journal time part 2

journal time

it's the little things that make me happiest

this came in my CSA box on wednesday.  carrot lovers.

artfiberfest

Created with flickr slideshow.These are pics of some of the workshops at artfiberfest and then shots of the projects that were created in the 3 days of classes.  If you want to come next year, it will be at reed college again around June 23rd.

another weekend project

saw this outside of Ravenna gardens in Kirkland.  They wanted $1200 for it, so Tracy said to take a picture of it so he could make it.  YAH!  They used old windows in the construction....in fact the whole thing looks like it was made from recycled building materials.

patio idea

Love this idea for a patio.  saw it at Nepenthe...a restaurant owned by Kaffe Fasset up on Big Sur.  Oh to live in a place that see's alot of sunshine...

inspiration for the outdoors type

I want to make one of these this weekend!  Found this at the Big Sur bakery (a commune of sorts of all these creative kids).  way cool.  ...can you tell that I am going through some old photos tonight?!

more inspiration

I want to draw these and paint them and make them from fabric.  they were at our hotel in monterey bay, CA.

inspiration

was just going through some pictures and can't remember where I acquired this one.  I'm thinking it was something that Michelle Ward took in a barney's window at christmas.  I just LOVE all things that hang.

going to Beijing for an hour

So, for anyone living in the seattle area, I have found a gem in Kirkland.  The Beijing Herbal Reflexology in the Kirkland Parkplace complex (close to the QFC).  For 60 minutes, it's $25 and trust me when I say, it's a head to toe treatment.  You are led back to a recliner.  They have about a dozen all lined up in this little space.  You take off your socks and shoes and lean back.  When the guy told me to take off my glasses, I thought "wha???".  He plopped my feet in some warm water with my choice of herbs.  Then he started at the top of my head, my face, ears, neck,shoulders, arms, and hands.  Then it was the feet and trust me...you will know what areas of your body need attention by where the sore spots are on your feet (you can look at a reflexology chart later).  The guy knows too and works extra hard on those areas...or so it seems.  Then it is on to the shins (no fun for me), then the calves and thighs. It's all a mixture of pleasure and pain....or maybe I just really need a couple treatments. Then he has you move your wet noodle of a body and plop yourself onto the automan and lean over a prop on the chair.  He then starts in on your neck, shoulders again and your entire back.  My back was cracking all over the place as he twisted me this way and that.  You feel like you've been through a yoga workout when you are done.  Relaxed and amazingly good even though you know you are going to have some sore muscles later.  Anyway...no appt. needed.  Just walk in and they will quietly whisk you back.  Don't come in speaking loudly...this is a quiet zone.  and I swear when you close your eyes, you will think you're in some weird little place in china.  I still can't believe it is only $25.

pottery class part 1

remember I said I was starting a pottery class the first of april? (oh...maybe I posted that on facebook)...  anyway...just had my last class on monday and I ended up making 15 pots in all.  No, I don't think I will ever do pottery again but I have a new appreciation for it.

I fell in love with the glaze called angel eyes...It is a beautiful blue that can turn greenish in areas and is brownish around the rims or where it is thin.  Every step of pottery is a guessing game and try as you might you cannot really control the outcome.  which makes it that much more thrilling when something comes out that you like.

I went into the class wanting to paint designs on pottery but came out of it liking the glazes better.  It was fun.  If you live in the seattle area and want to do it yourself, take the class from Pat Colyar at the Kirkland Arts Center.  She was incredibly patient, easy going and talented.  

pottery class part 2

this is my favorite bowl.  the only thing I made that was bigger than an 8 0z. pot.
the fronts
the backs
this is a black underglaze pencil.  wish it fired black.
wasn't too crazy about the penciled bowls.

blue page

it occured to me that I must have been subconsciously inspired by my pots when I did this page the same night I brought them home.

update

I posted this page when it was half done.  here is the final.  I feel like it needs more words on it for my taste but whatever.  I was done looking at it.

a terrible thing happens when I start actually liking the way a page is coming out...I get more scared to work on it.  Finally I had to wait till I was tired of it and then I just decided to get over myself by writing big lettering over the whole thing and finally be done with it.

this was a page I was demo-ing on at our last journaling workshop.

I hated this page and finally just decided to use my biggest, blackest, fattest pen to cover with a quote.  I found it interesting to see afterward which quote ended up on it.  If I don't like my work, the energy doesn't flow.  If I do, it does.

This was something I did on hotel stationery while waiting for tracy one morning in a hotel room.  I sat and looked in the mirror and drew a self portrait with my non dominant left hand.  You can see a partial face to the left that I started with my right hand (that's no good at all).  The filigree is an exercise that theo ellsworth does alot.  He takes a pen in both hands and mirrors each at the same time.  It is the most fun thing to do.  Oddly...this is one of my favorite pages I have done in a long time....and I seriously was just doodling while waiting for tracy.  that was why it was on hotel paper and not my journal.  I thought it was going to be a mess.

Life has been busy again lately...tommorrow we are having a graduation party for my daughter, trista who is graduating with a linguistics degree with a concentration in computer science.  45 people are expected.  Next saturday, we get to go to the commencement ceremony at the UW with 36,000 other people...something I am dreading.  

I picked all the Artfest teachers for the 2010 last week...very difficult as they are all so good.  Also making last minute arrangements for Artfiberfest happening in 2 weeks (yes, we still have space if you are interested.  also offering 1-day passes for $160).  On top of that, I am getting Journalfest registrations on a daily basis.  That retreat is going to be full before you know it.  Pretty exciting for tracy and me since it is the first one.

The weather has been great, albeit quite hot (for us).  but we are loving being outside a lot more and the longer daylight hours are awesome.  Tracy's parents who live next door to us finally opened up their pool (it has to be winterized) so we've been swimming everyday around 4:30pm.    It's kinda nice because it MAKES us quit working.  We have a hard time stopping usually.

anyway...life is good around here.  

santa cruz

Created with flickr slideshow.we just happened upon this quirky art show while driving through santa cruz.

amazing sea creatures

Created with flickr slideshow.these are a few shots I took at the monterey aquarium

time for new journal pages

This journal is so big I can't scan it in so I have to take photos of it instead.  it's fun to work in though because it's so big (10x12).

a jeff claassen drawing

cool places in venice beach, CA.

These are images from Obsolete in venice beach.  The guys in the store said it was fine if I took photos.  I SO want this mad scientist apparatus.  It was thousands of dollars.  Look at their website for more great shots.  We actually ran into some artfesters at the Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica who told us we had to visit this place.  thanks to susan from boston and her sister.  speaking of The Urban Craft Center, we loved this place and want to come back and teach here.  The other place I loved down there was Strange Invisible Perfumes.  The dark skinned girl with freckles who helped me was adorable, unpretentious and extremely helpful in finding me a perfume.  All their fragrances are natural...nothing synthetic is used so when you get something with rose in it, you are getting true rose oil (something that is extremely good for balancing...I learned in my aromatherapy days).  I'll be back next time I come down that way.

last shots of mary's house

more shot of mary's artwork.  

more mary stanley

am having a heck of time uploading my photos...so only a few at a time.  this is more of mary's vignette's....see below.

mary stanley's house

Mary has these wonderful vignette's all over her house/studio.  Everything about her house is enchanting.

syd mccutcheon's place

Two women who I think the world of, Syd McCutcheon and Mary Stanley live 30 minutes away from each other around Solvang/Santa Barbara and they were a big reason why I wanted to go down the coast.  Both are fabulous artists who are original and amazingly creative.  This is Syd's workspace (Art Clinic) that is also open to the public (in solvang).  I thought you'd like to see pics from her studio.

cool guy

Tracy and I met Jeff Claassen in San Luis Obispo.  He owns a little gallery called the Jeff Claassen Gallery that has a bunch of his affordable artwork along with a great selection of spray paints in amazing colors and other paints mostly used for graffiti art.  I had to get some to play with when I get home.  He's approachable, talented and a wealth of information on this type of art. 

new pages again

been getting in a little journaling on this trip we're on.  not much though.

my mother's day gift

Trista made this little guy for me.  I love it!

good grief

Time sure has been flying these days. the world is spinning faster and faster. I've had my nose to the grindstone with details regarding Journalfest and Artfiberfest and Artfest teacher picking. Not to mention that we leave in 2 days for San Jose to teach a 2-day Journaling workshop. we are heading from there down the california coast, ending up in my favorite city (LA) and flying home from there (total of 10 days away...eeeyikes!). Needless to say, I haven't had a lot of time for other things...like blogging.

But Tracy Lyn Huskamp's comment always comes back to haunt me...she mentioned (during the opening night talk) at Artfiberfest last year that she gets upset at bloggers who don't post very often and that it wastes her time to keep checking. I never thought of it like that but I see her point and have made a valiant effort to improve my posting frequency this past year. There is still room for improvement.

Life is pretty normal around here. finally got my hair dyed...it was so gray, it was almost white. feels good to look 10 years younger again. trying to eat vegetarian for the most part. just makes me feel better. Bought the book Superfoods by David Wolfe and been making goji berry, cacao, maca, bee pollen, hempseed smoothies every morning for breakfast. Although tommorrow I have to go to my naturopathic dr. because of a breakout of hives all over my chin and neck. I think it is all the health food...

