Buy Handmade this Year!

Why would you want to fill your house with stuff that millions of other people also have their house filled with? Wouldn't it be great to know that you have a one of a kind piece of handmade art that no one else will ever have? Now that's cool! Be the one to start the tradition of buying art for gifts this year. Start your shopping at the
Eastern Market
this Saturday from 10am-4pmSince you can hardly read this poster, click here for more details.

Rooted in Love

Because of Love

Square One Coffee Art Show

I've been painting my heart out lately with some new paintings for a December show. Mark your calendars now to come hang out at the First Friday Reception on Dec. 7th.

Square One Coffee
145 N. Duke St

Back at My Studio

What a great Thanksgiving break I had. Just enough relaxation to get me back into the design mode and painting spirit. I'm a week away from my show now, so it's crunch time, but if you've known me since college, you know that that's how it always is.

These pictures are just sneak previews of the whole piece.
For details on my show, scroll down for the Square One show flyer I posted earlier.

On Vacation for 6 days!

Every time we rent a cabin from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) we have an amazing time, so my husband and I decided to go back for our Thanksgiving break. This picture was taken from our last trip to Shenandoah National park and shows the awesomeness of God's creation and how blessed we are to enjoy and use it.
Go Climb a Rock!

New Fabric Shirt

Here's one of my latest shirts that I made for a friend.

Simply Put

As I was researching Snoopy for a new painting of mine, I came across this comic strip. What a great reminder of how we should be living each day.

Live Art at NewSong Fellowship Church

609 Prospect St. | Lancaster, PA 17603 | 717.393.9600

This is my first time participating in live community painting (multiple artists working on one canvas) since moving from San Diego. If you've never seen it done before, or participated in it, you should check it out. THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!

Swirl Magnets - Set of 6

I found an old art case that used to hold my paints and put it to use!

These are cropped images from my "Flow" Series paintings and a "Sunny" Nursery Mural that I made into marble magnets. They're great gift ideas, and are super strong magnets that can hold lots of papers on your fridge.

Woman 2 Woman

I'll have a stand at this event. Click on the image for a close up of details.

Baby Shower Invitation

Here's an invitation I created for a friend of mine. Her last name is "Cook," so it was fun coming up with a "cook" related theme for it. To see more designs, visit my etsy shop. Or to request a customized invitation, contact me at my business website.

Halloween Card

Here's a Halloween Card I have for sale in my etsy shop. Who doesn't need a Halloween Greeting card right now?

Check out the Dutchland Rollers on Saturday

I'll be at the Derby this Saturday night with other Lancaster Indie Artists selling our art.

Habitat for Humanity New Orleans Work Week

I just got back from a very productive and eye opening work week trip to New Orleans with the Lancaster Area Habitat for Humanity. It's hard to grasp or understand the devastation that occurred down there unless you see it first hand. Everywhere we drove and walked was at one time under water. Many homes have not been touched since being gutted and marked. It was amazing to see how long it is taking to get that city back together. If you're interested in taking a group down to New Orleans, or going by yourself, check out Habitat for Humanity's website.

Be the change
that you want to see in the world.

Creative House of Lancaster

What a cool, unique and alive group of creative individuals the CHL has brought together. There was such a need for this kind of group in Lancaster, it's truly evident in the rapid growth of members it's finding, without even promoting it yet. If you live in Lancaster and want to meet other creative people to be inspired, network, be encouraged, or just socialize with, then check out this group and you'll see what I mean. They're already working on their second ezine after a hugely successful first issue, so get on their email list to get your copy.

Our first group membership show is
ART IN THE BAR
October 2nd @ 7pm
Alley Kat 30 W. Lemon St in downtown Lancaster

About the Creative House of Lancaster:
The Creative House Of Lancaster (CHL) advocates the success of Lancaster County Small Businesses and individuals interested in art, music and design by committing its members to supporting each other in their business, personal and professional development and growth. We believe in taking creative and innovative leaps that redefine the local business community by harvesting local talent, promoting collaboration, fair-trade, teamwork, networking, mentoring, social communication, and nurturing a sense of community.
CHECK OUT WWW.THECHL.ORG FOR MORE INFO!

