Soul Full Hearts

"Believe You Can" (2011) Mixed Media Original by Harmony 

AH-MAZING!   I did it! I survived the show at 9 months pregnant and am now finally resting for a long lazy morning with my family.  I believed that I could do it, and I did (although I will admit there were points along the way, that I was sure that I would not be ready in time, but wonderfully it all worked out).  We had a good show day, the weather in FL was incredible, my team was stellar, and the crowd was a joy to watch and interact with.  I had lots of plans to video and take pics throughout the day to share with you, but the truth is, I got caught up in the set up and selling process and just plain forgot.  We had a pretty great response once again, and I was so excited to see some familiar faces that I had met in my booth the last year we did this festival.  I absolutely love connecting with other creative women and soulful hearts.  It is the reason why I started seriously doing this and the inspiration behind all of my original works, like these recent paintings.

 "Soul Full Heart" 2011 Original Mixed Media Painting by Harmony Lenasbunt

So now all my boxes and displays are packed away ready for the next show in Dec.   Now I get to take a bit of a break to rest, play, create just for FUN!, and get ready to have this baby.  I am really looking forward to blogging again each day and really appreciate you sticking with me as I took the time I needed to focus on this show.  I will also be stocking my Etsy Site with lots of new things, art journals, wood block prints, lace necklaces, and embroidery pieces, so keep checking for those updates.  If any of you are new visitors to my blog after meeting me yesterday, please leave me a comment or send me an email, I'd love to connect further and hear more about your creative dreams.   Have a wonderful and restful Sunday everyone!

XO, HARMONY

The Evolution of an Idea...handpainted canvas flowers

Hello lovelies!  After countless hours of work, I now have 65 incredible handmade art journals complete for the craft show.  Whew, my back is killing me from all the static sitting.  I wanted to take a sec and show you one of the new embellishments I've been adding to them to make them really special.  Remember the fabric flower necklace DIY  I did on Mano Metal's blog?  Well, I started using the same technique with hand painted fabric to make flowers for my large sized journals and have been ecstatic by the result!  Here are a few fun pics from the process...

  Isnt it so sweet? The colors faded beautifully when I washed the fabric and the flowers were so easy to make.  I love it when an idea works out.  There are so many times that I get some crazy idea for making something better and in the end I just waste time and end up scrapping the whole thing.  I do hope you had a lovely weekend.  I am starting to see light at the end of my show prep tunnel.  I will be so happy when I can finally just pack it all in the trailer and start the fun!  Keep checking back for more updates!

XO, HARMONY

On my worktable today...vintage lace

With two more weeks left before the show and a million things to do, here's a look at what I am creating today...

What do you think?  Since I live in the South, I have to offer more crafty than artsy items to sell enough at festivals to make it all worth it, and so I come up with these ideas that I think are super brilliant, but sometimes wonder "is it just me?"  I made them with scraps of dyed linen overlayed with vintage lace pieces left over from my artworks.  I think they are adorable, but I also have a soft spot for lace.  If there is lace on it, I will look twice, no matter what it is.  I got the idea from this etsy jewelry artist, whom I have spent many days ogling her vintage lace necklaces and wishing I could splurge on myself.  Any lace lovers out there?  It was totally the "in" thing last season, I think the world has moved on to geometric shapes in clothing and jewelry design in the present though.  How people keep up with changing trends, I couldnt say.  Large expendable income I suppose, or a deep love for accessorizing.  I am still stuck on lace.  Any thoughts about these are welcome, I could use some perspective, other than my obliging husband's "its nice hun."  Anyway, I do promise that Saturday coloring book pages will return very soon.  It's just a bit hectic around here right now.  Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!

