Follow your dreams.

My freelance projects as of late have been all across the board. On any given day, my creative tools range from a paintbrush to a heap of junk on the side of the road to just my lil' laptop. This week, I worked on a whimsical book cover for Glenna Rossi, a local dream worker. It had been a while since I picked up oil pastels, which is how I created the base of this design. I added the digital aspects afterward, but wanted to really capture windy, fall weather at dusk in northern NH. It reminded me how much I love the color and emotion you can get from layered oil pastels. Onward with this newfound inspiration...I think I will do some more oil pastel pieces this winter when I am working in my new shoppe studio. Thank goodness for sloves and hot cocoa! :o)

My creative zone.

My day started with a cup of coffee and I have not stopped since. I have been sanding and painting and cleaning and creating and organizing and painting more and sanding more and designing and...

You get the point.

In the midst of everything, it is difficult to be completely aware of where you are and just...appreciate. So following a 30 minute power clean of my basement studio space, I thought I would snap a few pics and take it in for a minute. I am always stressing over cleanliness and organization, and often find it difficult to be creative if I don't have a sense of that (I know...kind of defies the typical mentality of an artist!). But today, I found satisfaction in all if it and have been enjoying my space more than ever. :o)

Ok, now I need to get back to work! Got lots of holiday shows coming up!

Silk Screenin'

I knew I was going to like silk screening, but I didn't know I was going to love it THIS much. I have been doodling ideas in my sketchbook all winter, and now that I have the screenin' setup in my studio, all of my drawings are becoming t-shirt designs! I am using pre-loved clothing (mostly collected from the Goodwill of Asheville!), and doing lots of funky designs and placement. They'll be coming soon to a Veggie Art Girl Boutique near you! :o)
I'm addicted! I love working with the textiles and colors!

This was a blog post way back when...I drew this design and asked people if they would like to see it as a shirt design. People said yes, so here it is!

Don't think twice, it's all right...

What a beautiful weekend. Our first annual Open Studio tour in Rumney was a raging success (more on that to follow!) and we closed the doors to the Art Barn once and for all. Amy and I took time to reminisce and reflect, and know we will leave this experience as better friends in the end. It has been a fabulous two seasons, which in the last couple of hours ended in a slightly ceremonial gathering of artists, friends (and my mom!) who helped clean up the barn and take down signs. And as I closed the large, clunky doors to the barn for the final time, I took a deep breath and realized what a truly amazing feat this has all been. I turned around (Jim snapped the pics), walked away, and knew that it was only the start of where I am going to go. Thank you Amy and Dave, for such an amazing opportunity, and for your unconditional love and support.

Open Studio event this weekend!

So after much deliberation, Amy and I have decided to close the doors to the Art Barn for good. Amy and I both work full time and have independent freelance projects going on; that, in combination with a slightly suffering economy (especially in the northern part of the state!), we sadly have decided to close our doors once and for all.

I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been a support to us over the past two seasons. It has been a remarkable experience and couldn’t be done without the love and encouragement of friends and family. While it sad that Amy and I will no longer be business partners, I am excited for our new ventures, and I know we are both moving onto bigger things…

The Art Barn will be open for its final days this Columbus Day weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. (We're offering 10% off barn wide, and have lots of new jewelry, signs and cards that came in this week for early Christmas shopping!)And while the closing of the barn isn’t going to end on as much of a party note as usual, I am excited to announce an exciting event that the barn will be part of.

For the past three months or so, I have been working with a group in Rumney called the Rumney Village Artisans, to make something happen. And I think this is going to be a good one. The RVA will be hosting a town-wide Open Studio Tour, which invites leaf-peepers and art-lovers alike to tour the studios of many amazing, local artists. This is a beautiful drive down the rural roads of Rumney, where 10 artists welcome you to tour their studios, see works, purchase gifts and enjoy complimentary refreshments. We’ve got everything, from weaving to sculpture, to pottery, to (one of my personal inspirations and college professors) Terry Downs, who will be displaying collections of his drawings and etchings. It is truly going to be fantastic. So swing on through Rumney, pick up a map and experience the rare opportunity to get behind-the-scenes of some up and coming artists in the world.

Maps for the event will be available at most Rumney businesses (including Ryzaks, Rumney Village Store and Shanware Pottery), as well as the locations on the map for this weekend event (or you can click on the map below to make it bigger, then print it from here). Below is the poster I designed (also clickable and printable!)…please send this link along to anyone you think might enjoy the journey, so we can help support our local artists! If you have any questions or need a map or directions, please feel free to e-mail me at veggieartgirl@yahoo.com, and I’ll send one to you!

Thank you everyone again for your love and support...it is overwhelming and beautiful. And stay posted…I’ll be back in Spring of 2009 with a new shop (VeggieArtGirl: an earth-friendly boutique)…opening on Squam Lake!