Remember the Soup Nazi? Today's Landmark Painting Challenge: Wilson's Restaurant in Findlay, OH

Wilson's Sandwich Shop in Findlay, Ohio
Photo reference credit: Andrew Thomas Lee


  Well, today's painting challenge was to paint a local landmark, and I chose to paint Wilson's Hamburger Shop in my hometown of Findlay, Ohio.  My family came here a lot when I was a kid.  It was here before McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's, and popping in for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie is still a daily routine for many people here in Findlay.
What does this have to do with the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld?  Read on....

As a kid, we used to go sit down with Mom to 'hold the table' while my Dad went up to order.  I always got a 'special', which is a burger with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and a malt or a 'frosted'.  It seemed like forever passed by while we waited for our food, and we would impatiently jump out of our seats at the table and go for a spin on one of these stools until we were dizzy.  Wilson's was always loaded with old people, and there weren't many kids around.

It wasn't until I was older that I realized that Dad didn't want us at the counter for a good reason.  The staff wasn't so patient with kids, especially the 'stool spinning' sort, and you had to order correctly to make them smile.  There is a certain way to do it, and you don't dare 'stray from the way'.  Ha!  So here is entertainment at it's best, a blog post with video!  You can check out the true scoop on Wilson's in Findlay by clicking this short video  link (starring my sister-in-law Angela), and then take a look at some of the Soup Nazi scenes, have a laugh and decide for yourself!

What about Wilson's? 
Seinfeld's Soup Nazi Scenes

 By the way, if you'd like to buy my painting of Wilson's Hamburger Shop, you can bid on it this week on Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks, bidding starts at $15!  

New Fused Glass Sgraffito Work in Progress Slideshow

Hey! I learned how to do a slideshow on my blog, this is great!  Now everyone can see what goes on while I'm working on a new piece.  Hopefully I can shed some light on the process for those who aren't able to attend a class:)  However, if you ARE thinking about taking a glass sgraffito class, don't be fooled by the photos~ it's not nearly as difficult as it might seem, and I can show you the tricks.  I will try to post sllideshows of works in progress more often if this works well.
 OK, short but sweet today, I'm off to visit the 3rd and 4th graders at Trinity Lutheran School for their weekly recorder lesson.  Love me those kids...

Freshening up in February, Here are some of the pieces I have available for sale

Monet Path, Fused Glass Frit Painting, $1495

 As I am freshening up around the studio, I wanted to post a few of the fused glass pieces I currently have available.  These are on display at Coffee Amici in Downtown Findlay during the month of February, and are available for purchase in my online gallery at Daily Paintworks.  If you are interested in learning about my process, you can check out my website or register for one of my upcoming classes in fused glass sgraffito drawing or "frit painting". 

Some really exciting news, (and words can't convey how excited I am!) 

PORTLAND!!  Bullseye Glass has invited me and 9 other glass artist/teachers to come to their factory's Research and Education Studio for a week in May for some in-depth training and collaboration.  More on that later.... But be prepared to hear about some fun specials I'll have coming up this month to help raise some money for a plane ticket and lodging:)  Planning to have some new work up by the end of the week!  Blessings to you...

Garden Party, Fused Glass Frit Painting $595 SOLD

Farm Storm, Fused Glass Collage $2300 SOLD

Paris Boat Dock, Fused Glass Powder Sgraffito Drawing $395

Sing Song City,  Fused Glass Collage $4295

Autumn Foliage (Unframed) $495

Paris Carousel $395

Starlight Boy

I finally got a decent photo of this glass sconce all nicely lit up~ and thought I'd share it with you.  Time to get back on track and in the mood to fire up the glass kilns again...

30 in 30 Painting Challenge is Finished... aw man.

This is my last painting of the challenge, and now I don't think I'll be able to walk away from painting entirely.

