LizzyHouse

I was sick all night!

have you seen National Velvet? Starring a young Elizabeth Taylor? Well, her little brother, in the film, at the table for breakfast says, "I was sick all night!"

mom: you were not

boy: I WAS! I was sick all night!

but he says it more like "sickall! night!"

that has been a long running line in our family, if you are sick than you say that.

well, I've been really sick for a little bit now, and I feel like for me that equals short term memory loss, no appetite, 18 hours of sleep a day that's still not enough, as well as a really hard time getting anything done. Plus it's hard to be sick when you are on your own. It's like everything explodes.

But I will say this, I am getting better at not punishing myself for resting, and also, continuing to honor what my body is asking for. And I guess since I hadn't eaten in a while (strict diet of tea), it was asking for calories. And this is how I responded....

I picked up a whole grain pizza dough from Whole Foods (it's awesome!) and topped it with a smidge of fresh mozzarella, a roma tomato, 2 fresh eggs, and little specks of butter. I don't think that dairy is necessarily the best choice right now since I am so congested, but when I am sick, I feel allergic to nuts... where is normally where I would get my calories.

I added a few mushrooms before I baked it, and then I let It do It's thing. I didn't want the yolks to cook, but I was on the phone and I let it go a minute longer than I would have liked. Still good. Before I ate it, I covered the whole thing in pea sprouts. Sprouts of the gods. If you are in SLC the South East Asian market carries them.

Just a few bites really did it for me, and with a cup of blood orange tea, I am ready to sleep away the afternoon... as soon as I get a little laundry done. It's a shame that things still move around you, even when you are brought to a halt.

Also, are any of my Canadian peeps into the show Being Erica? I've been obsessed with it for the past week. I just finished the 3rd season and I really hope it gets picked up for a 4th. It's currently on Hulu, and I love Dr. Tom. I wish I could do time travel therapy.

so for all of you sickies, feel better soon. And for all of you caring for sickies, bless you.

On a little lighter note...

I posted some fabric in my pattern shop.

There is half a yard of this beauty available... printed special from Spoonflower for the celebrity smackdown. Talk about collectors edition!

thanks peeps, this immediately sold after I posted it. I will look into printing more... and more things with the design.

Also, I have listed some Castle Peeps Fat Quarter bundles. It's a shame that it has already become hard(ish) to find.... seeing as how it has only been alive since June. And let's just say that its going to be a good thing to have one of these sets around when 1001 Peeps roll into town...

I'll leave it at that. For now

But WAIT! My heart just grew a heart size bigger. Buy 2 patterns from the shop, and get a free embroidery pattern. Just send me a little note about which one you want. Ok?

update! Everything in my etsy shop must go. The old stuff is holding me back... SO buy one get one free of the tiny prints, and 10% off large prints. When you order a small one, just specify which other one you want also in buyer comments. Alright alright alright!

have a great week peeps! I know I will! I get to play with Marisa for a couple of days! 

Creative Abandon

I have been thinking about a lot of things lately... a lot of it is the work I have been doing in my mind to shift back to fine art from my commercial art. I found out that there is a printmaking studio a block away from my house, and I am excited and nervous to start printing again.

Also, Betz wrote a really great post about choosing a word for the year, and so I am choosing mine. Abandon.

It might seem odd. It might seem really odd. But I have realized that there are quite a few things that I have held onto from my past that continue to hold me back. Most of which of which involve fear. The fear of not doing enough. The fear of failure. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of being forgotten. The fear of staying... and so on. But I realize that these are self imposed. And I as continue on in my life, that these things have become walls. Shackles to a false structure.

It's really been this way since I was a little kid. All my siblings would play, and I could not allow myself to. I was never good at playing, and I find that there is very little play OR abandon in my work. I could NEVER color outside of the lines, and I have come to find that it is holding me back. I can act from a script but I am terrible at improv, knowing full well the rules.

I want to live with more abandon. I want to let go. That doesn't mean anything like losing my religion. It means to shake off these things that I weigh myself down with. I won't allow these things to make me up.

