Lisa Kaus

Artist's Cafe'-With One Palette

2012-01-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

Stampington is republishing an article I wrote awhile back ago in their current Artists Cafe' Magazine....

Titled "Dirty Pink, Warm Green and Cream", it a summation of my three favorite colors used together in one palette.

Here is the link to where you can go to purchase the pub online, but lot of craft and art supply stores carry this magazine...

Artist's Cafe'

I've never considered myself a girly girl that indulges in all things soft and feminine... Growing up I was quite the tomboy playing out in the woods, getting muddy and tearing up my jeans while making trails in the backwoods of the Pacific NW, but as I have gotten older and living in a testosterone filled household, I have gravitated and craved all things feminine, or at least what this culture defines as is.
My art has always been a playful saturation of diluted color. Intense but soft, with lots of textural movement. Using this palette of mossy green, the dirty pink and cream creates a soft feminine but intense palette when you add other elements such as a graphite pencil to smudge into the pigment.

I love the pink but it can't be "too pink". I create the "dirty pink" by smudging with with a graphite stick. This takes some of the "cutesy" out of the pink and gives it a great edgy quality! One of my all time favorite colors used in combo with the pink is mossy green. A warm green with plenty of yellow in it. Green has an energy to it that is just intoxicating! Cream with a bit of smudgy graphite is the neutral color that ties it all together. Its so beautiful and reminds me of chippy shades of days gone by...

So I guess being a tomboy as a little girl wasn't so bad after all. The girl who used to get her jeans muddy making trails in the woods is now making her own colorful path in green, pink, cream and whatever other color I feel like!

New Year...

2012-01-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Peeps,

Thanks to all of you loyal girls who keep checking back to see if I've posted anything new. I won't make any apologies, but I haven't been the best blogger. My life has been a little upside down lately and my posting to my blog has not been made the highest of priorities...

As an artist though, my career has grown by leaps and bounds! I just got back from the Atlanta Gift Show and saw lots of my new product collections debuting for the new year. That is so exciting... I could never have imagined that in 3 short years, art licensing would be taking me this far and there is still so much room to grow and expand the business!

Here I am at the Demdaco Showroom in front of the "Joyful Nest" Collection.

Me signing the "Color My World" calendars in the Lang Showroom.

I created this art recently as it comes from my heart...

I feel so blessed with a beautiful family, and very joyful in the LORD. But because of personal issues, I have days of sadness, and some fear... Mostly I feel strong, brave, beautiful and full of LOVE.

Ready to fly on whatever level that might be and I pray the same for all of you.

Blessings and LOVE to you all!

Studio Workshops with me this November!

2011-10-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Studio workshops with me this November!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/In-the-Studio-Workshops-with-Lisa.html?soid=1101436636189&aid=sHS5dQDmcMo

Here is the newsletter link to read all about it but I am also listing a link below to go right to my

Workshops page...

http://www.lisakaus.com/showsandevents.htm

Hope to see you there!

Facebook Chat with Lang!

2011-10-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be featured on Lang Arts Facebook page for a FB chat tomorrow at 1p.m. CST. Hope to see you there! To join in the fun, go to The Lang Company FB page and click "LIKE" and your in!!!

The chat is an interactive convo with me about my art, business and life so feel free to ask away!

Here is my FB link to access their page!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1528371128995&set=a.1484877561683.2062287.1226201024&pid=31666816&id=1226201024#!/lisakaus

Blog talk radio....

2011-04-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

I have a blogtalkradio interview you are welcome to listen to....

Fresh off the airwaves!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/search/lisa-kaus-life-lessons/

Artistic Affaire Workshops

2011-04-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to the blog....

I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a set of workshops in sunny Southern California with Kim Caldwell of the famed Artistic Affaire. She puts on a first rate event and is such a pleasure to work with. I also really admire her integrity and thoughtfulness that she puts into each of her events.

I am so excited to get an opportunity to be apart of her venue....

I will be teaching two workshops- Gridlocked and Color my World. I haven't been down to California to teach in awhile and I am really looking forward to it.

June 25th and 26th

Gridlocked

Color my World

Here is the link for all the info needed to sign up

Registration begins April 7th

Space is limited...

Crescendoh and new Original work!

2011-03-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

Authentically Yours...

This week I am so honored to be a guest Alumni artist on CRESCENDOH. Jenny Doh founder of Crescendoh website has been featuring artists for almost a year now on her site. It is really an amazing place to visit with lots of articles, things to see and learn!

Please wander over and read the article that I wrote as a follow up to my first ART SAVES article. It really has been a transformational year for me on so many levels. The piece I wrote was not easy for me to write and truly comes from my heart and soul. I would so love to hear your thoughts and words, kindly drop me your comments on the Crescendo site when you finish reading my story...

New Original work added to the site...

Stop by and see some new original work available for purchase and for a limited time free ship on

all orders over $30.00 on the Shop section of the website!

"Create, Inspire, Dream"

Free Ship and Workshops...

2011-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

~Free Ship and Workshops? ~

Well no free shipping to the workshops...lol...okay, dumb joke, but I do want to mention that tomorrow is the last day of my free ship promo on the website, so take a peek at some of the new images I posted recently of all things hearts plus all your other favorites are included too. In the coming months I am going to be doing some major updating to the site with lots of new product offerings. Its way overdue but finally I feel I am in a place where I can start moving forward and making the necessary changes.

~Art and Soul~

Next week I am off to Las Vegas to teach workshops at Art and Soul. I am so looking forward to meeting new and old friends and gleaning tons of artistic inspiration from all the girls. Yes, even in Vegas there is artistic inspiration! I am teaching three daylong workshops and I am sure it is going to be a blast. When I get back, I will post pics of all the happenings.

~New Workshop!~

I am also so excited to share another workshop announcement, but not just yet since I am firming up the little details. Soon though, but let's just say the Beach Boys "California Girls" is a bit of a hint...

Have a great week!

Pieces of my heart...

2011-02-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

Unlike painting where I can just walk into the studio and begin creating as long as the mess is not too out of control, writing for me requires a certain amount of preparation. I have to go through the steps or ritual of sorts to get mentally in the mode to sit down and write a story. It starts with closing the door to my office, turn on the appropriate music, maybe a glass of wine, and then sink into the music I am listening too...That starts the process of putting down the words. The elements of my writing I am discovering are much like my painting. Bits and pieces of my thoughts scattered about on a blank slate hopefully to be turned into a well thought out finished piece. I have never considered myself a good writer and that's probably another reason why I have not blogged much as of late. I sometimes look at my written work and think, "Who wants to read this?" A little self doubt? "Yes!" However as I tell my kids almost daily, "Practice makes perfect". I should follow my own advice. If I only had the same confidence that I have with my art! But don't we all have areas of self doubt? Sometimes we carry around the weight of doubt in our hearts so much that its a wonder we get through the day. Letting go and letting loose is so hard sometimes. Practicing letting go does not neccessary make perfect but does and will give us the courage to stand a little taller within ourselves. That said, on Facebook last week I created a heart a day for the last 8 days in honor of Valentine's Day. Little bits and pieces of my thoughts scattered about on a colorful canvas of color, collage and hearts. I am very pleased with the collection and I think that it has a great year round quality to it. I have hearts of one sort or another all throughout my home hanging all the time to be reminded what is so near and dear to me, I hold close to my heart.

For a limited time, these images available by going to this LINK.

Free ship on orders of 30.00 or more till February 22nd.

Enjoy...

Pieces of My Heart

Reinvention....

2011-01-31T23:26:00.000-08:00

When I teach workshops, one topic that comes up over and over again is the topic of finding your own voice, your own true self.... This last year I have to admit I have been a bad blogger... Not tending to this space has weighed on me heavily but I felt such a great desire for the year 2010 to be about taking care of me and searching for something different yet very familiar. So here I am at the start of a new year, a brand new me of sorts... I have received countless emails about this new different me...A couple of very typical questions have been, "What is your secret?"or "What did you do different?" Ummm I don't know... I thought, I just do what I always do, work hard and keep trying to be as true to me as I can...That sounds so simple doesn't it? How many times have I wished that I could have just clicked my heels three times and instantly I would be transported to my final destination.. But isn't it about the journey? The journey... Two words that are so loaded. Up the hill, down the hill, tired, exuberant, sad, happy, joyous, prayerful... All of that and more and the journey still continues...It is so hard sometimes to make changes that are difficult when it is so easy to backslide into our old comfort zone, but I knew I really needed to be in a different place, and it was going to take alot of all the above to make it happen.

Yep, from the inside out, 2010 was devoted to a complete overhaul. I have changed my attitude, my hair, makeup, clothes, my self perception, anything that I thought could be changed about me I did it different over the course of 2010 and I'm not finished yet...I'm sure I will never be finished. That's just not my style!

My art? well that goes back to the first part of this post... My work has always run on its own current. It is every bit connected to me and who I am as it is separate and its own entity. This last year was and has been about change with my work... As some of you know, I have run a successful wholesale/retail business for the last 15 years... Its been a crazy whirlwind and I am so thankful for it, but it is time to move on to new opportunities. I am thrilled that I have moved forward into working in partnership with various companies that are now licensing my art into a wide variety of products. It's not something that I planned at all but usually that's the way it works, yes?
My goal is to get back to creating, truly creating... Something that has so been lacking in my world for the last couple of years. A desire to reconnect with myself and see if there is more of me that needs to be transformed. I want to dig into all my old and new treasures, get my fingers full of paint, glue, and lose myself in creative bliss. Well that's the plan anyway. The desire for authenticity in my life runs deep and has existed since I was a little girl. I have always strived to be push the envelope, be the best that I could be, and maintain my sense of self in every facet of life.

My website, another area that has been so neglected is soon to be updated within the next month or so with new product offerings and such. I am just so excited about all of this. And... I will continue to teach workshops across the country as well.
I've got some really fun stuff coming up so stay tuned.

On a side note, I do regularly post on Face book and would love for you to visit me and say hi...The link is to the right. Be true to you and all you were meant to be!
xo

Days of Summer

2010-08-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

A couple more weeks and the days of Summer are coming to a close... Kids back in school and a somewhat normal schedule for the Fall season will resume... I can't believe it's about over... I have not posted to the blog since the beginning of Summer, but thought I would share some of the high points...

I turned 43 this year... We had a big party to celebrate another year older... I'm pictured here with my dear friend Sally Jean...I have been having a hard time with that number.. So much has happened this year for me on an emotional level. It really has been the year of personal discovery and growth for me, why not celebrate?

My first trip out to the Atlanta Gift Show this last July... My Sweet Treats Collection by Demdaco...A project that I have been working on for some time now and so amazing to see it come to fruition. This collection is already in the marketplace and has been doing just amazing!

The line is a very whimsical and colorful collection of my signature cupcake and cake images for all things party!!! I thought I would don the crown for the photograph!

I made frequent trips to the Oregon Coast with my family to relax and and spend time goofing off..

Henry in the surf ( to be 9 again)

Astoria Oregon, where I grew up has changed so much over the last 20 years...There is so much history and heritage in this old fishing town. Its nice to see the ship traffic as a constant daily occurrence on the towns busy waterfront.

In Astoria at the Rusty Cup for coffee of course!

The summer was filled with everything from a class reunion, concerts, camping in the backyard and take-out... I don't like to cook when its hot! We recently came back from a short trip to the Puget Sound area. We stayed at one of my family's summer cabin that I spent much time at growing up. The cabin is within walking distance to this lake and we had so much fun swimming and boating...

The Puget Sound in Washington state is such an amazing area... One of the ferry boats on its way out in Bremerton Wa.

As far as art making goes, I always have lofty goals of creating lots of goodies and there are always those deadlines to meet... Business as usual, but have been working on a new batch of art that is almost ready to be posted to the site. Stay tuned and please sign up for the newsletter on the right for all the latest workshops, art and product releases etc. My workshop schedule for 2011 is starting to shape up and I will be posting that soon as well... I'm so glad I took the time this summer to spend with my beautiful family and cherished friends... Those are the things that I hold so near and dear.. Blessings!!

Make a Wish....

2010-06-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

With my 43rd birthday coming and passing, I felt the need to do it up a little extra special this year. I celebrated by having a birthday week instead of just one day. It was a blast! My emotional landscape has been on quite a roller coaster of sorts over the past few months so I really needed to not let the numbers 4 and the 3 get in the way... As mentioned in a previous couple of posts I have been going through some past trauma from an incident that happened long ago...Time has a way of softening the blow, but it has been a slow process of going through the steps of recovery... Funny thing is I'm not like that- I'm such an instant gratification girl. I want everything fixed now. I want me to be fixed now, and I will burn the candle at both ends to make that happen. I've always been like that, very driven. Its always been a positive part of me except when it comes to this... I need to slow down and breathe, and maybe CREATE...

