Yeah! I am so excited to have the opportunity from Liana at Mixed Plate to be a guest blogger. If you haven't visited Mixed Plate be sure to check out all the wonderfulness. Here a partial of my "guest blog". To see it all visit Mixed Plate.

Guest Star Blogger: Amy Steinberg

Thursday, August 30, 2007

"Another week, another great Guest Star Blogger! This fun gal came up with an idea that I’m sure you’ll all enjoy. It’s time for us to get an education. Yes, we’re all being treated to vocabulary lesson. Our Guest felt that “Mixed Plate is all about the independent spirit in us”. So she has come up with “5 new indie words and definitions that define some of us in the indie community.” Awesome! Get your pencils and paper ready…

Word: EtsyaholicDefinition:

A person who checks the Etsy home page first thing in the morning to see the “Hand Picked Items” of the day and then continues to check back at least once an hour throughout the day to see “Recently Listed Items”. When’s the last time you were on Etsy?Current Favorite Item on Etsy: Cupid’s Revenge Original Painting by A Fanciful Twist

Word: Indie-Blogaholic

Definition: A person who has at least 5 indie art/design blogs they read daily.Current Favorite Blog: Mixed Plate & Charming Sam. Other favorites: Anything Indie, Wickedly Chic

Word: Indie-Artaholic

Definition: A person who owns at least 44 items from independent artists.Current Covetable Piece of Art: Veiled Voodoo Hissy Fit on Canvas by Fain Hancock

Word: Alchemist-aholic

Definition: A person who has at least two drawers full of bath and body products from independent bath/body companies and uses them 1/2 dozen times a day.

Favorite Alchemist: mi SPA Favorite Scents: “yuzu & sake”

Word: Newsletter-aholic

Definition: A person who subscribes to more than 20 newsletters from independent artists, crafters, designers, etc. AND, reads them ravenously as each one comes through email.Favorite Newsletter: Kids Craft Weekly "

Over the last couple of months I've been on a porcelain kick. Not the porcelain you remember from when you were a kid but updated with contemporary patterns and used for various things. I especially love Katie Parker and still have a box un-opened with a porcelain and paper art piece I need to hang.

Anyway, I found Rosanna today and am a smitten kitten over these beautiful pieces of porcelain. This grouping is called "Party Raffle". Reminds me that I need to get my Lazertran out and start practicing. My plan is to have new plates by the holidays and using my own design. I'm also planning on painting my bathroom with a Bodhi tree.... we'll see.

While surfing the other day I ran across a portrait of "Frannie" Benjamin. I'd never heard of her before but the photograph grabbed my attention, especially the caption. "Frances Benjamin Johnston, full-length portrait, seated in front of fireplace, facing left, holding cigarette in one hand and a beer stein in the other, in her Washington, D.C. studio, 1896."

Uhhhhh....???? 1896? Beer stein? Cigarette? Did they say 1896 or 1996?

I am also intrigued by the statue or whatever that thing is to the right of the photograph on the table. What is it? Check out all the photographs of men on her mantle? Yes, she was one of the earliest female photo journalist and it seems she was pretty spunky too. Learn more about her on Wikipedia.

I learn something new every day!

I am loving this blog, this artist, this Misty Mawn. Her artwork is so beautiful and her tender writing about her family, herself and her art are really inspiring. Take a peek in to her world, I promise you will love it.

I'm late posting today but for good reason. I am swamped! So, just a couple of quick things you probably already know about but worth mentioning any way.

1) The new September issue of Domino is out. I bought mine but haven't had a chance to read it yet. A Conde Nast publication (Lucky Magazine).

2) The new issue of Blueprint is out. Still haven't read it but I have it. *Note a Martha Stewart Publication.

3) The new issue of RealSimple is out. I have always been attracted to the magazine but when I buy it I'm usually disappointed with the insides. However, the last couple of months have been a marked improvement. I still haven't put my finger on the "why?" but none the less I'm liking it better. Did you know it is the #1 womens selling magazine in the USA?

Where was this when I was younger and clubbing every night? I use to carry my ID and money in my shoe. I didn't want to carry a purse and I only needed $20 a night because I figured I could get somebody to buy me drinks. Yes, it is true.

