Persistence Pays Off!

I am very excited to announce, that one of my artworks has been chosen as set design.  Netflix has a soon to be released, new series call "Southern Comfort".

 The producers chose my horse painting on wood planks, to display in their ranch house set.  I am thrilled that it will be visible in many episodes of the new series.

This is not my first experience with television.  You may have seen these seascapes on Hawaii Five-O or Magnum PI.

or, perhaps the still life below, in the  academy award nominated movie, "Joker".

 

People have asked, "How do you do this?"  I always give the same answer......persistence!  Since 2009, I have been on Etsy, and that is where I get 99% of my sales.  EVERY DAY, all those years, I have posted new items, advertised, and worked SEO, in an attempt to be found on the net. Some times my many, many hours of work pays off!

Carol Schiff

www.CarolASchiff.com

www.CarolSchiffStudio.com

Collaborating with a Potter

If you know my work (www.cindymichaud.com) you know that I really get cranking when a collaboration is in the works.  Nothing beats that feeling of joining forces and watching the creative sparks fly back and forth in an exchange of ideas. I always learn so much.

My studio neighbor, Maggie Black is a potter.  We often enjoy taking a break from our work and trading stories or ideas.  She is very talented and creative and I am always lucky to find some time to pick her brain.  So I thought of her immediately when my son put an idea into my head.  He was on a hunt to replace a dinner plate we used as he was growing up.  It was the "SPECIAL" plate and one got to eat from it in honor of some achievement (passed a test, scored a run, met a goal...).  I had forgotten all about the tradition until he reminded me and neither of us could locate our original.  So with Christmas around the corner...

Maggie agreed to make me some plates and fire them to a bisque stage.  For any potters this clay is "Little Loafers" stoneware not porcelain.  She throws beautiful, even plates, something I could never accomplish.  I used "underglazes" which are clay-specific paints that I can mix with a bit of water and put onto the clay.  It felt very different than painting on canvas as the clay was still porous enough that it really grabbed onto the paint and absorbed it.  To paint a flowing line took a lot of practice.

Since my son mentioned he liked the simplicity of our old plate I refrained from going overboard in my decoration. I painted two of these (two sons with families) and then Maggie helped me wax the foot of the back (after signing and dating) and dip them into a clear glaze to seal the colors and give a nice shiney finish to the piece.

Then they went back into the kiln and I waited like a kid with an unopened present.
Wow...Kiln opens and I was so pleased. Thankfully so were my sons.

Final plate with my head shadow!

And because Maggie is one of those generous artistic souls she even had another blank plate for me to paint as a gift for a friend:

I can't wait to show up with appetizers on this work of art...and leave it as my hostess gift.

I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with fellow artists, wood workers, potters, poets and photographers.  The results never fail to exceed my expectations but the best part is the process and the joy that comes from working together.  Hopefully such lies ahead in 2020.

Cindy Michaud

www. cindymichaudart.com

questions: art@cindymichaud.com

Paint the Walls then Deck the Halls....

Watch a youngster with a paint brush...he will make happy, broad strokes of color without too much worry about size or shape.  A child mostly loves the "doing," enjoys the process, and is not at all worried about the product.  I had several of those days recently...pure bliss with my paint brush, leftover paint and a wild imagination.

I was nominated (or volunteered) to "do" the playroom of a new home.  It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to create the woods for these two little boys (ages 4 and 3).  I wanted them to be able to pretend they were camping and doing all the wonderful things that go with being outside.

Kids love hidden-spaces so I knew we had to have a tent (easily fashioned with a shower rod and curtains) and I ordered a few pre-made park signs.  Then I gathered up leftover acrylic house paint, a few other colors and a bunch of brushes.  Off I went to the land of imagination.

We "put up" the tent in a corner and filled it with pillows and hooks (and lanterns and books).  And I started painting there...no pencils, no previous drawings...I wanted to feel like a kid so I started with a river and a horizon of mountains.  No color went higher than the mountains as they had previously hung glow in the dark stars: perfect.

