Sweet Playspace

I was in disbelief when a couple friends wrote me saying they saw my art in Better Homes & Garden's May issue. I thought, no way, why wouldn't I know about it? Must be someone else. Sure enough, when I finally tracked down a copy there were 2 of my prints in this cute playroom as a great feature of a home in St. Paul, MN where I spent 4 years at my alma matter. Love to see where my art ends up. Here are the 2 pieces featured and available in my etsy shoppe:
Yellow Lucky Elephant and Tutti Bird

Artful Blogging

I'm flattered to be included in the latest issue of Artful Blogging with photos, art and an article written by me that shares my story of being an artist and blogger. It is beautifully printed and in good company with talented artists like Shari and Abby to name two.

Here's a sneak peek! Available on newstands in bookstores or on-line.

i can't read it, but it sure is cute

i received this danish magazine in the mail last week and have been swooning over the style. i wish i could read it, but it adds a little, well a lot, of mystery.

thanks for the art inclusion! i love this lady's aesthetic. (i think she would fancy my tiger kitten onesies too, don't you? i need to make some more for the upcoming renegade!) the painting featured in the mag is called "speaking 1,000 languages" and available here as a print. i love the idea of the title suggesting internationalism and then to see it in a magazine in another language rocks.

can i tell you what i really love about this magazine? honestly it's the numerous photos of women openly breast-feeding. it's so refreshing! we're in the midst of a baby boom among our friends (we've hosted 3 showers on our rooftop in the past few months) and i love it when my friends feel comfortable nursing in public. i don't know why this is controversial? it seems so natural. I'm with the danes on this one!

xo

mati

antler magazine

i just spent the last bit swooning over the fantastic on-line mag antler. this month's issue is free and stunning! so many artist interviews and inspiring photography.

i was mentioned on their blog last week and since then seriously smitten by both the magazine & blog!

congrats to anne the awesome new blog editor and artist and creator behind these other 2 beautiful spots.

tuesday news: collaborative painting article

bigger here

bigger here

there's something so awe inspiring for me still to see my art featured in print. i am completely honored to share my collaborative paintings with kelly in somerset studio's sept/oct issue. kelly's words that accompany the paintings are very dear. thank you kelly + somerset. here's a video from when we were making those very paintings.

xxx
m

small

i'm pleased as punch to be featured in this issue of small magazine. when the kind editor olivia asked, i wrote back immediately an enthusiastic YES. it's such a perfect fit for me! every single time i get this magazine i gush over the art, the photo styling and the sweetness. apparently i'm either still a child... or maybe just maybe i'm actually finally getting the craving myself to have one. or both.  regardless, i'm excited to be part of the magic of all things small.

oh yes, there's a small draw too if you click on the top navigation bar... it takes a while to download, but it's a b+w drawing for kids to color in by me :0

thank you,

m

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

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postcard worthy

e-house studio interviewed me recently for their postcard worthy section. it was fun and as always i learned a bit about myself in the process! 

thank you kindly jessica and gang.

ciao tutti!

....this was our first mix-up. kelly and i thought that we had another student in our class named tutti... what a cute name we thought. we'll make tutti an extra packet and "be sure to bring tutti an extra print" we reminded each other. we have got to remember to ask about tutti and her ETA, etc.! shortly after meeting with the program organizer we asked about tutti to realize that tutti= everybody and his email exclaiming "ciao tutti" was to us all, and not to the imaginary student we had created. every single time i hear tutti (which is often on these italian streets) i still laugh!

