HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year my friend!! Hope the New Year brings you happiness! and everything your heart desires!
xoxo
joanna and daisy

shy playing in the forest

Just completed my second animation and I can tell you right now...that I'm hooked with all this cartoon business! Lol   There are so many things to learn and I am so eager to know everything there is about animation!!
I just need to find time between painting and getting ready for my upcoming exhibition next summer :)
Hope you are well, my friend and enjoying the holidays!
xoxo

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas!!
with all our love,
joanna and daisy

happy holidays

I am in love...with..animation!! My head is sooo exploding with all these ideas and scenarios for my little people. I go to bed at night and I find myself in cartoon land! Forget about Christmas decorating and shopping! All I have accomplished so far with anything Christmas is my annual card. I know I'll be running around like a crazy person this weekend trying to decorate and shop!
I feel so alive again, I find myself smiling all the time, I'm pretty sure that people think that I'm in love. Except it's not a man..but a cartoon! hahahaha

My other news is that last weekend I participated in a small Christmas show that my cousin Penny invited me to. I really didn't expect that I would actually sell anything but I went anyway to spend time with her since I hardly see her. Well,... we barely spoke, we were too busy selling!! our table was the busiest there!  Penny makes the yummiest little soaps and I say yummy because they smell so good, you just want to eat them. I sold lots of pendants and my new prints :)) I'm so happy with the way these prints turned out.

BTW have I told you I'm in love? Lol
This is my next project in progress. '' Shy'' is making his debut in animation land :)  Can't wait to show you!
xoxo

Blondie and Daisy animation

please let the video load all the way before watching :)

Animation!!!
Ok, I am super thrilled with this new art form!! It never occurred to me really, to ever try it, but like with everything else in my art career...I stumbled on it by researching for something else...hahaha Ohhh how I love it when these things happen!! Just like when I was a textile artist and preparing to teach "printing on fabric", I tried it on paper (cause I was too lazy to get up and cut fabric from the bolt) lol That day was a turning point in my art career! I "discovered"...mixed media!
I'm not saying that I will become an animator, but wow!
I was actually researching, pen tablets and saw this animation software that was included with this tablet and .....downloaded the trial version to see what it's all about.
So, here I am weeks later..after many trials and errors..with my little video..
I know it's not perfect..and that's ok for now. I'm so proud of it :)
" Blondie and Daisy"
I have so many ideas, my head is about to explode! Lol
My little characters are coming alive :)
xoxo

getting ready for the holidays :)

My most favorite time of the year :) When nights are longer and it's chilly outside (not really the case this year, here in Greece) but anyways.. I'm hopeful abt the weather, that is...
I love the holidays, decorating the house but most of all, Christmas to me is baking :) and although it's still kinda early, I was looking through my cookie cutters and was inspired to make ornaments using my artwork.
I made these out of clay and glitter, lots of it!! I am in a glitter mode, making everything sparkly and shiny! I say do anything to make you smile :) if its glitter, then use it. There....huge smile!  It has been a difficult year for me, struggling with hard decisions and big changes in my life...but I'm a postive person and my art has kept me afloat most of the time, I can see the rainbow at the end of the tunnel..and I'm almost there :) 
On a lighter note, my prints are being well received and have sold quite a few this past week, so that is making me smile, big time :))  Isn't it wonderful when we sell our art?!  To see that it brings happiness to others?..
Thank you for listening, my friend. I am grateful for you!
xoxo

one of a kind prints

Finally in my shop!
 I've been wanting to make my art more affordable and have been brainstorming on how to offer these ready to hang. I love the idea of wooden blocks, but the weight of wood would add to shipping costs, so I came up with this idea of wrapping on a lightweight canvas!
I got together with a local graphic artist and had the whole project done by a professional :)
 I'm so happy with the way they turned out. They are a bit larger than the original paintings and look fantastic! I had them professionally printed on textured paper and then added subtle hints of glitter, stamps and crayon, making each one unique!
Hope you like :)
xoxo

happy november :)

November..already?.. It feels like summer was just a few weeks ago.. and still feels like it here. I'm still able to paint out on the balcony :) it only gets chilly in the evenings.
Hope you are doing well, my friend.

