My Studio Pics While Hibernating

January is my time to hibernate in the studio, wear warm fuzzy slippers and clean, purge and organize. I have to have a clean organized work space before I am comfortable to work on projects. That's just how I'm wired.  So I'm sharing my work space pics with you and a little bit about my favorite objects in my home studio.

The first picture above shows how I organize my card inventory.  The pull out drawers from the Container Store fit within an Ikea table.  On the wall is my Stone Arch Bridge Festival of the Arts poster I drew for the event in 2011. I love how my new rug matches the colors and sweeping arches in the print.

 I roll my chair over to the computer side of my studio where there are filing cabinets with 2 horizontal wooden doors creating a table top and flat file.  The table holds my computer, fax, scanner and printer.  The shelf on the wall holds extra framed prints that I rotate during the year when I need a change of scenery.  Oh, and more card storage...

Rolling back to the drawing side of my studio is where I sketch. I had this table during my college years at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The side table is from Ikea (great having an Ikea in Minneapolis). The floral print was done by my long time friend, artist, college roommate, Randi, who passed away unexpectedly. I never get tired of looking at her watercolor and it reminds me of what is important in life and how short life can be.

The studio is painted yellow and is bathed in sunshine so it's a happy place to be. The shelves hold art books, favorite magazines, shipping supplies for my Etsy orders and notebooks for Surtex portfolios.  I made a foam core bulletin board and covered it in fabric and placed it on an easel for self critiques. There are radish illustrations and a section from my new poppy fabric pinned up right now. I have lots of my fabric stored in the white boxes. The toy chest holds framed prints between art shows.  My chair holds one of my Ginkgo fabric pillows created.  You'll be seeing more of these soon in Poppy versions.

My son Taylor let me have one of his Garrison Keillor stencil collage paintings for my shelf.  There are pages from Keillor's book glued in the background.  Next to it is bittersweet I grow in the alley and hope to draw into a design this year.

I was deep into mosaic for a time and this was my personal inspirational creation. It started with an actual fortune cookie fortune that is under glass in the middle that reads."You are headed in the right direction.  Trust your instincts."  Other parts say, "Do what you love" and "Believe in yourself."  The coaster next to it was designed by friend Linda  with an inspirational message by Thoreau.  The African Violet plant is from my sister Cathy that blooms with purple flowers.

These two Raku pots were what I made at a class in Grand Marais with my friend Marlene. We had so much fun at the North House Folk School class!  

 On my shelf next to my framed thistle print is a souvenir Kusmi Tea tin from my trip to Paris.  I was so fortunate to chaperone my son's high school trip to Paris and Barcelona and soak up so much art and culture.

 This antique Art Deco cologne bottle with its squared look has always been a favorite of mine. The Frank Lloyd Wright design frame holds a picture of me with my husband Mitch and son Taylor.  Mitch is a graphic designer and Taylor is an artist as well so we have a pretty creative household.

I spend so much time in my studio, it has to be comfortable, functional, and beautiful. I hope it inspires you to think about your own creative space and how you can make it your own personal haven.

Swedish Institute Inspiration

I like to chose a museum to visit on my birthday and this year I chose the Swedish Institute near downtown Minneapolis.  It began as a Swedish family's castle-like mansion that later became the Institute and this year opened the very modern Cultural Center attached by a hallway to it.  We weren't offered a 'swedish discount' for being a Lindgren but went anyway. It was very busy with holiday visitors checking out the Nordic Christmas exhibit and lace making exhibit.  I took pictures of images, patterns and colors for inspiration.  

main dining room

Ceiling pattern

The Salon

Detail of corner

Lace making

women had this on their lap to hold their lace work

 fireplace detail

tile on one of the many fireplaces

Norwegian Christmas setting

cookie ornaments

paper cut ornaments

paper cut border at base of the Christmas tree

Iceland table setting

Grandma's Christmas Candy

Grandma's original recipe

My Grandma Rieniets was a great cook and baker.  At Christmas time, we all looked forward to her Crispie Chunkie candy made with Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes, peanuts and held together with a chewy glaze. I don't know why but we could never get enough of it, but it was addictive.  She wrote the recipe down and her tradition has been passed down to my generation.  I made two batches and ate most of it myself!  My Mom had it waiting at our family Christmas get together this week.

