Change is in it the air...

That old saying of  "Everything changes nothing stays the same" is so true. Just when you think you've figured it out and worked hard to get to where you are something happens that makes you do an uptake.
The property where our shop is located has been sold. This was done unexpectedly with no warning, sure we knew there were strange people lurking around after hours checking out things but you see people come and go all the time, no big deal. So now we have a new landlord who has big plans for the property that he just purchased and big plans to more than double the rent. In all fairness he has allowed us to stay with a small increase in the rent but come February it will double. I wonder if he's ever heard the term Starving Artists. The only reason we have been able to have a shop and do what we love to do it because we work together as a co-op, there is not one of us that could go out and have a shop on our own but together we have managed to make a really nice shop. The new owner likes our shop and wants us to stay put, I think he walks in and sees all the things we have to offer and he thinks the shop is making tons of money. I wish that were the case but not so much, we have good days but there seems to be more not so good days and days of no sales at all. This summer when the government started the sequestration we saw a big drop in sales, every time there are furloughs we feel it. Small businesses like ours struggle to get from one month to the next.

There is a custom frame shop next door to us Shelby's Custom Framing will be closing after 32 years in the business. Shelby has had rheumatoid arthritis in her hands for years but yet she has managed keep working to frame and do restoration on artwork for her customers. She has restored artwork that has been cut and ripped and had water damage and worse to look like new, it's fascinating. With the slow economy and the raise in the rent and of course the issues with her hands Shelby has decided it's time to give up her wonderful little shop and start working out of her home. After so many years in business Shelby has gained a wonderful clientele that will follow her no matter what she does.
As for me I'm not really sure how this going to work, I've come to rely on custom work, to pay my bills. My customers find me through the shop they come in they see my work and we start a conversation that leads to them asking if I will paint their chairs or a sign or who knows what. I think when people see my work in person they feel more comfortable discussing a custom order. It doesn't seem that online photos get me that same response or reach the right people for that matter. I've tried Esty with no success and Ebay is not the ticket for me either. I'm open to suggestions. When things like this happen you have to get creative so I'm going to think out of the box and see how creative I can get.
I've made another glass mosaic and I'm really enjoying working with the beautiful colors of glass, the new designs in glass that are available now are just amazing. Of course I'm just learning and I haven't gotten into all the new things but it's fun to learn about how they are used and see what others are doing with them.
Here's my latest piece....

 





               

Trying something different

Where did the summer go? I feel like it just flew by, but here we are in September and the fall Craft Show season is upon us. I'm trying to paint Christmas ornaments but my mind is not on it I still have summer designs on my mind. The summer time sales were slow, I'm blaming that on the sequestration. It sure would be nice to have a busy fall and Christmas season. But we have another issue. Last month the property where our Craft Guild Shop is was sold. And unfortunately with the rent more than doubled and other the expenses that are added to the lease it looks as though it's time to move within the next four or five months. Just what I want to do is move in the dead of winter. Finding another affordable location is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I think we need to get creative and think outside the box and we'll find something. I feel like God has a plan the trick is to be patient and it will come to pass. In the meantime I have picked up another hobby working with stained glass, I love the beautiful colors of stained glass and have a few friends that have done it for many years so I'm using the scraps and making mosaics. It's kind of time consuming but the end result is worth it.

I just love the colors, there is a mate to this one I just need time to get it done. I've been painting chairs for someone, once that project is done then I'll have more time to work with the glass. There are so many different types and colors of glass it's like pulling together the colors for a painting the possibilities are endless. So there's no excuse for not working with color, there is always something you can do, if you have a passion for painting , stained glass or sewing you can pull together the right color combinations and make something beautiful with your own two hands. Try something new this week it might change your outlook on things.      

Lovin' Summer, Even though it's HOT

Somebody, anybody, please tell me why summer flies by so fast. 

It's the middle of July people, summer will pass by so fast it's a blur. I don't know why I'm shocked, it does this every year. I just realized it's time to get to work on Christmas ornaments, YES, that's right I said the word Christmas. I must be getting old because I can't seem to keep up anymore. Am I the only one that struggles to stay ahead of the game or is everyone else thinking about Christmas at this point in the year. 

I'm interested in painting some furniture now, my friends and I got together and went to some cool antique shops, well one was an antique mall, it was huge. I found a couple of tables that I'm going to play with. I'm wondering if I should buy some chalk paint or try making my own. There are instructions to make your own chalk paint on Pinterest ( yes Pinterest has become another of my weaknesses ), the prices of chalk paint are a little high so I think I'm going to play with it and see what I come up with. It should be fun. I'll let you know how my homemade version works.

On another note we have a new member coming into the Craft Guild Shop. George McWilliams will be joining us the 1st of August. His artwork will be in the shop by August 2nd and he's planning to have a drawing workshop on Saturday Aug. 3rd and the watercolor workshop on the 4th. This is a great time to learn from one of the best, I hope everyone will come out and support our newest member.

Well until next time I hope you dust off your brushes and find some time to paint and of course stay cool. 

Making Changes

There is a time when things just have to change. If nothing ever changes then you're not moving forward, I know there are people who really don't like change and that's sad when you are in business. Early on in my life I didn't like change but now in my later years I've come to realise the only way to move forward is to accept change. Our Craft Guild Shop is a co-op of 17 artists and crafters all very nice people until you mention making changes to the look of the shop or changes in how we do business. Our shop has been sitting there with the same look since they opened it about seven years ago, it's a nice shop very neat and
clean with wonderful handmade items to sell. The way it was set up was each vendor had their own space and that worked for a while. But then when you looked around you would see some people had their spaces overflowing with things and others had very little in their spaces.

