artbymags » art and craft

on hiatus

mags — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:38:51 +0000

not that anyone really looks at this site anymore anyways, but just a note to say that art by mags is officially on hiatus now, indefinitely. i’m super focused on wags by mags! and though i may or may not still occasionally create things, i am not focused on art as a business or even much of a hobby right now. i even dropped out of the new orleans craft mafia – so you know i’m serious.

i just need a break, some extended time away from the hustle of constantly making stuff. i’m sure i will go back to it eventually, in some way – i have always been and will always be a maker, a creator – but it will likely not be as art by mags. i’m not quite ready to tear down the site and give up the domain, though. so i guess it’ll just sit here as an archive, for now. we shall see what happens down the line.

of course, if you have specific requests, i will still entertain custom orders at any time. just know it will probably take me much longer to do it, as i try to find the time in between the dogs and cats.

thanks, everyone, for all your support of my art-and-crafty life over the years.

artbymags on tv!

mags — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:44:36 +0000

i know i’m technically on hiatus right now and haven’t been writing here, but as i was just enjoying the latest episode of one of my favorite new tv sitcoms this fall, 2 broke girls, i FINALLY saw my stencil painting that their set designer bought from me on etsy! i guess the camera angles just hadn’t gone in that direction yet in the set apartment on the previous two episodes, but it’s right there, hanging on wall in the living room:

see it? smack in the middle of this screen shot. it’s a small painting, and it wasn’t much money and i don’t even like the painting – it and its companion piece which i still have were just silly little stencil things i sprayed on thrift store canvases one afternoon when i was thinking about my relationship with money. i had absolutely zero luck selling them at markets for almost a year! i almost don’t even like claiming that it’s mine… except that it’s kinda exciting to see something you made on the set of a new hit tv show that’s on every week!

this is what the painting looks like:

see? not really indicative of my usual work. kinda sloppy. though i guess it does have a little street art feel to it, which is probably why they liked it for this set. it does kinda look like the kinda crap you can buy on the streets of new york for $20!

if you watch the show (which you can do online from its homepage), you know their apartment is totally thrift store funky. it must have been a really fun job for the set designers to come up with, and there’s clearly a lot more etsy art on the walls beyond mine. but, hey, it’s still cool.

and this makes my second film/tv “credit” where something i made has appeared on screen. those who’ve known me for a while will remember that my popular “evildoer” stencil t-shirt appeared in the indie film “flakes” starring zooey deschanel many years back.

i guess i do keep getting signs from the universe that i am not done creating and selling my creations… but i’m still not really feeling it right now. but who knows. maybe i’ll get a rare burst of inspiration sometime soon. we’ll see.

check me out on derbygirlsblog.com!

mags — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:44:27 +0000

finally! something new to report!

i actually did this interview months ago, but it finally posted today. the owner of this awesome derby blog – derbygirlsblog.com – approached me via etsy about donating one of my clocks for a giveaway. so of course i said yes!

she sent me a list of questions via email and well, i couldn’t resist gushing about both of my derby teams – my first love, the derby city roller girls (dcrg!), and my hometown team, the big easy roller girls (berg!). i am still and will always be a rollergroupie!

so check out the interview and enter to win the clock!

update… and, scooters!

mags — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:14:28 +0000

wow, it’s been a while since i wrote here last. sorry bout that, y’all. but ever since i made up my mind to go into the dog-walking/pet-sitting biz, it’s kinda all i’ve been doing. there’s been no time for making of art or craft. i pretty much have been walking dogs 9am-4pm every weekday, sometimes more, and pet-sitting on the weekends. and when i’m not actively caring for people’s pets, i’m recuperating from being out in this scorching heat all day. it does really take a lot out of a person. it’s been hectic, and i’m just now getting to a point where i’m learning how to tailor my schedule to have some downtime.

but i know it will get better. i will figure out how to have more free time, and how to balance out the work with the creative time and the leisure time. it’s a whole new world for me now. and it will just take a little while for me to figure it all out.

all this being said, i did actually find the time this weekend to make a fresh batch of scooter clocks, inspired by the fact that amerivespa – the national scooter rally put on by the vespa club of america – is in town here in nola this weekend. i had originally been thinking, months ago, that i was going to be a vendor at the event, setting up a booth over the weekend. but as my life took its exciting twists and turns, it ended up not really being possible. but then my friend mallory of missmalaprop.com said she had been asked to be a vendor, and since she carries some of my stuff in her online shop, i thought, well maybe i can give her a few things to try to sell at the event.

