Daily digital drawings....
Valentine's Day Present for Tiger Kitty
© 1/11/2015 Nine Lives Studio
I also uploaded my digital images to Spoonflower. They are a Print on Demand site that prints on fabric, wallpaper, wrapping paper, etc. Before they can go on sale I have tp purchase samples of the various finished prints.
http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/nine_lives_studio
Two more "oil pastel" drawings today... I actually had 5 people come into the gallery today and correctly made two sales on the gallery Square. Proud of myself - one was a cash sale and one a CC. Now I feel accomplished 
One Paperbag and Two Kitties
© 1/4/2015 Nine Lives Studio
and
Blue Dragonfly and Kitty
© 1/4/2015 Nine Lives Studio
Forgot to mention yesterday that I pencil sketched my 2015 Sketchbook Project. Today I outlined in black pen. There's a whoops... the first pen bleed through the first page . 
So I'll have to creatively figure that one out... 
but here are a few of the inked designs.
I'm saving them in black/white before I color as it might be fun to make a coloring book out of it or a coloring Zine... 
I have to go over some of the lines to make them stronger.
Tomorrow I'll start to color it with WC Pencils - have to mail it soon...
Have to make handouts now for the class [Exploring the Written Word through Art] that is going to run tomorrow... Veronica's taking a chance to run it with only four people.
back to Arting! - finally back up to speed...
Collective Colloquy Next Event
December 22nd, 7pm, B Sharp Coffee House (Please note, due to the holiday season this CC event is a week earlier than usual.)
Santa will visit us for this very merry edition of CC for some Stories by Santa. He's not yet the merry old soul we are used to but come get to know him and listen to some festive stories narrated by him.
Featured stories include those penned by:
Titus Burley
Ellen Miffitt
and
Jennevieve Schlemmer
Plus special jolly, dramatic performances by Michael Haeflinger, Titus Burley and William Turbyfill.
CC will include our usual open mic opportunities.
Bonus: Special CC stocking stuffer zines created by our friends at Nearsighted Narwhal!
Creative Colloquy, North 26th Street, Tacoma, WA 98407 http://creativecolloquy.com/
Happy Thanksgiving or Fall Harvest Day...
Been so busy writing that novel that the art side of me is starting to grumble... 52,700+ word count!
I have a few Sumi-e accepted into a tiny gallery in Olympia called Artisans Annex.
Gallery Boom in Tumwater WA has signed on for a kiosk in the local mall for the first week in Dec... that should be wild and crazy!
I hang my one person show in The Loft gallery above Buck's Fifth Ave. in Olympia on Monday. That will be mixed media and hang until mid January.
I am thankful for the shoppers who have been purchasing my images on Zazzle products [always check for their discounts!] - I have more shops than this one listed below:
http://www.zazzle.com/zen_ink
and thankful for the five recent sales on Fine Art America....
http://ellen-miffitt.artistwebsites.com
I also have 92 items on my Etsy store. Luckily there is a local team [Olympia Etsy Team] that is very supportive and enthusiastic about earning their living from their shops... It can be done. Olympia Etsy Team is participating with black Friday and Cyber Monday coupons. Check out the website for more details.
Website: http://www.OlympiaEtsyTeam.com
Happy creating!
e
Well I'm called a "panster" as I am winging this story and/or flying by the seat of my pants [panster]. I have never in my life written such a long piece. I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes. the first few days, I'd start from the begining and add/correct ... bad idea. Stay away from rvision and just go for the story. The Internet is so handy as I quick research something: location, names, etc. but I try not to waste too much time doing that. When I revise the story I can always add those details or change names. I now have a few pages of referal names and some websites for reference .
The total word count to date, this very momment = 35,206 because today I added 2,564.
I'm supposed to be getting ready for the CAB sale at TESC but all I want to do is write!!!!
So involved with writing that novel that I'm not doing much art. Preparing to print my block prints today, print more cards on my PC and finally finish some Holiday Sumi-e blank note cards that I started two weeks ago.
I want to thank everyone who purchases items with my images on them from Zazzle. Here's their latest promo. Up to 60% Off during our 'Tis The Season sale | USE CODE: TISTHESEASON http://www.zazzle.com/christmas_studio*
None of my pieces sold at the Towne Gallery through the Shoreline Forest Park Art Commission Gallery but I have a wonderful display for my solo exhibit in The Loft Gallery above Buck's Fifth Ave shop in downtown Olympia. My reception will be Dec 5th.
Traffic was horrid driving back through Seattle from Shoreline - took me an hour to get to Boeing field which just South of Seattle!
Happy news in the mailbox when I got home. Sold Meditating on Refuge!
© 2014 Nine Lives Studio
Butterfly Butterfly Gallery will take some of my small pieces for December - also in Oly.
Gallery Boom, co-op gallery that I belong to in Tumwater, is renting a kiosk for the first week in December. So I do have to start cranking some small items, buy some mats for the sumi-e, etc...
I am participating in the Evergreen State Collage holiday sale next Wednesday - mostly student's work but they open it up to outside artists/crafts - it's right before the holiday break for T-Day...
then on the 29th Lincoln Holiday Market... Usually I don't do these shows so I'm not as prepared as I should be. I wish the planners of these events would announce their dates for the following year now because then I wouldn't book classes that often don't run. Seems here -stateside- that these "holiday "shows are starting in October!
