Before and Afters

Believe me when I say that I am a total nerd. So when I tell you that I think I had to squelch a little excitement over what I'm about to share, you don't have to laugh- you already know.

 

Not long ago, my dad suddenly decided to gift me the monstrous Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary he has had for many years. I may have had to wipe a little perspiration from my brow as I got over the surprise and excitement (go with me here, okay?) of this unexpected gift.

 

This is a mammoth book that I have cherished and coveted for my own library since I was a kid. Not just an epic dictionary, this thing contains the U.S. Constitution, practical business math, popular names and abbreviations, presidents and vice presidents of the U.S., foreign words and phrases, - well, let's just say everything you will ever need to know in your entire life (or a round of Jeopardy). In the age of digital access to any info we desire, this thing still rocks.

 

Anyway, as major as this beast is, it was definitely showing its years. The cover was a true testament to the old cliché (don't judge a book...), because it had seen better days. So prior to giving it a permanent spot among my other books, I decided to give it a minor makeover. Here's the before:

 



Beautiful on the inside

I gathered some funky, patterned duct tape and some brown wrapping paper...

 

keep it cheap

And the after:

 

word.

The Webster's has now officially become a part of the Renée Parker library.

 

 

Just a note: for my friends who like to borrow books and "forget" to return them (you know who you are!), this puppy is non-circulating reference, thank you very much. :o)

All Aboard

A conversation I was having with my parents the other day stirred up a childhood memory long forgotten. Whatever we were discussing somehow came around to the subject of natural aptitudes and we began talking about things my brother and I had been drawn to and picked up easily as children. I suddenly remembered having asked my dad if I could have a piece of the scrap wood in the garage and the use of his hammer and some nails. I was a little girl who loved her toys, especially my Barbie dolls and Legos, but I also had dreams of enlisting my little brother and building a robot, or a fort, or a tree house. I remember how excited I was when my dad said yes (with a stern warning about smashing my thumbs), because for some reason, in my mind, that board could be the beginning of all kinds of wonderful things. We were going to build something magical. In hindsight, I appreciate how my parents gave my imagination space and permission to fly, and let me see where it could take me. That has definitely contributed to my sense of "anything is possible!" when it comes to things I want to create today.

I know I smashed my thumb at least once in the excitement, but knowing hammer privileges might be revoked, I kept my mouth shut. And in my experimental play, kept my mind open... to this day. 

Enter 2013

Alrighty... I know I haven't posted in FORever. Well, I think a month is like forever in blogland. But here I am, excuses in hand, just about ready to get back on track for the new year. I say "just about", because the last month in my world has been about keeping up with my customers' (and my own) slew of ideas and projects, wrapping, shipping, organizing, assessing, and planning what I want to accomplish in this fresh, new year. It's also been an important time for family, giving back, reflection, prayers, and fitting in a little time here and there to acknowledge the wonders of the season (including witnessing my very first winter halo!).



my first lunar halo, and pics from my shipping department

Let's face it, with everything that has occurred in this country (and worldwide) in the home stretch of 2012, many of us have been in a bit of a tailspin. The happy take is, that once the dust settles, we can charge forward with a fresh perspective on things, (and for me, at least) an even greater determination to make good things happen, great and small, and make the most of the time and resources we're all given. Each of us has a purpose, a reason for being here, whether or not we realize it, and each of us has been given what we need to accomplish that end, if we figure it out and focus.

A little known fact about me: I love Latin, even though I never studied it, and I think a couple of my favorite phrases are very apropos right now:

carpe diem- sieze the day

vincit qui patitur- he conquers who endures

 

I expect to be back on track with posting this month, hopefully things that interest a wider audience. In the meantime, I've been breezing through my facebook page with updates, since it's a quick way to share- feel free to visit me there ;o)

 

oh, and Happy New Year!!!

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

An Artist's Tools

New feature! If you're new to my blog, I'll just let you know that I'm a multimedia artist. What that basically means is that I'm a creative person with a short attention span. No, seriously, what it means is that I love working in many different materials and disciplines. It's a wonderful thing, because I never get bored. I'm always challenged as I discover new things in my work, many of which can be taken from one medium and applied to another. So there's a serendipitous fusion kinda thing that happens frequently in my workspace. I love it.

