway

I love to take random photos when I go on trips. I take pictures from stores, signs, scenes from the road (View from the Highway). But those photos just go into my ever expanding digital files on my computer. So I decided that I should share some of my favorites from my travels. So I started this new blog called 'View from the Highway". Those photos do not quite fit into this blog, so from now on, whenever I go on a trip I will be posting those photos into my new blog. If you are interesting in following along with View from the Highway, feel free to 'follow' me over there! Hope to see you over there!

Below is my newest Pen and Ink commission.

Pen and Ink on Smooth Bristol Paper
8 x 10

Pen and Ink House Drawing

2010-07-08T14:10:00.001-05:00

Private Commission ~ Pen and Ink

8 X 10 Pen and Ink in Frame

I've drawn a few homes and businesses over the years. Many of them have been done with black pen. This one is my most recent home drawing commission. I have 2 more orders that I will be working on over the next week. I love drawing houses and architectural structures, as you can probably tell by looking at my artwork. Many buildings, parts of buildings, plus the many little houses that I have created out of clay. Yeah, I probably should have been an architect. But I didn't go that route. Sometimes I wish that I had, but this is pretty interesting to draw and paint and sculpt them. So a realtor, who happens to be my neighbor, commissioned me to do this drawing for her client, and she has ordered 2 more drawings. So you will be seeing more pen and ink artwork soon.

As for the supplies that I use, I prefer a smooth acid free paper (this one is Strathmore Smooth Bristol 100 lb.) and I use a variety of black pens, but for commissioned artwork, I use either Zig Millennium, or Pigma Micron, in different sized tips. Both of these types of pens are acid free, lightfast, and waterproof. So these drawings should last and last!

So enjoy and I hope to show you more next week!

~Beth

Go Hogs Go!

2010-07-04T15:52:00.000-05:00

For the Razorback Lovers
Order a personalized Hog ornament

It won't be long before football season is here and Razorback Stadium will be filling up with thousands of Razorback fans! I am currently taking orders for a Hog Ornament, similar to this one, that can be personalized. The ornaments are glazed on both sides. Colors can be changed, filled in, whatever. If you have any other ideas, just ask! Many people have very creative ideas that I haven't thought about!

I can make them larger, smaller, heart shapes, square... pretty much whatever shape. I make each one from wet clay, so I am flexible! You can send me an email here. Or contact me through Facebook or My Etsy shop.

Thanks for looking!

~Beth

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

So many choices!

2010-07-01T14:49:00.004-05:00

For several years I have considered myself to be a colored pencil artist. But being the art teacher by day, I have to be familiar with many different materials to introduce to my students. Which also means that I get to experiment with many different materials! Which can be really fun! I still work alot with my colored pencils, but over the last few years I have begun to work alot with clay and mixed media and collage. I bought some painting mediums for my students a couple of years ago, to mix with acrylic paints to add texture. Many of my students really loved the paint mediums, as I do. At first we just experimented. But I have come to love how they can add texture to the acrylic paints. The sample to the right is my first experiment/demo with the paint that I mixed with Goldens Molding Paste. I got a sample pack of the different textures that are available in the Goldens, so I don't remember if this was the Light Gel, or the Extra Heavy Gel. It also has some tissue paper painted/layered in there to get another texture. While it was drying, I also applied some objects that had textures on them, to get more of a variety of textures. This one is not finished at this point though. I plan to get it out one of these afternoons and add more texture.

The sample to the left is one that I did this year where I demonstrated getting the texture down...not really knowing at first what I was going to do with it. This was an abandoned canvas that had pink painted allover. So I partially covered it with blue.

Then, I decided to add the shape of a house, to add to my house theme collection! I didn't have an acrylic painting of one of my little houses. After adding layers of paint, I decided it needed more embelishments, so I created some 3D pots of flowers out of clay. After glazing and firing, I glued them to the canvas. I think it needs some more work with some detail or added dimension somewhere. So it is a work in progress. You may see it again someday.

This summer, I plan to play around a lot more with the mixed media materials. Mixed media really seems to be a popular technique with artists today. I have been seeing more and more magazines, blogs, workshops and websites that showcase some really cool mixed media art.

So many choices...and not enough time! I have old books! I could alter them, I could cut out of them and use parts of pages! I can create some printed text with my computer printer! But I also need to making lots of little houses and some new things that I'm thinking about. So there's never enough time! But that is a great feeling to have alot of ideas jumping around in there.

I hope to show some of my progress with a variety media and techniques this summer. So many things to do, not enough time in a day for me to play!

I'm off to play in the studio. Have a nice day!
~Beth

Patience and passion...

