Fave Etsy Shops Tuesday

I like this Fave Etsy shop feature--it makes me go back through my pages and pages of shops I've favorited and look back at the cool things I've noticed over the years.

Today's shop is Gingercatpress.etsy.com. If you don't know already, I love cats! We have siblings~Raina, the chubby gray sister and Watson, the skinny black brother. So liking Gingercatpress should be no surprise.

Here's the profile from Tara's shop:

I grew up in Toronto, Ontario, and studied illustration and fine art at the Ontario College of Art and Design. I worked for many years as a children's bookseller before returning to painting and starting a new career as a cover artist and children's book illustrator. I now live on a 200-acre farm, where seven domestic cats and numerous barn cats provide inspiration.

Are these the cutest little faces??

And I love that she does Artist Trading Cards--the most affordable way to collect art!

She also sells original art pieces:

And greeting cards:

Take a look at her kitties and other beautiful artwork at her Etsy shop and her blog.

Do What You Love!

www.bearchick.etsy.com
www.bearchickart.etsy.com
www.bearchick.artfire.com

I Love Bats and I Love Cats

So, I was thrilled to find Blacklilypie.etsy.com! Among other really cool artwork and creative stuff, artist Tara Fortin sells her Batcat creations. I've been biding my time, visiting her shop now and then, waiting for the right things to come along. And, finally, the time was right! Isn't it funny how we lurk and peek and finally, the moon aligns with our favorite radio station or something just as cosmic, and we're finally ready to make an order?

As well as creating ATC's, I also collect them. When I showed "Innocent Batcat" to The Husband, his response was, "He doesn't look that innocent to me..."

What could be better than a cozy Batcat reading in his cozy living room for the perfect bookmark? I bought this as a Christmas gift... Hmmmm... I may have to give her something else...

And here is the ultimate Batcat, hangin' upside down like all Batcat's should. The quality of this card is really amazing. It's not just printed on a notecard, the artwork is mounted on cardstock that's mounted on more cardstock, so it's really a substantial artpiece. I was very impressed with how well it was put together. Now I gotta find a frame!

All of my little treasures were wrapped up in an inner envelope inside the mailing envelope with a Blacklilypie sticker and Tara also included a little extra postcard, that's now on the wall at The Day Job.

If you're a fan of "sweet punk and fuzzy goth", check out Blacklilypie.etsy.com and her blog, Blacklilypie.blogspot.com


www.bearchick.etsy.com
www.bearchickart.etsy.com
www.bearchick.artfire.com

What Bear Chick's Been Up To Lately

I didn't want to post this until my best friend got the card I made for her birthday. But she's got it now and says she's putting it in the box where she saves things... Believe me, she's not a clutter bug, so when she saves something, it's a compliment!

Similar to my Party Dress ATC, I outlined a dress and "colored" it in with molding paste I'd mixed with red acrylic paint. Then added micro beads that I gently squished into the wet paste. I used Pearlescent and iridescent Gold Golden paint splashed on for confetti in the background.

For the wording, I created a swirly font I had fun lettering with a Crayola retractable pencil, which was really soft and easy to use.

My plan is to make more of the dress ATC's and maybe even some cards. Right now I'm doing a couple of cute Halloween ATC's and I'm also working on new necklaces with chain, charms and lots of dangly color. Here's the first one I made of those, which is actually kind of subtle since I've made another that's absolutely loaded...

This necklace was heart-centric, with it's red theme.

But other necklaces will be more freeform and chunky, like this cat themed one (which is MINE, by the way).

I'm on a jewelry jag right now, thinking of and trying new things. You know me, I don't want to do the same things for too long or I'll get bored! Wire seems to be a recent fave material.

Finding the time to be creative and manifest all the ideas in my head (and on dozens of sticky notes and scraps of paper in my purse and around the house), along with doing things around the homefront and working full time is certainly a challenge! Plus, I decided to separate my jewelry from my art on Etsy, so when folks visit my shops, they'll make more sense and look more organized. BearChickART.etsy.com is open softly (meaning it's not looking great yet but there are some things for sale) but will have a Grand Opening at the end of the month.

But the Big News this week is that Bear Chick has finally come into the 21st century with High Speed internet! Etsy's now working wicked fast and uploading pictures like a champ, so expect a lot of new items in the next few weeks. I'm planning to take lots of photos tomorrow in preparation to add to both shops in Etsy over the coming weeks. Think Holiday Shopping!

www.bearchick.etsy.com

www.bearchickart.etsy.com

Happy Monday!

