Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays, everyone!

As a little update, I'm winter break from school right now, holding a 3.8 GPA. I start school again January 12th, with Photography as my major, and I'll be taking Visual Thinking 2, Black and White Photography 2, Performance Art, Sociology, Survey of American Literature, Introduction to Music and Self Defense. I'll be pretty busy, but I expect to enjoy it immensely. I love living at Shepherd University a lot.

I'm featured as an artist in the January/February Issue of Somerset Studio Magazine. That was really exciting for me. I'll have lots of fun showing it off to my classmates. My birthday is in February, so it was very well-timed.

I'm working on my own online store, as opposed to using etsy as a storefront, which I hope to be up and running in Sprint of 2009.

I hope everyone is doing well. :)

Store Credit

Please contact me before purchasing anything, just to avoid duplicates being purchased. I will mark items as purchased, to prevent this from happening, but it's best to contact me first: madelaine.etsy@gmail.com

Here's a list of things I either need or really want for school.

I'll add 40% to the price you pay towards credit in my shop.

Forty percent. That is a lot. Sure, you could always wait for my next sale. Except sales in my shop are extremely rare, and I have never offered more than 20% off. For example, if you spend $50.00 buying items for me from the list below, you'll have $70.00 to spend in my shop.

You'll be able to use the store credit as soon as I receive the items, or the bookstore confirms they've been purchased.

I haven't been able to find most of these books online, except at the Shepherd University Bookstore, which is the bookstore for the college I am attending. You may order as a guest, and site the full name of the person picking up the order as "Madelaine Richards" (c'est moi!)

It's a great opportunity for you to purchase my art. Not only will you know that you directly helped my education and college experience (I'm planning to major in Photography), but you'll have some great new photography and digital art. I can absolutely sign whatever you order as well as have custom sizes printed if needed (so you can purchase larger prints).

Here are the titles and ISBNs of the books I need. I wish to have to most recent editions, but used is totally okay, and even encouraged (I don't need brand new things).

BOOKS

SHEPHERD UNIVERSITY WRITER'S REFERENCE
9780312538699

ART FOUNDATIONS MANUAL
9780840001238

RESPONDING TO ART: A WORKBOOK
9780840002778

ART REPRODUCTION
9780840000729

PERRINE'S LITERATURE - STRUCTURE, SOUND, and SENSE
9781413033083

Please contact me before purchasing anything, just to avoid duplicates being purchased. I will mark items as purchased, to prevent this from happening, but it's best to contact me first: madelaine.etsy@gmail.com

Some other items I want to be more comfortable, but I don't need as much as my books:


FOR COMFORT


Keen Ventura Canvas shoes in Black or Sahara - size 8. Can be ordered and shipped directly to me. Please contact me for my address, to save you from shipping it. You can find them online lots of places, but here's a link to Zappos. $71.00 (Store Credit: $92.30).




OTHER

A French keyboard. Instead of QWERTY, it's AZERTY. I type with French settings, so I can type using accents (é ç à ö etc.). I have for two years, and think it's about time that I have a keyboard the reflects the letters I'm typing.

The Following can all be purchased from See Jane Work.



What a cutie! I am in need of a calculator, so why not an adorable and fashionable one? I adore it!




Since I'm moving away, I need to keep track of all my friends and their phone numbers and addresses. I'm after the brown one (woodgrain) or the modern fern one.









I will be updating this wishlist soon. Check back for more, and some cheaper, products.

Please contact me before purchasing anything, just to avoid duplicates being purchased. I will mark items as purchased, to prevent this from happening, but it's best to contact me first: madelaine.etsy@gmail.com

And the winner is...

The winner of my postcards & ACEO giveaway is ArtMind! Her word was "breathtaking".

I chose the winner using Random.org to generate a number, and the comment number was the winner!

She has a beautiful etsy shop, which I urge you to check out! :D



Thank you so much to all those who entered. I appreciate it immensely. If you entered into the giveaway and would like a postcard from me, send me your name and mailing address: madelaine.etsy@gmail.com and I'll send you a postcard with a little message on it (so it won't be blank, but you'll have a little message from me and pretty picture to display).

New Postcards + Giveaway!

Please check out the latest spot I've been featured, at StopsWithMe. :D

Today UPS dropped off a small, but heavy box. I opened it and was thrilled to see that it was 500 postcards that I had ordered.

