signing off for a bit

I have a LOT to get accomplished in the next month and continually find myself drowning in work.  I'm gonna have to take a break from the blog for a bit so I can focus and make my creative energies more productive.  But I'll be back in January with (hopefully) much to tell and show!

Enjoy your holidays.

with 3 dogs in the studio Harper had to find an alternate bed

cheers. jen and harper

first friday at the studio!

Happy Friday!

If you don't already have plans for the evening stop by the studio at 250 N. Goodman Street from 6 to 10!  Since it's First Friday we have spectacular work in the gallery including Jim Delucia, Jen Delucia and Sarah Dankert.  Pistachio Press + Local retail store will be open and full of beautiful items for sale (including some of my own new products)!  Get some holiday shopping done, drink some hot chocolate and support our local artists!

You'll even get to see Harper Marie hanging out and looking adorable.

post ready

My first set of memories are ready to be sent out!  We'll see how long they take to arrive at their destinations.

25 days of memories!

In the past few years I've tried to come up with creative presents to give my family for the holidays. 

When thinking about what to make this year I became stuck on the idea of sharing and saving memories.  To make this into a lasting gift I designed a printable template that reads "25 Days of Memories".  The template has four black and white memory card illustrations with various bunting designs that can be cut out and filled with color or left blank.  Each day between tomorrow and Christmas I will be filling out a memory I shared with a particular person and mailing the memory card to them.  By the time the holiday season comes to an end each person will have a collection of 25 memories that are unique to our relationship.

Tomorrow I'll add a memory to each card and mail them out!

Please feel free to use the template below to send your own memories this holiday season! 

Take care! Jen

tuesday to dos

I hope everyone had a lovely turkey day.  I know I did!

I had so many studio ideas while I was hanging out with the fam.  I wrote them down on whatever scrap of paper was available and used yesterday to consolidate everything.  I now have a laundry list of to dos.  Here's my main pick for the week.

1. Create a scarf from "French Daisy" fabric

I scored this absolutely gorgeous hand-printed french daisy fabric from a local antique store a few months back.  So far I've used it to re-cover my ironing board and to make "Rescued Fabric Bones".  I think it deserves to be turned into a more wearable accessory.

2. Research how to create my own font(s)

I tend to use a lot of hand-written text in my designs which ends up planting me in front of the light table for long periods of time.  I have a couple font ideas in mind and it's time I get movin'!

3. Make time for coffee with a friend

I absolutely LOVE that so much of my time is spent in the studio... but I've pushed many of my relationships to the side in order to make that happen.  I plan on having a mini get-together with a friend once a week to keep me focused on what's truly important.

4. Visit a local pet boutique with dog toys

I planned on going after work today but my car is back in the shop (4th time this month...)

5. Finish "25 Days of Memories" template

Holiday template surprise!  I'll have it posted this Wednesday.

6. Make a screen for my new antler design

Yet another dog toy idea.  My previous Marine Critter line wasn't quite right for the dog world.  I'm hoping this one will work better.

I have a bajillion more to dos but I think this is a reasonable amount to get done during the week. 

cheers! jen

dreaming of trucks

Happy Monday!

I know this is well off the beaten path of my usual blog focus... but I've been drooling over 1950's trucks recently.  For the past few years I've had a minor obsession with the beautiful rounded body of these trucks and for some reason they've been taking over more and more of my day dreaming.  

So I've made myself a little deal... once I pay off my credit debt (my card is currently frozen in block of ice next to the brocolli in my freezer) I will open a special account solely for the purpose of purchasing my dream car.  And then Harper Marie and I will roll the streets of Rochester listening to bluegrass and trying not to stall... such a beautiful dream.

courtesy of

courtesy of

gettin' stuff done!

Check out my new dog toys on Etsy!  I'm calling the line Rescued Fabric Bones as each toy is made from salvaged material that I find in antique stores, second-hand shops and at local fabric providers.  All the toys are double-stitched for durability and stuffed with 100% organic cotton.  

French Daisy Rescued Fabric Bone

Damask Rescued Fabric Bone

Striped Rescued Fabric Bone

Floral Rescued Fabric Bone

Red and White Rescued Fabric Bone

13 bones

I've  had a lovely Saturday!  Besides geeking out and watching the first Lord of the Rings movie (extended version) and eating homemade chili with a friend I also created 13 more dog toys.  Tomorrow I'll add the final touches to the toys, photograph them and get them up on Etsy.  But for now it's time to get myself and the puppy home to eat more of that chili!

sold some stuff :)

The store opening was a success.  Pistachio Press had a great turnout and my studio mate Jim and his wife both sold paintings! Thank you to everyone that came out!

