An Update!

Hi friends!

How are you all? I've been busy as usual doing a ton of fun projects, but I realized it's been forever since I've updated this blog!

Here are just a few of the things that have been keeping me so busy:

Teahouse Studio

Tiffany, Stef and I are *nearly* all moved into the studio and we're almost ready to have you all over for some tea! In the meantime, be sure to check out our website because we have some uh-maze-ing workshops scheduled including:

• Shooting from the Heart, Expressive Photography with Shutter Sister Tracey Clark
• Layered Lines & Cardboard Wonders with Diana Fayt
• Inner Excavation with Liz Lamoreux & Vivienne McMaster
• The Joy of Intention: A Painting and Play Workshop with Alena Hennessey

I'm excited that I'll be getting to take all of these! Don't you want to join us?

Get Your Paint On

Lisa and I wrapped up Get Your Paint On at the end of February and we had such a great time teaching everyone! The students were amazing and everyone had such a great time! We'll be offering the course again in May, so be sure to sign up for the course newsletter to stay informed and get all the secret special early-bird registration dates!

JOY Retreat

I'm heading to Oregon tomorrow to teach at the amazing JOY Retreat in Manzanita. I can't wait to spend some time on the coast with a group of really amazing women!

OH! and PS: Did I mention that I'm writing a BOOK?! Nooo? Well, guess what...

I'm writing a book! Hooray!!!

I am thrilled to finally be able to completely spill the beans about this dream project -- and now you guys know the truth about what's been keeping me so busy!

I'm also in the midst of redesigning my website with an online shop, so for the sake of my sanity, I'm going to keep my etsy shoppe closed until the website launches this summer...

Stay tuned for lots of news though, and I'll do my best to update the blog periodically to keep you guys in the loop and give you lots of sneak peeks of great things to come!

Also, I'm looking for a summer studio intern to help assist me with all these creative projects.

Drop me a line if you're interested!

xox, mati

take 2

a fellow twitter-er sent this flipped ;) thank you dave! and thank you all for your heartfelt comments. it makes me breathe easier to know you get it too. sigh of relief. xxxoxox

An Artful Journey= Collage on Steroids!

Kelly and I taught a Chunky Funky Coffee Table Book (CFCTB) this weekend in the Santa Cruz mountains, or as we coined in our class- collage on steroids! We had the best time! It was amazing to see the transformation of not only the students, but from the clean classroom to the creative explosion it became! The students were so positive and full of energy and enthusiasm! We painted for 3 days straight and many students kept on painting to midnight. Thank you everyone! I loved every second with you and feel so filled up. We even had a little harlem-globetrotters-esque cheer at the end as we piled into the assembly to share our work cheering the CFCTB with the books held up high. It was a definite highlight. Thank you especially to Stella & Louise for the photos! I'll be sending y'all a follow-up email soon with all your contact info :)
xoxoxoxooxox

Studio news

I've been wonderfully busy with art projects that i feel so behind in sharing studio news~

* I'm up on my fabulous new agent Lilla Roger's studio website now!

* These cute little organic Patagonia baby shirts are now out! I have 2 more adult shirts to debut with them soon.

* My Oopsy Daisy canvases are now in stores! Here are a few cute kid ones~ Rosenberry Rooms, Polkadot Peacock and OOMPA. So cool to see!

* My artwork and article is now on stands in the beautiful magazine Artful Blogging... hello and thank you for peeking to those who made their way here from there! I'll take some photos of the article soon.

I'm going to try to post here more frequently! Please also check out my twitter and facebook pages and sign up for my secret society newsletter for the latest (on the top right corner of my blog)!

xoxoxox

ONE YEAR!

Hello friends,

A couple of weeks ago it dawned on me that I had successfully supported myself fully on my art (during a recession!) for ONE YEAR. Hooray! In honor of that and your generosity in supporting me and my art, I offer a gift of a $100 shopping spree to one lucky person who buys something from my shoppe between now and November 15th.

Please enter into the notes when you buy something in my shoppe: ONE YEAR for your chance to win! Imagine all the art for yourself or for holiday gifts!

**Excluding Custom True Love necklaces since they are a collaboration.

Thank you *so* much,
Mati Rose

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!



