The Last of 2010

It's almost a new year, so I guess I need to do one last post for 2010. It was a fabulous year, I think! I'll have to look back because it's been so busy and I swear the older I get, the more I forget! Here are some photos of the past couple of weeks of family, fun and projects:

This is a design element I have been exploring a bit. I call it the altered square. I've done about 10 of these so far in my sketch book. The process helps you to see positive vs. negative space. Where this is going, I'm not sure yet. I might have to incorporate it somehow with fabric or paint...

This is a project I am making for my sister. Shhh. Don't tell her because it's her Christmas present. I'm hoping she's been way too busy to check my blog and it will be a surprise when she gets here on New Year's Day!

I thought this was quite appropriate!

These are some yummy Christmas cookies I made. Carol (my sister in law) taught me how to "cheat". You buy the premade sugar cookie dough, bake them up, let them cool, then put icing on top and sprinkle with the little sparkly things. Voila! Christmas cookies that are to die for...Great for anyone who is NOT "Suzy Homemaker"

Zach and me out in the studio, waiting for the heater to kick on!

Joe and Zach - Family painting day on Christmas Eve

Mr. Z showing his creative painting side!

Joey all snuggled up...

Christmas morning:

The "Blizzard of 2010"

We had about 9 or 10 inches when it was all said and done...

One of my new paintings I just finished. I think it's a 30" x 40"

And lastly, these are some fabric pieces I've been working on most recently. It's a great way to use up your scraps. You take some Wonder Under and lay it down face up on your work surface, then just start randomly laying out your ironed fabric pieces. Once you get the surface covered, you iron it all down. Usually at this point I have to pin alot of the pieces down, then take it to my sewing machine and start stitching away. I sandwich a piece of batting between my scraps and a fat quarter.  I use straight stiches, zig zag, all kinds of different colors and just have fun. These are the two pieces I have done so far. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them!

That's about it for 2010! I still have a couple of days to figure out my goals for 2011. I'm sure it will be a nice long list. That seems to keep me out of the most trouble, when I have a list. Thanks to everyone who was a part of my 2010, good and bad! I learned some new things from the experiences and situations. Love you all for being a part of the mix! Peace to you and yours for a Happy New Year! When in doubt...go create something! It makes you feel good!

Some of My Workshops for 2011

Hello Folks! Just in case you want to make a New Year's resolution to learn new mediums and techniques, I thought I would post a couple of my workshops I'll be offereing at Jerry's Artarama in Raleigh in January and February. It seems I know a little about alot of things when it comes to artwork, so that's why I came up with these shorter workshops. They not only fit into a three hour time slot, but they also fit into your budget just a bit easier than a full day class.
So, here we go:

Thursday, January 6th from 10:30 - 1:30 Introduction to Encaustic
I highly recommend this class. If you love the smell of wax like I do, (it reminds me of when I was a kid opening my tin of crayons...) and want to experiment with this wonderful medium, then check this class out! I am supplying most of the materials, so come and join the fun. I think you'll fall in love with encaustic just as I have.

Thursday, January 20th from 10:30 - 1:30 Linoleum Carving and Printing
As a printmaking major, I absolutely love the different ways you can print the exact same image. The ways you can present something are just countless and you can reinvent your work as you go. Please join me for a fun morning of discovering the easy way to carve and print linoleum. This is just another way to preserve all those images you have in your head or in your art journal and make a true piece of art!

Thursday, February 3rd from 4:30p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Painting on Black Fabric with Lumiere Paints
This class is for artists, quilters or crafters. We will experiment with one of my favorite things to mess around with...paint and fabric! I love to paint on fabric and the Lumiere paints work just perfectly on dark cotton fabric that you can sew into something else, or you can also paint or print on a black tee-shirt. This class is perfect for the experimental artist.

Thursday, February 24th from 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Basic Tie Dyeing
Somehow, I missed the 60's fad of tie dying, but I've always loved the look of hand dyed anything and more specifically tie dye. I recently tie dyed 30 shirts for a family get together, so just as a warning, this is very addicting! We will learn all the ins and outs of different ways to fold and tie your t-shirts, then dye them with the wonderful Jacquard colors.

If you have any questions about any of these workshops, please let me know!
Thanks for stopping by.

November and December!

Every year, November and December sort of meld together…starting with Art of the Carolinas and ending with the Christmas holidays and family celebrations. This year, Art of the Carolinas sort of snuck up on me. I think I was in a bit of denial, because once committed, there is no end in sight for months!


It was another successful Art of the Carolinas this year! Thank you to everyone who came out to help us celebrate our 10th annual show. Without you, the show would not be as fun or as successful as it is each year, so thank you for coming for the creativity, bargains, relaxation and friendship! Thank you to the instructors who travel from all over with their bag of tricks to present their new techniques to our customers! Thank you to the vendors who ship in their bargains, their new products and the best of the best, all with our customers in mind. Both artists and vendors put in long hours to share their product knowledge and talents with everyone. Thank you to all the Jerry’s Artarama store managers, hard workers and volunteers we have to get the show all set up and organized for you, assist you in getting your packages to you or your car, then pack everything up that’s left at the end. Thank you to all the many work-shoppers for being curious to learn something new and also for those of you who continue to pass your talents on to your students! Thank you to the staff, volunteers and the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild for their endless help, laughter and smiles throughout the show. Thank you to Christina for being my right hand gal for three Art of the Carolinas now! And thank you to Joe for putting up with me while I put this show together one more time. I love you all! Thank you for helping my three passions collide once again: People, Art and a Great Party!

Joe teaching one of his workshops:

 Karlyn Holman in action:

Here's a shot of Linda Kemp and her students:

Here is Paul McCormack in his Oil Portrait Class

 Here's a silly photo of my boss, Ira Goldstein and me!

