Eye Pop Art

Trillium Artisans Pop-Up Shop + Holiday News

2011-11-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

I'm now working in downtown Portland, because Trillium Artisans is participating in the Pop-Up Shop program this holiday season! We have a cute little shop located at 318 SW Taylor Street and we'll be open through December 31. Then, it's back to Foster Road (our new location on Foster Road, since we moved the store one block east in mid-October, just a couple of weeks before we moved downtown! It has been a whirlwind to say the least).

So come see our little store if you are in the downtown area - we have lots of great gift ideas and everything is made from recycled and reclaimed materials by local artisans.

We are participating in the Little Boxes event on Black Friday - you could win an ipad just for shopping at local boutiques! Get 10% off at participating stores with a receipt from one of the other stores.

We also have some events planned for every Thursday evening in December. On Dec. 1 from 5 - 7 pm you can make Kanzashi Fabric Flowers with the one and only Sister Diane! (I am super excited about this!)

These are some pictures of the shop that Lee took. You can see more in this facebook album.

I will be having a trunk show there on Tuesday, December 13. Come visit me! I'll be there all day from 11 - 7.

I'm not doing any holiday shows, so if you are looking for my items locally please visit Trillium or any of the other stores that carry my work such as Silver Moth, Presents of Mind, Knack, Collect Craft, Mag-Big, SCRAP's RE: Boutique, Redux, or Tender Loving Empire.

Not local? Order from my Etsy shop on Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) and get 25% off with the coupon code PDXETSY2011. Check out other participating PDX Etsy shops here.

Chuck and I are off to our swing dancing class! Happy holidays everyone!

The Raven

2011-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Here's a video of our band's annual performance of "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, from our party on Saturday night. Enjoy!

Recycled Arts Festival 2011

2011-06-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

The 6th Annual Recycled Arts Festival is going on this weekend in Vancouver, WA. Here are some photos of my booth this year!

Above you will see a new product - vinyl record chokers!

This is another new product - suncatchers made from colored vinyl 45s. (Chuck makes these!) We are selling them this weekend at the festival for $10 per strand of 5 - or buy 2, get one free.

I'm so glad my sweetie came and hung out with me all day! Isn't he cute in his new Flipside Hat?

A customer came by and said he had seen my items in today's issue of the Oregonian. I had to send Chuck on a mission to find the paper and sure enough --- (wow!):

Here are some little keychains I made for fun. They are drawn with a Sharpie and painted with watercolors.

I made business cards out of images found on the backs of album jackets.

Hit Record Earrings by Eye Pop Art

2011-05-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hit Record Earrings - "Flower and Blue Sky"

New from Eye Pop Art: Hit Record Earrings with hand painted, original psychedelic designs!

Hit Record Earrings - "Bohemian Style"

These earrings are handmade from triangle-shaped pieces of recycled vinyl records.

These are pieces that are left over when I cut up records to make Roman Record Cuffs. Over the years I've saved every scrap, and now I'm proud to introduce a new line of eye-popping jewelry for all the Eye Pop Art fans!

Each piece is hand painted by me using acrylic paints in light washes of bright and pastel colors. Each painted pair is one-of-a-kind - there will never be another pair exactly like it!

(They are painted on one side only, and the back of each piece is just the solid black vinyl record. The best of both worlds!)

Hit Record Earrings - "Carnival"

Each design is outlined with a layer of iridescent silver which gives it a unique sparkly glint when viewed from different angles and in different lighting.

The dramatic yet incredibly lightweight painted record "beads" vary from 1" - 1.75" in length, and from 2" to 3" wide at the widest point. The larger styles are $32 each and the smaller ones are $25.

They are paired with high quality sterling silver jump rings and sterling silver ear wires. All edges have been carefully sanded and smoothed for your comfort.

Hit Record Earrings - "Constantinople"

Hit Record Earrings in Pink and Purple

Hit Record Earrings in Red and White

Hit Record Earrings in Red White and Blue

Hit Record Earrings - "Red Windmill"

Hit Record Earrings - "Green Starflower"

Hit Record Earrings - "Little Sunset"

A great gift for a DJ, record collector, musician, or anyone who appreciates eco-friendly fashion!

Let the music live on with Hit Record Earrings.

In addition, I have several pairs of earrings available from Trillium Artisans, including Basic Black and a couple of painted and even wire-wrapped styles The painted earrings in the Trillium shop are actually made from pre-painted records that started out as other items and then were cut up into smaller pieces (as opposed to scrap pieces that were individually hand-painted for the purpose of making earrings.)

I wear the black ones ALL THE TIME! They also go great with my record cuffs.

(These last two photos were taken by, and modeled by, Lee Meredith.)

I hope you'll check out my earrings if you're looking for something truly different in the jewelry department - original, wearable, eco-friendly art that nobody else has!

Please vote for my project in NBC and Etsy's Creative Reuse Contest!

2011-04-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Etsy has partnered with NBC's Green is Universal Guide to sponsor a Creative Reuse Contest. Celebrity judges include Martha Stewart, Kathie Lee Gifford, Tori Spelling...wow. If you have a minute maybe you'd like to check out the entries?

I entered with my Mandala Room Divider and you can vote for it by clicking here. Check it out - it's a tutorial for how to make your own! I'm giving away all my secrets here - lucky you!

You will have to create an account in order to vote. But, it's easy and only takes a minute.

Here's how to vote in the Green is Universal & Etsy Art of Reuse Contest. By registering and voting you are entered for a chance to win a $500 Etsy shopping spree. Here are the steps:

1. Click Login in on http://www.greenisuniversal-reuse.com/
2. Click Register Now
3. Create your account and log in
4. Go to the Mandala Room Divider, scroll to the BOTTOM of the page and click on VOTE. (It is on page 15 of the Home Decor category.)

The Mandala Room Divider is made from 35 recycled 12" vinyl records. Each record is hand painted with an original mandala design. The records are linked together with reclaimed lamp chain.

Here's Chuck helping me put it all together:

The backs of the records are left unpainted, which makes it like having two different room dividers at once...one is painted and psychedelic, the other is retro cool record city:

You can also check out the Mandala Room Divider in my Etsy shop here. I'm offering it as a custom item at the flat rate of $40 per record, so you can order as many records or strands of records as you like. (Or, follow my tutorial and make your own.)

Thanks!

I Heart Art

2011-03-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

I'm now on the leadership council for I Heart Art: Portland. I am the PDX Etsy team liaison! It's an honor. Click the links to find out more about this awesome collaboration.

Making a Snowman Record Bowl on HGTV

2010-12-09T14:17:00.001-08:00

If you can get past my total dorkiness, you might enjoy this funny little segment from HGTV's "That's Clever," in which I demonstrate how to make a Snowman Record Bowl. (And do other intriguing things like play the bass guitar and teleport from the park to my studio.)

Happy people and their Mandalas

2010-11-22T18:21:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post these pictures of some of the students in the mandala workshop that I recently taught at the 100th Monkey Studio. It was fun and awesome!

Here are some more pictures from the class:

Please follow me on facebook and I'll keep you posted on when I offer this class next. Maybe you can sign up!

PDX Etsy's Cyber Monday BOGO Sale (Nov. 29)

2010-11-17T18:50:00.000-08:00

Cyber Monday BOGO Sale!!

Monday November 29th, 2010

Be a part of an online Etsy street team event! PDX Etsy is putting on a BOGO (buy one, get one) sale of awesome proportions! With over 30 Portland area artisans participating you’ll be sure to find huge deals on what you need this holiday season for all your giftees big and small.

Get your shopping list ready today and beat the crowd by previewing the entire list of PDX Etsy shops offering you loads of savings, deals or freebies!

Holden Lee Tees

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Ruby Girl Jewelry

Free pair of cats eye studs in your choice of color with purchase

Pearly Grey

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Eye Pop Art

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Little Daisy Chains

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Miss Purl

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Bread & Badger

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

LeaK Arts

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Autumn Comfort Candles

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

B Hive Designs

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Allegra B

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Littleput Books

Buy any one banner, get another free

Hadley Hutton

Buy 2 prints get the 3rd free!