And if I do? What will I have? What kind of freedom will that give me?

My hopes are that it will loosen up my work. My work seems to follow these invisible lines that I subconsciously put on the page/ the screen/ the plate/ the fabric. Are these permanent lines? Are they inherent? I feel like everything I do has a buttoned collar, and I think if all of my weirdness were coupled with a little more abandon that I could really be on to something.

so am I just a structured person, or do I take myself too seriously? I don't know if one has anything to do with the other, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they do. 

Nate Williams's work was like a wake up call to me this morning. It helped me realize that this is an actual thing in my life. Helen Dardik is another great example. There is a lot curiousity and discorvery. Maybe this feeling in their work has something to do, also, with my love for Paul Klee and a lot of Picasso. They all contain a certain sense of abandonment that I am seeking in my little life. AND KNOW! that I am not by any means saying that there work is without structure or an incredible amount of skill, it's just a very different grid than the one I operate from, and I want to know if I can cross over.

Can I acheive creative abandon in 2011? Or is this structure an actual permanent part of me?

So each week for the rest of the year, I am going to try and do a project, or a piece with as much abandon as this square can manage.

here's a funny video involving a different kind of abandon...

How is your abandon? Are you an in the lines or outside the lines kind of person? Is it permanent? or is it something you can move in and out of?

Squam Art Workshops

I have been thinking about the heart a lot lately, and our capacity as human beings to love, share, care, grow, become, evolve, forgive, overcome, forget, and hold onto the nouns (people, places and things) that we come across in our lives.

I have traveled to lots of places in my life thus far, and when it comes to the places I have been, I feel like I have on occasion left a little piece of my heart there... and somehow it connects me to it, like a direct line to Rexburg, Brussels, Nuchatel, our house in Texas, and for the past 2 years, Holderness, New Hampshire, but more specifically Squam Art Workshops. A little portion of my heart stays there.

There are so many people and moments that contribute to it meaning so much, so much so that I, emotional robot Lizzy, am able to so completely open up to it.

Maybe you need that same chance open up too. Maybe you need to recharge your batteries. Maybe you need to be able to find a little piece of yourself at Squam in June, so you can take with you that clarified, creative, loving, evolving, growing, forgiving piece of yourself you are so fully given the opportunity to strengthen when you are there.Or maybe you're just looking for a good time...

It has been such an incredible moving experience each year, and I think everyone deserves a bit of that. So, won't you come spend the beginning of June in New Hampshire, next to a lake, to be serenaded by the incredible Jonatha Brooke, to eat icecream for breakfast (not me..) and taught dream classes by dream teachers? That is where I will be, anyway...

Registration opened on the 2nd, so hurry on over and see what's available.

These are the classes that I will be offering:

Champion Ribbons

Be a champion! Create champion, first place, number one, best peep of all time, ribbons!

With simple hand sewing skills, ribbon folding techniques, and beautiful champion ribbon making ingredients create beautiful awards for yourself and for your loved ones, so you can be a winner every day!

Kit Fee: $0

Materials List:

Buttons
needle and thread
corsage pins
various ribbons wool felt
*I will have little rolls of fancy ribbon from my stash for sale.

 

Mini-Quilt Class

Create a quilt in a day!

For beginners or seasoned trick sewers learn and use skills for quilting, to create a mini quilt. No patterns needed just a love and desire to create a quilted piece of art! Express yourself through textiles!

All levels welcome.

Kit Fee: $0

Materials List:

Sewing Machine*
Cutting tools: scissors, mat, rotary cutter
glass headed pins
4 fat quarters of your favorite fabric
matching thread
iron*

*some of these items will be available at SAW- please contact us directly if you should need one

Block Printing

Have you always wanted to create your own prints on fabric but weren't entirely sure where to start? Then this class is for you.

Together we will explore the basic ways to carve a block that can be used for printing fabric or paper. In addition, we will learn how to successfully print with them to create beautiful home textile prints. This class will give you a new skill to use for the rest of your life!

All levels are welcome.

