Ginny's Small Studio

Tag You're It!

I am talking about the participants in our art morning at Small Studio. You are all awesome. Not only did you make great tag art, including little tag booklets, but unbeknownst to me, you all pitched in to help pay for supplies. This was totally kind, unnecessary and appreciated. Thank you, thank you! Now readers, feast your eyes on these great bits of art.

Time Flies

Peonies are blooming everywhere including pink and white ones in my yard. One of my customers was telling me that she gets marigolds and she gets petunias and she gets impatiens to plant in her garden. She asked me what I get for my yard. I replied that I get Greg. Greg is our honorary son and landscape guy. He showed up this morning with a truck full of flats and when I arrived home this evening, the yard was ablaze with drifts of pink annuals both front and back. Greg "gets" me, too. I love pink flower beds.

Tomorrow is our free tag play day. I am looking forward to it.

We have an awesome roster of local and visiting instructors here at the store ready to inspire and instruct you. It feels so good to make art. It feels so good to be in a group of like minded people all creating stuff. Next weekend we host Michael deMeng and Andrea Matus deMeng right here in Westlake OH at Small Studio. Also in June we have Barbe Saint John and Candace Rich. Come join us, won't you?

Antique Swap Meet

We took a day off and went to a swap meet that was mostly antiques and vintage stuff. We have gone to this one before and have always enjoyed ourselves and found a few treasures along the way.

This time the organizers did a lot of advertising that they were adding a vintage market section. We were disappointed to find many booths that had painted junk either white or Martha Stewart blue and called it "antique'. There were many jewelry booths selling bingo charms that had not been enhanced or altered in any way other than having a hole drilled for a chain. We were hoping for more creative repurposing and upscaling like the shelves below made with antique ceiling tiles. This was a great booth filled with interesting re-made goods.

We had a great time though traipsing through the fields of booths, bargaining for a few treasures and treating ourselves to some of the fair food (great strawberry shake). John had egg rolls and cherry pie and lasted longer than I did. We walked around for almost 7 hours!

We saw some unusual things too. I am not sure what this model was made for or where one would display it. It was about the size of a card table, maybe larger.

It was a beautiful day and we were happy to be out and about.

Street Art

I love looking at street art. It always surprises and delights.

Saturday is Barbe Saint John's Ice Resin 101. This is a wonderful introduction class to using resin in bezels of all types. There is still room.

DeMeng Times Two

Only two weeks until Michael DeMeng and Andrea Matus DeMeng arrive here in Westlake OH to teach in our Small Studio Workshop Series. We are so lucky to have them here. Michael's workshops at our last event were so much fun and he is an exceptionally good instructor.

His projects are delightfully quirky, but his teaching methods are professional and spot on.

You will be sorry to miss these workshops if you fail to sign up.

We are also very lucky to have Michael's new wife Andrea join us. Her artwork is incredible and needs to be seen in person to really appreciate.One does not need to draw to accomplish these pieces of art.

Andrea has sent over wonderful samples of the workshops and they are on display as are Michael's class samples. Stop by if you are local and see them for yourself. If you live too far, take my word for it. They are wonderful.

There are a few spaces left in all the classes June 1, 2 and 3. We would love to have you join us for the weekend or for one class.

Red & White China

You know how sometimes you get totally wrapped up in one look or one thing? That has happened to me with red and white dishes.

I have always been drawn to things red. We have red walls in our family room. Our bedroom and dining room are both red and white with a bit of pale green thrown in for good measure. But currently it is red and white china.

It is easy to find pictures online, but more difficult to find in person or to purchase.

I own red plates and I own white plates, but red and white, I have only a few.

I particularly like to layer my plates and patterns. Green looks great and so does black layered mats or chargers with red. Plates have always been a weakness of mine. It is what I bring home from trips as "souvenirs".

What are you hooked on?

Yarn Bombing

Have you heard about "Yarn Bombing"? Rumor has it that it began in Texas when a knitting club decided to take their unfinished pieces and add them to city hardscapes.

It has become a new type of graffiti art in many urban areas. Knit tagging groups go out under the cover of darkness and add their mark.

I haven't seen this in our area, but I am wondering if you have seen it in yours.

