shop update

I'm ever so slowly getting back into a more natural (for me, at least) pace of things. Which, basically, means that I've been able to start spending time in the studio once again. My new space is all set up, and has really made such a difference. I was able to create a few new pieces last week, and they're now up in the amelia mae shop:

a few new collages:

"A Simple Song" 

"Still Here" -- this one is also available as a print .

and a few illustrations on wood:

"forever" - also available as a print 

"please don't ever go" - yep, this one is available as a print too.

This week I hope to tinker around a bit with a new idea I have rumbling around. Hopefully it will work out.

Oh, and if you are in the OKC area, my sister and brother-in-law are having a HUGE garage sale to raise some additional (and much needed) funds for their adoption. And by HUGE I mean really, really gigantic. Apparently we know a lot of really generous people who also happen to have lots of things they no longer need. It's this Thursday through Saturday (April 24-26) in Edmond. If you are interested in attending, email me and I'll send you all the info you could possibly want.

xo,
Amy

Exciting news

Really exciting news, actually. Blue 7 (the absolutely amazing boutique in Oklahoma City that has been helping us out over the last few months) is celebrating their 5th birthday, and their new location at May and Grand this Saturday (March 15th). They'll have food, music, sales on their fabulous merchandise and lots and lots of brand new Project 8256 merchandise. Things like:

These little guys. I made 25 total. Each design comes in five different colorways.


And these lovelies:



I also experimented a little and made some shadowboxes. If you look closely, you (hopefully) can tell that the one on the left says "i love you" and the one on the right says "i adore you."



They will also have lots of greeting cards and even more originals. There is also a new print, both at Blue 7 and in the Project 8256 shop:

"I can see a lot of life in you." From a favorite Sufjan Stevens song.

So in other words, you should definitely try to make it out on Saturday if you are in the area. They'll be open from 11-10 pm. Support an amazing boutique and a good cause at the same time. What's better than that?

Okay. I'm back to packing up all of my belongings. Hope you are having a lovely week.

xo,
Amy

because...

because we all have those memories...



just added to the amelia mae shop.

Hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was a little exhausting. I'm actually really looking forward to Monday.

Best,
Amy

new things

I've added a few new things to both the amelia mae and the project 8256 shops.

These two prints are now in the amelia mae shop. I love some wood grain. And I really love incorporating text into my pieces. Available in grey/orange and pink/red:



I also have a new greeting card to the project 8256 shop. It says "i miss you so." on the inside. So sad.




And, in the spirit of personal choice, I also created a listing where you can select any five greeting cards for $15. Not bad.




Oh, and the exciting news from before is OFFICIAL, so I can share it without fear of jinxing. I am moving into an adorable little house. I love it. A lot. So the the next few weeks might be (a little) more chaotic. Fair warning.

xo,
Amy

choices, choices

I put a new little offering in the Project 8256 shop this weekend--pick any three prints for $60.00. I like this idea for several reasons:

1. This saves you $15 dollars. I love a bargain.

2. It saves you from those horrible decisions: this one? or that one? Get them both. And then get another for just $10.00 more.

3. I love giving presents. And I, personally, feel that artwork is a fantastic gift. I also love giving presents to myself. Now you can do both with the tiniest bit less guilt.

4. It still goes towards a great cause.







Check it out here. Happy shopping.

I hope you had a good weekend. Mine capped off quite unexpectedly. But in a really good way. But I'm not going to tell quite yet, because I don't want to jinx it. Not until it's official. Then you'll be the first to know.

xo,
Amy

heart strings, piano strings

Just wanted to let you know that there are two new prints in the Project 8256 shop. I haven't had the chance to add any new prints in quite some time, so I'm pretty excited about this one, which comes in two colorways, spearmint and tan:

The text in the piano reads "it's the songs you sing that break my heart the most". If you look closely, there are copper-colored swirls throughout the piano, to represent the piano strings.