Kit Fee: $0

Materials List:

Ink (oil based relief ink)
brayer
palette knife
linoleum block
carving tools
glass for rolling out ink
piece of craft foam
fabric for printing
hair dryer to heat set fabric

back to the analogy... I think our metephorical hearts are either limitless, or regenerating... because I've left pieces of it all over the place... and I'm alright. Come to Squam.

 

 

 

Textile Design Coaching!

here's some of my new news!

A year ago, minus a few days I released How To Enter the World of Textile Design.

I have been continuously overwhelmed by the incredible response. Almost every week I have received at least one email that brings tears to my eyes, because of the peace and relief that finding it, and reading it has brought to the writer. Which is why I decided to do it, because I didn't want anyone to be as lost or frustrated as I was when I first started down this road.

To build on this foundation of coaching and mentoring I have decided to start doing Textile Design for the Quilting industry Coaching. The book is general knowledge of how to get started down this path, but it can't answer your personal, individual questions. So this is the next step.

That's right, the Doctor is in for all your beginning woes! From the very beginning of where do I start, to the very end, who should I show? I'm available, and there are success stories to prove my sweet skills and hard won knowledge.

There are three possible packages!

You are new, and you don't even know where to begin, OR if you really even want to begin! The Novice is for you.   

The Novice package includes a 30 minute phone or skype conversation about the industry. What are you looking for? What are your goals? What kind of career do you want? What do you want to accomplish? 

I'm an insider, and I've asked all the questions! So let's turn all my spilt milk, stolen lunch money, and pies in the face into your success.

You are on your way. You have produced patterns for a collection but want a professional opinion before you start submitting it to art directors with manufacturers. The Crackerjack is for you.

With the Crackerjack package you will be given homework! A list of questions for you to have answered prior to when we start our session. You will also be given a rubric of how the critique will break down, so you know ahead of time the things that I will be looking for. 20 minutes before the session you will email me pdfs of your work so I have plenty of time to get familiar with the work we will be discussing. The session includes my personal 20 minute review, and an hour discussion via skype.

As someone who has had hundreds of hours of critics professionally and academically, I know not only what art directors are looking for, but I have a keen eye for spotting holes, redundancies, and details as well spotting nuances and characteristics that should be buoyed up.

You mean BUSINESS! You want everything that the Crackerjack wants, but you want to check back in after you have made corrections for a final review.

With the Brass Tacks, you get everything that the Crackerjack package includes with a one hour follow up session. You will re-answer your homework questions, because answers might have changed, and you will again send your work in 20 minutes prior to the second session for review, and for one hour we will discuss changes, as well as the direction you plan on taking. Based on your work, I can give you pointers about who might be the most receptive to your work, ideas, and path. We will also discuss how you plan on presenting your work, and make a plan of action.

It is important that you have read the ebook before you choose the Crackerjack or the Brass Tacks packages, so that you have a foundation already. That way I'm not just reading you the book out loud during our time! It will allow us to build and discuss further from what the book covers.

It is not necessary to have read the book for the Novice package, but recommended.

so, if you are ready to take the steps towards becoming a fabric designer in the Quilting industry

if you are ready to get serious

if you are ready for some honesty (my best policy)

then let me coach you towards a contract!

Email me for questions and pricing! {lizzybeehouse(at)gmail(dot)com}

on focus.

I decided that this will be the year that I focus:

the year that I stop playing at business and start really building

the year that I stop dreaming about my future and make it my present

the year that I stop thinking about making something and I just sit down and make it

the year that I write a book for a major publisher

the year that I stop waiting for anything or person to validate my work/ life/ career.

I think that we tend to forget just how much control we have over our lives because we are constantly presented with situations that we feel are out of our control. Also we feel like there just isn't any time to get anything done.

So what are some things that we can do to take our time back?

For me this means ridding my life of distractions. When I realize that something is contributing to the void, I'm going to zap it.

Netflix, gone. Deleted my account yesterday, and YOU ALL KNOW how much I love Netflix. But instant play was keeping me from my own thoughts, and keeping me from getting to sleep.

