Shameless of me I know, but I was really happy with how these turned out so I decided to share them with you all. I designed these from photographs I've taken of the letters of the alphabet. And from these I've uploaded the images and had a line of t-shirts, etc made on cafepress.com
Check this out: http://www.cafepress.com/carmenrose
That's where you can view the clothing options with the above designs on them. Here are two examples I liked:
It’s been a crazy busy week as I prepare to take work to a gallery in a nearby town on Monday. I’ve been full tilt at this now for so long I think it has all started to blend into mush in my head. Anyway, as I look around at the glass I have finished this evening, I’m pretty happy with the results. When I left my job in 2004 to go full time artist, this was the media I was working in. And I laid it aside to focus more on the jewelry and here I am again. Next week I’ll be back into soap I suppose. We’ll see.
If you want to see the rest of the photos check out my art blog: http://croseprose.blogspot.com/
Off to bed for me. I have to get up very early for a show in the morning.
]]>My work has been juried into Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg. I started out at Oasis back in 2004 and worked in the media of Art Glass at the time. It was quickly profitable enough that I left my cush job as an Art Consultant to go do the art glass thing full time. I’ve worked professionally in 15 different art media since then and I migrated away from the Art Glass into/through other things. Recently I pulled out my glazes and glass supplies and made up some things for one of our adoption fund raisers, trying to use up supplies I had on hand. When I was in the middle of the work, I remembered how much I liked the process and how beautifully the work came together. I found it very rewarding and decided I wanted more of that in my life again. So here I am again. I’ve recently left another job and in some ways I feel like I’m repeating myself by going back to the glass. But on the other hand, there are few things more important to me than being able to do the work that I love… (without an EXTERNAL Boss! - My own internal drive is enough, thank you!) and that work is anything that has to do with color and creativity. It doesn’t matter to me what the art media is, just so it involves color and creativity.
This image is one I created ages ago that shows me weaving a rainbow into my glass. I’m happy with how it turned out. That was long before I chopped off the hair. It is watercolor on paper layered with marker and metalics. And it actually looks like me. Complete with my pixie ear. Though I don't have any cool star tats. Tsk!
The first time I was into art glass, I did coorportate gifts for GE one year and ended up mailing my glass all over the country and to some foreign countries as well. France, China, Japan, Italy, United Arab Emirates, etc. That was so cool! So I have art in collections around the world. Ha ha! Sounds cooler than it is since my work wasn’t actually collected by those folks, it was given to them as gifts. But it’s fun to think that there are bits of my work in some really far away places. I'd like to get that GE gig again but they give a different coorporate gift each year and I was able to do it for two years because of the different media I work in. Still, I'd love to do that again!
]]>Yesterday and today I am working on building a website for a friend. It’s an interesting process. He gave me the link to a website that he really likes the look of and wanted something similar. It has been very interesting to see it begin with just the basics and then plug in the material and continue to develop it. I think it would be very interesting to watch another programmer work and see how the project takes shape for them. I’m sure there would be some similarities and also major differences. Since I am self-taught I imagine there are plenty of differences in the way I work from the way others work. The idea of watching the development reminds me of time lapse photography where you get the see the movement of the clouds or stars in the night sky. It would be interesting to watch the development of a website in the same way.
If you’d like to take a look, here is the link: http://www.pastorstevepaulus.com/index.htm And I especially like this page: http://pastorstevepaulus.com/links.htm where the colors seemed to connect and blend in a way that makes me happy. I haven’t heard from Steve since yesterday afternoon very early in the development so I don’t know what he thinks of the progress. I hope to see what he thinks of things soon. I’ll include a link to another website I designed as well: http://www.stauntongrace.org/
Oh, and here is my blog that deals with whatever creative thing I'm into at the moment. Want to see what life is like for the artist who is into about fifteen different art media? That's the place where you can watch and giggle. :) http://croseprose.blogspot.com/
Whew, it has been a busy week. I’m working on putting together a silent auction to raise money for our adoption process. And I really didn’t do much on the project until this week. But this week has been a real flurry. The event is Saturday night, 7:00 – 9:00. Hubby was gone all week until early this morning. It’s so good to have him back, now I have some moral support and a pack mule.
I've got scarves, art glass, jewelry, soap, beads, purses, sachets, hand made quilts and maybe some other stuff in this silent auction. All stuff that I have made from my gallery days or since. And that's not counting the edibles.