Well Rats... The Challenge I thought would be horrible is finishing up tonight.  30 Paintings in 30 Days    sounded like an insane thing to do, and I was so mad and frustrated when I began!  How on earth has it happened that I really don't want to stop?  I've learned a lot in these 30 days, watching the others involved in this challenge post their work each day has given me a new 'puzzle' to think about.  I wish I could watch each one in progress as I try to pick apart the way the piece came to completion.  I found that although I really don't know what I'm doing at all, it is becoming part of my day and like my coffee, I'm not sure how I'll be without it.  Just going out there and trying has been a really hard thing for me, as I expect perfection before practice.   I have learned a lot of what not to do, and am slowly getting a grasp on what 'TO" do.  The practice is becoming less painful all the time.  Hopefully some of the others in the group will want to continue at a more decent pace and still keep posting beautiful things for me to look at, and provide me with that much needed 'kick in the butt'.  Maybe the winter will go by faster this year...

Money on Trees and an Accidental Lemon Yellow incident involving a Dog with a Cone

Ok today was just silly, but read on, it's a good laugh.

I started out painting on Day #24 with the knowledge that I only had about 2 hours to fool around with this 30 paintings in 30 days challenge and the rest of the day needed to be productive since I have a show this weekend.  I had one canvas board left, and of course it was an 11x14, so it was going to take longer than I wanted.  I decided on something simple.  Money plants.  

I like money plants.  I remember my parents growing them.  For months they looked like a pile of weeds, and when the whole summer had passed, we got to help peel the leaves off to reveal the shiny insides.  I was about 5 years old and completely convinced that if I were careful enough, perhaps there might be some real money inside one of them.  Why else would my parents plant such a thing and spend so much time on them?  Looking back, I remember hearing someone say "Money doesn't grow on trees" and I was so disappointed for my parents, who kept trying to grow it.  Ha!  Anyway, I had a nice time reminiscing and painting along, thinking "dang, these things are HARD to paint, why did I pick this anyway"  when suddenly the front door of my studio flies open....

Now, just a wee bit of background here.  I have a little compulsion for musical instruments, and need to sell a few of them.  Mainly, 3 trombones.  My husband's friend, the high school band director was coming over and my husband decided it would be good to drag these trombones into the studio to see if he could tell us what they were worth.  My studio is set up for working in glass, not oil painting. I have no place set aside for paintings to dry, and as the end of this challenge draws near I have a pile of wet paintings lying about wherever I can find a place.  There are paper towels covered in turpentine and wet paint right outside my door so as not to cause a fire inside.  I have palette paper covered in paint from the last painting lying on a low table, and my cello is standing in it's case right near the front door. There is no room for these trombones.

Fast forward...

Mr. Honse comes in the door, which means the cello has to quickly be moved and I warn him (too late) about all the wet paint rags he just stepped in and now it's all over his shoes.  Then WHAM here comes my overly protective golden retriever in his CONE to see who is in the studio.  Cone drags through the palette paper, grabs a nice glob of lemon yellow all over, and in a matter of a second this poor guy has bright yellow oil paint all over his black coat and black dress pants.... aye...

So here's to today's painting effort, to all dogs who have been banished to cones, and to band directors everywhere.  Love you Buddy:)

My Dad's Paints

My Dad's oil paints from college~ that makes them 50 Years old and he is happy to see that they are being used again.  I am very proud of my Dad, and love that I have his paints:) I know we are all genetically influenced by our parents, and I am certain that I got my love of art from him.

Today's effort was to finish this, and I like it.

This is an "underpainting", which is a strange concept to me.  I am learning that my mind doesn't automatically think in terms of what to do in order of steps, so this is hard for me to begin from.  I don't like outlining things and would rather just start throwing in areas of color, but am finding that unlike underwear sticking out of someone's pants, 'underpainting' is nice when you let it show through the top layers of paint. 

30 in 30 Challenge Update...

 YEA!! I am finally getting it!  Painting every day is getting to be more fun now... I wonder if I'll have trouble going back to glass next month when this challenge is finished? I joined Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks this week, & love looking at all the 'real painters' works on the site.

The Phoenix cafe in Benton Harbor, MI.  I am enjoying palette knives and trying to paint glass and shiny things. I like a lot of Leslie Saeta's knife paintings on her page, and I am going to try more of these.

Another wet street in progress.  I think I found a subject I like.

My Brother's Rescue Husky, I got this far and realized that I didn't have room for his nose and ears on my board!

