The Cardinal's Carol

Well hello there! There have been some big (decorating) changes at the ol' blog. I hope you like the new look! Most of it can be attributed to my very computer savvy (and much more patient that I) husband.

You probably have noticed this girl too:

I decided to call this painting "The Cardinal's Carol" after the pretty little red bird she's holding. Truth be told, I painted this piece for the purpose of having it be my banner. Pretty much none of my other paintings turn into nice banners as they are mostly very vertical instead of horizontal. I've had some good reactions to her since she's been up, so I did make a print of her that's HERE.

Here's a more detailed look at the girl and her birdie:
Well, I've been running and running with errands all day. And now I have a whole house to clean. What's the fun in that?! Ah well.... ;) I hope to sit down and paint very soon! Hope you are well and I will post more later....

~H

winter dolls

Lol, if you've been reading my blog for the past few minutes or so you've probably notices some extreme and crazy changes ;) I'm redecorating, so bear with me! I'm trying to get all fancied up for winter time....

and in the meantime, enjoy a photo of my dolls! I'm so excited we finally figured out large photos!

Christmas Folk Art....

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that I've added these three original folk art pieces to my shop! I've been saving these for a while, they're precious if I say so myself :)

http://audreyeclectic.bigcartel.com/

A Merry Thanksgiving To You

A very merry and bright Thanksgiving to you, my readers and friends, this Thanksgiving Day! It's a chilly one out here on the prairie--- yesterday it was nearly 80 degrees. Then in the night a blustery cold front moved through and its quite cold and blustery!

Luckily, the rabbits have nice fur coats to keep them cozy in their new hutch (which I know they're very thankful for! I know I am, its so much easier to clean!)

Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy wishing you a happy holiday ;)

Things I'm thankful for on this day:

~ A happy and healthy family

~ Christmas decor already out and ready to enjoy

~ New opportunities and new chances

~ Good books

~Good coffee

~ A turkey being smoked at my parent's house!

~ My gaggle of little adorable critters

~ You, for coming here and reading this and all the support and love! You inspire me to paint! And that is such a great gift!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!~

~h

Santa Claus is coming....to the shop!

Ho ho ho! I'm beginning the process of listing some of my show items in my shop so that they'll find some homes for the holidays! First up? These adorable handmade, hand painted santas!

I even rusted the jingle bells myself :) they are all so cute and each one has its own personality. They're all freshly listed in my art shop, so go HERE to take a look! Happy Holidays!~!

Tasha Tuesdays Post # 41

"I always wanted to be an illustrator, and so I am one."

-- Tasha Tudor, "Take Joy" interview

Happy Tuesday!~

It's been a really busy past few days! It doesnt help either that my gal and I have decided to bring out the Christmas decorations. I just couldn't stand it any more! It's time!

These past few days I've been thinking about what I'd like to make of the coming year. I suppose we all do this at this season. It's a time of reflection and regrouping. Taking stock and seeing what's working and what's not.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my writing-- a skill of mine that I love, but has often taken a back seat to art. When I was little I would sit for hours and draw and write. They went together so perfectly to me (although at the time the drawing and the writing were so far from perfect) and I wonder if I should do more with that.

Tasha made a career out of not just her pictures, but her words. Although I've read that the words didn't come as easy to her as the pictures, it is still impressive that she was able to move so effortlessly between illustrating other's stories and illustrating her own.

To be honest with you, this year hasn't been an easy one in regards to doing shows. There is so much build up to creating a backlog of art, setting up booths and paying fees, and of course putting in all the time and effort and money. I didn't sell one original painting this weekend, after three days of doing my best and putting together what I thought was a pretty lovely booth. The fellow sellers and the organizers of the show were wonderful to us. But the people....they just walked on by.

It's easy to get down-hearted about this, but I'm wondering too if this is subtle push in another direction. If things were going swimmingly with the show aspect, I probably would have a hard time finding it worth while to shift focus. But in this case....

I am hopeful. Tasha was always so sure and focused about what she wanted to be. Perhaps it's time I took some of that and started down some new paths. Are you with me?

Happy Tasha Tuesday!~

Heather

Scenes from a craft show

Hi everyone! Well we've got two days under our belts and one more to go! Lots of stuff has been packed into the last couple of days! I thought you might like to see a craft booth before it's an official craft booth :) here it is in transit:

That packed truck became this a few hours later:
Behold! The combo booth of Art by Bethany and Audrey Eclectic! Its definitely my largest and most packed booth yet. I love all the things out there on display, they're like my babies. Here are so other views:

A little vignette of original art and art buttons!

An Audrey Eclectic Winter Wonderland!

