art Archives - Solamente

Artistic collaboration: A sparkling virtual art show

November 12, 2020 1 Comment

Celebrating collaboration

As an artist, I’ve shared before how inspiring and uplifting it is to collaborate with fellow creatives. Just recently, I started back to meeting weekly with my local artistic ally, Kathleen Mattox to talk about all things art. Even if we’re physically distancing, this connection is vital.

Last month, when I saw two of my favorite lampwork glass artists’ gorgeous online show, I just had to cheer. Kerri Fuhr Keffeler and Stephanie Dieleman have been friends for almost 15 years and, in Kerri’s words, “met over their mutual love of beads.” Their creations end up in my own designs all the time.

In this month’s post, I want to celebrate their inspiring collaboration. If you’re a fan of beautiful glass lampwork beads and jewelry, you’re in for a treat! Feast your eyes on their stunning work from a recent online show and look for an announcement about upcoming plans.

(c)Kerri Fuhr Keffeler, used with permission

(c)Stephanie Dieleman, used with permission

Stephanie: “We’ve always done shows together — you only have to pack half the boxes! We usually do artisan shows in US and Canada, but they’re all closed. I wanted to place to sell not just jewelry and interact with customers. We’d been losing that.”

(c)Stephanie Dieleman, used with permission

(c)Kerri Fuhr Keffeler, used with permission

Kerri: “Selling online is much less hassle, gives us more time to be in the studio creating beads and jewelry for our amazing customers. We each have a large customer base and many of our customers purchase from us both, so it seemed practical to group everyone together into one online space where they could easily purchase from both of us.”

(c)Kerri Fuhr Keffeler, used with permission

(c)Stephanie Dieleman, used with permission

Perhaps some would not be willing to share the spotlight, but Kerri and Stephanie understand the many benefits of collaborating with other artists.

Stephanie: “We’re there to support each other. ‘You make lunch, and I’ll post on Facebook.’ It’s nice to have a partner, since we make beads by ourselves all the time!”

(c)Stephanie Dieleman, used with permission

(c)Kerri Fuhr Keffeler, used with permission

Kerri: “It’s so much fun being able to do this together since we know each other so well and we are used to working together as we have in our travelling show days.”

(c)Kerri Fuhr Keffeler, used with permission

(c)Stephanie Dieleman, used with permission

Kerri: “The beauty of online shows is that we can host a show together, even though we live far apart. It’s also really helpful to have two of us to take care of group administration and make sure that our shows run smoothly and that we are able to keep our customers happy and entertained.”

(c)Kerri Fuhr Keffeler, used with permission

(c)Stephanie Dieleman, used with permission

Announcing the next Stephanie and Kerri Show: Black Friday weekend

Stephanie: “The next show is massive—three days starting November 27th, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving. It will be the biggest show of the year with the best bonuses and giveaways.”

If you would like to view and participate, join their Facebook group. I’ll be there too, cheering them on!

The Stephanie and Kerri Show (Facebook group)

Kathleen Mattox and Mixed Messages Art

March 13, 2020 2 Comments

I want to tell you about my artist friend and local-art partner in crime, Kathleen Mattox.

When my husband and I moved to Sanger, I was immediately drawn to her gallery, Mixed Messages Art—a cute brick building in the heart of downtown. Soon, she invited me to show my art jewelry there, and was introducing me to other local artists.

After a retiring from a career in education, Kathleen followed her dream to open this art space in Sanger, California. Mixed Messages Art is a gallery, studio, and website that reflects the variety of mixed media Kathleen uses in her art, including watercolor, paper collage with watercolor, other gel and texture mediums, and acrylic with paper collage.

More than that, the name is a hat tip to her “first career” as an elementary school educator teaching the alphabet and symbols which often appear in her work and acknowledge the power of language.

Mixed Messages carries local art and products that are small enough to fit into the petite gallery—all of them unique and different. Including my art jewelry, nine artists have their work for sale at Mixed Messages including Don Munshower’s art mobiles, two ceramic artists—Laura Fraedrich and Karen McQuown, two wire artists—Paul Parichan’s heavy-duty wire sculpture and Terrance McArthur’s colorful miniature characters, and Mary Lee Otto who makes lovely quilted baby items. Also featured are Basilwood Farm’s goat milk soap and Busy Bees Honey Farm’s local and infused honey.