Leah Pellegrini

Buy one little mini mobile get a second free!

Rachel Austin

Buy one, get one 40% off

Shells Jewels

Buy one, get one free (lowest priced item) on all items in BOGO section only

Shayleen Blackman

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Nuala

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Designated Dryden

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Kenton Beadworks

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Marlee Jane

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Somavenus

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Earringopia

Buy a necklace and get a pair of earrings 25% off - type BOGO in the notes to seller for revised invoice

Pink Moustache

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Hattie's House

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Facets Jewelry

Buy a pair of earrings get 50% off (lowest price)

TK Jewelry Designs

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Cool Jane

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Prunella Soap

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

Linden Tree Photography

Buy one get one free on any card - type BOGO in notes to seller

Recycled Arts

Buy one journal, get one 50% off (lowest price) - type BOGO in notes to seller

Made By Dawn Renee

Buy one necklace, get a free pair of earrings

Carbon Copy

Buy one, get one 15% (lowest price)

Marchi Made It

Buy one item full price and get the second 50% off (the lowest priced item)

Second Star Designs

Buy one, get one 50% off (lowest priced item)

*Sale items vary per shop, please read individual shop announcements before purchasing*

(I re-published this from the Little Daisy Chains blog...thanks Becky!)

Black Light Groove, Part Three: Muralicious

2010-10-20T18:18:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are some more photos of my outrageous black light mandalas!

All of these are painted on the walls and ceiling of the master bedroom in my house, which is my studio and office too.

This one was designed to frame a mirror.

The ceiling is my favorite:

Here's another one of the walls (this design is actually painted in reds and oranges and black:

This one is on the wall above my computer desk:

Many thanks to Kaila Haas for the great photos!

Black Light Groove, Part Two: Ultraviolet Turntable Art

2010-10-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Say hello to groovy black light mandala #2, Ultraviolet!

Work in progress:
In natural light:

In natural light, and in black light:

(Black light photos by Kaila Haas.)

These last two photos show you a little sneak peek at some of the amazing fluorescent murals I've painted on the walls. I have more great photos of the murals and will share them in another post!

Black Light Groove, Part One: Radioactive Turntable Art

2010-10-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hi! Welcome to my world.

I've been painting mandalas on vinyl records since 1997.

In the many years before I had any such thing as a digital camera, a blog, a facebook page, and all that good stuff, I was never able to really share my art with the world.

Since entering this modern age, I've shared a-plenty. BUT...I had a little secret...a little card up my sleeve. You see, many of my paintings glow in the dark, and/or glow under black light. But I could never show you what that looked like. Even when my mural-filled bedroom/studio was on HGTV, they never showed the hidden underlying fact that the entire room glows in the dark. You may like my work, but you really haven't seen it until you've seen it under a black light.

And now, finally, at long last, I have pictures of my work in black light!!!

I'm so excited about this. It is really great that after all this time, my own work can still surprise and delight me. I look at my glowing art every night, but I have never been able to look at a photo of it before, and being able to share these photos makes me feel like I've just created all of this work all over again. You know, that satisfying feeling of having created something new and beautiful.

These black light photos were taken by my friend Kaila Haas, who patiently set up her killer tripod in about 100 different configurations and waited approximately 16 seconds for each exposure. It was a long but fascinating series of 16-second intervals, and the results are fantastic!

This green and blue piece is called Radioactive and it is one of two mandalas I created for a custom order on Etsy. The awesome buyer (I love her for having the great idea that set all of this into motion!) requested Turntable Art to give to her husband, a DJ and promoter, as an anniversary gift. She asked, "Do you work with black light reactive paint at all? My husband is a DJ, psytrance being his favorite genre, and he decorates with black lights a LOT. Your designs would look awesome under black lights."

Well, of course I have been using black light paints and phosphorescent medium for ages and it's all over my bedroom/studio as well as on murals in our basement, and on several guitars, records, and other things that I've painted over the years. But I've never really promoted this aspect of my work, mainly because I didn't have any means to show it off (other than inviting people to come over to my house and check it out at night, which is not always a feasible plan!).

But once I got started on the order I knew that I'd have to find a way to get photos of these babies, because they are definitely going to be a new product line for Eye Pop Art!

Here are some photos of the work in progress:

And the finished product under natural light:

Side by side, the same item in natural light and in black light:

This last photo shows a little sneak peek of the OTHER record, which is called Ultraviolet. I will tell you more about that one in my next post.

Hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into my secret black light world...there's lots more to come!

Scratch art - Eye Pop style!

2010-09-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

I love this technique! I recently used it on a big old 16" vinyl record that I did for a solo art show (The Big Mandala Show) which I have up this month at Seven Planet in downtown Portland.

SGRAFITTO

Sgrafitto is a technique where you scratch through one layer of paint to produce a drawing in the layer of paint beneath it. I learned about this when teaching elementary school art classes (using crayons) and have always been intrigued by the concept. I even showed my son how to do it on his wall!
Ha ha.

So here' s how I did the record.

First (after priming the record) I used a pencil to just basically scribble all over it and make a lot of overlapping, criss-crossing lines, just dividing it up into as many shapes as possible. You don't have to really think about this. The idea is NOT to make a pretty design, because no one is going to see this. The idea is just to get lots of different colors on there. You could just splotch it on.

Mine turned out kind of cool. It was sad to paint over it, and I almost just left it like that! A black outline would have made it really rad. But, I was determined to sgraffito it, so I did.

Now, if I had some black latex house paint on hand, that would have been ideal. It doesn't dry so fast so it would have given me more time to do a good job. But, I didn't have any, and I wanted to use materials on hand instead of going out and buying new stuff. So I used black acrylic paint which I mixed with LOTS of stuff to try to slow down the drying, including Slo-Dri Blending Gel and Glazing Liquid. Both of these products help extend the drying time, and this is really important.

I found that it dried really quickly anyway, so it was a bit of a challenge. And you know what? I loved that challenge. It was fun and exciting to be forced to work quickly!

Luckily, I planned to work in small sections. If I'd painted the whole thing black all at once, it would have been a nightmare. Instead, I just started in the center and slapped on a small circle of blackness.
I've designed many a mandala in my life, and only about once or twice have I ever actually had any sort of design in mind before starting. I had no plan for this one either, so I just had to get started and see what would happen. I used the eraser end of a pencil to scratch through the wet black paint, drawing a simple flower with five petals.

Well, I wasn't very happy with the pencil eraser, so I switched to an un-bent paperclip. This worked very nicely and gave me good crisp lines that weren't too thick or too thin.

While I was working, I realized that I didn't like my original flower design in the center, so I painted right over it with more black paint and started over.

Once I'd made the nucleus of the mandala, I then added another layer of paint around the circumference of the first one, and continued scratching into that paint and turning the record to continue the mandala pattern.

I just kept adding on to it until I reached the outer edge.

As I got closer to finishing, the paint became more difficult to work with. It was drying so quickly that I had to draw my designs insanely fast. This definitely made the finished product different from my usual intense precision and perfectionism!
But, I did have three different people tell me it was their favorite piece at the show. That made me happy.

Here's what it looked like when it was done and dry:

I'll post a few more pictures of the Big Mandalas and the Big Mandala Show soon!

Mandalas at the Summit of Awesome

2010-07-07T18:13:00.001-07:00

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Hello Craft’s Summit of Awesome in Portland, OR.

I was a panelist for the green business and creative community discussions, and also got to lead a mandala painting workshop. (In the picture above, I am the one standing up and wearing a blue top and big pink earrings which, by the way, I made during a jewelry making workshop with Susan Beal at the Summit of Awesome!)

(Superstar Mark Montano even hung out for a while - here he is with one of the students!)

The paints we used were Crafty Chica paints donated by the Crafty Chica Kathy Cano-Murillo herself, through the good people at ilovetocreate.com! (Thanks Kathy!)

You can see more of my photos from the Summit of Awesome in this flickr set.

Eye Pop Art on the cover of the Crafts Report!

2010-06-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's June, and Eye Pop Art is on the cover of the June issue of the Crafts Report!

You can read the article online here. It's called "Make More Money with Social Media" by Megy Karydes, and it starts on page 10.

