Let's Party!

So I was painting my little heart out these past few weeks... having been invited to be a featured artist at a local Asbury Park gallery next month! I was so ecstatic when a graphic design client of mine came over to pick up a job I did for her... and was enchanted by my most recent slew of paintings. She said, "these are awesome... now paint more!" And I did.

This week I'm busy getting all my art together, creating some marketing materials (that graphic design background really comes in handy!), and coming up with ways to promote the event. And I have to admit... I'm getting kind of excited! We're still working out the exact opening date, but I can tell you that it's right around the corner!

Can I Peak Your Pinterest?

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of computers, social media, web surfing and blog reading. They tend to just suck you in. You'll just go see what so-and-so is up to.... oh, what's that link.... hey, this is a cool article... hmmm, an ad for cat raincoats... better check that out! And before you know it, hours have passed by. And it may seem strange coming from someone who's job as a graphic designer had her on the computer 8 hours a day for more than 15 years... but when I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer. Until Pinterest, that is!

With a name derived from a "pinboard" of "interests" this site lives up to and exceeds the idea of a vision board. It's the one place in this world of social media that is pure inspiration. And it's so much bigger than that cork board over your desk. I mean... just look at all this amazing inspiration! Every time I open my Pinterest newsfeed, it's chock full of yummy eye candy. It really is addicting... but I don't mind. It inspires my art and my life. It's all good.

I can"pin up" an unlimited amount of ideas in as many categories as I like, and organize them however it suits my fancy! I've got sections for inspirational art, stuffies, dolls, collage, journaling, circus-related items, personal imagery, mark-making and scribbles, food, travel, home decor, organizing, studio ideas and so much more!

Since I've been on a quest to define my own personal style, Pinterest has been very helpful for me. I just click on one of my pinboards and voilà! Here are all the things I'm inspired by... with notes about what in particular I like. It's just so exciting... it makes me want to get off the computer and make something!  I feel like it's one of the most valuable tools in my art box!

You can find me on Pinterest at SideShowShelly. Check out my boards and see what inspires me. You never know what may peak your interest!

Calling All Artists... Seller Beware!

Last week, I received an e-mail — from a man named Bill Curry — with an inquiry about one of my top selling products... an arcade style Knock Down Doll...

From: Bill Curry

Date: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 10:36 PM

Subject: Tillie Knock-Down Doll arcade-style plush doll

Hi,

I'm Bill Curry from California. I was going through your works and my eyes caught this particular piece, I want to purchase it as I am moving to a new apartment next month. Kindly let me know if you still have the piece available and also let me know it's final price and more information about it. I will be waiting to read from you.

Regards,

Bill.

------------------ 

I thought it was a little odd the way the e-mail was worded, but who am I to take off for grammar? I sell items internationally all the time in this cyberworld and lots of people speak broken English. Although, it was a bit strange that he used the name of the product but did not indicate where he saw the item. But I replied with the information he requested and a link to my Etsy shop.

Soon after, I received another e-mail from Mr. Curry. But this time I had an uneasy feeling in my gut after reading his reply. Red flags were popping up all over the place... 

From: Bill Curry

Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2013 9:08 PM

Subject: Payment and pick up

Dear Michelle,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Unfortunately, I'm on my way to France on an official trip (I'm a marketing Executive) and wont be back for another two weeks.

If you'd like to know, I'm relocating to South Africa soon and I'm trying to gather some good stuff for my new abode.

However, I'll have to notify my shipper who's helping me move my stuff to get set for the pick up of the piece from your place as I MIGHT be delayed depending on how things goes.

P.S. In the mean time, kindly get back to me with your contact address and phone# so I can get a check prepared and have it mailed out to you right away.

-----------------

Following my intuition, I Googled "Bill Curry California scam" and sure enough, I found numerous posts and articles about this same person, using the same name*, and even the same e-mail address... as far back as 2008! And in each article, the e-mails sent were worded the exact same way!

I wanted to warn all you lovely, hard working artists out there to be careful when you reply to queries and what type of information you give out. It's too easy to these days to fall victim to identity theft. Trust your gut and ask yourself some important questions. Here's a few things that made me think twice about "Bill Curry".

• The broken English and poor grammar.

• His name is Bill Curry, but his e-mail was emadamiduro01@gmail.com. Not even close.

• He knew the exact name of my product, yet there was no mention of where he had seen it. 

• He's giving me too much information about his life, "If I'd like to know..."

• If he's some big-ass, jet-setting Marketing Executive, why does he need to send me a check? Doesn't he have a credit card that he can use to purchase the item directly from my shop?

• So instead of me having to send the item to his "shipper", he's going to have the shipper personally drive to the New Jersey coast and pick it up at my house? Really?