Eastern Market Grand Opening

If you haven't made it out to the Eastern Market yet, this Saturday would be the day to do it. This week marks the grand re-opening of the Historic Eastern Market building! We'll be hosting Mayor Gray for a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9am. The first 50 people to come out to the market receive a free Eastern Market mural T-shirt.

You can read an article about the opening from last weeks Sunday News by clicking here.

EtsyGreetings Collab Packs

I've just added two Collaborative Greeting Card packs to my etsy store. Each one has 3 different cards made from separate Etsy Greeting members. If you haven't heard of or visited Etsy Greetings yet, check out what a dynamic team of over 250 greeting card designers united to support one another and promote each other can do. Our goal is to become the number one resource for buyers seeking quality handmade cards.

If You Can't Stand Dora

The only reason I buy anything Dora or stand to watch it sometimes is because my adorable niece's LOVE her. So, when I saw this on Saturday Night Live this weekend, I almost peed my pants. You have to watch it if you're a parent of a Dora fan or not. And most of all, if you're a pastor, the ending is really the best part.

Diary 2008 Project

Lucy B from fantazya fantazies came up with a cool idea of making a journal full of different artists' artwork for every date in the calendar year. I jumped at the chance to grab my birthday date and designed this page for it. I think this is a great idea and another creative marketing tool. You can use them as Christmas or Birthday presents, Thank You or Just Because gifts, and they'll be used all year. Go here to see pictures of some of the journal pages.

To order one, go to www.fantazya.ca/diary2008.html

New Fabric Shirt

This is part of a new "passionate" series I'm working on. The red one below sold the day after I made it at Eastern Market but the top one is still available. You can buy it on my etsy site soon.

Is it Art or Not?

Check out this website that is featuring a tv program on challenging the definition of art.

http://ovationtv.com

Dog Days of Summer Show Tonight!

"Dog Days of Summer" Opening Reception

Check out this show on Friday if you live in or near Lancaster. It's one you don't want to miss if you're a dog or pet lover!

Mural Project - Finished

What a great experience this last week was for me. I was so happy to find a project that allowed me to paint, and took advantage of every second I had to push myself with painting realistic subject manner, as well as pushed others to paint who had never done so before. Take a look at my Flickr page for more photos.

Another Mural Project

I have been blessed tremendously this week with the best job ever on a work-week trip. Right now, I'm writing from Espanola, New Mexico where I'm on a missions trip working with the McCurdy school doing maintenance and upkeep of their building. . . well, everyone else is doing that sort of thing. I happened to ask the project manager if there was a mural that needed to be painted, in a joking manner, and he surprisingly said that he had a mural that needed to be restored. My eyes lit up like crazy and soon I was on my way to an art store in Santa Fe for supplies.

Here's what the "before" picture looks like. Stay tuned for the "after" shot!

Mural Project

The last few weeks I've been working on a mural for my church's children's area. It's an outdoor scene of Eric Carle's characters, and is coming along pretty well. Luckily I have a couple of very talented artists helping me with it in order to get it done by the coming due date. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product! Here are a couple of "in progress" picts.

Custom Blog Logo

Check out this fun logo I did for someone's blog. I think it's adorable!

If you'd like a customized logo or banner for your website or blog, contact me for pricing.

Art Reception - Gypsy Hill Gallery

Tomorrow night I'll be showing my artwork at Gypsy Hill Gallery at 47 E. Main St. in Lititz from 5-8pm.

The picture above is my latest painting that I've been trying to finish up for the show. Not sure if it's done yet, but it's based on a common theme I've been doing this year: Love.

Hope to see some of you there!

