Anne Leuck Feldhaus Adventures & Art

This is your LIFE.

Fabulous illustrator, Holly De Wolf, posted this Holstee Manifesto Poster on her blog along with some other wonderful links, including 20 ways to Get Good Karma, by the Dalai Lama. Hope you find them as inspiring as I did! I hope to read this manifesto every morning before I start my day.

Special Open Studio Guest Tomorrow: Eva May!

I'm thrilled to have my good friend and fabulous Swedish Artisan, Eva May, selling her fabulous Hats, Scarves, Bags and hip T's here at the studio this Saturday!!

I'm offering Great deals on Art, Prints & Holiday Gifts on this final shopping weekend before the Holiday...Discounts of 20-50% on Original Paintings!

Saturday, December 18th: Noon-5pm & Sunday, December 19th: Noon-5pm
My Roscoe Village Studio: 2040 West Roscoe in Chicago

Sharp Art!

 James Sharp and his wife Rosemary have been collecting my work for a few years now...it wasn't until I delivered a painting to their home last year, in Evanston, that I found out James was an artist, as well! They also have a home in the UK where he creates and shows the majority of his work. I love this textile bag he created with a mixed media collage technique. It holds so much and has been my 'go to' bag all summer long. Please visit SharpArt.co.uk to see more of his wonderfully prolific art work. Front and backsides of the bag: http://www.sharpart.co.uk

Bucktown Wrap Up...

Had an awesome corner spot at the Bucktown Arts Fest this year...thanks, Maria! Met some lovely new customers and had a great time next to artists' Danielle Crilly and Christie Chew-Wallace....across the aisle wonderful jewelers' Veronica Riley Martens and Deanna Rose.Did some fabulous art trades trades with Sara Lenart...my Number 3 Pendant made from a pool ball, so cool!  And these lovelies from Veronica Riley Martens:

And bought this great coffee mug from Ed Brownlee: 
Hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Map #211

The Hand Drawn Map Association (HDMA) is an ongoing archive of user submitted maps and other interesting diagrams created by hand. I found out about HDMA on their Facebook Fan Page...it's a great concept and site. I submitted the map below that I made for my Mom and Bill a few years back...it depicts their favorite walking trail in McMullen Park located in rural Warrens, Wisconsin. It's now #211 in the HDMA archives. They now have monthly map making contests ...do you have you would like to submit?

I found this wonderful artist on their site, Dahlia Elsayed. Her map is #173. It says she created this map to represent the month of August. She tells us that the map represents pretty much everything that was going on in her life at the time. Check out her other amazing map related art on her site: www.dahliaelsayed.com. I love the abstract yet humorous nature of this!

The trade is finally complete...

Last weekend I had a wonderful surprise visit from my good pal and fabulous artist, Kerry Rolewicz. We did a trade at the 2007 One of a Kind Show, I got the gorgeous piece below from her and in return I agreed to create a painting paying homage to a road trip out west that she took with her husband back in the early days before kids and mortgages (the plan was to give it to him as an anniversary gift). I was glad to finally get this painting to her, and hope he thinks this gift was worth the wait! (She noted the 4 mountains I put in each panel and the irony of now having 4 little boys...then we had to speculate what the number of trees might represent! Any ideas?)
PS I think I talked her into opening an Etsy Store...stay tuned for a link.

Pink on Pink...

My art fair pal Jill Miller of Hooey Batiks tagged me (facebook) in this great photo of her dogs, Emma in the foreground and Fausto...I was confused and then noticed a painting I did MANY years ago up on the shelf behind them. She said it's titled "red trees and pink sky" dated 2000. It's pink on pink on with red...haven't done that in a awhile..I'm inspired! Check out Jill's beautiful batik work on Etsy, here's a sample:

Hearts for Anna

To all of my fellow artists please considering making a Heart for Anna, everyone else please consider buying one! I have known Anna for several years, we met through the art fair circuit. She is a such a gem of a person and wonderful artist, please read on and help if you can. (And I'm sorry for the short notice...I just found about this wonderful fundraiser today).

Anna Millea, a longtime Guild and Artful Home artist, is fighting breast cancer - again. The disease has returned aggressively and is now in her bones, requiring an extreme sixteen rounds of chemotherapy. She has no insurance, having been deemed uninsurable due to her "pre-existing condition."

