So I finally got some inventory in my uniqueannick5 etsy shop. I know I said it would be sooner but life happens like my 9 month old getting sick, my husband being out of town, running out of good light to take pictures and time.

Okay, enough complaining. What you will find in my etsy shop is fabric creations. Above is an example of a pair of fabric earrings. I have large ones, small, some with beads and some without. I started taking some of the fabric that I had laying around and decided to use it. I love making jewelry and money towards supplies is a little tight right now, so I compromised and I am happy with the result. The earrings have sterling silver studs and are hand sewn.

The earrings are light, fun and colorful. I decided to also take extra fabric to make reusable drawstring bags for packaging. I wanted to distinguish between other jewelry makers and thought this would be a good idea. Along with the bag, the earrings are placed on a hand printed card.

There is also fabric flower brooches in my store. Some of the brooches have antique buttons from my collection that I have been acquiring for a while now.

I hand sew them and then glue them to silver bar pins. I have fun making them and enjoy wearing them too. I am constantly looking for interesting fabric and other color combinations. Right now I have about 15 items in my shop and am continuing to make more so keep checking back.

So please check out uniqueannick5 on Etsy. You can either click on the link or go to etsy.com and type in “uniqueannick5″ in the search bar.

Tell your friends and please pass it on to anyone you think would be interested in my stuff.  Like always I would appreciate some feedback on what I have been making. Even if you don’t plan on wearing earrings or a fabric brooch, check out my store and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you at my show at Proximity Gallery December 3rd, 2010.

Hello all.  In one of my last posts I promised that I would give more information about the December show as soon as I got it so here it is:

Marie DesMarais (that’s me!) and Janine DeCresenzo will be showing new work at Proximity Gallery for the month of December.

Opening Reception: December 3rd, 2010, 6-9pm

Closing Reception: Holiday Party, December 18th, 2010, 6-9pm

I hope that you all can make it because it is sure to be a fantastic show. Janine makes wonderful jewelry and I will be showing new work. Above is a picture of a piece I just finished called “Winding River”. So far I have two pieces finished and I have three in the works and soon to be finished.  If you can’t make the opening reception, come to the closing party or do both!

There will be plenty of gift ideas for everyone whether you need something for your wife, husband, mom or whatever. There will be something for everyone.

Below are some more pics of some of the artwork and I will continue to post pictures of what I have been creating. Thanks for the support and let me know what you think.

Proximity Gallery

2434 E Dauphin St.

Philadelphia, PA 19125

267.825.2949

Here is my latest print that I will have available at my upcoming show this December at Proximity Gallery. This carving is smaller than the one shown in one of my last posts.  You can also get more information about what this image is about by clicking here. The image is hand printed on a piece of 9×12″ paper.  Below is a picture of it in black.

I have decided to just print two colors for the show and I am limiting them to 25 prints per color. They will be limited.  Over time I will add a couple more colors but I wanted to get the opinion of my readers.  What colors would you like to see?  What do you think of black and red?  Also, how do you feel about me limiting them to an edition of 25? I would really appreciate the feedback.

I also did prints of the larger carving but I think I will add some more detail. I’m not completely happy with how it turned out.  It just needs something else. See below.

The larger print is on 12×14″ paper.  Once I change the carving a bit I will print some more black and red. These will also be sold at the December show.  I will give you more information about the show, hopefully next week.  Also, I will put some prints in my Etsy shop once I get myself together.  I want to put a bunch of things in the shop so stay tuned. I plan on launching a bunch of inventory over the weekend. I will write another post to announce it, hopefully by Sunday.

Again, any feedback would be much appreciated and tell your friends about the upcoming show at Proximity Gallery.  If you know anyone that loves Philly these prints would be a great gift idea….just sayin.

Thanks!

I meant to write this post in August when I started this experiment but I’m glad I waited.  Yes, we (meaning as a household) are giving up paper towels.  You all must think I am crazy and or dirty.  Yes I am probably crazy on multiple levels but dirty, no.  I love to clean, I get a huge satisfaction once I have scrubbed down my tub or cleaned the whole kitchen, floors to stove top.