Of course there is no perfect perspective!  Kids don't care.  What they did like tho is that the center of these gigantic flowers (a pizza tin) is magnetic and they can easily hang stuff on them.  I continued around the corner where I met a closet and a previously hung painting of owls.

A bear cave...but of course!  They love to chase their grandpop, aka The Bear, into dark corners so I made a cave.  (see hobby lobby sign) And the owls didn't have to be moved because the tree branch came right over the cave to allow them to perch.

They already had a plastic grill so it seemed the perfect space to promote cooking and eating.  And when the older grandson had a sneek peek his only request was that I add a sun...done!

What you don't see here is the rug aka "fire pit" with papermache logs (paper towel cardboard rolls) and the flames of a fire (red ribbons tied to soft wires surrounded by stones).  For 3 amazing days we managd to play every camping game we could imagine.

All too soon it was back to a toy-strewn playroom filled with pieces and parts of a variety of toys, trucks, puzzles and coloring books. But as a grandma who loves the outdoors and wants her grands to enjoy and respect it as well, I am hoping that now and again they will look up on the wall and enjoy the free flowing trees and rivers and mountains and have happy memories of tossing stones and cooking marshmallows.  No doubt some playdate will ask what it all means and they will have fun explaining.

So go ahead: paint the walls, let your imagination flow and swirl and cover up big spaces with not-so-perfect images.  I had great fun and my husband and I laughed that it won't be too many years before he will be back painting over all of this to make a blank palatte for a new theme.

Cindy Michaud
www.cindymichaud.com
questions: art@cindymichaud.com

Fire Starters with a Flair (Flare?)

I really, really, (really), enjoy making things when all the ingredients are handy, found or recycled.  Such it is when I do my annual batch of firestarters.  What is a fire starter?  Most folks use newspaper...but it's becoming scarce and frankly, boring.  My firestarters are little cupcakes that, when lit, burn a very long time lighting your kindling and then the logs.  Mine are pretty to display and easy to make.  And they are fine gifts for folks who camp, have a firepit or live with a fireplace indoors.

You will need paper cupcake liners (on sale Michaels), cupcake pan, paraffin or soy wax (the latter is environmentally preferable), a real or pretend double boiler, sawdust, and all the burnable elements of nature that you gather on your walks.

After using two thrift shop pans as my double boiler I finally bought a candle making pitcher which is easy to pour from.  Just set it in a pan of water for a slow wax melt and easy pouring.

I can't hike without filling my pockets with acorn hats, tiny pinecones, moss, gumballs, oak galls and lichen covered twigs.  One can only collect so much til it needs to go...somewhere!  I was sweeping sawdust from my son's workroom one day when I asked him if I could have it.  After a very funny look he nodded.  My first efforts involved the gulf wax paraffin you can buy at Walmart.  A candle making friend turned me on to the many advantages of soy and I bumped into another friend who had just salvaged tons (literally) of candymaking soy wax from a candy company about to dump it.  I had my soy almost free. Obviously this is not an exact recipe.  You can google and make up your own formula.

When these piles start taking up too much room along with large jars of pinecones and acorn caps I know it is time to begin!

Slowly melt your wax over a double boiler while filling your muffin tin with the liners.  Fill the liners with saw dust but leave "head room" as the wax and decor take up a little space.  When the wax or soy is melted pour it into each liner...I like to take a chop stick and stir it up a bit to get the wax to sink down into the dust.  Now, while the wax is not hard, the fun begins.  I usually lay out all my little treasures so I know how much of what I have.  I begin making little scenes and vignettes on the top of each using a variety of the accoutrements.  Push them slightly into the wax or if a twig, as far in as you can.  Remember this is all burnable stuff, it's not green, it's not rock and it is not terribly dense.

Let the wax cool overnight.  Sometimes I have to take a knife to the edge to get them out if I dripped a lot but it doesn't ruin the look or use.  To light I usually peel back a bit of paper and hold the flame there til it catches.  Pretty soon the entire cake will burn...for quite a while!

