Guess what?  Chicken butt!  Sorry, I do that do my kiddo all the time and I couldn't resist :D

Seriously, though, I am sooo super excited to announce that my art dolls have been accepted by Trillium Artisans!

They have a beautiful new retail space downtown (318 SW Taylor), as well as a shop on eBay World of Good and Etsy, wholesale accounts and more.  If you are wondering just how fantastic they are, read this from the "about us" page on their website:

Trillium's primary goal is to help low-income artisans increase their craft business income and build sustainable microenterprises. All products reflect the commitment to sustainability: they are created with at least 50% recycled or reclaimed materials, and are priced to pay the artisan a living wage.

How cool is that?  I am really happy and honored to be a part of such a great organization along with so many other fabulous artisans. 

I am now offering digital prints (aka giclee), in sets of four for only $60! 

Sometimes deciding on only one is very hard. Or, you could be a very decisive kind of person, but you want to buy several and think "Wow! A discount would be really handy right now!" Or, you could be thinking, "One is very pretty, but a set of 4 would make my wall extra-fancy!"

This is for your extra-fancy walls, or your extra-lucky friends, or a sweet treat just for you. Choose any 4 prints from my shop and I will print them up on velvety matte photo paper, wrap them in protective sleeves with a stiff backing so they won't get damaged, and ship them right to your very doorstep!

Original art is even better when you collaborate with a close friend.

A long time ago, when I was still in art school and Indigo was just a baby, I was introduced to one of my closest friends, Alisha.  We were in a couple of the same art classes together, and we were fast friends.  We were both smokers at the time, and we would drive all the way to Vancouver, WA so we could sit at Shari's (kind of like Denny's, for those of you who live in different part of the States) and smoke while we drank coffee (or half root beer, half diet Pepsi if I remember correctly...right Alisha?) and talked for hours hours on end.

I graduated from PSU and started my long haul to being a working artist while Alisha got her Master's in Art Education.  When she graduated, she found a great job teaching high school art in Baltimore and moved away.  Of course I miss her like crazy, with all of these years and miles between us.  And she is an INSANELY good artist, I admire her work incredibly and hope that those kids she teaches have some inkling of how lucky they are to have her! (You can take a look at her blog to see some of her work).

So, you can imagine how excited I was when she suggested we make some collaborative paintings!  We decided to make them on mat board so that they were light weight and cheap to ship back and forth.  We each started one, and mailed them to each other several times before deciding they were finished. 

This one is the one I started with a watercolor wash, some decorative paper glued to the corners and a really rough painting of the lady in the center.  It was so cool to see the changes Alisha made to it and to add my own.  It was her idea to put the lady on the little stand--I love that!  The clouds and sun in the background, and the details on the figure are all hers, too. 

I don't have a copy of the other one yet, but as soon as I get it I'll share!  Our lives are both very busy, but I am looking forward to doing more of these as we have the time. 

5 x 7 digital prints, original art, art pendants on sale!

It's getting super close to Spring, I have lots of great projects going on and website changes coming up.  With all that's happening, I need some space!  Time to give you all some great deals and make room in my studio :)

Visit my Etsy Shop to see all of the 5x7" prints (only $5!!), pendants ($6, what?!), and even some original paintings ($55-75!) on sale.  The link above will bring you directly to all the sale items!

Expect to see the rest of my studio sale in person at the next 1st Thursday on April 5th. 

Also, for my blog readers only, get an EXTRA 10% off your whole order--sale items or not--by using discount code "BLOGSALE2012" at checkout, now through the end of March.

Happy shopping!

A few weeks ago, I sent a shout out on my facebook page asking for testimonials and photos of you and the art you bought from me in your house.  I got several lovely testimonials and two of you sent pictures.  A huge THANK YOU to everyone with your super awesome nice words, and extra thanks to....

...Becky, for whom I've done several portraits of her super-cute and silly pets (here is Madge in her lil' pink dress!). And... 

...Beck of Little Daisy Chains, who has some of my prints and cards and things and was kind enough to send a pick of this one in its sweet frame.  I'm so happy to see it living next to those adorable storage jars (are they filled with ribbon, Beck? or tape?)!

Thanks for sharing your pictures, ladies!  If anyone else has some, I'd love to share them on my blog!  Don't be scared to share your pretty faces in there, too ;)

A couple of years ago I was sitting at my desk, staring at the empty moo card boxes I had laying around (Moo Cards are the cutest little tiny business cards, in case you haven't heard of them), and I came up with an idea.  Make a little assemblage box with one of my ladies in it.  The woman stands about an inch or so tall--she is made from shrinky dink plastic and bits of wire so that her articulated arms can move up and down.  At the base of her feet (beneath the box), is a little handle so you can make her dance back and forth across her VISION. 

I thought I would share her with you again.  Partly because I just listed her in my Etsy shop, and partly because I think she was a precursor to my art dolls, and partly because I have been collecting tiny and strange-shaped boxes for a very long time to make more of these little things.  I think she has re-ignited my own vision!  xo