What I'm Working on Wednesday

What have I been up to? 

Among my many other projects, I decided to join in on a challenge on Instagram.
You can find me on Instagram here: @BethMacre on Instagram
You can find me posting pictures almost daily on Instagram. Where I post peeks into my studio and the projects that I am working on.  Lately I have been posting daily pictures of my #100daysofpaintingwithbeth

What was I thinking when
I committed to a challenge called #the100dayproject ?
I do not know. Maybe the word 'challenge' had something to do with it. I have been wanting to paint more so I have been setting aside a little time each day, or every other day, to paint. Mostly in watercolor.

What is #the100DayProject ?
The 100 Day Project is a challenge for anyone to do something for 100 days and post a photo each day. This challenge was started by an artist that goes by @Elleluna on Instagram. Check out her page for the details. The challenge started April 19, 2016 and runs through July 27, 2016 (or whenever you finish).

Let me just say, 100 days is a long time to do anything, for me anyway!

44 days later, I am still at it...although I am a few days behind. But that is because I took a trip to Florida and I was away from my studio for 7 days.  Considering the time away during my trip, I am really ahead. That is the way I am looking at it. Because the Florida trip was necessary. Time with the girlfriends is always necessary, right?

This is my first year to take on this challenge. I really didn't know what I was going to do when I started it. I've changed my mind a few times, so far. If I do this again next year, I will plan a little better and use the same medium and same size for all the works, to create a unified collection of work.

I'm only 40 paintings into this, so I will post a collection of them when I get to 50! So check back to see my progress and hold me accountable! I will post a link here when I do.

Week 1 and Week 6
Normally I am much more detailed when I paint, draw, or do anything creative. But I wanted to keep this project simple. What started out as very simple paintings have progressed a little more paint and more of the paper covered.  Most of them are painted on 5 x 7" watercolor paper.

I plan to frame some of my favorites and possibly put some up for sale. Some of them need a little more work and I may add some other media to them to see what how I can push them a little farther.

We will see what 41-100 brings!

It's Been a Long Time

I took a break.

A break in blogging, that is.

I have been very busy making and creating art, though!

Back in September, the last time I blogged, I was getting ready for the big fall craft show(s). I really had to focus on getting ready for the 2 shows that I had on my schedule. One in October and one in November. Then life happened and I never even got around to blogging about the shows! And then Christmas happened. After Christmas, I thought things would slow down, but actually, business (and life) got even busier!

And real life happened. 
To be completely honest, some personal stuff was going on that just took all of the energy that I had left in my body and soul. Things that I just couldn't bring myself to talk about, nor could I pretend that things were just fine. And I do not want my blog to become a 'poor me' story. I want to keep it positive. So I just didn't blog. But things are better now, so I feel like I can share my art again. Maybe eventually share the 'personal stuff' that almost brought me down. Really.

But, I have a lot to catch up on here!

Today I will just start with War Eagle and the Boutique Show.

October 2015:  War Eagle Fair 

War Eagle Fair is my biggest event all year. It is a 4-day craft show that is held every year in October. That same weekend, there are dozens of craft shows all over NWA (Northwest Arkansas).

This craft fair is held under several large tents. My booth is in tent #2. 

We plan to be back in the same spot in October of this year.
Dates for 2016 are October 13-16

This show is great for the handmade businesses. It is a well known, highly attended, and is a destination for many people every year. Sometimes the traffic caused by the large crowds can be overwhelming, so it is important to come early! 

For information about the Craft Show, visit their website here:  

War Eagle Fair

November 2015:  NorthWest Arkansas Boutique Show

The Boutique Show was nice. It was local and only 10 minutes from my house, but...sales were not good enough to convince me to return this year. I really wish I could, but my handmade work cannot compete with the Boutiques. Maybe I will try it again someday, but not this year. It is a great show that is highly publicized and really brought in the crowds. This is a 2-day show.   

For more information about the NWA Boutique Show, go their website here:

NWA Boutique Show

Now that I am blogging again, I promise to keep it up. I want to give updates on what I am working on in the studio! I have been busy!

So, until next time...

Have a great week!

Beth  ♥  

New Focus on Texture

All about the Texture in 2015

I've been working with texture in my art for several years now. But next year in 2015, I plan to focus even more on texture in all of my art.

Texture in Clay
For example, I have been creating bowls and dishes with impressed textures. I've done this before, but in the past, I've been more focused on glazing designs onto smooth bowls and dishes. Here are some textured bowls that I created before Thanksgiving. All of these have already sold, so I think they were well received.  My goal is to get a larger kiln this year, so I can expand and create more of the larger pieces.

Texture in Mixed Media Painting
I love working with textures in paint. Using modeling paste helps with this when working with acrylic paint.

Here is a pair of paintings, that I created textures with modeling paste, a couple of years ago. I also used lots of layers of color to add to the depth. These paintings are hanging in our bedroom.

And a close up of the painting on the left.

Re-use and Re-purpose with Paint and collage.

This is an old book that was being given away at a school library. I used paint, texture, and collage all throughout the book to create a journal. It was a fun experiment.

I used torn paper, crinkled tissue paper, and acrylic paints.  I will be posting more about this book/journal, in a post in 2015.


 We'll see where this new focus takes me!

Beth♥

Preparations for an Art Festival

My Art Festival booth has evolved quite a bit since the first event we participated in. The first show that we went to (see it here), our booth was pretty sad looking, looking back, it's pretty embarrassing. It was our first show and didn't really know if it was something we wanted to invest a lot of money in. I had no clue how my things would sell.
By the fourth show we did (see it here), I think the booth looked much better.  But it is still evolving. Our next show is going to be inside a large tent. So far, all of the shows that we have participated in were outdoor shows, in our own individual tent.  This fall we will be going to a new (to us) show, that is outdoors, but we will be under a large tent with other vendors.

We are reworking our booth some to fit in the space and changing up some of our display furniture. We are going with white and turquoise on the furniture displays, which matches the table cloths and curtains.  The tall cabinet was just a stained wood cabinet when my husband found it on Craigslist.  He painted it white and added the blue door knob.  It is perfect for my little bowls and houses to display, both in my art festival booth and in my art studio. It is doing double duty!

Thanks to my Assistant, Sam...my new sign is turquoise with the black chalkboard. This is an old classroom/child's chalkboard easel that we found at a vintage store in Fayetteville. It was also just plain wood before my Assistant (hubby) took it apart and repainted it to match my color scheme.  I wanted one side of it to be a magnetic white board, but we haven't found a magnetic white board to fit. We painted it with a magnetic paint, but that did not work. (Save your money, don't use the magnetic paint!)  So, for now, it is going to be a chalkboard on both sides. I will draw or paint my sign on it for the show.

We are still trying to figure out a new way to hang our backdrop (curtains).  My trusty assistant (my hubby) has been working hard getting these new pieces ready for the show. I think when we get it all together, it will look good and hopefully be a good showcase to display all of my art...both clay and paintings.

More updates to come!

Beth♥