Maker Faire Ticket Giveaway

Guess what, folks! I'm hosting a Maker Faire ticket giveaway on my blog. You have until Friday at midnight (central time) to post a comment on my blog as to why you deserve these free tickets (kudos to creative responses). I have 2 adults and one youth ticket. I'm going to have a random drawing of all the participants and announce the winner on Saturday. Who ever wins will get all three tickets. Maker Faire makes a great family outing. This is for Austinites or those in the surrounding area (unless you know you'll be in the Austin area for the event). Please make sure you leave an email address so I can contact the winner about how they would prefer to receive the tickets.

And don't forget to come visit me at the Bazaar Bizarre going on in conjunction with Maker Faire!

Link to Craftzine's blog post.

Good Luck!

Bazaar Bizarre Austin Oct 18-19, 2008

So, I was accepted into the Bazaar Bizarre craft fair. I'm so excited. I've been waiting for Austin to have one for a long time. It is happening in conjunction with Maker Faire October 18-19.

Funny part is, I have hardly anything to show so I've been constructing belt buckles and trying to make some new stuff. I've found it is easier to trudge through the familiar and let my mind wander while cutting out the gazillion images I use in everything. While I'm in a zone my mind comes up with all sorts of wonderful things to make after I'm done with my core inventory. Just hope I have time to get to it before the show :)

Hope anyone who can comes out to see the show. Last year, Maker Faire was incredible. It appealed to geeks and non geeks alike. All the fire and explosions help :)

P.S. Like my new belt buckle image?

Some New Buckles

I enjoy getting custom requests. Makes it easier to get through creative blocks when someone says "Hey, do something with some organs or an octopus on it." I love my customers :)

Here are my latest two designs, enjoy!

Octopus Floating

Back Pain

Also, wish me luck. I applied to two shows last week, Bazaar Bizarre and Blue Genie. I finally got up the guts. I know my work is good enough to get in but I also know they are inundated with equally good work, so we'll see.

Obama Belt Buckles

Obama Belt Buckle
Originally uploaded by lucyblueart

My newest belt buckles have been inspired by Obama. I couldn't help myself. I was so happy when he was finally confirmed as the Democratic nominee I sat down to make a buckle. When I was done I had 5 different designs, LOL! Go to my Etsy shop to see them all.

www.lucybluestudio.etsy.com

These particular buckles are $5 more than the rest because I am donating that to the Obama campaign. So tell everyone you know so they can help put him in office and show their support by wearing a Barack Obama Belt Buckle!

Canvas Printing Update

I realized in my excitement I didn't really explain what I was doing or my equipment. Sorry about that. I spent so many days searching the internet for people using my specific printer with canvas so I would know it worked before I bought everything I needed but never really found the confirmation so here it is for other people in my shoes. I have an Epson R2400 and I use the roll feed. Some people cut the canvas and use the back feed (where you feed Velvet Fine Art Paper, but I don't see the point). You have to work the canvas a bit to make sure it is loaded properly but you'll know when it is because the printer will grab it. Epson has directions for loading roll paper and canvas on their website if you lost the instructions that came with your printer like I did. I chose to use The Epson PremierArt Water Resistant Canvas, mainly because of price and the fact I could get it in town for the same price as online.

As for color, it is pretty good if not quite as saturated as you see on screen or as what prints on photo paper. The print settings I used were obviously set to roll then Premium Presentation Paper Matte, the color controls were set to 1.8 gamma, epson vivid. I also made sure that borderless was checked and that high speed and edge smoothing were UNchecked. These settings seem to work for me but all printers and monitors are different so it helps if you already have an idea what your printer does and work with it from there.

I suggest having several prints ready to go and just let it print then trim them off. Be very careful not to touch the surface to be printed before or after printing on it. Let it dry at least 48 hours though I'd really suggest 5 days. Helps keep corner cracking to a minimum when you stretch it. After stretching, it will need a protective coat. I picked up a jug of PremierArt Eco Print Shield. Kind of pricey but it protects the image from dings and evil sunlight.