I haven't received a printed copy yet - do you get this magazine? Do you read it? I'm really curious to see if this will bring new business or other opportunities.

Whether it does or not, I'm pretty happy (thrilled, in fact!) about the great exposure for my business. It's kind of fun, too! Read the article to learn about my husband, "a punk rocker and songwriter," my psychedelic home and mandala tattoos, the help I've received from Trillium Artisans and my love of Etsy, the "huge lifesaver."

As the title of the article implies, it also talks about how I use social media to market my business. I mention that blogging takes a lot of time to come up with interesting content to write! Sorry, people who like to read blogs. It's true, I really do prefer the immediacy of twitter and facebook.

So, if you aren't already, why don't you check out my facebook page, and follow me on twitter?

Here's a couple screenshots of the awesome, colorful layout of this article. I love how they used the record player image for the lead-in, and then used lots of my colorful photos throughout two two-page spreads. It's total eye candy! I love my life!

To order any of the groovy items you see here, or make a custom request, please visit my shop at http://eyepopart.etsy.com. Thank you!

Paint a mandala at the Summit of Awesome!

2010-05-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce that I'll be one of the guest speakers at the upcoming Hello Craft Summit of Awesome. It's the second annual summit and it's being held in Portland!

Please click this link for all the details including how to register and a full list of amazing speakers, including some of my heroes like Sister Diane, Susan Beal, and Rebecca Pearcy, fellow Trillium Artisans like Stephanie Weber, Lee Meredith, and Amanda Siska, and local genius friends from DIY Lounge, Crafty Wonderland, and Frock.

I'm also looking forward to meeting Danielle from Etsy, Kari Chapin (author of the new book The Handmade Marketplace), Jena from Modish, and, well, EVERYONE! It's really going to be an amazing event and I am so honored to be included. You can find the full schedule here.

I'll be speaking on two panels. "Green Craft: Sourcing Materials and Business Practices" with Becky Streipe and Stephanie Weber at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, June 16. I'll also be discussing "The Creative Community" with various local leaders including Cathy + Torie from Crafty Wonderland at 1:45 pm on Friday, June 18.

But the thing I'm most excited about (well, besides the fact that I get to attend the conference for free!) is the workshop I'll be leading - Mandalas on Vinyl Records! This will be happening on Friday, June 18 at 11 am.

I'm so pleased that they asked me to lead this workshop. It's going to be so much fun - and it will be so DIFFERENT from the majority of crafty make-and-take type workshops that you usually see. Most of these things don't usually involve painting. Painting seems to be a craft that kind of gets left out of the general crafty world - it's mostly glue, scissors, needle & thread, right? Well, if you take my workshop, you will actually get to do some painting with acrylics and it will be super fun. Maybe some crafters are a little apprehensive about trying this kind of craft because they've never picked up a paintbrush before...but just let me assure you that not only will it be easy, but you will be blown away by the beautiful design you will create.

Maybe it would be easier to explain this with examples. Here are a bunch of photos from mandala classes I've taught over the years with kids and adults alike. As you can see, they are all fabulous.

So if you are attending the summit, I hope you'll paint a mandala with me!

Makers Market

2010-05-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have been accepted to sell my items on Makers Market, the new-ish curated marketplace from the creators of Make: Magazine and Boing Boing.

My store URL is: http://eyepopart.makersmarket.com.

So far I've just listed my vintage record cuffs.

It is pretty cool to list your stuff on a site where there are only five pages of listings for accessories (as opposed to Etsy where there are currently 17,162 pages of accessories). I also like that it has a built-in blogging platform and you are encouraged to post videos. (I kicked off my new blog with a link to my segment on "Look What I Did!")

Check out the site, it is really cool and filled with "wonderful science, tech, and artistic creations." Here are some of my faves!

Steampunk Ring - Green Glass Dragonfly by Earthfire Studios.
2 x 2 Building Block Ring by rubygirl (yay rubygirl!).

I.S.O Identifieted Stabil Objec t by 24 Carati.

Cell Division 1 by Artologica.
Chalkboard Journal by Moonlight Bindery.

"Minimod 2" Original Painting by Chris Reccardi.

Recycled Stewarts Grape Soda Drinking Glasses by Windy City Glass.
Twisted Nothing Data Wire Bracelets by Twisted Handmade.

Atari Punk Pedal by GetLoFi Experimental Sound.

Vintage Looking Computer by Old Time Computer.

To boldly go where no man has gone before by BeauJangles.

Grace Kelly's See Behind Rear Window Shades by Criminal Crafts (from Portland!).

Orange by Raw Art Letterpress.

Traffic Light...Light by Illuminated Bird.

Social and Sexual Science! Oddities Necklace by Rivkasmom (great steampunk shoppe!).

Crafty Booth and New Coasters!

2010-05-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

So there I am at Crafty Wonderland this last weekend (May 1 & 2).

I have to admit I am really not thrilled with my display. I have been inspired by a lot of the other vendors at this huge, amazing show, and I now have lots of ideas for how to improve my booth for next time. For starters, I definitely am in need of some kind of backdrop. I've seen a bunch of creative ways to do this and have them simmering in my brain right now, among many other things that I have been putting on the list of "things to do after May 2" for the last month or so...ah, there is never really any rest, is there? But I love what I do and wouldn't have it any other way.I wasn't really up to my usual round of photo-taking of all my crafty friends - it was all just so big and overwhelming. I think I was a little intimidated. I did get the above photo of Megan, whose table was right next to mine, with Amy Stoner, who was next to her...

...and Stephanie of Pickle Things, who was right behind me.

Above you can see my exciting new product, Album Jacket Drink Coasters!

I made a ton of these for the show and really thought they would go like hotcakes...well, I sold a few sets but it wasn't what I expected.

(My old standby, Mandala Suncatchers, were a big hit, though.)

Each set of coasters contains nine 4" x 4" square coasters cut from a single album cover. You can put them together like a puzzle. I even wrote on the label which album/artist the package contains, and sorted them by musical genre (to the best of my ability - I'm afraid a lot of them ended up in the weird/random section!).

The coasters are fun but I think I am going to unpackage most of the ones I have left and re-work them a bit. I feel that it would be a good idea to coat them with something, perhaps a layer of clear contact paper, in order to improve their longevity and ask for a higher price point at the same time. So I'll probably be doing this before I list these on Etsy. Stay tuned!

Above you see Tangereen helping me out with these! I love my kids!

A few other highlights of the great crafty weekend:

I got to meet Mark Montano.
I spoke with the owner of Redux about the possibility of her carrying my cuffs at her store.
I spoke with the owners of Oh Shiny! about possibly consigning my work with them.
I scored a cute red Felted Flower Hair Clip from LeBrie (PenFelt), some rocking soap from Dennis Anderson, and a gorgeous feather headband made by the three cute little daughters of my friend Karina of Luna.
I saw a lot of friends both new and old - vendors AND shoppers! Thanks to those of you who came by, it was great to see you!

Recycled art show in Seattle

2010-04-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

The good people at Seattle's Green Chair Project had an opportunity to show works at a recycled arts show put on by the RE Store. They chose my Red Goth Clock as one of the pieces to include! The show is hanging at the Blowing Sands Gallery in Ballard, from April 10 - May 5.

If you are in the Seattle area, stop by and check it out!

You can see more photos in this album on facebook.

Crafty Wonderland next weekend!

2010-04-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale - next weekend!

Don't miss the Spring edition of this twice yearly art + craft extravaganza! This time the show is two days and twice the fun! It's a great opportunity to shop for Mom and support some incredible local talent.

Buy Local! Buy Handmade!

Saturday + Sunday, May 1st and 2nd
from 11am to 5pm
at the Oregon Convention Center - Hall D
777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. in Portland

All Ages + FREE Admission!

Goodie bags full of crafty prizes to the first 200 shoppers through the doors BOTH DAYS! Plus, free craft activities and much more!

For a full vendor list and more details visit: www.craftywonderland.com

Eye Pop Art will be in booth #57. Here's a map. See you there!

