Etsy Meets Olive Exhibition

A full collection of my work will shown at the Olive Hyde Art Gallery this weekend!

Exhibition Dates: October 15 - November 15, 2010
Reception: Friday, October 15 , 7-9 pm

From the Olive Hyde Art Guild Website:
Etsy is an online artist community (etsy.com), where artists are able to have an "online shop". They pay very minimal fees to have an Etsy page, and it’s primarily very original artwork, art supplies and vintage craft. In Etsy Meets Olive, join us in a modern, old school approach to showcase artists!

Olive Hyde Art Gallery
123 Washington Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94539

Ojai Celebrates Art III Exhibit

My Butterfly Wall Hanging will be a part of this local show!

October 07, 2010 - December 31, 2010 Recurring weekly on Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Museum hours are 1-4 pm Thursdays and Fridays, 10 am-4 pm Saturdays, and noon - 4 pm on Sunday.
130 W. Ojai Ave., Ojai

The Ojai Valley Museum kicks off its "Ojai Celebrates Art III" exhibit on Ojai Day, October 16th. Museum admission will be free on Ojai Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be a special reception on Ojai Day from 4 to 5 p.m. to present cash awards to First, Second and Third Place award winners. Khaled Al-Awar, owner of Ojai's Primavera Gallery and Tim Schiffer, Director of Ventura Art Museum will be the judges for this years exhibit. Artwork displayed will be for sale with 30% of the purchase price donated to the museum.

Dragonfly Bowl & Garden Bowl

The final two pieces of my collection are finished! These two bowls will be included in "Etsy Meets Olive" show at the Olive Hyde Gallery in Fremont Ca. next month.
Both bowls were sculpted out of Paperclay, painted, then covered in size 11 seed beads, rhinestones, and charms. As always each bead is glued in place one at a time with tweezers. Both bowls also feature my new signature "M" initial charm which is handmade by me using silver clay.

The Dragonfly Bowl measures about 3 3/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inch tall.

The Garden Bowl measures about 3 inches in diameter and 3/4 of an inch tall.

Ignoring My Family for my Art

Geri Kitty is the most put out by the lack of attention:

Geri: "Hey mom you can pet me now"
Me: "I'm working, I can't."
Geri: "I don't think you understand...I am giving you permission to pet me now"
Me: "Can I pet you later?"
Geri: "I'm going to go pee in your shoe"
Me: "Wait...What? "
Geri: "Oh...er...I said toodaloo!"

~2 hours later~
Me: "ok Ger I can pet you now"
Geri: " Um, no thanks. My fur is going in the right direction now, if you pet me you will undo 2 hours of hard work. I would rather you didn't touch me."
Me: "But I'm done working so I can pet you now! "
Geri: "If you pet me I will scratch the flesh off your arm. I will come find you later when I am ready...say 'round 1am? Now go away before I cut you."

Lotus Flower Dish

I started to design this dish in May but had a few projects that needed to be wrapped up before I began the beading process. I've really worked hard the last few weeks to get this piece finished in time for a show at the Olive Hyde Art Gallery in Fremont California next month. It is completely covered in size 11/0 seed beads (the smallest bead I work with). The dish measures 8 inches x 8inches square and about 1 1/4 inches tall.

Custom Order: Elephant Dish

I had so much fun making this custom order. I really like being challenged to create something that may be out of my comfort zone, or something that I may not have thought of making before. I wasn't sure if I could bring out the detail in the elephant with beads, but I am very happy with the way it came out, and my customer is very happy too!

Upcoming Gallery Shows

Just an FYI for those of you who may notice pieces disappearing from my Etsy shop. I have been asked to participate in a couple of gallery shows. The pieces going to the shows will be inactive on Etsy while they are for sale in another venue. If they end up selling, well then they are gone for good, but if not I will reactivate them after the shows are over. When I have more event details from the galleries I will post them! I am super excited to showcase my work and give people a chance to see my one of a kind pieces in person.