Foundry Show!!

I'm in!!

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be at the 2008 Foundry Show in Pawtucket. The opening reception is Thursday, December 4th, 5-9pm. For dates and times of the show and sale itself, head on over to the Foundry Artists Association website!

Road Trip!

I am so excited for our trip this year. Check out this route - I'm bound to get some great photos!

If anyone has some great suggestions for places to stop along the way, let me know!


(From Google Maps)

Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution

Hi all! I've been busy today getting ready for the Pawtucket Arts Festival at Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket, RI. (Samuel Slater brought the industrial revolution to America, if you're curious about the title of this post.) September is creeping up on me. I'm leaving for vacation this Friday, and won't return until the Thursday before the show, so it's a little bit of a scramble. It's keeping me on my toes, though!

This little guy will be making his first offline debut, at least to the general public!



Do stop by if you're in the area. I'd love to meet you, and the whole Arts in RI team will be there so there'll be a huge selection of things to see!

As I mentioned, I'm leaving on vacation soon. You'll notice my Etsy shop has been put on "vacation" status. I'm heading up to some beautiful natural areas in Canada, where there will be great photographic opportunities but spotty internet access. Your patience will be rewarded with some new photographs when I return!

('Albino Blue Jay' taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

I'm on a Mission...

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I've been reading Craft, Inc. - it's a great little book.

I'm starting to follow through on the things it suggests. One of my first steps was to generate a mission statement and a "big picture" goal list. Basically, an informal business plan. It was surprisingly easy to find my mission...

"To provide accessible, affordable, high-quality art that delights the eye and refreshes the soul."

I think this exercise was good not only for my small business, but as a general "what do I want out of life" exercise. If you're interested, take a few minutes today to write about what your mission is - then share it here if you'd like!

Photographers of Etsy

The Photographers of Etsy (POE) Team's brand new blog is up! It already has some beautiful and inspiring content and promises to deliver more. Check it out here!

Platinum

I just wanted to share with you some absolutely beautiful work done by one of my favorite black and white photographers, Ryuijie, in collaboration with Camille Lenore. The collection is titled Kanchi, and is well worth a look. Click the image to go to the official website. And be sure to check out the special offer section - some gorgeous limited edition prints are available for sale.


Image source: Kanchi: Underwater Photographs by Ryuijie and Camille Lenore

Culinary Experiments

Tonight, I made the Moroccan Feast featured in the latest issue of domino magazine. I normally don't try their recipes, to be honest, but I've been wanting to cook Moroccan dishes for a while now, so I gave it a shot. Deeeeeelish!

Burning the Midnight Oil

As I mentioned in my last post, I've recently purchased "Craft, Inc." and I've been enjoying reading it. It's a book about business, but it's not dull. With its beautifully designed cover and its interviews with successful indie artists, it's actually pretty fun to read.

Unfortunately, I keep getting excited by the different things it suggests and I keep jumping up to edit my website or pull a press kit together. What I really need to do is exactly what the book suggests - write out a list of goals, and then break them into small, achievable steps. I've been pretty good at doing that for the past few days, I really have.

Not so much tonight, though! I've spent the last 4 hours working on a catalog to include with my press kit. I do like how it's coming out, and I think it's important to make progress on it. But I think it is now time for bed.

The fruits of my labor so far:



Anyone else out there staying up late and working on a project? What are my fellow night owls up to?

One evening...

My hubby is out video-gaming with the boys. As much as I want to go shopping, thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales don't stay open this late (although we did snag some great finds earlier - I posted them below if you're interested). So I've set Rhapsody to play some girl-icious music, I'm going to make myself a steamy mug of chai, and I'm going to sit and read more of Craft, Inc. So far it's been really informative and inspiring - I'll have to post a more thorough review when I'm finished with it!



Our yard sale find was the lovely $3 wicker stool. (That yellow book is Craft, Inc.) You'll also see the first of my large format prints on the wall behind the couch! Yep, it's a giant version of 'Specimen 652' - available in my Etsy shop. I haven't yet decided which other photographs I'll offer as large format prints... any suggestions?



I also found a cute jacket and sweater for a steal - the label reads "theTRUTHis..." - anyone know anything about that brand? I'm so curious but Google has let me down this time :-)

domino magazine rocks my socks!

I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to domino magazine. I got the latest issue in the mail yesterday, and today I sat down with a cup of tea to peruse it. Seriously, how patient am I? Look at this cover and tell me you wouldn't call out of your night meeting just to see what was inside...



But I digress. I sat down, eager to explore the candy coated goodies inside, and was stopped in my paper tracks by the editors' cravings feature on page 32. Victorian gothic!! Complete with whimsical, Natural History-esque pieces, like the Pia tray from Burke Decor and a pair of gorgeous bird feet candlesticks from Erie Basin. You'll have to book it on down to the bookstore or local library and check out the selection - the editors' craving page isn't available online, unfortunately.

I'm excited because I've been enjoying my Natural History work so much, and I'm pleased to see that others are catching onto the theme as well!

In other, pretty much unrelated news, I've done some experimenting and plan to offer some gigantic poster prints for sale in my Etsy shop - I'm talking show-stoppers up to 34"x34"! So stay tuned :-)

To be a bird....