When we at Artful Home learned of this we knew we needed to do something to try to help her through this situation. What we have come up with is an event we are calling "Hearts for Anna", to which we hope you will contribute and donate a little bit of your time and talent.

Artful Home will hold a 5-day online event, "Hearts for Anna", August 12-16, 2009 in which miniature artworks, no larger than 5" x 7", will be sold. The items will be sold first-come, first serve, with all items selling for $100 on Day 1, $75 on Days 2 - 4, and $50 on Day 5. All money will go to a fund that goes directly to Anna Millea to help pay for her medical bills.

Follow this link to participate!

Rapt in Maille

I'll be featuring several of my friends from "Art Girls" over the summer as I happen by their art fair booths, today it's Melissa Banks of Rapt in Maille. I love her work and own one of her wide slinky cuff bracelets....I think it must be a wonder woman thing with me, I feel empowered with a cuff on! And Melissa is very prolific in this department, below are 2 of my new favorites. The chain mail is so comfortable to wear and for me always getting into paint and clay and other materials I don't have to worry about mussing it up, easy to clean, shiny stainless steel. 
Melissa has many different collections which include necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings, visit RaptInMaille.com to purchase on-line or better yet try to catch her in person at one of her summer shows. She is exhibiting at Wells Street is this weekend, June 13-14th.

Meet Rone Prinz

I had the pleasure of meeting Rone Prinz at the 57th Street Art Fair last weekend, she is from Woodland Hills, CA. I came by her booth during the drizzle early Sunday morning as she was putting out her work.I thought this bird in a tree piece was just wonderful and clever, it's what drew me into her booth. Then all the other treasures started coming out like the chair necklace in the top photo.
The sculptural pieces actually come apart and contain multiple jewelry pieces and have messages etched in them. Very unique and wondeful things...You can see Rone's work this weekend in Chicago at the Old Town Art Fair or next weekend in Milwaukee at the Lakefront Arts Festival.

Chicken Girl Give-Away

The wonderfully talented illustrator Jannie Ho is having a BLog Giveway that involves free business cards and a free print of your artwork...check it out!

We have a winner...and my happy Saturday

Miccosukee! You win, Congratulations!  Please contact me with your info, I don't think I have an email for you.

What a fun day I had, an unexpected brunch with artist friends Erica Jane Huntzinger visiting from WI and Byron Gin & his wife Patty at Uncommon Ground on Devon. Byron has a beautiful show of his paintings up through early May (painting to the right is Byron's) and Erica painted many of the interior doors in the restaurant (the piece bottom left is hers). It's really beautiful and the food amazing - I had the Uncommon breakfast melt eggs over easy, nueske black peppercorn bacon, cheddar- ale cheese, organic spinach, onion black bread.  Sorry I have no photos to share. After we ate we headed over to the Andersonville neighborhood to the Middle Eastern Bakery where I bought some interesting treats to share with Rich, among them 7 grain pita and a jar of Taramosalata, a greek style caviar spread which they all said is amazing - I'll let you know. Also bought a lovely assortment of bakklava to bring for dessert tonight. The minute I got home my friend Johanna and her boyfriend, furniture maker Mark Cwik called to say they had a nice load of wood for me to recycle into paintings. So I drove down to his studio and got a fabulous assortment of really nice panels. I'm so glad to have them since I love painting on wood and his only choice is to put them in the trash since some have coatings and veneers on them. Okay, going to sneak in a quick nap before going up to Evanston for dinner with my brunch pals. Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

Bob the Dog with a Blog

Bob lives in Virginia, he has a blog and it appears a very talented photographer named Bev Hollis...Did I mention Bob has a crush on Alice? He is quite a handsome boy, pretty fancy with that brindle coat...Alice is a lucky girl!

Unexpected Gift #2

I guess I should say Unexpected Gift #3 if I include that great Kong Care Package we received last week...So this one came from the east coast...from Art Licensing Artist & Maven Carol Eldridge...she recently blogged about creating all these fun holiday decorations complete with very well thought out merchandising package. So it was also the gift of a little lesson in product development, licensing design, and packaging! Thanks so much Carol..I love my happy little Blue Bird and fun pins! As always you are a wealth of knowledge.

Unexpected Gifts...