 

Anyway, in this new regular feature, "An Artist's Tools", I will share some of the fun, bizarre, and, I think, unexpected tools that I use to get the things I create. I'm excited, because I've got a LOT of tools that I use in my various pursuits, and I think they might tell you a lot about me. Anyway, here is the very first of this new feature, highlighting my most basic pursuit, drawing. Drawing is the seed for a lot of things in my work, and is often the conduit through which bigger, grander things can develop. Here are some of my tools:

 

1. sketchbooks in assorted sizes that can go everywhere easily

2. bull clips for clipping scraps from magazines, etc. into sketchbooks for inspiration

3. compact pencil sharpener 4. gum eraser 5. colored pencils 6. rubber eraser

7. pencils 8. pens

 

There you have it. I look forward to sharing more soon!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Merry November

Let's face it. The holidays are in, like, five minutes, like it or not. I actually had my first orders for Christmas gifts this week. I hate to say it, but I have joined the ranks of those who dread the holidays, even though I love the family time. The yearly premature push into the gimmicks of the holidays, the rushing around, the endless to-do lists. So there's no explanation for how gleefully I gift wrapped the items for my customers, except my love of pretty packaging and giving smart, thoughtful gifts. Luckily, I've been preparing for packing holiday orders early, because I love to enclose some extra special touches.
 

For starters, I reordered a favorite piece I like to stick in with all my orders. Moo.com  offers these high quality, affordable mini cards that I make into little bookmarks for my customers.

These have been a fun, easy way to remind people where to find me. Next, I ordered some tiny jot pads inside matchbooks, for which I designed little stickers. These were super affordable, and will hopefully be fun and useful for my customers.

 

Then, I designed some new care labels to enclose/stick onto various items for which I felt

 

customers would benefit from instructions. Also from moo.com. 

 

 Finally, I snagged some gorgeous ribbon and tissue, at half off their regular price. I love combining texture and color to give a preview of what's inside, so I picked some things that I hope will excite their recipents. I feel like I could go all "Martha Stewart" on these orders now. Alright, holidays, bring it on. But please be gentle!

Wordless Wednesday

The Rearview Mirror and the Road Ahead

Yesterday I heard the news that a schoolmate of mine passed away. At 39, a massive heart attack ended his life. The first thing I often think about when I hear of someone passing at (what is considered) an early age, is, "Were they happy? Did they do the things that made them happy and spend the time with the people that mattered to them? Would they have lived differently if they had known?"

 

There's no going back. And that's the point. Sorry for the cliche, but tomorrow is not promised. I personally live by that understanding, and it has created an urgency in me to complete the things I think I'm here to do in the time that I have, which is, truly, only NOW, for sure. This moment.

The thought of leaving here without being/doing/having/knowing/sharing what I came here for is one of my very biggest motivators. It keeps me going when I'm exhausted, projects don't go as planned, and I feel like quitting. I sometimes get the feeling some of my own peers can't relate to my drive in my creative work, my anxiety to get it done today. I feel like they wonder why I don't just work a regular job, with less pressure to sink or swim. But I live to glance in my rearview mirror and see the very personal dreams I've accomplished, then keep moving forward. I think many don't relate to the sacrifices I've made to pursue my artistic dreams. This Saturday, I will turn the ripe old age of 38 (believe me when I say I feel like 28 is more accurate). I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm well on the road there. If I were to take a moment to consider my life, and how I would feel about my choices if it were to end tomorrow, at the very least, I can say that even though I didn't have or get to do everything I would have liked, I enjoyed many blessings, and I was true to myself and my dreams. 

 

Don't get me wrong, even in my urgency, I try to stop short of being anxious about life being over any day now. I don't think that's a good way to live, especially if you believe thoughts and words become things. But that being said, I maintain daily, the need to check off a list of dreams, (sometimes big, but mostly small, bite sized ones) that I've made my reality. And then I spend time being consciously thankful for them. It's the icing on the cake if something I'm doing inspires someone else to do the same for their life. My thought for today: make the most of the joy, pain, lessons, laughs, people, and things you have now, and to take it a step further, really take time to feel gratitude for those things and the time you had to experience them!