So what brought on this idea?  Well I read it on another blog over the summer (I apologize that I am not linking to it because I honestly can’t remember) and it sounded like a great idea.  We are always trying to find ways of saving some money and my husband is a green developer and it is a good idea for us to live a more “green” lifestyle.  I thought this would be a great way for us to improve on this “green” lifestyle.

You may be wondering, “what do you clean with and how do you clean up spills?”.  There are, I’m sure, many questions you all are wondering so here is basically the break down.  I use cloth flour sacks.  I bought them at Target and I just recently ordered another pack of cleaning cloths that I found on Soap.com (love them!).  I also have hand towels but they are exactly that, hand towels.  We use them for drying hands and other uses in the kitchen.  I keep my hand towels a different color than my cleaning towels and they are in a different basket so we don’t get them mixed up.  The cloths we clean with are white.  I probably use one or two a day in the kitchen depending on how messy my 9 month old daughter decides to get.

I will say that there are both pros and cons to using cloths for cleaning.  Here is a short list:

CONS:

1. They are not paper towels in terms of having them right there and easy to grab.

2. When guests come over I have to always have cloth napkins available for hands.

3. There is more wash to do (in reality for me, this isn’t really a con because since I have a 9 month old I am already doing wash so it doesn’t bother me much).

4. I can’t use them for things such as getting grease off bacon or other cooking needs.

5. They get gnarly fast.

PROS:

1. They clean up messes way faster.

2. Cloth is much better for scrubbing counter tops and cleaning in general.

3. Better for the environment. Less waste

4. $$$ Saving money.

5. I never run out of them like paper towels.

6. Won’t fall apart while cleaning and doesn’t leave streaks.

I’m sure I could add a few things to each list if I thought more about it.  I’m sure you could too so if you want to weigh in just add a comment below.

I do have to confess that right now I have two rolls of paper towels in the house (I didn’t buy them, my mom did).  I have a roll in the bathroom and a roll in my studio. But, I have had these rolls for about a month a half.  In the bathroom it is just easier to have them there. I usually clean the bathroom with the “Magin Eraser” (by the way if you haven’t tried it, you should, it is amazing!) and then use the paper towels for wiping down and on the mirrors. In my art studio, it is just better to have paper towels around because I use a lot of glue and that isn’t washing out of my cloth towels.

We do use a paper towel for bacon grease but in general I think we are doing a pretty good job.  As of right now I don’t see myself going back to paper towels.  I really find that the cloths are better for cleaning, it does a better job and I don’t need as much elbow grease.

I will keep you updated on my experiment and may come up with some more things to add to the list.  So again, please comment and tell me what you think of this experiment.  I want to hear the good and the bad.  I also challenge you to try it yourself.  See how long you can do it and see how much money you save.

Cheers.

If you live in Kensington, Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Port Richmond or any other neighborhood near the Ben Franklin Bridge you probably know about the Milk Bottle tower above.  If you live in Philadelphia, you should know about the Milk Bottle shown above. Click here for a some history on the Harbison Milk Bottle.

It is a great landmark and everyday I get to look out my window and see the simple outline of a milk bottle.  The picture above was actually taken as I stood at one of my windows.  I have become a bit attached to the landmark so I made a linoleum cut and began printing blank note cards shown here. It is a smaller linoleum cut so I wanted to make something a bit bigger for my upcoming show in December at Proximity Gallery.  I will make smaller prints but I also wanted to make some larger ones, say 11″x 14″ so I made another cut.

After finishing the cut I did some test prints and they came out pretty nice.  The ink is a bit splotchy but it works.  The real milk bottle is rusty and has been weathered quite a bit so having the ink splotchy creates a good representation of what it really looks like.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit the charming East Kensington neighborhood, this would be a good reason to walk around.  Not only can you see this beautiful landmark but there are a bunch of galleries, some shops, and some really cool postgreen homes you can check out while visiting.  It will make the trip worth your while. More on the neighborhood in a later post.

I plan on printing 50 for each color.  I’m not sure how many colors I will eventually do but I want to keep it limited.  There will definitely be black, green and blue.  I may do two more colors but again I want to keep it limited.  I will have these for sale at the December show and I plan on putting some up on my Etsy shop as soon I begin printing on good paper.  I also want to make prints with the smaller milk bottle I carved out earlier this year but I haven’t figured out what size.  I will update you all when I begin printing.

