August 31, 2009

me and my etsy : On Sale Section!


All of them here are now on my On Sale section
at the shoppe. Together with other originals, cards
and art prints. Some big sale here, peeps! I mean it.
Every once awhile I will add more stuff to that
section. Oh my!

It's a perfect time to have this section together with
my new marvelous etsy banner. Yes, you should check
it out. It rocks, I tell you.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5680904&section_id=6380183

August 30, 2009

Sunny Sunday

I have to go to the office (again!!) but I decide to
woke up early this morning and went to my fave
craft supplies market for a quick shopping. I have
this custom order that I can't wait to share with you
as soon as its finished.

Afterwards I took a little walk to the nearest second
hand market and found this cute little ceramic kitty!
I love long walks on weekends and I hope you have
a wonderful weekend too. Hugs!

August 28, 2009

me and collage : a new postcard series

I call this Exquisite Envelopes. I used all those envelopes
that has been sent to me from all over the world. I illustrate
them first before I collaged them. At the moment I think
have like seven pieces that I will try to finish this following
week. I love to make something different:)

August 26, 2009

me and crafts : upcycled pillowcases

Some pictures I took from my fave craft shop
where I sell my craftworks such as those pillowcases.
They are made of second hand Japanese hankies.
I love making stuff from hankies!

August 25, 2009

me and their home : my ballerina cards

bought my ballerina blank cards earlier this year.
She has a daughter that runs this dance course and she
finds these cards just perfect for her. But instead of using
those cards to be send to people, look what have they done!

Oh I'm soo hapy to see this! It's an entrance window to
the course and it feels like unusually cute gallery for those cards.
Don't you think? Thanks much, Georgiamarbles!

August 24, 2009

me and collage : two new pieces!

The first piece is for a postcard collage competition in Sweden
that I joined (www.cutandpaste.in) and the second one is for
Idul Fitri's card. Idul Fitri is like Christmas for Moslem people.
I'm thinking of making more for this big day so we'll see what
I can come up with;) Have a Marvelous Monday, peeps!

August 23, 2009

Sunny Sunday

I have to go to the office today (Boo!), but I feel
so excited to share you these..my collage pouches!
Made of vinyl that I print my collages on with
matching bandana color fabric as the lining. Sweet!
Have a sunny Sunday everyone!

August 22, 2009

me and my etsy : The Chosen Four Pack!

You can have them all as blank cards for
10 USD including shipping OR as art prints
set for 20 USD including shipping. What an
offer, right?

August 21, 2009

me and guest blogger : This Sunday Child

Out of the boisterous blue-clad motor bikers, comes the man in the bamboo bike. Like many of his townsfolk, Mr. B is a fervent fan of the local football team Arema, who proudly called themselves The Aremania. That day, a big birthday celebration of the Singo Edan (Crazy Lion) is to be held so that from every corners of Malang and its neighbouring villages and smalltowns, the soccer supporters come parading before they finally reached Gajayana Stadium.

Even from the painted bodies and plush lion toting house-sized flag carriers, Mr. B managed caught quite an attention. “I do get invited to parades and parties and the likes, thanks to my bike. They say it’s unique.” In fact it is. Excepting the gears, chains, pedals, and bolts, everything is made of bamboo and wood. Unconsciously green, Mr. B’s bamboo bike is 90% biodegradable.

“It didn’t really take that long to make, the hardest part is to collect the raw materials really.” For the bike, Mr. B use a special kind of bamboo called the Ori Bamboo or in its native tongue Pring Ori that only springs up in certain areas. Ori Bamboo is light, strong and flexible yet took longer time to mature. “I already had few offers for the bike, and quite a lot of money too, but you have to wait for the bamboo first. Let it grow you know,”

”I want to make something for the kids to play with, so at first it was really haphazard with no measurements or whatsoever but just did it anyway,” said he, “this is the third and I think I’m getting a lot better but the bike still needs improvements, it is not as easy as riding the normal ones. It’s wobbly and harder to control, and you have to use your own feet for brakes,” said Mr. B with a gummy smile that reveals two front teeth missing. “That’s why I didn’t wear blue, I’d feel bad if I lagged behind. We will rejoin the parade in a bit, but we’re going to sit here for a while. My son could use a little rest.”