• He wants my address and phone number. I don't even give potential dates that information! And why do you need my phone number to write me a check?

So there you have it. My intuition saved the day, and hopefully by sharing this, it will save someone out there from becoming a victim.

*I did want to mention that when I found articles on this scam, there were other names used, but the wording was exactly the same. Sellers.... beware!

Holiday Distress, Cupcakes & Knock Downs!

Boy, oh, boy... were your holidays distressing? Because mine sure were. In a good way of course! It was so nice to take some time off just to play and make things (including messes!). I spent a lot of my time working on a few rag dolls. Distressing. Stuffing. Sewing. And it was all very, very relaxing and fun. A winning combination that got me through the holiday season.

The cupcake trio turned out to be some of my favorites. Each with a different color scheme... and personality! I had to experiment a bit with the cherries on top and making them look, well... cherry-ish. I tried putting a small styrofoam ball into the doll as a rotund support system, but many of them turned out looking like baseball caps up close anyway. Tee-hee! Who ever heard of a baseball cap-wearing cupcake?

Sometimes the dolls evolve as I go along and this little red firecracker was no exception. When I first chose her monochromatic color palette and put her together, I loved the idea of her... but I wasn't in love just yet. I thought maybe after I distressed her... but no. Maybe after I stuffed  her? Well, that did bring about some changes, because I ended up turning her into a knock down doll (like my Tillies), but, still... there was something missing. So I took some extra striped fabric, ripped her some new arms and a bow for her hair, and.... voilà! She won my heart!

After all that clowning around, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to play lots more! I realized that I got so busy last year, I hadn't given myself enough time for fun. So for 2013, there's going to be a lot more playing going on around here. Because, well... I deserve it.

Happy New Year everybody... and Happy Making!

xoxo

If You Make That Face... You'll Get Stuck That Way!

Yup, that's what mom used to tell me... if you keep making that face... you're going to get stuck that way! And she was right. Once I started making these old-fashioned-looking rag dolls back in May, I couldn't get them out of my head.

I had a few little souls sitting by my sewing machine for months, and I finally got a chance to start the process of bringing them to life.

Picking out the buttons for eyes and noses is one of my favorite... and quite difficult tasks (believe it or not!).

There are so many combinations I could choose that eventually I just have to stop myself and say... these will work!

Sometimes I find some really cool buttons (like this flower one here) and use them to add some whimsy to my doll. I also like to use more "floppy" buttons for the nose, as they make the funny face funner!

And sometimes I don't use any buttons at all. This little Japanese Shogun girl just "happened" when a few scraps of fabric were piled together. I love it when stuff like that happens!

I have lots more work to do on these modern vintage rag dolls, but I can't wait to get started. I leave them laying on my dining room table so they can remind me not to wait so long this time!

Letting Go...

Well, folks... it was fun while it lasted. After more than 2 years of running my own handmade business, I've made the decision to start looking for a full time job. As much as I've enjoyed hours, days, weeks and years of making dolls, collages, assemblages, jewelry, circus and boardwalk themed art and mixed media creations... my efforts are just not bringing in what I need to make ends meet.

I've thought about this for awhile and I am happy about my decision. This gypsy life of not knowing where my next dollar is coming from is not necessarily for me right now. I'm not letting go of the business altogether, but I am going to put it on the back burner. And I'm certainly going to keep making stuff... but in my own time and things that make me happy. I am my new customer!

So, along with this news... I thought I'd share with you a little bit of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the past 26 months that I've had my art business...

I loved waking up to make rag dolls... bits of fabric strewn about various rooms in the house. I was excited about scouring the flea markets for the random discardia that I would eventually turn into something new. And I stayed up late putting paintbrush to canvas, not knowing how many hours were passing by. I was exhilarated by the thought of a new idea and thrilled when it came to fruition. I was in my element!

When I discovered that certain products were popular, I came up with ways to streamline my processes... creating more efficient methods to produce a lot more pieces in record time. So, maybe I ate dinner on the couch for a couple weeks... but hey... the stuff got made!

Because much of my creative process is so organic, my one-of-a-kind pieces take as long as they take. And most of them took several hours.... yet my pieces don't command a "several hour" price tag. I found myself compromising my art to meet deadlines or perceived price points for my target consumer.

Being my own hand-maker of things means lots of work night and day... and very little time for leisure activities (oh, who am I kidding... I don't even have time to clean the house!). Great for saving money. Bad for my social life. I was literally tied to my work.

