Brick & Mortar Friends: Canyon Market

Here's a big Bean Up The Nose Art "WELCOME!!" to our brick & mortar friend Canyon Market, in San Francisco.

(Here's another sign . . . reflection's bad, but the most important part is visible.  You know how we feel here at Bean Up The Nose Art about our San Francisco Giants.  Actually, that's "World Champion San Francisco Giants.")

Canyon Market is a terrific Glen Park neighborhood resource at 2815 Diamond St.  Starting with the flower-bedecked outdoor seating . . . . 

. . . and including pretty much everything you need to find for food and other delicious delights.  Great deli.

Wines, with excellent staff recommendations.

More deliciousness.

And sundries!  Including Beans!  Here's a sampling.

And a shout out to Bean Up The Nose Art's sales reps extraordinaire, The French Artist Club, whose other terrific greeting cards are also featured at Canyon Market.

Thanks to you, Canyon Market, for carrying Bean Up The Nose Art's cards.  Your staff is uber-friendly, and big enough to help and smile at everyone walking in your doors.  Also appreciate your humor, and your rooting for the Gs.   YOU ROCK!!!

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Another shout out here, too . . . to fellow Art Girl Marianne Bland, who is Featured Artist of the Month at Sacramento365.com.  Check it out!!!!  Way to go, Ms. Marianne.

Things are seriously blooming.

Yes, it snowed here in the San Francisco Bay Area last weekend.  And yes, it's supposed to do it again this Friday.

And yet.

These dudes and dudettes are bursting their yellow hearts out in joy and glory.  

And I feel likewise.  Causes of such joy?  Lots of art time.  Lots of family time.  Lots of friend time.  And that is a wonderful, lucky mix.  Especially for me, who has been a little daft and challenged in the "people" section of life.  (If you do click on that blog post link, you'll get to the "fear of people" part at the bottom . . . .)

I am as grateful as a daffodil for the love and support I've been receiving . . .  starting with friends cheering me on at the CrossFit competition last weekend, and sending me virtual love ever since . . . and especially for the founding of the Cheer Squad Art Girls!!!  So, so, so looking forward to being in the internet circle with you, gals!!! ROCK ON!!!!

SPACES STILL LEFT!!! at Bean Up The Nose Art's luggage-tag making class this Saturday afternoon at Cherish, 115 Clement St., San Francisco.  1-3 p.m.  $20.00 for everything.  Click here for more details on how to register.  

Updates, we've got updates

This here post is a little like the "Stump the Chump" segment of "Car Talk" on NPR stations . . . where Click and Clack revisit some of the folks they've given advice to, and find out whether it worked.  

Today, we're revisiting some old posts, to let you know what's happened since.  And we'll be traveling in reverse-chronological order.

* * * * *

On January 23, 2011, we posted about Bean Up The Nose Art's luggage-tag-making class to be held at Cherish in San Francisco next Saturday, February 26.  UPDATE:  spaces still available!  Call this fabulous paper arts store at 415-379-7300 to make reservations.  $20 per person for everything.  1-3 p.m.  115 Clement St. 

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On January 13, 2011, we posted to you about "1979 Saturdays"'s pledge to go cell phone-less and computer screen-less all day and night long on Saturdays, and we told you about William Powers' terrific book "Hamlet's Blackberry" regarding technology and humans and how the two love each other but sometimes need a break.  UPDATE:  fabulousness!  

It is a terrific thing to get yourself away from these devices for this percentage of the week.  Your mind starts to feel like it used to -- unharried, cogitating longer on different kinds of things, able to listen to what the people next to you are saying without such distraction, and your hands work on art projects and other tactile endeavors besides clicking buttons on a pad.  Amazing results.  A little freaky around 9 am each Saturday to think, "Oh -- I'm NOT turning that on."  And friends and family freak out a little thinking they can't instantaneously reach you.  But we're all working through our anxieties, and it's been overall great.

Best and cool-est of all . . . "Hamlet's Blackberry" author William Powers wrote the kindest post back to Beans, in response to us forwarding him the "1979 Saturdays" blog post link.  WAY TO GO, MR. POWERS!!  YOU ROCK!!

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On November 2, 2010, as part of this blog's "Month of Gratitude," much love was posted about fabulous CrossFit and Tamalpais CrossFit in Marin, and how my learning to do pull-ups changed my life.  Seriously.  UPDATE:  tomorrow I'm competing -- along with husband Clarke -- in my first CrossFit competition.  Seriously.  At nearly 50 years old.  Come on out to the Courage Games and watch a whole bunch of amateur athletes go for it!!!  Or, cheer us on in your virtual world.

* * * * *

And on October 13, 2011, Beans posted about frustration with a certain-public-radio-station-that-would-remain-nameless for pre-empting our pledge challenge advertising spot with tickets to the Vinyl Cafe.  And Beans is very, very happy to report that this week, that radio station wrote an incredibly honest, kind, long, and apologetic e-mail to Beans, taking full responsibility.  WAY TO GO!!!  Took a while, but you came through.  ROCK ON.

Hope you've enjoyed this little road-back-trip.  More news next week!  Thanks for playing with us.

