Ed Brownlee Ceramics

I briefly spoke to Ed Brownlee at the 2008 Craft and Design Show put on by the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. I asked him for his business card and he said he did not have one but would make one. He wrote down his name and email address on a scrap of paper. I asked him if he had a website and he did not. I told him he must get his work on the internet and he mentioned that people had suggested setting up a blog but he was very put off by the idea thinking it was too much work. I managed to find him in spite of himself at this gallery site. I wish you could see more of his work than is available on this gallery site. I love the playful whimsical quality of his work. Come on Ed, get yourself a blog and share your great work with everyone!

2nd Annual Christmas Open House

Ready or not I'm signed on to join other artists in a neighborhood open house. Just an excuse to encourage shopping. I found out less than a week ago and I always feel I am not prepared or ready. It is forcasted to rain all Saturday but we will be inside fortunately. I am hoping to sell as much as possible and hand out alot of cards. the invite came from Virginia craft-n-istas If you're in the Richmond area, come on down to Lakeside!

I have been tagged by BackwoodSophisticate, check out her awesome blog: My Crafty Life
Here are the details:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my 7 random facts:
1. When I read BackwoodSophisticate's list I thought I was reading about myself.

2. I dont share too much about myself a rule because I am a closet introvert.

3. I am left handed. yeah!!!

4.I am a cat person with a dog.

5. I have never been married and have had no children of my own.

6. I am a ridiculous list maker. I make list upon list endlessly. There's a master list and a sublist of the day. I dont think I could live without a list or without Diet Coke for that matter. when I was told by a friend that I had ADD I was shocked at that assessment but somedays it feels very true.

7. I have earrings but hardly wear them, I never paint my finger or toenails but I iron my hair.

These are the people I tagged!
Kat's Life
Ellie @ The Lucky Nest
The Ebon Swan @ The ebon swan
Lupe @ lupeart
Eye Pop Art
Nancy Merkle @ small-impressions
Michelle @ Canin artist

sketch art

I went to an art thing ( Art Around Lakeside) to see my friend Dana Frostick. We arrived late when everyone was packing up and I starting looking at the art of Katherine Meiller. Once I see that I like something I try to look at all of it. She showed me a stack of sketches which were wonderful and she then offered me to take one. so here it is. I left with her sketch and her business card and noticed later that she is on Etsy. How nice to run into an Etsy artist by chance. I love her collages and her store @ KatherineMeiller.etsy.com and her website is katherinemeiller.com. I hope you enjoy this sketch as much as I do. They were all wonderful and more of them can be seen under Studies in ink on her website.

first treasury

first treasury
Originally uploaded by LisaB16

Here is my first Treasury on Etsy! I thought it was impossible. For my convenience and yours here is a list of Flikr groups that you can search for your shop name to see if your were in a Treasury but missed it

http://www.flickr.com/groups/etsyfrontpagers/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/667573@N20/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/etsyfrontpagetreasury/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/797819@N25/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28488923@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/etsytreasuries/

Etsy treasury

Etsy treasury
Originally uploaded by LisaB16

hi I'm very excited to be included in a treasury. here it is!! And I have just learned how to link my flikr to my blog! See me top row center. the bird on the canvas tote.

Pint size laptop

We have an XO laptop. Have a look at laptop.org to see what it's all about. You buy one for yourself and one for a child in a developing country. If you're looking for a good deed to do, this is a great opportunity to help a child across the globe that would not otherwise be able to afford a computer. Larger than an Iphone but smaller than the regular laptop. I prefer a regular size keyboard but if you are a textmessanger or use a blackberry I guess it would be no big deal for you. I set up a flickr group of my photos.

Seller Beware

I read about an internet scam on Etsy today where several Etsy seller's items were listed for sale without their knowlege or permission. the thread is here. the store is called o-handbag. It takes more and more effort to be internet savy and avoid being victimized by criminals. please read the thread and be alert for this type of activity. A great tool to have is the google alert. Use words unique to you and your shop. That is how this store was discovered.I was just testing the ohandbag link and at this time it no longer works. hmmmmmm Hopefully it is shut down for good. I still had this site up and I printed this and scanned it for evidence.

The meaning of life

Who isn't on a quest for their best life? What is the secret? What is the meaning? Why am I not happy more that I am? I am reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and I believe this will help anyone find a more fulfilling life. I know meditation is a key but I'm not doing that. I am also reading Eat Pray Love and that is a great read. In that book I was relieved to find out it's not that easy to meditate and you should learn from a Yogi. For some reason the message I am getting from A New Earth is easily digested and hopefully easily applied to one's life. The nutshell is check your ego, don't judge, don't attach, and don't resist. Don't attach yourself to any outcome. Don't resist the uncontrolable bad things that happen to you. Go with the flow. When you resist anything, you resist the whole universe. If you cloud you head with negative thoughts and emotions you will miss an opportunity for the better solution. I recommend everyone read this book for everyone's further enlightenment.

Got milk?

What's in Richmond, Va.? Cool old buildings, that's what. I call this the milk bottle building. At the time of this photo it was an art studio of sorts. A raw old building quite unrenovated. Inside I found this great old "milk" colored tom cat. I looked up some tid bits about the building that you can see here. Another view of the building that I dont have is from the other side. This building has been turned into apartments that I have not had the pleasure of seeing. In this link, there are buildings from all over with the milk theme. Who would 'nt want to live in a milk bottle? I love all the old building, factories and things like that. The Kanawha Canal area was renovated and further development is ongoing for restaurtants, housing etc. so everyone can enjoy the historic district.

custom order

I received a request for a shirt based on the Kelly green shirt. I work by instinct and not by measuring or keeping track of anything really. So the outcome of the final product does not resemble the original shirt. I actually like the new shirt more than the bright green shirt but was distraught over trying to get very close to copying it. I dont have the patience for measuring and detailed notes so when I finish with a shirt I'm not likely to duplicate it again unless by dumb luck. So there's the dye powder to measure, the soda ash and salt. they all affect the end results. The first shirt I did yellow then fuschia and turquois blue last. On the second shirt fushia then green. I also have a plan B shirt that I continued to work on and have finished today but will need to wash and photograph it when I have some daylight. I'll add it later for comparison. I have broken down and am taking notes so I can master the colors.

I forgot to come back and update this post. the very top photo is my plan B shirt. Once I saw how different my first shirt was I started a second with of course a completely different look than the first two. However, I like the coloring on this one too. I like to call it camo as it reminds me of camoflage.

My furry friends

1. 
   

Check out my flickr account. Meet my four legged friends.
This picture is Katie who is Pookie. Unfortunitely she passed on 1/3/08 at the age of 15. She was adopted as a tiny kitten from the SPCA. She was talking the loudest in the depressing room of wall to wall cages. I never tired of her talking to us and encouraged her to talk back all the time. She was to be the companion of Spencer. They were about the same age. Spencer was a survivor. He was the only surviving kitten of a litter and was nursed to good health without his mother until he was old enough to adopt. On of the managers at work was asking everyone if they were interested in adopting a kitten that his daughter was taking care of. And I took him home. Cat number 3 is Baby. She is about 11 years now and quite large. My guess right now is about 16 lbs if not a little more. She loves lots of one on one, face to face attention. I had to have her because she look so much like Pookie. A friend from work had kittens that needed homes. Once I went to her house and saw her, I had to have her. Teddy is the newest member from July 2006. He is almost 2 years old now. He is a very easy dog to live with considering all the types and temperments available. We havent done any obedience classes which I would still love to do except for the expense of it. I would also love to do the agility training etc. but I cant imaging the tons of cash that would cost to do that on an on going basis.