Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Day of the Dead Show Opening!! & Hanging a Art Show....

Once again Day of the Dead has rolled around. Opening this Thursday, through Nov 20Th. I have the pleasure of curating the Show again, and one of the best parts is hanging the show!






Here's a peek today, All the art hung up. The public Altar to the left, complete with paper, pens and pins. People leave the best comments and memories about departed loved ones










It all starts with a blank walls......................gulp




I lay out all the art and see what the artists from the 22 person group show have brought in. We never know for sure until game day. I split up the wall pieces and the pedestal pieces





I start at the top and work my way down juggling things here and a few there, I try to get 20 different styles & colors to compliment each other and look cohesive. I had a few helpers, the "is it straight crew" Big thanks to Tory, Gloria and Janet, and the ever patient Donna Guardino , the owner of the gallery, it's a whirlwind of activity, but I stayed the course.




We have three walls and a window to decorate, the big etched printing is form Gene Flores and the smaller paintings from Richard Cutshall, I'll be talking about ALL the artists on my blog all month long HERE http://stephaniebrockway.blogspot.com





This wall is just inside the door, it really came together!






Today I came back to straighten up and check the tags, and marveled at how all the art seems like it was always meant to be together! Come visit us if your in Portland http://www.guardinogallery.com/feature-gallery




Monday, October 24, 2011

Paula McNamee's Jewelry for December Show

These nature inspired brooches are made with soldered brass and copper, sterling silver wire, beads, charms, and drawings in bezels filled with resin. Stephanie Lee's online class called Homesteader's Metalsmithing is wonderful workshop with great videos and PDF files. All the skills needed to make these brooches were learned in this workshop.




The safety deposit box word keys are flooded with solder, metal letter stamped with added hand soldered jump rings, beads and a bit of fiber. Words become keys to life, a reminder to dream or play. Many artists select a work for the year to guide their artwork. These words can be powerful affirmations and tools for change.


Wrapped leather bracelets feature different sizes, beads and colors. They are fun to wear at any age.
See more of Paula's artwork on her blog- Dreamcicle Journeys.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Portlandia Season Two and Jennifer Campbell




Many of you are familiar with the Portlandia television series (filmed locally in Portland, OR). In June a “call for local artists” went out.  I figured that since I had recent photos of my work I would send them to the Portlandia Wardrobe Department and see what might happen.  They loved my pieces, and as they had “Steamkpunk” skits written, they would “try to use them”.  In a late September email I learned they had used most of them!  Portlandia Wardrobe and Art Department says “it was so great to incorporate a great local designer into the show”.


Several of the pieces I created for Portlandia are pictured here. Each of my jewelry pieces is an original, and most are created using “found objects”.  Gears and watch parts are from vintage clocks and watches.



My new website Jennifer Campbell Design.com will be unveiled soon!  Watch this blog for the link!
Jennifer Campbell

Favorite Art Blogs and Websites


We all love reading each other's blogs to keep up on current projects, but our question this month was:


Besides PAC members', what are some of your favorite artist blogs and websites? (You can find links to PAC members' blogs on the sidebar if you'd like to read those too.)



Tory:


This is and will probably always be my favorite blog The Hermitage. www.intothehermitage.blogspot.com/

I love her words, her art and photography. It is educational and magical at the same time. The blog description is best said in Rima’s own words....

Rima

Dartmoor, United Kingdom

Rima's curiosity leads her through the many worlds of words, languages and lettering, books and stories, puppetry, nature and interesting people, music, superstitions, folklore and fairytales, and most of all the otherness that can be found on the periphery of our lives, the strange and grotesque, the absurd and unnerving ... that topsy turvy in between place where things are not quite what they seem...

Rima travelled for a year and a day in a house on wheels to the edge of Dartmoor where she now sits in an old cottage amongst books and paints and writes tales of her days and thoughts of her stories and songs of her paintings here on this blog for you to smile at.


Tammy:

As it is in all art, it is on all artist's blogs to me, samples of their
wonderful art, snippits of their opinions and references, and their
smiling picture - just can't choose a favorite.

Cynthia:

The only blogs that I think of off the top of my head are Alisa Burke alisaburke.blogspot.com/and Jane LaFazio www.plainjanestudio.com/

Maybe because I am too lazy to look up others, but those are two that I go to consistently for inspiration.


Suzanne:


I love to keep up with blogs and among my favorites are those of our own PAC artists. Also enjoy....


