Sugar Hill Studio

Resolutions?

2011-01-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

I hate resolutions. They are only made to be broken and everyone has the same ones; lose weight, make more money, achieve family harmony, etc. I'm curious if there are any statistics about the percentage of resolutions that have already been broken one week into the year?

That said, 2010 was not the greatest year for me, so 2011 holds a lot of promise. Already I have been blessed by an old friend and I am about to register as a full time student in order to finish my Graphic Design degree by May, then my Web Publishing certificate by December.

The blog takes it's name from changes in life. I have always exercised my creative streak in various media, but a decision to leave the corporate world and pursue Graphic Design as truly been...a change of art.

I have much hope for more good things in 2011 and my wish to you is the same. May 2011 be a productive year which takes you in new artistic directions!

Vintage Christmas

2011-01-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

Before I get on with the New Year I want to post some art from 2010. A friend is a HUGE Tim Holtz fan and recently had an opportunity to take a shadow box class with him. She came back full of new ideas and put together a Christmas themed shadow box. Hers had lights and all kinds of fun things, but I had some vintage memorabilia that I wanted to use in mine:

So along comes a goody box from my sister, and what do I find inside?

Well, I guess you can say we have similar tastes. AND that great minds think alike!

Altered clothing to the rescue!

2010-11-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile, but I thought I would post some photos of altered clothing I have done. I have this "thing" for jackets, particularly denim cowboy type jackets that I can add lace, embroidery, paint, or whatever else grabs my imagination. I am especially a sucker for antique laces, silk ribbons, hand dyed silk and cut velvet.

This first jacket is a white denim that I made as a gift for my sister. It includes swiss laces, hand enbroidered silk ribbons and motifs. One of my favorite shops is Tinseltown Trading ( http://www.tinseltrading.com/) in New York City. It is REALLY hard to restrain myself when I go there and several of the ribbons in this jacket come from there. The other embroidered trims come from Belgium and Switzerland.

This next jacket is a denim jacket that is trimmed with hand dyed silks, cut silk velvet with a flower motif, hand beaded roses and collar and silk trim. This one belongs to me and I really enjoy wearing it!

Finally, I made a black velvet jacket that is embellished with cut silk velvet that I outlined with beading and that I also trimmed with hand dyed silk velvets on the cuffs. I made this jacket for a presentation at the Peter's Valley benefit. I was SO lucky to be awarded an cash grant to pursue my artwork. Yippee! If you'd like, check out Peter's Valley Craft Center (http://www.petersvalley.org/). The center is a haven for craft artists housed in historic homes throughout the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area in Western NJ. There are all kinds of classes throughout the summer months. If you are interested in taking a class, there is housing available and the meals are wonderful!

In the fall of each year Peters Valley sponsors a large fine crafts show/sale. It is quite the event with items for sale from some of the finest artisans in the Northeast.

I just purchased a large men's shirt that I plan to alter and will post when I get it finished.

Lots of Christmas projects underway so I should post again soon!

And the Raven Said...Nevermore!

2010-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Last evening (Mischief Night) a local historical society sponsored a Dramatic Reading of Selected Works by Edgar Allen Poe. Intersperced with snippets about Poe's life story, four very dramatic gentlemen in appropriate dress read The Tell-Tale Heart, Annabelle Lee, The Black Cat, The Raven and one of two other stories. What a fun time and great way to celebrate Halloween!

Living in the country we don't get trick-or-treaters. I miss the days from childhood of planning my costume for weeks in advance. Just HAD to have the best costume! Then it was going out in costume, or later in life seeing all of the "treaters" come to the house in their search for treats. Now, we usually find other ways to celebrate Halloween.

I participated in Christine's Trick-or-Treat swap again this year. What a wonderful swap this is, and I really thank Christine for being such an organized and generous hostess.

Here are pics of the two treats and one trick I contributed:

And here are the wonderful items I received in return:

This Halloween is filled with many more treats than tricks. I hope your's is too!

Assemblage a la Michael de Meng

2010-10-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I had the wonderful opportunity to take a seminar with Michael de Meng at Valley Ridge Art Studio (http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/). If you don't know his work, check it out: http://www.michaeldemeng.com/ It was probably one of the best classes I've ever had; Kathy is a terrific hostess and Michael is a generous, entertaining teacher. Here's the piece I made during the class:

I understand that Valley Ridge is not planning any seminars during 2011, but a seminar with Michael de Meng is being planned for New Orleans (http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/new-orleans/index.html) February 16-20. I'm really hoping to go. Michael is inspiring his students to make an altered apothecary kit. In a city like New Orleans the possibilities are endless!