They turned out lovely. I am really happy with them. The glossy front feels so smooth and soft. Although I only had one of my images printed, I am already offering little sets of postcards in my etsy shop.


Want your own? Comment with your favourite word to describe my shop (and your etsy username, or your email - just some way for me to contact you), and you'll be entered to win your own small set of postcards, and an ACEO. Winner will be chosen on the 21st of May. You don't have to pick a different word than the ones already posted. Winner will be chosen randomly. :)

This giveaway is being promoted on WinCrafty - the place to find handmade giveaways.

this giveaway is now closed.

Thursday Night Favourites

Here are some beautiful items I have seen around etsy lately. I pick these once a week based off of what is most recent in my favourites. Click on the images to check out the item listing.

I love this photo a lot. This is the original Polaroid - a beautiful one-of-a-kind photograph. The colours muted, but powerful. And the shape of that hat is to die for. Definitely a favourite. Oh, how I wish I had lots of money to decorate my room with, as I would be picking at least one photograph from matchstickgirl's shop.



Sadly, I think most etsy vintage shops (that I've seen) have pretty bad taste (or really good taste, but they keep all the good stuff). However, GreyBrocket's etsy shop does not disappoint. You are sure to find pretty clothing, cute (bright) shoes, and lovely housewares. Plus, she has some great screen printed stuff, too!



Although I am not a huge fan of animals (very allergic) this puppy is too cute to ignore. It looks so timid and weak and adorable. The huge, far apart eyes are to die for. This is almost too much cuteness for one post. Plus, Susan Sabo (the photographer) donates 50% to whichever shelter the animal she has photographed is currently living.



Simple. Pretty. Sophisticated. The colours and composition of this beautiful little tea cup set is just lovely. The delicate little illustrations leave me feeling so warm and happy. Something I would love to have in my kitchen. Esther Coombs' work is something to keep an eye out for!

Chronicle 31 - Tomorrow

The Art Group (which I am a proud member of) over at Neosynthesis launched their 31st Chronicle entitled Tomorrow. Be sure to check out all the kickass art. Including my very simple collage, which I plan to put up for sale on etsy.

on the day you were born

(the penny in the centre has its year visible, which is 1991, the year I was born).

I am also working on designing some new business cards. I have come up with a very simple front, and on the back of the card I will have samples of my work. I'm happy with it, but feedback is always welcome.

Make French Bread with Madelaine

Click the photos for full-view.

I made this using my own modified version of a recipe from King Arthur Flour. Feel free to follow their version or mine. It has differences, but they're not drastically different.

Starter
make this the night before - can easily be done right before bed
1 ½ Cups White Bread Flour (or All Purpose Flour)
½ tsp. Active Dry Yeast (or instant yeast)
1 Cup Warm Water (around 100°F)

Place flour in a large bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Pour water in and mix together until creamy (it won't be dough, more like a thick batter). Cover with plastic and let sit out overnight.

Dough
1 Cup Warm Water (around 100°F)
¾ tsp. Active Dry Yeast (or ½ tsp. Instant Yeast)
1 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Cups Bread Flour (or All Purpose)
1 tsp. Salt

Add yeast, sugar and water to the starter (which will be puffy and bubbly) and mix. Add flour and salt (be sure to mix the salt with the flour a bit - as salt will kill yeast if mixes directly with it) and roughly mix. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Pour the dough (and extra flour left over in the bowl) onto your counter and knead together. This should take about ten minutes. Add a bit more flour if it's too sticky, or a bit of water if it's too dry. It should be smooth and elastic. Place in a very well-greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled - this can very greatly on the temperature of the room it's in.

After the dough has doubled, very gently remove it from the bowl and degas a bit (don't flatten or punch all the gas out), you don't half to actually do anything, as removing and cutting it will remove a good bit of the bubbles. Cut in half, and very gently form each into a loaf. Do this by pushing the sides around and to the back of the loaf and pinching or pressing very firmly together to make a seam. Place the loaf gently on a piece of parchment. Repeat for other loaf.

Put the loaves in a couche. You can make your own couche using a piece of fabric and some boxes (like little boxes of macaroni or crackers). Place the parchment on the cloth and push up the edges of the cloth and hold them there with on box on either side. Repeat for the other loaf. This will help the loaves rise up and not out - resulting in a loaf that has height and is not flat.