Blogs that tell something of the owner's lifestyle as well as their art; where they live and create, how they decorate their spaces, what they cook, where they travel, family life...that sort of thing:


http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/ Alicia Paulson, craft designer and author from Portland. This is the first blog I ever followed. Alicia used to be an editor so no surprise she has a way with words, as well as the camera.

http://ornamental.typepad.com/ornamental/ Nina Bagley, jewelry/mixed-media artist. An excellent writer, and artist.

http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/ When you go to Lucy's blog, it's almost like visiting her in the UK. I would imagine she speaks the same way she writes; you can almost hear her British accent. Lots of color here; beautiful yarns and crochet, home dec, life in an English village.

http://www.notmartha.org/ A little bit of everything in the lifestyle category; lots of links.


Sites/blogs of creative inspiration:


http://lorelei1141.blogspot.com/ Lorelei Eurto, prolific jewelry artist with a great sense of design.

http://djpettitt.typepad.com/djpettitt/ DJ Pettitt, mixed-media artist and photographer.

http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/ Geninne's Art blog; fine craft and nature-inspired illustration.

http://printpattern.blogspot.com/ print & pattern; just about everything in the realm of surface design.


http://chrisroberts-antieau.com/wordpress/ Folk art fiber artist!

http://hensteethart.blogspot.com Whimsical fiber art and mixed-media

The link for Jacquie Gering (modern quilting) is http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/


Laurie:


There are a number of blogs I follow, but my all time favorite blog is from the book artist Mia Liejonstedt. She has two blogs, creative inspirations and a visual diary. Her books are beautiful and they inspire me.


Z'anne:

Here are my favorite places I like to go for inspiration.

PAC members, of course, are a constant source of inspiration and the energy I get from them spills over to my work.

http://www.zentangle.com and http://www.zentangle.blogspot.com are where I can get my daily fix of Zentangles.

These are great sites for me to add to my collection of tangles and ideas.

Another Robin that I like to go see is Robin Atkins of http://www.beadlust.blogspot.com She is the moderator and orginator of www.beadjournalproject.com where people from around the world sign up each year to work on a beaded "page" once a month for a "journal" that will hold those pages at the end of the year.

After completing my year long challenge of making a pair of earrings a day for a year, I found another crazy womanwho is working on her own beaded challenge. Amy of http://www.atomicrose.blogspot.com is making beaded spiders. Hers are the inspiration for me to start my own beaded spiders, which I will be selling at our Open Doors show in December. Mine will be Christmas Spiders and will also include the story of the Christmas Spider.


Dayna:


I'm keepin' it simple with my response for this month's blog question (I know, hard to believe), but since we aren't sharing the blogs and websites of PAC members, I had to dig a bit deeper. Two of my favorites for beauty AND content:

Roben-Marie Smith: Every Life Has a Story

http://www.robenmarie.com/

Lynne Hoppe: heART & LIFE

http://lynnehoppe.blogspot.com/


Robin:


I can get lost for hours looking at blogs and websites, so I try to limit myself to those that focus solely on art. A few favorites:


Jude Hill at Spirit Cloth documents her slowly developing, hand-stitched pieces. She has a poet's eye for detail, so it's fascinating to hear how her mind works, and what bits inspire her, as her pieces evolve.


I love the soulfulness of Orly Avieneri's journals. Her blog usually contains only the briefest writing and her thoughtful journal pages.


Teesha Moore's blog contains lots of inspiration in her colorful journals and other projects. She often includes good tutorials of things she makes.


Art Propelled is full of beautiful artwork that I love. The author creates her own wonderful carved totems and also gathers great examples of others' work from around the world. It often has an outsider or ethnic vibe that attracts me.


Carolyn Saxby has two gorgeous blogs full of stitching and art she discovers. http://carolynsaxby.blogspot.com/ and www.love-stitching-red.blogspot.com/


Paula:


Mary Ann Moss writes my favorite blog- Dispatch from LA. She shares her handmade journals, travel photos and daily journeys. Her online classes are the best with great videos, PDF files and her wonderful sense of humor. Alisa Burke shares her art on another favorite blog called redefine creativity. She paints, sketches and sews. Her blog is full of tutorials and lots of photos of her artwork. Two Portland painters that have art websites that inspire me are Flora Bowley and Yellena James.


Many of us have more favorite blogs listed on our own blogs. You can find links to those in the sidebar.



Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Artist Studio tour this weekend





I took the leap and decided to open my studio to the public for the 2nd annual Washington County Artist Studio tour, held this Saturday and Sunday from 11-5.