If you know someone that is a fan of Philly, I think this would be a great Christmas gift.  As for price I am still debating that but I figure the prints will be extremely reasonable since they are hand printed and I want to keep them limited (around $25).  Let me know what you all think about the price and print.

Thanks for stopping by and keep checking back because the show is coming up fast so I am constantly working and creating.  I will post pictures as I finish work.

Good news to all you art buyers and jewelry lovers! I will be in an art show this December at Proximity Gallery.  I will be sharing the show with an amazing jewelry designer, her name is escaping me right now (I know horrible).  As soon as I remember I will let you all know. I actually have a necklace from this designer that I got for Christmas last year from my husband Nic and I love it!  Not only will I be selling artwork on the walls but I will have prints, handmade cards and fabric brooches.

I will have prints of the Milk Bottle that is shown above and for those of you that live in Fishtown, Port Richmond, Kensington, and Norther Liberties areas should recognize this symbol.  This also makes a great gift.  Along with prints, there will be 6 pack of blank cards with the image on the front.

It will be a great show to visit especially since Christmas will be right around the corner.  There will be many gifts to buy for both genders, any age.  Remember the show will be at Proximity Gallery and the opening will be first Friday of December.  We will probably have a closing show as well right before Christmas for all you last minute shoppers.  I will update you all with more information when I get it and stay tuned for more pics of artwork I am producing and other things I am creating.

Thanks for stopping by and tell your friends.

As many of you know I am an Art Teacher as well as an Artist.  I teach at a small private school which will remain nameless for many reasons.  But I wanted to share with you all some artwork I get my students to produce.

I teach Art to grades prekindergarten-sixth grade.  It is quite a load of work but it really challenges me to come up with many different lesson plans.  It also keeps me involved in the art world, present, past and future.  I am constantly researching and racking my brain for ideas.  Hard but fun.

I really enjoy teaching art and spreading my passion for many different artists, art movements and art history.  I feel as though one of the best ways to teach important points in world history (including our own of course) is through the arts.  It is also a great way to help students understand what they are learning in their classroom.  I am big on “cross-curriculum” teaching.  This means that I stay in contact with the classroom teachers to find out what they are teaching so I can have a few lesson plans throughout the year that mirror what the students are learning in their classroom.  I connect with social studies, math, English, Spanish, etc.

I find staying in contact with the teachers also helps me to come up with lessons since I am seeing each class, prekindergarten to sixth grade two times a week for 45 minutes.  This is 8 different lesson plans a week going at one time.  I do group some of the grades together like for instance, pre-K to first grade and fifth and sixth grade but they all have to be tweaked regardless.  The reason is that especially with the younger ones, they are on different levels when it comes to fine motor skills (using those little fingers).  So you can imagine I run out of ideas and inspiration sometimes so finding out what they are doing in their classroom is helpful.The kind of lessons I come up with range.  I try to hit everything.  For instance I may introduce them to a new culture like Aboriginal Art:

Aboriginal Art is made by the native people of Australia. I did this lesson with grades pre-K to first grade. The lesson was to introduce them to a different culture while learning how to draw different kinds of lines. They really enjoyed the lesson and I think they turned out great.I also like to teach students about artists and art movements, below you will find two pics.  One is from a Matisse lesson and one is from a Piet Mondrian Lesson, again both lessons were designed for younger grades but can be changed for the older grades too.

Art movements are also really fun to teach.  I have done everything from Impressionism to Assemblage Art. This year I thought it would be fun to introduce the sixth grade to Pop Art and found inspiration from Andy Warhol’s work.  How could I not teach Pop Art without talking about Andy Warhol?  Let me know what you think.

I decided to teach Pop Art using printmaking.  Students had to carve out of rubber an everyday object that would be interesting.  I also wanted them to choose something that was “popular” and really represented consumerism.  Some students got it, some did not.  The ones that chose to do an iPod or something else along those lines seemed to have gotten it.  The project isn’t finished but what the final product will look like is a series of 6 different prints of the same object, printed in a different color on a different colored background. Once it is finished I think it will look great because all six prints will be mounted together to create one big rectangle measuring 12″ x 18″.

I hope you enjoyed the images of what my students are creating.  I find that teaching really helps me in my own art.  I am constantly coming across new artists and old ones that can be inspirational.  Just being surrounded by art everyday helps me to keep my mind thinking about what I could be doing.  I think the students respect me more because I also create my own artwork.  I show them what I am working on and they find it really interesting and cool.

