Meet my friend Shana Rainey!

 

Happy Friday pals!  Hope you are all doing great and enjoying the summer so far!  Just popping in to say "here's someone you should know about!"  My sweet friend, Shana!  She and I met a few years ago while both exhibiting in the same art show.  She claimed that she had been "stalking" me online....ha!  We became instant friends.  She's one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  And one of the hardest workers I've ever met.  Ever.  I was able to get her to sit still for a few minutes and answer a few interview questions for me.....enjoy!  

1.)    Hi Shana!  Thanks so much for doing this with me!  First off, can you tell my friends a little bit about yourself and what you do?   Hi Dori!!  I am honored that you asked me to do an interview with you.  My name is Shana Rainey.  I am the artist/owner of Winged Goddess Studio.  I live and create in Boone.  I am married to Mark and we have one son, Will who is 17.  I also work full time at my day job.  Creating handmade jewelry and being surrounded by art it what makes me happy.  I have a tendency to get bored easily so that is why I have such a wide variety of styles and collections.  

2.)    You and I became friends through doing the same art show a while back.  I remember hitting it off with you instantly.  You have such a wonderful positive vibe that I admire, and you really make people feel cared for and at ease.  Do you ever feel discouraged or disappointed?  If so, how do you deal with that?   I am so grateful that we were able to become friends.  As an artist there can be a lot of discouragement and disappointment.  It can be discouraging when at a show a customer makes a negative comment about my jewelry.  It has taken awhile but I try really hard not to take it personally.  Not everyone will like what I make.  I try to focus on my customers  who do like what I make.  It can also be disappointing to apply for a show and not get in.  I usually will take a couple of hours being disappointed that I was not accepted but then remind myself of all the shows that I have been accepted to.  I try to find the positive in the rejection.  For example, it gives me more time to spend with my family or time to work on new pieces.  

3.)    You are so prolific! The amount of work you produce boggles my mind!  How do you find time to get it all done?  Do you have a schedule or routine you adhere to?  It is sometimes really hard to get it all done since I still work full time and have a busy family.   It truly depends on my schedule of shows and what I have going on in my day-to-day life.  I don't necessarily have a schedule or routine.  I will work on my jewelry during my lunch hour or here and there in the evenings and on weekends.   I generally make all of my jewelry in large batches.  Most of the time it takes me at least a month or more depending on what collection I am working on because there are several steps involved.  It always takes me longer than I think it will to complete it too.  It can be very challenging to balance everything.   Most days it feels like I am failing.  Right now, my house looks like a tornado hit, clean laundry is still in basket and we eat a lot of quick or carry out meals lol.   I am grateful because my mom helps me do the finish work of adding price tags for me.  You will also find me finishing up pieces during shows.  I try really hard to be organized but it usually doesn't work.  A friend once said "we have the best intentions but the worst follow through".  

4.)    What do you do when you are feeling uninspired and need to get the creative juices flowing?  Feeling uninspired happens a lot especially after last year.  It was hard being creative when there was nowhere to go or anyone to share it with.  One way I get my creativity flowing is looking through the supplies I already have on hand and find a new way to use or create with them.  Sometimes I will buy a new supply for an idea I have in my head and then my idea won't work.  I will set aside the supply until someday I come up with something new.  I also like to mix my different collections together to create a new look.  For example, taking my leather earrings and adding wood to them.  It seems like my new ideas always come right before a show so I am scrambling, trying to get it done in time.  

5.)    What is the ultimate message you hope comes across in your creative expressions?  I just want my customers to enjoy what I make.  I want it to be affordable.  I try to create simple pieces that can be layered with jewelry that the customers already own or on its own.  It makes me smile when I see a customer wearing my work.  I want to make people smile wearing it or giving it as a gift.

6.)    What’s coming up for you?  I will be in Waukee this coming weekend and several more shows throughout rest of the year.  I will be updating my Facebook and Instagram page detailing when and where.

7.)    Where can we find you?  

Shana's website, click HERE.

Shana's Facebook page, click HERE.

Shana's Instagram, click HERE.

Bacon Jewelers

Homespun Elegance

        Thanks so much to Shana for popping by to say hi and answer a few questions!  I hope you will go visit her links and check out the goodies she has to offer!  Personally, I'm obsessed with all of her stud earrings.  I'm slowly building my collection!  Ha!  Have a great weekend, friends!  XOXO -Dori

Meet My Friend Rachel Awes!

You guys!  Happy Tuesday! Happy summer!  You are in for a BIG TREAT today!  The effervescent and colorful being, Rachel Awes, has stopped by the blog to visit us this morning!   She is a psychologist of 28 years, an author, and all around sparkly being based in St. Paul, MN!  Rachel adds so much color, enthusiasm and joy to the art community and beyond!  It's been great fun for me to get to know her and follow her work through the years. Very few people do what they do with as much heart and humility as Rachel.  She has a way of just making you feel at home and at ease.  Know what I mean?

 I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her life, her outlook and what inspires her......

1. Rachel! I’m so happy to be able to chat with you here! Thanks for joining us! First off, can you tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what you do?

