Friday Friends - Australian Artists - Art by Jen G

Hello lovely Maddabling readers, I hope this blog post finds you happy and well. It's Good Friday and a time to spend time with family and loved ones. Today it is my pleasure to introduce to you a new Friday Friend and Australian Artist, meet sweet Jen of Art by Jen G. 

Jen is a very talented maker, her mediums of choice are Ceramics and Lampwork. Let me share some of my favourites with you now. Jen makes stunning bead sets, 

to homewares and keepsakes 

and beautiful ready to wear pieces 

Why not let Art by Jen G create something very special for you?
Ok dear readers, it's time for me to hand over the blogging reigns to Jen who will be Introducing Art by Jen G. Have a happy and safe Easter everyone xo♥ 

Introducing Art by Jen G 
When I was in my late teens, our family home was destroyed in the Bushfire of 1980 leaving the surrounding Adelaide Hills with blackened tree trunks and a grey ash ground for what seemed to last forever. It was then that my pre-school love of Bright Bold was rekindled. I'm a Ceramicist and Lamp work Artist: a Trail Runner, a Model and Muse for my husband's Art works and mum of 3 wonderful adult sons. I love to use Bright Bold colours as I create in a home Studio/Shop where I also teach Ceramic and Lamp work classes. 

Who (or what) inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business? The feeling of personal satisfaction is what inspires me in my creative business; to be able to say “I made it myself” is very satisfying. 

Where do you get your inspiration from when you design and paint? For me, inspiration is all around. I get inspired seeing the stars and moon on my early morning runs to the tiniest raindrop caught on a nasturtium leaf to the lines and curves in architecture. What are the five words that people who know you would use to describe you? Positive, cheerful, patient, persistent and kind. 

How did you know when you’ve found your passion for Art + Craft? I knew I had found my passion when I was completely immersed in what I was doing. Time seemed to fleet by. 
Tell us about your very first job and what path have you taken since then? Before I was married, my very first paid job position was a Receptionist for a Home Improvement company. Basically I worked on a switch board, answering and transferring phone calls most of the day but also helped and advised customers as they came in to the display show room. I discovered very early on that being Time Rich is far more important to me than Financially Rich so any paid jobs I take on are simply a way to buy my creative supplies. 

Describe your day in your studio space? A day in my studio space is heaven. It’s a place where time does not exist as I get lost in the creative process. It is rejuvenating to my spirit. 
As an Artist, what is your biggest frustration? My biggest frustration as an artist is that the general public generally underestimate the time and skill required to produce my work.

Tell us about how you prioritise your work. Orders and commissions take precedents. Other than that I really work as my creative mind leads me. 
What was the purpose on starting Art workshop and how has the concept come about? My reason behind starting Art workshops / classes is to allow others to experience the joy and satisfaction of creating something Unique as I do. 

Tell us about how do you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e. how do you network)? I often connect with other artists via the Internet; however I also have a couple of close artist friends that I sometimes visit. My husband is also an artist, so we are always bouncing ideas off each other. The only jewellery I wear is my own. Because my Handmade Ceramic and Lamp work Beads are Bright, Bold and Designed to be Noticed, I always receive compliments and from there it is easy to hand out my business card. 

What advice can you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their passions? My advice is that the quicker one can accept that only a very small minority of people really understand and appreciate handmade creations the easier it is to accept that what we do is really for a select market. So believing in your own creative vision is the most important thing. 
What dreams do you still want to achieve or fulfil in your life? My dreams are simply that I want to keep improving and developing as an artist. 

What is your proudest moment so far? My most recent, proudest moment was in January this year. I ran 101 km's nine days after completing a 93 km run. 
Who do you most want to meet and why? I would count it an honour and privilege if I could meet Stephen Fry. From what I have read and have heard him speak, I find his life experiences and thoughts very interesting. 

What is the most important lesson in life that you have learned? Acceptance of others and all forms of life are valuable. 
What book are you reading right now, and do you have a book you would like to recommend? I’m yet to decide on my next book, but recently finished reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. And yes, I would highly recommend it. 

Where do we find you and your products? I work from home in the Adelaide Hills. Here I hold my classes and have a Shop. My work is also available on line and information about my classes and shop can be found here … http://ArtbyJenG.blogspot.com. Once a month I have a stall Fullarton, South Australia.

Friday Friends - Australian Artists - Isobel Von Finklestein

Happy Friday gorgeous ones, the weekend is almost here! I am super excited this week to introduce a new Friday Friend and Australian Artist, meet the super talented Isobel Von Finklestein! 

