A Lady and Her Q

Because I am avoiding hand washing my summer sweater (which I have been avoiding for WEEKS because I hate hand washing...) I'm going to take a moment to both procrastinate and introduce to you a lady and her business that I am very proud of... my older sister, Deanne and her Etsy shop, Q Creative. The letter Q, standing for Quinn, who is both her daughter and my niece (read more about that here & here) has been inspiration for her creativity. The items in the shop are a mix of practical creations for both mama and babe. As a very proud younger sister, I just have to declare that they are ALL so cute. She has had quite the boom in the past while with new customers and is constantly coming up with new ideas for products to add to the shop.

A little side note: Those bow ties were added to the shop after we put some together for the groomsmen at my wedding! And oh my. If I had a child, they would be wearing those cute little baby headbands below. 

One of the most popular items (I don't know the count on how many she's made, but I know it's A LOT) is the maxi skirt- a easy breezy summer item that's sold at an easy breezy price. 

To take a look and/or purchase any of the items seen here, please visit her shop or facebook page. It would make both my heart and her's very happy!

Find her here: 

Etsy Shop

Facebook Page

Artist of the Day: Shauna Buck

 It's been a while for artist of the day. Actually it's been a while for any sort of series that I once started but failed to commit to... I have a mind that gets excited about something quickly and tires of it easily, what can I say? But I have a new vision today. To feature local artists under my Artist of the Day series! This is one talented lady that I have recently discovered and love her work! Shauna Buck is a member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council and I was able to take in her work at a recent festival. Her illustrative pieces are just lovely and she is as well. The pieces are available in a variety of forms- I was able to purchase a small button for my bag which I now carry with me everywhere! Take a peek at her beautiful work and be sure to check out her website as well!

Find her here:

Website     Blog     Etsy

 As a side note: I've joined the realm of facebook pages and you can like it here! This way, you can get updates on all of my latest pieces and perhaps contact me about purchasing one to support a starving artist!

Artist of the Day: Clare Elsaesser

I just came across this beautiful artist and have to share her work! Clare Elsaesser is a full-time working artist living in Bodego Bay, CA. Her lovely work is done in matte acrylic on wood panel. Many of her prints are sewn onto heavy watercolour paper. Her work is absolutely inspiring and makes me want to paint all day! Take a look at more of her pieces in her Etsy shop, Tastes Orangey. She has a HUGE collection of prints to be purchased, and I may just have to do that in a minute...

Artist of the Day: Mae Handmade

I would like to take a moment and introduce you to a good friend of mine and fellow artist! Meet Richelle Bergen, creator of Mae Handmade. She is an incredibly talented artist and skilled crafts-woman. We have known each other for quite a few years now and she has always inspired me with her creative nature and love for the arts- she has a passion for life that you won't find many places! If you head over to her blog, you will see that she loves thrift shopping, espresso, relaxation, wheat fields, and interior design and I can attest to experiencing all of these things with her in the small town where she lives! 

So please, have a look at Richelle's work and you will see that it's definitely unique and so inspiring! There are three ways you can feel inspired by or support Richelle:

1. her blog

2. her Etsy shop

3. her Pinterest page

Community

Recently, I was starting on a project for school that focused on community and part of the assignment was to research an artist who focused on that theme. I came across an artist who you may have heard of as her work as been all over the globe- her name is Candy Chang and her work is AMAZING. She incorporates community through collecting data which makes it an interactive art. She does so many amazing projects, and you can see all of her work through her website. One project that she did involved asking two questions on large blackboards installed on an abandoned Alaskan building. Through doing this, the surrounding community could have input on the happenings of the building. 

The two questions asked for memories of the building and also for the hopes for the building. This inspired me to do a project similar, but at a much smaller scale. It took a bit of coaxing from those around me, but I happened to collect what I was looking for! It's fascinating to hear people's answers and realize what inspires them and challenges them!

Now, I'll open the question for all of you blog readers:

1. What do you enjoy about your community?

2. What would you like to change about your community?

Artist of the Day: Me!!

In following my last post, I realized that I have not posted my own artwork in a while! I have been creating a lot with all of my classes. To be honest, I haven't really been happy with most of the end results except for the one class where it feels like we can just play! These are some of the end products of that class.

The first two were created under the theme, "Economy". I more so felt like just painting a pretty picture with watercolours... so I kind of incorporated that theme into them, but they are much more about the illustration than the theme!

I am often inspired by other's works, but I had not seen Elsa Mora's works before doing these paper cuts! But I did discover through doing these that paper cutting is really fun! I absolutely love doing them- it's very relaxing, especially when you are sick and can do it while watching t.v. (revert to this post). I have one bigger one to post (these are just little 4" by 6" pieces) but it's being marked at the moment, so it's not in my possession for the time being.

And a sidenote- I have been enjoying the company of the television show, Community, lately- it's SO funny!! Has anyone else seen it?? It reminds me of my own community college experience last year which makes it all the more funny!

Artist of the Day: Elsa Mora

I was trying to decide what to post today and realized it has been ages since I posted any artist of the day features! Sorry for my lack of propriety! In my searching today, I've come across the artist, Elsa Mora whose work fascinates me! She is originally from Cuba and started her work as an artist at a very young age. Her work focuses on multimedia work with an emphasis on paper cuts and small sculpture. What intrigues me about the work is both the detail and the fact that it seems whimsical, yet there is a thought-provoking idea behind each piece. If you would like to learn more about her work, you can visit her blog or you can see her paper-cutting works here.

Paper Heart

Spring is slowly (and I mean slowly because it's snowing at this very moment...) making it's way known around here and the melting ice has been so lovely...especially when I get to jump in puddles with my cute rubber boots! I'm still longing for those flowers to appear but since that will probably take a looooong time, I'm thinking these might make do. Flowers that never die? What could be better?! My sister introduced me to this Etsy seller: Accents and Petals- she creates flowers out of paper, recycled items, and birch wood. And they look beautiful!

Etsy. Sister. Love

Just taking a moment in my sick day to promote my sister and her new creative efforts of professional crafting. She's recently set up her shop on Etsy called Felicity Designs and I for one, am proud of her recent success. You should definitely check out her stock of baby blankets and reconstructed decorative pillow cases! And while you're at it check out her blog here.

As an afterthought, I've once again updated my art blog- I love printmaking! Please do check it out, as it is finally my more recent work!

Artist of the Day: Mucha

I was first introduced to this artist by my dear friend, Amanda. As a Czech Art Nouveau painter, at the time, I had not heard of him- my interest lay only in impressionist painters before I had been exposed to the beauty of Art Nouveau! Mucha has a unique style that is both intricate and beautiful. I am fascinated by his work that is slightly illustrative, but so much more than just that. His colours and movement within are delightfully lovely! I hope you, too, are as intrigued as I am.

Artist of the Day: Edmund Du Lac

I discovered this gem of an artist the other day in my Drawing for Illustration class. I am in love with his whimsical, fairytale-like illustrations....so beautiful.