Back to Arting... stay warm ever bofy - been in the teens at night, very brisk!
E
My Special Effects Watercolor class meets onTuesday October 7th to the 28th from 6 to 8pm. During the first class I went over and showed samples of all kinds of techniques: resist [wax, frisket, tape]. use of syran wrap & wax paper, scraping, sgraffito, etc... and the participants made samples on their paper & extra notes on their handouts.
Mushrooms 10/7/2014
I've painting several samples of this image which was from a photograph I made back in New Hampshire. These is the best rendition. I masked the mushrooms with frisket and then dropped fall colors for the background and covered with syran wrap. When that was dry, I removed the syran wrap and painted the branch. I torn pieces of waxed paper to cover the moist brush strokes. After that dried, I took the frisket off and painted them and added color to other areas. Last I went in with watercolor pencils [Inktense] and made leaf shapes out of the dropped in colors.
Before the Snow 10/14/2014
In this painting, I used Elmer's Glue as a resist on the tree and grass shapes in foreground. I next did washes for sky and middleground. I used chalk on the distant mountains and wax paper on the wash. Lastly, I went back in and worked the tree. The glue tends to dissolve with the repeat washes.
Winter Field Oak 10/14/2014
Bubble solution with acrylic ink is used to blow a series of bubbles for the sky. Then I dropped a puddle of ink on the paper. Using a straw, I blew the ink up into a tree/branch shape. I did add a little extra color and a few extra branch tips. There is some white chalk on the tree branches as snow.
This week, I used the bubble ink for a moon, sprinkled salt on it. That didn't do much so I put a yellow wash and a circle of wax paper on it.
Autum Full Moon 10/21/2014
Then I used fairly thick instant coffee for the tree... made a puddle of coffee and used a straw to blow the fluid up into tree shapes. Of course, I could have left the background white or painted it first [^..^] but I did it after the coffee dried. I used payne's gray wash and sprinkled it with salt. The wash moved the coffee a little but I like how it looks foggy. The foreground wash was covered in syran wrap. After the "moon" and the foreground was dry I removed the wax paper shape and the syran wrap.
Keep arting folks!
e
I've been working on my Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/NineLivesStudio
The Olympia Etsy Team https://www.facebook.com/groups/106646486172325/ decided to challenge one another to place 100 items up for sale. The discussion at the meeting had been that 100 seems to be the magic number. I'm up to 76. Many of the women actually earn a living selling their hand made items on Etsy so they are good resources and inspiration. I have been re-photographing the pieces, assigning inventory #, bagging them... Plus then I ended up getting rid of allot of extraneous images in my photo files, plus backing up to a cloud and on my WD external back up. Must be some sort of organizational bug going around!
Here is a sample of my Precious Metal Clay jewelry...
This exhibit begins on November 15th and runs through January 20th, 2015 at the Confluence Gallery and Art Center - location :104 Glover Street [PO Box 716], Twisp, WA 98856 (509) 997-2787 http://www.confluencegallery.com/
The two 12X12"X1"D mixed media will be shipped soon to Twisp.
Winter (C) 2014 E. Miffitt - Nine Lives Studio
Theme Info: Are you familiar with Jan Brett’s Annie and the Wild Animals? The synopsis: Annie was lonely. Taffy, her golden-haired cat, had disappeared. Life in the woods was empty. There was no one to love and be Annie's friend. Outside, the snow was deep and the winter seemed endless. Annie tried her best to encourage Taffy to return but without success. A moose and a bear and even a wildcat are not as soft and cuddlesome or as friendly as Taffy. Where could Taffy be? Jan Brett's story is told mostly through wonderfully detailed full-color illustrations. The wonders of the forest and the seasons are an expressive backdrop to the tale of the animals. Story within story forms as the intricate borders subtly foreshadow the main plot of Taffy's final return to her friend Annie.
Now, imagine a winter wonderland: the quiet of snow, shadows stretching across the horizon, cold, crisp air, and magnificent icicle stalactites. Peer from the warmth of your home through the windows or reflect on a day of snowy adventure – tell us what you see. What emotions emerge? How do these images translate into a storyline? How would you depict the story through your art?
I have four mini collages set aside for this 5"X5" fundraiser. I figure that's a great way to reconfigure an unsold piece and support a good cause.
Here's the info:
2015 art donations to the FIVE Squared benefit art show and sale at the Davis Family YMCA! Last year we raised $3500 for art scholarships thanks to the generosity of 191 artists (400 pieces of 5" x 5" art) from around the world.
We've simplified the entry form, making it easier for you to donate up to four pieces. Everyone who participates will have his/her art and name included in a photomontage made specifically for the 2015 FIVE Squared event.
Prospectus and entry form available at
http://theartguide.com/exhibitions/info/4132/five-squared and ymcaart.blogspot.com (Please print the prospectus to 8.5 x 11 so the entry form itself is 8.5 x 5.5).
Feel free to forward this email to anyone who might be interested. Professionals, amateurs, all mediums, all ages.
Look forward to receiving hundreds of pieces of 5"x5" art at the service desk or in my mailbox: Suzanne Gray, YMCA, 45 McClurg Rd, Boardman, OH 44512 USA.
Deadline, Jan 18, 2015. Early entries are encouraged and appreciated (this is a labor intensive event!). Opening reception, February 8th.