I sure feel like something is afoot...behind the scenes...like in a universal sense. Something big is going to happen soon I think...not sure what. But weird intuitive feelings have me wondering. I think the next couple of months will be interesting. we'll see.

sorry for only one journal page today. I have a lot that are halfway there. I expect I will have at least a dozen when I get back from our CA. trip. Will try to blog along the way from my hotel room.

some art finally.

I finally finished a painting last night.  made a new journal and wanted a painted cover for a change.   it was fun but a challenge!

Tracy took this photo of me and my mosaic I made at artfest.  Katherine England let me come during the last 20 minutes of class to get a speed lesson.  That night I did it in about 1-1/2 hrs.  then the next day I popped in, in the afternoon to find out how to finish it.  I am so proud of this...I've been wanting to learn mosaic for years.  

I posted this journal page quite a few posts ago...but since came back to it and worked it some more.  I really like it now.
I'm liking this just as it is...but feel like it isn't finished.  
another page in progress...it all started with the bed I found in a decorating magazine...it's always doom when I actually like a page...makes it hard to finish it 

more from Vashon

mmm...wonder if they have some coffee?  they did but it wasn't so good...their pastries looked yummy though!
I found these homemade noodles (made with nettles...my favorite weed to eat) and couldn't resist the packaging and their do-it-yourself country charm.  they are wrapped in a piece of parchment paper.

KVI point on Vashon Island

This is Sophie's favorite spot to run...KVI point on Vashon Island.  She hasn't been able to come here for 2 years while she has been healing from a leg surgury, but finally today was the day.
we were the only ones on the beach for a good 2 hours...right at low tide.  

someone must have been practicing for the tv show, survivor.  I tried to see if it was wobbly.  it wasn't.
my stash of rocks and driftwood for some future project.  recognize the bag traci lampie?

more costumes

how strange...ever since I saw that youtube video, I can't get costumes off my mind and see them all over the place...this was in seattle yesterday ...bagmonster...

watch this

Austin TV / Shiva from Alberto Cerriteño on Vimeo.

so this guy is super cool. I am trying to get him to teach at artfest. Alberto Cerriteño Blog

how I celebrated earth day

I stopped ordering CSA boxes awhile back but decided to start getting them again in celebration of earth day.  I got my first box today and boy did it feel good starting this back up again.

this was the box contents for this week.  all organic...all very fresh. a feast for the senses.
nature is the biggest inspiration.
tracy had these sugar snap peas gone in a snap.
and I couldn't resist the strawberries.
happy earth day, momma earth.  

amazing!

was thinking that we could have a costume fashion show at artfest! anyone up for that?

new pages

my fabulous life

I am sorry for not blogging for awhile.  Artfest took a good chunk of my time, then we had a house full of guests for a week.  Anyway...I'm back to my normal life again. 

tracy took me to the first day of the issaquah farmers market this morning and bought me a dozen red tulips.

I found some fun stuff at Anthropology the other day.  These things make me happy just looking at them while I cook.

I bought one thing at the artfest vendor night (was trying to save my pennies)...but couldn't resist this fabulous papier mache piece from katie kendrick

J O U R N A L F E S T '0 9

Guess what is live online and open for registration? http://www.teeshamoore.com/

day three

we worked with fabric on day 3...I kinda was a rebel and did my own thing.
This is Carla finally sitting down on the 3rd day to make something with us. See below for more information on this fun workshop.

day two

done on clayboard (which I love working on)
done on wood with only watercolor and gesso.

had to make 3 different squiggled lines with red, yellow & blue watercolor and then find a shape somewhere in there and pull it out.

same as above.

these are from day two of my workshop with Carla Sonheim www.carlasonheim.com

day one of workshop

picasso dog...
we had to find an animal out of random brush strokes.

without picking up your pencil, draw a pig

without picking up your pen, draw an elephant

these are just a few of the exercises from day 1 of Carla Sonheim's workshop. www.carlasonheim.com

thought you'd like to see

I just got in an order I placed for stuff to sell at artfest...these are some of the fun things I just couldn't resist. Had to keep one of the dolly chandeliers. will be selling the other one. couldn't we make something like that with dollar store dollies???

new set of pelikans

While at our PLAy retreat, I saw http://www.carlasonheim.com/ using a set of pelikan watercolors and she made it look so fun. So since I have only ever used tube watercolors (and only for backgrounds), I decided to pick myself up a set (with my 40% coupon at aaron brothers). Today I decided to play around with them. Clearly, I need more practice with both the painting (and the drawing!!)...but I was hoping if I scanned it in, it might look better (it doesn't). But I have to say it was tons of fun...I like having a palette ready to go.

fresh from my journal

Just finished these 2 pages up this morning at cafe ladro in issaquah...in the snow.

it's journal sharing time again

cool mail art

You can tell it's artfiberfest registration time again. I love our small group that's as crazy about fabric as I am. This was made by http://artstudio23.blogspot.com/

for project runway wanna-be's

this is a GREAT idea. Now we can play along when project runway comes back on again. LOL

left brain creating

Yesterday I felt like left brain art. That means something where I don't think much. So this was a pattern I had bought along time ago for a "lunch bag" and it was easy and relaxing. The pattern was designed by Kimberly Gladman for www.favoritethings.net

Had to use my sushi fabric for the insides! of course!

This is a head that I bought years ago from the Outsider Art Museum in Baltimore and i continue to love it. The painting in the background is by the fabulous Carla Sonheim. www.carlasonheim.com

lazy sunday afternoon.

Am feeling tired today and in a mood of not doing a whole lot. Guess I have to remind myself that it is OK to just be and not DO all the time. So I took some close-ups of stuff around my studio. I guess that is still DO-ing. Maybe I'll go in and read.

more good stuff

Cannot WAIT to use this adhesive tape in my journal.

I know, I know...it's not like me to use stuff like this. Especially Martha Stewart paper punches...but I love punching shapes out of random magazine pages and using in my journal. I thought the bird would be cool to punch a bunch of blue colored magazine images and put a ton of them flying around the pages in my journal. I'll show you soon.

I see stuff like this and I SO want to design for a company...

Still am not done with the whole woodland creatures fad. These are red flocked stickers.

I know...I need another rubber stamp like I need a hole in my head...should have left the wallet at home....

trouble at the craft store

Had an MRI yesterday of my knee. no biggie...doc thinks it's just a bone spur but the big machine freaked me out. Thankfully I did not have to go IN the machine all the way. I explained to the nurse I had extreme claustrophobia so if I had to go further in, it wasn't going to happen today. she assured me it wouldn't. anyway...I was so relieved to be out of there that I decided to take myself out to dinner, then to michael's, then the bookstore since tracy was at a lomo meet in seattle until the wee hours.

Had a "holy cannolli..." kind of moment when I saw some scrapbooking supplies I felt I needed to have. Not sure what I will do with them yet...but I am sure something will spring to mind soon.

Most of these things are from a line called "que sera" manufactured by K&Company. It looks suspiciously similiar to Anahata's style... www.anahatart.com which isn't so cool.

I tried to make something similiar to this a couple years ago...no way will I try it again. these are a bargain at 2.99.

I love this!

this just makes me smile.

Sha Sha Higby

I had the extreme pleasure of seeing one of her performances live and it is amazing. She is inside her elaborate costumes but you'd never really know it. A true genius at her craft.

this makes me want to make videos

journal pages again

I'm playing in a new size of journal (8-1/2 x 11) and a new format of covering the background with collage and then collaging over that. Not sure if I like it.

This page isn't done. Something is going in the box...an alter reality...but not sure yet how to convey that in pictures.

current journal cover

The cover of my current journal. Made out of printed cardboard. I keep scribbling on it.
The back cover. I have an obsession with printed strapping tape and thought this would be a good place to keep a record of different ones I have before I use them up.

some shots from around the house

Tiphoni made these for tracy and me for christmas. She used some sort of crayola crayons made for fabric. The tall one was for me and the short one was for tracy.

My mom gave these to me for my birthday. She got them in Sweden. Each is really heavy. Not sure what they were for but I think they are really cool.

felt thingies

Made these the other night while watching tv. they are made from felted wool. not sure what to do with them now though...here is one thing I did...but not sure if I like it stitched down. This will eventually be a journal cover.

my favorite artist

So, this was what I got from Tiphoni for my birthday. the colors on it are yummy in person. I am so impressed with her. she is doing a drawing a day on her blog, http://www.spontaneousbread.blogspot.com/. And she is truly my favorite artist. I can't wait for you to see what she did with my upcoming Journalfest website.