Pretty ladies all in a row:

Ornaments:

And something fun! If anything, I've had a bit of free press these past few days! On friday morning, one of my paintings was featured on the channel 8 news! Here's a pic of the news anchor talking about the show, and my art is among some of the items on the table
And then this morning one of the show organizers came to me and said "will you be on the radio for us?" and before I could say "uuuhhh...." there I was being interviewed by Carly Rush on BOB 92.9 ;) Of course I called my mama and then my husband to tell them before I went on ;) atleast I didnt giggle uncontrollably during the whole thing ;)

If you're in the Tulsa area and would like to come out to the show, tomorrow (Sunday) is the last day! Doors will be open from 11-5. We're right on the front wide center aisle. Maybe I'll see you there?

~H

Handy Dandy Craft Show Apron

Click on image to see larger view

I wanted to share with you guys a project I made today for my upcoming shows, and it cost me less than a dollar! Behold, my new craft show apron! I'm looking forward to having my very own since it makes keeping track of your cash during a show a lot easier and lets you have more freedom (as in you're not always guarding a cashbox). So here it is! My new cash apron:

This is just a standard canvas apron that you can get at the hardware store. I got mine at Lowes, and I know they carry them at Ace Hardware and even some craft stores (although I betcha they cost more at the craft store) it cost an amazing 77 cents!

It consists of a large front pocket divided into two sewn onto the main canvas apron. This one had a giant image of "Lowes" printed across the front...awesome if you're working on the roof, but not so much when you're trying to project craft show coolness!

All I did was cut a piece of red and cream toile I had laying around (you'll notice its the same fabric as some of my dolls!) into a size that would fit the front pocket. I made a nice seam for the top of the pocket and then just sewed on some crafty kitch. (My kitch consists of an old tintype printed on printable fabric, some vintage buttons and a piece of red ribbon. All if this I pretty much just dug out of my craft pile!)

When the fancyness was as I wanted it, I just pinned the fabric over the apron's pocket and sewed it on. Voila! I am by all accounts a very novice seamstress, and I even I managed to do this without it looking like a deranged home ec. project, so I have lots of faith you can do this too!

Just take a moment to look at your items and make your apron something that speaks of your 'look.' The apron will be like part of your craft show uniform, and is a great opportunity to infuse something utilitarian with your own style.

So go get your craft on! And look cute while you do it :)

~H

Tasha Tuesdays Post # 40

"There's an Old English saying, 'no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, November!'

It's a time of the year when you don't have the urgency of the plants and the garden. A time for moving indoors to enjoy home and hearth. All my friends get knitting and quilting urges in November. It's a time to enjoy the pleasures of a fire and a cup of tea."

-- Tasha Tudor, the Private World of Tasha Tudor

********

I must say, I am looking forward to such a time. Tasha obviously didn't do holiday craft shows ;) But I understand that urge to nestle it when its cold and bare outside. Here, the leaves are just passing their peek. Soon there will be no brilliant colors of autumn left. It's hard to fathom too that the season of snow is coming, and for some, is already here.

What will you be doing this November? Is it a time of rest for you? Or is your busy season just beginning...

Happy Tasha Tuesday~

h

Nearly Show Time

In an epic turn of events, we all decided to get sick this weekend. Sure, I've got my biggest craft show all year coming up in a few days and dolls to finish and ornaments to make....but so much for best laid plans ;)

Today we're finally resting up and trying to feel better. All I managed to do this weekend was cut myself some new bangs (you like?) and start on a few ornaments. Poor little gal has two ear infections!

But don't fret, I'll be ready! You can find me this weekend at Heart of Tulsa (An Affair of the Heart) at the Tulsa Fairgrounds friday, saturday and sunday selling lots and lots of handmade goodies. Beaucoup holiday items as well!

Hope you all had a good (and healthy!) weekend. Hope we do too this time around...

~H

Here Comes Santa Claus....

It's a rough job, this folk art bit ;) I've been watching holiday movies such as A Christmas Story, Take Peace, Little Women....all in an effort to get in a blissed-out holiday frame of mind so I could make holiday dolls for you guys!~

So you wanna see what came of these strenuous labors? Well, take a look!:

This is a large santa bust that I created as a fun little holiday decoration. It can hang ornament-style or also be put in a wreath or garland. He's got lots of personality....I find that I tend to go for the more sober-eyed santas. That's just me, I guess ;) My mom collected santas when I was a kid and my favorite ones were those wooden eastern European style santas with the world weary gazes. So that sort of carried over into my art as well.

