Clear the Studio Sale!

 
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I recently cleaned up the studio, and realized that I have a whole lot of artwork taking up space. So, I want to clear the studio of as much old artwork as I can to make way for new work. So, just in time for the holidays, I'm having a Clear the Studio Sale! It'll start this Friday, November 24th, and go for three weeks through Friday, December 15th.

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I'm putting all of my drawings, paintings, mixed pieces, and sculptures on sale in the Shop, and you'll be able to save 25% off all of it! I'll have everything from small 4"x6" exploratory pieces to full scale paintings ready to hang on the wall. Just use the code CLEARSTUDIO to get your 25% off starting this Friday, and I'll get it shipped out to you as soon as I can. And all prices include shipping and handling!

Journal Friday #39

It's been a busy end of October and beginning of November with three conferences back-to-back-to-back, which meant falling behind on the Daily Challenge. More about the conferences later, but for now I'm catching up a little bit. Here are the challenges for a couple of weeks ago!

 
 

Part 4 of the Journal Fodder Junkies Daily Challenge on Sale November 1

 
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I've been working on Part 4 of The Journal Fodder Junkies Daily Challenge, and it's almost ready! This new part of the series shares 30 new challenges just in time for November, and is perfect for creatively challenging yourself or your students if you're a teacher. It also contains three pages of collage sheets that you can print out and use in your work.

The ebook will be in the Shop this Wednesday, November 1st!

Goodbye, Kudzu

 
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Our household is a bit emptier and much more somber, as we said goodbye this weekend to our sweet and crazy kitty girl, Kudzu. Joanne got Kudzu as a kitten eighteen years ago in Georgia, and named her after the fast growing vine.

 
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Kudzu was a sweet girl, and she loved to be petted and scratched. She also loved to sleep on Joanne's pillow at night and was notorious for pulling Joanne's hair.

 
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Kudzu was a bit of an odd cat, and was often referred to by our friends as Kray-zu. Before I met Joanne, Kudzu once spent the day inside the refrigerator jumping in unnoticed as Joanne closed the door. Joanne came home to find a slightly chilled cat and part of the butter had been licked and nibbled on. While Joanne was freaking out worried that her cat had just spent 8 hours in the fridge, Kudzu acted like it was no big deal and everything was normal.

 
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In the end, Kudzu suffered some kidney issues, and her health slowly deteriorated over the past couple of months. She became less interested in food, consistently lost weight, and stayed in her heated bed much of the time. When she completely stopped eating, and became almost completely immobile, we made the painful decision. She was aided to the Rainbow Bridge, by our good friend veterinarian Krisi Erwin.

We are quite saddened, and we will miss Kudzu's snuggles as well as her silly antics. She was definitely one of a kind, and we loved her very much!

 
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Library Fun

 
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Last week was a rather busy week, and leading two workshops at local libraries as part of Teen Read Week added to the busyness, but also provided a lot of fun.

 
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On Tuesday night, I worked with a few participants in a visual journal workshop at Rust Library in Leesburg, VA. I shared my journals and how I use them, and then I led the participants through some techniques and ideas that I use in my journals. Everyone worked on a couple of pieces of mixed media paper and created pieces that incorporated watercolor paint, collage, watercolor pencil, and writing. It's always fun to get messy and creative.

 
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On Wednesday night, I worked with a slightly larger group in a mural painting workshop at Cascades Library in Potomac Falls, VA. Working on a primed piece of canvas, we began by painting in shapes and lines of color, and then added in some collage from newspaper and magazines. The participants were then asked to think about some of their favorite activities and some adjectives to describe themselves. We then incorporated some of the ideas and words to finish up the mural. Eventually the canvas will be hung in the library. Again, it was messy, creative, and fun.

Check out the finished mural at the top of the post!

Although both workshops had a small number of participants, I always love connecting with people through art, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I'm hoping to do more in the future!