Redilicious Designs!

I have found a wonderful jewellery designer who really needs to be plugged here as she has a brilliant gift to make gorgeous jewellery.
Kellie Smith is a lovely woman I went to high school with.  We were in the same form group and she was very cool then; and is still very cool now.  We lost touch over the years and it wasn't until our 20 year class reunion that we caught up and I found out she was designing jewellery.  Then, we became Facebook friends and I saw some of her work.  But I wanted to get my hands on it first and enjoy it before I let anyone in on her stuff.
And now, I have a piece of hers, I want everyone to know of her great work.  Kellie shows and sells her work at a stall at markets around Brisbane and at a shop as well.  She's also on Facebook.  You can purchase her works of wearable art - of any kind - through using your credit card or a bank transfer and she can post it off to you anywhere.  Kellie is most definitely an artist to watch as she has a great talent in this field. Until my next post, keep creating!    

Oh My Beads

I'm back here in Brighton minding my brother's house for a week or two while he and his partner are in New Zealand on holidays.  So, yesterday, I thought to take off and have a wander around the local area to see what shops were up the road as I had spotted a bead store not far from here; and wanted to see what it was like.

My Beads is a lovely little shop situated on Nathan Street in a gorgeous old-style building.  The doors are the first thing I noticed.  They are old-fashioned French-style doors with large, metal handles on them.  And, but once inside, the old-fashioned feeling stays with you.  There are beads in every isle in their own little individual bowls so your choice is easier.  The walls are covered in them, the owner has lined the walls with strings of crystals and chains - depending on what you'd like to make.  
I found a massive selection of glass pendants and silver and pewter charms and pendants as well; all in their own area and bottles all waiting for the right person to put them with the right necklaces.  There were also ready-made pieces there as well at very reasonable prices - much cheaper than you'd find in jewellery stores or art galleries, by far!  

The owner of the store is wonderful and very helpful as well.  She knows what the names of all the crystals are, what's in stock, what is coming in as well if they'll be able to get what you're looking for and when; so you're not left hanging for something you may not be able to find.

My Beads is a wonderful little source for all your beading and jewellery needs.  They not only sell the chains, links and joinery for your necklaces, but they also sell the tools you need to get your hobby off the ground as well.  This is a wonderful store to get yourself to.  It's here at Brighton and is well worth a look at; or if you can't get here, they have a website where you can win prizes and gifts if you spend over a  certain amount of money.  I even bought a piece there and put it together for under $10!  It's this wonderful necklace and I love it.  Until my next post, keep creating!

My First Sale of Crafty Pegs

Two big things happened to me this week!  I found a cute name for my painted pegs - besides what I've been calling them - and I made my first big sale!  Yay!  

I posted my first photo of my Crafty Pegs on 365 Project and found the response fantastic.  People loved them; and one lady asked about price and postage.  So, through e-mail, we organised a sale.  And today, I posted 3 dozen off to her.  I do hope they arrive safely as they are for a house-warming party this weekend.  Until my next post, keep creating!

Working Again

I'm working again, however not on what most of you think.  I've been painting clothes pegs as an inbetween, fun thing however I have found I can probably make a bit of money out of them.  So, I'm hoping to make up some samples and show them to the gallery I work at to see if they'd put them in their store for me.

If they don't, well, I'll try them out at the Butter Factory.  I have been trying to sell my artwork at the art gallery store for years now, and they don't let me.  So, it looks as though I'll have to take my works somewhere else.

This does frustrate me when one place doesn't give an artist a try out, and yet they let others in.  I hope I get a chance with the gallery... it'll be my foot in the door for an exhibition next. 

Necklace Wall-Hanging is Complete!

Yesterday I was at my easel working on the wall hanging for my necklaces.  I wanted to get it finished and done before Christmas; and so I could also get it all done up and complete before the New Year.

Besides, I wanted to see if it worked.

