Art for Cancer

I have been part of Imagekind

for a while now...but only recently did I

run across the

Art for Cancer Group.

I'm still trying to figure out how it works...

but, in the meantime I have

placed this clickable banner in my blog

so that anyone who is interested

in helping to 'fight' this terrible disease

can get a lovely piece of art

while still supporting this cause.

The fight against cancer is a personal one for me..

I spent a year going from chemotherapy treatments..to radiation treatments..

to hospital tests, visits and surgeries...

from May 2005 to June 2006.

Only recently have I learned about new procedures

that are making strides in the treatment of certain cancers..in certain patients..

the treatments are terribly expensive...therefore

only available to a select few.

I know that money is always needed for cancer research...

in order to find these new treatments...

but..I also know...from personal experience...how costly some of these

procedures..medications..etc...can be..

and I hope to be able to donate portions of all of the sales

I make through 'Art for Cancer'

for those individuals who can't afford those

procedures..medications..etc..

to do what I can so these individuals have the same chance

at these new treatments,

as those in better financial circumstance.

I thought this was Cool!

What Is Art?

I LOVE this video....I think it 'just about covers' the question! What is Art?

We've all been Soooo Busy!

Wow...I will be so glad when things begin to 'level' out a bit!

I've been taking online classes, writing articles, putting up mini-sites...NOT doing art...working on pendants, helping Jaime with correspondence...and on..and on...and ON!

Meanwhile..Jaime is, pretty much buried..just trying to keep up with her business. (I'm trying to help her get 'un-buried'.)

Patrick is about to go back to school, at the University...and there soooo much to do there!

Oh yeah...and I had my car go down..completely....as did Ryan (about a week later!)

So much DRAMA....I need Normal again!

What IS Normal..anyway???

One Man Band

I thought this cartoon was soooo appropriate. It seems like everyone is 'vying' for that single piece of gold..these days!

And the kid in this little gem...is just TOOO precious!

2009 Color of the Year

Pantone, the global authority on color
and provider of professional color standards
for the design industries,
has 'declared'
Mimosa...this rich warm golden yellow color...
to be the
2009..
color of the year!

"Best illustrated by the abundant flowers of the Mimosa tree
and the sparkle of the brilliantly hued cocktail,
the 2009 color of the year represents
the hopeful and radiant characteristics
associated with the color yellow."

Cake of 'Art'

I thought this

cake was too cool!

A 'cake of art'!

It was impressive enough

that I had to

'share'.

I found it over on

the 'Colour Lover Blog'

and

there are a bunch

of

Cake Art for you to see

over there!

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

I have a special affection for

St Patrick's Day

and it doesn't involve..

corned beef..

cabbage..

or Green Beer!

Anyway...Happy St Patrick's Day!!

An Etsy Scare

In the year + that I have been selling on Etsy..
it has always been my understanding that
my Etsy bill was due on the 15th!

With that in mind...I was completely taken back
to log into my Etsy shop...late on the 14th
to see this notice!

What it says is,
"Hi (account name),
Your account has become past due in the amount of $xxx.xx.
Please pay your bill now.
Etsy relies on the fees paid by our sellers to maintain
the website and continue growing the marketplace.
If we do not receive payment in full, your Etsy account will
be suspended."

Now...for anyone who does not sell on Etsy...you may not know
that, until NOW...you could not pay for an amount
less than $1.00.

And...in the past...you had 3 or 4 months to get all paid up...without
the threat of suspension.

So...if you get an 'alert' like this...not being in the 'normal timeframe
of suspension'....it's pretty alarming.
I'm not a 'forum' visitor, unless something 'like this' pops up.
I go out to see if anyone else has experienced a similar
'problem'.

Oh my...the forum was 'a-buzzin'!
So many...many sellers with an 'overdue bill of less than a dollar'
getting this notice...
needless to say...
"all hell was breaking loose!"

But...there was one seller in particular that caught my attention.
They 'appeared' in EVERY single thread that
was discussing the 'Etsy Bill' debacle.
And...pretty much...appeared like some sort of
'Etsy Police'
...more or less 'scolding' anyone who complained about the
appearance of this notice...repeating the complaints and then kind of
'be-littling'...and pretty much being 'ignored' until one
could take it no more!

I'm sorry...but, I really had to 'laugh' at one seller's response...
it went something like...
"XXXX do you have EVERYONE on Etsy's password? You seem
to know a lot about everyone else's business!"
And...they went on to continue scolding...

The 'scolding' did make me laugh...
but what I thought was funniest was that...
while this seller was 'quoting' almost every single
post...then adding a snarky comment...
this was the ONE post they didn't care to 'quote' or 'comment' on!

I'm sorry...but, I thought it
was funny as hell!

Oh yeah...maybe Etsy was looking to 'light some fires'
I'm not sure...
but, no one's shops are being closed
for 60 to 90 days.
And..only if they don't pay their
overdue bills.

The Pendant Party a Success!

We had a pretty good turnout for our

first

'pendant party'.

But...as good as it was...and we sold quite a few

pendants...we'll probably have one more

next month

and then hold

off having another until fall.

We'll be doing a lot of

very NEW

pieces for the 'Spring Party'...

with a lot of pieces

especially made for

Mother's Day.