As the only painter in the gallery, Kathleen’s work is bright, creative, and colorful. Featuring other other artists compliments her work and adds variety and spice to the Gallery.

One of the things I value most about Kathleen is the camaraderie we share. Getting together to brainstorm creative projects or resolve challenges when I get stuck. I think every artist needs a sounding board. When you live in a small community, collaborating with local artists makes such a difference. Kathleen is excellent at setting ambitious creative goals, so I recently sat down with her to talk about her art and goals for 2020.

What have you been creating lately?

Kathleen: I needed to create two paintings for a local show last October, but needed to complete them quickly. I decided to do them using palette knives which I have not used a lot before. In addition to the knives, I used squeeze bottles, texture, thick paint, and some glitter. I had so much fun! I’m going to do more in 2020. For Christmas, my mom gave me some nontraditional palette knives from Italy, and I just got some wood panels to try them out. I had wanted to do more with palette knives, but I didn’t know how much I would enjoy it.

What do you like about using palette knives?

Kathleen: They work great for florals. It causes you to work a lot looser and less detailed. Brushes have more control, with palette knives you’re creating the detail by pressing, pulling, or lifting.

Where are you showing your art this year?

Kathleen: I have a show coming in March in Fresno. The owner is a teacher of young children and connects with home schooling movement in her studio. I get to fill one and a half walls and plan to feature three abstract pieces. I’ll use them for inspiration pairing the paintings with new creations in fabric and calling the show “Re-Energized Through Improv.”

I’ve been sewing and quilting—so I have everything from pillows and table runners to coiled fiber and fabric bowls which all coordinate with the paintings. The great thing about fabric is that you can incorporate so much color and texture. I’m currently looking for far-out and non-traditional ways to hang the fabric pieces with the paintings.

What are your goals 2020?

Kathleen: In addition to everything else, one of my fun goals is to improve my artistic wardrobe. I like to look like an artist, so when I can add a piece or two that looks artsy I get excited. That’s one of the things your (Melanie’s) jewelry helps me do. What you’ve made for me is really me, colors and style.

My husband and I also train and show our Havanese dogs. It’s a breed that’s smart enough to make us think they’re really stupid. They’re sometimes a little bit ahead of us.

Overall, my goal is to keep learning, researching, and exploring. That kind of mindset is what keeps people young.

Peace Order Calm: Finishing the Sweater Project

February 22, 2020 1 Comment

Finishing is something I don’t love.

Like most artists, I like to be finished with a creative project, but it seems there’s usually a dozen fiddly steps between here and the finish line. None of them take very long, but strung all together like beads, they might as well take an eternity to complete.

I have, for example, a gorgeous finely-knit shawl in autumn shades of angora and baby alpaca in a canvas tote bag with all its yet-unsnipped tails hanging off. It can’t be worn, yet I can’t seem to finish.

Long-unfinished projects are heavy.

Maybe you have noticed the baffling physics too—the longer a nearly-finished project sits untouched, the denser its center of gravity grows. Somehow it gets harder (and harder) to pick up again.

However, this the year of clearing the decks. Yes, I’ve declared 2020 The Year of Peace and Order and Calm (P.O.C.). This goal means finding a happy medium between working only on tantalizing new stuff and doing nothing.

In fact, I’ve set my sights on a project that moved with me from Pasadena to the farm eight years ago which I call the “sweater project”. It’s so neglected it feels like a ton of bricks. But I’ve decided that finishing it will proceed a very different way than I have approached my projects in the past.

Getting the project ready.

The sweater project started out as a legacy idea to turn my Dad’s old cozy sweaters into a long, stylish, felted patchwork coat. My dad holds a special place in my heart, and I wanted this to keep him close even though he’s gone. So I washed them, felted them, even cut up pieces according to the instructions.

A few years ago, I got a beautiful serger to make piecing everything together a breeze. I had all the materials I needed ready. Occasionally I tossed in a cashmere sweater my husband accidentally felted in hot water. And all of it sat, organized in tubs, along with the pattern, waiting for inspiration to strike.

A clearer goal.

At the beginning of this year, though, I had an insight related to my goal of peace and order and calm: cutting up and sewing sweaters makes a outrageous mess. The feather-light fluff floats in the air for days, gets caught in clumps inside the machine, and coats my entire studio in a fuzzy film.

