shelves n' stuff

i'm dying to show off the whole room, but until the little bits and bobs at the end are done, i will have to settle for the table putting togethers.

the shelves and stuff were built yesterday, and i have everywhere that needs to be painted painted.



if you click the photo, there are notes to explain stuff.

the unpainted bits will be edged with nicer wood and stained. the storage is fantastic :D
and i could sleep on top of it if i wanted to ;)

newses!

the work table should be finished today! (being built, anyway)
i couldn't wait and started priming, but there will be shelves inside...



it's a HUGE table! i love it! :D

also, i have some gallery news!
i will be participating in this show at highwire gallery in june :D
i'm really excited about it!
i will be showing my entire "survival (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger)" series there along with (hopefully) some new pieces!



check highwire's website for any other info.
see you later with a finished studio, perhaps? :D

oh, and here's a lil' pic of the pooch in his new studio bed. just cause it's cute :)

copycats

i recently joined an etsy team called the snow leopard network.
the quality of the work on that team is fantastic!

have a gawk:
snow leopard network
i am honored that i was invited to be a part of it.

anyway, once a month, this team has a talk about blog. people on the team write on a chosen topic and list the links of the others' blogs too. i think that's called a blog carnival. (i'm learning?!)
it's really interesting to hear what everybody has to say.

this is my first attempt...

and it's about copying!
(just the word copying gets my undies in a twist.)

besides being a member of the snow leopard network, i've been on etsy's plush team for a few years,
since it started, really.
copying has happened to me, and MANY of the other plush makers.
we discuss the problems surrounding this often!
surfing around the innerwebs, you hear about it DAILY!!!
it is heartbreaking.

i have been to many a craft show where you hear someone say "i could make that".
you probably have heard that too.
it takes all that i have in me not to punch them.

what is really baffling is how many people don't understand that it's NOT OK!!!!!

artists and craftspeople work hard to come up with original ideas, learn how to make it work, and work their butts off to get it out in the world....usually with the intention of making a living off of what they are good at.

when someone comes along and just takes this end result...well...it's stealing.

you know when you watch a dvd, and it says all that stuff about not using anything in it for personal or monetary reasons, or you will be fined eight gazillion dollars?
well, it's the same thing.
but there are people who use the stuff anyway :(
there's always gotta be "those people".

i wish i could say that everyone who made stuff was creative and imaginative and put their heart into what they did, but that wouldn't be true.
some people know how to make stuff, but they can't come up with ideas, so they just take somebody else's.

and the worst of these people.
the worst of them ALL!!!!
are the ones who will deny they copied and refuse to stop selling the idea that rightfully belongs to somebody else.
they will actually FIGHT over it!

do they think no one will notice???

these people do not understand how absolutely horrible it feels for the original artist because they don't know what it's like to have created something original.
they don't know because they can't do it...
...or they are too lazy to try.

there are so many books out in the world to tell you how to make things!
there are tutorials all over youtube.
there are many workshops and classes you can take.

but to take an artists work and try to pull it off as your own is wrong and immoral.
if there are still people in the world who truly don't realize this, then i think it's our responsibility, as artists, to spread the word.

which is why i agreed to write about this topic.

copiers!!! listen up!!!
it is hard enough to get by as an artist. please stick to your day jobs and leave our territories alone!
you will never be consistent enough with your work if you are only following someone else's finished product. you will always fail taking the shortcut.
it takes time! it takes years and years to develop an art!!!! it takes experiences, it takes patience, it takes failures and successes. it takes blood, shit and tears! it needs a heart and a soul.
don't try take that away from an artist and their work.
you can't.
and your copy will be absolutely lifeless if you try.
i can promise you that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

please see what the other snow leopard peeps think about all this...


ArtJewel designs
Andes Cruz
Jewelry by Natsuko
Beth Cyr
Tosca Teran
Tamra Gentry
alisa miller
Mary Spencer
Thomasin Durgin
rosyrevolver

my heroes

hero |ˈhi(ə)rō|
noun ( pl. -roes)
a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities : a war hero.

• the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

• (in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semidivine origin, in particular one of those whose exploits and dealings with the gods were the subject of ancient Greek myths and legends.

• (also hero sandwich) another term for submarine sandwich .

these two guys are my heroes.



(they are not any kind of sandwich.)

that is our friend, jon on the left, and my husband, pat, on the right.

they worked their arses off for me to build this studio.
for something that started off as a small job, it turned into a HUGE project.
the result is something i've always dreamed of having, but never thought i would!
i am forever grateful and indebted to these two guys.

so, this is a public THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart!
i'm a happy girl! :D

p.s. we make a GREAT team! xo

water!

i finally got my sink installed! and it works!!!! :D
i was a little skeptical about this sink at first...
i mean, i love the sink, but it's meant to be a bathroom sink on a vanity.
and i thought it would be kinda cool to use it like a vessel sink only it's really rectanglish i had to order the faucet elsewhere, so i wasn't able to see what it would be like until i got it here.

it's definitely different.

i was afraid that the faucet would pour the water right over the sink and onto me!
but it doesn't. it works just fine! and it is nice and high for washing brushes and stuff.





i sorta hate that the drain thing is silver, but what can i do? :P

the floor is almost finished too! i need one more coat of varnish on the last bit and it's done! i'm just a little worried that since i had to do the floor in so many parts that it will be all different in spots. surely it will, but hopefully the worktable will distract from that...

anyway,
water!
yay!

this week...

we built a sewing table that's just the right size :)

and we hung paintings up (with a few extra holes in the wall, but i can fix those :/ )

tomorrow is supposed to be sink installation day! :D

and today my lovely neighbors (who give me the teeth moulds)
were throwing away an old door. they gave it to me to make the lil' closet door with, or the work table.

not a whole lot left to do!

can't wait to show ya! :D

closer and closer

just thought i'd fill ya in so you didn't forget i was still here ;)

we are SO CLOSE!!!! now if i could only get these fellas in here to install the sink and a couple of lil' things...
i'll be able to give you the grand tour! :D

i just got all my electrical outlets put in...the rest of them...today.
my sink is here and the faucet arrived, we just don't have pipes.
and guess what...
i have a lil' fridge in the closet! lol!

i have cable t.v. and my itunes hooked up to my wall speakers...only one side is working for some reason...we have to figure that out yet.

i think i will make a video at the end :)