Thankfully a wonderful project came my way for a girl who happened to have a birthday just around the same time as me. She is a dear client/friend who has some really special pieces of mine and this piece was requested as a commission for her birthday.

I have not done three dimensional cakes in awhile but they are always so fun to do.

(my favorite contrast is soft and pink with chunky little nails)

I like to add some edgy elements to an otherwise very pretty surface

Queen A...

What is her desire???

Many textural elements add to the final outcome. Occasionally I teach this workshop in my studio. I think the most important message that I try to convey in this workshop is that it is all in the details and less on the big stuff. aka (found object)

For me the found object pieces are the secondary players in my work. The backgrounds are what define and give my work its character.... the little smudge of graphite or doodle, collage elements, etc... Adding the sweet little doll head is like icing on the cake!

My favorite elements, rusty doorknobs, pearls and polkas combined!

I hope the birthday girl loves her cake- it is on its way soon...

Thank you as always for stopping by...

Little gems...

2010-05-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Look at all those little gems in the studio, so close to being on their way to being finished... I've been working on them for the past month or so and for one reason or another I keep running into road blocks for not finishing them...

All of them need the final details of additional paint, crayon, wax and found object... It sounds like alot. I suppose it is. I work on many at a time because I tend to be more productive and creative when I have many to play with at once. It's like one idea feeds off the other.Something does not work here, so I will add it there and so on and I will keep with that pattern till all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.. I will note that even if I am working on a batch of twenty, I give myself room for toss aways. Pieces I do not feel guilty about if they do not work out for whatever reason. They go back to the stash for next time or get painted over, no second thoughts...

I also have a cake I am working on in the background. I hope to do a separate post on that. That is a special piece for a special person.

A question I get asked about frequently in workshops and e-mails is brushes. I generally use flat-tipped watercolor brushes in a range of sizes depending on the size of piece and degree of detail. I do not get very expensive brushes either because I tend to be very hard on them. They have a short life span at my studio...

I hope to have this collection out and up on the site in the near future. If you want updates to when it is posted to the site, there is a sign-up box to the right for signing up for my newsletter, artwork releases, etc...

Thanks for stopping by!

All that is you...

2010-05-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

All that is you....I plunked those words down several years ago when I was going through some pretty tough emotional times. And guess what? I made it though with a stronger sense of faith and self confidence in who I am. The ups and the downs of life... An amazing journey... This week starting Monday I am a guest artist on CRESCENDOH.

Please wander over and read the article that I wrote for ART SAVES. The piece I wrote was not easy for me to write and truly comes from my heart and soul. I would so love to hear your thoughts and words, kindly drop me your comments when you finish reading my story...
much love

lisa

Spring Fever...

2010-04-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

This winter was quite mild compared to the rest of the country here in the Pacific Northwest.

Soggy as always, but I'm not complaining, its wonderfully lush and green here.

Just wanted to share a couple pics from my garden as it progresses. The pic above is a periwinkle variety of a multi layered Clematis. I'm not one for the fancy varieties, but I could not pass this one up a couple of years ago.

Rosemary on the patio- easy to reach for the kitchen. One of my favs. I've got a larger one out in the garden that is really starting to mature. Very much worth the wait.

Beginning of the season lettuce~divine!.

Hard to stay inside when it is not raining. I should haul all the art supplies outside this time of year.

I've added new images here and here to the retail section of the site and more stuff will be added soon.

I have been working on lots of new original pieces and hope to add them in a jiff as well.

Happy Spring!

Open to change...

2010-04-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Much is going on in my world so I have to have this out to look at as a daily reminder!

Want to mention that I am a guest curator during the first week of May on Jenny Doh's

new site Crescendoh.

Her site is chock full of stories driven by the message that art can and does have a higher purpose.

Art Saves

Stop by her site when you have a chance to read past stories from other artists to get a sense of Jenny's mission and purpose. I will post again when my curator week starts but keep checking back...

Time in a Bottle-part two...

2010-04-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well I promised I would be back to share my two projects from a couple of weeks ago. Both are highly personal pieces in that I have more of an emotional bond with these two than I normally do with my work. Since art for me is literally a 24/7 job sometimes, mentally escaping into my artwork as an emotional outlet is hard sometimes, silly as that sounds. It is a job much like anyone else's job and sometimes the day to day of it becomes just that. I have to say that I love what I do though and would not trade it for anything.

As I mentioned in the previous post below the past month has been a whirlwind of memories, some really beautiful, and some I would rather more or less forget, but it gave me an opportunity to use my art making as a way to express some of those emotions through color, texture, words, and found object.

The house shaped piece titled "The Secret Inside the Bottle" invited me to write a passage down and stow it inside the vintage bottle. A constant, daily, personal reminder of the good that there is in the world!

The piece above titled 'Joy Within' is a playful collage piece developed in the same genre as the Gridlocked style that I teach. There are elements of text, bits of trim, and antique papers, all within a simple grid or geometric format.
Both projects are completed on wood.
Finishing these two pieces gave me a wonderful sense of accomplishment and closure for me to a chapter in my life. I am breathing once again.

Both of these projects make for wonderful workshops and I was just delighted to have Teresa McFayden invite me to teach this coming year at Silver Bella in Omaha Nebraska!
I hope to see you there.

Registration begins APRIL 6, 2010
7:00 p:m central time

Time in a bottle

2010-03-23T16:32:00.001-07:00

"Time in a bottle" all of our cerebral fragments and memories each in its own separate bottle captured in time. This is how I feel, at least today... Sometimes we long to freeze those moments and make them last forever. Other times we want to hide ourselves within our deepest corners hoping for time to pass or some event to give way to another. This week has been a myriad of emotional distractions for me, teetering between silly happiness at the thought of seeing a long lost friend, to the painful memories of a past relationship. I have always been one to wear my heart on my sleeve so with that comes the inevitable reality of getting hurt. I would not live my life any other way though. As always I reach out in prayer and than go to my studio... I have been hanging on to these beautiful little bottles for awhile and now I am ready to use one as an element in my art making... The aged and worn finishes suggest they have been around for some time. Maybe someone else had these in their own collection too and loved them...Bottles like these pictured are so nostalgic for me. Growing up on an acre in a rural area, I spent alot of time exploring the backwoods of the lush Pacific Northwest. There was an area not to far from my house where there was a HUGE stash of these! Who knew that these would be so collectible today? My dad took a few of the more interesting ones but largely left the bulk behind.

The past couple of days have been spent creating some artwork incorporating one of those little vintage bottles into a mixed media piece. The word truth incorporated into the piece along with other text not pictured... I think the word truth here applies to me. A word I have been thinking alot about as of late.

Incorporating found object, and doodle...

German glass glitter and vintage children's ephemera...

I made two pieces because its always a girls right to change her mind...

A little close-up of the bottle with some twine and detail.

So you can see I have shared some details of two very personal projects. Please check back soon as I will share the rest of the details shortly. I can hardly wait to tell you about it!

Art and Soul Las Vegas Style!

2010-03-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas Art and Soul Workshops was one for the books for sure....

You either love Las Vegas or you hate it. I love Las Vegas but I think I love it in small doses, like maybe a couple of days at a time. Just about the time for a set of workshops. I was ready to go home after 4 days of non-stop working and evening hour fun-time in the city that pretty much does not rest..

The workshops were held at Bally's Casino on one of their more private floors but the Paris casino (pictured) is connected together through a breezeway. I spent more time in Paris in the after hours than Ballys and exploring the Vegas strip with my husband. I'm not much of a gambling girl but it's alot of fun watching other people tossing their money out the window.

This is the inside of the Paris Casino with ceiling painted like the sky and everything very Frenchy; well except this Wheel of Fortune game. I took this pic because it is my kids favorite TV game show and I figured they would appreciate this piece of electronic wonderment.

One thing I was continually fascinated by was the level of extremes that Vegas is famous for.. One minute I'm sitting in a fine dining establishment trying to figure out which piece of silver to pick up and use(at least the hubby was anyway) and the next minute we're at the Harley Davidson Bar schlupping beers... Yes.. this girl likes Harley Davidson...No pics I'm sorry to say.

Love all the glitz too and Vegas has lots of that. The fountains in front of Bellagio were just breathtaking. But I did go to Vegas to teach and I had quite an amazing time.

I taught 3 workshops, Color My World, Gridlocked and Winsome Treasures-
This is Jenne Horne who is a fab artist and lovely girl who is sharing her work from the Color My World Workshop. This particular class focuses on painting techniques, collage and and other methods unique to my style...

My two fab Oklahoma girls Teresa and Sheryl busy working on their Winsome Treasures!

A great student example by Susan Kreiger
(Gridlocked)

Heather Chevreau
(gridlocked)

Jan, designer from Demdaco came to camp out for 3 workshops. Now there's a great company..More on them in another post!!!
Jan is so sweet and quite talented!!

Sheila DeSimone's beautiful piece from the Color my World Workshop

I don't know who it was, but someone said something pretty funny and that got me rolling for a minute or two... Hard to talk when you're laughing..

My friend Sally from Minnesota..

I hope I get to visit with her again soon at another art event.

I'm really serious here with my usual fist full of crayons...

I can't thank all of you girls in the workshops enough for coming and sharing your time and creativity with me. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such kindred spirits. Even though I return home tired and exhausted from teaching events, I am always renewed creatively and spiritually as well. My faith in humanity is renewed too, even in Las Vegas. It's reassuring to know that even on some of life's less than lovely days, I can look back and know that I spent time with 55 beautiful, kind, giving, inspirational women and know they are making a positive impact on the world we live in...
PS: Thanks for the pics too: could not have built this post without you !

Escape to Wonderland...

2010-03-04T21:08:00.001-08:00

Hmmm... are we already in March? Lately I have been a kind of a bad blogger... It's not that I do not have anything to write about, it's just that I am having a hard time fitting everything in lately. No excuses though, I love to write and am going to post a few more bits and

pieces more often.

I think most of you know Alice and Wonderland hits the big screen March 5th! I have been waiting for this movie to come out for several months now and hope to see it in the 3d version.

I had the wonderful opportunity as well to design the Art and Soul logo this year with the Wonderland theme in mind... so an extra bonus to boot. Designing this logo, I wanted to capture all the whimsy and magic that is Alice. (The logo is designed in a black outline format so that it can easily be applied to a variety of Art and Soul products) I had read the book as a child but remember very little as an adult so I actually went to the bookstore to purchase the full version by Lewis Carroll for a little research, only to discover that the Carroll version is heavy on text! I must have had a picture book as a little kid. I do remember Alice's blue dress and how much I wanted one just like that, and I thought all the craziness in Wonderland was so silly. How did she ever get out of that house or in it for that matter. My imagination as a little girl inside that story seemed to go on and on...

So off on my adventure down the rabbit hole and into the fantasy world of giant flowers, fancy teacups, mad hatters and red queens.
Or as they say in Wonderland, 'Off with their heads!!!'

Reflecting ....

2010-01-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

Sitting here in front of my computer in my office gazing out the window on a cold wet January day, I am contemplating another year come and gone. Where has the time gone? It was a good year despite tough financial times. I have had my business for almost 14 years now. So many experiences that have shaped me as an artist and a businesswomen. I've had the amazing opportunity to meet and know personally some of the best artists, editors, agents, and creative minds this field has to offer. I have learned so much, and you know what I have learned the most?, that every day I know even less! Looking back at the world of art and business, I knew I wasn't going down the easiest road. I have had more than my fair share of people tell me that I wouldn't succeed, some heartbreaking moments that I prefer to keep personal, but hey you just roll with it and move on. Art and the creative process is at the heart of what is deep inside of me. It's always been there, engaging me and prodding me along the journey. I'm so blessed to be able to have a way to share it with so many. However, the process did not happen overnight. My own personal artistic style has taken years to evolve and will continue to change and mature. How exciting is that!

One of the questions I am frequently asked by students is how I get inspired? One time in college I posed this question to a professor who happened to be actively showing/selling her work. Her response was "Sometimes I don't feel like creating at all, I just do it because it is a part of who I am and then it becomes a part of me when I begin, that is how I get inspired on a daily basis". For me, there is so much truth in that statement. I'm not always genuinely inspired. Truth be told, I, like you get tired, distracted, would rather go out, read a book, shop, the list goes on, but because it's a part of who I am, I create out of discipline and necessity. It is then as I dive into my work that I become inspired! I am in great anticipation and hope for the new year. I have so much to share with you.

New projects to announce, but hush hush for now...
I am taking a bit of a break this year from my workshop schedule

(I will be teaching a few classes, but for the most part I am creatively refueling this year)

please sign up to the right for the most current updates!

As for 2010- I'm In !

Wishing you peace and love

The Grand Tour...

