michelle ward

how to press your luck

This is my favorite time of year for finding four leaf clovers.  The patches are just emerging from the sleepy earth and the friendly green weeds are perfect and unblemished (and not yet mowed).  I've already scored about two dozen this month.  My mission, being so early in the gathering season, is to find a tiny one.  Here's what I know:  if you find one four leaf clover, you are likely to find another in the same patch.   Most people walk away with their luck before taking a second look.  Here's my How-To for Pressing Your Luck, literally.

 

I'm thinking I might be pressing my luck, of another kind, by purchasing a lottery ticket.  Hey, why not?  It's been fun to watch the bounty raised for the MegaMillion drawing tonight.  If I win, Shamrock Shakes are on me.  Our son Peter came home from his convenient store job last night very tired from standing at the lottery till all evening.  The lines were long at the ATM as neighbors collected cash then relined up at the register to wish on a number.  Good luck!

 

And while I'm talking about How-To, let me direct you to a new button in the right sidebar.  TUTORIALS will take you to a page I'm working on.  The cool thing about typepad blogs is you can set up static pages where you can easily re-post visuals and information from previous posts.  I'm culling my blog for useful information that can be organized and easily referenced on the tutorial page.  It's a work-in-progress.  So far I have completed reposting archived data on Carving Stamps to support an upcoming article I will have in Somerset Studio (May/June 2012).  The article will discuss WHY to carve.....didn't want to waste the real estate on HOW, since that information can be found in many places, and now HERE.

So tell me....

1.  Have you found a four leaf clover?

2.  Did you buy a MegaMillions lottery ticket this week?

3.  What tutorials are you interested in seeing?

pulsing along

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be sitting by my computer, listening to Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski.  His guest co-host will be Seth Apter.  During the show they will have additional guests:  Lisa Hoffman, Julie Prichard, Angela Cartwright, Pam Carriker, and me!  I will be on the schedule just before it ends.  See Mark's post introducing everyone, right HERE.

Click over to toginet.com for a brand new, LIVE, 2-hour show.  Call into the live show with your questions or comments for the guests:  (877) 864-4869   Time zones:  3 pm -5 pm EST, 2 pm – 4 pm CST, 1 pm – 3 pm MST, 12 pm – 2 pm PST.  The show will be archived (on the same site) for your listening pleasure in case you miss it. 

EDIT:  Phew, that was nervewracking.  My PULSE was certainly raised.  It was fun and flew by.  The podcast archive is up.  Visit HERE and see right sidebar, 3-28-12.

Then on Saturday, (3/31) I will be a guest at The Ink Pad, NYC for book signing and an artist's panel, hosted by Seth.  Panel includes:  Julie Prichard, Karen Cole, Danny Gregory, Roxanne Evans-Stout, Jill Zaheer, and me!  If you plan on joining us call the Ink Pad to reserve a free chair: 212-463-9876. 

Seth's doing an amazing job promoting his book, don't you think?  Have you been following along on his blog?  One last thing....Thank you for all the pre-orders!  I'm thrilled with the response!! 

OnWARD

The second installment of the OnWARD & UpWARD Collection is now listed for pre-order at GreenPepperPress.com.  These images coordinate with the new stencils I showed you in the previous post.  I tend to design stamps that I want to have and use.  I love having more than one size of a favorite image or pattern.  Repetition with multiple scales, swoon.  Both stamps and stencils are now offered at a pre-order discount for a limited time.

If you're like me you wonder how the images actually figure into the formats you work with so I have scaled some of the stamp samples digitally. 

Visit GPP if you are interested in pre-ordering the stamps and or stencils.

Thank you for all the kind words about my postcards.  I loved making them and have adapted the design to a larger format....I will show you soon!

lucky day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I had full intention of making and sending cards this year but I didn't get them completed in time so here is a virtual one I can share with everyone.  I have been busy at the studio table making these....but they were for iHanna's annual postcard swap.  I was full messy mode and found a fun format to work in, or is it formula?  Maybe it's neither.  Maybe you could call it a series.  I like to formulate series.....and I LOVED breaking in my new stencils from SGP!

 

So here's the LUCKY part of today....Stencil Girl Products is now encouraging me to sell my designs on my site, Green Pepper Press.  I have uploaded all the stencils, including four new ones released this week, at my site.  Next week I will add the paypal buttons for the shopping cart.  I will also be revealing some new rubber that coordinates with the stencils!!

 

minimalism

Our challenge this month on the Street Team is a exercise of restraint.  Hold back.  Compose cleverly so there is more breathing room, less clutter.  Often we think that untouched space means it's unfinished.  Not true.  Less isn't superior or inferior, just a different approach.  Busy can be good too.  There are no rules, but for this crusade it's been interesting to see how the artists have responded to purposely going minimal.  Like this the page below....because last week I saw my first new patch of clovers!

 

This will be the last crusade for a while as I take a self-imposed hiatus.  Maybe you'll come play? 

Find us HERE.

 

yummy

Have you seen this one?  It's been showing up recently on morning television.  A 3-1/2 minute mini-film for Cartier.  Beautiful.  Reminds me of the Chanel ads from a few years ago.  