Pinwheels at the Garden Fair & in the UncommonGoods Catalog

2010-04-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I carted the Pinwheels down to Lewis School for the Lewis Garden Fair. It was so much fun! I'm excited that several of these have found new homes. Here's what my display looked like:

(I still haven't found the time to paint the other display stand that Mark made, but used this beautiful, colorful cloth that my mother-in-law brought back from Costa Rica to cover up the plain wood.)

The backs of the pinwheels are always a great conversation starter - whoa! They're made from records!
I had a great day hanging out with some of my crafty peeps like Megan, Chris, and Tim...
Chris even let me decorate one of his cute little birdhouses.

The show was organized by Alea of Bonewerx, who I first met when she attended one of the Etsy classes I co-teach with LeBrie. Alea acquired one of the pinwheels and here is a beautiful picture of what it looks like in her garden:
Also, I'm very happy to say that the Mandala Pinwheels are in the new Mother's Day catalog that was just put out by Uncommon Goods! I haven't gotten a copy of it yet but was alerted by my friends on facebook.

The catalog is online here, and here is a screen shot of the most wonderful page, page 19!

I wasn't even aware that they were going to be in the Mother's Day catalog (I only knew they will be in the Summer catalog, which hasn't come out yet) - but you know, they would make a great Mother's Day gift! Go ahead and order from Uncommon Goods, they have plenty in stock as you can see:

Happy Earth Day!

Free mandala coloring pages for you - and free shipping this week too!

2010-04-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Sister Diane's recent podcasts about FREE, I've decided to offer a free five-page PDF download of some of my original black & white mandala designs.
Please visit my website (or click the button on the right hand side of this blog) to download your free coloring pages.

I'm not asking for anything in return. Feel free to print out as many copies of these as you like, and use them in any way you like. I just ask that you not use them to create any product that you intend to sell. But, color them and have fun. Share them with kids and friends. Throw them into photoshop and color them on your computer. Frame them, hang them on the fridge, or make them into cards, collages, or whatever you like, to share and enjoy.

I am no longer selling either the old Groovy Coloring Book or the Mod Mandalas Coloring Book, and I realized that until I get those going again, no one who doesn't already have one of these books is really able to color my mandalas right now! And that is sad. So please, have some pages for free!

Why would you want to color a mandala, anyway?

Well, check out this article on Alternative Medicine, which explains:

Coloring a mandala using pencil crayons, crayons, paint, or pastels combines the benefits of meditation and art therapy. People who color mandalas often experience a deep sense of calm and well-being. It's a simple tool that doesn't require any expertise, but it can be remarkably soothing and nourishing. Mandalas not only focus your attention, but allow you to express your creative side, which many of us neglect in our daily lives.
So go ahead and color it and if you like, please share your finished product on the new flickr group I just created for this!

Oh, and speaking of free...I am offering FREE SHIPPING all this week (thru April 22) on everything in my Etsy shop! I'm participating in the Etsy Trashion Team Earth Day Sale, which you can learn more about here. I'm also the creator and admin for the Trashion Team's Facebook page - become a fan!

Head over to the shop if you like, and take advantage of free shipping on all recycled record art from Eye Pop Art. Happy Earth Day!

Buckman - live now! + How I painted my display stand and other news

2010-03-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

The 20th Annual Buckman Art Show and Sell opened last night and is going on today until 5:00 pm!
Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School

320 Southeast 16th Avenue

Portland, OR 97214

30% of sales support the school's arts programs!

Here's a new sign I made for my table:

(I'm actually not there because we had a show last night and a friend visiting from out of town and many things to do at home and in the studio!)

Here is what my table looked like after I set it up yesterday morning:

I can't believe I found time to paint the display stand for the pinwheels...it actually only took a couple of hours and I'm really glad I did it. Here are a couple shots of the process:

I painted it bright yellow with leftover paint from my kitchen, then drew the design with a black Sharpie Paint Pen.

Then, I painted it in with acrylics and touched up the outline with more Sharpie after the paint dried. I think it turned out great!

In other news! The order of 48 pinwheels for Uncommon Goods is just about done - all I have to do is paint the wooden knobs and wrangle some shipping pallets. I have volunteers lined up from Steps to Success to help with the packing and shipping, and we'll be using the facility at Trillium for that.

I'll have some pieces in the next Amazed event, a truly amazing installation (the theme is "Music") at the High Point Market, which is the world's largest home design show. I'll be making a bunch of clocks and have plans to create a large room divider made from painted mandala records connected together.

Some of my cuffs are now available from Canadian web retailer Modern Vintage Attic. You can read an interview with me on the site's blog here.

My clocks (carried by Buy Green) are currently being featured on the home page of the brand new eBay Green Shopping Hub.

Here's a quick photo from our show last night at O'Malley's with Cootie Platoon and Muddy River Nightmare Band (You can see more photos here.) Check out our band Dartgun & the Vignettes on facebook and become a fan, why dontcha?

Next gig is Chuck's annual Smash at the Ash, April 9 at the Ash Street. We'll be rocking with Junior's Gang, Hairspray Blues, and 48 Thrills. We have some fun surprises planned too. See you there, Portland!

Arleta Art Fair - tomorrow evening

2010-03-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

I'll be participating in my first craft show of 2010 tomorrow evening. It's the 2nd Annual Arleta Art Fair at Arleta K-8 School. 20% of all sales will be donated to the school.

Arleta Art Fair
Friday, March 5
5:00 - 8:00 pm
Arleta School
5109 SE 66th Ave., Portland OR 97206

I'll have lots of Roman Record Cuffs (including the new colored ones!) and window decals, as well as Mandala Pinwheels and Mandala Record Bowls.

If you get there before 6:00, you will probably see the lovely Melodie standing behind my table. She's an Arleta mom who will be setting up and working for me during the first hour. Thanks Melle!

In other news: I was interviewed yesterday for a feature article which will be published in the June issue of the Crafts Report! I've also been asked to provide photos of my bowls for possible inclusion in a Better Homes and Gardens special interest publication on decorating, which will come out this summer.

Next weekend (March 12 and 13) is the Buckman Art Show and Sell, another fundraiser for a great local school. I'll be there once again with all my groovy stuff. Hope to see you! I'm also planning on doing the Lewis Green Garden Fair on April 17, and I've been accepted for Crafty Wonderland's Super Colossal Spring Sale, May 1 & 2 at the Oregon Convention Center. And of course I will be at the Recycled Arts Festival in June.

The craft show season is upon us, and I am starting to get excited for a fun spring and summer!

Favorite Creative Reusers: Virginia Fleck

2010-03-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

As promised in this post about the book 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, I plan to share some of my favorite creative reusers here on ye old blog.

To kick it off, I have to start with my absolute favorite - Virginia Fleck. Oh my gosh. I am so amazed and blown away by Virginia's work. She creates stunning, gorgeous mandalas using plastic bags.

You have to look at her Public Art section to see some of the breathtaking installations she's created.

Virginia also oversees a service organization called the Angsty Teenage Eco Warriors, whose mission is "to identify and evaluate critical environmental and humanitarian situations and to take action with engaging, effective volunteerism."

Very cool. Check out their tutorial on how to make a Plastic Bag Tote like these:
They have a rad video too:

I'm so inspired and delighted by Virginia's work and just had to share it with you. Please take a look at her website and enjoy the recycled beauty!

Introducing: Colored Vinyl Cuffs!

2010-02-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

This last week, I somehow managed to find the time (while working on the big catalog order for Uncommon Goods) to launch a brand new product line - colored cuffs! These new Roman Record Cuffs are made from fabulous vintage colored vinyl records.

There are two types of cuffs - a larger Men's style which includes the original record label, and a smaller Women's style. I am selling them online as pairs. Each pair is made from one 45 rpm record.

A sweet gift for that DJ, musician, record collector, punk rocker, goth chick, eco fashionista, or Roman gladiator in your life!

How did this come about, you may ask? Well, I was lucky enough to be contacted back in November by Rebecca Pearcy, owner of Queen Bee Creations. She used to make bags like this one......but has discontinued the line. She was also getting ready to have a baby, move her studio location, and open up a retail store. She had a lot of leftover 45's to get rid of, and made a deal with me so that I would provide her with cuffs for her new store in exchange for receiving a mother lode of awesome colored vinyl. SCORE!