Hey, happy Mom's day to all of you out there!

Leighanna Light Day Three

Sadly, today was the last day of workshops taught by Leighanna Light.

We had a wonderful group of students all weekend and they produced excellent projects using all the interesting techniques Leighanna shared.

Below are both student work and Leighanna's samples.

Leighanna is an excellent instructor and great houseguest. We look forward to her retuning to Small Studio to teach again. The students all walked away very happy with what they learned.

Next up: Michael deMeng and Andrea Matus. Stop by the store and see the fabulous samples for their workshops at Small Studio. You won't want to miss their classes.

Leighanna Light Day Two

You missed the best class if you were not here with us. Leighanna did it again. She pulled amazing creativity out of the students in her "Beyond the Metal Deck" workshop.

All of the work below was created on metal using a myriad of techniques.

It was a wonderful class and a wonderful day.

Leighanna Light Day One

Today was the first day of the Small Studio Workshop Series with Leighanna Light and her "Hello Dolly" class. She is a generous, calm, informative and fun instructor. The students worked diligently on their projects (when they weren't laughing) and pretty much finished them.

It was a great class and a great day. Thank you Leighanna and thank you students.

Awesome Thursday

What a day it was today. You should have been here...well, some of you were. First my friend Pam Rowe came by with an armful of her handmade dolls. They are made from scratch, no pre-made anything.

They are beautiful and the workmanship is wonderful.

It was fun to catch up with Pam and see what she has been creating.

Then a big shipment came in from Michael and Andrea. Samples! Samples for the workshops next month and I am telling you that you must come in and see them in person. They are extraordinary. You will not want to miss these workshops on June 1-2-3.

Last and certainly not least, Leighanna Light arrived for her workshops which begin tomorrow. Her samples are wonderful, too. John has decided to take all three workshops this weekend and is down in his art room gathering supplies. Leighanna is not only a great artist and teacher, she is fun, too.

Life is good! Come hang out over here. We have fun.

Mid-Week Miscellany

Remember this mannequin I was given to alter for the Quilt Expo?

This is the beginning of her transformation:

She has been collaged, painted and had a Nicho shrine embedded in her torso. Stay tuned...

Remember the door situation at the store? We needed one more, but we decided that since we were ending our contract at Brothers Antique mall at the end of this month, we would start removing some things from there. So we took the white hutch top from the mall and John added a shelf on the back and we placed it in the front eliminating the need for another door. Cost: $0.

New stuff at the store this week: Santos heads and hands.

Leighanna Light arrives tomorrow to begin the first weekend of our workshop series.

ATC Morning at Small Studio

We had a full house for our ATC morning. The ladies (no men this time) worked diligently to make 20 Artist Trading Cards each to swap at the end of the three hours. It was a wonderful group of women and they did great work. The photos do not do justice to the wonderful cards they made. The lighting is difficult for this amateur photographer.

To all of you who came into the store today, thank you for stopping by and shopping. You made it a great day for us! I hope you had as much fun as we did.

Leighanna Light

Next week begins this year's Workshop Series. Leighanna Light arrives on Thursday to launch the first set of classes. Come play with us and make one of these technique filled projects. Each is a one day class.

Don't miss out!

I loved all your comments to John about the door. I think he did too. Oh, and look what he brought home for us to use in our art projects.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's ATC Challenge at the store. Photos tomorrow.

Old Weathered Doors

Several posts ago I showed some old doors that John made into display units for me, but I never showed you an overall shot of them. It is difficult to take a photo of them since they are in front of our very, very large windows facing the west and the afternoon sun. Readers here have asked to see them, so now follows two photos of our doors.

The next view is from across the store.

The purpose of the doors is twofold: 1. to block some of the reflection from the cars parked in the lot (blinding) 2. to add window display. John put shelves on both sides of the doors so that I can display goods for passerby's and for inside shoppers.

We need one more door, John. Are you listening? John? John, where are you going?

John does a great job with all these store challenges. I don't know how I could have done all this without him.

SteamPunk Class(es)

Tonight was another great class with Barbe Saint John. She knows her products, is fun and full of tips to go along with her techniques. She definitely is an asset to the Ice Resin product line.

Students made little steampunk charms and bobby pins. Here are a few to show you.

