Blue Tree Blog

Nahcotta

I'm so thrilled to be part of the Tiny Enormous Show II at Nahcotta in Portsmouth, NH! The show runs from September 12th - October 7th!  I just dropped off eight pieces at the gallery today and I just loved the space. It's open and light with lots of great art and other gifts. In fact, I was drawn to an adorable turquoise tea light holder in the shape of a bird. I've got a mini collection of birds going and I just couldn't resist this one. The color is luscious. Love it. I also loved meeting Deb, who is super sweet. I can't wait to see the show!

The show will have art no bigger than 10"x10" by some fantastic artists. I did a series of "Subway Stories" for the show. The original "Subway Stories" sold awhile back and there has been a lot of interest in the piece, so it was great to have a reason to create this series. The idea behind it was formed when I was riding the T (the subway here in Massachusetts). I was looking out the window at the other subways passing by, full of other people, and I  couldn't help but wonder what the stories of these people were. So many people zoom past, so many lives, and so many stories. So in these pieces, I've written the thoughts running through the heads of the people on the subway.

Here's a sneak peak of the series. If you're interested in purchasing any of these pieces, you can contact me with any questions about the pieces or you can contact Nahcotta directly to purchase a piece from them (from now til the end of the show, after the show, any un-sold pieces will be for sale on my website.)

"Green Line", "10x"10, $350

"Blue Line", 10"x8", $250

"Central Square" 8"x10", $250

"D Line", 8"x10", $250

"Orange Line", 6"x6", $75

"Longwood", 6"x6", $75

"Silver Line", 8"x10", $250

"Symphony", 8"x8", $200

Trunkt!

My art is now featured on the very cool online LookBook, Trunkt! This is a very cool website that I've admired for some time. You have to apply to be featured there, so I feel honored to be a part of such a fabulous group of artists.

I've also got some new prints up at the store too, including Roots (above), Geese Flying Over, Waiting for Spring and Between Spaces. I've got more art to add and a newsletter to send out, so more info is on the way soon!

In the meantime, want a fun way to play with color?? This is a super cool site that allows you to make collages of outfits (and you can find out where to buy the items too). I have so much trouble seeing how an outfit will look together when clothes are all separated on their different racks. So this is a great way to see what might look good together. But beyond the clothes, it's also a fun way to see what color combinations look good together. It's like a virtual inspiration board! And if you don't like it, you just toss it and try again (without losing any money!) :-)

News and Views

After meeting with a customer last night, I perused the magazines at Barnes and Noble. Oh, how I love a book store! The cover of the latest Art New England magazine caught my eye as it was smaller and glossier than usual. Turns out the latest issue is their first in a new format, much sleeker and more magazine like than their previous version and it's in full color! Gorgeous! So, I brought it home and was treated to a great article about Boston artist, Robert Freeman and some interesting show reviews that caught my attention, including a review of Rose Umerlik's show at Nahcotta, where I'll have some art next month. I'm working on a special series for that show and I'm very excited about how it's coming along.

The magazine also reminded me that the Joseph Cornell show at the Peabody Essex Museum is nearly over and I haven't seen it yet! I must get there before it closes. The work the PEM did on their website for the exhibition is pretty cool too, so do check it out if you have a chance. Cornell was a great collage artist who did these fascinating shadow boxes along with loads of other gorgeous mixed media pieces.

I've got a new print up in the store! It's a print of the piece, Bring Love and for the month of August it's on sale (framed or unframed) for 10% off. Also, the winner of the first free print drawing for newsletter members, was Tammy from Maine. Congrats, Tammy! She received a free 8.5" x11" print of "The Lighthouse." I will be choosing the winner for this months drawing later today, so if you'd like to be in the running, be sure to sign up for the newsletter which will also keep you current on sales and other happenings.

In other news, my friend Maria has just launched the freshly re-designed web-store for her business, Believe Street. She sells the most gorgeous handcrafted jewelry and gift items. I own her "Be Happy" necklace and matching earrings and they are stunning in person. I wore them last night for a bit of luck and strength/courage (red makes me think strength) and for serenity (the buddha helped me there) and it totally worked! :-) So, thank you, Maria! I also own one of her father's hand-carved leaf pendants and it is the coolest piece, smooth to the touch and impeccably made. I get many, many compliments on it.

I've got lots more art to be uploaded to the website this week, so keep checking in! In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend.

Stories and Art

The "Full Moon" piece below is now up in the store! I've been busy creating, creating, creating. I've got more art to share soon, I'm working on a line of greeting cards, and I'm working on designing a new business card. If you have suggestions for cards that you'd like to see, feel free to email me or leave a comment on this post! Busy, busy, busy!

When I'm working away on art or on the website, I like to have some noise in the background. I have a great music collection (everything from Yo-Yo Ma to Amy Winehouse), but I'm so thrilled with the great (and free!!!) podcasts out there. I think I really enjoy the stories. I like to tell stories in my art and I love to hear a good story. My fiance loves sports. He loves to read about them and watch them. I've found that I only get interested in watching if I know something about the players. I like to hear about their history, their struggles, their personalities. And then I can get into a game. Here are some of the podcasts I'm listening to:

• new find: Craft Sanity, interviews with artists, crafters, etc...
• Hip Tranquil Chick: about yoga and creativity
• Craftcast: More interviews with crafting artists
• Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me: NPR's fabulously funny current events show
• This American Life: Another NPR show with great stories

You can subscribe to these podcasts and listen to then on your computer through iTunes. To subscribe, simply go to iTunes, go to the podcast section and search for these podcasts or just google them. Enjoy and try to stay cool in this summer heat!