Juggling plates...

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

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)



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...

...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

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...

 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

Creating Ceramic Houses

Little Clay Houses
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