2010-06-26T00:33:00.002-05:00

Scribbler Too
Cool onine sketch tool

...are two qualities that are wonderful to have plenty of! Its great when both seem to be running along smoothly. When I feel passion for what I am currently creating, then I seem to have plenty of patience. But if I am feeling impatience with something in my life, then the passion doesn't seem to flow as smoothly. For many years I have had passion for art. I love to look at it, buy it, collect it, study how it is made! Although I can't afford expensive art, I really love to own original works of art, expecially by artists who I have connected with through online forums, art meetings, and other chance encounters. I have a small collection started that I hope to add to each year. I am passionate about creating art too. I have plenty of patience when it comes to working on even the most tedious tasks, if it is a creative and artistic outlet. I get impatient when I don't have enough time to create! Some people find comfort in creating art when things in their life are not going smoothly. But for me, when things in my life are not going smoothly, my passion for creating suffers. Right now is one of those times. I'm not good with life changes, and I have to remember to be patient and keep my passion flowing. I have to remember that life is always changing and to keep on creating and hopefully those changes that have been worrying me and taking my creative time away, will work out very soon!
Check out the ScribblerToo site where I played around and created this little abstract design and the little house. It was lots of fun and I plan to use it for sketching ideas. You can even save them on your computer and add color, text, etc. Just have fun with it!

Stay positive and believe in yourself!
Have a wonderful weekend!
~Beth

Reunions and Summer Breaks...

2010-06-21T23:52:00.000-05:00

...are some of the greatest things! Summer break started for me 2 weeks ago and I've been to 2 reunions. One was just a weekend of close friends from high school and good times...the other was an actual high school reunion for 5 years of classes from 1975-79! Yes, it was 1978 when I graduated high school. Gee things have changed so much since then, but the high school reunion brings back memories like it was just a few years ago!
So now that I'm back from traveling, I have to get down to business. I will be traveling back to Georgia in the fall to participate in the Norcross Art Fest in October! I'm pretty excited about it. We had so much fun going to Dunwoody last spring, that we decided it would be worth the trip to go back for the Norcross Art Fest. It is such a nice area.

Old Friends and Week One of Summer Break...

2010-06-11T12:12:00.000-05:00

...has begun. Last Friday was my last day of the school year for teachers. Friday afternoon I traveled to Alabama to spend the weekend with my long time girlfriends. Six of us have stayed in touch since Junior High School. Half of them were actually in elementary school together, but all of us have known each other since high school. Over the years, some of us have moved away to live our lives, but stayed in touch. Sometimes we didn't talk often, but when we get together again, its like there was never a break in our connections. We spent the entire weekend talking, laughing, eating, reminiscing and just enjoying our time together. We promised to continue this as our new annual tradition. We have all turned 50, or will, this year, so we all realize how important it is to stay connected to our closest friends. It was so comforting to be with people who have known me since I was the young, shy, carefree girl that I was in the 70s and 80s! Before the responsibilities of children and jobs and married life. So you can expect to see more of the influences from those relationships in the future. The 'girls' all loved my little houses and all went home with at least one! So they are very supportive of the artist part of my life. Some of them even benefited from my art while we were in art class in high school! Thank you Girls!

So for the first week of summer break, I am catching up with some chores around the house and just relaxing a little bit and planning some projects for my time in the studio! Looking forward to getting a lot accomplished over the next 2 months! Hopefully life will cooperate with me.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Beth

The Last Week of School...

2010-05-31T10:37:00.000-05:00

...is this week. We have 4 more days to make up from our snow days. So this should be our first week of summer but its not. I will be getting back to the studio full time next week. For now, I'm currently still listing new things in my Etsy shop and finishing up the school year. I am also working on creating a website that I hope to get up soon. So for now...

...Have a great Memorial Day!

~Beth

'It takes a Village'...

2010-05-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

Row Houses
On Etsy

Create a Village
with HeartHomes

Lime Green HeartHome
On Etsy

...well I can make a village! I love to create these little houses and never run out of ideas to add little details. Shown above are a set of Row Houses that I recently added to my Etsy shop. Also shown are several houses and other buildings that I've created. I've even created some trees to go with the houses or village, if you decide to collect some houses. I've sold most of the trees that I made, so as soon as school is out next week, I'm going to start making some new accessories like the trees. I have plenty of houses to list, but need more accessory pieces and other town buildings. I've made churches, a school, and downtown buildings that I will be listing soon too.
One more week of school and I will be finished until August. I'm looking forward to getting into my studio and painting, drawings, and creating more village items. Check back often to see what I'm working on! For now, I'm looking forward to a 3 day weekend.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
~Beth

New layout and new listings...