I received 2 lovely and very unexpected packages in the mail today! Michelle Allen, an incredible artist and blog-o-sphere pal sent me this wonderful handmade snow man ornament complete with vintage bingo card (he is sporting a bingo chip) and other fanciful details, and a greeting card with magnet art attached. I can't believe it because when I read her blog and post about making these I immediately wanted one (and secretly wished I was there helping to make them)...she posted a few in her etsy store but of course they were gone by the time I checked it out. Suddenly I have one, thank you so much Michelle! ...and the whole presentation with vintage bingo card...so cool...and all so thoughtful.

I'll tell you about the second gift that arrived in my next post...

One of a Kind Friends...

Some fun pictures with many of my pals from the One of a Kind Show...wish I had gotten around to see everyone (no helper this year) - it was crazy big, I think over 700 artists with the Artists Project.

With Ann Maxwell-Weisbrod...the very wisest of Broads!

My wonderful neighbor, Nancie King Mertz.

Flat Iron based artist and really nice guy, Kevin Lahvic...

with the lovely jeweler, Jodi Rae Brownstein...

Andy (thumbs up) Witt one half of Circa Ceramics...

with Nancy Pizarro (other half of Circa) & mixed media artist, Kim Frieders.
(Photo credit: Kelly Velasco!)

Mary Laskey (winking) with her beautiful enamelware.

Jeff Condon...who I never even had a chance to chat with.

Jean of Weener Ware & Barb in the photo below:

My Personal Copy of the Dog's Rule Fatbook

Bid on a Dogs Rule Fatbook Now! Hurry, auction ends tomorrow, Thursday November 20th! All proceeds benefit A Place to Bark...

 

This one of a kind project was started by Jill Beninato of Sit Stay Smile Photography and includes work by the following artists:

Manon Doyle of Hoochie Poochie Studios , blog
Jill Beninato of Sit Stay Smile Photography, blog
Jamie Pflughoeft of Cowbelly Photography,
Leigh Jackson of Noisy Dog Studio, blog
Moira McLaughlin of Dream Dogs Art, blog
Melissa Langer of Pug Notes, blog
Linda O’Neill of Abby Creek Studios, blog
Rebecca Lansdowne of Art Paw, blog
Nicole Mlakar-Livingston of Nicole Mlakar-Livingston Photography, blog
Wendy Crumbley of 2 Dog Studio, blog
Bernie Berlin from A Place To Bark, blog
Anne Leuck Feldhaus of Anne Leuck Feldhaus Studio Ltd., blog
Kathy Weller Wellerwishes Pet Portraiture, blog

s.o.f.a. chicago 2008

Detail above of Lure (titan) by Leigh Taylor Mickelson of Sherrie Gallerie.

This afternoon I took the chilly trip downtown to attend SOFA Chicago (Sculptural Objects & Functional Art). Too often I do not take advantage of all that is offered by this wonderful city, today I did and I was greatly rewarded with an inspiring visual cornucopia of art and talent. I was most intrigued by the jewelry, ceramic and glass sculpture. So many fabulous artists: Wesley Anderegg, Judith Hoyt, Margaret Wharton, and so many more. It made me realize I have to quit playing it so safe, I need to take some risks and bring some of those wacky ideas floating around in my imagination to fruition. Also so fun to see my friend Kathy Frey who was their representing her sculptural jewelry with the Mowen Solinsky Gallery of California. Santa Fe artist Geoffrey Gorman had some amazing dog sculptures on display, this one really spoke to me:

©2008 Geoffrey Gorman

Inspiring Artists & Friends from Louisville Show

Meet Loretta Petraitis...posing for the camera! Born and raised in Lithuania, she has been living and selling her paintings in the U.S. since 1996. Our booth's were directly across from one another, I love her industrial urban landscapes and water towers scenes (many inspired by Chicago). We had fun and connected...both in our hats and pig tails, I love meeting and making new friends with people on the art fair circuit.

 
This is Ed Brownlee, I love his whimsical ceramics, I purchased a mug from him several years back at a show in ? Chattanooga, I think. I use it for a pencil holder, right next to me on my desk. Ed's colors and characters are wonderful, so joyful, they just make you smile. Here is a link to his Etsy Store...

And last but certainly not least! Andrew Johnson ... the award winning Stitch Maestro! Andrew does what I have only dreamed of...he makes colorful, whimsical 'paintings' but his are created with thread not paint.

corn maize...