You can now find these cuffs in Portland at Queen Bee Studio & Store (3961 N. Williams, Ste. 101), and at Pop-Up Shoppe (919 N.W. 23rd Ave.) . You can also order them from my Etsy shop.

Eye Pop Art Commercial - "So good, it's almost illegal"

2010-02-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

You gotta watch the first ever Eye Pop Art commercial!

This was created by my young friend Traver Danielson, who has an amusing youtube channel called trilleneum.

Traver is the son of Mark "Mad Dog" Danielson, who is my collaborator on the Mandala Pinwheels. Mark is the "dood" who engineered the design in order to make them super-duper-spinnable. He is currently prepping the records and steel rods for the Uncommon Goods catalog order.

Mark is a hoot. Here he is in my kitchen, with one of the prototype designs for the pinwheel:His son is pretty hilarious too. As Mark says, "The nuts don't fall too far from the tree..."

Please watch the video and let me know what you think!

Records and Videos and More Records that Spin

2010-02-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

Just a few fun things today...

I'm following a facebook fan page called Records, which is full of nifty links like the Vinyl Record Generator, where you can make your own "record" like the one above! Check it out at http://www.says-it.com/record/.

Also through the Records page, I discovered the following two totally fascinating videos, showing how vinyl records are made - something I've always been really curious about. Finally, all my questions are answered!

Pretty cool to watch if you have a few minutes!

Speaking of records, there sure are a lot of old ones in the world. I recently put out a call for records, because I need them for a big order, and my friend Jacob from Ex Libris Anonymous hooked me up with the owner of Q is for Choir, a local used record and zine store which, unfortunately, was closing. I was able to pick up a whole carload of records for free.

As you see, they filled up my living room too. Chuck and I are still in the process of sorting them out - a few are worth saving, and I have to sort the thinnies from the thickies. All of the album covers are going to a local artisan who makes journals from them. I dropped off a load with him this morning and still have tons more.
What is this big order, you ask? Well, the Mandala Pinwheels are going to be in the Uncommon Goods Summer 2010 catalog! They are on the UG website right now, why don't you take a look?

I'll have to tell you more about all of this exciting news in another post...for now, check out one more video! My young friend Traver (son of "Mad Dog" Mark Danielson, who is my collaborator on the pinwheel project), added some Dartgun & the Vignettes music and some text to this one, so now you can watch 'em spin and rock out at the same time! Enjoy:

News from the band

2010-02-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is a collection of some of my favorite photos taken of Dartgun & the Vignettes over the last few months.

Please check us out on facebook and become a fan! We're currently #17 on the Reverbnation Rock Charts for Portland. We also have some videos you can enjoy on youtube, and as always, you can be our friend on myspace!

In case you're wondering, I used picnik to edit these photos.

Our next show is this Friday night, February 12, at Kelly's Olympian, 426 SW Washington St. Hope you can make it.

1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse - a book!

2010-02-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

For the first time ever, some of my artwork has been published in a real, live book!

The book is called 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse by Garth Johnson, of Extreme Craft. You can buy it on Amazon.

Five of the 1000 ideas are mine! Such as the Basic Black Classic cuff (above), and the Lavender cuff (below).

The page above was also featured in an article on Etsy's blog, where you can read my advice about creative reuse, and my new year's resolution! (Happy new year, by the way, and let's just say I took a month off from blogging and leave it that, okay?)

I love the red-and-black themed spread (pages 200-201), where you can find my Goth Clock in Vampire Red and Black, and my Rockabilly Record Bowl.

My Hawaiian Wedding record bowl can also be found on page 222, close to the cool Octopus Pint Glasses by my friend Amanda of Bread and Badge r.

Lots of my crafty friends have work in this book, including Lee from leetha l, Megan from Ta-Dah, Liz from 1 by Liz, Taylor from Red Semilla Roja and Live Debris, and Sister Diane of Craftypod.

I'm honored to be in their company! And I'm dazzled and inspired by the hundreds of other artists whose work is in this book. I hope to share some of my favorites with you on this blog in the near future. So check back soon!

Crafty Wonderland, New Pinwheels, & Sinferno Cabaret this Sunday!

2009-12-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

Come see me in lucky booth #113 Sunday at Crafty Wonderland's Super Collossal Holiday Sale! 11 am - 7 pm at the Oregon Convention Center.

Sunday, December 13th
11am - 7pm
at the Oregon Convention Center - Hall D
777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd in Portland
All Ages and Free Admission!

You will know me by the display of spinning mandala pinwheels! The pinwheels have been full redesigned with help from our friend Mark "Mad Dog" Danielson, the engineer. Mark modified the design with new moving parts to create the best quality spinning action. The design has being improved to include a precision bearing mounted at the pinwheel center to improve product life longevity, ease of rotation and smoother operation of wheel. Basically, they spin like crazy. I mean they just keep spinning and spinning forever. It is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Here are some photos of the new pinwheels. I actually made these as samples at the request of Uncommon Goods, who may be ordering them for their summer catalog! More on that when there's more to report...

And here's a video!

I can't wait to have them all spinning in my booth at Crafty Wonderland tomorrow!

And as if that isn't enough excitement for one day...Dartgun & the Vignettes will be playing the Sinferno Cabaret at Dante's Sunday night. The music starts at 9:00 with our friends Hello Cleveland (Chris Haberman's band). Haberman is one of my most favorite artists in the world, and here is the rad poster he designed for the show:
By the by, we have a new drummer and her name is Hurricane Kelly!

So there you have it. Tomorrow shall rock. Hope to see you!

da Vinci Arts Fair 2009

2009-12-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots of my display at this year's da Vinci Arts Fair - going on today until 4 pm! This is a great fundraiser for Portland's only arts-focus middle school (which my son Julius attends). I am happy to donate 30% of my sales to the school.

Da Vinci Arts Middle School is located at 2508 NE Everett St. in Portland, OR, in the Laurelhurst neighborhood.

I also have a small selection of painted record cuffs available today at Odango! Hair Studio (owned by my friend and fellow former Duniway mom Ann Sanderson), where they are having a holiday craft sale. Stop in to check out lovely handmade creations and consider going back for a haircut (Ann cut my hair before the taping of my "That's Clever!" segment, and before my trip to New York - I totally trust her for the most important haircuts!).

Odango! is located at 5510 SE Woodstock in Portland.

My next show will be Crafty Wonderland's Super Collossal Holiday Sale on December 13 at the Oregon Convention Center.

Happy holidays!

Eye Pop Art in Glamour Magazine!

2009-11-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

"For the Creative Recycler- Eye Pop Art's Mandala Record Clock, $62, WorldofGood.com. World of Good supports ethically sourced, fair trade, and eco-friendly products."

-From "How to Do Anything Better Guide - 25 Amazing Gifts that Also Give Back!," page 282 in December 2009 issue of Glamour.

And look who is on the cover (I could not possibly be more honored):
Many thanks to my friends at Buy Green for sending the clock to Glamour! Click here to find their listing for this item on WorldofGood.com.

Junk to Funk - Saturday, November 14

2009-11-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be vending my Roman Record Cuffs at Junk to Funk this Saturday evening (November 14 - after the Trillium holiday sale!).

I'm really excited just to get to be there to see the recycled fashion show. It's going to be really cool. If you're going, stop by my table and say hi!

Trillium Artisans 10th Anniversary Holiday Sale - Saturday, November 14

2009-11-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

It's Trillium Artisans' 10th anniversary! Join us for our annual Holiday Sale and Open House.

Date:	Saturday, November 14, 2009
Time:	11:00am - 4:00pm
Location:	Trillium Artisans store
Street:	9119 SE Foster Road
City:	Portland, OR

Meet the artisans.
Enjoy wine and goodies.
Shop for locally handmade, eco-friendly, fair trade gifts, made from recycled and reclaimed materials.

Giving recycled is twice as nice!

Take 20% off your ENTIRE purchase during this event.

(Shop with us throughout the holiday season! Our regular store hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 am - 6 pm. We'll also be open every Saturday from 11 am - 3 pm, November 21 - December 19.)

