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 [...]]]> 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!

take two using this stencil. it’s not the best photo, as it was really overcast when i took the photo. the colors aren’t showing up all that well. but i like it, for the most part. i wish i had used smaller letters on the meow’s but since it’s the last layer, there’s no [...]]]>

take two using this stencil. it’s not the best photo, as it was really overcast when i took the photo. the colors aren’t showing up all that well. but i like it, for the most part. i wish i had used smaller letters on the meow’s but since it’s the last layer, there’s no way to fix it without starting over basically. so i’m leaving it. i’ll fix that in the next take. (fae and i have always referred to our cat sticker as a pretty pretty princess.)

really have to get working on a stencil of the other cat, stencil, before he gets jealous!

that is all.

so i’ve been busy over here in the outdoor studio (otherwise known as my backyard), despite the rollercoaster weather. a few weeks back, i decided i wanted to start doing more stencil portraits, of pop culture icons, local (s)heroes, and yes, even pets. i know it’s crowded field – artists doing paintings of people’s [...]]]>

so i’ve been busy over here in the outdoor studio (otherwise known as my backyard), despite the rollercoaster weather. a few weeks back, i decided i wanted to start doing more stencil portraits, of pop culture icons, local (s)heroes, and yes, even pets. i know it’s crowded field – artists doing paintings of people’s pets – but i frankly don’t know anyone at least in new orleans who is doing stencil spray paint/urban folk-pop art style stuff. so i figured i’d give it a shot.

the above piece is my first attempt at doing a cat. my cat, specifically. sticker is his name, but my friend nita calls him mr. toes because he’s one of those hemingway cats (polydactyl) with extra toes all over the place. he has big mitten feet, and he’s a tubby, not very coordinated, princessy feline with a lot of character. i love him dearly. it was challenging trying to get a good one-color stencil that captures his unique look, but i think i pulled it off. after shooting about a hundred photos of him, i found one that worked well as a stencil, even though it didn’t include his funny feet.

about a year ago on one of my daily walks around the neighborhood, i salvaged four small weathered cabinet doors from a rotting set of cabinets on the curb out for the trash. i just really liked their look, and they’ve been sitting in my shed ever since, waiting for just the right project to come along. so when i did the first portrait in the series – frida kahlo (yes, i know she’s overplayed, but i’ve been a fan of hers since the early 80s and looking back through books of her work actually did help get me out of my funk, so i thought she deserved to be the first portrait i tried in this new style) – after testing it out on a scrap piece of plywood, i just jumped right in on one of these cabinet doors and started to play. i think it turned out pretty cool:

i love how using the cabinet doors makes it look like a readymade, already-framed piece of art. and gives it that folk-art feel. i had originally envisioned making mixed media pieces, putting various paper items as a background that would then be painted over such that parts of the print peeked out of the paint blasts… but i just spontaneously started making this one and decided i didn’t want to wait for all that mod podge to dry (usually takes overnight) so i just went with layering paint and design motifs. and this is what i ended up with.

i also did another rachel maddow piece, because, well, i’m obsessed. clearly. those of you who’ve been following me for a while know that i did a bunch of rachel maddow pieces a year or two ago that were really labor-intense 7-layered stencils. while it was a really good challenge and fun to do, once the stencils started deteriorating, i quickly realized i didn’t really want to keep recutting 7 different layers of facial features over and over again. i was able to make about 4 small canvases and a handful of prints on paper with them, but decided that was it for that particular incarnation of rachel maddow in stencil form. so this time, i chose a different picture to work from that was easy to turn into a one-layer stencil. whew.

so that’s 3 out of the 4 cabinet doors. not sure what i will do with the 4th, though i’m considering doing my other cat, the mighty hunter, stencil. but after playing around with the photos i took of him recently, i’m realizing it’s going to be much harder to do. as an all-black cat, it’s hard to create a one-layer stencil that isn’t just a silhouette – that actually gives him some dimension and features. but i’m going to keep playing with it. he’s already jealous of sticker because he has the extra-toes thing going on – i don’t want to slight him, you know? i love him just as much!