Brick & Mortar Friends: Mountain Bookshop

Welcome to a terrific new brick and mortar friend!  Hello, Mountain Bookshop in Sonora, CA!!

You know that Beans loves to travel to our brick and mortar friends and take our own photos.  But the Mountain Bookshop is, according to Mapquest, 152.47 miles from where I sit this afternoon.  And this fabulous store deserves to be posted about NOW!

So, with Mountain Bookshop's permission, these photos are lifted from their fabulous Facebook page.  Click on over and "like" them!  You can join 943 (as of this writing) others who do. 

Along with books, they've got lots and lots of other goodies for you.  

Like toys.

And accessories.
Art supplies!
A visiting napper.
And . . . cards!
Delightful (and really funny!) owner Susan R. has been in business since 1977.  That is some business savvy, and some fabulous commitment.  Her store is deservedly well-loved in return.  Tons of traffic on Facebook.  Great reviews on Yelp and InsiderPages.  

This wonderful community resource and terrific destination in the Sierra foothills recently generously placed Bean Up The Nose Art's second-biggest order, ever . . . tons of cards and luggage tags . . . and we are so lucky and grateful to be a part of such an awesome establishment.  

Great store and great work, Susan!!!!  You are a true role model.  Rock on, woman.  Rock on, Mountain Bookshop!!!      

Happy Valentine's Day to YOU, Clintene!

So today, amidst the bills and junk mail in  Bean Up The Nose Art's mail box, there was this wonderful package.  

Even the back of it was great.  Can you see that it reads, "It's a day for happy hearts!" 

 
Which, especially because it was Valentine's Day, was PERFECT.  And couldn't wait to open it up and pull out all the goodies inside.

Which included this FABULOUS VALENTINE!!!!  Here is the front.

Here is the back.
And here is the scrumptious, ornate, hand-constructed middle.  I mean, folks, it is grand!!!

All of this hand-made love came from friend and customer Clintene S. -- who, no matter that she is in Florida and I am currently in California, always feels close to my little-art-girl heart.  Last year, Clintene was doing a long-term house-sit gig out here in the West.  She came to Bean Up The Nose Art's studio as part of Marin Art Council's Open Studio last spring . . . and then came to other shows through the summer.  AND BROUGHT GIFTS!!!!  Always with a smile and encouragement, and always buying Beans, and sharing just the very best spirit and sense of adventure and open-heartedness.  She made my day these times with her kind and enthusiastic spirit.  And then, since she returned to Florida, we've been exchanging random and fun art treats by mail.  Which is about one of the most fun things you can do with your art buddies.  

I mean, seriously -- look at the kinds of things you get!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to you, Ms. Clintene.  Rock on, woman!!!!

Can We Play At Your House, Virginia?!?!?

Here is my good friend Virginia. 

Well, she is a bit of a blur in this photo.  Because I am not always the best photographer.  But actually, it's fitting.  Because Virginia is a dancer (indeed, I met her several years ago as one of her pole-dancing students).  And a blossoming singer.  And an artist in many media.  In other words, she's a whirling dervish of creativity.  Which you can tell from the juiciness of her studio space itself.

She makes oriel pendants that she sells on etsy and on her website, KentuckyGirlDesigns.com.  Her favorite mode of creation is in custom orders, where she gets intuitive hits on folks' images and desires.

I've been lucky enough to visit her fabulous studio for playdates for the past couple of years.  You definitely want to go there to play.  I mean, the woman even has cool SCISSORS.

I was there yesterday for a lesson in altered books -- another one of Virginia's art talents, and which she teaches about at places like Once Around in Mill Valley, and Stage Door Studio in Sausalito.

I got to pick out a book to alter.  Which means wreck and do-dad up in really fun ways.

Then, started off with a big old tray of stamps of luscious colors from which to chose.  There's not a surer way to make my heart sing.

Pulled lots of images out of magazines.  Got lots of good instruction about thinking of colors, words associated with them, how to work.  (I forgot what an excellent teacher Virginia is, after not having been in her classes for a while.)

And then she brought out these lovelies.

OMG.  Do you know what you can do with them?  That's right -- paint over them with water, and they blend together.  LOVE.  IT.

Here are the two spreads I made in the two hours we played.  The stripes on the right hand side, next to Mr. Einstein, are actually pockets in which I can place cool things.

Thanks to you, Ms. Virginia!  It's always fun to hang with ya, sister.  For lots of reasons . . . not the least of which is that in the two-hour altered book lesson, we also covered whole other worlds of topics.  Music recommendations, book recommendations, questions about marketing and social networking, creativity websites, how to become more comfortable with being photographed, and where to look for vacation lodging.  Wow.  And it didn't even seem like we were talking that fast.  I now realize that the blur of you at the top of this post is actually a very fine artistic interpretation of your energetic soul!

Thoughts of spring

It's not yet Valentine's Day.  Most of the country is digging out from blizzarded piles of snow.  And yet here at Bean Up The Nose Art, we're working on the spring.  

(Have a ways to go on this little dickens . . . a bit more do-dadding up with some more dots and swirls.  It's a process.)  