Also, realize the biggest prints you can get are going to be 11 inches wide if you are stretching the image (with the R2400 anyway. I have been looking at bigger printers since starting this). If you want a standard frame size then 11x14 but you could technically print 11 by the length of your roll if you wanted. Very nice for panoramic images. Of course it helps if there are stretcher bars the size of your image so plan ahead. I make sure my image is at least an inch larger on all sides so that I can do a gallery wrap of the image. I like it when the image continues over the side of the stretcher bars.

Hope this helps someone out there. This is the info I wanted to know before trying it but went ahead and jumped in anyway. Luckily things worked though I had one print that didn't feed properly and ended up with the image all squished together. Luckily, it was an image of a stand of trees and it ended up looking good despite what happened. Mistakes are pretty pricey but the results are worth it. It's funny what ends up looking really good on canvas. Not necessarily the same images that look good printed on photo paper.

I Love Printing on Canvas!

I started printing on the canvas I bought and I am hooked. Weird. I've printed my own photos and wondered why I never experienced that "magic" I always heard about... you know, seeing your image first appear in the swirling chemicals. It was interesting the same way trying a new food is interesting but I wasn't compelled to live in the dark room to experience that little rush day after day. I've always loved working digitally but there is nothing very exciting about printing your own work that way either. The minutia of color management holds me captive until I figure out which way a particular media reacts to my printer then it is just a mechanical action. Heck, all I do at work is print all day long so doing it at home gets a bit redundant. Now, I do not have a very work efficient room. I realized that having my printer tucked behind my drafting table probably wasn't good planning but the room is so small I had no where else to put it.

So maybe it was the effort I had to go through to print on the canvas that made it so satisfying. I had to climb on top of the table and hover over the printer, balanced against the wall to attach the roll of canvas. I couldn't see behind the printer to feed the canvas without falling over so I had to feed it by feel. It took awhile to figure out far to push the canvas into the slot so the printer would register it. Because of where the table and the printer butt up against each other I also had to keep my hands on the canvas as it came out of the printer so it wouldn't bunch up against the edge of the table. I didn't know what to expect when I got my first glance of the small sliver of color peeking out of the front of the printer. The relief and joy at seeing what I hoped to see was enough to cement my love for using canvas.

I've run through nearly the whole roll and realized I haven't even taken advantage of the texture and unique qualities. I was just so excited I printed my favorite images without much thought to how they would react to canvas. It changes the feel of any image, for better or worse and I'm sure some images just need to stay on paper. But I'm still learning and I'm sure my second roll will see much more adventurous experiments than this roll. Just had to share!

Polymer Clay Musings

One of my favorite aspects of polymer clay is that it is so darn versatile. You can mimic almost any material, use it for molds, make jewelry, housewares, museum quality art pieces, create almost anything your imagination can dream up.

I'll admit, while I've mastered many techniques, there are a few that I haven't really gotten the hang of. One of those techniques is caning. Yes, I know, one of the most basic of the basics. I attempted it early on in my polymer clay adventures and didn't have much success. Part of it was I was too broke to commit the amounts of clay needed to cane properly. And I also lacked patience. I've tried it periodically through the years and each attempt has gotten better but it has never ignited my imagination enough to really work hard on it. I prefer sculpting and faux/antiquing techniques.

I'm sure y'all have seen plenty of my own work so here are two fellow Etsy artists demonstrating my two favorite methods....

antiquing

Dirty Love by huntersdesigns

and sculpting

Welsh Corgi by designsbyginnybaker

Time for Another Etsy Fav's Round-up

This time I'm going to share my favorite silver pieces from Etsy. I finally got some silver stock to play with and have been looking at other work to see if I can figure it out what they did, as far as techniques go. I've never done traditional silver work and am pretty sure that my first few pieces will just be learning experiences since I don't have time for a class. I remember when I first started with PMC (precious metal clay). I used up about $75 worth of the stuff before I got the hang of it. I have some books and a few people I can call. So wish me luck.

