Blogging With Dyslexia

Surtex

THANK YOU!

 

Fun in Atlanta

Recently I ventured outside of my studio to visit a gift show at Americas Mart in Atlanta.  This is a huge trade show, where buyers come from all over the world to purchase products for their stores. I had a wonderful time.  I had an opportunity to connect with some of my favorite clients and see some of my new product releases. I also had a chance to visit with my dear sweet artists friends.

This is a my new melamine collection coming out with Merrit International.

This is my new dinnerware collection by Certified International called Hot & Saucy .

Below are some of my new spring summer flag designs with Magent Works .

Magnet Works had a very special event at the show.  Artists where invited to stop by for a slice of pie. We had a wonderful time. I was given the honor of creating artwork for the invitation.

Below are some new  Mailwraps covers from Magnet Works with my designs coming out for Spring.

Myself and my dear  friend Beth Logan are pictured below, pausing with our frog flags at Magnet Works. You can never have too many frog flags.

I found some new rug designs with my artwork on them at Jelly Bean .

Here is a my new recipe collection that featured in a window display at Brownlow.

I was able to spend some time with the wonderful folks at Leanin' Tree. Below pictured is myself and and the lovely Susan January, she has taught me so much over the years about what art might work on a Greeting card. I do not have a  picture to share of the other great people that I got to catch up with at Leanin' Tree .

This is the artists friends gathering. I wish I had more time to chat with everyone. 

(pictured not in any order)

Terri Conrad, Paula Joerling, Joyce Shelton-Metz, BJ Lantz, Cherish Flieder, Gina L Putman Wilder, J Wecker Frisch, Jane Maday, Sharon Himes, Robin Davis, Shelly Dillon Comiskey, Beth Yarbrough, Phyllis Mitchell Dobbs, Beth Logan, Sue Zipkin, Audrey Jeanne Roberts, Robin Pickens and Karen Howell Embry, Sharla Fults.

Sneak Peek Hot & Saucy!

If you are a fan of my Certified International collection called Tex Mex, and have been searching for more of this design, you  might have learned that it has been retired.  This was a top selling   collection, however in the world of casual dinnerware many patterns have a very short life span, so if you like a design it is always best to purchase it when you discovery it.  I understand that in these economic times, it might not always be affordable to purchase things that we love the moment we see them.

The good news is you have some time to think about this purchase,  the approximate delivery date for this collection is March 2012.

This is a sneak peek of the collection. The kind product development folks over at CIC shared the pictures with me from the showroom. They did a great job on the display.  Thanks so much Certified !

 I have been working on  this for quite some time with Certified International. Although the designs are different then Tex Mex, they actually marry very well  with the Tex Mex,  you can mix and match this new collection in with your Tex Mex pattern and create a very fun look.  If you like this new collection I would love to hear from you, and if you have any suggestions of what other products you would like to see this on  other than ceramic tabletop I would love your thoughts. Thanks everyone who purchases my designs I greatly appreciate you, for you are the reason I am able to earn a living from my designs.

Please  like my Facebook page ( the FB button is on the right) so you can be notified as I get more information.

This is a picture of some of my ORIGINAL ARTWORK before it was printed on to the product.

 

EECCCKKK this is very scary!

If your looking for some extra scary Halloween cards head on over to your local Half Price Books store. We do not have any of these stores near us. What are they like?

Talk about a fast turn around time. I licensed these in July. 

The front of the cards.

This is the inside and the back of the black cat card:

This is the inside and the back of the scary ghosts card:

Give Thanks!

Today I had a couple of disappointments, when I look at the bigger picture I have so much to be grateful for!  Today we also had some amazing talented guys install some windows. They were so wonderful and considerate, they even cleaned up after themselves as they went along. I highly recommend this company and will be sure to share this on Angie's list (how we found them). I love it when you hire people that take pride in what they do.

Thank you to all the hard working people out there who treat customers with respect!

