In 2008 I joined a group of bloggers having All-Hallow's Eve blog parties. I gave my own blog party. It was such fun.
That year I also had held a 2008 birthday ATC give-a-way. People from around the world sent me birthday wishes.
Last year I had a 2009 birthday blog party where I not only partied heartily with friends far and near, but gave out party favors.

Today, from Noon to 5 o'clock I am having a real Grand Opening Party/Birthday Party at Sunne Spot Studio. You are all invited. Well, I guess that works out best for all you local friends. So this year, I continue my world-wide party tradition and invite you to my blog birthday party this coming Wednesday. Stories, lovely birthday cake, friends from all over, art play, and, of course!!, party favors. It is a special year: I am starting the business of my dreams: Sunne Spot Studio, a community art studio. Drop-in or take a class. Make some art and find your heart. I have wanted to be an artist in business since I was at least 11 years old. I am coming home. Many blessings have gotten me here. Many challenges have made the journey a rich one.

Last night I went to a concert where 140 people sang about how it takes a village to raise our children. Well, quite a few tears later I am home and I am building my business in this village.

Join me.

New Journal!

Oh! Lucky me. I have a new journal. I have needed one for months, but have been so busy with plans for Sunne Spot that I haven't taken the time to make myself one. I have little stacks of writings and pictures everywhere that have been my journal on the run.

So, finally: a journal home.

I started by painting the inside of a file folders box. There are lots of spare pieces of cardboard around here as I unpack various shipments of supplies.

**As a matter of fact I have a great corregated cardboard, potential book cover here at Sunne Spot which will go to the first person who comes in to ask for it. I will give you ideas for decoration and binding too, if you need it. **

Then I got out the gold paint and did some stencilling and texture painting on top of that base.
And as long as I was painting I pulled out some previously painted pages. Here is, I'm not kidding, gessoed and acrylic painted plastic bag with stenciled letters on top.A piece of pulled waxed paper. (I will be showing this technique in the July journalling class. (Keep an eye out here on my website for the calendar of classes.)More pulled waxed paper with letter stencils.So, do you get the idea that these were all headed to be pages in the new journal? Here is paper that is layered in the way "cloth paper" is made but I layered dictionary pages over plain old tissue paper, painted and sprayed it with acrylic paint and then more stenciling.Same paper method as above but with play money instead of dictionary pages.

The dried papers got cut, very generally, to size and bound into the cover ...

and here you can see the painted papers mixed in with old calendar papers and tracing paper.

That red paper is actual "cloth paper". It is a lovely, juicy journal.
I have already started to write in it. O! Happiness! Next, I get to start making little medallions and decorations for the pages. Little badges of art glory.

I think that I have 6 people coming in to the Studio today, that I know of anyway. All Moms and children. Sunne Spot is beautifully set up for this. Lots of space for children to work, lots of ideas to get them going, giving Mommies a bit of breathing space to imagine their own worlds of color and texture. Happy all around.

Today is the last day of free week. Everyone still gets their first hour free starting next week, but this morning you and your friends and family get the whole morning free.

Drop-in hours: 8:30 - Noon, Monday - Friday.

What does Sunne Spot Studio look like?

What does a drop-in community art studio look like? How does it work?
Well, start here:

It began as a plain room. I added some tables. And bureaus to hold lots of paper, glue and scissors. :)Then I wanted a special table to accomodate the making of ATCs

So a good carpenter friend came to build one.Here it is finished with lots of layers of polyurethane on it.

It has shelves below to hold all of the paint, and rubber stamps, and paper punches.They are filling up fast. We artists need lots of ways to express ourselves, y'know.

Today I tried out that back table - to see if it worked. I need some party favors for my real life Grand Opening Party on Sunday the 13th ,as well as for my virtual birthday blog party next Wednesday(!!)

I laid out my cards...

Painted them with gesso...

Then painted them with acrylic paint...

And then a little more paint... the freezer paper underneath gets pretty painted up too.

I have them all resting now, drying overnight. We'll see what they look like tomorrow, and then I'll get to adding lots of juicy accoutrements. Drawings too, and maybe go through my stash of wonderful art quotes.

Please do drop in tomorrow and I can get you going on your own set of ATCs - remember: this week is our free, trial-run week so you can make art for free. 8:30 - Noon.