2009-12-16T19:09:00.001-08:00

Can you tell I'm afraid of heights? Well I am a little bit.. I'm not much for ladders, but when it comes to decorating the Christmas tree, the take charge girl in me gets into gear and decks out the top half of the tree... and pretty much the rest too...

This year I thought I would take you on a short tour of the house around the holidays... While there is still lots of remodeling to do, things are really starting to take shape at year 3.

While the house is circa 1924,the room off of the dining room has a vaulted ceiling so having a tall Christmas tree every year is so fun to have. This one is a Noble Fir and measures in at about 11 1/2ft. Our family makes it a tradition every year to go out to a tree farm every year and get a fresh tree. When you live in the Christmas tree capitol of the world(Oregon) what else are you supposed to do?

Living room and dining room dressed up for the holidays.

The tree is filled with a combination of vintage ornaments, handmade treasures from the kids and clip on ornaments such as birds, cones, flowers, etc. I have a special fondness for the clip ons and have been collecting them for many moons.

Dining room with fixture embellished with garlands

My favorite piece of furniture to decorate is this old pale cream hutch.

I already have lots of shades of green and red year round in it already so adding the remaining pieces for the holidays goes together without much effort.

A bold statement- DREAM NOW- Hmmm

pieces created by Chris Giffin

One thing I love to do that is inexpensive and creates instant Christmas, is to get lots of silver and red balls and scatter them throughout my decor and amongst the holiday greens. For that matter, you don't even have to use red and silver, pick your own fav holiday colors!

One of my favorite holiday artists Cody Foster. He does fabulous holiday houses and more.

Family room-on the other side of the house.

A second faux tree decorated in smaller ornaments and some

older paper ornaments that I used to do awhile back ago

Winter whites and a mosaic cake made especially for me by Michelle Legler awhile back ago.

So charming...

A cabinet that is in front of the sofa filled to the brim with all sorts of Christmas and all season goodies. I've been collecting for years- I have the bug- I bet some of you do too.?

And the winner is...

2009-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

There really was an argument on who got to go first!

Winner

Giveaway #1

Sandra at 7th Street Studio

Winner

Giveaway #2

Barb Mann

Thank you to all for stopping in and leaving a post. I was just so excited to see the wonderful turnout for this and will be doing more in the future. Your beautiful comments were unexpected and so heartwarming. Our little( maybe not so little anymore, mixed media world) is such an amazing diversity of kindred spirits.

Blessings to all of you this holiday season!

Blog Giveaway and Miss January!

2009-12-07T10:20:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays to you all!

This was just an absolute fabulous year. I want to share a note of thanks to you all who have wished me well and been so supportive of my work and passion.

I have put together a couple of fabulous giveaways below.

In order to sign up for them, please leave a post between now and Dec. 15th!

Winners will be chosen and announced Dec 15th 5:00 PST.

Giveaway #1

Okay girls- the first sweet little package in the giveaway is one of the

2010 Somerset Art Calendars that is chock full of eye candy, and I'm Miss January! Well not me-- that is good, but the cutie in the pic above was one of my pieces featured in the calendar.
She has since sold. Also included with the calendar are the two cute little mini prints pictured above.

retail value $54

Giveaway #2
Giveaway #2 includes one of the fab Trinket Houses for you to adorn with all of your favorite jewelry, ornaments, craft room essentials; whatever your heart desires... This piece also comes delivered with a couple of my favorite holiday ornaments for you to get started with!

The house measures 7x14x3/4"

The sweet little Tinny... so sorry, that stays with me.

retail value $75

Change...

2009-11-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

It's a girls right to change her mind...

I did a post not too long ago on my mini office re-do. I thought I would share a glimpse on some of the activity that I do in my office space outside of my studio.

While I have an ample size studio space to work in, sometimes it's handy to have some of the creative energy in a different area. A second location of sorts. To be a little closer to family activities, homework, etc. A fantastic excuse to go antiquing. From the previous post- The cute little desk above has seen just about every room in the house. Not very useful as a design table so my youngest has happily accepted it for his bedroom.

Family in tow we set out for the afternoon while mom (me) shopped her way through the Portland Metro areas vintage shops. I can't speak for the three male family members (husband and two boys) that tagged along, but it was fun for me and I did find something in one afternoon. An older vintage solid wood table with interesting turned legs that was just the right size for the space it was going to occupy.

Now I have all my most necessary items needed for creating smaller works in my office at a moments notice. It's quiet, warm (one thing about my studio in the winter, because it is a basement studio, is that it gets quite chilly down there) listen to music, all on the second floor of my home.

My paintbrushes bathing in not so clean water.... not a good habit...
I have years of practice at this one. Also on my table is bottle of red...need I say more?
My favorite little or not so little display piece on the table is the tall jewelry holder. I think its original intention is to hold greeting cards being that there are all kinds of slots down the sides. but it functions perfectly for favorite one of a kind pieces.
A beautiful crown on top of a crown made for me special by Kris Hurst awhile back ago.

The lower section of the tower displays the remainder of some of my favorite pieces by one of my dearest friends.

A sweet handmade little nativity scene given to me
as a gift from fellow artist Kelly Lish.

Words of hope and encouragement
Everyday I want to live those words fearlessly with faith.

I keep a stack of paper plates in my office at the ready- simple
I use just small (pea sized) amounts and keep using the plates till they are filled
For those of you who have taken my workshops, you know what
the pea sized amount thing is-lol---

My Golden paints in an old aluminum lunch box.
Colors good enough to eat.
Live life joyously!

A Happy Hauntful Halloween to you!

2009-10-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

His alias is Batman for the evening...
and company below

Cyclops...

Smiling Igor...

Happy Jack...

and a villainous looking character...

An odd lot don't you think?

Tick Tock Goes the Clock...

2009-09-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

Tick toc goes the clock...

That little phrase implies so much! To some it's time is going too fast, to others, time is going to slow. Summer went by for me with a blink of an eye, and with only one blog post to chalk up this summer - boo hoo... It was an unusually busy summer for business and family activities but Fall is settling in and so are the traditional routines of children going back to school, homework, and hopefully some good solid creative time for me..

Here is a piece I have been working on in the studio for almost a year! (on and off I should add) I was prompted to work on it again when I pulled it out in a studio workshop and used it as a working example and just kept moving forword with it.

(BTW Studio Workshops this summer were just a kick and I will be offering a few next year in 2010. Not as many as this last summer - but if you are interested you can sign up to be notified about workshops in the box to your right on this page.)

This piece aptly titled Tic Toc Goes the Clock is a very dimensional piece.

About 14x18 on a 3" deep wood substrate

Lots of elements went into this piece- an old bingo hall card, fabric and steel measuring tapes, copper, nails, tacks, ephemera, some game pieces and lots of painterly elements as well.
A final layer of beeswax was used to finish the piece as well.

Heart shaped motif on the side- love the long skinny hearts

The circles are old paper poker chips painted white and embellished and distressed

Well I waited almost a year to complete this piece and I think that's okay-- sometimes good things take time.

~
I hope you can join me this weekend !

My workshops are full at Art and Soul but Vendor Night is open to the public

and is always great fun!

The artwork above and more will be available at my booth plus 60 artists and vendors from around the country will be selling their goods at this event.

Vendor Night

Embassy Suites Ballroom
Saturday October 3, 2009

7pm - 10pm

7900 NE 82nd Ave.

Portland, OR 97220

1-503-460-3000

Garden Treasures

2009-07-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Posting to the blog has been rather sparse lately. Besides activities in the studio, work and otherwise, I am routinely distracted with the need to go and wander outside

instead of post to the blog.

Camera in hand, last week I went outside and took some photographs of the garden and patio to share with you. We have lived now in this big ol' house for nearly 3 years and the gardens are 3years old as well. I have talked about my love of gardening in earlier posts many times. It's hard to believe that at one time that the back of the property was half covered in gravel and pretty much looked like someones personal garbage can. I scrolled back to some earlier posts to

see just how much progress has been made to the backyard. Although I have so many more ideas and projects in mind for this house and property, I thought I would share some of my world with you and what is a big source of artistic inspiration to me...

A recent find, this candelabra hangs over the chaise. Yes I did light it once. Candle wax dripped all over the place. Not very practical, but beautiful.

I try to get here as much as possible to sketch, converse and nap- not all at once though.

I love topiary shapes. They add a great visual element to patio gardening. I am now thinking of how to incorporate this element so common to English gardens to my own garden.

The back patioMr. Rooster... If I had a dime for all the interest he generates when visitors come over. He stands about 4 feet tall and mixes quite well with the other decor.

Combination of hosta, Hebe and a charming little ground cover- The name escapes me. I'm so bad at remembering horticultural names. Master gardeners would scold me. I plant my pots with perennials almost exclusively preferring them to the usual annuals assortment. I'm not so much about flowers as I am about texture interest.

This pot contains another variety of hosta, pink astilbe, a small maple tree and an ornamental grass. Since living here, we started out with 4 large trees on the property. Counting the trees that are in pots, we now have about 15 or so- I lost count. Eventually it is going to look like a forest.

I love shades of lavender and have begun to use some of them in my newer works.

The purply, silver greys are my favorite.

Another hosta- this one shown in full bloom.

The potting bench that sits out in the back. It came with the house. It's pretty rickety and someday I expect to walk outside and see it fallen over from the weight of all the pots inside but for now it sits under a big tree.

The little garden- basil, tomato's, carrots, corn, beans. One of my favorite summertime chores is to go outside and pick dinner- fresh lettuce, with carrots, basil, tomatoes in a simple basalmic vinaigrette.

Divine!

Pictured is a batch or sedums sitting in a moss wreath in full bloom.

It's early morning here now and I think I am going outside for awhile before I start my day.

Let Freedom Ring!

2009-07-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

I once heard a saying or a phrase that went something like this,

"Freedom does not give you the right to do what you want,

but the ability to do what is right..."

I really took that to heart when I heard those words for the first time.

Happy 4th!!
God Bless

Studio workshops...

2009-06-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

I wish I was able to remember to keep a camera attached to my side, but with so many other activities going on around me during workshops, the camera just kinda gets put on the back burner... I haven't posted for awhile. It's been a whirlwind of teaching and in between that, filling orders and preparing for the next set of workshops... Time goes by too fast these days.

I had the most wonderful time this weekend in my studio with a truly remarkable group of women from such diverse backgrounds... Let's see, there was the schoolteacher, the chemist, the scrapper, the bear artist, shopkeeper, an artist of course in the group(aren't we all?), a jeweler, a hairdresser, and the list goes on...So many of them came from so far to visit and it just warmed my heart... Several even road tripped it from Idaho and Utah! Talk about adventurous spirits!

In preparation for their arrival, I dolled up the studio as best as I could; made some new changes, and additions (I can't leave anything alone). I even have a new logo (as seen above pics) One of these days, I will overhaul my website and stick it on there...

I dusted and rearranged all of my treasures...Events are good motivators for getting long overdue projects done...

Lindsay and I with her Gridlocked piece...

Out on the patio for lunch. The weather could not have been more perfect so we all had came out for a breath of fresh air and sunshine in between class...

Many thanks and blessings to all of you who came out to sunny Portland to create and play!

Leaving on a jet plane, but first....

2009-04-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

I must share some pictures of some goodies I have been working on in the studio as I gather up the tools, paints, papers, glue, scissors, and the like into the many boxes that make their way off to Hampton, Virginia for an Art and Soul Retreat this coming week as I prepare to teach a set of workshops... Art retreats are really just that. A time to just get away and meld with kindred spirits who appreciate the arts as much as you do... I love meeting women from all over the country(world) for that matter and hearing their stories, sharing ideas and just plain hanging out. Doing that teaching thing is fun too... I'm so excited to get the ball rolling... For those of you reading this that are not familiar with Art and Soul and other art retreats, most of them offer art vendor shows that go along with the event. The pieces shown here are just a portion of the goodies that I am bringing to the event; don't want to spoil the surprise, but I wanted to share some of the newest work I've created in what I call "miniatures".

(Here is an overhead shot of all the adornments I could not resist

adding to most of the art pieces)

Not really true miniatures, but miniature to me because I do not usually work

this small on wood or canvas- this one measures 3x5ish...

.
I really struggled with the size concept of this group.. On one hand, I wanted to ship a group of art that was small, easy to pack, and did not take up any space in the box.. By the time I got done adding all the crystal knobs, feet, and whatever else bling that seemed appropriate, I still had to bubble wrap like crazy, and in the end, the pieces wound up being much larger. All in all I was very happy with the results and do plan on creating more.

hope, love, faith

Enjoy the pics and hope to see you in Virginia!

Summer Workshops!

2009-04-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here and Summer is around the corner...

Time to get "All Dolled Up"

and "Color your World"

The "Theater" awaits your presence

for your to creativity to soar.

