Cleaning House-BOOKS-

All are new/gently used condition


52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity-$5




Altered Books Workshop-Bev Brazelton $8

Collage A Complete Guide For Artists by Anne Brigadier $20

Artist's Trading Cards-Stampington $12




The Crafter's Complete Guide to Collage-$8

Creative Collage for Crafters: Techniques, Projects, Inspirations $5





Twentieth Century Pattern Design $15

Tracy Porter's Dreams from Home $5

Tracy Porters Inspired Gatherings-$3

Stampington's Material Visions $15

*****I will update and revise the list as the books sell*****

Please note, prices do not include shipping (we'll talk about shipping! :))!

Here's the thing, when I like to clean, I LIKE TO CLEAN. I don't want to put ANYTHING back.
So, if you buy more then one book, we'll see what I can do to offer you a discount on top of a discount :) The more you buy, the happier we'll both be (LOL!!)
Drop me an email at EGorey99 (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

THANKS!!!

Kelly

Journal pages from last night-


One thing for sure, I will always speak my truth. I don't believe in censoring myself or my thoughts in my journals, so please do not be offended or take things out of context. My journal is my tool for thought, creativity and freedom of expression. It's one of my safe places. Freedom of thought and freedom to be yourself are extremely important to me, as are peace and the right to live (not the right to just exist, but the right to truly live).

Journal pages from the last few days:





I hope that people realize that yesterday's post wasn't about ME. When I write posts like that it's to try to have people just stop and think-maybe, think about things in a way that they don't normally think of them. Ditto with my commentary in my art-to offer a different perspective. The post wasn't about ME or my life, but since I think we are all very much responsible not only for our own lives but for the lives of those around us, I'm trying to point this out in the posts and commentary. Life isn't just about "me", it's about all of us. I write the stuff on my blog and in my art to make people (hopefully) think outside their box. Not to force my own opinions, but to make people just stop and think.



*****
It's about effing time. Score another one for human rights! Keep fighting the good fight...

SECOND post of the day...Warning, full rant ahead...



Some blogs are discussing the high price of comic books. Just because something might be "worth" "X" amount of money, doesn't mean that everyone has the funds to actually be able to buy it. It seems as if some people think that we have the money to "buy it all" and that we are hoarding our pennies and just being stingy like Scrooge McDuck (swims like a porpoise in his money vault)-that we can actually afford everything out there, yet it's just us being tight wads. The price of everything has gone up. Gas goes up. So the price of food goes up because hardly anything is grown locally anymore. So the companies pass their transportation costs along to us. The news media complains about food shortages. There isn't a food shortage. Food is just too damn expensive. There's a money shortage. If you go to the grocery store, you may see how much food is thrown away or left to rot instead of donated to the local food banks. You can also do some research and learn how farmers are paid to not grow food. What the hell does this have to do with me ranting about comic books?

My favorite comment was from this blog, where the writer said that he's just as happy paying $9.99 to 16.99 for something that used to be two or three bucks because "they're great comics".
Well, you know, I need to put gas in my car and gas when I started driving in the '90s was $.97 a gallon. Now it's $4. Driving is "great", but $4 a gallon and climbing-ouch. Ditto with bread. Used to be less than a $1 a loaf...now it's over $4 a loaf for real whole wheat...My grocery bill was $108 and we don't buy meat, but we buy fruits, vegetables, milk. The only "junk" I bought was ice cream. This same bill used to be $80 something for everything now it's almost $30 more for weekly staples.

We can't all afford to buy everything that's out there. We can't all afford to shell out $10 to $20 for something that used to be $3 because it's "Great". If, we're "hoarding our pennies", it's because we have bills to pay, rent to pay, food to put on the table and all that jazz. It's not because we're tightwads and we're rolling in dough. It's because the prices of EVERYTHING is going up and wages aren't. So, we're forced to pick and choose WHAT to buy.

The bottom line is, we have to make choices. There are limits as to what we can afford and what we can spend all of our pennies on. Some people seem to overlook this.

*****

Have I pointed out how much I love Gore Vidal? In case you didn't get that in any of the past blog posts about Vidal, I greatly admire that man. Another interview with him here.

Journal pages from the last few days-

Above: with transparency (stapled to page). Below: Transparency pulled back to see underneath
*****

Thank you Christine for the gorgeous postcard that was in my mailbox!! I LOVE it!!!

Second post of the day. I couldn't let this one wait until tomorrow. Very sad day indeed. He was one of my favorite artists.

Robert Rauschenberg, dead at 82.




More on his life and work here.

Journal pages from the weekend-

*****

It's Lynda Barry Love Fest time!!!

