Brenda Pinnick -news, ideas, events and more...

Glad to be home!

In case you haven't done so, please come by my ColorCafe blog to see how artists and designers are using color in their work! Each day is a different theme. I'd love it if you'd stop in, visit the featured artist's blogs and leave a comment. I'd really love it if you have some beautifully colored art or design and would like to be featured on the ColorCafe! If so, please email me at [email protected]

 

 

Boy I've been busy! Jan. is a wild month for me...CHA and the Atlanta Gift Mart, nearly back to back!

Here's me with my new friend, Robin Davis, at her signing. She has products in several different showrooms at the mart since she's a highly sought after artist. And she's so darn cute! 

And speaking of cute...

Heidi is almost 15 months old already! I just can't believe it! She is so much fun right now - she's a sponge, absorbing everything, mimicking everybody and discovering new tricks which she loves showing off. AND, she LOVES beads!

 

Stamping on Fabric

Well, I'm back home from HSN and the show went really well! The people there are truly amazing! It was such a pleasurable experience and I loved being hosted by Shivan- what a doll! I had the opportunity to show my Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders along with my Bigz XL Decorative Edge Card die. While I wasn't able to actually demo the embossing folders going through the Sizzix Big Shot machine, it is so very simple! 

And of course, I showed my new stamp collections!  , including this one, and this one. For those of you who are new to stamping with clear stamps, the first thing you'll want to do upon opening your package is to use an eraser over the surface. Somehow, this "primes" them for use. 

On air, I mentioned that I had designed these stamps to be slightly larger than many of the stamps currently on the market. My vision for the Piccadilly designs included home decor and even sewing projects. Here is a tote bag I created using several different dies from the collection, along with some of my Sizzix embossing folders.

Here's how I used them- place the embossing folder underneath the fabric then lightly add the color on top, using the  Faber-Castell Gelatos. It's really fast and gives a nice, distressed look to the project. I used regular pigment ink for the stamped part of the images. I love the patchwork feel of this bag, don't you? I've been really into yellow and orange/reds lately. Must be the optimistic nature of yellow and energy of red/orange. I've needed both lately and it's funny how we crave colors to help us along! 

If you tuned in on Monday, THANK YOU from the bottom of my  heart! It's so nice to hear from people who have bought my products so please don't be shy about leaving a comment- I'd love to hear from you.

 

Tomorrow, some close-ups of the projects shown on air... 

Brenda

In my garden

Today's links:

Sizzix   http://www.sizzix.com/catalog#q=Brenda%20Pinnick

Carol Heppner   http://www.carolheppner.com/

Lisa Rojas   http://stampinqueencreations.blogspot.com/

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft   http://www.designmemorycraft.typepad.com/

I'm so inspired by nature and especially when it involves amazing color and pattern. Butterlies, bees, colorful flowers... it's mezmerizing, really. Do you know that viewing the patterns in nature actuallly helps us think creatively? Studies have found that the color green mixed with the patterns of leaves and other plants cause our brains to think creatively. How amazing is that? Next time you're stuck for ideas or inspiration, just get outside and be inspired. I know I am today! 

I'm busy making my projects to show on air next week on HSN. I hope you'll tune in via the web or television. I'm scheduled for 10:00 a.m. eastern time and will be showing my Sizzix Textured Impressions and also my stamp line. GREAT DEALS TO BE HAD!

Oh, and I get to be a BEACH ANGEL!!! Yes, I will be laying in the beautiful white sand and swimming in the ocean this Sunday!!! One of my favorite things in life...the ocean!

I just want to say...I'm so thankful for friends... I'm getting help from Carol Heppner and Lisa Rojas, two amazing designers I know from CHA. They created some amazing projects and I'm so grateful! I'm going to be featuring both here on my blog next week so please come back to learn more about their stories, how they became professional designers, see more of their work and be inspired!

AND, if that isn't enough, several designers from the Faber-Castell design team are also helping me out! I love their products and so appreciate their assistance! More about them later, also. 

I am truly blessed. 

 

 

Mermaid Painting

I drove down to Destin last week for some fun in the sun and hanging out with my friend Phyllis Dobbs. She has a condo right at the beach and it was perfect weather for a visit to Florida. The beaches weren't crowded, the water was still warm and the temperature was low to mid 80º - perfect!

Her condo is decorated really cute and colorful, just like a vacation home on the beach should be! There was one wall in the guest bedroom that was just calling my name so I asked her if she would trust me to paint something fun. The size and shape of the wall were perfect for a figure so what else would I paint than a mermaid?!

