Holiday shopping

Well, the Christmas season is definitely upon us and the day is closing in fast!  Thank goodness I managed to get all of my orders done!  Of course I can't post any photos of them until after the holiday for obvious reasons, but trust me, there were some fun ones!

Ooo, and as it turns out, the Art Center in Brownsville is planning on staying open for the weekend after Christmas too!  That means that you can still get that special something for that special someone and even have them pick it out!  Here's a great gift idea: Make a little gift certificate for a piece of art, jewelry, or handmade trinket, and have your loved one open that on Christmas day.  Then take them to the Art Center and have them select their special item!

I was really impressed with what we have at the Art Center.  Mugs, hats, scarves, paintings, prints, jewelry, sunflower stalk walking sticks, cards, wall sconces, pottery, soaps, preserves, chutneys, and of course wood burnings. ;)  

One thing I will share with you, even though it's not a wood burning, is a painting I completed for a good friend as a gift this year.  (Don't worry, they've already received it.)  So here is another pursuit of mine, oil painting.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!  I look forward to another year of creating!

At long last!

After far too long, I am finally posting the finished show piece!   This was from a photograph I saw and fell in love with by photographer Terry Donnelly.  It's of a Mill Pond of Creagh Gardens at Skibberdeen.  I contacted the photographer and was granted permission to use the photo for this piece.
It took 42 hours and measures 16x20" and I've put it into the wonderful frame I was lucky enough to find!
It is currently on display (and for sale) at the Brownsville Art Center in Brownsville Oregon.  It will be there at least through December 22nd, and possibly through the month of January.
Ta-dah!

I wish I could have scanned this piece for a clearer image, but I'm afraid my scanner is not nearly large enough.
I hope you get the chance to see it in person!  I anticipate it coming with me to all of my summertime events, like the Sherwood Fantasy Faire, the Canterbury Renaissance Faire and the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire.  That is, unless someone buys it. :)

The Unveiling

Time for the reveal of my big project!

I had some wood left over after cutting my piece for my upcoming 16x20" show piece, and decided to make this for my mom and stepdad.

It's a cabinet and holder for toilet paper.  Their house was built in 1861, and so I chose designs for the wood burning that suited that time period.  The design on the cabinet door is of a late 1800's staircase baluster that would have been a piece cast in iron.  On the top I chose a honeysuckle motif that was popular for use on dishes, wall decor, embroidery, etc.

 Which, for some unknown reason, my computer has decided to rotate counterclockwise no matter what I do.

I finished the structure with a polyshades stain and coated the burned portions with mineral oil.  I had attempted to seal the entire thing with urethane, but after putting a coat of it on the backside of the door, I discovered that it turns the laminated pine yellow.  Unfortunate, but other methods will work.

So there you have it!  A large piece I built from scratch!  Now that's a sense of accomplishment!

Leave you wanting more

One big project this week and one smaller.  Just to string this out, I'll share the smaller one with you now.... and make you wait to see the big one!

Centerpiece

So I found this really cool wood frame that's rustic and natural looking and is deep enough to fit a piece of wood or a canvas.  So now I'm on the hunt for the ideal picture to wood burn and put in this frame.  I've got to choose carefully, though, because it's a 16"x20" piece!  I want it to be able to fit in at any and all shows I do, so I need to choose a subject that appeals to a wide audience. 

I posed that question on Facebook, asking my friends for opinions on what I should burn for this show piece.  I got a lot of really cool ideas... and some interesting ones...  I think the most interesting one was 'A surfing unicorn with a bear on its back holding a shotgun.'  As entertaining as that would be...  I don't think anyone would buy it for the price I'd have to put on such a large piece!  But you never know!

The options I'm most strongly considering are either an animal, probably a horse, or a castle or a forest scene.  I'll do some more research to find a photo that really inspires me and see what I come up with!

Born to be cute

The sea turtle craze seems to have died down a bit, but I have a feeling these cute little guys might find a home this holiday season. 

They're so cute!

I seem to have a thing for baby animals lately...  Whenever I pick up a new piece to burn I just choose whatever image will make me happy or give me inspiration.  It's two in a row now of baby animals.  I think I may continue this trend.

Finally!

After such a busy, busy month, I've finally found time to sit down and do an entire wood burning!  Not that that doesn't mean I had nothing else to do... But that's not the point.  I have two stores to stock with product by the end of this month, and then by the end of November I'll be showing my work at the Art Center in Brownsville for their holiday show.  And so, this is the first of many new pieces to come this month!

