art by mags!

updates

  • check me out on derbygirlsblog.com!

    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!

    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!

  • never forget.

    most of you will know this, but for anyone who perhaps isn’t aware… today is the one year anniversary of the bp oilpolcalypse. i can’t believe it’s been a whole year since the nightmare began.

    the times-picayune has a special section with many, many good articles and editorials. you should read it.

    we should all remember the eleven men who died in that explosion.

    we should all be aware that those closest to the oil-infected waters, and who worked in the clean-up effort, continue to deal daily with lingering health effects from exposure to the oil and the corexit dispersant used in the clean-up.

    we should all continue to be aware that we still don’t know what the longterm effects of the spill will be. and that the seafood that is being harvested from the affected waters may or may not be safe.

    and sadly, we should be aware that the same thing could happen again today, tomorrow or any day, because not enough measures have been taken to avoid the same situations that caused the bp spill.

    so, please. keep spreading this information. keep talking to your friends, family, neighbors. keep pressure on your legislators.

    and keep praying. for the gulf. for the planet. for humanity.

     

    send love to the gulf

  • jazz fest funky lil’ art show!

    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.

    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?

    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!