Studio Workshops with Lisa Kaus

May-Aug, 09

Office mini-makeover

2009-04-11T15:13:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I can be the biggest procrastinator...
I have been dinkering around with paint colors for my office space for that last two years . One day, I decided on the color, went down to the local paint store and got the gallon and spent all but less than 4 hours prepping and painting my office... If I had known that it was going to go that quick, I would have done it much sooner... I am one of those that when it comes to painting WALLS, I just want to get in, get done, and get out.

Here is a before picture right before I painted it- the walls are sort of a
taupe color- nice but boring.

I found a lampshade awhile back shopping that sparked the inspiration for the color of this room!It goes perfect. In case some of you folks are wondering what that funny little mouse pad there is next to the pencils, it's a wacom intuos 2 graphic tablet- very fun for doing all kinds of digital work with a pen/pointer and or a mouse.

The floors are painted a grey blue which look really lovely with the green walls. Someone before us decided to paint the fir floors upstairs all of this color and then cover up quite a bit of it with carpet--- (one project at a time) --- but for right now I am very happy with the floor and wall color combo.

My favorite rocking chair next to one of my favorite paintings

An old desk I picked up several years ago for $5 at a garage sale. It was painted brown. I stripped the paint off and this is what was under it; natural wood with distressed cream paint left, so cool...
My dad used to store his tools in this rundown treasure at one time in his workshop before I rescued it... It was really damaged, but the hubby restored it, painted it and brought it back to life. I shall cherish this piece for many years...

Thought you might enjoy the tour of the new Springy look of my office space... In a few more weeks Where Women Create is coming out with the 3rd issue and I am excited that my studio is going to be featured in the upcoming issue... Stay tuned...
My Best...

edit to the post

(Had a post and some e-mails regarding color- the color used on the walls is

Miller 0400M New Foliage.

The Miller Brand is just a Pacific Northwest company which is a bummer. They have beautiful colors choices which also includes the Divine line that I love!)

Arriving this May!

2009-03-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

In light of some of my favorite magazines hitting the dust lately, I am so excited that Jo Packham is creating her fab quarterly mag Where Women Create through Stampington. A great dose of artful inspiration if you have not picked up the first two copies. In fact it is going over so well that the first inaugural issue sold out and the second issue is on it's way as well...

I was so delighted to have Jo in my studio this last summer along with Brad Ruzicka doing the photography. Jo is truly a gem and her expertise in the publishing world makes this mag such an artist's must have.

My studio is really a working studio..

I have drills, Dremels, hammers, and a sander or two out all the time for the production of my print collection and original work. So when Jo and Brad came over, it was time for the big clean-up and make pretty. It was alot of work, if I must say, but so glad to do it because it gave me the opportunity to really do some cleaning and refreshing. Isn't always that way? Events are always such great motivators for getting those long procrastinated projects done.

The pics in this post with the exception of the first one are my own personal photos, but I wanted to share with you a few glimpses into my creative world. As time progresses before the magazine is released in May, I will be sharing more studio highlights on the blog. Maybe some nitty gritty pics of all the tools and stuff too.

This is a photo of part of the studio right before a workshop.

I am forced to clean-up for all the lovely guests that will be arriving and sharing in an artful day.

Some of my favorite vintage game treasures.

Time to play...

Valentine's Wish

2009-02-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

Winter Whites and Brights

2009-02-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

A couple of posts ago I talked about the wintry weather we were having here in Oregon...

I was so taken with the brilliance of the whiteness of everything that I hauled all my art supplies up to the dining room table from the studio and set out to create a wintry collection of my own. Snow or no snow, this time of year I always have an urge to paint in pales. Palest of lavender, pinks, blues washed with layers of raw umber and smudged charcoal. So I am sharing with you my latest work for the new year.

A cloudy snow day fills the space on this piece.
This particular painting is part of a series of a print collection that I did for the
Shoppe at Somerset. A group of three exclusive
designs just for the Shoppe.

Wee little Pinky balances on one vintage crystal knob.

Reminds me of wallpaper...

Along with the pale shades of color, I paired up vintage crystals and antique door knobs. It is such a shimmery combination. Combined with the layer of beeswax and a few rustic elements hammered into the wood substrates, the pieces make for a very luminous collection.

Another fun piece similar to the clock in the post below this one.

Chock full of details from top to bottom.
More bling...

The Bingo game card aged so beautifully when a sheer layer of extra warm beeswax was applied over the top. You can achieve some amazing effects when applying wax at different temperatures to vintage papers because of its porous quality.

Winter also brings out the bright palette in me as well. There were some red berries that I photographed in the post below that really inspired some of the reds that I used in this new series of clocks that I have completed. I look forward to adding more to this collection!

One of my favorites out of the whole grouping is this house mixed media clock.

I found some really worn and chippy glass cabinet knobs to use as legs for this piece. They are so fitting and work really well with the well worn, rusty door knob that sits on top of the clock.

'Love Blooms Here'
Another clock filled with lots of color, detail and whimsy
For more detailed information on each piece follow the link below

My Best

Lisa

See the Artwork!

(edit to the post)

I've had several e-mails regarding workshops and the artwork above. To the top right there is a sign-up box labeled Artful News and Goodies Newsletter. Plug in your e-mail address and you will be prompted from there. I have a workshops sign-up section you can check off that will keep you posted of my current workshops throughout the year...

thanks bunches

Somerset Artist Portfolio!

2009-01-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

I'm beyond tickled!

When I got an e-mail from Jenny D. this last summer in regards to doing a grouping of work for the Artist's Portfolio segment of Somerset, I e-mailed her back and asked her if this was for real? She promptly replied, "Yes, for real". I thought, "Wow, so cool!"

I'd like to share some pics from the current issue of Somerset Jan/Feb Artist's Portfolio segment featuring some of the work that is photographed in the magazine. I regretfully did not take pictures of all of the pieces nor do I have them in my possession anymore, but I tried to capture a slightly different angle than what is seen in SS. I had much fun this last summer creating the body of work for the article. In fact, it led me to some new creative directions that I have been playing with quite a bit as of late...More to come on that in some upcoming posts but for now...

My favorite piece out of the whole group is this mixed media clock. A very substantial piece piece with crystal door knobs as legs supporting the body of the piece. Texture, vintage papers, graphite, found object and beeswax are used to complete this particular piece. More of a neutral almost earthy palette, that I do not do as often, but I love it!

Dripping beeswax over nails. With the exception of the working clock mechanism, I usually add the beeswax last after everything else is complete and nailed on to the surface. This gives the piece a more authentic look when the beeswax is applied carefully around things such as the chandy crystal to the left...

I do love color and this piece is no exception. For the article I tried to incorporate some monochromatic pieces (pieces with little to just one color) and then creating some pieces that just are wonderfully saturated with my favorite palette of colors.

Little tiny game piece surrounded by patinaed copper.

Another piece filled with lots of color, detail and found object...

Titled Love, Joy,Peace

Joyously Thankful (above) is a study similar to the Playground Found series.. I am still taken with the concept of building tiny vignettes within a larger composition and love building up all the details or little stories within each square and playing with the negative and positive spaces surrounding each element. It can be quite challenging, but I love the results when complete.

She's a cutie!
(click on any image for a larger view)
Enjoy
xo
Lisa

(edit to the post)

I have had many comments and e-mails on the clock regarding workshops- While I am not offering a workshop specifically like the clock, the Be Still My Beating Heart Workshop I am offering in Virginia at Art and Soul is generally the same format minus the clock mechanism. In that workshop you can add found object to the base of the substrate to elevate your work. We are working with an extra deep substrate like the clock too. I will also be teaching the same workshop in October of 09 in Portland at Art and Soul. Drop me a line if you have additional questions...

Winter white...

2008-12-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

First snow of the season this week.

Just out taking pics while the kids had most of the week off.

The weather has been quite chilly here but I'm afraid us Oregonians are slightly wimpy when it comes to the wintry weather... My good friend Aleta Breeze did a delightfully humorous post about the weather here in Oregon. Please wander on over...Her blog is beautiful.

One of my favorite hues of red.

Untouched snow...until...

Working together to build a snowman.

Side garden

Wintry whites and brilliant reds inspire me always for another round of winter artwork. I always love to paint in shades of silvers, whites, and a pale palette with splashes of red in the winter. Keeps my spirits up as the cold days of winter lie ahead...

Back to the studio...

Oh Christmas Tree

2008-12-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Please excuse my absence away from blogging. This time of year is filled with holiday madness.... Good of course. I can't complain by any means, but between the studio and the family leaves me time for not much else.. Except for the annual Christmas tree which came late this year partly because of Thanksgiving and because I had a hard time just fitting it in.. But it is a tradition in our family to get out the camera, gloves, cookies and head off to the local Starbucks first for something warm and sweet, before we get out Christmas tree.

Mine is the tallest one in the group. Not filled with coffee either. I drink steamers this time of year. I'm not a coffee drinker, never have been so I really don't support Starbucks all together but I love to get a hot steamer on a chilly day. All it is, is a hot frothed milk with a dash of vanilla...Simple- yum...

We have been going to this tree farm for the past few years out in West Linn, Oregon. So beautiful out there.. Quiet, pastoral, u-cut tree farms all over the place. This farm is getting pretty picked over but the people who run the farm are so nice we thought we would go back one more time, visit Bill the neighboring cow and get a Noble Fir tree.

He was pretty shy until we found some left-over apples on the ground. Then he was as friendly as could be...

The final choice. I didn't take as long as usually do, not that I'm picky or anything(LOL) but when you are in search of the perfect tree, it's hard to make choices sometimes and it's a girls right to change her mind isn't it?

I did however make the small mistake of underestimating the size of the tree- I blame this partially on the husband who is supposed to be good at this kind of stuff and the voice of reason.. It looked so small out in the field ....
(Him and I hauling it off)

Here we are smiling with our new Christmas treasure!

Photos do not do this justice except that the amoire next to the tree is about 7' tall and the base of the tree is in front of the front door. I laughed and laughed for the next 10 minutes, as I looked at the sheer size of this tree in my living room... 13 feet high by at least 7'across..
Time to get the pruners out and do a little trimming...
I'm afraid of heights so the husband is getting on a ladder to do lights and the top of the tree decorating. All these things you don't think about on a nice sunny day out in the middle of a tree farm...
Well, one week later and most of the tree is decorated. The top is still sparse and not finished with some of the details still needed. This tree was way more work than I anticipated but it is grand and stately. We ended up taking 3' off the top and literally pruning the back off of the tree flat so that it would not come out to the center of the room and also pruned about 2' or so around the whole base of the tree...

Getting a little holiday decorating in finally!
Blustery snowy day today- I will be back soon with another post!
~

(edit to the post)

The centerpiece on the table is a vintage bottle brush tree made from extra large bottle brushes purchased from the now defunct Quimbys Antiques here in Portland.

Shannon Quimby had/has fabulous finds and now does spots on HGTV to showcase her creativity!

Another pic to see this gem, one of my favorite Christmas treasures!

Playing with Copper

2008-11-07T19:06:00.001-08:00

I recently wrote a technique/project article for Cloth Paper Scissors Nov/Dec, o8 issue about the fun and creative uses of sheet copper. It is fun to roll out the big sheets and slather on the distressing agent, let it sit, age and patina, but I save even the smallest of pieces because you never know where they might wind up...
I have talked about these paper doll girls before. In fact, not too long ago, one of their friends wound up in a very pink painting...This was a too fun project... A magical copper theater for little girls to share there giggles and secrets... Oh and I am thinking about this as a workshop too, I may tweak it a bit though. Since re-reading my article, I have decided I may need to make a few changes to the theater, or the girls or the copper, who knows..

The theater itself stands about 16" square.
The layer under the girls is embellished with lots of vintage papers, paint, text, doodle, etc...

This piece titled Kindred Spirits was also in the article. I wrote about this piece on the blog awhile back ago and you are welcome to read it. It is one of my all time favorite pieces. It too is embellished with hammered and patinaed copper.
I'm so glad it has a good home...

(click on any image to see a larger view)

Diluted Saturated Color

2008-10-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

I've always defined my color palette as intense but diluted. Diluted, I mean that I never use just one color or one wash of anything. I tend to do several washes of color and then layers of water soluble crayon over the top, then graphite pencils, more paint, etc. By the time I am near completion, what was once very bright, singular and flat has become multi-layered, and diluted with so many colors and washes that add to the wonderful visual textural playground if you will. Diluted may not be the correct terminolgy, but to see my working style and to know that I come from a classical fine art watercolor background, you can see where I might get that thinking from.