I work as a psychologist, author, art playgroundist, and speaker out of St. Paul, Minnesota. My deepest passion is listening to the beauty within people and reflecting it back through affirming words and vibrant colors.

 
2. You are one of the most colorful people I know! Your personal style is so joyful and inspiring! Did your personal style develop over time, or have you always been so sparkly?

Over time, my personal style has evolved back to the freedom, colors, and joy I naturally gravitated to as a child. The colors came into fuller bloom as an adult in my 40’s, when I began creating art daily. I found that as I created art, art created me. Three illustrated and written books later, I found my favorite clothing store in New York City, Gudrun Sjoden, felt my illustrations had magically come to life, and now am an ambassador for them and I can’t imagine dressing in anything other than my true self.

3. Are you ever discouraged? How does that affect your creativity? 2020 was a tough year for so many, your family included. What keeps you going? (sorry that’s 3 questions)

I would describe my heart as both strong and tender and my senses as highly sensitive. I also share much of my life force/love in all areas of my professional and personal life. Given all of this, my energy can wane and with it, sometimes my mood can feel more melancholy and vulnerable. When I am conscious of this, my response is to rest. Additionally, this has indeed been a tough year for many, as it has in my own home with the loss of both of my husband’s parents to COVID-19. In specific response, I found I had let my body go with not eating well nor exercising. The last two months and still, I’ve made radical changes with eating clean and recumbent biking and walks, which feels revitalizing.

 4. What do you do to get into a creative zone? Any rituals or habits that clear the way for magic?

Sometimes I schedule a weekend for creativity, or a window of a day, just like I would use my calendar for other appointments. If I’m really in the flow of creating something, I will naturally awake early before my work day begins and get busy alongside the singing birds.

5. What are you currently inspired by, and/or what are you most excited about right now?

I’m illustrating and writing my fourth book and also creating a new website. I’m quite excited about them both!

6. Where can our friends find you? (web, social media, etc)

Rachel's Website
Rachel's Etsy Shop
Rachel's Instagram
Rachel's Facebook
Rachel's Pinterest

Rachel is generously offering an art download to all of you!  See below!  This would be a great one to print off and send to a friend who needs some encouragement, or just a reminder to keep staying true to themselves!

Big thank you to Rachel for stopping by the blog today!!!!  Friends, please take a moment to visit her AMAZING new website (I mean, WOW!) and her Etsy shop (links above) for more juicy goodness!  

Have a wonderful day!  Talk soon, Dori

I'm Teaching at Make Create Express 2021!

 

Mark the date!! Free Weekend of Creativity & Community!

Hi pals! I’m so excited to finally share that I’ll be one of the teachers for the Make Create Express workshop this year! Woo hoo!

I’ll be offering up a lesson about my art journaling process, along with 27 other teachers from around the world. Make Create Express is a year long mixed media adventure that kicks off with a FREE Creative Retreat weekend (open to all). With a range of lessons you are sure to learn new techniques, new process and discover new ways to express your own unique creativity. And did I mention that there is a FREE weekend event where you can access 14 lessons for free? Join us for the FREE Creative Retreat weekend on July 10th and 11th! Or join us for the year long adventure- Make Create Express- the Creative Journey Continues.

To learn more or to register click HERE.

Can't wait to see you there!  This will be fun!

Cheers, and hope you are having a restful holiday weekend!  -D

Marion Arts Festival is Virtual This Year and I Contributed a Make and Take Project!

 

Happy Thursday morning, friends!  We just made it through a couple of nights below freezing....brrrr.  I think most of my plants survived, thank goodness.  Let's hope that's enough of that nonsense for the remainder of April.  I know a few of you got some snow.....and I sympathize!!! Somehow we missed the snow...whew! 

Just a quick pop in to share with you a recent article about the Marion Arts Festival!  It would've been Saturday, May 15th, but to be on the safe side, it's going virtual this year.  So for a month, they've planned all sorts of fun and festivities ONLINE!  I've contributed a make and take Mother's Day card project.  100 local kiddos can pick up goody bags at the Marion library, and they can follow along with me to create a one of a kind card for Mom.  It was a BLAST working on this project!  If you want to see the video, click on "My Videos" here on my site, and you should find it near the top of the listings.  

And to read the whole article about what M.A.F. is offering this year, click HERE.

I really feel like "sprucing" around the house.  Spring does that to me.  There are lots of what I call "medium to large sized projects" waiting for me to tackle, such as repainting the stairs with a funky design, cleaning out and repainting a couple of closets, spiffying up the patio and some furniture re-dos. BUT.....I've got a lot of work to do, and shows coming up, so they will have to wait for now.  For now, I indulge in little sprucing projects, like picking up flowers at Trader Joes, and putting them in a platter with my heart rock collection on the dining room table.  Making them front and center again makes me happy.  I can tell you where most of the hearts have come from...each with their own happy memory.  

It makes me smile as I walk past, on my way to kitchen chores.  There are ALWAYS kitchen chores.  Have you noticed that?  Sigh.  Happy Earth Day!  See you again soon!  -Dori

My Word a Day Journal and Pop Up Shop Coming Soon!