Then...we're going to be expanding our

artistic efforts through spring and summer

and do some artistic silver and 14k gold

wire pieces.

I'm looking forward to getting started on those!

What is Art?

Who decides just 'what is art'?

That's a pretty good question!

You've got the snobby 'experts' that we see on

different TV programs...or maybe we've met them in

person...who seem to think that anything painted

beyond The Rennaisance Era..isn't really art.

Others that believe fine art

can only be produced as a result of

an education in fine art.

And..on and on...And ON!

Who can say??

I'm sure the art 'experts', if there were many, during

the 1920's and 30's depression era...

never expected any 'tramp art' to amount to much

more than a nice decoration on

a kindly church going spinster's night stand.

And yet...

much of the tramp art salvaged from that era,

in excellent condition..

goes for hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Who knew???

I am reminded of a 'Designing Women' episode I saw

some, quite a few, years ago.

The 'women' were attending an art showing..

Julia set her purse on a stand

and it was 'declared' by the "expert"

as fine art!

Now...I found the picture above, which is

the purse that King Hussen, of Morocco,

gave to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy,

during her visit in 1963.

I'm pretty sure it's valuable, whether or not it considered as 'art'.

The gold purse is embellished with Real

Diamonds, Rubies and Emeralds

So...who can say???

There are so many darned experts out there these

days.

I say...if you like it...you can say

whether it's art

or it's not!

Pendant Party Progress

We've got some Brand New Prints...

that we are turning into

Fine Art Pendants

for our upcoming

Pendant Party.

The pendants are all in

various stages of completeness...

which means..

some are still just prints..

others are attached to the cabochons..

and a few have actually found their way

to the pendant settings.

But...we're still shooting to have 75 to 100 pendants

ready for our very first

Pendant Party

this coming Sunday..

March 15th..

at

Grisantis' Italian Restaurant.

Over the next week

I will be adding a lot of pendants

to the website

for anyone who is interested

but unable

to attend the party.

Perhaps I've lost my mind!

First off, let me tell you, that

as cute as this picture is...

I can't take credit for it.

But...as cute as it is...I had to borrow it!

That's kind of the way

it is with me and money

these days.

It seems I'm averaging about a quarter a day...in sales..

when I need, at least, 300 quarters.

So..I look at my 'money' and say...

"I has a money...now what I do wif it?"

I know the economy sucks...

I know that I couldn't even 'buy' a job right now...

I know I would NEVER go on public assistance..

so...what's a person to do??

I guess...whatever they can!

I'm making pendants...and some real beauties...if I must say so myself!

Maybe we'll get lucky and..

hit the jackpot!!

You just keep on keeping on..

that's about all any of us can do!

A follow up to my last post---Fine Art Pendants

Okay...so...

a follow up to my last post

on our 'Fine Art Pendants'

and the Pendant Party.

I've had several people

contact me to ask

where they can see a larger

selection of

Everyone's Pendants...

if they cannot attend

the Pendant Party.

I don't know why I didn't think

to put a link to our website

in the last post...(I've since added on)

but

we've got a

'Pendant Party'
section in our group website

that we also

offer the pendants currently

available for sale,

right from the site.

A Pendant Party

Last spring, Jaime convinced her brother Patrick,

and me,

to start including pendants

along with our paintings and our prints

on Etsy.

We've had modest success with them...

They really are quite beautiful in person...

but, very hard to 'translate' in a simple digital photo...

So...Patrick has 'decided' we need to have

a Pendant Party.

After all, so many people who

have our pendants, are asking where they

can send their friends...who just

don't purchase anything online.

So..a Pendant Party it is.

March 15th.

Grisanti's Restaurant

Lincoln NE

8:00 P.M.

He's already received quite a few

R.S.V.P.'s to his Facebook

invites...good for him!

If you can't come to the 'party'

but you really are interested

in purchasing one of our fine art pendants,

especially with Mother's Day right around

the corner...

you can visit our website

to see what is currently available.

And just a quick F.Y.I.

we will be working, at least twice monthly,

on making between 50 and 100

new pendants with brand new

designs,

many of which will

only be

one of a kind.

You can either check the website

from time to time...

or you can sign up to receive our

newsletter...

which is actually pretty much

just a 'first look' at

new items (mostly pendants)

coming out once or twice

each month.

You can find the 'sign up'

right on our

website.

Struggling through the blocks...

Wow...I have really been struggling

with my art lately.

I suppose, to be honest...

I haven't really had a firm direction

since I quit doing my

Tuscan pieces.

Those pieces were sooo popular when I

was painting and selling them on eBay, that it was

just a matter of how many of them I could do

a week.

But then, that sort of got to feeling too much

like

'assembly line art'

that I just quit doing them.

And...I've been somewhat 'lost' ever

since!

I never really painted for commercial purposes

until I went onto eBay back in 2004.

I painted and sold items, but in a completely

different setting.

Selling art online has a WHOLE different feel

from selling in galleries or shows.

So...yeah...I've been

'somewhat lost'

for a bit now.

I'm tired of playing

the 'same old tune' over and over..

and the 'new tune' hasn't

been written yet!