Let rise again until puffy, but not quite doubled. Slash top of loaves with razor blade (yes, it has to be that sharp) and dust with flour. Slide onto a cookie sheet (I put two loaves on one large airbake sheet) or baking stone. Bake in a preheated 475°F oven for 15 minutes, steaming four or five times. Reduce heat to 425° and bake for 20-30 minutes or until down (rich golden brown with an un-soggy bottom).

STEAM AT YOUR OWN RISK. To steam, pour hot water into an empty metal pan in the bottom of the oven or use a clean spray bottle with water to mist the oven. Be very careful not to hit the light bulb, the door or anything else that is glass - hot glass will shatter if any water hits it. Close the door immediately. Steaming is not recommended for some modern ovens, as steam can get into the electronics and mess up your oven. I have a modern oven and have been risking it, and nothing has gone wrong yet, just be careful. An alternative to steaming your oven is to spray your loaves with a bit of water (from a water spritzer) right before putting them in the oven. It won't have the same effect, but it will help.

Enjoy!

Book Cover!

I got a little notice in the mail a few days ago saying I had a package to sign for from Montréal. Not knowing anyone in Montréal, I was rather confused. It wasn't until I opened the package that I figured out who it was from: Marchand de Feuilles

And the bow I got was filled with these books! I am pleased to show off that I am now on a book cover. :D

I am not at all close to being fluent in French (I can read written French somewhat, and understand pretty much nothing when it's spoken), so it's pretty much impossible for me to read this. I am trying, though (it's pathetic, really)!

I am still glowing with excitement.

Also, the same piece that was on the book cover was featured on this blog. It has lots of interesting things to say about my image that you probably didn't know.

And now, your moment of zen.

Beach Stone Buttons by madeforfun

Starfish Choker by foundandmade


heart flags by CoriKindred

Tagged and Front Page Madness!

I was tagged by the lovely Heidi, so now I have to tell you 7 random or strange things about myself.

1. I'm extremely sensitive (perhaps allergic?) to coffee (but I can drink caffeine just fine). Coffee makes me feel shaky, sick and very nervous.

2. I have a fear of fish out of water.

3. I make one loaf of bread by hand (no mixer) every day (occasionally not a loaf, like buns or cinnamon buns instead) and am extremely passionate about bread making.

4. I take photos with my left eye because it's the only eye I can keep open with the other closed.

5. My most popular images were created when I was 15.

6. In two weeks, it is our (my boyfriend and myself) one-year anniversary.

7. Giraffes are my favourite animals.

Okay, since I don't really know any other bloggers, I'm just going to tag the first five people who read this. Haha. Post a link to your finished tagged thing to the comments.



Also, I was on the front page twice today. I cannot believe how lucky I am. Usually I am about as unlucky as a person can get, but not today. It resulted in a bunch of messages (enquiries!) and sales. Yay! It was so exciting and awesome, I just have to show off again. :D

Front Page - twice!

I made the front page twice recently! I'm very excited. Today, my very popular self-portrait, how i got my stutter, was featured on the front page. This beautiful treasury was created by an amazing painter, Julie Beck. It features twelve artists and their self-portraits. I think it's great in both idea and execution, and was on the front page for about an hour! To the left is one of my favourites by Julie, The Land.



Here is the other treasury that was featured on the front page recently (March 31st), by Spongetta. I love all the colour in this treasury, and once again, you can see my print featured on the bottom corner.

Be sure to check out her shop!

Olivia. Made by Tiddlywinks.

Some of you may remember my previous post about Olivia, my little lamb, made by the fabulous Tiddlywinks. I love her a lot, and last night I did a painting of her, and just thought it would be nice to share. It's not a very good scan of the image, so I'll replace it with a better version later.


I have to prepare for a gallery show I'm doing tomorrow (a month long thing), so I should get back to framing... I'll post some pictures of my art once it's framed and hanging in the little store. I'm pretty excited!

New Photos & Roberto!

Here are some new (technically old) images I've been working on. They're all from October 4th of 2006 (back when I was 15). My dear friend, Roberto, and I went for a drive to take photos of whatever we thought was interesting. We arrived at an overlook, and next to it was this cliff that had a sign that said somethign like: "Proceed at your own Risk. Experienced Climbers Only." Well, of course we just had to go there, there was no way Roberto and I were going to miss out on something that said "at your own risk". We were soon at the bottom of the mountain, at this river. Just upstream is a tourist attraction, a pretty big waterfall, so it was cool to be so close to it without breaking any rules. This first one is called "Once Upon a Time", and is a long exposure image.