This piece titled "Open the eyes to my heart" has lots of visual and textural elements going on within its 8x10x4" wooden confines. Just a simple shape of a heart for lots of impact and lots of deep intense reds. I outlined or grided the outside edges of this piece and the sides of the substrate to create individual little vignettes to play with much like the Gridlocked piece that some of you are familiar with. I really enjoy doing that as it challenges me and gives me a chance to explore tiny spaces but still am able to work on a larger scale all at the same time! I doodled away on this piece and added lots of found element and embellished with nails and tacks as well... It's hard to see from the pics but a layer of beeswax is also added for additional texture and dimension to the piece too... Plus beeswax smells great!Patinaed copper wings are the finishing touch.
Now we have wings to fly!
It's all in the details...

This is a workshop that Iam offering through Art and Soul and am teaching this class in Hampton, Virginia in May of 09. A few spots are left.
Hint(you don't have to do a heart motif if you do not want to)
To learn more about this workshop, please visit this link
Art and Soul- Be Still My Beating Heart

Autumn Colors

2008-10-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Autumn inspired houses.
I think this color palette is one of my favorites and I do not use it nearly enough! Love those crystal door knobs- my latest obsession! Graphite pencil and rust enhances their beauty-LOL
Three in a row... Cozy little neighborhood

Magic #3

You can see these and more on my site.

Wander over when you have a moment.

my best

Art and Soul

2008-10-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Another Art and Soul Portland has passed...

I really had planned on taking lots of pics this year but as usual got distracted and so I shall share with just a few pics. This year was my first year to teach in Portland. I have been doing the Vendor Fair for a few years and finally made the transition to teach and sell at this event. That called for getting a room at the Sheraton and parking there with all my teaching gear and setting up camp for a couple of days. Vendor Fair was a blast. I think it was the busiest ever. I had my sister-in-law helping me in the booth and she was (we were) just astounded at all of women coming in from different parts of the country and the world. I met women from Australia, France, Switzerland, Germany, England to name a few.

Hats off to Glenny and crew for bringing it all together!

Sweet Michele with her Gridlocked piece!
(Thanks for the pic)

Dayna Collins and I.
Very sweet gal and so creative! She is in Italy right now traveling for a month.
See her blog. How fun!
(thanks Dayna for the pic)

Nicole Merkens sharing her Gridlocked piece had some very fun found object elements to it!
(thanks for the pic)
Look at their beautiful smiles to my left and right...
This is a rare shot as we rarely get together in one sitting!
Sally, me and Bonnie.

So as you can see- I took no pics but the first one, I was having too much fun to remember my camera, but thanks to all the lovely girls who attended my workshops and stopped by my booth... Blessings to you all.. What fun we had!

Colorful Blogs With a View

2008-10-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Some pics from the article.

Somerset Life Fall Issue 08

Blogs with a View

Thank you with all my heart!!
xo

Lisa

Falls Arrival...

2008-09-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here I am out in the garden snapping pictures instead of getting ready for workshops this weekend. Oh phooey, it all gets done. The weather is nice for a couple more days, than rain. The pumpkin above is one of those giant sized ones people grow for show pumpkins. This is no show pumpkin but its quite large, about 3' across. Let the husband deal with that one...

We also grew some of the Mammoth Sunflowers this year. I do not ever recall growing them in the past. I usually favor the more boutique style sunflowers but these have really been interesting to grow primarily because they create there own habitat around them. Because of their enormous size-almost 18" across, the seeds are huge. Birds and squirrels have been staking claim to them for the past several weeks and it has been hilarious to watch the squirrels hang from the giant flower heads and pluck all the seeds out while my cat below zealously watches.
The faded remains of my Pee Gee Hydrangea. This particular variety has a cone shaped head and blooms late summer. Over time it can get quite large and oh so grand. I can't wait as mine is just a wee one. I find myself wandering around alot in the garden for peace and solitude amid the strange chaos of the world.

Nature has a beautiful grounding constant that brings me back to what is real and true.

Plucked clean and dry by birds, and squirrels.

Back to the studio to prepare for this weekends set of workshops at Art and Soul Portland.
I am so looking forward to gathering with other artful kindred spirits to refresh and regenerate the creative soul.
Peace

Pretty in Pink

2008-09-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

A little girl's first birthday...

How fun to give the gift of art. Something she will have for many years (hopefully) and cherish.

This is the beginning stages of a commission I completed recently for a baby girl affectionately nicknamed Winks...

The family member giving the gift wanted to use frogs images from a vintage storybook that she had read as a child. When I start a piece of artwork, my system is usually to get the sketch going and then placement of collage. Then it's off to add the color, my favorite part.

The pic above is layered with a wash of paint first and then filled in with lots of crayons, oil pastel, graphite, anything I can get my hands on. I then complete the piece with collage, more detail, and finally beeswax...

Here is the finished piece above without beeswax and the one below completed with a layer of wax. Unless you click on each image for a detail, you can't really see how the beeswax really highlights all the underlying color and texture built into the piece. Even then it is hard to see... Anyway, it turned out fun and I hope the birthday girl enjoys it for many years to come!

More treasure hunting...

2008-09-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

Whoever said that men were the hunters and women were the gatherers as an assumed role in society needs to have their head examined. I could not be more the hunter when it comes to search missions in the salvage department. Latest obsession? Vintage door knobs. I am trying to scout out every single vintage door knob this side of North America. Well at least a good few! I have always loved the old door hardware pre 194os and earlier. The old crystal just does not even compare with the newer glass of today. Reminds me of jewelry...These could be a bit heavy to wear around your neck though. However I do have some fun plans for this newest obsession.

Look at this box of glorious rust! Oh the possibilities are endless. This was an EBay score a few weeks ago. The box is extremely heavy and filled plum full of old Victorian era door hardware. It's a secret now, but I will share some of my projects in the near future...

I also found of box of Bingo panel cards... Count em, 36! I don't think I will be needing all of them so I thought I would share these in upcoming workshops.

Love that rich turquoise color!

Some time ago, I did a post on the Nancy Ann Storybook dolls that I played with as a child. They were my mother's and she passed them down to me. Well I have continued to add to the collection and recently found a few more dolls with their boxes in nice condition. When I purchase these dolls, they always have to come with the original box because I think that is the best part. The polka dots on each box are so pretty with their soft hues and the white is such a lovely shade of eggshell. You open the box, and the most charming little dolly is nestled inside.
They are such little sweethearts. I have fond memories of playing with
these little gals growing up.

Speaking of gals, a couple of weeks ago was the ZNE art retreat. I think it is pretty safe to say everyone had a great time. Above is me(right) pictured with Sally, Dawn and Michelle. In the picture, we were having a particularly good time and I will pass the story off to Michelle. Please read her post as she narrates it quite well-LOL

One sidenote, Chelise, founder of ZNE contacted the fabulous Claudine Hellmuth who is also a ZNE member and had her create her signature poppets for each one of the instructors. I laughed hysterically when I saw a mini me propped up on the table. Polka dots and all. Here's me posing with myself. She dresses better than me though...

Many warm thanks and hugs to all the girls who came and played for the day with me while we created joyful works in the Gridlocked class.
xo

A is for Artichoke

2008-08-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Does she have it made or what! She's in my spot. Pictured is my charming kitty Pansy. She's about 10yrs old and adopted me when I first met her. All Summer long this is where she resides, unless I beat her to the chair first. The lounge was a Mother's Day gift from my family a couple of years ago. A place to relax and rejuvenate, read stories, have a refreshing margarita. All the good stuff. I try to get there as much as I can, but most of the time I wander off to visit my vegetable garden and see what there is to pick and snack on.

Mostly I plant veggies you can just pluck and eat. Peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans and the like. But I thought I would try my hand at artichokes this year and I think next year I will be adding a couple more. They are the most impressive plants. Tall and sculptural yielding beautiful crowns of thick sturdy olive green heads.

We planted pumpkins too, the big mammoth sized ones. I do not think we are going to get very big ones this year unless I pick off some of those giant leaves which I hate to do and/or we get allot more sunshine. It has been a beautiful Summer in the Pacific NW but not enough really hot days yet for good pumpkin growing...
You can see where I get my inspiration. I have been painting fruit and vegetables for years and I never get tired of doing them.
This is year two on the perennial garden above which takes up most of the back yard. Pictured below is last years shot plus I did a post on that which you are welcome to visit.
There is an saying that goes, first year sleeps, second year creeps, third year leaps. I think my garden skipped the second year sleeps and lept right into the summer this season. Quite a difference in the two photos!?

My little nest...

2008-07-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

A beautiful bittersweet find...

Mother wren has been laying on her eggs since May and they just would not hatch. I think her choice of nest location was probably not the best. She built her little home right above our garage door that generally gets quite a bit of in and out traffic. For obvious reasons, she finally gave up and flew off to a new place to call home. Once we determined that the nest was abandoned for good, I plucked it off the ledge it was so carefully crafted into. To see 5 little eggs delicately snugged in amongst the soft down, moss and twigs, I just could not contain myself. How precious is this, and so amazingly beautiful. It is hard to see in this picture, but there are tiny red dried flowers tucked into the sides of the nest as well. Ahhhh Mother nature...

I want to thank the beautiful souls that came to play at my nest this weekend during my studio workshops. I will always treasure the moments and the new found friendships that are formed during these intimate gatherings. Everyone had so much talent and creativity to bring to the group. I hope to see all of you again at the many other artful events here and abroad.
Just a few weeks out and I will be getting on a plane and heading to the ZNEConvenzione event to teach in Pleasanton CA, August 22-24th. I believe there are a couple spots open in my Gridlocked class. To sign up, go here. After that it's back to my home town to teach at Art and Soul in October.
Hope to see you there!

Conversations in the Dark

2008-07-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

If the dolls could talk, what would they say?? Are they happy to be here? Are they homesick? Unearthed from the ground from a dilapidated old doll factory in the German countryside, transported by plane to an art studio in Oregon. They might have allot to say, most are well over 100 years old. On a plane again, back east for a fancy photo shoot and back to Oregon again. These girls get around.

It was an absolute pleasure creating these little gems for a the recent article in the July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, titled "Conversations in the Dark." I always feel like I am transported back in time when I create the dolls. It's like being a little kid all over again. Each one seems to have a personality all their own and when I have them all propped up, it's as if they are keeping a keen eye on me, making sure I put the same detail and loveliness into each newly made friend.
This particular dolly is embellished with a brass mesh skirt that is over painted with pale blue and white. Little bits of millinery, an old vintage earring, and chandelier droplets complete the ensemble. She's ready to go to the party!One of my favorite elements to add are big tacks that stick out of the side as to imitate buttons on her outfit. I love the textural dimension it creates along with the beeswax that is added to each doll as the final finishing element.

This girl is my favorite. She is quite a bit larger than the rest, about 12" tall from head to toe. Her skirt is constructed of a medium weight copper that has been patinaed and folded to resemble pleats. Her waistband is an old articulated ruler, something I just can't seem to get enough of lately. More bling, more wax...

Two girlfriends side by side, whispering secrets. Oh they're all probably all poking fun of me as I race around the studio going about my day attempting to get things done...That's fine... It's fun to have them here...

To see additional pictures of more Dollies, follow the link.

(click on images for a closeup)

Happy 4th!

2008-07-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

Just a note to wish you a Happy 4th!

Had to coax the two boys to wear identical shirts but after they saw the pics, they got it.

An old vintage flag passed down to me. I love it's old faded glory, beautiful stitching and embroidery work on the stars. The fabric is a coarse woven cotton. It only comes out but once a year! Have a blessed 4th!

Tiny Works- Magnets

2008-06-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Like tiny works of art...

A new product line for early Summer!

These magnets are so much fun and generously sized! Along with the refrig, try putting them on other metallic surfaces such as metal tins,baking pans or magnet boards for a dash of whimsy and fun. Great as a little gifty item too...

I also think they would be so fun in tiny little shadowbox frames clustered in groupings...
The Magnet Collection is strong, durable and are apprx 3"x4"

sealed with a cleanable light fast surface.

Thanks for stopping by!

A study in white...

2008-06-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

A study in white...

If white were a color it would be my second favorite next to green. I love the many shades and moods that a luminous cloud of white can provide. This is a recent commission that I happily created for a lovely customer friend. I had much fun working on all the

different houses and shades of white that each house portrays... Each house has some of my favorite elements from my salvage stash, and as always, plenty of nails and tack staples abound. A picket fence wraps itself around this little Parisian cottage.