In January, I realized with perfect clarity: I do not want that.

A new way to finish.

Even though I want the felted coat, I don’t want the extra mess and chaos. In the same breath, I remembered seeing talented Etsy creators selling similarly-styled upcycled items. Would they—I wondered—be willing to take on my coat project on my behalf?

So, this is now my plan to bring my project to completion: find another creative soul who shares my vision and would be delighted to deal with sweater fuzz.

Sometimes you need a new way of thinking to get to the goal. I already feel lighter, excited to move it forward at last, and can hardly wait to wear it!

Show and tell: Some of my favorite (studio) things

October 7, 2019 1 Comment

Nothing inspires me more than being surrounded by color. Not surprisingly, this fact shows up in my studio and helps to support my creativity. Throughout my space, there are items that are meaningful, bright, and invite me into the space to create.

Here are some of my favorite things that inspire me in my studio.

Exhibit A: Watercolors by Kathleen Mattox

Both the framed piece and the tiny book marks are both painted by my artist friend, Kathleen Mattox of Mixed Messages in Sanger, CA. They are colorful and happy, and I love having them in my studio. The smaller collection of bookmarks were cut from works that didn’t go as planned, making them into something new. Seeing these makes me happy!

Exhibit B: Colorful ribbons

One thing to know about me is that I don’t just like giving gifts, I love making them beautiful. Wrapping presents is such a joy for me, and of course, one needs a collection of beautiful, unique ribbons for finishing touches.

Exhibit C: People who inspire me

Talk about inspiration! Mother Nature has outstanding taste in geodes and amethyst. This shelf also holds a book open to a page featuring the work of wire artist Lynne Merchant, one of my early teachers. Above it (not pictured) is a set of whispery chimes that reminds me of the intro to the song Age of Aquarius. Every time I walk by, they’re set into motion, reminding me of my first grown up theater, this musical in 1967.

Exhibit D: My lampwork bead collection

I store my lampwork beads in architects’ flat files to make everything more visible. Nothing delights me more than pulling open a shallow drawer and feasting on the color, variety, and possibility each collection holds. I like to arrange things by color—orange and pink, for example—and collect the beginnings of future projects. Any time I’m short on inspiration, this is my favorite place to go!

When I’m doing the more tedious work of running an art business (inventory or balancing the checkbook), having beauty and color around me lifts me up and keeps me going.

A juicy necklace for my next art show

September 2, 2019 Leave a Comment

Every year since 1994, Madera (CA) County Center for the Arts has hosted a juried art show centered around our region’s agriculture. This year, I’m entering a necklace called “Central Valley Slice.”

While I’m saving the full reveal for the show itself, I wanted to give you sneak peek (details about attending the show at the end)!

Inspiration

Where we live, produce is all around us. One of the most important crops grown in our area is citrus—from mandarin “Cuties” to lemons and navel oranges. All year, we watch the cycle of trees in blossom, ripening, harvest, and pruning—citrus, tangerines, nectarines, peaches, plums. We drive around and through it all the time.

Because of this, the Celebrate Agriculture show is on my mind year-round. Recently, when a beadmaker posted these citrus beads, I jumped at them, knowing immediately that I would use them for this show. I love how accurate and juicy they look!

All the juicy materials

This necklace is completely hand-forged using copper-enameled, green art wire into a lariat-hybrid design. With citrus slice art glass beads made by Olga Boiko, and the lemon tree bead by Debi Cogwell, the piece makes a beautiful whispering noise when worn. It also includes Lucite leaves, lead-free pewter bead caps and spacers, and smaller glass beads.

What I love about the Celebrate Agriculture show

It’s a fun show and dear to me. I especially love the variety of artists and mediums and seeing their interpretation of each year’s theme. It’s a friendly competition between local artists.

To participate, a jury reviews all the pieces and decides which gets into the show. Then, there a second process in which each category is judged and awarded first place, second, or honorable mention. In 2017, I received an honorable mention for one of my submissions, Night Watchmen.

Want to see the finished piece?

You can see the finished work (and those of many other talented artists) by attending the Celebrate Agriculture reception at Circle Gallery on September 12. Not local? You can also follow me on Facebook where I’ll be posting images afterward.