Monday, Tues and Wed I spent making product and going through my studio pulling out supplies to sell. I did pretty good at organizing things for the most part. The dogs were getting clingy. I would leave at 8:30 in the morning, drop by briefly to grab a hot dog every now and then and then I’d drag in around 10 most evenings and both of them really needed some TLC by that point. They had food and water, they just wanted me. Sweet really. My girls need me.
We’ve had some big donations of stuff to sell. A bunch of gardening stuff from a closed garden center was interesting. He took us into the old store, showed us around and said “Take everything you can sell.” Then he left and we loaded the Civic. That was good. Quite a few other things and I don’t know what all we’ll get Saturday morning when church people bring out more stuff. Some of my friends from hither and yon have mailed us packages. That kind of thing always amazes me. It’s the sort of thing I’d think of doing but wouldn’t actually get around to doing.
Thursday I started sugar cookies to sell. A friend helped me, I cut them out and she baked them. She did a beautiful job, never touched a timer but they were always perfect. And we had the most interesting conversation. We are both extremely private in person (not so much in writing for me) and we talked about the most interesting things. By Thursday evening the week was starting to catch up with me. I had two helpers for decorating the cookies and they came at around 8:00 pm. It wasn’t long before I pretty much hit the wall and started fading. They weren’t very task oriented helpers but seemed to have fun and I was extremely grateful for their help. The cookies look great. Hubby and I packaged them this evening and I hope they really bring in some funds. We packaged a dozen chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with six colorful decorated sugar cookies on top. All that was on a plate wrapped up carefully. Hubby is really good at making those chocolate chip cookies, and I’m good at making the sugar cookies. So that plate is kind of symbolic of us and our uniqueness and the way we compliment each other.
Today hubby and I both played pack mule and we hauled boxes and such. Another friend showed up to help unpack and display the stuff. We have a few more things to pick up. Hubby is headed out right now to go pick up a Fender Telecaster electric guitar that a friend donated.
After we’ve had dinner and I’ve had a nice pain killer, we’ll go back in and see if we can make some chocolate. I’m not going to do the twelve kinds that I did for “Art and Chocolate” only about five kinds plus some really easy chocolate and nut combos. I hope that goes rather quickly as the ol bod has really had it. I’m tired and the back has started to feel like a holiday weekend at the bakery.
I know that I don’t look like it right this minute, but I’m glad to do these kinds of events. It’s something I know how to do and I feel as though I’m investing in my children. Clearly I literally invest, because adoption is really expensive. But this is a personal investment as well. That is how I see it. And this way our friends (and people we don’t know because this was fairly broadly advertised) and strangers can enjoy an evening and the blessing can go both ways. They get a fun entertaining event and we get their hard earned money, and then they get a tax deduction. All the way around it works.
I need to go make some phone calls and sort out a few more details. Tomorrow two or three friends are coming and we will make silent auction sheets for every item. They are bringing a laptop and a laser printer. I’m bringing paper. I hope that goes rather quickly. And then it will be just the finishing touches and the food and the event will be upon us. I’m really tired at the moment, this was a lot of work. Especially with hubby away. But I know it will be good and I’ll probably cry at the end of the night with the generosity of friends and family. We’re blessed. Completely ostentatiously blessed.
Oh, and I’m going to tag this one thing on the end. Hubby’s grandma decided that she didn’t really need her “economic stimulus check” and thought she’d donate it to our adoption fund. When Hubby’s other grandma found out, she wanted to do the same thing. So these two darling little old ladies who could certainly could have found uses for that money have made their investment in us and our children. I am mostly amazed, completely blessed!
Can’t wait to meet my kiddies. A friend told me she thinks I’m getting three.
PS... all photos are of things I've made that are in this silent auction.
]]>Well, the big fundraiser weekend is over and I’m sitting at my desk feeling rather amazed about the whole thing!
I got off work Friday and went straight over to the church to get started wrapping up details. I decorated sugar cookies and worked on displays in the fellowship hall. There were a number of friends there working on pulling together the donations for a huge yard sale. They worked until late and it was fun to have their company in the fellowship hall as we worked. My in-laws arrived from Indiana and even though they looked quite tired, Hubby’s mom helped set out jewelry boxes and a variety of other things. Hubby and his dad went off to bring us some ice cream and we sat for a while with the marvelous flavors they brought from a new ice cream shop in town. Yummm... I worked for a bit longer and then we sent the in-laws to my parent’s home for the night.