I am so happy that Barbe has chosen to teach here. Coming up another Ice Resin 101 and a fabulous Steampunk Necklace June 16th, during the daytime while that night is our Steampunk Social.

There are still spaces for a few lucky students for the Leighanna Light workshops May4-5-6th. And the month after that we have the incredible Michael deMeng and the wonderful Andrea Matus. You need to go check out our workshops on our website.

New product is always arriving at the Small Studio. Today we received some great new papers and tapes.

I will see some of you on Saturday when we have our ATC morning meet-up.

Full Steam Ahead

The SteamPunk Social is alive and growing. Today Jim Griffin of The Griffin Works stopped by to show us some of his handworked steam punk accessories.

Jim will have a table in our classroom to sell and display his quality goods during the June 16th event.

Barbe Saint John will be there to sign the book she co-authored: 1000 SteamPunk Creations.

Michele Monet, professional photographer will be set up for those who want to purchase a photo.

Carla and Becki of Sweethearts of Steam have been instrumental in making this event happen. They are the divas of steampunk costumes and gear and two of the most enthusiastic ladies I have met in a long time. We have a free event every month and the SteamPunk Social will be the event for June. Make yourself a hat or an entire costume and join us for refreshments and fun. Give us a call and let us know you are coming. 440-808-8599

Theresa Smith stopped in the other day to shop and share some very cool ATCs she makes.

She hand cuts the designs and they are beautiful. I love show and tell, but then you all know that.

There are spaces still available in Leighanna Light's workshops the first week of May. Sign up for these wonderful classes before it is too late. We are so lucky to have these awesome instructors travel here to teach in Ohio.

Save the Date

We had a wonderful day at Small Studio today with Barbe Saint John teaching Ice Resin 101. Half the students were old friends and half were new friends. They made incredible resin filled charms. I forgot my camera, but Michele Monet shared some of hers with us. Thank you Barbe and thank you students and thank you Michele.

Barbe sharing her samples.

Aimee and John working on their bezels.

Okay, now for the big news.

Save the Date June 16th, 7-10PM

STEAMPUNK SOCIAL!

Get your inner steampunk on and have some fun with us. More details later, but save the date.

Oh, and Barbe will be teaching many more classes for us. The next is Stampunk Bobbie Pins on April 24th. Check out the web for details and come in and see the samples.

Here is a wonderful Steampunk piece Barbe made for the Ice Resin Co.

WORKSHOP SERIES 2012

The following workshops are sold out:

Teesha's Paint and Paper

Tracy's Hand Forged Journals

Tracy's Full Throttle Journaling

All of our other workshops have openings, but some are close to being sold out. Sign up as soon as possible. Tonight I had to write three people and disappoint them. I so dislike doing that.

Do you have Peeps left over from Easter? Here is a great idea for up-cycling them.

We just received some more puppets. We used to sell them at shows and several customers asked if we had anymore. Well, here they are.

Ever since I started to blog I have neglected my journals. Either I am too busy or I feel that all the big news and daily happenings have been recorded here. The other day I got out some of my old, big, bursting journals and reread some of them, reliving the events all over again. It was so satisfying that I started to journal again. Now I feel as thigh I am really back among you. You do journal, don't you?

Black and White

Silhouettes have always been around but it seems they are making a big comeback. I see different versions of silhouettes in gift catalogs all the time lately. When my kids were little and we lived in CA, the place to get silhouettes done was Disneyland. There was a "street" artist who would cut a quick profile and slap it on a card while you waited. Today, Debby Glick stopped in while traveling from Ann Arbor to her home in Pittsburgh. She shared a project she made using a silhouette made of her as a child.

Recently Debby and her husband were in Paris (lucky them!) and she had a silhouette made of herself. This small book is the result.

Thanks, Debby! I love show and tell in the store.

I also had a fun visit from Kelly and Kathy, owners of Spirit of Clay, a paint your own pottery shop in Mayfield Village OH, where they make cool stuff like this:

You two are a hoot!

We need a bit of white to round off this post. Here are two photos that I just love of white decorating. I need a tray that says "room service". Don't you?

And the cubbies below with a chair where one can just sit and gaze at those cubbies. Perfection.