RedBarn Studios

today was so nice.

i spent the the day with some of my favorite peeps. there was laughter and talking and eating and sitting in a space of contentment and friendship.

we hadn’t met, all of us, for some time…schedules. and family commitments and life interrupting….but today we came together and resolved to recommit to us, to the pandoras once again.

Today was ornament day at delane’s.   since Christmas is only a few weeks away, we each came with an ornament to share, bringing enough materials for each of us to make one ornament.

i was torn between two so brought both…both really easy to make.  for the first one you cut fabric {i used Onasburg fabric} into squares, spread glue all over and punched into a styroform ball.  love it!

susan working on her fabric ornament

rachel preparing her fabric

delane showcase her finished ornament…circles cut from scrapbook paper, folded in half, glued together and hung with a piece of ribbon….beautiful.

she glued and glittered all the edges and that just made the whole thing pop (not shown).

rachel’s ornament to share used string, glue and a balloon. we figured out that it takes a lot more time to dry than the directions prescribed so only a few of us got these finished.  here’s michele painting glue on her strung balloon.

and susan’s almost finished one, rolled in green glitter.  when the glue has dried you pop the balloon to remove it. we thought it would look real good with a few of them across a table or mantel with a battery operated light in the center or twinkle lights bunched up in its center.

we got such a kick out of her green glittered fingers….look at that gorgeous green colour!

i didn’t get to take a pic of any of delane’e ornament project….she bought clear glass ornaments, coated the inside with a small of amount of Pledge floor cleaner then tipped fine glitter into the opening coating all surfaces.

i worked on the project susan brought.  she needle felted some wool and roving, stuck in a dryer and brought the finished ball for us to stitch.  wool usually makes me crazy itchy but this one i had a ball stitching.

delane made a delicious chicken corn chowder soup for lunch with homemade bread and i enjoyed it so much i forgot to take a before pick but here’s the good-to-the-last-drop after shot…..hee hee.

we had special company while we worked….she played and talked and even slept a little.  it was rachel’s daughter {and delane’s grandaughter} kiyah.  what a sweetie she is!!!

toodles,

G

Tags: Art, pandoras by grace
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that

…as creatives

…as artists

…as seekers of beauty and light

….as writers of our own stories

…that we are worth the time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

this video by jan phillips speaks this truth so eloquently

embedded by Embedded Video

toodles,

G

Tags: Art, community, Inspiration by grace
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because….

i am achingly drawn to the work of erin ashley.

can I tell you  – like OMG triple fold!  my heart did a little pitter patter then a big honking somersault.

first of all her work is all about

colour, colour and more colour

‘sweet karma’s kiss’

and

abstract bits of deliciousness all over the larger than life canvases,

creative, deliberate dances of movement,

depths of richness in layers that stir the soul

that if they filled all the walls in a room i would feel surrounded by light and love and touches of harmony so sweet and melodic.

seriously….can you believe i am this gaga?  Honestly?

one of my many fav’s  is ‘rush hour taxi’

‘rush hour taxi’

those swirling bits of sunshine yellows and moody greys that have you swaying to their own crazy beat..

it’s like sitting in a nightclub  listening to upbeat bits of jazz with it’s own downturn of the blues in overtones…nice

other pieces of erin’s art includes…

‘mellow yellow‘        ‘summer jasmine‘       ‘blue monday‘

‘whispering souls 2‘      ‘lover’s rock‘      ‘heart of glass‘

the piece ‘metro mix‘ started it all.

i saw it on pinterest (that sneak-up-on-you-OH-so-addictive site) and posted it to my ‘fab ART’ board.   as is usual, you get a msg saying that someone likes or has repined your post.   i click and pin so much (remember? addiction- in full stream) that i had to go back and be reminded of what my new follower likes, and that’s how the love-soaked infatuation with erin ashely’s art began.

and i’m not giving it up!

go on…take a peek at the her eye candy

and do some drooling yourself

toodles, all,

G

Tags: artists, artwork I love by grace
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i found a little gift in my mailbox a little while back

an email informing me that i (or rather, one of my products) was included in an esty treasury.

butterfly kiss Lil purse

i love being included in treasuries.  it’s so much fun to see what the list is about and who else has been included.

esty came up with the idea of treasure hunts whereby an esty member gathers together a list of 16 sellers according to whatever criteria they choose.  it can be all about favorite items, a cool colour, a theme or  even a personal wish list, the sky’s the limit on what it can include.

‘enchanted with yarn‘ put together an etsy treasure hunt with a selection of Huntersville artists/craftspeople and i was included…yay me!  she says she’s a newbie at etsy but a long timer at creating and sharing her creations.

