{be creative everyday} 2013

Last year, although many, many wonderful things happened, I didn't feel I was doing my best work or giving my creative life the room it needed to bloom. I was left feeling empty and aimless when I thought I was doing the right things. I kept asking myself what I was missing. I finally figured it out. I was missing a plan. I didn't have a specific enough quest. 

My creative life needs challenges. It needs attention or it withers. It needs planning and brainstorming. We all know that nothing comes from nothing. And I'm sick of all this nothing. 

What does my uncontainable need to create cry out for? 

TIME. ROUTINE. FREEDOM TO PLAY. COMMUNITY. 

Above all: PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. 

I need art more than I need oxygen. I want to fill my days with awareness and find the creativity in the world around me. My creativity needs to be a part of my daily routine. I've been taking my creativity for granted, which prevents me from seeing it as infinite potential. 

I am on a mission. A [wide-open] secret mission. Since I like you very much, I will let you in on the [wide-open] secret mission. I am going to {be creative everyday} in 2013. Yup. Every. Single. Day. For 365 days. As of today (01/12/13) I am on track for all 12 days of January. Woot! This blog post counts! 

I am embarking on learning something new and creating new habits. Right now the novelty of {be creative everyday} hasn't worn off and I've attacked my projects like wildfire these past 12 days. Some mornings I can't wait to get up and get creative. (Remember, creativity come in many forms: doodles, music, painting, writing, cooking, brainstorming, doing puzzles, teaching, blogging, etc.) 

I know at some point that novelty will wear off a bit. That's ok. In learning a new habit, at the start it's ok to kind of stink at it. That's how this learning and practice thing works. So my plan is simply to show up. Be there in my studio and bridge the gap from crap to "I MADE THAT?!?!" with sheer volume. Maybe it will bring my muse tiptoeing around to see what all the fuss is about. 

I won't be sharing every single creative endeavor here. Some things are a little too mundane to post. My plan is to post weekly wrap-ups and highlight specific projects as they come up. Some months will be dedicated to other specific everyday projects like Index-Card-A-Day 2013 (ICAD3) at Daisy Yellow's blog in June and July. I'll be making cards for Operation Write Home throughout the year. Some art will be abandoned. I'll be entering shows like 6x6x2013 at Rochester Contemporary, and taking advantage of my Honorable Mention award at last year's Artists Row with free booth space in 2013. 


I am keeping track of my daily creativity with photos using an app on my phone called Photo365. It lets me post pictures for specific days to tell the story of {be creative everyday} 2013 in a calendar of images. 

Tons of everyday projects are starting up and it's never too late to join some. Hanna is doing 365 somethings in 2013. Tammy at Daisy Yellow is also joining in for 2013. If you want to join in on 365 Somethings go join the flickr group for #365in2013 

I'm looking forward to keeping you up to date on {be creative everyday} 2013. Please let me know in the comments if you have a project going on! 

- Vickie

"Put A Bird On It!" :: RNEST Challenge

It's time for another Rochester NY Etsy Street Team Monthly Challenge! November's theme is "Put A Bird On It!", which is more in reference to the delicious and varied poultry we will enjoy on Thanksgiving than the current cute trend. 

Personally though, I love putting birds on anything. I adore little birdies. If I could be any animal it would definitely be a little bird!

My "Party Bird" domino pendant was created with ridiculously tiny, hand-cut pieces of paper that I painted myself. Even the little poofy part on top of the hat is hand-cut! 

Head on over to the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team's blog to cast your vote! You have until November 14th at midnight.

You can also head on over to In My Head Studios' Etsy shop to buy this dapper little fellow for yourself! 

- Vickie

It's A Craftmas December!

The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) has a month-long party of handmade goodness planned for December! I'm at a loss for words when it comes to describing my joy about these events. This is going to be gooood!

Several months ago the RNEST team decided to rent a space for a month somewhere in Rochester to hold shows, workshops, and community building events. The Hungerford Building became available to us a few months ago, but something fell through with that. Instead that was a blessing in disguise as now we have the space for December and we can focus on holiday shows and winter fun.

