We Have A Winner!

I’m pleased as punch to announce that Samy was randomly drawn as the winner of my “Sophisticated Squares” Altered Domino Pendant!! Congratulations!!

The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team, a local Etsy Team for Rochester and the surrounding area, hosted the contest. There were more than 60 entries! It was such fun all week to meet new people and get some good feedback about my work.

Samy is also known as PrincessSamy and PSVintage. Delightful vintage goodies fill her Etsy shop. She says to “Think of her as your very own personal shopper, sorting through all of the ‘blah’ to get to the ‘ooh lala’.” Who couldn’t use a little more “ooh lala”?!

Where else can you find Samy? Looky below! Links!!

Shop: PrincessSamy.etsy.com
Twitter: twitter.com/psvintage
Blog: samyinwonderland.blogspot.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/ PrincessSamyVintage

Did You Say “Earthquake”? Huh?

We had some excitement in the form of an Act of God on Wednesday here in Rochester, NY! Many of us in the area experienced an earthquake around 1:40 PM. Yes. An earthquake. Here.

Mom and I were in the studio on the second floor of my house. The whole house started shaking like a rickety shack. It creaked and grumbled and shook like a Polaroid picture. Lamps rattled, water on my table rippled, the blinds swung.

We looked at each other quizzically. My brain quickly ran through several possible causes. Is that a big truck driving by? A plane? A train? High winds? I’m not sure how far down the list “earthquake” was but I can tell you it wasn’t really on my radar. Then my brain shouted, “Earthquake!!!!”

Since it feels like it all happened in slow motion I'm sure it didn't really last as long as I think it did. It lasted long enough for me to say, "Maybe run?" to my mom so we scooted down the stairs and right on outside to the driveway. We didn't want the house to fall with us in it. And since there was no way to know just how bad this might get or how long it would last, we got out. It was over by the time we got outside, which disappointed me because I wanted to feel the earth rumble under my bare feet in the grass.

The weird thing was that none of my neighbors came outside after it. Mom and I stood looking up and down the street. No one in sight. So we kind of shrugged and then went about eating the fresh red raspberries growing by my driveway that are utterly irresistible. (We are drowning in raspberries at the moment out there.)

Mom thought to turn on the radio in her car in the driveway so we could hear the news. It was maybe close to 10 minutes before we heard anything about an earthquake on the radio. However, I fired up my iPod Touch right away in the driveway, got on Twitter, did a search for "Rochester earthquake", and got instant accounts - some from trusted news sources - from a wide surrounding area about the earthquake.

Interesting Observation: My mom went to the “traditional media” of radio and television. I went right to social networks (knowing full well that the info is not always true) and to various online news sites. All of the local websites had info before radio or TV reported it.

We do not have earthquakes here like this one. Close to never. I've not felt one in the total of 24 years I have lived here.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred on the Ontario-Quebec border region of Canada and was a magnitude 5.0. It could be felt in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York. That’s pretty crazy to me. It was only a 2.something here - have read too many reports with different figures.

This experience reminded me just how suddenly and unpredictably our lives could change for good or for worse at any moment. We got lucky with good. A little scare and a lot of adrenaline, but we are all fine. It was quite an interesting experience that I think I could do without feeling again. Ever.

So I am grateful that the ground is staying still. I am taking the opportunity to tell my loved ones that I love them before the ground swallows them up whole.

A Handmade Giveaway!

I want to thank everyone who has commented and/or emailed me about the piece Kathleen Landers did about me in The Examiner on Monday. So much crafty love coming my way! I’m delighted!

Now I get to spread the love to you! The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) is holding a giveaway on their blog for one of my new domino pendants! How cool is that?!

About the prize:

This altered domino pendant is part of a new line I have launched. I created several pieces of artwork in the same proportions as a domino but on a larger scale – about 6 inches tall. Then I do some pixel pushing magic and print the art very tiny to be put on a domino. An eclectic mixture of color and texture makes this particular domino pendant stylish, classy, and chic.

The wood domino measures 1 3/4 inches (4.4 cm) tall, 7/8 inch (2.2 cm) wide, and 5/16 inch (8 mm) thick.

The necklace:
• YOUR CHOICE of length of black cotton cord (i.e. 16” or 18” or any length you want!)
• Domino hangs on a silver-plated bail
• Necklace closes with a silver-plated lobster clasp

You can see a close up shot of the original artwork on my flickr site.