Facebook, almost gone. But no more Zuma OR Bejeweled Blitz. Someone, for once in their life, might have a chance of beating my scores.

Twitter... we're gonna walk a fine line. It's one of those things that I feel so attached to so I am constantly checking it. I need to give myself a twitter schedule.

And anything else that crosses my busy little path, it's gonna get zapped.

So there you have it. This year is going to be a good year, because it isn't allowed to be anything else.

What say ye?

ps. still some news to come later today...

 

The Makerie!

I am so excited about my schedule this year. If you have been with me for any length of time, you know how hard it is for me to be in one place for too long... I finally found my passport, and it doesn't expire until June and it has me itching to leave. So this is the life for me. A new city each month. If we can get it to every other week, I'll be beside myself.

But I am so thrilled to share with you the retreats and workshops that I get to teach at this year. The first of which is what I am calling my pattern master class at PNCA in March. To be followed by, what I can only imagine as a dream come true, The Makerie in Boulder Colorado, April 8-10th!

I met Ali, who has carefully and lovingly put together the Makerie, in 2009. She is one of those people that I instantly had a great deal of love for and when she wrote to me and told me she was putting together a retreat, I was just elated and grateful to be a part of her dream and her care for her community... but honestly, the location is what pushed me over the edge into the canyon of yes absolutey. It always is! Look at this place! It's like a dream! Add such a beautiful setting, and such a beautiful mix of people seeking openess, inspiration and creativity, and there just isn't a way for it to go wrong. Not one single way.

So I'm so excited. I'll be teaching Pattern Design, and block printing for fabric. It's something that is getting me through these cold cold days in a drafty apartment, just thinking about the great things that will happen in Boulder Colorado the second weekend in April. Thinking of the peeps that will be there... the organic food, the morning yoga, the late night talks that will surely ensue with people I have not yet met.

I took a fifteen minute break from this post to try and think of some words... but I couldn't think of anything. The idea of the whole thing just makes me feel happy and like I can see the sunlight and feel the warmth of it all. The whole thing puts me in a dream state, and makes me feel like a different person. Like writing an email after getting out of a Shakespeare class... sounds like someone else wrote it.

And as if the retreat itself weren't enough, there is going to be a fantastic art market in conjunction with Firefly Handmade

AND AS IF all of this still weren't enough? How about a party with the fantastic Fancy Tiger girls and me? At Fancy Tiger in Denver... details to follow, obviously.

Soon to follow... some exciting news on Monday, and better still some words about Squam this year, or rather, "I left my heart in New Hampshire".

If you want to read a very silly interview I did for the Makerie blog, click here!

first....

I have a lot of things to post about. 2 of those things being up coming beautiful fantastic Art Workshops that I am teaching at, that I can't wait to tell you about, and my goals for the new year... and so on. So lots of things, but before I can do any of that, I need to tell you about my friend Preston.

Preston has been my friend since the winter of 2005. He has always been like an older brother offering support and advice that no one else would give, and I know that both my sister Ashlee and I, could not be more grateful that he has been in our lives for this long.

Preston is also one of the hardest workers I know, and he also happens to be one of the crazyiest, wildest, most talented musicians that I know, and we all knew that his success and career were just strictly based on his decision to make it happen. Well, he's making it happen... I think he played 200 something shows last year all over the country... he has 60 planned before March this year... I am constantly impressed by his dedication. But that's just Preston.

So, he is putting out an album, and you get to be his record label. I had never heard of the site KickStarter, but am now so impressed, and eager to help others fulfill there funding requirements that I wanted to pass on the information. Preston is almost at his goal, and it would be shame if he didn't make it, because he is so worth it, and the music that he will be able to produce is so worth it.

So maybe you can help a brother out.

I can't think of a better way to start out the new year than by contributing to someone else's dream!

if everyone gave $10 then not only would you get a digital copy of the cd, but P-Town would meet his goal before the deadline in 3 days!

Can you imagine all that we can get done if we work together like this?

happy new year, love Lizzy