Prints of the Week: Butterflies On The Brain

Maybe I was inspired to make these prints the "Prints of the Week" because we saw a Monarch butterfly while walking the dog this weekend.  Maybe it's because The Venture Bros. is finally coming back with Season 5.  Honestly, who's to say?  Either way, you can have 8x10s of either Soul Searching or Spirits' Journey for half off this week (a limited number of 11x14s are also available and also on sale).

Soul Searching (top) and Spirits' Journey (bottom)

Here's the scoop on my weekly print sale:

• Sale is from Monday to following Monday, I usually switch them up around lunchtime (or some time that afternoon)
• You don't need a coupon code, Prints of the Week are automatically marked down
• 50% off 8x10" prints (only $7.25!) and more than 30% off 11x14" prints 
• No limit - get as many as you like
• I'll decide which prints go up, BUT I will make that decision based on fan/client input
• Images will not be POTW more than once in a 6 month period, so snap up your favorite when it comes around
• You can find the POTW by clicking on the Print of the Week link from my site (or click the OMG, on sale! link to see everything that's been marked down).
• Occasionally, like this week, I'll put a pair of prints on sale.  When I do, you can get just one or both if you like.

Check back next Monday (just click on the "Print of the Week" link in my shop) to see which print will be on sale.  I will switch them up around lunchtime here in California.

And of course, let me know which image you would like to see as Print Of The Week! 

Behind The Scenes and Inspiration: Courage

One of the questions I hear most is "where do you find inspiration," followed closely by "what's the story behind that image?"  The answer to the first is "pop culture, life, music and my 'black comedy' sense of humor." While that is definitely true, it is also pretty vague, so I thought I'd start occasional posts that tell the stories behind and beyond some of my pieces.  Of course, sometimes, a painting is just a painting, so not all of my images will show up in this series.

COURAGE (2008)

pyrography, acrylics and mixed-media on wood

This panel was 1/9th of a collaborative piece gifted to a friend in early 2009

In late 2008, a friend and fellow Sacramento artist, Kathy Blackburn and her musician hubby Byron, learned that his cancer had returned the day before his 1-year remission anniversary. Out of love and concern, nine Sacramento artists collaborated on a piece to wish Kathy & Byron "Love, Happiness, Strength, Courage, Positivity, Hope, Friendship, Support and Peace."

I agreed to be part of the collaborative gift before I knew what we were actually doing.  I'm a sucker like that.  So when I received the huge panel, I sat staring at it wondering what the heck I was going to do with the either "courage" or "happiness," which were the remaining words from which I could choose.  I wasn't feeling much inspiration; mostly, I was just feeling stress.  I set the piece against the wall and went to work on other things.

Meanwhile, I was taking several online courses (I switched from art quilts to painting/mixed media late in 2007).  About the same time I'd agreed to take part in the Blackburn piece, I was taking part in an 'oracle card' art challenge even though I had absolutely NO idea what the heck and oracle card was. We were supposed to make something that represented a positive force in our lives - something that was representative of what was going on. I turned to my friend and resource for all things occult/pagan, Temple Terkildsen, for a primer.  She pretty much told me to chill and just see what kept coming up in my life and that would decide what my "oracle card" should be.  Whatever.  I went back to the collaborative painting and stared.

In desperation, I looked up the definition for happiness and courage, and that's when I saw that the word comes from the Latin "cor" meaning "heart."  

Courage: c. 1300, from Old French corage, from Vulgar Latin Coraticum from Latin cor, "heart," which remains a common metaphor for inner strength.

By this time in my art career, I was pretty well known by that point for creating hearts, so it was painfully obvious which of the panels I'd be doing (and that it would also be the oracle card project).

So, the heart image is for courage, the thorny branches for the difficult things in life and the flowers are for hope.  The text on the lower, left corner is the definition (above) and the quotation in the top, right corner is a quotation from Osho, someone whose work Temple suggested I look into while trying to work on my oracle card challenge (more crossover between the projects).  The quotation reads,

Don't cling to any certainty. Life is uncertain - its very nature is uncertain. And an intelligent man always remains uncertain. This very readiness to remain in uncertainty is courage. 

The finished collaborative piece:
Row 1: Nicole Fox (love), Jennifer Keller (happiness), Evie Turner (strength)
Row 2: me (courage), Mark Fox (positivity), Jill Allyn Stafford (hope)
Row 3: Jared Konopitski (friendship), Miss Cy Wylie (support) and Char Hall (peace)

Although Byron passed away months after this work was presented to him, Kathy still treasures the piece we made for them both.

Accessories and magnets featuring Courage are available at skelekitty.com.

See all Behind the Scenes/Inspiration posts.  

