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Showing posts with label Kelly Warren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kelly Warren. Show all posts

Monday, June 9, 2014

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


Monday, July 2, 2012

Truth is...


looking up © samos


I haven't been taking the time to read my friends' blogs lately and I feel bad about it. I really do want to know how they're doing, what new art they're making, and the ups and downs they are experiencing.
truth is...

I'm having a hard time balancing my time. I am trying to get into a new routine everyday listing new work in all three ETSY shops, painting, and working in the pottery studio. This leads to time management again. Where do I find the time to just read for pleasure without feeling guilty for not getting any work done?

truth is...

I don't go out for hikes while my husband is home from work, which means the dogs don't get their much needed walks in and I feel like a slug. (Although we did get in an hour ride on the horses this morning and I helped a little load/unload hay this afternoon.)

truth is...

I'm just tired today and want to relax, but I feel like I can't because I should work on my hubcap for the landfillart project, edit and load images, and get those planter dishes thrown.

Know what though? I'm going to shut down this computer after making this post and going for a walk with my dogs! It rained today and there's nothing like the mountains after a good rain.


*I made the time to read two blogs today. My friend Leanne's "From Chaos Comes Happiness" and Kelly's "Artful Happiness". Leanne started a blogging revolution called Keeping It Real. Today's blog post is my first day participating.

Monday, May 7, 2012

101010 Project: Kelly Warren

As we enter our second week of the 101010 Project,
I'd like to introduce the ever so talented Kelly Warren! 



Name of business: Happy Shack Designs
Social media links:

For my website, visit http://www.happyshackdesigns.com
For my jewelry on Etsy, visit http://happyshackdesigns.etsy.com
For my art and photos on Etsy, visit http://kellywarrenphotoart.etsy.com

Years in business: 7
Brief Bio: An artist with a short attention span, I create work in artisan jewelry, fine art photography, mixed media, and book arts. I've also been known to sew a thing or two. I work full-time by day as the Director of Student Life and Leadership Development at a large four-year college in Florida, and am the lucky mama to wonderfully sweet eight-year-old twin red-headed daughters. I have been married to a handsome man of great patience who's put up with my art shenanigans for 17 years now.
Collaborations: a good idea?
My experience with collaborations has been fairly limited, and I’m not sure the experience I did have would be considered a true collaboration, but I’ll share it and let you decide!
In 2008, I did was a large Fat Book Swap. There were ten women involved and ten themes. The idea was to create 10 cards of each theme (basically the same 4 x 4 card 10 times), meaning we each created 100 total 4 x 4 cards. We then sent everything to the person doing the organizing, the wonderful Roni (http://inkstainswithroni.blogspot.com/). I was amazed at how quickly Roni gathered each participants’ work and sent us out back out a 100-card package of wonderfulness! I had a special box custom crafted to keep my full set in and enjoy looking back through them often.
This collaboration was a challenge for me as I’d just gotten started in mixed media, but it really pushed me to try new things and I found that I really enjoyed the 4 x 4 format. The deadlines pushed me a little bit, but only having to come up with one design for each theme (even though I had to create 10 of each design) helped some. Would I do it again? Absolutely. I learned tons of new techniques, made some great blog friends, and have a beautiful box chock full of 100 pieces of original art to show for it! You can see my entries in the collaboration at this link: http://happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com/search?q=Fat+Book+Entry&max-results=20&by-date=true
For my website, visit http://www.happyshackdesigns.com
For my jewelry on Etsy, visit http://happyshackdesigns.etsy.com
For my art and photos on Etsy, visit http://kellywarrenphotoart.etsy.com

To read more about the 101010 Project: click HERE