so i woke up early on saturday morning, before the heat got too bad, and whipped up a bunch of new scooter stencil clocks in different colors. (see pic above.) i have to say, it felt really good to be making something again. i had actual *fun* doing it, which was nice.

as it turned out, however, the organizers of the vendor area never got back to mallory to confirm her participation, so she didn’t end up doing it. so now i have seven fresh scooter clocks in various colors that have no way to actually be seen by the scooter-fanatical attendees of amerivespa.

so i suppose i will spend some of my time this lazy sunday afternoon posting these to my etsy shop. but if you’re interested in any of them before i get around to doing so, just email me. if you are local or in town for amerivespa, i can deliver. or, as always, i can ship to anywhere. $30 cash and carry. $8 more for shipping/paypal fees. (i charge $40 on etsy to cover the etsy fees too.)

hopefully i’ll find the time and inspiration to make some more stuff soon. stay tuned!

jazz fest funky lil’ art show!

mags — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:28:21 +0000

ok, so i have the info now about the opening for the art show i’ll be in during jazz fest:

creative outlet presents:

the 6th edition jazz fest funky lil’ art show!

2909 ponce de leon st. (corner of n. white).

opening event: friday, april 22nd, 6pm-9pm

open-house and porch party each night after jazz fest from 6pm – 9pm

featuring some fabulous lil’ art from these artists & crafters:

alice atkinson, whitney cato, yvette chapotel, nicole crochet, margaret coble, chris cressionnie, john d’addario, carina gale, chris kirsch, rachelle matherne, jeanette meyer, bud moore, laura rapp, alice redman, giselle robert, carol springer, valerie turgeon, and maybe more….

——

i’m so excited! i brought a whole bunch of stuff over to jen on sunday and i have a few more clocks to bring her tomorrow. the openings are always a crowded but really fun event, a sort of pre-jazz fest kickoff party. and all the art and craft is really reasonably priced – nothing is super expensive and all of it is really funky and different. much of it from artists who don’t do the gallery scene or even the market scene. always some rare and interesting finds to be had. come early to get all the best stuff, cuz stuff does sell fast!

hope to see y’all there!

busy season.

mags — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:47:19 +0000

god this month has gotten seriously busy.

just a reminder… crawfest is THIS saturday! i just checked weather.com and it looks like it’s going to be cool, breezy and sunny – a beautiful new orleans spring day with 0% chance of rain. that is music to my ears. and speaking of music, did you look at the lineup? rockin’ dopsie, baby boyz brass band, roots of music & rebirth brass band, and anders osborne! those are just the ones i’m excited about – tons more great music on three stages this year. yeah. look for me with the other art vendors – including my friends rachelle of greenKangaroo, mallory of miss malaprop, krissy of kristina renee jewelry, and christine of avantgarbe – in front of the lbc on the quad. (and don’t forget, it’s byob – they don’t sell beer out on the quad – but you can’t have glass, only plastic.)

then, after crawfest is put to bed, i have to get together what i’m giving my friend jen for her funky lil art show which runs through jazz fest. i gave away my postcard that had all the info about all the other artists who were gonna be on display, so i can’t list them all here, but it’s a LOT this year! there’s always a really eclectic mix of styles and media, from fine art to folk art to jewelry and other diy craft. i will have some stencil paintings, clocks, signs and tshirts available for sure – maybe even some totally new stuff if i manage to get it done by then. the opening is on friday the 22nd from 6-9pm, corner of ponce de leon and n. white over by the fairgrounds. you can’t miss it. i hope to see you there.

and then it’s jazz fest! i spent monday and tuesday of this week out at the fairgrounds volunteering in the signs barn for the jazz fest art department, which was a lot of fun. everyone in the area was super nice, and my task as a volunteer was to block-print these bizarre window-coverings for the dressing room trailers on big sheets of paper (see pic below).

my back and hamstrings are still sore from bending over working on the floor for hours! but playing with paint is always fun, and it was mind-blowing realizing just how many signs of various types go into marking and decorating the space that is jazz fest every year. maybe next year if i’m still hustlin’ i’ll apply for a job in the area. i am signed up to do more shifts next week with them, but it looks like i’ve got some dogs to walk during the times i was supposed to be volunteering, so i think i will have to bail on the free work in favor of the paid work.

