Break Time

I am so happy to say that my finals are finished and I'm officially on break! I get a whopping 4 weeks off! Usually it's only 2, so I'll take it. :) I'm very much looking forward to getting a lot of painting and quilting done.

The other night I cleaned my watercolor palette and loaded it with fresh paint. Something about squeezing out that fresh pigment got me really excited! Ha ha. Just love that color! I've already got a drawing ready and some plans for a painting "challenge" maybe. Details to come!

Have a nice afternoon!

First Long Arm Customer

Yesterday I worked on some quilt tops for my first long arm customer! It was a lot of fun and a learning experience as well! Note to self: never try to do 3 quilts in one day, it's a killer on the back! :)

I started offering long arm quilting services on Etsy a couple weeks ago, but as it turns out I'm not allowed to offer such services on Etsy. Their policies state that services can only be provided if the end product results in a new tangible item and even though quilting meets these requirments, it's still not allowed, at least for now. I was really disappointed by this because there was so much interest in my quilting. So hopefully they can change their policy at some point or business will come from somewhere else.

If you have a quilting need please feel free to e-mail me or contact me through Etsy or Facebook.

Today I will continue working on these quilts as the customer has asked me to sew binding for her as well.

I hope you have a great day!

New Quilting Machine

So, I've been talking recently about a huge investment that I've made in my business... Well, here it is! I've bought a long arm quilting machine. I'm so super excited about getting it but nervous as well. And I say "nervous" because I could have bought a small car for the amount of money I paid for this thing! Yikes!

It's a Tin Lizzie 18, and I purchased the 10 foot wooden frame seen in the picture. It's being delivered tomorrow and it will be going out in my sunroom. It's just the perfect place for it and I'm excited to try it out. The men delivering it are even going to give me a training session so I won't have to worry about figuring that all out on my own.

The purpose of purchasing this machine is first and foremost so I can branch out and quilt larger items. Every table runner and baby blanket I've made has been quilted on my sewing machine. And that works just fine for small projects but makes quilting a larger blanket next to impossible. I also plan to offer quilting services once I become proficient enough. I don't imagine it will take long since I have been quilting on my sewing machine and understand the concept. I plan to offer long arm quilting through my Etsy page and perhaps even through the gallery who represents me (The Stillwater Art Guild Gallery), as I have some quilted items there.

I'm discovering that growth is so scary and exciting at the same time. But I think I'm more excited and optimistic that I can really create something.

On a side note, I recently marked some paintings down on Etsy to $1!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with them, I'm just trying to make room for new work.

Hope you're having a great week!

No Apologies

I made a decision recently to stop feeling guilty and to stop apologizing for my art. Perhaps you're wondering why I would feel guilty or need to apologize for it. Well, I have gotten grief over the years from people who think that I shouldn't sell different types of items in my Etsy shop (I sell original fine art, prints, quilts, hand painted boxes and other decorative painted items). I've also gotten grief for supposedly not finding my "voice" as an artist yet.

To tell you the truth I'm just tired of it all. I shouldn't have to feel guilty because I have many interests. And I sell some of everything on Etsy, which tells me that people enjoy my different crafts as well as my fine artwork. And regarding my "voice" as an artist, I don't know why I have to paint in one medium and in one particular style. That just doesn't match my personality. I like to experiment. Some subjects I like to do a little looser and others I like to do more realistic. I appreciate the opinion of other artists, but I think it's time that I just follow my own path. Art is subjective and there should not be any rules. Giving into the harsh opinions of others has put a damper in my creativity.

I'm choosing to pursue what I choose and that's that. :)

Gallery Website

Just a little announcement, I am now up on the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery website! Click here to see my profile. If you didn't see my post yesterday there are a few things going on at the gallery this week. The holiday trunk show begins tomorrow, and runs the entire month of December. Stop by the show to see a variety of marked down art of all kinds. Also, this weekend is the Art on Main event. The Meet the Artist reception is Friday from 4 until 9, and the event is also Saturday 11-5.

I am so busy this week getting everything ready for these events at the gallery that I haven't had any time to paint. I hope to be painting again by the weekend. Oh, I almost forgot... I'm moving to a bigger wall in the gallery tomorrow, and I've been spending my morning framing some new paintings. I've had to take a couple more off Etsy, and now I feel like I don't have anything on there (as far as paintings go).

Just a little side note - If you've been following my blog you may recall a post a did called "Operation New Printer." Ha-ha... A couple months ago I discovered this swanky printer that I really wanted to get, but couldn't afford at the time. Well... I bought it today! It's time for an upgrade. I'm so excited to be able to make my own giclee prints. I'll let you know how they turn out. :)

Have a nice afternoon!

My First Quilt

So there it is, my first quilt! I haven't come up with a name yet, but I will soon. It's about 55 by 60, and I finished it in just a couple weeks. I'm not the type to start something and just work on it here and there; I work on something until it's finished. Actually that is a bit of a problem for me because I always seem to be working on many different projects all at the same time! :) Card making, painting, sewing, quilting.... I think I have too many interests. But if you would have told me a year ago that I would get into quilting, I wouldn't have believed it. I was so intimidated by the process, but I'm glad I got through it, because I love it! I have so many ideas for more quilts.

Anyway, I do plan to make some table runners, place mats and maybe even some quilts for Etsy over the next while, so look for them!