 

Good morning pals!  Happy Friday!  We've had cool and cloudy weather this week....and I'm so happy to see the sun shining brightly this morning!  It's supposed to warm up enough later today, that I'll leave the back studio door open for the doggies to come and go.  They love that!  I love this part of spring before the bugs come out.  It's such a narrow window.  Ha!  

How are you?  The Patricks are plugging along.  I can't believe we are halfway through April already.  Eeeek.  There's yard work to be done.  I'm hoping to tackle some of that this weekend.  Our old boy, chocolate lab turned 11 a few days ago.  We are nursing his back leg.  He seems to have tweaked it, so he's on some meds and lots of rest, which doesn't seem to bother him much.  

Alright, on to the news!  I'm prepping for my first retail event of the year....a GREAT BIG, teeny tiny pop up art show!  Details above.  I'll be hanging out in the Marion Chocolate Shop, which is SO MUCH FUN!  BIG THANKS to Gae and Deane for letting me take over their space for the day!  All of the artwork in this show will be SMALL.  Nothing larger than 5x7.  It's going to be fun!  If you're in the area, I hope you'll swing by and say hi!

If you follow me on social media, you probably already know about my "word a day" journal.  I'm taking an old journal used to record workouts (that was hardly used last year because of the pandemic...haha), and I'm doing quick five minute "entries".  Each entry is a swoosh of paint, some scribbles, a few other marks, a piece of collage, and a word that comes to mind.    I'll share a few examples here....but you can see them all on my Instagram page: @patrickdori and on my Facebook page: Dori Patrick Art.  

These have been a great warm up exercise in the studio for me.  It's good to just get your hands moving, and also nice to have a word to focus on for the day.  A good mantra never hurts, does it? 

I hope you are all doing well, friends!  Stay strong and take good care of one another.

Until next time!  -Dori

Rainy Sunday Morning in March

 

Hi pals!  Happy Sunday morning!  We had a LOVELY day yesterday...sunshine, and warm temps.  We grilled our dinner on the back patio, and I read a magazine out there with a little blanket on my shoulders.  All of the snow is melted now, and we are so glad.  The pups and I spent as much time out there as we could.  The downside.....it's mud season in the backyard.  We have a bath towel next to both front and back doors, so I can attempt to wipe their paws before they come barging back into the house.  In the photo above, they had just "unstuffed" a few of their toys.  When I'm not cleaning up mud, I'm picking up toy innards.  It's a good life.  

I'm starting to find my creative mojo again....I've been dabbling in some art journaling every day.  Even if it's just a scribble or two, it helps me get back into the groove.  We still are not sure how the 2021 art show season is going to go.....but I've gotta get moving anyhow, and get my inventory back up to snuff.  If things go as we hope they will, I'll have something fun to share soon about the month of May, and then the next big in person show will be in late June in Des Moines.  But...we'll see.  

I'm still dabbling in clay.  I'm figuring out my process, and how to express MY STYLE in clay.  That's been a fun and exciting challenge for me.  When you try something new, your senses come alive.  You know what I mean? And I've met some really great, helpful folks down at the Ceramics Center, who are happy to answer my millions of questions.  Ha!  I really love the pot shown above.  I'm into the bright colors, but with a little "grunge" as well.  This pot was made by throwing every single idea at it....ha!  I really was experimenting with the texture, and some wonkiness. (is that a word?) 

In other news, Newbo Shops at 208 is now called Newbo Shops at Heart House!  They've moved to the Heart House, located at 1301 3rd St SE in Cedar Rapids.  And it's SO CHARMING and adorable!  If you are in the Cedar Rapids area, make a point to stop by and shop handmade.  The new space is full of light, and it's so cozy in there.  I just love it.  Here are some recent pics of my new space there.  My greeting cards are finally all stocked up, and I'm working on some small paintings to fill the wall up.

Those fabric word banners have been a lot of fun to make!  I'm working on painting some more fabric for my stash, so I can whip out some more.  If you're not local, I'm also filling up the Etsy shop, slowly but surely.    Well, thanks for listening to my ramblings today.  I hope you are feeling happy and hopeful about spring. Keep moving your hands, staying creative, and keep smiling.  Cheers, D

My Tiny Journal Collab with my Friend Gae!

 

My friend Gae and I love collaborating!!! Here's a peek at our on-going tiny journal trade that progressed over the course of this lockdown winter. We each have an itty bitty journal, made by Sugar and Boo (look them up! Good stuff!) We passed them back and forth....I did painting, collage and mark making. Gae added fibers, stitches and beads. This is our final pass before we possess our original journals to finish. Here are a few of my current favorite bits in Gae's journal before I hand it back to her. Thanks for encouraging us....it's a fun thing to do with a creative friend!

Happy Thursday, pals. Hope you are doing well. There's a light at the end of this COLD BLASTED tunnel. We are expecting a high of seventeen today! Woo hoo! Unzip your coat! Open the windows! Throw your scarf in the snowbank! (Just kidding, I won't do those things until it's at least thirty degrees.)