If heartbreak isn't your thing (right before Valentine's Day and all), I forgot to post that I now have a greeting card featuring the "you are the one i want most of all" print.



xo,
Amy

The Ubiquitous New Year's post...

It's hard, really, to put into words what this last year has meant to me. And to my family as well. 2007 started out so, so horribly. My sister and brother-in-law were going through something very painful. I was lost and felt like I had no idea where I was supposed to go, what I was supposed to do. And then a course of events happens and one after the other, you begin to realize that it took the agony and the loss and the disappointment to bring the hope and the joy and the freedom. I am doing things I never dreamed I would ever do. Doors have opened that I never even knew existed. And the most amazing part is that while I am relishing in my God-I-am-obviously-not-as-good-at-doing-things-on-my-own-as-I-thought-please-take-over state of mind, I am getting to sit and watch as my sister is doing EXACTLY what she always dreamed of doing.

Katie has talked about opening her own performing arts academy for, well, I feel fairly comfortable saying the last twenty years. For two decades we have talked about what it would be like, drawn floorplans for the dream buildings and so on and so on. And she's finally doing it. And it's amazing. And I'm so proud. It's an incredible thing, a blessing really, when you get to see someone you love do something she's really good at--like how ridiculously patient she is with children--but then you get to see her do things you never even guessed she was good at, great at even--like building a website, and managing about 5,000 things all at once.

And so I'm so excited for what 2008 will bring. I really don't have any idea, and I find that kind of thrilling. I didn't make resolutions this year. But I did make goals. One of them is to really grow and expand my own business. And one of them is to make some serious progress in getting Katie and Michael further along in their adoption process. To start it off, I have added some new products to the shop:



They are sold individually, and as a set. The set comes packaged like this:



I'm trying it out. If it's successful, I might make some batches of some of the other prints. We'll see.

I hope that 2008 brings lovely, amazing and inspiring things to you as well.

xo,
Amy

new print in the shop

I hope that you all had a lovely holiday season. I personally, had quite a nice little Christmas, and a very relaxing New Years and am ready for the fresh start that the new year brings. I'll post a little more on that in a bit, but for now just wanted to let you know that there is a new print in the shop. This started as a request from a lovely woman who is in the process of adopting her daughter from Vietnam. But I thought I would make it available to everyone, and so here it is:





It's quite similar to the original Family print, although (as you might notice) this one features a family with a daughter. Here is what I wrote a while back about the original concept of the Family print:

"I knew fairly early into the project that I wanted to somehow incorporate the lines from e. e. cummings' poem "i carry your heart with me". And I also knew that I wanted to somehow do an illustration of a family that was based upon this same idea. I'd had this image of a family tied together by their hearts for some time, but it took several different goes at it before I finally arrived at the end product. It was important to me that race or ethnicity not be suggested by the illustration. That is why I chose to leave out their facial features, and why I stuck to a neutral color palate. My goal, really, was to do an illustration of a family that could be any ethnicity, or several ethnicities combined--that the one similarity between them would be their love.

When Katie first proposed the idea of she and Michael adopting internationally, she said it to me as though she was asking if I would love this child the same as a biological child. My answer to that would be "of course" -- a million times "of course". I am sure that this is a question that is asked among every family who makes the decision to adopt internationally. But while it is true that I will never be able to look at their child and point out Katie's eyes or Michael's red hair, I am quite certain that attachment and love and a sense of an emotional connection will be no different at all.

I think that what Katie was really asking is something that we all ask ourselves--something that is so completely universal. I think we all have those moments when we just want someone to tell us that we are good enough. I do at least. Or did I just divulge too much of my own insecurity? I doubt it.

Katie has been watching a new show on TLC where they have given children video cameras and allowed them to document their lives. There was a young girl on one of the episodes who had been adopted into a interracial family. When speaking of her family she said "I don't think it matters who you are with, as long as you're loved". Perfect."


Happy New Year!

xo,
Amy

Pink is not everyone's favorite color.

