Upcoming!

Sorry I haven't posted for so long!  I hope everyone had a great holiday season.  My winter shows went well, now I'm working on things for Arts on the Credit on April 12 & 13, 2014.  It will be at the Waterside Inn in Port Credit. 

I'm also nominated for a MARTY Award again this year, in the Creative Community category.  There are lots of other nominees this year, all of whom are also nominated in the People's Choice category, which anyone can go vote for on the Mississauga Arts Council's website.  You can also read about the MARTYs, get tickets, and look at past winners.

Gift Ideas

We all know Christmas is almost here, and most of us aren't finished our shopping.  If you have trouble with ideas for those you buy for here's some thoughts, beyond the big box store and gift card options:

- home made cookies/baking
- donation to a charity they support
- OK, so I said beyond gift cards, but an Etsy gift card
- take them to see a performance or out for a meal
- gift made by a local artist or craftsperson: painting, pottery, clothes/accessories, jewellery, bath & beauty, etc.
- note cards, especially if hand made, or reproductions by local artists
- something that came from a Fair Trade shop
- artisan/small batch foods
- a magazine subscription to something they like

Midnight Madness

Join us at Port Credit Emporium on Dec. 22nd (a Sunday), from 12 noon to 12 midnight for a last minute Christmas shopping midnight madness event!  There will be several artists participating, including myself.  I'll be there in person for the first half - noon to 6, and my table-buddy Marie will be there 6pm to midnight. 

Opening Saturday Evening

Join us Sat. Dec. 7, 6:30-9:30pm at The Guilty Dog Coffee House in Port Credit, along with Port Credit Emporium, for a Caribbean Christmas event, with special menu items, and the opening of my show at the coffee house, too! Stay for the evening, or just drop by. If you can't make it that evening, my work will be showing in the coffee house through late January.

Opening Tomorrow!

The Ontario Crafts Council Holiday Pop-Up Shop officially begins on Friday, running until Christmas Eve, but there's an opening preview event tomorrow evening (that's Thursday, Dec. 5), from 6:30-9:30pm at 990 Queen St. West.  There are about 30 participating makers, and I'm sure some of us will be there in person. 

New design

I got asked to make a little silk pouch for someone, which I have just done this week.  I really like the result, and am considering making a line of them in assorted colours - I'd appreciate some feedback, so let me know what you think!  I hope she likes it, too!

It's a simple, rectangular, flat, open top pouch, lined in grey silk on the inside, with a long cross-body strap. 

Holiday Events

Updated my website yesterday with upcoming events.  There are 3 things coming up:

- I will be showing a few pieces in Port Credit's Guilty Dog Cafe in December & January
- My silk clutches will be available over the holiday season (starting soon), in the Port Credit Emporium
- Additional silk clutches will be available during the Ontario Crafts Council's Holiday Pop-up Craft Shop in their Queen Street gallery, Dec. 6-24

Tour Recap

A couple of photos from the studio tour!

Artisan Studio Tour

The Studio Tour is coming up soon - on Saturday & Sunday next weekend!  Go back to my Sept. 25 post, check my Facebook page, or follow my Twitter feed for updates all week.  Our stop, #4 on the tour, will have 6 artists including my friends and fellow Sheridan grads Noelle Hamlyn (textile artist), and Emma Gerard (glass and jewellery artist). 

Work in Progress

I am working on new clutches, intending to have them ready for the Studio Tour in a couple of weeks.  I listed one on Etsy the other day, rainbow stripes on a white background.  It seemed to make sense to have a rainbow on white one, as I'd already made some rainbow on black. 

I am also re-working the scarves, I think they work better opened up, rather than sewn in the round as 'tubes'. 

Lastly, I have been using up my accumulated small scraps of silk that I can't use in the clutches/butterflies, i started free-motion stitching them down onto a tear-away stabilizer, intending to use the results as bookmarks and on cards, but I like it so much, I've cut a couple of larger pieces from it, and will be making 'patchwork' clutches from those pieces, and using the rest as originally planned. 

Port Credit Emporium

Tonight from 7-10pm is Port Credit Emporium's 1st year party.  The theme is Mad Men, I'll be there with my silk clutches, and it sounds like there will be a lot going on. 

Coming Up

The studio tour is coming up on October 26 & 27, 10am-5pm each day.  There are 6 stops, I'll be at #4. 

Art in the Park Show

The show on Sunday was great, the weather could have been warmer, but it stayed dry.  Here's a little peek at what it looked like, more pictures on my Facebook page!

Arms 2 Arts

As part of Doors Open & Culture Days, there will be a number of artists in various media and subject matter showing at the Small Arms building at Dixie & Lakeshore in Mississauga, on September 28th.  I'm unfortunately not one of them, as I'm doing Art in the Park tomorrow, and felt that two weekends in a row was too much for me, but I know some of those who are participating. 

Art in the Park

On Sunday, September 22, 2013, I'll be participating in Art in the Park, at Riverwood (Visual Arts Mississauga), from 10am-5pm.  There are nearly 60 artists and various media attending, on the lawn, in the main building, and in the barn.  I will be in the barn, and will have my silk clutches, and cotton scarves with me.  

Sketches

I am working on a workshop/course proposal about sketchbooks...  It's a process, I want to be organized and there's a lot of things to look at.

Also, this weekend is the end of my show of my butterflies at Woodside Pottery & Gallery Craighurst in the Barrie, Ontario area.  There is a new show going up on Sept. 2.  They will continue to carry a few of my pieces, like my silk clutches. 

The pop-up

I dropped by a pop-up jewellery show and sale at Port Credit Emporium on the 20th, which a friend of mine was taking part in. There were 3 jewellers in the show, which ran for 3 days. 

Toronto Outdoor

This weekend (Friday-Sunday) is the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, a big art show downtown.  I was in the show in 2011, but not this year, so I went with another artist friend of mine who has done it too, to check out the show and visit some people we know.  Also ran into a few other friends who were dropping by the show.  The weather on Friday was rainy, but yesterday was sunny and hot. 

Artisan Studio Tour 2013

I've signed up to do the Mississauga Artisan Studio Tour again this fall, on October 26 & 27 in Port Credit.  You can get more detailed updates, map, participating artisans, etc. on my Facebook page, or the tour's website.  The paper brochures are being printed currently, I'll share when I get some in a few weeks.

Picture with strap on purse

Here's one of the silk bags with the strap attached.  My Etsy listings for the clutches indicate which colour the strap on each listed bag is - black (like this one), navy, gold, or beige.  The cross body style, as pictured here, measure about 46" (117cm) long.