Anyway, I worked through the afternoon on it until dinner.  Then, I took an hour's break and got stuck back into it and didn't stop until it was finished completely at 10:30pm.  Wow!  What a long time to be painting!  But then, I also sat through 'The Santa Clause 2' - a funny Tim Allan movie - to help me keep going.  Well, Here are the photos to it.  Hope you like it as much as I do.

Necklace Wallhanging1 

Necklace Wallhanging2  

Necklace Wallhanging3  

Now, all I need to do is hang it up on the wall in my bedroom and put all my necklaces on it with the Alligator clips.  I'm so thrilled at how it worked out.  Until my next post - and project - keep creating!

Arty Pegs for Chrissy Pressies

I've got about three weeks until Christmas Day; and I have finished all of my present shopping.  Yep, I'm that organised!  But I'm taking my time with one lot of the family presents; and for a good reason too... it needs a lot of patience and detail.  Fortunately, I have that in spades.
I'm painting up a set of clothes pegs for my brother and his partner so they always have enough to use.
I thought of making them some - personalised ones - while I was minding their place at Brighton in October.  Thought it would be a fun thing to have on their clothes line... and a very arty thing to add to their house if they use them on their clothes horse too.  I've taken a few pictures of the ones I've gotten done so far... nice don't you think?

Personalised Pegs1 

Personalised Pegs2  

Well, Until my next post, keep creating!

Christmas Presents Artwork

I love doing arty things for Christmas.  And this year, I'm going to cover two present for the price of one.  I have begun painting up two different types of clothes pegs - the ordinary pegs with the metal springs in them, and the dolly pegs.  And so, what I'm going to do is split up the sets and give them to two different parts of my family who are in great need of new clothes pegs.

Mum and Dad's pegs are brittle and need updating.  I thought it would be wonderful for them to use the ones I have painted up outside; as they bring them inside each time.  I'm also giving my brother and his fiance a set for when they move into their house over Christmas; as when I was house sitting over the first week of October, I found they didn't have enough pegs for a full load of laundry (and Dad noticed this too).  And a lot of their laundry ended up on the ground on a windy day.

So, I'm looking forward to having these done, boxign them up and giving them to their new owners on the Big Day.  I can't wait!
What are you doing - which is arty - over Christmas?  Are you giving some art work to family or buying something arty for a family member?  Until my next post, keep creating.  

Designing Things

Have you ever thought of designing something that you've never seen anywhere else?  Of course you have... you're an artist. 
Over the last week or so, I've been clearing out my duchess and tidying up my jewellery boxes and finding lots of necklaces that I'd love to wear if I only had them out to see.  So, what I'm going to do is design a hanger for them.  

Tomorrow, I'm going out to Riot Art at Garden City to buy a canvas to paint a lovely design of flowers on it.  At the centre of each flower is going to be a hook so that my necklaces hang off them.  Then, I'll be hanging this art piece off the wall.

All my necklaces will be out on display for me to look at and decide upon and not cluttering up my jewellery boxes or the duchess itself; making cleaner and easier to keep tidy.  I'll be able to dust it better too.

Have you designed something that has worked for you that you've never seen anywhere else?  If so, tell us about it by leaving a comment.  I'll keep you guys up-to-date about how mine is going.  Until my next post, keep creating!

A New Idea Taking Shape

For a few months now, I've been wanting to get into working with a part of my house that's in great need of a fix-up.  I have hundreds of photos on my computer that are of my family and animals; and I'd love to be able to have some of them in a public album in my house and not on facebook.  

So, what I've begun doing is buying and finding picture frames that will become the album of my family's life.  They'll be in three different colours and all types of sizes as well to make this wall collage appear random - and yet it's not.  So, far, I've bought 5 frames from K-Mart at a great deal and I'm going to look through my photos over the last few years and pick out the ones that are going into this wall album.

