Bell'Arte is born!

Well -- I'm officially out of the "old studio" and into the new one in East Sacramento  with my friend and wonderfully talented photographer, Dianne Poinski -- here are a couple of her beautiful photos to give you an idea of the exquisite work she does!

We've been moving our things to the new place for over 2 weeks now and are nearly ready to officially open the doors for business.  We'll definitely be open for 2nd Saturday on May 14th so please come visit us at 4755 J Street!!  We're across from the Post Office, Rite-Aid and the popular bar, Club 2-Me. 

Leaving the Foundry Building was a difficult choice to make but I know it was the right one. As I mentioned in a previous post, the building is in escrow to be sold and the current owners are struggling with how to keep the ADA issues at bay.....here is the sign and chain that was installed at the foot of the stairs leading to our studios upstairs. 
Change is scary -- but exciting at the same time.  I'm looking forward to the new opportunities ahead including some volunteering at the St. John's Women Shelter and a show in the Civic Center in Roseville, CA along with being one of the featured artists next month at Arareity Jewelers .  Busy times ahead!!

I'm now featured on www.abstractartistgallery.org

Exciting news -- my art is now featured on this relatively new but infinitely exciting and discerning website that's strictly for abstract artists!!  Here's the link where you'll find my work and some other amazing artists:
http://www.abstractartistgallery.org/

The painting of mine that is featured on the front page (first one on the left underneath the title "Abstract Artist Gallery") sold a couple of months ago and is still being featured at the Crocker Art Museum in their slide show of artists (look at the wall next to the gift shop). 

The painting is called "Neutral Ground" and is hanging in one of my collector's homes in Winters, CA.  I'm really excited about this opportunity and look forward to adding more works to their growing collection.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Bracelet Blog Hop -- The Global Genes Project

Here's my bracelet submittal for The Global Genes Project -- I've combined my free-form "sea glass beads" with some non-etched beads to create a blue ocean themed bracelet for the 7000 Bracelet project.  This is such a wonderful cause -- I hope the recipient likes it!!

Click here see more bracelet creations that were donated for this excellent cause!

Changes on the Horizon

Tax day is looming and I called my accountant to file an extension.  It's just not going to happen on time this year and the big reason why is some upcoming changes going on with my work and art life.  As some of you know I went part-time with my employer a couple years ago to get some relief from burnout and to concentrate on my passion which has always been art.  I opened a studio in midtown Sacramento with the incredible Spiritual artist Brenda Boles to gain exposure in the local art scene and to sell my abstract paintings; fused glass and lampworked beads.  It's been a very successful journey and I'm so happy I was able to to it and to have such a wonderful artist to share that experience with. 

At first I was happy to spend a couple days at the office and the rest of the time at the studio painting away and greeting customers (my first "retail" experience ever where I wasn't the shopper!!).  Then I wanted to spend more time doing things with family and friends.  Shortly afterwards the big project I'd been working on went viral and I was in charge of seeing it through to completion.  The only days I managed to get to my studio was for 2nd Saturday Artwalk and to meet an occasional client for a sale.

The building my studio is now officially in escrow.  It's a beautiful old structure that has so much character -- but also has some major ADA (American Disabilities Act) upgrades that need to be made which will mean major construction ahead.  Add a dose of "next month they're going to close our parking to make infrastructure improvements for the entire block"and I decided it was time to make a move.

So -- in May I'm moving my studio closer to my home and I'll be sharing space with another wonderfully talented photographer/artist Dianne Poinski  I'm really excited about the location and am looking forward to being able to do some "double-duty" as I telecommute for work (there's a phone line and internet plus room for a desk!) and create some new art while being available for walk-in art lovers.  I'm also excited to get back to my marketing efforts which were starting to pay off nicely. 

While all of the above was being decided my office was advertising for a tenant to sublease some available suites in our space.  Last week we found a group of attorneys who wanted the space -- but they need my beautiful and spacious office to complete the move.  With my blessing we made the deal and they want to move in next week which means I'm going to have a move at work in addition to my studio. 

More to come as things unfold -- but for now it's a time of organization/packing/reorganizing/moving and truthfully a bit of stress as I figure out how things are going to look in the new spaces. 

Breathe............just breathe.

Blue Beads for Bracelet!

Here is a photo of some of the blue beads I torched last week -- I'll be using some of these for the bracelet I'm making for the Global Genes Project's "7000 Bracelets for Hope" -- an organization for rare diseases awareness. 

The deadline is next week so I've got to get busy and get the bracelet done -- there's clearly enough beads to make a couple of bracelets so I might just make two for the cause!!

Best intentions.....

I promised to post photos of the beads I torched for my bracelent but couldn't find my camera.  Finally found it this morning and the batteries are dead (it is my understanding that Mercury is retrograde which explains why nearly everything I touch falls apart lately!).  The beads are annealed and cleaned and will be photographed so you can see what I'm going to choose from to make my bracelet for the 7000 Bracelets of Hope campaign.

Here's a link that explains more about the project -- I'm really excited to participate in this uber-worthy cause!

http://www.crdnetwork.org/blog/7000-bracelets-for-hope%E2%84%A2-campaign-raises-awareness-for-over-7000-rare-diseases/

Bracelets for Hope

The wonderfully talented and energetic Lori Anderson who spearheaded the Bead Soup Project awhile back contacted me to make a bracelet to send to the Global Genes Project which you can read more about here:  http://www.globalgenesproject.org/

This is an awareness program for people suffering from rare diseases.  Lori herself suffers from a very rare disease called Pseudotumor Cerebri aka IH and is indeed the model for the ad on the National IH Awareness poster! 

The bracelets will be sent to The Global Genes Project, an advocacy group who launched "7000 Bracelets for Hope", a children's rare disease campaign. The bracelets are given to one of 7000 families having children with rare diseases to show them love and support.

So off I go to my glass studio to torch away the afternoon and create some cool new beads for the bracelet I'll be donating to the cause.  The deadline is only 2 weeks away so I'd better get busy!  I'll post a photo of the beads from today's torching session so you can see what I'll be using for my bracelet donation.