Below is a new look I am developing for art licensing. This is a mixed media design and I am having a great time playing with the style.  If you are a manufacture and would like to see more art please email me.

(my logo in the middle means do not copy this artwork please!)

HAPPY FALL !!!

Scary Ghosts for Halloween!

Hello everyone!

If you love the season as much as I do,  you might want to decorate your home with some of my new Halloween goodies from Magnet Works . You can find them online and at local shops .

Happy Haunting!

THANCKS or is it THANKS!

 It is so exciting to receive samples of my artwork on products.  Normally when I receive samples I want to express my gratitude, and usually I can't find the words, this time it was easy. Although when I was playing around with this photography I managed to spell thanks wrong, yip, the reality of dyslexia when I don't have spell check.  I had spelled it thancks.

Thank goodness for digital photography, this was a quick fix.

I am so excited to introduce my new collection from the most amazing greeting card company  Leanin' Tree  . I am so grateful for there excellent art direction on this project. They were able to look at my  butterfly artwork and envision this elegant, playful line of  monogrammed note cards.   They are such a wonderful company to work with.  I am so appreciative of our growing relationship.

This K is for there Kindness. 

 

While I was doing my photo shoot I was visited by this little guy,  I think he wanted to get in on the action, you can see in this picture below, the colors on the back of the cards peeking through.

 The next day this guy decided he wanted to pose for me on one of my favorite flowers, my lantana (I could eat this flower).  I was hoping he would return  when the sun went down.  I waited and he never arrived however I did have some more visiters. 

We have a family of wild Turkey that likes to visit us and try to eat our birdseed leftovers.

So much of my inspiration is from nature, as you can see by my color palettes. Each card has coordinating art inside .

C is for Calm...how I feel when I look at the beauty of nature!

Thancks for visting my blog! Opps I mean THANKS!

Traders Joe's Greetings!

I am delighted to share the news with you all.  Any day now some of my artwork will be landing in Trader Joe's  stores near you. I have loved the store for years,  we have one right in our neighborhood!

 Happy Birthday!

Just a note......

Thanks!

 

Meanwhile in the backyard.....Why cant we be friends?

Looking for trouble......

Found it.....

Yummy!

 

Peace on the mountain

 Every summer myself and my family  visit this beautiful place called Mohonk Mountain House in the Hudson Valley.  We are fortunate to be able to getaway to such a fun resort.  As an artist I can connect with nature and enjoy some spa treatments. My favorite place is the lily pond. I can spend hours  gazing  into the water and listening to the critters.

A few years ago I was so inspired by the pond I painted this.

Thank you Jane!

 It is always exciting  for me to hear about sightings of my designs on products in stores, however what is even more delightful is when someone takes a picture to show me what they have found.  Jane Maday,  my dear friend and colleague was so kind as to send me this picture.

 

She went on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory and found this in the gift shop. I was so excited to see how they combined the two patterns, Tea Garden and Rose Garden  and featured them on this lovely hutch ( I am drooling to own).  I just want to thank Jane for her thoughtfulness, if you have not had a chance to see her beautiful artwork please visit her blog and take a look around. They are also selling some of Jane's designs at the shop.

"Be Inspired" and be original!

Myself and a group of friends and colleagues have been discussing the issue of copyright infringement (copying someone else's artwork) versus being inspired by  art and other things to create artwork. Brenda Pinnick came up with an idea for all of us to have a blog hop to share a bit on the subject in order to educate and spread the word about originality.

There is a big difference between being inspired by other artists and copying them.  For many of us who were trained artists and went to art school we learned that using reference material was a great thing. We also learned that if you're working with photographs  using   someone else's image you cannot just trace that picture, re paint it and call it your own, however you can study some of the elements such as trying to understand what a particular flower might look like from a front view or back view.   You can take your own photograph,  repaint  exactly the way you see it and that is not copyright infringement because the photograph is your own creation.  This is a painting that I did from my own photography. This would NOT be ok if this was not my own photo, the reason is I used the exact composition, color etc. I have created a very rough drawing showing you an example of how it would be ok to use reference as inspiration when looking at others photographs.