Little Divas at work: Heather on the left and Ashton on the right

The calm before the storm...

Christina and me with a well needed tall glass of wine!

Back to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after the show to get started on some paperwork. Then off for a little R&R in Key West!



Hello Fort Zachary Taylor!

 Bananas growing like CRAZY!

 On our way to a flower and art show at West Martello Towers

Sunday, November 21st, I taught a Collage Therapy class at The Seam Shoppe in Key West. We filled the classroom with eight quilters. What a great group of talented gals! They were quick to pick up the new techniques of painting on paper and fabric, carving stamps and embellishing the painted papers and fabrics. Look out quilt world; wait until you see the new art quilts hitting the scene in Key West! Thank you, Cindy for setting this workshop up. Your quilt girls: Mary, Margo, Diane, Debbie, Jessica, Suzanne, and Joanne are such a fun group and very open to trying new things and working outside of their comfort zones… Thanks ladies!


Here are a few photos from the class:

One of our nights out on the town at Willie T's on Duval Street. This guy was a one man band and he could rock some blues! He finally played Layla for me...

This is a shot of some paintings that Joe did in Cindy and Doug's backyard. Painted and stretched, then put in the window at The Seam Shoppe in Key West on Truman Ave.

 Next, it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving! This year was hosted by Nick and Bonnie at their home on Sugarloaf Key. We had 14 or 15 of us. Lots of family, food and fun. Zach and Francheska flew in that day to join in the festivities, making it all complete! I am so very thankful to have such a loving family. It truly was a wonderful day!

Left to right: Francheska, Zach, Bonnie, Nick

 FOOD!

Then off to Big Pine to Lucinda's for a fabulous Italian meal. Craig showed us some of his treasure from the dive on the El Cazador Spanish ship wreck. Pretty cool...

 Here's my friend Willy - still doing his thing at sunset at Mallory Square. 27 years now. You go boy!

 A classic shot of my brother in law Dougy with his "cold weather Key West outfit"! This is just one of many fabulous combos he can come up with! Amazing...ha ha! You rock Meyer!

 And here is one of my long time friends, Reggie. I met him in about 1981 and he still looks exactly the same!

Here's a shot of me and my sister Cindy on our way to lunch at Sunset Key!

(The captain is at the helm!)

One last shot of Joe and I being totally tourists in some store on Duval...

I need a beer!

Back to some more R&R, just chillin in the Keys. Taking lots of photos and gathering new inspiration for future projects…oh, I can’t wait to get back into the studio! In the meantime, I will savor every moment left in Paradise!

One last photo...

Now, I’m back to work still finishing up the never ending paperwork for Art of the Carolinas and preparing for another fun filled year of workshops and all kinds of crazy stuff for 2011…

I have been testing new products, getting ready for demos and more free art lessons. Christmas is right around the corner and our house is still all torn up from the washer leak…I won’t even go there…

Now it is time to prepare for the Christmas festivities and think about family, friends, the future, health and happiness! Hang on, here we go!!!



I'm Back!

Here is a shot of the last seven loads of tees I dyed for AOC! I dyed a total of 25 loads or 750 shirts. Joe has the only white one... I'm starting to get caught up on some of the things at home now. I've been busy, busy, busy, as usual. That's how I like it! Here are some shots from First Friday at Nicole Kennedy's Gallery: 

These (above) are some of my newer collage pieces and the large pieces below (red and green) are

on hold for a sale! Keep your fingers crossed...

I have been working on gift bags for my Art of the Carolinas Instructors

and here is a nice colorful shot of the gift bags in progress:

Here are a few shots from the Works of Heart Auction which took place on October 8th and 9th this year:

Sean Byrne with his donation. (#14)

Joe DiGiulio with his donation

Now, back in the studio playing with fabric and paints and dyes! It has really been so much fun. Lots of experimentation and play. What a nice relief from my hectic days at work planning for the show.

Here is a shot for you:

I didn't take many pictures because my batteries died, but I was using screen printing inks as a resist, acrylic paints and Lumiere paints, creating samples of different techniques. This photo is using flour paste as a resist on fabric. This was the first time I worked with this particular technique and trust me: Flour paste clogs your sink, BIG TIME! Please note! Rinse all fabrics in the yard with the garden hose - this will keep peace in your home! I have a workshop coming up in Key West in November at The Seam Shoppe, so I'm working on narrowing down what I'm going to teach. I always have difficulty with that, because I get so excited and want to show everything. So, I'm trying to edit it down to the best of the best to offer in this one day class.

This is the image I'll be using in my artsee Magazine advertising in the upcoming publication.

Every year for the past four years, Joe has donated a piece of work to the Rex Gala. Rex Cancer Center is where Joe was treated and **cured** of his cancer. We love Rex Hospital!

Below are some images of Joe's 2010 donation:

 Bob Rankin's piece on the left and Joe's on the right. Thanks guys!

Here is a close up of Joe's piece, "Redemption in Kind"

"To Die For" Cannoli at the gala...Yum!

Oh, then we had at least three football games in October. ECU Pirates were creamed by UNC, redeemed at the NC State game (Yeh!) and also beat Marshall. So, we're having a pretty darn good season so far...

Go Pirates!

Okay, lastly, I went to the 20th anniversary party at Artsource this past Friday. Wow! What a great turnout. The gallery has expanded and looks just fantastic! Congratulations to Sharon and Nancy, owners. And to top it all off, both DiGiulios had sales from the evening! Yipee!

Now we can finish the floor in our upstairs portion of the studio. Woot! Woot!

Sunday was my day of "rest" in the studio painting away! I finished up two paintings, both 30 x 40.

Here are some photos:

Now I have to figure out what to be for Halloween...