Art Journaling Life

Dragonflies and Rednecks

Hi friends,
Last Saturday's Pinspirations class at The Blue was a hit. We had a great time going step by step over the process of bringing to life a one of a kind dragonfly. Lots of laughs were had and techniques learned. Who knew you could do so much with salvage scrap parts from old lights and doors. We had lunch at the Redneck Gourmet which was amazing! The top pick from my crew at The Redneck had to be the burgers,  onion rings and the Kahlúa Crunch. We'll be doing this workshop again so if you are interested in being part of it, email me or leave a comment here. When that class is workshop is scheduled, you'll be the first to know!

 Be sure to like Out of The Blue's Facebook page so you can keep up with the latest events and get your art on! Remember, Do Something You LOVE!

Hugs!

Worth a Thousand Words

Hugs,

Heather

Fried Green Paints At The Whistle Stop Cafe

“You're just a bee charmer, Idgie Threadgoode. That's what you are, a bee charmer. “ ~ Ruth 

Our Fried Green Paints Event was a great deal of fun. What could go wrong with amazing southern cooking, your best girl friends and paint. It’s the recipe for an amazing day which is just what we had. Our day began with a walk about town scoping out good spots to draw and paint. Once we settled on our sites to work from Lydia Ellis and I did a demo to show how perspective can be captured to create a great piece of art using pastels and watercolors.

The demo was followed by an out of this world by the amazing folks at The Whistle Stop Café. The restaurants owner Elizabeth was very helpful and a gracious hostess. Did I mention the food was great? Our ladies then set out to create amazing art. Towanda !!!!!!!!!!

If you are interested in meeting up with Lydia and I for a great experience making art and walking into a scene straight out of Fried Green Tomatoes, contact me.

 

Hugs,

Heather

Geranium Festival Recap and Findings

 

So the festival morning started with epic rain.. the first in 20 years of the festivals history.. don't I feel special ;) But then it cleared out and we had about 1/2 to 2/3 the normal crowds. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself painting faces non stop from 8:30 to five with no break until four when I sat for a moment and took a sip of water. I heard from one child that he had waited an hour. This is when I finely raise my eyes up from the child and was astonished to see a long line of kids and parents.

 

I averaged between 10 minutes to 6 minutes per face. Most people bought the half face. I heard several kids argue with parents that this was what they wanted not the butterfly on the forehead down the way! I saw one fight between a parent who waited in line and the inevitable ill behaved lady teaching her child to break in line. I was terrified and chose to keep my head down and focused on painting rather than scolding the all deserving Poorly behaving lady.

I planned ahead and had a friend show up who has a lovely blank canvas :) on the back of his head. And after getting a free paint job he walked about and which was a great way to have people sent my way.

 

You should've seen it when he put his sunglasses on backwards with this paint job. It's a hoot!
So the one big thing I will do differently next time is that I set up the face painting between my two art displays. The prints were displayed on a table made onto the displays so that they could get prints of what they liked right there. BUT the line of kids blocked all of that and so though I did sale some prints, it was large unnoticed.
I set up a table at the front of my booth with a fake chalk board made of black foam core board and white paint marker that listed my upcoming art events such as the Fried Green Paints event as well as the classes. Below that on the table was a sheet to sign up for my newsletter to find out about future art shows, event and classes. And the sheets is quite full!!!!!!!!!!
I made enough to pay for everything I invested print and booth wise, plus a tiny profit. BUT I have loads of prints lefts and everything I need to do t his for a few years not. It will only need occasional face paint restocked ans eventually more prints of new art. I want to say Thank you DAN MILLER!!!!!!!!! You inspire me, Encourage Me and give the pat on the back for thinking out side of the box every time I hear you tale someones story. Of course I was lucky to have my family backing me up with helping set up and taking money while I painted away!
at the end of the day I got just what I needed... Cotton Candy!

 

Hugs,

Heather

Whistle while you work

Whistle while you work...hmmmm hmmm hmmmmmmmmmm.... My Dad has that down ;)
We've been busy around the Ozee House. My father Will of From Will's Workshop brought my sketches to life. We were lucky to have a dear friend donate four sets of shutters which with my design and Dad's know how turned into this!

 

The frames will be painted black, they are also the handy work of my dear old dad. The skirt that trims the table will house the cooler and any unsightly supplies not being used. there are two of these displays.

So.... a picture is worth a thousand words... and I'm banking on a picture taken in my photo booth with smart phone toting patrons spreading the word about my art. To make sure that my watermark is in each picture... I made wallpaper to decorate the wall. I have to say, I'm pretty darn tickled with how it came out.

And the Insulation board I created that photo booth with comes in very large sheets. So large that I have lots left over to sculpt signs from! Signs like these.

