I just noticed that I haven't mentioned word ONE on the craft shows I've been attending, or will be attending. They're worth mentioning, as they're having an impact on my productivity and someone reading this blog might be interested to know where they can see my wares.
Before I do that, let me say a few words about the studio where I do my artsy work- Desert Dragon Pottery:
http://desertdragonpottery.com/
This is my instructor's (Mishy) studio, and where I go for raku and regular kiln firings. It's also a great source of inspiration and a great place to get into the mudslinging thing.
Okay, fine you ask, the studio is great an all, what does that have to do with craft shows? Well, Mishy has listed me as one of the featured artists there and has a link to my shop. She also has a link to the Phoenix First Fridays:
http://www.artlinkphoenix.com/alp/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=27
And she also has a link to the upcoming Fairy Fest:
http://www.westerngatesfaerierealms.com/PhoenixFaerieFestival.htm
Every First Friday of the Month, we go down to the Roosevelt Row First Friday Art Walk event. I'll talk more about the First Fridays as they come up. The next one is scheduled for Nov 7. That's in two weeks. The week after that is the Fairy Fest.
Fairies. Butterfly wings, ren fair atmosphere and homo-erotic themes. This isn't necessarily my preferred venue, but the more I think about it, the more I find myself embracing it. Well, I can't embrace the homo-erotic part, but I'm embracing the fantasy ren fair thing.
The dragons I was talking about earlier, the pipe cleaner fairies and dragons, the dragon cup, the horns, the tree, tree castle, etc etc... all inspired by the fairy fest. Did I mention I ordered a vizier's coat and a pirate shirt? Yep, for the fairy fest. I'm pouring a lot of time, energy and resources into this fairy fest thing.
Let's talk about the coat for a little bit. If you don't know what a vizier's coat is, you can get a good idea here:
http://www.renstore.com/ItemCombination.asp?GroupCode=CHI3009
Better yet, go to the Etsy shop where I bought my coat here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16249537
The coat was *FANTASTIC*. Really great and really great price. Willow hand knotted these frog closures for the coat, and they looked great, but they were impractical as they kept opening.
Enter Vickie, the local seamstress that made my pirate shirt. Vickie is a SUPER STAR seamstress! She does really fantastic costumes locally. I'm not sure how I found her, but find her I did and I'm happy! I was really impressed with the pirate shirt she made me; I asked for balloon sleeves, ruffled collar and cuffs, a lace closure in the front, and an oversized fit to the shirt. She hit a homerun with these requests and she delivered in EXCEPTIONAL time!
I asked Vickie if she could fix the frogs for me. I went over with the coat and one of my pendants. I just reached into my box of pendants and pulled one out, allowing fate to choose a pendant for her. It was a multi-color flat patina raku heart with a carved design and melted crystals. It sort of looks like a bleeding heart. Turns out Vickie LOVES hearts and she loved her pendant. She fixed the coat, calling me the next day to pick up. She added toggle buttons to the closures to fix the fastening issue I had. Then she added these great leather trimming to each closure 'to give it more of a pirate look' she said.
Did I mention Vickie is a SUPER STAR seamstress?
Finally, Vickie included this small, black leather pouch on a leather string. 'All pirates need a small leather pouch' she said. She added this pouch as a 'thank you' for the pendant.
I was floored. I nearly lost my composure. Such a beautiful gesture. Not only did this woman drop EVERYTHING to do my coat in the middle of the most busy time of the year for her, but she took the time to add little extras to my coat that I did not request. The leather trimmings and leather pouch really do kick up this coat.
I didn't go straight home, I went to Mishy's after I picked up the coat. I had to glaze some pieces, drop off a robe to Cary, and drop off a couple of dragons. When I did get home, I tried on the pirate shirt, coat, and sash. Fantastic! I don't know if I'm going to dye the shirt and sash, but they look great in their natural being colors. I was at the Harvest Festival this last weekend, so I didn't get a chance to finish some pieces. I was tired, but these things don't take care of themselves, so I went to mishy's to glaze some pieces. My first dragon was in multiple pieces, so I took that home to see if I can fix it. The second dragon sort of looks like a griffin, so I painted it in browns. While painting, I gave the paper clay more credit for strength than I should have and I broke the tail. Being it's paper clay, I fixed it, glazed it and I'm hoping it will work. At least now I know not to overestimate the strength of paper clay! I glazed most of the horns and my one bonsai tree. I didn't get around to glazing one set of horns and my tree goblet thing. Did I mention I was tired?
