Creating Soul Out of Brass, Bridles and Loads of Leather

Stepping into by elke's charming studio, located in downtown Boulder, is like stepping back in history; from the quaint architecture of the 1898 cottage, to the retro pieces of furniture so thoughtfully selected, along with the old world smells from the vintage collection of horse bridles, WWII canvas, and the colorful collection of leather. 

It was a girls night == we were here to take in the all the leather-creativity, gab a little, meet new friends, and shop.

A spontaneous call went out to a few creative girlfriends, Ann Marie, painter/designer/creativity guide and owner of Live.Life.Wonderful and Beth Pomerantz, painter and owner of Firefly Handmade. We met at the super-tasty Zeal restaurant for a visit and to join shopping-forces before making our way to Elke's studio.

Meet Elke !

by elke is a small, old fashioned, handmade bag and accessory company. Each bag is made one at a time and the details are addressed for just that bag. Elke works out of a small studio and specializes in making unique and individual bags in very low quantities. Personally I have to say, they are gorgeous and seriously rival any bags you'll find in Sundance or any other designer site.

Kim Clary, jewelry artist, shows off her by elke bag
she said she carries all of her jewelry supplies in hers,
w/ all the inside pockets it works out perfectly

Meet Kim !

We also had the opportunity to meet Kim Clary, Boulder jewelry artist and owner of Kim Clary Designs. Her work is a great combination of brass, leather, bone and stone and looks terrific layered together.

photo by kim clary

Did you miss the Open House? 
Not to worry, they are both presenting their work at the Spring Firefly Market  :  April 26th & 27th

The Makerie 2013 and artist Jennifer Mercede

Hello friends and fellow creatives! 

I want to let you know... Ms Ali Dejohn has outdone herself again. It was another magical weekend at The Makerie creative retreat. If you haven’t attended, make sure to check out the website here, grab a girlfriend and mark your calendar so you can plan to participate next year – you will not regret it I promise. The Makerie is a creative camp for grown up girls; a place with quiet space to create and be inspired, super cute accomodations in cottages at Chautauqua Boulder, good food, great friends, a little yoga in a breathtaking setting, and lots of meaningful memories. So much fun!

I think I’ve mentioned to you that I BELIEVE in Ali’s vision and mission for The Makerie. I love what she has created and the women she brings together. I love that it’s in my hometown of Boulder, and I love how it changes the women I have met – they leave filled with a new creative, inspirational spirit. It is because of this that I volunteer every year. I'm thrilled to be a part of this creative community; sharing in the happy memories that take place. I also cherish how the community and Ali's family come together to support her – it sincerely takes a village, and it's one filled with love.

 

This year I had two main job requirements; support artist Jennifer Mercede in her classroom and assist with registration.  I was so excited to find out that I would be working with Jennifer Mercede; as an artist, and for me, this is one of the most privileged positions.  I also LOVE, love working the registration table; I love the excitement of meeting new people, of making them feel loved and welcomed, and sharing their excitement for what I'm sure will be a life-changing and very memorable weekend.




I know... I live here!!

 

 

 

Meeting Jennifer Mercede

Jennifer arrived to Chautauqua on Wednesday morning from Portland, OR – we had plans to shop for supplies for her students. Shop for art supplies…? Are you kidding me..? Best thing - Best day ever! I’ve mentioned to you, I hate to shop… I know, I'm quite sure I'm the only girl.  Except  when it comes to shopping for art supplies, now that’s fun. (my first jobs during college and after college were at the local art supply – LOVED the creative people I met and loved every single paint brush, graphite stick, oil bar I got my hands on - - and for me, this was BETTER than any pair of Manolo Blahniks!)

I found out through FB that it was Jennifer’s birthday the day she arrived. I put plans in place to make sure her Big Day was special. We had never met before so I’m sure she was wondering who this birthday-crazed girl was, but I couldn’t resist. It was her big day. First on the list, we had to stop by the Flatirons to take her ‘just arrived in Boulder’ birthday pic. Boulder had just gotten a sparkly, dusting of snow and if we didn’t capture the gorgeous moment now, it would all be gone and melted by the next day (and it did).