I did have my tripod with me, but I lent it to Roberto who went downstream for a bit to get some shots, so I used a boulder in the river and my coat to rest my camera on. Surprisingly, it stayed still long enough for me to get some decent shots. This second one is called "Ever After" and is (obviously) the second in the series. I simply pointed my camera to face upstream for this second shot, and it is one of my favourites to date. I am very glad I looked through the folder again today, and rediscovered it.

This one was actually one of the first ones I took. Roberto and I play soccer together, so we we were driving away, and paused for me to take this and him to get a shot in the moon (not shown in my photo) with his 200mm lens. This particular image is actually a mixture of two (like HDR), I took one image for the sky and one for the ground, so I could have a very broad range of tones and colour. I, personally, think it looks awesome.

And lastly, here's a photo of Roberto I got in November that year. We went climbing that day (and on a photo shoot, as usual). Beyond being my photography partner, he loves to climb a lot, and is a tattoo artist! You can see one of tattoos on his arm in this photo. Currently Roberto is back home, in Mexico, but I eagerly await his return. :D

Business Card Designs - Part III

Tuscaloosa was my first card design client. She wanted a vintage-like theme with a flower and cowboy boots (to fit the theme in her shop). I wasn't able to make cowboy boots work (though I was willing to try more images), I showed her a proof with one of her necklaces on it instead and after one revision (adding stuff, moving stuff, etc.) she approve the image and it was sent to be printed.

The business card design printed beautifully with a smooth matte finish. I took the sample photo late at night, with poor lighting, so the photo is of pretty poor quality, but I was very happy with how they turned out.


Swan Mountain Soaps was my second business card design client. My first proof wasn't so hot, but after lots of great feedback, I was able to create the card Christina had in mind.

She wanted it to be a bit like my business cards, a luxurious, green almost vintage/Victorian look, so I got to work. Using some handwritten and paper textures, I created a card much like my own, without just dragging the same background for her card (I like to build stuff from scratch).

The beautiful swirled soaps were a perfect item to be placed in the middle of this card. The colours of the soap are bold and bright, and pop just perfectly — sure to catch the attention of her customers.

I created a matching back (which lined up perfectly with the front) with her contact info. The printed cards were amazing, also with a smooth matte finish. I'm sure she'll enjoy showing these off!


Stay tuned for more card designs! Feel free to inquire about pricing for your own custom business cards (starting at $35.00), by contacting me though etsy, or emailing me: madelaine.etsy@gmail.com

Featured Artist: emilyday

I discovered this artist quite some time ago using the Pounce (undiscovered) Feature. I have returned to her shop to be surprised that she still has not had any sales. Instead of waiting for my funds to build up to be able to buy them for myself (at those prices, how could anyone resist?!), I have decided to show you all my lovely little discovery, Miss Emily Day.

Emily is a fantastic photographer with very dramatic self-portraits.

"i'm gonna die alone and sad" is a well-composed, stark image. The lighting is strong, but soft at the same time. Black and white with red ribbon is a favourite of mine in photography. It allows for very nice contrasting, especially good for dramatic, conceptual work. If I were you, I would most certainly display this image next to my own work The Fall.

One thing I adore about her work is that there is not a face in sight! (well, half a face here and there). It makes her work ever so mysterious. I am very excited to see more of her images as she evolves in her shop and as an artist.


"who do you work for baby" features a lone, delicate, vulnerable figure in the midst of snow flakes and snow-covered evergreen trees. Being not appropriately dressed for such weather gives a nice emotional impact on the viewer, evoking feelings of both wonder and concern.

Emily's work is truly beautiful (and lonely sitting there in her shop). Go forth and conquer all there is to be had. Her prices are great (too low, in my opinion). Not your style? Well, I am certain there is someone in your life whose style that is, and everybody love gifts. Please go show your support for this new, undiscovered Etsian Artist.

Business Card Designs - Part II

Here is more from the thread I started for people volunteering their shops for me to make sample business cards out of.

The Radical Thread Co. is the new name of my mom's business/shop. She's going to get juried to get into a very big gallery in our state (full of grants and other opportunities), so she needed me to make her some business cards, for some essential shop branding. I started off with a nice fabric texture, to help portray the fact that she's a textile artist. I used some images of her appliqués directly from her etsy shop, for some tiny samples of what she does. I used trees because they give off the the impression of "green", which is a big part of her shop, as she upcycles her fabrics and recycles her packaging.


