Homing Pigeons....

Well, I just never know where inspiration will fall from. This week it came from a story I listened to on NPR about the popularity and value of homing pigeons in China recently. It seems that some of these clever birds are going for as much as a luxury car to some collectors! Since I am currently in the bird state of mind, I decided to create my own pigeon - going home. 

unfinished* "Coming Home Again"
12" x 12" x 2"
Mixed media on wood panel

I'm not quite finished with it. I plan on including the quote by M.E. Sangster, "There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again." 

It will be offered in my Etsy shop asap.

A few other things happening  in my studio and life: 

My friend Cate turns 50 today. I made her this card - don't tell her ! She's the best neighbor with the best advice and friendship a girl could ever wish for. 

I started taking Liv Lane's blog class  this week. I have been wanting to move and improve my blog for a long while now so I am looking for encouragement and some direction from this class! 

Tomorrow I head into Boston to take my daughter to a workshop at the Art Institute of Boston/Lesley University for highschool juniors. It should help her get a better sense of what art school and a career in art might feel like. Joannah is interested in double majoring in photography and business. Clearly she is much smarter then her mother who just assumed at her age that the business piece would just fall together by magic business fairies! I hope to take my 14 year old son with me to the Museum of Fine Arts to check out what's new there. I will post photos next time if I get any between the rain drops! 

Hope something is brewing in your life that inspires you today! Would love to hear all about it.

Birds!

Celebrating Birds in my Etsy shop - come have a look! 

"Something Wonderful"
8" x 8" in 12" square frame
acrylic, watercolor, oil stick, colored pencil and tissue paper
available on Etsy

detail from "Something Wonderful"

"June Bird"
5" x 5" x 2"
acrylic, watercolor, vintage paper, graphite and ink
covered by a thin layer of beeswax
available on Etsy

detail: "June Bird"

"And the Song was Wordless"
16" x 16" x 2"
Acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, ink and tissue paper
on wood board
available on Etsy

"Green Bird"
8"x 8" in 12" square frame
Acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, vintage paper, ink
on wood panel
available on Etsy

detail: "Green Bird"

"May Bird"
5" x 5" 2"
Acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, vintage paper and ink
with thin layer of beeswax
on wood panel
available on Etsy

Collecting

Why do humans collect things?

Collecting was sort of a family culture in our house growing up. My mother would latch on to something that one of us was interested in and then our collections - mostly from her - would grow and grow! My sister Sally collected plastic horses until she got her own life-sized real horse. My younger brother Tom collected frogs - none of us is sure why exactly this started but soon his room was green to match the collection! I have collected dolls, Alice in Wonderland imagery and alphabet blocks, posters, etc...

When I began dating my husband my mother was determined to start a collection for him. He was interested back then in developing board game ideas (yes, this was before video games became the norm) so, my mother began buying him antique checker boards and wooden board games. 

Last weekend my best friend and I went to the Brimfield Antique  (and Interesting People) Show. It is a HUGE show, boasting that it is the largest antiques show in the world. I'm not sure what's more interesting at the show: the stuff or the people. In addition to people shopping for special finds for their homes, I watched as people searched for pieces for their collections. 

I saw grown men with signs pinned to their backs that said things like, "I collect model trains..." with specific makes and models. I was searching for what I call, "white ware": ironstone or milk glass pitchers and or containers. I found one in my price range which made me happy. My priority was to find vintage books and paper to use in my work. I was lucky to find some wonderful things for next to nothing.

So, it got me thinking: Why do we collect stuff?