Painting, Painting, Painting

Last night something finally clicked... I learned that I am supposed to wipe my brush clean after every stroke, and that oil paint is it's own bird.  I can't expect it to behave like watercolor or acrylic, and now I can understand how watercolor might be difficult for an oil painter.  Pressing on, I know I am behind, but I am looking at this challenge in a more excited state of mind.  Finally I can begin to grasp these little things that are helping me see what I am doing wrong so I can correct them... 

30 in 30 Painting Challenge is stinking HARD!!!

 So... This idea I had of joining Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 Days Challenge was crazier than I suspected.  I am finding out that although I am struggling, I am learning a lot.  Starting out in a new medium is always frustrating as you learn the 'ins and outs' of what works and what does not, and patience is elusive.  Of course, I know exactly what I want to do, and think I can make it happen, but my lack of experience and high expectations are at war with each other...

The painting on the left (the wiped out one) was supposed to be part of a payphone. It looked easy in the reference photo, but quickly ended up to be 'simply impossible'.  I was mad,  then I quit.

A few days later, I un-quit and decided to suck it up and try again.  On the left is the painting I did of the failure earlier in the week.  Really, no matter how bad my paintings get I am still learning, and my brain is thinking in wonderful ways that are causing me to be more attentive to things such as stacks of orange barrels and backhoes, and inattentive to important things like...driving.  I am going down the road thinking about the juxtaposition of everything around me... values, colors, textures, lines...  Wondering what colors would I mix to get that blue tone I see in the snow, and what order would I lay out the colors... UGHHHHHHH!  Everything is suddenly beautiful and interesting enough to stare too long...  I am no longer safe to drive or be out in public.

I will vow to finish my painting for today before midnight, which is a scene from a vacation photo my parents took while in Europe.  Even though my paintings keep getting screwier, I will finish this challenge if I have to paint 10 paintings on the last day.

Painting 30 in 30? But I'm not a painter..

Well the new year has brought some great resolutions for 2013, and some fun challenges too!

I like to try new media here and there to jump start my creative side and throw me into the 'uncomfort zone'.  This year I signed up for a painting challenge, 30 small oil paintings in 30 days.  Crazy!
There are hundreds of people doing this, can you imagine 300 people doing 30 paintings?  That's potentially 9,000 paintings in only one month!

I always jump right into this kind of craziness thinking "I'm gonna do it!"  and also that miraculously I will be good at it.  Well, I can tell you it is going to be a long month.  I am a glass artist, not a painter and it shows.  LOL

Day One.
My husband suggested I paint a fire hydrant.  I said that a fire hydrant would be nice, but it would mean nothing to me.  He said "It would if you were on fire".  He is right, so here it is.

Day Two.
Learning about dealing with globs of paint and wet city streets.  

Check out some of the other artists' work at Leslie Saeta's blog:  http://www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com.  This is the main site for the challenge, and we all admire her amazing paintings.

So far I've worked on 2 paintings, neither of them are great, and I am kind of disgusted at my lack of ability to handle oil paint (somehow it is everywhere, on every surface possible, and it looks like it's not going to be drying anytime soon)   However, I am determined to complete the challenge, and learn something with each attempt.  Follow along and see what happens!

What's Next? Well......Cliff Jumping.

Well another summer show season is winding down, and I am looking forward to putting away the tent for a few months~ I have happily loaded and unloaded all of this stuff into my tiny minivan more times than I can count; in sun, rain, heat, cold, thunder, lightning, wind, HAIL, in three states, and even into an airport hangar!  There are surprises at every turn,
      and I love the life I have. 

2012 has been a year of firsts. 
It was my first show season in 12 years without being interrupted by tornado sirens, (thank goodness) as well as the first time I've had unexpected 'visitors' in my booth overnight.... muddy raccoons.  2012  was also the first year I really screwed up my calendar.  I actually drove through the wee hours of darkness to arrive before the crack of dawn in Delaware.... a week late.  
This also marks the year that my two oldest daughters were big enough to be recruited as show hands; It surely is much easier and much more fun setting up with them now than it was when they were in diapers.