Next we're onto what to do when, Lord help me.. the vinyl doesn't stick to the roof... literally. 

Hugs,

Heather

Hitting the Wall

SO my Geranium Festival booth will feature my Day of The Dead Fairytale Series. My wonderful boss Lance had the BRILLIANT idea to do day of the dead face painting! Then I was struck with an add on idea... PHOTO BOOTH!!!! Those are so hot at the moment. You can go onto pinterest without seeing one or two here and there. And then I came across this sweet photo booth idea on pinterest. I fell in love immediately.... with the one it instantly brought to life in my head. The one in my head had a similar wallpaper but with my name so that all photos that were facebooked or shared in other ways had who did it and where to get your art or face painting! And that instead of Gran and Grandpa in the other frames it would be my lovely little dead folks ;)
So I....

1. I got the idea from boss and pinterest
   
   
   
2. I customized it in my head and on paper
   
   
   
   
   
3. Designed and had printed my custom wallpaper
   
   
   
4. Buy blue insulation board and cut a square to allow person to stand behind and appear in the frame.
5. Tape the wallpaper and prints onto the wall and draw picture frames with GIANT sharpie!
6. Make some cash painting faces and have people advertise ME for free through their Facebook addition! Yes please ;)
   
   
   
   
   

Progress

Hi Friends,
I'm making great strides towards being ready for The Geranium Festival. I wanted to share what all is involved in preparing for sharing your art or craft for such an event.

1. PRAY
2. My first and I think most important step was deciding what the focus of my booth would be. For this event I'm only showing my Day of The Dead Fairytale series.

 

1. The next important step is deciding what I would offer. I knew I wanted to offer prints, post cards posters, and do Day of The Dead face painting. SO that's step two checked off.
2. Next was the how... I found a printer that I could forge a great relationship while not breaking the bank to produce prints. Decided how many I thought I needed and then... ORDERED them! I know sooo many people with great ideas... who never put their butt in the chair and do it. THat obstacle so far I have dodged.
3. FIGHT THE FEAR....
   I can't tell you how often for sure, but I think it's about twice a day... I get a cold chill down my spine that can only be described as the devil whispering in my ear. He whispers things like, " What are you thinking, No One Wants this stuff. You can't pull it off and will lose your butt! People will meet you and dislike you. Those who love you are sacrificing too much to help you." To this I take a deep breath, recognize the lie that it is, and remember the positive feed back and uplifting words of those who encourage me, and stop thinking before the negative comments some have made pop into the mental conversations!
4. Buy the tent! You can stalk craig's list till one pops up available for a great price or even free, but I am not patient enough for that.
5. Plan to wow them with eye candy. I'm selling prints and showing original art. I could have a simple wire rack and table... but where's the "Ooh Lala" in that? Instead I sketched the dream for my look out. It includes a decorated tent top to coax people a little close to my tent out of curiosity if nothing else. Then I planed a photo booth and decided to offer face paint so that the visitors could pay to look like a day of the dead and then take a picture behind a fake wall as if they are in a picture frame as one of my paintings! Cheap but wow factor for sure!
   
   
   
6. Business cards! Get them done at a local copy shop on card stock which they print for only a buck or so and then cut them apart yourself, this is way cheaper than the pro cards and for a small themed event are just fine!
   

SO that's where I am so far. Well on my way to a dream. Butterflies? YES. Confidence that I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me? YES

Oh! I also have decided at the urging of my youngest daughter to start offering art classes. I'll be posting about that soon!

Hugs,

Heather

Have a Very Marie Valentine!

I love anything French, especially their style. Maybe a little less their manors ;) Anywho.. I love me some French lala for the home. So here's a reminder about my French Valentine set and the just some French eye candy.

Happy Valentine's Day Friends! from Marie and me.

and

and all these lovelies were found and pinterest. Just click on the image to follow the link to the original website they were featured on.

Hugs and Valinte Kisses,

Heather

The Horses of Cumberland Island

The Horses of Cumberland Island opening reception is on Saturday, February 9th, 3-5 p.m at  Corner Arts Gallery, 14 Jefferson St., Newnan, GA, 30263. It's going to be a wonderful exhibit and a treat to spend time with the artist I get to call friend! Here's a bit about the artist:

Lydia's heart is to invite you into her art. For you to have an "encounter" is her objective.

Art to Lydia has been her life from a very early age. From teacher's bulletin boards , to art club in elementary school, governor's honors in high school, then to Ga. St. majoring in painting and drawing. While her children were young she taught at the local recreation dept. , Clayton St. College and painted for designers murals, faux finishes and such. Now with almost 30 years in teaching children and adults she is taking time to develop her work for showing. Her deepest passion is color and how it effects our emotions on a deep level. If a picture paints a thousand words then it can change lives, capture the imagination and take you to a place you've always wanted to go.

