My Index-Card-A-Day for today is all about celebrating our country's Independence Day! Stars, stripes, and good old red, white, and blue!
I have been diligently working away at my index cards and {be creative everyday}. They are not up here on my blog or at flickr yet because I had slightly-emergency surgery last month. I apparently rock so hard I can grow my own stones! Gallstones, that is.
It was horribly painful. I am still recovering. My surgeon said the biggest of the stones was a whopping 1.8 cm. That's almost an inch wide! Yowza!
So today I am also celebrating independence from my gallbladder and the associated pain. Unfortunately, that means my picnicking food for the fair today won't be anything fried or fatty. Gee, what's left then? Snow cones. The beer tent. Grilled chicken. Cotton candy. Yay.
I hope you have a SAFE and HAPPY 4th of July! Go enjoy your hamburgers and hot dogs, clam bakes, and gooey desserts while you still have a gallbladder (if you still happen to have one)!
For the past three years I have been delighted to volunteer for With Love From Friends (WLFF) by making Valentine's Day cards for people who are without family or friends to remember them.
The fabulous Eve Elzenga developed and coordinates this project. WLFF is such a wonderful program. I adore Eve and her work. I'm not alone... Eve was the recipient of a Jefferson Award in 2011 for her public service for WLFF!
Eve strives to have high quality cards made with great materials and by artists in our community. She really wants the cards to be well made as the people who get them really do cherish them and deserve nice cards created by adults for adults. In years passed she opened her home for all of January so people could come over and make cards. Her collection of high quality supplies, papers embellishments, ribbons, and little gorgeous what-nots were made available to artists to pick up and use this year. She collects Valentine art supplies all year round.
As someone who has been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with my grandparents and great grandparents, I appreciate and value my elders. Now that they are gone, as well as my beloved father - who will always be my first Valentine - I felt like their memory needed to be honored, especially on a day all about love. So in memory of my loved ones passed, I made ten cards for With Love From Friends.
My cards started as Artist Trading Card sized (2.5" x 3.5") original monoprints made on my Gelli Plate. I added red and pink cardstock mats behind and stitched them together. The heart is crumbled red cardstock inked to add some dimension. Don't you love the tiny staples?! Everything but the straight lines on the mats behind the monoprint are all hand cut by me. The words are all hand stamped. The wings are my design and took a long time to cut out. (I do not even own a die cutting machine. I do it old school!)
Each card I made is a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork as all of the monoprinted backgrounds are different.
Every card donated to WLFF is stamped with "With Love From Friends" on the inside. Did someone say 1500 cards need to be stamped?!?!?! I am so on that. My mother and I spent many hours stamping the inside of cards last week. We had a ball hanging out with Eve and her partner!
This year WLFF is in need of a Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Valentine themed cutting dies, and cash gifts so they can update their website. Supporting Eve in her efforts pays off in ways you can't even imagine. Hop on over to WLFF and see how you can help for next year!
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!
Be a part of something bigger by shopping small this Saturday at Mayday Underground Crafts + Art! This show features plenty of local, amazing artists who create hip and modern handmade goodies for all the people on your holiday shopping list.
Shopping small is about supporting small, local businesses and artists for your holiday gifts this season. This actually does make a difference. A very huge difference!
"The average American will spend $700 on holiday gifts and goodies this year, totaling more than $465 billion, the National Retail Federation estimates. If that money was spent entirely on US made products it would create 4.6 million jobs.
But it doesn't even have to be that big.If each of us spent just $64 on American made goods during our holiday shopping, the result would be 200,000 new jobs." - ABC News
I have been working in the Rochester area for over 12 years doing my art thing. I personally have pumped an untold amount of money into the community during this time by buying my supplies locally and spending my profits on handmade goods over and over again. So, by supporting me you are actually supporting many, many local artists and businesses. You can't lose!
When it comes to shopping small, you can't get any smaller than with Tiny Works of Awesome from In My Head Studios! I make ridiculously tiny original artwork on the backs of dominoes and other game pieces. So shop small by shopping even smaller!
Ok, I might be making the Index-Card-A-Day Challenge a little more challenging than I hoped and/or planned. I've just been so inspired! I didn't realize my brain needed a little discipline to work on something everyday, and now I am hungry, hungry, hungry for art all the time. I LOVE this!
This card is from June 21, 2012. It definitely took me more than one day to do this. I'm not getting a card a day done - and I gave myself permission to do that at the start. However, I do believe I am still benefitting from this challenge like crazy. If I'm not getting one card a day done then I am at least working on one (or two or three at a time) each day. AND THAT COUNTS.