The extra exciting, really cool thing is that Etsy gave our team a grant to do this. Yes! Etsy gave us money to put all of this together. How cool is that?!

We've met. We've talked. We've planned. Now it's time to reveal the crafty month-long RNEST party we have in store for you!

All events are located at The Hungerford Building, Door 8,
at 1115 East Main Street, Rochester, NY, 14609. 

Craftmas Events are on Facebook! Click the links below to RSVP, then share with your friends!



Craftmas: Etsy Style! First Friday Holiday Craft Sale
Friday, December 2nd at 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm 
Saturday, December 3rd at noon - 4:00 pm 

A Handmade Holiday hits the Hungerford Building! Come shop from a selection of quality items made by local artists. Give the gift of handmade this holiday season!


Clothing Swap 
Monday, December 5th at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

It’s time to clean out that closet! Bring in your unwanted clothing and take home some new-to-you pieces for your wardrobe...all for free! RNEST artists will also be available to teach demos with techniques for altering and upcycling your clothes into fun, new items! *Any clothing left over at the end of the night will be donated. Nothing will go to waste!


Creative Play Session 
Saturday, December 10th at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm 

Creativity boosting activities and exercises to spark your artistic inspiration and get out of a rut. Come with an open mind and leave with ideas for new projects! (For ages teen and up)


Open Craft Night: Etsy Style! 
Thursday, December 15th at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

Demos: glass pendant soldering, knitting, bead weaving and MORE! Everyone is invited for a handmade, fun-filled evening of simple planned projects and unstructured time with RNEST artists. Bring your crafty works-in-progress, share our supplies, experiment with our tools, and ask us about tips and techniques. A small sampling of our works will also be available for sale.

I am part of the planning committee for Open Craft Night. We have a lot of cool projects lined up that are easy as well as more intermediate and low cost to make. No art experience required! Just watching all the demos alone will fill up the night. It's going to be awesome. I can't wait!!

Direct questions about any of these events to me at inmyheadstudios [at] gmail.com

We hope you can make it to at least one of these events! They will be a lot of fun simply because our team is a lot of fun!

What now? Head over to RNEST on Facebook to RSVP, then share the events with your friends! 

xoxo

- Vickie

Purple, Orange and Black: Halloween!

It's a wicked awesome Rochester NY Etsy Street Team Treasury by Jackbear Stamps!

All of these creepy critters and delightful handmade pieces are made locally by Rochester, NY artisans from the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST). I will add that they are all delightful people, too! I am having a great time being on this team. It's really fun to get together in person with other Etsy sellers and talk shop.

We have a very active team. Our Team Blog is always hopping with great crafty info and even better giveaways. Each Wednesday, our team features a new giveaway. That's every week! You could win all of your holiday gifts and be done with shopping this way! Plus you'll be giving handmade. Win win!

Keep your eyes on the RNEST blog for some sweet events we have planned! You don't want to miss them! 

(While you're here, please take a moment to visit this Treasury and hand out some clicks and favorites! Our whole team will appreciate it!)

- Vickie 
 

Be In It To Win It

I am giving away this "Blooming Brightly" Fine Art Domino Pendant, truly a Tiny Work of Awesome *, at the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team blog this week!!
 

Created from my hand-painted and hand-cut papers, these bright and cheerful blooms seem to pop right off this lively domino pendant. Shiny little purple sparklies add a bit of twinkle to what is already a very glossy finish. The edges of some of the paper is distressed to add more dimension. The pips (dots) on the back of the domino are 2 and 3.

The artwork on a domino pendant measures about 1-1/2" x 3/4". That's smaller than the size of 1/4 of a business card. Even the tiniest pieces in my collages are hand cut!

The winner (it could be you!) will get her/his choice of necklace length in either black waxed cotton cord or silver-colored base-metal ball chain (pictures shown with black waxed cotton cord). The domino pendant hangs on a silver-plated bail.  

* What is a "Tiny Work of Awesome"? It's a one-of-a-kind, teeny, tiny, original piece of mixed media collage that I create on various very small objects like dominoes, Scrabble tiles, and other game pieces and surfaces.