 

 

Thanks for all the cookie chatter!  I love that so many of your chimed in.  More to come later this week.  We aren't done with cookies yet!

 

confetti time

First, let me say Thank You to everyone who came by for Seth's book launch celebration.  Loved hearing from so many new readers, and love seeing all the answers to the questions!  It felt like I was in a confetti storm - it's been a festive week. 

 

In case you didn't get the memo, today is Oreo's 100th anniversary.  Can you believe Google didn't jump on that?  Hello, where was the clever variation of their logo?  Two cookies that drop down into milk.  Easy.  Oreo is a treat available worldwide.  Where is the respect?  I wonder if they will pass over Titanic's anniversary next month too?  I didn't forget....I made a page.  Yes, 100 dots.  And a few quickie carvings to help me mimic some Oreo-ness.

 

 

We scored some birthday cake confetti frosting Oreos last week.  We don't usually stray from the original.  Double Stuff probably makes alot of people happy but I think they are too much.  Now these dunkers were cool - did you ever see them?  A few years ago Shannon brought these to the cabin.  I howled at the cleverness.  Never saw them after that but never forgot them either. 

 

I'm off to dunk a few of the standard issue Oreos in my coffee.  But before I go....let's meet in the comment section again.  It was so much fun to see the conversation that was generated by the questions in the last post.  How about another?

1.  Are you a cookie person? 

2.  If so, what is your favorite?

3.  Do Oreos fall in your top 5 of cookies?

 

Check your Pulse

If you haven’t already met him, I’d like to introduce Mr. Seth Apter.  Our first exchange of blog comments dates back to 2007.  Always encouraging and enthusiastic, his remarks were not only appreciated, they became a foundation of a friendship.  In addition to being a mixed media artist, I’ve come to regard him as a curator and collaborator, which you will agree if you’ve frequented his Altered Page.  He regularly presents his own handsome work, as created for himself (like the "making Waves" series above), or as part of a collaborative project.  Some years ago he began presenting The Pulse – an ongoing self-imposed assignment where he surveys artists on a number of topics of interest.  A visit to his blog is always fun and informative and you will find yourself hopping around to the many useful links he provides, to events, exhibits, and sites, while widening your circle of acquaintances.

The online project has now manifested itself in book form.  Seth has once again culled from a community of artists, and invited many to share their art and their perspective by anwering many types of questions.    I am priviledged to be among the spotlighted contributors.  His book will be released this month so he is celebrating by presenting 31 artists in 31 days.  Visit his blog for daily updates, plus a chance to win a copy of his book, HERE. 

Queue the trumpets, sound the drums....

I have observed, both in the book preview available on Amazon, and the posts on his blog, that he doesn’t answer his own questions.  Ok, he did participate in chapter one of the Pulse on his blog a long time ago, but since then we have not heard his opinions.  Don’t you think it’s time we start asking him a few???  Pick up the pen Seth, (or poise your fingers over the keyboard), it’s your turn. 

Later this month I will be one of the guests for the two hour podcast where Seth will be co-host with Mark Lipinski at Creative Mojo.  And then I will join a group of artists for a live panel at The Ink Pad.  Looking forward to celebrating creativity and what it brings to our lives....and finally meeting the man!

March 28: Podcast with Mark Lipinski on Creative Mojo. Seth will be Mark's co-host for the entire 2 hour podcast which airs live from 3-5pm EST (and which will be archived for listening anytime). They will talk all about The Pulse of Mixed Media and be joined by contributors Michelle Ward, Angela Cartwright, Pam Carriker, Julie Prichard, and Lisa Hoffman. Get your questions ready as this radio show has a live call-in feature!

March 31: Live artist panel at The Ink Pad in NYC. Seth will be joined by contributors Leslie Marsh, Karen Cole, Jill Zaheer, Julie Prichard, Roxanne Evans Stout, and Michelle Ward. The panel will be video taped and available for viewing on Create Mixed Media sometime in early April.

EDIT:  HE HAS SPOKEN!  Please continue to join in the conversation taking place in the comment section below.  Seth has been a good sport about taking on the questions above...here are his answers:

1. I have always worked small and enjoy the challenge of having something small make a big impact. By far my largest piece to date was 3 feet x 3 feet and I made it as part of my Graffiti Wall collaboration with Julie Prichard and Lynne Hoppe. My most recent series of paintings, called Interior Angles, was created on 12" x 12" panels - and I have to say that I definitely liked working larger.

2. For my book, I wrote a very, very long list of questions from which I chose the ones that ended up in the book. They were all questions that came to me because I was curious about the answers and I felt that in all cases, the responses would really offer the reader insight into each contributing artist.

3. Autumn is definitely my favorite season in general and the one that is most inspirational too me. It is the combination of the feel of the season, the colors, the weather, the nature, the smells, the food, etc. that really gets me going.

4. One sentence huh? Now I know how my contributors feel when I ask them for only one instance of something. Here goes: Allow what is inside you to be your artistic guide, with a sense of playfulness, a feeling of passion, and not a trace of judgement.

APPLAUSE APPLAUSE!  Thank you Seth.  Hey, while we are clapping, how about the clever title of his sculptures at the top?  "Making Waves"...get it?  Waving hands.  *dies at the geniusness*