A couple special Christmas pieces

I wanted to share a couple pieces I've been working on for the last couple months. These were Christmas gifts for my parents and my in-laws. Both are BIG...for me at least. And both gifts went over very well.

My parents - 18"x24"

Dave's parents - 16"x20"

We had a wonderful Christmas at our house. My sister and her family came all the way from the Florida Keys to spend the week with us. I don't know what the girls are going to do now that they've gone home. They had such a wonderful time playing with my sis's twin boys.

Oh and a big thank you to my sis who gave me the Twilight series to read. I did absolutely nothing constructive for a week...I just couldn't pull myself away from the books long enough to get anything accomplished. So...thanks sis!

My father-in-law made me some really amazing cradled artist panels, so look for new work coming soon. I can't wait to test them out!

~Alisa

Little Angel

Here's a piece I recently completed. I've been playing around with larger transfers...and am very happy with the outcome. This piece is 10"x20" and is currently hanging on the wall in my studio.

Vintage Photo Freebies

These images come from my personal collection...feel free to use them in your art, but please don't re-sell them.

Hope you enjoy the images. If you do decide to use any of these in your art, I'd love to see it...just leave a comment with a link to your creation.

~Alisa

It's Fall!

You'll have to excuse me for not blogging the past few weeks. You see, it's Fall at our house and we've been playing outside, soaking up the gorgeous weather.

And of course the best part about Fall (besides caramel apples and pumpkin pies) is playing in the leaves! We have some really giant trees in our yard that produce an abundance of crisp jump-worthy leaves of all colors. The girls take full advantage of the gi-normous piles of leaves I rake...and rake...and rake. They do help out with their minuscule blue rake...or at least they try. But it's all worth it when you get lovely photos like these.

And since I haven't blogged for quite some time, I thought I'd post a couple Halloween pics too. Ella was a zombie nurse. She wanted to be a zombie fairy nurse, but hubby wouldn't let her add the wings to her costume. He was afraid people wouldn't "get it" :) Eva was the cutest little candy corn witch and both girls came home with the candy mother-load (yea for mommy)!

Happy Fall!

~Alisa

$5 ART SALE!!!!

In an effort to make some room in my studio space for new artwork, I'm having a $5 ART SALE in my etsy shop.

That means you can own an original piece of art (not a reproduction print) for only $5!


Visit my etsy shop to take advantage of the sale!

~Alisa

My art is up at Strange Brew Coffee Shop

Friday night Dave and I hung about 25 of my pieces at Strange Brew Coffee Shop in Greenwood, Indiana. The pieces ranged in size from small art cards (2.5"x3.5") up to a giant 22"x30" piece.

The shots are horrible...not much light around here at 7:30 p.m. any more, so I'll have to stop by and take a few photos during the day. At least you'll get the general idea.

Rumor has it that at least two pieces have sold aready, although I haven't been back by to confirm that rumor.

So if you're around Greenwood, be sure to stop in, have a cuppa coffee, enjoy the funky atmosphere and take in some art!

~Alisa

This is your chance to help out with a community mural!

Thanks to a grant from the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, the Eiteljorg has connected students at the Christel House Academy on the city's south side with Native American photographer and installation artist Will Wilson (Diné) for a mural project that not only introduces young people to art and indigenous cultures, but also helps them to give back to the Indianapolis community by beautifying a neighborhood building.

Beginning this week, students will assist Wilson, a 2007 recipient of the Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, in tracing and filling in a mural celebrating the Indians of Indiana. The mural, which will be placed on an empty building at 1201 S. Meridian, is being created as part of Christel House Academy's efforts to bring a multicultural education to their students.

Due to the recent rain, we are looking for volunteers to help out...yep, this is your oppurtunity to make your mark (in paint) on the city of Indianapolis. We're going to have beautiful weather this weekend, so if you're available please come out to the mural site (at the corner of Morris & Meridian Streets) and help Will! We are looking for ANYONE who can hold a paintbrush! This is your chance to work with an internationally known artist!

The mural will be dedicated during a ceremony and press conference at the site on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m.

A snapshot of life...the series

I've been so busy with work, art and life in general that I've completely neglected my blog for the last few weeks.

I just finished up a series of eleven 4"x4" pieces last week that I'd been working on for the past month or so. I'm hoping to add one more, but used up all my 4"x4" canvases so I have to re-order before I can add any more.

This is one of my favorites of the series. I call it "Bathing Beauties"

The theme of the series is a snapshot of everyday life. Each piece can stand on it's own, but the grouping looks amazing together. I think I'll hang a set of nine and keep two very special pieces just for me. You see, two of the pieces include old family photos that my grandma let me scan several years ago. One is a photo of my grandpa as a young man. He looks so confident and relaxed, traits I didn't see much of in the last few years of his life.

The other is a picture of my grandma and grandpa together relaxing on the pier at the lake. They look so young and happy in the photo...I just love it!

You can see more close-up images on my flickr photostream here.

And right after I finished the series I found out the my work will hang in a local coffee shop called Strange Brew in October. So, I've been busily cutting mats and framing pieces...which is soooo much work! No wonder frame shops charge big bucks for custom framing!

I'll hang the work on October 8th, so if you're planning to be around Greenwood, Indiana anytime soon stop by Strange Brew, have a cuppa coffee and see my work!

~Alisa

My little girl is 5!