which leads me to the thing that has been keeping me most busy the last few weeks: wags by mags! yes the website is finally launched, though very basic. i have business cards on order. i have a twitter account. and a facebook page. i even listed it on yelp.com. and the response thus far has been great. i’ve gotten a few new clients and lots of positive feedback. i think i may have finally stumbled upon something i can do, do well, enjoy, and make money at!

so yeah. busy busy. but busy is good.

i hope to see many of you out and about either at crawfest or jen’s art show/jazz fest porch parties in the coming weeks!

how did it get to be april?

mags — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:12:10 +0000

seriously. wasn’t it just february?

so, updates:

last friday evening, the new orleans craft mafia offered a free recycling workshop at noma in the sculpture garden during their weekly where y’art? event. we taught folks how to fold paper flowers and make paper beads out of surplus brochures, posters and other paper items from noma. we didn’t get a huge crowd but we had a steady trickle throughout the evening and we all had a lot of fun. we’ll be back again for where y’art? on april 22nd to help celebrate earth day with another recycling workshop, so join us!

saturday’s picayune street fair did not go as swimmingly as i’d hoped. in fact, i sold nothing. not a thing. (but didn’t our booth look awesome?) i did have a lovely time hanging out with mallory aka miss malaprop, though, and we took in quite a few rather astonishing sights in downtown picayune, mississippi. i’m sad i did not get a picture of the confederate flag dreamcatcher, or many of the stunning fashion statements of the day. i did however take many photos of amazing fair food and other interesting things:

god i love a funnel cake!

the chainsaw artist was super cool!

i loved this recycled tire folk artist!

this vintage el camino at the antique car show that was part of the fair rocked my world!

lastly, i’d like to mention that i got yet another shout out in the times-picayune today… this time from my pal dj soulsister, who was featured in the living section.

i can’t seem to zoom out to get a good screenshot of the whole page, but this is the relevant part! dj soulsister, aka melissa weber, commissioned me a super long time ago to make her a “soul power” clock with the raised fist graphic on it. after katrina happened, she made sure to tell me that it had survived! (she is so sweet.) and then a few years later, she bought the above turntable clock. she has always been a supporter of my work, and i have always been one of her biggest fans, both of her radio show on wwoz and her hustle parties at mimi’s. i’m so giddy happy for her, seeing her career continue to flourish, and honored and grateful to have been mentioned in this article. so thanks, melissa!

and here’s what’s coming up on my calendar for april:

crawfest at tulane, on the 16th – always one of the highlights of my spring market calendar. what’s not to love about thousands of pounds of boiled crawfish (all you can eat for $10) and tons of great new orleans music (rockin’ dopsie, rebirth brass band, roots of music & more!) on the quad all day at tulane in glorious spring weather? me and several of the new orleans craft mafia will all be there, peddling our wares and eating our weight in crawfish that day. come see us! (but bring your own beer cuz they don’t sell it at crawfest, fyi.)

the following week, i’m doing a bunch of volunteer work out at the sign department barn at the fairgrounds for jazz fest. i’ve never volunteered in that area before (worked in the kids area for forever, but it’s been a few years now) but i thought it could be fun and maybe even educational. i’m doing a total of four days over two weeks, pre-fest, so i’ll let you know how it goes! hopefully i’ll somehow earn some free tickets to get to go to jazz fest… cuz i sure can’t afford to buy tickets.

and then on friday the 22nd, it’s the opening for my friend jen’s funky lil art show she hosts every year during jazz fest in her home. i don’t think there’s anything for me to link to in order to give you more info, but the opening is from 5:30 – 8:30pm and if you need her address just shoot me an email. if you miss the opening, you can stop by any jazz fest evening, after fest finishes. jen and her partner mary ann host an open house every single evening after fest, so the gallery is open from 6-9pm those days. there is always a party going on over there during jazz fest, and even if you aren’t going to jazz fest itself, it’s a fun place to hang out and people watch and partake of some of the festive spirit. i know i’ll be there just about every day.

and that’s all i got for april, art-wise. but i have a lot of stuff up in my etsy shop and i’ve been doing a bunch of sign commissions lately, so don’t be shy if there’s a sign you need in your life! just get in touch!