There are 37 artists participating this year, over double from last year. You can download the tour map for FREE at http://www.washcoart.org/.

This might be one of our last nice weekends to get out and about, so while you are, stop by and check out my artist books and journals.












Sunday, October 9, 2011

NEW! RINGS by JENNIFER

I'm creating fabulous fun treasures for the Open Doors show! 
Take a look at these rings - just yummy!
Jennifer

Friday, October 7, 2011

Artist Profile--Tammy Vail


For our last artist profile, we are featuring Tammy Vail. Tammy is one of those sparkling characters who always has the whole room laughing. Her playfulness carries over into her artwork with pieces that are lively, colorful and always very creative.







1. What are the main mediums you use? What do you find satisfying about them?


The mediums I use are anything I can get my hands on. Of course the paints, pencils, and all the wonderful things offered in the stores. As they say, I have spent more money saving 40 percent at Michaels than any other place! I also turn to nature, I dry flowers, seeds, peach skins, leaves and whatever looks fun. I carve on avocado seeds, I string seeds, I include sticks in some collages.



Tammy's found object wall gate:

2. If someone were going to get started in those mediums, what suggestions would you give?


If someone were going to get started in the art adventure, I would advise them to pick up a crayon with their tiny little hand and scribble up the phone book before Mom could stop you. Each day of your life, do something, even if it is a little picture of a bird. Advance throughout your life, trying everything that comes to you. Search out the rest. Take classes, place yourself around other artists, and look for the beauty and wonder in every object you see.


3. A perfect art day would look like_________

a cool sunny day in a beautiful retreat room full of my wonderful friends, and totally trashed tables full of paints, papers, and tons of pieces of stuff.

I would be there for most the time, but go to my own room to create some things alone in the quiet.


Bracelet made from paper beads:


4. Do you have dedicated studio space?


I have a wonderful studio in the bedroom our girls deserted after college in their search for fame, money, and a guy that looks like a Calvin Kline underwear model and has a PHD in tenderness. My studio is light and airy, with windows on one wall, and lots of room. It is my sanctuary.


5. Favorite place you've visited or lived?


I love the forest, especially in a beautiful lodge by a big noisy river. I love the peace of the country in the fall, with fields of spent pumpkins and a convention of crows there to help clean it up. I love the city, with shops full of things I can buy, or look at joyously. I enjoy everywhere when I feel good, and hey, even if I don't!


A fabric book:

6. What inspires you?


Life inspires me, Nature inspires me, my wonderful friends inspire me, the wonder of all things on this earth, the ocean, the sky, storms, blue birds, a tornado that tears up the earth, but doesn't hurt any one inspires me. Guess I'm kinda easy in that area!


7. I still struggle with_____


I still struggle with the fact that I just can not understand written instructions, or math well. Hey, I just don't get it. I need to see things. I can figure out and do most anything by looking and making the directions myself.


A recycled, hand-painted chair:

8. I'd be lost without__________


my glasses.


9. Favorite dessert?


hey let's list the ones I don't like, the list would be shorter. The best of course a hot fudge sunday with chopped almonds, lots of fudge on the bottom and the top

of the dish is required. I even love it when the last little bit melts and runs together and I can scrape it out of the bowl with my spoon and break the etiquette barrior.


One of Tammy's mixed media books:

10. What's on the horizon?


everything of course.


That concludes our series of artist profiles. You can see all of them in the tab up at the top of the blog. After the first of the year, we will begin a series of studio visits to show you where our members create.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Meet Molly: A Creepy Doll


PAC member Dayna Collins of Alley Art Studio is participating in a Creepy Doll Show at Stone Buddha in Silverton. The show opens on Friday, October 7 and runs through the end of the month. Dayna's entry, Molly, incorporates a well loved doll with gnawed off hands nestled securely into a vintage wood shoe repair box. To see more photos of the assembly process and to read about Molly's story, check out Dayna's blog by clicking here.



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

A few Pieces from "Collage Your Pet" Class with Susan Schenk

Friend

Puss
Which do you like best?  With or without "friend"?

Jazz

Morning Song

Frosty

New Mixed Media Crow Series on 10 x 10 Canvas by Lenall Siebenaler

Crowing, I

Hanging Out, I

Hanging Out, II

Hanging Out, III

Gingko Crow

New Crow Series by Lenall Siebenaler

Buddies

Red Finch

On the Fence, I

On the Fence, II
On the Wire, I
On the Wire, II
High Flying, I
High Flying, II
 
On the Fence, IV