A Month Of Highlights

Its been an extremely busy month with so many exciting things happening. I haven't been good about getting posts up for any of it so this one will hit the highlights.

I wrote a fun article for the July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors on a great way to show off your vacation photos combining digital collage and acrylic painting. Head over to this link to order your copy if you haven't picked yours up yet and catch the online freebies - three digital download image transfer sheets I've created from original antique ephemera and illustrations.

I just turned in another article that will be published in the November/December 2011 issue about using plexiglas as a support for Encaustic Wax. I took advantage of my time in Oregon at EncaustiCamp and challenged the other teachers and some of the students to join me in creating work for the article. Can't show you what we came up with, but you won't want to miss it!

I had the opportunity to interview for the American Craft Expostion Blog, where each of this years emerging artists are being featured. I really made the poor girl doing the interview work for it as I was extremely busy getting ready to leave for EncaustiCamp and had a ton of packing and shipping to do after my clearance sale but it certainly was an honor!

I've been having fun the past few months with my Tumblr blog where I feature art that inspires me along with my own recent works. You can check it out here.

And of course the biggest hightlight of the month was my trip to Oregon where I taught my Wax & Wire Adornments class at EncaustiCamp. It came and went so fast I've hardly had a chance to catch my breath since I've been home, let alone manage to put into words the experience. It went beyond workshops and teaching. The atmosphere was a true summer camp environment on the grounds of the Western Mennonite School in Salem, Oregon and many of the connections made there were the beginnings of lifelong friendships - for the students as well as the teachers. Many of the students have posted outstanding blog posts about their experience there so I'm going to link up to some here. Take a look at the pics and links..

Jessica Greene has an excellent blog and website called "Seek Your Course" where you can find course offerings and workshops from all areas listed and writes reviews from her personal travels and experiences. Check out her review of EncastiCamp part 1 and part 2.

This beautiful piece is by Roxanne Stout. She has a nice write up of her experience and plenty of pictures of art, students and teachers at her blog River Garden Studio here.

This shot taken on the last full day sums up the entire experience - real bonding and pure joy! Check out Don in the middle there. Look how innocent he looks while everyone around him is cracking up. I won't tell you what he said to cause such a raucous - it was a group moment among many. The beautiful woman with her head tipped back on Don's right is Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. Our fearless EncaustiCamp leader and founder. Down in front clapping and cracking up is Judy Wise and Mary Beth Shaw. Judy taught a great class and Mary Beth came to partake of the camps goodness as a student. Trish has several great write-ups each day of the event with gobs of great photos of the event at her blog here.

 Here I am in the middle with the other teachers, Michelle Belto, Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, Bridgette Guerzon-Mills, and Judy Wise.

 This is a great shot of nearly the entire group of students and teachers. We are all keeping in touch via our facebook group now. Its never too early to start your planning - same place next year for EncaustiCamp 2012!

By the way, if you are regretting you missed EncaustiCamp this year, you can get a mini-version in Michigan in September with Trish and I as we team up for a Foundations in wax experience at The Maranatha Conference Retreat Center in Muskegon, Michigan right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Check out Trish's blog post or go here for more details on registering.

And now I am off and running - just a month to go to get ready for the American Craft Exposition. I'll be hiding out in the studio trying to produce some new large pieces of work along with additions to my Uttering series. I'll try to get some pics up here and on my website of new works and more highlights this month.

Store and Studio Inventory Liquidation Clearance Sale!

First I want to say a very special thank-you to all who helped to make it possible for me to accept the position of emerging artist in the American Craft Expo and secure my booth through your purchase of art during my Celebration Sale last month! Being at the show in August will be even more meaningful knowing that you supported me!

As my career begins to move forward, my focus must shift to creating art and workshops more earnestly then ever, leaving me little time to continue with my passion of collecting and selling objects and collectibles through my Etsy store "Other Peoples Flowers" so I am busy this week listing clearance lots of all my remaining store inventory and vendor props.

