I Am Art

Music, Snapchat, Cats, and Art- Life stuff

Life stuff:

-Loving the new Jason Isbell CD, Something More Than Free. I have had this on repeat since it came out. My favorite songs on this CD are Speed Trap Town, How To Forget, and Children Of Children. Soon the Goldberg- Woods-Dinino siblings will be crying together at an Isbell concert. The family that cries over sad songs together stays together.

-I hate Snapchat. That being said, I love my niece and she loves it so I use it to follow her life. I have noticed lately that college aged kids are horrible at using Instagram (unlike adults) and adults are horrible at using Snapchat. It's odd how this worked out. The 20 year-olds have weird self-imposed rules about how often they post photos to instagram (once a day MAX!) and the 30+ year-olds have no idea how to rotate their cameras for snapchat. My niece has a corporate job over summer so her snaps have become less frequent (oh how sad it is when the kids become adults) and I somehow followed a few other people to see how they snap. By people, I mean Starbucks, LACMA , and Allure Magazine. Then there was this girl I follow on instagram because I love her hair. I have no idea who she is, but her hair is fierce. She has a habit of posting photos- immediately deleting them- then telling people to follow her on Snapchat. Ok. I took the bait. She was the worst snapchatter ever. All the images were in the wrong orientation and I kept having to turn my phone around. My niece's snapchats are always filmed in the right direction and easy to follow. I unfollowed Fierce Hair after being sure that her bad snap was not a one time thing. Then there were some makeup artists I like on Instagram that started snapchats and OMG they were awful! It's very hard to follow a smokey eye tutorial when you have to rotate your camera with each frame. Again with the bad photo/film orientation. The bad snapchatters are so great at Instagram that it is baffling. Starbucks, LACMA and Allure must have 20 year-olds running their snaps because they are good!

-We thought Zibby stopped loving us. After returning from our vacation, Zibby stopped hopping on our bed in the morning and cuddling with us. She had no interest. We were sure she was holding a major grudge for us being gone for 2 weeks, but her grudge lasted much longer than that. It turns out she hated the diet food we switched her to when we returned from vacation. The vet gave us the ok to try a new food and suddenly Zibby loves us again! As soon as the sun starts to rise she races into our bedroom just like before. I guess it turns out she loves us for the food but we'll take it.

 

-I have put some original art on ebay. I am offering it with bid or buy it now options. I know from my experiment that people like the bidding option and being on ebay in no way decreases the value. I am limited in how many listings I can have in my original art shop and ebay is a good alternative when my virtual shelves are stocked to the max. 

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

Limited Edition Prints and T-Shirt Shop update

I am so excited to be able to offer our trademarked I AM ART t-shirts again, and in perfect time for summer! There are a few logo styles and various t-shirt styles. The unisex or men's style is a Jerzees brand tee and seems to run true to size. The women's tee is a Hanes Nano and I think it runs a tad small. I like my shirts loose and the XL fit me perfectly. Shipping in the US is about $5. Worldwide shipping is available. My printing partner does offer a satisfaction guarantee so if your shirts do not fit as expected, they are returnable.

 

 

 

 

I also have some new abstract works in the print shop this week. I have been hard at work on my Intersections Series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to lay down the law around your house or patio, I have some new "rules" prints available. I think they look great on metal as well as framed or on canvas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

City Stories originals now available

I have some originals from my City Stories series available in my originals shop this week. This is one of my favorite series to work on because I imagine all the laughter, love, energy, and good food going on in these neighborhoods!

I also have prints available in a variety of formats. I will be adding more from this colorful and lively series to both shops this month.

Thanks for looking!

 

 

 

 

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

From the tree with love

Earlier this year we had our beloved tree in the front yard chopped down. It was huge and old and beautiful- and also dangerous. Pieces of the tree were popping off, and on windy days we were terrified somebody would get hurt. We bought our house 16 years ago partly because that tree was just so inviting. It gave us great shade and privacy and was just a good looking tree.

When it was being cut down, I saved a few chunks thinking I would make a table or something, not that I have any table making skills. I was just sentimental and wanted to keep a piece of it. We've had the slices of tree drying on our side yard and the other day when I saw them I remembered a workshop we attended at a museum. The workshop was lead by Buddhist monks who taught paper rubbing. I loved the class and still have the rubbings I made. This seemed like a perfect thing to try with my tree pieces. Why not make art from the tree instead of a table?

I painted the wood with watered down black paint and just placed plain white drawing paper over it. I rubbed back and forth with my hands to get the paint to transfer to the paper. Each print ended up differently! This was so fun! I ended up making about 40 prints.

