Lovely Hearts Exhibition

We want to spread the Love here at artstream. We wanted to curate a show about LOVE and give our proceeds to a charity we love and support the artists we love too! So won't you join us?

• We are looking for all artists from around the globe to participate!
  
• Student artists, professional artists, non traditional media artists, all showing us their idea of LOVE.
• The 2D work does not have to be framed, nor does it have to be in a heart shape. Just show us your artwork about LOVE! Paper arts encouraged!
  
• The work will be presented in our gallery from Feb. 1st through Feb. 28th and online in our gallery shop from February 10th through the end of the month too!
  
• Get the word out! Love is here to stay. We will have a gallery opening on February 10th complete with cocktails and chocolate goodies so please mark your calendars if you are nearby.
• Grab a badge here below and cut and paste it into your site to help spread the love!
  lovely hearts code
  
  

Click here for all the details and to submit your LOVELY work to this LOVELY exhibition!

Holiday Break...

Wishing you all the finest of holidays and heartfelt thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement over the past 13 months of blogging! Thank you thank you!
With the holidays and family and friends gathering around - artstream is closed until January 2 and Art Esprit will take a little break until then too! One exception - "Lovely Hearts" info will be posted next Tuesday. We decided to do only online submissions so the lovely husband is programming that for everyone's convenience. Look for it here on Tuesday or at our regular gallery site. See you next year!

First Five

I'm one of the first five over at Andrea's blog, so I'm keeping my word and posting this on mine, too.
"The first five people to respond to this post (via the comments section) will get some form of art made by me. The only catch, of course: as with most memes, if you sign up, you have to put this in your own blog as well."
I lost the original instructions from Swampgirl who started all this from what I can tell - but there was something about Holiday songs -
well, The Charlie Brown Christmas CD is right up there for me, as well as "Christmas Island" by Leon Redbone. Nat King Cole always is soothing, so there ya have it.
First five comments (please email me your full mailing addresses) will receive a some of my art.
Lovely Hearts to come today ... check back - finishing touches going on ....

Pop Ink

Quick post on some cute cute faux wood plates from Pop Ink. Get them here! They would look so cute on table with canape or candles for New Years Eve!
Sorry about the "Lovely Hearts" delay... daughter Grace had some extra mama needs yesterday with her wisdom teeth extraction hoopla. Seems that anesthesia and she don't mix. She's feeling a bit better today, so perhaps you will see the entry forms today after all!
We will be hanging and watching endless classics (yesterday was Charlie Brown Christmas, Raising Arizona, Ever After) while wrapping up the gifties, (no, nothing is wrapped yet!) and drinking our smoothies...

Tiny felted birdhouse + our cards

tiny felted birdhouse ornament by friend Jennifer White

holiday cards made by daughter#2, Chloe via linocut print

wool stuffed bearded santa star ornament - I made this 18 years ago...

Dear dear Jennifer White dropped off this gift of a lovely tiny knitted and felted bird house for our tree! So sweet in ochre and pinks! More ochre now with grey and deep teal, in our home printed holiday cards, Chloe made a sweet little linocut and we added the writing in white pen. Not traditional holiday colors but we love them! Finally an old ornament I made which has sat on the tree for 18 years... he wears a scottish wool beard and hair along with being stuffed with it. Jolly still after all these years!
The "Lovely Hearts" forms and post coming later this afternoon --

Merry Christmas Antics

new wave cookies by chloe
OK, going personal here, so click right outta here if you must.
But this much fun has to be recorded...
We had so much cooking fun tonight in kitchen chez esprit!
Lively lively christmas baking! We had all intentions of listening to the "new" christmas carols - you know, Sarah sings Silent night, something sweet by Jack Johnson ... Rudolf ? and what ever else the girls have been downloading free from iTunes this past month ...
but then, suddenly in between snickerdoodle production, chocolate crinkles, and two newbie just made for the first time receipes (see photo below) -- Talking Heads popped into the mix. Whoa!
That's all it takes. Iggy Pop followed - then - June Bug by The B52's. Chaos!
Spatulas spinning, mits a clapping, pans of sweet holiday cheer overbaking, the kitchen mosh pit appeared. Things broke down into a dance fest, with a finale of a spontaneous filming of two silly girls dancing to the Numa Numa song to send to their friends in Germany.
Say no more, the cookies were completed for tonight and then will be delivered tomorrow. I guess our evening sort of sums up our life motto - dance and bake while you can for who knows what tomorrow may bring?
(actually, we know full well... daughter #1 has three wisdom teeth coming out early in the a.m.)
So, just a small peek into our kitchen.
Formal fine art and design talk will resume tomorrow. Perhaps with a tad more sophisticated shots of quality baking, our holiday cards fashioned from a linocut and even the cutest gift I have EVER received...
Tomorrow also brings our call for entries to artstream's international Valentines day project!

a new cookie receipe by chloe - the actual cookies are in the top photo.