2010-05-22T16:21:00.000-05:00

Purple Cottage Heart Home Clay Tile
5 x 5 inches
My Etsy

Blue Cottage Heart Home Clay Tile
4 3/4" x 4 3/4"
My Etsy

I am slowly getting back to listing my clay items in my Etsy shop. I listed these two tiles today. They are the most recent tiles that I've created. I love the cottage feel of these two houses. If I could build a house anywhere and anyhow I wanted, it would be a mix of these two houses. And I would build it beside a lake, with a little workshop/studio in the backyard, right beside the pool! Yes, I'm dreaming, but its okay to dream.

Also, I've been playing around with different ideas for the layout of this blog. Its difficult for me to just leave it black. I feel like it needs 'decorating'. So I've added this background from Shabbyblogs.com.

I just love how rough and soft it looks at the same time. So what do you think? Does it work? Is it easy to read and look at?

Where would you go? What is your dream?

~Beth

What's New?

2010-05-16T20:35:00.001-05:00

New hanging HeartHomes that I will be listing on Etsy

The Birdhouse and the Small brown Doghouse are already listed on Etsy. I hope that you will check them out. I started making beads with clay because I wanted to make these ornament houses, but they just didn't look finished hanging by themselves. So I added the little mini dog bones and paw prints for the dog houses. And little birds and eggs to the bird houses. I really like making beads. I think I will be doing more of those.

Have a great week!
~Beth

Slowing down a little...

2010-05-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hanging Birdhouse Hearthome

My Etsy

After the Dunwoody Art Festival last weekend, I had hoped to get some rest this week. But this week my 'day job'...was very busy! As always, the graduating Seniors finished up earlier than the rest of the high school students. Graduation is next Friday, so they had to take their finals last week. Which means the senior grades were also turned in...so between testing the seniors, turning in their grades and doing my usual lesson plans, class instructions, meetings, etc...etc...it was a busy, busy week. I'm very ready for the last week of school to get here! Fortunately we only have 14 more days, including finals! So it will be here soon.

For now, I will be listing several new houses,like the one above, in my Etsy store over the next couple of weeks. I hope to squeeze in some time to work on some new project ideas too. I get very cranky when I'm not able to work on some art projects, whether its clay, painting, or colored pencils. So I will definitely work it in somehow.

On a personal note...my daughter came home to visit this weekend. She seemed upset that I was out of town last weekend, on Mother's Day, so she decided to come home this weekend! Today we had some Mother/Daughter time that was very nice. She took me to to get a manicure and pedicure. She cannot believe that I have never had either before now! I've never really cared about having one before, but I really, really, REALLY enjoyed it! One thing that made it even more enjoyable was the massaging chair that we got to sit in during the pedicure! The whole proces of getting my feet and hands massaged and pampered was JUST what I needed! So this is definitely something that I will try to do again!

How do you pamper yourself? or pamper someone that you love? Hope you are having a blessed weekend!

~Beth

Whew! Now I can breath a little!

2010-05-12T19:40:00.000-05:00

Setting up my booth at Dunwoody, Georgia

A colored pencil friend, Cathy, stopped by!

I've been preparing for the Dunwoody Art Festival for 6 months and now it has come and gone! I had a great time, sold some things, and learned alot! This was my first art festival and I felt like a true amateur...at least in the merchandising aspect of the show! We didn't spend tons on our display, because I really didn't know what to expect or whether we would be doing this again or not. So I have realized that if I do want to do more shows, I need to create a much better display for my booth. My assistant (my husband) and I really enjoyed it, even though it was a lot of work! We are exhausted this week!

There were 148 other artist booths in the show. I believe all of them were excellent at what they do! There were a few rookies there, like me, but many of the other artists were very helpful! They gave me lots of tips and suggestions on what I can to improve my booth. Which is definitely what I need to do.

Although we are looking for art festivals closer to home, we hope to return to Dunwoody next year. The festival was very well organized, with a lot of people coming through! So, thanks to Francis for inviting me to participate in the festival! I really appreciate your interest and support!

My booth needs work, but he kids loved it because the houses were at their eye level!

Check back soon to see what I've been working on!

~Beth

Hanging Mini Houses and More...

2010-04-23T10:27:00.001-05:00

New Hanging Mini Hearthome for the Doggie in the family!

The studio has been full of activity in the past few weeks. I have been working hard trying to get the last of the houses and other items ready for the trip to Georgia on Mother's Day weekend. School has also been busy, so I've been pretty exhausted when its time for bed!

Shown here is one of my new hanging mini hearhomes. This one is inspired by one of the granddogs..Radar. This one looked like a doghouse, so I used colors that look like him. White with light brown spots.

I am making several new hanging homes that I will show in the near future. I am working on displays for the art festival, so I hope to show photos of that soon too.