This house, bird, and nest image is something I've worked on before in different formats - for domino pendants and ATCs. Now I felt it needed an ICAD2 work-up.
I started by making a house shaped template that fit the index card. I cut the house out of another index card, pasted scrapbook paper over it, and added the tissue tape. Then I stitched around the edges on my sewing machine.
The sky is layered torn dictionary pages secured with matte medium. I added some watered down blue paint then splattered really watery gesso over it. I left the torn edges because they reminded me of deckled edges on handmade paper. The edge was then shaded with a darker blue Copic marker.
The lettering is hand stamped in red pigment ink - which I had to stamp a billion times because I always mess up the last letter and ruin it. It's matted with dark red cardstock. The edges are inked to "age" and soften them.
The bird and nest images are from flickr's collage images group. I love the detail and texture in these pieces. My printer went light on the ink for this printing - not sure why. I went back over the pictures with colored pencils to bring out the color more. The gleaming highlight in the bird's eye is a dot of white gel pen. I also highlighted the eggs with white gel pen.
After I adhered the bird and nest to the background it all looked very flat. I used colored pencils to shade around the bird and nest for some dimension. It really perked the piece up. I also ran a thin line of dark brown pencil to the very edges of the paper of the collage images to bring them out more.
Oh, how I love using foreign postage stamps in my collage! I have about 20 pounds of old stamps (anyone need any?). I chose this one for the color and the country of origin - France - so it would tie in with the tissue tape behind it that has French on it.
The back of the index card has the stitching I did with my sewing machine. I love sewing on paper. I'm stamping the date the card is finished on the back. I should go back and add some more details to the information of the piece.
No, it's not an I-ate-too-much-Halloween-candy distress call! It's Mayday! Underground Crafts + Art: the coolest indie craft show in Rochester, NY! I am super excited and humbled to be included in this bi-annual show for the fourth time!
This show was first held on May Day in May a couple years ago celebrating many things such as the end to the cold winter season (well, in milder climates. Not so much here.). November marks the half-way point in the year from May Day to May Day and is also the beginning of the cold, winter season.
We begin to settle in for the cold, nesting in our homes with the comforts of warmth and loved ones. Historically, the time for farming was finished and leisure time was turned to more domestic chores such as making clothing and repairing equipment.
These activities called for skill, technical ability, and a lot of time invested in mastery. Unbeknown to many of these people they really were craftsmen, craftswomen and artisans. They passed these skills down through the ages.
Join us at Mayday! Underground Crafts + Art as we celebrate generations of skill and mastery coming together to meet modern materials and fresh design.
The fabulous organizers, Amanda and Casey, have put together a slide show of all the different crafts + art you will find at this show. You will see it's an amazing collection of of innovative material use and awesome talent.
Mayday! Underground Crafts + Art: November 2011 Artists
Entirely too much fun will be had by all!
Free swag bags to the first 50 people (there will be a line so get there early)! Plus raffles!
Before you come to the show enter HERE for the Mayday Underground sweepstakes! Up for grabs are three $25 Mayday Moolah Prizes and three swag bag prizes housed in the newest pirate-themed tote bag! It’s all on Facebook, so invite your friends to join in on the fun. Even if you don’t win, you can still print out the entry confirmation and exchange it for a free raffle ticket!
Also, you can help support Sample Soap, a local non-profit that collects unopened soaps, shampoos, lotions, sewing kits, diapers, cosmetics, toothbrushes and toothpaste and distributes them to the neediest citizens of the Greater Rochester, New York area. Bring your donations to Mayday Underground! You'll earn a raffle ticket!
Be there or be unhappy for the rest of your life be square!
Our craft show at St. Rita's School was nothing short of a huge work of awesome! We were busy all day, which is just how I like it to be. Unfortunately that meant I didn’t get to walk around and mingle with my fellow crafters and Rochester Artisans. I’m sure there was amazing work to see and I missed it. But that’s also better for my wallet!
The St. Rita’s Show is a very well-known show in Rochester and always well attended. The parking lot was filled all day. The organizers are more than, well, seriously organized. They had the kids from the school stopping by to ask us if we wanted food or raffle tickets all day.
We were set up in a classroom this year instead of the gym where we are usually located. I didn’t get my show application in soon enough and the gym got filled. I think we did way better than we expected to do in a classroom and I am very, very pleased with our show total.
This was our third show here and we've gained quite a few repeat buyers. They came by saying they were afraid we weren’t there because we weren't in the gym. I have to say that made me fly up to cloud nine! People were looking for us! I am always deeply humbled by positive responses to my work. How lucky am I to be doing this?! Yippee!
