Home Goodies

I'll admit that part of my sudden interest in home goods is that I finally have a home!  It's strange- it's all happened sooner and later than I thought it would.  Sooner, as I was finally growing accustomed to a more nomadic lifestyle.  After I was first married, I had the strong instinct to settle down and 'nest,' so to speak.  When it was quickly apparent that we'd remain renters for a while, I gradually incorporated that into my outlook.  As it came to us moving back to WA, I had prepared myself mentally for apartment living again, and was determined to live happily and set up shop in an even smaller corner than I had at our last tiny place!  But praise God, there were other plans to follow & my creativity is abounding in my wonderful new space!  My younger self would have thought it all a long time coming, but here and now, I remain amazed and grateful. 

So… home goods!  That's what I was writing about.  While I'm still not ready to reveal the main project for my new Etsy Store (soon!), I wanted to talk about a thought I had for additional stocking purposes- tea towels!  The thought came because I could use some new kitchen towels now.  The very nice ones we got for our wedding are starting to wear a bit & have some stains… so of course, I thought to make some new ones for myself.  It occurred to me that perhaps others would like new kitchen towels too.  I've got some great designs floating in my head & I'm excited to try them out.  It dawned on me that sewing tea towels on my own from scratch would take a fair bit more time than if I found some high-quality ones to decorate.  I searched and searched- I wanted American made cotton towels that had nicely finished edges.  I think I found some that will fit the bill!  They are the "Deluxe Flour Sack Towels" from ACS Home and Work.  They'll be sending me a sample so I can check on the quality myself (very kind of them to do so!), but from their description and the reviews I read, I'm sure they will be top notch.  Here's a link to their store, if you are interested in ordering any towels or soft home goods from them for yourself:

ACS Home and Work   

I'm really looking forward to implementing my designs.  Of course, there will be a tea cup design (as is partially pictured above in the quick marker sketch I did), to truly make one that will go well with one's tea accoutrement.  :)

Okay!  Back to work!  Much to do, and less time to do it in! 

Happy summer to y'all!


:)

 A Zinnia from my little garden

New Studio- A Little Tour

Brightly Hude is back!

Whew!

What a whirlwind these past few months have been!  Early in April, my dear hubby was offered a transfer to an area of SW Washington that we've always really liked.  He accepted the job and few days later we found ourselves up there looking for new housing.  We were scouting out apartments for the most part, as rental houses in the area were a tad more than we were budgeting for.  For kicks (and because we were curious about the home-buying process), we popped into a real estate agent establishment to ask questions.  Two hours later we found ourselves pre-qualified, in love with a house we'd just been shown, and then we put in an offer!  A quick 2.5 weeks later, the house was ours*.  We're not usually so rash- if we hadn't been loosely following the housing market of that town, well since before we got married, I don't think we would have jumped as quickly.  But now that we are all settled we can say we're happy with the decision, with the house, the town, and our local parish, so we're very grateful!

I've dubbed our new home "Parkhaven," as we live near a park (though hubby keeps calling it "Rancho Hude-o," to my dismay- we'll see which one of us takes the time to make a plaque to put by the front door!).  One of the best things about Parkhaven is that I, for the first time ever, get my own true studio!  A lovely little 10' x 11' room with a good sized closet that is totally dedicated to making stuff!  I'm absolutely loving it, and have a hard time not being in that room & remembering the rest of my lovely house (it is a 1950's ranch, by the way!).

I've rambled on long enough- time for pictures!  I'm a big fan of the Better After blog, so I've decided to show the studio in a similar fashion.  Here's what it looked like when I first dumped put all of my stuff in there:

And now, it is much, much nicer!

 

My drawing desk, sculpting desk, and computer/sewing desk...

 

The printer/shipping desk, filing cabinet & crazy lamp I painted!

 

The rest of my sewing desk, my book/supply shelf & art collection!

