Who Am I???

Now that I have been involved in this project, or job,  for a couple of years, I need to determine just who I am.  What do I mean by that??? Well..... when I am introduced to new people, the inevitable question is: "What do you do?" or "Where do you work?"  I am never quite sure what title to give myself or should I say allow myself to have.  I need to be comfortable saying, "I am an artist."

art·ist 

/ˈärtist/

Noun A person who produces paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby. A person who practices any of the various creative arts, such as a sculptor, novelist, poet, or filmmaker. When I look at this definition as provided by google, I fit the mold.  I just need to embrace it.  I get nervous saying that is what I am.  I cannot explain why... as I love my job more than anything else I have ever done.  I am taking a hobby and making it my life's work.  I feel like people will lump me into some sort of category or preconceived notion, or they won't see my work as art.  I realize art encompasses a lot, but does it encompass painted furniture?  How about taking old junque and finding new ways to look at it..... look at the little vintage suitcase table, a transformation that really has a delightful result.   I see art in this, but do others?  Art is subjective, peaceful, angry, happy, colorful, whimsical, catchy, joyful, humorous, different ~ Oh my goodness, I could go on and on with what art is and I can take those same descriptors and apply them to me... what does that mean?  It means that I AM AN ARTIST!

Chateau Gray Makes the Rain Go Away

I am in love with Annie Sloan's color Chateau Gray.  This is a new one for me to use and quite obviously I went gangbusters with it.  I painted a few items yesterday and sanded and stained them up today and I am loving the results.  Mind you, the color from the can is different than the photos you see here as I set my paint with dark walnut stain.  Quite frankly, straight out of the can the color looked a pale lavender.  Take a peek at some of these cast-off's refabulized:

I call the first grouping, the trifecta for obvious reasons.  The bottom photo is a handmade coffee table.  It is heavy duty and durable. 

Back in the Groove Thing

I have participated in JunkStock both times that it has been out there.  I am anxious to give it a go again.  This is a really unique art fair.  It encompasses a broad range of items from flea market finds to flips.  I fall into the later category with my junque.  I love to find old furniture and make it fun and whimsical with my own touch.

 I generally stick to the basics for my goodies because the intricate painted pieces take too much time, those I save for my customer commission work.  I cut off my customer requests on May 1st so I can busy myself preparing my inventory.  I have sporadic pieces that I do in between customer's work, but I am rolling now.  I finished several pieces today, crazy thing is I have already sold 4 of them just through my facebook posted photos.

 One of the biggest monstrosities that I tackled today was an old oak desk.  Huge & Heavy in all of it's glory.  I used Annie Sloan's Old Ochre to make the transformation.  I love the end result.  I sold it within 10 minutes of posting it's photo.  I am also thrilled with the look of a little side table I had fun with in Go BIG Red. 

 Today's high was 96 degrees.  I love the heat, so painting outside, catching rays, listening to tunes, and doing what I know, Thank the good Lord above for all I am blessed with.

I am Back!!!

I have been incredibly busy and have put the blog on the back burner.  If you follow my Facebook page, you will see just how busy I have been.  I continue to do commission work for customer's and fit in my own pieces in between.  One piece I have just finished is this desk with a United States map on the top.

Looks pretty simple right???? Not on your life.  I felt a lot of pressure to get it just so.  I can throw a USA outline on a piece of paper in no time, however once you start adding in outlines of each state,  it is a whole new being.  I took extra care to make sure Iowa was smaller than Texas but bigger than Rhode Island.  As a Nebraska raised girl, I have always been able to pick out that state and make it resemble what I grew up knowing.  Once you have to add the other states surrounding it, not as clear cut.  I am now a fan of Colorado and Wyoming... why?  They are simple in their outline.  I have had 2 additional customer requests for this type of piece.  Due to the time and effort, I have decided to call it "one of a kind.".  I may change my mind down the road, but since it is so fresh and I know I put 30+ hours into it, we will call it rare and unique, and keep it as one!!!!!  God Bless the USA!