Friday, July 31, 2009

nurturing creativity + everything is really ok

This Ted talk by Elizabeth Gilbert has made the blog-rounds, but i thought i'd share it here just in case you haven't heard it or want to listen again.

I listened to it again today before going out in my studio and it's so wise. i particularly love her story about Tom Waits and message about just showing up and doing the work.

The last week I've been coming down from the excitement from our Little Pink Houses show and Renegade.  I recognize the post-show low as a natural part of my cycle now of the highs of putting so much energy out and receiving so much feedback. Even though it now takes me by less surprise it still is a process to get back into the studio and make new work. 

I really loved reading all the comments about why "Everything is OK". It made everything feel more than ok for me this past week. Thank you. The winner of Britt's awesome print picked randomly by my husband Hugh is Carm who said: 
The print is terrific! I love the sentiment and Brit's style. Thanks for the chance to win! oops... I almost forgot to tell you why everything is okay! It's okay because today my baby sister, who has always struggled with school, is registering for her first semester at the community college and she's ready and she's excited and I'm so glad.

Please get in touch and email me Carm at matimcd(at)hotmail(dot)com with your address! Congrats! For those of you who didn't win the print you can purchase it here.

Friday, July 24, 2009

yes it is

everything is okay
we're giving away this awesome print by the ever so talented britt hermann today! 
leave a comment why "everything is okay" today~ just one thing or many! 
for me it's going to the russian river for the weekend and plans of hanging out with friends, eating well and hopefully swimming : )

leave your comments today until next friday july 31st when i will announce the winner! in the meantime pop on over to britt's etsy shop... she is offering her prints at $12 if you leave a comment in the notes at checkout saying you read about her here.

coloring {outside the lines}

small draw coloring book
i've always wanted to make a coloring book! i think i still will, and in the meantime i'm pleased as pie to gift this coloring book by small magazine that includes my drawing and many awesome artists! it's only $10 and proceeds will be donated to Kiva- a micro-loan foundation empowering individuals to help themselves out of poverty.

speaking of coloring, i received these photos of cute kiddos coloring in my drawings. the first is lucy who according to her mom amy hi-jacked my drawing on the envelope and colored it in. so cute!
artiste lucy 2.jpg
artiste lucy 3.jpg

the 2nd is maddy whose mom kristen makes our beautiful collab necklaces. maddy + mati : ) maddy said she wants to be an art teacher when she grows up! maddy's coloring the image featured in the small magazine coloring book.
matiandmaddy.jpg
matiandmaddy2.jpg

i'm starting a set for coloring if you have photos to send me.

xo
mati

ps-- later on today i will be listing a giveaway!!!
pps- while browsing through small magazine's sweet blog i found this idea for braided fabric necklaces. what do you think about that one mom?!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

necklaces are now available

True Love Necklace Featuring Feather Mama + Pink Forest
i sent a newsletter earlier today to give you the special heads up that the necklaces would be available at 6pm West Coast time and they are now in the shoppe!

xoxo
mati

Monday, July 20, 2009

thanks for stopping by my booth!

my renegade booth
it was a wonderful and exhausting weekend! big thanks to everyone who stopped by and chatted and supported my art! thank you to caitlin who helped out on saturday and hugh on sunday! thanks to my rad studio mate laurel to for helping me make this awesome antler necklace holder! i feel really grateful and still pretty tired. anyone else who did renegade feeling it?

i will be posting some of the much coveted "true love" necklaces in my suspect shoppe this wednesday. please sign up for my newsletter on the left hand side-- the secret society, that's right be part of the club! or keep watch in my shoppe and blog to see when they are available!

till then!
mati

Thursday, July 16, 2009

lotsa news

1) renegade craft fair + new necklaces!!!
i'm sitting in my office surrounded by boxes of all my renegade goods! i embarrassingly greeted the delivery person twice in my bathrobe this morning. so yes, all bay area folks please come to renegade craft fair this weekend at fort mason! you will not be disappointed, i promise. i'll be at booth 6th in the front with a hot pink table cloth, so you really can't miss me if you try ;) please stop by and say hello!

new ones for renegade!

in particular, the"true love" collab necklaces are freaking GORGEOUS! i really want them all for myself. we will be making more batches and listing them in my shoppe, so do not fear people if you are swooning over them like i am and they run out. in kristen's words~
i oxidized all of the wire to give it an aged appearance. the beads are all semi-precious stones, high quality Czech glass and vintage. all are 18" long. the solder is lead-free and waxed (hence the shine). something clicked when i soldered this time and i figured out a way to thicken it up which is why they look even more amazing than usual!!