This year will be different...
Like me, I think that most artists have difficulty balancing the time we spend making things that we know will sell, and the time we allow ourselves to create things that are true to our hearts, regardless of whether or not they ever sell.  It is largely a situation of economics, and it can be very frustrating as an artist to succumb to the side of sensibility.  I find myself wondering how many artists are kept from doing their best work because they feel they have to make widgets to pay the bills. I decided that win or lose, this year was going to be different.  It was an easy thing to say, but doing it felt a bit like jumping off a cliff.  I have never jumped off an actual cliff, but I had a few preconceived notions about cliff jumping... 


1. Before you jump, you probably look closely at your feet.  I imagine I would have details of all the pebbles on the ground memorized too.

2. Once you've jumped, you can bet you're going to land somewhere else. It's just a matter of whether you land safely in one piece, or dash yourself into the rocks.

3. When you are in the air it is pretty much impossible to start over.

I looked at my feet and then I threw my sensibility out the window. I bought a bunch of materials that I couldn't afford and I made the things I needed to see come to fruition whether or not anyone cared to buy them.  

Cliff jumping turned out to be a very good thing for me. I looked at my feet until I understood them.  I landed in a different place, a better one.  I discovered that it really isn't a matter of landing safely in one piece or dashing into the rocks after all; because as an artist, I would much rather dash into the rocks as myself than to safely land somewhere not knowing who I am.   I am definitely going to jump more often. Maybe even yet today.

Full Speed Ahead

Wow, it's already June... how can this be??

It's been a great start to these busy summer months~ the nice weather has brought large, happy, non-sweaty crowds to shows in Cincinnati and Indianapolis.  I have met some very lovely people, and some of my favorite pieces have gone home to live with their new caretakers.

This week begins an exciting time for glass artists, the International Glass Art Society's convention is coming to Toledo to celebrate the roots of studio glass in America.  I am very anxious to go, it is practically in my back yard and it will be my first time to be able to attend.  It is hard to sit still in anticipation of seeing in person the works of so many very talented artists I admire from all over the world.  I traded working time for a reduced admission fee to the convention, and I will be assisting on the tour busses.  That sounds like a great place to meet new 'glass friends' to me.  I'll be sure to post LOTS of details from the week, and heaven forbid I should have my camera with me... Ha.

Tomorrow and Sunday I will be at home in my studio (my favorite place in all the world) with a new class of sgraffito folks.  I am really looking forward to sharing the technique and seeing what they will come up with.  I truly love teaching, and I never tire of witnessing the A-ha moments when creativity is happening right before my eyes.  

Next weekend I will be taking off on Friday night from the GAS Conference and heading to Worthington, OH for an art show with my glass and jewelry work.  Last year it poured rain and hail the entire weekend and still the crowds came... with really cool artsy umbrellas!

I should probably be going to bed sometime in the near future.  Until tomorrow....

Broad Ripple Art Fair, A new season begins!

Well, here I am in Indianapolis, IN for the first art show of the 2012 season. Already? And as usual, I have a small slew of things to work on at the hotel. Somehow I can never be finished with things before it's time to go, and I usually forget something...this time I forgot my headphones (a tragedy!) medication, double rats....come tomorrow, I will have a nice list of " I forgot..." I have never been to Indianapolis, except for a Jane's Addiction concert in the 90's which doesn't really count. Broad Ripple is a beautiful place to have a show. I have to admit that it is scary to be showing only work that is truly dear to my heart. It is much easier for me to sell jewelry; people buy it for different reasons. The work I brought to this show will likely not sell as quickly, and because it is dear to me, every comment is seared into my soul. I chose the subjects for my work without caring what colors are 'in', and the connection I feel to these pieces far outweighs the feelings I have for making glass jewelry. Nijinsky's Grave, children playing on a playground in Cleveland, a little boy reading...I shaped their faces and paid attention to the wrinkles in their clothes. I made sure the twinkle in their eyes showed life... It is much harder to stand there waiting for 'the person' who will love them to come in and connect with them than it is to pack up a pair of earrings. Tomorrow is a new day. God watches over me. I am going to sleep:)

Glass Sgraffito Drawing Class, Finished Student Work

Time for a new update on my experimental class last weekend.  I am so impressed by the work produced by the attendees of my little class, and I am excited to do this again!  As promised, I will let you in on some of their comments and suggestions about their experiences as well as a look at their finished work......