This is one of my favorite quotes recently:

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

What IS a "drop-in community art studio"?

What is a "drop-in, community art studio"?

Well, let's take it a bit at a time.

Studio: A place to study, a place to practice, a place where all of the instruments of one's work are gathered together. A studio is a dedicated room to explore and manifest the thoughts and skills of a particular accomplishment; in this case ...

Art: A particular set of [performance, or literary, or] visual expressions and the techniques which render experience, wisdom and facility. O.K., very big words, here. We are talking sewing, drawing, collage, painting, journaling, knitting, paper constructing, and their cousins. Hopefully we will be adding in clay, wood and a little metal work too. And lots more needlework of every kind.

One of the points of great interest to me is that this work not be about perfectionism. Certainly gaining skills is crucial to the art we will all practice at Sunne Spot Studio. But what is deeper than that is the intellectual and emotional, and yes, even spiritual exercise of our handwork.

Which brings us to ...

Community: Working together to allow the skills of each individual and the energy of the group enrich our own personal life experience and each other.

What I know about craft and art could fill a book - oh, yeah, I already wrote one ... So I could have sat at home in my own studio writing books (I have a couple more in mind) but I longed for the energy of the community. And when I looked around I saw other moms (not just me) who longed for gentle work to do with their children in the company of other adults. I also heard about part time artists and crafters who need to have a special place and time to dedicate to their handwork, because if they try to do it at home they are both alone and distracted by the chores that call loudly.

Which brings us to ...

Drop-in: We plan our days the best we can, and then there are the little crises or unexpected demands that throw it all askew. So I planned Sunne Spot to just be available to you all morning during the week. There will be afternoon, evening and weekend classes, taught with specific goals in mind, but the mornings are for you, on your schedule, for as long as you need or want.

Now you know a little more about Sunne Spot Studio. Please come in to visit and see what we are all about for yourself next week. It's FREE. In exchange for a quick questionaire about your time in the Studio, you get to work for a while, using Studio materials, drinking up the companionship and atmosphere - yup - for free. During the week of June 7th - 11th. See you then.

Progress in the Sunne Spot Studio

Well, haven't we been busy...

I have been having little moving parties into the Studio, and just this week I had a carpenter friend build me a wonderful ATC table along the back wall. Artist Trading Cards have been such a fun project in the past couple of years that I decided to dedicate a specific part of Sunne Spot to making them. Along the 17 foot table there will be a station for painting (which can also be used for painting art journal pages and canvas), then a station for rubber stamping - and just below the workspace there is a shelf that will hold the chests of stamps. On down the line there is space for collaging - with a collection of magazines and some gluesticks below, and also a place for making and adding paper punches to one's ATC (or greeting card, or collage) - with a full stash of punches in their chests on the shelf below.

I am busy putting layers of polyurethane on the new back bench and the two big work tables (freshly sanded by the aforementioned wonderful carpenter). Then I can place the supplies and we are ready to go!

I took some "before" pictures and then forgot to bring the camera home with me. >sigh<

A lot on my mind, I guess.

And then I will take some "after" pictures. Good.

We have a Free Drop-In Week coming up, (a whole week of free studio time!) and I hope that all of you who are nearby will come to our Grand Opening Party on June 13th.

Do you "like" me?

Well, not me, precisely, but Sunne Spot Studio?

Well, if you do then go on over to the Sunne Spot Studio page on facebook and let it show! Yippee! The studio has 22 friends already. Thanks, you all!

This is all so exciting that events are starting to snowball. I might open unofficially sooner than I had thought.

The opening party will still be in June: on the Sunday before my birthday. Party week in Rockport. Bring your paper scissors and glue. Do We know how to party or what?

Y'know how last year I had a virtual birthday party here on the blog? Let's do that again. Only this year you, and not just the virtual you but the actual you, are invited! We'll do both. I'm gonna be a double digit so I will have a double birthday party: actual cake, virtual party gifts, for-real iced tea, and digital photographs. It is a date: Sunday, the Sunne Party Day, June 13th, 2010.

Absolutely.

This Blog Is Changing

Once upon a time I opened this blog to be a chat-space for my art work.

But all that is changing. I am evolving from the virtual world and adding bricks and mortar:

I am so happy, glad, excited, (!!!) to announce the impending opening of Sunne Spot Studio.

