100 days of art making...

Ive been hard at work - trying to keep up - with #the100DayProject. I hope i can make it to 100. Only 91 more days to go! Ive been expiring collages. My idea was to do 1 8"x8" collage (digital or analog) per day. And while I started putting pressure on myself to make amazing pieces, now I am just trying to have some fun.

Read about the project (started by Elle Luna) here + take a peek @ all my artworks to date on my Instagram page here.

thankU_BarbChotiner.jpg

spring swing

I just love it when i get to illustrate for my design projects! Here is a recent invitation to a fundraising event for The Parkinson Council, a local organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for patients, carepartners, and their families impacted by Parkinson’s disease.

LOVE IT!

My (now) 4 year old daughter loves to shout "LOVE IT" whenever she's excited about something. Well, I'm excited about a few things and made this little diddy to share. I feel like my art is going in exciting directions and its just one of those days when i love my job.

I also added a new mounted on wood prints to my buyStuff shop. Ive been making a bunch of these wood panels for the flower show but wanted to add them to my 'lil shop as well.

be-YOU-tiful

I've been working with floral designs this month, as I will have some items for sale at the upcoming 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show (at the pucciManuli booth). 

For this months Art Bootcamp, we were encouraged to paint on wood and play with creating art in a scene as well as in a circular shape. I did find some time to play around with painting on some small wood shapes. (You can see an in progress photo in my instagram feed. I've actually done a bit more on them since this photo). In the past I really enjoyed painting on tiny 1-3" shapes. (I even had a series in my application to graduate school many years ago!) So I hope to do some more of these when I have some time*. 

I really enjoyed using my Acryla Gouache on the wood. I liked how it seeped in and while it looked flat it was also quite rich. I then started to use some regular acrylic paint (since the acryla gouache is a bit pricey) but was not at all happy with those results as I didn't like the plastic sheen on top of the wood. 

In the end for my submission, I went back to some text & floral imagery I had also been working with over the past 2 weeks. I played around with the idea of putting some of my text + textural (ooh - mental note - i like that phrase) pieces in these circle motifs. And then I took it further and imagined them being produced onto wooden cutting boards. I would totally buy these if I saw them at West Elm or Crate and Barrel! :) Would you??

*I'm actually in the middle of a huge illustration assignment at the moment and can not wait to share that once it's completed.

in stock @ pucci!

Have I told you about the most awesomest shop ever? Its called pucciManuli and it's in Adrmore, PA, the cute lil' downtown-ish town next to where I live. It's a wonderful curated shop of high quality & hand crafted toys & gifts (for kids and adults too) that you are not likely to find anywhere else (locally, at least).

The shop reminds me of the days when I lived in NYC in a four story walk up in the lovely West Village. (I digress...) The shop is so beautiful from the ouside, and when you step inside you are entering this place where all the items in the shop are beautifully designed and it projects feelings of childhood, warmth, and sweetness. Needless to say, I want pretty much everything in the shop. (Right now there is a giant vintage couch and even a giant orange orangutan in the window.) 

The friendly owner Carrie (whom I now call a friend) knows a great deal about her carefully chosen toys and has the sweetest collection of stuffed animals you could ever cuddle. (Don't tell my almost 4 year old daughter, but I am first in line when these come in to the shop! I'm in love with this Danish company called Maileg). This doll has even inspired me to draw and design a whole line of Parisian Ballet prints and patterns which I will eventually share on my site.

And, guess what I spotted when I went in this week??? It's a lovely display of many of my products. How super cool fun is that? I've always dreamed of having my items for sale in a store and I am proud for Pucci to be the first!

There used to be two of my ocean/whale wall art pieces (on the wall below,) but that image is proving to be popular and have both sold out. I need to get some more to the shop! :)

If you are even in the 'burbs of Philadelphia and need a baby/child/adult gift and appreciate beautiful toys, books and books, you should definitely check out pucciManuli. (35 Cricket Ave. in Ardmore.)  //  #Pucci Manuli