April 

Tyler

Tyler

Tyler

Kristen

Dean

Comments/Suggestions

 I love art but feel challenged in it. I didn't even take art in highschool because I felt that I was that bad at it, Thanks again for letting me test out your class, I really thought I would do horrible but I'm really happy with my first stab at it...

had a great time this weekend taking Kelly Crosser Alge's sgraffito glass class. can't wait to see the finished product after it's done firing!

it was fun getting to use a technique that was totally new to me. i'm not a "glass artist" but Kelly made the class fun and interesting.

I wondered with a beginners class or other type of class if you would be open to doing a class that doesn't cost as much but then use smaller pieces of glass and maybe a one day class for beginners and offer a 2 day class for advanced.

Today I tried something entirely new and interesting!  I used to do a lot with fused glass, mostly jewelry, but I became bored because I felt like all I was doing was "making widgets" and it ofwasn't creative or interesting.....So I gave it up and turned to painting, thinking that someday I would somehow try to incorporate the two.....Well that day is today and I'm so excited to be a part Kelly Alge's experimantal class on fused glass powder sgraffito drawings.  Kelly is an expert glass fuser who experiments all the time with new techniques in glass.  Her latest is using powdered frit and an easy to learn, no drawing skills necessary technique for creating one of a kind art that is permanently fused into glass..

Today, she showed us several techniques for making certain marks in glass powder, and basically just playing around in the glass...It was a bit like being a kid in a sandbox again, no pressure to create anything that looked "real"   She then showed us how she marks out a photo referance on the edges of her glass so the layout is accurate......(see the photo with all the lines and notes.)   Tomorrow, we will complete our masterpiece and add a bit of color if relevent.....I can't wait to see the results...

This is Kelly's first workshop for this technique, and her teaching skills and simple manner of explaining technique are amazing (she has over 10 years of teaching experience in fused glass, but this is the first for this method)  Her 4 guinea pigs as she calls us students were hand selected by her to cover the range of experience from absolutely no art experience to very experienced...and quite honestly the ones with limited experience are doing some impressive work.....here are several pics of Kelly's work and the workshop today......If you're ever interested in her future workshops let me know...I have a feeling they will fill up fast!

Experimental Class... Want to Peek?

Wow!  The experimental fused glass powder drawing class was a success! 


VIEW THE SLIDESHOW OF THE CLASS HERE


As you may already know, the class was a tester to find out if I could offer this as a workshop in the future. There were four 'guinea pigs', each with different levels of art experience.  Three of the students had no experience in glass, one claimed not to be able to draw, one is a successful painter, another- a computer guy who likes metalsmithing and lapidary work, and finally, a girl who attends my church that wanted to learn the process.


Day one was spent on demos and fun little games of experimentation with different 'tools', and set up some right-brain thinking.  We discussed layout and composition, practiced cutting glass, and chose photos to work from. At first, everyone seemed a bit unsure of their ability to do this and they were pretty sure they would be 'bad' at doing the drawings.  However, by the end of the day everyone had started on their drawings and we were well on our way...but...


Something was bothering me.  My 'non-drawing guinea' seemed frustrated. The piece I started as a demo was a river scene of Venice, and it involved a lot of architectural details.  I think it was too deep too fast. SO...


Day two I cleaned off the work table and took away all of the pieces from day one, and everyone was a bit surprised and unsettled when came back and saw their things missing.  HA!


We started Day Two in a way that I should have started Day One.  I took away all of the tools and we spent about half an hour working to music using only our fingers in the glass powder on a large piece of glass.  We ditched our chairs and got into 'performance mode'.  Everyone seemed to loosen up, and we rotated pieces so we all worked without worrying about things being perfect.  To be quite honest, some of the quick pieces we did during these exercises really would have been great to fire and keep!  I do think that working in a non-committed way helps to take away the fear of making mistakes, and opens up a new version of creativity in each of us.  