Lynda Barry's book is OUT. I bought it yesterday at the local big box book store 'cause I could NOT wait any more...two years is MORE then enough. Weird-it's in the HUMOR section (of course, I had looked in every section BUT that one...whodathunkit thinking it was a how-to, graphic novel, memoir type book...I of course, thought that there should be piles and piles of them stacked by the front door with a big neon sign pointing to them, but that would be too easy...and comics aren't respected enough like other books. Alas, I digress...).

Oh. My. God.

You NEED This book.

NEED it.

The first thing I saw when it hit me in the face at the bookstore was the SIZE. A glorious 8 1/2 x 11". 210 pure full color pages in beautiful Lynda Barry style. The book is divided into various sections reading like a journal/memoir throughout. It's also chock full of ideas guaranteed to pull your Muse out of hiding and have you aching and itching to pull your own journal out and WORK. This will be by my bedside for a while. Save your pennies, folks. Give up the weekly dinner outing. Walk instead of drive. Do *anything* to get your hands on this book. Even you crazy folk out there who claim not to like or read comics will be in serious need of this book. Go now. Get thee to a bookstore!!!

or well, you could also watch this one:



after which, I'd have to say "Thank you":

I've updated my etsy shop..Ten handmade books are listed now.










*****

Lynda Barry's WHAT IT IS is OUT! Check out the NY Times interview with her here. I am headed out to the bookstore this afternoon to buy a copy!! I have been waiting over two years for this book. It's one that I think that even those of you who have never heard of Lynda Barry or have read her work, will LOVE. And heads up! Lynda sells ORIGINAL artwork on ebay. (ahh, one of these days I'll own one!!)

*****

The second issue of Lines & Shapes is out. I enjoyed the first issue and am eager to see the second volume.

*****

I am teaching my "Inspired: More Exercises for an Artist's Journal" workshop this Saturday in Thousand Oaks. For more info, please drop me a note. This is the last time for a while that I will be offering this workshop in So CA. It has been a favorite (of mine and my students). The handout is 22 pages long with over 300 exercises in it. Catch it while you can.
Sunday is my Day by Day book at Zinnia in So Pasadena! It'll be a very busy but fun weekend!!

Second Post of the day for all you Mommies out there...

Happy Mother's Day!!


Here is my (tentative) workshop schedule for May-August (I am working on adding more dates for July, BTW...just waiting to hear from a couple of stores.):
Please note some workshops are one-shot deals (I have a special one shot only workshop for Saturday, may 24th in Simi Valley. It's a special day long "Multi Layered 2 Needle coptic book" workshop-so we will be learning the two needle coptic stitch AND Doing lots of NEW mixed media techniques in the workshop.) Questions? Drop me a note! To sign up, please phone the store (or if it's at a private home, please drop me an email). Thanks!! ~Kelly

May

2-4^th Frenzy Stamper Scottsdale http://frenzystamper.com/

10^th Stampin from the Heart LA What Next?

17^th Private Home in Thousand Oaks “Inspired” workshop open to public

18^th Zinnia Day by Day Book

24^th Private Home in Simi Valley workshop Special ONE time ONLY 2 needle Coptic, Multi Layered Book-workshop open to public

25^th Art Bar Snippets

28^th Stampin from the Heart 2 needle coptic

31^st Creative Courage Woodland Hills Snippets

June

1^st Zinnia Pasadena Fukoro Toji

7^th Private Home in Thousand Oaks workshop What Next?- open to public

8^th Stampin from the Heart LA Storyteller

13-15^th Stampers Warehouse Danville http://www.stamperswarehouse.com/

21^st Zinnia Pasadena What Next?

22^nd Stamp Addict San Diego TBA

25^th Stampin From The Heart LA Goin’ Postal

28^th Private Home in Thousand Oaks “Day by Day” Book workshop open to the public

29^th Art Bar Santa Ana Fukoro Toji

July

5^th-TBA

6^th-TBA

12^th-TBA

13^th-Art Bar TBA

19^th-Private Home in Thousand Oaks TBA

20^th-Stampin’ From The Heart LA-The Artist & her symbols

August

2^nd-Private Home in Thousand Oaks Workshop TBA

3^rd-Stampin’ From The Heart LA Prompted

4-10^th Art Unraveled Phoenix, AZ www.artunraveled.com

15^th and 16^th The Stamp Act Marshfield MA www.thestampactstore.com/ TBA

22^nd and 23^rd Ink About it Westford , MA www.inkaboutitonline.com/ TBA

Blog post for Saturday (as I'm teaching during the day so here's Saturday's post, Friday night at 8:30 ;)):

Journal pages from the other night-
So, last Sunday when I was teaching at Frenzy Stamper, Dawn asked me a good question. How do I Unblock the Block, or how do I get rid of creative block? Here's the thing-I don't get creative block. I play. Every day I do something creative. If I don't like what I do, I do something else. If I don't like the stuff I pasted down, I paint over it. If I don't like what I painted, I paint or glue over it. The secret is to PLAY. Every day, do something. Find something you like, do it. Figure out how many different ways that there is to do something-stay on your toes. Stay fresh.

