Busy..busy...

So things are going quite well for Mattie and Her Social Circle. I set up a booth at the Beackonsville neighborhoood Wine and Cheese Bazar last Thursday and made quite a few sales. I also have my wares for sale in the store (The Vintage-Flea) and now at the Naked Art Gallery in Birmingham, Alabama. I imagine this time of year is going to be the busy season for sales, Christmas gifts for this person and that person. Not that I mind or am complaining..buy..buy.. buy! It tickles me to death to think of my little birds around any one's neck from your favorite Grandmother to your son's teacher. The tiles are going over well too, as long as they are framed. I've got to come up with a better way to show the tiles and what to do with them. Everything comes with time I suppose!

Some upcoming events where you can see the items in person: White Oak Elementary School's crafting with Santa on December 1st from 10-4pm and then Sunday, December 2nd at Serenbe community from 12-5. If you happen to be around either of those areas, I'd love to have you stop by and see me. If you've not been out to the Serenbe community, I'd definitely put this one on your calendar of December must do's! There are about 20 artists setting up behind the Blue Eyed Daisy (A totally yummy restaurant) to sell their handmade goodies. Valerie and I are setting up together for this event. This community is beautifully designed for those wanting to escape the "city" life they endure during the week. For directions google Serenbe and I am sure they have them on the website.

So, this week is a holiday for the children in our town. I'm hosting art camp both Monday and Tuesday. I love doing camps, so I am in total teacher focused mode right now and not really concentrating on anything new for my personal art. Maybe after the break I can dive into some new paintings. I've got several new ideas jotted in my handy dandy sketchbook! Look for those to appear soon on the website!

Meeting Eric Carle

Living about 1/2 hour from Atlanta has many advantages. One of the best is the High Museum of Art! Last Sunday the museum offered a Family Fun day complete with booksigning by Eric Carle! He is one of my artists/authors. So my sister Molly, Mom, Mailey and I headed up around 11am. If ever you have this opportunity I will say to arrive early, the line was quite long. But very worth the wait. We got 5 books signed, most for teacher gifts, but one Very Hungry Catepillar now has a special place in our home.

Taking Mattie on the Road

This weekend the Newnan Coweta Art Association is hosting its' annual Christmas Art Show and Sale at the Train Depot in historic Newnan. I did the show last year with Valerie with not much luck. We showed mostly our art art. This year, since I now have my beloved Mattie and all her little friends, I decided it was time to get her out of the garage and let her go public! So this weekend I busted tail getting things organized, painted, painted and more painted! As a store owner, I constantly mull over displays and creating a "mood" for the products we offer. Same thing applies with my art. So I've got the "mood" in my head and have a little slice for you here of the process. This picture is of my art desk in the studio. I laid all the tiles out and decided what needed a frame and what needed to be packaged for quick pick up sales. Eli is the rather robust kitty on the table managing the process. I've not talked about her before, but I rather think of her as my muse. I swear she was a famous artist in a past life because she is always in the garage digging through my art things. She also loves to lounge on the desk. And if I happen to leave a painting resting on the table, she curls up and sleeps on it. Yep, she was definately a former artist!

The Art Assocation provides these white grids to hang your work on I decided to forgo. Instead, I painted these 2 luan doors bright white along with everything else I am using to display. My thinking is that it will make all the little images pop right out at ya when you walk by having the contrast of white and all the blues I use in my paintings. I intend to create a little slice of Mattie's world in my booth!
Here are my quick pick up sale marble tile magnets. I thought it would be most clever to use paint chip cards as my background and price tags for this show. Love Martha and her celedon pottery green cards!


I hope some of you will come down and see me at the depot. The show runs Friday-Sunday. See ya there!

Big Sis's Room

After I finished the Oo...La...La.... room I headed upstairs to Kayla's room. Rebecca (the Mommy) said Kayla wanted to travel and see the world. She is also a teenager and needed a more "grown-up" look for her mural. So I took the names of some of the places Kayla said she wanted to see and created this collage of countries and places. She too has the most fabulous custom bedding and window treatment. Her room is a nice pink with black trim, yes black. And it is sooooo cool. Very big girl looking. Rebecca also had me paint an inspirational quote over the doors so that when she laid in bed she'd see it as soon as she woke up. Never underestimate the power of words!
Off to her bathroom she had a coordinating shower curtain with these bubbles on it. Rebecca wanted this fun inspirational quote, but it needed a little extra, so I added the bubbles and tada! We have instant art and motivation!