When the prints were dry, I went through each of them to see which one I would frame (I will use the others in art). One popped out at me right away. It had a hidden heart!

I love the faint rings of the tree showing through and the little heart is a bonus. At first I was kind of bummed that the saw marks were so visible, but the cutting down was part of this tree's story.

I cropped the paper to 5x7 and I just love how it turned out!

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

Original Art: Sunflower Spirit House- Pay What You Can

I love sunflowers and I am starting to see them popping up around the neighborhood. Every year I tell myself I want to plant some but never do. Maybe I should right now before I forget!

Sunflowers were the inspiration for this very colorful, energetic spirit house. I remember gazing out the window on the train from Italy to Austria and seeing sunflower fields. It was amazing! I am happy to offer this Sunflower Spirit House as a Pay What You Can.

Details:
"Sunflower House"
-Mixed media on 3.5"x6" Wood
-Sealed with non-yellowing varnish
-Signed and Dated on the back
-There's a sawtooth hanger for immediate hanging or this piece can be displayed free-standing.
All of my art is created and stored in a smoke-free, cookie filled environment.
Elements in this piece include acrylic paint, glazes, ink,  and watercolor.
My art represents life- full of drips, splatters, and a bit of blur between the lines. Blur, scratches, and texture in the art are intentional. I like to use imperfect items which adds to the charm of each piece. Colors may appear slightly different on your computer. Colors in this piece are shades of blue, yellow, orange, red, brown, white, and black.

How it works: Shipping in the USA is via Priority Mail at $5.80 and to all other countries is $10.00 and will be added to the price you pay. Enter the price you can/want to pay from the drop down menu and the art is yours! There is no judgment involved- I totally get that everyone has a budget and I like to make art available to everyone when I can. There is only one of each final original piece so if you want it, get it while it is available. You are the boss of the price! Scroll down for the BUY IT NOW button.

Straight from my hands to yours!

 SOLD OUT

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

And oldie but a goodie...

I was cleaning out some old files on my hard drive and came across some art I created for an exhibit in 2002. It was a series of  mixed media collages about what dreams mean. I found the dream meanings in a dusty old book and was very inspired. This one about cats just cracks me up now that I am a cat lady!

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

Updates from the art closet- free shipping!

Happy holiday weekend!

Original Art: I have some new originals in my originals shop this week, including this abstract in shades of blue and green ( "Together" ).  I am happy to offer free shipping this weekend! Use code FREEDOM at checkout.

Prints and Home Decor: Weekend Escape is new in my shop this week, as well as a few abstracts.

Also for this holiday weekend, this patriotic tote bag is perfect for beach days or day trips all year long.

Save $3.00 on your purchase of prints or totes in my print shop this weekend with code: URAVEE.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend and that if you taste anything delicious you report back!

 

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art

 

The 3-2-1 Mug Cake reviewed (and eaten)

I kept seeing the "3-2-1 Cake" recipe all over pinterest and Weight Watchers recipe sites and I could not let another day go without trying it. Every recipe I saw pretty much used the same stock photo of a beautiful cake in a white ramekin with a dollop of whipped cream. I wanted to see what the cake looks like for real.

If you are not familiar with the 3-2-1 cake, you get a box of Angel Food Cake mix and a box of any flavor you like cake mix and combine them in a big bag. Shake the bag to mix. When you are jonesing for a piece of warm cake, put 3 tablespoons of the mix in a mug. Add 2 Tablespoons of water. Mix well. Microwave for 1 minute. See, 3-2-1!

I mixed Devil's Food with the Angel Food mix.Depending what mixes you use, it seems that each cake is around 100 calories.

I used a glass mug so you can see what it really looks like. Cooked, it looks kind of like a root beer float.

It also looks nothing like the stock photo that accompanies most recipes.

I let it cool so I could pop it onto a plate and really see what it looks like.

It is  sweet and chocolatey and has the airy texture of angel food cake. But, it is kind of dry. Once I drizzled a little caramel sauce over it, it stood no chance. YUM!  If you are watching your calories and are jonesing for a piece of cake, this is good. I hate the advice they give dieters to just have a piece of fruit when you are really suffering. I am pretty sure those fruit eaters have never had extreme PMS. This mug cake is good for pulling yourself back from the eat- a -whole- tub- of ice cream ledge. I think I would use a small bowl instead of a mug though for easier eatability. I like the idea of having the mix in the pantry when the urge strikes, and not needing eggs or to measure a bunch of stuff for a single serving.

 

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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art