H E L L O 2 0 1 5

love my new calendar for 2015

last month was super busy for muddypotts, therefore, i gave myself permission to not feel bad in the least about neglecting my blog. although, i did miss telling you all about every little sale i had near and far, the amazing show that we saw at crimson hilt in denver, and about my new arctic cat that my love got me for christmas! 

a new year can mean so much to so many. for me, its always meant a fresh start to being healthy, physically and spiritually, swearing off new debt, trying to lose those ten pounds that just won't disappear no matter what i do, making more meaningful art and becoming a more serious artist...well those things are always in the back of my mind, but i have so much to look forward to this year. i have no regrets of last year either. last year was one of the best years i've ever had. and this year will be no different...big changes are happening in 2015! and all i can say right now is....we're SOOO excited!!! 

hello 2015!!! so happy you're finally here!!! 

UpCoMinG SHOWS

and 

Fire and Ruin 

 HELIKON GALLERY 

in February

These next couple months are going to go by super fast. I'll be showing work in the 12x12 show the first week of December in Denver as well as in Art Takes Miami with See.Me. Then in February, I'll be joining nine other amazing artists at the Helikon Gallery in the Rhino Art district in Denver. I'm super excited and look forward to showing off some new, never seen before works! 

moths + winter

siblings © samos 2014

I've been itching to paint for days now and finally had time to sit down. It's been awhile since I've posted anything new. Time is slipping away, but its all good...This has been one amazing and busy year! Seasons have changed and the snow is blowing once again.

Winter has always been one of my favorites. I love warm socks and slippers, sipping on a cup of hot green tea, listening to my favorite Pandora station...painting, drawing, glazing... Life couldn't be better.

moth ii © samos 2014

The other night I was checking out some other artists on Instagram, and found a New York artist that is just phenomenal! Anyways, she inspired me to look into moths and those native to Colorado. I found the Hera buck moth to be quite beautiful. I started out by painting the background in watercolor, drew the moth and then painted in the wings with white titanium acrylic. I then made a couple photo transfers of the same moth and strategically placed them around the first moth. And then added more texture and color. The second image is digitally altered, both are available on RedBubble. 

the beginning of a painting

Stay warm everyone! Winter is here!!! ~samos

growin' like weeds ii

grown like weeds planter

inside

drain dish

Dandylions + Lemons

dandylions and lemons 

Last week I made this print using my dandelion bowls. You can find it on RedBubble. And if you really like it, you can get it made as a pillow, tote, or cell phone case! 

                                             

You can also find the original bowls in my shop, HERE...

dandylion bowls

dandylion bowl

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are off to a great start for the week! ~ samos

Fresh from the Kiln

chocolate monsoon mug

red pod vine planter

Spotted Kaleidoscope mug

a muggy day

a drying mug

big handled mug

another drying mug

H O R S E LOVE

Appaloosa LoVe

I've loved horses since I was a little girl. I remember asking my parents for one for every birthday and Christmas until they finally gave in. My first horse was Gypsum, a short but stalky bay. We spent a lot of time together, that horse and I. You see, we didn't live on a ranch or a farm. Dad built a beautiful home on the outskirts of town, but we were still in the city limits. So we had to keep Gypsum somewhere else. Dad leased some pasture from Mr. Paquette that lived up the  highway. Gypsum came to us in February. Actually it was Valentine's Day if I remember correctly. Anyways, when summer came, I would sneak out of the house about 6 every morning and ride my bike about two miles to where Gypsum was. I'd catch her, groom and saddle her up and a way we'd go. My best friend lived on county road 140, so we'd head that way to see if she wanted to ride. More than not, she did and we'd ride all day...Ah, the memories...

Besides the love of horses is my love for art. I was always drawing and drawing horses was no exception. To this day, I still enjoy painting them. And lately, I've done quite a few. Here are a few of my latest works, I'm sure you've seen some of them, but I felt like sharing again. 

Qianili Ma

Painted Horse 

the Run

Running Free

Warrior Paint

Hope you all had a wonderful week and enjoy your weekend! ~ samos

G O L D + S P L A S H

© samos 

© samos

© samos

S A M O S + I M A G E K I N D

the Dark Hedges © samos 2014

 I added a new print to my ImageKind gallery. The Dark Hedges was taken when my husband and I were traveling in Northern Ireland this summer. Pictures don't do them justice. They're breathtaking! 

Balanced © samos 2014

Inside Zenia © samos 2014

Painted Horse © samos 2014

Koi © samos 2014

Vango + SAMOS

I'm selling on a new site! Well, it's not new new. They used to be called ARTtwo50 and are now called Vango. They are a little different than most of the online galleries I've worked with. There is a tier system in place. You are allowed to sell five pieces of original paintings for either $100 or $250. Once you have sold 5, you can move up a tier and sell 5 more paintings at $500. I believe there are three tiers. Like I said, I just signed up so I'll see how it goes. So far I've had views through the Vango app (which is only available through the Apple Store). I was going to check it out, but I have an Android. If you have an iPhone, download the app for free here and check out all the amazing art! Oh, if you purchase one of these five, there's FREE SHIPPING!!! How cool is that?! 

Here are the pieces that I have currently listed:

Last Day of Fall © samos

Warrior Paint © samos 

Yellow Woods © samos

Appaloosa LoVe © samos 

Memories © samos

One Day Left: #seemetakeover

Ghost Horse t shirt

Ripple of H2O t shirt

Today is the last day to vote for me and my work in the #seemetakeover creative project. What is it? 