Liesel Lund's bag

OK...so Liesel had this bag that she had made for herself that she had brought to last years PLAY retreat and I couldn't get it off my mind for the past year. So I asked her if she would make me one. She agreed and I was blown away! It is way cooler than the one she made for herself and I love it SO much. http://liesel.typepad.com/ she's super cool.

details

Details from Liesel's bag

Poppy's

So, I decided I wanted to take the girls out to a new restaurant once a month. The first one was Poppy's last night. I forgot to take photos until eating stuff off my plate...guess I was too excited. Anyway...Poppy's was just opened by Jerry Traunfeld who authored a cookbook but was also the head chef for several years at the herbfarm restaurant ($200 a head for dinner). So, since I never got to go to the herbfarm, I was excited to try this place out (the above was $32). He was inspired by the Southern Indian style of eating where you have several small bowls on a tray...called Thali. Like a tasting menu all at once. Can't say we were blown away. the food seemed kinda bland...needed salt and more flavor. My favorite thing was the eggplant fries (appetizer) with salt and honey drizzled over. I'd probably return for just that. You can see the menu at http://www.poppyseattle.com/ . Anyway...I love the idea of it and I have liked the recipes I have made from his cookbook but wasn't thrilled with my dinner. Oh well. the company was divine, the waitress was delightfully quirky, and the presentation inspiring.

www.coraline.com

I have to admit...these pictures make me giggle everytime I look at them. I did it using the built in camera on my new mac laptop. you gotta go see the website if you haven't yet. it's fun to play around with.

spontaneous bread

My daughter (who is also my webmaster for half my website...the good half) is finally trying to get some of her art up on a blog.
www.spontaneousbread.blogspot.com and
www.eatkimchi.blogspot.com

creative youtube

1000 journals movie

Guess what is finally available on dvd? The long awaited movie. Unfortunately Artfest didn't make an appearance in the movie itself but Andrea added a blurb about it in the "extras" section. The movie is fabulous and VERY much has the feeling that the project has. It's very "real" which is so refreshing. Highly recommended. www.1000journalsfilm.com to read more about it or to follow a link to buy it.

The Urgency of Now

http://www.whitehouse.gov/weekly_address/ A friend just sent me this link. Apparently Obama has a new website and is going to address the nation every saturday on this site. I LOVE the fact that it will be coming directly from the white house without going through the newsroom. I LOVE LOVE LOVE our new president.

my fabulous birthday weekend.

I thought I'd blog about my birthday...just for fun. It started on friday even though my birthday was saturday. Tracy took me into the seattle library to journal...my new favorite spot. I ran around taking shots of everything that I posted below. I heard that the seattle library is the most technologically advanced architecture in the nation. wow. anyway...we journaled there for about 2 hours, then took off for the pike st. fish fry. Had heard some raves about it, so I felt like an unfussy lunch. It didn't dissappoint. I got the calamari which were excellent but tracy's shrimp were to die for. the tartar is also really good...better than the aoili that usually gets the attention. Next stop was a store called "Home" I think...she didn't have a business card and I didn't write it down. We passed it while walking back to our car from the fish fry place. it was cool. Next stop was vivace coffee for some really good shots. can't beat 'em. more journaling. then we were off to uwajimaya's. Bought some books, new pens, and weird food. (you can see most of it below). After that we were starting to get a little hungry for a snack so we made a pit stop at king's BBQ (very close to uwaji's). Tom Douglas (premiere chef in seattle) recently mentioned in a newsletter that IT was the place to go for that sort of thing. Tracy went crazy for it. I'm just not a fan of meat but have to say it was good and tasty. So...we were sitting there in the car munching on bbq pork when tracy said..."we have to have hot mustard to go with it". so we drove up the street a little and found a small asian grocery store. I ran in to find him some and the craziest thing happened. They were playing "Happy birthday to you" over the sound system in the grocery store. and NO...it wasn't an elaborate set up by someone...it was purely coincidental. I have never heard that song being played as a soundtrack from a grocery store and probably never will again...it went on to other songs sung in japanese (but the birthday song was in english). It was just the craziest thing to hear at the tail end of my birthday day in seattle. We went home after that and I got a crazy hair to move furniture around in the living room. Tracy usually moans and groans when I start thinking along those lines but he said "it's your birthday, I'll do whatever you want to do". So we started moving this and that and before we knew it, we had a really cool set up that was something new and fresh. But the new set-up required that we get one of those wall mount thingies for our tv. so the next morning we hit costco to get one and spent the rest of the day finishing what we started. It was fun. Tracy had one more surprise up his sleeve. See...at christmas, we gave trista my vaio tiny laptop that tracy had bought for me a few years back. I'd used it in the house at night. My big computer sits upstairs in my studio. well...anyway...the amazingly small laptop was proving way too small for my old eyes to focus on, trista needed one that she could lug to classes and I didn't really think I needed one anymore inside the house...so she got it at christmas (and was thrilled). In the meantime, I really was missing it. So, tracy took me last night into the apple store and bought me a mac laptop (I have only used pc's all my life but all my friends keep telling me to go mac). Well...I'm sold. I'm in love with mac already. So...all in all, it was the best birthday ever. I am meeting my parents and sister and her husband and the girls for birthday chinese food today at lunch and then we are all trekking over to see tiffany's new house she just started renting. It's really cute. built in the 50's and sits in the woods. she LOVES it and I'm glad to have her back from portland. anyway...life is good and I'm happy to be 46 now.

my birthday day

the awe inspiring architecture at the seattle library

this is where we journaled...you can see that natural light comes in overhead

view inside the seattle library from the tippy top looking down. I seriously got dizzy up there and carefully had to step back away. those white "sticks" below are rows of books.
so I had to take a shot of this standpipe. this is what tracy does....well, he used to install them (fire sprinkler systems)...now he just manages the guys who does the hard work.

the really cool floor. next time I'll bring crayons and do some rubbings!

stairs leading up to the red room.

the hallway that leads to all sorts of meeting rooms.

birthday day

part of the seattle public library
can be seen on the escalator. there is a weird soundtrack that you can hear as you go on by and the eye blinks and looks around. creepy and cool.

the architecture is amazing.

ate at the pike st. fish fry (right next to neumo's) and OMG...so good. hey it's my birthday, so I indulged. the round thing on top of the calamari was a fried slice of lemon. I could have eaten an entire basket of just fried lemon slices.

the cooks at the fish fry who were explaining all the changes to the little space over the years. rockin chef's for sure!

birthday day

cool store on pike st. across from the fish fry place
some weird "dolls" on sale

a display in the uwajimaya store. you aren't suppose to take pictures in here and I got that look from a guy in the produce dept. after shooting this. I darted out the door quick.

king's bbq in chinatown. we had to try it after tom douglass recommended it. better than the kau kau!

popped into costco and saw these beautiful costumes.

birthday day

fun stuff I got from Uwajimaya's

tracy has a new blog

Yay...he finally has a blog. www.sustainedconfusion.blogspot.com

having fun

These journals are about 8x11 and one of them has my good paper in it. the other 2 have brown grocery sacks as pages that I will be painting with gesso before I journal in it. I used cardboard from cereal boxes and other asst. cardboard packaging I found around the house.

These are smaller. the one with the lucky charms closure was simply made with 2 ventricular postcards that I like for the covers. the playing card box journal is one tracy made and has all sorts of odd papers for pages in it. we had so much fun looking around our house for cardboard to make journal out of! the pages are brown grocery sacks.

This was one of those small cereal boxes that I used as a case. the covers of the journals in it are all made out of cards that have been cut to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 and bound with good paper.
this shows how I attached pieces to make a large enough cover. I have half the pages painted with gesso. Maybe I'll leave the rest unpainted to see how it is, journaling on them.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. was busy with work. and to everyone who was concerned about us in the flooding, we escaped it. It was crazy that a few of you over on the east coast heard about the house on our road (may valley rd in issaquah) that got swept away. We actually know them...the gal used to babysit our girls (15 years ago). But we were safe and sound.

Hey...if anyone is interested, we just had 2 cancellations for our journaling retreat (PLAY) in port townsend at the end of this month. So...let me know if you are interested. We will be making journals like the ones above and other types and then learning all our journaling techniques. It's just 3 whole days from like 9am to 9pm (or later if you want) of pure creating. It's super fun. details are on my website, www.teeshamoore.com under "workshops"

lookie here

I just saw a posting on a blog that I forgot I submitted to. see it here: Catalyst Forty « creative Therapy I was so honored to have been invited!

more journal pages

crazy holidays

With all the snow and the holidays and all the people that have been camping out at our house, It's been a crazy few weeks. I don't feel like myself lately. But I have been able to journal. If anyone has been trying to contact me via email, I will be back to work in full swing tommorrow (jan. 5th). But today I am catching up on some things like posting journal pages.

santa was good to me

Guess who made me something for christmas. It's way cooler than these pictures show. The journal is filled with his lomo pictures...lots of memories. He just gets more wonderful with age.

good journals

many of you have asked me about where to get journals with good paper to create in. Rag and Bone Bindery is the best I have found if I don't want to bind my own. They handbind their books, use high quality paper and as people, they are the best. I got to meet them in Providence, RI when tiff went to RISD there and I was salivating when I saw their studio and their loft that they were in the middle of fixing up to live there. Just the coolest old building I've ever seen. Anyway. you won't be dissappointed in their work. http://www.ragandbonebindery.com/

Don't waste time

I won't say much here because I said it all on my journal pages. Something that I can't stop thinking about.

time for new journal pages

still having fun in my white journal. fitting for the snow outside.

crazy snow action

Tracy and I took the girls into seattle today and as we started to slow down on I-5, we saw the above horrifying scene dangling over the freeway. It had apparently happened just minutes before we drove by. It was crazy. Seattle is pretty scary in the snow and ice because of all the hills.

inspiration

Reenie Hanlin from http://www.materialwhirled.com/ (one of my BFF's) just sent me some links which led me to some other links and I stumbled across the coolest clothes ever... Check out Lodicha, creatieve kleding en accessoires, recycle-design from NL...is that the netherlands?

snow!

Sophie and I woke up to snow and neither of us could wait to go out to play in it.

How to make your own blog

OK...bear in mind, I have the simplest blog available but if you are just starting, do this and then you might want to get more complicated and search out additional stuff.