Ruby Girl

Imogene and Annie

Erin Rea Designs

Mike and Mary Jewelry

Kismet Designs

New Belt Buckles

I have finally started working on some new designs. I want to explore patterns and different ways to use them. I also found this great vintage children's book in Fredericksburg a couple weekends ago. They had shelves and shelves full of these tiny things. I bought the Buck Rogers one and might go back to get one of the Dick Traceys. Anyway, wanted to share my new designs. I haven't printed them yet so it'll be at least a week before I have them in my shop.

I am also attempting to find a good mold so I can turn some of my belt buckle images into pendants. I just love making these. They are the perfect little frames.

Enjoy!

Bubbles Be Gone!

Yeah! I finally figured out how to solve the bubble problem with my resin for good. And there was nothing fancy involved. In fact, it was my first solution in the very beginning but I didn't make the commitment and pour. LOL. Ok, let me explain. I had a show last weekend at the Scoot Inn here in Austin. I met the other people who use the same belt buckle blanks here in town that I do. It's funny because when the supplier is out they tell me it's because someone else bought them all up and that the two of us keep buying each other out. Anyway, they told me to use Modge Podge to seal the paper into the buckle. I told them I was concerned about brush strokes and they swore they disappeared. That had been my first solution but once I coated the image I was appalled at the very noticeable brush strokes and never poured resin on top because I thought they would still be there after the fact and at the time I was still experimenting and didn't have many to play with. So I learned a lesson. When experimenting, commit to the idea and follow it through. You might be surprised. Turns out the brush strokes do disappear. Can't see them at all. And the air pockets stay put and away from my curing resin. I'm excited. I can create belt buckles now without fear of wasting product. Just wait til I have some time after the holidays. New designs are swimming in my brain.

Christmas Shopping Made Easy

Here are some easy ways to get unique gifts and still feel good about all the money you're spending...

Avoid unoriginal, mass produced gifts and shop hand made.

I have some fun stuff on my etsy shop

Lucy Blue Studio


Etsy has a great gift guide as well if my stuff isn't to your taste. Just click on "gift guides" on the top of the page or just start browsing.

You can also buy local at the
Austin Artist's Market and other events. We are at Mother Egan's on 6th Street every Saturday (except Dec. 1st, we'll be at
Wheatsville at their event the 1st AND 2nd) and in Round Rock on Main Street every second Sunday (that's the 9th in December.)

Also, check out
AckMe at the Scoot Inn on December 1st from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. Lots of artists and fun things going on.

Belt Buckle Rack

Here is the rack I built myself to display my belt buckles. I'm pretty proud of it.

New Skills!

I learned to use a plasma cutter today. I tried to weld but I'm not very good at it yet. But I will be! Anyway, I was learning so I could build new displays for my jewelry and belt buckles. I think I made some great pieces. I'll post some pictures as soon as I download them but I want to set up a mock display first. I was just so excited I had to post :)

Maker Faire

Well, spent this weekend at the Maker Faire here in Austin. I loved it. There is something energizing about seeing so many creative and talented people showing off their inventions/labors of love. And there were lots of robots :)

I was handing out materials for Etsy and having a great time wandering around looking at everything. The art cars were the first thing that caught my eye. Saw the famous camera van and had no idea it had working tv's on one side.

Also saw the giant mousetrap.
Honestly, if you are curious just go to flickr and do a search for Austin Maker Faire to get all the pictures you could ever want. It is hard to convey the atmosphere of the event. All these people that I'm sure have been called crazy or worse for following their creative impulses, be it mixing dead animal parts into cute sculptures....
or making dancing robots, building their own theremins, or making bicycles out of found objects. There was also the Diet Coke and Mentos fountains. Took about 3 hours to set up properly and all of 2 minutes to explode.

If the Maker Faire ever comes anywhere near you, go!

