i’ve been itching to create a collaborative book with other mixed media and paper artists. it’s an idea that has been swirling around in my noodle for a while now…

i’m thinking about a collaborative mixed media art publication. something fun… a little avant garde, a little altered, something fresh, and definitely something unique and exciting. are there any peeps out there who may be interested in contributing to this type of publication? the end result would be your artwork(s) in a beautifully printed edition of outstanding mixed media artwork.

the publication would be available for sale “at cost” through my website to collaboration participants only, and then would be made available to the public for a higher fee. my goal with this book is not to generate a ton of additional revenue [although a few bucks might be nice for all the design work i plan on putting into this publication]… my goal is to give individuals who have not had their artwork published in the past, an opportunity to do so; to expand creatively as an artist; and to be part of an exceptional collaborative project.

if you are interested, please post your comment below or email me.

i don’t have a limit/number of participants in mind at the moment, but depending on the level of interest, i may impose one when it comes time to finalize the process… in the meantime, i’m just trying to get a feel for who, if anyone, may be interested in participating in this project.

the first 3 of my 6 new collages have been posted on etsy. to see them in their entirety, please click here.

in the meantime… here is a sneak peek at them. enjoy and thanks for looking.

so i went to the doctor for the blasted ’stones… man those things are u-g-l-y! google gallstones and the wikipedia pictures tell quite a story. yuck! amazing what the body produces isn’t it?!?

bad news: it is definitely gallstones. yup. sucks big time.

good news: i’m in for an ultrasound on friday morning to determine size, type and number of stones in my gallbladder. nice. fasting for 12 hours ahead is making me hungry just thinking about it! but at least i’m getting into to the exam FAST [by bc medical standards - it’s usually a 2-3 week wait for ultrasounds. my g.p. had me scheduled in under 4 days… must be a record!] and once the exam is complete we’ll know what we’re dealing with.

results should be back by late mid-late next week and then we look at the treatment options…

1. if the stones are small enough and not too many of them, i can be treated as an outpatient with laser/ultrasound therapy where the blast the crap out of the stones. the literally pulverise them so that can pass them ‘naturally’. the doc is optimistic this will be the approach we take. fingers-crossed on this option!
2. if there are more stones than initially expected/hoped and if they are larger than expected, i’ll have to have lapiroscopic surgery to remove the damn things. again… an outpatient type surgery, but surgery nonetheless with about 7 days recovery time at home. i’d end up with a couple of small incisions and some discomfort but at least it’s not the old-school 8″ incision, hack and slash of years past like my mom had to endure. ick!

so that is the update… a number of my online/offline friends have emailed their concerns and i thought this would be the quickest, easiest way to keep everyone updated.

in other, happier news… i have 6 new mixed media collages in the works and will be posting them soon!

thanks for tuning in…
hugs to all of you who cared enough to email your well-wishes. i appreciate your concern more than you know. xoxoxo

hello!

portobello went well yesterday under the circumstances. very hot outside meant very very hot in the building. like ‘ewwww… i’m sweaty’ hot. not fun. but it’s always cool to hook up with the vendors and chat, trade and get to know new people. this time i traded a couple of reproduction canvasses for a super cool, eco-screenprinted and hemp fabric hoodie from mahadevi designs. love jules’ designs! you rock girl… chatted with another collage artist too and got great feedback on my artwork from fellow artists and buyers. nice!

other nice news… no major ouchies for 48 hours! yay!! gall bladder has temporarily settled down with my yogurt, skim milk and blandest of the bland diet. nice! no pain is good news.

this afternoon i’m off to see the doctor to get the prognosis and treatment options for my lovely gall stones. will report back later. did you know that people can sell gallstones?!? wtf? strange strange things on ebay…

in the meantime, have a great day peeps!

a few things to let you know about this weekend… there is a bunch of stuff, so here we go!

new hambly screenprints products have been uploaded to our online store site.
these product were originally intended for our brick & mortar store, but since we’re closing our vancouver location in a few weeks, i decided that it would become online store inventory only. we’ve added new hambly transparencies and some truly gorgeous new screenprinted metallic papers. yummy!