New display for domino pendants. Very vintage cheese stand.
This year we are trying some new display ideas. I love this antique wood Kraft Cheese display stand. The slanted shelves have little lips at the ends - perfect for holding a lot of domino pendants (it's looking empty because I took this photo at the end of the day). The back of it is open so the cords hang out, and it makes for easy loading. But it's a little awkward for customers to pick up the dominoes. The cord comes pulling out and the viewer can't put it back on the shelf themselves. Quite a few women acted like they broke something when they picked one up. Not the kind of feeling I want to promote here. I'm wondering if this may be better suited to show Scrabble tile pendants as they don't have cords on them.
What do you think?
Domino pendants all in a row
The cute little girls are a new design this year. They're really funny. The close one here calls out the girl on the right because she "eats paste". The clip art of the girls are from Lisa's Altered Art.
Scrabble tile display
I better get busy making more tile pendants or we won't have many to show at Mayday Underground in two weeks!
Mixed media collage on a small shipping tag
Also new this year - small original pieces of mixed media art on shipping tags. This one measures 4 3/4" x 2 3/8". It's the perfect size to make original art that is affordable for most people. They can be set up on a shelf or used as a bookmark. You can do lots of things with them for display. They make really nice gifts, too.
Game piece charm bracelets and domino/BINGO earrings
Reclaimed hardware mixed media earrings : New this year!
Reclaimed hardware mixed media bracelet : New this year!
I think this nice old wood drawer needs something lighter behind the jewelry. The dark wood is swallowing the pieces. A nice tan fabric or handwritten ledger paper will fix that!
This was a great show to start off our holiday craft show season. I'm really looking forward to the rest of our shows. The next show is:
Saturday, November 5, 2011 Mayday Underground Crafts + Art 10:00 am - 5:00 pm The Main Street Armory 900 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14605 The BEST indie craft + art show in Western NY First 50 people to arrive get a FREE swag bag of handmade goodies! Get there early if you want swag. There WILL BE a line.
The Main Street Armory, where Mayday Underground Crafts + Art was held, is an enormous and beautiful venue. I, in the 22 years I have lived in Rochester, have not had cause to go there for anything, thus solidifying my hermit status even more. Luckily I trusted my gut about lighting. I was worried it might be dark in a big, vast space like that so I checked off “yes” for electricity on the application just in case, even though I don’t have a light set-up ready to go. Yep, day-of-the-show improvisation. That’s me, much to my mom’s and Mr. M’s chagrin. Of course, I didn’t actually pack the lights or extension cords, and I had to politely ask Mr. M to go home and get them. He politely obliged. He rocks!
We were sort of in that no-man’s land at the far end of an aisle past the point where people would turn to cross over to the next aisle. They would have missed us completely because we were in the dark under the balcony overhang. Amanda so very nicely said we could move out a little on an angle. We were very careful not to take too much advantage of that though, as it wasn’t super fair to the other vendors under the balcony. I think everyone in that aisle should have been moved out about five feet and into the light.
The extra lighting we brought made a huge difference. I believe it contributed greatly to the near-record breaking show total we made. Lighting is definitely on the list for future shows. I hope to find some battery powered halogen lights, if they even exist. (My dad could have made them for me if he was still around, goshdarnnit.)
I still cannot believe the positive responses to my work. I am so lucky to be doing what I do. Art can be a solitary life with little to no feedback on a day-to-day basis. Then you do a show and you get filled up with about six hours of happy dance from customers. It makes the solitary confinement worth it! It gives me an answer to the times I am in the studio asking myself,
“Why am I even bothering with this?! Does anyone even care?!”
So I have to work to hold on to the feelings of show days to remind myself that I’m not just pushing paper and paint around on canvas or dominoes.
I am creating joy.
I lose sight of that until I see smiles when people are looking at and buying my work.
The talent at this show was unbelievable. I think it was the best collection of artists I have ever seen at an indie show. The number of young indie artists was greatly encouraging (I think I have recently aged out of the “young” category, I’m afraid). Nice to see the newbies getting their feet wet! Of course it’s always fun to hang with my Rochester NY Etsy Street Team buddies! I was next to my pals Michelle from The Quilted House and Stefani from Pine Tree Designs!
On a side note: The doors to the stalls in the bathroom at The Armory were gorgeous antique wood doors. Tall and slim and carved with really ornate designs. But they left me feeling more like I was walking into a church confessional than a bathroom stall! It kind of creeped me out and made me laugh at the same time.
"We Are Queens"; original mixed media collage on 6"x"8" gallery wrapped canvas; available for sale
Rochester needs more shows like this. Amanda and Casey and all the Mayday vendors have proven three times now that this city supports indie shows. Let’s have more!
