Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, April 22nd, I have taken $5US off the price of all my linocuts with trees in them in my Etsy store . The price will be going back up on April 23rd so get in quickly!

There's also lots of other fantastic sellers of eco products & nature inspired art having Earth Day promotions too, have a browse around at some of the awesome work of other indie artists & crafters on Etsy.

Recent Acquisitions

I purchased this lovely print by benconservato recently & received it this week. I absolutely love it!

The original drawing, choice of book page to print on, colouring & use of the woodgrain in the woodblock are just exquisite! It was also packed extremely well & the artist is a pleasure to deal with; I'll certainly be back for more of her work.

My other recent purchase is these two lovely tiny sculptures from PearsonMaron via the Oz Bushfire Appeal Etsy store, which I've been coveting for quite a while, so it was great to be able to acquire them & donate to a worthy cause simultaneously! They're both no more than a couple of inches tall & just make me smile every time I look at them.

Hand Print Presses

I really want to get a printing press of some description to save my poor wrists from rubbing every print. Unfortunately they seem to be priced squarely at the 'already successful artist' market here in Australia & postage costs from overseas make that unviable.

I have found one awesome site with plans & instructions for making your own available via DVD, paper copy or PDF download. Another site with instructions for a screw type press started me thinking about this antique book press that I already own. I'm going to give it a try with plywood & cork layers rather than just cork, as I've tried before with mixed results.

HandMade Help

The people at this awesome blog, HandMadeHelp, are gathering the troops of artists & crafters from all over to help with the Bushfire Relief fund. Do go & take a look & either add your help to their list or purchase from some of the fantastic creative people there. (I'm in there, top of the second page)

http://handmadehelpsout.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-02-11T21%3A58%3A00%2B11%3A00&max-results=40

Have to say that I'm feeling inspired & somewhat awed & humbled by the way we've responded to this crisis; people really are wonderful after all!

Red Cross Bushfire Appeal 2009

There have been horrendous fatal fires this week here in Victoria, thousands displaced, entire towns gone (no exaggeration, gone), death toll 181 & expected to rise, just unbelievable devastation.

I'm fortunate to be in one of the few rural areas of Victoria not currently on fire. I have registered as a fundraiser with Red Cross Australia & am raising funds through sales from my two Etsy stores Light And Shade Art & The Uppity Woman Vintage . I have also donated 5 items to the Australian Sellers' Etsy Team Bushfire Appeal Store which have already sold, with 100% of those going directly to the appeal.

So how about making a purchase for your present stash now & give to a worthy cause at the same time? Thanks.

Geelong Night Arts Market this Friday!

Some of the Geelong Region's best professional artists will gather in Little Malop Street as the cultural venues throw open their doors to the night sky to offer a unique evening of magical delights and gift ideas.

Geelong Gallery, Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong Library, Courthouse Youth Arts Centre, Geelong Heritage Centre, Back to Back Theatre and the City of Greater Geelong have come together to create a myriad of activities to tempt all ages and tastes.

Featuring an eclectic array of beautiful hand-crafted artworks, along with great live music, street theatre, a stilt walking lantern parade, open air bar and café, artist talks and film screenings, Night Art will celebrate all things creative.

Night Art will be held from 5.00pm to 10.00pm on Friday 5 December in Little Malop Street, Geelong. Melway Ref � Map 401 F4

Civic Car Park in Gheringhap Street (opposite Little Malop Street) will be open till midnight.

Plus the always amazing 'Strange Fruit' will be performing!!!

Why sell art online?

To quote Eleanor Roosevelt, 'Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.'

I live in a fairly remote location, which is lovely for creating art, but has drawbacks when it comes to making my work available to a wider audience. I also want to do my part to look after our planet, so I use my car as little as possible.

As we're lucky enough to have good internet access here, the www offers a solution to these issues. People can view my work in their own time, where they are & purchase securely online.