Market Finds! Small Business Profiles- Parcel in Mountclair, NJ

No, I haven't fallen off the edge of the Earth... shoppin' gals'

just absent from blogging for a while - but rest assured - I am back.
I've been working on an OOAK (a one of a Kind Art Doll) that you are soon going to meet. In hunting for little rare knick-knacks with which to embellish her clothing and top hat, I went looking for specialty trims and findings. I was so happy, that I remembered a wonderful, exquisite little shop named Parcel in Mountclair, NJ. It can be a challenge to classify Parcel, but it is well worth the work. Parcel is paper goods store, a magical treasure trove of authentic ephemera and little charms, ribbons, crowns, drawers of findings and pips! Secrets linger in every nook, corner and shelf. Even their website PARCEL is a delight for the curious creative.

So check out my bounty of small delish treats from Parcel and check them out as soon as you can -you wont be sorry!!

Little dancers found in the magical Store Parcel in Mountclair, NJ Treasures from an Earlier Parcel Shopping Spree... so so so so cute! little surprises found at Parcel.... my full bounty collection from Parcel vintage postcards from Parcel cluster of small wonders and pips for my dolls top hat! The Top Hat I made embellished with Parcel finds for my OOAK doll !

So STAY tuned and come back this weekend to meet my OOAK doll, read about the artist that inspired her AND be a part of helping to NAME her!

The Loss of an Iconclastic Icon and a Personal Inspiration- Steve Jobs

In need of a bit of motivation - take just fourteen minutes to rethink how you approach your everyday life. In 2004 Steve Jobs was given only 3- 6 months to live...yesterday Oct. 5th, 2011 (7 amazing years later) Steve Jobs has passed away.

Working with Decals

So since I've become part of the Bliss Women's Co-operative I'be been exploring ways to make my artwork more accessible. The latest technique I've tried are decals and I rather enjoyed the process which was simple and direct enough. I'll be making some for my Etsy shop soon as I revamp all my inventory. Here are some the results:

two large decal plates with my illustrations All the plates I applied decals of my work onto....

My New Postcard

New Venue & New Ink Illustrations 2

I'm excited to report that I have joined a new venue, Bliss Co-op in Sugar Loaf, New York.

About Bliss Co-op:

Bliss Co-op is a little boutique in Sugar Loaf NY that features the creative works of local & regional women artisans. It gives an opportunity for those artists who need a little exposure in an artisan village without the risk of opening their own shop. More importantly, the co-op is a network of supportive women with varying talents & business acumen to help each member flourish both as an artist & as an individual.

My work along with that of some extraordinary women/crafters/artisans/makers/designers will be featured in this alternative boutique/gallery starting April 1st AND You're Invited!

GRAND OPENING!!!! APRIL 1st
WHOOO HOOO!!!
Come visit one of the best things happening in Sugar Loaf NY this year, if you don’t mind me saying. Celebrate the women who are living their dream, fulfilling their passion & following their bliss.
Bring your friends & family..heck, grab a stranger. Get in on the excitement.
Open for business 12:00pm -5:00pm Followed by a cocktail party from 5:00pm – 7:00pm

Here is a sneak peek of another one of the new illustrations that I have been working on the Bliss space and the stages of its development.

My Consumption 2 start up PROCESS by m.diaz My Consumption 2 PROCESS2 by m.diaz My Consumption2 Final Draft2 by m. diaz My Consumption 2 detail by m.diaz

Miami International Art Fair III- The Mundane Gets Its Iconic Due

This is the third installment of Miami Art Fair contemporary art and I still have more to share. I'm anxious to show you all some more of what I've been doing lately too, so hopefully you keep coming back for more!

Nick Gentry, Antenna, Mixed Media on Computer Disks on Wood rep. Art Modern Gallery photo by m.diaz

Artist Nick Gentry's work represented by the Art Modern Gallery has gone viral on the blogosphere lately, my students love his work on old floppy disks. Above is one of his pieces entitled Antenna that I saw at the Miami Art Fair.