MY ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH 

MY ORIGINAL PAINTED ARTWORK

ROUGH SKETCH (it would be ok for another person to use my above photograph as reference and inspiration in this way below). The rose is an image from nature so I could have found this flower position and a similar shape in nature.

 I would like to share with you the artwork of one of my most inspiring artist friends Chris Chun.   I have only known him for a few years but when I first laid eyes on his work my heart was touched deeply, he has the ability to capture nature and other beauty using traditional elements, but adding his own whimsical new refreshing vision. Chris has posted something about this topic today also,   his examples are perfect as to being inspired by ideas using things he saw and loved,  in a way that is perfectly legitimate  and original. Click for his post.

I think it's wonderful that so many people are enjoying crafts and being creative.   I think everyone has an inner voice to share artistically even those who say they cannot draw or paint.   Many people are purchasing all kinds of scrapbook papers and products for craft projects and using them to create new designs, that's a great thing,  however some of them don't understand that they cannot copyright that work and say it is  their own. There are many images that are in the public domain that people can work with legally and do not infringe others copyrights (for example Dover art has many books).  I highly recommend that those who would like to do something commercially and need some other art to work with use PD images, people can create something beautiful with those images and as long as they do something unique they can claim a copyright on it.

I apologize if this blog post is a little confusing to some, I struggle with the written word,  hopefully what I am try to share makes sense. I always tell people when they asked me if I have any tips on how to earn a living from their artwork as I do.  I say " firstly find your inner voice , it is okay to look around and be inspired however make sure whatever you do  is truly original and is not you trying to be somebody else."

UPDATE: Below is an example of a situation were an artist was told to use my designs as inspiration to create some new art.  As you can see why this would most likely be considered copyright infringement and is not an acceptable way to be inspired by another artist.  This happened years ago and i had a chance to chat with the artist direct and she was very lovely and just did not understand this crossed over the line. Thankfully her agent removed it from his offerings before licensing it to any one. 

The artwork was something already on the market so the artist had access to the two images togther.  Can you guess what design is not mine?

I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues  who have been sharing  about  this topic and bringing it to the attention of others who might not understand the difference between copying and being inspired. Here are the other artists who have participated in the hop.

http://joannezsharpe.blogspot.com/2011/03/find-your-beautiful-voice.html

http://sharynsowellartblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/be-inspired.html

http://embellishmentskids.blogspot.com/2011/03/be-inspired-blog-hop-aaron-christensens.html

http://chrischunart.blogspot.com/2011/03/be-inspired-blog-hop.html

http://www.vickieleastudios.com/art-licensing/so-what-inspires-you-a-discussion-about-originals/

http://monicaleestudios.com/blog/

http://www.brendapinnick.com/2011/03/02/be-inspired/

http://itsmollysmith.blogspot.com/2011/03/be-inspired-designer-blog-hop.html

http://www.droozdoodles.com/2011/03/be-inspired-blog-hop.html

http://phyllisdobbs.info/2011/03/02/creative-inspiration/

http://www.jgoode.com/its-about-inspiration-not-duplication/

http://bethparkerart.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/be-your-original-self/

http://robinpickens.blogspot.com/2011/03/inspiration-origins-blog-hop.html

http://terriconraddesigns.typepad.com/terriconraddesigns/2011/03/inspire-me-inspire-you.html

http://janemadayblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/sweet-inspirations.html

Dress up the winter with ZIP!

Put a little ZIP in your winter decor with this  Sue Zipkin Winter snow couple collection of products.

 

You can  purchase them at : flagfables.com   and other online shops.  Also you might be able to find them locally at a shop near you.

 

 

Adventures in Atlanta

I went to the Atlanta gift show and had a great time.