Sunne Spot is a drop-in craft and art studio, here, in Rockport, Maine.

Sunne Spot will be open weekday mornings. I will also be teaching evening and Saturday classes.

Drop in to make a greeting card, work on your knitting, add a page or two to your artist journal, craft a royal crown, sew a "stuffie" animal, sip some coffee (available downstairs at the State of Maine Cheese Factory), hang out with your art friends.

Directions and materials are available at Sunne Spot, and/or bring your own favorite stash.

I will post class schedules on this blog, photos of the Studio, links and connections to important events, sites and ideas and more. I will also continue to have gratuitous art lessons here. :)

You can also follow and "like" Sunne Spot Studio on facebook!

If you are anywhere nearby Rockport, Maine, come to our Grand Opening Party on June 13th. Free food. Free art materials. Deets to follow.

Mother's Day Poem

Mother’s Day Proclamation- 1870

by Julia Ward Howe

Arise then … women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own.
It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace…
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity,
I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Quote Question

Hello Everyone,

I have a question: What can I do about the fact that when I try to affix quotes to my collage-paintings the words smear?

When I look through my art books I see that other artists use words cut from books mostly and they don't smear. Is it my inkjet printer? I think that I once heard that toner based copies won't smear - true? Any other word collage suggestions? Or do I just get out my Sharpie?

I would love some help. Thanks.

Robinsunne

And how proud am I?

O.K., so she's my daughter. I'm crazy about her. Today she is outdoing herself. Check this out: http://www.zazzle.com/xarasunne+gifts

Whatta girl. She draws really lovely anime drawings, and when I suggested that she put them on mugs to sell she dove in. She used Copic markers for these drawings. I haven't had much to say about them ... until I saw what she can do with them! Mr. and Mrs. Copic made them with my girl in mind.

Really: click the link and have a look. http://www.zazzle.com/xarasunne+gifts

And read her blurbs about who the girls are. OMG.

And in case you couldn't tell - I am waaay proud. Go ahead: buy a mug. Drink your morning sips with these lovelies. (Keep my girl in Copic markers.)

The Artistic Mother

I have joined an art group. Read all about it here: http://artisticcreationswithtrudy.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-artistic-mother-group-forming-i.html
I just got the book: The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole and will start on the projects and then keep you posted here. It is a nice concept. Y'know: that art makes us stronger, gentler people and that we, as mothers, need those two qualities in large amounts, daily.

Actually, I already know this. You know this too. But I wanted to see what everyone else was coming up with... and also challenge myself with some new projects.

Although I am never really at a loss for new ideas. Here is my latest: I needed a new checkbook cover so I had a bit of fun with scraps from my "yellow" box.

Here is the front:

And the whole outside:

And the inside - complete with penholder.So, listen. My life is changing. Befriend me on facebook ("Robinsunne Ismyfullname") (They kept asking for my full name - but Robinsunne is my full name!) and you will get all of the minute clues along the way. So far, there are many ducklings to get in a row, and I am not ready to let on about the whole big secret just yet. But stay tuned.

In all that is changing, my blog will be changing too. I will still be here - just in a new-ishy way. These projects with The Artistic Mother will be my last Oh-guess-what-I-did-today type posts.

Keep an eye out. So much fun to be had.

Something is changing...

So, I am working on a change. You can be a part of it. I will open the lid slowly. Stay connected with me here and see what happens.

April Art at the Library

Artist Trading Card Art at the Library this month is all about zentangles.

"Zen" as in the meditation tradition.

"Tangle" as in the intricate paths of our pens as we draw.

Does this sound complicated? Well, it isn't really. We start with a blank ATC card:

Then draw 3 curved lines:

And start filling in the spaces with simple designs:

After that we decorate the smaller shapes:

So why am I giving out instructions before we meet?

Because drawing like this is fun. Certainly. You know.

But drawing in a room with others is wonderful. It is a good time multiplied. And you deserve that.

So, we will see you on Saturday afternoon, 2 - 4 PM, at the Rockport Public Library, O.K.?

Choosing (a) God

I was challenged the other day to know whether God loved us. I said that I couldn't believe in a god who didn't.