Stunning, right?!

After our photo shoot we headed downtown to the Boulder Teahouse for lunch. It’s one of the most magical places and it always makes for a memorable moment. Even though I live here and I go often, it’s still feels incredibly special every time. If you’re not familiar with the history of the Teahouse, or how Boulder received it as a gift from its sister city of Dunshabe, read here it’s an amazing story.

 

Jennifer is just so easy to hang out with – we had a great time visiting (about everything) like we had known each other for ages. So nice.  + We both agreed.. Our lunch was to-die-for-yummy.

Yay - Birthday success! After lunch we continued our visit along the Boulder creek path so she could see a little bit of Boulder before her busy weekend started – and then we headed out to collect wood panels for her students, paint, and drawing supplies. Fun!!

 

The Makerie – a collection of fun photos

I have quite a few Makerie photos so instead of telling you all about it, why don’t I just share the rest of the week’s activities through some fun pics?  Kay, here goes:

 

my registration buddies, Teri and Daria

 



super-groovy gift bags filled w/ all sorts of goodies. best part, this is a re-usable veggie bag .
I'll be taking mine to the farmer's market for sure!

 

the girls are starting to arrive - that's Ali on the far right.
i know it's a tad blurry, but so cute I had to share.

   

handcrafted name tags - it's hard to pick the perfect one!

 

 

HELLO Ms Terri!  I had SO much fun working w/ her.

   

Arrival Night! Dinner in the dining hall - we were totally spoiled + had such a fun visit.

 

 

                               

 

 

Inspirational opening presentation given by the lovely Janine Vangool from
 UPPERCASE Magazine: publisher / editor / designer Janine Vangool

 

 

 

first assignment:  blind contour drawing in Jennifer's class.
This is Marie Claudia, visiting from FL (originally Columbia) - so fun getting to know her

  

seriously one of the BEST picnik lunches I've ever had - everything was so lovely, yummy and thoughtful
provided to us by the super cute girls at  eat Private Chef & Catering co  (I have a big crush on their website)

 

 

 

 

new creative buddies -  Paula (MN / Denver soon!), Maria Claudia (FL) and Mimi (CA)

 

Having fun in Jennifer's class, 'Doodle and Draw'

  

Ali brings the artist/instructors together one evening for an awesome panel discussion about their creative process, business experiences, life-balance and inspirations

 

 

And this is where my time ends.

Thank you Ali for doing ALL you DO -  and for leaving such a lovely, creative mark on so many!

 

Can't we just Makerie all the time..?!!

 

much love, cath

xo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating a Thriving Art Scene

Many thanks to all the friends, family and fellow art lovers who came out to enjoy

‘First Friday Art Walk’ on Feb 1^st.

 

This celebration was my Opening Show as a new exhibitor at LA Coppersmith Gallery, which is located in historic old town Louisville, CO.  I’m thrilled to have my paintings represented here and to participate with such a terrific and diverse group of artists.

 

Come on in !!

 

Here are a few fun pics from the evening !

 

Tony Finocchio, Metalsmith Jeweler 

My darling girlfriend, Ana Maria (and me)



Justine Williams, Glass Artist

 

Gallery Owner and Coppersmith Artist, Angela Facciotti

 

The next Art Walk is Friday, March 1^st.

I’ll be there - Stop in and say hello!

 

LA Coppersmith Gallery

915 Walnut Street
Louisville, CO  80027
http://la-coppersmith.com

A Happy Gallery Announcement !

Super excited to announce my paintings are now represented at
LA COPPERSMITH GALLERY!

Here's a little peak of the invite

The Opening Event is this Friday, Feb 1st from 6-9pm, 915 Walnut Street, located in charming old town Louisville, CO.

Please join me for the festivities and say hello to Angela, the gallery owner, you'll love her - she's such a doll!  

+ Don't forget to visit the other galleries, shops and restaurants celebrating First Friday Art Walk. Fun!

Celebrating Wax, Wool and Metal

Kicked off the holiday season with a great group of artists this past Friday. It was a super fun evening at Laura Tyler Studio as a part of First Friday Holiday Art Fair event, in the NoBO Art District in Boulder, CO. 

