I am off to NYC for a couple of days to attend Surtex Licensing Show and The Stationery Show. I am looking forward to meeting with my artist friends and manufacturers. I decided not to have my own booth this year and let my agents handle things. It is really expensive to have a booth and a lot of work, I am glad I made the decision because I am really looking forward to socializing! It will be work too, I have a bunch of meetings set up with licensing partners and hopefully some new ones too! I will be posting pictures on Instagram and Facebook if you would like to see what I am up to. See you in a couple of days!

I bought some new colors and had some fun experimenting today.

I usually don’t have a plan when I start painting. I just let the brush guide me.

I really had to resist putting some pink in there! I do love my pink colors.

I am trying to play with lighter washes and more concentrated colors.

Cropped Close up.

This was just an exercise to experiment a bit.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I like to take pictures of my paintings in progress. I thought I would share that with you here.

This is another painting. The progress photo was a bit blurry so, here is just the finished piece.

I am working on a series of originals to sell in my shop. I will let you know when I post them! Not sure how much to charge?????

I am a little behind with writing this blog post. I arrived home from Art and Soul late Sunday night and have been crazy busy ever since trying to meet my Surtex deadline. I had to get all of my new work to my agents by Friday! Now that I am on the other side of all that craziness, I can chill out and tell you about my trip.

Well, let’s see… it was great! I went to Art and Soul with my friend Kim Seslar. This was Kim’s 3rd or 4th time there so, she drove us and showed me the ropes. We arrived on Wednesday and our classes started on Thursday. I signed up for six classes and enjoyed them all. There were daytime workshops from 9-4:30 and 3hour night classes. I took two night classes which made for a long day but, worth it.

My first class was Painted Poetry with Misty Mawn. I have been following Misty for a while now and always admired her work and blog. Well, I can officially say that I am now a proud member of the Misty Mawn Stalker Society, Michelle Tompkins is the President if you would like to join. Misty is one of those people that radiates pure, cool energy. Loved her! and it doesn’t hurt that she is incredibly talented. Misty’s class was a mixture of poetry inspiration, collage, mixed media, and painting. It was such a joy to watch her paint!

Check out Misty’s blog and work. She is teaching an open studio e-course that I really want to take….and probably will!

My next class was  The Gift that Keeps Giving with Jean VanBrederode. I really enjoyed Jean’s class and was thrilled that she lives close to me! I will be visiting her workshop for more classes! This was my first jewelry making class and it was so fun. I love that I left there with my own handmade bracelet. The fun thing about this bracelet is that the decorative elements on it are made from repurposed gift cards. I still can’t believe I took that piece of copper below and turned it into a cuff bracelet.

Friday and Saturday were spent with Lisa Kaus. Lisa is a mixed media and licensed artist with many products out in the market that I have admired for years. You can find Lisa’s art on wall decor, stationery, mugs, jewelery… the list goes on.  I took two of her classes! The first was Winsome Treasures. We made this awesome painted boards with found objects attached to it. I really enjoyed this class! I love mixing vintage items with my art but, I usually do it in the computer. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world! I loved Lisa’s demo piece so much, I had to buy it. We used paint, collage, crayons and beeswax in this class.

This top piece is mine. I still need to attach a door knob to the top.

This is Lisa’s piece. It is sitting in my living room!!!! Yay.

Lisa’s next class was Color My World. It was the same techniques but on a flat surface. I really struggle with mixed media and collage because the messier you are, the better. I am not a messy painter. If any of you have been following me for a while you know that I have spent a lot of time painting in bed when I don’t feel well. I have never dropped a speck of paint! One of the main reasons I attended Art and Soul was to learn how to get messy with mixed media! I had a bit of a breakthrough in this class and can’t wait to play with mixed media more.

I loved this section of my painting. I am in love with building textures with collage and paint. This part of the painting was also a struggle for me. I am glad I stayed with it because I am so happy with the way it turned out. My head is swimming with ideas. Thanks Lisa for two great days!

Friday night, I took Stephanie Rubiano‘s Waxy Wooden Houses class. This was an encaustic, collage class. Stephanie’s art is very cool and a bit on the spooky side at times. I know my work is really happy and sweet but, I have another side of me that really resonates with Stephanie’s work.

I really enjoyed my time with Stephanie. Check out her work, it is very cool!

Saturday night was vendor night and I bought some fun things like this Stephanie Rubiano original and some great vintage finds.

Sunday was a weird day. I woke up not feeling very well and figured it was my usual health crap but, as the day progressed I continued to go down hill.  I tried my best not to let it affect my last class! I really enjoyed Cathy Taylor’s Page Turning Pexi Prints. This class was all about monoprinting. I have been wanting to experiment with monoprints for a while now and couldn’t have found a more knowledgeable and passionate instructor. I felt a connection with Cathy and was so happy to be there even though I wasn’t feeling well.

I have so many ideas about how to include monoprints in my art!!! One of the highlights of this class was meeting Jill a fellow student who did not consider herself an artist. She was a firefighter and NOT an artist. She signed up for two classes at Art & Soul, Zen Tangle and Cathy’s class. Can I just say that Jill, the non-artist made the most amazing pieces!!! It made my heart so happy to see her work and to also see her realize that maybe there was an artist within her waiting to come out. Jill, if you read this, please keep creating art and share it with the world! And, thanks for the Cuddles story.

OMG! I can’t find my pretty flower monoprints! So sad, they were so pretty.

This is one of Cathy Taylor’s pieces that I found on her website.

There were a few other highlights from my trip. One was meeting Sally Jean! OMG! What an amazing, crazy creative soul she is! Sally Jean is one of those people that are super talented and have the heart and sweet spirit to go with it. She is a beauty, inside and out. Sally is a mixed media collage artist, jewelry maker, teacher, and licensed artist. Check out her work here. My friend Kim took several of Sally Jean’s classes so I got to see her work. My biggest regret of this trip was not taking Sally Jean’s classes. Seriously, so bummed.

The second highlight of the trip were the amazing ladies that I had the pleasure to meet and hang out with. I wish there was more time to socialize because I love meeting women artists! So, a big shout out to all of the Art and Soul ladies that I got the chance to chat with. I loved walking through the halls and seeing your smiling faces. Thanks to the amazing traders, trading your creations. I had no idea about this trading thing and that didn’t stop them from giving me their treats without expecting anything in return. Lastly, to my new friend Michelle who kept me laughing with her infectious personality. Big hugs Michelle! Twilight and Misty Mawn forever!

So, we left Virginia Beach at 5:30 and drove home. I knew there was more to my not feeling well than my usual. I was sick to my stomach, achy and had the chills. Not a fun way to be for a 7 hour car ride! I got home after midnight and immediately took my temperature. Yup, 101 degrees. Ugh. Luckily, it was fast moving and I felt better by Monday night and was back to work on Tuesday.

Final note: I can’t stress the importance of taking some time off to pursue your creative heart. I came home sick but, incredibly renewed with ideas and a passion to create art for myself not art for my business that I haven’t had in a while. This trip came at the worst time, right before Surtex. It wasn’t cheap and it was far away but, I did it anyway! You need to do it anyway! Please, put yourself first and follow your passion. It can be something small, or big. Just do it! hugs.