Bonjour!

This past week I had the opportunity to paint a mural in a little girl named Kelsey's room. I've not painted a mural in years and was so excited when her mom called me over! The room was decorated to the 9's with the most FABULOUS window treatment, bed spread, dust ruffle, and tons of custom made pillows on the bed! The theme of the fabric was a really fun sketchy Paris scene. So I took these little images, blew them up and voila! We brought the Paris favorites to her room-complete with perfume bottles, purses, Eiffel Tower, french lady and of course a few french words around the room. Here's a picture of my favorite wall.

A Web Address At LAST!

For those few of you out there now reading and anxiously awaiting the next short entry, here it is! I now have a working, well most of it anyways,WEBSITE! Yipee! So I'd like to take this opportunity to shout out into cyberspace the following thank you's. To Valerie for getting me started on it and listening to the complaining (thanks ying!), to Sara for taking the fabulous pictures of my products, to My Husband for leaving me alone to work until the wee hours of the night with my very bright bedside lamp on, to my Lilly for always staying squished right next to me while I worked into the wee hours, to William for giving me Mattie and to Mailey, well not sure she's done anything yet, but thanks anyways baby! Now go out and buy...buy...buy! Here's the site: www.jennihorne.com

Little One's Take a New Form

Just off the press....a line of my "Little One" birds made into marble tiles, bag tags and porcelain pendants. They all turned out so nicely! I can't wait to pop them into my website template and send them into cyberspace! I have about 8 different little images, each available in a 4" marble tile, 6" marble tile, pendant and large bag tag.

I hope to also have some original art available on the site. I am staring right now my painting "Mattie and her Social Circle", I just can't quite part with her yet! I grow quite attached to my little images. I mentioned in my first blog Beatrix Potter. Have any of you seen the movie "Miss Potter", well that is so me! I loved her and Peter as a child, and now I get to share these characters with my children. Who knows, maybe Mattie will fall into the pages of a book before too long. I tell Valerie all the time that I want to write a book.

I am also looking at some stationary possibilities, so if anyone has a starting point for that, please send the information my way!

Who is Mattie?

Hello to all. This is my first post with this little blog. Eventually this will be attached to my way cool website, but for now it is floating in cyberspace hoping for a hit or two while the tedious task of website building takes place. I enjoy writing, and talking, so be prepared for an occasionally long winded blog. Like this one for instance. I simply must explain the title of my blog.

I've researched and read many blogs the past few weeks. I am amazed at the creativity and time some people have obviously placed into their blog sites. I get started in one site and the next thing you know I have 20 places open and wonder why the heck my computer is running so slow! I am not sure if I will ever be able to take my blog to the level of Poppytalk, and secretly dream of being mentioned on her site just for the shear fame of it!

But back to the reason you continue to read my rambling. Mattie's Circle. Simply put she is now my favorite little bird to paint. The perfect color of cerulean blue, a black dot for an eye and a black beak carefully drawn with my new favorite carbon sketch pencil. She has a sassy little tail and a circle of friends. She is my Peter Rabbit. Mattie has evolved from a rash of bird paintings I've been working on for a year now. As I look back on the collection, I truly see a progression to where I am now with her. Mattie will continue to appear in many paintings, a few of her friends as well. So be sure to check back for future postings on where we are headed, she and I.










This is entitled, "Mattie's Social Circle". It is birch wood, decoupaged sewing pattern, carbon sketch pencil, oil pastels and acrylic paints. Quite a collage of elements bring my paintings to life!






This one is "New Love". The story behind this is that Mattie's got a boyfriend and Sally (little miss pink) is jealous! Same technique as the above. Both are for sale in our store, The Vintage-Flea in Historic Downtown Newnan, Georgia!