Facebook message: (will remove this before publishing)

No matter which way you slice it

These gorgeous beads inspired this year’s submission to the Madera County Arts Council art show, Celebrating Agriculture with the Arts. Slices of lemon and orange lampwork adorn this lariat-hybrid necklace. Here’s the inspiration for its creation!

A juicy necklace for my next art show

Five tips to fit creativity into your busy life

May 30, 2019 1 Comment

Too much to do, too little time to create

It was the end of a long day and my artist friend and I took turns apologizing for yawning through dinner, cross-eyed from too many days of busy-ness. Like usual, our conversation turned to the art projects we’ve been working on. Kathleen mentioned a new watercolor series she was thinking about starting.

“I wonder how I could carry color from one painting to the next?”

Suddenly, we both perked up. My favorite conversations start with, “I wonder how…” This question invites curiosity, creativity, and new possibilities to explore. Ideas were flying about color and technique. Suddenly, we were both energized as the creative possibilities bubbled up. We could hardly talk fast enough!

A colorful, complicated quilt block I completed thanks to Tip #4.

How to perk up your creativity

It gave me an idea to share with you some of the ways I bring creativity into my life when there isn’t enough time to make art. If your projects are languishing untouched, and your to-do list is long, I hope these ideas inspire you.

Tip 1: Ask artistic friends what they’ve been creating lately.

This is an enlivening topic of conversation for creative people. It opens up a world of discovery when you ask about what’s on someone’s easel or needles or workbench.

Tip 2: Talk about what you would make if you had more time.

This is the creative person’s variation on the “what would you do if you won the lottery.” Even when life intrudes, you can take your creativity to the hypothetical world where you have lots of free time and no other commitments. What would you create? What techniques or mediums would you like to experiment with?

Tip 3: Ask “I wonder what would happen if…”

In the case of Kathleen’s project, she was considering a larger question about color-blending techniques. Although her medium is watercolor, I shared about creating gradients with yarn (alternating rows of the previous color and the next color) and seed beads (increasing and decreasing percentages of colors). It gave us both a new appreciation for how widely-different media create similar visual impact. Wondering out loud is juicy!

Tip 4: Sign up for an in-person class. If there is a physical location to visit and people waiting for me, it really does make me prioritize creating. I’m nearly finished with a complicated quilt because I enrolled in a class with a friend.

Tip 5: Offer a class.

This is one way to really force yourself to create even when the stack of mail beckons. Teaching a class means creating samples and showing up in person to assist others. If you have access to space and a local following, this is a great way to get out of a rut and have fun creating. It’s an extra bonus that I often learn as much from the students as they do from me.

How do you fit creativity into your busy life?

Do you have ways to bring more creativity into your life when it’s busy? I’d love to know about it in the comment section!

Opening a treasure chest

November 16, 2018 1 Comment

The other day, I opened a box of treasures and everything inside was my own work!

Like a lot of artists, I’m most productive when I have a deadline. Art shows in particular motivate me to think creatively and often put me into that flow state where I hardly know I’m creating—present, focused, and enjoying myself.

Working for that deadline, I don’t stop until I’m done. I don’t take photos. My other tasks fall off the radar. All my energy is focused on finishing my art pieces and delivering them in enough time for the show.

That’s why opening this box was such a surprise. As I marveled at its contents, I kept wondering, Did I make all this?

I did! Last year, I showed my work at a local gallery where the shows, deadlines, and new themes kept me hopping. When I requested last year’s pieces back, I opened the box and could hardly remember making it. So much fun stuff!

Best of all, this means I have extra goodies to bring to a holiday boutique this Sunday—along with new pieces too. If you happen to be in southern California and didn’t get the email invitation, please let me know!

Cows or no cows, creativity finds a way

October 23, 2018 4 Comments

At the risk of repeating myself, running a farm takes a lot of time. I’ve been pulled in so many directions this year that I’m not creating wire art as consistently as in 2017.

Here’s the amazing thing. When you’re creative, you almost can’t help but make things no matter what is going on. Whether a giant tree comes down on the power lines or a cow ends up in the neighbor’s pasture, creativity finds a way to keep flowing.

This post is a show-and-tell to share ways art is still finding a way into my life.

Creative outlet 1: Moodboard

I’ve been creating my own Project Runway. Design your Fall Collection, a class on Seamwork.com, helped me identify my personal style and inspired me to create a turtleneck dress. This is the 38-piece printable pattern I’m working from (invisible tape not included).