Anyway, back to this belt buckle. This is cool. I wonder if it would hold my daughters Bob the Builder and Wendy? Inevitably I get stuck carrying these little gems and I don't carry a purse. I have this great clip on bag that clips to a belt buckle and swings around. See, no hands!

Made from artist Peachcult and only sells for $35.00. Way, way cooler then a purse.

Happy Friday!

There is really no way to explain this site. You have to experience it. Take some time, grab a cup of tea and enjoy the artistry. And if you are feeling especially productive maybe just join in.

Visit http://artwordsclan.blogspot.com/

A good top/sweater/blouse is hard to find anymore. Something roomy but not huge. Soft but not so thin you are freezing. I found this cute store from designer TreeHouse28 full of great designs that look like they are very comfortable.

This top in particular is cute and TreeHouse28 makes each piece to fit your measurements which is even better. There is also a great selection of colors from brown, blue, red, grey, etc.

So here is a great blog from Michelle Ward that you'll never have enough time to read EVERYTHING. Seriously, I've had this site on my list to read for months and every time I go see what's new I get sucked in for like hours!!!! Hours!!

She blogs about her art, other peoples art, rubber (as in rubber stamps!), stencils, chewing gum, tags, journals and just about everything else you can think of related to arts, crafts...etc.

Just a couple months up on Etsy and I found this great artist going by the shop name Filifyonka. Artist is Marina Arber and this great Eggplant with gold walnuts - original painting is really interesting. Beautiful and interesting. She has more wonderful work in her Etsy store so be sure to check her out.

Each week founders Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea'la Finch pick a tiny piece of artwork and turn it into a limited-run print production for Tiny Showcase. Artists of all kinds have been represented on the site and you can then buy your own piece of tiny art.

Each run is printed on 310gsm acid-free Hahnemühle German Etching Paper. It's UltraChrome ink is specially treated and sprayed, giving it an archival lifespan of over 60 years.

Here you can see all the pieces currently available and it looks like each print runs $20 each with a portion going to the artists choice of charities. (extra cool!) I chose my favorite piece in the available art section from Justin Williams called "Still Life".

Encaustic painting is one of my very, very favorite art forms and artist Ann Baldwin is a master encaustic painter. The painting shown here is an 8"x10" encaustic called "Gill Sans". This is just so beautiful with the multiple layers and complimentary colors.

Ann has many more encaustics you can see here and several galleries of mixed media work here. She has has instructional DVD's, tips & techniques, and other stuff to learn and be inspired from.

We all have our vices and while I have MANY knitting is not one of them. However, Crazy Aunt Purl is a recent vice that Liz over at Wickedly Chic turned me on to. I laughed very loud and boisterously the first time I visited Crazy Aunt Purl just because the tag line is so funny, "The true life diary of a thirty-something, newly divorced, displaced Southern obsessive-compulsive knitter who has four cats. (Because nothing is sexier than a divorced woman with four cats.)"

Back to the knitting. Crazy Aunt Purl while she is very funny she is also a knitter and has a couple of what look like great knitting patterns. So for those of you who are the knitter types enjoy the Magic Scarf and the Easy Roll-Brim Hat.

For those of you who aren't knitters I highly recommend spending an hour reading some of her posts. She is HILARIOUS!

Mmmmm....I love finding new inspiring sites on the Internet and today I ran across this lovely little site called Sadie Olive. I am in love with the beautiful journals handmade from vintage book covers, ephemera and other lovely tidbits. However one wouldn't want to stop there because you still have home decor, flea market, kitchen and trinkets to rummage through. This vintagy Parisian sign has my name all over it (you can find yours in the Home Decor section). Must order. .... must order! And for my mom, this doll. Somehow I just think she'll love it.

Cheers!

Amy

Phaidon Color Library Series: This is a really cool set of art books for any library. While the $398 for the whole set is a bit spendy for the starving artist you do have the option of buying them one at a time at Amazon or any of the big booksellers. I might just have to pop on down to my local book store to check them out.

The whole set is available at Auto which also has all kinds of wonderful bedding, bath, jewelry, etc.

Last day of my resources week. Today it is a site called Beads & Pieces. Just like it sounds ---- beads and lots and lots of pieces.

They have a great selection of natural beads such as coconut shell, wood and horn. I buy from them often and they are fast and the products are always nice. I like this new item they have in the banana wood bead section. Pretty heart and just seems so natural.