I spent time with wonderful artist friends. I met new friends who I had  previously only known from the web. It was exciting to meet everyone up close and personal. So much talent.  I went to a very festive artful party given by Tom Haney and his wife Paula Joerling who both create beautiful artwork. Tom sells one of a kind artwork while Paula  creates art for licensing like myself.  I felt so blessed to have met Paula on Facebook and be invited to her party!  What kind and generous souls they are! 

Here are some of the artists at the party in Paula's most amazing loft studio.

 
This is me and the famous Tom Haney in his most amazing loft studio. For some great photos of his artwork from this event check out my friend Janet's  blog post.

Saturday night I went to a large dinner gathering with artists who I know from online and the industry. I had a great time. One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with my childhood friend Shari.  We had a lovely breakfast at the Ritz.

Shari & me - I met her in 1st grade.

Here is a sampling of some of the products featuring my artwork from the show.
This is a sneak peak at my new Holiday design by Merritt International. I just love the way the sample came out!

  

Rose Garden by Certified International . You can pre-order this design here.

 

Tex Mex by Certified International .  

 

Tea Garden by Certified International.

 

Never say never !

Tara Reed  dragged me kicking and screaming into this,  really she did, well maybe not. She caught me in a good mood at the Surtex show and so I thought what do I have to lose (other then my reputation). 

I stepped outside my comfort zone in a BIG WAY when I did this!  This is me yapping ON THE SPOT from my Surtex booth.  If I could do this over again I would have made sure I was not moving around like I am. I would have not repeated my words over and over. I would have actually worked out a plan of what I was going to say. Shoulda coulda woulda does not live here anymore.  I just winged it, so what you see is what you get, the real me in real time. Thanks Tara for encouraging me to step outside my comfort zone, it was kind of fun. The best part was having Steve Mumm of the famous and inspiring Debbie Mumm® Studio make a guest appearance. 

As you can imagine there is allot more to my art licensing story then what you see in this video,  however if you want a teeny tiny peek,  please watch the video. 

Happy Easter!

Flag by Magnet Works, Ltd.

Spring time at Michaels

We finally had some lovely spring weather. I was able to go outdoors to take these photographs of my new embellished cards that are being sold at Michaels craft stores at a very affordable price ($1.00). I was delighted by the way these turned out. I hope you can still find the cards,  when I went to my local store they were almost sold out.  You can read more about this on my last post.

 

 

Thank you Diane and Holly Knott!

My dear friend Diane Knott touched my heart today,  she blogged about my designs that are currently in Michael's craft stores.  Diane is a star in the world of art licensing she creates amazing timeless artwork and also has been designing some of the most extraordinary one of a kind artisan crafts such as tags, hand made cards, pins and more.   I would also like to thank  Holly Knott  her darling daughter,  who is an amazingly talented "contemporary art quilter, website designer, author, photographer, gardener, painter and cat mom" (I borrowed that from her blog) she spotted these and bought some and took the picture!  She recognized my style and was concerned for a moment that someone had knocked me off,  thankfully she found my name on the back. 

You might recognize those birdies, you can also find them on my new fabric collection by Clothworks  called Tweet Street,  that is getting ready to ship any day!

New Ceramic Tabletop designs

I was so excited and honored to have my designs featured in a showroom window at the Atlanta gift show . Ed and Linda at Certified International (the company who is manufacturing this collection)  did an amazing job with the display.  I think they will ship some time in the spring but I am not sure of the exact schedule yet. A couple of my kind thoughtful artist friends sent me these photos, thanks friends! 

 

 

For those of you wondering how I developed the designs. I paint the designs on a 2-D surface using water colors, then I scan the artwork and sometimes make changes in Photoshop.  We then supply the factory with this artwork and then the factory paints each piece by hand. It is not so simple and there are many other steps in this process but this will give you a general idea .This is an example of what some the original artwork looked liked.

I spent months working on this collection and I am so delighted to see it come to life in the ceramics. I am sending out a very big thank you to everyone who has purchased products with my artwork on them, because of you I am able to continue to earn a living from my art.

Happy Holidays!