XO, HARMONY

Show Update and Look Back at Myself

This week has been flying by for me, mostly because I have been locked down at my house prepping for shows.  I know I keep saying that in almost every post lately, but I promise it's true.  You might be wondering what exactly is involved in this process.  Well, it's designing covers for journals (like the pic above), printing prints, signing and packaging them, ordering selling and display supplies, designing and ordering new biz cards, creating this years calendar and ordering the cases, finishing paintings that need to have sides painted, or framed or varnished, making lots and lots and lots of art journals, making wood mounted prints, signing and pricing everything, checking the tent, my signs, my display signs,  deciding on my set up, cleaning display shelves, finding all my table linens washing and pressing them, making buttons/magnets/mirrors (cause you have to have items in every price point!), and that's not even getting into organizing all the financial transaction materials, UGH! (It's tedious work, which I am terrible at doing efficiently, so everything seems to take me twice as long.  Plus last year I had a helper and this year I am flying solo.  So, I really apologize for not responding to comments and emails very quickly right now.  I will get to them when life slows a bit, I promise.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at myself one year ago, doing this same show.  It was my first REAL show.  I learned a ton of lessons through it that I shared and put up a short video of what it all looked like in the end.  Check it out HERE.  If you do shows or even if you only attend craft/art shows, it's really a fun post to see a bit of what the vendors are going through behind all the pretty displays.  Have a blessed day in whatever is on your agenda.  I hope it goes productively and efficiently. ;)

XO, HARMONY

My Weekend Plans...paper paper and more paper

It's a project weekend! With my husband out of town this weekend for a conference, I took the opportunity to pack up my three year old, our very curious boston terrier, and myself yesterday, along with a TON of paper supplies, and shuttle ourselves off to my parent's home in the country.  The plan is to get swallowed up in art journal making production for two whole days while my son enjoys his grandparents.  With only a couple weeks left before my craft show, I cant afford to lose a weekend of work.  So here's a look at my next two days...

Hours and hours of cutting, sorting, organizing, binding ahead of me... Wish me luck!

I dont want you to miss out this week, so take a minute and enter the GIGUNDO sponsors group giveaway that just went up yesterday! EIGHT Amazing prizes will go to ONE winner, with lots of ways to enter.  This is seriously a super exciting giveaway! Check out all the artsy crafty goodness you could take home HERE!

XO, HARMONY

My Confessional: I Have Artistic ADHD

I am a bit overwhelmed today.  I am blown away that August is now over, and I have only 6-7 more weeks to get ready for the fall craft shows.  That might seem like a lot, but from my point of view, which includes a seven month pregnant belly with a very active little guy inside and a very active 3 year old boy bouncing around me on the outside, I am feeling unsure at my ability to get everything finished in time.  What happens to me in times like these is that my creative process morphs into something that makes me look downright certifiably dysfunctional, think ADHD meet Schitsophrenia and you've got me right now.  I currently have 8 different projects in process, and I buzz from each to each like a maniac whenever I can steal an hour away in my craft room alone. 

 I am not condoning this behavior. Even though I am loving it, it's not healthy, and it's totally exhausting, but it has always been my norm for meeting deadlines.  I am the work slowly (or not at all) until it's almost too late and then cram into overdrive for the last stretch before something is due, type of girl.  Deadlines motivate me, but only when they are looming too close for comfort.  Any of you do this in your own life processes?  I know I'm not the only crazy crammer around here.

As I lay down on my pillow last night, body exhausted, and trying desperately to shut my head off from all the swirling thoughts and ideas of things I still need to finish, I made a decision to be more intentional with my time, and if needed, I will cut back on my expectations for the shows to allow that to happen.  I desperately need some down time in my day, and right now between mothering/ household stuff/ and art time, it's just not happening.  My art time is usually my downtime, but not when I am in craft show production mode.  Then, while still really enjoyable and stimulating, it drains my energy just as much as my other roles during the day. 

 So here I go, day one of starting fresh, taking one project at a time and making a non-negotiable stop time, where I have to put down the paints and walk away and decompress.  Do you need to practice the art of slowing in your day? Or do you have a particular process that helps you stay balanced?  What does decompressing look like for you?

*all pics are from my art room, just a few of my latest partially completed projects.

XO, HARMONY

The 5,4,3,2,1 of My Creative Process

I saw this profile series first on Mollie Johanson's blog Wild Olive.  Its a simple set of 5 questions about yourself and your craft, started by the super creative people at Craftzine.  I thought I would add my own 5,4,3,2,1 to the fun and so here goes...