The number #4 and the #5 are vintage ceramic tiles called Portland House Numbers . They were originally used in the 1930s in Portland Or. extensively as easily identifiable address markers. It's getting harder and harder to find those vintage ones with all their faded and worn beauty. Thank you again Karen for the wonderful opportunity!!

xoxox

(click on any image for a larger view)

Playground Found

2008-05-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

This issue of Somerset Studio on page 23 features a technique article on a mixed media piece I created several months ago. Many thanks to Jenny Doh for the fun title to the article! This particular piece took several weeks to create. I worked at it for awhile- played with the composition quite abit and as my usual self, became very non-committal in regards to just getting the hammer and glue out and moving foreword. This was more of a art therapy piece for me as well, as I was going through some difficult times and found that I needed to express more of me in this piece. Life really can throw a few curve balls on occasion, and art is such a beautiful vehicle for emotional release, forgiveness, and recovery.My thoughts at the time of creation, today and probably tomorrow...

Is there enough going on here? I really tried to incorporate all aspects of my art onto one piece. The mixed media piece measure about 12x24". It was a challenge but well worth it...

I'm ready for more...

Froggy playing the violin.
I believe he came from a vintage Rummy set that has a hilarious set of animals doing all kinds of silly things...

Doll legs and dominoes.

Using wood as the substrate enabled me to hammer or screw most everything down. A thin layer of wax was layered over the top too as the finishing touch.

I'm so addicted to beeswax...

One of my favorite sections of this piece is the vintage cabinet lock hammered onto patinead copper with staples crudely hammered into place.

And for those of you interested I am teaching this as a workshop at Art and Soul and at ZNE in California this summer and fall. Art and Soul is closed but there might be a couple spots at ZNE.

Thanks for stopping by...

(click on any image for a larger view)

Spring's Glory

2008-05-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is such a miracle to me. I always revel in the beauty of the newest little beauties that burst out of the ground or unfurl from the branches. The forest floors are truly magical, filled with all sorts of living organisms and life giving elements God has perfectly created...
Two friends side by side...

Beautiful stone steps leading up... At least that is the way I see it... Photo of a turn of the century church in Silverton Oregon. I was really taken with this building. Its solitary existence for so many years next to a cemetery.

Many memories this building holds...

Photo of an inlet just outside of the Lewis and Clark's base camp here in Oregon. I captured this pic in the wee hours of a foggy morning. It looks like there are two deer in the back left..
Look close...

This is some of the photography I have taken over the years. I treasure all my photos and I especially treasure the photos of my family. Recently I happened upon a couple of blogs that brought up a topic that all bloggers, artists, and generally anyone in the creative field should take very seriously. Please read this excerpt...

This is text from the Illustrator Partnership web site:

Due to the lack of publicity about this bill, the most innocent victims of this plunder – those who put images online - are still completely unaware of it. Who am I talking about? Average American families who have enjoyed the Internet as a way to share the happiest, and even saddest, moments of their lives with their friends and family across the country, and even around the world, through the wonders of technology. Google has already said they plan to use these orphan works in the millions. Why should companies like this be allowed to to harvest our property from private web pages, blog sites, share sites and the like?

Please respond to this by sending a letter directly to your senator- It's very simple and I have included the link. Took me about a minute to send it off...

I won't try to get too political here because that is not what this blog is about, but this new legislation is just another classic example of "Big Brother" getting into bed with the mega corps at the expense of the people. If they do this, what's next...???

Collections and Obsessions

2008-05-15T22:57:00.001-07:00

Lynne Perrella's newest book "Art -Making, Collections and Obsessions" has been out on the book shelves since February of this year. I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the collaboration of this book. I think Lynne really captured the essence of the collective spirit that we mixed media artists share . It is chock full of great eye-candy too. Going through it once again inspired me to revisit some of my favorite collections in the studio.This mixed media cake creation is one of the submissions featured in her book

along with 2 art dollies. Only one is pictured below.

Back and side view of the cake.This dolly has a copper skirt and Victorian rhinestone trim...

Hard to find these days...

I'm sure many of you can relate to the phrase " what is one man's garbage is another man's treasure" How many of us have collections that nobody else gets but other artist friends? We all share that adventurous spirit of the great find just around the corner. That's how I felt when these little doll legs arrived in the mail one day. I love to collect old articulated rulers and any type of vintage measuring tapes. I'm terrible at math, but there is something about numbers that I am continually fascinated with...

I keep some of my favorite anagram game letters neatly arranged in a storage box so that if certain letters get low, I know that it is time to hunt for more. The less favorable ones are all in a big pile somewhere in a corner of the studio.Well this isn't really a collection in a treasure hunt sense, but it is my favorite collection of Sennelier oil pastels... Love them and the juicy colors they produce!

Every girl needs a stash of salvage...

and bling too...

And last but certainly not least, I have a very lovely collection of papers and old vintage books that grows daily. Pictured above is an old English land deed called an indenture, circa 1700 something. It is so beautiful to look at that I will probably save it, at least for awhile..
Happy treasure hunting!

Blog Talk Radio

2008-05-14T15:10:00.001-07:00

Hi there,

Here is the link that has the archived conversation with Chelise over at ZNE.. It is about an hour in length so be sure to listen to the feed while you are blogging, doing dishes, making art etc. Just be sure to open up another window on the computer if you plan to cruise

around while it is playing...

It was fun and Chel is just delightful!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ZNEart/2008/05/14/Circa-Arte-Interview-with-Lisa-Kaus

Trunk Show and ZNE Radio

2008-05-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

This Mother's Day weekend I participated in a trunk show here in Portland Oregon hosted by the Jealous Gardener. I wanted to just say thanks to all who stopped by to say hello. I had such a delightful time chatting with some really lovely individuals. I am sharing some pics with you of the display before the opening. This is one of my most favorite shops in town and I encourage anyone visiting to stop in.
I love the way the wreaths are intermixed with the art. It is so inviting and takes the edge off of all the rectangular and square pieces. I also think it is so fun to stack artwork up on walls verses the usual gallery look of side by side widely spaced. Don't get me wrong, I think that is great too, and definitely has its place but it is so warm and inviting to have all your favorite pieces layered on walls with all the different textures, colors and depths of the canvases...

(Click on any image for a larger view)

One other note:

Tonight Chelise Stroud Hery of ZNE is doing a live internet radio

interview/chat with me

at 6:30 PM.

If you can't make tonights show, they are archived for future reference. When there is a link to that I will post it as soon as I am able.

See you there!

Wings to fly...

2008-05-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

This last weekend for the first time in my newest studio space I held my

first set of workshops.

The tables were set...

We colored...

We painted...

We doodled and smudged...

We made a big mess and enjoyed every minute of it!

Here's me mixing up a batch of paint...

Thanks to all of you lovely ladies who came and participated
in one and/or both of my weekend workshops...

Left to right Debbie Foushee, Kim Wagner, Lisa Call, Kat , Cindy Shute, Michelle Haynes
and her sister Aleta Breeze.

The creative energy is so intoxicating at art making and celebrating events. It makes coming back to Mondays always so difficult. Everyone brought so much diversity and
talent to the table both days.

Look at those fabulous houses!

Thanks so much for sharing your time and creativity with me...
Many blessings to you all...

Before and After

2008-04-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Okay- I have to admit I'm a bit scattered when it comes to marathon painting sessions. I have a wonderful trunk show coming up at the beginning of May and have been literally camping out in the studio creating works for the event... More on that later. What I have discovered about myself and maybe some of you are like this, I'm not happy unless I'm working on several paintings at any given time. That doesn't mean they are all going to turn out fabulous. In fact several hit the re-do bin or the back shelf before the dust settles. I think that I am most productive working on many at once. This time it was over twenty paintings!!!

My theory is this...

When I start a big grouping of works, initially it starts out assembly line style. But as I delve into the core part of the painting, collaging and found object, things really start to happen. One painting has a certain element that I think really works or I am trying something new. I then carry that idea over into another painting and reinterpret it slightly... This may seem like rehashing, but for me it is very much a learning experience. My biggest love for painting comes from playing with different color schemes. I love to take for example the simple shape of a cake(above) and experiment with different combinations of colors and the feelings they exude.

Color is so emotional don't you think? While I do work on individual pieces from start to finish,

it is this mode of working on many that I am most comfortable in.

Here is the grouping in it's early stages. Most of the colors are painted on with a wash of fluid acrylics... I have a background in traditional watercolor and this has been such a natural progression for me. I prefer fluid acrylics over the heavy body acrylics because of their versatility and ability to hold it's pigment load even when watered down. Water-soluble crayons, graphite pencils and oil pastels are used over the top layer of acrylic creating a very subtle yet effective translucent layering effect...
Side shots of the chunky canvases.

Boy, you can really have fun when you have all that depth to play with!

Anyway, the trunk show I was referring to is at the Jealous Gardener here in Portland, Oregon. This and more mixed media pieces are going to be on hand along with treats to eat and some special goodies too... Please come join me if you can!

Day at the Falls

2008-04-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

Teacher in-service day this last Friday... No school for the kids...

What to do?
The weather was amazing so we got in the van and headed to the Gorge for a mini adventure. My two boys Henry and Tucker had a blast. So many waterfalls, trails and much to look at as Spring unfurled all of its glorious newness once again. Green is my absolute favorite color and the lushness of it all as we hiked on the trails in and around the mountainside was just breathtaking... I can't remember the name of the waterfall pictured above but it truly is spectacular. The sheer force of the water pounding into the stream below could be felt from quite a distance. One of springtime's little wonders...

The forest floor was covered with these tiny little treasures...

The majestic Multnomah Falls. Oregon is really a great place to live.

Later on that evening after we had arrived safely home, my youngest son Henry decided to do a study in Camilla blossoms. From bud to bloom. So charming, I had to run quick to get the camera before he decided to dismantle it.
A perfect day!
Enjoy the pics!
(click on any image for a larger view)

Mini Remodel

2008-03-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Events are such great motivators. I have some upcoming workshops in the studio for Spring and Summer and have been putting off this project for quite awhile just because I knew it was going to be messy and disruptive. Now I'm wondering why I didn't do it sooner?

As it is probably obvious my studio is sub level- Do the joists and concrete give it away? My studio is located in the basement of my home. Eight hundred square feet of MY space.

I love it and I love the room I have to spread out. However I have been looking at dingy walls and ceilings for the past year and a half trying to polish a turd if you will. LOL.. Enough of that, I called up the painters and said come on over and make this studio pretty.

I decided with the help of hubby to do the prep which means vacuum ceilings, pull out nails, fix wiring, and cover everything up with plastic. I mean everything was covered up in plastic. With my limited knowledge of paint sprayers, it did not occur to me that everything was going to get covered in a very fine coating of white paint. It was like a winter wonderland after I walked through for the first time after the painters had finished.

I proceeded to do general clean-up and plastic disposal. After I reinstalled the track lights and some of the other lighting on hand, it was like magic. The space just pops now and is so much more inviting with a lovely coat of white paint on the ceiling. I feel like I have a brand new studio. The photos I took really do not do the space justice so when I have time I will take some more pics to share.

I also put up about 20 Chinese lanterns throughout the studio- I got them at Target in the garden section recently and they are the softest shade of white and so festive. Okay- I'm off to the studio to play/work some more...
See you soon...

NOTE
If you are interested in taking a workshop, please sign up for the artful goodies newsletter. (to the right on the sidebar) When you go to sign up, you will have some choices of newsletters to subscribe to. Click on the Workshops Newsletter for updates on current classes etc...

Side Trip

2008-03-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

This last Friday was spent racing around town running errands, shipping out the last of the weeks packages and picking up artwork. The Flourishes event was over until April and I had the lovely opportunity of driving out to Washougal Washington to retrieve the remainder of my artwork. It's a bit of a hike from where I live; about an hours drive, but if you are ever planning a trip to Oregon, the Gorge is a must see... Absolutely breathtaking views.

To break up the journey I took a side trip to one of my favorite antique malls in the Portland area. It was my lucky day. I picked up a great Underwood typewriter, old advertising metal numbers and letters, various trims, ribbons and some old books. The Underwood I think will be fun to display instead of salvaging out. They are so cool to look at... Shiny black and chrome and neat little ivory colored glass keys- for $10!!

Eventually I made it out to to Flourishes where Aleta head mistress of the event greeted me. I think I must have been one of the first artists to arrive for pick up because there was still lots of artwork hanging around. Shopping time.. I picked up this very charming little assemblage created by Martha Kohley. She has a great eye for the materials she collects for her pieces. A wonderful embellished banner with the words DREAM was tossed into the bag as well. There was much that I could have purchased as I got to see lots of goodies but I have to be good. We are in the middle of remodeling our living room/dining room and my studio is getting an overhaul this week. Story on that later this week.

My display at Flourishes in a lovely rehabbed turn of the century outbuilding along with vintage finds and art- the perfect combo!
Have a blessed Easter everyone!