I wish I could talk some more with him but if I don’t have a plane to catch, not to mention that the parade could cause a lot of traffics. Bearing that in mind I asked too many question at too little time before I realized I forgot to ask his name. All I can remember is that he has a big B carved in one side of the bike. I’m guessing that’s probably his initial. But then I could be wrong. So I tried too Google him out, instead of finding his name, I found other bamboo bikes. His idea in using bamboo for bike-making may not be the first or the most original. But in my opinion, with children in mind, his bike definitely looks the most fun. And for this while I decided to call him Mr. B for Bapak (meaning father), Brilliant, Bicycle, and of course Bamboo.

* This Sunday Child is a succulent woman who loves to draw, sew, listen to metal music and co-owner of a craft shop. Shop at www.LaCurioshar.etsy.com and blog at www.thissundaychild3.blogspot.com

August 20, 2009

Collage Comrade Column : Molly Bosley

Dear Molly,

Thank you so much for taking this opportunity to be featured on my blog. I am a pretty new collage artist therefore I always love to bump into another one especially with such an inspiring techniques, materials and concept. So, let’s start with the interview now shall we?

1. Please tell me a bit about yourself and how you are first finding collage as one of your creative expressions?
Two years ago I moved to Brooklyn right after I graduated college. It’s a wonderful place and I am inspired by the strange and fascinating things I see everyday. I first started collaging when I was very young but I only seriously started doing it in the last three years, when I discovered a store that sold old books and encyclopedias for only $.25. I fell in love and finally found what I had been waiting for.

2.Tell me about your creative process in making a collage? Is there any specific ritual or just wait for the inspirations to come or any other way?
Well, I usually spend a whole day just cutting out images from books and then once I have a good collection, I lay them all out on the floor around me. I kind of just play with the composition and what “feels” right. I like to layer a lot so I’ll try and get a bunch of different background images, fabric, doilies or old pattern pieces. I have really vivid and wild dreams so sometimes that influences the look of different pieces if I’m thinking about it. Sometimes I'll work on somethings and put it aside for a few weeks and then come back to work on it again when i have fresh eyes.

3.What kind of materials that you have been using or even try out after all these time? How many of them is actually works and are there any failures?
Collage is definitely a trial and error process. I like to research about unusual techniques to give the art variety and this way it will grow over time and you will see differences over the years. I think it is important to learn as many different ways of achieving the affect you are going for. I usually stick to the basics in terms of materials but lately I have been experimenting with cork and the surfaces that I am working on. I also really love learning new ways of transferring images. When you do this process it’s like Christmas because you never know how it will turn out.

4. Apart from making collages, are there any other craftworks that you make?
Yes! I also embroider but not enough. I wish I did this more. I knit and make sculptures and jewelry too. I make all of the beads out of the same books as the collages so they kind of having the same old and worn look to them. Silhouettes and shadows have fascinated me for years and years so I started cutting paper silhouettes and making dioramas. This is something I am really proud of because it takes a lot of dedication and a steady hand. Soon I hope to start making dolls out of found objects. I have been thinking about doing this for awhile now.

5. Now, let’s talk about selling the craftworks. Does it take a long time for you to decide that you can sell your collages or even actually live out of it?
Well I have only recently, in the past year, been putting myself out there and exhibiting. So far it’s been pretty successful but I don’t think I am at the point yet where I can live off of this as income. The problem is there isn’t enough time to work on art and sell it when I still have a full time job. In the next few weeks I hope to start selling at street fairs and markets on the weekends and see how that goes. I thought it would be hard to let go of these pieces that I’ve sold but I am happy that other people will display them in their home or give them as gifts and be able to appreciate them in a whole new way.

6.I notice that several collage artists are also into making and selling kits and organize workshops. I love doing workshops and hoping to have more next year. How about you?
I’ve never done a collage workshop. I think this is great for people just getting started and people who are curious as to how to go about the whole process but to me it is important to maintain the uniqueness in my artwork. Making art is a very personal and organic method so following a kit just doesn’t seem natural to me. I think you can learn about of useful and interesting techniques from these workshops but part of it should also be an instinctual course of action.

7. Have you done any exhibitions? Would you like to tell us what was it like?
I have had great success in the last few months. This past summer I have exhibited in four shows and I have another solo exhibition coming up in November. It’s a lot of work to get organized and submit for these shows. I would rather spend my free time working on art instead of managing the business side of it but this is really equally as important if you want anyone to see your work. The opening receptions are really fun too! People come and want to talk to you about your work and are very supportive.