Preview our items online on our website, on Etsy, or on World of Good by eBay.

I'll be at the holiday sale this Saturday from 11 - 2, so come before 2 if you want to say hello to me - but it will be going on until 4, and everything is 20% off which is great! You'll find all kinds of beautiful work from more than 40 local artisans, including Eye Pop Art cuffs, clocks, mirrors, magnets, and suncatchers.

I work at Trillium on Tuesdays and Fridays, and some Wednesdays. Come see me at the store some time! We've also just opened up a new Trillium Annex at SCRAP. I took a batch of merchandise over there yesterday and helped Bethany set up a little store in a designated area of SCRAP's big warehouse-like space. It looks really cute! My black cuffs and suncatchers can be found there, and I hope to add clocks, bowls, and other items soon.

Reposting: How to Make a Gift Bag out of an Envelope

2009-11-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

This tutorial was really popular last year about this time, so I thought I would repost it. It got like 4000 hits in one day or something crazy like that, thanks to stumbleupon. It was also posted on the Eco Etsy blog, and rikrak recently linked to it in the follow-up piece for her Etsy Virtual Labs workshop about holiday packaging. Enjoy!

So you're thinking of Taking the Handmade Pledge and changing the way you buy gifts this year. Maybe instead of lots of big boxes from big box stores, you are going to invest in small but high quality, beautiful handmade items (for example, buying jewelry on Etsy for all your girlfriends). Here's a ridiculously easy way to make your own little gift bags if you're thinking you'd rather not go buy Made-in-China gift bags at the dollar store. All you need is an envelope and a little creativity!

Here is what you need to make a cute little gift bag: an envelope (any size, any shape), some scissors (fancy ones that make scalloped edges are fun), a hole punch, some ribbon or yarn, and some stuff with which to decorate your bag.

At Crafty Wonderland's DIY table we had lots of options - you could cut up old holiday cards and glue images onto your bag, draw on it with pencils or black Sharpies, color it with crayons, markers, glitter glue, or colored pencils, paint it with watercolors, or any combination of the above. I like how this allowed each person to really make a beautiful, personalized, individual piece of art. However, for the purpose of this tutorial, we will just be decorating it with a simple snowflake stamp. If you want to make a whole bunch of these, as I did for Trillium's holiday sale on Saturday, then you might want to simplify it by stamping them, depending on how much time you have and how personalized you want the bags to be. The sky's the limit!

Okay - first, seal the envelope.
Then, cut it. You can cut it in half to make two little bags, or cut it near one end to make a bigger bag.
Next, fold one side over about a half inch and crease it well.
Fold the opposite side the same way.
Fold up the bottom, creasing well.
Now, unfold everything.
Stick your hand inside the opening.
With your other hand, tap down the part of the bag that will become its bottom, like this:
You are basically reversing all the folds to the inside. You will have two triangular flaps, which you can tape down if you want.
Continue reversing all the folds and re-creasing.

When you are done, you will have a cute little bag that can stand up on its own bottom, like this:
Now, you can add little handles to the bag. Punch two holes on each side of the bag.
Cut two pieces of ribbon, both the same length.
String your ribbon through and tie it on the inside.
Voila! You have a cute little gift bag.

You can leave it alone, or decorate it however you like. I used a stamp.
And here is the finished product.
Here are some of the bags I made for Trillium (along with my works-in-progress for the Viva Terra order):
I made them out of manila envelopes because I have a ton of them. I think colored envelopes would have turned out much better so I would suggest using colored envelopes if you can.

This project is not only great for gift-giving, but it would be a fun project at a kid's party, or a great solution for party favors.

Rasta Bowl & Local Goods

2009-10-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots of one of my new/old pieces. This is the "Rasta" record bowl. It's one of my oldest designs, but I've never gotten any decent photos of it until now.

I made one of these along with more bowls, clocks, and a whole bunch of cuffs for a new shop on E. Burnside here in Portland called Local Goods. Here are some pictures of the store, which specializes in local, sustainable products (no website yet, but you can be friends on facebook if you like):

Psychedelic City! (The pinwheels at Live Debris)

2009-09-21T09:42:00.001-07:00

Above is a super-oversaturated photo of my Mandala Pinwheels at the Eastbank Esplanade on Saturday morning. Psychedelic city, I say!

I was really happy with the way they looked planted on the riverbank like this for the Live Debris opening day event, with the Willamette River, Morrison Bridge, and buildings of downtown Portland in the background.

I did go back in the evening and removed all but three of them. I was just too worried about them being stolen, vandalized, or damaged. The three that remain will be there through the 26th if you want to go see them. I am hoping to get them listed in my Etsy shop soon, as I know that there are several people who already want to buy them. I just need to figure out how they can be shipped.

Here's what they looked like at about 7:00 in the evening:

Mandala Pinwheels - WHEEEE!

2009-09-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Just a quick peek at my new Mandala Pinwheels! They're made from recycled vinyl records and vintage radio knobs. Made in collaboration with Anitra Cameron of Coffee Pot People.

I'm so excited about these, I can hardly stand it! I even left them outside in the rain last night and they held up great. (They will be outdoors for a week during the Live Debris installation.)

I have 7 finished and will be working on the last 5 today. Here are a couple of quick videos if you'd like to watch them spin!

Seven Planet grand opening & trunk show

2009-09-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 12, I had the privilege of setting up a display at Seven Planet, the new "flagship" green general store that just opened on NW 4th & Couch in downtown Portland. Aysia, the manager (and owner of Greenloop), invited several of the Trillium Artisans members to a trunk show during their grand opening festivities.
I was really loving the way my bowls looked in these bright little cubicles.

Megan's groovy marble-covered bowling balls and stained glass suncatchers:

Kristen set up outside with her lovely pillow covers. She was right next to the new location of the 24-hour Church of Elvis!

The ribbon cutting:

Aysia at the cash register (I don't think she moved from this position all night):

Some of the live entertainment:
Emily Baker of Sword + Fern with her jewelry made from recycled auto parts:

Amazing mural on the ceiling (by Chris Haberman, of course - I love that guy!):
Melodie and Suzie came by toward the end of the evening, and together we checked out the Old Town Block Party, saw some amazing dancing Chinese dragons, and rounded out the night when Chuck met us for appetizers at The Republic. Loads o' fun in PDX!

New techniques for Live Debris project

2009-09-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm working on some new Mandala Spinners for the upcoming Live Debris event which opens Saturday, September 19. The installations will be up through September 26.

For this project, I have collaborated with fellow Trillium Artisan Anitra Cameron of Coffee Pot People. She helped me figure out how to mount my painted records onto metal "stems" and provided me with a treasure trove of vintage radio knobs which I will be using to hold the records in place on the stick. She also gave me the idea of cutting and shaping the records to make them like pinwheels.

I've been working on this for the last couple of weeks and am getting very excited about it! It has been way too long since I've made anything totally new. If these survive the installation, I am hoping they will be a new product for Eye Pop Art - finally, I will have a garden art product!

I don't have any pictures of the finished products yet (because they aren't finished!) but I wanted to share my new painting technique because I am super happy with it. It is making it much easier and faster for me to paint the records.

After priming the record, I simply draw the design with a black Sharpie.

Then, I paint right over the design with my acrylic paints. I add gel blending medium to each color in order to make it dry slowly so that I can blend the colors together without them getting all chunky. Then I add a good deal of water to the paint to make it nice and thin and transparent. I am going for a watercolor-type "wash." This keeps the paint from obscuring the design underneath.Once I've laid on all my colors, I use a clean brush to blend the edges where the colors meet. This gives it a soft, blended look. It also makes the records look amazing when they are spinning, especially the ones with the swirling rainbow designs.

I love this process because it is SO much less time-consuming than my usual method, which involves drawing a design, painting it, and then outlining the design with black paint using a small brush. That takes forever. I'm really pleased about discovering this time-saving alternative.

The next step for me is to cut and bend the edges of the painted records to form them into pinwheels, and mount them onto the metal stems. I'll have 12 of them planted at the Eastbank Esplanade (east end of the Hawthorne Bridge) starting next Saturday.