Have a great weekend!
Beth

New Houses and Grand Opening Pictures

2010-04-13T21:43:00.002-05:00

I took a couple of new size houses with me to the Grand Opening of Second Saturday Studio (SSS). The green one is shown above, and the the blue one is shown below. They are quite a big larger than the small ones, but a lot smaller than the largest ones that I completed about a month ago. I like this size much better. They range from 6 inches to 7 1/2 inches tall. They are much easier to handle, as well as display on a shelf or cabinet.

Below is Christie standing by her beautiful jewelry display. She is another artist that is displaying her art (jewelry) at the studio. I just met her on Saturday and I enjoyed talking with her so much! I look forward to seeing her more in the future. We had a nice walk around the downtown square, where she told me about some of the old places there.

Here is a photo of the studio wall that is filled with paintings.

On our walk around the downtown square, I took several photos with architectural details. They were very interesting. So here is a photo of the beautiful courthouse in downtown Searcy. It is about a half a blog from the SSS.

Below is a photo of me standing next to my paintings and some of my mini houses (in the bags). This is definitely not a flattering photo of me, but I'm going to post it anyway, although I hate it! I must have a talk with my dietitian and trainer! (haha...that would be me and me) I definitely need to start walking 4-5 times per week. We'll see when that will happen. Hopefully I can keep that 75-78 class reunion in mind when exercising.

Just went back and edited this post. I was very tired when I originally typed it! Guess I shouldn't type when I am sleepy!

~Beth

The Grand Opening of Second Saturday Studio...

2010-04-08T22:59:00.000-05:00

...is this Saturday. I will be traveling to Searcy to attend the grand opening day at the Studio. Although it has been open 2 Saturdays already, they are celebrating the Grand Opening of the Studio this Saturday with give aways, food, fun, and lots of beautiful artwork for sale! So I am going to stay with my parents, who live about 30 minutes away, and spend Saturday in Searcy, meeting with the other artists and, hopefully, lots of visitors coming through during the day. I certainly wish all of you lived close enough to come by to visit, but since most of you do not, I will take pictures to share next week.

As an update to what I am doing in the studio, I am still glazing and creating more mini hearthomes, in preparation for the trip to Georgia in May. Tomorrow (Friday) I will be unloading the kiln, that has lots of glazed and unglazed houses, along with lots of student pottery. So it should be fun to unload the kiln in the morning. It is always exciting to open it up to see how the glazed (finished) pieces have turned out!

Have a great weekend and if you are in central Arkansas, please stop by The Second Saturday Studio, in downtown Searcy. I will be there all day!
~Beth

One More Month...

2010-04-01T20:06:00.004-05:00

...until time to go to my first Art Festival as an artist! May 8th & 9th, we will be in Dunwoody, Georgia for my first Art Festival, and also the first Art Festival for the town of Dunwoody. This festival is organized by the same group who organizes a similar Art Festival that is held in Norcross, Georgia in the fall. Check out the website to see the list of artists who will be at the Festival! So it is definitely crunch time for me to finish creating the clay houses that I will be taking to sell at the Art Festival. I hope to do well at this festival. If it is successful, I may continue to participate in this and other festivals in the future. I believe this is one of those opportunities that found me for a reason. In preparation for retirement from teaching in the near future, I am definitely looking for more opportunities to make a living with my art. So look for future blogs about my experiences in preparing for and going to Dunwoody!

Another opportunity that I have come across recently is the Art Cooperative in Searcy, Second Saturday Studio. I recently posted about the Studio that opened up a couple of weeks ago. Two Arkansas artists, Kelly VanHook and Micah Holden, who live in central Arkansas, have organized this space to give Arkansas artists a place to show and sell their art. As artists, it is difficult to find places that are available for artists. So I was very excited to hear about this space. Normally they are open only once a month, but they are going to be open this Saturday, because of a local festival at the college in town. But the big Grand Opening event will be next weekend, April 10th, from 9 am to 5 pm. I will be attending this event and look forward to meeting all of the artists that display at the Studio. If you are in central Arkansas this Saturday, April 3rd, or next Saturday, April 10th, come by the Studio to check out the super Arkansas artwork! They are even starting a gift registry!

Wish me luck in these events, so that I will be able to move toward my goal to become a full time artist by next year!

Good luck in your artistic endeavors! I hope you will stick around to hear more about mine.
~Beth

Finally! A Much needed Spring Break...

