Here is the Deal -E- O!

Hey all!! Just a quick post to wish you a great weekend and to update you on what is going on.


First of all, I am so excited to announce that our great friends at Polarity have created new necklaces with brand new artwork on them from yours truly. These necklaces are so cool! You get three of my designs in one necklace because the images are interchangeable! Here is the link to the Polarity shop. She makes the necklaces and will mail them directly to you.

Also, I was involved in a Create and Pass Journal project for Gary Reef's NING site. There were four Moleskine journals being passed around all over the world. I was involved with Journal four and was lucky enough to be at the bottom of the list, so I got to see in person the beautiful pages that were created before me. I believe all four journals are completed now and will be sent back to Gary. He is going to publish the journals into one book. Not only will you see each journal page, but Gary has asked us to send him a picture of ourselves, a little Bio and what materials we used to create the page. I'm so excited to be a part of this project. You won't believe the amazing artists that contributed! Here is my journal page for the project.

Have a great one!!!

Shonna

New Work and Projects

I have been a busy bee. I was asked to make 2 journals for a mom who wants to journal about her kids growing up. And also a shadowbox for a little girl's room. The theme was ballerina's and lots of pink. I decided to put a picture of the little girl in the shadowbox as well.

Then I made these for my mom for Mother's Day.

Lastly, two of my pieces have been included in Suzi Blu's Book "Suzi Blu's Student Art Gallery."

It is very strange, but super cool to see my artwork in a book. If you are interested in getting a copy, you can order one here. The artwork in the book is amazing.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

The Rest of My Artfest Experience

Here are some more pictures from the beautiful grounds at Fort Worden.

This is the guard house that is supposed to be haunted. You can read the story here.

Day two was Sunny Carvalho's class. We learned to use Genesis Oil Paints which dry when heat set. I am going to get some of these paints so I can practice using them. I had such a great time in Sunny's class, she is a fabulous teacher and if you ever have an opportunity to take a class with her...do it!! This woman is super talented!! She paints, sculpts, spins her own yarn (seriously), crochets, makes jewelry, purses, dolls and cuts wood (she made the little stands for our project from materials she found in the woods near her home...seriously!) Not to mention she is the sweetest person with the cutest little southern accent!!

Here is Sunny's painting (isn't it so adorable?)

Here is my work in progress...

Here is what it looks like right now. I added a bird at the top, but I still need to paint him to make him stand out more. I also need to add the wire and beads to the sticks holding up the painting.


When you flip the painting over, this is what you see.

That night was the Iron Artist contest. The teachers participated in a competition to create something with tools given to them to use (they got to use some of their own materials as well). They had only 45 minutes to complete their piece. Look at the amazing work these talented teachers/artists created. I think after 45 minutes, I would still be trying to figure out my color scheme...lol!
The Iron Artists pieces were raffled off and guess what? I won one of the pieces!! Here is what I won. The artist/teacher is Theo Ellsworth who is a very well known artist in Portland, OR (I am ashamed to say I had never heard of him, but I LOVE the piece I won). I put it in my son's room and he thinks it is so cool!!!

Day 3 was Misty Mawn's class. I was so excited for this class. I have taken both of her online classes and loved them. I really think taking her classes have helped me grow a lot in my artwork. She was a great teacher with a very calming way about her.

We were supposed to make a little book with several pieces....umm, this is the only one I got done that day (It appears I forgot what I learned in Jesse's class the first day and went back to my old perfectionist ways).

That night I went to dinner with these lovely ladies!!! We toured downtown Port Townsend and went to Jesse Reno's art exhibit at the Underground Coffee Shop (actually underground).

My Artfest experience was simply amazing! I learned so much, but by far the best part was all of the lovely ladies I met. Here are some of them (and some with the wonderful art they made).

Look for another post soon, I have some more art to share!!! I've been pretty busy.

Artfest....Day One

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post about my trip to Artfest in Seattle, but my head is still spinning from all of the wonderful people I met and great classes I took.

Fort Worden is so beautiful and historic. I just loved being there, but I wish I had more time to walk around and explore the grounds.

The Castle: According to the legend, Reverend John Alexander built the castle for a prospective Scottish bride in a style reminiscent of his native country. In 1883, he acquired 10 acres of land near Point Wilson and constructed the building known as Alexander's Castle. Alexander intended the building to serve as a home for him and his bride. Traveling to Scotland to get his bride, Alexander found that his bride-to-be had married another. He returned to Port Townsend alone and used the building as a temporary residence.


Closer to the center of things were the bunkers. This is where I stayed. Luckily I didn't have to haul all of my crap up those stairs. They had these wonderful young men to help us with our luggage. I shared a room with two other ladies and our windows were the two on the right just up the stairs.



This was the beautiful view from the grounds.


First Day/Class: Jesse Reno. Wow, what an inspiring artist! He paints mostly with his hands and then uses a few oil pastels and a big black pencil. He is so intuitive and passionate about his paintings; you can really tell that he loves what he does. He taught me so much about letting go and not getting too attached to a piece and to be willing to change the whole thing if necessary. He suggested I "attack" my piece by painting over the left side of the face and do something else with it. I am still working up the courage to do that. I've decided that when I grow up, I want to be just like Jesse Reno (minus the dreds).

Here is what he started with...


And here is what he ended with...


Here is my piece. I think I finally understand why he suggested I get rid of the left side, but it took me the end of the day to really "get" it. By that time, I had worked so long on the piece, that it will be hard to change it.



Stay tuned, I am going to post more soon. I have lots more to share!!!

Happy Easter! Are You As Excited As This Kid?

Wishing you a wonderful Easter Sunday!!

I will be posting again soon. I have so much to tell you! Artfest was AMAZING and I have so many pictures to share. When I came home from Seattle, my family and I went to the Mountains for a relaxing 3 days at a cabin. Lots to share, so stay tuned!!!