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?