Featured on Etsy Treasury!

I'm happy to announce, that one of my latest pieces, "Stairway to Heaven" has been featured on an Etsy Treasury showcase!  I think it looks great with all the other beautiful aquamarine colored items as well :)

I scrolled down to the bottom to find the definition of a Treasury since I'm still learning and here is what it said:

"The Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items."

Check it out!  http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=67162

I'm getting better

So thanks to my wonderful friend, we'll just call her "CosmoPaulatin" for now, I am learning how to take better photos of my finished scarves and my online store is starting to shape up a little. I've recently listed a few more new pieces, and would be happy to hear any feedback or constructive criticism on the look, descriptions, prices,etc..

The sunlight shining on these beauties really does the trick! Check out my new listed items by clicking on any of the images on the left that says, "Shop Muse Scarves!"

"Oops..SALE" section!

While I wish that each of my silk painting creations

could be pulled off without a hitch, ever so often a splash of paint will fall in a place I didn't mean to, or the tiny holes along an edge may become a little too noticeable. The little voice in my head of the disapproving snobby artist tells me - "Hmph, burn it immediately and start over!"

However, when I've shown these to my friends, or even fellow artists, I always get the same response, "Oh, I didn't even notice that!" or "You're crazy and being too much of a perfectionist!".

I then proceed to growl...pout...scoff...and the dilemma brews in my mind. What to do with these less than ultimately PERFECT creations? Well, I've started an "Oops.. SALE" section in my store. I'm hoping this will be the perfect solution. Prices are all lowered about 15%, so they are more affordable, and this way I'll be able to "shush" that little snobby artist in my head and tell her - "Calm down! Some people enjoy a good deal, and they are still pretty!"

Check out my "Oops..SALE" section!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7370805&section_id=6210226

Battle of the Blocks

Today I finally completed painting one of the most stubborn pieces of silk habotai I've encountered this far.  Once I had my pre-hand rolled scarf all stretched out and all the geometric resist lines drawn in, I was very excited to color it up!

The minute my brush hit the silk, I knew something was wrong.  Instead of the paint flowing beautifully across the silk and filling each enclosed motif area, it just sat there, in a little puddle and refused to budge.  The nerve!  I tried using more paint, but the same thing occurred.  I couldn't bear the thought of spending 8+ hours trying to fill in all the white, so I went ahead and painted the background as well as I could, then the motifs.  The paint continued to puddle, and even created these circular areas that simply pushed the paint up and away, so I just used thinner coatings.

Once it was all painted, the white rough edges stuck out like a sore thumb, so I mixed a color just slightly darker than the original light purple ground, and painted outlines of each shape. Then I mixed some different purples and reds and painted in overlapping geometric lines that mimicked the original motifs.  

As the outlines were drying, I actually noticed the resist outlines cracking now!  I wonder how this is going to turn out in the end? Of all things, puddling paint, dark outline edges, and now crackling resist- what next?!

Well, of course, OTHER than a few more newly acquired grey hairs from this experience. *whew*

Here is the final outlook - all stretched out.  I'm so disappointed and frustrated because it looks NOTHING like the original design I had in my head.. even my colors became dark, muted and subdued.  From now on, I am going to need to wash all the silk BEFORE I begin to avoid this problem again!  Alas, I have fully learned my lesson now.. We shall see once this piece is heat set, washed, and ironed, how it will really turn out.  Who knows, maybe it was salvaged?  But personally, it would be fine by me if I never had to look at it again!

Happy Hearts

I'm not sure what possessed me to paint these hearts the other weekend, but something sure did.  It must have been my relaxed and carefree state of mind.. Or possibly the fact that my honey was only a few feet away from me, doing his thing and sharing the open air rooftop deck with me as I painted in my own little world.  A precious, lazy afternoon.  At the time, I was kicking myself for doing something so cliche, but now that it's finished, maybe it's not so bad.

What do you think - too happy?  

"Too Pretty" Gallery

Ahh Friday! The week almost over, and the weekend of painting in front of me couldn't put me in a better mood! In addition to "Midnight Roses", there are a few more pieces that I have simply invested so much time, energy, and emotion into that I don't think I could part with. Last night I just finished my initial "Too Pretty to Part with" gallery by clicking HERE.

While these particular ones I cannot sell, they are the pieces that I feel my style is most coming alive, and it is my goal to develop more scarves with this type of feeling. Enjoy!

SOLD Pieces Gallery on Facebook

So I just started a Facebook Fan page and for those who have been wondering which of my pieces have sold, I will update the album below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=265633&l=3a0c289716&id=182439280654

If you are already on facebook and become my fan, this blog is linked up to it, so it could be your one stop shop for all MUSE news, contact, inquiries, etc..  Enjoy!

Too pretty to part with..

There are a select few pieces that I might not be able to part with. 

"Midnight Roses" is one of these silk paintings that fall into this category.  This was my first long scarf painting, and I had been dreaming and sketching wonderful linear rose patterns over and over again for months (and really years now that I think about it).  I used a frame that I actually built myself under Olivia Batchelder's supervision, in her Laguna studio, of course.  

Until that moment in time, I only had the little square frames to work with, and therefore was limited to, well, little squares.  Due to this and spacing, I had been holding back for so long, and finally FINALLY was free to paint the whole length of a long silk scarf!

This weekend, I am going to start my Rose series - all different shades, colors, and different swirly designs will fill the afternoons... roses, roses, and more roses.. I'm so excited!  and well.. I suppose I'll have to brace myself for parting with SOME of them...