August has been a busy month for this Day of the Dead artist! (and that's great!!)

I've been going full steam for the past three weeks, much to mys surprise.  This summer has been cooler than normal and I suppose if I weren't working so much and didn't have to use very hot equipment the weather would be making me a little blue.  Having a busy shop is definitely not something I'm going to complain about but it has kept me from painting.. something I am aching to get back to.  Ahh well, soon! :)

One thing I've added to my offerings are wrapped canvas prints.  The above is my "Tamales" and it is reproduced here as an 11" x 14" canvas.  I paint the sides, which are staple-free, and I include the hanging hardware.  I hope to add more Kitchen Catrinas to the mix soon.

You can always contact me via this blog, but a better way is through my website contact page.  Look for that here:  Sherri Nelson Artworks  or you can purchase most of my stuff via Etsy here:  Bones Nelson

All Things Unrelated: Paintings, Desserts & Highly Questionable Coffee Table Books

This is not an overly disciplined working day, I must say.  I have been going back and forth between listening to motivational speeches on the Youtube to looking up Thai desserts to painting.  The lack of focus on any one thing has produced lackluster results thus far. See photo of coconut vanilla mousse, below:

I know that this is nothing to write about, yet I can't seem to stop myself from doing it anyway.  What you are looking at, above, is Vanilla-Coconut Mousse.  If I left it at that perhaps you'd believe me to be creative and competent.  Hmmm.. should I?  Should I leave it at that then?  :)  Argh, I can't do it.  I have to confess that it's merely a packet of Dr Oetker mix blended with half a can of coconut milk and spooned indelicately into a fruit dish.  Even the photo of it is sub-par.  I mean look at the way the curly-q top seems to come out of the edge of the dish there.. *sigh*  but you know, the colours aren't bad.  And the background makes it look like I might live somewhere lush and exotic, so you know, it could be worse.

On to the work of art I'm creating with only a third of my brain engaged:

Look at the way the vase leans awkwardly!  Check out those checks!  And the funny little orchid blooms which I wanted to look subtly like skulls peeking out of hoods actually look very OBVIOUSLY like skulls and unfortunately the hoods are reminiscent of a dark period in US history  Well.. one or two of them are anyway.  

Which reminds me..

This book happens to be sitting on the side table up in the roof observatory of the building I live in. It's about the Olympic torch run in Canada, maybe for the Montreal Olympics or something.. but... come ON!  That is not the picture I would have selected for use had I been the editor, and it is not an item I would have selected for display had I been the decorator of the room, either.

So yeah, nothing brilliant up with me today.  Maybe tomorrow. I think it probably takes a day or two for those motivational messages to kick in.  Yeah, that's got to be right.

Vintage Tea Cups - Orange Pekoe and Talavera Pottery

I enjoy the simplicity of these teacups.  Painting them is somewhat therapeutic, really.  I can make the delicate, layered and distressed backgrounds, sketch in the simple shape and then just let my mood do the painting.  These photos are coming out blurry for some reason - maybe the compression?  grrr

Talavera Pottery (the second cup) is one of my favorite things to look at in the whole world.  Such freedom in the authentic stuff.  I notice that mine is holding on to a little of the uptight North American in me.  Darn.

Orange Pekoe might not be the most exotic of flavours, but it's my favorite.  I don't know why but I can't seem to convince myself to drink those floral, spicy smelling blends.  They are lovely and fragrant, but so is soap, you know?  Maybe one day.  I do enjoy a cup of Chai, so that painting lurks in my future.

If you'd like to purchase prints do visit my other Etsy shop here: 

 sherri nelson studio

For the original pieces, please come to my web site www.sherrinelson.ca or contact me directly through the comments.

Today Etsy Rewrote the Dictionary ... Their New Definition of Handmade

NOTE:  Seriously, if my Etsy shop BonesNelson is closed when you look for it here it is because the Etsy gestapo got me.  They do that.  Seriously.  No warning, they just decide that you shouldn't be allowed free speech and they kill your livelihood and then never, ever respond to your inquiries ever again.  Stories abound on the web about it.  

MY MY MY - So That's what Handmade means to you, huh?

In case you missed it, Etsy had a Webcast today.  It was one of their so called Town Halls and at that Town Hall it was announced that they would no longer be sticking with either the dictionary's definition of "handmade" nor even the general public's understanding of it.

I watched the webcast (as much as I could stand of it) and here's a synopsis:

Blah blah blah horrible music unimaginative PowerPoint display lame joke cutesy photo walk down hipster memory lane audience grooming "there will be phone support.... for SERIOUS problems only (so don't get too excited) YADDA yadda "we are all about helping businesses grow" (and) transparency more grooming "How awful is it to go to the Post Office, right??" and then BAM...HANDMADE is redefined to mean having an idea and paying people in factories offshore to make the stuff and even ship it directly to the buyers!

A mini poop storm followed from the online community, which Etsy was monitoring.  So the panel went into damage control mode.  The talking points were as follows:

"TRANSPARENCY!"
and
"OK, What I'm hearing is that you are afraid of competition. "

Quite honestly, there's no competition to fear - we as independent artists cannot compete at all when our listings are hidden in between thousands of product listings from factories.  We'll never get seen.  Ever tried to search for something on Etsy?  You can't narrow down your search, all you can do is go page by page hoping that something catches your eye.  Etsy has a secret formula for selecting which items show up in their Search Results (admitted today by their Chief Technical Officer Kellan somethingorother.)  It's secret, so there's nothing anyone without all day to spend on it can do to figure the method out of the madness.  (especially if you're busy CREATING and not just phoning an order into the factory)

So be warned.  if you want hand made or if you think you're going to be supporting a sole proprietor who works his or her buns off creating and trying like heck to live on the small deneiro that artists have contented themselves with, think again.  There's a good chance that what you're so tempted to purchase is listed by a big faker who is fronting for a factory in Guanzu province paying people pennies.  In fact, I'll tell you what Etsy is clearly aspiring to:  They seem to want to take AliExpress's market share.  Too much money going offshore to that operation for Etsy's liking.

ha.

