In addition to meeting some wonderful creatives through the OWOH blog event, I am the lucky recipient of three wonderful giveaways. Thank you Cory, Lisa and Julie! 

I love the bracelet Cory Celaya sent me! It's gorgeous and so uniquely designed. As a matter of fact, I am wearing it as I write this. Cory's work is truly amazing. Definitely pop over to her website. She also has two great blogs Art with Moxie and Create with Moxie to check out. In addition to creating unique one-of-a-kind jewelry, Cory also produces wonderful mixed media art, which really blows me away. Thank you again, Cory!

Lisa Atchison sent me the most gorgeous lampwork bead and opened up a whole new world of art to appreciate. I have never seen anything like this before; it's just stunning! Above are three views of the same bead; depending on which way you hold the bead, you see a different view - really beautiful! Visit Lisa's blog at Touch of Glass Designs and her website to see more of her gorgeous beads and learn more about her art. Thank you so much, Lisa!

My third giveaway gift came from Julie Gazin, who sent me a lovely crocheted towel and her Butterfly Garden foam hand soap. Among Julie's creations are crocheted items, soy candles, lotions, soaps, original artwork, prints and more. You'll want to check out Julie's huge variety of creations by visiting her website and blog. Many thanks, Julie!

OWOH giveaway winners are...

Alice Stroppel from Florida - "Pocket of Shells" watercolor

Flor Larios from Miami, Florida - "Pears & Apples" art cards

Kate Clawson from Pennsylvania - "Vibrant Flowers" art cards 

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's OWOH blog event. I've had so much fun and have met such incredible creative people! Let's keep in touch :)

additional giveaway item for One World One Heart...

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your lovely comments! I have added another item to be given away with the orginal two items in the One World One Heart international blog event to show my appreciation.

This third drawing is for my "Vibrant Flowers" art card set created from my original watercolor paintings.The set includes four 4.25" x 5.5" blank cards printed on premium matte paper with matching envelopes.

This is my first year and I am having such a blast - thank you, Lisa!

One World One Heart 4th Annual Global Blog Event

I just learned about a really fun way to get to know other bloggers from Stacey and I am so excited to share it with you. One World One Heart (OWOH) is the brainchild of Lisa Swifka - A Whimsical Bohemian who began this project in 2007 to build community among bloggers. Lisa says "The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way."  Very cool, right?!!

To join in the fun...  Between now and February 15th bloggers from all over the world who are participating in OWOH's Magic Carpet Ride will display their "ticket" on their sidebar which indicates they are hosting a giveaway. Just leave a comment on their blogpost for a chance to win. Winners will be randomly selected on February 15th. Be sure to leave contact information if it's not in your profile. Click here for a list of participants. If you are interested in hosting your own giveaway, click here for directions. Most importantly, make new friends and have fun!

My giveaways...

 

There will be two separate drawings. The first is for "Pocket of Shells" -  a lovely little watercolor painting I created in 2008. It measures 5"x7" and is matted to 8"x10".

The second drawing is for my "Pears & Apples" art card set created from my original watercolor paintings. The set includes four 4.25" x 5.5" blank cards printed on premium matte paper with matching envelopes.

Only comments left on this post will qualify for my random drawing. Your comment must be left before 1 a.m. (EST) on 2/15.

Might I recommend a super fun stop on the Magic Carpet Ride at my daughter, Christine's blog, ticket holder #801...

Craft Hope for Haiti

Through my daughter, Christine , I learned of an opportunity to contribute to relief efforts in Haiti through Craft Hope, an organization with a rich history of connecting artists and artisans with people in need. Craft Hope has opened an Etsy shop featuring donations from crafters and artists from all over the world with 100% of the proceeds from these donations going to Doctors Without Borders. I was happy to have an opportunity to donate this painting, which surprisingly has already sold. Or maybe not so suprisingly, as 1,540 sales have already been recorded thanks to the many wonderful people wanting to contribute to this cause.

Why not stop by the Craft Hope Etsy Shop to check out the many beautiful items for sale? If you'd like to donate an item yourself, contact Craft Hope. It's amazing what the art and craft community can do collectively!


"It is our hope to combine our love for crafting and desire to help others into a project to make a difference around the world." ~Craft Hope

purple for Mary Kate

I have a dear cousin who loves all things purple. I mean she really loves them! I'd been working on this painting on and off for a while but without real inspiration. Then I thought of her and it became really easy to finish this piece. There are times when I'm painting when I just need a little inspiration in the form of where a painting might be headed, what would I like to do with it or where it might hang to help me complete it. For you, Mary Kate...

embracing the new year

Each year I start out enthusiastically embracing new ideas, projects and plans for growth. This year is no exception and here is just a sampling of what I'm setting my intentions on:

living more consciously making steady progress on a greener lifestyle restarting my yoga practice growing my art business and being more daring! (this one borrowed from Christine http://unspeakablevisions.com/)

There is so much I'm looking forward to this year. My daughter, Kate is marrying Joey - losts of festivities. I will be finding a day job and looking forward to whatever that new adventure may turn out to be. I have oodles of new art projects and things to explore. And I'm looking forward to lots of good times with family and friends!

What are your hopes, intentions and dreams for 2010?

happy holidays!

I love this time of year and all the goodness that it brings out in people. Amidst your hustling and bustling, remember to thank and hug the people in your life who enrich you and celebrate life with you, the ones you love and the ones you try to love despite the messiness of being human (or maybe because of it).

Thank you, dear readers, for checking out my blog and making me feel welcome in the online art community. I look forward to sharing a creative and inspiring New Year with you.

Wishing you and your families a very happy holiday season!

blessings,

Susan

new group of artists...

There's a wonderful new group of artists who have come together through Etsy's WMASS (western Massachusetts) Street Team to share ideas, to market, build community and work together called Artisans of Western Mass. I have joined the team and am looking forward to participating in events in the near future. If you have a moment, please check us out.

http://artisansofwmass.com/artisans.html

holiday show ideas...

Last week my car was totalled when someone ran a stop sign and t-boned me, the furnace stopped working (after-hours on Friday night) and all week I had been dreading the surgery that I had this week (which really was a piece of cake, the dreading it was the hard part) and now it's Friday and the dust has settled. I am thrilled to be getting back to painting and art-related business again. So, while last week didn't result in much artmaking, it was pretty good for perculating ideas for the two holiday shows I'm doing in December.

I already have a good collection of watercolors and mixed media paintings to offer, and I'm working to finish up a few smaller pieces as well. I also have some really lovely art cards made from original paintings, but I want to add some more small items to tempt the buyer who isn't shopping for paintings this holiday season (weird I know, but there are a few folks out there in this category - and you know who you are) but who still enjoy original art.

I took out my pile of "banned" paintings that have beautiful parts, but don't really work as a whole. I usually save them to use in collages and mixed media paintings. I have decided to use some beautiful snipets to make holiday ornaments, covers for journals and bookmarks. I will add paint, ink and other bits to them, maybe even add a poem to the bookmarks, and see where the spirit takes me on this project. I'll post a photo of the finished project later. If you are looking for a few small items to add to your own booth this holiday season, maybe you have some paintings that can be recycled, too. Do you have any ideas to share?