~  savannah necklace ~  minky stroller blanket ~

~  indian bloodstone gemstone ~

~  red dazzling strawberry hair clippie  clips   ~

~   tile/stone monogram coaster ~

~  original painting – dahlias in the cloudscape ~

~  round and round planner ~

~   coming home poncho ~

~  butterfly kiss Lil purse journal (that’s ME!)   ~

~    handmade pink chocolate boutique hair bow ~

~   sterling silver wire wrapped fresh water pearl bracelet ~

~   silver salad forks ~   sea life wine charms ~  joyful christmas card ~

~   pastel in pumpins ~  custom children’s paintings ~

if you haven’t you need to. and for those who don’t know, esty is a place of handmade good-ee-ness

….no kidding.

toodles all,

G

Tags: community, pic of day by grace
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when someone purchases a journal or notebook from my etsy shop i usually wrap it in brown paper…love the simplicity of that wrapping.

last week i got an order in for the zine i created above
(read more about it here and here).

as i went to wrap the zine for posting, on the spur of the moment, i decided to step it up a notch create an art mailing envelope
a la roben-marie….thanks girlfriend!

instead of using a manila file folder (still wanna try that too) i tore a piece of the same brown paper i usually use, got out my stash of scrap papers, put some music on and went at it.

i gotta tell you……..it’s so way cool a project!

(i even did a video of it but in my haste to record it i pressed the button to pause the recording [because of kiddus interruptus] thinking i was pressing to start recording.

i’m sure you don’t want to here me talking to my kids with my hands just sitting idle on the table…or maybe you would huh?).

anyway when i went to the post office to mail it, the postmistress kept turning it over and over not believing i made it or that i wanted to send it through the mail…ha!

doesn’t she know know that we crazy folks mail all sorts of stuff.  just as long as they hand cancel it we are good to go!

i even had her hold it for a mailing labels pic before she whisked it away.

to finish it off i stitched the sides, stamped, gessoed and added some lace i spray painted.

that’s my newest purchase…a rubber stamp with my company name. LoVE it!

toodles all,

G

Tags: Inner-views, mixed media, zine by grace
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and one is in this post!

it was a very nice surprise when i opened an email and saw that a friend i made online, Isa, had given me an award.  i have been awarded a ‘gorgeous blogger’ award. I am honored and, at the same time, tickled pink!

how way cool is that!!!!!!

now i have to answer 5 questions…

when did you start your blog?
i started my original blog back in June 2007 (wowsa!) …had to go digging for that long ago bit of info. this means that 5 yrs of blogging is coming upon me…must do something bout that…..mmmh (she says quizzically)

what do you write about?
my blog is about my art, my life and all the things that happen in between………and there have been some doozies!

what makes this special?
what makes blogging special to me is that i have a chance to share a piece of me…my art and my life….with online friends i’ve made over the years (but not had a chance yet to meet) and keep my local friends up to date with my goings on, especially if we haven’t seen each other in a while.

my original blog was named  barnyard chatter (long story short..company name is redbarn studios…get it?) and i always signed off each post with “see ya next time, in the hayloft”. I used that because the hayloft reminded of a cool place to hang out together for friendship, laughter and lots and lots of chatting.  soon i’ll have to invite you all to my real barn…when i get it that is (hee hee)

what made you start writing?
i have always wanted to write in a diary and have started many a journal over the years, but writing that way never really stuck. one day my impish side decided she needed to challenge me, so i took the bait and……my blog was born.

the impish grace

i want always to be authentic in my words, to keep things light and that kinda comes out in my posts. i write like i talk…like i’m sitting with some friends in a cafe…..sipping on some java……shooting the breeze……contemplating life and all that she’s cracked up to be.

what would you change in your blog?
in the last few months i’ve been moving toward more ‘be real’ content as opposed to just about ‘art’.  although i love, love , love creating, my life these days is not just about the art and i needed my blog to reflect more of that. I believe what we write should be part and parcel of who we are.

as for the technical side, funnily enough i’ve recently been thinking bout updating her looks. a few years ago i changed from blogger to wordpress.com then moved to wordpress.org where i now host my own blog.  been thinking it’s now time for a revamp…..give this girl some more me style, maybe bring on some more RED!

next, the nominations…

wasn’t gonna nominate anyone else cause i know sometimes other bloggers don’t want to be bothered, but i had a rethunk and decided i would rather share these people with you rather than keep them to myself.  they are but a handful of the bloggers out there who make me smile and laugh each day.   c’mon now, i had to pass on this ‘make-you-feel-real-good’ gorgeous blogger award.

the first one that came to mind is my friend Delane….she is inspirational, creative, supportive and the definition of friend.
http://delanequilts.wordpress.com

next is funky, no holds barred Sasha…she is a soldier girl, living in the UK, paper artist, venturing out into a new, somewhat old thing…. professional photography
http://sassysasha.typepad.com

karoda, one of my fav quilt artists.  her art and words can invite the most sacred introspection.  don’t remember how we came to be online friends but it just happened and i like it.  she is as real as you can get!
http://karoda.typepad.com/seamless_skin/

i happened upon evalicious one day bout a year ago and have been reading her blog ever since.  she creates and sells innovative, spirited art journals….not your regular kind mind you.  must check out her ‘about’ page for heads up on her name.
http://shop-evalicious.blogspot.com

last (and by no means least….you’ll read why) is francine.  self described as a scrapbooking, west indian mama, her creativity oozes out in all she does. i think her best creative moment by far (according to moi) is her son kieran.  full disclosure here….she also happens to be my cousin! yeh baby!!!! it runs in the fam….ha!
http://francineclouden.typepad.com/

hope you enjoyed the trip with me as I accepted my award. have a gander at the other blogs…you might find yourself bookmarking a few.

