Flatwoods Folk Art

Blog Giveaway - I don't think you will want to miss....

Hi Everyone!!

As you may, or may not, know we began a new Etsy Shoppe.  The items in this shoppe are items that we felt really did not fit in with the vision we have for The Shoppe at Flatwoods hence the birth of A Vintage Season.

I appreciate so much those of you who have already visited the shoppe, looked around and/or made purchases.

I have created a button for the new shoppe and I am hoping that you will want to add it to your blogs sidebar as a bit of advertisement.  I decided that a deed like that could not go unrewarded so I determined that I would create a blog giveaway and here is how it will work:

1.  Grab the code for the button (it is in the little box below the button image - thanks Gail for your help).    

  
<a></a><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/AVintageSeason/" _mce_href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/AVintageSeason/"><img src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a163/flatwoodsfolkart/button-2.jpg" _mce_src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a163/flatwoodsfolkart/button-2.jpg" border="0" alt="updated button" alt="BWS tips button" width="198" height="298" /> </a>

2.  Place the button on the sidebar of your blog.

3.  Comment on this post with a link back to your blog so I can see how pretty the button looks.  :)

4.  On Monday, November 22nd, the number cruncher will pick two random numbers between 1 and however many entries we receive.

5.  I will count down the entries to those numbers and those will be the two winners.  Please remember to only comment once unless you are posting the button on multiple blogs.

6.  The first person chosen will receive:

A medium Santos head on a stand from the shoppe.

7.  The second winner will receive..........

 

A Infant of Prague from the shoppe.

So if you are interested in either of these prizes please grab the button code, place the button on your blog or blogs sidebar(s) and then come back and leave a comment here with a link to your blog.

On the 22nd of November the winners will be announced.  Good luck and thanks for being a part of our lives.

xo,

Lesley

 

Another peek inside my home....

Hi Everyone,

Well, because of travels and being sick the Halloween celebration was delayed until this weekend.  I thought I would share a few images with you....

The Mantel

 

Mantel - close up

 

Clocks

 

Candle

 

Boots

 

Boots - The close up

 

Black Crow Tree

 

and then there are a few touches of orange about the house

Pumpkin Topiary

 

Pumpkin Man

 

Beware the Dreaded Watch Dog....

 

Also, I've been putting several things together that have been waiting for me to have time at home to play.  I use the small sunporch as my "shipping station" and that is where the following items are located.  First off I had just an old wooden sewing table and I added this.....

A Wooden Chest with LOTS of Little Drawers

(have had this for months and just now put it on top of the old sewing table)

 

A Vintage Flower Frog Turned Business Card Holder

 

A Vintage Napkin Holder Turned Beautiful Treasure Keeper

 

Small Lamp (given a bit of height with a large vintage milk glass jar)

 

Gem Tintype Albums (an obsession of mine)

 

Another Album

 

Beautiful Girl

 

Hope you enjoyed another little peek into my home.

xo,

Lesley

 

Art at the Park Oakgrove.....

We have a small table set up at the Park Oakgrove today.  Just a few images....

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful morning everyone.

Lesley

The addiction grows.....loving photoshop.....

So my Photoshop addiction continues to grow.  Here are some of my most recent creations....

Hugs,

Lesley

Labor Day Listings...

Happy Labor Day Everyone!!

I have listed several of my altered tins with booklets and two of my mixed media necklaces on Etsy today.  These are all 5 day listings as these pieces will soon be on their way to The Creative Connection event.

Here is a peek......

   

You can check out all of these by visiting the Etsy Shoppe here.....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/flatwoodsfolkart

 

Have a great Monday evening everyone!

Lesley

 

Bliss.......

Hi Everyone!!!

Hoping this MOnday morning finds everyone doing well and coming off of a weekend filled with love, blessings and creativity!!!

Tom and I were super busy getting ready for some upcoming classes, vendor nights and trips....so here is the lowdown of where we will be next....

Lemoncholy's Studio & the Melford Handmade Faire

I will be teaching at Kecia's studio and we will also both be vending at the Melford Handmade Faire.  From what I understand this is THE place to be this weekend so if you are anywhere close by be sure not to miss out on the fun!!!!!!!

 

Art Unraveled

Tom & I will be vending once again at Art Unravled.  If you are attending please be sure to look us up!!!

 

Art Bliss

I will be teaching and vending at this new retreat located in Reston, VA near Washington's Dulles Airport.  This is the inaugural event and it promises to be a great retreat!  So much to do not only at the event but in the surrounding area.  Click on the link above and check it out!!

Even if you don't consider yourself a Mixed Media artist you will love the classes that I am teaching here.  I will be teaching several different techniques that you can use in a number of your creations....nothing like adding some more techniques to your artistic tool box.  Come check it out!!!

 
You won't believe some of the items we have been creating for all of these events.  Be on the lookout for photos to be posted this week.  You will be amazed.

 

Morning Blessings to you all....

Lesley

 

 

 

 

 

New Etsy Listing....

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I've just listed one of my mixed media necklaces on Etsy and wanted to give you a peek here.....

The Study of a Girl

 

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 Blessings to you,

Lesley

Bezels, beZels, bezeLs......

