Thanksgiving Week

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!



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...

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