First, if you do not have a gmail email acct., make one. Go to www.gmail.com and set something up. YOu never have to look at it again but blogger likes it if you have a gmail acct. It is easy. Just follow directions when you get there.

Then, sign into www.blogger.com and click the orange button that says "Create a blog". Fill out the information they request. Then you will see a page that asks for a title to your blog (and blog address). This is like picking out a "store" name. You might want to come up with a "studios" name if you haven't already. For instance, "red ladybug studio" or "joe blow studios" or simply use your name if you want. whatever it is, you'll type it in and see if it has been taken. This is pretty self explanatory once you are there.

The next step takes you to the backgrounds to pick from. None of these look all that great...pick whatever appeals to you the most. It doesn't matter too much because your blog will be about your art...not the background.

Once you have done that you are ready to post your first public blog. So...as you are going through the above steps, it proceeds to take you to a window for posting. Type in a title to the post, i.e. "my first blog entry", then in the main body start typing what you want to say. Perhaps this is a good time to let folks know what your blog will be about. If you want to add a photo, then click the little blue square icon at the top. If you hover over it with your mouse, it says "add image". Click on it and it takes you to another form page. Click the "browse" button which takes you into your own computer documents. Find your "pictures" file...or wherever you keep your pictures on your computer, find the picture you want and double click it. You will see it pop up in the little window. If you want to add another image, click "add another image" and then "browse" and do it again. YOu can add up to 5 photos for each post. NOW...before hitting the orange "upload now" button at the bottom, choose "center" for the layout and "large" for the pictures. You can change this once you know how it all works but for now, this is best.

Now click that orange button and you will follow the link back to your posting. You will see your pictures pop up in your little window that has text. Once you have written what you want, simply click "publish post" and voila...you are now blogging.

As far as the blog header...I can't help you much there. You don't really have to have one but it adds personality to your site. I have my daughter do it for me. She has done it for other people too. She charges a small fee (not sure how much). You would make up artwork that is sized 9 x 3-1/2. I just pasted a bunch of copies from my journal pages together. Then scan in your artwork at 300 dpi and send it to her and she could put it up. email her if interested at tiphoni@gmail.com. She can also help you with your photo of yourself (called an avatar) or you might be able to do that yourself (I did).

So then, play around with your "profile" and personalize your blog. It is REALLY easy. and it's free. and they are good about taking you step by step even with NO computer knowledge.

christmas party - mission accomplished.

so, since I showed this page a couple of weeks ago in the above state...I wanted to show you what I did on it this morning. The page is still not finished but I think you can see how I start transforming it...

Anyway, we had 60 people RSVP for our party last saturday night and 50 showed up, so we were thrilled. It was SO GOOD to get together with a bunch of artists friends and just talk and hang out in our studio. We did a "handmade" gift exchange that was fun and gave us a taste of what everyone did. Also, all 50 brought finger food and we had enough grub to feed a third world country. Besides punch, wine & beer, Tracy decided halfway through to break out some rum, whisky and other liquors and then the party really got fun. A few remained and we were mixing some drinks with a St. Germaine liquor that I recently found. I saw it at the store and HAD to have it for the bottle. It is made in Paris from elderflowers and oh, it is GOOD...especially with champagne. Tastes like a grapefruit that has sugar on it and is placed under a broiler. mmmm.

We'll be doing more parties and seattle get-togethers, so if you want to join in the fun, email me and ask to be put on our seattle group email list.

Tiphoni has now quit Starbucks and is using her talents more by working for me. You can see a brand new front page to my website http://www.teeshamoore.com/ and little by little she is reworking the rest of the site...so stay tuned. I'm excited about the changes and the breathe of fresh air that she is breathing into everything.

So, tommorrow I will be talking about how to start a blog since I was talking to some people at the party who really wanted to know. It is a piece of cake...but I will take you through what I did. It is free and super duper easy. I really think ALL artists should have at least a blog so when people ask you what you do, you give them a card that has your blog address so they can see for themselves. It will propel you much faster as an artist. trust me. And with how easy it is and free...no one has an excuse.

One of my favorite journals

This is a journal that I filled one summer when I was renting a cabin for a week with my husband and girls. I love all the odd sized pages. It was a blast to work in.

tiphoni's favorite music video

yay...thanksgiving is over!

I don't know about you but I'm not interested in eating any more turkey for a long time. We had 3 formal thanksgiving dinners and about 6 meals from leftovers. UGH. I went to our little veggie market this morning and filled my fridge with veggies and fruit. On thanksgiving evening when we got home from the get-together, we were all a little hungry but no one felt like cooking and there didn't seem to be anything in the house except for a bag of tortilla chips. and how can you eat tortilla chips with no salsa? no salsa was to be found so tiffany and I decided to have a 5 minute iron chef moment. We each took a can of tomatoes and proceeded to make salsa out of whatever we could find. I used some vegetarian chili mix & red onion and a little lime juice. Tiff used fresh garlic, a bunch of kimchee, lime and some seasoning salt and threw it into the food processor. We were all afraid to taste the kimchee (fermented cabbage) version but she won the contest, hands down. I made her give me the recipe...it was THAT good. She is obsessed with kimchee, by the way so I always go to Uwajimaya's to have a fresh jar of it in the fridge when she comes home for the weekend.

Anyway...didn't journal or do art at all during the 4 day weekend...too much chaos with both girls home and all their friends over every night.

postcard sets

Just thought I'd let you know that I just posted some postcard sets on my www.teeshamoore.etsy.com site. There are a total of 15 postcard designs in all 3 sets.

ugly journal pages

I don't like either of these journal pages...but decided to show them to you because one of them I showed in a previous post when it was at the collage state. I really hate the way it turned out...I used colored pencil almost exclusively and it just looks muddy to me. But...as always in my journal I learn alot from just doing it and seeing what happens...so that is why I am showing it to you. I guess I do like the color scheme on the black/white/brown one above.

Hey...did anyone notice my new blog header? My oldest daughter, Tiffany is home for thanksgiving so I had her switch out my blog header and put up an etsy banner for me too.

materials of consciousness

I found a quote the other day that I had to use and this spread has been needing something to finish it off...so the two seem to go very good together I think. When I was rewriting this quote, I was fighting off a deep emotion that was rising in me...it was really weird.

Molly Moon's

OK...so were were in Seattle the other day waiting for Molly Moon's to open http://www.mollymoonicecream.com/ since we were craving her Salted Caramel ice cream in her handmade waffle cone. OMG...if you haven't had it, you simply must! It's the stuff you dream about. Anyhoo...we walked down the street and I was struck by the beauty in front of May's (thai restaurant).

my journal bag of pens

Well...for what it's worth...this is my journal bag of pens that I take with me. I found this "harajuku lovers" bag at Ross on sale and it is the perfect size to carry all the pens I care to have. I also like it because you can unzip it and see what's in it pretty easily. The bottle of pop is for perspective.

OH...found my camera...it was in Tracy's bag of lomo cameras...which he assured me it was not in there. argh...

a fun lettering idea

Still haven't found my camera...but cruising around the photos I've downloaded onto my computer I found a shot of my alphabet tray. Since the nights are long now, I thought you might be interested it making one yourself. Basically I bought a multicompartment tray and as you can see, I labeled each space with a letter. Then I go through my magazines while watching tv and cut out letters and plop them into their compartments so when I journal and want to write out words, I have a plethora of odd letters to choose from. It might be considered a little obsessive compulsive but it is a relaxing activity that certainly makes me happy when I am journaling. Here's an example (this is a really old journal page...)

Tracy's new lubitel camera

These shots were taken by Tracy using his newest Lomo camera...the Lubitel. and yes, that stuff on the edges was there when the photos were developed. These are 2 of my kids...my amazingly talented daughter, tiffany and my long lost son who I never knew I had, Theo Ellsworth. They are both too much fun.

tracy's pics of last weekend

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

full weekend

oooh...it thrills me to see your comments and know that people are actually looking at my blog. I know...it doesn't take much to get me excited. LOL. Thanks for those comments...I will try to post more on my own comments section.
Anyhoo...we just got done with a 12 person metal journal making workshop in our studio and the group was fantastic. It was really fun. Tracy did all the teaching...I was simply his lovely assistant (who didn't do a very good job of assisting since I don't make metal journals). Anyhoo...everyone made the coolest journals...not one ugly duckling in the batch.
Am still searching high and low for my camera to take some photos for my blog...it's hiding from me. aaargh. this photo above is the cover of a recent journal (not my favorite cover...but oh well).

Journaling on the road

Since a few people asked me about what I take to journal on the road, I am happy to tell you what I do. But first I have a question...I know this is going to sound stupid...but HOW do I respond to people who post comments on my blog? I can never find their email addresses...am I missing something???

anyway...my journal bag consists of a slew of my favorite sharpie poster paint pens (I sell thes by the way www.teeshamoore.com), a white gel pen, a couple of superfine pitt pens in black, a small collection of colored pencils, all the neon gel pens, a few copic markers, a pencil, eraser, 3 panpastels (black, brown, red) and one tombo double sided adhesive roller. I do all the collage work at home. The one exception was when I went to Tokyo and relied on finding stuff there to journal with. But I still painted my pages before I left home.