Which seems like a waste of space.
And the colors on the walls left a lot to be desired and our lighting is not the best. Now the building doesn't belong to us we are renting so the lighting is someone else's responsibility, but the paint on the walls is an easy fix. So in a meeting it was brought up that we should take down the dividers and paint the room to open it up and make it lighter and brighter. We voted on it and everyone voted for the change.
When the work started the attitudes came out. This project is still in the works, we are still looking for a few pieces of furniture that we hope to find
to make display pieces out of and there will be more rearranging of things but overall it looks so much better now than it did. Customers have come in and made comments about how much lighter and brighter the room looks. We won't stop until we make the room look the best we can and have the merchandise displayed in the best possible light. So the moral of this story is go with the flow accept the change because it's how you grow and move forward. OK, that's enough about change I'm stepping down from my soapbox now.

       

Painting with purpose and re-purpose in mind...

Everyone who's ever read anything on here my blog knows I love paint and colors and painting cute designs.
Lately I've been thinking about painting on different surfaces. Everything old is new again and re-purposing
old pieces of furniture to make then look like pieces of art has caught my attention. At the Craft Guild Shop we have decided to give the shop a new look we are going to look for old furniture that we can take apart and make into our display pieces for the shop. That might mean taking a coffee table and adding some wood and paint and turning it into a shelving unit for a display, or using old wooden crates in a new way or turning a draw into a shelf this should prove interesting. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I've painted a few chairs and they have sold so I need to go old chair hunting. The chair in the picture says... To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heavens. I found the leaf design in Painting magazine. I had an old ironing board and I wanted to paint something on it so that it was more of a wall hanging that could be used all year then just a seasonal piece that sits in a corner somewhere. I took a couple of patterns and combined them to get this look. I find myself looking a old furniture and wondering what would look good painted on it or how I can re-purpose it into something else. I have to say it's a nice change from the usual flat surface that I normally paint on. Painting no old pieces does come with challenges such as cleaning it before you paint ( yuck ) and deciding weather to fill in the cracks in the wood or just paint around them, sometimes that works in my favor and sometimes not so much but you learn as you go.  
So when your thinking of your next painting project think about painting on something other then what you might find in the craft store and try working on something old that you would normally throw away and give it new life and purpose.

The summer solstice begins this week. I always look forward to summer each year. Life just seems a little more carefree to me, Things slow down a little, the kids are out of school and living next to a school I notice less traffic and it's just quite again. Folks are planning their vacations and there are ball games at every ball field in the evenings. It's light every evening until 9 pm and it's just nice to sit out on the porch and read or have a drink and think about nothing.
Take some time to relax and enjoy the summer season and be grateful for all of Gods favor.
Until next time, happy painting.

It's done it again...

Hard to believe as cold as it's been the past month that we skipped right over spring into summer again.
Our temp. hit 85 yesterday and it's going to be even warmer today. Crazy weather in this country over the last several years. Now I'm not complaining, no way.
Lots of things going on at the Craft Guild Shop we had the reception for George McWilliams last Friday evening. Lots of folks showed up to check out his new work. Sales were slow but I'm not going to be discouraged we have his beautiful work in the shop for the month.

We have his prints as well as original artwork. I wish you were here to see this piece in person this picture just doesn't do it justice.
Our next event coming up is our Porch Party on May 4th. We will have the Leonardtown First Friday May 3rd. with another meet and great with George McWilliams then on Saturday lots of crafters will be joining us  on Saturday for our Porch Party. There will be a demo by Hans Boecher he'll bring his lathe and show you how to turn a pen. For a small fee you can make your own pen. It's fun you have to try it.

Ardith Young will be offering a glass class for a small fee. There's always something fun to do at the Craft Guild Shop.
Along with my other duties that I have attained at the shop I've been trying to paint this week. I really need to fill my space again sold several things last weekend. My painted chairs sold, yes they found a good home.


   

Waiting patiently...

Seems like winter wants to hold on forever this year. Twenty five degrees last night sure doesn't sound much like spring now does it. But the trees are budding and those little leaves are ready to come on out, just need some warm days and not so cold nights.
At the Craft Guild Shop are are so ready for spring, we can't wait for those warm days were we can open up the doors and let the fresh air in. We had our Spring Open House a few weeks ago and people came out to shop. They are buying new art work to add to their collections and pretty home decor items.
This Friday is Leonardtown First Friday, our Artist of the Month is George McWilliams. If you live in the area it will be worth the trip to come out to meet George. George is bringing prints as well as original pieces of work. George paints landscapes and I'd say he's best known for his maritime scenes. These scenes will take you back in time to the hay day of the water men who made their living on their boats working the water every day. Back in the day when the water was clean and the fish , crab and oysters were plentiful and at their best.


Growing up here in Southern Maryland in the 60's and 70's I remember when you could go out on the water and the boats of the men who made a living on the water were everywhere. And the other way these locals made a living was farming tobacco. The Tobacco farms were every where, now you have to look to find one
Now the agricultural farms are growing grapes, vineyards are popping up all over Southern Maryland as well as wineries. Well that's enough of me reminiscing, I hope you will take some time to check out a fine artist  http://www.georgemcwilliams.com/  and if you have some time Friday evening then stop by and meet him at the shop. http://www.craftguildshop.com/ . His work will be on display and for sale in our shop through the month of April.

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