Christmas on the brain

I know that for most people it's a little early to think about Christmas.  But for me, it's got to start now!  Wood burning takes quite a bit of time, and if you're wanting something made as a gift, now is the time to order!  All you have to do is email me.  Tell me what you want, what size and way to contact you and I'll get right to work!  Below are some pricing guides:

5x7" - $40
7x9" - $70
8 1/2 x 11" - $100
Custom size & shape - email for a quote

greatjesspectations@gmail.com

Come November I'll have a selection of pieces for sale at First Alternative Co-op in Corvallis at both locations, 3rd Street as well as 29th. 

I look forward to seeing what you have in mind!

Face the Light

I finally got around to finishing that light switch cover!  Can you believe it?! 

Of course this can be done on any light switch or outlet plate as long as it's unfinished wood to start with.  They come in a variety of shapes to fit different switches.  But, keep in mind, this is basswood, which means I can't do the really delicate shading like I do for portraits...  At least not without a lot of cursing...

Planning ahead

Well, it's about time to get my wood burnings into an actual store!  I'll be selling a selection of pieces in Corvallis, Oregon at First Alternative Co-op for the holiday season.  Special orders will also be welcome, so get your Christmas orders in soon!
greatjesspectations@gmail.com

Ready, set, wait!

Wouldn't you know it?  Just when I get done with special orders, and so now have time to do other wonderful things I've been waiting burn, I'm too busy to do anything at all!  I can't complain too much though...  I get to see some good friends, have some wonderful food and then host a party.  Not a bad weekend.  Just not a productive one.  I guess I should count myself lucky that I'm done with special orders in time to do all this other fun stuff! 

I have started to delve into a new idea, though.  I've begun trying out some burning on wooden outlet and light switch covers.  We'll see if it's as cool as I think it will be. :)  I might try doing something extra cool and detailed for my own house first.  Surprisingly I don't actually have any wood burnings on display in my house except the clock. 

Well here's one last shot of summer beauty before fall officially begins.  Enjoy!

An eternal flower

Just the other day I received some sad news.  A woman who was my adopted grandmother during my time living in Kentucky, has passed away.  Her husband is still at home, and I just couldn't help but empathize with what he must be going through.  Though my husband is only gone temporarily, living in an empty house is something that is very difficult to get used to.  My heart went out to him and I was compelled to send him something special.  The jonquil, the flower of sympathy.  I hope it brings a smile to his face.

The Waiting Game

It's always fun to do artwork as gifts, but then I have that annoying delay between the making of the art and the giving of it.  I have waited a long time to post this one that was a present to my cousin for her wedding!

Can you guess what her passion is?  :)

I want that, I want that, I want that...

You ever get that annoying little problem of having a great idea you just don't have the time to do?  I am currently experiencing it.  Or rather, I am daily experiencing it.  I'm looking at some of my wood burnings and envisioning more really amazing things I could do...  Classic cars...  Historical icons...  Castles...  the list goes on.  But no.  I have no time for those things yet.  I must be responsible and get special orders done and attend events I've signed up for.  I've never looked forward to winter more!  Having a few more lazy months ahead of me might actually mean I'll get to do some of these great ideas!

Don't get me wrong - I love doing events, meeting people, talking to people about what I do - and I love doing special orders!  I like being able to spend my time on a piece that I know the person receiving will love!  And, of course, these are not the only things keeping me so busy these days.  If you've been keeping up with my earlier posts (infrequent as they have been), you're aware of my current situation.

A friend recently told me that it was quite a shock to him to find out just how little you can get done when your spouse is gone for a long time.  And this is mostly because two people can do the work of three, but one can usually only do the work of one.  This is very obvious to me now.

So, I must look to the future and keep my spirits alive!  I have lots of time ahead of me to accomplish these things I dream of!  Maybe I should pick which one I want to do first, so that when the time comes for a bit of laziness, I'll have my project in hand.

What should it be?  A car?  Marilyn Monroe?  An ancient castle?  

Isn't that just the way?

So I spent the last two nights I had available to me to complete a wood burning specifically for the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire this past weekend.  I was certain that it would be a big hit and so I had to finish it in time to take it with me.

It got compliments...  But it certainly wasn't the one everyone wanted the most.  Know what was?  At a Renaissance Faire, do you know which one got a lot of the attention and did actually sell?  The freaking train.  Not that I'm sad about that one selling...  It just proves that you really can't predict what is going to be popular.  So, the ones that found new homes were:

Fare thee well!