happy april!

back to basics.

mags — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:48:08 +0000

i’m not really sure why, but i’ve been moved the past few weeks to pick up a paint brush and go back to my folk art roots. it’s been really therapeutic and also fun. i’ve been tweeting occasional pics of a wooden chair i’ve been in the process of painting, and though it’s not quite done yet, here’s what it’s looking like right now:

i’m really stuck on this purple/red/black/white color scheme right now for some reason, too. but it’s working pretty well on the chair, i think. i might go back and change a few things, and i still have some detail work to do on the legs and maybe the red horizontal parts of the back of the chair… not sure. but generally speaking, i’m really liking how it’s turning out. will let you know when it’s done.

i also have a few small canvases in process, also folk art in style. it feels really great to use a brush again, after so many years of doing mostly spray paint stencil work. not that i’m abandoning that technique or anything – it’s just nice to get back in touch with how i started, and that zen feeling i remember having when totally “in the zone” of applying dots and squiggly lines in repetetive patterns all over a piece of furniture. there’s something to that process that’s just magical and calming and puts my brainwaves in order like nothing else. so i’m doing it, and hope to keep doing a lot more of it.

stay tuned, too, for another upcoming sale. i feel it coming on. perhaps after my saturday appearance at the picayune street fair with miss malaprop. a girl’s gotta pay rent, after all.

spring has sprung.

mags — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:07:22 +0000

oh i know. i have not been very good at keeping up with this blog, ever since i started the new one where i write about more varied and personal things other than my art/craft life.

it’s also been a fairly slow time for said art/craft life. post-holidays through mardi gras is always slow for me, since i don’t really make anything that is mardi gras-focused and the weather is usually crappy enough to keep me from any of the outdoor markets (and from wanting to work on making new stuff outdoors). i’ve had a slow-but-steady trickle of etsy orders, and did get a little bit of a boost from the publicity mentioned in the previous post. but it’s not been anything close to “normal” levels of business. it’s been beyond slow, really.

but here we are in mid-march (how did that happen?). mardi gras is over and st. patrick’s is tomorrow, with st. joseph’s day hot on its heels this weekend. the weather has been absolutely gorgeous for a few weeks; perfect new orleans springtime, with loads of sunshine and temps in the 60s and 70s. (apologies to all the northerners who have still been dealing with winter up until now.) i have been riding my scooter and bicycle a lot, and taking daily walks in city park for exercise, while enjoying the outdoors as much as possible.

i don’t, however, think i’ll be doing a lot of outdoor markets anytime soon. i’m just not making enough money at them to justify the ever-increasing booth fees. the only two i have on my calendar right now are on april 2nd, i’m helping miss malaprop out at the picayune street fair in picayune, mississippi… and then on april 16th i will be at tulane’s crawfest. the picayune street fair is actually a weekend-long event but i think i’m only going up on saturday, unless sales are just so good i can’t stay away on sunday. and crawfest is an annual treat for me; i’ve been doing it for years and it’s one of my favorites, due to the excellent music and all-you-can-eat crawfish!

i am starting to get back outside working on new stuff, though. and i’ll be stocking up for my friend jen’s annual funky lil’ art show in her home during jazzfest, which is just around the corner now. the opening for that will be april 22nd and i’ll have more info on that as it draws nearer. but you should put it on your calendar now to either come to the opening or remember to stop by her place on your way out of jazzfest any night so you can pick up some awesome, reasonably-priced local art and craft. she’s got an ecclectic array of creative friends and there’s always a party going on over there during jazzfest.

that’s about it for now. just a little hello to let you know i’m still here. still making stuff. still selling stuff. still available for custom commissions. and one-color t-shirt runs if it’s simple enough. and if you want to keep up with all my latest creations, bookmark my etsy shop and also my flickr page. i might not always think to make a blog post about things but i almost always take photos of anything i make and post it to flickr.

happy spring everyone!

publicity is always nice!

mags — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:06:53 +0000

my nola heart clock made it into this week’s CUE magazine, in the gambit! yay!

if you’d like to purchase one, hop on over to my etsy shop, or feel free to email me and we can work it out. since there won’t be a march freret market due to mardi gras, i’m happy to arrange for local pickup-dropoff and i do also ship. (i also make them in different colors if blue is not to your liking.)