Saturday morning I took my time getting going because I was tired from a long week of preparation. Hubby’s mom arrived and started to help me finish up some chocolate and put together the last of the displays in the fellowship hall. Hubby’s dad and hubby spent most of the day working on a few things around the house, including a new faucet in the bathroom and a new valve on the water heater and the window air conditioner installed. Hubby and father-in-law went for Sub sandwiches for dinner and as we were finishing up my parents arrived with the fruit and vegetables. The Mothers put out the chocolate as I showed them where it went and we put out all the other munchies as well. As we were finishing up the food displays and lighting candles, the first guests started to arrive. And at 7:00 when the fund raiser was officially starting, there were maybe 4 or 5 guests. After a while though, the numbers started to swell and we had a crowd.
A friend of mine is a professional violinist and she brought along a friend who plays harp and they played music for the event and really did a lovely job! What a blessing they are and a beautiful addition to the evening!
At about 8:00 we showed the video that I made a while back giving some of our history in this journey toward parenthood. I watched people watching the video and was blessed by how people allowed themselves to connect emotionally with it. I think it is a lot to swallow in the five minutes of the video since it represents an often painful journey, but at least it is mercifully short. I found myself comforting my friends who were moved by my story. How’s that for a strange twist?!
The Art
I had small tables with a jewelry and artwork of a variety of media. I also had a table where I had old jewelry that was significantly reduced in price. The SALE table. That may well have been the hit of the evening. Most of the time there were ladies huddled around that table trying things on and giving each other feedback. It was fun to interact with the people the same way I did when I had the gallery. I could help them choose things that looked good on them, and make suggestions on things they should try on. It was a very interesting evening and I really enjoyed interacting with “clientele” again. And I saw quite a bit of that jewelry Sunday morning in church – which was a delightful surprise in some cases because I did not take care of the money so I had no idea who had purchased what. I really enjoyed that.
The Chocolate
We had a whole table of just chocolate. I had made twelve kinds of truffles and caramels and my Mom brought another three kinds in addition to the cookies that both of us made. And because there were so many choices, people may have been a little overwhelmed. So I found them gathered around the table making recommendations to each other on which ones “you just have to try!” I heard special compliments on the lemon truffle and the marzipan which was a favorite of quite a few folks. Surprisingly, the dark chocolate truffle with cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper was a favorite for quite a few people. I was very surprised by that but it is a completely unique flavor to an American palette. And of course the South American dulce de leche cashew was widely favored. Yummmmm! My very favorite truffle of them all (a Hazelnut crème) never actually made it to the table though we did use it in the assortments that we made. And a friend of mine later remarked that the chocolate wasn’t like home-made chocolate, it was like a cute boutique chocolate – “you know, the good stuff.” That was a really sweet compliment and it felt really good to hear that.
Before the event we made plates that had one of each kind of chocolate. We carefully wrapped them up and set them aside for people who had ordered via email. I’ll be mailing these out this week to friends, plus we sent some via family members. It will be fun to hear how these go over with those who receive them over the next few days or so.
At the end of “Art & Chocolate” I went to my dad who had been manning the check out station. I asked him about the total and he had me guess. My guess was low. Hubby had a number in his mind that he was hoping for. And when my Dad showed him the figure, it was double what hubby had hoped for! Yeah, talk about dropping my chin to the floor. My response was “holy cow!” but we quickly changed it to “hallelujah!” It had been a small and very casual crowd, they were comfortable and enjoyed each other’s company. And they blessed us WAY beyond our expectations! I have not seen the checks, and I don’t know who gave what. My dad took care of all of that. But it really packs a bunch when you see a big figure and know it translates into being that much closer to bringing our children home. What an amazing thing is unfolding in my life!
The crowd thinned out and I started packing up the artwork and jewelry. And the Mothers worked on the leftover chocolates, putting them out on plates in nice assortments and my Father-in-law carefully wrapped each one in plastic wrap. We had 25 or so of these assortments prepared after the event. So we gained permission and made a quick announcement in church Sunday morning that they would be available in the fellowship hall. Well after the service let out, Hubby’s Mom and I quickly sold those plates to the crowd of people that were sucked in like magnets. As people shoved cash my direction and wrote checks, it was another overwhelming moment for the weekend. Some dear folks were just too late and it was gone. People wrote checks for more than the chocolate, and some wrote checks without even taking any chocolate. A friend looked me in the eye and asked me how I was doing. I told her I was going to go home and bawl because I was overwhelmed. She hugged me tight as I tried to pull myself together.
