The GWCC.

Everyone asks what the heck the GWCC is. I have a group of friends here who are addicts like me and we meet there in the afternoons like its a secret tree fort. I try and tell people about it, or bring my friends when they come to visit. It's hard to explain...you just have to experience it. The Goodwill Clearance Center: you never know what you are going to get. It's a recently expanded warehouse of bins, bins and more bins. These giant blue bins on wheels line the floor as people wander around with numbered blue shopping carts, sifting through the bins for the ultimate thrift store score. Each hour, they change out the bins as people line up for the new ones to come out, like a herd of cows to some feed. It's unlike anything I have every experienced. It's an every day yard sale. And every time I go there, I think, 'Man, my Noni would have loved this place!'

C'mon Spring! :o)

I have to say, as much as I loooooovvvvveeee Asheville, the weather has been kind of terrible this season. There has been a scattering of sunshiney days, but they have been massively outnumbered by New Hampshire-esque, blizzardy, snowy ones. But, it's all about making the most of it! And as the sun is shining and it is a near 50 degrees out today (woot!), I think I will post the last of my wintery pics, and then store them far, far away. Most of these were taken when Jim came to visit me in February. (Chainsaw: did YOU grafitti this wall?) Fig snow art.

I have to say that while Janis does okay in the snow, she does prefer the springtime. :o)

Sew much fun!

I have ALSO been on a sewing rampage. Unable to find a groovy tote to carry my laptop around town (AND protect it!) for reasonable monies, I decided to just go ahead and make one. This cute lil' bag is made from 2 pillow cases, an old holey t-shirt and some stuffing. I have gotten tons of compliments on it in coffee shoppes, and since it was so easy and fun to make, I am going to sew a few more for my shoppe. Earth friendly laptop bags...coming to VeggieArtGirl this spring. :o)

This cute lil' buddy is Star, my roommate's doggie. She really loved my new bag. :o)

Peace. Love. Etsy.

I have been painting and painting and painting these days. A combination of my fueled excitement for the reopening of my store and the unpredicatable cold weather has brought me down to my lil' basement studio with a space heater for some creation station time. (Anyone remember that show? Creation Station? I will defintely be YouTubing that later). I have been challenging myself in many ways and growing in technique and style. The body of work I am going to be hanging at the shop (and featuring at a few local boutiques and shoppes in New England) is primarily my classic handpainted signs. But I have found different types of wood, salvaged pieces, am shakin up my color palette and new ideas are flowing. Here's a little sampling of what's in store. Literally. :o)



This piece is one of my favorite quotes of all time, handpainted on a vintage children's xylophone.

An old cabinet door now tells a story:

If you want to see more of what I have been creating, check out my etsy shoppe: http://www.etsy.com/shop/VeggieArtGirl Enjoy the new naughty section! More coming soon!

A chicken poem.

Happy, happy crazy chickens,

out the back door.

Happy, happy crazy chickens

live on dirt floor.

Happy, happy crazy chicken

was once dinosaur.

Happy, happy crazy chickens,

I sleep no more.

But thanks for the eggs, little buddies.

Anam Cara Awesomeness.

I have been working with Anam Cara (Celtic translation: "soul friend") Theatre Co. here in Asheville for about a year down, helping with design projects and such. They just celebrated their first birthday on Saturday with cupcakes and live music at Firestorm Cafe and are on the brink of getting non-profit status. This company is different than most theatre groups, because they try to fuse as many aspects of the arts into each gathering as possible. From music to visual art to theatrical arts and everything in between, it is a fun and diverse group of people who come together with great pride for what the group is doing and promote social awareness.
March 13th will be a HUGE fundraiser at the Garage at Biltmore. We're calling it "The Gathering at the Garage" and if you don't have plans, you should mark your calendar. The goal of the evening is to not only raise enough moola to afford non-profit status (through silent auctions, raffles, t-shirt sales and more), but to have loads and loads of fun! Come join!

Crafty Kathy.

It's been muuuuuch colder than anticipated here in Asheville, so I have been hybernating. No complaints from me, though....as long as I have my space heater and my paintin' pants, I am all set. I have been making crafty goods to both sell and display at my shoppe (which I am uber excited to reopen!). Here's a little how-to project that is going to adorn the walls of the Veggie Art Girl Boutique in the spring:

These little people clothes were all finds from the Goodwill Clearance Center here in Asheville. I used scraps of fabric with iron on material to create letters and cut them out in my signature font. They are going to hang on a make-shift clothesline with vintage pins on the wall above the (new and improved!) vintage clothing section of the boutique. Fun!