I have been working on a new altered book. I found this old childrens' book and been having so much fun with it, I just can't put it down!
Have a great month! oh wow! Christmas is just around the corner!!
xoxo

trick or treat

Wish I was there to go trick or treating... The closest thing to Halloween is carnavale, here in Greece, which is celebrated over several weekends in February.
I will be there in spirit, though! So Happy Halloween my friend!! eat lots of candyyyy!
xoxo
joanna and daisy

happy monday :)

Some more inspiration from the islands... This journal page will be made into a painting for next years exhibition. My head is so full of ideas it's begining to ache! Lol.  I have a feeling a lot of fish will be playing a big role in my new paintings.
xoxo

the delivery boy..

My latest painting is inspired from Cayenne restaurant (whom I blame for the extra lbs, I gained, btw)
Little yellow is their new delivery boy. He's a bit clumsy, dropping chili peppers everywhere...I think his mind is elsewhere...my little daydreamer..
xoxo

happy fall

Wish that was  true, since the temerture here continues as if it's summer...and I really want to start wearing shoes instead of sandals and fall clothes. Lol

This is what I found at my door, when I got back from vacation! Jill, from bois-fleurie send this gorgeous card that I won at her giveaway! It's so pretty with all sorts of tiny bits of fabric and lace sewn on it. I'm going to frame it and hang it in my bedroom :)  Thank you Jill, your work is wonderful!

sifnos part two

 Vacation days are over, but my brain is still on the island... I wish there was a way I could spend the winter there! I think it would be fascinating, to live like a local, walk around quiet cobblestone streets, with no tourists around and just paint all day... The winter there is mild with lots of rain and doesn't get windy like it does during the summer. ( i did ask,, just in case, Lol)

The most beautiful place in Sifnos, to me is the Kastro. (all the pics are from there).

It is an ancient "castle" built on a rock and the houses are mostly two stories. some of them have little bridges, it's very rugged and has narrow streets. In ancient times it was sealed with  arcades, like war towers to protect the settlement. Three of these entrances are still standing!

This is one of them. They're called "lotzies".

 The view to the Aegean was.....spectacular!!  That little church looks like it's floating in the sea.. I was too scared to walk down there to visit. It seemed a bit too steep of a path. yikes!!

This is a wild fig cactus! the figs are quite tasty, I'm told.

I met some really wonderful people in Sifnos and one of them is Kelly, all the way from Oklahoma.
 She came to visit Greece and decided to live here for one year.. well, that was thirteen years ago!! hahaha  Miss Kelly fell in love with a Greek guy, Tony, and lives on the island nine months out the year, the rest of the time she's here in Athens and goes to the US for the holidays. We'll be hanging out in the winter, she happens to have an apt, close to mine :)  
I thought that was such a nice story when I met her. all the way from Oklahoma! wow!  Isn't it so amazing how being at the right place, at the right time can change your life?!  One day you're in Oklahoma and the next in Sifnos, of all places!! Lol 
 I love stories like that! how your life can change overnight, hopefully for the better, but even if it's something bad..it always has a deeper purpose, one that we don't realize right away and it turns out good in the end. no matter how bad it was...
Hope you are well my friend and creating, creating, creating.! I have started a painting, it's far from done, too many things to take of, business mostly, before I can concentrate on my canvas.
I also want to share with you, something I received in the mail after I got back, but that will be my next post :)  

Sifnos

If only I could stay longer....

This was my first time in Sifnos and also my first time visiting a Greek island in September, when most tourists have gone back to work and their homes, and I must say..it's the best time to go to the islands.

Sifnos = FOOD!! seriously!  I've never had this kind of dining experience before! omg. Even their "plain" dishes were extraordinary. The most important Greek chef was from there, so of course there is pressure or lets just say pleasure for the locals to keep up with Nicholas Tselementes (1878-1958).

Feta cheese balls served with rasberry sauce!!

I had the most amazing food at Cayenne restaurant, which is also hosts a gallery  upstairs....and guess who is having an exhibition there next year :) Niko who is also the chef and owner is an artist himself, invited me to show my work  next summer.

I met the most hospitable and humorous people and made special connection with a couple of them :)
I'll tell you more about them in my next post.

Sifnos is also known for their pottery. The island is full of magnificent artists! A lot of the houses are decorated with pots. even on the roof tops!

This is the view from my room!!

Appolonia is the capital or Hora of the island. It was so pretty at night, with beautiful restaurants and cute little cafe bars.

And of course, gorgeous churches all around the island.

