New for Artscape: Bibs!

Hand-stitched fleece on cotton baby bibs.

Available at Artscape, this weekend: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 17, 18 & 19.
Find me in Booth E114, in the Artists' Market on Mt. Royal Avenue.

New for Artscape: Pins, Magnets & More

Looking for a one of a kind gift for the kid (or kid at heart) in your life?

i think i can help.

Stop by and let me help you pick out the perfect something!

one of a kind heirloom dolls, coloring books, coffee cozies, pins, magnets, card, bookmarks, cases and pouches & ipod cozies, limited edition prints, decorative boxes, soap, games, stickers, masks, t-shirts, onesies, bibs, erasers, glassware, keychains, ornaments, children's books and more!

see, told you i could help.

Available at Artscape, this weekend: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 17, 18 & 19.
Find me in Booth E114, in the Artists' Market on Mt. Royal Avenue.

greenstarstudio at Artscape!

it's that time of year again, friends... ARTSCAPE is here, and boy-oh-boy is it going to be a good one!

the weather forecast is looking pretty good and i can certainly guarantee a more than worthwhile collection of greenstargoodies in my booth this year.




Like Re-Lena...

Re-Lena is a Recyclimal (think Knitimal, but made out of 100% upcycled materials); She's made entirely out of donated sweaters and baby blankets, giving once loved fibers a chance to be re-loved. Like with Knitimals, Recyclimals are entirely HAND SEWN (no machines) and made without patterns, so they are completely one of a kind. Re-Lena and his friends will be available for adoption at Artscape next weekend!

Have an old sweater you'd like to donate? Bring it by and receive 10% off one item!

Have an old sweater or blanket you'd like to have made into a Recyclimal? Place your order at Artscape and receive a 20% discount off the regular price of a custom doll!



Looking for another kind of plush love? well, there will be a dozen new Knitimals and the OoAKIES will be making their Artscape premiere. And of course, in addition to new goodies like knitimal erasers, fleece & cotton bibs and brand new greeting cards, you'll be able to find all your old favorites like keychains, card games, magnets, stickers, pins, coloring books and more!

And, if you like your art with a little HEART, here's your chance to do good AND get a little good back. The lovely ladies of BEST and i will be collecting craft supplies for this wonderful non-profit. So, bring a craft supply to donate to Art with A Heart and get 10% off a single item, as my gift to you! For more information on our supply drive & other participating artists, check out the BEST Blog.

Hope to see you at Artscape 09!
You can find me along Mt. Royal Ave, in the Artists' Market. I'll be in booth #E114, on the east side of Mt Royal, in front of the Fox Building (Brick building next to the glass building)... or if you've been before, I'm in the same spot i always am!

xoxo, danamarie

Re-Loved!

Re-Marcus is a Recyclimal (think Knitimal, but made out of 100% upcycled materials); He's made entirely out of donated sweaters and baby blankets, giving once loved fibers a chance to be re-loved. Like with Knitimals, Recyclimals are entirely HAND SEWN (no machines) and made without patterns, so they are completely one of a kind. Re-Marcus and his friends will be available for adoption at Artscape next weekend!

Have an old sweater you'd like to donate? Bring it by and receive 10% off one item!

Have an old sweater or blanket you'd like to have made into a Recyclimal? Place your order at Artscape and receive a 20% discount off the regular price of a custom doll!

Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy

I wrote about my involvement in this show a while back, when my custom Kokeshi was just a "work in progress", but now she's a full fledged Art Toy, kicking back with over a hundred of the most beautiful works of art I've ever seen... or played with.

The show "Custom Kokeshi 2009" Showcases artists from all over the world, and further explores the idea of the art toy/doll, that so many of us Indie Crafters, Fine Crafters and Artists are so intrigued by. The show is part of a larger show about Kokeshi, being sponsored by the Japanese American National Museum, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Toy, Doll & Amusements Museum. And while it may be the other side of the country for many of us, if you're planning on being out in California anytime between now and October 4th, I would highly recommend paying it a visit.

For those of you a little closer to home, I can finally reveal my submission to the show. Her name is BlueBearrow.

to see more of the work, including a few good shots of the whole group, check out the curator's blog!

good day of painting...

kokeshi: sneak peek

wanna know more and see more about the Kokeshi 2009 show? ah ha... read the curator's blog. 

mural, 7 more days, done.

Well, it's been a while, but since my last update and another 7 days of working, the mural at 4337 Park Heights Avenue is officially done! It took me 14 days from start to finish and a total of 68 hours, and now that it's done, I'd love to share the story of the second half of its journey with you. 

When last I shared an update, all the flat color had been painted and the mural was ready to be taken beyond the "bones" and fleshed out.

day 8: on day 9, I started adding detail to the landscapes within the bodies... normally, I'd start with the top and work my way down, but as you might be able to tell in the photos, my scaffolding was the victim of some vandalism and the top level was unusable for a while. But, such is the nature of open air projects like this, and you have to just move along where you can. 

day 10: more landscapes; this mural has a LOT more architecture in it than I usually work with, which means this a lot more measuring and a lot more tape. I use tape to "draw" my lines and keep my paint work straight.  day 11: the scaffolding has been fixed! and just in time... I'm almost done with the body landscapes and ready to tackle the faces. (this is the fun part).  day 12: unfortunately, I only got about this much painting done before the rain set in. I wouldn't find out for a few days, after the rain had cleared up, that when I left that day, the black paint actually RAN all the way down the mural; black streaks 30 ft long. sigh. 

day 13: The faces are all finished and the last steps are pretty simple--- outline the figures and then SEAL, SEAL, SEAL! Baltimore City murals are finished with an few coats of an Anti-Graffiti sealant-- like a liquid plastic-- which allows any graffiti to be more carefully cleaned off without damaging the paint below. This particular mural, was also being coated with a few layers of clear varnish, to protect the color. That's a lot of coats. Luckily, as it was the day before my vacation was to begin, my brother was in town AND my husband had the day off. So, between the three of us, we were able to cover the over 1900 sq ft in just a few hours. When we left that day, the wall looked like this:

all that was left was for the Acme Scaffolding folks to come and take the apparatus apart, and for me to patch the holes where the bars had been attached to the wall (and where the bare wall would now be exposed, sans paint). I came home from vacation to find the wall exposed, no metal in front of it for the first time in a month, and my work finally visible without any obstruction. I went back with a very tall ladder, a very long pole, and a very brave hubby, and we patched up all the bare spots. 

and today, this is what you'll find there: 

I hope you'll go visit it soon! I have a few other mural prospects on the horizons, so I'll keep you posted if and when there is any news to share. In the meantime, please find out more about the beautiful murals of Baltimore. 

indie love...

thanks Indie Fixx...

Artscape Update...

...these guys can't wait until artscape!