Creative Thursday

tea for two

 Did you happen to see the little "jackalope baby" tea cup in the holiday shop update? Honestly ~ one of my favorite creations this season. And today I reluctantly released the second in this set,  "the little prince" tea cup, another favorite.

They're both in the shop as I publish this. If they aren't snatched up soon...tea for two at my house it is.

  

My last show of the year! ETA L.A. II

 

As if there hasn't already been enough going on over the last month.  Oh, so much fun though!

 

Tomorrow night, if you're in L.A. you can join me at the opening of the second Enormous Tiny Art Show, the west coast edition. With 26 of my favorite artists, it's going to be a great show. And I'm especially excited, because it will finally be my first chance to attend an ETA show opening. So, there! I hope you can make it out. If not, should you fall in love with any of the pieces you can preview and purchase them online right here.

ETA L.A. II

Opening, Friday December 3

 8 - 10 pm

3531 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026 at the Living Room

happy weekend! and special thank you to my customers who came by the shop update today and made it a success! I wouldn't be here without you.

 

tomorrow @ 9:30 am PST

 

Meet me here at the shop for the holiday shop update. Months in the making....over 30 handmade, one of a kind creations ~ see you then!

busy making things over here

 

I hope those of you in the states had a very happy Thanksgiving! I returned from a few days away and have jumped into preparing for what is becoming my "annual holiday shop update", with this Thursday ringing in the official second annual holiday shop update! If you've noticed the ornaments above, then  you are getting a little glimpse of what's in store for this Thursday, December 3rd.  

If you don't already know, or if you are new to me and this blog, I LOVE this season. One of my favorite times of year. Always has been since I was little. I also love this kind of shop update, because it gives me the perfect reason to have fun making all kinds of  one of a kind, handmade new things to share with you! Exhibit A, photo above is a glimpse of some hand bound notebooks {completely inspired by our class at Squam this past September} that I hope to have ready for you on Thursday. Exhibit B, photo below, is a collection of new ceramics that will also be in the shop this Thursday. Time to get back to it. I'll return with some more sneak peeks of what will be in the update along with an exact time of when it will begin. See you soon ~

 

"zoo babies" + a black friday ~ cyber monday offer

 

You know, I realized one day that I never painted all the zoo babies together. And come on, the zoo babies need to be together!  In fact this is also the first ever Creative Thursday Rhino. So here they are, introducing the "zoo babies" print, now available in the shop in a new size of 14 x 11 in.

As you know I'm not a big discounts/art sales kind of artist. However the prospect of having a Black Friday through Cyber Monday special offer this year sounded like fun. Starting today Friday, November 26 through Monday November 30 at 11:59 pm PST if you purchase a new "zoo babies" print, you will get a free 8 1/2 x 11 print of your choice to accompany it. Just type "black friday" in the "notes to seller" at checkout along with the title of the additional print. 

Enjoy! and wishing you a happy to start of the holiday season!

Finally! a set of Creative Thursday postcards!

Over the years I've had requests for an assortment of Creative Thursday cards. For those of you who have been waiting, I finally listened and a set of 10 postcards it is!

The hardest part of putting these together = putting these together. It was really difficult for me to choose my favorite images while also thinking about what might be your favorite. But I did my best to put a grouping together that would not only complement each other but might work well for different occasions that you would use them for, or of course you can also keep them for yourself ~ even pop them into a small frame and add them to your art collection.

With a front and a back cover, the postcards are grouped together in a little book format. Just pull out the one you want when you're ready to use it. Sized at 4 x 6 in., these can be sent in the mail as is, or combine them with your favorite envelope. You can find them right here in the shop!

I've skipped town and am off in a little vacation in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, so I'll be popping in out this week as time and inspiration allow. 

I wish you happy days ahead, and since it's that time of year where we come together in this country in celebration of gratitude, I want to tell you again just how thankful I am that I get to meet up with such lovely people in this online world that we share.

hold on to your dreams

5 x 5 in.

Didn't I just say that I felt that the word 'dream' was overused? I did. And I'm still using it in the title of this painting. Because even though the phraseology, 'following your dreams' is overused these days, I still believe in it.

happy weekend.

{click here to buy original}

Ok, fine, so this also why you should take our class ~ day 18

Because we are fun, a little silly ~ we are super good singers, and we laugh A LOT. :) 

{oh and sometimes using your Photo Booth as a webcam, does not record your sound and sometimes it does when you think it isn't}

A video post titled "Ode to Photo Booth" ~ music courtesy of the Chemical Brothers "Where do I Begin" from the Vanilla Sky soundtrack

Not that you need much convincing, because the new e-course is filling up, so if you want to join in be sure to register early.

Ok, really. You have no idea how long I've been waffling on whether to post this video or not. You'll know this because the clothing I have on is from summer like weather and it's now fall like weather. And why have I been waffling, more like agonizing over this is? Because I realized that I don't really let you in to my silly side on the blog. And I might be just a little bored with things as usual over here.

I know that while you get my fun side through my art and sometimes you get my sassy side if you look out for it in certain posts and/or tweets. Bits of my personal life seep in occasionally, but let's face it, this blog is primarily about me and my work. It always comes back to Creative Thursday, and the more thoughtful, thought-provoking side I share with you.

