Wordless Wednesday

Yellana

Hand Knit by Cara

Joutomaa

Briana Edelman Designs

There's creativity in those genes

When I was younger I was really puzzled as to why I seemed to be the only member of my family interested in art. My passion for creating visually has always been with me and sometimes I felt like the black sheep of the family with this desire. As I got older, I realized that I wasn't alone and that my family was actually full of creative people that just showed it ways other than art.

Today I thought I would show off a couple of people in my family who are creating things that I think my readers would enjoy.

First off is my sister, Tracey Dean who since having had  a little girl of her own, has been sewing up a cuteness storm. Tracey searches thrift stores for unique fabrics and bedding  to create duvet covers, curtains, decor pillows, girls dresses and hats. My daughters have gotten quite the collection of decor from her.
I've always been really impressed with Tracey's ability to walk into a shop like Walmart or HomeSense and find great home decor pieces on the cheap. If she can't afford a decor item then she's game to creating it herself. Thrifty and creative, she's got the ability to visualize her end result be it in interior decorating, home accessories or children's fashions. That's creative.

Above are some photos of some pieces she has done. Although she doesn't yet sell online, she has been taking custom orders. Please feel free to leave comments below as I know she would appreciate the feedback.



The second person I want to introduce is my cousin Gina Miller who is also a visual artist living in Vancouver. Currently attending Emily Carr University for fine arts, Gina plans to pursue a career as an art therapist. What I'm really excited about for her is her upcoming solo show at the couture retailer LEONE in Vancouver. Gina's paintings will be paired with fashions by top designers like Armani and Dior. How cool is that? Opening night is April 29 6:30-10:00 pm and I'm sure there will be some tasty h'orderves. If the baby-sitting fairy comes through I'll be there.
Below is a little preview of some of the pieces in the show. The multi-media pieces are quite striking and would surely be a focal point of any room in that they measure 36" x 48".

© Gina Miller

© Gina Miller

Wordless Wednesday

Littleput Books

Drietree

Art Watercolor

Joy Elizabeth Ceramics

Pikaland Community Site

Today's post is about a social group I joined up with recently. Amy of Pikaland, one of my all-time favorite blogs has started a social group of illustrators and I'm just thrilled to be member of it. I'm a member of several social sites such as Indiepublic, WeLoveEtsy, Etsy Canada and Inkteraction to name a few. Each one has its' own unique set of activities and interactions and I honestly can't keep up with them all. I think the Pikaland community site might become my favorite social haunt though. The site is already filled with so many wonderfully creative members and I know there much to learn there.  If illustration gets your artistic and creative juices flowing like it does mine, I suggest you take a peek at the site.

Below are a few picks from the site.

Loujinga

Chum Mcleod

Julia Humpfer

Zime

Shelby Healey

Wordless Wednesday

Cart before the horse

Starlight Sound

William Dohman

Stephen Edward Graphic

Some great give-aways

 
As many of you on-line can attest, there are many wonderful people in art and craft field to meet. I wish I could say that I meet as many generous and helpful people in my day to day life as I do through Etsy, and Twitter. The first person I would like to introduce you to is Jennifer of Just Jingle . I met Jennifer on Facebook and when she mentioned that she was always looking for artists to feature, I quickly rose my hand. Boy am I glad I did. Take a look at the nice feature Jennifer has done on me and then take note of the give-away we have put together for you. As a gift to our readers and fans, I'm giving away one of my "Speckled Mushrooms" pendants to one lucky winner. This is a world-wide draw and you'll notice that there are plenty of ways to gain additional entries. Good luck to all of you and I'm really looking forward to hearing your comments.

The next person I wanted to tell you about is Gilliauna who runs an Etsy shop called Bits and Beads. Gilliauna has consistently been retweeting my Twitter  posts for ages now and really has been an all-around supportive person to my on-line pursuits. Gilliauna has even been so kind as to have mentioned me as a favorite in interview on Audrey's Give-away Blog. Take a look at the blog and you'll notice a great give-away of a $20 gift certificate to Gilliauna's jewelry shop. Here too, note that there are many opportunities to earn extra entries. Start your window shopping now. 

By Gilliauna

Wordless Wednesday

Pepperminte

    

Abigail Brown

Rubenacker

Retrospettive

Showing at Richmond Library Rotunda

For those of you readers in the Lower Mainland, I thought I'd let you know that I currently have ten pieces hanging up in the  Main Richmond Library in the rotunda. There are very few spaces to show artwork in Richmond and when I had originally applied to show they told me that earliest I could get was April of 2011. Okay....... As it turns out, a space came available this year and I jumped at it.

The consists of ten original monotypes that have been hand-colored with chalk pastels. I chose a set of landscapes and moon images that I have been working on.  The set looks really cohesive and shows quite well on the deeply colored walls. I'm always happy to get the chance to show in a public space because my work needs to be seen in person and up-close to really be appreciated. Something is lost in the scale and the record of my hand when  my pieces are shown online. I guess that can be said about most original artwork.

The show will be on for a very short time so take a peek at it if you get the chance. The show runs April 1-15 and the library is closed on Monday April 5th.