Voila, Or, It's About Time!

2010-10-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

About 18 months ago my enabler sister sent me a link she found on eBay for old wood type drawers. Now what, you ask, would I do with type drawers? Some people use them to display curios or create a collage. Old fashioned metal (or wood if you can find them) type pieces look very neat. But they can also be used to store beads and other small pieces.

The drawers were being sold by a man in a nearby town who was retiring from the printing business. So off I treked and purchased all he had for about $1.00 each. They are made of oak and have a terrific worn look to them. While I was at the shop I noticed that he had an oak wooden cabinet with 12 drawers in it. He said it was made about 1890 and he wasn't sure he was going to sell it but he would let me know. Sure enough I got a phone call, so off I went again.

Fast forward 18 months and the cabinet is still sitting in the barn outside unfinished. I was hoping that either my husband or son would volunteer to refinish it for me, but you know how that goes. So I finally got myself in gear and stripped, sanded, stained and finished the cabinet. It is "distressed" because it was used heavily for over 120 years, but I think it looks terrific now. It even has the original cast metal hardware in it.

So what do I use it for? Besides my assemblage and found art work I like to design and create my own jewelry, which tends to follow the assemblage theme also. I have a stash of pieces that I have collected and really need a place to store everything neatly. This cabinet will be perfect and will free up room to neatly store other supplies.

Here's a couple of pics of the final project:

Creepy Halloween

2010-10-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween; it is a hard choice which I like better, Halloween or Christmas. I love decorating even though living in the country means we don't get trick or treaters. Mostly I do the decorating for myself.

There are two swaps I am involved in. One is an Edgar Allan Poe assemblage swap based on one of his short stories. The other swap is Christine Edwards' 2 Treats and 1 Trick swap. So here's what I created for both:

My first "Treat," a skull that is weathered and crackled with sparkle eyes, a Halloween ruff, all on a pedestal.

Then there is my second "Treat," a Witch's Brew kit. I really like this and think I'll have to make one for myself.

My"Trick" is a creepy wreath with giant spiders, scary skulls and a black crow to look over the evil...

For the Edgar Allan Poe swap I created this "book." The idea of the swap was to create a cigar box type of assemblage about the story your partner picked. I picked The Black Cat which coincidentally was the same story my partner picked. Along with the book I included lots of little Halloween treats and I got lots back from my partner. Here's my version of The Black Cat:

And a close-up of the inside:

(PS-sorry for the glare from the flash)

Here's the creation I got from a partner (as well as a box of Ferrar Roche and a Ghiardelli Chocolate caramel bar...YUM!)

Finally, here's my Steampunk Bird. I was inspired when I saw the paper mache form on the Ellen Hutson website. I just KNEW what it would look like. The necklace around her neck are charms from a Steampunk swap I participated in and also some cool charms I had collected.

Wonder what will be up for Christmas?

Talk About A Long Time!

2010-08-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Lots of changes on my front, which doesn't excuse my absence but may explain it. Now that it is getting on to Fall, I'm thinking about Halloween...my favorite time of year...and doing a couple of swaps.

I think Autumn and Halloween are my favorites because of several reasons, like it is my birthday, the weather gets cool but not too cold, the sugar maple trees around my house turn beautiful shades of red and yellow, and the spookiness of Halloween addresses my "dark side."
You'll notice the links to the two Halloween swaps I'm participating in. I've participated in Christine Edward's Trick or Treat swap last year and had fun with it; doing the Edgar Allan Poe swap is going to be a blast. I have always been a fan of his and find his life very interesting, even if it was so tragic.

AS FOR CREATING, well, there hasn't been a lot of free time as you might guess. Back in June I had an opportunity to take a class with Tim Holtz. I'm not a Tim groupie but do like a lot of his products. In the class we made a miniature suitcase album for travel memories. It is in a steampunk or vintage kind of style and I have created a steampunk wall in my studio to showcase my creations. I also bought a paper mache bird-on-a-stand that I papered in handwritten paper. I participated in a steampunk swap back in the early summer and have taken all of my charms, put them on a chain, and they now grace my bird. Like her a lot! When I have a moment I'll take some pics and post them.

I'll try to be more diligent in posting and showing off my creations. Creating is my relaxation and release and my goal is to do more over the autumn months.

Happy creating to everyone!

Happy Valentines Day and Cherry Heart Vintage Swap!

2010-02-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

What a great swap this has been, and I couldn't have had a better partner. Just take a look at the wonderful goodies I got in the mail and have been enjoying for the past couple of weeks:

To check out the other LOVE baskets that were exchanged go the the Cherry Heart website at:

http://frommycherryheart.blogspot.com/2010/02/vintage-heart-swap-3-blog-hop-party.html

I can't wait to see Dolly comes up with next!