Whipping it out

Well I successfully completed the special order in record time!  They requested it be done early so it might be given to the recipients before they left for vacation.  That meant a good distraction for me all day Tuesday after I said goodbye to my husband and sent him off to boot camp.

The purchaser of this piece cut out the wood and passed it along to me.  She gave it to the couple as an anniversary present today and they've said they'd like to meet me. :)
Of course the perfect opportunity to do that would be to come to the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire this weekend in Kings Valley Oregon.  :)  I'll have my Great Jesspectations booth there this Saturday and Sunday, so come out and see me!

Here kitty, kitty!

My apologies for my absence.  Things around here are moving so quickly and so much is happening, it has taken away from my time to blog.  But, in preparation for this weekend's renaissance faire, I give you my latest (non-special order piece), a cougar!

Hope to do some more blogging before this weekend, but in case I don't, I look forward to seeing everyone at the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire in Kings Valley Oregon!  Visit shrewfaire.com for a $1 off coupon and to get their location and hours!
See you there!

Assumptions

I'm going to have to explain to my mother-in-law that just because I made this piece, it doesn't mean we're pregnant.

No time to waste!

I'm afraid my blogging activity will be a bit scattered for a couple more weeks at least.  My husband is leaving for boot camp on Sept. 4th, and we have SO much to do between now and then!

But I do have a new piece to show you!

I'm attempting to get a few more Renaissance Faire themed pieces done before the Shrewsbury Faire in Kings Valley, OR.  It's coming up faster than I'd like, but I'll make do.
And next on the list is my mother-in-law's birthday present!

High Hopes

So over the weekend I went up to Seattle to perform for the second time with the steampunk band Abney Park.  I belly danced to five songs this time instead of three and got to stay the night at the lead singer's house with him and his wife.  I took the opportunity to tell them about what I do with my artwork.  As I'm explaining it Robert, the lead singer, he's just nodding his head saying things like, "Cool."  I took out my phone to show him the one of Captain Barbosa and "cool" turned into "Holy shit!!"  So now, I have some high hopes about the possibility of doing some pieces for them for things like album covers or posters.  That would be AMAZING!

Hoot!

My apologies for the lack of entries lately.  I spent my weekend in Washington doing belly dance performances and working at a renaissance faire in a hair braiding booth.  It was very hot, a lot of work, and little sleep, but I had to great time!  I even got to go on my first ever train ride!  That turned out to be awesome as well, since I sold the eagle wood burning to the guy sitting next to me.  :)

But now it's back to business!  I've been trying to find time to get some burning done, since I really do need to replenish my stock before my next event.  I've been doing some pieces for wedding gifts lately and so I haven't been able to post those photos yet, but here's one that's not a gift, and therefore to be shared with the world!

U[p next, another knight!  I figure I'd better have at least one on hand if I'm vending at a Renaissance faire.

It's all me

So I took a chance and tried my hand at drawing dragons again.  It's been a really long time since I've done any, mostly because they're a pain, but I've been getting requests for them a lot lately.
See, I would normally just find a photograph of the item I want to do a burning of and go from there.  But to do a dragon, you can't just find a photograph.  Any and all dragons will come from someone else's artwork, and I don't want to infringe on someone else's copyright.  So, if I want to do any dragons, without stepping on another artist's toes, I have to draw my own.  And here's what we get...

I added oil paint for the water spray and the drips off of the rocks, tail and talons.  What I find funny is that I had Iron Man 2 on in the background while I was drawing this and I realized afterward that the face kind of resembles the Iron Man mask.  :)  Call it inspiration, right?
So there we have it!  I have finally drawn a dragon and immortalized him in a burning.  Let's hope I can do it again!

Home again

When I first started out I didn't have a good way to seal the wood.  So the first couple dozen that sold were still bare wood.  A friend of mine owns two pieces of my work that were still bare, so she brought them to me to seal with mineral oil like I do for all of my pieces now (except the ones for outdoor signs that get a urethane treatment).  So I finished the wood and even took the opportunity to scan in the pieces for better quality pictures of them.  And boy am I glad I did!

She's a horse person, can you tell?

Double the fun

Why have just one picture, when you can have two at once?

I say, why have a phoenix if there's no flames to go with it?

Keeping Time

It works!  I had to hollow out the back of it quite a bit since the clock workings were meant for a 3/8" thickness, not 3/4", but it works!

I think I may get myself some black paint for the hands so they show up better from a distance...

Now, I need to find out if there are clock workings for 3/4" surfaces before I get any special orders for these things!

Tick Tock

Well the clock face was a success!

