Koi + Guiness

Blarney Castley © samos 2014

Ha! Thought that would get your attention! Koi + Guiness? What on earth is she talking about?! Well, if you've noticed, I haven't been on the blog much...Ah hem...I do have a fairly good excuse though.

A few months ago I surprised my husband for his birthday with tickets to see Garth Brooks (in Ireland). If you hadn't heard, the  concert didn't happen. Long story and no need to dive into it here, but we still flew over to the land of enchantment and had the best time ever!!! 

Here are a few shots from our holiday...

sheep in norther Ireland © samos 2014

Trim © samos 2014

North Ireland countryside © samos 2014

Now, you're probably wondering where the koi comes in to play. Remember my last post where I was talking about my art possibly being seen in Times Square? Well, my Koi in H2O made it BIG in Times Square!!! It was shown Saturday night, July 26th on the corner of 46th and Broadway! 

Here's a snapshot of what it looked like:

my name on the billboard in Times Square

Koi in H2O in Times Square

I also had three other works shown in a collage with other artists. I found one of them, the Run. But I still haven't found the other two...

Hoping to stay in touch a little better this month! 

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

~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. 

Happy 4th of July

© samos 2014

Thank you to all who have served our country and who are still serving today. 

We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful land with all our freedoms. 

God Bless you all!!! 

Happy Fourth of July! 

My dad (on the left) and veterans at the American Legion in Salida, CO 

work or play?

proof I was in the studio today

Up at six and throwing till noon. 

I ran out of bats so I'm off to meet my girlfriend for a day of fun in the sun! 

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

oxox

samos

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