That's all I have for now. Gonna go sleep.
Before I do that, let me say a few words about the studio where I do my artsy work- Desert Dragon Pottery:
http://desertdragonpottery.com/
This is my instructor's (Mishy) studio, and where I go for raku and regular kiln firings. It's also a great source of inspiration and a great place to get into the mudslinging thing.
Okay, fine you ask, the studio is great an all, what does that have to do with craft shows? Well, Mishy has listed me as one of the featured artists there and has a link to my shop. She also has a link to the Phoenix First Fridays:
http://www.artlinkphoenix.com/alp/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=27
And she also has a link to the upcoming Fairy Fest:
http://www.westerngatesfaerierealms.com/PhoenixFaerieFestival.htm
Every First Friday of the Month, we go down to the Roosevelt Row First Friday Art Walk event. I'll talk more about the First Fridays as they come up. The next one is scheduled for Nov 7. That's in two weeks. The week after that is the Fairy Fest.
Fairies. Butterfly wings, ren fair atmosphere and homo-erotic themes. This isn't necessarily my preferred venue, but the more I think about it, the more I find myself embracing it. Well, I can't embrace the homo-erotic part, but I'm embracing the fantasy ren fair thing.
The dragons I was talking about earlier, the pipe cleaner fairies and dragons, the dragon cup, the horns, the tree, tree castle, etc etc... all inspired by the fairy fest. Did I mention I ordered a vizier's coat and a pirate shirt? Yep, for the fairy fest. I'm pouring a lot of time, energy and resources into this fairy fest thing.
Let's talk about the coat for a little bit. If you don't know what a vizier's coat is, you can get a good idea here:
http://www.renstore.com/ItemCombination.asp?GroupCode=CHI3009
Better yet, go to the Etsy shop where I bought my coat here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16249537
The coat was *FANTASTIC*. Really great and really great price. Willow hand knotted these frog closures for the coat, and they looked great, but they were impractical as they kept opening.
Enter Vickie, the local seamstress that made my pirate shirt. Vickie is a SUPER STAR seamstress! She does really fantastic costumes locally. I'm not sure how I found her, but find her I did and I'm happy! I was really impressed with the pirate shirt she made me; I asked for balloon sleeves, ruffled collar and cuffs, a lace closure in the front, and an oversized fit to the shirt. She hit a homerun with these requests and she delivered in EXCEPTIONAL time!
I asked Vickie if she could fix the frogs for me. I went over with the coat and one of my pendants. I just reached into my box of pendants and pulled one out, allowing fate to choose a pendant for her. It was a multi-color flat patina raku heart with a carved design and melted crystals. It sort of looks like a bleeding heart. Turns out Vickie LOVES hearts and she loved her pendant. She fixed the coat, calling me the next day to pick up. She added toggle buttons to the closures to fix the fastening issue I had. Then she added these great leather trimming to each closure 'to give it more of a pirate look' she said.
Did I mention Vickie is a SUPER STAR seamstress?
Finally, Vickie included this small, black leather pouch on a leather string. 'All pirates need a small leather pouch' she said. She added this pouch as a 'thank you' for the pendant.
I was floored. I nearly lost my composure. Such a beautiful gesture. Not only did this woman drop EVERYTHING to do my coat in the middle of the most busy time of the year for her, but she took the time to add little extras to my coat that I did not request. The leather trimmings and leather pouch really do kick up this coat.
I didn't go straight home, I went to Mishy's after I picked up the coat. I had to glaze some pieces, drop off a robe to Cary, and drop off a couple of dragons. When I did get home, I tried on the pirate shirt, coat, and sash. Fantastic! I don't know if I'm going to dye the shirt and sash, but they look great in their natural being colors. I was at the Harvest Festival this last weekend, so I didn't get a chance to finish some pieces. I was tired, but these things don't take care of themselves, so I went to mishy's to glaze some pieces. My first dragon was in multiple pieces, so I took that home to see if I can fix it. The second dragon sort of looks like a griffin, so I painted it in browns. While painting, I gave the paper clay more credit for strength than I should have and I broke the tail. Being it's paper clay, I fixed it, glazed it and I'm hoping it will work. At least now I know not to overestimate the strength of paper clay! I glazed most of the horns and my one bonsai tree. I didn't get around to glazing one set of horns and my tree goblet thing. Did I mention I was tired?
That's all I have for now. Gonna go sleep.
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