It's true. It's not my favorite, really. Although I did go through some very distinct phases where it really, REALLY was my very favorite. I go more towards green these days. And gray. But I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I was (very, very nicely) asked if I could do the "All the Songs They Sang" print in a color other than pink. I like the print in pink, and it's sold very well. It hadn't really occurred to me that some people just don't like pink. So, just on the off chance that there are others, the print is now available in the very gender-neutral, yet sophisticated colors of light blue and tan:

So there it is. I will take them to Blue 7 tomorrow, should you live in the OKC metroplex and want one for yourself. Or for someone else. I am told they make excellent presents.

xo,
Amy

Etsy Poster Contest

A few, what--weeks, maybe--ago, Etsy held a poster contest in an effort to create something other than the usual freebies to give away at conventions and craft shows, and so on. The goal was to create collections featuring the wide assortment of handmade goods found around Etsy.

I didn't submit a poster for the contest, and my work isn't included in any of the winning posters, BUT Project 8256 was one of the top 1000 sellers featured overall. Meaning that of all of the posters submitted (winners and not) in the contest, my work was featured a total of six times! And my "I Carry Your Heart Print" was featured in one of the posters that won an Honorable Mention:



(Ignore the white space. There was apparently some sort of a mishap.) Lovely, don't you think? It was created by seabones. If you would like to take a look at the winning entries, just click here.

OK, much to do. More later.

xo,
Amy

give (and buy) a little bit...

I have had one of those weeks where I keep doing things like tripping and falling, and dropping things, and somehow getting caught in the middle of some sort of cycling event and almost (but not really) hitting a man after he fell off of his bicycle in the middle of my lane. But all is well, that week is in the past, and so I can blog about only good news and lovely things.

I have been emailing (through etsy) with the lovely shop owner of lulella who approached me about donating a portion of her earnings to AHOPE. How incredibly generous. Katrina lives in Vermont and is all about reusing goods that already exist and turning them into new and beautiful things. She has really adorable items in her shop--such cute plush items (love this owl), precious clothes for little girls and the sweetest greeting cards. She is donating 20% of her profits from this doll to AHOPE:



So cute. And completely handmade. I would have loved, loved this as a little girl. And part of it is going to a really great cause, so check it out. Thanks Katrina!

Some other exciting Etsy news is that one of my very favorites, Mati Rose McDonough of Suspect Shoppe is having a print sale. It's this week only (July 25-31st) and it's BUY ONE GET ONE FREE! So, should you be looking for my favorite cat-in-boys-underpants-and-tubesocks-robbing-a-bird-of-its-feathers painting, or the beautiful "believe" -- you could get them both for the price of one and then our walls could be doppelgangers (only without the bad-luck part). That would be splendid. She also has some ridiculously adorable zoo animal prints which would be so perfect in a nursery. I would buy them myself for my soon-to-be niece or nephew, but it isn't my child, or my home, and sometimes I have to let my sister and brother-in-law make those kinds of decisions themselves. But only sometimes. (hint, hint katie -- the monkeys and the elephant... )

Be on the lookout this week for some new items in the Project 8256 shop. I think that some more along the lines of this one might be making an appearance:



Be blessed. And thanks for reading. I really do appreciate it.

xo,
Amy

scrumptious...

Some new goodies in the shop. I haven't really incorporated a lot of pencil drawing so far, but I must say that I am pleased with the results. I will be listing the originals this weekend. Should you be interested.



Clockwise from top left:

1. All She Really Wanted Was A Polar Bear
2. A Good Day
3. Happy Birthday, Rhinoceros

It's Friday! Well, officially, at least. I'm still working off the end of Thursday, but I'm off to bed.

xo,
Amy

I still hate titles...