Breath taking sunset.(view from my room)
I will show some more pics on my next post. hope I'm not starting to sound like a travel blog, but I wanted to share this with you :))
Hope you are doing well and creating beautiful art. I have some serious catching up to do, blog wise and work wise... I am sooo inspired by my trips this summer and anxious to get my paint brushes out!!
xoxo

magical Serifos....

Hello my friend, I've missed you... How was your summer? 
I just got back from visiting my favorite Greek island, Serifos. I was there last year and fell in love...and just had to go back again...
One word describes this island....magical...
Every day, after going to the gorgeous beach, I would stop for coffee and take out my journal....ohhh the view was just increadible.. right across from me, I could see the Hora, which is built on the mountain. There are houses there, built right on the cliff, scary, but people actually live in those tiny houses.
Serifos is rich in mythology as well. Medusa's head is burried on the island. She was so beautiful, that Poseidon fell in love with her and because she didn't care for him..he turned her into a monster. Everyone who dared to look at her face turned into stone, as did the king of Serifos Polydectes, who was a very mean king to his people.

This is taken at Hora. Can you see how thick the walls are? amazing! (click on the pics to see them full size)

Don't let the outside fool you, most of these houses are renovated and the interiors are updated. Some are tradionally furnished and others are modern :)

White washed and blue doors everywhere!!

Hora is most beautiful at night...people sit at their balconies with lit candles, listening to music and it's very romantic..

I'm in love with these chimneys...some are fireplaces and other for wood burning stoves. Aren't they so pretty?..

White and blue..everywhere...
 Can you see how happy I am there? like I belong, right?.. I had such a hard time leaving...

Sunset...just breathtaking...

That's the port in the background.

Catgammon, anyone? lol  I remember this kitty from last year. she loves sleeping in there. hahaha

I had wine from those grapes!! pretty strong stuff!  On my last day on the island, I had lunch (fried kalamari) at this tavern right on the beach! my feet were touching sand, that's how close to the water it was!  The family who own the tavern, grow their own vegetables and make their own wine :) how cool is that?..
Hope I didn't bore you with all theses pics. I you want to read more, please see my posts from last year.
I am lucky this year, as I will be visiting one more island this summer, Sifnos. It will be my first time and I'm pretty psyched about it! I won't be leaving for a couple of weeks, so that gives me time to prepare my journal, once again :)
xoxo

vacation time :))

Finally!!! and just in time! This non stop heat wave is the worst ever and I can't wait to get on that boat and feel the sea breeze on my face... That actually is the best part of my vacation..the boat ride :)
even the 4am wake up doesn't bother me. just get on the boat and off to the Greek islands! yesssss!!

Meanwhile, I've been preparing my journal, to take with me..
Hope you have a great summer and see you back here in a few weeks!!
xoxo

watermelon girl

Watermelon is the theme for the last week of ice cream inspirations and is most perfect considering this horrend heat wave, here in Greece! the temps went up to 106F. not the most pleasant weather to be painting... but here is my BB girl, immersed in a huge watermelon to cool off!
A big thanks to Kristin for hosting this wonderful challenge :) this has been most fun :))
My goal for the next few weeks, is to prepare my journal, so I can take it with me to the Greek islands...sigh... sitting by the beach and painting... ohhhh can't wait!!
Hope you are having a great summer, my friend!
xoxo

parlez vous francais?...

Wild 'n reckless is the theme for this week and the fun continues! I was going through my collage folder and found these funny images of Daisy! and Paris...ohhh, it's my dream to visit one day..
It's blazing hot (102 degrees!!) here and all I can think about is vacation time, but that won't happen until next month, sigh... meanwhile I plan to prepare my summer journal to take along with me :)
Happy Monday!!
xoxo

strawberry lemonade

Hello my friend! Hope you are doing great and enjoying the summer!! Sorry for the short posts lately, but I feel there are not enough hours in the day or night.. to catch up. I am constantly late with deadlines and feel like everything is taking me forever to finish!or maybe I'm just getting too slow.. do you feel like that sometimes? ughhh  I think this studio move was a bit too much for me to handle on my own.. I need a long vacation real soon!!
Strawberry lemonade is the inspiration for my glass ring :)  To see more of the ice cream flavors please follow the link.
xoxo

run daisy, run...

Are you hot enough?!  our crazy heat wave continues here, in Greece..ugh and not easy to paint in this kind of weather.. but this ice cream challenge has been very inspiring.
Hope you're having a great summer.
xoxo