Used to be Opening!

What fun we had Saturday at the opening of my show Used To Be at The Studio! It was great to see old and new friends, and debut my recent works over wine and amazing live music.

 Holly Furlone and Jim Tyrrell rocked the side stage with hours of beautiful acoustic tunes...

 And people mingled about. The show goes on until the end of 2014. Be sure to check it out...The Studio is located at 54 Canal Street in Laconia, NH.

Thanks everyone for coming out and for your awesome support! :o)

Back in the game.

Now that I have my studio all set up, I have been back to my old ways of painting into the wee hours of the morning. My absolute favorite. (Of course, I have found that now that I am a mommy to a 3 year old, I do not have the energy I once had. But still, I'm rocking it.)

 

Here are a few selections from a current show that is hanging at The Studio in Laconia, called Used to Be. I am honored to hang there for my second time, with all my cool new works, painted on old wood, panels, windows and doors.

 

 

It's kind of funny (and super relative)...I named this show before I completely created it, back when I booked it last year. Who knew everything in my life would be so different and I would use the words "used to be" as much as I am these days?

Come on out to the opening reception for the show on November 15th! Will be lots of fun! :o)

Walls, inspiration and naked girls.

I'll be honest: it's been a while since I have felt so inspired, so alive with creativity. I experience inpiration in the little things in life...it is always there for me. But it has been a while since I have experienced goosebump-y, jumping-up-and-down, oh-my-gosh-I-can't-breathe inspiration. This has been a whirlwind week of sketching, envisioning and imagining...then painting, creating, gluing, stitching, nailing and building to bring these ideas to life.

Next on my wacky life agenda (as many of you know) is to be a partner in the Anam Cara Collective in Asheville, a consignment art shoppe (much like Veggie Art Girl!) paired with a performance space for intimate shows and performances. The marriage of the two concepts feels so natural to me, that I knew it was going to be a smashing success the minute that my partner Erinn starting talking about it over beer at the local pub a year (or two?) ago.
Now, everything is becoming an exciting reality. We've been transforming this olllld building on Haywood Ave. into a beautiful venue for our first show performance on Feb. 5th (Nikki Talley!), which is going to be followed by two weekends of Naked Girls Reading. Our art shoppe is going to open a couple of days prior. People have really been working together to help make this happen. Local press has been creating a buzz! It is all overwhelmingly amazingly inspiring and humbling to me.

And now (drumroll please!)...I will share with you some of our cool construction. First off: we needed to divide the space a bit for sound, seating and all that. So we built a wall.

In trying to stay green (and save some moola!) we decided to use old doors and shutters. I brought some with me (in Janis!) from NH and we created this beautiful wall! (Dad, you should be proud- everything you taught me about framing out a wall, I used- it's all 24 on center! AND amazingly square and level!)
The best part? The wall is hinged to the wall so we can fold it flat to open up the space. I have to say that I have taken a lot of inspiration for this wall project from Melissa McCarthy at The Studio- whose wall on wheels I have been admiring for some time. :o) (And all of the funky architechtural pieces are taken from old shelving I dumpster dove for!) There are pieces and parts from all over the place, making this installation so rich in texture, but history. I love this wall!

And I love what I am doing here. I can't wait to share more pics of our progress, shop and shows. Awesome things are happening! Cheers to art! :o)

Last call for hoop making!

Before I hit the road for Asheville and right after the New Year, I will be featuring a final hula hoop making class. This one's on location at The Studio in Laconia, NH and will run from 1:00-3:00 on Sunday, January 3rd. The cost is $15.00 and you will come away with a homemade, sparkly, swirly, twirly hoop of your very own! Space is limited in the class, so please e-mail me at veggieartgirl@gmail.com to reserve a spot!

Help get me to Asheville! :o)

Looks like I will be heading back to Asheville, NC for the winter again this year! Yippie! The dilemna: I am trying to raise money to fill Janis to get me there! As part of the Open Studio (at 'The Studio in Laconia, NH), I am silent auctioning off a GIANT painting I created. It's about 4x6.5' and organically hung with hemp twine from a giant found piece of driftwood. I hand stitched a pole pocket so it hangs straight and makes an instant mural! The bidding is starting at 49 cents at noon today and will go 'til 6:00 on Sunday. Swing on by 'The Studio' (see previous wall post for more info!) to place a bid, attend the Open House, listen to some live music and check out some FABULOUS artists! We're there all weekend! :o)

OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND!

OMG...I am SO excited. (I "OMG-ed"...THAT'S how excited I am!) The Studio, a FANTASTICAL, magical, creative place in Laconia (right on Union Ave., above 'Too Good To Be Threw') is opening their doors for a super duper Open House all weekend and I am going!

Melissa McCarthy is the magic behind this operation and I am so excited to have gotten to know her. She's shaking things up in Laconia...changing minds and lives and inspiring and you should come check it out! My good friend Jim Tyrrell (who you may remember from the hoppin' Holiday Open House at my shoppe!) is going to be the featured musician on Saturday from 3:00 & on. Come rock out and get your art on! Pass along the invite to ANYONE you think would love to be a part of it all and swing by from noon to six EITHER Saturday OR Sunday!

OMG.