Divine Confection

2008-03-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Some pics of another cake creation that I have been working on for several weeks... Titled Devine Confection, the cake stands about 15" tall and about 10" wide at the base. I actually created this one for me, something I do not do very often as I am not always into looking at my own artwork. Allot of times I will hang my own work on the wall to study and contemplate ways to improve on it or gain inspiration for other works. This one is going into the bedroom to hold jewelry and other baubles...
The little scotty dog on top is a vintage cupcake topper- You can't see it but there is a place to hold one small candle. Now where to find those skinny little vintage candles??? The rest of the cake is embellished with vintage velvet trim, hat pin, Victorian rhinestone lace trim and an old rusty water spigot... Rhinestones and rust- Everything a girl needs...
Close-up of some handstamping and artful little doodles on the side of the cake.

Nails off to the right...

back of the cake

Click in any image for a larger view

Enjoy!

Better late than never?

2008-03-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Easter is too early this year. Who decides this stuff anyway? Okay I do know why Easter is early this year, but it is caught me off guard, which doesn't take much for me... I have uploaded new Easter goodies for all to see and they turned out very sweet..
I took my cue for this grouping from my stash of vintage Easter postcards.. I just love their quaintness and charm and have aquired quite a few over the years. I decided to put my own spin on some of the old designs with my style in mind. I only wish I had time to dream up more of them as the collection is small but there is always next year. Take a wander when you have a moment.
A note of thanks to everyone who left a post regarding Henry's artwork... See post below. Not only did he get some wonderful birthday wishes and words of encouragement, but also some lovely personal e-mails came in from far away places such as Australia, Germany, and France. He was absolutely thrilled and loved reading them all! It truly is a small world. That is what I so love about blogging and how connected we all really are..

Have a great day!

Who inspired who??

2008-02-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

I have been very blessed with two beautiful boys. Both have incredibly different and amazing perspectives on life. They are about three and half years apart and get along incredibly well. That is not to say that they don't fight or sqaubble, it's just that at this time in their lives they are such good friends. I consider it a real treat when my boys want to come and hang out with me in the studio. I have a small work table set up for them with a variety of art supplies and odds and ends for them to play with. Ultimately it's my youngest son Henry that wanders in the studio most and practices quite a bit of art making. Henry always requests to work on canvases or wood like mom, so I have to make sure I always have a few extra on hand. I got him started on the good stuff at an early age and there is no turning back now.

Here is a current sampling of some of Henry's recent work. Occasionally he paints some of the typical boy themes such as cars, rockets and such, but also enjoys doing florals, landscapes and boats. The boat painting depicted was a direct result of seeing some of my paintings but the other pieces were definitely of his own thinking and execution. I love childrens artwork, and not just my children mind you. Children have the best uninhibited view of the world and it so great to see it expressed onto paper. I gain much inspiration from both of my childrens artwork whether it is color, subject matter or composition. I especially love this floral Henry did awhile back. The giant oversized vase filled with pebbles and an abundant bouquet of dafolis looks very dramatic I think... Hmmmmm...
(click on any image for a larger view)

My little artist is turning 7 today. Henry would be just tickled if you could stop by to wish him a Happy Birthday as I will be showing him his blog post after school today...

Happy Birthday Henry!

The Girls...

2008-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

In November of 2006, I had the fun opportunity of going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena Californina. I met up with fellow shoppers Jenny Doh, Pam Garrison, Amy Hannah and Lisa Guerin. It was a lovely day, perfect for flea market shopping. We all had such fun treasures to show and tell about at the end. Midway through the event, I stopped at a booth that was loaded with lovely vintage treasures and lots of ephemera.

That's where I discovered "The Girls" as I call them, buried under a stack of old crusty books. I immediately thought to myself, "Jackpot!" I inquired about the price and was pleasantly surprised, especially since there was such big collection of them. My mind wandered; so much creative potential with this lovely little collection of vintage Kewpie paper dolls intermingled with their favorite dresses, hats, pets etc. A little girl many years ago must have shared hours of pretend play with this jovial group of charmers. I took them home along with my other finds of the day and pondered the possibilities.

Well, like many other items in my studio, the girls sat in waiting. Waiting for the magical moment to come alive again for purposeful re-use. Such as the previous post below, I had another unfinished piece sitting in the studio for months waiting for its moment. I pulled it out of the dusty corner it was in and decided it was time to tie up loose ends. This is a larger cake painting, about 12x20 on a wood substrate, but the proportions were perfect for one of the paper dolls to present herself. I used a fun mix of vintage papers, movie tickets, trim, old measuring tape, nails and more to embellish the cake and the surrounding area. I love to use nails in my work whenever possible. They are the raised looking dots that appear to the left of the little girls legs. They add such dimension and texture to my work and when there is some drippy wax over the top such as this piece, it is the icing on the cake!

Titled "Dreaming of Her Dress", this particular paper dolly seemed perfect for the part. She said goodbye to her friends, wished them well and hopped on board along with her favorite dress.

(click on any image for a larger view)

Dreaming of Her Dress is also looking for a good home and is for sale.

Please drop me a line if you are interested!

Kindred Spirits

2008-01-31T09:43:00.000-08:00

Already the end of January-I'm so ready for Spring.

The weather here in beautiful green Oregon is very soggy, but cold.

I wanted to share a new piece I have recently completed. I had been looking at this sketch unfinished in the studio for atleast the last 6 months or so.. I loved the initial idea of four women/angels (Kindred Spirits), but was unsure as how to proceed, so it just sat in a dark corner along with the rest of my half-dones. Do we all have a big pile of grand ideas that just sit in a pile waiting for the right moment? I'm sure I'm not the only one. Maybe it's like fine wine, they need to mellow a bit before they can be thoroughly enjoyed and explored.. Ha..

I really love to play with different metals and found object, copper in particular. The tongues that are at the top and bottom of the piece are hammered patinaed copper. I crumple the copper with a hammer first by just pounding into it. Then the copper sheeting is then patinaed with a copper aging solution for a verdigris effect and then the shapes are cut out, placed, and hammered into place on the wood substrate.

It is not a large piece, which was part of my mental block. Four tiny little faces- how to complete them and have them look unified with the painting? Initially, I had their faces all sketched out in detail, but it looked like there was just too much information going on. I was looking for a more simplistic, almost magical feel for them.. I then turned to my ever growing ephemera collection and let the collage element take over... Add more intense color and handstamping, and the piece finally started to take shape.

The color compostion really reflects what is going on with the copper pieces. Of course when I first started out I had a completley different vision in my head of the finished product, but as usual, the artwork has a mind of it's own and follows it's own path. A luminous layer of beeswax covers the piece which brings out all the color and copper detailing...

Click on any image for a larger view...

On another note- I was so excited to see the Marie zine collabrative featured in the current issue of Somerset Studio. For a bit of history see my intial posting. I was equally excited to see my contribution photographed beautifully on a whole page.. How cool is that?! Hats off to Lynne and Anahata for their beautiful execution of the project and bringing it to fruition.

Happy 2008!

2008-01-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years to all of you!

Oh my goodness, I love the holidays but all that fun and food makes for major sludgery.

Time to get out and do something or I will go into hibernation.

It’s a brand new year and time to roll with new ideas and thoughts, so this past week or so has led me into the studio to dream up fresh ideas for Spring. Lots to tell, so more posts are coming, but first I thought I would like to introduce a new item just added to the site

In my quest to create more functional handmade goods I decided to experiment with creating a jewelry display that also functions as a key holder or a place to display your small artful objects. I am a self confessed jewelry hound. If it’s shiny and glittery, I immediately become zombie like and gravitate towards it like metal to a magnet. My husband really appreciates that…

But, I needed something to hang my shiny bling from and this is a

great way to incorporate style with functionality.

No two pieces are exactly alike...
The jewelry/trinket holders are available in 4 colors. Each one is constructed of a hefty 3/4" wood base and is embellished with hand distressing, artful doodling and found object such as vintage rulers, game pieces and more...

There are 5 spots on the piece with which to hang necklaces and bracelets or your favorite ornaments, or other hangable objects d’ art.

I had much fun playing with ideas for the pics shown. One of the displays has some of my favorite jewels on it and the other is adorned with some Christmas ornaments and one of my Tinnies. I really love to hang ornaments year around or find alternative uses for them in décor and this is another great reason for a little Christmas year round. For all of you folks that have made the Tinnies, here is another way to get some mileage out of your project.

Anyway, go to the website for more information on the newest addition including color choices, pricing and all that good stuff.

(click on any image for a larger view)

Light of the world...

2007-12-24T20:29:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all and God Bless!

With Love, Lisa

Holiday in a hurry?

2007-11-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone's Thanksgiving was full of love and lots of good cheer!

Now that we are settled into the midst of the Holiday season, I decided to throw up the Christmas decorations a few days ago. I found myself in a hurry as usual to get them up and on to the next project. Because of the nature of my business, I am working on Christmas almost year around. It is one of those retail holidays that you have to have ready to go well in advance and be thinking forward to fresh ideas for the next season. It kind of takes the joy out of it sometimes...

Hence the rushing around to get it out and done...

So I called myself on that one... Stop, slow down and enjoy some

of the little details the season has to offer.

Christmas has so many different meaning for everyone, but the general consensus is that it brings people and families together to share and celebrate love.

I only decorated part of the house this year in part that a large part of our home is going into some major remodeling pretty soon. I love it though. It is fun to scrap around the attic and recall all of the fun decorations you forgot you had. Last year I mistakenly put some old vintage choir children candles in the attic. Only half survived the summer heat and they were all stuck to each other. What was I thinking?! (The remnants of the choir are in the first picture.)

Anyway- as we are all rushing about in our Holiday frenzy- don't forget to take time out to enjoy life's little details, those are usually the best!

Pink Heaven

2007-11-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

There are some art projects that you agonize over and fiddle with constantly

because you are afraid to make the commitment and just glue or nail it down, and then there are some that seem effortless by comparison. The found object cakes that I do on occasion seem to be the ones that I tinker with to no end.

Here is a recent commission finally completed. While it seemed to take forever, the process is always challenging and enjoyable. Working on a multi-sided object also has it's little quirks as well, as like a piece of sculpture, one is always trying to find

a sense of balance to all sides of the object...

The process starts out so simple- just playing and laying things on top of the cake, trying to get a feel for the direction the piece wants to take me... Lots of trial and errors- It's a game of push and pull, add something here, take away something there.

Finally, I really have to force myself to commit and lay down the hammer. Once I get into that mode, it goes pretty quick and there is no stopping me.

The cake is titled 'Pink Heaven' and has layers of pale pink paint, doodles, vintage papers, and found object. The prettiest pale green vintage velvet trim found at one of my favorite antique shops encircles the piece and a lovely white dove perches on top as the crowning accoutrement.

A close up of one side of the cake reveals a tiny vintage tube
with millinery flowers tucked inside.

The back of the cake is just as fun as the front, complete with pink valve handle.. It's too bad they don't make pink valve handles instead of the usual black, blue and red...I guess it's a girl thing.

Enjoy
(click on any image for a larger view)

Holiday goodies have arrived!

2007-11-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, Halloween is over- It will probably take me weeks to undecorate but I really love the oranges, browns and blacks of the season. However I did manage to post new Holiday goodies to the website late last night for all of you thinking of mistletoe and stockings.
The mini prints are displayed here on a very vintage real bottle brush tree. The tree stands about 20" tall and it is very bristly. Makes me wonder if those bottle brushes had some other life before they were fashioned into a tree. Anyway- this little grouping makes for great larger ornaments, stocking stuffers, office gifts and fun to hang just about anywhere.
The holiday Artisan Print collection is really lovely in groupings on the wall, say sets of three, or as a tuck in piece on your favorite shelf or book case.

Have fun browsing
See the Holiday Collection

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Hauntful Halloween to all of you!

A family of bewitching pumpkins await all of the little trick or treaters stopping by for treats.

Spiders are always welcome on this day as well. This particular web has been up for weeks. He or she makes an appearance every now and then but for now the spider is probably lurking around in the bushes looking for its next victim...

Trip to the Falls

2007-10-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Some pics taken recently of a road trip to Multnomah Falls located about 45 min. outside of Portland, Oregon. Located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the twisty turvy old highway30, is home to a series of waterfalls that dot the roadside. Multnomah Falls, being one of them is the second-tallest year-round waterfall in the nation. The water of the Falls drops 620 feet from its origin on Larch Mountain. It truly is majestic.The bridge seen in the picture above is just a short 1/4" mile jaunt up the hill but to hike up to the top is quite a workout in my opinion. Once to the top though, it is absolutely stunning. Something I did not do on this trip though as I had my little guy with me.

Here he is taking a rest break- also telling me it is a bit chilly. The gorge region of Oregon can get awfully windy making an otherwise mild day seem very crisp and cold.
One picture that can't be fully appreciated unless you are there is this growth of moss and what I think is lichen growing on the rocks around the waterfall area. The limy green against the steel grey of the stone is so dramatic, I could not stop admiring it. The colors were just a feast for the eyes and artistic inspiration as well...

