Hand Painted Inspiration Boxes

I've just added some of my hand painted inspiration boxes to my Etsy Store. I'm offering free shipping for the month of September for anything in the store. (Make sure you email me and let me know you saw the free shipping promotion here.)

I use these little boxes as inspiration boxes. I put ideas that come to me in the shower in here as well as dreams and wishes. I have some friends who call them God Boxes and they put their cares and problems in the box to be sorted out.

Epicurious.com

I'm a big fan of epicurious.com...they have thousands of recipes and the reader reviews tell the real story on the goodness of the recipe. Yesterday I made two recipes that I'd highly recommend: Cumin-Scented Beef Kabobs and Red Velvet Cake with Raspberries and Blueberries. I added an extra stick of butter to the cake mix. The frosting is divine and it's a visually stunning cake.

Making Lanterns for Arts Aglow

I'm helping out with a cool lantern making project put on by the City of Burien. It's called Arts Aglow and is spearheaded by Denise Hendricksen. The Event takes place on September 12th and will feature workshops and end with a parade in the dark with everyone's lanterns lit and glowing in the night.

Artist book

This image is from an art project I did in an old book. I gesso-ed the pages then did collage and printing with found materials. This one uses bubble wrap and an old hat making supply catalog that was my mothers. She made hats and other cool things. That's where I get my love of making.

Joseph Beuys - Inspiration

CREATIVITY

"One of Joseph Beuys' fundamental messages, delivered again and again in lectures, interviews, and artworks, was that human beings can and must learn to be creative in many different ways. His famous slogan "Everyone is an artist" was not meant to suggest that all people should or could be creators of traditional artworks. Rather, he meant that we should not see creativity as the special realm of artists, but that everyone should apply creative thinking in their own area of specialization--whether it be law, agriculture, physics, education, homemaking, or the fine arts."

Quote from the Walker Art Center's website.

Shrines and Virgins

The Virgin of Guadelupe is my favorite saint. I've traveled a lot in Mexico where you can see images of her everywhere. I have adopted her as my own. Here is a shrine I saw on the Georgetown Garden Walk earlier this summer.

I'm teaching classes in Needle Felting

I'm going to be teaching needle felting beginning this fall. The fee is $20 an hour in your home or mine. There is a starter kit you can buy with will include everything you need to get started. Felting base, needles and an assortment of wool roving. The cost for the kit is $10 or you can provide your own supplies.

Click here to see some samples of my work in my etsy store.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5823533&section_id=5463056

email me at: diane@dianetdesign.com for more details.