Brain Freeze!

This week at my day job it's going to be a busy one. Working as a Graphic Designer and knowing that a national sales meeting is approaching in 5 days...I have to be prepared.

So this weekend I made a stop in Mt. Vernon IA, to eat at the Lincoln Cafe (one of my favs) and I made a side stop at the "Silver Spider". This store, in a nutshell, looks like my brain exploded onto the shelves, the items were given dollar amounts and shoppers were allowed to shop like it was black Friday. To say the least if you are claustrophobic....it's not a good place to be on a Saturday afternoon!

While rummaging through the mix of amazing mess, I came across 3 new additions to my office.

As you can see from the photo above these apes and a Guatemalan wishing doll are all I felt I needed to get over the stress of this week. Strategically placed on top of my computer monitor, they will greet me with well wishes each day and the encouragement to keep on going. If they fail....which they might....I have a reserve staff that has helped me through many past hurdles in the office environment.

A collection of such things as the: Pirate hooker,pooping squirrel, hoping bunny, bobble head dog, "Suck it" nun, walking brain, finger monsters, caterpillar, snail and other crawly creatures and of course the squishy stress hamburger. All vital additions to my office attire at some point. And I'm sure - truly appreciated by the other office staff. If these characters don't help in the release of creativity I can always resort to the infamous "idea board".

This on a daily basis is how my head looks from the inside out. A mess, I know, but it really does make sense to us creative types! Can you find the red polo shirted guy in hiking boots sporting a sweet mullet? He had a huge impact on a project I did a few months back.. you never know when inspiration will strike...take hold of these moments ...and if you're like me...save every one of them and display them - so others can laugh or scoff...either way it's going to spark some sort of reaction, and possibly lead to your next great idea!

Be glad you aren't my coworker :)

Put on those thinking caps!

It's official. As of the first week of Dec. this year I will be able to call myself a teacher! I know this frightens many of you out there that know me :) however I wont be teaching MATH - thank goodness, I'll be teaching art! I'm so excited, and am really looking forward to this great opportunity. I've always thought I had the teaching bug in me, given that my mom was a teacher for many years and my sister has taught...however it's not often the "head in the clouds" type have the chance to influence others!

Game on students - game on. The class I will be teaching is the Introduction to Glass! It will be held at Patricia Bereskin's studio (where she hosts many of her own classes, and has for many years) in Bettendorf, IA. I will be the guest teacher Dec. 2nd 9th, and 16th. 10-15 students will delve into the world of glass with me as their fearless leader...I'm still trying to think how I'm going to get over being shy at first but they're kids and they love art...so I'll probably fit in quite well!

I get to go see the studio tomorrow after the farmers market, and discuss my lesson plan with Patricia...looks like I have some homework to do tonight :)!

I have another class for adults in the works at the Eclectic Eye studio in Moline IL. and will have more info on that soon!

My new love : Thai Food

So this weekend I hit up one of my favorite restaurants in the QC, Exotic Thai - It is amazing! My friend Kevin and I go there all the time after the markets on Saturday! I hardly ever go outside of my comfort zone consisting of grilled cheese, salads, and pasta, however I'm so glad I did! I ordered "pretend too be chicken" as the waitress called it, which was vegetable chicken with steamed rice, a brown sauce, and broccoli, It almost made me want to give up being a vegetarian - the fake meat tasted so good!

So the point of my explaining how amazing this food was, is that it made me smile that they took such care to present my meal in an artistic fashion. Every dish that was served had a tiny carrot flower hand cut on the top as decoration. Art is everywhere and it's awesome! Maybe I'll start trying at home to make my meals this pretty!

After dinner I went for a walk on the river walk, and again I was reminded to constantly look to the world around me for inspiration in my work. Look at the colors in the flowers...can you spot the bumble bee, and the textures in the rocks such cool stuff!

Market time is coming to an end!

So this weekend starts the last month of the Freight House Farmers Market. A small part of me is ready to have more nights free to do other things besides work - but it's been so much fun and I've met so many cool people that I know it will feel like forever till next year! Below are some random pics from my stand, some nice wine bottles that my friends helped me finish off...only to have for display of course, every wine stopper needs an empty bottle! The second photo shows the tables all cluttered with jewelry! On a more sad note I'm pretty sure my college mac is on it's way out...I've been getting the screen of death for a few weeks now..so if my posts are far and few in between..bare with me Mac's are expensive!

New Kiln - Yippee!

So I've been looking at kilns for a few months now, and have been wanting to upgrade to a bigger size firing chamber. But being frugal like I am have been holding off because it's a pretty big chunk of money! Alas I found the exact kiln I wanted on Craigslist.org from a really nice lady for about $150 less then what I could buy it wholesale. She included a ton of extras because she doesn't ever use it! I'm hoping I get to go pick it up this weekend. Now I'll be able to fire wine bottle dip trays and all sorts of fun new stuff!

Chicken Scratch Themed Display

After my meeting on Saturday with MudPuddleRoo, I decided to go out and look for my items to display my jewelry. This shop is decorated in a shabby chick style so I wanted to go for an antique but updated funky findings display. I found some awesome stuff! Going along with the "Chicken" theme I had some wonderful discoveries: an old chicken hatchery box, an egg bin...with old shells still in the bottom, a weather vane with a chicken on top to hang my necklaces and I even got my hands on a plate display stand (with chicken) and two antique egg platters with chickens in the middle. All in all it was an awesome day - and after 5 hours of shopping I couldn't fall asleep until I had it all planned out.

My space will be a 72" x 36" table. Below is the rough sketch I did Sunday night and illustrator drawings I came up with on Monday. I'll have photos of the actual items soon for you all to check out!

Gift Shop Bound : MuddPuddleRoo

Great news! Over the weekend I met with the owner of a new gift shop in Moline, IL. named MudPuddleRoo. After a few hours of looking around her super cute shop and her daughter's connected hair salon "Lillee Leighton" we got down to business. The great news is - she'll be taking my fused glass artwork (jewelry) for her shop during the entire winter season and beyond!

I can not tell you how excited I am! Her shop is the right amount of shabby chic and funky fresh, the perfect mix for where I would want my items sold! Now all of my Farmers Market customers will have a great place to get my items over the winter season. The shop will be carrying 200-300 items so make sure and check it out starting in Nov. 2009!

The shop is located at 417 13th Street, Moline, IL

Check out my work and all the other great work from artists around the world!

This is such a great opportunity and I'm really excited to have my art at MuddPuddleRoo.

Adventures of an Artist

This is the first post. I'm just trying to set this bad boy up - bare with me!