Etsy and the election

I refused to put on election news until polls started to close last night. Instead, I listed more of my old art pieces on my new Etsy shop, www.sherrielovescolor.etsy.com.  

This little (7 inches square) collage is hand painted silk organza with a gold foiled spiral, beads, and gold quilting from 2005. I listed it at $30. It looks nice framed, but I'm selling it unframed because everyone has different tastes in frames. It's mounted on a mat board, so it stands up on its own and can be propped on a shelf.

I can't believe I made it 15 years ago! I want to get back to doing that sort of work.

I also whipped out bookmarks to send as little gifts with my orders. I'm being optimistic here, because the only order I have so far is from a friend. 

Last night's sunset was nice, and it signaled that it was time to turn on the tv ...

... and settle in with the veggie pizza that I had delivered!

After a few hours of nail biting, I baked a pan of brownies. I stayed up much later than usual, even though I knew we probably wouldn't have final results until later in the week.

Then I was up before dawn full of nervous energy ...

... so I went for a brisk walk under the moon as the clouds turned pink. It was a nice 63 degrees and felt invigorating. 

Now, we wait.

Have a colorful day

This and that

 

Nothing big is going on here, so I thought I'd just pick some random photos from the last few days. The palm trees are in the parking lot of Barnes & Noble. I'm elated to be living somewhere that has palm trees! And the book store finally put back its tables in the cafe and reading chairs.

The sunsets continue to be spectacular. This is the view from my front door. I feel lucky.

This view over Oro Valley is from the Linda Vista Trail in the Catalina Mountains, only half mile from my house. I hiked it yesterday for my very first Meetup.com activity. The other hikers were super friendly, but they were all in better shape than me and kept up a pretty snappy pace as we clambered over big rocks and gained elevation. It was definitely a challenge for me to keep up, but I made it! And at least I didn't have a "cactus incident," like two of them had. They got stuck by cactus needles through their clothes and had to pull them out with tweezers.

I also had my first outing with my first Tucson friend, the woman who cuts my hair. I guess that IS big news! We went to a Haunted Yard that's put on every year by some friends of hers and benefits the food pantry. I let out a few yells when characters that I thought were fake suddenly jumped out at us.

This eerie sunset picture with dead branches and flames is from their yard. 

My friend Paula sent this colorful Day of the Dead card. I'm embracing the colors and culture of Mexico since moving here.

And I made a few more tarot deck bags for my Etsy shop, which I just opened yesterday:

sherrielovescolor.etsy.com.

So far I've only listed the bags, but as soon as I dig out some small art quilts and photograph them I'll put them in the shop.

I have no idea if I'll sell even one thing, but it's keeping me busy. For this earthy bag, I started with a dark green batik and brushed on gold fabric paint. The ties are silk ribbon.

Have a colorful day

Painting fabric and silk ribbon

 

My friend who reads tarot convinced me to make and sell tarot deck bags on Etsy. I don't know how people will ever find my bags among the hundreds already out there, but I'm going to give it a try. Mine will be set apart because I'm painting most of the fabric, including the pure silk ribbon drawstrings. (Plus I'll offer some affordable quilted items and maybe some beaded jewelry.)

So that motivated me to dig out my fabric paint and play with it for the first time in years. Here is some of what I did in the last two days.

I only painted the fabric for the bag on the right, but I painted all of the ribbons. I line the bags with silky soft garment lining fabric.

Here's my setup, on my cutting table right inside the front door. Not that anyone ever comes to the door.

I wet the white cotton fabric and white silk ribbons (I order them from www.dharmatrading.com) and paint them with cheapie foam brushes. I use Setacolor, Jaquard, and Lumiere fabric paints, also from Dharma.

After I paint the fabric, I scrunch it up while it is still wet so that it develops hills and valleys patterns. I crumple the silk ribbon in pie tins so that it dries in interesting patterns.

This shows the dried and ironed fabric and ribbons -- you can see from the patterning that it still looks three dimensional. The pink and orange-yellow piece above was overpainted with a wash of buttercup yellow to give it more depth. If you let the fabric dry and heat set it by ironing, you can then add more layers of Setacolor transparent paint on top. 

Note: Setacolor by Pebeo recently started calling its transparent paint "paint for light colored fabrics." Also, if you use opaque paint it will cover up the first layer completely.

And, did anyone else notice the quilt behind Rep. Katie Porter on TV last night!? That was exciting! I love her chunky necklace, too.

Have a colorful day

Christmas cards, check

 

I'm so ready for this year to be over that today I ordered my Christmas cards and wrote my holiday newsletter. And I ordered winter scene stamps. And I updated my address list.

Amazon is loaded with desert cards, so it was hard to make a decision. I finally settled on the first one, with the lighted saguaro under a full moon.

Here are some of the others that caught my eye. Most of them are by Stonehouse and you can find them on Amazon by searching for desert Christmas cards.

Check out the roadrunner card. Just yesterday I took the picture of a roadrunner at Tohono Chul Park near my house! And one appeared on my courtyard wall a few days ago and looked at me for awhile, but when I raised my camera it took off.

I also was tempted to choose this one with the pink house and big prickly pear cactuses by the door. Pink walls are pretty common in Tucson, like this one at Tohono Chul:

I don't have a pink house, but I do have a giant prickly pear out front:

But saguaros are the real star of our desert -- the Sonoran Desert -- and there were plenty of cards featuring them.

I almost ordered this card that says, "Don't worry, they say it's a dry heat!" That's what all my friends said as I was leaving for Tucson. Believe me, when it's 111 degrees even a dry heat is unbearable.

Have a colorful day

More on Day of the Dead exhibit

I went back to the Tucson Botanical Gardens yesterday to take in more of the Dia de los Muertos exhibit of huge, colorful sculptures of fancifully dressed female skeletons.

Read more about the exhibit in my Oct. 15 post titled La Calavera Catrina, which is the actual title of the exhibit. La Calavera Catrina refers to the skeletons, which were born out of social satire in the early 1900s depicting the upper classes in Mexico. The skeletons have become an integral part of the Day of the Dead celebration.

 

This first lovely lady (above) is none other than Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican painter. Frida proudly wore traditional costumes and decorated her hair with bright flowers to show her sense of pride in her Mexican heritage. Her clothing choices from villages around Mexico highlighted the important place women held in Mexican indigenous communities.

The lady with the basket of fruit is La Vendedora de Frutas and represents the abundant offerings to the dead that are part of festivities. One of the most personal aspects of the offering is the banquet, a feast in which family members offer their deceased their favorite foods. The delicious aromas are said to help attract the spirits after their long journey home.

Because the holiday takes place Nov. 1 and 2 close to harvest time, fresh fruits and vegetables are typically offered in great abundance.

The Aztec Lady of Death in Aztec mythology presided over the ancient festivals held in honor of the dead, where her role was to watch over the bones of the dead. These festivals evolved during the Spanish conquest of Mexico into the contemporary Day of the Dead festivities.

Maria Felix, above, is revered in Mexico as one of the 20th century's classic Latin beauties. Her impeccable style made her the source of inspiration for renowned painters, musicians, composers, writers, and filmmakers.

And who is this last lady dressed like a flower? Me, wearing the latest dress that Judy in Flagstaff dyed for me! It's a loose, breezy rayon number that will be fun to wear the next time I go to the Botanical Gardens. And it matches my bougainvillea. 

You, too, can get a dress or other colorful item from Judy at her store on Art Fire:  JudySallOriginals

Have a colorful day