I started the two pages above by PLAYING. I dug into my big deep bag o' collage goodies (actually a one gallon ziploc bag I filled with the stuff I bought from One Good Bumblebee). Using my handy, dandy glue stick and a ruler (to snip off any unwanted edges), I tore the papers into squares and rectangles and glued 'em all over the pages (this is NOT a two page spread but two separate pages). I loved the look of the pages before I even added "focal images". Then I fussed and hemmed and hawwed about which focal images to add. I held up various ones. The mushrooms fit perfectly right away. I dug through the bag finding 3 of them and finding the mushroom "Tally" card. The stickers were an after thought. On the bird page, I started with the birds and glued them down right away (of course, why wait?!? LOL) which of course, presented me with a zillion problems to solve afterwards. I dug out my pens and my stickers and said "what else can I use to bring these pages together?" Use what and where? By PLAYING on the pages with papers like this and just messing around with color and line and trying to figure out HOW to present the pages, I keep myself active and aware of "how can I do this?!?!". It's fun to problem solve as an artist. It really does keep you on your toes.

Oh, the other thing I do is this-I don't tear anything out. Lots of artists/teachers will tell you to tear it out if you don't like it. I don't. I figure that in my journal there are pages-lots of pages. For every one "good" page there are several I'm on the fence about. Your "bad" and your "good" pages show your progress and your struggle. They're just as much a part of your journal and of you...Keep 'em in there. Not everything you do has to be perfect. Art is a learning experience...and it's fun.

So, go dig out a bunch of that special collage stuff you've been hoarding, I mean saving, and USE it. Open up your journal and start by ripping, tearing. Hold papers against papers-figure out if you like the colors or the patterns. Move stuff around on the page BEFORE you glue. Glue stuff down and then figure where do you go from there. Ask questions. Walk away from the page. Go back to it. Paint over it. PLAY. Don't be afraid to make a mess. And, pat yourself on the back every now and then, hold up your page and say "I Made This."

AMAZING books in the mail:

Yesterday was another great mail day!! I received Dorit Elisha's GORGEOUS 67 page book. What I love about the book (in addition to the FULL COLOR artwork spread across its pages) is that Dorit tells her story. Sprinkled throughout the pages are Dorit's musings on her life as an artist-what inspires her, her favorite tool, etc... I also love the size-I can take it with me (which I will be doing for a while!!!) It's eye candy for sure but eye candy with a backbone! I highly recommend this for your shelf. It will appeal to mixed media artists of all kinds-fabric, assemblage, paper, paint and beyond!!! Check out Dorit's blog for more full color pictures and info on how to order the book.

The next book is massive in size 11 x 17", a true coffee table book. It's LULU by Lulu De Kwiatkowsi. (More pictures of it here). I debated on whether or not to order this before seeing it. It is a $100 book. Amazon has it for $63 and I had a $25 gift certificate so for $38, I needed it.
I'm SO happy that I ordered it. When it arrived yesterday, I was overwhelmed with work but I sat down to flip through the pages. WOW. The pages are HUGE and FULL eye popping color that you just want to wrap yourselves in. Lulu has been called the "female Peter Beard". The woman stands on her OWN. Her artwork is lush and unique. I sat in bed last night with the book on my lap, thoroughly enjoying the artwork, and thinking how happy I was that I ordered the book. My only beef with it is the size, I'm not used to books THIS big. I won't be able to carry it around with me and I do like toting books around...this one will just live at home!
The last book is one I don't have but it high on my wish list, Gary Panter's massive 700 page tome that documents his artwork (yes, you know him from his design work on Pee Wee's Playhouse). I will be saving my pennies for this one. You can see more pictures here and here.
*****

Speaking of ULTRA cool books, I was invited to be a "cover girl" for an alphabet swap hosted by the amazing Jane Eileen (thank you Jane for hostessing). WOW-the pages are AMAZING!!!! You can see photos of it here on Jane's ultra talented daughter, Jeane Frizzell's blog. While you are scoping out Jeane's luscious artwork, make sure you read her post on her tissue paper discovery technique-THE way to glue down tissue paper!!! Woo hoo!!!!! Even teachers learn something new in a class ;)

*****
I took Tristan to see IRON MAN yesterday. I wasn't expecting much and was I ever surprised!! I LOVED The film! Robert Downey, Jr. was PERFECT as Tony Stark. Another great casting pick (like Tobey as Spiderman and Christian as Batman). Last summer there really weren't too many films for us to pick from...this summer it's total feast. Tristan is making me nuts counting down the days til Indiana Jones. You'll know where to find us this summer:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Kung Fu Panda

The Incredible Hulk

Wall-E

Hell-boy II

The Dark Knight

Step Brothers

What can I say? I have an 11 year old...