One Product You Are Particularly Proud Of
The Magic Dinosaur painting that I did with my 3 year old son.  I could never sell the original, I love it so.  To me it completely embodies his playful spirit, the innocence of childhood, and the simple beauty that can be created when you let go of your expectations and free yourself. 

Two Mistakes You Made In the Past
1.  Putting too much pressure on myself to be an instant success as an artist selling on Etsy.  I  started to feel like it was a reflection of my talent as an artist when months would go by with no sales.  I wanted to give up and forget that I even tried.  I was painting and creating constantly worried whether it would sell, and it was just totally wrong for me and my creative process.  Lesson learned: create only from your heart and never your head.

2.  Not understanding what a non-juried "art/craft" show could be like before I bought a table space for an event.  Oh man!  Nothing prepares you for trying to sell your handmade wares that you slaved and sweated over and poured your heart into positioned in between wholesale sellers (you know those people selling off-brand purses and hawking low-priced cologne).  It was a very disheartening weekend of sitting alone in my booth full of my creativity, while customers shopped for deals on either side of me.  Lesson learned: Do Your Research!  Just because it says it's an arts and crafts show, does not mean that only artist and crafters will be there.

Three Things That Make Your Work Unique
1.  Pairing bright bold colors with Natural ones.  I just adore the juxtaposition of a totally unnatural color, like neon pink or bright teal with a dark natural green or a mustard yellow.

2.  Mixing the textures of sewing, fabric, paper, and paint to create my paintings.  I love the soft and hard mediums working together to make something really beautiful and interesting.

3.  Not being afraid to try something new in my mixed media: I love grabbing bits of whatever I can find around me when I paint to add into the composition.  You never know what you might find hiding in the paint layers.

Four Tools You Love to Use
1. Brightly colored oil sticks - these suckers will draw in wet paint!

2. Hand Carved Stamps to build a background

3. Vintage Papers and Photos - I stock up on old books at library book sales, shop flea markets, and raid my relatives' attics at any opportunity to find vintage materials

4. Distress Ink Pads - love this product! I want to own every color they sell.  Right now I have the linen, aged photo, and lipstick colors and I use them on everything to create depth and make something new look vintage.

Five Inspirations
1.  My Son!  I love to watch him draw and paint.  His freedom and playfulness with what he creates inspires to me no end to be more like that in my own process.

2.  Art Books.  I am obsessed with collecting art books of all kinds.  Modern, classic, abstract, photography, painting, paper arts, sculpture, you name it I have some of it on my shelf.  When I am needing a creative idea, I look through one of my books and get inspired by the master works of others before me. 

3.  My Artistic Peers - There was a reason why famous painters from the same era's all came from the same school's of art.  Nothing is more inspiring and motivating then surrounding yourself with your contemporaries and influencing each others work.  Nowadays there is the internet to connect with people from all over the world and build a support network of emerging artists and crafters and letting their talents push my boundaries and bring new ideas.

4.  Music - I love to play music when I create and different kinds of music creates different feelings and ideas as I paint.  I love how my process changes when I am listening some old-school Tori Amos vs when I'm grooving to Jazz.  No matter what I am listening to, I always have more ideas with tunes going in the background.

5.  Nature - God's incredible creation all around us gives me boundless inspiration and ideas.  From mimicking a shape, texture, or color palette, the natural world never ceases to be the creative master at producing unexpected and original ideas.

There you have it, my 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Things About Me! Try it yourself.  Now it's your turn! Do you own 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 post to your blog or social networks site, and leave a link to it here in the comments.  I can't wait to learn about your creative process!

XO, HARMONY

For the Beautiful Women I Get To Meet

I am just starting to recover from the Craft Show weekend.  (I never expected doing shows to take so much out of me.)  As I am going through my boxes of my creations that are left over, I am remembering the women that I watched discover them, pick them up and their face light up.

This didnt happen a lot, to be perfectly honest the show ended up being more of a country and christmas craft show, and my stuff was definitely an odd ball.  I had lots of browsers, LOTS of "I dont get it" looks, but then every 30 minutes or so, there would be this one girl just standing in my space getting more and more excited with every moment she was there.

