Bear Chick~The Wonder Years

*sigh*

This is almost as bad as showing my high school pictures!!

Here I am at the first show I ever did, at the clubhouse where I live:

Ah, simple stringing, necklaces and bracelets. I sold quite a bit and it encouraged me to actually get my business license and get serious about jewelry making. I think that's a piece of foam board beneath the fabric… Oh, the innocence!

And here I am at a monthly art fair that the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton used to hold on their beautiful property:

We got a canopy and real tables and everything! I was experimenting with different props and creating levels on the table for visual interest. I'm the first to admit that I'm not the best merchandiser around…

And we sold a few times at The Rose Bowl Antique Swap Meet in Pasadena, where they had a handmade section:

Ye gods! You had to be there at 5 in the morning (earlier if you were doing antiques) but you got to keep your car with you and the foot traffic was wild. It was a great experience. And it must have been pre-canopy because we only had the big umbrella. A canopy definitely defines your space better…

Of course, these shows were all pre-Etsy! I don't do a lot of shows these days. For someone working full time (knock wood!), it's more time consuming than I'm willing to deal with and right now, in this economy, it's a bit hit and miss. But my canopy and tables and velveteen fabric, jewelry busts, props and trays are just waiting for their next outing!

Do What You Love!

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

http://www.bearchicksundries.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

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