I had no idea how my own products would do but I managed to sell 2 dog toys, two bags and one garland.  I've also had a few people mention they might commission me to make some custom items!

yellow floral dog bone

However the hard work is far from over.  I see many more late nights in the studio.  I did finally get my first dog toy on etsy.  Here's to a good start!

the lobster

With the help of a friend I finally have a decent screen burned.  I pulled my first prints last night and was less than thrilled with my rusty screen printing skills.  Thank god my studio mate also teaches screen printing!  By 1:00AM I completed my first lobster toy model.   Some things were great, some things were not so great.  I'm hoping tonight I can iron out the malfunctions and have the final product completed.  At least the studio pit-bulls got to enjoy the reject lobster.

Dolly with the reject lobster

studio progress and weekend fun

The studio is finally starting to look like a studio!  There's still a lot to be done but after a weekend of painting and organizing the space is coming together. Pistacio Press' retail shop is looking spectacular as well!  But you'll have to come see that in person :)

Given the choice I probably would have spent every spare second working this weekend but I managed to get out and have a little fall fun.  I navigated my first corn maze then rode a tricycle through the childrens' mini maze.

I've been having a bit of trouble getting things going with the dog toys... The first screen didn't burn quite correctly so I'm giving it another go tonight.  I now have 6 designs that need to be printed (in multitude), sewn, stuffed and squeeked by Friday.  Bring on the coffee and late night studio drinks!

editing...

Here's what I've got so far in the 'about' section of my Etsy site.  If anyone's got any editing suggestions I'd love to hear 'em!

---

Welcome! 

My name's Jen and I live and work in the vibrant city of Rochester, NY.  I left the flat, cow-covered fields of Ohio back in 2006 and decided to stick around after finishing my university studies in studio arts and marine sciences.

I am the proud adoptive mom of a rescue pit-bull (Harper Marie) who spends countless hours exploring the studio while I fiddle around with fabric and paper.  When I'm not in the studio or working one of two art-related gigs you can find me out adventuring.  I enjoy running around the beaches of Ontario Lake with my pup, mountain biking on the hidden Rochester trails, climbing at the local rock gym, devouring empanadas at the public market and playing card games with friends.

As for my craft - I adore items that have had a previous life.  I scour antique stores, flea markets and friends' attics for the perfect materials to create garlands, bags, dog toys and other textile pieces.  Design, sustainability and quality are quite important in my every day life just as they are with the products I create.

If you'd like to learn more about me I keep a blog at: beeswaxhorsehairandsutures.blogspot.com. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

online shop

It's high time I get my Etsy site up and running. Last night I put my limited graphic design skills to use creating a banner for the online shop. Not exactly what I envisioned but it'll do for now. Next up is writing a description (not my favorite past-time), photographing (I'm dreading this as well) and posting. No wonder I've been putting this off so long... I just want to make things and have someone else handle the rest.

beeswaxandhorsehair.etsy.com

dog toys

I've decided to make a line (or two) of dog toys.  The first line will be Marine Critters.  I've always had an obsession with the ocean and for many years was studying to become a marine biologist.  So far art has won out, but having the chance to combine two of my passions is exciting!  Here's a sample of one of the drawings I've created for the line.  I'm hoping to have a few completed by this weekend (but they all need to be finished by opening night!)

business card: check

With the help of Rachael and Jake my business cards are finally done! I'm pretty darn happy with the way they turned out. It was a ton of fun to design them and choose the paper and ink color. They'll be used both as business cards and as tags for my shop items. I'm official now.

I've been keeping an eye out for items to (usefully) decorate my studio. I came across these old milk crates and some other wonderful items at Rehouse. I'm going to attach the crates to the wall as shelves.

color scheme

I've finally settled on a color scheme for my ... business?  I don't know what the right word for it is, especially since I haven't sold anything yet.  But nevertheless I have a color scheme and that's exciting.

white, dusty aqua, mustard yellow and gray!

My nerdy love for color combination means I spent days perusing magazines, old sketch books, photographs and design websites to figure out what I was looking for.  Yellow and gray is my absolute favorite color combo but I wanted to get a softer vintage/antique feel.  So I added the aqua and white!  I'm half-way through printing my business cards with these colors.

My studio mates have printed beautiful invitations for the opening of their shop, Pistachio Press, letterpress + local.  November 4th, don't forget!