After church, and after the chocolate blitz we went to my favorite place for lunch. And then home where I folded my tired bod into my bed and vanished from consciousness until someone gently shook me and said it was time. The in-laws, hubby and I drove up to my parents home, planted ourselves around the kitchen table and enjoyed leftovers from the event. Fresh fruit (including kumquats – which I really like) and fresh vegetables. We popped some of the lady finger popcorn that my in-laws buy and yes… we shared a plate of chocolates. Yummm! Still good! We talked and played Rook (an ethnic Mennonite card game) into the night.
I’m humbled and amazed. Really! I’m trying to take lots of photographs and write it all down. I can’t trust my memory to keep it. Our children need to know how much anticipation and generosity went into bringing them home. If they can understand the miracle that brings them to us at some point in their lives... well, that will indeed be a beautiful thing! For now I’m struggling to get my own mind around it. Humbled. And Amazed.
]]>It looks like most of the chocolate for our Adoption fund raiser Saturday night is finished. My mom has made/is making a few other kinds also so they are not on here. Looks yummy, right? Oh yeah!
]]>Well, I love creating big events. I really enjoy the challenge of creating a celebration that people will enjoy. I haven’t done this since the Katrina Benefit concert and I’m feeling all kinds of insecurities with this one. I don’t mind raising money for any good cause – but when the money goes to benefit me, (well, our adoption) suddenly I’m all bashful. I’ve been just thinking of these events as a way to share the joy of this adoption with our friends and family, I just have to stay focused on that.
I’ve really been through the ringer with this event though, so many fears and insecurities have really been playing leap frog through my head. What if the (name of family from church) family shows up with their (I can’t remember how many) unfettered children? They’d make short work of a bunch of dainty chocolate, those kids have skills! And there is that dear sweet man that puts away a whole huge portion of desert in the time it takes him to walk from the buffet back to his table. Then it’s time to go back and fill that empty plate. Suddenly I’m frightened of a grown man and little grabby children!?! THEY should be afraid of ME! LOL!
On the flip side, I’m terrified that my mother may be right. Oh, she says I’ve made waaaay too much. And she doesn’t like the flavors I made and on and on. Hubby thinks people may treat the truffles like M&M’s. I even fear that there is a chance that we went to all this trouble for a very small crowd. But I’ve made flavors that I think are really really good, so if there are lots and lots of leftovers I’ll just pretend I’m a member of the above mentioned family. And then I’ll pack up a bunch up to give away to people I like.
The in-laws are coming, the in-laws are coming. Yeah, the same father-in-law who wants to ask the owner of the gallery why that painting isn’t $8 instead of $4000. He’s an adorable sweet little man, but “Art & Chocolate” isn’t exactly his thing. And Hubby’s Mom will be a big help with food and clean up. And when the event is over, I’ll be vanishing to nap for a nice long while and leaving the in-laws for Hubby to entertain. That will be lovely.
Come to think of it, I have conservative Mennonite family members who may feel a little uncomfortable with this event. I make my living selling things like jewelry – which is something they don’t wear because of their scriptural convictions. And their church doesn’t allow musical instruments and we’ll have a violin and harp duo there. I am free to create my work outside their realm, indeed I feel that I have a scriptural mandate to release the beauty of God in the earth. I happen to do that through jewelry and I have no apologies for anyone on that.
So even with all my insecurities and fears, I am going to make it through this event. It was great to read R.G. Ryan’s post this morning and it really helped me to kick in some perspective. I AM GOING (pant!) to MAKE IT (pant pant!) through (pant, pant!) this event! It’s Art & Chocolate – what’s not to love?! And if it is horrible, I’ll go home and take a pain pill and go to bed. And then it really will be sweet.
With a nod to R.G. Ryan’s “Toxic Thought” post this morning, here is a fresh perspective. You see, the truth of this event is simple. I’m an artistically gifted individual. Don’t worry – that’s not as arrogant as it sounds. Cause I know that this gift did not come from me so I can’t take the credit. We ARE ALL GIFTED in some way or another as God chooses. I happen to be able to create art and people don’t seem to have any problem buying it up. I happen to love sharing really marvelous chocolate, and I know that sometimes people really don’t mind buying that either. (At least I don’t mind shelling out big bucks for the good stuff.) And when it came time to celebrate the fact that it seems that God is FINALLY going to allow us to become a family – well – what better way to celebrate than to share a bit of who we are with our friends and family? So yeah, I’ve had a real time of it with this event. I’ve been very insecure and afraid at times. But that doesn’t change the pure and simple truth of the purpose of the evening. We are going to be who we are and share ourselves with our friends and family as they share in the process of bringing home our children. And I think that’s cool. No matter how freaked out I am about it.
