Art O Mat Blocks

I hope to have these finished up by next week to send out to Art o Mat!
First, the blocks have to be prepped.
I find this the most frustrating part. I'm not excited by priming stuff! They do look nice when they are fresh little canvases though!

This is what the whole work in progress thing looks like! I can keep them pretty self contained, which is a nice change. I usually take over all the available space to do anything!

Close up of some of the tangling!

So today, I'm off to Chalkfest, so it's a super busy weekend for me.
I've been invited to participate in the storybook section, which means my portion has to be completed before things even really get under way, so I'll be up SUPER early and won't have time to get this posted. Being up early works out. I don't sleep much when I'm excited.
My daughter and her best friend are as excited as I am.
I'm actually writing this before bed on Friday night so that this will be there for you on Sat morning. I hope you have a great day tomorrow and if you follow me on Instagram you might see some real time shots, otherwise, I'll be posting them on Sunday!

Happy Weekend! Cross your fingers it doesn't rain on our chalk festival!

Stuff I've been working on this week

First, I have to say it is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous this week. Makes it hard to be productive. :)
My facebook contest ends tomorrow, so if you haven't liked my page and a post or two that's really all you have to do for a chance to win a free pair of custom Converse.

Here's my Diva Challenge...
I love how it always forces me to think outside the box.

My Powerpuff girls in progress... 

And I've been hard at work on my blocks for the Art *O* mat project. I've got about half of my 50 done now... so that's coming along nicely!

Art*o*Mat® and Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.)

I wanted to share some news with you that I've not wanted to discuss until it was official...and now it is so I can tell you about it!
I've been accepted to participate in a pretty amazing project and have been accepted as an Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.).

I'm in the process of making my first edition of 50 small works of art that will be heading to an Art*o*Mat® near you. Well, actually I'm not sure WHERE they will be heading, since there are currently over 100 (See the locations)!

So what am I talking about? "You're speaking in riddles" you might be thinking... well that's ok, I do that a lot, but this time let me explain by sharing some info..

Art-o-mat® machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art.

 Find out more here http://www.artomat.org/about/

The story behind Art*o*Mat

• The inspiration for Art-o-mat® came to artist Clark Whittington while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of cellophane. When the friend heard someone opening a snack, he had the uncontrollable urge to have one too.
  In June 1997, Clark was set to have a solo art show at a local cafe, Penny Universitie in Winston-Salem, N.C. He used a recently-banned cigarette machine to create the first Art-o-mat®. It was installed along with 12 of his paintings. The machine sold Clark’s black & white photographs mounted on blocks for $1.00 each.
  The show was scheduled to be dismantled in July 1997. However, owner Cynthia Giles loved the machine and asked that it stay permanently. At that point, it was clear that involvement of other artists was needed if the project was going to continue. Cynthia introduced Clark to a handful of other local artists and the group Artists in Cellophane (AIC) was formed.
  The machine remained unaltered in its original location until 2010.
  AIC is the sponsoring organization of Art-o-mat®. The mission of AIC is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. AIC believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable. What better way to do this, than with a heavy, cold, steel machine?

Pretty cool huh?

So anyway, my prototype block has been sent off and approved, my supplies are ordered and I'll begin production probably next week I hope! My first edition will be for 50 blocks and I'll share them here before I ship them. I also launched a new page to keep track of where my art finds a home. I'm pretty excited about that, so if you happen to have a piece of my artwork, or even if you just want to let me know how you know about my art, check it out!