I adore the work of Isobel Von Finklestein and reckon you will too. It's a little bit cheeky, a little bit naughty and a whole lot of fun. Here are some of my favourites :) 

I invite you now to explore The Wonder of Isobel Von Finklestein. Have a wonderful weekend everyone xo Happy Reading ♥

The Wonder of Isobel Von Finklestein
Who: Isobel Von Finklestein – The Von Finklestein Studio

How and When? As all artists say, in the womb! I graduated from Certificate 4 in Visual art in 2003 and briefly started my Bachelor degree in Visual art at Uni S.A but found myself broke as and decided to go back to work ( finishing that course is on my list of goals). I airbrushed plaster statues for a few years.

I started working seriously towards my art career about seven years ago. My husband introduced me to the Kustom Kulture/ Lowbrow world and I knew I had found my art ‘home’. It was everything I loved but now had a name for it. Before that, I was much more of a surrealist and tended to hide most of my work in private journals.

What inspires you ?  Hmm… so many things! I’m a daydreamer, a lot of work just pops into my head and I’ll paint it there first before ever picking up a pencil.

Other artists inspire me -the Old school pinup gods; Gil Elvgren, Petty, Bill Ward. I also love Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, Gustav Klimt. From the modern era – Keith Weesner, Sylvia Ji, Tara Mcpherson, OneQ, Tyson Macadoo… so many more!

Tell me about your creative side, how did you get started? I’ve just always drawn, it’s just what I ‘do’. There was no starting point, that I can remember. I just ‘have’ to create, it’s like breathing to me.

What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite ? I work with graphite, Ink (nib), Copic Markers and sometimes guache and watercolour for drawings. I mainly use oils for painting but have recently dabbled with acrylics and Uni Posca paint pens. I also use the digital art programs, Photoshop and more recently, Manga Studio. My favourite is oil painting – I don’t get to do enough of it!

Do you have a favourite technique? Gosh, if you were to ask me one favourite technique it would be scumbling - painting with a dry brush to create shading, it’s satisfying, somehow. But I probably have a number of favourites.

What kind of things do you create ? Drawings, paintings, I carve wooden sugar skulls and paint shoes occasionally. I also do digital art. I mainly draw girls for some reason. I do like drawing men – my husband has featured in a few paintings but not as himself. Skeletons and cats come up a lot too

Do you have a favourite piece? My favourite is the painting that I have just completed ‘Halloween Happy hour’ That bar is always moving.

What are your future plans/dreams/aspirations ? I would love to take my art overseas – Japan and America are on the list. I’ve recently decided to start doing shows again after a couple of years off. I’ve recently decided that I want to do more painting, it’s what makes me happiest and it’s challenging.

Do you have any exhibitions or markets coming up? I’m having a stall at Adelaide’s Kustom Kulture Weekend which starts this Friday night! I also plan to go to the Goanna Run in Mildura and possibly one or both Greazefests.
Want to see more? You can connect through: vonfinklesteinstudio.com

This will link you to so many awesome things including social media, gallery, original art, t-shirts and stores, contact details and blog. 

Friday Friends - Australian Artists - Pastel Valley Studio

Hello readers, welcome to Friday. It's a long weekend in the West, hoping that it will be filled with fine weather and a fair yet entertaining AFL Grand Final. What do you have planned? This week it is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you a talented maker and Australian Artist - meet sweet Clare from Pastel Valley Studio! 

Let me share some of the gorgeous creatures Clare creates by hand with you all. Firstly meet this cutie, what a heirloom for a special child (or grown up) to have as a top shelf toy. Meet the 50's inspired Party Hat Bear Art Toy. Isn't he the greatest? 

How beautiful is this piece - Hummingbird Textile Wall Art? 
It would add a touch of artistic elegance to any room.

I also really love the mischievous Hypno Cat Large Art Toy. Doesn't he just look like trouble with a capital T? How did that ice-cream cone end up where it did? 

Dear readers, I invite you now to pop your feet up, grab a cuppa and turn the virtual pages as you take a Peek Inside Pastel Valley Studio. Have a fantastic weekend everyone xo♥

A Peek Inside Pastel Valley Studio
Pastel Valley Studio is my haven for dreamy, expressive and often odd little characters. I have been creating toys for the past few years and just love seeing each personality evolve. I have always enjoyed art that leaves a space for the imagination, so I try to leave some open ends when creating.

I studied Textile Design at RMIT and graduated in 2008. I was lucky to land a creative job for the following four years. This role felt like a roller coaster ride and provided a good insight to commercial design. Whilst this was happening I felt a strong calling to start my own creative business and combine my two passions, art and textiles. So I started Pastel Valley Studio, a small space filled with inspiring fabrics, colour, photography, adopted toys and dolls.

Each toy that I make has a hand painted face; I use acrylic paint, soft brushes and work on a canvas-type fabric. I paint the faces first, and then form the bodies to enhance the personality of the character. Then comes my favourite part, fabric selection. I just love going through fabrics, buttons and ribbons and putting together a collection that speaks to me. I don’t use commercial toy patterns, I like to sculpt and shape the toys as I go. They need to have nice curves and be able to sit up by themselves. The process is slow and it takes many hours to make each one, but I enjoy every second of the process and it is pure joy for me.