Now to get the workings to fit...  Grrrrr....

Only time will tell

I have in progress a piece that I hope will work out in the end.  Unfortunately there's no telling till I'm completely done.
It's a clock!  I bought a kit for the clock workings and I'm burning the clock face for the pretty.  The unknown here is whether or not I can successfully assemble a functioning clock when all is said and done.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Art in the Garden, complete

Another successful event, and another five wood burnings found new homes!  I think I'll have to do another one similar to this:

It was strange to have a booth all to myself.  Usually, when I do events, I combine with my sister-in-law and her jewelry.  It helps on the cost of the booth space as well as more help to run to booth for the length of the event.  For this one, my husband was able to help for most of the time - plus we had great neighbors!  All good things to make for a happy weekend.

And I am happy to report that even with this much floor space, there were times when people were filing through in a line to be able to see everything. :)

Rar!

Let's see how this one fares at this weekend's event!

Come check out my booth at 'Art & Wine in the Garden' at Garland Nursery this Saturday and Sunday, 10-4 in Corvallis, Oregon!  There's wine tasting from 12-4 both days and no admission charge!

Ridiculous fun

Looks like I'll have some prime entertainment to enjoy for the next couple of weeks while I restock my wood burnings...  I've got a season of 'Xena: Warrior Princess' coming to me.  LOL
I wonder if it'll affect what I choose to burn...?

What not to do...

So I do this finishing touch on my plaques that have a lip around the edge, I darken that lip to give the piece a more finished look and it kind of frames everything out.  The thing is.. the lip is only about an 1/8 inch wide, if that.  And to get it darkened you have to apply pressure when you're burning it.  Now, granted, I've done nearly 100 plaques and this is the first time this has happened... but let me caution you, don't let the burner slip off the edge of that lip.  And if it does.... Don't let it make contact with your skin.

Freaking ouch.

What to do, what to do?

So I paid attention to the suggestions and requests of the shoppers at the Canterbury Faire to see what people were hoping to see or would prefer to buy.  The overwhelming request was for tigers.  So it seems that the sea turtle craze is slowing down and tigers are the new fad.
Sorry little guy...

It's not over yet!

Well, the Canterbury Faire has come to an end.  This was by far our most entertaining event to date!  We had a booth right next to one of the performance stages and got to enjoy all of the comedy and juggling shows as well as singers, musicians and play actors.  One of the jugglers promoted our booth to passersby when he wasn't advertising his own show and so we had improvisational entertainment as a bonus!

Sales were definitely up and I am happy to say that three paintings and four wood burnings have new homes now!

My next event is this weekend, the 28th and 29th in Corvallis at Garland Nursery.  The event is free and goes from 10-4 both days.  There is also wine tasting from noon-4 both days from three wineries.  I'll have my booth there with all of my products, including my ink drawings.  For a little sample until then...

Here's Hoping

So there was another vendor at the Faire this last weekend who was asking about an eagle wood burning.  He had a tattoo on his arm of one in flight.  This was as close as I could get...

Now I just hope he wants it. :)

Knight in a Day

The company of knights that perform at the Canterbury Faire were quite taken with my wood burning skills.  One of them, Sir Anthony, requested one be made of him.  As it worked out, I had an afternoon of "free" time to get it done.

I must say, I was quite proud of the chainmail and leather bits.  :)

One down, one to go

Well the first weekend of the Canterbury Faire was a success!  I sold a painting, a wood burning, an 8x10 ink drawing and several cards and bookmarks.  Now I hope that this next weekend goes at least as well if not better!

So long, Frog on a  Bench, I hope you enjoy your new home!

Play Faire

The day has arrived for me to venture up to Silverton Oregon to set up for this weekend's renaissance faire, the Canterbury Faire!  I'll be running a booth selling my wood burning and oil paintings alongside my sister-in-law's jewelry (and a couple of other jewelry makers).  But don't fret if you can't make it out to see me this weekend...   It's happening next weekend too!

You can get a $1 off coupon at their website:  www.canterburyfaire.com as well as directions to the event and a schedule of all the fun stuff that's happening there!

But really.. do you need more of a reason than to just come see me?  I think not.  ;)

In my mind's eye

You ever notice how your mental image of a particular animal is so much more beautiful than the thing itself?  I had this picture in my head of a beautiful stag, standing majestically in the forest, antlers held high and proud, the strong legs of this agile creature giving it the presence of motion and speed.  This was as close as I could come...

I think it's possible I've been jaded by Disney.

Order up!

