Studio Photos by Jessica Peterson

Aren't these beautiful? Jessica Peterson came to visit me today and brought along her talent, eye, and camera. Jessica did my wedding photos, and we shared studio space last year for a few months. Since then, sharing studio space, and just being her friend, I've learned how incredibly special her spirit is. She is someone very attune to others emotions, which makes her a good friend, and a good photographer. You can visit her here. See her blog for more photos of my now revamped studio.

The House that Lars Built- Halloween Pumpkins

This is a project I was especially excited about. Brittany Watson Jepsen from The House that Lars Built- asked me to collaborate with her again on the blog- which I was more than happy to do (love everything she does). We spent a morning making the above adorable little faces. If you click here, you too can make these with my pumpkin face printable. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Spooky, scary, adorable.

New Items//

I've just finished watching a late night episode of Love It or List It. That HGTV channel is dangerous... it makes me want to jump ship and go off to exotic places again. Maybe for Christmas ;)

I've just posted a bunch of new items on my shop. Have a look here!

It's been a productive and good day- so now I'm off to sleep. Happy shopping!

mini monsters// an exhibit

I'll be exhibiting a series of creepy, crawly, quirky, and scary little monsters and creatures on canvas and paper. I'll also be selling zines/books of them, as well as cards. Come by and have a Halloween treat and a look-see. All pieces available for purchase.

Le Beurrier- The Butter Dish

Now available on etsy. The classic butter dish (le beurrier) with a little mushroom top handle. 

Buy now.

The Bonsai Who Lived.

I bought this bonsai tree yesterday. It had two leaves and several that were slowly coming back- it was in the sale section of the store. I decided to save it. Because obviously people weren't buying it because of it's little leafage. Poor guy. He has a bulbous cute body, and sits prettily in my studio window. I did learn today, however, that bonsai's normally don't like direct sunlight- but since it's fall, I'm hoping that it being in the window won't be too intense. They are also incredibly finicky with watering, so I've come up with a watering method, which I hope will work.

It's funny how plants- being living things- make me react in an emotional way. Like if it had been a puppy or a kitten- I felt drawn to it.  It's a living creature, and now, it's under my care.

I love him, and he WILL revive. I'm sure of it.

To The Floor

 For those of you who don't know- my studio is situated in The Bamberger Mansion here in Salt Lake. It was built in 1880 by Samuel Bamberger- an immigrant from Germany. He later became governor of Utah in 1917. He bridged the political chasm between Mormons vs. Non-Mormons because of his abstinence of alcohol and tobacco and also on his good relations with people in general. The house was renovated by my current landlord, John B. Anderson, in 1979.

It's an old house. It's a beautiful house. The moment you touch the door handle, and see the intricate detailed brass, you can feel it. The winding staircase, the old musty smells, and the high ceilings make this place so incredibly charming and quirky in it's own right. It also reminds me of Paris when I lived there. The smell and the design and the dark wood accents. Which is, of course, perfect.

My studio has an old fireplace in it. Which is painted to look like beautiful marble and onyx. But truth be told it is made from cast iron. That required a special skill-set back in the day- to create normal surfaces to look like expensive wood or stone. Most pioneers didn't have any money or any way of obtaining the desired materials for building, so they would hire these particular artisans who specialized in this technique to paint it. The Tabernacle in Temple Square also has normal wood to look like expensive oak. And the marble pillars inside are also painted.

My studio had old carpet put in it. Not ideal for an artists studio. For a few months I've been bugging my landlord to take it out- and he finally relented. I thought there were painted red floors underneath, because the corner I pulled away was red wood floor. But as I began pulling it up, I realized I was mistaken. There was unfinished pine covered in dust, and.. sand? It was pretty gross. I was scared I'd made a big mistake. But I kept going, cleaning, dusting, mopping- until it looked salvageable.

Because I can't invest too much in this space (I don't own it) I decided to just match the red and paint it all one color. What I really wanted to do was refinish the wood and polyurethane it. But the wood is pine and soft and reeeeally old and like I said.. I don't have extra $$ or time to put into it.

SO- after a bit of color debating- my dear friend Blair and I painted it a nice Red Ochre color. It looks beautiful. And makes the space so much better. It was exactly how I'd pictured it to look.

Above photos document it pretty well.