Gifting you

diana fayt's large oval poppy bowl ...
It's the holidays and we are feeling warm and cozy here at artstream...
please accept our gift of free shipping on any item in our gallery shop!
Use the code HOLIDAY in your check out process - and enjoy the holiday!
(let us know if you are in a hurry ... we can priority mail most items with this offer too)

Two little beauties

"look away" by ashley goldberg

"and she's the good one" by ashley goldberg
We have two powerful, small paintings from Ashley Goldberg which I just have to show you today... These little beauties can be yours here. They are 8" by 8" and completely stunning!
In addition, not only is Ashley a great artist, but a sweet person as well... here at her blog you can download some holiday tags from her today... go get them, you know you want them!
A fun filled weekend passed with daughter Grace dancing in a totally new holiday production. Beautiful dance, live music and african drumming. We are in the spirit of the season now.
Something else... exciting! Ana from Ohmygooshness! interviewed me at her blog today. Thank you Ana.

Winter

More winter paintings tumbling out. Here is "Igel in Winter". Working on springtime in the fantasy forest. Something about painting keeps it all sane this time of year. Or is that true most anytime? It is also my IF entry - as painting HELPS me through the busy times, by slowing me down. And the Igel, is one helpful animal... eats those garden slugs! Find more help here at Illustration Friday. Have a great weekend!

Sake

Sake for two? Lovely woodfired ceramic sake cups from NH artist John Zenter.
I adore these cups! We have a few left here in the shop. They just feel good in your hand and would be a lovely gift for any sake lover. For that matter, they can double as an egg cup, toothpick holder or for tiny spring posies!
p.s. we have two new tiny originals from Ashley G. left and the original "January" paperdoll from the calendar is in the shop too.

new banner

oh yes, it's winter!
poppies out and my newest painting in...
it's called "pandora" it features the "squox" a strange mythical creature from my own animal kingdom - part squirrel, part fox.
the original painting is 36 inches by 20 inches
acrylic/oil
sort of blows winter into the blog...

Sculpture exhibit

Jumping ahead to January (no, I truly am soaking in the current season here ...) we have a sculpture show in the works! Adam Pearson, Glenn Szegedy, and Meghan Sampson will be showing their latest works in the most diverse media. From alabaster to wax, stainless steel to basswood, there will be over 20 works on the walls and floorstanding to wow you in 3-D! Along with Glenn's ability to carve most any material, he is also a master at silk painting. We will have three a huge triptych of his work in three 8 feet by 4 feet panels hanging on the walls as well. The above photos are just little ticklers until a bit later.
Filling out the exhibition will be Judith Heller Cassell's etchings and 9 of the original "Calendar" girls from my 2007 paperdoll collage calendar. Three are already gone.

Golden Age Illustration

image from ASIFA - go look + donate!
Boing boing is always filled with lovely stuff, DH reads it all the time. Today I did. What a bonus! There were links to the ASIFA project blog - a great non profit organization with a blog filled with more links to some of the most beautiful illustratons ever. As a child we had many books from my great aunt and grandmother filled with such illustrations. But there is way more here that I have ever seen anywhere else...
go have fun if you like this sort of thing! I am not a current Disney fan by any means. At all. sorry... i loved the really old stuff from them - but work like Kay Nielson from Denmark as seen above, makes me giggle with childhood delight. His work and others in the link, (scroll down a bit) are just my "cup of tea" and inspire me to no end.

Gift Ideas

egg press joy card
More shameless promotion about our shop, but hey! we have such a great group of indie artists, I just am so proud...
$3.50 each will buy you beautiful hand letterpressed or block printed cards to give or get!
$6.00 will buy you a very cool bottlecap pin!
$20 will buy you a handblown, gorgeous glass bubble by Joe Migliori - see them hang en masse in our holiday window!
$25 + up will buy you a one of a kind orb jar from Sweet Fern Pottery tiny to medium size, these are big favorites in our gallery!
Go browse the fine art from our artists and give the creative spirit this holiday.

Christmas & Parties & Pirates, oh my!

our little fatty, perfect!

birthday brunch

the vellum project ...

yes, that is bluebeard, jack sparrow, mr and mrs. claus as well as captain hook and blackbeard! do not ask me to explain, it's a band thing... we just don't get it!

Oh Christmas, holdiays and fun. Daughter #1 had her 18th (!) birthday this past weekend, she was playing handbells (a 1/4 semester filler course which landed her this extra duty in December) at the yearly performance,er, concert, er hoopla called the Holiday Village, (this year it was a Pirates of the Carribean theme which was extra funny to me - hey is it Halloween no it's Christmas, no Halloween, no ....), my younger art classes worked with some wonderful vellum and ink projects and the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree ensued. Oh yes! and the annual decorating party on Saturday night at Mary Ellen's house... which always puts us in the mood for our own tree. We love our vintage aluminum tree complete with the color wheel and sequin garland, but the live, (or is that freshly killed?) tree holds a place in the main room, so here is our petite fatty all decked out with lights and ornaments. All and all it was a full weekend, but not stressful at all and a whole lot of laughs! More on topic later.

