CranberryCloud Laurel Martin

This may not be a book that everyone is drawn to, but I asure you that when I am done with it, even the worst math-phobe will love it. 

I was having fun experimenting with linocuts here and doing one on top of another.  I think that's all I can say.  Time to go and see what others have done.

Here I am at the second Artist Alley of 2010.  It was a beautiful day and if you've ever sold things outside, you'll know this is hugely important.  I think it was the only day this summer without humidity.  The bad news was that there was an Art in the Park event in another part of town so no doubt a lot of the art loving public went there. 

I set up my booth differently this time and I think it worked well.  At the last event I had my table in front, with me sitting at it and my art behind me.  I think people were afraid to go by me and look at the art.  I'm sooo scary.   Actually I can understand that if you are looking at art, you may not want to have to confront the artist.  You may hate their art and not want to have to talk to them.  So this time I sat in the corner and painted.  People didn't feel they had to talk to me and I did get a lot more traffic.  People also watched me paint which was a little unnerving but we were supposed to do demonstrations so I guess that fit the bill.

Sales were not great for anyone at the show but I did sell enough pony pendants to cover my costs.  Ingrid Schmelter has a great blog post about her experience at a show and her quote of the day was "If you can't wear it, or eat it, you can't sell it."  That certainly held true for me.  Hopefully next time, when there isn't another art event going on at the same time, we'll have better luck!  However, I must say that the experience gained at this low key event was priceless.

Painting while people watch is scary if you're not used to it.  I did this last Sunday as a demonstration during Artist Alley on Main St. Markham.  I'll have more about that later.    I was trying to be very loose and free like Charles Reid but I was too nervous to acheive that kind of look.   After a little while, I got used to it and people were very kind.

 Then a woman and her aged father came along.  They watched for awhile and then she told me that he had been a watercolor master in China.  I just about dropped my brush.  I assumed he must think I was dreadfull.  I mumbled something about just messing around with paint...hehe.   She frowned and then I noticed he was smiling away at my picture.  Not speaking any english, he had no idea what I was saying.  He was just enjoying watching me paint with no harsh judgement.  He nodded at me and I suddenly realized I was the harsh critic and my own worst enemy.  One of these days I'll learn to get rid of that nasty critic!

I've been thinking alot about houses lately.  We humans invest so much in our houses that they become like part of us.  Then we leave them and someone else moves in.  We're kind of like hermit crabs. 
I've just put a print of this in my store.

I used to be very intimidated by blank pages, especially if the diary was a beautiful book.  When I was little, I tried so hard to have the neatest printing.  Those diaries are hilarious now, mostly because my spelling was so terrible.  Never mind, the printing was quite passable.  When I got a little older, I filled pages and pages with lists of everything I did and everywhere I went.  Those diaries are incredibly boring!  As a teen, I thought I'd better spice up my diaries with more emotional content.  My diaries became seething raging journals of teen angst.  EEK!  I threw them out!  Now I just keep doodle journals; little 4 by 6 inch books that I doodle away in.  Sometimes I write down strange or funny things that I hear.  I actually enjoy looking back at my doodle journals without embarrassment.  They are fun and relaxing and they give me great art ideas.

The picture above is a watercolor which has been "cartoonified" with GIMP.  I do love GIMP!  Below are some random pages from my doodle diary.  They'll enlarge if you click them.

I always loved the idea of making jewelry but I long ago found out that I loved jewelry and not making it.  Fiddling with little beads and wires drives me insane.  However, I thought of making little pony pendants and I couldn't get the idea out of my head.  "Pony Pendant" has such a nice ring to it.  I feel I should write an accompanying jingle.  I have to admit that these little collaged pendants where alot of fun to do and I ended up making ten.  I'll be selling them at the next Artist Ally, July 18th in Markham and I've put two in my Etsy shop.  For now I've run out of glass tile, but there may be more because my daughter says she wants... an elephant. 

I haven't looked at anyone's posts for IF yet, so I don't know if anyone else did "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl.  I'd can't wait to see if anyone else did a giant peach.  I loved the book and I love the idea of different kinds of houses.  A peach might be a little sticky, but it was good for James and his friends.