NY in a Nutshell

Figured I might as well elaborate a bit on my trip. First off, we knew it was going to be a good trip because the day before was so awful. I was almost late to work because the truck broke down. Turns out the brake lines were bad. Wes had to take me to work on his motorcycle, which proceeded to brake down after he dropped me off. He limped home and got into his car to get parts for the truck and the car broke down, too! We went to NY leaving three broken vehicles to deal with when we got home.

So, I was amazed that our plane was on time. I'd heard many scary things about LaGuardia but everything worked out fine for us this time. Though I think my next trip I'll fly into Newark or JFK since they both have trains running from them and we won't have to worry about getting a taxi or paying for a car service. Because LaGuardia doesn't have a train, we took a car service from the airport to Etsy Labs. I'm not sure if taking a taxi would have been better or not. We should have looked up car services before we ever left Austin but we were so busy getting ready for the trip that adding one more thing to the list would have been painful. So we overpaid for a ride but the driver had GPS in the car and without that I'm not sure we would have found the place. I thought I recognized the building from pictures but it was hard to be sure from where we were sitting. We didn't know where we were going at all so I guess I'm glad we paid for the car. A taxi driver would have been a crap shoot I think, now that I've had a bit more experience with the cabs in NY. They either really know where they are going or they expect you to know.

We got dropped off in front of the building and were buzzed in. The Etsy Labs are on the 6th floor and guess what? The elevator was busted. I laughed. We carried all our bags up the 6 flights of stairs and into Etsy. Oh and let me say that along the way we passed Make and Craft magazines and a very cool looking motorcycle shop or museum. Not sure what that was. All I could think was "of course all my favorite things are here. This is NY, where everything cool lives." Wes made sure I was ok, rearranged his luggage and took off for his friend's place in New Jersey. I saw him on and off the next couple of days and was glad he had places he could go. I was so busy I hated to think how bored he would have been if he'd had to stay in Brooklyn with me.

We met Mandi from Scribble Scrabble downstairs then went and had our first experience with street food (well, mine anyway) before heading back over where Becky from Becky Mae Designs and Danielle from Fabfrills met us and we started tackling the mound o' boxes from the rest of Texas street team. We basically moved them to a better room and started to rearrange the front room a little and set some stuff out for that night. Etsy was hosting an event called Handmade Music Night and invited us to set a few things out that might appeal to musicians. No one sold anything but it was interesting and we were a little ahead for Friday.

Friday was a day of hard work but it was fun. Kaite from Katinka Pinka and Christy from Carolina Bleu joined us and we continued to set up tables and display everyone's pieces. We all went to have dinner at Junior's before the show and returned to the labs ready to go. We had quite a few people show up and several people sold items. I sold two, which for me is pretty good. Michelle was entertaining everyone online in the Workshop, showing off everyone's pieces to the camera. We had some raspberry chipotle sauce over cream cheese, various salsas chips and crackers and plenty of wine to feed the masses. We spent the rest of the evening cleaning up and getting ready for the Brooklyn Indie Market on Saturday.

Saturday was another trial by car service. They were late and we were standing on the sidewalk with everyone's boxes, a table and a dolly worrying about getting there on time. When the car showed up, the table barely fit and we had to squeeze in best we could but we made it. I really enjoyed that part of Brooklyn. The neighborhoods had people sitting outside their brownstones having stoop sales, there were cute restaurants and shops lining the streets and it was a nice change of pace seeing so many people outside walking from place to place. We set up our tables and took turns manning the cash. A funny little old lady visited us and told us about the vintage bead shop she worked in "just around the corner" so we decided to go see it. Another thing I learned, for New Yorkers, or in this case Brooklyners (?), a little ways or a short walk or just around the corner could mean 10 blocks. We headed off and 6 blocks later found Union Max. It was a great little shop. We bought lots of stuff and then sent the other girls to go see it when we got back. For his part, Wes found a great little Cuban place and a Rolleicord camera at one of the stoop sales. We had a lot of traffic at the market and several people sold quite a few things though we were told it could have been better but Atlantic Antic was the same weekend. We still had fun. And we discovered the best car service. We called and they were there in 5 minutes and they knew where they were going. If you need a Brooklyn car service use Arecibo. We used them again on the way to the airport and they were half what the first service cost and cheaper than a cab.

