My opening.

I just wanted to thank all of my wonderful friends for coming out on Friday night and supporting me at my very first art opening. It was so much fun! You all inspire me! A special thanks again to Kim and David for giving me the opportunity, Amy.Heather.Heidi.Barb.Judy.Randy.Barb.Anne.Deb.Mary.Laurel.Theresa.Becky...Thanks for the gorgeous flowers!!!!, All the people who purchased pieces (I sold 10!), Nate for taking some great pictures, and of course my fantastic husband Glenn for making my dreamy life possible. I love you guys!

Art reception at Stumpjack

Kim G reception 3-28-08 Nate j
Originally uploaded by stumpjack

A little something to wear.

Check out this sweet necklace I just whipped together for my opening tonight....

I LOVE IT!!! There is a silver and jade pin from my Grandma that I have been holding onto since she passed knowing I would use it for something fantastic someday. I really love my soldering iron lately. I am having so much fun!

creepy doll heads.

I am still pretty giddy and creative and it's a good thing because David emailed me tonight asking for 8-10 more pieces for the show. I got that email at 9pm which is only about 30 minutes shy of my normal bedtime. I also had a few sales on etsy!! So instead of going to bed I went down and got my packages ready and made a few more boxes. I got 7 done for the show and it will just have to do.

Here is another kinda creepy one that I love that will be in the show.

So come to Stumpjack tonight....Friday at 7pmish and check it out!

?

Just got back from my early morning walk. I am perplexed about something and thought maybe you all could give me a little insight on the subject. I found over a dozen empty cigarette boxes along side the road. Why? Is your car so full of garbage there is just no way you can wait until you get home to throw it in the trash? I just don't understand.

Holy crap.

I am having so much fun making stuff this week it is scary. So is this little piece I made for my art exhibit at Stumpjack....

Seriously folks I am giddy with this creativity.

Inspired

I had a fantastically inspiring weekend. Friday was wonderful spending the day with Glenn and going on a roadtrip. We stopped at Assemblage. It is a wonderful little oasis of goodies in downtown DePere. This is Teresa the owner....this is one talented woman pictured here. You must go if you happen to be near Green Bay/DePere. I would probably still be there if Glenn wasn't with me.
Easter was so fun this year. Molly is at that perfect fascination age where the little things made her squeal. She was amazed at the colored eggs that appeared all over the house and very happy to get Enchanted from the Easter Bunny. I have a feeling I may see that movie 10,000 times. Oh well it's good. We went to Glenn's parents and played outside for a little while on Molly's swing. Man look at her she rocks.
Speaking of rocks I am obsessed with making my new rock jewelry and paid a quick (and cold) visit to a nearby beach. Yeah this is just 2 blocks from my house...how lucky am I?

Lake Michigan Stone Pendants.

I am having so much fun today. My necklace I made it the previous post lead me to look at soldering a little differently and I am playing with wire and stones from my Lake Michigan beach excursions. In case you don't live around here I am located just 2 blocks from this beautiful (and far too taken for granted) lake. I love walking on the beach looking for cool stones and beach glass and finally figured out a way to wear them. I used to find flat stones and have my husband drill them for me but that is not an easy task so we gave up. These on the other hand are very fun to make and relatively simple. I know the look is rather artsy and maybe not for everyone but I love them. Now I have to go to the beach. Bring on the warm weather!!!!

Oh yeah I will be testing these babies out at the store...selling for $25 with a chain.

Stuck Behind Glass

So I am almost finished putting together everything for my upcoming show at Stumpjack. The theme is stuck behind glass so I created about 30 little jar fairies, my crazy shadowboxes and I took my pendants to the next level when creating these little beach find necklaces. They have been so fun! It was one of those things I made that made me realize that a simple process like soldering can be taken in a completely different direction. I am really excited to play with it more today!

It is my very first solo show and will be at Stumpjack starting with an opening on Friday March 28th at 7pm and on display until Mayish. I am very excited send a big thanks to my friends David and Kim for giving me this opportunity! So I would love to see you at the opening! My friend Greg Pagel will be playing some groovy backround music and like always there will be wonderful coffee, wine and atmosphere at Stumpjack!

Oh and by the way I am playing hookie tomorrow so......
don't come to Persimmons on Friday!
My husband has a day off and we really need some time together so thanks for understanding!

Daffodillies for all.