2010-03-19T18:40:00.003-05:00

I've been burning the candle on both ends for awhile now, trying to get art ready for multiple artistic events, plus my full time job. It finally caught up with me this week! Monday I began to feel a little achy and my throat started feeling a little scratchy. Then the sneezing joined the list of symptoms. By Tuesday night, it was a full blown cold with the coughing, sneezing, achey, stopped up cloudy head feeling. But no! I don't have time this week to be sick! With 2 parent teacher conference days scheduled for after school on Tuesday and Thursday, it was going to be a long week anyway. Not only the extra time at work, but Friday was a make up snow day for the students. But the students were at school today, the last day before spring break. They were antsy and ready for the break, and I was in no humor for any silly behavior. I did manage to take Wednesday off and pretty much slept the day away on the couch. But I had to be at school yesterday for more parent conferences. Today I felt a little better, but 3:15 did not come fast enough! Finally, after a couple of 'Art' movies and a little painting and colored pencil drawings later, Spring Break has finally begun! Not a minute too soon!

So here's to an art filled Spring Break!

~Beth

Grand Opening Saturday!

2010-03-12T20:39:00.007-06:00

Second Saturday Studio

Opening Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Searcy, Arkansas

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I took some of my art and clay houses to Searcy last weekend to sell in a new shoppe, Second Saturday Studio, that is opening up today. I will not get to go this month because it is a two hour drive from here. Since I was just there last weekend to take my work and get all signed up to participate, it is just too much to go two weekends in a row. I really wish that I lived closer to central Arkansas, where my parents are, but that is another goal that I would like to pursue in the future! Anyway, the paintings shown above are some of the ones that are available in the new shoppe. Both photos show a set of 2 paintings, which can be purchased together or separately. I also have lots of little houses that are shown in the photos on the SSS Blog. They are hanging in bags below the paintings.

Sunday they started featuring the artists who will have their work in the shoppe. And on Monday, they featured me here: Introducing Beth S. Macre!

So I am excited to find out how the Grand Opening goes today! For now the shoppe is only going to be open once a month, but if you want to go in there to look around at another time, all you have to do is call one of the owners, Kelly Van Hook or Micah Holden. Check out the Facebook Fan page here: Second Saturday Studio Fanpage You will find all of the contact information and addresses that you may need if you are interested in visiting the shoppe. There will be a very interesting variety of items that will be for sale in the shop! So, if you are in central Arkansas on the second Saturday of each month, please stop by and see what artistic goodies you will find!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Beth

The Corvette...

2010-03-10T21:48:00.002-06:00

...is parked in the carport. My latest tile was done for a friend. She wanted her house and her car included. So I managed to finally finish this between all the other little houses that I've been working on. I'll post some pictures of the paintings and little houses that I've been working on soon.

2010-03-07T22:01:00.004-06:00

I've been out of town this weekend, visiting family and delivering artwork to a new gallery/art boutique that will be opening soon. The grand opening is this Saturday. I am pretty excited about this. So watch for updates soon about the Second Saturday Studio. I will post some photos of the paintings that will be for sale. If you follow the link to the blog, you can read more about it now.

Stay tuned for more to come! ;-)

~Beth

3 Large Houses Finished!

2010-02-28T11:08:00.004-06:00

These large houses are finally finished and on their way to their new home. I'm going to miss these 3! They are the first 3 large houses that I have created and I tend to become attached to those things that I spend so much time creating, especially the first ones! But they will be well loved where they are going, I'm sure of it.

I'm still working on a variety of little clay creations for the art festival that I will be attending in May. So I will be posting some examples of those soon.

Have a nice week!
~Beth

Fanpage on Facebook...

2010-02-11T21:28:00.004-06:00

Fanpage on Facebook

Beth S Macre

...well I actually did it. I created a fanpage on Facebook. It seems really odd, but I've decided that if I really expect to make a full time business out of my art, I must promote myself. That is one of the hardest things that I've ever done! I have always been well...the quiet, shy one. At least that is how my friends and family used to know me. I do not find it easy to talk about myself, especially in a positive way. However, over the last several years, I have gained more and more confidence in myself and my art. And with being an art teacher for 27 years, I've also learned to get over being shy. I don't think of myself as shy anymore. Quiet yes, but not shy. When I say quiet, I don't mean that I don't talk, I just don't feel the need to talk all the time.

So, with that said, if you want to follow me on Facebook, please do. You certainly will not get inundated with constant updates on my status or invitations to all kinds of things. I do plan to use my Facebook Fanpage to post pictures of what I'm working on currently and give information about where my work will be available to see or to purchase, if one so desires! Many friends and long time aquaintances have not really had any way to know what kind of art that I do create. If you have read this blog very much, you might realize that I have a little ADD...attention deficit disorder...because I work with several different media and a couple of styles. My work ranges from detailed colored pencil drawings, detailed architectural pen and ink studies, to whimsical and some abstract paintings and creations in clay. My clay pieces also tend to lean towards the architectural subjects...mainly houses. I blame my ADD on being an art teacher and the need to learn and teach a variety of subjects, techniques, and media. Depends on what I'm in the mood to work on, or what a customer may have requested.

