Card Swap - Call For Entries!

I made this painting for my dad's milestone birthday this year. It's not completely original--if you visit Ryan Conners' Etsy, you'll see where the cats came from. But I changed the road trip vehicle to be my dad's very own VW Vanagon, his main past time of the last few years.  I'll post a progression of the making of the painting at some point soon.

These vinyl pouches are a recent project of Amanda Jean, who runs the Crazy Mom Quilts blog. (There's a link to her wonderful inspiring blog on the right.) She made these, so I thought I would too. They're harder than they look! She's creating a tutorial, which I think is great in case you'd like to make them and need some guidance. (I definitely had to put my quilting skills to use!) I'm really glad to have something to organize my felt scraps and Christmas fabric in. She calls them "Work in Progress" bags.

Without further ado, you are invited to participate in the 8th annual 6 Degrees of HLM Card Swap!  This is one of my favorite things to do (ever!) for the following reasons:

• I get to make small works of art.
• I get to share them with you to use for any purpose.
• I get to do art in community with you, whether that community is in person or virtual.
• It capitalizes on my event planning and coordination skills, which I think is fun.

Here's the details:

1. After I hear from everyone who wants to participate and I give you the signal, you'll have 8 weeks to make ten (10) greeting cards, most often somewhat identical in design (although this is not required).  These cards can be any shape or size, blank on the inside, themed wherever your whimsy takes you. Every medium is welcome: fabric, stamping, painting, beads, collage, photography, papercraft.... Most important is that whatever you make fits into an envelope that can be mailed either domestically or abroad. THEME:  Last year we tried a theme and it led to the best card swap yet!  This year's theme can be either "bird" or "birthday." No need to be literal about this--be creative!  What images, thoughts, words, or inspiration do these words invoke for you?  Please interpret as loosely as you need to. (And if you're totally uninspired, just throw the theme out the window and do what you want!)

2. On the given postmark deadline, you'll send all the cards you make to me with enough envelopes for each card and a couple of dollars (international folks exempt from having to send me money).

3. Once I receive everyone's cards, I'll divvy them up so that every person receives ten cards from other swap participants. Using the couple bucks, I'll send them back to you.

4. You'll receive a set of handmade greeting cards to use over the next year in the mail for just the cost it took to make yours and ship them to and from me.

Here are the dates you need to know:

·   RSVP to participate in the card swap by next Saturday, February 21, by clicking HERE.

·   Start thinking about/making your design as soon as you can.  You'll be surprised how quickly that deadline will be here.

·   I'll host a Work Party at my studio in Fort Collins, CO on a Saturday afternoon in early April--anyone who participates in the swap is welcome to join us.

·   Monday, April 13 is the postmark date for getting those cards, enough corresponding envelopes, and cash in the mail to me. (If you're local, you obviously don't have to bother with the sending business--we'll just rendezvous!)  

·   I'll send out a reminder about 4 weeks through.

·   Around May 1 is when I will hopefully send your cards back to you.  This is a fuzzy deadline, as the nature of having an international card swap greatly affects postal travel.

Please DO forward this invitation to any of your crafty or arty friends and have them RSVP directly to me if they'd like to participate.  Anyone is welcome (even if card-making is not your main means of artistic expression!).  My only request is that everyone who signs up follows through to make/swap their cards.

For inspiring close-up images from last year, click here. 

Ideal Conditions For Change

Hello loyal Parsley Art/HLM blog followers!  I am happy to be back with another year of the art journey to share with you. Thank you for your continued interest and support!

More than ever, I am feeling the pull to be 100% artist. Over the holidays, I did some calculating and I am a year and a half away from paying off all my student loans. Plus, I have settled into the feeling of uncertainty that making a big change brings. I even notice that I'm less afraid.

I made this cool thing in my sculpture class in November. I haven't shared it yet because it's not that easy to photograph, so I wanted to try to do that some justice. Of course, it's even better in person, but this will have to do for you for now.

This is made of an old Psychology 101 textbook. I found it in a 'free books' box in the hallway at my day job. I love how easily it opens flat. I knew immediately it would become art, but it wasn't till I was asked to make a 3-dimensional piece using a "medium of choice" in the class I took last semester that it found its calling. Of course I had to make something out of paper, and my teacher encouraged me to do something I've always wanted to do.

Enter the work of Su Blackwell, a British artist I've admired for a while, whose work inspires me every time. If you click on this link, you will see how very much I've taken her idea and run with it: http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/portfolio-book-cut-sculpture/

The timing of this piece is what made it particularly meaningful for me. I've worked in the Psychology department at the university since 2007(!). I enjoy the work and it's a great fit for my skills, particularly getting to work with young people as they navigate their college journeys. You know I'm detail-oriented, and that translates to my non-creative work in many helpful ways. It is a good job with a good office culture, a steady paycheck and benefits, free tuition for one class each semester, and I feel like I'm making a difference.

I am so incredibly grateful to have found a job with all those good things about it. I'm comfortable there, I'm good at it. I like it. I'm in the little, warm, inviting house. And yet, this job it isn't my calling. Recently, I've felt a more and more pressing urge to run out of the little house, jump into that hot air balloon, and fly away to have a completely new adventure!

But is it responsible to do such a thing? What about changes in the wind? What about the unknown? What about warmth? What about the guilt I feel for longing to not do my university job? 

I am holding my choice in my hands. I'm sure I'll get in that balloon. Like I said, I'm not feeling so afraid. But I do have some more work to do to improve the flying conditions. And a promise I make to myself is to not require that the conditions be perfect, because they never will be. 

Stone???

Indeed, the last few weeks have been spent working on carving(!) a piece of alabaster.

Who knew you could saw stone?  Our teacher gave us lots of demos for how to let the stone become the form it wants to be.  After Paul helped me saw (which took 2 hours or so) and it was two pieces, then I started to chisel.  

 Here is an action photo using the flat chisel:

What did the stone want to become, you ask? Well, with a little guidance from me, it became a cheeseboard and matching nut bowl!

The last photo was during our final critique. I put dried beans in the bowl instead of nuts, assuming people would reach in and get their germy hands all over the bowl--beans seemed a cheaper way of wasting food.

New Parsley Art Studio Website

Parsley Art Studio's website has been updated!  There are still a few small kinks to work out, mostly to do with class offerings, but WELCOME! Come have a look around!!!!

Creative Energy Rocks!

I've had so much energy to be in maker-mode for the last 6 weeks I'm exhausted. But it is super totally fun, and productive!  

Little paper houses have been taking over my life!  Here are some updated photos:

That last photo shows the same house as in my last post, just on a base and with the wiring all set up. The little pouch is the battery pack, which you could hide behind a book or a lamp or something if you don't want it to show.

Also in the last 6 weeks, I've made this cool tool box, custom built to fit one of the shelves in my studio that wasn't being efficiently used. Now I have a place to store my hammer, tape measure, new Dremel, and such!

Two challenges in making the wooden box:

• The transition from not knowing how to use power tools to knowing how to use power tools. It was a frustrating learning curve, and scary. But once I got it, I felt like Superwoman! Now I know how to use power tools and I can do anything!
• Installing the drawer hardware on the bottom drawer--I needed Paul's expertise and even strength to get it all to work, but we did it together and now the drawer opens and closes like butta.

Finally, I've been wanting to develop DIY Advent Calendar kits for years. With a little feedback and help from my BFF, I finally got there. Visit my Etsy if you'd like to buy one! More calendar designs to come soon!