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

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 :)



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

she always knew she was strong

yes. she did.

my goodness kelly sent me this painting that i absolutely fell in love with. in fact to quote my email to her... i was obsessed with it and kept taking peeks through out the day. is it the turquoise i love so? the hair? the looking sideways? the mischievous face? the red against the teal? the words? how fitting it is? the cheeks? the muddiness of the face? loooove and what a surprise to have it arrive at my doorstop with a note "i wanted you to have her".  big happy tears my friend.

thank you darling. for now she's going under my photo of myself feeling like a pirate taken by hula. both remind me of who i want to be when i grow up is right inside. 

i also wanted to say thank you karen for buying my original painting and showcasing it on BlogHer :) more originals are slowly making their way in my shoppe (my friend kate says she pronounces it shop-pay. does anyone else?)

annnnd if anyone is interested in being a creative ally and sponsor as seen on the right hand side of my blog shoot me an email for details: matimcd(at)hotmail(dot)com

x

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shows + shops

hello out there,

i'm still reeling from utah inspiration, on the heels of a wonderful trip to seattle. i feel so lucky. man, i still haven't even shared photos from our last show "little vagabonds"... up till april fools, no foolin', if you'd like to make an appointment. both hugh and i sold a bunch of work, but there are still several beauties left!

what's ahead?

i'm part of an awesome print show at hq galerie in montreal opening this saturday:


i'm selling my prints in a few new and new to me stores, including Cranky Yellow in St. Louis. Love them.

As well as the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Folk Art! So excited to be included in a museum, even if it's just the gift shop ;)
They are rad and are having an amazing opening tonight! Mike Shine, well shines.

Not to mention the local stores that I love: Rare Device and Arkay that are carrying my prints. Thank you so much!

And of course Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH has some original little elephants available and more new work from me next month as the featured artist :))
In the meantime check out Marisa's sweet + tiny featured work!

I'll be having a big shop update in my etsy soon too, so stay tuned please!

love,
mati

teaching*

Good morning!

I am packing my bags for Italy! Kelly and I take off this Weds early morn... it's so unreal! I am really getting excited about the actual teaching aspect. I spent the weekend in my studio laying out my supplies and walking through the steps to my painting process~ it will be a learning experience for us all that I'm going to treasure forever. I cannot wait to meet our students. Hello out there if you happen to be reading this :)

Speaking of teaching, I have another incredible opportunity to teach this February at Art Nest. I've heard amazing things about this place and it looks like a winter wonderland! I'll be teaching alongside Kelly Rae (hopefully this will be a tradition we're starting!) and Jane Wynn.

In the lovely organizers Candice and Julie's words~
Join us at a beautiful mountain chalet above Heber, Utah in a stunning setting where we will be surrounded by lightly falling snow. Sit around the beautiful fireplace relaxing with your new art friends, dining on gourmet food and being pampered in every way. Work with soldering and metal patinas with Jane one day, then gather your papers and paints as Mati and Kelly Rae take us on an amazing painting and collage journey. You will be one of 25 artists to attend this retreat.

The dates for the retreat are February 25th - March 1st, 2009.

Can you come? Utah's a little closer to Italy, eh?

I wanted to sign off with sharing a new blog discovery and piano composition (a beautiful first) by Pia Jane called Mes Ailes or My Wings~ wait a second for it to load and press play on her whimsical drawing. I have a feeling I'll be listening to this repeatedly.

Love,
Mati Rose

lucky elephants

i was wondering why i was so drawn to painting elephants, especially with their trunks up and did some reading about how they are a strong symbol for luck! You probably knew that, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they are also symbols for:
Strength
Wisdom
Solitude
Strong sense of loyalty to the family
Intelligence

so of course i want to paint & surround myself with happy elephants bursting with colorful bits of luck!

these lucky elephants entitled "little" & "best" are available as originals at the enormous tiny show at nahcotta opening next friday, september 5th. i plan on being there! and as prints in my shop!

xo
mati

relaxing on the east coast!

hello there,
just a quick note to say that i'm back east on vacation till the 18th. till then!
mwahhh!
m

my art, elsewhere.

hello,

i am super duper psyched to share that my art has been made into these awesome magnets by i-pop! 3 sets & 3 individual big clicks:) whenever i've seen these magnets at art stores and boutiques i've loved them because they are shiny, art filled and chunky like candy. who wouldn't want to decorate your fridge or inspiration board with these guys? so honored to be part of the magnet glory.



my line will be debuting at the NYC stationary show in May, which i would so love to attend myself someday (sigh) and then available to the public in June here.

also, i am honored to have designed the May banner for one of my favorite sources for inspiration: Sparkletopia. Check it.


peace out sweet peeps,
mati