The commitment to the fabulous sales reps (REALLY.  FABULOUS.  SERIOUSLY!) is to have ten new cards ready for sales in two weeks.  Got three already printed; four are in this stage of "getting-there"; and have sketches done for several others.  YAY!!!

Other enterprises are blooming, too.  

Banding together with a group of Bay Area artisans to beef up our social media skills and presences.  I frankly cannot believe this is happening.  Three months ago, I would have laughed in your face if you said I'd be doing anything like this.  But I am loving the immediacy of connection and feedback on Facebook and Twitter, and the way those venues allow us to support and  promote each other.  It amazes me how it frees up creative energy inside you, synergistically.  And who knew IT WOULD BE SO FUN?!?!?! 

I really, really appreciate this shift in perspective, and all of the wonderful folks in my new social media networking roundtable world who are helping this occur.  Thanks for all the positivity and lessons, folks!!!!  You've definitely put a spring in my step.

Brick & Mortar Friends: Artisans Gallery

Here's a big Bean Up The Nose Art "WELCOME!" to new brick & mortar friend Artisans Gallery.

This rockin' place -- located at 1368 Pacific Street in Santa Cruz, California -- has a long and wonderful history.  Founded in 1976 as an artists' coop, it suffered along with the rest of downtown Santa Cruz in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.  It was reworked as a larger and more expansive gift and gallery store in the aftermath.  

Linneae H. began working there in 1993 as a sixteen year old . . . and BOUGHT the store in 2009.  Holy cow.  Boy oh boy, do we salute your bean-up-the-nose spirit, Linneae! 

The gallery's motto is "Dedicated to the Creative Spirit."  What more could a person ask for? The place is bright and beautiful, and features wall art, jewelry, glass, ceramics, metal work, pottery, cards (insert smile here), candles and more.   

 

Big participants in the downtown community . . . and won 2010 "Best Gift Shop" and "Best Locally-Owned Business" awards from Santa Cruz Weekly's "Goldie" Awards.  (And came in second place for Best Gallery and Best Jewelry, to boot!)

And as if their lovely storefront presence wasn't enough . . . they've got a terrific website (which all these photos are courtesy of) and a rockin' & rollin' Facebook business page, too.  Click on over and "like" them up!!

Thank you so much, Artisans Gallery, for stocking Bean Up The Nose Art's greeting cards and business card holders.  We're proud and honored to be carried by such civic-minded and stalwart community supporters, and who so value the creative spirit.  Rock on!!!!

How to: easy altering stamped images with watercolor tools

We start this lesson with a WATERPROOF ink pad.  Yes, important here is that it's WATERPROOF.  

I like Archival Ink, by the fabulous folks at Ranger Ink.  Archival Inks come in lots of juicy colors.  For this lesson, we'll be working with your basic Jet Black.

Stamp one or many of an image you like on whatever kind of background you like. 

Today we're all about the umbrellas.  

Next, you're going to need two more tools.  

First tool . . . in my right hand, I'm holding a watercolor pencil -- this one, by Caran D'ache.  You can find watercolor pencils, from all sorts of suppliers, at most good art supply stores.  If you like to shop on-line, the link above is to Dick Blick.  

For today's lesson in alteration, you need to be using a watercolor pencil -- not just a regular colored pencil (which are lovely in their own ways).  We need a watercolor pencil because we're going to add water to the work, and that doesn't work with with a straight-forward colored pencil.

Second tool . . . in my left hand, I'm holding a watercolor brush that loads water in the barrel.  (Also sold by Dick Blick.)

Okay, now that you've got your tools, let's use them.

Use your watercolor pencil to color in areas you'd like to in your image/s.  Here, I'm coloring- in one of the umbrellas.
Below is what it looks like at this point.  You can see the strokes of the pencil, and it looks very pencil-y.  Maybe this is what you want for your project.  If so, leave it just like that.

But you can also chose to use the watercolor brush to go over the pencil marks . . . .

And you end up with a much softer, blended, warm effect.  

This blended, soft look works especially well where you've repeated a stamped image over a large page space.  It's a great way to unify the images, or chose one or two to highlight as different than the others.

Yay!!  Go forth and play!!!   

Brick & Mortar Friends: Cliff's Variety

A big, gigantic, happy "WELCOME" to brick and mortar friend in the Castro -- Cliff's Variety.

Cliff's Variety is a veritable institution. Now located at 479 Castro St., Cliff's has been around and at a "variety" of locations in the neighborhood for over 65 years.

And now look at its insides!

Cliff's wonderful website provided these photos of the store, and provides tons of great historical information . . . and information about what it carries. Boy oh boy. What a place. Selling, "Hardware and so much more!", Cliff's has Home Improvement, Restoration, Home Decor, Housewares, Art and Stationery, Fabrics and Crafts, Fun and Games, and Seasonal and Holiday departments which sell everything "from tiaras to tape measures." The folks at Cliff's aim to provide you with all "the necessities of daily life." And they do a pretty darned good job!

Thank you, thank you, Cliff's Variety, for including Bean Up The Nose Art products in your list of "necessities of daily life." We're honored to be appearing in such a grand old establishment, with such a cool contemporary vibe. Rock on!!