we have finally received our long awaited prima order. there are some great things in there and as with the hambly, this will become online store inventory. there are new clear stamps, paintable papers, collage flowers, matties and some other fun things. these will be added in the next couple of days so check out the NEW product section in our online store early next week.

we are definitely closing our storefront StudioWERX on Main, within rubydog’s art house, in a few weeks. if you live in the vancouver area, please take this opportunity to visit our store before it closes… we won’t be relocating to another location and will only be available for direct sales through our online store, circle craft christmas craft show and the occasional home studio day. don’t miss this chance to get some funky art supplies before we close!

also… i will be at portobello west tomorrow [i hope! more on this in a second] from 12-6pm. i will have a display of my original mixed media portrait collages in a variety of sizes including 3 very large pieces. please drop by for a visit! the location of this outstanding fashion and art market is at Rocky Mountaineer Station
1755 Cottrell Street in Vancouver

the adjacent map is a simple map of the area (click to enlarge | for a map from Google click here)

ok. so here is why i say i ‘hope’ to be there tomorrow. last night i experienced one of the most painful things i have ever endured in my life. now bear in mind i am a chronic migraine sufferer, so i have a pretty high pain threshold… but nothing, nothing prepared me for last night…

so i leave work to pick t up from the office. 2 minutes into my 5 minute drive i feel the nasty indigestion, that i’ve been having off and on for the last 6 weeks, flare up again. t was scheduled for a blood donor clinic, so i told him i would drop him off and go to the nearby pharmacy for some pepcid ac. i get to the pharm and by now the pain in my chest and upper digestive tract is getting pretty intense. i get the pepcid and chug about 2 tbsp of maalox as well, hoping to nip the pain in the bud - fast. well, that’s not what happened….

instead, the pain got worse, then my back started to hurt really badly. at 9pm i called my mom in a panic, wondering what i should do since the intensity of the abdomenal pain and back pain was not easing. i couldn’t sit, lie down or stand comfortably. i contemplated going to the emergency room… but on a friday night? no doubt i’d be there for many uncomfortable hours. i told mom what was happening and immediately she said gall bladder. shit! mom had her gall bladder removed over 18 years ago, but the pain of that gall bladder condition is still pretty fresh in her mind. so she recommended lots of skim milk, some bread and maybe non-fat yogurt to cut the acidity of the bile build up from the gall bladder. for a second parental opinion we called t’s mom barb. as soon as he said the words ’severe indigestion’ she said gall stones. ok. she too had gall stones about 4 years ago and she knew exactly where i was with it… double shit!

so basically last night as the pain intensified… i drank more milk. i went through 2L of skim milk in under 2 hours. that is more milk than i have ever drank that wasn’t in coffee in the last 20 years. it helped a little… but it was a loooong painful night. i got maybe 2-3 hours of sleep.

i hope that i don’t have a repeat of this bad episode again tonight. because if i do… attending portobello tomorrow is going to be pretty rough. and might not even be possible. that would suck. big time! so keep your fingers crossed for me that’s its a quiet, pain free night tonight.

the reason i’m relaying this info to you is because when i see my doctor on monday, i have no idea what he’s going to tell me and how i’m going to be feeling in the next few weeks. this may/may not impact my ability to ship orders on a regular basis. it may mean a brief hospital stay for surgery [let’s hope NOT!]. whatever the prognosis… i’ll keep everyone as up to date as possible. thanks for understanding.

time for another glass of milk!

hey all…

getting ready this week for my next portobello west show.

i’ve got a bunch of new pieces in the works and will be showing/selling 3 LARGE pieces plus a couple of my abstract acrylic paintings in addition to my mixed media collage portraits. the 1st big one is done and i’ve just about finished the 2nd one. i love it! no. 2 is very girly with butterflies and pink, silver, cream and dark green colour palette. it’s a great 18×36″ size and looks pretty darn nice if i say so myself =) i have it hanging in my studio downstairs and will miss it dreadfully if it sells this weekend. oh well… that IS the point isn’t it?

the monthly portobello west date is this coming sunday and will be running from 11am-6pm at the rocky mountain train station in vancouver [just off terminal blvd, between main street and clark drive - behind the home depot].