2) models, yo! somerset life magazine
yes we are
more news and excitement that i meant to report on yesterday is that while kelly was visiting from seattle she mentioned that the article she wrote featuring our photos (as in we were models, a first!) was rumored to be on stands! we dashed over to the closest large bookstore and sure enough there it was! this is us laughing hysterically in the aisle like highschool (of course to intensify the funniness of the moment, the photo was taken by a local bartender hipster i recognized from the mission). it was hilarious and i'm sure we caused a little scene! not to mention that my dear husband hugh's cover illustration for 7x7 was magazines away! it was quite a moment. then we went and bought some....um spanx, yep. how's that for supermodel?

the photos were taken by talented denise andrade and it's available on news-stands as well as on-line. it's beautifully written. congrats denise + kelly! not to mention kristen since it features our necklaces too :)

inside somerset life

3) registration for an artful journey is now open!!
i was writing to my friend heather who was asking if the class was going to be intimidating and it got me really excited about teaching the class. here's my response:
The class is going to be really fun and not at all intimidating. We'll be making a coffee table book from a vintage book filled with watercolor paper that we'll be able to experiment with. We'll be playing. i want to emphasize that... it will be very free and exploratory and we'll have 3 whole days to deepen into our creative space. I'm teaching it with my dear friend Kelly who is also really and nurturing, so no worries on that front.

4) sweet interview + press:
i was interviewed by the talented stephanie levy on her blog "artists who blog". there are some terrific interviews on her blog. a real treat to participate!

also i just saw today that i was written up on cookie magazine's blog today! yay! that's one of my favorites.

alright, thanks for all your support in my art and for reading!

and an especially big thanks to my interns jenny and caitlin for all your help this week prepping for renegade. i couldn't have done it (well not with so much fun) with out you.

xxxxx

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

opening recap!

i feel like i have so much to share, but before it is too ancient history, i wanted to say *thank you* all who came out to our show opening and those from afar who showed your support! it means the world to me, really. our show was really fun! i felt lucky and reminded of what an amazing art & friend community we have here in SF.

here we are, the artists: lisa, wilfredo (i can't say he helped much with the painting!) and me dressed theme appropriately in pink!
wilfredo, lisa and me
photo courtesy of kelly

here's the room pre show so you can see it all together! some pieces are still available here!
the full deal
photo courtesy of lisa

this is my custom designed fabric hanging in the window! alongside pink branches a black bird and hot pink pine cones (why yes i spent a long time spray painting to get that color just right!). and here is lisa's awesome window and fabric too.
my fabric in the window of the curiosity shoppe!
photo courtesy of lisa c

ohh, and i almost forgot the little pink cupcakes made by lauren of the curiosity shoppe!
cupcakes! 
photo courtesy of the amazing photog andrea

tomorrow i have lots of other news to share! much of that involves my dear kelly who flew down to show her friendship support for the opening! 

xoxo

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Little Pink Houses

Little Pink Houses Install
another view of LPH install

Victoria wrote a sweet write up of our my and Lisa Congdon's show opening this Friday at the Curiosity Shoppe! I hope to see you there!

Where: 855 Valencia St. between 19th-20th
When: July 10th from 6 pm till 8!
Who: You! Please come by and say hello!

You can also preview and purchase the work on-line!

xoxo

ps- Andrea is giving a *Superhero Giveaway* of my print! Pop on over!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

i love these bright little ellies

new elephant magnets available!
my new ipop magnets with madison park greeting are coming out soon! they aren't on the website yet, but if you're a boutique (or even an individual) you can order them and i'll have them in my shoppe asap!

xo

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

we are back and it is sunny at last

so you would think june in maine would be full on summer, right? not so fast. all month long it was lush green and rainy dampness. it was beautiful and perfect for hunkering down to paint, but man, i'm happy to see the sun today in SF!
while in maine i mostly wore my SF winter clothes-- long cardigan, jeans, scarves and boots, but i was pining for summery clothes like below. loving the fashion inspiration that creature comforts has culled together here with my painting!
creature comforts!