And of course what would a Beeswax and Horse Hair post be without a picture of my studio mascot, Harper.  She got to play with her best friend Dolly last night.  

Harper and Dolly

new studio. new product.

Surprise!  I've moved into a new studio... and it's going to have a retail space!  My studio mates and I recently moved from our 4th floor studio in Anderson Alley down to Booksmart Studio on the first floor.  Our space is gorgeous!  I'm working on designing my work environment and will post more about that when it's closer to completion.

The most exciting aspect of the new space is that my studio mates are going to be opening up retail space for their letterpress business in the space.  It will be called Pistachio Press, letterpress + local... and I get the chance to try and sell some of my own products!  We are having the grand opening on November 4th, 6-10pm at 250 N Goodman Street.  Stop on by!

I've been working hard to get my creative butt back in gear.  I just finished designing new business cards and will be personally letterpressing them this week.  There are a few new bags and I've also been making these tactile garlands out of collected paper.

In non-studio news:  Harper is almost a full-grown dog.  We've been having weekly adventures to various areas of Rochester.  Yesterday morning we ventured out to Lake Ontario and spent a few hours running around on the beach.

a bag... finally

Whenever I find a chance to get to the studio all I've had time to work on are pieces for other people.  A few hours ago I arrived in my little workspace and did NOT feel like continuing that.  Instead I took the cover off my sewing machine.  I haven't sewn in something like 2 or 3 months.  All the sewing skills I had started to collect are now far less than rusty.  But here's a bag I just finished up.  I decommissioned one of those old orange live vests and incorporated the more interesting sections of material into the bag.  Construction wise it's fairly crappy for my standards... but I'm happy to have made something that I have complete aesthetic control over again.

been busy

My posting has been less than prolific recently.  Although I've FINALLY been spending more time in the studio (5 times in the past 2 weeks, that's a record for me).  Things are looking good at the moment, but I can't let anything slow down lest I lose my creating/life organizing momentum.

There's been a bit of fun sprinkled in amongst the work.  Here's a picture of me and my boys dressed up for a pirate festival!  Harper has a plastic knife tied around her waist.

getting hit by cars

This past winter I was very excited to try my hand at cold weather bike commuting.  A friend of mine set up a beautiful Bianchi Volpe for me, complete with fenders and studded tires.  On my own I installed a total of 8 blinking lights on all sides of the bike because I'm a safety nut.   

On December 2nd I was biking home from work at 8pm.  I was lite up like a Christmas tree, wearing a helmet, and was following every rule of the road.  At this time of night there were a number of cars parallel parked on the street so like any safe cyclist I kept my distance from the line of cars.  Looking in my rear-view mirror I saw headlights coming up.  I kept a careful eye on the lights but maintained my position.  I realized the car was moving very quickly but I was sure they would slow down since there were cars coming in the opposite direction.  Less than 300 feet before I was to make a right hand turn onto a quieter street I heard the engine rev.  I watched in terror as the car sped up.  The next thing I knew there was a huge CRACK and I was catapulted from my bike.

I looked up as I landed and saw the huge Mercedes SUV that had hit me swerve into oncoming traffic, narrowly avoiding a collision.  At that point I realized I was screaming and crawled out of the street to avoid getting hit by the next car.  The SUV never stopped.   My bike, shoe, and various bike parts were strewn in the road and witnesses helped to collect them and pull be further into the grass.  My adrenaline was so pumped that besides the screaming and crying I figured I was fine, just really shaken up.  

Once the ambulance arrived I realized I was in worse shape then originally thought as they took me to the hospital.  I was almost positive my leg was broken as any pressure at all sent shocking pain up my calve.  Thankfully it turned out to be a bad muscle contusion that put me on crutches and then a cane for a few weeks.  I had a concussion from hitting the pavement and there were various bumps and scrapes on my arms and legs, but I was alive.

A closer inspection of my bike gave more insight into the accident.  The car had hit me so severely that he/she broke my rear rim.  As the wheel continued to turn the broken rim hit my seat stays, getting wedged in place and throwing me off the bike.  By some miracle I fell to the right and not the left, otherwise the car would have driven over my body.

I fought for months to get video footage from traffic lights further down the street hoping to catch a license number.  Unfortunately the video was of such terrible quality that all you could see were shaky headlights.

I'm re-hashing this story in all its long-winded glory because a friend of mine recently connected me with the CAUTION WOMEN CYCLING group.  They gave me a "Caution, women cycling" sign to post at the place I was attacked at.  I'll be placing the sign in the next week and will blog a bit more about the group as I find out more about them.

