I had such a blast painting up custom orders for the holidays...There's nothing I love more than animals, so the fact that people hire me to paint pictures of their pets on ceramic plates makes me downright giddy! Here's a look at some of the ones I did recently...
British Cat
Buddy
Peanut
Earl
Grace
Bailey
Raven
You can order your own pet plate by visiting my Etsy shop!
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I had a couple more Lucky Buddha Beer bottles left, so I took the opportunity to not only enter another project into their #beercrafts contest, but to learn how to drill holes into glass! And trust me, I got lots of practice. This project needed 42 holes! I definitely gave my Dremmel and the new diamond bit I bought a good workout!
May I present to you.....The Buddhamobile.
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I think it's awesome that the company who puts their beer into the most amazing Buddha shaped bottles holds contests to see who can come up with the best craft project using them. The first thing I thought when I saw this beer for the first time was that I couldn't want to make stuff out of the empty bottles, and was the main reason I purchased the six pack in the first place (it was an added bonus that the beer is delicious too!). I was so excited to see the advertisement for the first contest and I went right to work. I made a large mosaic using three of the bottles (you can see it here). The hard work paid off because I was lucky enough to win third place!
Lucky Buddha Beer is currently holding their second contest, and of course I couldn't resist the urge to enter again. This time I combined my love for art journaling with a bottle that I slightly flattened in the kiln and came up with this piece. I used two popular Happy Buddha quotes and embellished the piece with gold mica flakes and Chinese themed beads. I love the way it came out. One of the criteria the judges will be considering is functionality....and the functionality of my piece is that it's going to be sitting in a prominent place in my Zen room where I will be able to read its inspiring words whenever I need to lift myself up.
“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think.”
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”
This is how it looks in my Zen room. It fits in perfectly!
Anyhoo...wish me luck! The prize is $250 in craft supplies...which you know I desperately need!
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Have I mentioned how much I love animals? Have I mentioned how much I love making art? If you've read any other of my blog posts, these things are probably very apparent to you. It's no surprise, then, that one of my favorite artistic things to do is paint animal portraits (on ceramic plates, of course)! The first one is a tribute to my BFFF (best feline friend forever) Poopie, who is no longer with us but will always live on in my heart. The rest are plates I've made for others who have either lost pets of their own, or simply wanted a piece of art featuring their best furry friend to display in their home. I really love making these and have been told that even though they are painted in my cartoonish, whimsical style, I manage to capture each pet's personality. Even the ones I never knew in person! That's one of the best compliments I've ever gotten!
If you or someone you know is interested in having a customized ceramic pet plate made of a furry, scaly, or feathered friend, I have listings in my Etsy shop for 8" x 8" and 12" x 12" plates. I hope you'll hop on over and check them out :)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/thepeculiarpalette
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Hi All! I am so excited to announce my next webinar with I Fired Arts called Monoprinting using a Gelli Plate. Learn how to make monoprints on ceramics using an innovative printmaking tool called a Gelli Plate and miscellaneous tools found around the house. You'll be amazed at all the different effects you can get and how they will transform your bisque pieces into unique works of art!
The webinar airs live on August 20th at 5 pm PST, but can be watched afterwards as well. I hope to see you there! You can register by clicking here.
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See this chubby boy (well you can't tell by his eye, but trust me. He's pretty plump and we're currently on a weight loss plan together. But I digress...)? Well he has the opportunity to win a year's supply of his favorite food through Diamond Naturals! But we need your help. Could you please take a few seconds to visit the link below and vote for his photo? We would be so eternally grateful, especially since my new starving artist's salary is getting stretched pretty thin these days (I'm not whining, just stating a fact). It would be a big help to us to win this prize and we will be eternally grateful :)
(My plea on Facebook from 7/9) I hate to be a pest but George and I would love it if you could please vote for his picture in the contest so we can win a year of free dog food. It would really come in handy since he eats like a hog. His picture is currently towards the bottom with one vote (mine) and the caption is 'I've got my eye on you'. It's of his big ol' eyeball. The photo should move closer to the top of the page as he gets more votes. The first place photo only has 125 votes so we can beat that! I believe you can vote once a day, which means this is not the last post you'll see of me begging you to vote for him. I apologize in advance, but if he wins you will have contributed to making a big boy's belly very full and happy! Thank you so much!
(My plea on Facebook from 7/11) Hi Everyone! George is in 4th place at the moment...he needs 135 more votes to get into first. And we can't let the first place contestant win...the photo is of a dog's butt in a messy room with a blurry face! If you haven't voted yet we would be so appreciative if you did...and if you have already voted once you can vote again, once a day. Thanks to everyone for helping George get free dog food!
http://tinyurl.com/o6m9rl5
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About a month ago, I was strolling along the beer fridge at Target and noticed one of the coolest things I've ever seen. A beer called Lucky Buddha, which came in a six pack of Buddha shaped bottles. I had to have them! Of course, the first thing that came to mind is that I was going to keep the bottles and make something out of them. Imagine my excitement when a few weeks later, I saw that the Lucky Buddha Beer people were holding a contest to see who could make the best craft project out of their bottles! I put on my creative thinking cap and went to work...
Here's the entry info...although the contest is now closed.
I started by slightly flattening out the bottles in the kiln. I wanted them to still be 3D, but to have flat backs so that they would be easy to adhere to make a mosaic. This was the first time I fired glass in my kiln, and it was fun to learn how to do it. I had to keep lifting up the lid and peeking in to see the progress when it started melting. I was afraid I would spontaneously combust but somehow I made it through...