So I bought some daffodils yesterday and when we got home Molly looked at the closed blooms and said "Mama what are those?" with a weird look on her face. I said "they are flowers." She replied "yuck they are ugly" and even flicked one of them. I told her "they may not be too pretty now but wait until tomorrow" to which she stuck her nose in the air and walked away from the ugly things. Well well well this morning she woke up and we were on our way to the bathroom when she gasped so loud I thought she was choking. I looked at her and she was amazed and pointing at the vase on the counter. I said "see I told you" and she said "oh mama those are the most beautiful flowers ever!" and ran over to smell them. It made me think that when I saw them all opened this morning I had that same reaction (only inside my head) and thought we would spread that joy. It was snowing so it was the perfect day to go buy more and give them to people I appreciate so we did. We gave some to Nancy at the coffee shop next door, My buds at the greatest little wrap shop downtown (which by the way is where you can get the most amazing chai tea ever), my good friends Kate and Heather, all the girls at the museum who have been working hard at putting together Sputnikfest and then to my friend Annette. Making people feel happy makes me feel happy so it was a fun day. I can't wait until the flowers start blooming so we can pick some and do that all the time. Oh by the way Annette just opened her etsy shop so stop on over and give her some love.

Feel free to print this picture I took of a daffodil and hang it up. They are instant happy feeling flowers. If I could I would give you a real one. Happy day to you!

Paint by number pendants.

Who doesn't love a good vintage paint by number? Well I do and thought hmmmm...why not wear one? I love love love how these turned out and can't wait to see people wearing them. I love them because even if you have little or no artistic talent you can be an artist! I will be listing some on the etsy shop and the others will be here at the store for my usual wholesale pendant price of just $15!

Come on I know you want one. What are you waiting for?

More Sputnikfest.

Wow what a blog slacker I have been this week.

The new Sputnikfest tshirt arrived this week. This is the design and it is just on the front of the white tshirt. They are only $18 and all proceeds will go to Wisconsin's wackiest tackiest festival of all time. They are available at the Rahr West Museum right now and will be on the website very very soon. Of course you can always contact me and I will be sure to get one for you. There are actually a lot of new forms on the Sputnikfest website so go check it out now! You can register for the art fair, Miss Sputnikfest, or even download the donation form and become a partner in all this fun. Imagine how cool your friends will think you are when you are listed as a partner in this crazy event!

We are also going to be making these into tshirts....

Tina Kugler is an amazing artist and you should hire her if you need an illustrator. Her and her equally talented husband Carson own this little building right around the corner from me so if you are in the market for some commercial property you should check it out. Manitowoc rocks so it would be worth moving here for.

Hangin out with Molly today.

We had a fun morning...she saw my blog and all the pretty pictures so we went to the museum and checked out the art. Being 3 like everything else her attention span was little to none but it was fun. We went in the mansion that is attached to the art museum and I was reminded how absolutely beautiful it is. After the museum we had a little time so we went for a quick lunch at Maretti's, a wonderful little Italian Deli around the block. It was delish. On the way back to the store I had her on my shoulders and she kissed my head and said I love you mommy. I told her I loved her back and then she said you are the best mommy in the whole world. Dang that kid is awesome.

Youth Art Month

It's that time of year again at the Rahr West Museum and I love it. How inspiring to walk into rooms and rooms filled with children's art. I love seeing the freedom and expression of kids... especially the little ones. It seems to me that 4th grade is about the "peak" where the kids still have individuality but some better skills. I tried to pick three pieces that really spoke to me and here they are. I am not including the kids names for obvious reasons.

I love this house... Maybe not for the actual construction but the message. We have a large Hmong population in Manitowoc and the kids are so super talented it is amazing! In a world where you have to look just like everyone else to be accepted it can be tough for these kids to fit in in a predominately white community. I think it is unfortunate that kids feel they need to cover their heritage and that is what this piece portrayed to me. It was basically saying I can cover my eyes...dye my hair but behind it all I am still Hmong. I was really touched by it when I noticed on the side where it was signed she wrote thanx mom and dad.

This one is so fantastic. I think it was a 4th grader who created this one. I love love love it and actually may inquire on purchasing it.
This one is a 1st grader! Yeah 1st grade. How wonderful is this picture. Who doesn't love a juggling snowman?

So if you haven't gone yet GO! It is really one of my favorite things all year. Thanks to all the talented kids and great teachers who bring that creativity out!

embroidered tshirt for a new friend.

So my mom and I finished the shirt for banana head pancake. I drew the design and she embroidered it. I think it turned out pretty darn cute. Mom really loves those french knots so the wording on the neckline is all french knots.

It will be in the mail soon miss banana head pancake!

Instant best buds.

If only we retained the ability to instantly make best friends that we love so much we have to squeeze them.