Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Recent Paper by 53 Drawings

 

I continue my quest to post a drawing each day. It began shortly after I discovered the Paper app in May of 2012. It is such an amazing app. I love the immediacy of working with it. I don't have to drag out boxes of paints, stacks of paper - just pop open my iPad, day or night, and begin to draw. It has been such a journey...experimenting with the tools, watching as Paper updated and expanded the app, having fun with color and composition! Oh, the joy of working! The spontaneous nature of the medium! The brilliant color vibrant with backlighting from the amazing ipad display...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Long Time, No See

Okay, so I haven't written much for the blog lately. I confess, I've been focusing more on my Facebook page and Etsy lately. But remembered this long neglected space today and wanted to check in. I've been doing lots of shows this fall and creating lots of new pendants. I've tried some new things like adding embellishments and charms to the glass. This seems to work really well on simple dichroic pieces like the one below. This one is in my Etsy store as of yesterday.

I've also been doing some painted pendants using Glassline paint.
I love working on these little bits of winter. They seem so calm and peaceful. I also enjoy the way the snowflakes added on a topper of clear glass give them a 3-dimensional feel.
In the last couple of shows, I've also been working to make improvements to my booth set up. I was really happy with the booth at the show this weekend, but more in that in my next post.
 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Ribbon



I've been trying out various options for online selling. I've had a few Etsy sales, but I don't have time to keep my online shop stocked with inventory. It also makes it more difficult for me when you can't use the iPad to upload photos. I take most of my photos with the terrific camera on my iPad.so, I really want to use it. With Etsy, I have to go bring those photos over to my desktop iMac to post them. I tried Yessy, but I couldn't use my iPad there either. When I contacted customer service, they told me I needed to use a "real computer".

Today, I found two new sites, one is called Gumroad and the other is Ribbon. It seems that Gumroad is primarily used for selling things that are downloadable like music, pdf's and jpegs. Ribbon is for actual physical things like my pendants. It allows you to create a link to an e-commerce page. You can post that link to Facebook, Twitter and also embed in places like this blog.

I do a good bit of posting on my Facebook page, and up until this point really didn't have a way for anyone to purchase what I posted. Hopefully, this will help with that.

I've created a purchase link to the pendant above. Take a minute to check it out.



 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Art in the Park 2012

After a four year break, Art in the Park returned to Greenville this past weekend. I was privileged to be a part of its successful return. The weather was nearly perfect both Saturday and Sunday...a little warm in the sun, but under the shade of our tent it was nice.

It was nice to do a show so close to home. Tim and I didn't have to be downtown until 8 on Saturday morning to set up. It was also nice to visit with the many friends who stopped by.

Because we were so very close to the bridge, I took a few of my Liberty bridge prints and notecards along with my glass pendants and artwork.

As usual, we met lots of very interesting people over the course of the weekend. I had a chance to visit with lots of my friends in the local art community and meet some new artists.

 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A Southern Girl in the City

Arriving in New York - Nice and Fresh

This past week we took off for a whirlwind 25th Anniversary trip with our best friends of almost 25 years.

We both celebrated our 25th anniversaries this summer and have been planning a trip to New York to celebrate since January. I say we have been planning when in reality my friend Richelle was really the brains behind the itinerary. Thanks to her we managed to do more in just a few days than most people accomplish in a few weeks.

Over the course of my life, I have visited some big cities...Washington, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, London, Berlin, Paris, Rome... but I have to say that New York is like nothing I have ever experienced.

The first impressions of a southern girl in New York (in no particular order):

It is just so huge - the biggest city I've ever seen.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty was an incredibly moving experience for me. Realizing that the people in line for the ferry early on September 11, 2001, witnessed the horror of the attack up close was also sobering.

Grand Central Station is indeed Grand and Central.

Ellis Island is steeped in history. Hearing the stories of immigrants who made it all the way to our shores only to be chalk marked and sent back to their ports of origin was heartbreaking.

 

The 911 Memorial is painful to visit - I was surprised by the depth of feelings it awakened - it was like reopening a wound.

The restaurants are the tiniest I have seen - small serving areas, small tables, big portions.

The people on the street and in the subway were nice and helpful. I think they have gotten a bad rap.

The people working in food service can be abrupt. Make sure you know what you want BEFORE they ask you. If you hesitate, don't be surprised by impatient rudeness.