so yeah. that’s what i’ve been up to. i’ve also been making a bunch of love signs and posting up more stuff on my etsy site – valentine’s is coming up soon. but i’m hoping this new direction with the stencil portraits ends up being something i can market and turn into some steady income soon.

let me know what you think.

after months of feeling like i’d lost my way and lost all inspiration, finally things seem to be shifting a little for me. i had a day full of energy and firing on all cylinders yesterday, which seems to happen so rarely to me now. (not sure if it was the extra cup of [...]]]>

after months of feeling like i’d lost my way and lost all inspiration, finally things seem to be shifting a little for me. i had a day full of energy and firing on all cylinders yesterday, which seems to happen so rarely to me now. (not sure if it was the extra cup of coffee or that big chunk of salmon – brain food! – i cooked up the day before, but i haven’t had such clarity in a really long time. it was nice.)

so i think i’ve decided to recommit to the art life. i was on the verge of abandoning it entirely, but i now am feeling new inspiration and a desire to buckle down and get serious about it. so in the coming weeks, i will be tweaking this website a little, moving some of the less art related stuff over to my new domain, margaretcoble.com (catchy, eh?), which will serve as more of an overall personal and professional site. and in so doing, i will refocus this site more on my art and crafty life and process, with the intention of making this blog more interesting to read. (and hopefully update it more frequently.) i might even shoot some video or make a podcast or something crazy like that!

i took the above picture this afternoon in my outdoor studio (otherwise known as the back yard!). i’m working on a new series or set of stencil paintings that i hope are going to turn out the way i want them to. some will be on salvaged wood and cabinet doors and such, others will be on canvas. some will be straight up stencil paintings and some will be more mixed media oriented. i have a million ideas jotted down, but the process will take a while as it requires me making a LOT of new stencils, both of pop icons and objects as well as textures and patterns. i hope the results will be interesting and aesthetically pleasing as well as marketable. it’s not exactly groundbreaking or even highly original in concept or technique, but it is something that i want to make and express and will challenge me while hopefully also paying a few of my bills. it’s a good place to start. and hopefully it will lead to more interesting things.

one of my favorite soulful house songs has lyrics that say “you’ve got to move to create change.” i love that line. this is me moving. just gotta keep it up.

so stay tuned. and bear with me. thanks!

well surprise, surprise. just when i thought the arty-crafty biz was in the shitter… suddenly, without me even really trying much, stuff is selling. (thank you, universe!) i put very little effort into marketing this holiday, i made very little “new” stuff (i made some bottlecap signs and a handful of clocks and printed [...]]]>

well surprise, surprise. just when i thought the arty-crafty biz was in the shitter… suddenly, without me even really trying much, stuff is selling. (thank you, universe!) i put very little effort into marketing this holiday, i made very little “new” stuff (i made some bottlecap signs and a handful of clocks and printed some scarves, but no new designs), and i only had 3 markets in december. but all the markets turned out pretty ok, especially last night’s “last stop shop” which was actually pretty great. we had a lot of fun and a good crowd and for the first time in a long while, i sold lots of stuff! it was nice and reassuring.

and then today, i’ve had a big sale on etsy – the last of my rachel maddow stencil paintings, which i’d basically given up on selling and hung on my own wall, FINALLY SOLD (along with a clock in the same order) – and have had a few custom orders via email come in. and there’s still a week left before christmas, so i think i’m gonna put a little effort into trying to list everything i’ve got left up on etsy and maybe even craigslist, to see how much i can get rid of.

see, i think the key to me finding new inspiration is to GET RID OF ALL THE OLD STUFF that’s cluttering up my view. i have this problem, in that, i actually LIKE much of what i make – and really, most of the things i make and sell started as something i made for myself, to decorate with, to wear, or to give as a gift to someone i love. and then i started making more of them. but so, i often end up decorating my own house with some of the things i make, making them hard to let go of… and also, making it hard to come up with new ideas. maybe it doesn’t make any sense to anyone else, but i have often found, when i don’t have much of my own work around, then it makes me want to come up with new stuff. but whenever i have lots of it still around – like now – it’s harder to feel inspired. instead i feel defeated because so much of my stuff hasn’t sold, like nobody actually likes or wants it, besides me.