Coe + Waito Birds

lovely birds ready to fly off to your home! the group of three are on sale as a "flock" right here at our little shop!
tweet deal...

Bruce McKay + Bigcat heads

We just love Bruce's cats... here are two of the three smaller (12x12x1inch) originals we have of his kitty portraits! Bruce paints his canvases all the way around the sides with impeccible quality and wit. His work is sold all over the world and also here at our shop.
Meow!

Mask

Here is my Illustration Friday entry for MASK. It is from October 2007 of my paperdoll calendar. The piece is a collage/painting and it 9 x 12 inches. You can see more masked artwork at IF. Oh yes! Today we got our first snowfall finally here in NH and I am having lunch and meeting in person blogger Diana! Happy friday!

Baest herb planters

Growing herbs and orchids all winter long always appeals to me on a culinary and visual level. Each year we fill the Hungarian Baby bath with herbs to keep something green around our home, reminding us that the New Hampshire winters, long as they may be are still only a passing thing. This modern, stylish planter/growing device though, would suit most any apartment or kitchen counter better than a bathtub or regular pot! Click through here to order from Baest, a German company.

Albina McPhail

Albina's work is some of the finest we have had here at artstream. It speaks to me on many levels with line, color and balance being in perfect harmony. These fabulously intricate paintings are lovely as a single work or a group. They measure 6 by 6 inches by 1 inch deep. They are available here at the shop too as a gift or to keep! Contact me here for free shipping on one or more of these and additional works from this series.

Whip up + Danny Mansmith

OK, I have covered this ground before here and now today at Whip up. In case you are not reading Whip up - I did a piece on my current favorite textile artist Danny Mansmith today. He just is too too. He wrote to me late today mentioning his work was part of Art Basel in Miami. ... a 7 Foot tall fabric wrapped wood figure and he also made 600 paper flowers for Artformz alternative gallery in miami too...
Pretty darn cool. His etsy shop has photos of work that he has sold, (check out his beautiful scarves...) and well, I guess I am just a big big fan now, so you will just have to deal with it. We will be showing his work in a spectacular group textile show in March/April at artstream.

Paperdoll Calendars + Glass ornaments

New shot - showing all the months mostly - of the calendars...
They are flying out of the shop, but there are plenty for all as we printed an edition of 50.
Also! We have just recieved a nice shipment (all the way from across town!) of handblown glass ornaments for Christmas. Here is a grouping of them - will shoot them individually for the shop. Beautiful gift for $20 for yourself or a friend!

Carol Gillot Watercolors

We have four -- (oops! no we have just three left) beautiful watercolor paintings from Paris Breakfast's Carol Gillot. Here are some gallery shots of them. They are all for sale - just contact me if you are interested!

Some more artwork in the Under $30 section of our shop
New necklaces in the shop too!

Lists

corey amaro's photo :cupid available at our shop
This is the time of year for major lists ... for me at least. I have been naughty and not made them for almost a month however. Big problems. Forgot to pick up artwork at 2 (two!) of my shows. One word for that in the words of Bill the Cat "gak!".
Today (always "list make" on a Monday) is the day to wrap my head around that fabulous notepad and get it down in ink.
While doing that I thought of JuJu - one of my daily reads. I like her writing so much I even reread her posts between posts. She has a little list of likes and dislikes. (Thought I would try that here today too.) Meanwhile for you - check out these links which are full of inspiration... design*sponge has her new shop up full of great great things, Jan over at Poppytalk posted the most whimsical candle today, ullabenulla has more shots of her inspiring studio and new banner today, some more of Ashley G's tiny originals in our shop (and hers) along with the beautiful photographs of Corey Amaro!
And last but certainly first, thank you all for the warm and wonderful response to my calendar! It made for a busy weekend ... of the best kind! Orders are being shipped today! You all make me blush.
The word for the day is ... cerulean ... the blue which the sky is most August days... the color which goes so well with yellow ochre and the word which is so hard to remember how to spell.
likes:
coffee at dawn
quiet painting time
fedora chocolate
dislikes:
whistling
sirens
two of anything

Paperdoll Calendars are Ready!

Here they are! My Paperdoll 2007 Calendars.
They were printed on high quality matte paper with archival inks so they are sutible for framing later if you like them that much, or you could cut them out and make new outfits for them as well. They are for sale now at the shop! The dates were kept at the bottom so the prints were in tact for later - the rough edges show the painting lines which i liked. I used the classic typeface "Venitian" as it speaks to the age of the papers.
This was a fun project for me this year. Paperdolls have always been a part of my life - from ones we made long ago as children - to enjoying them with my daughters when they were young. The ones we always loved best were the ones we made up ourselves. So here are my twelve ladies, ready to play in 2007!