These are some fun little santas I made completely as 3D paintings! You could stick them in a stocking, tuck them into greenery on the mantle or whatever your little heart desires. You know how I love a bearded man, and Santa is one of the quintessential bearded men ;)

They're all being prepped for my show starting on the 19th! It's coming up so fast. Yikes! But I feel confident in my stock pile, and I think that the things I'll be making now will go directly into my shop for you to peruse. So tell me, what would you like to see in the shop? Santas? Snowmen? Angels? Nativity? I am at your service!

Now...its a rainy day and I have a bit of a cold. I feel like I need to do a little bit more movie watching--- I mean, research--- to fully get in the spirit for creating!

Til Next Time,

~H

Tasha Tuesdays Post # 39

Good afternoon! It's a brisk and breezy day out here on the prairie, though warm. I've heard that they've already had snow in Vermont! How special that must be. I am so in the holiday spirit this year! It's about all I can do to not drag the Christmas tree out ;)

Thinking of holidays and Vermont, of course its a good time to think about Tasha!

Lately I've been thinking about the Frances Hodgson Burnett book, The Secret Garden, which Tasha illustrated. It's such a classic story--- one that immediately takes you back to another place and time, back to the windswept moors of England. No doubt Tasha felt a kinship for the story, not just for its English origins but her own childhood story had a bit of a Secret Garden twist to it.
The Secret Garden is about a little girl named Mary Lennox who has always been a bit of a shut-away child. Born in India, her parents had no time for her and she spent most of her young years in the care of servants, creating for herself a nasty temper, an inability to connect with others and no sense of belonging. After a Cholera outbreak leaves her orphaned, she is sent off to England to be under the care of a distant uncle in his remote manor house in the English countryside.

This uncle is seriously grieving the death of his wife and spends most of his time trying to avoid his home, family and life in general. Left to her own devices, Mary explores the big dark house, meets a secret cousin, strange servants, a winsome boy who can talk to animals and then happens to find a locked away garden that has been hidden for years on the estate's grounds.Throughout these adventures her little hard heart beings to soften and she comes to find several lessons in healing and creating love and beauty where once there was nothing.
My own little blonde beauty at a public garden this November, it was very much "The Secret Garden."

Tasha too had great upheaval in her childhood that she learned to make the best of. In the 1920s, she was only 9 when her parents divorced. Her father went on to several other marriages and family situations while her mother decided to chuck it all and take up painting in New York during the jazz age. None of these grown up endeavors left room for a nine year old girl and so she was packed up and sent off to live with family friends and on to a huge adventure and what she would later call 'the best thing to ever happen to me.'

The Mikkelsons were a rowdy and bohemian bunch, though of longstanding New England stock. "Aunt Gwen" was the granddaughter of Nathaniel Hawthorn. The children were in effect let to run wild in the countryside, put on plays and write stories, stay up way past their bedtime, and ultimately pursue their own creativity in ways that no doubt helped Tasha flourish as an artist and writer.

Both stories intertwine in a way that is so interesting to me. Both situations have rather somber and neglectful undertones, but in the end, each little girl learns how to find her own way and also find love and joy in unexpected places.

It's definitely a lesson we can all glean something from--- as often times we think that situations have to be perfect in order to find happiness. But sometimes its the hardships, the unexpected changes, and the new situations that change us the most, and for the better.

And so with that thought I wish you happy Tasha Tuesday!~ Hope its a bright and beautiful one no matter if you have snow or clear sunny skies!~

~H

SALE! Always the bridesmaid, never the bride....

Oh, it's not often that I have such a sale! But I figured it was time. There are a few paintings in my collection that are desperate for a new home! They've been fawned over and taken to shows and made such happy debuts...alas, they seem to be 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride.' They want to change that!

So in an effort to make all their little dreams come true...and to offer you a chance at some fabulously discounted artwork just in time for Christmas....I'm offering several pieces at a very discounted price, at least 50% off. You can find all these lovely pieces HERE in my shop's sale room!

Perhaps there's someone there, just waiting for you? A dashing young gentleman, a group of girl singers, darling little angels....something for everyone, to be sure!

~H

Things get frosty....

How do you like my new little snowmen? They're pretty sweet! And they smell so good, I aged them in the yummiest concoction of coffee and tea and vanilla and cinnamon ;)

Everything about them in handmade....even their scarves! I knitted them myself! If only real girl scarves were as quick to knit up as snowmen scarves ;)

Back to dollmaking....

~H

A November Frenzy

Darling dears, it's been a busy week. And when I say busy, I mean busy. This weekend alone we had our anniversary, a 2 day craft show, and halloween. We still haven't gotten around to celebrating our anniversary ;) so needless to say, days have been packed....

Friday though when I got home between setting up my booth, I found a bunch of brand new postcards, hot off the press! They are absolutely my most favorite cards so far. Everything from English Duchesses and Hedge Hogs, to folklore girls in pointy hats standing in snowy fields. They're lovely lovely, and their backs are especially lovely. I used the image of the back of an actual vintage postcard I own to create them.