I dont think this had anything to do with my artistic ability; I believe this was a genuine moment of connection and revelation for these beautiful women.  In the same way that creating each of my paintings and putting the words of affirmation and empowerment that I needed in those moments healed my soul, these girls were hearing those messages they needed right then from my work.  I was honored.  I was humbled.  It was beautiful to witness.

There was an incredible moment, with this one beautifully seasoned woman, who looked at me with tears in her eyes and told me thank you for making these images.  I realized as I stood there and held her hand that I was touching into more than just a deep appreciation of funky art.  She was healing a bit of her soul in a place that hadnt been touched in a long time.  I don't know what her story was, but there was definitely a deep well of heart and soul to her, and I wanted to thank her for letting me see a bit of that beauty.  Then there was a truly lovely, what I am guessing to be, high school girl, who kept coming back every couple hours over the two days just to sit in my space and look through the journals.

I expect that she has an old soul, a deep emotional maturity to her that just isn't completely understood or appreciated by her peers.  I felt that way as a girl, and when I saw something that made me feel understood or connected to something bigger, I wanted to hold on tight to it and surround myself with its presence as well.  (I hope she visits my blog and stays in touch :)  Some of my other favorite moments were the Sunday returning moms, (moms who had been in my booth on Saturday with their daughters and one of them had fallen in love with a particular thing, and mom came back the next day to surprise her on Christmas with it).

I met such incredible women this weekend, got to enter into their stories for just a brief glimpse, and it was absolutely a blessing to my soul.  Thank you beautiful girls!  You inspire and encourage me to continue with my dream.  I hope that you found some spark to empower your own heart journeys.

I do have quite a bit of journals and jewelry left from the show, as well as some mounted prints on wood blocks, and other fun stuff.  I plan to start listing on Etsy sometime this week through next (it will take awhile, there are quite a few fun things to share with you).  I would love to get these journals under some more Christmas trees or as a gift to self and start spreading the creative love around the world.  Christmas Count Down Starts Tomorrow!! I am going to get out the decorations today. (I am looking for any fun Advent Ideas for toddlers, BTW).  Have a blessed day! :)

Two Days of Flight

With lots of opportunity for it to happen, we made it through the weekend without one major chaotic moment.  What a blessing! I have some really great pics and stories to share from the experience.  Unfortunately when we packed up, my camera ended up in my sister's car, so the pics will have to wait a day or two.  The weather was hot, Fall Florida style, and the crowd was definitely very different than the last show.  You could tell that there was a much higher percentage of people this time that just didnt "get" my art.  I would overhear their comments that they didnt think about someone listening to, "it's like art for little kids" "i could totally paint that" "i would never buy anything in a frame like that" or my favorite, they'd say nothing but just make this disgusted looking face like they just sucked on a lemon.  None of which really bothered me, its part of the experience, and I dont expect everyone to like my work. I have definitely been guilty of a few "i could do that" comments in art booths in the past.  Its just a really different thing when you are watching it happen. (and a little disheartening when you see the number of people walking around with their newly purchased southern style "art works" (confederate flags, boats, palm trees), and I realize that I am probably living in the wrong market for my work.)    There were a great deal more people this week that had never heard of Etsy before.  So I got to introduce them to a new world of handmade gifts and art.  But then there were brilliant moments of connection, that just lifted me up for the rest of the day, watching a person see something I made and it light them up, bring out emotion for them that they didnt expect.  I was honored to be a part of that experience with them, tell them the story of what the painting meant for me when I made it, and let them take a piece of it home with them.  Some left encouraged to pick back up their long abandoned art passions, and these were my favorite moments.  I met other etsians (crafters/artists that sell on etsy) and we encouraged each other, incredible seasoned artists who offered words of advice, and then twice a person recognized the connection between my work and the artists that inspired me (this was magical for me).  I do now know that several new lives will be growing up looking at my birds on their walls, many young mothers will be gifted my motherhood print, and quite a few tweens, teens, and college girls will be sporting my button sets on their book bags, and this is a really fun feeling. 

