This fall, over thirty artists donated original artwork in support of breast cancer research and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. While some of these pieces (including mine) have already found new homes, there is still time to support this great cause and check out the amazing artwork for sale in the Artists Give Back shop!
“Music Painting” by Alice Ninni is a charming animation of the song “Lacrime de Giulietta” by Matteo Negrin in which the musical notation is the basis for a scrolling illustrated story about humanity and nature.
My inspiring artist this week is none other than my daughter, Celeste. Her delightful drawings grace my kitchen walls, windows, fridge and floors (in washable crayola). And she does inspire me, each and every day. Here’s to boundless curiosity, endless energy, experimentation and coloring outside the lines!
What are you still doing online? Go make some art already! And then drop by and share your inspired creations with me!
OK, I’m officially hooked. I’ve managed to gawk at over a hundred pages (so far) of delicious, artistic, fabulous, yummy items from some amazing artists. I’ve also had two projects of my own published on CraftGawker to-date: a close-up of my copper tree collage, and a mini-booklace with sheet music pages. It’s neat to see my mini-book on the “most gawked” page! (Thank-you, visitors!)
One thing that I appreciate about this site is that it is making me pay more attention to my creative photography skills as well. My first submission was declined for photo/craft composition (it was a direct shot of a book isolated on a white background.) Rather than being discouraged, I took this as a challenge! This led to the great top-down shot of my mini-booklace (above, far right) which has been gawked 49 times and favorited 5 times so far this week. (Cool!) Of course, as “daring” as my photo was, someone out-dared me a few days later. I’ll let you check out the CraftGawker.com site and see if you can spot the photo I’m talking about! =) You can see my two submissions here. Happy gawking!
I’m finding out that I have more in common with my sister, Cheri Long. She passed away this past fall. Below is a sampling of some artwork created by my sister:
Watercolor by Cheri Long - her travels
Self Portrait, Cheri Long Hiking
Portrait of Joseph Smith by Cheri Long
Enliven by Cheri Long
Knowing my for creating one-of-a-kind artist books, my sister made one for me:
It’s so nice to get fun stuff in the mail rather than just bills and junk! And what could be better than art? Check out my new Tumble Fish Studio prints by Marsha Jorgensen:
I was introduced to Marsha’s artwork (a.k.a. Tumble Fish Studio) through a fund raiser for a mutual friend, Tina Wright. I was the top bidder on a piece of her artwork and a gift certificate to her shop for another print and she was kind enough to send me three! (Thank-you, I love them!!) Marsha makes these delightful collages the old-fashioned way — by hand. You can see more at her blog or her etsy shop.
Last week I also received my order of art goodies from The Shoppe at Sommerset. I now have a set of test tubes, some watch findings (tiny, tiny gears and parts), unusual paper flowers and a cool collage sheet. Still no time to play with them – maybe this weekend…? I hope so — I’m going through art withdrawl and my hands are itching to CREATE!
I spent a relaxing day at the book store with a friend today, chatting while pouring over art books and magazines. It’s good for the soul to have a regular dose of art, friendship and inspiration.
One of the gems I stumbled upon in a Somerset Studios magazine was the artwork of Vanessa Valencia (at left). She makes the most beautiful art pieces with raised clothing from torn and crumpled paper.
Wanda Hibbs is an artist in Austin, Texas who paints primarily in oils and has a passion for color. At left is one of her most recent paintings, a portrait of a couple’s beloved pet dog.
Below are two commissioned oil portraits, “Youngest Daughter” and “Oldest Daughter.” All three are in private collections.
Thomas Allen combines altered book arts with photography. He carefully cuts and folds images from pulp paperback covers to create 3D scenes that pop-out against a backdrop of books. Fascinating photographs!
As a book artist, I love exploring new book forms, structures and bindings. I have found artist books to be the perfect creative art form, with limitless possibilities for artistic and personal expression.
I also love learning new techniques and experimenting with other art forms. My Wee Planet photography series is a current passion!
~Nikki Smith
My Wee Planet Tutorial is published in Cloth Paper Scissors Mar/April 2012 issue!
The Eagle ran a two page article about my artwork on Sun, Nov 6th, 2011
I’m thrilled to announce that a friend of mine, 