2004 was a year of change for Dave and me. We got married, had a baby girl, and Dave got his education degree and got a real-life paying job. It was a crazy time...especially having a new little baby in our lives. Ella was born on Labor Day weekend on a beautiful Saturday morning after an exhausting 12 hours of labor. She was the tiniest thing I'd ever seen, weighing in at only 5 lb. 14 oz. All the cute clothes we brought to the hospital were way too big for her. She was the cutest little baby and at the time I couldn't even imagine her being anything other than my tiny little baby. I still can't...even though she is the tallest kid (boy or girl) in her class at school.

On Friday night we celebrated her 5th birthday. We dropped off little sis at Nana's house, then went to school with Ella for her "special day". She got to show off some pictures that she brought, fielded questions about her favorite things and had a special snack. She was also supposed to bring one special thing in to show the class, so she chose her autograph book from Disney World. The kids in her class couldn't believe she got autographs from Buzz Lightyear, green army man or Donald Duck. They thought it was the coolest thing. After school we took her to build-a-bear and to lunch. She commented on several occasions that she really liked it when little sis wasn't around and it was just us...and to be honest, so did I. The girls fight constantly when they are together and it was really nice to spend time with Ella when she wasn't screaming at her sister. The perfect birthday culminated in a trip to The Incredible Pizza company where she opened presents, had cake and played games.

Oh and the cake she picked out had to be the weirdest one ever. As we browsed through the Disney characters and movie cakes, she knew instantly what she wanted the moment we saw it...an Indiana Jones cake. It was definitely an odd choice for a 5 year old girl.

So happy birthday to my little girl! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Henry and Betty

Betty

Henry and Betty are a couple of my newest pieces. Each one is 5x7 on 140 lb. watercolor paper. Now if only I could stop with these silly black circles...they've ended up on everything lately!

Henry

I'm a winner...literally

So how lucky am I? Last week a little package arrived with this lovely original work of art, Alice with Tulips by uber-talented artist Stacey Merrill. It is even more beautiful in person. And get this...she gave it away in one of her blog giveaways! And lucky me...my name was drawn! Woohoo!!!

My hubby was even impressed and got bonus points with me for being able to identify the various media used in the piece...my interests must FINALLY be rubbing off on him a little :)

Check out Stacey's work here in her etsy shop.

And if you haven't visited her wonderful ArtSnark's Artifacts blog, be sure to stop by. She offers weekly giveaways, introduces you to amazing artists through their respective studios, and lots LOTS more...oh and my very favorite feature...Random Thoughts Tuesday.

~Alisa

Recent work and the Visual Fringe

Here are some shots of the Visual Fringe opening at the beginning of August. It was a wonderful experience, and was the first time my work has ever been hung in (gasp) public. Luckily a very talented stencil artist and co-worker talked me into participating in the show and kept on me until I finally consented.

Here's Pete and his lovely wife Annette standing next to three of his pieces in the show.

The opening was fabulous...I got to stand around sipping free champagne and talk to people about my art. And people were interested! Both of my pieces sold during the opening and are up through the end of the month. It was such a great experience that I may have to do it again sometime :)

The two pieces with the sold stickers in the middle are mine.

Here they are close up.

After my successful debut on the local scene, I finally found a little motivation to create some new pieces. Here's what I've done thus far.

"Love" ACEO 2.5"x3.5"

"Little Ladies" 8x10

"Headed West 2" 5x7. This one is similar to a piece that sold during the Fringe and is a gift for my father-in-law (I hope he doesn't read this).

The most adorable custom illustration...ever!

I recently won one of the best blog giveaways ever. It was for a custom illustration done by none other than Marisa of Elegant Snobbery. I've admired her work (and that of her daughter) for several years, so when I saw the giveaway I just couldn't pass it up.


Per my request, Marisa did an illustration of a little blonde-haired girl (my little Ella) holding her pink stuffed pony. When the package arrived last week, I was positively elated. The illustration is just so perfect...I'll always treasure it! Oh and Ella loved it too! Thank you so much Marissa!

If you're not familiar with Marisa's work, be sure to check out her blog, Elegant Bloggery and her etsy shops, Elegant Snobbery and Elegant Paperie. You'll be glad you did!

~Alisa

Back from Disney

We'll we're back from our family vacation to Disney World. We all had a great time, but it is soooo nice to be home and away from the Florida humidity! Instead of doing a recap of the trip, I put together my personal list of Disney tips. Enjoy!

1) Four days at Disney is one day too many for a 2 and 4 year old (okay and their parents too).

2) A cheap spritzing fan from Walmart will keep a 2 & 4 year old entertained for hours, just be sure you don't buy cheap batteries and keep said fan blade out of the mouths of two year olds.

3) Eva (2 yrs old) hates sand and getting dirty, so the beach probably wasn't a very good choice, especially if you have to drive more than an hour to get there.

4) Buy a double stroller...it's cheaper than renting one at Disney for 4 days.

5) If you are going to eat at one of the Disney parks, order one of their $5 kids meals...even if you're 30.

6) Even if you are trying to stay away from the high-priced souveniers, buy the kids some mouse ears...the photos alone are priceless.

7) Enjoy the Magic Kingdom in the Fall, Winter or Spring or sometime when the weather is cooler than 97 degrees with 100% humidity...especially if you'll end up carrying around a little one who is too hot to walk (or ride in a stroller).

8) Stand in line and get the autograph of a guy dressed in head-to-toe green mesh...you never know when you'll see a sight like that again.

9) Let your two year old drive the race cars...even if it gives you whiplash.

10) And finally...as much as you hate riding on the Jungle Cruise, some captains tell really funny jokes, so go ahead and ride it 3 times to make your two year old happy.

~Alisa