Speaking of collage...I keep a giant pile on my desk...it is not sorted and everything goes into it including color copies of past journal pages that I like to deconstruct. For instance...the pieces shown below have been in the pile for a couple years as they never seemed to work on my color backgrounds...when the white pages came along, they were perfect. It is all the odd scraps and bits that I seem to use the most...the part that is left when you cut the main image out.

When we were heading to portland last weekend, I bound up my journal and quickly slapped some collage on 8 of the pages... in fact...I'll scan in some pages that are ready for taking on the road.

These are bits and pieces of collage that I will be reworking with pens, pencils, chalks and maybe even more collage. I think these pages worked better because I was in a hurry and not giving too much thought to what went down...I just knew I wanted something on the page before I left.

So...all my pens are in a zippered bag...I'll take a photo of my bag soon but right now I can't find my camera (aaargh!). and that goes into a backpack along with my journal, my ipod, some headphones, and extra black and white sharpie poster paint extra fine pens (just to make sure I always have them on me). Hope that helps you journal more.

my white page journal

So...if you've been reading my blog, I talked about having to do a journal super quick for a spur of the moment trip to portland...anyway...I ALWAYS pre-paint my pages but I didn't have time to do that this time so I journaled on them white....but I am totally LOVING it. I can use colored pencils and stuff without them competing with the background color. anyway...these are 3 of the pages from that journal. OH...and that little doodle on the last one was from Tracy. We were out journaling all day with our daughter tiffany and our artist friend, theo ellsworth and Theo was drawing something in Tracy's journal so I let him draw in mine while I was working on the other page. We got a TON of journaling in that day...the 4 of us. What Fun!

venturing into etsy world

eeeyikes...this old dog has a hard time with new tricks....but...I finally got something up on etsy. I have wanted to do something like this for a long time...My original plan was to do a journal page a day and sell it...but I realized I can't even do a journal page in a day for myself and I don't want to part with my originals....besides...doing a journal page that is really not IN a journal is just not the same. SO...I decided to put up a limited edition of one of my journal pages once a week. If they go, great. If not, I'll move on to something else. YOu can see it on www.teeshamoore.etsy.com .

new journaling mediums

I forgot to mention the 2 new journaling mediums I have been loving lately. The first one is a set of colored pencils by Derwent called coloursoft and I really love how smooth they are. My daughter Tiff, used them recently and fell in love with them too. see them here: Derwent Coloursoft Pencils - BLICK art materials These pencils are really coming in handy in my newest journal I am working in (where I didn't pre-paint the pages). I haven't shown any pages from that journal yet...I will soon. The 2nd product is called Panpastels PanPastel Artists’ Painting Pastels - BLICK art materials. Some folks at our PLAY retreat last january were getting excited about them so when I treated myself to my one new thing after Artfest (a ritual I've had), I went to Daniel Smith and bought a bunch. However, I bought mostly light colors, not knowing what I'd be doing with them. I found that I love the dark colors for creating shadows on everything. The colors I use the most are black, a dark brown, a deep red and a dark blue. They are really cool and do not need to be sealed. They go fabulously onto my fabriano paper but also will tint many different types of collage, color copies, and even most magazine pages. Between these two mediums I think my pages have more depth to them now. Anyway...something to put on your christmas list!

time for new journal pages

Tracy bought me an i-pod touch (2nd generation) when we were in las vegas and I never thought I'd use it much but I use it all the time for lists, calendar, weather, soduko (just learned it and I love it), and various other weird apps. My favorite feature is that you can play Pandora Radio on it. www.pandora.com . Basically, you put in a favorite song or artist and they will come up with a playlist of songs that are similiar to it. I always hear a ton of new artists that I never heard of before...so this last journal page I was listing bands as they came up while I was journaling.

Portland

Just got back from portland. We had to go visit Reed College as we are moving our Artfiberfest retreat there (june 24-28, 2009) and had to check it out first. It was amazing and we can't wait till next june. Also, Theo Ellsworth was having another show at his gallery (he co-owns it with a group of artists), so we got to see the opening night of it. He's got some great pieces in it and a few extra copies of his book also. If you want to check it out, google the Pony Club in portland. We spent the rest of the weekend getting ready for a metal journal making workshop we are having in our studio this weekend. OH...and I set up my easel and paints in the corner of my living room! Yes, I know...I have a giant studio and I put it in my living room. But it is making me want to paint. A little here, a little there...it's fun. Sometimes I wake up and paint for 20 minutes in my jammies before hopping in the shower. I'll try to take some pics of the corner soon.

journal freak out

Here are some more journal pages. I panic'd last night when I heard we have to go to portland on a business trip this afternoon (till saturday) and my journal is FULL! eeeeyikes! I simply can't go without a journal...so I was up at the crack of dawn (come to think of it, it was way before the crack of dawn) frantically binding a new journal to take. The pages won't be painted like they usually are, but oh well. It's paper and I have pens and collage and adhesive. oh that reminds me...that I have some new products I have been loving in my journal...will tell you about them in a few days.

It's a whole new world today

I don't know about you but I sat there last night fighting back the tears all night as I watched people coming together as one and being completeley overjoyed with our new president and the prospect of big change on the horizon. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Obama would win. He simply had to. But what I wasn't expecting was the overwhelming oneness that we saw from everyone. I am super excited about the future now and cannot wait to work together to turn it into a brave new world.

I have a quote that's been hanging around on my desk for awhile now. Someone had written it on the back of an Artfest registration last Sept. and it couldn't be more appropriate now.

"WE EVOLVE AT THE RATE OF THE TRIBE WE ARE PLUGGED INTO" -Carolyn Myers.

Nice to know our tribe has changed leaders and is now on it's way to greatness. Anyhoo...I have a bunch of new journal pages that I will post over the next week or so.

GO GO GO Obama!!!

Lubitel camera

oops...I forgot to mention that the photos below are from Tracy's new Lubitel 166+ Lomo camera and are completely untouched by photoshop. they came from the developer just as you see them. BTW...some guys from Lomo will be at Journalfest next fall. more info soon on our website.

Tracy's shots from artfiberfest at the fort

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Jesse Reno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo86JXnt60Q

cool video on Jesse Reno. oh and he has a new book coming out.

http://www.jessereno.com/

OK...last blog of the day...

this is a crazy clock I bought from an artist in portland. I love it.

The pic below it is a bag of yo-yos. Syd has a friend who went through breast cancer and made thousands of these throughout to keep her sane. Syd was selling them for her and I had to buy a couple bags. They seem to hold a special kind of energy.

Below that is a crochet'd necklace that I bought from Alma stoller (see below for a link to her site). I kept thinking about it and I couldn't let it go. I don't wear this type of jewelry but the whimsical-ness of it just makes me want to hang it somewhere that I can see it everyday.

and lastly...since I was taking photos, I wanted to show you my anniversay gift from Tracy last June. I ADORE it. He found it at a tea house on top of Queen Anne (in seattle).

Recycled stuff from Tracie Lampe

argh...these photos never end up in the order I want them. anyway...these first two photos show a blanket I worked on all through the summer using up all my skeins of cool handspun yarns I have received from friends, shows and my daughter, Trista. It's huge and covers my whole body to keep me warm while I watch tv in the cold winter months. I call it my magic blanket because it just feels like one. Each yarn I see worked in reminds me of the person who gave it to me and it really makes me happy. I call it freeform crochet, something that I picked up from a teacher 4 years ago at the first Artfiberfest.
The lime green skein was something I had to get from Tracie Lampe for my magic blanket. It just needed to be included. and the bags below (made from recycled plastic bags) are samples of a class Tracie taught at the retreat...something everyone was absolutely flipping out over. The one with the heart was a gift (thanks Tracie) and the other one I just had to buy because I just had to have another one. I'm definitely pushing on her to teach that class again. http://www.lampeslumps.com

Sweet Mary Stanley

Mary Stanley's work sits all over my house and studio. What can I say. It is a constant reminder to spend more time making stuff. http://marystanley.blogspot.com/ Here is what I picked up from her at artfiberfest.

Tammy Gilley's art

more fun purchases from artfiberfest from Tammy Gilley. http://www.tammygilley.com/blog.html

more of Syd McCutcheon

last two photos of Syd's stuff http://sheepfloozy.blogspot.com/

Syd's stuff I bought at vendor night

more of Syd McCutcheon's work http://sheepfloozy.blogspot.com/

I got to take a class!!!

Since everyone at Artfiberfest was so self sufficient this year (they always are at this retreat...something about women who love fabric...they seem more comfortable in their skin and just plain happy and contented)...well, anyway...since they seemed fine, I decided to do all my saturday work on friday afternoon at the retreat so I could take a class from one of my absolute favorite artists, Syd McCutcheon on saturday. It was called floozy folio and bag and involved painting on canvas with her signature bright and happy colors, then sewing it into a bag and making a journal out of the rest. Since I didn't have ANY materials from her list, I was relieved when she said it was fine if I take it. OMG...I had SO much fun....now I am really envious of all the attendees that get to come and play. what fun. Anyway...I had to show it to you all and am super excited to paint some more on canvas. see more of syd's work here (or on the next posts I will be putting up) http://sheepfloozy.blogspot.com/

alisa burke at artfiberfest

Alisa Burke was a new teacher this year and she fit right in like an old pro. Everyone loved her and her work and want her back! Here is her blog with her unique view of the retreat. http://www.alisaburke.blogspot.com/

another artfiberfest link

this is alma stoller's blog and all her student's work. one of these days I'm gonna figure out how to run the event and be a student too. http://www.almastoller.typepad.com/

An Artfiberfest Link

Ruth Rae did a wonderful toast to Artfiberfest on her blog...if anyone wants to see what we were up to last week. http://ruthrae.blogspot.com/

last of the Zinnia pics

Okay...have fun looking...see what I mean about the inspiration?! OH...and Tamera wants you to know that these shots were taken in the midst of a remodel.

even more from Zinnia's

More pics from Zinnia's

Zinnia's!

