New Studio

Well I finally have my studio and computer set up in a room all to myself!!!!! It's not totally together yet, but I'll be painting and creating by this weekend. I can lock the kitties out when I need to concentrate and have open paint sitting out. I'll post some photos this weekend. I'll actually be able to stand up and paint and have all my photo stuff out at the same time. Can't wait to dig in!

Sea Glass Festival

The Sea Glass Festival in Santa Cruz was a huge success. We did so much better than we could have imagined! So we signed up for another festival in Southern California at the Thousand Oaks Street Fair. They had a few opening and we had inventory left, so we will be there on Sunday, October 21, 2007. I have to make about 300 notecards this week for the event-no big deal! Except I bought the wrong size notecards and have to go get the right size today. I've been having computer issues at home recently and haven't been able to post. Once I'm back from this next festival, I'll concentrate on the computer issues and update daily!

I'm going to try and host a few more shows at my house before Christmas. Stay tuned for more info on those. I'm also setting up a dedicated studio in one of the downstairs bedrooms. It will be nice to spread out and leave things up that my kitties won't walk across and knock off the table.

Record number of paintings

I worked on 14 paintings this weekend! About half were things I put finishing touches on or changed and I put 7 new ones together. I cranked up the Vilvadi and painted from 6 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday. I have to say I was in the zone. I have enough paintings for my show in October. Now I'll work on the photographs and notecards. The problem is I went to Blick's Art store yesterday and they were having a 70% off sale if you bought 20 canvases or more. So how could I resist? I spent a $100 and saved $170. How cool is that? So I'll have to ward off the temptation to fill them all up so I can finish my other projects.

Giclee arrived!!!!

My giclee of "Rare Shards" showed up the other day. It turned out fantastic. I'm going to order a few more before my show. My photos on canvas, what a perfect mix of medias. Love it.

The Show

My first home show was quite successful. I really liked how everything came together.

Body of Work

It was really satisfying to look at all of my framed Sea Glass photos, paintings, jewelry, notecards and see the whole theme come together. I just read the best article by Martha Marshall on about.com about putting a body of work together.
As soon as I'm done with sea glass I'm going to start on my next series. I think I'll be doing rust as my theme.

When is 11x14 not 11x14?

When you purchase frames at the last minute! I bought some frames for my upcoming shows and they stated they were 11x14 and would fit a standard mat. But they were just about 1/4" short of that. I really didn't think I'd need to bring a ruler with me. I guess when you are working on a shoestring budget you get what you pay for. Can't wait to get to the point where I can pay someone to do my framing or buy exactly what I want from a reputable wholesaler. It's just frustrating to be really into what you're doing and then have something not work that should. The other problem I ran into was that the opening in the some of the frames I purchased were also a little short. You'd think something that is mass produced would be the same size. Nope! But I did get almost everything done I wanted to get done last night. I have more to do for the show in October but I got the bulk of stuff done last night on the photos. I'll be doing some more paintings before the Santa Cruz show.

Sea Glass Jewelry Display

I had this empty frame sitting on the floor on top of my painters canvas and really liked the paint spills behind it. So I cut a piece of the canvas out and painted some of the earring colors with it and here is the outcome. I'll use this for the "Happy Hour Sea Glass" show I'm having at my house in a couple of weeks and then at the Sea Glass Festival in Santa Cruz in October. Can't believe how fast that is coming up. Lots to do to get ready. I guess time flies when you're having fun! :)

Kitties Eat Mouse

These sweet things can cause havoc with a computer. I couldn't figure out why my mouse stopped working on my computer at home. I banged my mouse up and down trying to get it to work. I grabbed the cord and jiggled it. Then I felt it, kitty bite marks in the mouse cord! Looks like I'll have to replace it. It only works half the time. If I hold the cord at just the right angle it works great, but can be awkward for typing. I don't know which is worse, replacing the mouse or trying to wash blue paint off the kitties paws after they walked across one of my paintings. Good thing they bring me lots of joy.

Cowell Ranch Beach, Half Moon Bay

Today we took a walk on this fabulous beach. It's a bit of a hike to get there, but so worth the effort. We collected some tiny pebbles of sea glass. They are tiny jewels. The finish on the sea glass here is different than other beaches, highly polished and smooth instead of a rough patina. Usually you only find tiny ones there this time of year. We also saw a sea lion in the surf real near the beach. She followed us all the way from one end of the beach to the other. If we'd stop, she'd stop. If we walked the other direction, she followed us. I've never seen anything like it. She was watching us the whole time. Amazing! I think we were down there for about three hours. Finally had to leave because we were hungry. But I collected sea glass, driftwood, took photos and played with a sea lion!

Sea Glass Paintings

My sea glass paintings are done in acrylic and I've added real sea glass to them. I'm inspired by the beautiful colors of sea glass. I am also obsessed with sea glass hunting!

Zen Painting

This is a collage I did for my daughter's room. She gave me a general idea of colors and items she wanted in it. Should finish the frame for it tonight and have it hung up. It's done in acrylic, paper and resin tiles.

Dragonflies

This is a collage I just finished for my bedroom. It incorporates photos printed on canvas, acrylics, stamps and paper. I just finished putting the frame together last night. Ok my husband and I finished the frame last night and hung it up. I needed something to go with my new furniture and bedspread.

Creating Yourself

Life isn't about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself.
-George Bernard Shaw

How do you create yourself?
Start with what you love. Find that thing that makes you forget what time it is, that thing that makes you so lost in thought you don't realize it's dark out already.

Paradise

You can’t always live in paradise,
the poetry was written in the sand,
“Close your eyes, shout to the wind.
This is paradise!”
Around she turned, the sand still there.

The fresh ocean breeze,
the sweet smell of sage,
the sun beating down
warming her skin.
The waves breaking,
the sea glass shining in the sand.

In between the waves crashing
She hears the sea let out a mournful wail
an ancient sadness,
or just the fishing boat beyond her gaze?

Crashing waves to trickling water
and sizzling foam,
mournful echoes to deadly silence,
The sound of the sea, seagulls cry
as ancient pelicans fly by.

The spray of water on her face
The smell of the sea; salty, musky, old.
Did you hear it? The cry of some old sailor,
lost at sea. His love forever held on the ocean floor.
Now a grain of sand, his wait the echo in the waves.

Kim Ritner