Corner of Emerald and Union in Chicago...on the way home from the:

Planted and hosted by Bill Friedman and Cathi (Corn) Schwalbe-Bouzide. Met Cathi's chickens, ate fresh roasted corn and had our photos taken as urban farmers in Grant Wood's "American Gothic"...(hard to see but the Sears Tower is in the background). I met Bill the first year I did the Fields Project in 2003 and Cathi and I met through Lill Street Art Center. She is lovingly referred to as the "Corn Lady" at the Fields Project where she is a regular paricpant every summer. This is their 3rd year bringing agriculture and antics into various communities in the city...

How do they do it?! Behind the scenes:

Daphne Covington

Daphne Covington of Atlanta, GA

As promised...below is a photo of the painting I purchased from mixed-media painter Daphne Covington, she came up from Atlanta to do the Port Clinton Art Fair. Choosing a piece was a difficult and I didn't have a lot of time to decide, but now that I've lived with it for a few days I am confident I made the right choice. Daphne was also very patient with my indecision, she is a lovely person and it is reflected in her art.

It's strange, I never really 'got' abstract art and about the time I quit trying to 'get it' I got it...it's really just what speaks to you as far as color and composition go. When I see a piece that I like, it gives me a warm glowly feeling in my heart and chest, it makes me feel good to look at it. Sometimes what attracts me is a representational image that stands out in it, with this one there is a tulip and I love the little lollipop stick tree, the patterns of stripes and circles - but those things speak to me because they are shapes I love and use in my own work. You will see something totally different that is in reference to your own experience and taste. Okay that's my simple off the cuff thought about abstract art - but you  know, it really applys to any art or music, there is no right or wrong about it - I say if you love it, make the investment. Those of you trained and better educated are welcome to share your thoughts by commenting below!

 

I hung Daphne's painting in my kitchen next to a beautiful water color collage created by my good friend Rachel Weaver-Rivera. It looks great on my peacock blue wall! That's my little kitchen Angel on the right, traded with a Chicago artist named Apache Wakefield.

Good Neighbor...

 
Well I've had a day to recover after the long art fair weekend in Highland Park, the weekend was great and so much fun to catch up with my friend Laura in the evenings (Laura how is it I didn't get any pictures of you to post on my blog?) 

My booth was next to master of the dot: Tim McWilliams, he uses pointillism to create his striking large scale cityscapes and portraits...really neat stuff..He and his wife Lou are delightful people, and were such wonderful neighbors to have - working alone I don't get water cooler moments...it's always fun to find that camaraderie at the shows among other exhibiting artists. Tim was also one of the official poster artists of the show along with another pal of mine, Keith Grace. It was very busy so I was only able to get around and see the show in my section, but even there; ran into several other artists I know and met a few new folks whose work really spoke to me. I bought a great painting from one of them...I'll share that with you tomorrow. Hope the weather is as lovely where you are as it is in Chicago today!

Teacher Steps Out...

"Teacher Steps Out" © Jeff Condon

...is the title of this great piece by fellow art fair artist, Jeff Condon - he is one of the reasons I was inspired to paint on cardboard, that and whenever kids come to my studio that's what I provide as canvas...they can make nice size pieces of art at no cost and for me it takes the edge off feeling like I have to make something GREAT because I'm using canvas or wood that I paid for. Jeff does beautiful pastels and oil paintings of interiors and rural landscapes which I love but it was a fun treat to find these 'off the wall' pastels of women's legs on corrugated cardboard in his booth at the 57th Street Art Fair earlier this summer. Visit his website to see the rest of the paintings behind these thumbnails of his beautiful work...

 

"Teacher Steps Out" hangs in my office with my cat painting by artist Cher Shaffer and Dot ...the stuffed, hand painted dog that I made...hopefully coming to a store near you one day in the not too distant future!

Another treasure for my kitchen...

In Minneapolis I received this lovely coffee cup as a thank you gift from my friend, Deb LeAir. She doesn't make these for sale anymore so I feel very lucky to have one. Her pieces are all hand carved, even around the bottom - such amazing detail...check out her website: www.DebLeAir.com to see more of her fabulous work.

Uptown Trade...

More new FUNctional ARt...At Uptown I traded for these lovely tumblers with MPLS clay artist Emily Dyer...her work is so whimsical and sweet. It was hard to pick from so many fun pieces but that pink interior got me...so I decided to make it a threesome...I can't wait to sip hot chocolate out of it on a blustery fall night! Yes, I"m more of an autumn girl than summer - glad things finally cooled off a bit here in Chicago today!