 

 

RIP Chris Combs 1972-2012

A Studio Secret

Yesterday as I was ending a conversation with a friend in Capetown, who is a fellow papier mache enthusiast, I mentioned that I had to go tend to some papier mache pieces that were getting backed up, waiting to be sanded. She wryly wished me "fun with that", voicing what I felt about the sanding phase sometimes being my least favorite, albeit, very necessary step in making my papier mache pieces.

 

I will admit that I do sometimes procrastinate when pieces arrive at the sanding stage, but I have an excuse. In order to get the smooth, modern look I like, I have to be prepared to invest some time and juice. Seriously. So I often opt to work on other things, including starting new pieces, while the existing pieces stack up, with the logic that I'm still being productive. Then I end up planning a major sanding day, when I know I won't be dragging from too many late studio nights, and I'll have the hunger to hit a number of pieces in one go. 

 

Happily, many years ago, an old beau made a suggestion that I (and anyone who likes my work) should be thanking him for to this day. Upon seeing some of my work and listening to me talk about my search for ways to streamline my process, he recommended something I'd heard of, but hadn't looked into for myself. That's when my Dremel hand tool entered my life. I slapped myself in the forehead for not thinking of it on my own, and I never looked back. And now here we are today, many projects and years later, and I'm sharing this lovely tool here.

my (now old school model) Dremel rotary sander

This is not a glamorous, girly tool, and it can get a little loud, but this, as Tony Montana said in Scarface, is my little friend. I use it to quickly knock bubbles and kinks out of surfaces prior to my standard hand sanding with coarse sand paper. It works great for papier mache. I don't really use it for major sanding over large surfaces, though. That's what the bigger sanders are for. But this guy has all types of attachments and doo dads that help me buff, cut, carve, and smooth, to achieve all kinds of awesome finishes. I've also used it on polymer clay, wood, metal, and plastic.

 

I'm really not trying to do a commercial for Dremel, lol. This is a tidbit for those who want to know some of my secrets for the surfaces I create. This does not eliminate the need to sand all over with sand paper. At least not for me, because I'm pretty picky. I want smooth! Here's a piece that I started with the Dremel, then finished with sandpaper:

 

sanded to prep for painting
 

Thankfully, the Dremel and I had a pretty productive day yesterday, which will net new pieces arriving in my online shops in the next week or so. Yay!

And there, my friends, is another secret from the studio of Renée.

Thank you, D.D., wherever you are. :o)



Wordless Wednesday

this stuff.

Custom Connection

Mmmkay, I've been busy with things, but, well, it's time for me to pause and post, because sharing is caring, right? So I wanted to share a part of my work that offers me yet another facet of joy and fulfillment.

 

I often get requests from customers who've seen something in my Etsy shop, or my home website store that excites or inspires them, and they begin to think "what if?" As an artist, who wants to stir up the imagination of others, I love that! Sometimes people will ask for something in a different color, or something totally different from what they see, but in the same style. What follows is typically a few messages back and forth between myself and the customer, sometimes with pictures or sketches attached, to help their vison connect with mine. Once we're on the same page, I begin work.

 

I seem to get the best feedback from this type of order. Better than when folks just click "add to cart", it seems to be a great experience for all involved. Maybe it's because they get something made to their own specifications, and I get to make what they envision real. Having some customer service background, I think it's the "human touch". I mean, I am a real, breathing person with a working studio beyond this computer, and I don't employ any robots, lol.

 

Anyway, there's a little thrill involved, at least for me. Maybe it's the drive to really "get" what they want and exceed what they expect, or prove I can. I recently experienced that when a new customer purchased a necklace I made with my papier mache beads, then came back, thrilled with her first purchase, to order another in the shop and request a third made to resemble a decor item I had elsewhere in my shop. I loved her idea, and was excited to create it. Sometimes I like to think of it like I'm lending customers my hands and techniques to make what they would. Here's the finished piece:

a papier mache "painted stones" necklace with
ribbon tie

 

 I shipped this and her other piece off today. I hope she's as happy as she was with the first! And now, I'm gearing these hands up to create another special request, but I'll be back soon. I still have a few more posts to share before summer slips away!