This is my favorite-ist store ever. It is called Zinnia's and you can find it in Pasadena, CA. http://web.mac.com/ttolkin/zinnia/home.html Tamera is so creative and really has that eye for things. I get super inspired everytime I go in her store...just wish I lived closer. I was pressing on her big time last trip in there to write a book since she is so original and she said she had been thinking about it. I do hope she writes one so she can share more of her creative genius with the rest of us. I have a bunch more pics which will have to go in the next couple of posts...

Good Books

The following are some books that I've been digging lately;


How To Be An Explorer Of The World by Keri Smith. I love everything Keri does. She always has the best ideas and a unique way of sharing them with readers. Love this book for creative slumps...or even a saturday afternoon.


Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts. I have had the pleasure to see Kelly absolutely blossom after first meeting her at one of my Artfest retreats. Her style and graciousness as a person is delightful. This book is chock full of projects with step by step instructions and tons of photos. She includes the work of 7 other artists as well, all of whom I know and are equally talented and big hearted. Highly recommended.


What It Is by Lynda Barry. This is hands down the best book to come across my desk for years. It is basically a reproduction of her journal or journal-like daily entries. She has a style that gets my creative adrenaline racing and a very deep insight into life and how we need to react to it. I LOVE this book and have been super duper inspired by it. Must have!


Sage-ing While Age-ing by Shirley Maclaine. I was recently talking about this book to some women and one of them piped up that shirley was so full of herself. I TOTALLY disagree. She is opinionated and she doesn't keep her mouth shut...MORE POWER TO HER!!! I think she is very intelligent and deeply intuitive. If someone says something that you disagree with, fine. Disagree. But don't try to shut her up because of it. Can you tell this is a big pet peeve of mine? This book touches on so many subjects that I read entire books about. It's all stuff that will stretch your mind in a good way. But it is all stuff you should at least know about instead of keeping your head in the sand. If only more women would just speak up about things they feel strongly about, this world be a different place.


Art, Skateboarding & Life by Andy Howell. A montage of art. The book is chock full of it. Great inspiration and ideas. Loved it.

oh, and btw...GO OBAMA!!!!

Artfiberfest & Journalfest

So...just got done holding Artfiberfest and it went super good. We had about 80 folks up at the fort and it was the perfect size. The weather was beautiful but then that was what I "ordered" so I wasn't surprised. I am currently finding a new venue for this event since I am tired of competing with the Houston Quilt Festival that happens at the same time. Besides, it seems as if everyone wants me to move it back to the summer (like the first 2 years). I will post the dates here and my website as soon as we have it nailed down.

Meanwhile I am also busy with a new event called Journalfest, happening Oct. 21-25, 2009 for about 200 folks. This will happen at the fort in Port Townsend and will be the same format as Artfest. However, we will have live music each night and fun journaling activities. Tracy and I are crazy excited about this and busy with the details.

As many of you know by now, I have stopped all subscriptions to my latest magazine, Art & Life. I just had to. But it felt like what I needed to do right now, at this point in my life. and it feels right. I will continue to publish and probably be blogging a whole lot more now. but the time frame will be my own.

My next post I want to share some good books with you...something that many of you said you will miss the most from the magazine. so we'll still get that covered for you. Lord knows, I won't stop bying books and I always love to share the good stuff with anyone who wants to listen.

OH...and I want to show you some stuff I got from the artists market at vendor night at artfiberfest...so will have to dig out my camera...next post.

more and more

and more

a few new journal pages

Go Obama!

We've been out of town for the last 8 days. The first half of the week we spent in las vegas to see a couple of cirque du soleil shows, some R & R and some good food. We accomplished all that and more. It was fun this time without any of that bad energy of las vegas invading my inner being (as is usually the case). The last half of the week we taught down at www.paperstudio.com and thoroughly enjoyed the group again. Tracy had come down with a cold during the workshop and just as we were heading home, he gave it to me too. Argh...Here I sit in a fog, my head as puffy as the clouds we saw from the airplane and my ears are so clogged I can't hear a thing.

excuse me while I try to sway your vote...Go Obama!!!

OK...anyway...I came home with a few really good ideas I want to try so I will tell you about them really soon....when my head clears a little more.

theo ellsworth's new book

This is something I have been waiting a LONG time for. Theo's book is finally available on Oct. 6th from www.secretacres.com ....it's over 300 pages and only costs $15! and the limited edition poster too is a must-have for around $10. This is many years of work for Theo...a collection of all his capacity zines all tied together in one story as well as his first work and an amazing amount of work he did to finish this anthology off. I guarantee you that it will be the best money you have ever spent. Theo creates worlds that you just get lost in. A true genius with imagination and a pen.

tommorrow is artfest registration day

As I tidy up my desk and make sure everything is all ready for artfest registration week, I come across an index card that says BLOG and I am reminded that I did not keep up my blog like I said I would. sheesh...
tommorrow is the big day for sending in those forms if you want to come to artfest. and judging from the interest, I am thinking it would be wise to send it on in if you want to come.
tracy and the girls are flying to Ithica tommorrow evening like at 11:30pm for a week of camping with their buddies. The group has really grown and they are awash with excitement. I'm kinda excited too to be by myself for a week. I do love work and this is one big work week for me...so it will be nice to immerse myself in it and not have to stop to make dinner for hungry hubby.
ok...back to cleaning...

tracy's birthday

So...I know I didn't log on last night and post but I was tired and full of food. So, yesterday was Tracy's birthday-day-before-his-birthday-day. We started off by having breakfast at Lola's (a greek Tom Douglas) restaurant. I just think Tom is brilliant with food. Go to one of his restaurants if you can. Anyway, I had to order the "weird" entree because I know it may sound scary but is always amazing. It said "octopus, pork belly, spring pea greens, heirloom cherry tomatoes and a sunny egg. It was a wonderful mix of ingredients resting on some creme freche along with 2 slices of his to-dye-for toast. Tracy got the normal maple sausages, eggs and fried smashed garlic potatoes (whoa!...). The maple sausages were homemade (of course) and the most delicious sausage I've had, ever. We'll try the fried to order homemade doughnuts on another trip. OMG.

Next is was up to Victrola coffeehouse on Pike (or was it Pine?) where we journaled for almost 3 hours straight with the headphones on. Pure bliss! I popped on down to Utrecht a block down to stretch my legs and found some creamy smooth new colored pencils (colorsoft by derwent) that I wanted to try. I bought 5 single colors and took them back up to Victrola. Loved them so much that when we left, Tracy and I popped back in there and he bought me a set of 24 and bought the derwent inktense pencils for himself since he loves to play with water soluble pencils and these delivered intense color.

Then it was onto the baguette box to have a tofu baguette since it was right around the corner. however...I am sad to say that it just isn't living up to the way it used to be. They are using less veggies in the sandwiches and something has changed. we've been dissappointed the last few times. Time to find another to-die-for sandwich joint I guess.

we then took off for 45th up near wallingford because we had heard about a new ice cream shop tracy wanted to try out. since we weren't hungry, we popped into diva espresso on stone way because tracy remembered they had outdoor tables. We journaled for another hour or so and finally went back to Molly Moon's homemade ice cream (that has been getting rave reviews). We both settled on the salt caramel ice cream in a barely warm waffle come. OMG!!! It was, beyond a doubt, the best ice cream cone I've ever had. Salty and sweet and the cone was the topper...I have never tasted a cone like that one. As we sat out on the sidewalk, it was a moment of euphoria.

we were meeting up in Issaquah with some old friends who we went to high school with and did a ton of stuff with right after we got married...Jim and Rachel, who sadly moved to Spokane awhile back. So we zipped across the bridge at 3:30 before traffic was reduced to a crawl. We voraciously journaled for another 1-2 hours at the Barnes and Noble in issaquah until it was time to meet at Jaks...Tracy's favorite steakhouse. We walked in and all the waiters, cooks and (even the owners who happened to be there) all greeted him with warm hugs and smiles. It's crazy how everyone knows him. Dinner was even better with old friends to share conversation with. We started at 6 and didn't walk out until 9pm.

So, that was our day. I sat down on the couch at home and fell asleep right away. too much good food in my tummy I think. Today, I don't want to eat so much.

Dare I say it...

I think I want to try blogging every day...even if it is one sentence. I am going to try it and see what happens.

Here is the logo prototype for Artfest 2009 which is now up on my website, by-the-way. www.teeshamoore.com Lots of good workshops and fun galore. I should add in here that Tracy drew this based on our 'sea monster" theme.

On Saturday is Tracy's birthday (46th) so what he wants to do is go journal all day in seattle on friday (fine with me!!!) and then he wants to work in his studio on a new metal journal all day saturday (and he implied with no interruptions)...again, fine by me! I haven't had a chance to play in my studio either which I am eager to do. I think I will mess around with fabric and see if I can whip out some fun stuff for artfiberfest in october.