We got back the labs with all our stuff then proceeded to pack everything up. I think we got back to the labs around 8:30 and weren't done til after 2 a.m. Most of the girls had early morning flights, as in they had to wake up at 4 or 6 a.m. and were real troopers about getting everything done. I won't say we weren't all a little grouchy by the end of it but to be fair we were exhausted. Luckily, I still had several more days and could sleep a little longer. Everything got packed up and labeled and we are still waiting to see if everything gets shipped out ok.

Sunday, we checked into our bed and breakfast. My first view of it was a little sketchy. There is an overgrown lot across the street, trash on the sidewalks and a few of the brownstones were a bit rundown, but it turned out to be a fairly quiet street, especially compared with how noisy it was sleeping at the labs and we were never bothered even when we came home at night off the subway. I do have to laugh a little about the well positioned photographs on their website now. Our room was so cute and the photos actually didn't do it justice. We had AC, cable and the trim and details in the old house were pleasant. They had a kitchenette upstairs and a common room with a computer. The bathroom was shared and that caused a few uncomfortable moments but it is workable. It isn't like you are sharing with lots of people or anything. But I think it would help if it weren't with a French woman who thinks she has to do everything in the bathroom, even things she could have done in her room to be polite. Oh but wait, she's French. Polite? Ce qui? We stayed in the Franklin room and had plenty of space. Can't say the others would be the same. The pictures of the two other rooms looked tiny though to be honest, who stays in the hotel, or B&B, when they are visiting a new place? So, we checked in, dropped off our bags and headed into Manhattan.

First stop was Gray's Papaya for the recession special. Two dogs and a drink for $3.50. Get the onions on it. Then, we headed for the Met. Wes was still re-acclimating himself to subway travel so we ended up a few blocks away and had to walk. Still, it was nice seeing the city and I don't mind a little walking. Everyone had said that when going there you need at least a couple of days to see everything. Obviously, they don't have any idea how I see museums. I saw everything I wanted in a couple of hours. The Egyptian section, Asian section and the Arms and Armour. Yes, I'd like to see everything eventually but that won't take long next time. Maybe Italy ruined me for museums but I can get through even the most massive in a fraction of the time it takes most people. For one, the medieval and Roman art was no where near as impressive as the pieces I saw plenty of in Italy. Seriously, it has been a few years and I still have problems passing by the annunciation paintings. If I never see another one it'll be too soon. I tend to gravitate toward key pieces, can ignore the similar items and don't feel compelled to read every piece of material written about the exhibits. I'm a museums ideal customer. Pay to enter and use a minimal of their resources... and still spend money in the gift shop.

We went through Central Park on the way back and decided to eat at Katz's. Anyone from Austin is thinking of the Katz's here. Not even remotely similar and in no way related, though I'm sure Marc Katz would love to charge the same prices. I don't think I've ever had pastrami before. Ok, I thought I had but it didn't taste anything like what I had there in NY. And the knishes with sausage in it. Mmmmm. We made it back to the B&B full and tired.

Monday, we went shopping. H&M, Century 21, Canal Street, Pearl Paint, Pearl River, various shoe stores. It was very damaging to my bank account but worth it. I laughed every time Wes haggled with the street vendors. They would get so angry sounding but if we walked off suddenly the prices dropped. That whole day is a blur of cheap handbags and store clerks looking for our shoe sizes. And Century 21. I wasn't sure if I was excited to be there or slightly frightened. So many people, so many floors, so many things to buy. As for food, we started the day with lunch at Kelly and Ping and some very productive photos taken of graffiti. Turns out it's harder to find Graffiti in NY than you would think. Thanks, Guilliani. We ended the night back in Brooklyn eating the best pizza either of us has ever had. Raymond gave us the suggestion. We got there, sat down, ate and when we were leaving the line was around the building. We went across the street to the River Cafe and spent more on drinks and dessert than we did on the pizza, but don't think either of us cared. It was amazing.