Is there an image you're curious about?  Drop me a line and ask me to talk about it in a future Behind the Scenes and Inspiration post.

My Magnetic Personality (nyuck nyuck nyuck)

For a while now, some folks have been telling me that they love the glass tile pendants, earrings and rings with mini-prints of my art, but that they just don't wear jewelry.  I totally get it.  That's why I've made magnets and key chains just for the folks who prefer to walk around unadorned.

MAGNETS!!!

Yep.  Magnets!  After years of begging from fans, I started making sets out of the obvious collections: the sugar silly skullies and my take on the Weeping Angels.  So far, the sugar silly skullies have been the runaway hit.  No surprise there - look at those cute and colorful faces!

The 1" glass tile magnets of all five sugar silly skullies have quite a fan base!

These magnets are made with the same one-inch square glass tiles, silicon-based glue, sealant and techniques as my jewelry, except that I don't seal the back sides with resin.  Since these will be sitting quietly on your fridge or magnetic white board, they don't need protection from cosmetics, perspiration and the perils of daily life (one customer's toddler dragged the garden hose into the living room and squirted her while she was wearing a pendant - you just never know what might happen).

 Since I know not all my customers are Doctor Who fans or dig sugar skulls as much as I do, so I also offer create-your-own sets of magnets.

choose one of these sets or pick your five favorite images
(click photo to enlarge)

choose one of these sets or pick your six favorite images
(click photo to enlarge)

Just decide whether you want a set of 5 or 6 magnets, then tell me which images you want (or you can choose one of the sample sets I've put together).

If you are paying with a credit card instead of PayPal, simply send me a note using the
Contact link in my shop, reference your order and leave the image choices in your note.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

KEY CHAINS / ZIPPER PULLS

In addition to the magnets, I've added a key chain option to the 1" tiles.  This option is only available on the small tiles, which are sturdier and more likely to stand up to the abuse a key chain or backpack zipper pull will encounter on a daily basis.  

Ordering a key chain is easy.  Just 1) find the listing for the image you want (they're alphabetical by title or you can use the search box at the bottom of the nav bar), 2) choose the 1x1" size (ready-to-ship, if it's available, is always $2 less!), then 3) check the box for "key chain option."That's it!

If I have posted a new image that isn't in the shop as a pendant yet, you can use the customized key chain listing and request the image you like.  

So there you have it.  Magnets and key chains.  Apparently, if you bug me for long enough about offering certain options, I'll actually do it.  So, you know, thanks for the continuous nudging, folks.

~Krissi

Geekery Renewed! Venture Bros. and Doctor Who Return

The most recent Doctor Who mid-season hiatus, while nowhere NEAR as long and tortuous as the two and a half year break between Seasons 4 and the "bright and mother f#@&ing cheery" Season 5 of The Venture Bros., is still as keenly felt for those of us who breathe geekery like it was air. 'Cause it kinda is.

One of a kind
Adipose Industries pill-shaped box

With Season 7.5 of Doctor Who premiering at the end of the month, we can begin to sate ourselves with  more of the Doctor's new mysterious companion, freak out at some new and returning creatures, ooh and ahh at more writing from Neil Gaiman, and thrill at an appearance from the amazing Dame Diana Rigg!

HELPeR pendant (Tijuana Makeover)

I'm not entirely sure what to expect with Season 5 of The Venture Bros (which airs at midnight on May 19th), but between the preview video and some screen caps on Jackson Publick's blog, I understand we'll see the boys continuing to grow up, a giant crustacean, more of Shallow Gravy (the band), a pterodactyl, a skinny-dipping Doc, and The Monarch in various costumes (including his jim-jams).



Because I'm a dork and new seasons of these particular shows excite me even more than the longer days and warmth of Spring, I'm celebrating with a sale of all things Doctor Who and Venture Bros!  Yep.  All of my DW and VB fan art is officially marked down by 25% through March 30th.  You don't even need a coupon code - it's all done for you.  (There are other goodies on sale too, so if you want to see everything in one place, clicky click right here.)

Find "Geekery" by selecting it from the Category drop-down
on the front page (or just click this link).  There are links to more
DW and VB geekery in each listing, too.

Now is the time to buy an art print of The Fat Just Walks Away, a pendant of the Grand Galactic Inquisitor or a WALKING EYE!, or even some Weeping Angels magnets.

See all Behind the Scenes/Inspiration posts.  

Is there an image you're curious about?  Drop me a line and ask me to talk about it in a future Behind the Scenes and Inspiration post.

California Golden Poppies - Print of the Week

It's time for the new Print of the Week (POTW) where I choose an image and put the print on sale big time.

This week's POTW is the Golden Poppies from my Art Nouveau/Arts & Crafts Flowers series.  The 8x10s" are marked down 50%, from $14.49 to only $7.25.  The 11x14" sizes are available for $14.25 (regularly $21.49).