Although it’s been years since I sewed, the creative muscle memory from Home Ec in 7th grade is still there. Sitting in front of the machine, I know what I need to look at, where things go, and it’s like riding a bicycle. I love it!

Creative outlet 2: Beads

Just because my studio time is limited doesn’t mean I stop looking for new inspiration. My love for lampwork glass beads is unending. This recent arrival from Russia (by artist, Olga Vilnova) inspires me. Just look at the detail and colors!

Creative outlet 3: Shows

Ask any artist. Having a deadline to show your work is motivating. I was thrilled that my In the Doghouse piece was juried into the Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts event last month. While I was finishing that for the deadline, another piece was brewing. For now, it’s resting (that’s an important part of the creative process), but I love it.

My vision is of bees flying their curlicue path among the flowers and barbed wire around the farms where we live. It might become a display with a wearable art pendant, but since the “Ag Show” is here and gone, I’m thinking about next year’s Blossom Trail art events. Sneak peek! Here’s what it looks like so far.

Creative outlet 4: Quilting class

Invited by my dear creative friend and artist, Kathleen Mattox, I’m taking a quilting class and have already started on two pieces. The first is a baby animals quilt. Of course there’s a calf in it.

The other is a fun and colorful birdhouse quilt. Here it is, laid out in pieces on the kitchen counter (because where else would you put it?), ready to be sewn together.

Creative outlet 5: Knitting

At night while we relax in front of the television, I’m knitting with fibers I love for their texture, color, and variety. My hands are on the go! This lovely gradient shawl is one of my works in progress.

When you love color and texture, all the sparkly, colorful, and shiny things just work their way into your life. It’s fun to show you what I HAVE been up to creatively and see it all in one place. It’s a reminder that even as farm life happens around me, being creative is just who I am.

Reflections on Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year

September 13, 2018 Leave a Comment

I’ve been dabbling in fashion for fun lately, making vision boards for my own personal style. In the process, I recalled that Pantone–one of the key drivers of trends in home decor and fashion–chooses a color of the year.

2018 color of the year: Ultra-Violet

Although this shade of purple doesn’t show up a lot in my work, I was surprised to see so much of it in my art and my space when I looked a little more closely.

In this snapshot of my studio work desk, you can see traces of this shade in the artwork I look at every day.

A collection of fun earrings–three of them in dark purple.

Who wouldn’t want a tiara in shades of violet? Butterflies and tulle in purple make this Goddess of the Garden crown all the more royal.

I love these floral lampwork beads with accents of purple.

Fresh berries, anyone? Although this shade is a little pinker than the official Pantone color, the darker beads are on the same blue-y side.

By far, the most dramatic piece is this necklace of sparkles and coils in ultra-ultra violet!

Although I’m generally not a trend-follower, almost every color in the rainbow sparks new ideas and inspires me to create. Rumor has it, Pantone’s colors in 2019 will be bold and juicy (think raspberry and mango). Who knows what art it will inspire!

My artful and art-filled studio

February 19, 2018 1 Comment

Nothing inspires me like other people’s art. Especially when my life is busy, and I don’t have time to sit down to create my own. Seeing the unique ways that people express themselves inspires me. Having splashes of color around me is uplifting.

Nowhere is this more true and visible than in my studio.

Present-wrapping in progress…

In our old home, I had a shared office with some art snuck in. Now I have my own studio to decorate as I like. As I’ve moved into this space over the last few years, I’ve collected watercolors from Kathleen Mattox, big wire pieces from Paul Parichan, and ceramics from Laura Fraedrich.

With gorgeous books as backdrops, quirky little things I’ve picked up find a home on the narrow shelf that runs the length of the room.

The little vignettes around my studio reflect my creative process. Pulling treasures from everywhere create something even more fun and fanciful. Plus, this guarantees that I’m surrounded by my favorite color (pink), even if the rest of the house is more neutral and rustic.

Sometimes I escape to my studio for a phone call or business planning—something unrelated to art. Sitting in my cozy orange chair surrounded by color and fun brings joy to the most mundane tasks.

It’s so important to bring beauty and inspiration to our creative spaces, to have something that reflects who we are and what we strive for. If the practice of creating and enjoying art is sacred, then my studio is a sanctuary.