so yeah. hopefully the universe – and shopping friends and strangers alike – will help me get rid of more of the current inventory, so i can start fresh in the new year, and hopefully find some new inspiration for new creativity. but between now and christmas (and probably new year’s), i’m just gonna try really hard to sell what i’ve got. (i will of course always make custom orders, if someone wants something i don’t have in stock – a different color of clock or sign or whatever. just ask!)

anyways. big thanks to all who have been supportive – either by purchasing stuff, recommending me to others, or even just offering encouraging words – this holiday season. it really means a lot to me. and apparently it’s helping!

happy holidays, y’all.

and remember, i do custom work also… so if there’s a [...]]]> freretstivus market, that is. TODAY! noon til 5pm – i will be there. come enjoy the beautiful day before we get more nasty weather tomorrow. and don’t forget about the last stop shop at the big top on thursday, 6-10pm (1638 clio street).

and remember, i do custom work also… so if there’s a clock or sign design you like, i can make it in your favorite color combo and have it done in plenty of time for christmas. i even have some blank scarf material in stock and could print up the scarf of your choice. so don’t be shy – just ask!

happy holiday shopping, y’all.

it feels like the pace of my life has picked up considerably in the past week or so. every [...]]]> the anticipation of moving is just about killing me. i can start moving in on the 10th, though i’m paying rent on iberville until the 20th (my 30 days notice). the days can’t move fast enough.

it feels like the pace of my life has picked up considerably in the past week or so. every day feels hectic now. i’ve started to pack up, though not terribly quickly. but the boxes are starting to pile up in corners. fae is completely moved out with the small exception of a few storage boxes in our walk-in closet, which we will get to some day in the next week or so. the house is, therefore, half empty. it feels very weird still being here, trying to maintain my routine and schedule in a half-empty, partially-packed up apartment. the cats are very confused and a little freaked out, particularly when my landlord brings people through looking at the apartment.

and, i must be crazy, but i somehow got talked into doing the freret market this saturday. i haven’t done a market probably since freret back in march or april (can’t remember, but it’s been a long time), and i haven’t really made anything new since then either. i’ve been in a creative funk. so i’ve had all this stock that i made in the spring, thinking that i was gonna stay on top of sales and stay well stocked and maybe start getting some into stores, just sitting around gathering dust. so i’m making this market a clearance sale. if you like my stuff and want to stock up for holiday gifts, now would be a good time to swing by and grab some stuff. make me a REASONABLE offer on anything and i won’t refuse. i need money for moving, and i also really don’t want to move more than i have to… so if i can liquidate some stock, less stuff to move!

i’m gonna have a $3 bargain bin of tshirts, ties, tanks, shorts, pants, and any other printed apparel i can find. cufflinks are gonna be $10. and signs and clocks and prints will be at least $5-$10 off. really – make me an offer on anything. i just want to move product.

and, just so you know… i’m thinking of not making the clocks anymore. i’m kind of tired of them, and there are now several copy-cats around town making other sorts of record clocks and selling them for way less, therefore glutting the market. i will still make custom orders – like if you just really gotta have a black and gold fleur de lis clock or blue nola heart or red scoot clock, fine, i’ll hook you up – but i’m just so tired of lugging all the boxes around and having to store so much inventory. SO… all this is to say, i’ve got about 30-40 clocks of various sizes/designs/colors left, but when they are gone, that’s it. come out to freret market on saturday, noon til 5pm, and get ‘em while they last.

one last thing – and those of you who follow me on facebook will already know this – but i’m selling one of my folk art chairs from my early days (pic below). it was always one of my favorite chairs i decorated – i used to comb the thrift and furniture stores for wooden chairs with good lines and not much paint/varnish that i could strip and then custom paint in my then-geometric folk art style. this one’s a little woo-woo goddessy, but i still love the colors and the paint job has held up remarkably well for being 17 years old! one of a kind and a mags original! i’m saying $125 but really, if you like it, make me an offer. i really just don’t have space for this in my new place and i think it’s time it found a new home.