We had a great day for the Celebration of the Arts yesterday. Man, I’m still tired after a day of standing and then falling asleep at 8:30 last night! I must be getting old! But we met lots of people, gave out plenty of bookmarks (I do bookmarks instead of business cards), had my first public showing of ATC's and sold a few things.

Dean did his show with the banjo and mandolin and felt really good about it. Next week, we’re going to pitch his show to the folks at Tom’s Farm, a really fun place in Riverside county. Wish us luck!

Here’s a picture of the artist across from us yesterday.

OK, Coco isn’t really the artist, she’s their beloved mascot. Such a sweetie, she’s 10 years old and shows up in many of her master’s paintings. You can see some of Max Yamada's work here: http://www.geocities.com/maxyamada/index.html He and his wife are very nice and he’s wicked talented. Someday, I hope to afford one of his paintings!

I’m waiting to hear if I’m accepted to an Indie Public show sponsored by Tall Mouse in July. I’ll let you know if I’m in!

Well, I’m off to do my walking DVD, take a shower and do my bills. All the necessaries!

http://www.bearchick.etsy.com/
www.flickr.com/photos/bearchick

ATC Preview

Tomorrow is the show in Yorba Linda. We artists got an email this morning from the organizers, telling us that the Orange County Register (the biggest newspaper in the area) printed the day of the show wrong, saying it was today instead of tomorrow… I hope most people who have attended this event for the last 8 years know that it’s always on Sunday. Think good thoughts for us!

Here’s a couple more ATC’s I’ve created in the last few weeks. If they don’t sell tomorrow, they’ll be showing up on Etsy soon :-)

Black and White and Red All Over has a polka dot frame made of my favorite scrapbook paper, a picture from an old sewing book and an earring.

In Study in Green and Gold, I used some small cuts from my old Dunn Edwards paint fan deck, a cool button and some lacy metal embellishments.

I hope the weather in your area is as beautiful as it is here this weekend. It got up to a comfortable 80 degrees with lovely sun in the afternoon.

www.bearchick.etsy.com
www.flickr.com/photos/bearchick

New Technique

Last week, we melted in the heat. This week, sweaters and raincoats that thought they’d be getting a rest for the summer came back out. No wonder I’ve had a cold since last Saturday!

Even though I was attempting to take it easy this week, trying to get over my third cold of 2008 (that doesn’t count the flu I had in January…), I played with a new technique I’d read about in an ATC book. You take a glossy magazine page, cover parts of it with glue and let dry. Then you take a piece of chrome cleaner and remove the color from the page. The glue acts as a resist, that the chrome cleaner can’t affect, so you’re left with the color that was protected by the glue.

In one example (right), I left the design alone and let it stand on it’s own.

In the second example (left), I colored around the pink flowers I’d glued with purple oil pastels. (Excuse the photos--it’s an overcast day…)

This technique is so cool. It’s wicked easy and what you end up with is always a surprise. Look for more of these designs in the coming months. And again, what I don’t sell at the art fair on June 1 will be going on Etsy the week after.

www.bearchick.etsy.com
flickr.com/photos/bearchick

Art is Imprecise

When I took my first art class as an adult, I was dismayed to find that artist’s didn’t just sit and draw. They were allowed to use rulers and compasses and other drawing aids. I guess I’d had this romanticized view of artists simply drawing freehand, with lovely art flowing easily from their pencils, pastels and paints. This should have opened up an easiness in my own work, knowing I could use “aids” but I still labor under my fairy tale view of art, sometimes.

Over the weekend, I did two different versions of the same theme on ATC‘s. 2008 is the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol. Being older than the peace sign is depressing but that’s an entry for another day… One I did freehand and the other I used a nickel and a dime as templates. The freehand one looks funky and childlike. The one with the templates looks a little more consistent but because I did the lines freehand, it still has an imprecision I like.


As I explore art more, I’m sure being more precise in my drawing and other aspects of collage and assemblage will come with experience and, depending on the project, may be an important aspect of the piece. There are some things that require meticulousness. But I like to see the hand of the artist sometimes, in a crooked line or a bit of naked canvas.

Peace, Man 1 and Peace, Man 2 should be on Etsy today. Hope you like them, as imprecise as they are!

www.bearchick.etsy.com