For Christmas I decided to make her beloved recipe into a special gift for my Mom and sisters.  I took her handwritten recipe and scanned it into the computer.  Then I made it into a digital file and sent it to Spoonflower, a digital fabric printer, and had it printed onto cotton fabric.  The results were amazing!  To see her handwriting on the fabric, enlarged to fit a 12 x20" towel, with all its character, was just what I hoped for.  There wasn't a lot of border left around the recipe since Grandma wrote right to the edges, so I added a top piece of fabric.  I wrapped them up and took them to Iowa for Christmas.

Her recipe printed on fabric

My Mom with her tea towel

My sister Cathy with her gift

My sister Connie holding her gift

Mom and my sisters opened their presents up at the same time and it took a second to figure out what it was.  "That's Grandma's handwriting!  How did you get Grandma's handwriting on fabric?"  They were really excited to have this personal gift of a cherished memory of Christmas preserved.  

Show Time!

My booth at No Coast Craft-o-Rama.

It was a busy month of shows this year with No Coast Craft-o-Rama, Bloomington Theatre & Art Center, Master Framers, and Women's Art Festival.  More than once, I'd run out of a certain card or print not knowing what would be popular this year.  The Twin Cities landmarks were very popular including Minnehaha Falls and the St. Paul Conservatory because people got engaged there or married there, shared a first date or family picnic.  It's always fun to hear people's personal connections with my art subject matter.  The same is true with my flowers or vegetables. The strawberry cards reminded people of picking them at their Grandma's garden or the blueberry card reminded them of hunting for wild ones and we'd share where we had success by our cabin. I found that the Cardinal is a very popular bird and I really enjoyed the little boy who picked out my fox print to hang in his bedroom.  My baby snow owl art and cards sold out quickly.

My fabric fat quarters were equally popular with customers. I cannot believe how many quilters there are!  Many people bought them for their quilter friends who said they can never have too big of a 'stash' and admire unique designer patterns.

I get asked how I create my art and have a booklet to show them how I draw everything by hand in pencil first and then scan it into the computer and redraw all the lines into solid flat color shapes in layers that resemble a silk screen print.  It makes more sense to see the actual pencil drawings and digital stages of the process.

I always take notes at the shows of what people like or want to see next year.  One guy wants to see two more cardinal illustrations to make a grouping.  Many people buy multiple cards to group and frame and some want to see much larger prints in the future. It's always humbling to hear how they love my style and have my work framed in their home, or hear from bungalow home owners that they want to add some of my pieces to fit the architecture yet it looks modern to fit today's style. My mission is accomplished!

So thank you to all who came out to my shows this month.  I enjoyed getting to meet you and see how you respond to my art. Now it will be fun to get back to creating new art for next year's show.

Frank Freaks Year in Review

Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright Home

 

It's been a dream year for us 'Frank Freaks' as my sister Cathy, niece Jess and I travelled and toured three big Frank Lloyd Wright sites in the past 12 months.  The first trip was intentionally planned as my sister's 50th birthday trip and research for my business to Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, the amazing home built over a waterfall for the Kaufmann family celebrating it's 75th Anniversary. It was a beautiful October day we visited and took the morning tour.  My intent was to study his use of geometric shapes in design, how he used native materials in the construction, how he blended interior design elements and of course, to spent a lot of money in the gift shop in the name of research and leave samples of my cards with the gift shop manager.  Kentuck Knob was also on the agenda that day and did not disappoint.