Currently I have work in a few group shows, one is Schmancy in Seattle (10^th anniversary show!), the other is in Fawn Gallery in Melbourne. I was also proud to be part of ‘Toy to the World’ a fundraising show to help fund AIDS research earlier this year.

My ideas are endless, custom pieces are welcome and I just wish that I had more time in the day to bring them all to life! Thank you for reading about my little adventure so far and including me in your lovely group. 

You can find some of my work in my online store:

pastelvalleystudio.etsy.com

Friday Friends - Australian Artists - Pepper Ink

Hello Friday and hello there to all the lovely Maddabling blog readers. Excitement is building in the Maddabling household as we prepare to attend a friends milestone Thrift Shop themed birthday party this weekend. I can't wait to see the outfits that people have put together. This week it is my great pleasure to introduce to you an Australian Creative and Artist extraordinaire - meet the fab Pepper of Pepper Ink!

Pepper creates the most fantastic temporary tattoos. Temporary tattoos that are really special, with lots of attention to detail and intricate designs that are enough to make you think they are the real deal. Let me show you what I mean. Take this divine vintage black and white floral design temporary tattoo. 

Wear your love for your Dad on your sleeve this fathers day - or any day with this set of two Anchor Dad and Roses temporary tattoos - so sweet! 

And if you are stuck for an unusual gift, try a vintage floral gift box. This has seven vintage illustration temporary tattoos and vial of liquiskin shine remover and you choose your gift wrap. Just perfect! 

Readers, I now invite you to take a break from the everyday to read The Fine Print of Pepper Ink. I do hope you enjoy this story as much as I did. Have a fantastic weekend everyone xo♥

The Fine Print of Pepper Ink

My name is Pepper, and I started Pepper Ink in 2012, we make beautiful vintage and custom temporary tattoos. I’ve always been creative and crafty, and when I was looking for my next tattoo I wanted some lovely temporary designs to try out and fill the space on my skin but couldn’t find anything I liked.  So I made some myself, and here we are!

Many of our designs are from vintage illustrations, some are my design and some are from other designers that I’ve met and collaborated with. We also have featured artists and some of those stay on and introduce extra pieces to become part of the collection. 

Ours is a continual process,  we release designs often and at the same time discontinue designs that are the least popular; really our customers drive our collections as we listen to what they’d like to wear and what inspires them the most.

I love tattoos, I like to be inspired and wear beautiful things, and I like to help other people who feel the same.  A lot of our customers are creatives and busy people who like motivation and inspiration. We do a lot of custom work too, for peeps who would like to try out a design or commemorate an occasion. We’ve made tattoos for people who can’t get a real one for medical reasons; one of my favourite is a customer who had a scar from heart surgery and covered it with a beautiful vintage anatomical heart tattoo.

We also design bespoke wedding favors and for tattoo booths- custom tats that can be designed to fit the theme and feel of a special day. Whether you’re having a garden chic wedding, a rustic beer-themed celebration, or a reception filled with bright colors and geometrics, we can create amazing tattoos that you and your guests will be absolutely giddy over! It’s so much fun.

An early highlight was being featured on some lovely and quite prominent blogs, it gave me motivation to know that people liked what we were doing. The ongoing highlight I suppose is choosing my own direction; I tend to not follow boring paths and if something makes me excited, I steer Pepper Ink toward it. Seeing photos and hearing about how people really identify with and are inspired by our designs also always makes my day.

My favourite thing about working in Pepper Ink, apart from working with great people and having awesome customers, is probably working from home. I’ve looked at outside spaces but keep putting it off, preferring for now to work in a separate shared office with two assistants and my awesome housemate who runs an artist collective and consultancy. My dog sleeps under my desk, and sometimes I have a nap after lunch or work late to get a project finished- but I’m always nice and close to home. Business does have a way of filling all of your time, so getting the balance of work/creating/life right can be tricky.

My own tattoos are a story of my changing self and I suppose Pepper Ink is about that too, the growth of a person and what we find inspiring, comforting and meaningful. We aspire to make temporary tattoos worthy of wearing, with designs that are really something inspirational, beautiful and transient that motivate and remind us what’s important.

We’re releasing some new tiny designs soon, and are working on a range of beautiful greeting cards that I can’t wait to see in stores. I’m looking forward to that moment where someone you know in a faraway place calls to say they saw your work in a store they wandered into! As we grow and evolve I’d like to always have my feet on the ground and my head in the clouds, and never lose sight of the fun and creativity that got it all started.

Readers are welcome to use the code YOUROCK for 20% off in the Pepper Ink store! Includes Custom Prints and Collections.  You can find us here:  
www.pepperink.etsy.com  and www.pepperink.com.au

Like us on facebook and be the first to know of giveaways and new designs!  

facebook.com/pepperinktattoo

Find us on instagram and share your ink @pepperinktattoo