A three-day weekend? Yes, I believe so. Hope yours was well. Even if you had to work, as I know many of you did. Mine looked a little like this:




1. We had a little family party to celebrate the belated and upcoming birthdays of my grandmother and sister, respectively. So, so nice to see everyone and get to spend some quality time together. This is the cake Michael decorated. On his first try. Ever. I know. I, of course, was the only one who was, admittedly, rude enough to point out that he forgot to cross the "t". But it was delicious, and I raved and raved so that, maybe, makes up for a little bit?

2. A new little something. I'm still unsure about this one. Extremely, actually. It's a little, um, cheery perhaps? I don't know.

3. It rained on Sunday. Poured. Good thing I had my little galoshes with me because I had to do a wee bit of wading--to be able to get out of my car.

4. Another new lovely. I'm a sucker for houndstooth. I'm just saying.

5. More of the birthday celebration. Delicious. Seriously delicious.

6. Just finished this one a little bit ago.

So, all in all, not too bad. Hopefully the coming week will be equally fulfilling. For you included. There are a couple of new prints in the shop as well. So you can check that out, if you'd like.

xo.
amy

Amazed...

It has been a fairly crazy, fairly amazing couple of days. I'm not really going to go into too many details, but I will say that God is amazing. And that I hope that you have moments in your life, or in your day, when you can experience that as well.

There are a couple of new items in the shop. The first is this little one:



This is a smaller print that is based on an old photograph of my sister and me--from a time when my mother loved to dress me in little sailor outfits. Her favorite color is yellow, so I guess this is sort of a tribute to her. And then this:



This is another in the quilt series. Black and white. More to come tomorrow, perhaps.

xo,
Amy

And another...

This just listed in the shop. And appropriately titled, I think. Because I feel like I am growing--creatively, personally and so on.

I had the day off today. So nice. So besides running a few errands--Target, post office, art store (the usual routine)--my day was essentially spent doing the above. Which was lovely, actually. It took a while, but I had some great music to accompany me. I'm loving a little Amy Winehouse right now (so sassy) and the new Feist. But I must admit that when you feel like you must have looked at every shade of green in the entire world, it's Mates of State that guides you through.

I am planning one more "quilt", but it will probably not be accomplished until Tuesday. So look forward to that. And I will be listing the "Growing" original as well.

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo,
Amy

In Flight

True to my word, I was able to work in some "creative time" -- and so this lovely is now available in the shop. I must say, tedious though it was (and it was), I really did enjoy making this one. And I am quite pleased with the results. I think I might actually hang a print of it on my own wall.

I will be selling the original of this one, but will not list it until tomorrow.

We are having a bit of a thunderstorm, and are under a tornado watch, so I think I should move towards turning my computer off.

Sweet (safe) dreams,
Amy

fresh prints...

New. Fresh. Exciting.

Find it here.

I don't really have anything too terribly exciting to tell, and the treadmill is calling my name.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

love,
amy

Family

Okay. Back to prints. And one of my favorites. I will start by saying that I absolutely hate having to title things. I don't feel that I am terribly witty, in general, and as a rule I tend to not like overly cliched things. A few examples of this would be using titles like "Family Ties" or "The Ties That Bind" or, my sister's example, "Heartstrings". Yes, I know. All terrible. So that is why this print was left with the rather boring, generic title "Family". But that's what it's about, and I didn't groan from within when hearing it, so that's that.

I knew fairly early into the project that I wanted to somehow incorporate the lines from e. e. cummings' poem "i carry your heart with me". And I also knew that I wanted to somehow do an illustration of a family that was based upon this same idea. I'd had this image of a family tied together by their hearts for some time, but it took several different goes at it before I finally arrived at the end product. It was important to me that race or ethnicity not be suggested by the illustration. That is why I chose to leave out their facial features, and why I stuck to a neutral color palate. My goal, really, was to do an illustration of a family that could be any ethnicity, or several ethnicities combined--that the one similarity between them would be their love.