8.I’ve notice also that there are so many medium where we can put our collages in apart just make them into wall-hanging or ACEO. How about you? What kind of medium that you’ve used or plan to use for your collages?
I think it’s great to expand the idea of how to display your work. I would like to make some of my work functional and have thought about doing work on housewares recently. I would also like to make prints of my work so that they can be more affordable. I have collaborated with a few bands to do their album art and this is a great way to work with other talented artists and display the art in a different context, perhaps with someone elses interpretation behind it.

9.What do you like most about making collages? Is there anything that you don’t like about it?
I am not a very patient person and I love the satisfaction of completing collages in one sitting. I can work on many pieces all at once and when I’m done I am surrounded by my accomplishments just from that day. The only downside of collage art is that sometimes I feel like I should be doing more. Sometimes I think ‘anyone can do this’ and ‘I’m not showing my full potential or spectrum of what I am capable of.’ I try to incorporate illustrations into the pieces or do processes that take a bit longer so that I feel it has a little more value and weight to it. If I really thought this was a problem I would move on to something else but I really love doing it and I love what I make so I’m just going to keep exploring and expanding.

10. Any last words? And please share us your email, shop, gallery or anything that you would like to share with us.
I guess I just want to explain a little about what this art means to me. I want people to look at it and interpret it how they see it. I like to use images that do not have any context attached to them so that the audience can see it how they wish. I want to give people the feeling of memories or nostalgic scenes from the past. The intimacy in my work is reflected in the size and worn, used feeling, which draws people in physically and emotionally. The family photographs in my artwork are way of creating personalities and lives of people I never knew. I love to imagine what their lives could have been like when the photo was taken.

I will be setting up a website in the new few months and hopefully will have an etsy store available with prints and original works for sale! In the mean time if you want to contact me about purchasing the art or just any questions about it please feel free to email me at MollyBosley@gmail.com and check out my flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/mustardfestival.

My artwork is on display until the end of August at Red’s Tapas Bar if you are in the Brooklyn area and would like to see it in person. The food is great too!

August 18, 2009

Trade Tuesday: Ravencolours

These are definitely my kind of photos. So imagined my
excitement when I met ravencolours at etsy and she said
yes to my offer to do a swap. What I remember then she
apologizes that her piece will take longer to be sent to me
because she's not happy with the prior result. She wants it
to be perfect. What an awesome etsian!

I also believe that doing a trade is the same like doing a
real purchase transaction. Everything has to be in the same
quality. Therefore when that first photo called Quiet Colors
arrive I was totally impressed with it! It's just way more
gorgeous than it shows on her shop. Now, check it out at
you'll be so impressed to when your piece arrive.

August 17, 2009

me and collages : a bit many new pieces:)

Apart from joining an awesome bazaar in an art collective
the whole long weekend, I managed to finished all these.
Three series, two for another Halloween cards and the
others for art prints. What do you think, dearie?

They available today at the shoppe. Woot!
Oh, there is one more new piece that I should share
as soon as my scanner can do its job properly.

August 16, 2009

Sunny Sunday

For the whole Saturday until Monday I joined this bazaar
of second hand stuff at an art collective for the celebration
of our independence day. I bring along some of my craftworks
too and having such a good time! I hope your Sunday was
also as fun as me. Hugs!

August 14, 2009

me and stuff : orange is the new black

I am so loving these two. Find them last weekend.
I've been looking for that kind of bag for awhile to
be my laptop bag and that whole set of rulers and
measurement tools in a gorgeous tin pencil box is
just rad. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs!

August 13, 2009

me and books : cool coloring books

I have this one old book shop that always makes me
excitedly happy everytime I pay a visit. It has all
kinds of kitschy stationary and school books that
makes me feeling nostalgic. You know that kind of
feeling, right?

Now, these are some coloring books for children
that I found there last Sunday. Look at those
illustrations! Lovely! There are vegetables, flowers,
and birds series.

August 12, 2009

me and collage : an idea development

I love to see that my collages works this way.
I think it's swell indeed. The question now is
to find the perfect supplier. Oh exciting!
What do you think, peeps?
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