The flip side of all these incredible interactions was the sheer exhaustion of doing two days of super early mornings, late nights, long days of standing, talking, setting up, selling, and breaking down.  Once again I had started my days with very little sleep (apx 2 hours the first day and 5 the second), so caffeine and sugar were my inspiration in the moments in between waves of browsers.  I am very aware of the reality that the festival lifestyle is a true commitment, and I am not sure that I am ready to take it on full time yet.  I think I am going to be an "every so often" festival type of girl, and just gear myself up for them.  They are really fun and I did pretty well, but I am 2 days post festival and I still feel wrecked.

I thankfully have 3 weeks between this last show and the next one.  I am definitely going to let myself take a buisness break for a week or so, and try to just lost myself in some painting again.  I am super excited to announce the winner of my giveaway last week is MANDY! 

Congratulations girl!  I am so excited to send this print to you as you prepare for your sweet little girl to arrive.  (send me an address to feedyoursoulart@gmail.com).

I'll be back tomorrow with pics and more specific stories.  Until then, have a blessed and creative day!

Catching Up and a GIVEAWAY

 the golden loop by Ronald Ceuppens

Its been a strange week.  Lots of stuff to do, but low motivation to do it.  I've been working slowly to catch up all the little things that needed to be done after the last show and before the next one.  I did finally get all my materials in to complete the magnets that I wanted to make for the next show and am almost done making those.  I also have a HUGE pile of unmade button parts staring at me, needing to be made.  I want to paint something, but dont have the time to get lost in it, so here I am slowly working, partially inspired, partially overwhelmed, partially exhausted.  I need a bit of creative adrenaline to amp me up for this next weekend of selling.  When this happens I start scouring the internet for a new inspiring artist.  I found some really incredible 3d Mixed Media pieces by a European Artist named Ronald Ceuppens.  See Here for more incredible pics of his work.  Perhaps it will bring you some creative inspiration too.

 bleodneus by Ronald Ceuppens

Here's the thing.  I am a true introvert.  I enjoy socializing and meeting new people, but the time that I do those activities take away from my energy storage instead of filling it (like it would for my oh-so extroverted sister).  Time alone, time with my paints, my thoughts, and just plain old silence is what fills me back up to enjoy and crave socializing again.  So I've been letting myself be drained and have been staying home for the most part this week, trying to restore my soul, renew my spirit, and get pumped up for two long fun days of talking to new people who visit my art booth.  Are you an introvert or an extrovert?  What fills your reserves?

I also wanted to say that I finally went through all the comments from my post about motherhood when I shared the painting I made to heal some fears.  Go here to read the post.  I was overwhelmed with the feeling of connectedness to these strong and compassionate women and the many others that I know share our story but just didnt leave a comment.  I adore this painting I made so much, that I am having trouble coming to a decision about selling it.  I did, however, pay to have it rescanned on a large scale scanner, creating the most true to the original print I possibly can.  It came out breathtaking.  I wanted to share it with you.  So I am doing a giveaway for an 8X10 print of this painting.  You can put a comment in to enter until Monday night 12a/ 11.1.2010

To Enter this Giveaway, just comment on this post, let me know what fills your reserves when you are drained.  

You can get more entries by advertising my blog on your social networking sites (blog, twitter, FB, etc) and put a new comment with the link to it for each time that you promote me.  

Also, if you sign up for my newsletter (see tab on right top of my blog), you get another entry.  Please leave a comment to let me know that you did. 

If you dont want to wait and just want a print now, I am offering this motherhood print (titled "Little Star" on my etsy site for a special price of $15 this week only.  It would make a wonderful print for a nursery or a lovely gift for a new or seasoned mother.   Have a wonderful week and check back for more updates on my latest festival experience.

The First REAL Show

 sold this painting yesterday!