So, now that I have 'talked' more in one day than I usually do, I hope that you will 'be a Fan'!

And to those who are already followers or fans...
Thanks for your support!
~Beth

Etsy Seller Spotlight!

2010-02-11T18:41:00.003-06:00

Papercut Kitchen

on Etsy

If you are looking for some cute, cute pre-made scrapbooks, scrapbook covers, mini albums, or even a custom silhouette, then this shop is one you should check out! She also makes some very cute and stylish bracelets that are made of recycled paper. She also sells a variety of boxes, tags, and other paper craft items. I ordered some Christmas gift tags from her and they are sooo cute! I can't wait to use them next Christmas. I was also the lucky winner of the recipe box shown above in a recent give away that she held to celebrate the grand opening of her new shop on Etsy, PapercutKitchen.

Sunny is also an amazing Arkansas Artist! Please check out her blog Papercut Kitchen...custom scrapbooks & unique paper crafts. You can follow her on her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter! She has a great sense of humor, so go check her out! And buy some cute stuff!

Enjoy browsing through Papercut Kitchen!

~Beth

Dogs do the cutest things...

2010-02-09T12:00:00.006-06:00

...and this one does his share. My daughter is home visiting with her 2 dogs this week. She came for the weekend, but it snowed and she ended up staying for a few more days. So last night I hear Radar, the Papillon, chirping (that is what I call his bark when he wants someone's attention). So my daughter went to investigate. She called me in there to see this...Radar perched on top of the basket of towels in the laundry room! Just sitting on top and looking at us, looking at him. No amount of coaxing would convince him to come down. I had time to go get the camera and take several pictures. I have no idea what he was doing or wanting from us. But he seemed very content.

And yes, that is his Razorback sweater. Isn't he cute?
~Beth

Snowy Weekend!

2010-02-01T18:05:00.007-06:00

We rarely get snow, but we had a snowy Friday that ended up looking like this photo by Saturday morning. I love snow! I don't have to deal with it all the time, so its not so bad to get a pretty snow once or twice a year around here. I don't have to get out in it because school has been closed for 2 days and will be closed again tomorrow (Tuesday).

Because of the time off, I've been able to get the three Extra large houses finished. Now they have to dry and get fired and glazed. These large houses get much more detail than the mini houses. They were fun, but much more time consuming! Here are a couple of photos.

Here the walls are going together. I had my husband take photos when I put the walls together, but...the memory card was not in the camera! So, maybe next time I'll get it!

And here are the 3 houses. Next I will fire them, glaze them, and they will be done.

If you double click on the photo, you can see a larger version. I know its a little hard to see in this small photo.

So I'm thinking that I might make some that are 6" or 8" tall. I think they would be less difficult to get together. You know, its funny how one idea leads to another! This all started with a clay tile with a fish, that led to a tile with a doghouse, that led to a whimsical house, that led to a mini house made from clay scraps...

Happy Snow Day!
Beth

Custom Homes in Clay

2010-01-24T13:11:00.006-06:00

My apologies for being very quiet lately! I was contacted by a new customer, who wanted some hearthomes, but she wanted larger homes. Ok, I can do that. She ordered 3 very large, 17 inches!, homes. So that is what I've been working on for the past 2 weekends. I'm about half done. In between working on the large houses, I've been working on some mini hearthomes. I will be participating in an Art Festival in Georgia in May, so I have alot to create by then. I need to have enough to make a good display for this festival. It will be my first! So, I will try to keep up with updating what I'm working on for the next few months.

So here is a sneak peak at one of the large hearthomes...

...I will post photos of the finished version when it has been fired and glazed.

Looking forward to a possible snow day tomorrow to work with paint and/or clay! Its already sleeting!

~Beth

Sale in Original Etsy Shop

2010-01-18T18:41:00.004-06:00

Etsy Shop Sale

$50 purchase...FREE Shipping!

To go along with the celebration of my birthday, I am having a sale in my original Etsy shop. I have marked everything down in the shop and I am offering Free shipping with a $50 purchase. This shop has paintings, drawings, and fish tiles. I have been so busy working on clay houses that I offer in my 2nd Etsy store, that I have not promoted this shop, Beth's Art and Clay Designs, much at all lately, so I thought I was time to offer a sale and give it some promotion. If you stop by my Hearthome shop on Etsy and make a $50 purchase, mention that you saw this promotion, and I will give you free shipping over there as well! Come check out the mini hearthomes that I've been creating! New designs will be listed soon!