so, if you live in the vancouver area, please take a trip to portobello west on sunday may 25 for a shot of inspiration and an infusion of art and fashion. you won’t be disappointed. the merchandise for sale at this monthly event is outstanding quality and showcases vancouver’s up and coming fashion designers and emerging artists.

i just had to scrap some of my 300+ red carpet massacre photos.

i decided to do a mini-book using cosmo cricket’s new blackboard black-core chipboard mini-book as the base [we have these available at our vancouver store studioWERX on Main]. i also used hambly screenprints transparencies, basic grey rubs and scarlett paper, paperWERX red earth paper, american craft alpha stickers and 7 gypsies labels. i love the look! so in keeping with the whole ‘red carpet massacre’ theme.

you can view the large, full-size images in my flickr account. enjoy…

all canadians are celebrating one of our old-timey monarchs with a three-day long weekend this monday. the venerable queen victoria.

this is an especially celebrated holiday in bc canada because our provincial capital is named victoria [yes, after the queen] and it marks the first unofficial camping weekend in late spring/early summer for all those outdoorsy types. needless to say, this city-slicker and her hubby have no desire to camp, sleep on the ground or shower [if you’re lucky] in communal, cold showers at a regional campsite. so this weekend we’ll be hangin’ out at home doing city stuff. this girl doesn’t rough it. nope. i’m much happier doing this kind of outdoorsy stuff…

t and i took in the 23rd annual all british field meet - which is a really long title for cool classic and new brit cars. the event has been held for 22 years at van dusen gardens [a vancouver landmark for the botanical garden-set] on their ‘great lawn’ and is truly mecca for classic car enthuasiasts. over 600 cars and 50+ motor cycles are in attendance at this annual event, making it the largest event of it’s kind in western canada.

now we’re not big car buffs, but knowing that there would be a ton of vintage, classic cars at this event was enough of a photo op to drag me outta the house. think lots of chrome, curvy lines, gorgeous paint, burl walnut interiors and leather. yummy eye candy for sure! plus it was a spectacular day yesterday soaring to 30C/86F so being outdoors under some large trees was pretty much a neccessity =)

between the two of us, we shot over 500 photos of the most amazing chrome and enamel vehicles we’ve ever seen. yep t took some pics too… in his words “if you’re gonna drag me out to this thing, i better take a camera so i don’t get bored”. needless to say, he wasn’t bored LOL! he took a ton of photos himself, experimenting with the lens, dof, reflection, etc… i think he really enjoy himself actually and that was great fun to watch.

so many of vehicle were so cool looking with interesting reflections in the chrome and the gorgeous paint jobs that t has encouraged me to do a photobook. so yep… i’m publishing again and will have a 100 page book in my hot little hands in about 10 days. anyways… thought you might enjoy looking at a few of my favorites. there are more in my flickr collection here.

love this! so gorgeous in person. the detail of the figure and chromed gleam of the rolls royce hood ornament is something to behold. breathtaking!

i had no idea that the lotus esprit was a british car! i know the brits do luxury muscle cars [see bentley, jaguar and astin martin], but had no idea that they did exotics too. well done uk auto designers. well done. these new lotuses are truly remarkable. amazingly compact and full of personally [and a lot of vavoom!] if we sold off t’s star war fig collection we could go buy one today [yep, that is ALOT of star wars in plastic bubbles. but i’m not judging him lol!]. i’m partial to the bright orange one… it goes with my hair colour ;^)

to see the rest of the 25 images i uploaded to my flickr portfolio, click here…

have a great rest of the long weekend canucks!
happy early memorial day to my southern usa friends too =)

this is what my nutty hubby t does. makes face at me til i smile. even when my eye is puffed up like a little balloon on my face lol!

now that is love =)

south richmond in the evening at 8:20pm… gorgeous!

at the request of numerous customers, i’ve put together a few fabric only packs for fabric oriented projects. in each pack you will get exactly the fabric you see in the samples below and do not include any embellishments, batting or backing fabrics. they are now available in my etsy shop.

here are the packs: