Hello and welcome to the studio!

Well, not the studio but the open studio.

You may have seen the cover of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios Fall 2009. You would be looking at my home!

This picture at the top? And the one below it? Both of these are "before" pictures of our home as it once stood just two short years ago. A carriage house turned wood worker shop.

The house was built in 1850 and I'm not quite sure how I got past the claustrophobia of it all and saw the possibilites but we made an offer and started construction the day it became ours.

Eventually we'll get to a couple photos of my studio but first I thought I'd show you some behind the scenes look at the photo shoot for the cover. I had always wanted to know what happened at one of these and now I do!

It's a lot of fidgeting things a round, moving lights and MacGyvereing things into place. Although the space stays pretty true to the actual thing, we had to shift things just slightly here

and there to make sure they looked good on camera.

Here you can see that they already have an idea of the cover layout before we even get a real shot. There were two "advance team" trips out to take photos before we had the hired guns show up.

And show up they did. With full sized computers and screens, cameras and lights. We moved around a ton of furniture just to make room for the equipment!

It was really fun to watch the process and I'm honored that I got to play a role in the September issue.

I'm especially proud of it because it's not just my artwork on the walls that I'm able to share with you but also my home. This was a labor of love of both my wonderful husband Matt and I. We designed the whole house by ourselves and we had a wonderful contractor (Stealth Construction). Who gave us everything we wanted and more.

I'm not sure if it really comes across in the photos but that big wall with all the art on it? It's really on a diagonal.

We designed that wall especially for Open Studios here in Brookline, MA.

The space is big and modular making it possible to move a few pieces of furniture and entirely recreate the space.Starting this month I will be teaching workshops in my home/studio. We've hosted a Soup Crawl, book club and during Open Studios I host 4 other artists in the space as well as a mixed media gallery!

So here are a few shots of the actual studio which sits just off this main room in the photo. It makes it easy to stay in touch with the kids while they do their homework and to work on dinner and a project at the same time. I hope it's helpful to hear that I struggle with all the same things that you do. Finding time to make art, keeping the studio cleaned up enough so that I can find things, storage, etc.

A couple of the things I love are the little nook with the shelves (this is where my under the counter cd player lives) and my closet with a sink! OH Joy! And I love that it has punches of electric green in it too.

If you want to find out what I'm up to please feel free to subscribe to my blog. You can also check out my workshop schedule on my Create Everyday Workshop Blog. My personal artist website is www.JennMason.com and you can find out more about my books, licensed artwork and fine art there!

And my latest endeavor is www.EverydayArtistStudio.com where our mission is to encourage you to live more creatively every day, regardless of family plan, age or career path!

Studio Tour!

In honor of the new Open Studios issue by Cloth Paper Scissors I will be participating in their on-line studio tour. (yes that's my house on the cover!) There are over 50 artists who are sharing their spaces! (let's just say I lost count at 50ish)

Tomorrow all the artists will have their studio pictures up on their websites/blogs.

Come back tomorrow and see my collections of studio and OPEN Studio pictures (or pick up a copy of the magazine and see them in print!)

I can't wait to go visit all the studios!

More tomorrow!

Teaching workshops at the Studio!

I think I am now working on no less than four blogs right now! I hope I can keep them all straight.

For those of you who follow this blog, let me point you for a moment to my new blog Create Everyday Workshops that I created specifically for the workshops I'll be teaching from the home studio.

The Fall Semester is themed Handmade Giving and our first class is Chandelier Charming and takes place on October 7th. You can sign up for one class or the whole semester! ($25 or $150 respectively)

As always, you can find me trying to inspire you to live more creatively everyday at www.EverydayArtistStudio.com!

The Key to Balance (on a skateboard!)

So, this is a fun video I put together on the Making of The Key to Balance, a piece of art I created for the All Decks on Hand Show and Auction taking place this fall at the After Hours Gallery (www.afterhoursgallery.com) to benefit the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center.

All the artists were to create their art on a skateboard deck--and I decided to go all out and create an assemblage.

My daughter needed something to do and likes to help out when she can so I put her to work sanding the board. I always wanted an assistant!

While I am not immediately affected by autisim in my family, I appreciate the struggle families have to help raise their child with autisim in a happy, healthy and supportive environment. I was very excited to be able to help out doing what I love to do--share beauty with the world, on a skateboard no less! I hope that someone falls in love with my piece, "The Key to Balance" which speacks to both this ability to cope with autisim, as well as any personal struggle someone may have. You must take ONE step at a time. You must walk thru some murkieness. You must find the keys or tools to cope and you must take it all with you through your journey. In return, you get to stop pushing and enjoy the wind in your hair every once in a while.

By the way, thanks to Earth Safe Finishes for the products to paint and stain this board. I enjoyed using thebproduct knowing I was being green! I see myself using more of their products in my art in the future! Check them out: www.earthsafefinishes.com

Back from Cleveland

Cleveland ROCKS! Ok, I was actually just outside of Cleveland, sitting in a Clarion Hotel for the better part of the day but day 2 was REALLY fun. I taped a DVD Workshop called Mixed Media Medley for Cloth Paper Scissors. I'm talking FUN. Fun and more fun. Even though I had to wait until the very end of the day waiting for all the fascinating artists that were taping their Quilting Arts TV segments (we shared the same set)--I still had fun. I actually got to watch a lot of the taping of the different segments which was good quality creative time as far as I'm concerned!

Take a look at the video I put together but be warned, I start out without any make-up on!

This week is the last Brimfield of the year and Back to school--double bonus! More pictures to follow! and I promise to let you know when the DVD is available too.

Work Benefits

Just one of the many benefits of doing the work I do.  Don’t ask.

This is from the CHA Consumer show in Orlando earlier in the summer.  It was taken in between Booth demos and teaching a class.  Now, don’t you wish you were there?

Studios Cover Shot!

It was quite an ordeal to have the photographer in from Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine but it was enjoyable. We spent a lot of time tweaking, moving lights and eatting scones. ( I ate the scones--I wasn't allowed to touch the lights) The crew was terrific and I loved the behind the scenes look at the photo shoot. And here is the cover! You can pre-order your copy here if you want. I've got a pretty extensive article on how to participate in (and visit!) an Open Studios event.

The piece on the easel is a brand new piece that I created just for the photo shoot and I'm really happy with it. Mostly because it just makes me happy to look at!

In the meantime, I'm working in the studio on preparing for a video workshop for Quilting Arts Workshops.

More about that trip in the near future.
Don't forget, you can read my daily blog at www.EverydayArtistStudio.com where my mission is to encourage you to live more creatively--Every Day.