LittleLovables volunteered herself in my thread, which was very excited, because of love her little felt deer! Her shop is bright and girly, so I settled on a rather simple, pink and white polka dot background. Two of her felt deer were arranged to create a sort of frame around her shop name. "Little" was made with a simple, petite, almost childish font and "lovables" with a curvy, sweet, sort of romantic font. The purpose of this was to visually represent exactly what the words mean.

More designs to come, once approved by my latest clients!

Business Card Designs - Part I

Several Etsy users were kind enough to let me use their shop name and photos to create these sample business card designs! More to come, feel free to post in my Etsy thread.

Brittain Road Designs has very clear images — hand sewn designs on white clothings — that were super easy to work with. I loved this little whale, and later decided I should include another sample of her work on the card. And so I gave the little guy some delicious ice cream. Another version I did is a little monkey with a cupcake!

If you need some clothing for little ones (friends' baby, younger sibling, your own child, etc.), Brittain Road Designs should definitely be on your list for Etsy stops!


Jeanette of Vessels & Wares makes some very pretty (and fancy) designs. I bought several plates and a tea cup and saucer from her in December, she was extremely helpful and communicative.

I was very excited to see that she had volunteered in my thread, as I am (obviously) a fan of her work, and her photos are so clean and sharp, they're a joy to work with. It was very easy to make one of her product shots into a dramatic business card buyers and potential customers would love to receive.

The font was a lucky find in my collection. I have collected about hundred fonts from around the internet that are free to use in commercial work (it's too much work to keep track of which ones I can and can't use commercially). This one had a perfect tall style to it, which I think fits perfectly.



Rebecca Hanna of hoorah, is a fabulous ink and watercolor artist with simple, retro and very refined pieces. Again, a portrait-orientation business card. I seem to really prefer making them this way.

I wanted to leave a lot of dead space to allow the card to properly portray her style (in another version, I left out the boat-making instructions). I was sure to include nice texture on the card, as textures are a very important part making art.

The text on this sample is one of my favourites — very simple and retrained. I only used one font, and think that it turned out excellently. I integrated it into the paper's texture to make it look slightly faded and not stick out lie someone simply typed over the image of her work.

Thank you for all the great feedback on my last post! And thanks again to all who've volunteered so far. If you like my style and want some custom made business card, feel free to convo me on etsy, or send me an email: madelaine.etsy@gmail.com

Featured Etsy Purchase and Artist: Olivia from Tiddlywinks

I got a little lamb for Christmas, who I've since named "Olivia". She was made by Scottie of Tiddlywinks.

I have fallen madly in love with my adorable little Olivia. She's super soft, adorable and the perfect size to delicately hold. I have not slept one night without her since the first day I got her. The night before my SAT (exam needed to get into college) I couldn't sleep at all, and then I remembered that Olivia was sitting on my desk, I got her, and once back in bed I went to sleep so quickly (and later did excellent on my SATs, and accepted into the school I wanted). She is lovely and keeps me very happy.


So far she's traveled to New York, which was lots of fun, because she got to stay in a very old New York apartment. and walked around the block with me, tucked in my coat to stay warm.

Silas (my younger brother), who used to hate Olivia, recently has decided to like her, and even sneaked into my room to put this little sweater on her. Here is proudly showing me what he's done, as he sits on my stairs. He was very excited that his adventure was worthy of a polaroid photo (he knows they're very special because I only have a limited amount of film left).


This is a photograph I took of her sitting on a chair next to my boyfriend's window. I brought her with me to his farm and one afternoon the sun came through the window as beautiful as it always does, so I sat Olivia up on the chair next to our bed and was able to capture this beautiful moment. The sun was so pretty on her, although you can see her worn-out (but still soft) fur.

She's sitting on a beautiful tank top made by Max Studio, which I got for 50¢ at a thrift store (I don't think it was even ever worn).


You can get your own lamb or other lovely little pet from Tiddywinks — even one custom made out of fabric that has sentimental value (wedding dress, baby blanket, boy/girlfriend's shirt, etc.)

This little lady is already made and ready to go, and is available for sale in the Tiddlywinks Etsy Shop! There are tons of little to choose from, and make perfect gifts for yourself, kids or friends!

If you can't afford one, but love them nonetheless, be sure to regular the Tiddlywinks blog, as she gives one away every week!