Ta-dah!  As predicted, I got the 'Welcome' sign done and the first coat of urethane is drying.  Which means it won't be going to this first weekend of the Canterbury Faire, but it will make it to the second.

At least it's in the photo album now.

Tonight I deliver the horse special order!  I love seeing people's reactions!

Short on Time

Well I came out early finishing the special orders this past week, but not soon enough to get another sign made before our event this weekend.  I'm hoping to get a 'Welcome' sign done so I can at least scan it and put it in the photo album before we set off, but the urethane won't be done in time.  :(  It'll just have to go to the second weekend of Faire.

This is why I like to do special orders... Someone comes to you and says what they want, whether it be specific or general.  There is much less guess work and you have a solid direction to go.  When you're creating pieces to add to your stock, there is no specific client, so you have to pick and choose your subjects and hope they appeal to someone to turn it into a sale.  For the 'Welcome' sign I'm working on, I chose a large close-up of a daisy that will be burned lightly as a background, with the lettering done over the top bold and dark.  So far, so good.  Now how many people will it appeal to?

This isn't the first time I've done some flower pieces.  I've tried some other styles as well.

For this tulip I darkened the background to make the flower more three-dimensional.  For the daisy I'm working on, it'll be the standard style of a blank background.  I'm still debating whether or not I want to add some color to it...

Size Matters

You would not believe the difference in difficulty when you're doing a portrait that's got a 1" face as opposed to a 5" face!  I've done portraits before with all the little details, the wrinkles, the eyelashes, everything.  But to shrink that face down to less than 1/4 of that size makes every single little spot of color affect the outcome.  Paper thin lines make all the difference.  If you want your portraits to come out looking like the person you're portraying...  don't skimp on size!  Or else you're inviting a headache.

Oh, and it turned out great!  Pictures soon!

Yee-ha!

Special order done with days to spare!

Giddy-up!

The special order 13x16" horse is coming along!  It was harder than I thought to be productive on a national holiday, but I now have the front half of the horse completed!

I gotta say, the Canterbury Faire is really coming up fast!  I had this notion I'd be able to get more signs done to add to my stock - but I may have to just be happy with what I've got!  Let's hope the ones I do have bring in special orders.  :)

Holy crap, only 174 days left!

When you do an kind of art that takes lots of time you have to really plan ahead.  I just realized this morning that I need to start thinking about Christmas.  It would be nice if for at least the last couple of events I do this summer, and one in November, I could have some Christmassy things out.  Last year I gave an ornament to my brother-in-law and his wife...

I would love to get some more little things like this done.  But I think that to accomplish that, I have to have a break in my deluge of orders.  But I really like getting special orders... What's a girl to do?

One wood, Two wood, Pine wood, Red wood.

So I've begun a piece for a friend upon special request.  I decided, based on the subject matter, to use one of my ovals with the bark on the edge.  As far as we know, it's a redwood.  And it's very temperamental!  Which, in turn, is making me very temperamental!

*sigh*

The piece will turn out, that much I know.  But for the other ovals I still have to use.... I will be very selective over what images I burn onto them.  Like... not portraits.

Mirror, mirror

So I'd started to burn the unfinished frame of this mirror quite a long time ago.  I had a Celtic knot design, and it was so time consuming and frustrating that it was sitting undone for months.  Well, it's a piece that my sister-in-law really wanted to use at the renaissance faires we vend at, so I thought I'd better buck up and finish it.  Turns out, it would have been a lot less frustrating if I'd been using a different tip all those months ago.  The wood burner has interchangeable tips to attach to it.  The one I'd been using when I started looked kind of like a dull, squat pencil tip.  I have since found the joy of using a taper tip.  It's flat on the bottom, teardrop-shaped and perfect for shading and doing really detailed work when you use the tip of it.  So, when I picked up that mirror project to finish yesterday, I didn't feel like pulling my hair out!  Bonus!

And so, I now have a completed mirror for my sister-in-law to use.  And because she's awesome, she's giving me amazing jewelry in trade for it!

All things considered, I'm really glad I manned up and finished that project yesterday - that, along with another sign...

because last night I brought my photo album of all of my wood burnings to my weekly dance performance to have a friend pick out what she wants me to make for her.  The album became a bit more popular and I came home with not one, but three new orders with a fourth coming soon.  Dude!  So, my next big project will be starting today - a 1 foot by 1 1/2 foot piece of a horse.  This one, to be specific...

This is a photo of a 3x5" plaque.  Now, we'll see how much more detail I can get in there when it's the size of a platter!