Last weekend we had the first ever workshop held at our studio/house. We had 20 women come to it and it was really fun. They all did amazing work despite the crazy heat wave we had. We realized we'd prefer less people and more lights up, but all in all, it turned out really good.

Lastly...we now have new collage sheets up as well as those sharpie pens that I am crazy about (and now all 20 of the women who came to the workshop) are crazy about too.

will let you know how the journaling day goes tommorrow.

update on art & life

This is a kind of funny pic to add in here but it was one of the most popular of my new collage sheets we just did for the CA. show. Tracy is going to try to get all the new collage sheets (14 in all) up on the website by the end of the week.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we are finally picking up issue 12 today and my trusty office manager is ready to mail them off asap. I really don't think I will ever go to china again for printing anything. not worth it. (I didn't actually GO to china...but...you know what I mean...)

just got done with the show in LA that went great! It was super to see everyone again and I found lots of really cool things down there in the garment district for goodies for artfiberfest. I'm excited to put together the packages for that as soon as all the shipped goodies make it back here.

we also got home from 4 days in cannon beach with my family who I haven't seen for years. all my cousins were there and it felt really good to connect with family who I haven't seen for about 15 years. we stayed at the tolavana inn which I would recommend. If you have a larger family, get the 2 bedroom suites that are gigantic! Big enough to host the 22 family members that were there.

anyway...I know alot of you are wondering about the magazine and I wanted to update you on that. I have literally been out of my office for 2 weeks now so today I am trying to answer emails, mail and get back to business. It feels really good to be back to work!

The Fall (a movie)

Last week we saw a new movie called The Fall. This journal page was inspired by the movie. It wasn't about Bees but there is a haunting image of a beautiful woman in the movie so it leaked out onto my journal page. Anyway...the movie was directed by the same guy who made The Cell (with Jennifer Lopez quite a few years ago) and has the same beauty/mystery. This new movie has the cutest and most brilliant young actor I have seen in a long time. It's worth seeing just to see this young actress but the visuals and the storyline make this an all around good use of a couple of hours.

I think I will have to make this one into a print.

here comes the excitemment again

OMG...I can't even tell you how excited I get at this time every year when all the Artfest proposals come pouring in...and I mean POURING in. It's a good thing actually that I get so many to choose from but the downside is having to tell folks they didn't make it in. But back to the fun part...There are some seriously crazy good workshops that have been submitted and it always renews my passion in all the planning aspects of this behemouth of a retreat! LOL. The deadline is monday so we still have some time, but I have been getting a head start on the process because of the sheer volume. Let me tell you...Artfest 2009 will be slammin' good. I hate to tease you with this when you still have to wait until the end of july to see the delights that await...but I had to say something because I am just SO EXCITED!

The above 2 journal pages are frozen right now...meaning I can't finish them off because I actually like a page for a change! LOL...I am in that stage of feeling like I will ruin it. BAD place to be in for art. So I figure before I ruin it, I will post it here. LOL. The empty spaces are bugging me and yet...not sure what to do in them...

anyhoo...back to the proposal pile...

LA in July

Hey...It just occured to me to start letting you all know that we will be down in the los angeles area in July. We are doing the original rubber stamp convention show at the carson center on july 12 & 13. If you want more details on it, go to http://www.astampinthehand.com/ and look under their show schedule. We aren't teaching this time around but we do intend to have stuff at the show that we won't have elsewhere....new prints, new collage, new rubber (maybe)!, my new favorite journaling pens (gotta get these on the website asap) and some art...handmade journals from both tracy and I.

Anyhoo...we hope to see you all down there!!!

In other news...I just finished up Art & Life issue 12 and it was sent to the printers...a new printer that is really good but is going to take up to 4 weeks to get it done. SO...this will be late. I am trying to keep from sinking with high color printing costs so please bear with me as I try to find a solution. I need to find myself a distributor! That would certainly help.

Artfiberfest is registering right now...so if you wanted to come to that, jump to it. we are about 3/4's full at this point but still receiving registrations daily.

some new journal pages

HOLY COW!!!

I had NO IDEA it has been so long since I published something on here. so I doubt anyone is reading it any longer. I find it weird to publish a magazine and do a blog...I hate repeating myself...so it has all been going into the magazine.

Anyway...I know alot of folks have been asking about journaling workshops, so we finally got some posted on our website www.teeshamoore.com click on workshops.

We have been crazy busy these days with our hands in all sorts of projects...one of which was to get our studio conducive to having workshops...a monumental task. But it is close to being there, so we felt confident to finally start having folks out our way to play and learn.

tommorrow is also the day to register for artfiberfest...the fabric retreat that is held in port townsend in october. We are keeping it small this next year so make sure to sign up early before we have to cut it off.

will post more soon. I mostly just like to look at pics when I look at blogs so I want to do the same here.

Journal Books set of 4

I have just finished a set of 4 books of my journal pages. Each booK is 40 pages, so there are 160 journal pages in all. It will be mailing around jan. 2nd. The set is $30 and can be found on the publications page of my website www.teeshamoore.com. The above pictures are some newer pages I just did lately.

Art & Life 10

So, I just got word that issue 10 was taken to the post office on december 12th, so should be winding it's way to you amidst the stream of christmas cards. If you have expired, you will be seeing a postcard instead.

tokyo pictures

I know, I know...it's ABOUT time I blogged! and I have so much to blog about! This fall was as crazy as they come and I knew that if I could just make it through to thanksgiving I could let out a giant sigh and that everything would be ok. but getting there was going to be taxing. and it was. but I am on the other side of thanksgiving and am still in one piece. anyway...tracy took tons and tons of pictures in tokyo and he has his on a flicker site. here are the links:

Tokyo - a photoset on Flickr

Design Festa - a photoset on Flickr

Of course, these are unfiltered so you will see it all from sprinkler heads he thought were interesting to a plate of food that I thought was particularly appetizing to things I asked tracy to get a shot of for me for inspirational purposes to just weird things. But it will give you a taste of crazy tokyo. I journaled on 24 pages while I was there (one of them shown here)...everyday chronicalling the events, my thoughts and other stuff and I have included them all in Art & Life issue 10 (which is now at the printer and is due to be mailed around the 10th of dec.). Anyway...as soon as I get my photos off my camera, I will share some juicy ones here.

that's it for now. enjoy the pictures but leave yourself some time. there are over 600 of them.

Looks like the book is out now that I am a part of. Just got my copy the other day. I'm amazed to see my art on the pages. I mean...I've been in many other books but this is the first time I have been really featured. I am SO not good with working with publishers that it just hasn't worked out in the past. I'm not difficult, it's just that I freeze when I am trying to do something for someone else. Anyway...Holly Harrison never would take no for an answer and somehow managed to get something out of me. She's amazing....and this book is really fun. I'm proud to be part of it.

In other news, I am getting my handsome husband back home tonight after being gone for 3 weeks. He did a whirlwind tour starting with a camping trip with his buddies in Ithica, then onto scotland for a week with our youngest daughter who has ALWAYS wanted to visit and lastly ending up in london for a week at a LOMO convention. Whew...I have been one lonely girl but had more work than I knew what to do with so was able to keep busy...really busy.

Artfest is unofficially full with about 550 folks. and most of those sent in their forms on the opening day of registration...YIKES!!! I mean...I am so happy artfest is so popular but it meant that not everyone got their first choices, and some not even their 2nd or 3rd choices.

Art & Life just came back from the printers so my very good friend, Theo Ellsworth is helping me out right now by packaging, addressing, stamping and mailing off all the subscriptions copies right now. Go Theo Go! He's probably buried under heaps of magazines in his living room right now. I hope we're still friends when he's done. LOL

well I'm gonna get a little more work done before I head to the airport to get Tracy & Trista. Man, I miss him so much, I can hardly stand it.

bumbershoot inspiration

Today we went to Bumbershoot. I don't remember it being so jam packed last year. We made a beeline for the Flatstock show and I picked up a couple more posters to go with what I got last year. Fun seeing the indie crafters but we all felt the need to split. Too many folks. I guess I'm getting old. I don't like crowds much anymore. we decided to try out Tom Douglass's newest restaurant, Serious Pie (a pizza joint). We've tried all his other restaurants and they all are my favorite in the city. He's such a cool guy too. He gave me one of his crabcake cookbooks....! just gave it to me and wrote in the front. anyhoo...Serious Pie is supposed to be very hard to get into but wasn't too bad at 3pm on a saturday. Since there were 4 of us, we tried 4 different pizza's. All were fabulous.

Last night, our daughter, tiffany (http://www.tiphoni.com/) put up some new rubber stamps on her site (actually go to the above site and then link over to her orange bus studios website to see them). My favorite is the 3 layered cake above. Gotta have that one! all the rest are cool too. She's getting quite a group of fans of her work! That's cool to see.

Meanwhile I came home from bumbershoot and finally designed the logo for artfiberfest, happening in october. I really never needed the logo until now since I need to print up some totes and stuff. anyway...it was now or never so I was inspired to do the logo above. I like it and think I will go with it, unless I draw something better tonight.

and you thought you wouldn't hear from me for another 3 months! LOL.

august 30 update.

oh great! I've been forgetting about my blog lately. I can blame it on summer....and getting a new computer...and work... I found these small paintings I did in a class with Diane Culhane awhile back. She's so awesome. She took a break from teaching and is going gung ho on her paintings but said she'll probably come back sooner or later and teach again.

