Hollenbecks

I have been to the local cider mill twice this week, and I will probably go again next weekend. There is nothing like apple cider, fresh doughnuts, and apple pie on a beautiful fall day. Im so glad that I live in a place where the leaves change color.

I took this picture in the house we're building. Notice the saw in the background?

:)

On My Way

"This hill...goes on...FOREVER. I wish I had remembered my water bottle..."

Frederic Remington Museum - Juried Art Show 9/24/11

Show #2 of the weekend was in the great Frederic Remington museum. The more and more I see his work, the more I like it. There was a great exhibit for Remington's 150th birthday. Artists made pieces inspired  by Remington's work, and they were all amazing. Remington would have been proud!

Most of the pictures of the show were taken by my darling sister. The lighting of the museum plus my camera didn't work out very well, but we did our best.

The Remington Museum (I took this photo from their website...currently the museum is having some construction done, and I couldnt get a good picture of the outside)

Like the show at Lake Placid, it got crowded fairly quickly.

Taken by Marion Bradish

Undulating Fibers by Sue Thomas

Daybreak by Terry Rempel-Mroz

Some of the gallery space. 

Almost Home by Bob Renaud

My uncle Ron. 

And one of my pieces!

Four of my (blurry) cousins.

A really dramatic picture of my other piece (the lighting was crazy). 

Me and my sister.

A shout-out to all of my family: thank you for coming to the show and supporting me and my artistic endeavors. You guys are the best!

Lake Placid Center for the Arts - Juried Art Show Opening 9/23/11

Wow. Just wow.

I drove 4+ hours on Friday to get from my house to Lake Placid for the opening, and it was totally worth it! What a great show. There are some amazingly talented people out there. So many mediums were represented at the show: collage, stone and wood carvings, paintings, photography, weaving, pencil drawings...amazing. The show is up until October 23rd, so if you are in the area, you should check it out!

The opening:

The art center.

The refreshments were set up outside. A lot of people showed up!

The exhibit space was nicely presented.

Left: Afterglow by Suzanne Doin
Right: Patterned Growth by Nip Rogers

Papageno Costume: The Magic Flute Opera by Timothy Westbrook

So many great pieces on exhibit.

Left: Earthbeat by Ralph Prata
Right: Oranges by Ruth Crotty

Dawn by Analise Rigan

Left: The Source by Ian Burcroff
Right: Echos of a Dream by Annoel Krider

By 5:30, the room was full of visitors.

Dramatic lighting.

And finally...

...

....yours truly!

Coleoptera, the Largest Order of Species in the World

I have two pieces of news to report:

1.) My piece, "The Murder" was accepted in the Lake Placid Center for the Arts juried show. 

2.) One of my pieces in the upcoming Remington Museum show was featured in this mornings newspaper. 

Good things are happening! 

The piece for the day: A sample of a little project Im working on. In this piece I focused on...beetles!!

The Murder

From Wikipedia: "Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals."

UPDATE: This piece was accepted in the juried show at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. The show will be up from September 23rd-October 23rd. Stop by!

Fall Harvest

Fall is here! Im counting down the days till the local cider mill opens for the season. Hot cider and doughnuts...there's nothing better than that.

There is a family of Amish people living nearby, who have cut all their wheat and gathered it into little piles in their field. Inspiration hit me like lightning. I designed this art nouveau-esqu wheat design and used a really neat gold mesh paper (which unfortunately doesn't translate as well on a computer screen). I need to tweak this some more, but I like where it's going.

Frederic Remington

Exciting news! Two of my pieces have been selected for the upcoming show at the Frederic Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, NY. The opening will be September 24th, from 2-4, and the show will remain up until January. Anyone in the area should check it out! Also check out the Remington collection, guaranteed to impress all you old west fans out there!

The two pieces selected:

Flutter By

Frog Nouveau

P.S. Both of these pieces were made using my new technique and an awesome paper called "Volcano".

Alle meine Entchen

Another example (see my older post) of my newfound technique. Im not as happy with this one, but I still think that the ducklings are cute.

Finding A Pattern

One thing I really love is creating patterns. I sketch out an idea, scan it into Photoshop, mess around with it, and wind up with something like this:

If you look at this a certain way, the zebras look like lips. 

Let The Trumpets Sound

I just completed the submissions I was working on and finally have some time to get back to my commissions!