Next day, we were off to see B&H, which of course, was closed for a Jewish holiday. I did get to have my falafel from a street vendor and we made it to the Strand. I think I loved it so much I could set up a shrine in my house to the place. Needless to say, I bought many books with no regard to how I was going to get them home. Also found a little shop that sold Nepalese papers and ended up with a pair of $200 cowboy boots for $30. I love that I bought cowboy boots in NYC. We went to a sandwich place that we suspect is a franchise but the sandwiches were so good I'm still craving them. I had the G4 (Grilled smoked ham and smoked turkey breast with melted Finlandia swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, coleslaw and Russian dressing.) Highly recommended. We then realized we were late meeting some old friends of Wes's from the exchange floor so we rushed over the financial district to meet them for drinks. We ended up in New Jersey afterwards eating Indian food. By this time I have really fallen in love with public transportation. I can even forgive the slimy feeling you have after traveling on the ferries and subways because of how efficient they are. I think I'll make sure I take antibacterial gel with me next time.

Wednesday, we met Wes's friend Dave for a trip upstate. Forgive me for not remembering the places we ate or went but it was a nice change from the city though I would have liked another day to explore Manhattan. We ended up at a winery eating some good bread and honey. We also drove around and I got to see at least the start of the leaf changing season. We ended up eating at a Mexican restaurant in New Jersey. Apparently, finding good Mexican is hard for many transplant Texans. They were ok. Not perfect but as close as you can get, but the prices are much higher than for Mexican food back home. El Bandito's review in the New York Times is pretty funny to read.

Thursday, we went back to Canal Street to find some of the 6 for $10 I Love NY t-shirts and finish out our gift buying. After that was done we wandered into Little Italy and ate at Amici II. How many times do Texans get to eat Italian at a place where everyone speaks Italian and the food is authentic? Not often unless you go to Italy. Eat here and be fat and happy. We got back to the B&B, called our new favorite car service and made it to LaGuardia ahead of schedule. I was sad to leave but excited about the next trip up. We'll hit all the places we missed this time: Cooper-Hewitt, MOMA, El Charro for their paella, Peter Lugar for the steaks and everything else I look up between now and whenever I get to go back.

This got longer than I expected, hope I don't bore everyone silly. Oh wait, if you hate reading it I'm sure you will have clicked somewhere else by now :)

Back from NY!

Wow! I don't even know where to start. I love that city. Yes, it's dirty, the people are rude, everything costs an arm and a leg, but somehow that only makes me love it more. The show went ok. I didn't sell much but the experience was worth it. I managed to make it to the Strand, the Met and a few other places. Bought too many clothes and books. Oh and Brooklyn is a very cool place nowadays! Click on the city to see the rest of my flickr set.

Help Support a Texas Artist

Should be a fun time. Come on by if you are in Austin.

Only a Week to Go!

I'm so excited I even bought a New York guide book. Ok, so I'll have my own personal tour guide but still, I like researching and finding things my self. The show starts Friday at 6 and the second one starts Saturday at 1. That leaves 4 full days and most of Thursday to explore. As far as prep for the show goes, my pieces got shipped today by FedEx and hopefully nothing tragic or weird happens. I don't think I'll get to see as much as I want but the Met and Cooper-Hewitt are top on my list, along with plenty of bookstores, Chinatown and at least a couple of nice restaurants. How silly is it to already be dreading the return flight? I love that city and would live there in a heartbeat. Wish me luck at the show. It'll be worth the trip no matter what happens.

A Fellow Artist Needs Help

Please visit Scott Garrette's etsy shop or read about why he needs help here. Anything would be appreciated.

Aha!

I have genius friends. For some reason I thought I'd have to buy something expensive to fix my "bubble" problem. All I need is a giant bag, a box, some duct tape and a shop vac. I'm building a fabulously cheap vacuum chamber for my resin. No more bubbles and I get to feel like clever for a few minutes :) Now I just have to see if it will really work.