The next piece that I'm featuring here is this piece entitled Compound 3 by Colombian born artist Juan Raul Hoyos, represented by the Alejandra Von Hartz gallery, made entirely of paper bags. Anyone who is a regular blog follower of mine might recall my post entitled The Potential of a Brown Paper Bag that you can see here which resonates with the same idea of how much complexity you can build with such simple things. In the case of artist Juan, he has built what appears to be a whole congested city developed out of printed bags simply opened and left to evoke a war-torn time and place. For me what was quite powerful was the congested feeling still seemed overcome with abandon and emptiness...like an evacuated space. Too bad it seems Juan does not have his own site and or the Alejandra Von Hartz Contemporary Art Gallery site should have links to more of their artists work so that you could see more.

Detail shot of Compound 3, by Juan Raul Hoyos, white paper bags, Rep. Alejandra Von Hartz Contep. Art Gallery photo by m.diaz Compound 3, by Juan Raul Hoyos, white paper bags, Rep. Alejandra Von Hartz Contep. Art Gallery photo by m.diaz

This next artist is another one of my favorite three dimensional artists from the MIA. Her name is Shantamani living in Bangalore, India represented by the Galerie Helene Lamarque. Her series of work is entitled Carbon myths and she uses charcoal which for me infers earthy fire, combustion and residue to construct her pieces. Mother Goddess,by Shanthamani rep. Galerie Helene Lemarque Detail of Mother Goddess, by Shanthamani rep. by the Galerie Helene Lamarque photo by m.diaz MINT by Shanthamani, Charcoal, rep. by Galerie Helene Lamarque photo by m.diaz DETAIL shot of Mint, Shanthamani, Charcoal, rep. by Galerie Helene Lamarque photo by m.diaz

Ok so get ready! Here is another moment when my students came to mind...turning around in the Galerie Helene LeMarque booth at MIA and seeing all of these stacked yellow phonebooks carved into these portrait busts! A graduate of School of Visual Arts, artist Long-Bin Chen from Taiwan gave a serious sculptural treat...once again showing us the power of the pedestrian object being risen to iconic stature.

India Buddha Boston by Long-Bin Chen back of India Buddha Boston by Long-Bin Chen a photo by the Museum of Arts & Design Webcam tech blog of Long-Bin Chen at work in their studios


detail shot of Long-Bin Chen's work by m.diaz detail shot of Long-Bin Chen's work by m.diaz here another sculpture by Long-Bin Chen at Mia photo by m.diaz back view of sculpture by Long-Bin Chen at Mia photo by m.diaz another sculpture by Long-Bin Chen at Mia photo by m.diaz

If you have 7 minutes I found an additional treat for you all, this fun you tube video doc of Long-Bin Chen and his work- I think you;ll really enjoy it!

I hope you enjoyed this installment of my MIA art fair experience! I have one biggy left to report on before I start to move on and share some other creativity and art related news- so stay tuned and LET me know what you think! Anybody here who blew you away and why? or was this all just too on the 'what-ever-happened-to-fine-art-supplies?' for you?

-Ciao Amarettogirl

On my way to MIA- Miami International Art Fair

Like a good blogger on Artful and creative living I am on my way to Miami tomorrow for the Miami International Art Fair!

I promise to come back chuck full of photos of more inspiring artists and hopefully some more inspiration to share! MIA features the Projects Gallery of Philadelphia Which represents this piece By artist Alex Queral, acrylic on carved telephone book

So stay tuned in with me while I blog about my trip and share what is sure to be some phenomenal artistic feats since I will spare you those that aren't! LOl!- ciao Amarettogirl

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Art & Design in San Diego Shots

Here is a creative glimpse of my time in San Diego which was like a scene out of the Fast and the Furious, but I packed a whallup out of the short time there.

