Commission Dogwood Purse Series-Finished!

Whirlwind

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to CHA in Anaheim and what an experience it was! This is all such a strange experience for me and I am still processing it all- coming from the fine art world it is quite bizarre to see the corporate fingerprints all over supplies, products and the craft industry- I knew it was a billion dollar industry but CHA really made it hit home for me!!!! Not that I am complaining about being involved by writing a book but it all made me really think about how I want to move forward in this whole new world. Not to mention, I am a total newbie in all of this- it seems that everybody knows each other and have been on the "circuit" for a while so topping off my few days was this overwhelming feeling of being "the new kid on the block" even though I have been a working artist for the last 15 years!! It felt like the first day of high school in a new town all over again. But I did get see Tonia and Jessica (F+W Editors) I also got to connect with the lovely Jane Wynn and her husband Thomas who were an absolute joy to hang out with at the F+W dinner, I also saw Gayle from GeeGees Stamps and Stuff the local Carlsbad shop that I teach at (by happenstance she walked by my demo) I also was able to connect with Jenny Doh of Stampington and after all sorts of the online correspondence it was great to finally meet her in person.
The best part is that my demo went great, the minute I dipped my brush in paint and started creating, everything else fell away and I was in my own world! I had lots of lovely people stop to talk and watch and hopefully sparked interest in my book. Overall it was a good experience for me because it has helped me to redefine my creative path and inspired me to look for alternative ways to create success for my book and my ever evolving art career but it is going to take me a while to process this experience! I had to get back last night and jump back into the house hunting and signing papers process and the reality of getting the place we want- (but I don't want to jinx it by talking about it so I will wait to make the official announcement!!

Insanity

I am officially a very, very bad blogger (how many times have I posted the same sentiment??) Life has become INSANE!! And today has been the culmination of it all...had to deal with getting yelled at by an upset person at my day job this morning (even though I am just the messanger people love to take things out on the messanger!!) and randomly a quite famous movie star called our office early this morn that I have been dealing with all morning...WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!? The last few weekes we have spent all of our free time house hunting and this has proven to be more of a process than I EVER imagined! Lots of looking, talking, crunching numbers, making offers, its enough to make me scream especially when I am used to using all my free time working on my art! But thank goodness for our awesome realtor Chris- he is like a personal trainer who keeps you motivated and inpired to keep going even when things aren't feeling so great.

On top of all this I have been preparing for CHA and since this is my first time at a convention of this nature I am nervous but also excited- like everything else in this book process...I have no idea what to expect!! I will be at the F+W booth on Tuesday at 1:30pm doing a techiques demo from my book and will also have a "make-n-take"-where people can make canvas medallion earrings to try their hand at working with canvas and paint- fun and easy project! I am excited to spend a couple of days walking around and exploring the show as well as meeting and connecting with people I have corresponded with online AND maybe I will sneak over to Disneyland if there is time...I need to have some fun!! More to come....

What a Weekend!

What a weekend!! We went to a wedding at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps and WOW what a great place for a wedding. We spent most of our time looking at fish which was nice because weddings and receptions can be so socially awkward so it was nice to steal away and fish watch! I spent a great deal of time at the jelly fish tanks taking flash free pictures of these amazing creatures- there is something about them that are so magical to me! The rest of my two days off were spent looking at houses, making purses, looking at more houses, discussing houses, painting and working on more purses...uggghh...not enough time to get everything done but we are a little bit closer to finding a house, which is actually a huge accomplishment!!

Good Day!

Today has been a very good day- I just heard back from Artfiberfest and I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching 3 classes in October- please stay tuned for more info! I cannot express how excited I am about this opportunity and cannot wait to take part in this amazing retreat!!

In not so exciting news....I am also very excited to have found this punk inspired, pyramid studded bracelet on my lunch break- finding yummy accessories for cheap might not be exciting to most but I LOVE a good bargain and I have been looking for something like this for a while- who can beat $7.00? Unfortunately, this is going to be a doozey of a weekend- I HAVE to finish up some wholesale purse orders, prepare for my demo at CHA, clean my art room and the house (AGAIN), go to a wedding, go house hunting and desperately try to get a little of relaxation here and there- YIKES-wish me luck!

This is Today

Back to work today after a nice long holiday weekend and as much as I complain about having a job and wishing I could stay at home ALL day long and paint...I must say that I work in a lovely place. I snapped this shot as I walked out of my office for lunch- big blue sky with big puffy clouds and all the lovely spanish architecture surrounding me- I really need to be thankful for what I have today and stop wishing for perfection. I'll try harder- I promise!