I used Plaid paints purchased from a quick trip to the store and penciled her in quite quickly. This painting took me about 3 1/2 hours and is about 4 1/2' tall. I think she turned out nicely, I'm happy with her and Phyllis loves it! I had forgotten how much fun it is to work large scale and to paint directly on walls. I'm inspired to do some more of this type of work, starting in my own home. I've got some ideas for a weird little wall at the stair landing which faces a hallway but first have to meet some hot Sizzix deadlines and get my new art off to my agents. The hard part about creating art with real paint is having to clean it up in the computer. I need to learn not to zoom in to look at every single pixel- that would be a good start!

 

about a year ago...

a few weeks short of, actually...I took a trip to London and to Paris,  in that order. Paris was amazing! Even though it was cold, rainy  and off season, I enjoyed the holiday decorations, the company and the relaxation of it all. My trip was business, hosting my own show on QVC, which is always great fun but a bit intense. I took the bullet train down to Paris afterward and enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere that only Paris gives. While relaxing and exploring, I also had opportunity to just sit, be inspired and create.

Here is a little bit of mixed media I made, done at home, but inspired by my trip. 

I LOVE stitching on my pieces! And, adding in elements such as ribbon, lace, cut felt pieces and especially cut paper makes it so visually enticing. I love creating my own surface art to use in my mixed media pieces so that it maintains the "voice of the artist". 

I encourage you to design your own mixed media art and base it on a travel experience. The purple in this piece reflects the trend seen while in both London and Paris last year! EVERYWHERE- purple!!! 

...there's just something magical about Paris, no matter what the season!  Je ne sais quoi?

buried in ink

yep, buried. 

I've been very, very busy getting ready for two, well, actually three upcoming trade shows. This weekend is the GiftMart here in Atlanta and I'm showing in the new Licensing Temporaries with some other artists. Then, in two weeks, it's off to Anaheim for the Winter Craft and Hobby Show where I'm also in a shared booth in the License and Design Section as well as doing a stage event at the Ellison Booth, teaching a class and doing a make and take at the A.J.International booth, (their first time showing). Brooke is going with me as my assistant, thank goodness.

She's excited to go and is planning on taking some classes as well. 

There's always so much to do before shows and sometimes I have to really struggle to make sure I leave time to actually MAKE THE ART! With press kits, projects to show, display boards...it's a big commitment to participate in these shows and it is truly all consuming, not to mention very expensive, ouch! 

I did finish out my newest collection and have it in two different colorways. I'm very, very happy with it and feel it's going to be a big hit. It's very fashion oriented and it will make nice fabric as well. Speaking of which, I got a call from my fabric mfr. who said the first strike-offs arrived so things are progressing as scheduled. Next week I'll  be designing some projects for the fabric that they can show at Quilt Market in May. I'm so excited to have fabric in my line, my Mom would be so proud of me! She taught me my love of fabric and I still have some pieces she bought when I was little and never cut into, they were simply too beautiful to cut! 

Wish me luck and good furtune please! I'll post again after the show this weekend and I PROMISE to have some trend information for you after having walked the gift mart.

hugs to all,

Brenda

Quilt Market

I went to Quilt Market last weekend and it was fantastic! It's a trade only show for all things textile including fabrics, yarns, machines, threads, buttons, patterns and more.

The adjoining Quilt exhibition was so wonderful and so inspiring! I only had my iphone (camera) with me so these pictures don't do justice to the actual art pieces. The first two are close-ups of larger quilts and the third was a smaller sized quilt so I was able to show the whole thing. I'm showing these today and will show several more in a few days. Enjoy!

©Harumi Asada- Japan

The Breath of Life-

 "The theme of Quilt Carnival Nagoya 2008 was the environment and the organism. I imagined the light of the sun as the lining."

©Bozena Woitaszek - Poland

"The Global Village"

"When I think about all my internet friends from the whole world it is very easy to imagine that we all live togehter in a small, colorful village. Yes, Mr. McLuhan was right. Here it is; our global village"

©Bodil Gardner-Denmark

"The coming of Spring"

"At last, at last, one can lie on the grass, play hide and seek with the children, leave the youngest asleep outside in the pram and listen to the sound of sheep grazing. At last, at last, the heat of the sun!

Incredible works of art! 

creative techniques and projects

I've really been enjoying the comments answering the question; what art or craft technique would you most like to learn? So far, each answer has been different.

 If I had the time, I would really like to explore doll making. BUT, I know myself and if I went there, even a little bit, I'm sure I'd get totally obsessed with it and not meet my deadlines and commitments to my manufacturers. And with CHA LIcense & Design, AmericasMart L&D and Surtex all right around the corner, it's important to stay focused on putting out new collections and art. But... maybe just one little doll to give away at Christmas...hmmmm. Does anyone know where I can buy more hours for my days??? 

Here's a cruise for dollmaking in case you're looking for a fun vacation at sea. Sounds nice, doesn't it? 

I'm curious, have any of you taken an art or crafting cruise? Would this be something you would ever want to do?