Then, I'll be figuring out the sizes I want to each of them to match the frame they'll be going into and then, I'll put them all onto a blank usb stick with the size I want in a notebook.  Then, every now and then, I'll be getting together some of the photos I want done, going to K-Mart and getting them printed up and hanging the photos within the week.  

This project should take until around October or December to complete; and the whole wall of my stair well will be climbing with an album of my immediate family and pets.  Hopefully by then, it will have a life and storyline of its own.  Have you ever done this kind of thing?  If so, do you have any pointers you could give me to make this easier for me?  Until my next post, keep creating!

Art Exhibition Application!

I'm going for it!  I'm applying for an exhibition in 2013.  I have filled out most of the application and have to get together my cd with photos of the completed pieces for the board to look at.  The gallery I'm aiming to show at is where I work:  The Logan Art Gallery.  And I am hoping to get my work into the First Gallery; this is the one which is the first room to your left when you walk through the doors.  It's got an even feel about it, a great look and I'd love to have my work in there.

I currently have about six pieces which are finished and two more that are being worked on.  So, I'll have enough to cover the walls.  Wish me luck that my application will be accepted! 

Scrounging Pieces of Work

One of the most fun things I love to do in my spare time is to go scrounging when it's Council Pick-Up time.  People can have the most fascinating things to throw out.  I once saw a broken up stereo system and grabbed a piece of it, brought into my place all because I saw a $2.00 coin stuck in the back of the mechanics of it!  Yep, I was money poor and needed the cash, but I pulled it apart and got that coin out and put it away the Sunday paper the following week.

Most times, whenever there's scrounging to be had around a unit complex, we have people who do what is commonly called 'a runner'.  It's where they haven't paid their rent and are in trouble with the law and they don't have any money to move their stuff, so they just leave everything - but their clothes - and the rest of us grab what we like from the car port (once it's all out there).

Another time - this year in fact - I was walking down Kingston Road and found a bag full of books sitting outside somebody's house.  I checked the whole bag and found it was just books - and nothing else (as these people have little kids and I didn't wish to have their old toys mixed in) - and so I bundled up the books and took them home with me; leaving them just inside the front door before I went out again to go grocery shopping for the day.

One time, one of my friends (they've moved since), minded some furniture for a flatmate in their car port.  They covered it all over with a tarpaulin and made sure it was secure.  When they hadn't heard from him in a month, and tried to contact him and found that he was nowhere to be found, they let everyone have a go at his stuff.  I scored a little black coffee table and two nests of 3-legged shelves.  The rest of the stuff vanished within the weekend of it being a free-for-all!  A week later, he came back and was shocked they let his stuff go.  They did explain that they couldn't find him... so he had to start over again with furniture; unfortunate but true.

The old black coffee table I've had for about 5 or 6 years.

The new coffee table I found outside a house at Keperra yesterday

Over the last year or so, I've been looking for a coffee table to replace the little black one I've had for around five or six years - since that time of scrounging from that car port of furniture and only needing that one thing - and yesterday, I spotted the new one I needed!  It was sitting on a footpath outside a house at Keperra and Mum and I drove past it!  And being the kind of person I am, I spent about half and hour at my brother's house before I walked back to the house and found it still sitting there waiting for me!  Yay!  I looked it over - and made sure it wasn't damaged or had any broken rungs - before looking around the street.  Once I knew the coast was clear and nobody was coming out of the house to stop me from taking it away (as some people do), I picked it up, balanced the top of it on top of my head (with the legs sticking up skyward) and began walking back the way I had come.  Yeah, I looked peculiar with a coffee table on my head, but it was the best way to travel seeing nobody else came with me.  So, there you have it, my most recent find!  What have you scrounged lately that has made your place look great - and you'd swear it looks a million dollars?  Leave a comment and let us all in on your secrets?  Until my next post, keep creating!

Arty Knowledge Basics

Since I began taking an interest in art and painting, I have found that no matter which medium I've used or what I've been painting a few things have always stood out as the norm.  