The first 500 people to earn 1,000 points by July 11th will have their name and work take over the entire 25-story-tall billboard!  I'm already in the running. I need 384 more points for the Ghost Horse and 179 more points for Ripple of H2O!!!

Points are made off of sold t shirts, postcards, and "likes" of your work for that particular work that you are trying to get seen. If you have the time or the funds to support me, I would be filled with joy just knowing you have my back! You can click HERE for the Ghost Horse and HERE  for Ripple of H2O. If you are having any problems with supporting me, PLEASE don't hesitate to drop me an email, tweet me or message me on Facebook and I will be more than happy to either walk you through the process. 

See.Me in Times Square

dunes collage © samos 2014

On July 24th, See.Me is taking over the two biggest billboards in Times Square for one of the largest creative projects ever made. Thousands of creators from all around the world will show their work in an animated collage. I'm in and showing an image of a horse painting and my newest koi piece. It's an event that anyone can participate in and like most art exhibits there was an entry fee, but this particular one is quite different. In order for your work to be displayed you have to sell one T shirt with the image on it. See.Me takes care of the printing and shipping. For the first 500 participants that reach 1000 points, they get to have their name and image on the entire board. I have until July 11th to reach that goal and so far I only have 103 points. But that's okay. Even if I don't reach that number, I'm still excited to be a part of this awesome collaboration! So, to collect points, people can LIKE your work, purchase a T shirt for $26, or a postcard for $2. Each one is worth points. Liking a work is 1 point,  a post card is 10 and a t shirt is 100 points. So there you have it. My latest art venture! Click HERE or HERE to LIKE my work (or if you so choose) to buy a postcard or T shirt.

I almost forgot...

Qianli Ma

In a Ripple of H2O

these are the two pieces that I'm showing...

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!!! ~ Stephanie

H U B C A P S + B L O G T O U R S

my hubcap, an orange Koi © samos 2014

I have so much news to share this morning! Remember way back when I was painting a hub cap for the Landfill Art Project a couple years ago? Well, last week I received an email from the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley that my hubcap was one of 287 that was selected out of more than 1000 works in the Landfill collection to be on exhibit in the Second Time Around: the Hubcap as Art installation!!! It will be on display from September 7th until March  1, 2015. I am SO excited and hoping that my hubby and I will be able to make the trip this fall. I would LOVE to be there for the member party!

In other exciting news, my friend Kelly of the Happy Shack blog invited me a couple weeks ago to join in on a blog tour! For this one, there are four questions we are asked to answer, so here we go...

What am I working on?

I have been working on some paintings that I've been thinking about for some time. One is a very large abstract that I knew needed just a little something to complete it. After my husband and I returned from our excursion in Oahu this spring, I was inspired to paint koi again. So I moved this large painting from a wall that it was hanging on in the house and brought it back to the easel. It has yet to have any new paint on it, partly because I'm still in the  thought process. I don't like to rush these type of paintings. When I know what I want it to look like, I carefully plan it with sketches to figure out placement and color, and sometimes which technique I want to use. In the process of doing some sketches, I created this...

koi © samos 2014

How does your work differ from others of your genre? 

I work in several mediums and I like to incorporate some sort of abstract flair to whatever I'm working on. When I create my pottery, I try to use bold, bright colors and simple abstract designs. Lately I have become a little "freer" with my brush and playing with a more painterly technique. Painterly is a word, right? 

Why do you create what you do? 

Simply because it makes me happy! I absolutely LOVE losing myself in a work where time, chores, and world problems don't exist. 

How does your process work? 

Well I suppose that depends on what I'm working on at the time. When I'm painting, it changes with each work. If it happens to be a piece  on masonite, I first construct the canvas by building a wooden frame  out of 1x2 strips. Once they are attached to the masonite, I gesso the board and let it dry. If the work is of an animal, I sketch it out in pencil or watercolor before applying acrylic or oils. If the work happens to be a watercolor, sometimes I don't sketch at all, I just start painting. Now if I'm throwing pottery, I like to make sure my studio is cleaned up first before I start working. Then I get into my clay, cut and weigh it, make a ball, and then head to the wheel. It all depends on what I'm working on at the time and what material I'm using. 

I hope you have enjoyed the tour so far. I hope it continues with many more creative souls to meet and follow as you continue this journey. I have asked a few of my very talented art sisters to join us! 

Rene DeAnda is my dear sister that lives in Denver. She is a woman of many talents and is loved by all who knows her. You can see her work and read her thoughts on her blog the Creative Compiler of All Cooperative Components. 

Kelly Thiel is a dear friend and amazing sculptor that lives in Charleston, South Carolina. 
She works full time in her studio creating beautiful clay sculptures, is a mother, wife and lives life to the fullest. You can see her work and learn more about Kelly on her blog. 

Robin Norgren is a dear friend and soul sister who is also a woman of many talents. She is a gifted writer, a mother, military wife, entrepreneur...the list goes on and on. You can read more about Robin and see her creative flair on one of her blogs, Joesy's Art School. 

Down Time

playing with paint

Four weeks ago today I had a little accident while riding my horse. Long story short, I ended up with four broken ribs & a bruised body and ego. I'm well on my way to a full recovery but haven't been able to throw, paint, or do much of anything. Summer is here and I'm anxious to play in the garden, work in the yard, ride my horse again, and get back to working in the studio! So, in case if you were wondering if I've fallen off the face of the earth, I haven't. It was just my horse. 

Have a blessed Sunday my friends! ~ Stephanie