I've given these as gifts and folks are more inclined to set them out as decor than to burn.  Well, I can't help that!  I just don't give them any more.  I do try to explain that I really consider this another form of ephemeral art, it's not meant to last.  Every one of these items would be crushed and gone before the winter was over...I just let them get admired one last time and then return them to nature.

I've kept a pile of these for us as we love using them when we head out camping.
Hope you enjoy making some yourself.
Oh, and some folks swear by adding a wick to ease lighting...fine, but I never found necessary.

Cindy Michaud
www.cindymichaud.com
questions: art@cindymichaud.com

Steve Jobs Collage by Carmen Beecher in Word Play Exhibit

This collage is in the "Word Play" exhibit at the SoBo Gallery & Art Center in Winter Garden for the month of January. The theme is artworks with words incorporated in them. I am really excited about this, because I used to live in Winter Garden and I always call it my "Happy Days" stage of life. It was a lot like the TV show, just a carefree time of life with some very interesting characters. For sentimental reasons, I am very happy to be in the show, and after about 30 years away from Winter Garden I was happy to see that the town is smart enough to keep up with the times and become a very nice place to visit. The downtown area has managed to be quaint, beautiful and trendy all at the same time.

P.S. This collage just sold!

Carmen

Maker vs. Painter

Sometimes I think I would rather be called a "maker" than a "painter." Both are considered artists but I have never wanted to feel limited or boxed in to only applying paint to canvas.  No matter the medium I get a real thrill out of seeing something that did not previously exist come to fruition with my help.

When my husband and I decided to replace our dining room table I wanted it to be something special - a creation that spoke of all we have come to love living in the mountains.  I also knew that I wanted it to be one of a kind and that we wanted to shepherd it into being.  I knew that my neighbor Bucky salvaged trees, dried wood and supplied some furniture makers with quality pieces so we picked his brain to start.

Wood needs to be kiln dried for a very long time so that the moisture moves out of it slowly - rushing this process means that whatever you build is very likely to warp and move as it finishes drying over time.  Bucky had lots of large pieces stored and was all too happy to share them and discuss the type and history of each piece.  Above my husband measures an eye-catching slab to see if it will work for us.

Once we selected our piece Bucky had to further plane it.  This is when we took chalk and discussed where we wanted cuts for our table.  We definitely wanted to preserve the "live edge" and knew there was a split at one end as well as a knot in the mid-section.  Creative minds could plan but the tree would have the ultimate word as it would react to our plans with a plan of its own.  Bucky hooked us up with Boone, a unique and colorful character who would make the final cuts and work on the endless sanding and polishing.  We had selected very plain metal legs for our table and guessed we would have pieces leftover to use for other designs as well.

This is in Boone's workshop - a fascinating place of creativity.  If you can dream it, he can build it as evidenced by the amazingly artful home he constructed all from materials found on his property.  Boone was kind to include us in every stage of the transformation, he answered my endless questions and took an interest in the supports we had chosen.  He really made us feel like collaborators in this effort.

We are thrilled with the results!  It was even his idea to make a bench for one side of the table (which will fit lots of little grandchildren butts).  He filled the knot (far left in photo) to look like an endless black hole and polished every mark of the wood to optimum advantage.

We had enough of a slab left for a small end table and decided to put "hairpin" legs on it.  And below he made us a coffee table with some silver legs I selected.  While he was interested in my leg sources I was endlessly interested in the various grits of sandpaper he had to use to get this light maple wood so soft in texture.

I shared with Boone that while I loved our new furniture it made me sad to realize "our" project was over.  I told him that while some folks might spend more money no one, no one, would have more enthusiasm for his work.  He grinned one of those humble mountain smiles and responded, "gosh, that compliment means more than money to me."

See? We makers can't help but get excited when anything unique is created.  I know Bucky is an artist in his field of wood preservation and Boone is surely an artist as well.  I love to paint but I think becoming a "maker" is my true calling. I enjoy the collaboration of artistic minds and talents.

Cindy Michaud
www.cindymichaud.com
questions: art@cindymichaud.com