Iced tea is hard to find - unless you consider Snapple iced tea. At one place, I asked if tea was available and got an affirmative. I ordered two teas and watched as the server set out to prepare me a couple of cups of hot tea. I just wanted a good old unsweetened iced tea. I ended up with a mostly cold Snapple.

Also, plain old ice seems to be scarce. Almost every drink I had while I was there was only kind of cold. I could never figure out exactly why since I often got them from the street food carts, and they would fish them out of the ice. I expected icy cold and got mostly cold.

Central Park from Top of the Rock
Central Park is an amazing oasis in the midst of a concrete jungle.

Tornados strike New York too - while we were there a tornado came inland off the water at Coney Island.

It is remarkable just how tall the Empire State Building is - it made me wonder what was going through the minds of those people who made the decision to jump from the burning towers on September 11.

Time Square
Time Square is not as big as I imagined. My only reference is Dick Clark's New Year's Rock'n' Eve - it looks huge on television, and it is big - just not like I thought it would be.

Time Square is electric. Lots of light, lots of people, lots of activity, all the time.

New York is hot and humid. I think that two of the four days were as hot or hotter than it is in South Carolina. One day it was rainy and muggy, and that same day it was raining and freezing on top of the Empire State Building at 11:00 p.m.

The plaza at Rockefeller Center isn't as big as I thought, and in the summer the ice skating rink becomes a cafe area.

Little Italy
Little Italy and China town remind me of dingy Epcot attractions. But, the food we had at the sidewalk Cafe Napoli in Little Italy was wonderful.

The subway is grimy and dirty - nothing like the subway in D.C. The subway walls looked like had never been cleaned, and we could see the mice/rats scurrying around on the tracks. It is also a little bit complicated. We were just starting to figure out how to navigate it when it was time to come home.

 

 

We saw them testing out the 911 light memorial. It is hauntingly lovely.


911 Memorial Lights

I have never seen a play quite up to the level of Wicked at the Gershwin theatre on Broadway.

Tim's Very Own Muppet - Teresa
FAO Schwarz is the biggest toy store I've ever been to - and you can create your very own, unique Muppet there and get a pack of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups the size of my head.


The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a national treasure, Tiffany glass is stunning, and Van Gogh's brushwork is breathtaking.


Tiffany Window

The most important thing you can take to New York is a comfortable pair of Nike Sneakers.

The second most important thing you can take to New York City is an iPad or iPhone with GPS maps.

The third most important thing you can take to New York is a good, light crossbody bag (Thanks Billy).

The fourth most important thing you can take to New York is a fold up rain poncho.

Cabs aren't that expensive.

Hotels are very expensive, and the rooms aren't as big as we're used to them being.

Murals in the Lobby of 30 Rock
The architecture is unique and beautiful. I loved the Art Deco design of the GE Building and Empire State Building. The murals in 30 Rock are overwhelming.

Everyone is to be tipped.

NYC is much safer than I expected, and there are policemen everywhere.

I'm sure there are other things that I will remember on publishing this, but I think the most important thing I learned is that New York is best shared with good friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A LUNATIKlife


A few months ago, the people behind the Paper by 53 app tweeted news of a contest by Lunatik. They were taking submissions of drawings done in the Paper app for a short period of time. When it was all said and done, I was notified that one of my drawings had placed in the top ten, and I was the winner of one of their new iPad stylus pens. This past weekend, it arrived. I have been experimenting with it these last few days and have to say I love it. It is a stylus until you click the pen button - then it becomes a traditional writing pen. Perfect!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Trip to Cary

This past weekend, I was able to go to Cary, NC for their annual Lazy Daze Festival. This was the one that was cancelled last year when Hurricane Irene blew into North Carolina.

It was a great festival! There were over 380 artist from all across the county! The weather was perfect. It turned out overcast, breezy and cool. From what I heard, that was a big change from the usual 95+ weather that they usually have for the day.

My mom working my booth.
I was blessed to have my mom and mom-in-law along with me. They were a huge help, and I could not have handled the crowd without them. I think of all the festivals I have done, this was the most well attended. I think the cool weather was an incentive to be there even in the afternoon hours.

Below are a few recent fused glass pendants that I took to Cary...thankfully some of them didn't make the trip back home.