I just wanted to let you all know that there are a few spaces left in our Ashland Painting Retreat June 6,7,8th. This is my mother's FIRST painting ever that she did while on retreat with our teacher, Paul. Since then she has been jamming away on all sorts of new art projects. This image hangs in our PaPaYa! office these days. She used to say that I was the artist between us. But as you can see that is certainly not the case. I'd say it runs in the blood!
I finally got my scans done from Artfest. This image was from the wallpaper class. It was my demo. I haven't added to it since then but I am looking forward to finishing it up. I am so excited about doing the wallpaper class in Bali next year and integrating more of the Balinese themes into them. It seems like the perfect medium to play with there. But in the meantime I am gearing up for another Stationery Show in NY! Those of you who will be there please stop by and say hello. I am looking forward to being in NY again. Each trip I am able to sink a little deeper into the place. But I'll be back on the ol' blog before I head out...
I met Shiloh a few years ago while at a trade show in SF. Her artwork was beaming from her booth and Shiloh herself is dripping in jewels and looks like one of her paintings. 
Shiloh has turned her passion for painting into a multifaceted lifestyle. With teaching (both women and teens), gallery events, publishing and now manufacturing. I thought she is another great example of some of the things we talked about it the previous post. I personally
am looking forward to taking a painting workshop with Shiloh. I have been feeling inspired to paint more lately but I haven't forced myself to sit down and get still yet. I find that mixed media works for me since I am such a go,go,go person . But I realize that I must take the necessary time to cultivate creativity on canvas with slower, hard earned images. It's a whole different type of creative process for me. That's why I am so looking forward to painting with Paul here in June. I need focused times where I can immerse myself in paint alone.
I remember first seeing Kim Parker in an article many years ago. (I still have it tucked into an old journal) I was smitten with her paintings instantly and what looked like a fabulous lifestyle full of color, and design. I have kept tabs on her here and there over the years seeing peeps of her work popping up all over in the form of goodies at Anthropologie and wall arts. 
There is just something so magnetic about her paintings. I adore them. They have energy and vitality- and they make me want to throw up my hands and just paint forevermore.
So I was thrilled to find she has a book out. Called Kim Parker Home. I want to let all of you know about it not only because it's full of her lovely work but she is very generous with her story as an artist. She shares details about her process of finding her way and her career. She is an outstanding example of a fine artist who made the crossover into other avenues. I often feel that the life of an Artist would be so precarious if one has to live through gallery events and selling originals alone. I think this is a wonderful solution and is certainly a classic way to go. But I think many artists aren't even aware that there is another way. In fact there are limitless ways to celebrate the talent within you and to reap financial and emotional satisfaction from what you do.
The truth is if I had set up a booth at a street fair (and believe me I certainly have) or a gallery event and only got a little money from it- it might be easy to decide..."Oh well. I guess I cannot make it as an artist." But I am here to tell you that there is a whole nother world full of opportunities for artists of ALL mediums and persuasions.
Kim's book is a very juicy look at a few of these. namely licensing and manufacturing. If you have ever wondered how an artist can possibly make art and make goods at the same time then this might be a fun exposure to "how it all works." And if nothing else will give you a glimpse into the success of one talented artist turned her passion into a lifestyle in a very big way.
Here are some other links to resources along these lines:
Surtex- a great trade show for artists and designers to show what they can offer. (happen's at the same time as the Stationery Show- renowned for all the fabulous designers in the paper world.) I suggest walking these show's for a peek into this world.
Arts & Humanities Library
Just a couple artists I love who license too:
Hammerpress -
Amy Butler
Amy Ruppel
A great article about the matter from one of the largest licensing artists in the world. (It's wild but true)
Mary Engelbreight
These links could go on forever. But A big thank you to Kim Parker for her great book and her open generosity about her story!
I recently moved my son from public school to a Waldorf School. I have to admit that I was a little nervous. 
I always wanted him to participate with Waldorf but as he got older and more time passed I wasn't sure we could handle unplugging from TV and Video Games & I was nervous about all those "super parents" seeing the truth about all my shortcomings. (I had enough guilt right?) And although we paint together and play together I had slowly steeped my single parenting in mainstream support that I wasn't feeling great about.
But I must tell you the change in my son since changing schools is truly night and day. Within a matter of a few days he transformed from moody and serious to playful and energized. This change alone has infused our home with laughter again. Yesterday was the annual May Day Celebration. I helped may crowns out of flowering weeds the night before and the morning of the festivities the children had a chance to decorate their own with oodles of flowers. I am so grateful for this new school. It suits our love of beauty, arts and community and has been such a source of family inspiration. Thank you Siskiyou School for a great start!
Just want to give my good friend Nara a little love today. She's been my rock for 14 years of friendship. This is her at the studio this week. ( Her sister sent her those purdy flowers-they look lovely Jessica!). Thank you for all that you are, all the you do and all that you are surely becoming...Love You Girl.
It's official folks. Registration opened today for the Bali! Retreat.
I must admit that I do have the most terrific mother ever. She is one of those people who always find a way to make life better. She is the reason for my personal success and for the success of our business (don't be fooled. My mom, Gina is the Queen Bee at PaPaYa! and she runs the show!) But more importantly she is a remarkable human being. She inspires me to no end and impresses me everyday with her compassion perseverance, insights and deep love. 
So I am thinking about upcoming Mother's Day (MAY 11th!) and contemplating something clever. But no luck just yet. Anyone have some great mother's day ideas? Keep me posted...I'd love to buy her one of these. But that will have to wait.
You should! Michael Demeng is one rediculously talented guy. He creates all sorts of assemblages that he calls Post Modern Shrines. I recently purchases one of his pieces at Artfest for my brother who just got a great new pad. I'm trying to turn him onto having original works and thankfully he LOVED his first collectible. 
This is it here. Michael's work is just amazing and the beauty is that he uses both new and old parts and makes them look incredibly rich, textural and metally. 
One of my favorite things he makes are these freaky three dimensional "polaroid" images. They totally mesmerize me. Hey- anything with body parts and eyeballs and I'm all in! He does a very full teaching schedule so you might even get a chance to check him out either as a student or at a gallery in your area.
Just a heads up that the Bali Retreat registrations open on May 1st! A couple of days till we open the gates y'all. I have such a strong feeling that this retreat is going to be something very special from the heart.
The emails and inquiries are already swimming around so I think this is going to fill quickly since we only have about 21 spots for the entire retreat. Just enough to feel energized by the group but small enough to spread out, make new friends and get ultra infused with creative immersion.