Happy Friday, happy shopping and see you next week!

Amy

Yikes! How did it get to be Thursday? Today is day 4 in my week of resources for you artsy, crafty, jewelry, artists, etc.

Recently I found Paper Studio and while I haven't had time to order anything yet I do have quite a few things tabbed for purchase. They have TONS of paper --- and I mean TONS of paper and design and color and print...and, and, and....

I'm personally groovin' on the flocked paper. It reminds me of this wallpaper at a pizza parlor we went to when I was a kid. In retrospect I'm not sure why the pizza place had flocked red and gold wall paper but whatever. The black and white print shown here recyled paper in a flocked velvet floral. I say paste it to the ceiling!!!

They also link you to Craft TV Weekly and you can see Judy from Judikins demonstrate a way cool wax resist project. Watch online at http://www.crafttvweekly.com/

And for you jewelry artists they have a few items including memory frames, pendant trays and this great starter kit to create your own pendants is available here.

Have fun!

Day 3 of my week of resources. In my mind I use to think of stencils as well....sort of lame. (Yes, I used the word "lame".) However, over the last five years I've incorporated many stencils in to my own art work. Sometimes I draw and cut my own stencils and sometimes I buy stencils. A great company for a wide range of stencils is Stencil Ease. I could probably find the same things on eBay for less but I like this site because of the wide range of styles, ideas on how to use their stencils and specific design ideas.

They have stencils for walls, sculpture 3-D stencils, scrapbooking stencils, paints, etc.

In particular I like the idea for this armoir. I've been thinking about re-doing my kitchen cabinets and while I wouldn't want to do this on the face of every cabinet it could be interesting in select places.

If you are looking for a resource for something post a comment and I might just have it. You wouldn't believe how many links to all kinds of crazy stuff I keep.

Cheers!

Day 2 of resources for you crafty folks. Todays post is really more for jewelry makers but I recommend Earthstone for the exceptional range of choices for gemstones. Also, if you are looking for something specific give them a call. Chances are they have it in stock just not on the website. Earthstone also goes to a lot of local gem/mineral shows and I recommend checking out the selection in person too.

One note though. Earthstone is not always the cheapest. But the product is always exceptional in quality and they have great customer service. Both of which are worth the little extra you may have to pay. The strand shown in this post is gorgeous and for only $1,900 you too can have this Imperial Topaz.

Have fun!

I'm going to try and dedicate this week to resources for artists and jewelry makers. I will however warn you that my posts may be sporadic over the next two weeks. I am in the process of moving my home, office and studio. Technically they are one in the same but still lots of stuff to organize and move.

I found Volcano Arts in one of my art magazines this weekend and after cruising the site am pleased to see they have some hard to find bits and pieces for various types of creative endeavors.

Whether you are in to metalsmithing, book binding, soldering, papers or whatever it seems Volcano Arts has a bit of it all. Because I am starting to learn more about metalsmithing I found this booklet about coloring base metals to be especially interesting. It is called Coloring Base Metals: A Practical Guide by Christine Cox and available on this page.

The other artsy crafty technique I've been wanting to learn for jewelry making is soldering. Thus, the free booklet they provide to learn how to solder like a pro is very interesting. You can check it out in PDF format here.

Enjoy all the interesting stuff!

An amazing artist I found exhibiting in Asheville, NC is Suzanne Stryk. I'm not sure that the web pictures really do her work justice and if you ever get the chance you should really get to an exhibit of hers.

Her website can be visited here and if you can enlarge the pieces and look at the detail in the backgrounds and within the objects. Truly beautiful. She is an inspiration for those of us who wish to have this type of technical grace and beauty in our work.

Hmmmmm? I am sort of transfixed by the idea of this bento box as art. This is from artist and designer Ippolita who also has a fine jewelry line and pieces for the home.

But a bento box as art? Bento box with found objects? Bento box with a different little piece of art work from a different artist in each compartment....could be interesting!

Generally I leave it to OhJoy! or Decor8 to the interiors but today I found this magnificent light fixture from Circa Lighting. It is called "Armillary Sphere Chandelier". So interesting and different from most of what you see.

I almost can't imagine a space that this wouldn't go in to. I also think it is inspirational....makes me want to do an old world piece of art with globes, time pieces, arrows......

Enjoy.