Not so long ago I developed a new technique, which up until now I have not had time to post about. It is fabulous! I wont bore you with the details, but here is an example of what I came up with. The  inspiration for this piece came from the trumpet vines growing outside.

Set Up A Studio - Check

I now have a nice drafting table to work on. My back is rejoicing! Everything is all nicely set up the way I want it, and my studio space overlooks the river. What could be better?

 "I have sometimes sat alone here of an evening, listening, until I have made the echoes out to be the echoes of all the footsteps that are coming by and by into our lives."

-Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

The Great Design-A-Thon

Good morning, everyone! What a great July it was. I was so occupied with events, activities, and designing things that the days whizzed by before I knew it. Now we are in August! Can you believe it?

This month is paper cut month. I have a huge number of commissions to get through, and more keep coming. So I am in the middle of what I call, The Great Design-A-Thon. My process is as follows:

1.) Get information on what exactly the client is looking for. How big? What color? What subject? Etcetera.

2.) Make a rough sketch (or two, or three) of the design. Send it, and suggestions, to the client.

3.) Wait back for confirmation/input.

4.) Make new design and/or start cutting.

5.) Fini!

Add to this a number of artwork submission requests I have received for upcoming art shows, and I am a busy gal!

Im not going to post any pictures of the commissions I am currently working on (I will post those when they are completed and are in their forever homes), but I will leave you with a couple of paper cuts I made for my project with Bedford Creek Press.

Time For An Update

Well my dear followers, things are progressing in FPC land! The art show was a huge success and it was a pleasure meeting my fellow artists and art enthusiasts. My next post will go a bit more in-depth on the art show, but today I wanted to give you a warning:

I will soon be in the process of updating my site. That's right, False Prairie Clover is getting a makeover! Im hoping to make things a bit more user friendly and easier on the eyes. And when I get a chance, I plan on updating my logo too. Any tips or advice for my new look is greatly appreciated!

And now I leave you with a piece my friend Jennie commissioned for her mother-in-law. It is based (roughly) on a Yorkie named "Rosie".

Decoupage- The Start of Something New!

Wow! So much has been happening recently and it is INSANE! For those of you in the area, dont forget to check out my artwork in the Along the Rivers Edge exhibit at the Thousand Islands Arts Center on the 30th, not to mention all the other works by talented artists. Cant make it? Dont worry, I will definitely be posting pictures of the show!

So a quick update on my life. I recently handed in my two weeks notice at the bakery. It was a sad and hard decision to make, but I think I made the right choice. I will miss everyone at the bakery dearly, but I know that we will keep in touch and see each other again.

One of the driving forces behind my decision was my art. I really want to buckle down and get my portfolio together. I also want to work on marketing my work and selling it around town. I have had so many people ask me for commissions, but with the job, I had no time. Many projects had to get pushed aside, deadlines passed, and I regretted not being able to get things done. Now I plan on spending some real quality time on my art!

..........................................................................................................................................................................................

I have had so many ideas running through my head recently. Im not going to spoil everything by telling you what they are, but I will tell you that I have started to explore the wonderful world of decoupage. What fun! Here is a picture of my tester.

 I covered a little wooden plaque with scraps of paper (yes, I save a LOT of the paper I cut! I knew it would come in handy). Then I designed and cut out a moth, glued it to the plaque, and coated, coated, COATED it with decoupage medium. I think it turned out quite well. Im excited to do some more exploring with this craft.

Moving On

So after a pretty stressful week, I finally found some time to work on a new cut. Nothing fancy, just something to get me back into the swing of things.

Back and Beautiful

Sorry about the long delay in posting. I have been focusing on completing my three submissions for the Along the Rivers Edge exhibit which I mentioned in an earlier post. And after weeks of labor, I have finally finished! I am pretty happy with the outcome. Oh, and I HATE matting!

This first submission will look familiar ;) Now you can see it in all it's finished glory. I found some awesome wave-like paper for the background, and presto chango!

Second submission, also something you have seen before. This one is just WAY bigger than the first. 40" X 29"

My third submission is something new! I am annoyed that I forgot to take a picture of the long view without the glass...grr. Anyway, I love the gold paper i found for the background. I am going to figure out another project to use it in...

UPDATE: All three of these pieces were accepted into the art show!!! They will be on exhibit and up for sale June 30th - July 25th at the Thousand Islands Arts Center, Home of The Handweaving Museum.