1.  Natural Light.  You have to have natural light or your work won't look as good as it's going to get.  You won't be able to apply the colours to their best extent and to the best of your abilities or find the right mix you want.

2.  Space.  If you don't have your own little bit of space to call your very own, you really can't settle in as an artist.  You have to have a place where you can keep everything and you don't have to put everything away all the time each time you've finished a session of work.

3.  Storage.  Yep, if you're going to put out work - and it doesn't sell - you have to have somewhere to store it.  Unused wardrobes are usually great.  I have my work in an unused wardrobe and some in my storage area under the stairs.  Some of it sits behind my front door too.  I'm starting to need an exhibition to shift some of it soon.

These are the must-needs.  Other things are small things; like a clean out once in a while; so you can sort out the paint that's good from the paint that's gone off.  

Replacing brushes when they need it and not when they've fallen apart on you or when they're too stiff to use is another (and figure out which brushes you use the most and put them off to one side and find out which ones you use the least and toss those).  

The one thing I do enjoy is walking through art shops and finding things that I've been meaning to replace and keep forgetting to and purchasing them; especially when I find them on sale... it's even better! 

So, do you have any art secrets you could depart to us?  If so, what are they?  Leave a comment and let us know of them.

Industrial Desire

Last night, I went out to the Industrial Desire Art Opening at the Logan Art Gallery; and what an opening it was!  In the car park a whole of of hotted-up and pimped cars from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's pulled in and parked at around 5pm.  People from the public pulled out their cameras and took photos of all these old and gorgeous beauties.  There were Plymouths, Mustangs... and even a low-riding one where a few people wondered how its rear end didn't hit the road.  They were well-cared for and sounded loud and mean!  I took so many photos of them as the light disappeared on us and the temperature dropped that soon, we all went inside the art gallery and had a look at the art which was a link from the cars to what was hung on the walls; and it was all photographs and painting done by Dale Haberfield, his exhibition called 'Saints and Sinners' which took him across the globe and back to photograph all kinds of cars and people in the Rock-a-Billy lifestyle.

In the next gallery was a display of Concept Cars from Detroit.  These are from a selection of concept cars from a College of Creative Studies, which ignite a sense of imagination and possibility of where the car industry may go in the future.  The cars displayed were all quarter-sized and looked amazing!

There were two other artists in the opening.  One was of sock puppets in the Children's Gallery and the other was of a collection of contemporary jewelery and small-scale sculptural metal works of Lisa Brian-Brown, Katie Stormonth and Andrew Lowrie explore the seductive qualities of surface in the first gallery.  It was a very full night of art and people; and by the end of it, I was very tired but had a lot of photos I was proud of.

A Day of Outsider Art

Mum and I hit the shops yesterday in an impromptu day out.  We bought up big at the Angus & Robertson closing down sale where we got 75% off everything!  We had a lovely lunch of sushi and did some things at Garden City before leaving.  But I did spot some very cool things to photograph like this retro stool... 

And Mum's car sticker.  She's had this on her car for years, and Gabe and I still think it's funny!

 Then, we were off to Morningside to Mum's hairdresser where I walked around and found this Traffic Signalling Box with lovely cats all over it.  Aren't they just beautiful, sitting there looking all snooty?

And then, I crossed the road and found an old-fashioned Community Noticeboard.  These aren't around much anymore; and the ones that are have survived a lot.  This one is painted up nicely and is still in use!  I love it as much as I love the one in Brunswick Heads.

Then, on the way home, Mum and I got stuck in traffic where I spotted this sticker on the back of a ute... very funny and true of Australia.  

So, there's my day of outsider art.  You can definitely find it everywhere if you look hard enough.  Where have you seen it in your everyday life?

Secretly Admiring

I've been secretly admiring art lately; in the most interesting places.  A lot of the art is on Traffic Signaling Boxes; but some of it is in our own back yards (well, okay, maybe our front yards too!).  Otherwise, there's Mother Nature's way of making art; she just as spectacular in so many ways, we just keep on forgetting how many.

