A Special Military Wife, Mother, and Artist



Creations by Gena

http://www.zibbet.com/creationsbygena

Surfing around the e-commerce site Zibbet, I saw this wonderful interview with Gena.  I immediately wanted to introduce you to this creative lady.

I'm only reposting the first portion of the interview, but you will find the link for the entire article at the end of this post.

Her shop, Creations by Gena, has a beautiful selection of all kinds of various art. If you like variety, you should be sure to stop in, because you can find gifts for every one of your friends and family. Gena currently resides in Georgia with her husband and is a proud supporter of the US Military.

1.Tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi Everyone my name is Gena of CreationsbyGena -specializing in glass art, Misc. Folk and collage art, Primitive crafts and More!

I am a Proud Army EOD (Bomb Squad) wife, which my husband is now retired after 22 years of service..yeah and I am also a very PROUD Air Force and Coast Guard mom (if I had more kids, I am sure I would have the other branches covered too…LOL). When I am not supporting my family I am an altered art, mixed media, Folk art artist. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been creating things. …just ask my parents. In School while growing up, I took many art classes and graduated from a 4 year vocational school for Graphic and Advertising Design. I had planned on having a career in Graphic Arts, but let’s say “things change” and for the best I must say.


I like to work in different mediums and enjoy learning new techniques. I love to paint, and to craft things. “I hate an empty white wall, and think that the best way to defeat blankness is by making affordable art available to everyone.” It brings me great joy to share my love of vibrant, colorful, whimsical art and crafts with others, thus the reason for the many different items you will see my shop.

And here's a special item from Gena's shop that I thought the ACJ team would really appreciate.

 

Here's the link I promised so you can read the entire interview.  Please visit Gena's shop. She has such a variety of items (even sale items) that would make great gifts.  http://www.zibbet.com/blog/2011.11.21/featured-zibbeter-creationsbygena

Wishing everyone a very special Thanksgiving.

Pepper

Unique Artist Structures Continued

This week, I'm going to start with unique and strange buildings.

Mammy's Cupboard:  Adams Co - MS

Fish House:   Alameda Co - CA

Visitor Information Center:  Anchorage, AK  (grass roof)

Fish Building:   Cass Co - MN

Leaning Tower:   Cook Co - IL

Mortar & Pestle Bldg:   Fayette Co - KY

Mother Goose Cafe:   somewhere in Florida

Big Pump:   Gentry Co - MO

Dog Bark Park Inn:   Idaho Co - ID

Coffee Pot Diner, circa 1931:   Maricopa Co - AZ

Goose House:   Perry Co - KY

Coke Cup Building:  Sacramento Co - CA 

Redwood Village House:   Santa Cruz Co - CA

Ice Cream Cone Building:   Sarasota Co - FL

More to come next week!

Have a great day,

RWS/VS

Etsy shops just starting out.

Howdy ho,
We used to do this all the time ~  look for shops with little or no sales and help them out by creating treasuries around them or even purchasing an item to help make their day and offer a bit of encouragement.
There's some great new artists appearing most every day and here are some I found just recently... 

Beautiful tiles from Ammielou

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64151507/statue-of-bearded-man-on-travertine-tile

 Awesome photography by JennDiggs 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66309051/locked-in-fine-art-photography-bogo-sale?ref=v1_other_2

Check this out ~ recycled garbage bags! This one made with Dollar General bags from Pickleme

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66309378/recycled-shopping-bag 

Knotcards which are new to me, but really fun! This one is my favorite for some reason...by bysharonmarie

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66093740/knotcards-im-a-little-gassy 

You could spend hours looking and it never ceases to amaze me what people come up with and the talent that is abundant in our world!

Sending everyone all that is good,

Peggy ~ Goodgosh ~GG

My dad and I and a Mural

trompe l'oeils (loi').

1. A style of painting that gives an illusion of photographic reality.
2. A painting or effect created in this style.

Recently my dad was called back to a local McDonald's to add on to the mural he had done years ago. They had remodeled and had to tear down part of what he had already done which meant more work to do. I had helped him the first time (minimally) and this time he needed my help more then ever because of his ill health.

The theme was right up my alley. Hollywood movies~ They had asked that we include Toy Story and Shrek.  I was hesitant at first ~ you know how it is as an artist....you look at the big empty canvas and start to doubt yourself. Well, this was a big ass canvas that included an audience and freezing cold air blowing in my face for hours, but for my dad, I'd do anything.

Before:

After

 

     I have done murals before in my own home and others which include the side of the building at our previous gallery, the side of a shed at a horse breeders farm, the wall of the Public library in the children area,  and twice for a client in her dining room. I'm hoping to start learning more from my dad and eventually....who knows?

  A few notes: 

• My dad is more experienced and quicker
• Parts of what you see here were already done years ago 
• It was freezing cold in there 
• Painting Woody made my head hurt at times 
• Getting used to stares and questions was difficult
• I was proud of my dad and myself
• McDonald's is ALWAYS busy
• The Strawberry Banana smoothies are pretty darn good.

Beam me up Scotty ~ Peggy, GG, horse face

 

There's A New Sharpie in Town!

Calling all artist and crafter's that love Sharpies. Or all those who just plain love Sharpies and find they have become an addiction (like me).

Yep, there's a new one out! Last year, it was a stainless steel Sharpie and yes, I purchased two of them, you really do NOT want to see my drawer of pens and pencils. This year? A liquid pencil! Here is their current ad for it:

No Breaking Lead.

No Breaking Your

Flow.

The New Sharpie Liquid Pencil lets you take your flow to another level. Steer clear of the driftwood. Watch out for sharks, helicopters and mermaids! See how far your flow can go in the Sharpie Make Some Waves game. Play now!

I cannot wait to get mine.  And guess what? You can erase anything for 3 days and then after that, it's permanent! How cool is that?

Want more Sharpies? Check out this web site, I didn't know there were so many available! Did you know there's Caribbean Colors? Did you know there's Paint Sharpies?

Sharpie®

All Products

 

And just a little bit of history: Sharpie®

History

Have a Sharpie Day!

VS