So, I got to thinking about that. Imagine that the gods were lined up to apply for the job of being my god. I have a mental picture of the scene: YHWH, Ganesh, Bridget, Quan Yin, Kali, Zeus, Jesus, Allah, Astarte, y'know: a long string of the all-powerful and omnicient. I have a clipboard and am asking some questions: What is your definition of Love? How do you deal with Human Error? Would you be willing to use me as a channel for bringing your Blessings to Earth? Are you available for comfort calls in the deepest, darkest night? What creative act are you most proud of? What role do the arts play in your daily worship? How much do you love me and my kids?

Now I will tell you: the minute I start getting answers that include shame and violence I direct the applicant over to the tea and thank-you-for-your-time table. Thunderbolts are a weather pattern not a teaching tool. Patience is a necessity for us humans. They are gods, I am guessing that they have infinate resources: I expect them to use them, not just sit around cataloging their assets. One of them is not willing to shed good red blood for my family? It is a handshake and good-bye for Him/Her.

Maybe Jehovah and Jupiter were the only options we had once upon a time, but this is the age of the internet. There are a lot of choices out there. I want Someone who will teach with kindness and comfort with passion. And if the answer to that last question about how much they Love doesn't include some explanation about travel to the ends of the known and unknown Universe then I will keep looking. I love my kids that much. I certainly expect the same from my God/dess.

Great Party

We had a great party at the Library the other day. Here are a few pictures for fun. We had five "stations". The first was painting. (Complete with a hair dryer for drying speed.)

The next was collage.

We also had paper punches to construct little medallions and a little collection of rubber stamps.

So there we were nestled in the stacks finishing our ATCs with some doodling..See you on April 17th for zentangling. Ooooh.

ATC Party at the Library!

We are having an ATC party at the Library

Saturday, March 20, 2:00 - 4:00

You are invited.

I wanted to make it really easy this month to make a bunch of new cards all at once. You know, get a little stash of ATCs and fatten up your collections. There will be different stations - a very quick, really interesting paint technique, a couple of new ideas at the collage table, very cool medallions to make at the paper punching station, plus drawing and rubber stamping, of course.

All of the techniques are easy enough for school children, but, as always, the artistically dexterous get this stuff in their hands and come up with amazing little works of visual delight.

To entice you further I have put together some great door prizes: if you are a newcomer to the group, or the friend who brings a newcomer there is one prize, if you are a K-12 teacher or a medical professional then I have a different door prize for you. Other categories for door prizes include professional artists (visual, performing or literary), high school students and prolific ATC makers.

The Library staff will have some refreshments for us, and I will make time for trading at the end of the party.

I can hardly wait. I have been having a lot of fun planning (making sample ATCs!)

I will see you there.

portfolio

I am taking a class wherein we are making protective covers for books. This might be the kind of thing that I would expect that I knew how to make by now, but our teacher is very talented and takes a lot of pleasure in making her edges straight and having her corners match up. This is something I am not so patient with, and also there is the added bonus of having other artists to play with. Great.

We started out learning how to make a portfolio. Here is the back of mine, all neat and lovely.But then on the front I got overeager and slopped glue in the wrong place - see over there in the left hand corner? OFO: Opportunity For Ornament.

We were then supposed to glue ties into the center edges of both front and back to tie the book closed. Well, I had had too much fun with vertical bindings lately so I adjusted that direction, and glued my closure ribbon under a Model Magic (a Crayola brand air-dry clay) medallion that I had made by rubber stamping it and painting it gold with a leafing pen.Then I couldn't stop. I made pockets inside. The one on the right holds another paper bag journal, and the one on the left holds some decorative elements:I had the thought to use these painted paper and thread elements in the book, but I just got going on the pages ...

So that was fun.

beading a valentine

Yup. I've been beading a Valentine...

Painted Paper Freebies

O.K., so I have been painting all of these journal pages ... I also got out a block of watercolor paper to paint then cut up and use as embellishments and medallions on my pages.

Well some of the color combinations I liked a whole lot, some were O.K., and some have some colors going that I am really unfamiliar with.

So I am going to give them to you. For free. Just copy them and print onto whatever kind of paper you like. But then here is what I would really like to happen: Whatever you end up doing with them, take pictures and post on your blog, or Flikr or wherever. Comment here to link to your page so that we can all go get inspired.
Waiting to hear from you - and I hope that you have fun with it,

Robinsunne