Bright orange "Golden Poppies" pop off of a turquoise background layered with dragonflies and gears. This piece is the first in a series of four paintings inspired by the Art Nouveau / Arts & Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th Century and intertwines organic elements with images of industrialization.

For those of you new to POTW, I got the idea from the indie makeup companies that offer a different one of their colors at a discounted price each week or month (Color of the Week/Month).  The idea is that every week, a different one of my prints will be massively on sale.  Here's how I see it working out:

• Sale is from Monday at lunchtime to following Monday at lunchtime
• No coupon needed, it's marked down already
• 50% off 8x10" prints and more than 30% off 11x14" prints 
• No limit - get as many as you like
• I'll decide which prints go up, BUT I will make that decision based on fan/client input
• Images will not be POTW more than once in a 6 month period, so snap up your favorite when it comes around
• You can find the POTW by clicking on the Print of the Week link from my site (or click the SALE link to see everything that's been marked down).
• Occasionally, I'll put a pair of prints on sale (because I'm nuts)

Check back next Monday (just click on the "Print of the Week" link in my shop) to see which print will be on sale.  I will switch them up around lunchtime here in California.

And of course, let me know which image you would like to see as Print Of The Week! 

Tips N Tricks: Fixing Resin "Oopsies"

Hi all!  I know a lot of you have read my "not-really-a-tutorial" on how I make my pendants because I've gotten some great feedback from you.  As an addendum, here's a tip/trick for when good pours go bad (and how I fix them).

Sometimes, no matter how careful I am, some resin will spill over the edge of my glass tile and adhere to the front.

You can see where the resin spilled over the edge and onto the
front of this glass tile (which will be an art pendant for my friend Jenn!)

 If the spillover is thick enough, it can be peeled off cleanly and with relative ease after about 12 hours of curing time (the resin will be dry, but still pliable).  If only a tiny amount of resin has gotten on the front of the glass, it leaves a cloudy residue that doesn't peel up.

Don't use anything abrasive - it might scratch or damage the glass tile.  Do this instead:

Rubbing alcohol is your friend when you're working with sticky resin!

• Soak a cotton pad, folded paper towel or rag with rubbing (isopropyl 70 or 90%) alcohol
• Set the tile face-down into the soaked pad and allow it to sit for a few minutes 
• Gently rub the surface with a paper towel to remove the softened resin (if you notice the resin isn't dissolving, add more alcohol to your pad and start over)
• Be very careful not to get alcohol onto the finished resin coating the back, and only hold the tile by the edges so you don't press fingerprints into the resin which still may be soft

With some patience, the alcohol, and some gentle rubbing with your fingernails and the paper towel, the unwanted residue will come right off the glass.

Now the glass tile is so shiny, you can see my
yard reflected in it.  Yay!

The resin on the back needs to cure for another 12-72
hours, and then I can add a bail and ship the pendant

I hope this little tip helps.  Be sure to check around for more of my tips and tutorials (there are links at the top of my blog) if you want to know more about mixing resin or sealing paper before pouring resin.  There are also tutorials on crafts and various techniques I use in my paintings.  Enjoy!

Release - Print of the Week 50% off

It's time for the new Print of the Week (POTW) where I choose an image and put the print on sale big time.

This week's POTW is the bird & cage detail from my painting Release.  The 8x10s" are marked down 50%, from $14.49 to only $7.25.  The 11x14" sizes are available for $14.25 (regularly $21.49).

"Release" was created for the January 2009 National
 Bird Day Celebration  - a day to bring awareness
to wild and captive birds across the world.
 (The full painting shows the two wild birds releasing a
large heart with parrot wings from a gilded cage.)

For those of you new to POTW, I got the idea from the indie makeup companies that offer a different one of their colors at a discounted price each week or month (Color of the Week/Month).  The idea is that every week, a different one of my prints will be massively on sale.  Here's how I see it working out:

• Sale is from Monday at lunchtime to following Monday at lunchtime
• No coupon needed, it's marked down already
• 50% off 8x10" prints and more than 30% off 11x14" prints 
• No limit - get as many as you like
• I'll decide which prints go up, BUT I will make that decision based on fan/client input
• Images will not be POTW more than once in a 6 month period, so snap up your favorite when it comes around
• You can find the POTW by clicking on the Print of the Week link from my site (or click the SALE link to see everything that's been marked down).
• Occasionally, I'll put a pair of prints on sale (because I'm nuts)

Check back next Monday (just click on the "Print of the Week" link in my shop) to see which print will be on sale.  I will switch them up around lunchtime here in California.

And of course, let me know which image you would like to see as Print Of The Week!