Some things I love - Life can be so much fun!

Ok, I have to say, it does not take much to make me happy. I found a couple of things that make me smile, and I have to mention them. The first thing is this absolutely gorgeous painting by Carrie Goller on my OAOE Team. All I can say is WOW!!! When I win the lottery, this painting is MINE! :-) Just look at the detail, the colors, the richness, the reflection in the paint....oh, I could go on and on.... Take a look - and yes, it is Kiwis............what can I say? :-) Got to love those Kiwis! Here is a link to her Etsy store, if you would like to see more of her wonderful work. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5706223

While posting about Carrie, I have to tell you - you must go to our OAOE Team blog and look at all of these wonderful artist. They are simply amazing! They impress me so much, and I am inspired by looking at all of their wonderful works of art. Please take the time to take a look and leave some comments. The team blog is
http://originalartistsonetsy.blogspot.com Have a look at our Original Artists on Etsy Store while you are at it. You won't be disappointed. Here is the store link: http://OriginalArtists.etsy.com

The second thing I have to mention is my own work of art. Yes, I have to brag, but not because I did it, but because it was so much fun to do. I painted this little glass for one of my favorite shops Funky Monkey. I just love her shop, and her shop banner. Lucky me, she asked me to paint her special Funky Monkey glass. This is how it turned out, and I was very impressed. Thank you so much Funky Monkey for giving me such a fun sale! Here is the link to Funky Monkey's shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5041123

Last of all, I have to mention my dear friend Claudia from Cloud Nine Creations again. She has turned out another favorite for me. I just love her rings and her blog! Here is a picture of her latest ring, and the links to both her store and her blog. Have fun looking at all of her rings. Now, I have to tell you, I own at least 6 of her rings now!!! Wow! I am addicted to her work! Way to go Claudia!
Her blog: http://cloudninecreationsjewelry.blogspot.com And Claudia's store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5196278

Thanks for taking the time to look at a few of my favorite things. I have had such a good weekend with friends and family. I hope we all have a good week ahead of us as us Gwinnett County people prepare for Spring Break! wahoo! I plan to get lots of things painted, memorize my lines for the play coming up, prepare for my daughter's recital, and REST before the CRCT when we return to school.

Take care, and hugs to all my friends!
Beth

The new art studio make-over is done! Time to work!

Yea, I am done! I can't believe it! I never realized how much there was to clean out and move around. The new art furniture is in, and supplies have been organized. Now, I know I will be more productive, and have a renewed energy as well. It feels so good to work in a clean and organized room. I have attached pictures of the finished room too.

So, this week - I must prepare for two shows and get some inventory together to sell on consignment. I want to paint some bracelets too. My daughters have asked for them, I think it will be pretty easy. Cross your fingers they sell well. I am so excited! My mind is full of so many ideas! They are endless!

I put several art pieces and painted glass in a local performing arts theater about 20 minutes from me this week. They were so excited, and so was I! I hung 4 different paintings, and scattered painted stemware all over the place. It added some color to the theater, and made it possible for me to sell my work. It was a good deal for both of us.

I am going to try and sleep. I need to prepare for the busy week ahead, but I am so pumped I don't know if I can. Well, I will try anyway..........

Thanks as always - for the support you give.

Beth - Kiwi Arts

Before pictures of the "new" art studio!

Ok, so the studio renovation is going very slowly. Had 3 glass orders to fill this week, and of course I had work during the day. I came home from work everyday this week, played taxi mom to kids and activities, then I started to paint in my kitchen as usual. I stayed up 4 nights in a row until 4:30 am, at least! It caught up to me today. I was wiped at work! So, now that all the glass orders have been given to customers, I voted on a nap after work! It was needed. :-)

Hopefully all the art items/furniture I ordered will be in this weekend. I will post pictures if and when I get it done this week. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to getting this done. My back is killing me trying to paint at my kitchen table. It is going to be so much fun when I finally get in there.

Updates on my weekend coming up - I got a call from a local performing arts theater with an empty lobby. She saw my website and invited me to hang and sell my paintings in the lobby! Yea! Go me! I am so excited! :-) She is not even taking a cut of my sells. What is the catch you ask? Who knows? I guess she only wanted art work to hang in her lobby and I lucked out. There is a big concert on Saturday night, so I will have them hung in time. I am going to bring a little table and set up some of my stemware too. The theatre is Red Clay Theater out of Duluth GA. Wish me luck! :-) I am still new at so much of this, I am not sure what to even expect out of it.

Ok, after all the exciting art events this weekend, I am going Saturday night to spend the night again in an old empty Antebellum Plantation in Marietta GA to do a follow up Paranormal Investigation! We got some really cool EVPs the last time we were there, and some great evidence to show there is some activity in the old home. It once served as a Civil War hospital and was one of the last plantations left in Atlanta not burned down. It has a wonderful vibe! So, if we don't turn into human ice cubes spending the night in 15 degree weather, in a haunted home with no power or heat, I will let you know how it turned out. My GOG website is http://www.ghostsofgeorgia.com/ if you are interested in paranormal investigations.

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend! BTW - go Dynamic Edition! Way to rock the clogging world on America's Best Dance Crew tonight! You were hot!

Beth

The journey

Ok, so I have noticed this is going to be a long road, journey, or whatever you want to call it. Just when you get a burst of confidence, you realize you only took a baby step.

So, I have decided to create a new space for creating my art. I thought it might give some fresh light and energy. I am so excited! My husband decided he wanted to move his office to the basement, and clean up the office upstairs. Then I decided I wanted to clean out our sunroom and make it my art studio. I put some stuff from the sunroom in the old office upstairs. We also did some winter cleaning and are having several large items from the three rooms taken away. It is amazing how much better we can create and work with some clutter taken out of our lives.

With all of this said and done, I will begin the process of growing. I think I will be in a much better place to nurture my talents and struggles. It will allow me to be a better artist by having the room to stretch and think. I will post pictures of the progress soon. Right now the sunroom is almost empty and I am waiting for the art/craft table, new art chair, daylight lamp, and rolling organizer/bins to come in. I can't wait to get it all put together! I think the kids will enjoy seeing me in there as well. It will give them more space to hang out with me too.

So, I will post the progress, and I can't thank some of you enough for the inspiration as I look at your blogs and shops. This is so much fun!

Beth

Painting Glass and selling on Etsy

I have just posted some new painted stemware on Etsy.com. Please take a look and let me know what you think. http://www.kiwiarts.etsy.com/ I have several design ideas and more stemware on my website. My questions - how often do you think your product is viewed and purchased? Is there a special "in", I need to know about to get my art work discovered by local buyers?