And then, there's my niece who is a great artist at the young age of eleven.  Yep, I've seen some of her work recently and she's improving with every month that passes by.  I'm so proud of her and her talents.  Riley has been working on all kinds of art from her Japanese cartoon characters to Calligraphy - which she's learning at school - and she loves.  She also loves the art of writing and can't get enough of it!

In the last week, I've seen a few other pieces of work on the north side of town.  There are talented people who are going unnoticed by everyone - unless you're the mailman.  And doesn't this letterbox look very cool?  I think so.  This guy makes me want to get a house so I can create a brilliant little place for my letters like that.

Well, right now, I'm working on that larger collage you see in the post below.  It's going well; and right now, I'm getting into what colours to paint it.  Unlike 'Love, Hate and Vampires', I'm not relying on just one colour.  I have to think about what other colours to paint it and see how far I can go with it.  It ought to be fun.  I might try out gluing a big thick book cover on it yet... I'll let you know at the finishing photos.

And I'm also working on knitting a scarf too.  It's for the K-Mart Wishing Tree this Christmas.  I'll be knitting a beanie to match it for an older person; which I'm sure they'll enjoy.  It's a lovely dark green colour and beanie will be a nice creme colour with the dark green put in stripes.  Not too bad if you ask me.

Well, that's all for now.  Until my next post,  keep being creative and keep knitting.

Signed On The Dotted Line...

Today, after a few things were done around the ridges of Logan, I got onto a computer with a printer/scanner attached and signed the contract to the Traffic Signaling Boxes.  It feels so good that I'll be working on one of these things and Mum wants to be my companion while I'm there (as it's in the contract that I must have a second person with me for safety reasons).  

So, all I need to do is wait now... how tense... how fun... how... exciting!  I can't wait until I get my box goodies (paint, rules and flouro vest) and get into working on this box that will be out in the public eye for all to see.

First I'll have to talk to the residents who live right on the fenceline of it and let them know I'll be there for a few days and that I'm not casing their place or a prowler of any kind; just your run-of-the-mill artist trying to make the world a better place through art and paint.

I hope this works... I really do.. as if it does, I'll be doing more of the Traffic Signaling Boxes around Logan.  The people at Clayfield said that I was the first to put my hand up to paint one that they know of because of the area.  I'll keep you all posted about how it goes; and I'll take before and after photos of it too!

I'm also still working on my knitting.  I'm in the process of making a blanket for next Winter for the lounge; seeing how cold it's been getting.  I'm enjoying it and it's progressing nicely.  All the squares are going well.  After about 25 or so, I'll be stitching them all together and then doing a blanket stitch around the whole thing to keep it from falling apart.  But that'll be a few months into the future yet.

Until my next post, keep knitting and keep creating!

Adding Colour to the Clothes Line

To some, pegs are pegs; they are used to hang out

the laundry, made of plastic and go brittle after a year or so of use.

For me, my pegs are Dolly Pegs bought from the hardware store; they are durable and very much a part of my artworks as they are a part of my laundry.  However, when I moved into my unit, I found that I didn't have the most honest of neighbours.  I found that some of my plastic pegs were going missing and my clothes were on ground - my clean clothes that I had just washed and hung out. 

So, this is when I brought the Dolly Pegs out and painted them up, varnished them and used them.  They added colour and pizazz to my daily use of the clothes line.  And they caused me to catch out my neighbours as thieves of clothes pegs.  Now, this may seem petty; but when the said neighbours had a container overflowing with my plastic pegs (as well as theirs), I had a right to take back my nicely painted wooden ones.  Don't they look just lovely? 

They have lasted around six years and I've begun painting up another lot of them to add to the growing number I have with new designs.  I had dedicated some to my favourite footy team, one to my budgie and others to my country and favourite colours.  It's a fun way to not only pass the time but to also make hanging out the laundry fun.  The best thing is:  on a really windy day, my laundry will stay on the line.