No matter how you write it (errrr type it) it's still the same and it is what I have been up to my elbows in for the past bit..making bezels.

About a year ago I was lucky enough to take a class called Vintage Gentlemen with Kerin Gale & Charley Slaughter at Art & Soul in Hampton.  It was wonderful...a new technique, new products and new friends all wrapped up into one awesome package.  I was so excited about the possibilities of using the apoxie clay...they seemed endless and truly I suppose they are.

Over this year I have come to call Kerin a true friend...she has listened to me b_ _ _h about things, listened to me panic, listened to me toss ideas around but most of all (and best of all) she has called me her friend as well.  I value her opinions and know that she is always going to shoot straight from the hip. 

So after taking this class I was inspired to look at my found objects in a different light and so was born my found object bezels........

Front

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Back

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Back

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Front

 
  
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Some of the photos are a bit grainy but that is just due to the editing program I have available to me right now. 

This is one of my class proposals that I will be submitting to teach in 2011 so if you are interested please be on the lookout. 

Kerin, as always thank you for your feedback, your support, encouragement and friendship! 

Blessings to you all,

Lesley

 

 

Angels to Honor Daddy....

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Recently I blogged about going back to New Jersey to teach at Kecia's studio this summer.  The first day I will be teaching my architectural assemblage angel and I thought I would give a bit of background to everyone about how these angels came to be.

My mother, Ginger Edwards, is a very traditional artist and years ago she used to have these Christmas Open House Sales where some of her most beautiful creations could be purchased.  My daddy, not to be outdone, for several years in a row created a limited number of folk art Santas or Mrs. Claus to add to the mix.  They were a huge hit and they are some of my most treasured Christmas decorations.....so much so that they are stored in a closet close to me so that if, Heaven forbid, a fire were to break out I can grab them and bring them to safety. 

I was/am a Daddy's Girl and I am willing to admit that I have hard a hard time moving through some parts of the healing process since Daddy died almost 9 years ago.  I know that I hang on to some things very strongly because I never want to forget the way his voice sounded, or the way his laughter was so heart felt, or the taste of his fabulous cooking.  I want to remember him nursing a small bird back to health so that he could release it again to enjoy its freedom. I want to see him saving the young doe who had been chased into the water by hunting dogs...the deer so close to drowning and my Daddy taking her gently to the otherside far from the dogs to safety.

How do you honor someone who worked so hard to give you everything you needed and wanted?  Can you?  Will he know?  How do you put all of the love you have for that person into something tangible and will anyone get it or understand what you wanted to, hoped to show in your work?  Will they reject it and if so does it really matter if it, for you, allows you a way to shout to the world that you love them still, miss them still, want to hear them still and simply wish to honor them in a way that would make them smile?

Our friend Charlie was the first step in allowing my desire to become real.  We took one of my Daddy's original figures and made a pattern.  Charlie, husband of one of my best friends Sherry, cut the wood pieces for me, delivered them to me and then I froze.  Here I had these pieces of wood that sat waiting for my touch and I was petrified to move forward so there they sat.  Nicely standing like little wooden soldiers waiting for me to determine how I was going to move forward and then it hit me.  Angels.  I love them.  I feel them.  They watch over me just as I know that my Daddy does.  The decision was made and I began working with them.  I added the things that I enjoy working with...vintage papers and images, layers of depth and inking, halos from vintage findings and wings from vintage tin.  They brought me peace and made me smile......I created my own way to honor my Daddy by using one of his own personal patterns and created something that I know he would have been pleased with.

These are the angels I will be teaching at Kecia's studio this summer and I can't wait to see how others use their memories and love to create an angel to honor their loved ones.

For information on taking the class at Kecia's Lemoncholy's Studio please email her at:  keeshagirl4@aol.com

Sending much love to you all for happy memories, blessings and hearts filled with joy.

xo,

Lesley

 

Tape Transfer Class & Art at KC Willis' Studio........

Good Morning Everyone!

Hope this day finds you doing well, feeling blessed and filled with artistic ideas!!!

I wanted to move along to some more things that are happening right now and then a bit later in the year....

The Mixed Media Tape Transfer class began yesterday at My Creative Classroom and although it is just a two week course the classroom and all videos will be available through mid April so there is plenty of time to sign up and join the fun.  This is one of my favorite techniques and I know you will love it too.  *S*  This is an image of some of the tags I have done with this technique........

 
Come join the fun!  Here is the link:   Mixed Media Transfer Tags

 

Now for a bit of news about what is coming up in July.  As many of you may remember I had a class scheduled at KC's Art Studio in February.  Well, after getting about 20 inches of snow in early December and with travel being so "up in the air" during the Winter months we decided to reschedule it to July.  *S*  I am so excited about this change.....easier for everyone to commute to the class and a wonderful time to enjoy the beautiful area that KCs studio is located in!  Here are some images from that class....

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Click the information below to see more information and photos....

Bound Reliquaries Book

July 19 through July 21

KC Willis' Art Studio Retreats

 The class is limited to 10 so get a group together, enjoy a great drive or flight and come and spend some time with me in beautiful Colorado!

Many blessings to you all and thank you so much for the wonderful comments and emails regarding my published pieces!

Hugs,

Lesley