Head on over to Other Peoples Flowers on Etsy where you will find deals of 50% off and more - most listings are by the lot and your savings will be pennys on the dollar. Stock up for your own altered art and assemblage projects or stock your own store inventory - these deals cannot be beat and will not be repeated!

Along with the clearance of my collectibles and objects, I will be focussing on continuing to add art to my new website and eventually closing OPF studio on Etsy where I currently sell my art. So I've decided to retire several of my art series and have currently listed many of these at 50% off the list price. If you've had your eye on a particular work, head on over to OPF Studio now - this is the time to grab it!

Thank-you all for continuing to support me through your purchases and your e-mails and blog comments. I really appreciate you!

War! Huh...What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing?

"In The Beginning"       by Crystal Neubauer

Today my step-son is heading home for a well deserved 2 week leave from fighting in the war in Afghanistan. The longer he has been away, the more difficult it is to talk about him without tears springing to my eyes. I am so excited to be able to put my physical arms around him and see that he is okay and show how much I care for and have missed him!

And as much as my heart is bursting with desire to spend every single moment he is home with him, I know how torn this young man will be, between spending time here with me and his dad and his dad's side of the family, and spending time elsewhere with his mom, step-dad and their side of his family. And of course there are the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, not to mention the siblings and friends who have prayed for him, missed him, and can't wait to spend time with him.

So as I think of him heading home on a plane at this very moment, I simply feel grateful and excited for him. Grateful that he will be able to spend the next two weeks being surrounded by his family and friends and their love. Grateful for every second of time he is out of harms way and for every night we can put our heads on our pillows knowing he is not hunkered down in a hole somewhere being shot at with a gun in his hand.

"To Serve and Protect"           by Crystal Neubauer

And as I think of how much he has matured since he enlisted, even more so since he left to fight the war, I am in awe. While speaking to my husband on the phone this morning of the celebration that was given to the soldiers upon arrival at their first stop here in the US today, he expressed his own gratitude for how he already feels like he is home. He is already seeing with new eyes and a new appreciation all that we tend to take for granted around us.

He will be forever changed from this experience. No doubt there will be emotional wars he will need to fight, even years from now, as his body and mind continue to process and deal with the stress he is under daily during his time of service, but this time away at war is also shaping him into an incredible man, with a perspective on life that many men well beyond his years have yet to gain.

"Almost Home"        by Crystal Neubauer

This evening, after working her second day on a new rotation for her Podiatry internship, my daughter will be moving into a new apartment in the city with five roommates. She has been excited for the transition, looking forward to being able to share an apartment with these friends and no longer having the long commute from the suburbs, but today she is feeling the stress of all that she has on her plate between work and moving and life.

There are a few conflicts arising, as would be expected, from six adults trying to coordinate moving into a four bedroom apartment, and she has found herself in the unfamiliar position of having to speak directly and negotiate with so many personalities in a way that is truthful but doesn't harm. She feels a little anxious about it, worrying about hurting feelings but not wanting to stuff her own. And I see how this is a type of war as well - on an inner level. But that through it new communication and life skills are being learned.

 "Follow Me"         by Crystal Neubauer

It is hard to learn to speak up, speak directly, truthfully, and clearly about our needs sometimes. Depending on our pasts so many of us, especially women, have learned to just acquiesce and defer to the needs of others, putting ourselves last and denying our own needs, but then resenting that our needs aren't being tended to.

Would my daughter be learning these skills of self-care so young if she wasn't forced to deal with the natural conflicts arising from moving in with so many roommates? She feels uncomfortable today, as we tend to do, after asserting herself in a healthy way when she isn't used to it, but her emotional muscles are developing and so is her sense of well-being and self-worth. I'm proud of her for being open to hearing my advice and resisting the urge to blast out of her frustration or deny and stuff her feelings.

I couldn't help but reflect on these two very different "wars" my grown children are in today and see the value in it for each of them. And it led me to think of my own battles of late, those that are, for the most part, unseen. I woke today in the midst of an ongoing personal struggle with the deepest sense of gratitude for what the battle is teaching me and how much it is helping me to grow. If it weren't for this "war" I am fighting, I would not be learning to find my own voice, to set limits and hold healthy boundaries, let alone to recognize that the source of my fulfillment and love does not come from a place or person outside of me, but from Gods love planted inside of me, from the love he wants me to have for him and for myself, from which I am then able to truly love and be loved.

There are wars in life we are all required to face. Perhaps a financial battle is required to get you to look at how you handle money. An illness may increase your faith or change your perspective on equating your self-worth to your level of productivity. Overcoming addictions or bad habits and attitudes may force you to face and root out issues from your past, but bring you the long lasting peace you never believed could be yours. What of the battle of accepting one's aging appearance in the mirror? Or learning a new job skill when you thought you'd be retiring at the company you once worked? Accepting the illness or death of a loved one? At times these battles may seem overwhelming, purposeless and certainly unfair. But is it true that war is good for absolutely nothing? No, it is not without it's purpose, and I can honestly say, I am grateful for the wars I am facing today.

More Than a Woman

You've spent your life looking after the needs of others. You don't even know who you are anymore. You are wife, mom, short order cook - but there is more to you then what they see. You are more than a Woman.

You have dreams, desires, and stories inside. You are more then even you realize.

It may take time to excavate the treasure of your own life, but you are worth it. She is worth it, every last layer you are required to peel away in order to find her - that person you've tucked away and nearly forgotten. The beauty that exists only in you.  Yes, You really are more then just a woman.

"More Than A Woman" by Crystal Neubauer - click image to purchase

True Confessions of a Starving Artist

I have a confession to make. I am a starving artist.

Well not literally, but very nearly so, yes. This week the groceries were bought by a very dear and generous friend, without which, I don't know what we would have done. Yes, we are existing on a shoe string budget, to say the least.

Life has been difficult for some time now, with our family facing things that I am sure many of you have been facing during this tough economy as well. Unemployment, illnesses without insurance, cars needing repairs, unexpected obstacles, and side jobs that have fallen through.

My husband has a new business that is taking off and in just a few short months things will be turning around, but in the meantime I have received the best news of my life at the worst possible time.

You may have read in my earlier post of my acceptance as an emerging artist to the prestigious American Craft Expo. I am thrilled beyond belief, honored, humbled, and terrified. Sick to my stomach actually, as there is no money in the budget to cover the booth fee and I am in jeopardy of losing the opportunity in just a few short days.

And so I decided to hold a sale - and several of you have responded. Thank-you! But I am afraid I am still short and so I stand here, in full disclosure, transparent and honest before you. This is not just a celebration sale, but a "Help Me Get There Sale".

Yup. I need your help to do it. Not that I haven't had your help all along the way. Without your support, encouragement and patronage I wouldn't have made it this far. And I surely wouldn't have had the guts to even apply this year for the American Craft Expo. So for all that you have already done to support me, I thank-you. And if you are able to, I ask that you take advantage of the sale I am holding - Free Shipping Worldwide and an additional 10% off all art now. Read on for the details:

There are only 3 days left to take advantage of the celebration with a 10% discount on all art sales and FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE on any purchase you make through Friday. Remember, you can now find my available work at my website, here, or if you are a member of Etsy or would like to become one, you can still purchase most of my pieces at my Etsy studio, here. Read on for details and thank-you again for all of your kind comments and encouragement this week!

Purchasers from my website: Click on the item price to be taken to a PayPal invoice and payment details. In the note to buyer section please include the coupon code: celebrateACE and make your payment. Your 10% discount and shipping charges will be refunded to you within 24 hours, and most likely within a few hours of your purchase.

Purchasers from my etsy store: Make your selection, entering coupon code: celebrateACE when prompted. This will deduct the shipping cost from your purchase. Proceed to PayPal and make your purchase and your additional 10% discount will be refunded to you within 24 hours, and most likely within a few hours of your purchase.