Love the time difference, the weather and the people. In fact, I actually miss it! So here goes: restaurant across the street from Scott White Gallery Little Italy San Diego me in front of Scott White GalleryFurniture Shop Gallery Shot gallery shot Art & Design Bldg gallery shot Public Art detail shot art piece for window display @ the Contemporary Museum of Art San Diego

Some of My NEW Favorite Things

I had a restful and great Sunday this past weekend, which is slightly rare. My best weekender experiences usually fall on a Saturday, the day of the week that I would normally call one of my favorite things, but not this time. So I declare that Sunday is making the also-one-of-my-fave-things list.

So this Sunday I woke up early enough to do some morning reading. I'm currently taking a reprieve from my usual cerebral, booky, mystery fiction and I'm reading something that reads rather quickly due to my pressed time schedule this month. Since I am determined to be an author/illustrator combo some day, I'm now reading a fun young-adult graphic novel WONDLA illustrated and written by the author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tony DiTerlizzi. Best of all, this book has a phenomenal interactive website and it was one of my surprise b'day gifts from my hub!

Then I got to brew a whole tea pot of some of my newest addiction TEAVANA Rooibos Cocoa Praline Tart tea The ultimate zero calorie, caffeine free sweet tooth satisfaction! Try Haute Chocolate tea too- ooh la la is all I gotta say! Teavana Cocoa Praline Tart Rooibos Tea And thanks to that husband of mine I got to enjoy that tea in another awesome Bday gift- check out my new porcelain tea thermos from TEAVANAMy new procelain thermos

This Sunday Morning we also had a delicious omelette, a gift from my ladies and my hub:

our eggs my handmade ipad case by me

I made major progress (though I'm still not finished) with a daunting sewing project that I wanted to tackle now for a while, a handmade case for my iPad. I wish I could have done a tutorial for you all, but I seriously had no idea what I was doing! I just made it all up along the way and struggled to boot, which is something I usually don't do as an autodidact, but hey I can't always be sunshine and roses!

span class="full-image-block ssNonEditable">latch open openPropped up for viewing

Lastly this is going to be a GREAT thanksgiving week because my ART children are coming home from college and I get to see those fresh eyed babes who hold such a special place in my heart!

- Ciao Amarettogirl

Considering an Etsonian Sleep and a Night of Fiction...

Come with me to my imagined bedroom...a night full of fiction and design delight with objects coming all from ETSY!

So lets start with full immersion into the fantasy- money is not a factor! Now, that the fictitious story is established, lets dream- since that is precisely what I do most in my bedroom. And I need to do that on a bed so the most important aspect of my room - the bed...say one had, oh say $10,ooo. to spare on a hot new bed...well I'd say this one is Sizzling! Check out this handmade wood tree bed by Attila Designs. Phenomenal Wood bed by Attila Designs from Finland on Etsy!

Then some tree pillows handmade by HomeCentric, and ooh a cozy cozy armchair slipcover by Biscuitscout who knits with multiple strands of wool and huge needles to create giant over sized knitting...whew now that is hot.

Wish tree Pillow by TheHomeCentric on ETSY!Hand Knitted Cream Aran Armchair Slipcover by BiscuitScout on Etsy!

Now its time for some art on the wall...

Watercolor painting of two turkey feathers by AmberAlexander on Etsy!

And every bedroom needs a self-portrait and in this case I think we need one to keep our wood theme going... So check out this wolf portrait cuz like I said its a fantasy night of fiction and I'm the wolf and them there feathers are all thats left of my dinner! Also a romantic bedroom lamp to inspire the secret- super unique by Creative Pal.

Beautiful Winter Wolf by Firewriter on Etsy!Shadowland Slumbering Nigtlight by Creative Pal on Etsy

Lastly my paws are going to need something soft to step on and all while maintaining the outside/in theme...

Pebbles Wools Felt Rug Carpet handmade by Krita in India available of Etsy