In other news, the weekend was actually the first in a long time that I have relaxed- my hubby made me stay in bed yesterday with my book and magazines and before I knew it I was sucked into a marathon on the history channel of Monster Quest (my new favorite show!). I have this strange interest in legends and creatures such as bigfoot, the giant squid, sea monsters, etc. Yes, random fun fact about me that my husband can attest to as well as the many conversations that I start leading with the phrases like...what would you do if you were camping and saw bigfoot? Do you think that there could actually be giant sea serpents in remote parts of the world? What if there really are birdzilla creatures that eat people? Well, my day spent in bed learning of all the world's monsters and scientific data to back up their existence was like a dream come true!

And last, I found out that I will officially be at CHA on Tuesday, Feb 12th at the F+W Publications Booth #1751at 1:30pm doing a demonstration promoting my book Canvas Remix. This is both exciting and nerve racking at the same time! I feel like such a newbie in this whole process but it can't be as scary as meeting up with a bigfoot...right?

Illustration Friday- Plain

Monday in Photos

Productive

Today has not only been a productive day but a creative one! I spent a great deal of time cleaning our house this morning- after weeks of emotional distress over where to live and steps to take to buy a house...our humble little apartment has suffered! And the worst of it was my art room which was literally trashed! Thankfully a good clean and time spent organizing means I will be productive and that was just what happened! This afternoon I got tons of stuff done- I have been working on new purses and in between waiting for the layers to dry I started on a new series of paintings and this is the first! After months spent on a book and then lots of my time spent making functional items (like purses) it feels so wonderful to paint a painting- what I love most!

Embrace the Unknown!

Oh my goodness, my brain is tired, my head hurts and I am officially spent! Things have been crazy these last couple of weeks as we begin the process to maybe buy our first home- yikes!! So many decisions to make and things to think about and it is just now dawning on me at age 32 that I just might officially be an adult! I have gotten very few creative tasks accomplished this last week because our evenings have been filled with conversations (thanks to me), emotions and of course tears (since I cry about everything). I have exhausted myself with worry and I am declaring today that I am finished fretting about the unknown and instead I am choosing to embrace the looming questions. In the meantime this weekend will be spent painting (hopefully a little bit for myself) and filling some little orders and working on all kinds of new and wonderful opportunities that have come my way. And… I must give a heartfelt thank you to Maryam from Marrakesh for the wonderful blog entry about the recent tote bag that I made for her- please go check out her beautiful blog!! Tonight it’s a movie with my hubby- I need to have some fun!

This is Me Today

This is me today- reflective, challenged, creative and trying to be calm. Life is crazy right now, we have been spending our free time trying to figure out what comes next, where do will we choose to live in 6 months and where do we see our lives going? Big questions to tackle with the rest of my own uncertainties- like how best to market my book? what will CHA be like and will anyone want to watch my demo? how will I make it through my day job when art deadlines are looming? will I continue to lose sleep over the noisy students above me? and the questions go on and on and on. But I have decided to just address what I can do today- this is me today... confused but thankful, tired but strong, restless but creative...and that is enough for now.

Italy Here I Come!!

So it is official I will be kicking off my book release in Italy! You know what they say...go big or go home?!?!? Below is more information and links- feel free to email me with any questions!!

Toscana Americana Workshops
presents
"Canvas Remix
in Tuscany"
Painter/Instructor
Alisa Burke
Cortona, Italy June 28-July5, 2008
Join painter and mixed media artist Alisa Burke for a week of inspiration, travel and creativity. Marking the release of her new book Canvas Remix, Alisa will dedicate the week to teaching techniques and projects pulled from her book. With the village of Cortona as our backdrop, we will find inspiration in the sites, sounds and flavors- We will explore new colors, images, and ideas from our surroundings. Be prepared to delve into the world of a modern painter by learning about canvas and paint- techniques that range from free writing to graffiti to color glazing to splattering and making a mess! We will then push our canvas paintings and redefine your concept of art- Be prepared cut, rip, sew and remix your canvas into lovely objects and mementos that represent this amazing journey to the Italian countryside.

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Back to Life

I am back from Oregon and as usual I am kinda bummed to be back- I love the Pacific Northwest, I love the rain, the crazy weather, my home on the coast and I often go through a week of transition after spending a week at home. The week was relaxing, lots of hanging out, lots of visits to my favorite spots and lots of board games. Unfortunately I had to cancel my class that I was teaching at my parents gallery due to the crazy weather and snow on the mountain pass between the coast and Portland- too icky for Portland attendees to drive! (but I will return at another time to teach!) in fact it took us almost 5 hours to get to the airport because of snow and ice! The whole week I was at the mercy of my husband and brother who just might like each other more than they like me! They were running around like they were 15 year olds looking for trouble, playing games, and teasing me- YIKES! But overall it was good to step away from stuff, good to take a break and get ready for the next big push! I can thankfully say that I just sent off my last author review for my book and the next time I see it, it will look like a book- I can't wait! So much to do, so many decisions to make for our lives, lots of exciting things to come!