So stop by and check out what I have in both of my shops! Celebrate my birthday with me!

~Beth

Half a Century? Really?

2010-01-15T13:52:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it really! I don't feel like it, but I had a big birthday this week and turned....gulp...5..0! I really do not like that number, but I'm trying to get used to it! I had a wonderful day of birthday wishes on Wednesday...the big day. My students hugged me alot and brought me birthday cake and my sister sent me flowers to remind me that I was turning this number! My friends who are already past that number assured me that it wasn't bad at all...that is was actually pretty good! Really? Ok...We'll see. They tell me that you don't put up with crap from people anymore. That you get to the point where you don't care what everyone thinks. Well, that does sound pretty good to me. I have always been one who worries about what other people think of me, but I have noticed lately that I have been caring less and less about those things. So here's to being...5..0! I sure hope that it is a good year and decade!

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!

2010-01-01T15:01:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday to Teresa!

New Years Eve is the birthday of a longtime friend of mine. I met Teresa 20 years ago. We instantly got along and became good friends. We've both been busy raising our kids, but we've always managed to keep in touch and get together on many occasions. She even worked at the same school, where I teach, for awhile. We are the same age too. Actually, she is 14 days older than me. So her wonderful son gave her a surprise lunch party for her yesterday (during her lunch hour). For this big birthday that we are having, I had to create something special just for her. Here is a photo of Teresa and I right after she opened my gift! So, here is to Teresa! Happy Birthday and a Happy New Year to all of my new friends!

"It takes a long time to grow old friends."

~Beth

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-26T14:22:00.006-06:00

Well I survived the Christmas rush! Yesterday was our last family get together for Christmas. We travelled to my parents house for Christmas dinner and gift exchanging with the family. The trip took about an hour longer than it usually does because of flooding on the highway! Many areas got snow this week, but we got lots and lots of rain. My parents part of the state got about 10 inches of rain over a few days, so many creeks, lakes, ditches, and some roads and homes were flooded.

But we finally got there, ate the wonderful food, exchanged gifts, watched some Christmas special music and said our goodbyes before leaving for the trip back. The highway was still closed for flooding, but the traffic seemed to be moving more quickly going to other direction.

Above is the Tree House tile that my niece asked me to create for her. She gave it as a gift for someone special. The tile has special meaning or him and he really loved the tile.

Hope you were the recipient of a special gift this year! I was! I received an unexpected box of candy in the mail on Christmas Eve for no reason! It meant so much to me that she thought of me at this time of year! Thank you so much!

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

~Beth

From the Workshop...

2009-12-19T15:18:00.003-06:00

Whew! I think I can breath out and relax a little now! The past month has been a very busy time for me. I've been busy creating tiles for custom orders and trying to keep up with school stuff too. But I'm almost finished with the custom orders! Not quite, but I'm too the point that I'm pretty sure that it will get done in time for Christmas....short of an ice or storm storm that knocks the power out! Thank goodness, that is not very likely, here at least, for the next week! Anything is possible, but I don't believe we have any major storms in our forcast yet. January and February is usually the time that we have more winter weather.

I have been working on custom tiles of clay, like the one shown above. These two were done of the same house. I created the whole house first. The details were so small that I thought I would create it again, but closer to the house. I decided that I liked both just as much! So much for deciding after they were finished! I guess my customer liked both too, because she purchased the 2nd one too! But I did give her a discount. She was a good customer.

I've been to the post office and other errands today, taken photos of new mini houses from the kiln, and had a nap, so now I'm ready to go do more glazing. The kids are home for the holidays, so I have plenty to do this week....along with a good nap each day!

Hope you are having fun preparing for Christmas!

~Beth

Tree House Tile

2009-12-10T21:50:00.003-06:00

Well I sound like a broken record, but again I have been very busy! I have been creating custom home tiles for several people. So when I get home from school, I tried to get busy working on tiles and glazing mini hearthomes. I am excited to create some custom tiles, but they are more difficult to create. Having customers that give you a few photos and say...do what you want!! That is pressure! But it is fun. I just wish that time was not so short right now. Christmas is coming quickly! I have to finish my shopping and finish these tiles.

Thanksgiving Activities and Clay Houses

2009-11-28T17:05:00.014-06:00

Unglazed Bisque Tile

Well it has been another busy couple of weeks. I don't know where the time has gone lately! It seems like it was just last week when school started and we will be winding down this semester in just a few weeks! Thanksgiving is behind us and the holiday season rush has begun! My Christmas tree is up, thanks to my daughter and husband! They took care of that last weekend. So now I can enjoy the next few weeks and not have to worry about setting up the decorations.

