Stock Photography

We have photographs with a few different stock photography sites and I wanted to post links to a couple of them to show off Ryan's talent.
The first is for istock.
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php?action=file&userID=658315
The second is for Dreamstime.
http://www.dreamstime.com/Thenewts_more-latest-adition_pg1

Virgin Mary

This piece was a special request and I finished it a couple of days ago. It is for the same person that bought the St. Francis. It took me a good while to get into this one because of the more subtle colors but I really like the result. I used the white lilies because they are supposed to be a symbol of purity.

The World of Dance Mosaic

I wanted to do ballet shoes on pointe in the typical first position but make it a little more interesting. Adding the globe was the first step and it gave me more of the rich colors that I normally use. The second step was coming up with a background. I thought about doing planets or solid black but in the end decided on the cobalt blue with stars. I have to admit that this is my favorite mosaic that I have made so far.

St. Francis of Assisi Mosaic

I just finished this mosaic and I think it turned out pretty well. I used purple and blue hand painted glass for the sky. Pardon all of the mess around it but I took the picture right after grouting while it was still outside.

I Did My First Craft Show

Since I had never done a craft show before, we set everything up in our backyard for a sort of a test run. The easels that Ryan built for me work really well and the incredibly cheap canopy that I bought hardly budges even in really strong wind. The only thing that did not get done is the painting of the easels. They are just going to have to do for awhile.

This was the Spring Daze Festival in Thomasville, NC. We used this easel out in front of my booth to try to draw attention. It was photographed for a local newspaper.

This was my booth. The easels worked out really nicely and all of the bright colors drew lots of attention. It rained and I only had a couple of sales but, a lot of compliments. I am going to try a few more before I give up. I am actually doing my next one May 16th. It's the Garibaldifest on Main Street in Belmont, NC.

Collages

This one looks a little weird in the picture, but in person it is so neat. The bug in the center was a broken figurine and he is sitting on top of some roses that were left over from another project. All of the flowers around him are from a pillow that started making when I was a teenager. My mother was trying to teach me needlepoint or crewel I'm not sure which. Either way I was never going to finish the pillow and so I was thrilled to chop it up and use it on this collage. I got my husband to cut the sun out of wood for me and I made the butterflies out of a costume jewelry bracelet that had broken and multi-colored feathers.

This is a figurine that I bought some time ago and she didn't really fit in with the other witches in my collection. I like her much more now that I have given her a few changes, stuck her on a canvas and surrounded her with talisman from the Black Pullet.

Colorful Boxes

These are more of the cigar boxes that Ryan brought home to me. They are done with acrylic paint and then antiqued to tone them down a little bit. I attached ceramic tiles around the sides (Ryan brought those home as well). I made these because I am going to do my first craft show in Thomasville, NC on May 2 and I wanted some inexpensive items to mix in to everything else. I'm hoping to get a few more done before the show with zodiac signs, and hobo signs or something. Hopefully people will like them.