The next Mayday Underground is slated for November! See you there!
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 storyabout 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!
New in my Etsy shop! It's an Artist Card, Edition & Original (ACEO)! Isn't she a cutie-pie?!
This ACEO is an original, mixed media collage. It is made with paper, vintage lace, digital photos, machine sewing, a hand painted background, and text from a vintage book. The crown and wings have sparkly glitter on them. The card measures 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches - about the size of a baseball card.
This is one of one (1/1) in this set. You are getting an original, one of a kind ACEO. Signed by the artist, Victoria Porter (me!), on the back and dated 1/15/10. It will be shipped via USPS First Class in a protective sleeve with hard backing to prevent bending. The copyright symbols and letters do not appear on the actual card.
ACEOs are a fun and affordable way to collect art from your favorite artists. They are suitable for framing and make great gifts!
I'll be coming out with many more so stay tuned! I love making these!
I can make custom fairies from digital photos of your little sweeties if you like. Shoot me an an email at inmyheadstudios {at} gmail.com.
At the last craft show we did at St. Rita’s School I got several custom order requests. This was the first time this happened at a craft show so, as you can imagine, I was thrilled. I adore doing custom work. I love the challenge of figuring out exactly what my customer wants and making it happen.
One very kind lady said she plays dominoes with her friends. And one of her friends is into the Red Hat Society. So she asked me if I could make a Red Hat domino pendant. It’s interesting to say, “Yes, I can do that!” before I actually have a plan of how to do it. But if I stood there and thought about it for too long the customer would walk away. So I say “yes” to these things without really knowing what I’m going to do. I have to tease information out of the customer. More often they know what they don’t want more than they know what they do want. I like sifting through that information to form an idea. So I quickly came up with thoughts about feathers and rhinestones. She agreed to the design and I went from there. This is the finished product.
I let the light hit the extreme shininess of this one to show you just how glossy these end up if all goes well. This has two layers of sealer on it. It looks like it is encased in glass!
I used white ink to stamp on the purple and red cardstocks. I made a little template of a hat so I can reproduce this design later. Then I made little fake feathers out of lilac paper. Real feathers would have ended up looking wet under the sealer so I had to improvise. I added a tiny rhinestone for some additional shine. I tied red and purple beads onto the black waxed cotton cord.
Now it’s off in the post for this one. I hope my customer likes it! And I hope her friend likes it, too!
This would be a really good time to contact me at inmyheadstudios@gmail.com about custom orders. The earlier the better as I have quite the busy schedule coming up with shows and the holidays and the Etsy Twitter Team. You dream it… I can do it! Let’s work on something together!
I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the craft show update. So wait no more!
This year I signed up for three craft shows in the span of two weeks. Crazy, I know. But we pulled it off. The first was at St. John’s of Rochester, the second was a fundraiser for the Victor PTSA, and the third was at St. Rita’s School. It was our first time at all of these show so I didn’t really know what to expect. All three were very well attended. Overall, I am extremely pleased with how we did.
I was honestly surprised to have gotten in to the St. Rita’s show, as it’s one of the biggest, most well attended craft shows in town. As a jewelry vendor we sometimes don’t get spots because the jewelry spots get filled up early. Maybe it’s because my jewelry isn’t beaded whatnots… it’s different. We were also extremely lucky to have gotten a spot in the gym. Some vendors were in these tiny classrooms. They had three or four booths in these rooms and if there were more than five or six shoppers in the rooms you couldn’t walk around. So I think the traffic in the classrooms wasn’t as good as in the gym.
The location of our spot was excellent - in the middle of a short aisle near the back door where people were coming in. It’s always good to be near an entrance, I think. Spot location is a big factor in your sales totals! We had our best show total ever at this show – beat our last one by a whopping 33%!
My booth consists of domino pendants, Scrabble tile pendants, domino Christmas ornaments, and a few checker keychains. The feedback from customers and the just-looking folks was great. I lost count of how many times I heard the word “clever” about my work! Several shoppers also placed custom orders in addition to their purchases.
The craft show business is still new to me. This is only our second holiday season doing this. I still get all ecstatic that people like my work enough to part with their cash for it. My feet have not really touched the ground yet after the last show. Words cannot do justice to the feeling of gratitude I have for being an artist and all the good stuff it brings my way. People like my work and took it home with them and are giving it as gifts to people they care about. How cool is that?!
We have one more show this year unless I can squeak into something else. Our next show will be at the Irondequoit High School on Cooper Road on Saturday, November 28th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Hope to see you there!
Posts