I need to get more of my art collection (mostly lovely gifts from artist friends over the years) up on the walls!  I've just a smattering up there right now.  The studio closet has these two wonderful cabinets- one side I'm using for horse stuff, the other side has this stuff:

Items for my new business endeavor!  My new Etsy shop.  Those hoops, by the way, look like this right now- painted up in chalk paint:

What are they for?  Well...  I'll announce it soon!  Really!  I'm just not quite there yet- I want to get my shop all stocked up before I sing about it from the rooftops.  I'll just say that it is something different, something to do on the side while I sculpt, etc.  It does involve sewing, and I'm having a blast with it!  There will be a new (sister) blog too- so those who are interested in home decor & gifts can follow that blog, and those of y'all primarily interested in horses, can follow me here.  

So- more to come soon!  I'm hoping to blog about my animation project, sculpture and Jeanie cat book in the coming weeks.  I do hope to keep up better with my blogging- gotta push myself!  I think I'm a better craftsman than writer- I'd much rather 'do' than write about it, but I really like having this connection to all of you, so I am determined to post more.  So stay tuned!  I leave you with the lovely view from my studio window:

Gotta love all of that green up here!

:)

*We got the house quicker than the job transfer, so our move took a while!

NW Stormy Weather

He's all done, he's been photographed, he's up at MyAuctionBarn!

Check out NW Stormy Weather here:

http://tinyurl.com/NWStormyWeather

Thanks to everyone who has sent me kind words and comments about his paint job!  I am delighted to finally be able to offer him to y'all.  Thanks to Melanie Miller for the great photos, and to Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig for such a fantastic sculpture!

:)

Lessons in Resin

 It is my fervent hope that I will be able to finish finishing this "Stormwatch" resin (sculpted by the excellent Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig, of course) within the next couple of weeks!  I've been giving sneak peeks of his progress on my Facebook business page lately, so I thought I'd share the love here too.  This big guy, who I'm calling "NW Stormy Weather," has given me quite the lesson-filled journey as we go along together.  I will say he's been the most challenging (and hopefully will be the most impressive) resin I've painted thus far.  But challenging in a good way, thankfully- I can truly say that for the most part, I've enjoyed working on him.  Resinland is not my natural habitat- that would be Ceramicsville.  I find stepping out of my comfort zone every now and again is good for me as an artist- it makes me grow and sometimes leads me to think up new ways to approach ceramic finishing techniques.  Of course, sometimes it leads to near-cursing and tearing-of-the-hair, but Praise Be, that largely has not been the case, this go-around!

So, what are some of the lessons I've learned with this Stormy?

Well, as I expected I still hate resin prep.  But that is over and done with long ago, so I won't dwell there.  Also, airbrushed ceramic underglaze can work really well for dappling provided a) You have a good (unsealed) acrylic basecoat, b) You can dapple and erase several layers, but once you seal it, that's it.  Don't airbrush underglaze over that and expect to dapple more* and c) Seal your final layer well** (I used Krylon Matte on Stormy- it seemed to do the trick!).

Another lesson?  Variegated manes & tails are hard.  I still can't believe how many hours I've put into Stormy Weather's hair, and I'm still not completely happy.  Hopefully, I'll get there soon.  Below is a chart showing a few different stages it went through.  It is hard to tell on stage A, but the white of the mane was just too white.  It did not quite match the body of the horse!  So now it matches much better (Stage B), and it is blended a little more.  I know I'm still going to mess with it...  I'm curious, what do y'all like more, larger areas of white hairs as in B, or more individual strands showing, as in A?

Details take a long time too, but they're the most fun bits.  Things like hoof-stripes, ermine spots, mapping, etc- I love doing them in ceramic, but with resin it is even a more fun challenge, because you can really push the medium! 

I've got the dark front hooves pretty well set- the back, shell hooves, I may tweak a bit more (too much variety in my reference photos!  I have such a hard time picking out just 'the look' I want!). 


                                   Muddy, muddy, muddy!

And my last lessons (so far)?  Mixing big batches of colors you like & storing them in bottles is a very good idea, stop and take your dog on a walk if an area just isn't working for you, there are countless hours of interesting talks on the Catholic Answers radio archives (and Pandora is my friend, too!), and I have a very, very patient husband who so far, doesn't seem to mind that I took over the dining room table***, because my ceramic workstation has, well, ceramic stuff on it. 