Enjoy the pics!

(click on any image for a larger view)

Fall has arrived

2007-10-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Fall has finally made its blustery appearance over the last week or so in the Pacific NW. Lots of rain, wind and generally soggy weather... I do not mind too much as it keeps everything green. However by March, April you might think that you have grown duck feet.

The garden is slowly receding and starting its winter slumber. Time for cleanup and fall planting. I enjoy watching all the changes going on at this time of year. Daily something else transforms their summer bright greens to shades of yellow and burnt orange. It is also a time that reminds me that change is always present in our daily lives and I must keep looking forword to the hopeful springtime blossoms of life just around the corner.

Art and Soul

2007-10-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who made it to Art and Soul's vendor night last weekend here in Portland. It was much fun as always and great to see all the artists, and shoppers alike. I did not get many great shots as I would have liked but here is a section of my booth. Yes that is a giant red 3ft tall metal bunny rabbit. He is usually in my garden but made for a perfect magnet display!

Moments of silence

2007-10-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

These are the places that I go to for rest, unwinding, thinking, fretting, rejoicing. We all have these special places in our lives. They are a place of comfort, to find peace from within. I hope that all of you have those special places in your homes as well. Most of all I find my inner peace through my faith and family.

God Bless!

Tomatoes everywhere...

2007-09-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

The weather is changing, it’s getting much cooler in the evening and the tomatoes are coming on strong. It’s September and I have a patch of tomatoes that won’t quit producing.

Such a blessing!

This is my sweet 6yr. old son Henry- He such a help with the gardening. Of course he loves playing in the dirt and loves to find the biggest tomatoes. I have several varieties of tomatoes including heirloom. This particular variety that Henry is holding is so good, but the name escapes me offhand. Off to make some salsa!

American Harvest

2007-09-10T18:10:00.001-07:00

See my newest work over at American Harvest! A festive eye catching combination filled with flowers, birds and sun drenched color. Sharon and Roger, owners of American Harvest are just delightful people and a pleasure to work with-There blog is great and always filled with great eye candy- This is a store worth taking a trip to. I have not been there yet but judging by the pictures on their site and most notably they’re blog, their boutique is filled to the brim with charm and wonderful artful treasures.
Contact Sharon for more information on availability and pricing on the work you see here.

Artwork just added to their site!

(click on images for a larger view)

Color Me Summer!

2007-08-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

I just wrote the perfect post about this new grouping and somewhere between draft and publish it vanished. I’m seriously considering TypePad right now.

Anyway, please enjoy looking at my newest grouping with the garden and home in mind. A few cupcakes thrown in too. This collection is all about saturated summer color. I am forever inspired by the garden and all the complexity it offers, and this collection is a direct reflection of all that the garden scape offers. Bright hues of orange, yellow, and turquoise merge poetically with wonderful elements of collage and ephemera. All of the pieces have wonderful artful detail, beeswax, and a luminous quality not evident from the photos.
I also included a side view so that additional details could be taken in as well.
This grouping is the newest work presented by

Earth Angels.

Contact Jen for availability and pricing.
My best to you!

(click on image for a larger view)

Make mine pink

2007-08-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

Is this eye candy or what?!
I received this sweet, little package in the mail a couple of weeks ago. The artisan behind all the pink is Kris Hurst. I love all of her hand made treasures,

and am amassing quite a collection. So much playful fun.
Yummy indulgence.

click on any image for a larger view

Days of Summer

2007-08-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Aren't these sublime??

These lovely Lemon Sunflowers are at least 12ft. tall. I started these in April along with the rest of my garden and I planted only a small row of about 40.. I never anticipated their height. Too tall for picking but so lovely to enjoy.. I have not been blogging much. Aside from filling orders and evening painting, much of my time is spent being distracted in my new garden. I consider it part of my job though. I derive so much inspiration from digging in the dirt, weeding, planting, watering, etc. It's always fascinating to see how the creativity from the studio spills over into the rest of our lives. It truly is artful living.

The picture below is part of my garden in it's first year. Gardening teaches a tremendous amount of patience to me, one thing I always seem to be in short supply of. I'm such an instant gratification girl. Need everything now---hurry grow fast--hmmm..

The house we purchased along with the half acre would be considered a project piece to most people. I instantly saw the potential but knew it was going to take several years before it was anywhere I wanted it to be. Every step of the way has brought new challenges and some major frustrations. It seems every time I dig a hole to plant something new, there is either gravel below or large tree roots.

Apparently a few owners before us, who lived in the home the longest had some kind of car repair thing going on in the garage and into the yard. You can't imagine some of the stuff that we have pulled out of the dirt in preparing it for perennials and shrubs. Think 9" nails and chain. I find it very disturbing and sad that people leave behind such a nasty imprint on the land.

But I am happy with the progress we have made so far.

The picture below was taken right before we moved in last summer. It's on the same side of the property as the pic above.
(click on any pic for a larger view)

Newsletter Just Out

2007-07-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
Willing be posting some good stuff this week but I wanted to mention that my current

Artful News and Goodies Letter

is out this weekend and I thought I would share this copy with all of you in blog land. I try to do a letter once a month but lately it has become bi-monthly. The letter is filled with current events from my studio, workshop info, product specials available only to subscribers and other tidbits of information. Some fun Holiday promotions are in the works too...

Take a lookie- sign up is to the right...

Tick-tock

2007-07-08T16:43:00.001-07:00

Brand new for summer. Please visit my site when you have a moment... Clocks... I love clocks and have a great collection of vintage and new clocks. Some do not work and some are even falling apart but I can't help it, I have to have them all...

The square clocks measure 8x8" and the rectangular clocks measure 6x8- Composed of wood.

Visit my Clock Collection for all the details

Also just posted to the site- New print special featuring a brand new image yet to be released.

Print Special

thanks for stopping by...

Stay tuned for the next post- It is sure to be filled with Stars---LOL

Ripe

2007-06-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

Don't these look divine?!

Fresh out of the fields, my favorite.

I'm biased... I truly believe Oregon has the best juiciest, and sweetest strawberries in the world. I claim temporary insanity when I'm out in the fields with my kids gathering berries. Not sure if more go into my mouth or the crates but I can't help it. They are so mouthwatering delicious. This particular batch is off to the freezer and a few are set aside for icecream and margaritas...

YUM!

Next, raspberries....

Extravagant Liaisons

2007-06-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

(Anahata's gorgeous index page above)

I had the honor and pleasure of taking part in a collaborative project called the Marie Zine this winter inspired by Marie Antoinette and all her fabulousness... Directed by Sophia Coppola, the movie Marie Antoinette depicts her life thru Hollywood eyes as Kirsten Dunst plays the lead role as Marie... I have to admit I was not too keen on the storyline but the set and costuming were out of this world! Her lavish lifestyle was played to the hilt and makes today's ultra rich (aka Paris babe look like a wretch). Lynne Perella and Anahata Katkin were the masterminds behind the zine and did a smashing job. It was so delightful to open up the beautiful package after it arrived in the mail only to gobble up all the lovely eye candy... Wonderful little extras were added and artists comments on each of their projects were included as well...

(click on all images for a larger view)

I fell in love with the gorgeous dresses in the movie and the cakes and desserts were plenty amazing too. This is the piece that I contributed complete with silk, wire, and glitter.

Please stop by and these blogs that have dedicated posts to the Marie Zine.

Lynne Perrella, Michelle Ward, Lisa Hoffman, Anahata Katkin, Pam Garrison, Amy Hanna

The other participating artists are: Anne Bagby, Mindy Carpenter, Melissa McCobb Hubbel, Teesha Moore, Judi Riesch, Lesley Riley, Beryl Taylor, Tara Walsch, and Linda Warlyn

I will be updating this post as the artists participating in this zine post to their own blogs so keep checking back.

No extra copies were made of this zine.

A toast to all the artists who worked on this collaborative effort. I was and am truly amazed and inspired by the caliber of work and so tickled to be in such talented company.

Cartwheel-wheeeeee.....

The first of the season

2007-05-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up my folks had a moderate size garden, lined with dahlias and brimming with all kinds of produce that the mild Oregon coastal climate would allow... I remember a couple of times my dad experimenting with trying to grow watermelon only to produce tiny fist sized melons. Watermelons at the coast? Hmmmm... Every year I was given my own plot to call my own and to grow whatever I wanted. Strawberries, radishes, and carrots were the mainstay- easy pickin stuff. I loved it and it was the beginnings of my love for gardening and all things plants.

(that's me helping out)
The property my family and I moved to several months ago is just short a 1/2 acre. Moving from a typical city lot, this seemed huge and somewhat overwhelming. Overwhelming because I always have lofty dreams and plans and can get somewhat carried away on any size lot. But this past March we got busy carving out perennial and shrub gardens, getting rid of literally tons of gravel (I think prior owners were rock hounds or something), and planning our little city garden. My younger son has been most enthusiastic and has been very diligent about caring for the garden. We planted small rows at his choosing corn, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, peas, beans, pumpkins and of course every child's favorite, strawberries.
I'm so glad he is into gardening, at least for the moment. Henry runs out every morning to check progress on seedlings and inquiring if anything is ready to pick yet.
Six is such a great age!

So the first batch of radishes are up and out of the ground and the second batch of seedlings planted. This year we did not plant any melons but next we might try, hopefully with more success than my dad, since the Willamette Valley is considerably
warmer than the coast in Oregon.
Side note:

New work has been posted!

Houses Dollies Tinnies

A day of magic!

2007-05-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Actually it should be called the weekend of magic...(last weekend that is). Minus getting lost in the pouring down rain at night on lonely country roads in the Hudson Valley region of NY, I managed to find my way (with a little help from the innkeeper) to Inn at Stony Creek. A charming bed and breakfast situated on 10 acres of beautiful woodlands and pastures...
My room was very charming and comfortable. Even Sam Houston the resident ghost was on his best behavior and kept to himself. The house itself was built in the mid 1800s so there are bound to be some hauntful leftovers from days gone by.

Friday morning after a lovely breakfast I got into my rental car and trekked off to Jens house in the historic town of Warwick. I was immediately taken by the size of the tent. Big, roomy and plenty of space for fellow creative spirits to mingle and buy...

Her house was a show stopper itself, something I wish my own house to be like someday with a little bit of time, creativity and $$.

Side note: I wish my pics were of better quality, but my digital camera was on the fritz and so I purchased one of those disposable cameras- Picture quality- not good...

The first day( Friday) was all about the artists meeting, sharing, and generally having a good time. Jen made sure of all that and more. It was absolutely magical to hang out with some of most creative artisans of our day and sharing ideas and thoughts.

Pic of me and Laurie Meseroll- She's one of my favs- an endless source of inspiration and so fun to hang with...
Pictured below is her wall of fabulous paintings-
I could not resist buying a small armload full.
~
Saturday, the day of the Spring Soiree was just wonderful. It was pouring rain outside but it kept everyone together and sharing the energy of the day... I have had several experiences at other art venues regarding the magic among creative individuals and I am sure that I speak for many. It's that kind of moment you want to capture and make the moment stand still because you are so entranced by it. It can be a very powerful energy. I think that Debbee Thibault summed it up in a nutshell when she spoke of the artwork presented as the art of our age. That of which I truly believe . My soapbox- Mixed media is yet to be fully realized and we are still in the grass roots of it all. I still come across galleries that boo hoo it. But until then , we are still out in the forefront breaking new ground daily with our ever diversity of a mixed palette- AmenMe with Jennifer Lanne- left and Nicol Sayre middle
Check out all the bling in the pictures above- If there ever was a party for bling, this was it. I am a jewelry hound and could not get over all the fab creative jewelry that everybody was wearing. My heart almost stopped twice... and .... just a side note, I received many compliments on the neck pieces that I wore and where I got them... here are the details- the collage charm necklace in both pics above are by the fab Sally Jean- custom piece and the other is Chris Griffin, an Oregon artist whose work can be purchased at
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery in Salem Oregon- Check them out!!!!

(Pics of more artwork)

There are so many times in my artistic life where things do not go as planned or I just do not feel like creating-- oooops, it's true- we all share that. However, many years ago, when I was just starting out Nancy Kem, one of my influential teachers told me that doing art everyday is like being an athlete. Sometimes there are good days and sometimes there are not so good days, but you keep on going the distance. Then, there are those days something magical happens and and it makes it all so worth it!! Cherish it forever...

Make magic happen in your own life everyday!!

Give her wings in which to fly!

2007-05-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

For all of you fellow creative spirits and Mothers, celebrate the day knowing your spirit soars and without your love and dedication, this world would be far less because of you!

Fly!
Have a blessed Mother's Day!!
Pray for Peace...