And just a word of advice I'd like to leave you with.  If you do see a cyclist get hit by a vehicle and there are others around to help the injured person, PLEASE go after that car and get the license number!  I am so thankful to those that stopped to help me but wish someone would have gotten that damn number...

racing

On a whim I decided to enter my first mountain bike race at Dryer Road Park this weekend.  With a little persuasion I signed up for the sport class (12 miles) instead of the beginner level (4 miles).  About half an hour into the race I very much regretted my class selection.  I managed to finish with only a few bumps and scrapes but am going to need a few days to fully recover.  Probably the most exciting part was realizing I now know how to drift around corners while bombing downhill sections.  That was the only time I was able to pass a few riders.  The worst part was hearing racers telling me to step aside on the up hills because I was going too damn slow.  I need more leg muscle.

I didn't find any pictures of me on the single track but here I am looking tried and slouched as I head out for my final lap.

I got myself some clipless pedals and shoes.  I'll be working on that this week which I'm sure will bring some lovely bruising.

been gone a while

A few weeks ago I did a 120 mile bike ride to meet up with some friends for camping.  I really didn't think I would make it the whole way but by some miracle my tired legs got me there.

picture courtesy of Rachael

And then last week I took a trip out to Ohio to visit my family.  It was great to see everyone and not think about the stresses of Rochester for a while.  Harper's introduction into the family went smoothly, she's an official member now.

copilot

this is where i grew up

dad with his kite at the beach

And now that I'm back it's time to hit the studio.  Besides the ongoing project of the maps I've also started to work on a possible new commission piece.  It involves making my grandfather look like a farmer.
 

starting to work on the color process

first attempt

with suspenders

plus a hat

final drawings

Here they are!  Finally completed and scanned.  On to the next.

learning to swim

Harper and I visited the dog beach at Ellison Park.  She was a bit afraid of the water but once I rolled up my pants and jumped in she got the idea.  So far she's only splashed around with her front paws but I have high hopes of her becoming a water loving dog that will one day join me on sail boats and surf boards.  Of course this is after she learns to run next to me while mountain biking and can retrieve beers from the fridge.  I'm not kidding.  She's going to be perfect.

The map drawings are so close to being done!  I just need to do a final scan and clean on Wednesday.  Then its onto the color portion of the process.  Which I have promised myself will take a quarter of the time the drawings did...

coming home to a mess

this is what i came home to today

Harper seems to be having separation anxiety issues.  She whines and barks at the top of her lungs once I leave the apartment.  I've tried kongs filled all sorts of goodies, bones, plush toys, a thunder shirt, a ridiculous pheromone plug-in thing, covering her crate, exercise, ignoring, 3 hour drills where I leave for increasing amounts of time, and so on.  I live in an apartment and I'm sure she's driving my neighbors nuts when I'm not there.  I finally decided to let her out of her crate while I'm gone.  It went okay for the first two days (at least that's what I assume... she wasn't barking when I got home), but today I came home to find shredded paper ALL over the apartment and my carpet peed on...

She's sleeping under my desk at work since I didn't have time to clean up her mess during my lunch break.  I'm at a loss.  Leaving her 'free' when I leave seems to have worked the best so far but I've been told that her separation anxiety will only increase if I continue to do this.  Fabulous.

updates

The meeting for my map drawings went well!  I'm going to be giving them 2 separate final versions this weekend.  It looks like I may be doing more commissioned drawings for them after this!

chillin' under my desk

Harper's been spending time with me at work.  She's pretty good about staying under my desk and snoozing away the day.  Unfortunately I'm having some major problems keeping her quiet when I leave her at home!  I've tried just about everything.  My next attempt will be leaving her 'free' in my bedroom with her crate door open and seeing how that goes.  She hasn't destroyed any personal items yet (although she does enjoy collecting my shoes into a pile and cuddling with them) so I'm hoping she won't chew up the mattress or walls.

map!

Weeks and weeks ago I said I would post pictures of a map that I was commissioned to draw.  Needless to say things didn't quite go as planned.  But I've snapped some sketch book pictures to show!  Today I'm having a lunch meeting with my friend who 'hired' me to see what he thinks of the drawings thus far.  They still need a lot of work but I'm starting to like where things are going.

first this happened

then I played with watercolors

this sketch page was fun

getting closer...

drew some little plant things

where things are currently at