First Friday / Holiday Art Fair in NoBo Art District

Friday, December 7, 2012

Thank you to all the lovely friends, art lovers, and new friends that came out to support us – it was a terrific evening and I really enjoyed meeting everyone.

Here we are!
(Laura, Andy, me, Cindy and )

 

Meet The Artists !

Laura Tyler

Artist, Encaustic painter, Documentary film maker

Learn more about her gorgeous paintings, the workshops she offers and get an intimate peak into her busy studio...located in the NoBo Art District.

 



'One-Hundred Flowers' , by Laura Tyler

 

 

Great interactive demos by Laura

 





Christy Nix

Christy Nix is an artist and art lover who specializes in needle felting. Her whimsical ornaments are inspired by woodland dwellers, real and imagined.

Close-up of a cutie



Charming hand felted ornaments by Christy Nix

Andy Schwarz

Andy Schwarz is co-founder of the Boulder based honey company Backyard Bees. His 100% beeswax candles are made with Backyard Bees' locally produced, hand-filtered beeswax.
 

 



Incredible detail in Andy's work...
AND the best part is wax comes from their hives!

Catherine Pistone

Yep, that's ME. I'm a painter, illustrator and jewelry artist.

This little pretty has sold, but thank you for asking.

No paintings; Tonight I featured new jewelry designs. I also hosted a holiday jewelry drawing during the evening for a complimentary necklace. I'm thrilled to announce that Erica F, from Boulder is the winner! (Congrats Erica!) But... The best part about announcing this to her, was receiving an email back from her to let me know that she won her sweet lil prezzie ON her birthday - LOVE that!

Thanks again to all the lovely people who attended - it was a super, fun evening.

Happy Holidays! Much love, Cath.  :)

 

Two NEW Paintings up on the web!

Yep, I’ve been busy in the studio. Not to worry, I haven’t abandoned my jewelry side; I’m just wrapping up a few canvases and a few other arty projects in preparation for the new Etsy shop. Yay!! I’m trying so hard to stay on track and I feel like I’m already a week behind. I caught some silly cold and can’t seem to muster up the energy to work on my Due-Date-List. (Such a bummer –  I don’t like to waste time. I mean, these are my dreams were talking about, right?) So here I am, in bed, coughing up a lung and sipping tea, with my sweet puppy at my feet, worrying that I need to do SOMETHING!

I thought I’d let you in on what’s going on over here. Like I mentioned, it’s been BUSY with lots of great goals on the horizon. My next goal is to get the Etsy shop up in the month of October with a few gifty-gift items – I’m super excited btw. After that I’ll switch gears and work on new jewelry designs for the boutiques and the web in time for the holidays. I know!! I have a lot to do. Plus, remember in between all the fun arty stuff, I’m up late at night designing new marketing materials, ordering more business cards, applying to shows and exhibits, working on admin junk that I avoid (filing receipts, QuickBooks entries, yadda-yadda) + reading blogs, surfing the web and staying excited about the things I love; art history, the current art and design scene, and travel – all good stuff that keeps me inspired. The point being is there is a lot to do – Always! But I love it ALL!

..........................................................................

 

So here are the new paintings:

This one is ‘Roses are...’

 

Roses are...

This painting is one of the smallest paintings I’ve ever done. It’s 14x14. I started it this summer while on vacation, specifically because the canvas is a nice travel size. I won’t lie to you, I struggled with this one. I don’t typically paint small and I have to say I found it challenging. Must do more and get past that. J

This painting is ‘Seasonal Improv’.

 

Seasonal Improv

It’s late September in Colorado now and the change of seasons is on the forefront of our minds. This painting was definitely influenced by this change.  I purposefully draw the viewer’s attention to the right corner. By painting with bright colors I feel I invite you in to look into the past, celebrating the seasons of spring / summer and meadows of bright wildflowers. The warm mountain breeze begins to change to cool winds, symbolized by the circles, bringing in colder temperatures and loss of leaves on the trees, and eventually the snow begins to fall.