We worked on some smaller tester pieces, which we put in the small kiln and watched during the firing to see what results different tools gave.  I was curious to know which tools my guineas liked the best... a small feather, a piece of aluminum grate, silicone tipped painting tools, and card stock.  Cardstock is my favorite too.  


As of today, the kiln is loaded and waiting for the passing thunderstorm to go away so I can start the big firing!  I will post pics of the finished works and student comments in the next blog later this week, but for now, enjoy the slideshow of the class :)

Bracelets, Friends, and neglected beads

Bracelets, friends, and neglected beads...

"Choo Choo" bracelets made with my double- hole fused glass beads

watch for these on ETSY in the next few days

Years ago, I started making beads. I know that's a huge surprise to all of you... Anyway, I absolutely love making them. I fuss over the color schemes, the glass particulars, etc. enjoying all of the parts, but after they come out of the kiln something unfortunate seems to happen. I pore over them for awhile, seeing the beauty in each individual one, lovingly noticing the uneven edges, the chance air bubbles, the new color I couldn't wait to try...

Then I pile them in a coffee can or plastic tub where they sit.  
Sometimes for years.

I discovered that while I really love making the beads, I am not a fan of putting them together into bracelets. I don't forget about them, in fact, they are on my mind a lot more than they appear to be. I tend to fool around 'getting ready' to make bracelets, laying the beads out in a nice order, second-guessing which vintage beads look best, wondering/worrying whether anyone will like the finished product. It stresses me out. Also, I hate dropping the little parts and chasing them across the floor only to drop them again and start over. Frustration takes over and back in the can they go. Usually, I wait until they have been neglected for a very long time, then force myself to spend the time to put them together.  
When I finally get to that place, I find that putting bracelets together it isn't horrible.  Once I get going I really do enjoy it in a lot of ways.  (not the dropping stuff part though) The finished bracelets come to life with much more beauty than the individual beads. I like looking at them and feel some accomplishment.  But most of all, when they are taken home with someone who loves them, the circle is made and I have the desire to do it again.


This brings me to the friends part...
Like beads, I appreciate and truly enjoy the individuality of people in my life, getting to know the 'little parts' that make up the person. I have no problems making friends but being an art hermit of sorts, I often find myself struggling with maintaining my friendships; neglectful in my ways of developing people (the beads) into relationships (the bracelets). My coffee can holds a lot of important people. I fool around 'getting ready' to spend time making relationships into something tangible.  I don't deal well with drama (chasing parts across the floor), and am easily rattled with wondering what the 'bracelet' will be like in the end...
My friend Kristen came over this week to put together the beads she made in my studio into a bracelet for her mother. Of course, here was me falling out of my seat at the table going on "ughh I hate putting them together, you can use my beads but you have to string them yourself, don't make me go there ",etc. 
(I know, it's totally pathetic.) It was then that I realized how beads and bracelets and relationships can be alike.  I put the bracelet together while enjoying my friend's company. Time flew by and it was just what I needed to make me see. 

Kristen's Beads

Kristen's Bracelet

Standing Naked

I did my first real art show in 1998, in my hometown of Findlay, Ohio.  Terrified, I sat in the back of my booth waiting impatiently for someone to walk in and look through the things I had made.  I remember the feeling was like being on the verge of having a heart attack.  What if they look and say nothing? What if they don't like my work?  I don't know what to say....I can't even look them in the eye.


The things I make really matter to me.  The stress of putting these things I made with my hands and my heart before the eyes of the public was hard.  Even harder was to stand there and worry about how they would be received. I truly felt as if I were standing naked before the world, waiting for them to pick out my fears, my faults, my imperfections....  


That show ended well, in spite of the fact that an unexpected storm picked up my tent and blew it a good block and a half down the street.  Wet assembly directions in hand, I left the show with pieces of a tent I took apart upside down, but with a smile in my heart.  


I have been successful at 'being an artist', but now I am once again 'standing naked'.  Never did I think I would write a blog or have a website to sell from, I love meeting the people who buy my art in person.  I am hoping that I can connect now in a different way, one that would allow me to spend more time MAKING art and less time in a hot tent.... Also, I think it's time to share what I have learned a bit.  :)