"I Dream In Color" 2010 

collaboration between my son and I

First off I'll say that I am so blessed by all the amazing people I met and talked to at my booth and was ecstatic to have my artwork be admired and loved by so many of them.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who have bought something from me (at the festival or online) and supported this dream of mine.  You have blessed me more than I can say.   I went into this thing having NO CLUE whether I would sell anything at all or if I would sell out too quickly and look unprepared.  Happily the reality was somewhere in between.  We started off a little rocky...  my son decided that the night before would be a great night to not fall asleep until 1am, and with my sister and her husband sleeping over in his room, he was tossing and turning away between my husband and I for quite awhile giving me lots of time to overthink and start freaking out about stuff I didnt want to forget in the morning.  The result was a total night's sleep of 3.5 hours for me.  Its a good thing adrenaline and stress can keep you pretty alert regardless of how tired you are, because I was exhausted as I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30a that morning.  Turns out that motivating 4 adults that just finished a week of work and one very sleepy toddler to get into the car in 45 min is basically impossible, and we found ourselves arriving at my space at a very tardy 7:10a (the festival starts at 8a).  We figured we were fine since no one really shows up to a weekend festival until at least 8:30 or 9am.  But as we started unloading the trailer, we started to look around us and noticed that EVERYONE else had been there at least 2 hours already and were just doing finishing touches to their booths.  We started to freak a bit.  Then it got really stressful.  My over tired toddler wanted nothing else but to be carried by me and would throw a fit if I put him down.  My husband had to park the trailer at the designated parking lot, which was apparently located in the next county because it took him 20 minutes to get there and back.  So we were down a person and a half (I had one productive hand), my sister and her husband were setting things up as fast as they could and we are a frazzled spastic bunch surrounded by a mass of bins, merchandise, packing material, and display gear when all of a sudden the crowd ARRIVED.  WHAT!!! It was only 7:30! Who starts shopping at 7:30am on a Saturday while people are still setting up, AND ITS BARELY LIGHT OUT?!! McIntosh people, that's who, as I quickly learned from my very gracious neighbor that this was normal for this festival.  So we took a big breath, greeted our customers and welcomed them into our chaos while we set up all my books, necklaces, paintings, prints, and other bits around them as they poked around.  It didnt seem to bother them a bit that I wasnt ready, and so I just had to let go of my expectations and enjoy the process.  I was honored that they were intrigued enough to take a look even before I had made the display look pretty.  Once we had everything set up and my clingy toddler passed off to my husband for the day, sales immediately began.  I hadnt even located the transaction materials in my box yet or setup my credit card table and I found myself frantically searching for a pen, the slips, bags, change, and such while people patiently waited on me.  There was no trickle in and slow build up to sales, it just started and never stopped for almost 6 hours.  My sister and I barely spoke to each other as we flew around the booth taking care of person after person.  I couldnt believe the response!  The day went really smoothly from then on, and slowly trickled down around 3ish, and before we knew it, it was 5pm and time to start packing up.

Here are a few tips I learned along the way:
1. BE EARLY!! (or at least on time)
2. Let go of expectations and just be in the moment
3. Ask for help (from help with set up, sales, food needs, child needs, packing up, and so much more, I couldnt not have done this without my family's support and freely given labor)
4. Take care of yourself (it is so easy to get caught up in the waves of customers trying to engage people, promote sales, but if you dont take little breaks to sit, stop talking, EAT SOMETHING, go pee, or whatever, you will feel it in a bad way the next day).
 5. Wear a cute dress! I bought super fun and cute dresses for my sister and I to wear for the show, mostly just because we wanted to be cute, but turns out that people asked all day where we got them from and just loved them, and even said they didnt know what my booth was but just knew they had to check out what we were selling based on how cute our dresses were) - we felt fabulous...like Carrie Bradshaw fabulous (Thanks modcloth.com!)
6. Offer Freebies - the free buttons were a hit and did help draw people in the booth that may not have stopped in the first place

Oh and bonus tip #7 - CHECK YOUR CAMERA FOR THE MEMORY CARD!!! (turns out when I stopped to snap some pics of the booth, that the memory card was never put back in my camera.  I couldnt take pics that day to share with you like I planned, but I was able to record a little video  and here it is



So now I have 5 days to prepare for the next 2 day festival.  I cant even imagine what new stories will come from that.  I do have quite a bit of work ahead of me to get ready for it, a bunch of necklaces to make, more free buttons to punch out, and art prints to do, and I couldnt be more pumped to get started!