Thanks for taking a peak into my world. Hopefully I get over this cold, like today, cause it seems I need to work all weekend to make up for lost-sicky-time.

 

Enjoy your weekend.

xoxo

Getting Outta Town - It does a body good!

I'm not sure if you're aware, but this is the FIRST summer in 6 or 7 years that I have not participated in summer art shows. (well, except for the summer I worked at the gallery)

My hubby, Coop, is the principal of a school in Denver and let me tell you... He has his work cut out for him. It's a struggling school, the kids AND the community NEED him; he works constantly, noon and night on their behalf. Seriously, give some love to your kiddo's teachers and administrators; they work HARDER than you'll know. And while I'm on my soapbox, take a moment to tell them how you appreciate them; let them know you care, etc. Do you know that one of the only times teachers and principlas hear from you, the parents, is when you want to gripe; never realizing how passionate the school is about your kids, their future, the school and community? Your educators sincerely put in grueling hours and really want to make a difference. The way I look at it, if you have a concern, or a problem, (and of course you should, it's your child's education), first, it's important to change your approach and secondly, consider providing positive feedback, ideas and solutions along with it. Just think how much better you'll feel and you'll be amazed at the response you'll receive from your teacher, coach, secretary, or principal.

Coop hosted a motivational event for his teachers.
I made similar inspirational cards like these for The Makerie Creative Retreat
so I decided to duplicated the idea for his event. 

 

Ok, can you tell I'm hurting for my man? He is so kind and so dedicated, but he gets pulled through the wringer - coming from every direction.

So now that I've had a moment to speak'n release...(thanks, I guess I needed that) :)

Because his schedule was SO hectic and he worked so many long hours + barely had a summer break - we made the family decision to forego summer art shows. Yes, this is how I meet most of my new clients, and yes, this is a large part of my biz income... And... Coop and I really enjoy doing them. We love meeting the new artists every season, and we love meeting all the customers and travelers who come from all over to visit Colorado. It is super fun. But ye know... sometimes a girls-gotta-do-what-a-girls-gotta do. Support her man. He needed a break and we needed time together.

The kids were done with school the end of May, but a summer program was placed in Coop's school for the month of June - so he worked until June 29th. During the final week we took care of details, got the car packed, the puppy-dog ready, and we high-tailed it out of town the morning of Sat, June 30th for a sunny road-trip,and some much need R&R. Awesome! Crested Butte, Colorado - here WE come!



I've been known to road-trip with a few Red Vines and Tootsie-Pops.
Some how it makes singing in the car sound that much better.



Crested Butte is one of our fave small towns in Colorado; great restaurants, amazing hiking and fly fishing, good people, LOTS of bikes (mountain, road and especially vintage cruisers), all rolled up into one happy, pretty, little, hippy town.

Just a few townies showed up on their bikes to hear some outdoor music under the mountains and stars.
Did I say they have a few bikes in the Butte? LOVE it!

Mt Crested Butte, right in town.

 

A view of the Maroon Bells, from the other side of Aspen/Snowmass

 

And CB is doggy-friendly. Jetson, our dog, had a BLAST, meeting new buddies over morning coffee, on the trail and during the outdoor concert we attended.

 

*Also, if you ever get the chance to visit... Listen to me now... THIS is important!

You MUST stop by Third Bowl Ice Cream. It is seriously the BEST ice cream you have ever had! We don't typically eat dessert, but we wandered over to this super-friendly, crazy-yummy place ever night just to try all the creative flavors. (The couple who own Third Bowl had just opened it the week we were there - how lucky were we?!)

 

The cute boy; having so much fun!

 

And Coop...??  He finally got to breath.  

 



THAT's my man. Doesn't he look SO happy on the river?

 

 

Here's a few fun pics:

  

My outdoor studio next to the river = FUN!

 

 

 

One morning we hiked Rustler's Gulch Trail - amazing 360 views!!

 

 



Jetson thinks that was just the BEST hike EVER!!

 

I don't know what next summer has in store for me and my normal,

busy schedule of shows - but I do know I'm so glad I took a break THIS year.

 

It was a summer to remember!