This body of work was influenced by her early years (before children) camping on Cumberland Island; a little piece of paradise off the coast of Ga.

Hugs,

Just Because

Just Because I think Thursdays call for a little color!

Hugs,

Blog and Site Digs

I have come out of a long hibernation from enjoying reading blogs. I just kind of zonked out for a bit. But man oh man is there some blog yummieness to enjoy out there. Take for instance the oh so fabulous Dollar Store Crafts. Not a blog now but heavily blog fed and fuel for any crafter! Then there's Sugartown Sweets. I like to read blogs like this one and my cousin Heather's blog and day dream of a day when I can come out of the kitchen without a waft of smoke following me. Then there's the feed my Disney addiction sites and blogs such as... The Disney Photography Blog, Allears, and Inside the Magic.
So where is all this going? Well I just think that any of us who find our selves in a New Years funk. A general malaise of February blues, need only to look to the web or local book store to find a bright and cheerie Great Big Beautiful tomorrow. And even directions on how to get there.

That's it for now.

Oh! and don't forget to pull up a bit of carpet and sit a spell in your favorite book store. Not only will you get to enjoy the amazing books and magazines but you'll meet some amazing people too :)

Hugs,

Day of the Dead Collection

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. ~ From Wikipedia

I've been on a Day of the Dead kick since my last trip to EPCOT. My favorite pavilion is the Mexico pavilion. You are transported to a summer night in Mexico city. And here and there you see Day of the Dead decorations. So as I was saying... enamoured with the lovely fun and sometimes sentimental designs celebrating those who have passed.
So I have been working on a series of paintings celebrating The Day of the Dead while also exploring the classic grim fairy tales and a few historic figures. I'll be at the Geranium Festival this May, fingers and toes crossed my application is accepted! So till then I wanted to give you a scoop on some of the pieces that will be shown there. I'll also be doing Day of the Dead face painting for varying prices depending on what design you choose.
As I prep for the Festival I'll be sharing what is involved in getting ready for such a large event as well as tips and tricks I learn along the way to keep as many pennies in my piggy as I can. So enjoy the preview and Happy Thursday. Thursday deserves some love since Friday gets all the happy feelings!

Hugs,

Monster Stuff

 

 As you know our house is Monster Crazy. We have kindled quite a little fire in our hearts for the fury little beasts after I spent months developing them for Christina Cody's Monster Reader book. So when we came across the new collection of monster stuff at our local Michaels' we were tickled. 

Hugs,

Time with a Great and Time to Paint

When I was 13 I lied about my age and enrolled in a drawing and painting class at the local state college. It was a continuing Ed class so no one was the wiser to my ill obtained class ;) My instructor would come to be one of the most influential people in my life. Lydia Ellis, a painter, mother and most of all woman strong in her faith was that would help me channel my creativity, venture into mediums I'd never experienced. She also opened her home to me on weekends and took me to church with her. This was the first truly spirit filled church I'd been in. No ancient hymnals and tiny blue haired ladies at the organ. I do love those things, but this hit a spot I didn't know I was craving. I was nurtured by the artist in Lydia as well as the mom in her.

I took classes from her for I think about three years, then got a part time job and friends I had no business associating with and lost my way from Lydia... and God. Down that dark road I never forgot her. And eventually after lots of heart ache and messing with what amazingly did not kill me, I came out the other side ready to finish growing up, meeting the guy of my dreams, starting a family and a new life in Christ. Oh and PAINT!
Naturally my thoughts turned to Lydia, and I was happily surprised to find her quickly online and to be welcomed back into her life with happy loving arms. It feels very Prodigal Son like. So that all brings us to a day with Lydia. I took my beautiful girls for a day of painting with Lydia. She had her grand kids with her. Gaspppppp... There dad was a little boy when I was around as a teen! So my youngest and her grands spent time painting and playing in the yard while Roxanne, my oldest and I sat in Lydia's studio painting and chatting. Roxy says we need a studio like Lydia's!

Lydia has an upcoming show at the Corner Gallery in Newnan, GA. Her exhibit will be, " The Horses of Cumberland Island" and you can see little bits of horses in progress in her studio. This little gallery is a gem and her work is not to be missed. Lydia has spent years painting murals for the most beautiful estates in Peachtree City, teaching classes and doing prophetic art. You can check out some of Lydia's work online click  here.

  ©2013 Heather Ozee, all rights to these images reserved.

 

  ©2013 Heather Ozee, all rights to these images reserved.

   ©2013 Heather Ozee, all rights to these images reserved.

   ©2013 Heather Ozee, all rights to these images reserved.

 

  ©2013 Heather Ozee, all rights to these images reserved.

Hugs,