•       Sentimental reasons/ bring back those feelings of childhood
•       Just for fun
•       For an investment
•       The satisfaction of having, "the complete set" (my son has all the state quarters)
•       To celebrate a celebrity: David Jones or Kermit the Frog for example

I recently became aware of the wildly popular practice of collecting Artist Trading Cards or ACEOs (Art, Cards, Editions and Originals). They had been at the edge  of my awareness for a while but I never really understood the full extent of the movement. They are always 2.5"x3.5" and were originally made by artists as a way to trade work with one another. I have traded small works with other artists occasionally as a way to encourage others that I had grown to admire but never in this format. Now these little works are collected by collectors who display them, trade them or give them away as little gifts. It's a way I suppose to collect original (and printed) art in an affordable way. They sell for anything from a few dollars for prints to hundreds of dollars, depending on the artist, medium and how rare the piece is. 

I have started creating some ACEOs of my own to offer on Etsy. They are fun to do in between larger projects. They are all watercolors. Each one comes dry mounted on a cut-to-fit mat board and then placed inside a protective, archival plastic sleeve. They are all signed and dated and come packaged for safe shipping. Start your own art collection! 

I would love to hear what YOU collect and why you started collecting! 

Pin This!

It seems to me that Pinterest has been getting a bit of a bad rap by some. So has Facebook and Twitter. I find most of the people who tend to say disparaging things about these portals into other worlds are generally people who do not use these mediums for the positive things they bring to our lives. We have a choice about how we ingest them and how we express ourselves through them. I have chosen to use all of these platforms to their best benefits. I enjoy staying in touch with people that would have otherwise just been left in my past. I've never been comfortable about "loosing" people who at one time were at the center of my world. I like jumping into a deeper understanding in a conversation when I run into someone at the grocery store for example who I just read on facebook has a sick parent or recently adopted a new puppy. The conversation starts out on a different level. 

I like people. 

I care about the people in my life and I like knowing how they are doing. I like sharing things about my little world that I hope add a different perspective into their lives. I started posting a daily photo that is something from my day that I found beautiful, interesting or inspiring. I try not to say too much, I just leave this little image and maybe a brief thought about it. My intention is to add a little salt to my friend's days. 

Pinterest is plain and simple: my porn. I get so stimulated by what I find when searching through the hundreds of images, colors, artists, recipes and ideas. I love sorting them into categories of my choice. I use it as a resource for research on projects. I use it to spark new palette ideas. Searching through Pinterest on my smart phone has become part of my bedtime routine because the dreams I end up having after stimulating my creativity in this way right before sleep has gone to a whole new level. I often wake in the morning with new ideas for my work in the studio that are more far reaching than I have ever experienced before. I have to admit, my reading for pleasure practice has suffered a bit as I only have so much time before bed until my eyelids force me to shut everything off and get to sleep! 

I have discovered artists on Pinterest that I don't think I would have found so readily otherwise. This highlights the importance of responsible pinners linking back to an original website or link.

I would like to share three artists that I specifically learned about via Pinterest:  

•                Georgia Gray. Georgia's painterly meditations remind me to be true to the simplicity of color and pattern. These two pillars of fine art are enough to carry the viewer to a peaceful celebration that brings you back over and over. I love the complexity within the structure of her repeated circles, rectangles, triangles...
•                Jennifer Mercede: Jennifer is enjoying an explosion of popularity right now. I am seeing her everywhere and so I am not completely confident that I was first introduced to her via Pinterest. Her work is delightful and reminds me to relax and let the process flow. When I look at her work I love the child-like innocence of her mark making. This spirit is what I miss about teaching children (I taught art to children ages 3-12 for eleven years out of my home). I always try to keep a balance in my own work of innocent intuitive process with (what I hope is) a seasoned experience with color, story-line and composition. Jennifer is a master of this and appeals to both children and children at heart. 
•               Lisa Hochstein: I am absolutely crazy about Lisa's work! Her use of re-purposed papers from widely varied origins is brilliant. Her focus on design and the balance of color and shape draws me into her world of finite deliberate decision making. Her meditations seem to be a decision at every placement - like a puzzle that only she knows the resolution to at the placement of the last jewel of paper. I imagine her having one ah-ha! moment after another when she works. 