Artfest 2008 is looming and the dam is about to break loose on registering for it. If you want to come, sept. 4th is the day to get your form postmarked. From the emails and enquiries I've been getting, I have a feeling it will be full within a couple of days of sept. 4th. More information can be found at http://www.teeshamoore.com/

we have a few spots left for artfiberfest in october. if you want to come email me your choices and I'll check on them and send you an email back. we have a bunch of things planned for our group of about 100 that we could never do with our artfest group of 500...so it's been fun thinking along different lines of activities.

Tracy and Trista are heading to Ithaca, NY next wednesday...just in time to miss the artfest onslaught of mail. They will be camping with their WOW (world of warcraft) guild and can't wait. then they are off from there to scotland to spend a week exploring. Trista has always wanted to go and for a girl who never watched movies or tv growing up, she managed to watch the movie, braveheart, like 50 times. then they are heading to London for the Lomo world congress meet. They are both super excited about this event that only happens once every 10 years. If you know Tracy, you'll know about his fanatic attachment to his lomo cameras and the lomography world. and he got trista hooked too. SO...no hubby for 18 days. I'm actually really Looking forward to it.

Tiffany and I intend on visiting some 5 star gourmet restaurants a few times while they are gone. We are both foodies and this will be the perfect time to experiment and have some fun. I'm not sure if I can entice her into coming home and helping me with artfest registrations or not yet. She's been super busy with webdesign but is getting really bad carpel tunnel syndrome from it. so we need to find a specialist for that.

In 2 days we are heading to Bumbershoot. I can't wait. I love seeing Flatstock...a screen printed poster show. it's fabulous and I get so inspired. I also love seeing the indie crafters. But they make me feel old and outdated. It didn't seem that long ago when I was the new fresh face on the craft scene. oh well...I love getting older (oddly enough) and all the things that come with it...even the fresh faced young artists who are making names for themselves.

Well, I need to get back to my magazine (issue 9) which is almost wrapped up. But thought I'd say Hi to All my friends out there in blog land. I KNOW I always say this but it's for real this time...I will update soon. I pinky swear.

fun in CA.

first, I wanted to remind you that we will be at the carson rubber stamp convention this weekend if any of you are inclined to come on over. we'll have our new line of rubber stamps as well as collage sheets to match. more info at http://www.astampinthehand.com/

ok...2nd...I had to tell you what we did today. Deb Denton, penguin keeper at seaworld and super cool friend I know through artfest gave us a private tour today and allowed us to stand with the 300 penguins (in the 20 degree freezer they live in), walk with a flamingo (as tall as we were), feed 3 manatees (my hand went inside their mouth!) and I petted some dolphins...oh and did I mention the emperor and other penguins we were able to pet and get up close to??? Tracy and I are in a state of wonder and bliss after our fantastic day.

well...I am in a hotel room right now, using tracy's computer so I'll write more when I get home. just wanted to post about our fun day.

thanks deb. you are as cool as those penguins...no...you are way cooler!

ATTN. ALL ART & LIFE SUBSCRIBERS

Due to various reasons, we have decided to eliminate the "auto renew" feature of our subscriptions (to Art & Life) through paypal. If you subscribed through paypal, you will be a receiving a cancellation notice. This notice is only for the the auto renew, not your actual subscription. From now on, you will receive a notice with the last issue of your subscription informing you that it is time to renew.

Starting with issue 8 (which will be in the mail the week of june 25th) we will be upgrading all subscriptions to first class mailing.

BUY THIS BOOK!!!

Drop everything, drive to the nearest bookstore and buy Foolsgold by Susan Wooldridge. I am TOTALLY serious! I just opened it up this morning over my bowl of cereal and by the 4th page of the introduction, I had to put it down and go fix my mascara that had started to spread around my moist eyes. Susan is a gem and really, truly gets it. She puts feelings into words and reminds us why creativity is SO important. Get the book...you won't regret it.

starting june with a bang.

I can breathe again. Alot has been going on but today I felt as if a huge weight was lifted. I just finished Art & Life issue 8 about an hour ago and I am happy with it. So now Tracy is formatting it for the printer and hopefully will get that sent tonight.

Last week we flew to Providence to help tiffany pack up her dorm room and ship the whole thing. Whew...24 boxes later, we were done. She showed us around the city and then we attended her graduation last saturday in the blistering heat (yes it was outside and it was just plain cruel of RISD to make the students sit out in the sun in their black polyester robes)! We went to Newport and found out from a local that the best deal in town was Benjamin's where they served 2 lobsters for $30. Oh my goodness, when they came out, our little table held 6 whole lobsters that were to die for. Super sweet meat. I was in heaven for the rest of the day. We also found some great shopping in providence, namely Figments. I loved the store and the owner. It was different and quirky and a must if you visit that city.

Tracy and I had found an apartment for Tiff before we left up on Capitol Hill so she could move in right away. We were holding our breath that she'd like it and she LOVED it. whew! It's a one-bedroom with tons of huge windows. It sits on the corner so has windows on 2 sides. She has a view of downtown seattle including the space needle and has a corner deck to boot. So what's not to love?! One trip to Ikea and she had enough to get her started on her limited budget.

So, tonight I am sitting down and starting the arduous process of picking workshops for the 2008 Artfest retreat. I have piles and piles sitting on my desk, looking all eager and perky. There are always so many great choices to choose from and only so many classrooms, so it's a fun but gut wrenching time of year for me when I have to say no to so many.

time for dinner...gotta run.

Just call me fickle

I changed my mind on my workshops I am teaching this summer & fall. I got a ton of requests for my fabric journal, so I am bringing it back. It will replace the sunday class for those of you who already looked at the listings. If you are viewing from AOL, keep in mind that it takes days sometimes to upload changes to the website. But you can view the description and see more photos if you go to www.teeshamoore.com and click on workshops. We are about half full on all our classes, so let meknow soon if you care to come.

I put this picture up of a purse I made to advertise my artfiberfest retreat happening october 17-21. The first wave of registrations have been processed (about 100) and there are still spaces in all the workshops. Artfiberfest has such a different feel about it...it's more mellow and more intimate because of the smaller group. It's a great place to get your feet wet if you have not been to (the bigger and crazier) artfest. to look at the workshops visit www.teeshamoore.com and click on artfiberfest.

we are heading to providence in a couple of weeks to attend our daughter's RISD graduation while trying to find her an apt. in seattle so she has someplace of her own when she comes home. It's exciting to be looking again at seattle apts. Some time ago I had wanted to get a place in seattle (a 2nd home if you will), but when it came down to it, I realized I like my home, studio & acreage in the country and more importantly we just didn't want to spend the money on it. Still...Seattle has such energy, and it's fun looking at places.

We still have spaces in our workshops we are teaching in los angeles in july (Gardena actually). I am trying to put together a party, slide show, journaling jam, etc. on that saturday night between the 2 days of workshops, so we have more time to just hang out with our students. We are really looking forward to it since we don't get out to teach all that often anymore.

workshops in july and oct.

The workshops are up on our site now www.teeshamoore.com and click on workshops. I am taking registrations for all our Gardena, CA. classes and Cindy at www.paperstudio.com is handling all the Tempe, AZ workshop sign-ups. Tracy will provide a sample for his "old school chalkboard journal" by the end of the week. I was playing with a chalkboard that my niece had sent me when all of a sudden an idea clicked which Tracy loved...so we have to order some to be able to make the sample...but it will be really cool. Anyhoo...I am running like a mad chicken today with tons & tons on my lists...so that's it for now.

May update

I wanted everyone to know that issue 7 has finally been mailed as of today. Yes, I know it is late...it won't happen again, I promise. well...issue 8 may be a week or two late, but I am catching up. Since we mailed them ourselves this time (no bulk mailing), you should all see them next week.

On other news, I am receiving a bunch of registrations for Artfiberfest this week, so tommorrow I'll start logging everyone in. I'm really excited for this smaller version of Artfest....and from the registrations it looks like I'm not the only one. If you wanted to come, now is the time to register!

The teaching packets went out for Artfest last week, so the teachers are busy working on their proposals. Tracy designed the logo for 2008 and I was delighted with it. He usually only draws monsters and aliens so when I saw this little guy I was shocked! Thought you might like to see it early.

Tracy and I decided to attend the Original Rubber Stamp Convention in Carson, CA in July this summer after a long hiatus from doing shows. We are flying in a week early and both teaching 2 all-day classes (July 7-8) in Gardena and then we'll have our collection of rubber stamps for sale as well as an all-new collection too! More information on the show can be seen at www.astampinthehand.com . For the workshop descriptions, give me this weekend to get them up on the site (I'll list the link here too). AND...we will also be teaching in Phoenix at the annual "Under The Covers" journaling show during October 6-7. This happens at The Paper Studio in Tempe, AZ. INfo on that will also be up very soon.

More and more plans have been set in motion around here for various projects. I'll let you in on them when I can. But that's the update for now. Busy busy busy!!! That's the way I like it though!

delightful mystery

I just had to take a picture. I took all the dolls down off my walls and threw them in a heap in one of our guest rooms. I forgot they were in there when my bi-monthly housekeepers came the other day. when they left, I was delighted to see them all lined up on the couch in that room. Actually...I am wondering if it was the houskekeepers or....they might have decided to all climb up on that couch themselves. we may never know...

I'm speechless!!!

I AM OVERWHELMED AT THE MOMENT...I just got home from the post office whe