New Tshirt Creations

Check out my latest fabric tshirts. I'm in love with this new medium. Everything is hand stitched.

Still Thinking . . .

Well, it's been over a week since my last post and I was hoping to have some progress in my definitions to report, but unfortunately, it's still not coming to me. Maybe it won't come for a couple of more months?

But, just like painting, the process can sometimes be more important than the outcome, so as I'm having to discover what's most important to me in art and the reason for doing it, I've been finding old journals and entries that remind me of what was passionate to me at that time in my life. And one quote I came across today was one that I used to hang in the art room of my old art studio in San Diego. I taped it to the exit door and wanted my students to read it as they left to be encouraged and reassured of themselves and their art. It always lifted me.

"To make art is to sing with the human voice. To do this you must first learn that the only voice you need is the voice you already have. Art work is ordinary work, but it takes courage to embrace that work, and wisdom to mediate the interplay of art and fear. Sometimes to see your work's rightful place you have to walk to the edge of the precipice and search the deep chasms. You have to see that the universe is not formless and dark throughout, but awaits the revealing light of your own mind." ~ Art & Fear by Bayles and Orland

Any artists out there want to share your definition of success when it comes to your art? What do you paint or create for? What motivates you?

Still Searching . . .

In response to the "anonymous" person's comment:
"Do you want to be successful in order to gain peoples approval of you as an artist or to make a difference in the world?"
I have to say that I wouldn't be an expressive artist if I cared about gaining people's approval. Painting is a need that I have to release and share what's inside me that would never make sense if shared through words. And no one else necessarily has to like it since it's never painted for anyone else. (Hmmm, maybe that's why they're hard to sell . . .)

Is there such a thing as a "successful" artist?

Yesterday, I attended my first arts conference with CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts). It was a great experience, and made me think about my life as an artist in a new and challenging way. But that also meant that I am now more confused and lost in figuring out "how to beat the starving artist stereotype" than I ever was before. I've been so focused on trying to sell my art and making art work as a financial means, that I've forgotten all about why I paint and express myself through art in the first place.

At the conference, there was a short time of Round table Discussion with 5 of the workshop instructors from the conference. There wasn't anything in particular about what they talked about that created this "high" inside of me, but just the thrill of talking about the "art world" and being a part of a conversation that I could relate to and want to be more a part of . . . it made the artist that has been pushed aside and made dormant inside of me, alive again. I was reminded of a goal I made, and definition of becoming a successful artist someday: to make a big enough contribution to the art world that I would be included in an art history book someday. (Probably after I died.) Pretty grand, but in school that's what I thought you had to aspire to.

So on the beautiful drive home, while listening to "How Great is Our God" (an amazingly powerful song), I was overwhelmed by how blessed I am in life right now. I had that undeniable peace of knowing that I am right where I am meant to be. But combine that feeling with one of utter disappointment in not being anywhere close to where I thought I was meant to be and you have one wet drive home. So, my definition of success came to mind and the challenge to redefine it. Is it having your name written in an art book? Having shows in NY? Local gallery shows? Being financially stable from selling artwork? Making a difference in people's lives with your art? Fulfilling the inner need to express what's inside, whether anyone else sees it or not? Whether anyone buys it or not?

I'm not sure anymore. Is there even an end result we should be striving for, or is the process of getting there what's really important?

Opening Day at E. King St. Market

What a beautiful day Saturday turned out to be, and how much greater it made the atmosphere at the King St. Market. Check out this video giving highlights of opening day. To see pictures, visit my friend Debbie's flickr page.

Gallery Cruise

What a nice surprise it was to find such awesome artwork all throughout the cruise ship we were on! It was really quite the experience. No matter what floor you were on or what room you slept in, there were beautiful and top-notch works everywhere. No Thomas Kinkades or your typical Van Gogh's . . . I loved it! Too bad I didn't take any pictures of it to share, but I'd probably get in trouble for putting it on here anyway, so here's a sample of other ways I found creativity on the ship.