]]>I’m working on fund raising events for April, May and June here in Virginia. There will be one in July in Indiana as well. We chose to do three because I love planning events, we think bringing home our kids is a really big deal, (LOL!) and it gives people options for their calendar and interests.
Plans for the “Art & Chocolate” event are coming along.
We’ll be serving chocolate, fruits and vegetables and Colombian coffee at the event so come prepared to enjoy an array of flavors. I’ve been working on some formulas for truffles and chocolates. I stumbled across some “dulce de leche” which is a South American milk based caramel. I’ll pair that with cashews and chocolate. Another is a vanilla truffle that starts with steeping a vanilla bean in heavy cream for a while until the flavor develops. The cream is used in a ganache that becomes the filling of a decadent truffle. While imitation vanilla can be overbearing and overly sweet, the real thing is delicate and earthy and I love it! Earl Grey is my favorite tea and I’ve been exploring a way to make an Earl Grey truffle that I think will be quite good. I’m going to try a blueberry truffle idea later on today if I get the time. And the marzipan that a friend made is divine! I tried a bit of the marzipan with some of the chocolate that it will be dipped in and I nearly melted on the spot. It was sooo good. I’m also in love with the chocolate cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper truffle that I made. I haven’t found anyone else that likes the idea yet, so I may be the only one eating those. I guess I’d better make a big batch then. LOL! I’ve been enjoying the creative process of exploring flavor, texture and color combinations. It’s outside my usual media but I love it. And since I got pretty good at making chocolate years ago in the family business, I have the skills. Chocolate and art are a few of our favorite things and this April 19th event is our opportunity to share them with you.
I’m also working at putting together a collection of artwork that will be for sale at the event. I’m planning to share a variety of media and proceeds from all purchases will benefit our adoption fund.
Once this Art & Chocolate event is over, I’ll be working full tilt on the Benefit Concert that we have scheduled for one month later. I’m hoping that the details can come together in the short amount of time I’ll have to focus on it. It will be a casual evening of music and entertainment that will be very diverse and interesting.
Our June fund raiser will be a Silent Auction. This will be my chance to get out a bunch of odds and ends in my collection of artwork. I’ve pieced many quilt tops over the years and Hubby’s Mom and Grandma’s are working very hard to see that some of these quilts are assembled and hand quilted in time for this auction. These quilts are each in a variety of wall hanging sizes. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I’ll also be bringing out oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, pencil drawings as well as leftovers from my season of working in art glass. And of course there will be more jewelry and possibly some beads. It is hard to tell what all else will turn up for this auction, but the evening will be very interesting.
Would you like to help with our Silent Auction? If you have something of value that you no longer need (no clothing please) please let us know. I’m really curious to see how this event goes. I’ve seen these done in the past and they can be very interesting and fun.
Well, that about does it for my update. I’ve got some work to do so I’d better get back at it. It will be a very busy three or four months with these fund raisers, working at the adoption paper work, working and our various commitments. It’s going to be fun. Thanks all!
]]>Yesterday Mom and I both had some time off work so we went shopping for chocolate and ingredients for the chocolate for our “Art & Chocolate” fund raiser. “Art & Chocolate” is a fund raiser we are planning for our adoption process of bringing home our children from Colombia. It was good to have her along and I was surprised how supportive she was and interested in brainstorming for other chocolate formula ideas. She is an expert at this and it’s good to have her as a resource. It will be interesting to see how all these formulas come together. I have more testing to do. I have so many pounds of excellent quality chocolate at my house… it must be close to heaven. Maybe after the pressing projects of this week are done I can start in with the first stages of prep. Now that is going to be fun!
My parents were not going to come to the “Art & Chocolate” fund raiser because of a scheduling conflict with their small group and seeing friends they haven’t seen in a long time. But when she heard that hubby’s parents were coming in from Indiana for the event, it really turned the tide for her. I think she pretty much decided on the spot that they wouldn’t be able to go to their small group thing after all. It’s hard to want to be in two places at once and I knew the choice was hard for them. However, I just got a call that they are coming and bringing the whole small group to the event. Yay! Some of those folks are loaded – so it will be lovely to have them there from a financial perspective. They are close friends of my parents, so that means there will be the emotional connection. They are generous and good people. And they have a tradition of making chocolate together each Christmas. So the event is perfect for them. I am delighted!
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