I hope you can make it down to see them along with lots of other cool art and activities, including a Dandelion Bench by my friend Tim Combs of the Reclamation Project, and all kinds of other great stuff to help promote the wonderful concept of making art from discarded materials.

Check it out! All the info about Live Debris is here.

Here are some more photos of my process:

First day of school!

2009-09-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here are my babies on the first day of school. Tangereen really likes to wear orange, I wonder why that is. Aren't they cute? I can't believe I have an 8th grader and a 10th grader.

Speaking of back-to-school - do your kids have any art classes this year? If not, consider starting a parent-led art program. Read all about how to do this in the articles I wrote for Etsy's blog last year:

Parents Teach Art - A DIY Approach to Elementary School Art Education
Parents Teach Art Part Two - Making it Happen

First Thursday with Urbana

2009-09-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

On First Thursday of this month, I set up a table outside of Activspace where Kristin (aka Urbana) has her pottery studio. Here she is posing with the Oregonian article that featured her back in April.
Did I mention that Ms. Urbana is now in the band? She's replacing Emie, who replaced Kat, as the third Vignette in Dartgun & the Vignettes. This is a good thing. I've known Kristin for years in the local crafty community and am super excited to rock out with her. (She's a belly dancer too!)

Oh, by the way - we now have a facebook fan page for the band, please become a fan at http://facebook.com/dartgunandthevignettes.

Here's what our little First Thursday set-up looked like. Kristin's friend Ashley, a jewelry artist, was also there and we did a trade - I got an awesome necklace made from a vintage map of Amsterdam.
Here's some of Kristin's cool pottery:

Tender Loving Empire was having a party too, with live music.
Also, there was the added attraction of Emily Hemeyer from Spore Gallery, "a transient DIY exhibition space."
Kristin got one of her pieces:
Emily set up a tent with a black light inside it and a table with this amazing mandala on it - made from all kinds of nifty found objects, bones, and such.
...and she even performed some interesting vocal work!

Our show at the Twilight

2009-09-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

Above is pretty much the only picture from our show at the Twilight on August 15, in which I played bass, where you can actually see my playing bass. So there you have it, proof that I did it. And I rocked, if I do say myself.

Also, Melodie played drums for us that night.

And Suzie Q was the lone Vignette. And she ruled.

More shots from the evening:

Cootie Platoon's set:

Corina and Andrew:

Primping in the ladies room:

The Hickmans:

Rico and Melodie:

Kathryn, Melodie, and Rico of Cootie Platoon, posing with a cool car:

Kathryn's awesome painted car:

I love it!

Have you heard? Dartgun & the Vignettes now have a page on facebook. Click here to become a fan!

An easy technique

2009-08-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

I recently completed some new designs for fall. The colors were chosen by Jean at Grasshopper 510 in Chicago.

For this design, "Rose," I used a different technique than I normally do, and I thought I would share it here. It's super easy.

I wanted to give the background some texture and depth, instead of just looking flat. Also, I was getting tired of mixing colors and thought I would try layering them for a change.

Above you see the kind of texture that I ended up with. So here's how I did it:

First I painted the record with two coats of medium magenta (Golden brand), which is a good opaque color but not the pink I needed, and let it dry.

I took some permanent magenta (Winsor & Newton brand), which is pretty transparent, and mixed it with some water until it was fairly thin but not watery.

Then I quickly brushed this over the top of my painted magenta record. A bigger brush could have gotten the job done even faster, I suppose.

Working quickly while the paint was still wet (and watch out because it dries really quickly!), I dabbed at it with a crumpled-up paper towel which was very lightly moistened. (Sorry, my photos didn't come out so great.)

Dab all over the record with quick stabbing motions until you've achieved the kind of texture you want. But work quickly because the paint could start peeling off as it dries, and/or your paper towel could start sticking to the paint and leaving little bits of fuzz on the surface - yuck!

And that's that. Pretty basic, I know. But it gives the background some depth and makes it look a little more interesting, I think.

Anyway, once that has dried I proceeded to paint my mandala design and then transform the record into a bowl, as you see here:

You can find more of my bowls here.

Dartgun at the Twilight - Saturday, August 15

2009-08-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Punch and pie!

Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 9:00pm
Twilight Cafe & Bar, 1420 SE Powell Blvd., PDX

Dartgun - with Christine on bass (that's me! I'm excited to wield an axe again!), Melodie on drums and Suzie Q as a lone Vignette - our strangest lineup ever! Chad is camping, Emie quit (wah!), and we still don't have a freaking drummer!

COOTIE PLATOON will save the day.

With help from much-loved psychos the Hickmans!

The flyer says Advisory is playing but we're not really sure about that...

The Twilight is a cool rockabilly old-style diner so come hang out with us, have your beers and get up and dance for God's sake! Yeah SE Portland. See you on Saturday night!

The Bowls of Summer

2009-08-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

I've posted photos of some of these bowls already, in my color mixing tutorials, but I wanted to show off a few more pictures. Since I just finished up some new designs for fall, I am eager to show them off but wanted to get these up first. Enjoy!

You can find these bowls in my Etsy shop.

Tangereen's 15th birthday

2009-08-03T22:28:00.001-07:00

Our daughter Tangereen Velveteen turned 15 on Sunday! We drove downtown. We went to Powell's. She got a Calculus textbook.

We went to Sushi Land. Chuck and Tangereen are crazy about sushi. I'm not too crazy about it, and I feel self-conscious because I have never bothered to learn how to use chopsticks. Isn't that stupid? I'm sure my friend Phoebe, who is currently in Seoul, would have something to say about that! Well, sorry. I've just gone through life using a fork. However, Sushi Land was fun anyway. I like how the dishes go around on a conveyor belt and you can select whatever you want. I guess Tangereen had a chopstick epiphany that day, but it slipped past me. I tried to grab things that looked like acceptable finger food. Chuck said not to worry. "This is Portland," he said.

Here we are on the MAX. We rode it and the Portland Streetcar to the cinemas on the very top floor of Pioneer Place. We saw the new Harry Potter movie! It was great. I loved it.

When we got home we had some delightful cupcakes topped with huge thick roses made of pure sweet frosting. Tangereen got the orange one.

I mean, these were huge cupcakes. None of us could finish ours.

(Tangereen got some on her nose.)

I got her that Rolling Stones shirt in New York!

I can't believe my baby girl is 15! Happy birthday, Tangereen!

Seattle road trip & gig

2009-08-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my selected favorite photos from our trip to Seattle on July 18, where we played a show at a punk rock dive called the Bit Saloon. Check out the band, listen to our tunes and see more photos at http://myspace.com/dartgun or http://myspace.com/andthevignettes.

Seattle's Green Chair Project

2009-07-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

Meet Carina Manz, proprietor of the Green Chair Project, which will be opening on August 1 at 1001 NE Boat St. in Seattle's university district.

It's not often that I get to visit an out-of-town store that carries my work, but last weekend I was able to hand-deliver my items straight to this new shop, since I was on the road to Seattle with the band anyway.
The store, which focuses on products made from recycled and reclaimed materials, will be carrying a nice selection of my clocks, bowls, cuffs, and suncatchers.

This opportunity came about when Carina "discovered" Eye Pop Art at the recent Recycled Arts Festival. Another reason why it's good to do craft shows!

I love the vivid green!

This place happens to be located right down on the waterfront, so we had a little fun with that too, before heading to the club:

More about our Seattle road trip and rock show in another post!

Random Studio Shots

2009-07-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, a few shots taken around Eye Pop Art headquarters over the last month or so.

Mixing Colors - Part Four: GREEN

2009-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Moving on now to Part Four in my exciting color mixing series - it's time for my take on Pantone's "Jasmine Green"!

To make this color, I simply mixed about two parts Permanent Green Light and two parts Cadmium Yellow Medium (Winsor & Newton) to one part each Neon Green and Jubilee Green (craft acrylics).

The color on the far left in the picture below is what I came up with:

And so I painted!

I do love a messy art table.

Here is the beginning of my design, which I painted freehand in glossy black:

And the finished product:

My Jasmine Green Bowl is available in my Etsy shop - click here to see more!