I hope you will check out these artists and the hundreds of other creative people that inhabit our world - brought closer and into focus through the "miracle" of the internet!

Five Things in Month Five

"May"
6"x6"x2"
Acrylic, watercolor, ink, colored pencil and vintage papers
on gallery profile wood panel
2012

Happy May Day!

May means my son Simon's birthday and Mother's Day and that soon I will be able to plant my vegetable seedlings in the garden that is waiting patiently.

Last year I grew hundreds of zinnias in my garden so this year is a sunflower, herb and vegetable year. I alternate so that I don't get burnt out on the hard work that comes with being a vegetable gardener.

May is the fifth month

Here are five exciting things happening with me lately:

1. I spent this past weekend with a group of 25 wonderful woman in Rockport, MA. While I was there I visited a favorite artist and gallery owner, Karen Tusinski. To my delight, Karen remembered me from my visit four long years ago. We had a great chat and compared notes on the joys and frustrations of this art gig we have. Karen is a freakishly talented artist - check her out online or stop by if you find yourself in Rockport.

2. I recently hauled out my beeswax, hot plate and heat gun and covered a few pieces with a final layer of beeswax. I love it and am wondering what took me so long!? I still have a way to go before exploring encaustic technique in it's full capacity but I love the addition of the thin layer of sweet smelling beeswax over the surface of the piece. Here is one I recently covered: 

"Regeneration"
16"x16"x2"
Acrylic, watercolor, graphite, ink and beeswax over a stabilizing medium
on gallery profile wood panel
2012

detail, "Regeneration"

detail, "Regeneration"

3. My new friend, Amy Castle of Rainy Roots Studio gifted me this darling initial made by her talented hands out of a discarded soda can: 

...a total surprise to me and makes me so happy!

4. Thanks to my aging and over-worked brain I had forgotten that I had pre-ordered Flora Bowley's new book, "Brave Intuitive Painting" and it arrived at my door yesterday. I may have to wait until the slower pace of summer takes over to really delve into it fully but oh what eye candy!

5. I am in the process of dropping pieces off to galleries throughout New England for spring and summer shows. I feel a bit like a bird flying around to deposit treasures in others' nests. The above piece of my "May" bird will be available in my Etsy shop in the coming week: http://www.etsy.com/shop/janemhoughton?ref=si_shop (after I cover it with beeswax) ;-)

Gum Drop Hills

What's with the Gum Drop shaped hills?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/97301846/storm-approaching

The gum drop shaped hills that have become my signature image began quite simply as a doodle. I doodle all the time. It's something that my clinically-minded Psychology Professors when I was in graduate school just didn't understand. Doodling helps me concentrate and has given me some of my most original ideas.

"Charlotte"
2007
Sold

I first began using the gum drop hill shape back in 2006 - featured mainly in my "Friends" series. I wasn't sure why the shape spoke to me so firmly but I couldn't stop using it. 

It wasn't until a visit to Wales in April 2007 that it clicked for me. 

I have a deep connection to the landscape of Wales. My grandmother was born there. She shared stories of how she and her parents came to the USA from just over the boarder of Wales - Stoke-on-Trent, England back in the early 1920's. I studied at the University of Wales in Cardiff when I was a senior at Skidmore College. But my connection to this part of the world feels like it goes even deeper than ancestral or academic. The first time I crossed into Wales on a bus back in 1986 I felt like I was coming home. When ever I leave this place it feels like my heart is a suction cup coming off glass. I have been back three times since I was a student. 