Next I made these medallion tiles using rubber stamps that I had. I used acrylic paint to decorate them.
I had a big frame that I bought at a yard sale that was sitting in my garage waiting to be used for a project, so it worked out perfectly. I took out the glass and replaced it with Wedi board (a lightweight substrate used for mosaic art). I filled the spaces around the bottles and the medallions with pieces of stained glass that I cut up. I grouted it and painted the frame to make it look pretty again. Viola! My project was done and I was ready to enter it into the contest. Here are some close ups:
This was such a fun project! The contest pushed me to learn something new and to get out all my mosaic supplies that I haven't used in awhile. I can't wait to see the winners, which will be announced tomorrow. Good luck to everyone who entered! There were a lot of really nice projects. I am going to buy some more Lucky Buddha Beer and make more stuff!
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Last week I had the opportunity to bring the dogs to Cambria, CA, where they got to experience running around on the sand and in the ocean. Technically, dogs aren't allowed off leash in Cambria due to the high probability of them running into an elephant seal basking on the beach, but at this time of year they are nowhere to be found. Plus we were the only ones around at the time so I let them have some fun.
Peabrain and Dora had been to the beach when they were younger, but this was George's first time. He went charging right in, and within seconds a big wave came and crashed over his head. I thought for sure he wouldn't go anywhere near the water again after that, but I was wrong. He decided to retaliate against it by running into each consecutive wave and trying to bite it to death. Needless to say he didn't succeed, but he sure did have fun! All of them did. Here are some photos from the experience:
Love these action shots.
George shaking his head...looks so funny...
There's nothing Dora likes more than rubbing herself in dirt, grass or sand.
They found an elephant seal after all. Oh wait, that's George!
More head shaking...
Yay! I'm filthy!
That's one happy girl!
My favorite head shaking shot...lol
Giant algae growing on the pier.
We were all being watched by the wood on the pier...
Luckily they had a fresh water shower that we used to get most of the sand and saltwater off of them. As they were getting their showers, I noticed that George had this really weird look on his face. Moments later, he yacked up half of the Pacific Ocean! I can't even imagine what it must have been like consuming that much salt water. Yuck!
I was so happy to have this experience with them. As you can see they had sooooo much fun and seeing them so happy really warms my heart. Sure beats laying around the house in Fresno in 105 degree heat!
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It's no secret that Instagram is all the rage these days in social media. I have been told by a very wise and all-knowing social media guru that it's even bigger than Facebook (what?!?). I like Instagram and I use it to post pictures of my pets and my artwork, but I'll admit I'm not very good at looking at and liking other people's photos. The reason being is that I can't stand doing it on my phone, and if you're an avid Instagrammer, that's pretty much your only option. Or so I thought....
The same wise and all-knowing social media guru (my friend Alexa from The Swell Life), told me about a website that allows you to use Instagram on a real computer. It's called Webstagram and it's flippin' amazing! I can organize my own posts, comment easily on other people's posts, search hashtags, and all kinds of other things from the comfort of my own desktop computer! No more typing with one finger, straining to read tiny words (I'm getting old, what can I say?), no more cramps in my neck from looking down at my phone...this is really going to change my life! No more selfish Instagramming for me...I solemnly swear that I will from now on be a model commenter and liker on your Instagram posts!
Another cool thing that is available through Webstagram is that you can put a gallery like the one below on your blog or website. All you have to do is click the 'blog parts' button and it generates the HTML you need. Pretty neat, huh?
So...if you're a fellow Instagrammer and you'd like to connect with me, my username is @thepeculiarpalette. I would love to see your posts!
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One of the benefits of working from home is the fact that I can take a siesta without anyone firing me. And believe me, I have been taking advantage of it every single day. The problem is that my siestas don't last a few minutes, they last a few hours. This would probably be fine if it was every once in awhile, but the fact that it's happening every day is really starting to get on my nerves. But I'm powerless when my eyelids start feeling like lead and all I can think about is snuggling up with my super soft pillow and a dog or two to catch some extra Z's. It's even worse lately because it's getting hot out and I am generally sleepier and have less energy during the summer months. Plus I'm still battling with my TMJ and when my head starts throbbing, all I want to do is take a nap so it goes away for awhile. I'm full of excuses to help me rationalize why I am doing this, but unfortunately all of this extra sleeping doesn't fit into my vision of what I want my life to be.
Yesterday, after waking up from a 4+ hour nap, I decided enough is enough. I am going to stop doing this. Do you know how much painting or reading or cleaning or whatever I could have gotten done instead of taking that nap? Four hours worth! Add that to all the other days I spent napping and that adds up to a LOT of lost productivity.
I got out my markers and watercolors and made this piece to remind me to stop sleeping and start doing! Today is day 1 of my new philosophy on life, and so far, so good. It's only 10 AM and already I cleaned the backyard, watered the plants, took my dog George for a looong walk around the neighborhood, cut my hair (don't ask), washed my bedding and folded laundry, ate breakfast AND wrote this blog post. I didn't even have coffee this morning! I'd be lying if I said I felt like I was full of energy and wanted to keep going at this pace for the rest of the day, but it's a start. Hopefully after a few weeks of doing this I will feel that way. And if I do get the overwhelming urge to nap, it's okay if I give in as long as I set the alarm.
Here's to making the most of everyday!
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