Art Adventures: Bucks on the Street

I went to Lenox Mall today. I wasn't planning on being there, but it turned out to be a fun trip. I didn't even buy anything! While walking around I saw these rather large buck (I said reindeer) statues all uniquely decorated and lined up in a row. They were each decorated by local artists and will be auctioned off to raise money for something......I can't remember. Luckily, the zoom on my camera works. The proceeds will be given to "Livable Buckhead" and will be used to create parks, trails, and green space in Buckhead.

Because I knew I was going to tell you about them, I took pictures. Take a look.

Aren't they cute? 

This one has quarters for buttons. It was sponsored by 5/3 Bank. 

He has a completely custom outfit.
They even gave him some chest hair...AND a furry tail.

I love the color treatment they did for his "fur." 

To see the rest of the bukks, or to bid on your own go to the Bucks on the Street website. It gives bios of the artists and the story behind each piece. Bidding starts at only $250, but you've gotta transport your buck yourself.

My Tree: 2012

I thought I wouldn't be in the spirit too much this year, but I was wrong. Christmas is going forward as usual. I finished the tree on Friday night, and decided to go light on decorating the house. Simply because I didn't want to spend two months trying to pakk everything up by myself. It's just too much for me. I did a good job. 

Mommy and I have had some interesting trees over the years. Purple and ivory. Red. Blue and silver for the millennium. We did red, white and blue, after 9.11. The last few years it's been candy colored. So when I told bf to pikk from the colors we already had, he said red, white and blue. Another patriotic tree. Well, I wasn't in a patriotic mood and I definitely wasn't going to buy a single thing. AT ALL. So, I switched the colors up a little and ended up with something I'm very happy with. 

Mommy, Grandma, and I (and maybe Auntie, I can't remember) made these red velvet bows for our all red tree many years ago. Since mommy and grandma are both gone, I decided that it was really important to included these on the tree this year. Unfortunately, some of them haven't survived the years and I had to toss quite a few, but I had enough to make an acceptable impact on the tree. I was also sure I'd use garland this year. I had teal. But when I put it on the tree, I didn't like it. I tried half teal and half silver. Didn't like that either. Settled on all silver. I went with the silver. I put it on first. TIP: Always do the garland first. Some of the lights were out on the tree, so the garland gives a little sparkle and reflects the lights that do work to make up for the dark spots. Then I added the bows. Then I grouped some silver and teal bulbs and placed them in bunches on the tree. 

Followed by the teal sequined bulbs auntie made. I finished with my not royal blue doves and topped it with a big red bow. 

I'm done! 

I wanted to show you all Friday, but it looked naked with no gifts underneath. So, I had to wrap a few before I could take a picture. ANOTHER TIP: Everybody get's their own wrapping paper. I think this would be especially useful if you have small children who can't read yet. Also, it allows you to customize the paper for the person. We've been doing it for years...one kind for mommy, one for me, and one for people who don't live here. My gifts are in red. :o) 

P.S. I put my painting up on the mantle. It matched. Sweet! Oh, and yes, I hung mommy's stokking. 

"Beauty and the Sea Beast"

Well, I'm into octopus right now. It is what it is. I started and finished this one just before mommy died. Maybe a month before. I painted it in her bedroom. On the floor. And I stored it under her dresser, along with the paint, when I wasn't working on it. I hung it on my wall many months ago, not sure if I felt like it was complete. I made one change. A very small change. Oh and I signed my name. That makes it official. This is finished and available for purchase...

"Beauty and the Sea Beast" 

So, what ya think? I love the colors on this. Loved the octopus...that's the reason why I did "8th and O."

PURPLE: Again...but new

I had the pleasure of making purple gifts for two special events that occurred over the weekend. How convenient. Now I only have to write one post. 

One was a set of gifts for a baby shower. I did the onesies, bib and the picture frame, but didn't have to decorate the box this time. For baby Judith:  

What do you think? 

I also painted this for a wedding. I learned a lesson w/ this one...no more pearl paint! But it came out nice. Chekk it out: 

The couple chose to use it on their gift table...and I FRAMED it! It was easy. But still...lol. So, now they can take it home and hang it up to commemorate their special day. I love when things do double duty. 

Other People's Art: SoulCraft Productions

One day, I stumbled upon SoulCraft Productions on facebook and immediately found something I liked. Unfortunately, it had already sold. Womp and *sad face*

However, I spoke with Christie and she agreed to do something similar. About a week later, this came in the mail:

Initially, I was a little iffy, as I had planned to put this particular piece in a room that I had already pikked the colors for. I liked the painting...but I'm not big on having things and not having places to put them. That's...bakkwards. After sharing with Christie my iffy-ness, she asked if I would like to exchange it for another piece as she wanted me to be happy with what I had chosen. However, after actually putting the painting in the (unfinished) room along with the fabrics I had chosen, she looks great! I'm glad I decided to give her some time to grow on me...and into the house.

One day I'll have to do a full blog on my room makeover, but admittedly, I haven't gotten very far. Nothing to see here folks. It, as is everything in my life, seems to be a work in progress. i'm not complaining...just stating the facts.

"Otis"

That oversized book of everything is coming in handy and I still have over 200 pages left!

This time, I used The Declaration of Independence to form the white portions of the flag. And this beautiful brown fro is ridiculous! When it was all done, it reminded me of Jay and Kanye standing in front of that HUGE flag in the "Otis" video. That song gets me HYPE every time and just seeing them all happy and playful just warms my entire SYM heart. It makes me so happy! Maybe that's why I love the painting so much. Then, I photographed it on top of my scrabble board. Love those pages!

This item is currently available in the SYM1 store.

Other People's Art: AshThePainter

I'm slowly, but surely taking some of this time to make this house MY home and I wanted some new artwork to show it. However, I have issues with buying things with nowhere to put them. Not that I do that, because I make lots of effort not to, which means a lot of things I like never make it bakk to the house.Well, I found this page on facebook, and a painting that I wanted...thinking full well it had a home... It doesn't. Who cares? Not me.

When I first saw this, I knew I had to have it. Lukky for me it was affordable too. It's from AshThePainter. She specializes in "natural, nappy, and glamorous" art. This one is a copy of her original artwork, but I like this one a lot better. It's called "Magazine Stare II."

She's so fancy. 

I have no idea where this is going, but right now, she's leaning on my dresser amid a pile of accessories. It's kind of small, so her future includes a larger white mat and frame to make for a bigger impact. It might even go on a white wall. Who knows at this point? I don't. That's why I'm done shopping. I'm on a strict (like) budget. However, I'm still doing art trades. Which reminds me...I was supposed to get bakk to someone about some art. I didn't. I'm bad. I must do that soon. Really.