Oh, and one more thing - I'm (this is somewhat shameful for me) already "indefinitely" muted from the forums.  I spoke too harshly when they refused to take seriously the fact that sellers were not being notified of sales that were being made.  !!!!  (I still think that's a REALLY serious bug in the system!)  My shop is still active but in the last week views and sales have dropped dramatically.  Not just for me, either.  Read here: https://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/12512708/page/152  I started you out on page 152, but you can navigate using the page numbers at the bottom when you get there.  And that is by far NOT the only thread on the topic, just the biggest  So..
Anyway my point is that much to my chagrin and constant worry I might not be there too long.  If my shop out and out disappears you'll know that it was Etsy that removed it, not me.  And you will know also that it will be because I have once again spoken harshly of their practices.  

On the bright side, though:  Link to my very very new Zibbet.com site here:  BonesNelson

September 2013.. Rockabilly Babies and Day of the Dead Catrinas

This was a tough month, but thankfully it is coming to a close.

I've been working harder than ever, trying to branch into designs for clothing.  I see a lot of the same stuff out there for little ones - it's difficult in today's day and age in a mid sized city to get away from the three or four designs that "the Big Box Stores" have decided they want to present to us.  Do you all notice that, too?  Here are some of what I've come up with:

Rockabilly Baby Undergarments / Creepers / Bodysuits

Available on Etsy OR by contacting me at my web site:  www.sherrinelson.ca/contact

The homogeneity of choice is making me crazy.  Sweaters without sleeves or cardigans without belts.  Low cut jeans.  Chevron Stripes.  Plain white onesies for babies.  Daddy's little girl.  bah.  same same same same.  I realize that fashions and trends have always been with us, but not too long ago there were little shops where one who didn't like the momentary trend could go to find relief (and say, a bathing suit out of season or a cuddly sweater in July.)  The only places like that any more are second hand shops and even their selection is becoming a reflection of the Big Box direction.  (a little rhyme for you there wink wink)

Anyway hopefully these Rockabilly Baby and Rocker Kid tattoo and Hot Rod inspired selection will at the very least remind everyone that the world used to be a more interesting place.  :)  

As always I'm painting, too.  This week I wanted COLOUR and GIRLY and PRETTY so I pulled out a sketch I had worked on a couple of weeks back and sat the main Catrina in a surreal background of floating hearts and roses.  It's a Day of the Dead piece and is on an 8" x 8" x 2" wood "canvas."

You can buy the original on my website.

Ciao for now

So it's been a long time.. but I'm back!  I've been busy and right now all I have time for is to post some pictures.  Forgive me the watermarks, but it must be done.  Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the photos and maybe click on one of the links in the sidebar to view my web site or my Etsy shop!

The two images above are of sets I've put together:  Mini Prints of my best loved 

"Kitchen Catrinas" series.

Betty Lou's Pies!  The original is available on my web site and the prints are for sale on Etsy.

We've got "Boarder" at the top of this bunch, followed by "Bola Ocho," "Welcome to the Carnival" and "Forever."

Angel's trumpet painting in progress

Still working away on the flowers, and I thought I'd post a progress picture.  Here it is:

My Folk Art Teacups - Mint and Lemon

textured and 'antiqued' if I can be so bold as to claim the ability to carry art through time

These are dainty and delicate, no?  I will be painting more soon, since the whole process is so girly and relaxing.  Perhaps for the one tomorrow I will display the progress - sort of a fast and dirty 'how to.'  Be warned, there is medium involved.  Matte Medium.  I don't really know how they get away with naming it Matte Medium, since every single thing artists smear or speckle or throw onto a canvas is a MEDIUM.. right?  Anyway Matte Medium is just this thick clear goo that I use for texture (in this case.)

While we're on this topic - does anyone know what the equivalent thickening paste would be for oil paints?  I don't live in a metropolis full of well stocked artist supply stores, so when I had a look through their supplies I didn't see anything that might work.  Tips on this would be appreciated in the comment section.

Oh yeah - I finished the box.  I don't believe I gave you a photo, though, did I?  Here's one:

I'm hoping to trade this piece for 2 prints from artist Kalkidan Assefa.  Fingers crossed!!
In case he doesn't bite, here's where you can buy the box, pictured above:  Nouveau Trinket Box, Etsy

I'm not usually up this late, but I spent the whole day cleaning (where is Spring!!??  Spring cleaning was even less enjoyable than normal without being able to sit outside in short sleeves in between rounds of Spic'n'Spanning!!!!!) and cleaning made me tired so I napped at a silly hour.   I may start a painting now.  We'll see!

Oh oh oh!  One more thing:  I have a secret!  there's a project in the works that stands to be quite exciting, but I do not have a final word on it yet.  Will possibly find out for sure tomorrow.  If I get good news, I'll blog it here.  If not, well, I shall never speak of it again.  *wink*
g'night peeps.