When Katie first proposed the idea of she and Michael adopting internationally, she said it to me as though she was asking if I would love this child the same as a biological child. My answer to that would be "of course" -- a million times "of course". I am sure that this is a question that is asked among every family who makes the decision to adopt internationally. But while it is true that I will never be able to look at their child and point out Katie's eyes or Michael's red hair, I am quite certain that attachment and love and a sense of an emotional connection will be no different at all.

I think that what Katie was really asking is something that we all ask ourselves--something that is so completely universal. I think we all have those moments when we just want someone to tell us that we are good enough. I do at least. Or did I just divulge too much of my own insecurity? I doubt it.

Katie has been watching a new show on TLC where they have given children video cameras and allowed them to document their lives. There was a young girl on one of the episodes who had been adopted into a interracial family. When speaking of her family she said "I don't think it matters who you are with, as long as you're loved". Perfect.

forgotten/forsaken

I thought I would continue in my--what--series? I suppose it is a series, although that sounds a bit official. Which this is not. Tonight I am writing about the "forgotten/forsaken" print. This particular print is really quite special to me. It was actually done the same evening as the "Forget Me Not." print. I had been looking through all of these photographs of children, mostly orphans, and I came across a photograph of a young girl. There was something about her that absolutely arrested me. It was mainly in her eyes. She was so small but had the look of someone that knew much more of the world than a child should. I looked and looked, and then I read the caption. It stated, very simply, that this girl -- I believe she was ten -- had been raped by a man who had been told that he could be cured of AIDS if he had sex with a virgin. It is still so upsetting to me to think about. This was something that I had heard about previously, and, quite honestly, sickens me as much now as it did then.

I began doing a sketch of a girl, quite similar to the one I saw. It came very quickly, and was really a quite emotional process. As I was inking the drawing, I was overcome with the idea that it didn't seem right that all of the profits from Project 8256 were going only to Katie and Michael's adoption fund. There was clearly something much bigger that needed to be done. There will certainly be one child whose life will be changed dramatically by joining our little family. But there are so many others. I spoke with Katie the next day about donating a percentage to a charity that was working with orphans in Africa. She had been having the same thoughts. And so it was settled.

This was, for me, the moment the entire project came alive. I know that, when this project ends, there will be those who have made much larger donations, and who have most certainly sacrificed far more than I could imagine. But I have certainly been changed through this process. In so many ways. For that I will always be grateful.

Forget Me Not.

I thought that, because this is a blog about our etsy shop, I might write a little about a few of the prints I have posted and the stories behind them. Interesting? Well, we'll see. Today I'll talk about the print "Forget Me Not", becuase it was the first one I actually completed for the shop. Which seems like forever ago.

When Katie told me that she and Michael would be adopting from Ethiopia I was thrilled. Then came the realization of everything that would be involved in that. Long and short term. And especially the financial part of it. When I suggested that we open an etsy shop, I heard it come out of my mouth, and I may as well have said "Well Katie, let's just start a heavy metal band. People will love it." It seemed a tiny bit ridiculous, but it also sounded like such an amazing challenge--so I couldn't pass it up.

I played around with various ideas for several weeks, and nothing seemed to work. I would do something, scan it, send it to Katie, she would be her kind, supportive self, but we both knew it wasn't right. She finally told me that the prints should be centered more on adoption, and on Ethiopia. I began researching and looking at photo after photo. Sometimes I would stop and cry a little. Sometimes I felt like I was going to be sick. The original idea for this print came out of that. The same evening, actually. I ended up redrawing it after a while, and then played around with the colors for a while longer, but the original idea is exactly the same.

Katie didn't understand at first why I chose to scribble out the boy's face. I had looked at so many pictures of orphans. You can see the emotion in their faces. You can see despair. You can see hope. Sometimes you can see joy. But I think we tend to forget that when we are looking at something from the outside. Yes, we are still moved by the numbers. But each one of those children had a mother and a father. Each one has a soul. A personality. A face. So it came from that. And it also came from the reality that we can so easily turn our backs to tragedy and crisis. And I am certainly among the worst of those.