i'm sitting in our small studio apartment in florence that hugh and i have rented for the week. basically just a bed, kitchenette in the closet and bathroom-- with a deep lovely bath. there is a candle burning to the quick on the table for two and i am feeling insanely happy and extremely well fed. tonight we had our first home cooked meal of pasta (senza glutine for hugh), pesto and kale and garlic. dark chocolate and fresh blueberries for dessert. hugh is resting his eyes and i am, well writing obviously;)

what can i say? this trip to italy has been just as i dreamt. and more. the class was amazing... the students warm and funny. thank you all!!! the food delicious and abundant... 3 course meals for lunch and dinner, wine for both. that would be my primary switch next time is more breaks and a little less time eating... i never thought i would complain of this!! we ate for 6 hours a day, at least. yes. kelly and i both took flight as teachers and our students as artists. cortona, where we taught, was a picturesque hillside town just as imagined. we stayed in a monastery at the foot of a hill with incredible views. we shared our hotel with germans who were practicing for a tai chi tourney and were our backdrop of entertainment and us theirs.

the first couple of days kelly and i adjusted to jet lag and slept ridiculous amounts awaking for dinner up to town. homemade gnocci, a bottle of wine and chocolate torte was our favorite and soon to become mainstay dinner. mmmm. we watched the town swirl by... men in the courtyard meeting to catch up. couples arm and arm. dapper. men with little hats and canes. women in fancy boots tucked into their jeans as a rule. shop keepers constantly sweeping and maintaining their beautiful shops and greeting one another. ahh, the slow life filled with siestas and wine mid day.

since the class we have focused on art, gelato, salami, wine and cheese at a tiny bar that our local friend elenora from SF introduced us to. in between we visited our new friend shanna's family olive farm and have plans to go back for their harvest! we're off to venice to celebrate hugh's 40th birthday and meet up with our english friend nigel. then to rome and day trips in between. it will go so slow, but fast, as vacation seems to do.

i'm excited to get back to the us for thanksgiving with my family in maine (and continue this feast we've begun) and our new president! so proud of our country. yes we can! i'm so curious to see what it's like when we return and hear everyones stories of election night. we stayed up most of the night watching the developments on CNN with our friend shanna on her olive farm. so surreal and incredible to wake up with hugh holding his i phone over my head with all caps OBAMA wins!

i want to continue taking photos, writing, drawing, taking it in, filling up the well and capturing perspective on our lives back home.

speaking of which, i got word that 7x7 published their article on us and our studio. have a look and please save a copy for us if you happen to pick it up. also, i contributed typography to a publication called "undergound artschool" that i'm excited to see a copy of in person. thanks to both!

ciao tutti! i hope you are very, very well~
mati

Studio Love

I'm excited to be included in Cloth, Paper, Scissor's Studio issue (Fall/Winter 2008) along side some incredible spaces... makes me want to revamp mine!
What they didn't capture is the rest of my revolving inspiration wall (more here from over the years) or amazing studio mates and sweet pups.

cloth, paper, scissors profile

i'm honored to be featured in March/April's "cloth, paper, scissors" magazine. it hits news stands (well, barnes & noble, borders and major fabric stores to be sure) March 3rd ~ Monday already!

i got a sneak peek because my dear friend and fellow art dreamer & schemer kelly who is a regular contributor & has a subscription. thank you cate for interviewing me here! that was a fun conversation we had!

for a limited time i'm going to make this print that was featured available in my shoppe. I painted this almost 5 years ago and I still like it! It was painted when I was in Mexico and just starting my art journey in full, so it was a perfect piece to highlight. Even before birds were all the rage in design, I do believe;)



i came across this picture from about 4 years back and noticed the same bird painting in the background. i feel so much older now! this was my first open studios at my new studio and i was so nervous. notice my superhero necklace! this was from right around the time i started this blog too.

The article covers much of my path as an artist, which clearly continues to evolve, as it should. I like how I say "You can have a patchwork life" in the article. I feel that is what my life looks like today.

I currently work part-time helping to design textiles for bedding, some of which are truly patchwork, teach an art class a week, paint & illustrate and try to balance it all. I am so much happier than when I was working 9-5 every day. Or working nights at a restaurant while trying to make school happen. Every day is different and there isn't a day I dread! Wow. This is new. Now I just need to make sure I schedule more long stretches of time for painting.

xo
mati