And this video is not about changing the dynamic of my blog per say, but it is challenging me {once again} to take a step further in being more transparent, and more myself. Of course, part of the reason for this is that Sean and I took a very big step this week, in releasing our new e-course together. Mostly private people, it's a challenge for us to share more of ourselves and our lives together in this way. But our enthusiasm for inspiring and encouraging other's to follow their creative bliss is outweighing the awkwardness of stepping into entirely new territory.  And following your bliss, while thoughtful and challenging sometimes, should always come back to being fun. The longer I do any of this, well the longer I'm alive really, the more I realize that I tend to take all of this much too seriously sometimes.

The reason I wanted to share this video with you and record it on my blog for posterity :) is not only because it makes me cry laughing every time I see it, still, and not because Outi told me to I should post it so she can watch it again and again, but because this is one of the best truest moments I can share with you of what it's really like to spend a fun moment with Sean and I. Much like this video, that you may remember,  we had no intention of posting this publicly, so there's no pretense. And we thought of recording something for you, so you that you get to know us both a little better, but truthfully nothing will even come close to tapping in to the real way we are relating to one another in this video.

The premise of this video is that with all the trouble Photo Booth had been giving me, which my students and those of you who follow my blog know ~ basically Photo Booth would record you without sound randomly, so you could put your heart and soul into your video recording only to have no sound at all ~ I digress...when we recorded this we also thought we'd have no sound, hence the reason for our song.

I know from students in the e-course I teach, and the consensus among my blogging friends, how much we all struggle with "how personal to be online"? And it's funny just how vulnerable it can feel to release more and more of who you are in this environment. But I just keep going forward in the attempt to stay real with you. It's almost as if you can't keep blogging and not progress in your own evolution and also how the blog wants you to evolve. I mean, good Lord, I'm not just creating art and podcasting anymore, I'm teaching classes in person, speaking in public and teaching an e-course with the person closest to me and I want to do all of that being as genuine as I can be. I still plan to keep my private life mostly private but now at least you also know my silly side and what I look like when I laugh until I cry and spin around to music in my desk chair. 

I hope this gives you more laughter today, since that seems to be the theme of this Creative Thursday.

Wyatt's Life Rules

Next week we will be spending Thanksgiving with Sean's family of which Wyatt is a member. He's one of my favorite people on the planet ~ the sweetest. A person full of joy, excitement for life and wisdom which you can see above. He's also 5 years old.

I'm thinking life could and should really be this straightforward and I also laughed so hard, I cried. I thought this might bring you a little smile today. 

  

together :: 2 Perspectives :: a new E-Course

For as long as I can remember, I've been a seeker. The girl with all the questions, yeah that's me. The girl with all the questions that a lot of people don't always want to answer ~ also me. I want nothing more than to have a full and honest understanding of this life. And more than that I want to live a life I truly want. The more clarity I get, the more I realize that the opportunities for each and every one of us to live a life we truly want is growing exponentially every day. 

You already know that along with my passion for living, is the passion to share my story with others so that they know it's possible to pursue the life of their dreams, {i.e. podcasts before I knew where I was headed creatively, blog posts that often turn into thoughts on living,  and now e-courses}. I hesitate to use the word "dreams" because it feels ethereal and overused these days. But it still all comes down to this. Everyone of us imagines our life out ahead of us and everyone of us has a vision for how that will look. And while we may be happy with our present situation, refining our vision as we move forward is a natural evolution. It is no exaggeration that we live in a time where that vision can become our reality. And I'm not just saying this because I heard it somewhere or read it in a book and decided it was truth. I'm saying this from a place of proving it to myself. If I had given up at any point along the way, forgoing my dream, my vision for my life, I wouldn't be writing this post to you now. You wouldn't be visiting me here at this blog getting the chance to see my art and creations every day.

While I'm finding the answers through my own experimenting and awareness, the only way I believe one should come to their own conclusions ~ I wouldn't have even known what was possible if it were not for the stories of others.  I've always found inspiration and solace in hearing other people share their experiences in traveling a similar path. 

So in this e-course, that we are officially announcing today! there will be two of us leading a discussion, offering two perspectives, on traveling this creative path.

Sean and I are creative individuals who share the belief that real success is the living of a creatively fulfilling life, accompanied by financial freedom. We believe in living life by your own rules. We share a passion for creativity and teaching. And that's why I'm excited to announce that we are teaming up to bring you this e-course together. 

And right about now you may be wondering why I've decided to have Sean join me? Well for quite a few, obvious, reasons. Aside from years of experience in acting, writing and teaching, he is a daily inspiration to me. 

His bravery and commitment to live a creative life, long before I was ever a part of it has inspired me to continue on this path every day. And now the support and encouragement he continually offers me  in our life together is one of the biggest reasons my creativity flourishes in the way that it does. 

Also with so many of us bravely stepping into the life that was meant to be ours, it is a time for those who are willing and inspired to share the steps they've taken with those coming up. I'll be honest and say that in my online world that I frequent I only hear the creative voices of women. I feel it's time that we also hear from more of the men on this journey.

You can learn more about the e-course here and register for the session beginning Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

And to get to know Sean a little better you can listen to his thoughts on committing to the creative path by clicking on the audio player above.

We hope you'll join us, if you feel inspired to, not only for the support, encouragement and years of combined knowledge we can't wait to impart to you, but because it's going to be super, super FUN!