a full day of painting

I have been really busy with a number of projects. Once they are finished, I will update and post images and tell you all about them. I don't want to share until the projects are finished...maybe I am just a little superstitious.

Being busy is good, but having to be in front of the computer all day can take its toll. When I can spend a whole day with a brush and Gutta in my hand-I am happy! So, all day Sunday I painted! What a great feeling! I had Steven take some pictures of me drawing the resist onto the silk. I also bought a smaller frame to stretch. I want to experiment with shading and more detailed designs. Any silk painters out there with advice or inspiration?

Also, I need your help! I am trying to figure out a way to hang these wall hangings when they are finished. Any ideas??

I put my drawing behind the silk so I have guide.
You can see the drawing a bit in this photo.drawing with Gutta resist

mai mano

If you are ever in Budpaest, you must put Mai Mano as a place to take a break and enjoy a glass of wine. This is my favorite place to meet friends (Andi) on a hot summer evening and enjoy a glass of fehér bor (white wine). It feels like a combination of Paris and New York. I love it!
And the decor is amazing-both inside and out!

bird bloom

My mother-in-law just received samples of my new magnets! I was so excited to get the photo from her! I can not wait to see them in real life. I will be selling these on my etsy site around Christmas!

What do you think? Any ideas for future magnets? I should start doing another collection and need some new ideas!

Bird Bloom Magnets for Ipop

Frey Wille

While in Vienna we visited the Frey Wille shop. I have seen advertisements all over Budapest but have never been in the store. So, when we walked by the store-I automatically made a detour to the front door.

I want to back up a bit and give you a little insight into my customer service experience in the United States. I worked 11 years in product development at Nordstrom. For those of you not familiar with Nordstrom-they are a higher end department store who is known for their excellent customer service. I learned many things in those 11 years at Nordstrom. The most important thing I learned is that if you treat the customer with respect and a smile, you will have loyal customers who will remember their pleasant shopping experience and will come back. It is so simple, yet so many business just don't get it. Frey Wille gets it!

We went into the store to just look around. A very nice sales woman approached me and started talking about the products. She was extremely knowledgeable about everything that went into making the ring that I was eyeing. She pulled it out of the case and let me try it on. I told her I wasn't going to buy anything today. She still spent a good amount of time with me just explaining the process of how the jewelry is made. She filled up a bag full of catalogues, a business card and order information and walked around the counter and handed me the bag. She walked us to the door, open the door for us and said have a nice day. My friend looked at me with big eyes and said "Did you buy that ring?" I did not...yet. The whole experience was so nice and I left the store appreciating the service and understanding the craftsmanship and how the jewelry is made.

Each piece of jewelry is hand done. If you know me, you know I am just as interested in the process as I am the final product. I asked if there was a factory that I could tour. Unfortunately, there are no public tours.
The below photos are from one of the catalogues that was given to me.

The ring on the left is the one I have been eyeing:)

silk painting update!

My first silk painting is finished! Well, not really, but close! I am finished with the painting-now it is time to store, boil, set, wash and sew!

Sheila's Garden
I took this photo outside and I liked the way the shadows looked.

i heart boesner!

Boesner....the largest art store I have been in! They have everything from canvas's, paper, pens, oils, airbrush supplies, hand made paper supplies, art books and more. And, they even have a cafe so your spouse can have a cup of joe while they wait for you:)

I didn't buy much-they only take the Maestro credit card-no others. So cash it was!

One thing of note is below...their free catalog which is the largest catalog I have ever seen! Notice the 1342 peeking out...that is from the index.

So if you live in Europe here are the details of the shop I went to in Vienna:

Boesner
Unter der Kirche 4
1110 Wien (Vienna)
tel: +43 1 769 73 76 200
www.boesner.at

My goodies!

another inspiring bit from Jeffrey Gitomer

A time out from the Vienna bliss and the pretty pictures. I just love this guy. He says it the way it is!

Enjoy: Click here to read Jeffrey Gitmer's "Now is the perfect time to step up, if you’re willing to risk it."

Vienna...Wien...Bécs

Americans call it Vienna,

Germans call is Wien,
Hungarians call it Bécs,
I call it Inspiring.

I spent two lovely days in Vienna last week. It is only a three hour train ride from Budapest! How lucky am I? The trip was short and packed with sight seeing, a trip to a HUGE art store and Wiener Schnitzel! The next few blog entries will be from my trip. So lets get started!

Below are photos from around the city! Click on the image to see a larger view. Enjoy!

I love all the color!

So many statues with beautiful faces.

One of my favorite things about Europe are the buildings!
Vienna had some beauties!
(I like the colors in the photo below. The soft sand hues with touches of
warm pale pinks and sage greens. Maybe there is an idea
here for a silk painting color way...hmmm)

finally...painting silk

Finally! I have started painting! After having some difficulty finding random supplies....I started to mix color and I have the first design! Has really been a year since my brush has touched silk?

Enjoy the photos. I would love feedback!

Step 1

Silk is stretched and the resist is drawn onto the silk.
Can you see the faint white line of the design?

Step 2
Creating and mixing the color palette!
I feel like a chef in the kitchen!

Step 3

Start painting! I would usually paint the background
last, but I am not committed to the rest of the colors yet.
I wanted to do a different color for the
background but could not decide so I started with
what I am comfortable with-dark chocolate.

Background finished.
I don't like the way the gutta lines are thicker than usual.
I used the same resist I used in the states
but it seems a bit runny. I don't know if it is a bad bottle??
I bought some different resist that I am playing
with that is a little thicker and I really like
the way it draws. The next painting I will pay with the line weight.

sweet things

My friend Susan gave me the most beautiful bouquet of lilies yesterday.
Maybe a lily print is in my future...