That's about all I can think of, right now!  Hopefully my next post here will be about the completed "NW Stormy Weather."  I still plan on auctioning him when he is done, and photographed.  I think I'd better wait until the tax deadline has passed (we've been doing plenty of tax-prep here of late, too!).  Until then, I hope your weather is getting sunnier, not stormy (like it is here in the NW!).  :)

*Okay- this I learned the hard way with another horse, but I mention it here because I was reminded of it while working on Stormy.
** I did rub him in a couple of small areas where I didn't seal him well.  Lesson learned! 
*** In all fairness, my studio is located in our small house's dining "area."  The table was too close and was just asking to be used.

Of Auctions and Orders

Happy Monday!

We've got fun things to announce today!  First up, the two Mini Scarletts I mentioned in an earlier post are now up at auction through My Auction Barn!  Sculpted by Stacey Tumlinson, and produced in ceramic by Animal Artistry for Thomas Bainbridge Studios, I had the pleasure of being a "guest artist" for these two.  The auctions end *edit* Thursday, February 16th at 11:38 am & 1:03pm EST.  Check out the links here:

http://tinyurl.com/sabinoscarlett

http://tinyurl.com/appyscarlett


Detail from the Black Appaloosa & Bay Sabino "Mini Scarletts"  Click the pics for larger images!


More good news, I heard from my caster, Barry Moore, that Callahan's mold is still going strong and I can take a few more orders!  Do you need a Callahan?  Think of the fun colors you could paint this LB Irish Cob.  From C.S.Richmond Studios, here's Sandra Hottinger's vision- she just finished a lovely dark dapple gray Cally dubbed "Royal Poet."  I understand he will be up at a 5 day ebay auction starting February 22nd.  See the C.S.Richmond Studios Blog or FB Page for more details! 


"Royal Poet" painted by Sandra  Hottinger  Thanks for the use of this photo, Sandra!


Oh!  I just found out that Jaime Baker Customs has a Buckskin Cally up on ebay right now!  Here's the Link if you're interested (he's a beauty!).  It is so fun to see what other artists envision!



Unpainted Callahan Ordering Info:

Now then, If you are interested in ordering an unpainted Callahan, please email me at sales (at) brightlyhude .com.  He is priced at $115 ppd/insured domestic or $107 (+postage) international.  I won't be collecting any money now- I'm just making a list.  I do not know how many more Callies we will be able to get out of the mold, so if I am able to fill your order, I will contact you and you can either send payment in full then, or I can do a time payment of 1/2 down, 1/2 in 30 days, if you need.  I will be accepting orders until the end of February.  I do not know if I will be able to fill them all, but I will do my best!

Okay!  That's all for now.  I hope everyone's 2012 is going well so far!

:)

Oh, and if you're on FaceBook, don't forget to "like" the Brightly Hude Studio page! :)

Dreams & Schemes...

First off-

Happy 2012, Everybody!

It's a bright new year!  Already, I find myself behind (it took me 18 days to get to this post...), but such is my life.  I'm thankful that I can say things are going along well this year, if busily.

Like many of us, I've been doing some reflecting about this new year as it relates to my artistic and personal goals.  As always, I find my self seeking ways to be more orderly and organized (the eternal quest!), productive and at peace with my vocation.  Last year was not my most artistically fruitful; moving twice along with transitioning from single Californian to married Washingtonian/Oregonian took time, as I well expected.  But now I'm nice and settled (for the present) and I've jumped back into my work with a renewed spirit.

So, what do I want to accomplish this year?  Many things, two of which I'm marking as priorities (after I finish a couple of promised projects, of course!); Sculpting and my Grand Animation Project.