Hope your Valentines Day is filled with LOVE from those important to you.

Busy creating

2010-01-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks have been free time for me before returning to full time classes at SCCC. It has been a great time of creating for me, something that is of great importance to me. I've participating in two vintage themed Valentine swap. The swaps are fun: the organizer pairs you up with another participant and each partner shares some basic information about likes/dislikes, color preferences, etc. The idea is to create a love package that includes vintage themed decorating items you think the recipient will like. You should try to include hand made items as possible and the cost should be in the $25.00 range. If you're interested in participating in one, try Google-ing swaps, vintage and the upcoming holiday. There are also tea towel and apron swaps if you're so inclined.

I've already received my package from my partner and it is just wonderful! I can't post pictures of the package until Valentine's Day, but it included chocolate (always a favorite), craft supplies, some beautiful vintage themed cards and boxes.

I've just sent my basket to Ginger and I hope she likes it. Notice I said I made 2 baskets? Well, I have a secret swapper and her basket goes out today. I hope she's happy with her basket also.

The swaps are fun to do but can be time consuming, so I try to stick to one or two per holiday season. One thing I like about them is adding something new to my holiday decor.

School starts today and I'll be taking the following classes: Adobe In Design and Illustrator, a basic class in HTML, print production management, the history of graphic design and advertising and package design. Phew! Five studio classes, which usually take more time to do the homework than other classes. BUT I seem to be heading towards the home stretch of my Graphic Design degree. I've decided to also take a certificate program in Web Development which will add about 4 classes and will push out my graduation to next December.

Twice a year the Craft and Hobby Association holds a buyers market to introduce their new products; it was held this past weekend in Anaheim, CA. There is much chatter on other blogs about the new products coming out and it is fun to follow along from a distance and of course to make up a wish list!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since I last posted. Life the past few months has been consumed with going to school full time as part of an AA program in Graphic Design. The classes were very challenging but I can't believe how much I have learned. I have the Spring semester plus an internship to do over the summer and then I am done. Hopefully I will be able to get a paying job after that!

My son survived his first semester of college also, attending Penn College of Technology. He's excited to go back to school on Jan 10.

The holidays were a whirlwind. My sister Christine and her DH Denis came for five days of great together time. Then on December 26 my sister Karen and her entire brood came for a brief visit. My nephew and his wife gave birth to a little boy back in April and he was the star of the show! The visit was just too quick. I don't know when was the last time that everyone was together. Good picture taking event. I'll try to post a pic as soon as I download off of the camera.

Now that the New Year is here it is time to think of Valentine's Day. I've joined a vintage themed swap; the link is on this page. It is an open swap to anyone so check it out!

I'll post again soon, I promise!

Fall has arrived!

2009-09-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

It is always amazing to me that here in NJ we start the month of September with the hot, humid days of summer and by the end of the month we're in sweaters. The weather is usually unpredictable; hot one day and cold the next. My birthday is the 13th and my mother would NEVER let my birthday go by without reminding me that it was over 100 degrees on the day I was born...this, of course, was before central air conditioning.

The last few days have finally given me some creative time. I've been involved in these two Halloween themed swaps and deadlines have loomed. Well, I got my One Trick and Two Treats off to the hostess (my good 'lil sis, Christine). My swap mate for my Sweet n Sinister swap has said that my package is on its way and I have hers just about ready to go! Now, I've taken pics of everything but have promised not to reveal until later in the month since the recipients of the OTATT swap won't know who-got-what until a blog hop on Oct 30!

No pressure here!

2009-09-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've successfully avoided starting a blog for a long time. I mean, I figured what did I have to say that would be of interest to anyone? I cruise a number of other blogs and the amount of creative work featured EVERY DAY is very daunting. Having a blog is a full time job, right?

I've put off blogging for a day when: I have more free time, I have more creativity to share, I'm a better digital photographer, I feel more accomplished, etc. So what's changed?

A damned SWAP! All right, maybe it isn't a damned swap because it got me into the game, right?

My sister, who is WAY more talented than I will ever be, organized a Two Treats and One Trick vintage swap for Halloween. She's participated in numerous swaps in the past and I've always oh-ed and ah-ed over the very talented people she has played with. Of course I am as competitive a sibling as anyone else so what she has I want too! When she organized the swap and asked me if I wanted to join I said "Of course!" and then she told me that I would have to have a blog or flickr site so other participants could view my work.

So here I am. I can't promise how often I will post, but in the coming days and weeks I will try to add some photos and commentary of interest.