Illustration Friday- Soar

Just a little doodle from my sketchbook- I thought it fit perfectly into this weeks word!

Home in Oregon- No Place I'd Rather Be!

A few pics from my current trip to Oregon- so far lots of rain, board games, food and of course family...no place I'd rather be!!

Full Heart

Ahh Christmas in San Diego..after almost 7 years in southern california I am still not used to holidays here but I must say that a date night with my hubby on Christmas Eve in Coronado was beautiful with an amazing sunset and cool breeze! Not much to tell just lots of food, family and more food...I am not sure I have ever been this SICK of food but I just keep eating regardless! Tomorrow it is off to Oregon for a few days and more family and most likely more food! My heart and tummy are full!!

Yummy

Another busy weekend but this weekend was full of social activity! In between finishing up last minute orders and cleaning the house we went to a dinner party hosted by my in laws and had YUMMY indonesian food. I actually made myself not do anything for a while on both Sat and Sun and managed to watch a couple of movies and veg out for a while before jumping back into "the list". Then last night was spent cooking and serving pancakes to students for our annual pancake study break- I ate way too much bacon and woke up this morning feeling it! This week is going to be crazy with holiday parties, finishing up gifts and trying to get the house cleaned!

Secret Life

My head has been spinning this week with so much going on- I feel like I am jumping back and forth between so many different worlds, trying to balance the job life vs. the art life, keeping up with all my different emotions, pulling together with my hubby to start planning our future and our housing options for when we buy a place soon! When I think too much about it all it makes my head hurts and I freak out so all I can do is just keep my eyes focused on what is in front of me and moving forward and not get distracted by drama or things that do not fill me with goodness- But boy oh boy can this be a challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!! And to top it off the house is a mess right now…piles of canvas creations everywhere, ribbon and beads stuck in our shag living room rug, drawings all over my computer desk, stacks of fabric all over my art room…this time of year is always insane and honestly I am eager for it to be over with!

But of course amidst the chaos of life right now, there are a few things that bring me back to the center like my loyal friend Anna, who was kind of enough to help me at my little craft fair yesterday! Though Anna and I are very different she is one of those people in my life that truly gets me, she brings me a sense of stability, calm and just fun. I met her the day I moved to San Diego and we started out as work friends and now almost 7 years later I think of her as family! Right now I yearn to have people around me that support and understand who I am- life has gotten crazy this last year and with all the wonderful creative opportunities I have found it hard to relate to people, hard to go to work some days- I feel like I am living a secret life full of creative, amazing things. It is hard for me sometimes to not shout from the roof tops...I JUST WROTE A BOOK...I AM PURSUING MY DREAMS...I AM ACTUALLY MAKING IT AS AN ARTIST.... YAHOOOOOO!!!!...instead I keep my head down, stay quiet and keep working hard on everything all the while cherishing the people who appreciate my secret life all the while holding in my heart that hope for one day not having to be so quiet about success!

Illustration Friday-Little Things

A Good Week

So this week is proving to be a nice week- my cupcakes went over great, I have gotten lots of work done, managed to make it to the gym (to hopefully make up for all the cupcakes I ate!) and received these lovely earrings in the mail! I just opened a shop on Etsy and since I don't yet have time to get a variety of paintings up, I have put a variety of earrings up for sale and ended up trading a pair of mine for a pair of crocheted gold earrings from juanitatortilla who makes very beautiful and unique jewlery. So not only do I have a fancy pair of earrings but a new talented online friend who has written the kindest blog entry about our little trade! To top it off I stopped by the annual Alternative Gift Fair at USD and found this lovely purse handmade in Guatemala! The best part is that it even matches my new earrings! When I am not wearing professional attire (which usually means all black) I like to call my style bohemian chic with a (twist of punk) and these two accessories will be the perfect addition to wardrobe!

Cupcake Responsibilities

Busy evening at home tonight...making over 50 cupcakes! Despite my creative endeavors, I still have responsibilities with my "normal job" (at least for now!) and part of this means spending time with the college students that we live and work with! And this month that means a sugary sweet study break at our apartment tomorrow night! Now I just need to practice self control to not eat cupcakes between tonight and tomorrow!!

Creative = Relaxing

So far the weekend has been creative, productive and relaxing! I spent all day Sat making things to sell at a local craft fair- above is a little sneak peak at the ornaments I have created this year to sell and I am so happy with the way that they turned out.

Illustration Friday- Excess