Treasuries

Every once in a while I get contacted by another Etsy seller that one of my pieces has been chosen for a treasury. Each and every time this happens I feel  so honored that someone else feels that I've created something worth showing off to the rest of the world. This past week has been a great treasury week for me and I'm currently being featured in three different themes. Please take a look around because I'm always amazed at how many different sellers I find through the treasuries. You might find a special treasure just for you.

(P.S. How do you like the rainbow boxing shorts? ; ) )

Coney Island

Warm Summer Nights

A Storm is Brewing

Wordless Wednesday

Gemma Bear

Stell and Livi

Magda Linen

Block Party Press

HomeGrown Photography Contest

It's May long weekend and I hope you are enjoying it. The plants are starting to bloom and the soil is finally warm enough to put out the seedlings. I've posted before about the community garden we have and some of the great produce we get from it thanks mostly to my husband. I love the fact that we can get fresh raspberries, potatoes, blueberries, broccoli and strawberries all organically. It's the best way to get the kids to eat their veggies. They love peas straight off the vine, and who wouldn't? 

 I try my hardest to support local produce whenever possible and one of the reasons I do it is to ensure our food security. We leave ourselves in a very risky position if all our food is trucked in from thousands of miles away. Many others in Vancouver feel this way too and in fact the "100 Mile  Diet" was started right here. One of the groups in the Vancouver who strives to promote local farming and eating is Farm Folk/City Folk which sponsors various events, books and calendars. Right now they are promoting a photography contest called HomeGrown for all B.C. residents. There are three categories in which you can enter: Urban Agriculture, Sustainable Farming, and Farmers Market. You are able to enter a maximum of two photos in hopes of winning one of the listed prizes. Top prize is $500 worth of tokens to be used at any local farmers market. This is the prize I'm after because I would love a bag of fresh organic cherries this year and they are a pretty penny.

I've already entered a couple pics of my girls taking some gardening instruction from Chef Ian Lai who heads the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society. Do you think you've got a couple interesting photos?  The weather is getting nice, maybe your winning shot is out there this weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

Phillip Valdez

Teo Nova

Jim Bobart

Totus Mel

99 Red Balloons Show at Canteen Gallery

  So I'm looking for a few Ottawa spies with an interest in balloons. I say this because I've entered the above painting into the 99 Red Balloons Show at the Canteen Gallery and I'm not sure if it's made the cut. The Canteen Gallery caught my eye when I saw some pieces from their previous Alice in Wonderland themed show. I was very impressed with the quality of work and thrilled with the fact that the gallery has an emphasis on illustration which seems to be very rare in Canada. After seeing a call for the Red Balloons show I jumped in front of an easle and created this piece.

Running from May 15-31 all the pieces in the show are 9"x9" square and are being sold for either $66 or $99. At either price I think you could pick yourself up a steal. So......who wants the assignment? 

How about I throw this re-mix of Nina Hagen's song of the same name to get you into the spirit. 99 Red Balloons  

Wordless Wednesday

Double Parlour

Mincing Mocking Bird

Nora Aoyagi

Yoga Goat

Feed Your Soul Free Art Project and Scoutie Girl

So I've heard about  Scoutie Girl a few times online but I hadn't visited the blog  until I received a link to it through my Etsy newsletter. Whoowee! This blog is full of wonderful eye candy for someone like myself. So many amazing artists and artisans are featured in this very polished looking blog. I haven't just visually scanned it as I do a lot of other blogs, (sorry to all bloggers but now that I'm a Mom, I rarely get more than a minute to read anything. Sad but true) but I've actually been reading a few of the articles too which are very honest and relevant to my current creative life. I have been really impressed with this blog and I encourage you to take a peek at the site if you haven't already. I signed up for the daily email. (My "Inbox" is getting huge!)

One feature that really caught my eye was Tara's article "Is Art a Luxury -on the luxury of chocolate cake". Now this really hit home with me because as an artist trying to sell in a recession you can really feel like on the bottom of the food chain. People don't "need" art like they need to have shelter and clothing. As well, where I'm living with my art teacher husband, we are constantly hearing that arts funding has been drastically cut and public schools will lose their arts programs because we don't "need" them as much as balanced budgets. It's hard to hear that your "being" is not needed or appreciated. I won't be too  much of a downer here because at least Tara does know that the arts and creativity are very much needed and appreciated. The arts give life meaning and joy much like a delicious piece of cake Tara claims as a necessity. I'm totally with you there!

To that end, if you CAN'T afford to bring art into your life Tara has supplied a link to Feed Your Soul Art Project which provides tons of free downloadable images supplied by a great bunch of artists. When I saw some of them I began thinking, "I want this one, and this one, and this one...." and then my next thought was, "I want to be in this group, I want to submit something for download."

This got me to thinking about how often as creatives, we give our images for free. How often are we asked to donate to a good cause to "get your work out there"? Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of this site and I would love to participate but I want to hear other people's thoughts about how as artists your work is not "needed" unless it is to generate funds for other things. Is that what art is for? To supply and maintain social structures that make life livable? Is creating only for giving without the expectation of anything in return? I know for myself, the act of creating something alone is enough for me to continue doing it. Receiving accolades or money is the icing on the cake. Tell me your thoughts on this. I'd love to hear them.