And I also love my two postcards that are matted, I finally found a way to capture my oval paintings in postcard form--- I used the image of a vintage photograph matte to set them. They look bea-uuuu-tiful!

And they can be yours today! Just hop over to my shop and grab a pack!

I wanted to take a minute to share with you some pretty things I've been meaning to share. Like these plates, for instance. My two amazing friends Tony and Beth got them for me because once I saw them at Anthropologie I sort of got a mad crush. I think I spotted them the first day or two that I was working there as a temp and would squeak and squawk about them every time I went by. I think my dear friends noticed and so they presented me with the whole darn set of 4 for my birthday!

They are too pretty to eat off of for sure....I have bought plate hangers and plan to display them in my bedroom as soon as I get up the gumption to try to hang them up. They are my favorites, and I think they look like the girls I paint! And now I officially want to paint a lady with a ship in her hair...a la Georgiana, whom I've already gone on and on to you about ;)
Oh, but it appears I wasn't done ;) The other day the little gal and I were pillaging at an antiques mall when I started to notice Georgiana everywhere. It was a bit bizarre. I saw a large framed print of the famous painting of her in the hat (I posted it here) and then I came upon this little set of matted cameo paintings, one of which is pictured above....

I thought "That looks like Georgiana!" and I picked it up and turned it over to read "Elizabeth Duchess of Devonshire." I was totally confused because it looked just like Georgiana. The hair, the hat, the attitude. Well, I thought "This is obviously miss-named!" and bought it.

Later at home with my old pal google, I googled "Elizabeth Duchess of Devonshire" and found that the title belonged to the Duke's second wife--- incidentally his mistress of many years and Georgiana's BFF, whom he married after Georgiana's death in 1806. My first reaction was "I dont want a painting of the mistress!" but upon using common sense (and ye olde google), I'm pretty sure the painting is of Georgiana and just miss-named. Because the painting just looks like her for one, and also because by the time "Bess" became "Elizabeth Duchess of Devonshire" that big hair and corseted dress would have been extremely out of fashion. Don't you think? Right? ;)

So, anyhow....that's what I've been up to at the moment. Overwhelmed with things to do, inspiration to filter, old paintings to sleuth, and oh yeah--- two more shows to stock! I'm working on christmas doll things at the moment! Santas and snowmen. And yes....I'm aware I skipped Tasha Tuesday yesterday ;) but sometimes life happens and....it's my blog and I'll do what I want to ;)

Well, back to Christmas frippery.....

~H

An Eclectic Re-Cap

Well, my friends, another Indie Emporium has come and gone! At this point it feels like meeting up with old buddies and getting to see what everyone is up to. I was happy to be set up with my pal and partner in artsy crime, Art By Bethany, and we held down our little fort of folk art and sock buddies and art dolls ;)

Here is a photo of the entire Audrey Eclectic booth this year (the best so far, if you ask me!) and me and my bearded helper (also accountant/tax man/display builder/ornament maker/husband):

Now how about some up close looks, yes? Because I need to remember how to do this again, at least one or two more times! Here are the dolls, all excited and ready to make their first show debut! They were nestled in a suitcase with an old 1930s dressing gown flowing out of it...very decadent ;)
Another favorite little corner with sailors and school girls and an old rusty scale. I borrowed the scale from my dad--- its an old nail scale (you would pour the nails into the scoop at the top and then you can pick up up and pour them out, its very handy!) it has loads of personality! So I filled it with dolls ;)
A tin full of lapel pins and the original Polly's Pumpkin. She's off at her new home, but I now have her forever in postcard form, necklaces, AND prints! So don't fret :)

My friend Tony took this photo of me 'merchandising'. I'm awfully proud of this jewelry stand! We made it ourselves. Its an old crusty rail post jazzed up with some vintage looking knobs from Anthropologie. Its pretty fancy schamncy! My husband did all the technical work on it, I supervised ;)

More folk-tasticness...

Postcards! I have several new designs in postcards, they literally arrived on my doorstep the afternoon the show was to open! It was perfect timing! Can you spot the two I made with old vintage photo mattes? It looks very sweet, especially framed.

We had a good time at this show, and it's only the beginning! Next you'll see me and Beth together at Heart of Tulsa on Nov. 19-21 at the Tulsa Fairgrounds. It will be my biggest event ever. Three days! At least its close to home! If you're coming, just look for these smiling faces:

I think I will also be making an appearance at Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar in OKC this year in December. So three shows!

In other words....I need to get back to work!!!

Thanks to everyone who came to see me this weekend and those that I met for the first time! I appreciate you so much!

~H