It was on this last trip in a beautiful spring in 2007 that the penny dropped (as they say). When I was reminded of the shape of the Welsh hill forts and burial mounds I exclaimed, "of course! That's where they came from!" My friend brought me to a gallery in Cardiff where this idea was reinforced for me. They had a small exhibit at the time of older works by Welsh artists. Nicholas Evans was one of the artists featured. I wish I had snapped a photo of the piece and I wish I could find it somewhere on the internet but I have not been able to. I'll never forget coming around a corner and seeing this piece: a lithograph I believe. It was a square composition featuring a gum drop shaped hill with the coal mining community so prevalent in Wales. I nearly fell over, the composition was so close to one of mine although the spirit of the work was of course completely different. I felt so connected to this artist immediately and knew I was on the right path in terms of being true to my roots. 

I have continued to use the shape in various ways and they continue to help me feel connected to a land I dearly love and miss every day. 

"Rock the Boat"
2009
Sold

"On Top of the World"
2009
Sold

"Neighbors"
2012
http://www.etsy.com/listing/97280450/neighbors?ref=v1_other_1

illustration - to signify the memories and lessons our loved-ones leave us

Recently my son and I were out exploring in Harvard, MA and came upon these gum drop shaped branch structures by the artist in residence, Andy Moerlein at the Fruitlands Museum. I love them and felt very at home in their presence. 

Please visit my new Etsy shop to see more gum drop shaped hills! http://www.etsy.com/shop/janemhoughton?ref=si_shop

Right-Brain Business Planning

detail from "Search"
16"x16"x2"
acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil,ink and tissue paper
on wood panel

I have been on a home-based retreat for the last four days. 
My husband generously agreed to take our three children (ages 12-17) to Florida to visit his parents while I stayed at home to get caught up on some work. I sometimes wonder if people with office-based jobs take it for granted how fortunate they are to go to a place where they can work with a tribe of people who are all pointed in the direction of getting a job done? I know how fortunate I am to have been given this opportunity to be a full time artist while being flexible enough to play my roles of mom, wife, dog walker, laundress, head chef, carpool driver, house keeper, at any given moment. However, this can also be a curse to have to fight hard to defend my work time when I am not having to formally punch a time clock. 

I have gotten so much done! A shortened list of some of the to-do's I have been able to knock off my list are:

• Go to town hall to fill out the paperwork to declare myself a "sole proprietor".
• Get tax id #
• Open a business account at the bank
• Paint two more pieces for the show this July at the One Mile Gallery , photograph them and email them to the curator. Schedule a date to deliver them to her in NYC.
• Finish reading books on successfully selling on Etsy: 
•             How to Make Money using Etsy 
•             The Handmade Marketplace
• Finish the course work from the Hello Soul Hello Business class.
• Finish my Right-Brained Business Plan (see description and related links here)
• Begin works for portfolio to present to potential agents to license and represent my work.
• Mail Etsy orders and thank you's
• Make cards for family and friends who are on my mind
• Exercise (25th College Reunion coming up!)

In writing my Right-Brained Business Plan I took my cues from both the rich course work in Hello Soul Hello Business as well as from Jennifer Lee's book: The Right-Brained Business Plan. 

"This book is for you if you're bored by business planning, if you find the process daunting, or if you're too busy doing what you love to bother with complex spreadsheets or lengthy templates." (Jennifer Lee) 

To the above declaration I said "yes, yes, yes and ummm... yes!" 

Here are some shots of my in-process Business Plan:

Cover of my RBB Plan

the work space I set up in the living room - undisturbed for four whole days!

"An Interview with Me" - where I list many of the things I am passionate about and a place to put the cards listing the products my business offers: Original art for gallery and online sales which feeds my Commission practice with inspiration and new imagery and income to reinvest into the business and finally the long-range plan of products related to the Grief work arm of my business and it's related children's book, commissions and Memory-keeper product idea. 

The pale blue "Om" card lists my values of my work: 

• "Inspired"- my work should remain fresh and inspiring (to me and potential patrons). 
• "Respectful" - my commission work should encourage connection and empowerment to both my patrons and myself.
• "Open" - my goals should remain expansive and broad minded.

www.facebook.com/jmhoughton

 I would love to hear about your goals and how you motivate yourself to make it happen!