I needed a break from the mad packaging of 300lb of rubber for next weeks Kick Start event, so I finished off 4 new pieces of artwork that have been in various stages for about 2 weeks. 

The new pieces are definitely edgy and very very urban in inspiration. The series is called Graffitiesque and is now available in my ETSY store. Here you go… enjoy the Halloween eye candy and have a BOOtiful day!

Here are our class descriptions for the Kick Start event held from Nov 7 - 11 at our store, StudioWERX on Main. Registration for these classes is through RubyDog’s Art House and the StudioWERX on Main store. SImply call 604-873-2825 to register. Class sizes are limited to 8 per class… so don’t delay!

Weds. November 7 from 7-8:30pm: Festive Folders
A cleverly folded manilla folder becomes an accordion album to hold precious memories. Cost: $25 including Kit.

Thurs. November 8 from 7-8:30pm: Letters to Santa
A festive letter keeper that is displayed as part of your holiday decor and as a place to reveal your holiday wishes.  Cost: $25 including Kit.

Fri. November 9 from 6:30-8:30pm: Family Traditions
A charming, decorated holiday tin designed to hold your treasured photos, recipes, cards and all things Christmas.  Cost: $35 incl. Kit

Sat. November 10 from 3-5:30pm:  Holiday Wreath
Decorate a unique, festive wreath with fun, holiday inspired chipboard embellishments and twine.  Cost: $35 incl. Kit and Wreath

Sun. Nov. 11 from 3-6pm:  Glisten Garland

Create a sparkly, silver, blue and cream festive garland with vintage ephemera, pattern paper and glittered chipboard letters. Strung together with coordinating ribbon, this garland is destined to become an heirloom.  Cost: $45 incl. Kit

In addition to these fun and festive classes, we will be doing Christmas Gift Tag Make N Takes featuring our new rubberstamps! Here are just a few examples of the dozens of new Christmas/Holiday stamps we’ve designed for our special event…

Here is a sneak peek at some of the holiday inspired products we will be bringing in for this special week of shopping…

I hope we’ll see you at the big event! Remember… Nov 7 - 11 at 4738 Main Street in Vancouver!

A little bit o’ colour for a Fall day…
Enjoy!

Fall 2007 Colour, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

well, i’m doing it. i’m doing not just one but TWO art shows in december this year.

i’ll be selling my original mixed media collages to real-live people. not just my online, etsy fans [who i love and adore and thank everytime they purchase a piece from me!!]. for me, this is a huge deal.

people who know me, know that when it comes to my personal artwork that, well, i’m a little shy. generally quite humble and constantly ask ‘do you really like it? ‘ this self-concious, self-depricating christina is a far cry from the self-confident, business-minded art supply manufacturer most people know me as.

when it comes to selling our line of stamps and papers, i’m confident about our product lines. people have expressed their interest in them and they have been purchased by artists from all over the world for years. now that is validation! and as my friend becky puts it: there’s a seat for every butt in the world… to me that means that for everyone out there, there is a product that fits their style and niche. we’re lucky to have found that niche and strive to provide our buyers with unique and artistic products whenever we can.

for me, personal, original artwork is a whole other ball of wax. it’s me… putting myself, my personal self, out there to be judged, critiqued and quite possibly rejected. now i know that it’s silly and self-defeating thinking about the people who won’t like/buy my artwork BUT it has colored my feelings about selling my original artwork for years. i have a major rejection and minor inferiority complex when it comes to my personal artwork.

terry, my dh of 7 years and partner of almost 14, is my biggest supporter and has been literally buggin me for years to get myself out there and sell my artwork to galleries and the public. and not just at small, church craft fairs. he has been encouraging me to sell at real, live ART shows. legitimate venues where people KNOW what they are looking at. so… after years of his prodding, after a growing number of sales through my etsy shop [proving to me that anonymous people, who i’ve never met, really do like my artwork] and after the badgering of certain arty friends [you know who you are - D! G! B!] i’m taking the plunge. for real.

so here it is… the info about where you’ll be able to see my artwork, live and in person. where you’ll be able to touch it, pick it up, scrutinize it in the flesh [all the while making me squirm, while i chew my lip and wait for your approval].

creative finds
paperWERXings: Original Mixed Media Collage artworks and accessories
date: december 1, 2007 from 9:30am [what an ungodly hour!] to 8pm
where: sullivan community hall, located at 6306 - 152nd street [near 64th ave], surrey bc
artists: up to 30 unique artists from a variety of mediums

• i will be selling 6×6, 8×8, 12×12 and a few special oversized pieces of original mixed media collage on hardboard canvasses
• i will also have a variety of my sold artworks available as reproduction 1.5" buttons and 1" rings. these make stocking stuffers since they are at a much lower price point than my original pieces.

portobello west
paperWERXings: Original Mixed Media Collage artworks and accessories
date: december 16, 2007 from 12 to 7pm
where: Rocky Mountaineer Station, 1755 Cottrell Street, Vancouver
artists: dozens of high-quality, local artists with an emphasis on fashion and design

• i will be selling 6×6, 8×8, 12×12 and a few special oversized pieces of original mixed media collage on hardboard canvasses
• i will also have a variety of my sold artworks available as
  reproduction 1.5" buttons and 1" rings. these make stocking stuffers
  since they are at a much lower price point than my original pieces.
• this fashion and art market is the perfect opportunity to finish [or start LOL!] your festive shopping!