I was very regimented with my online and social media marketing efforts. I had a website for years. I posted on my blog multiple times a week and on specific days to create continuity.  I tweeted. I facebooked. I shared photos, techniques, projects, new stuff, old stuff, funny stuff... all kinds of stuff. I created an Etsy shop and kept it up-to-date with all my latest creations. I wrote cute stories about the products. It wasn't enough. All that effort did not really increase my sales.

I thought about teaching as a source of income, but it was so hard to come up with a project since most of my creations are really one-of-a-kind. When I finally entertained the idea of trying to teach online, the investment of time, money and new programs I would have to learn, outweighed my current schedule, budget and (lack of) patience! It was a good thought. But bad timing.

I did my share of craft shows over the past couple years. In the beginning, sales were great, I had tons of people crowding my booth, I was happy to share a piece of myself with someone, and could predict with some accuracy what items would sell. Since I started... the sales have gone down significantly, the art and craft crowd have diminished, I get more lookers than buyers (they love my stuff, but don't make a purchase), and what used to sell doesn't. For example... a lot of people at these shows are now making upcycled vintage mixed-media jewelry at prices that are way below what they're worth. The competition is hurting sales.

Not to mention Mother Nature... who rained on more than her share of art shows and ruined my displays, rusted some of my jewelry creations and blew over some of my now broken shadowboxes.

But it was a fabulous experience! I learned so much about myself and fine tuned many of my creative and business skills. I'm actually excited to go back to a regular 9-5 job with a steady paycheck. This journey has taught me a lot about what I really want in life and that new perspective is a big influence on what kind of employment I'm searching for. Although my background is in graphic design, I've realized that I don't necessarily need to return to that field. Of course I would love to have a job with some creativity involved, but it's not absolutely necessary.

So, I'm pretty open as to what my next job might be. What I really want is to work for good people, who appreciate what I can bring to the table, and who work together towards a common goal. People working in harmony. A company that really follows it's own mission statement. Heck... a company that has a mission statement! So hey... let me know if you hear of anything... okay?

Ocean Grove Boardwalk Art Show...

If you're local to Ocean Grove, New Jersey... come visit me at the Boardwalk Art Show this Saturday, July 28th. Set right on the Ocean Grove boardwalk, this juried show boasts one-of-a-kind art, jewelry, photography, pottery and more by local artisans. I'll be there with my unique art and tons of new upcycled jewelry, boardwalk themed items, my new vintage rag doll creations and so much more! It's a great opportunity to stroll the boards of this cozy Victorian town and see some spectacular art! Hope to see you there!

Ocean Grove Boardwalk Art Show

Saturday, July 28th • 9am - 4pm

Auditorium Park • Ocean Grove, NJ
I'll be at the corner of Ocean and Heck Ave. 
Click here for more information

Brushing Up... or is it Penciling Up?

Any time I get the chance or need a break from painting, jewelry, dollmaking, or anything that involves multiple tools and supplies.... I like to practice my drawing skills. Truth be told, I got into mixed-media because it was an excuse not to draw. Making stuff out of other stuff was way easier for me than drawing from scratch. But I have to say that every time I go to put pencil to paper... I still get scared! But I'm getting braver. For the cupcake sketch, I actually pulled out one of my many cupcake cookbooks and drew from a photo.

I had so much fun with that I thought I'd draw some my favorite boardwalk and carnival food items... and tried my hand at this double scoop ice cream on a sugar cone. I'm trying to get better at facial expressions, so I thought having the bottom scoop being unhappily squished and the top scoop having a snarky grin, reveling in the fact that she's on top would be cute.

So what next? A candy apple of course! Once I finished this little guy, I thought it needed a fun text treatment to balance it out. So I got on my computer and stylized some text, printed it out and traced it onto my drawing. Filling in the letters was kind of therapeutic because I didn't really have to worry about shading... just a light hand for the center and a heavier hand for the darker outline.

So when I have some extra time, my new favorite guilty pleasure is grabbing a pencil and my sketchbook and brushing up on some penciling.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Since taking Mindy Lacefield's Paint Your Story workshop, I've been playing around with creating backgrounds. I've been loosening up, letting go a bit more, learning to cover my mistakes, and getting lots of do-overs! Being a "recovering perfectionist" this has been a huge leap for me, and I thought I'd take you on a little journey of what my brain thinks when I'm on such an adventure. So, here we go!

I think the house was standing out too much, having black in it... so I outlined the clouds and numbers in black oil pastel to balance it out. And, after watching a marathon of American Pickers and seeing Mike Wolfe trying out an old-timey highwheel bicycle... well, I had to add one in my painting...