This week we traveled to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Wednesday we had my husbands parents over for dinner. Both kids have been home all week, so we have had a full house, and the 2 granddogs! They are like having babies to take care of! But they are cute.

Small bisqueware Mini HeartHomes

I've also been busy working on some new mini houses and tiles. I posted a photo of the mini houses a couple of weeks ago, when they were freshly made. Here they are after they have been fired once. I have also put the black glaze wash on them. Next I will be adding the rest of the colored glazes and fire them again and they will be done. It usually wouldn't take so long to get one or two finished, but I made several, so it will take me awhile to glaze them all. Plus I've been very busy with school and family, so I hope to finish them up in the next week. I hope to post them in my Etsy shop soon. This time I made Small, Medium, Large, and Extra wide sizes for different price points.

Extra wide Mini HeartHomes

Medium Bisqueware Mini HeartHomes

Stay tune for pictures of the final version of the little houses. If you think you would be interested in buying one of my little house, just click on my Etsy shop and send me a convo about what color you would want it to be painted. I haven't listed them yet, but the prices will be: small - $12, medium - $15, large - $18, and extra wide large - $20.

Hope you all had a wonderful week of Thanksgiving!

~Beth

2009-11-11T19:50:00.003-06:00

One of my clay hearts is being featured in a collection in a post on 'the creative JAR: d is for...d here---> the creative JAR: d is for ...d
I will be working on more clay tiles soon. The next batch of clay houses will go into the kiln soon. Stay tuned!

Week of Travel

2009-11-08T20:35:00.006-06:00

Its been another busy two weeks. But part of last week, I was out of town. I went to the state conference for Art teachers, which I enjoyed alot. After spending 3 days with other art teachers and going to workshops, I went to Fayetteville to a Razorback game. That was a great way to end the week! And the Razorbacks won! It was a good game and beautiful weather, but I was ready to come home. I've spent most of today resting. It is exhausting to live out of a suitcase for 5 days. So hopefully this week will get back to normal, and I can work on some art.

The Live mascot is in the red trailers just to the left of the center of the photo. (You can double click on the photo to see it larger.)

His name is 'Tusk II'

The mascot that dances around on the sideline is at the end of the 10 yard line, across the field, standing next to the cheerleader. I'm not sure if he/she has a name or not.

Go Hogs!!!

~Beth

New Clay Houses

2009-10-25T15:29:00.007-05:00

Now that the colored pencil show preparations are finished, I was able to spend my afternoon yesterday creating more mini hearthomes. I had so much fun with the clay! I also made some little angels. (on the right) You can click on the photos and see it larger. I plan to be working alot with clay in the future. I'm preparing to go to an artfest in May. It will be my first, so I'm looking forward to it. (More info to come about this.)

These mini houses have been fired and are ready for glazing. I believe they are tired of sitting around on my shelf! They are beginning to talk to me, they've been sitting there for too long!

Oh my!

Landscape Workshop & Busy Week!

2009-10-25T14:58:00.009-05:00

Oh my, its been a busy week! I haven't even posted an update on the workshop and artshow from last weekend! After coming back from the workshop on Sunday, I tried to recover enough to get through this week. At school, we had 2 late days at work for parent/teacher conferences and a teacher in-service day on Friday. But apparently I didn't recover well enough, because I got sick this week. All week, I have been...well not sick, but not feeling up to my usual self. At first I thought I may be coming down with a cold or the flu, but it never really got that bad. Just enough to make me feel yucky. I'm feeling better, but I still have the sinus issues that are complicating my breathing through the nose. (I'm trying to say this without too much unwanted details! haha)

So, all that to say, its been another busy week! I'm ready for things to slow down! Work just isn't going to cooperate though. I'm really thinking that the time is getting close for me to hang up the teaching business. My goal is to get through next year and see what life brings to me.

I won a ribbon! It was a People's Choice ribbon. No cash, but its nice to get recognition. One of these days, I hope to win a ribbon that gets money with it!

I stayed with my cousin, who lives near the area. She went to the reception with me and my husband. It was really wonderful to get to spend time with Kay. She is a very special part of my childhood (and adult) memories.

Linda Wesner is shown here during her presentation of her colored pencil workshop.

She does beautiful landscape drawings.

Here is my landscape drawing that I started at the workshop.

It is unfinished, but I will go back and finish it.

I don't do alot of landscapes, but I did enjoy this and we learned alot about taking our own photos for drawing ideas. I took some photos on the way to the workshop on the 2nd morning, that I'm looking forward to doing something with in the future! Even though I am not a morning person, I loved the light that time of the day. And to always keep the camera handy!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

~Beth