Exchanging of Gifts at a Glassworks

I was out and about today to a friend's house in Logan Central.  I bussed it to Doug Cartwright's place to help him with starting up a blog for an artist who needed something that was easy to maintain and was in the public light enough that people would find it.  So, of course, I insisted he uses Blogger because it will show up on Google.

On the way over, I found that there was more graffiti tags than art all over the footbridge; but they were very colourful.  So, I took photos of them.  However, his house was full of arty things; and Doug isn't just a glassworks guy.  he's an oil painter too and has had many exhibitions around the place; including the Logan Art Gallery.

Once lunch was, Doug showed me his studio downstairs where there was so much work he had done, glass sitting around in containers for his famous jewelry boxes that are sold at the LAG and much larger pieces standing up in tall slots waiting to be used in other larger pieces of work.  He began working on a small box when I looked on and began working on it my self.

Over the afternoon, I worked on getting the pieces of glass

together and soldering them, then worked on the sides and mirrored bottom.  After each piece, there was the copper sulfate, washing and polishing to do then more soldering.  It was a slow process; not one for the impatient type (which fortunately for me, I can have a lot of patience when it's required).  Doug found that I picked up the glass work very quickly and was impressed that once I put my mind to something like this, I could do it under

supervision.  I had a few problems, but nothing that Doug couldn't fix.  And now, I have a lovely little jewelry box that I had been meaning to purchase from the Logan Art Gallery Store.  Isn't it just lovely?

Doug's boxes come in three sizes and he also makes business card holders and other arty things out of broken mobile phones and stained glass too.  

Your Crafty Ideas

Over the Christmas Holidays, I'll be away at the coast; which means my knitting will be here at home. But I'll also be looking around at craft ideas to share when I return next year for more fun and games here.

While I'm away, feel free to come in and share what craft ideas you've been getting into through the comments section at the bottom of this post. I'll give them a try and post them up giving you full credit for giving me the idea.
So, wherever you are in the world this Holiday Season - and however you celebrate - I wish you all a very happy time with your family and a safe and prosperous New Year. And I do look forward to seeing you all here again next year with more crafty fun things to get our hands busy with. Until my next post, keep knitting and keep creating.

Fun Paper Beads to Make

I saw on 'Better Homes & Gardens' last Friday night how to make this necklace with paper, glue and spray-on varnish. Now, if you're not careful, you'll end up with a blister on one of your thumbs or fingers; so please do take the precaution and wear a band-aid on your thumbs (and don't do what I did and work for hours on end and find that you can't use your dominant hand the next day because your thumb is killing you..:S ).

First thing's first: gather together some paper. Old wrapping paper (something with a bit of substance, not the metallic stuff) and old stationery you've got hanging around with about three sheets left (and you don't know what to do with) is perfect for this project. You'll need a ruler, pencil, scissors, a glue stick and a large table and a bowl as well. Make sure you have a long good-quality wood skewers.

Mark out along the paper with the ruler length-wise isosceles triangles that will fit end to end on the paper then cut them out until you have long lengths of triangles. The wider the base, the longer your paper bead will be; the thinner the base, the smaller and more dense. Then, take up your skewers and - starting at the widest part of your triangle of paper - roll it onto the skewer, then run the glue stick along the rest of the paper until it's coated and then roll the rest of the paper up onto the skewer until it's finished; then start on the next one on the same stick. You can fit up to around 5 beads on one skewer (depending on the size of your beads).

After you've finished around 8 or so skewers, take them outside with the spray-on varnish and (if you've got a box big enough for them, use the box) poke the pointed end into the ground and spray each skewer at close range and leave them alone for about 10 minutes in the sun for them to dry. Then, you can start again. And the result? Well, I made a necklace for my niece out my mine. Isn't it gorgeous?