Head on over to the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team blog to enter for your chance to win! 

You can earn up to SEVEN entries by commenting, liking, blogging, and tweeting! 

Hurry! You only have until Tuesday, October 11, 2011!

Open to US and Canada only. 

 - Vickie

I'm A Winning Winner!

Each month the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) has a challenge. The theme for May was "lilacs".

Rochester, NY is famous for having the largest lilac collection in the world with over 500 varieties and over 1,200 bushes at Highland Park. We have this fabulous 10 day festival that kicks off the summer festival season in early May each year. It is filled with art, music, and oh so good food.

Guess what I made? Yup. A lilac domino pendant!

Much to my surprise, I won the voting! So I get my Etsy Mini at the head of the RNEST blog for the month of June! Yippee!!


The RNEST blog is full of giveaways, tips, and local fun. You should follow or pick it up in your RSS reader. We have a very active team!

- Vickie

Shows!! There Are Shows!

Networking locally and, well, just showing up has netted a few shows for my calendar for the next two weeks. Yay for just showing up!

Thanks to my buddies on the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST), I finally made it to a monthly RNEST meeting. One of our members, Chrys from aDifferentView, still needed some folks for b’Zart: a community celebration & art/craft sale to benefit Golisano Children's Hospital.

b’Zart is not going to be a stuffy “black tie” fundraising event. This is a party! I love that when I go to “work” I’m really going to big parties!

Expect an evening of festivities and entertainment, complete with drink specials, skee-ball, and darts. Skee-ball!! They are also offering a raffle with great prize packages; all ticket proceeds to benefit the hospital. I put a domino pendant into the raffle. Really, isn’t that all the incentive you need?

Several of my crafty RNEST pals will be there along with local musicians. It’s going to rock!

Come get your Tiny Works of Awesome from In My Head Studios!

b'Zart

Saturday, May 28, 2011

5 – 11 PM

The Firehouse Saloon

814 S. Clinton Ave (corner of Meigs St)

Rochester, NY 14620

15% of In My Head Studios’s sales will benefit the Golisano Children's Hospital

I'm giving out a secret coupon code for b'Zart on the In My Head Studios Facebook page sometime this week. "Like" me and you'll get it as an update!

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I am humbled and honored to be invited again to be at reHatched: Female Artist Showcase Series on Saturday, June 4th at Tango Café. Amanda has a great line up of female musicians, poets, and artists. I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment at the last reHatched show I did. It’s well worth the ticket price, which also gets you into another upcoming reHatched event. So it’s two for one!

reHatched: Female Artist Showcase Series

Saturday, June 4, 2011

7 – 10:30 PM

Tango Cafe

389 Gregory Street

Rochester, NY 14620

$10 pre-sold tickets*, $12 at the door*

*Please contact me at inmyheadstudios[at]gmail.com to purchase your pre-sale tickets.*

*Ticket sale includes (1) complimentary glass of house wine (red or white), free admission to (1) additional upcoming reHatched Event (the first Saturday of each month through September), AND a jam packed evening full of live entertainment and art from some of the area's most talented women*

I just might give out another secret coupon code for reHatched on the In My Head Studios Facebook page sometime next week. "Like" me and you'll get it as an update if I do!

Start supporting your community by supporting your fellow local artists, musicians, and poets. It not only helps them keep doing what they love, but it really does bring money to our area by creating small indie businesses and jobs.

I'll see you Saturday!

- Vickie

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!

Local Treasures From Rochester, NY

We have an amazing amount of art and culture in Rochester, NY for the size city we are. There is always something going on in the arts to go check out. We have world class museums and art galleries. We even have a Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA)! A lot of galleries, artists’ studios, and cool little shops are part of the NOTA.

Because our city is so generous to the arts community we have a treasure trove of local talent to show off. I belong to the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST). We are a group of local sellers from Etsy coming together to network and promote. RNEST has some amazing members. I made a Treasury to show you some of the handmade goodness!

It will bring our Treasury up in the rankings if you click each item in the Treasury. Then please leave a comment! Thanks!

Click the image to visit the Treasury!