I've two(ish) sculpture projects in the works- a Baroque horse in Levade, and an American Indian Horse.  Neither of them are presentable for public viewing (the baroque horse lost & barely regained his head recently), but since I'd like to share something, here are two of my original concept sketches for the baroque boy (recently tweaked because they looked a little off to me, since drawing them):

I'm working on doing two versions of this little guy (he is SM scale)- Adagio (a musical term which means "at ease"), and Spiritoso (another musical term, which means "spirited").  Adagio will be my calm, steady guy- his mane neatly braided up with bows.  Spiritoso is a little on the wilder side with a windswept mane and tail.  I was inspired by baroque and rococo paintings of horses, as may be evident!

Regarding my animation project, I won't say too much about it just yet (as I know it is going to take me forever!).  I'll just note that I have a story I feel called to tell, and it involves people, lots of people (and a few animals), so to that end I've been working on sharpening my drawing skills.  I've just begun a new figure drawing class at my local community college, and I'm happy to say I think I'll learn a bit here- the teacher is very knowledgeable and has already given us some great tips.

(My 1st attempts at two 2 minute sketches.  Last time I took a class like this was 11-12 years ago!)

So, those are my top projects, and needless to say, I'm going to have to cut back in other areas to make enough room for them.  This will mean less painting and ceramic production for the moment, though getting these sculpts done should mean more shiny stuff in the future!

But speaking of shiny, one of the projects that fits into my "promised" category are the pair of "Mini Scarletts" I'm currently painting for Thomas Bainbridge.  I understand they will be up at auction after they are completed- I'll be sure to post all of the details!  Here's a picture of them in progress- they are a little further along at the moment (i.e. in the kiln as I type this), and I hope to finish them up soon:

Bay Sabino Scarlett & Black Appaloosa Scarlett.*  Such a cute mare!

I'll mention one more project in this post- one I hope to squeeze in!  My husband decided that our cat, Jeanie, needed a children's picture book written about her.  So, on our days off, we've been dabbling with this idea.  I'm doing the illustrating, while he's writing the text (it helps that he used to be an English professor!).  I haven't quite captured the graphic look I'm after, but below you'll see one of my tests that is getting closer to what I have in my mind.  Jeanie is quite the character, a perfect subject for a book.  Of course, our spotty dog Clover will have to make a cameo... :)

All right!  There you have it- my top projects, plus a few.  I know that I have a tendency to pile a bit more on my plate than I've room for, so I am not holding to any fast deadlines on any of these endeavors.  I'm going to take it day by day until I can get myself into a good flow, knowing what to work on which times, and when to switch over to a different scheme, to keep my creative spirit buoyed.  I find I'm quite ready to begin experimenting with new things, such as my animation dream**; to stretch creatively and grow as an artist.  I'll always treasure my first love, ceramics, but I do feel the Spirit is moving me to tour a couple of different paths, as I journey along.  Come meander with me; I hope to show you some lovely sights along the way....

:)


*Of course, I had to do a black appaloosa!  I know I do that color a lot, but it allows me to experiment each time with different techniques.  Actually, I did a bit of experimenting with the sabino... I hope it all works! :) 

** The animation dream came to me oh, about 6 years ago...  I decided I should finally act on it!

Poster Prints!

*Edited*  Only 2 Prints are now available- I wasn't happy with how "Autumn Ginkgo" was printing.  I need to re-do the file!  

"A is for Adopt" and "I Have No Egrets" are still available.

Seeing as many of y'all liked my "Autumn Ginkgo" and "I Have No Egrets" prints, I decided to make them available to order, along with my "A is for Adopt" poster print.  The first two are available as 5 x 7's (they look great matted in 8 x 10 frames), and the latter is available as an 8 x 10.  The prints will be professionally printed on photo paper with a matte finish.  They will be shipped via USPS first class mail, and domestic & Canadian postage is free! (International orders, please email me for a price).  "Autumn Ginkgo" and "I Have No Egrets" are $8 , and "A is for Adopt" is $10.  They do not include mats/frames, but those should be easy to find for their sizes. Please email me at sales (at) brightlyhude . com if you are interested!  It may take me a few days to get them printed & shipped, but I will attend to your order as quickly as I can.  Thank you!

:)