I'd like to take flight and soar to far, isolated reaches. Empty beaches with cool salt air.

About to Take Flight


(Photograph taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

whaddya do today?

7:30 am - wake up, shower, take in laundry, clean bathroom in preparation for insulation guys, who should be here between 8 & 9

8:00 am - drink my hubby's fantastic freshly home-roasted coffee, complete the morning routine of checking email, checking up on Etsy, Trunkt, and Arts in RI... read my daily online comics (what will happen with the FBOFW wedding?)

9:00 am - get a call from insulation guys, they're running late. start re-writing the press release for the Arts in RI booth at the Pawtucket Art Festival

10:00 am - insulation guys finally show up. the attic access is about 2 feet from my desk. i finish typing up the press release, print it out, and bring it to the living room to review.

11:30 am - oops, forgot to eat breakfast! have brunch of olives, naan, and homemade hummus. must try making beetroot hummus next time.

12:00 pm - worked on various projects, from framing small prints to getting out Etsy orders.



3:30 pm - walked down to the post office to send off some baked goodies for an exchange, and to send off the Etsy orders. stopped on the way home to chat with my neighbors, who own the pizza place next to the post office.

4:30 pm - popped on a Black Keys album and vegged out for a bit. must decide what to do for dinner - salad sounds good.

"Take a step before running
Take a breath now before you die"

6:00pm - hopefully hubby will be home to have dinner with, and maybe sneak in an episode of Robin Hood, Season 2

7:00 pm - i'll be leaving for my Arts in RI monthly meeting...

9:00pm - back home for the online chat meeting for Photographers of Etsy

10:00pm - optimistically, i'll be snuggled in bed with the hubby, listening to the audiobook "1491"!

Playing with Pixels

Cyanocitta cristata


(Photograph taken courtesy of of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Inside my skin there is this space....

I had forgotten how good Jewel's 'Spirit' Album was. From way back in 1998 - the year I graduated from high school!

That was a pretty auspicious year - I took my first photography class... I would have never guessed then that I'd be doing this professionally now.

Ms. Curiosity


(Photograph taken courtesy of of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

A Day in My Life

Today I started prepping for the Pawtucket Art Festival, which is happening Sept 13 & 14. The Arts in RI Team will be there in full force. We've got 5 booths of great stuff, so don't miss it! Between all of us we've got quite the variety of items - ranging from paintings to purses to jewelry, and more!

So far today I've decided on some new prints to sell, ordered some new cards, and worked on packaging up some of my existing magnets and finishing up some of my new glass magnets.





And of course, all work and no play makes Diana a dull girl, so I also edited a new pic from my latest trip to the Natural History Museum!

Did you know that several of my new natural history photographs are up for sale in my Etsy shop?

Sharp-Shinned Hawk


(Photograph taken courtesy of of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Age and Beauty

White...


(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Pigment? Nah...

Sorry, I left you hanging there after posting the albino blue jay! Here's the other albino bird I photographed - a crow. Hope you enjoy!



(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Promised Land

Had a great weekend camping! Didn't get to take as many photos as I had hoped, but still had fun!

Little Falls

Exclusive Discount Offer!!

Today and tomorrow only, I'll be giving an exclusive 10% discount to anyone who signs up for the 29 Day Giving Challenge!


Find more videos like this on 29-Day Giving Challenge


Here's how it works...

1) Go to 29gifts.org, check it out, and join the community.

2) Convo me through Etsy and give me two pieces of information:
- a link to your 29gifts "My Page" - for example, mine is http://givingchallenge.ning.com/profile/Diana27
- a brief description of your first gift (I want to make sure you'll make good on your 29 gifts commitment!)

3) I'll Convo you back with the discount code and details on how to use it.

The discount code will be good for a one time, 10% discount off of any order from my Etsy shop (up to $100, shipping cost excluded). The discount code itself will not expire. To get your code, you must complete the first 2 steps above no later than midnight EST on Thursday, August 6, 2008. I will be using the timestamp associated with the Etsy Convos to determine if you've met the deadline.

Go! Give! Get your discount!

(If you have questions, drop me a Convo by clicking here)

More, More, More

Magic Eye


Albino Blue Jay


Isn't that albino blue jay the coolest thing ever? Apparently the museum has several albino specimens, including one other that I took photos of. I'll leave you in suspense as to what type of bird it is :-)

(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Birds of a Feather

More images from today's session, enjoy! And, as always, please leave your comments, vote for your favorite, or just say hello! I love to hear from you folks out there in cyberland.

Accipiter striatus (Through the Viewfinder)


His Domain (Through the Viewfinder)


Menagerie! (Through the Viewfinder)




Parrot


(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Make a little birdhouse in your soul...

I took a gazillion more photos at the Natural History Museum today. Here's the teaser:

Bluebird - Through the Viewfinder (Available as a print in my Etsy shop)


(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Seaside

Front Page Lovin'

Today I found out about this fabulous Flickr group that tries to get screenshots of all of the Etsy front pages. Woohoo! It is quite sad to miss seeing your product on the front page, so this group gives you a chance to relive the glory :-)

Etsy Front Page 08/01/08
Originally uploaded by MariekUniek

Trunkt Widgity Coolness

Ready to oooh and ahh? Check out the latest toy... I mean tool, from Trunkt!