New This Week
Same But Different
While we use many of the same photographs over and over, each piece of art is unique and different. Each one has different materials. If it is encaustic the wax behaves differently from day to day. Some days Lisa adds more texture or depth. Lisa has been playing more with added pan pastels and oil sticks. So while it may be the same photo, there may be more color or texture added to one compared to the other. The framing really depends on what is going on inside of Randy’s head at any given time and what materials are at his fingertips. So when we say each piece is unique- we mean it. See something you like, you may want to grab it while you can, because there will more than likely never be another like it. Below is a great example of the same but different.
Never
a dull moment…
We enjoyed a trip to Green bay, WI last weekend to participate in ArtiGras. The last time we did this show it was meh… so we decided to not go back. However, it changed locations and we have gotten a larger following in the area, so we decided to give it another try. We did not leave disappointed as we had a complete opposite experience! Our hotel was actually quiet, we were able to try a new brewery and eat some good food. We saw past customers and got to meet new ones. The middle part was good :)
Getting there and back was a wee bit of a challenge. Our truck had recently been to the mechanic for some light surgery. We thought it might have been fixed, but about 30 min from Green Bay, we found out it wasn’t. Poop. Thankfully we did break down at a gas station, so there were snacks if needed. (Randy eats like a teenage boy!) It was still morning and a phone call to our mechanic proved to be a good idea! He was able to talk Randy through how to try and temporarily fix it and get us back on the road. (Mass air flow sensor is bad. When it decides to stop working, the truck smokes and we can’t go over 3 mph.) It behaved all weekend and all we wanted to do was get home. Yup, we got on the road at about 7:30 pm on Sunday night and about 8:30 we stopped for gas, got a 1/4 mile and sure enough, SMOKE! Sigh… Randy tried to reset it and tried again, and again and again… No luck. The good news was that next to the gas station there also happened to be a hotel. SO even though we were stranded, we could hopefully have a place to rest our heads for the night. We decided to turn around and chug, chug, chugga our way back. On the 8th chug- it cleared!!!!! The truck started running fine and we made the choice to get back on the road, cuz- there is no place like home. I’m happy to report, we pulled into our drive way at 1 am Monday morning. What a feeling of relief. Also relief that we made enough $ to be able to pay for the repair we now know we can’t avoid. It’s always good to see the positive in an otherwise stressful situation, makes life a lot more enjoyable.
P.S. It broke down for good at about 10:00 am that same day. One last trip to Amery to drop off at the gallery and then on to the mechanic it was going. Made it 7 miles from home and that was all she wrote. Thank goodness for AAA!
New this week!
All are listed under Art For Sale.
Behind the Scenes
Making handmade art is quite a process and that process varies for all artists. Most people have no idea the amount of time, effort, tears, sweat and thought that goes into it. Society as a whole is becoming so far removed from “where things come from” that we have tv shows that fascinate viewers by the process behind the scenes. This is a glimpse into part of what goes into making a Tin Cat piece. We take our own photos, edit our own photos, print most of our own photos, cut the substrate to mount the photos on, then stain and prime those surfaces, glue the photos down by hand, then the encaustic process goes on after all that. We make our own frames using reclaimed materials which we find ourselves. We hope people will find the beauty and joy in what we do to create unique artwork and appreciate the time and creativity it takes. When you buy handmade, you are supporting the dreams of real people. Thank you.
New This Week!
Fun Facts Friday!
👉FUN FACTS FRIDAY!👈
We are often asked where we get the materials we make our frames out of. The answer is- ALL OVER!
~Auctions
~Dumpsters
~Vintage/Antique Shops
~Alleys
~Thrift Stores
~ReStores
~Junk Yards (a Randy personal favorite)
~Given to us
~Garbage Cans
~Found along the road
~Garage Sales
~House tear downs
~Barn tear downs
~Cummings Lumber when we need new and want those awesome circular saw blade marks.
Yup, pretty much everywhere and anywhere. We are always on the look out for something cool.
We Got Published! →
Randy surprised me with an interview he did a few months back that he never told me about. It’s by Twisting Pixels- “a magazine website dedicated to digital art, the artists that create it and the tools they use. The site is the brainchild of David Asch, himself an accomplished digital artist and author of several books and numerous magazine articles on image editing using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Our mission is to build an archive of interviews with digital artists from all over the world, reviews of the apps used to create the images you see here, on Instagram and other popular gallery platforms. We will be featuring artists’ images in a regular mini-gallery spot, as well as news from the digital art community. All this will help to promote the artists and hopefully provide inspiration to our readers, too!”
You can see the article HERE. How exciting!!!
Wausau
New show for us. Tried something new. Left a very good show to see if we could gamble with a new crowd. The dice rolled and …… poop. We didn’t do bad, but we didn’t do as good as we would have had we stayed with the old. Professional gamblers, that’s what we are and this time the dice didn’t turn up the correct little dotty things.
However, we still had a good time. We met new artists and knew soooo many more. It was so much fun to take a walk and chat with friends we’ve made through the years. We stayed in a house with 8 other artists. Beautiful, old creeky house with character. We ate food and we laughed and we listened to music and sang songs. It was wonderful.
Here are some pictures from our weekend. Will we go back? We may. To be determined….
2018 Last One Away
Last show of the year away from home! Woohoo! Our first time at Winter Art Fair OFF The Square. It was a great show. A great crowd. And a great way to end the year. Well, sorta end the year. We still have the Cafe Wren Holiday Art Sale in December. But thats close to home and we get to sleep in our bed.
Anywho… Madison is one of our favorite cities for food and beverage. Not for getting around in, as there is construction EVERYWHERE! And one way streets. Very confusing for these country kids. We had some good eats and were also very blessed with good art show neighbors. We laughed a lot and nobody gave each other the stink eye or secretly wished the other to get fleas. At least I hope they didn’t think that of us. Hmmm….