Taliesin West

Then in Spring when the usual mid May date for touring Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Chicago was moved to June due to the G8 Summit and now didn't interfere with my Surtex trade show in New York, trip two seemed like destiny. Jess and I drove down from Minneapolis to eastern Iowa and Cathy drove us to Chicago.  Again it was a beautiful June day of touring Frank's home, other Oak Park homes he designed, Robie House and Unity Temple.  You really have to experience Frank's use of space in the buildings to understand the transition from walking thru a narrow hallway into a grand large space like the children's playroom in his home or the Unity Temple sanctuary. It really takes your breath away.  I observed how he used geometric shapes to create abstract nature elements, looked for unifying home interior motifs, use of textiles, rugs and color palettes.  I really enjoyed seeing how families living in FLWright homes adapted today's technology with historic architecture. Usually it was the kitchen that had the biggest makeover and had to blend with the rest of the house.

It was a sad family event that brought us together unexpectedly for our last trip.  My dear Aunt Ronnie passed away and our family made plans to fly out to Arizona to attend her memorial and celebration of life. Before gathering with family,Cathy, Jess and I drove up to Taliesin West near Phoenix to tour Wright's winter home and architecture school.  It was early October and the students of Taliesin at Spring Green, Wisconsin had not returned yet for winter.  Our three hour tour was the best of all the tours we had taken. We met architects who live there and had worked with Frank and gave us insight that regular tour guides can't.  There were many buildings to tour and experience.  Again, local stone was used in the construction to make the buildings part of the environment they occupied.  The hexagon shape was prevalent in the design and there was lots of art incorporated both inside and outside the buildings.  Taliesin West celebrated its 75th Anniversary milestone this year and meant another trip to the gift shop.

I gathered a lot of research and inspiration on these trips and know it will influence how I see nature and how it will influence my work.  There is something in the clean lines, earthy palettes, use of natural materials that feels very contemporary to me.  Frank used nature as his model which never goes out of style. I thank my 'Frank Freaks' traveling partners, Cathy and Jess, for a wonderful year of exploring Frank Lloyd Wright sites.

Fall Color Up North

Gorgeous color everywhere!  We drove up to our cabin to enjoy one last nice weekend and close it up for the season.  The maples, oaks and poplars were a blaze with color and contrasted against the bluest sky I've seen.  Photos don't convey the intensity but I thought I'd share a few I took during the weekend.  We had one last fire in the outdoor stone fireplace, one last s'more and made one last trip around Iron Lake before hauling the boat and dock out. The only drawback to our little cabin in Fall is the tin roof on it.  The acorns that fall on it are very loud! Other than that, I just love the rocks, water,wildflowers, trees and the wildlife. I jot down ideas for new art while up there.  It's always inspiring. Having my sister-in-law Mona and Noel next door makes our summer even more fun.  

View from our dock

Best seat on the Lake

Love our old stone fireplace.  

Our tin roof cabin

Upcoming Shows

I would love to meet you at some of my upcoming shows around the Twin Cities. Stop by and see what's new and have a great time seeing other talented artists as well. We all appreciate your business and support.

 Here's a list of where I'll be showing through the end of the year:

September 22-23rd
Twin Cities Arts & Crafts Show and Sale
MN State Fairgrounds, Progress Center
Saturday 9-5 pm, Sunday 11-4 pm
$7 Admission

October 12,13,14
St. Paul Art Crawl
Master Framers location 262 East 4th Street
Friday 6-10 pm, Sat 12-8 pm, Sun 12-5 pm
Free

October 20-21
Home Improvement & Design Expo
H.E. Art Emporium section, Mpls Convention Center
Sat & Sun 10 am-5 pm
$6 admission (contact me about tickets)

October 27
HandmadeMN Fall Market
James Ballentine VFW, 2916 Lyndale Av.S., Mpls
Sat 10 am-5 pm
Free

December 7-8
Holiday No Coast Craft-o-rama
Midtown Global Market, Mpls
Fri 3-8 pm, Sat 9 am-5 pm
Free

December 15
MN Women's Art Festival
Midtown YWCA, 2121 E. Lake St. Mpls
Sat 10 am-5 pm
Free