Whoa! What the heck happened here? Well, the clouds were looking a little too childlike for me. Too cute, I guess. So I tried to cover them up. But they were actually created using bleeding art tissue paper (new to me too!), which — as their name suggests — bleeds through the layers and layers of paint you put over it! So first I tried scribbling in the clouds with black oil pastel, which worked. But I hated it. So I just found the darkest color I could that wasn't black, and masked out everything but the rainbow. I added stars into the new night sky. I kind of liked it.

Well, damn, if I liked it... what the hell happened now? Sheesh! I "pulled" the blue paint down into the white section that led up to the bicycle and the house. I tried to lighten the navy by overpainting some lighter blue over top. But I didn't like that and expressed my frustration across the whole sky, writing with red oil pastel! It says, "this is so hard for me. I just don't get why I'm having such a hard time making backgrounds. But I'm not giving up yet." I also changed the orange dots on the left to red, and the red dots near the bottom to pink. Okay... I like that. But that big blue spot under the rainbow...

Hey! Now what? A skull? Yup. I was so angry at how things were going that I thought I'd make a skull right there under the rainbow. Didn't like that at all. Not sure why... but it just didn't go. So I tried to cover it with red paint and that didn't work. So I let my primitive brain take over and just made marks and lines down the side and a cool banner thingy across the top. Okay, well that stuff I like. Now what to do with the sky?

Yes! That's it! I'll just cover the whole thing up! I didn't mean to. But I used my fingers to add a lighter bluey-aqua paint over top. I had to add several layers because it was so light over that dark background, but I love the way it still shows through. I balanced out the bottom by bringing the pink all the way across and added a few stars in the upper right corner for visual balance. And I haven't touched it since, because I love it just the way it is. But I'm still not sure if I'm done.

This is my brain on art.

Shop Update: Rag Dolls R' Us

Just dropping by to let you know that my motley crew of misfit ragdolls are now available in my Etsy Shop! Lots of different styles to choose from, and a whole range of characters from the awkward to the kooky, to the yummy and delicious variety — like these 3-tiered cakes!

Some are the bestest of friends!

Some are just full of themselves. Ugh... too much ice cream in my belleh!

Some give me a headache... or should I say toothache?

... and some are a little crabby! But they're all so lovable and they would be happy to find a new home. Check them out in the new Modern Vintage Rag Doll section of my Etsy Shop!

Silkscreening On-the-Fly, MacGyver Style!

Me...well I needed to print 60 bases to use for the Knock-Down Dolls I create. But maybe you took a silkscreen class and you have this great screen but no support. Or maybe you bought a screen at a craft store but can't afford a $250 silkscreen machine to go with it. And maybe you want to print like a gazillion same-size something-or-others in a neat and consistent manner but you don't have access to silkscreen equipment. Well fear not! Lady MacGyver is here to show you how to silkscreen on-the-fly!

First you'll need a shallow box like a shoebox top. Mine's attached, so I'm going to cut it off. Cereal and snack boxes also make a great surface for a one-time silkscrening session! Just cut off the largest panel (you don't even need the sides). If you have a bigger screen, get a bigger box, just make sure it's kinda flat and not so corrugated.

You want to mark off the area of your box that you're going to cut out, based on the size of your screen.

Make sure to make the hole large enough so that you have room on each side of your screen for ink and taping (see a few steps below).

Secure the screen to the bottom of your box first. You want it to be flush with the bottom of your substrate for ideal printing. Tape all sides with packing tape and cover up any open areas (like the one I have here in the bottom left corner).

Tape the screen to the inside of the box on all sides...

...making sure that your "squeegee" (I'm using an old hotel key card), has a clear, flat path inside the taped areas, or your screen may not print evenly.

Because I'm screening a dimensional item, I'm going to actually use a couple of the items as "risers" for my screen setup.

Secure your makeshift screen assembly in place by making a hinge with packing tape. If what you are printing is flat, you can just tape your assembly directly to the table.

Next you're going to line up the actual object to be printed with the image on the screen.

Tape around it to mark your area. My object is round, so I used smaller pieces of tape to define the oval shape.

Once your object placement is marked off, use a popsicle stick to place ink onto your screen on one edge of the image.

Draw ink smoothly and evenly across the screen with a slight downward pressure...

...and Violà! A perfect silkscreened image! Repeat a gazillion times.

My bases are now ready for their many, many, many Knock Down Dolls! And it took me less than an hour to make 60 of them.

A here's a few final tips from Lady MacGyver...

• If you have a larger screen, use a squeegee that is as wide as your whole image. I use a window squeegee. They come in various sizes and can be found at your local auto or home store.
• Be sure and use only silkscreen ink which is a slow drying ink. Using other inks or paints may permanently clog up your screen!
• Make sure and wash your screen off as soon as you are done so the silkscreen ink does not dry on your screen forever.

Good luck to you in your silkscreening endeavors!