i’m super excited about the portbello west fashion and art market since many local art, decor and fashion retailers scope out the market for new talent. it’s a great opportunity to get myself out there and in front of the eyes and into the hands of people who appreciate the beauty and care in which my artworks are created.

i’m more than a little excited and honestly, i’m a little nervous! i hope people will like what i have to offer, and hope that my fear of rejection complex is once and for all put to an end. this is a huge step for little ole’ me, but… i think i’m finally ready for it. wish me luck!

so enjoy this WordLib in the meantime:

For the last 4 years, we have had a booth at the Annual Circle Craft Christmas show, held at Canada Place in Vancouver. We’ve loved being in that venue, but times are a changing for StudioWERX…

We now have a storefront, studioWERX on Main [our store within Ruby Dog’s Arthouse], and are in a situation where we can sell our products to our consumers in a different environment. So what are we to do?? Well…  this year, for the first time in 5 years, we will NOT be attending the Circle Craft Christmas Show. Instead, we will be doing a 5-day Seasonal Event called Kick Start the Festivities in our storefront!

By visiting and shopping at our store, you won’t have to pay admission like you do at Circle Craft, there is free parking, lots of room and great, NEW products to check out. The bonus having our event in the store is that not only will we be demoing and doing Make and Takes throughout the day, we will also be offering Festive Craft classes for the first time!

My friend and fellow paper artist Becky will be teaching 5 Festive Craft classes over the 5 day event, that will range from beginner to more advanced and will focus on Christmas oriented crafts! It’s a great opportunity to get some art projects and gifts completed before the holiday season begins; it’s a great way to try out new products you haven’t used before; and it’s a great opportunity to hang out, enjoy some festive spirit and kick start your holiday season!

Specially ordered holiday products at the studioWERX on Main ‘Kick Start the Festivities’ include:

• wonderful holiday inspired papers, gift bags, card making Kits and Album Kits
• festive embellishments for cards, gift making and gift wrapping
• new holiday inspired Lazar StudioWERX rubberstamps - debuting at this event first!
• rubberstamping inks, acrylic blocks, sundry supplies and more!

Kick Start the Festivities runs from November 7 - 11, 2007 with extended store hours of 11am-9pm Wednesday thru Friday, 11am-6pm Saturday and Sunday. We hope to see you there!

Watch this our blog for sneak peeks about our coming products… and for detailed class information and samples.

now that the crop of new tv shows have pretty much all debuted… i thought i’d share my favorites [if you were interested LOL!]

1. dirtysexymoney :
   by far this is my favorite new tv show. this show is freaking amazing. great cast. really smart, witty writing. great plot lines and well… it’s got peter strauss krause and donald sutherland in it, what more could you ask for. watched the premier episode last week and i’m seriously hooked. it’s all about the lawyer and his son who manage the affairs of a billionaire and his family. seriously f’ed adult children, major dysfunction and drama paired with subversive and dark comedy makes for seriously good tv. airs on wednesdays at 9pm. first new show added to the pvr recording schedule.
2. the tudors :
   yeah yeah… i know it’s been airing on HBO in the US all year, but we po’ canadians just got it and the first episode aired on ctv last night. holy crap! hot hot hot henry viii and his women. who knew that the most notorious womanizer in the british royal family could turn into a series hotter than HBO’s ROME? you go HBO! jonathan rhys meyers is the the hottest henry ever! this is now on the pvr listing for recording. it airs tuesday night on ctv.
3. chuck :
   interesting premise… nerd herd super geek has all the usa government’s secrets accidentally downloaded into his subconscious and becomes an unwilling/dorky spy. some good comedy slap-stick here and great one-liners. this is also on the pvr list. it airs mondays at 8pm.
4. big shots :
   ok ok… yes it has dylan mcdermott in it. reason enough for me to watch the show. i remember a co-star of his once referring to him and ‘liquid sex’. yup. he’s hot. ex-alias spy guy also stars [name eludes me right now] as the true-blue corporate mogul who gets his heart broken. christopher titus provides the dry, biting humor he’s known for. nice, mindless friday evening faire.

biggest disappointment so far? bionic woman.
ok ok. maybe i expected too much. but come-on, the hype for this premier was stoked up pretty high. i’ll give this show a couple of weeks… but so far, i’m not convinced.

as always, i love my ugly betty, project runway and my guilty pleasure [america’s next top model].

i’ve just finished a mini-3 piece series of gothic couture, high-fashion mixed media collages.

i’ve called the series the ‘gothic vampire vixens’. i couldn’t resist with hallowe’en creeping up on us and it seemed so appropriate lol! they are now available on etsy and i hope you all like them. i had a great time doing them.

have a great hump day my peeps!

in a bid to further my exposure in the art market, i’ve gone and gotten myself ‘trunkt’.

trunkt is a buyer’s guide to independant art and design.  for me it’s another vehicle to try and get myself noticed. it’s also a great opportunity to post feedback or comments about a favorite artist’s work. unlike etsy there are guest books that YOU can add to [hint hint, nudge nudge], plus you’ll be able to get some more information about the artists and designers.

to check out trunkt, just visit trunkt.org and to see my portfolio, click here.