To read the rest of this series, see:
Part Three: CORAL
Part Two: BLUE
Part One: PINK

Trashion Team Summer Sale Next Week!

2009-07-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a proud member of the Etsy Trashion Team and we are having a Summer Sale & Giveaway July 20 - 27 - that's next week!

I will be offering 20% off everything in the Eye Pop Art shop (including the sale section). Please wait for me to send you a revised PayPal invoice reflecting the discount (which does not apply to shipping).

For every purchase you make in a participating shop, you will earn "tickets" which will qualify you to win a big prize package full of cool trashion items handmade by the team members (I have included a $15 gift certificate to my shop).

Starting on Monday the 20th you can visit the Trashion Blog for a complete list of participating sellers. Check it out and have fun shopping for great deals on earth-friendly items made from recycled materials!

I do love this team. Here's a photo from our team trunk show at the Etsy Labs in NY, back in July 2007 (two years ago, wow). That's my stuff in the middle of the table.

So don't forget to check out Eye Pop Art on Etsy next week and remember everything will be 20% off! It's a perfect time to get that cuff or bowl you've been thinking about!

Our Summer Vacation

2009-07-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

We took a fabulous family yurt-camping vacation at the Oregon Coast for the Fourth of July. Here are some selected photos of our adventures! Above is the Yaquina Head Lighthous e. We took the tour and climbed to the top!

Julius celebrated his 13th birthday on our first night there. We picked up a chocolate cake and he enjoyed it with his squirrel collection. So, now I can say, "I have two teenagers."

Camp breakfasts are the best with Chuck around!

Our friends Chad and Anna (Chad being the bass player for Dartgun) came down and camped for two nights with their two cute little puppies. Here's Julius petting them:

And here's Chadwick:
We walked a lot - there are lovely trails in the woods all around the campground, and long walks through the dunes to get to the beach.

Our favorite spot was this bench that sits on top of a hill overlooking the park:

On the Glorious Fourth, we hung out with some of Chuck's old friends from high school, one of whom lives in a private beach community just down the road from the campground. We also watched fireworks on the beach that night.

These pictures are from the private beach. It was a very misty, moisty day.

Our friend Mark and his son Traver, after reeling in the kite:

View from Chris's beach house:

Chris and Mark barbecuing while Chuck grins insanely:

I hope people in the neighborhood liked our groovy car!

We had a wonderful time!

Check out my pictures from last year's summer yurt adventure if you like - click here.

Mixing Colors - Part Three: CORAL

2009-07-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

For Part Three of my amazing color mixing series, I give you Coral!

Mmm, don't those multi-layered globs of paint look yummy? I mixed this color using (roughly) equal parts of Permanent Rose (Winsor & Newton) with "Bittersweet Orange" and "Pretty Pink" (Ceramcoat brand craft paints).

I think I forgot to mention this in my previous posts - each piece needs to be painted with two coats before the design goes on.

After painting the design:

And that's pretty much the story of the coral bowl (which I am calling Coral Reef - you can find it in my Etsy shop here).

Mixing Colors - Part Two: BLUE

2009-07-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

For my next installment in the story of my Summer 2009 Mandala Record Bowls, I give you my take on Pantone's "Scuba Blue."
To mix this color, I used (again, roughly!) two parts Cerulean (Liquitex Basics) to 1.5 parts Titanium White (Liquitex) and 1 part Cobalt Blue (Winsor & Newton).

The color on the far left (above) was my final solution.

I painted the design on, freehand, with Golden Fluids in Carbon Black.

Look, a record bowl on a record player!

My blue bowl is now available for sale in my Etsy shop - please click here to check it out. Thanks!

Mixing Colors - Part One: PINK

2009-07-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

As I often do, I turned to the Pantone website for color inspiration when I needed to come up with some new pieces to take to the recent Recycled Arts Festival.

I was hoping to find some good bright colors for summer, and I was thrilled to discover the Independent-ism palette. "With its tart, bold and gregarious colors, Independent-ism is geared toward creative artisans who are unafraid of true originality." Perfect!

So I decided to share the process by which I come up with my own creative version of these colors. It is by no means scientific. It is probably weird. What can I say, I am totally self-taught, and I can only use the materials I have at hand. With a mixture of good quality acrylic paints plus a bunch of inexpensive craft paints, I've been able to duplicate these colors pretty well, I think, although I don't know what Payne's gray is for and have never learned the correct way to mix colors. And I am by no means claiming that these colors are the equivalent of the Pantone system! Heavens no. This is just my personal take inspired by this fresh and fabulous palette. So, if you are interested in my DIY approach, I am planning to share it in a series of posts documenting the creation of the eight new Mandala Record Bowl designs I've made for Summer 2009.

Starting with...Pink!

Here is my finished product:

Well, it's not really all that complicated. To make this shade of pink, I used (roughly!) 3 parts Permanent Rose (Winsor & Newton) to one part each Titanium White (Liquitex), Medium Magenta (Golden), Quinacridone Red (Golden), and "Pretty Pink" (a fairly obnoxious Ceramcoat brand craft paint).

I printed the Pantone color palette out on my inkjet. The colors come out much truer on glossy paper, and the only glossy stock I had was some CD Labels (hence the random printing):

I basically started mixing colors and lining them up against the chart until I was satisfied. I started at the right side of the square and worked toward the left - so the color you see on the far left was my final mix.

And so I painted my record!

And that is the story of Pink.

The Carnation Pink Mandala Record Bowl is now available in my Etsy shop - please click here to check it out.

Eye Pop Art

Trillium Artisans Pop-Up Shop + Holiday News

The Raven

Recycled Arts Festival 2011

Hit Record Earrings by Eye Pop Art

Please vote for my project in NBC and Etsy's Creative Reuse Contest!

I Heart Art

Making a Snowman Record Bowl on HGTV

Happy people and their Mandalas

PDX Etsy's Cyber Monday BOGO Sale (Nov. 29)

Black Light Groove, Part Three: Muralicious

Black Light Groove, Part Two: Ultraviolet Turntable Art

Black Light Groove, Part One: Radioactive Turntable Art

Scratch art - Eye Pop style!

Mandalas at the Summit of Awesome

Eye Pop Art on the cover of the Crafts Report!

Paint a mandala at the Summit of Awesome!

Makers Market

Crafty Booth and New Coasters!

Recycled art show in Seattle

Crafty Wonderland next weekend!

Pinwheels at the Garden Fair & in the UncommonGoods Catalog

Free mandala coloring pages for you - and free shipping this week too!

Buckman - live now! + How I painted my display stand and other news

Arleta Art Fair - tomorrow evening

Favorite Creative Reusers: Virginia Fleck

Introducing: Colored Vinyl Cuffs!

Eye Pop Art Commercial - "So good, it's almost illegal"

Records and Videos and More Records that Spin

News from the band

1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse - a book!

Crafty Wonderland, New Pinwheels, & Sinferno Cabaret this Sunday!

Sunday, December 13th11am - 7pmat the Oregon Convention Center - Hall D777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd in PortlandAll Ages and Free Admission!

da Vinci Arts Fair 2009

Eye Pop Art in Glamour Magazine!

Junk to Funk - Saturday, November 14

Trillium Artisans 10th Anniversary Holiday Sale - Saturday, November 14

Reposting: How to Make a Gift Bag out of an Envelope

Rasta Bowl & Local Goods

Psychedelic City! (The pinwheels at Live Debris)

Mandala Pinwheels - WHEEEE!

Seven Planet grand opening & trunk show

New techniques for Live Debris project

First day of school!

First Thursday with Urbana

Our show at the Twilight

An easy technique

Dartgun at the Twilight - Saturday, August 15

The Bowls of Summer

Tangereen's 15th birthday

Seattle road trip & gig

Seattle's Green Chair Project

Random Studio Shots

Mixing Colors - Part Four: GREEN

Trashion Team Summer Sale Next Week!

Our Summer Vacation

Mixing Colors - Part Three: CORAL

Mixing Colors - Part Two: BLUE

Mixing Colors - Part One: PINK

Sunday, December 13th
11am - 7pm
at the Oregon Convention Center - Hall D
777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd in Portland
All Ages and Free Admission!