I love this process as it gives me the ability to create very meticulous work that keeps its detail when scaled down. You can even read the words from the text I used for the larger collage in the smaller print!

So head on over to the RNEST blog and make your comments for entries!

How the contest works:

ENTRY #1: Go to In My Head Studios’ Etsy shop, heart the shop, and then leave a comment on the RNEST blog telling Michelle your favorite item.

ENTRY #2: Become a follower of the RNEST blog and leave a comment there letting Michelle know - or if you follow already, leave a comment saying you're a loyal follower.

In addition, there are at least 6 other chances for extra entries such as answering a trivia question about me, becoming a follower on my blog, Twitter, and Facebook page.

The winner will be chosen using the random number generator on Tuesday, June 22nd and will be announced in the next “Wednesday Wellspring” post on the RNEST blog.


Many thanks go out to Michelle of The Quilted House for organizing the RNEST giveaway and blog post! I love our local Etsy Street Team! So much support and information gets shared in this group. The RNEST Team, in my opinion, is an indispensable resource for Rochester, NY Etsy sellers. If you are from the greater Rochester area please feel free to contact our leader Linda at her Etsy shop for more information on joining.

Happy Giveaway! Can't wait to see who wins!

I've Been Examined by The Examiner

You can’t make art in a vacuum. I firmly believe it takes community. Rochester, NY has one of the finest art communities in the nation. Having made the foray into doing local art and craft shows, I have had the opportunity to meet many fellow local artists. I find this group of people to be excellent networkers, sharers, and cheerleaders. I can’t believe some of the opportunities that have come up for me as a result of all this art love here.

Today I am especially grateful for a local connection I made with a reporter named Kathleen Landers from The Examiner at the MayDay Underground Arts + Crafts show in May. Kathleen has written a deeply humbling story about my artwork and me. She really took the time through phone calls and many emails to get to know me and what fuels my artistic passions. I could not be happier with how her article turned out. Click the screenshot of the article above to go read it.

“Kathleen is a Rochester native who owns her own decorative painting business and displays her work in local shops and art shows. Inspiration is fostered when seeking out area talent and she loves sharing concepts she's learned.” - Kathleen’s Bio on The Examiner

The Examiner consists of local news, events and attractions, real estate, shopping, and more where you can find local top breaking news and perspectives by trusted local experts. The Examiner serves 240 markets in the United States and Canada. The site is broken down into local pages, such as the Rochester, NY Examiner. There is probably a local Examiner for your area.

To keep the celebration going the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) is holding a giveaway on their blog for one of my new domino pendants (pictured below). Check out the post on Wednesday, June 16th for details and a chance to win! Many thanks go out to Michelle of The Quilted House for organizing the RNEST giveaway and blog post!

"Sophisticated Squares" Altered Domino Pendant you could win. The contest starts on Wednesday, June 16th on the RNEST blog.

This domino pendant was created from a larger original work of art I made especially for my line of domino pendants. It is printed on high quality photo paper and ink. This process allows me to create stunning detail on a small scale.

So hop on over to The Examiner post and get to know me better! And don't forget to enter the RNEST giveaway on Wednesday! I'll post about that again so you don't miss it!

Have a happy day!

Borrow My Pen?

A few weeks ago Erik and I were running errands and shopping down around our old haunt neighborhood of Monroe Avenue and Oxford Square. One of my all time favorite shops has been there for ages. It's called Archimage. They sell all sorts of silly things, fun things, Asian pottery, drums, incense, jewelry, wood knickknacks, little Buddhas, stationery, and clothing. Much of my money could happily be spent here and has been over the last 20 years.

Erik found these hilarious pens. The package says “Borrow My Pen?”. The pens are designed to be handed out to those annoying coworkers, bosses, friends, and parole officers who are always asking to borrow your pen. Now you can shame them into shape. These pens have hilarious sayings for fake businesses on them. For example, one says:

Springfield Sexual Addiction Center
From PERV to PERFECT in as little as 10 days
Curbing your enthusiasm since 1998
www.cold-shower.com

Another reads:

Stuffed With Love Taxidermy
No Pet Too Small – Give Us A Call
(ask about our goldfish and turtle discount)
www.fluffy4ever.com

So feel free to lend these pens out and watch your friends faces when they read them! No one will be asking to borrow your pen anymore!