Toodles all,

Tags: community, Inspiration, monday posts by grace
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my dear friend, DeLane’s first grandchild, a girl, was born 2 weeks ago.  needless to say she has been on a natural high these last few days and so enjoys holding the newest member of her family,
kiyah lain.

she was so excited when she called to tell me that i knew i had to create something so she can capture all those special moments to come because we all know how fast time flies by.  one minute they are just born and the next they’re entering kindergarden.

soooo, I made her a new kind of brag album.

there are seven 2-page spreads, one for each of the next 6 months so she can record each moment as she remembers them.  i’ve also added a 2nd tag for her husband. the proud grandfather so that he can record his own memories of this special little one.

embedded by Embedded Video

hope you enjoy it omi and papa steve……many, many happy  memories to you both.

toodles,

Tags: captured moments, pandoras, paper art, patterns by grace
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There is a wonderful post by Del Thomas up on her blog. Last year Del purchased my SAQA auction piece “Amidst The Fire” for her private collection. I was honored to be a part of the 2010 SAQA auction and quite excited when I found out who had purchased my donation contribution.

Del has been making quilts for a long time and started her quilt collection in the 70′s. This phenomenal group of quilts, The Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection, is a remarkable collection of work and I am humbled that my artwork is included in it.

Earlier this week Del wrote a little bit about this piece I made and what attracted her to this particular auction item. You can check her post out here.

Donations for the 2011 SAQA auction are now being posted on the SAQA website. Check the website to download the form to contribute your donation and for those who would like to purchase a small piece of artwork, check back in September when the auction will go live.

Toodles all,

Tags: Art, community, fiber art by grace
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yesterday i told you about all the fun the pandoras had playing together.  as promised here’s some of the prints i made.

the night before we met i cut out some pics of birds, butterflies and circles (my creative symbols) to use as resists.

I must have printed about 15 sheets of paper from the gelatin plate, some with just 2 passes and others reprinting 3 and 4 times  (ahem…only 1 of those really came out usable).

the prints below are my favs.  can’t wait to use in projects.

this print in olives and blues used the stone shaped paper and chunky bird i cut out previously, as well as a cypress branch we snuck a branch from. the things that looks like eggs in the branches (oh so cool!) are my finger tips from pressing the cypress leaves into the painted gelatin plate.

S E R E N D I P I T Y ….gottta love her hanging around.

yummy….yummy, oh so delightfully delectable is bubbly wrap (thank you Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding for inventing it before i knew i would love it so).  alison had large and small sizes available to use so i just went to town all around.

this print got a bit lost and convoluted over time. i really liked the 1st print….the 2nd overprint was okay (no pic- duh!).  so what does one do when something is just okay…they try to improve it
….and sometimes they fail. oh well. it’ll be used for something somewhere down the line and will fit the bill perfectly! maybe a quote under the butterfly and call that george.

from the print before i was left with the ghost plate and decided to smoosh my hand in there and see what i get.  the girl likes this one which means in order to have this one i had to go thru the trials of the above pic.  not bad for a morning’s work.

here’s the chunky bird again and i loved it in this print.  looks like the bird is gathering the string to make her nest.  (best make copies of these prints real quick so i have them around for future projects cause i’m wanting to use this now….yum!)

how scrump-dee -lee o-tious is this one?  towards the end i was trying all sorts of resits in in printing but, don’t care what you say…this one’s is a keeper.

leftovers.  nuff said.

toodles all,

Tags: mixed media, pandoras, paper art by grace
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yes, we did it again. we spent a whole morning talking and gabbing and playing and learning AND jumping into our “friend pool” once again. and the water was oh so lovely.

we’d done gelatin printing before but i don’t remember it being this much fun.

alison prepared a tray of knox gelatin for each of us (a large, large tray…nice!) first things first get that puppy onto the table. some had some mishaps with the gelatin cracking and tearing but all was still good.

as deLane said, serendipity became the word of the day, so we embraced our cracks (ha!) we painted and smooshed and revealed some amazing pieces.

susan commented that it worked best if we suspended trying to control the outcome. that girl worked her gelatin to the bone! loved this print she made.

as michele made prints we would hear this “oooh!! i like!” coming from her end of the table. tried to capture that tickled-pink feeling she was exuding

alison painted and played with Lumiere metallic paints and came up with this print she really loved (one of many mind you).

we each took home our bits of gelatin and will reconstitute them (cut up and nuke for secs) for more solitary playtime. all we all on for the challenge….see who can make the first project from these prints? C’mon girls, let’s do it!

Anyway, I have to get back to regularly scheduled programing (kid off bus thing) so will post pics of my gelatin prints tomorrow.
come on back, ya hear!

Tags: pandoras by grace
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