Below is a couple more pics of some student artwork.  One of my favorite lessons is teaching Japanese Art.  The artist I highlight is Hokusai of course.Let me know what you think and pass it on to other teacher friends that you  think would enjoy this post.  I always like to hear what fellow teachers think, even if they don’t teach art.  Also if you are an artist, what helps you to get inspiration?

 As all of you know (if you have been reading) I have started an Etsy store called uniqueannick5.  I set it up in November and it was up and running in early December.  Since then I have sold 5 things. My ultimate goal is to sell one product once a week.  If you do the math, I obviously have not reached that point.  I’m okay with that because I do know it will take time and I just need to keep at it.Since my last update on the Etsy store I have been posting a new product every weekday.  I’m pretty proud of myself for doing that.  I have been taking pictures of what I have to offer and doing my best to stick to this goal.  I need to start making more jewelry, sketchbooks, and note cards but this is difficult when there is no money coming in to fund this.  I still have some things that I haven’t posted yet so I keep at it.I keep reading blogs on Etsy’s homepage to get tips so I can be more successful but a lot of the tips they give I can’t do.  I’ve decided that if you truly want to be successful, Etsy has to be your full time job.  I can’t do that right now.  There are still some things I can do and I may try some of the tips Etsy has mentioned but it is definitely difficult and sometimes frustrating.As for my artwork, I am still producing and have three pieces in the works.  Last post I showed a new finished piece, check it out here if you didn’t see it.  The three other pieces in the works are very similar to that one.  I will post some pictures as soon as I get a little further along.  Other than my Etsy store and my artwork, nothing else is really going on.  I am waiting for Bearclaw (child in my belly) to come out but at the same time, the little bugger is giving me some energy to keep producing.Thanks for visiting and come back.  Check out my Etsy store too….my store is uniqueannick by uniqueannick5.  If you like what I am making tell your friends and family and thanks!

My time as an artist without children is running out so I have really started to produce some artwork again.  This isn’t the only reason I have started new pieces.  I got some new maps from a friend and just found the colors to be great.  The picture above is the latest addition to my body of work.  Again, the colors I thought are just fantastic.  The map used in the piece is of Greece.  I love the green and pink together.  It is an older map, from the 1950′s I believe. 

I have found that not producing artwork is hard.  It calms me, keeps me focused and clears my head while I’m working.  Producing is a necessity for my happiness.  This most recent series of work has made it clear that the process is why I love to create.  The reason I say this is because there was a lot of steps to this piece.

I began by sewing into the paper by hand.  I went back to old doodles in my sketchbook and just found these organic shapes to be perfect for this new series so I started with them.  After sewing into the piece I found the map of Greece that my friend Mikey got for me and just fell in love with the colors so I cut up the map and drew a grid on top of the thread.  I measured the grid of the map and made the same grid on the paper.  Of course I did this somewhat backwards but I then added squares of the map to the grid.  Using the exacto knife is always fun for me becuase it takes time and makes me slow down to really look at what I am doing.

 After adding the map I began filling in some empty sqaures with watercolor.  I used watercolor pencils because I have really gotten used to using them and they are less expensive and easier to store.  After adding the watercolor I knew that it needed something so I started thinking about pulling the road off the surface.  I had some balsam wood scraps around and decided to put the roads on that so it would connect some of the space without maps to the spaces with maps.  I needed the eye to flow better so that was my solution.  After I spend time on that I decided that making more levels can make the piece a bit more complicated without losing the color or the sewing.  Again, I used balsam wood and started raising some pieces of the surface high, some low and others leaving directly on the surface. 

The whole piece is mounted on a wood board so it makes it sturdy and a lot easier to hang.  I’m still debating another layer of some sort but I might sit on it a while.  In the meantime I have two other pieces going and have another working in my head so I will probably start that this weekend.  I will definitely keep you posted on the new work and progress.  Also, keep checking back because I hope to have a show this spring.

Thanks for visiting and let me know what you think on the new work…I would greatly appreciate the feedback, good or bad.

Don’t forget to check out my Etsy store too…I just added sketchbooks and more jewelry.