It's the Season of Art

SOFA Catalog 2006

Not only is the holiday season getting under way, it's also the season of art. This is the time of year museums roll out major exhibitions, major show announce dates for new shows, art groups plan events, and there are lots of gallery openings.

Here in Chicago, we have an amazing art show called SOFA (Sculpture Objects Functional Art), it happens every November and it's the start of the Chicago art season.  When SOFA comes to town there are gallery openings all over town, and lots of fun art events.

This is the perfect time of year to check out art events in your area.  Find time to attend one or several of your local events.  What a great way to recharge your creative spirit.

Do you have an event that you like to attend during the art season?

2011 Diary Project

Recently in the Etsy forums I ran a post about the 2011 Diary Project. It's an opportunity to design a page in a diary and list your website for FREE.

Here is the basic Information from the website:

You want to design a page?

If you are an artist, crafter, photographer, musician, poet... and if you promote

your art by the web, you can be part of this project.
It is free and it is an opportunity for you to have a free publicity,

with no obligation of purchase.

New size: 8½" x 7". Each date will be designed by a different creator and will be printed on a high quality, opaque, recycled paper. There will be 2 dates in each page, 3 notes pages, 7 address pages, 12 months pages, 1 introduction pages, 1 year pages, a 2012 page, and 7 positive message design. Total: 208 pages, with 397 different designs.

Some covers will have a design, and some will be plain, to decorate it as you like.
There will be also the CD version that will contain the

complete pdf file, ready to print, with instructions.
With the CD, you go to a photocopy center and you ask for the quantity of book you want, with the paper of your choice, the cover color of your choice, the color spiral of your choice.

For more information click the link below.

Don't hesitate, there are only a few pages left for this great opportunity.

Creative Link

I recently joined the Creativity Every Day Challenge. It was created to help infuse creativity into you life everyday.

This challenge is easy going and is meant for you to find simple or grand ways to express your creative self.

Each month is a new theme with suggestions and ideas for interpreting the theme and coming up with ideas.

I am looking forward to participating and coming up with new ideas. It's easy to sign up, so jump on board. You can easily get to the site by clicking the link below or on the right sidebar.

Do you have any sites that inspire you to be creative?

Check This Out...

This is a weekly post where you can share 3 things about yourself or your business. Giving us an opportunity to get to know each other and our business.

Suggested ideas:
-business goals or goals you have met
-books you are reading
-a new project you are starting or doing
-places you have visited
-blog posts you have enjoyed
-a post you have written that you would like to share
-new items you have added to your shop
-new materials you are working with
-family plans or an event you are excited about
-need help with an idea - ask for help

All I ask is that you are a follower of my blog to participate and that you check out a few links from the other people who leave comments.

Let me know if you have any ideas or questions, I would love to here your suggestions. You can contact me at additionsstyleblog@gmail.com.

Connect Online

Their are so many ways to connect on the Internet, and while visiting Julie Chats blog she shared a link to Virtual Girls' Night Out.

Every Friday night, Ann from Ann Again...and again hosts a Virtual Girls' Night Out with a great music video, a drink recipe and lot's of bloggers to hang with! Get and give tons of comments and find more followers for your blog!



Looking for something a little more low key the check out a la mode Stuffs blog for her new weekly meetup OM [one moment]. It is an opportunity to share and encourage each other to pause in our individual lives. Click on the link below for more details.



Also, to get to know the followers on this blog, I started a new weekly post called Check this out... You can use this post to update everyone on your shops, new items, blog posts you have written or read, a family event, whatever you want, so we can all get to know each other a little better.

These are just a few ways to connect on the Internet outside of the regular social media sites (twitter, facebook ...). Do you participate in any other ways to connect on the Internet?

Hometown Adventure

Recently, I was reading the blog Bags by Melaine and her post called Adventures in Needle Felting. In the post she told a story about walking in her town, and discovering a new shop of handmade items.

This shop reminded her of how much she enjoyed to needle felt, and has been inspired to create several pieces (you can see her cute creations on her blog) with plans to make more in the future.

Do you think of your city/town when you want to discover something new? You might be surprised to find out that there are a variety of sites, shops, and maybe even restaurants that you have never seen.

So make a date to have a Hometown Adventure.

Take a walk through your town and enjoy the sights

Go into stores you have never been in before

Visit tourist spots and look at things you never stopped to look at before

Try a new restaurant

Shop local

Take pictures along the way, so you can remember everything you saw, and use them as inspiration in the future.

You may discover a new shop to sell to, meet other artists in your town, and have a really nice day close to home. A hometown adventure is a great way to spend a day.

Have you found anything new in your hometown lately?

Creative Happenings - My Show

Wow, what a show I had this past weekend!

My sister and I were busy all day, and my feet still hurt to prove it.

We started our day very early for our 1 drive to the city. The weather was wonderful for a November day in Chicago, sunny and 50. We arrived at Pulaski Park Auditorium unloaded all the bins, tables, and supplies. I am sure we looked special pushing all that stuff down the street, stopping for all the cracks and trying to move our cart up and down the curbs.

We had one hour to set up, so we had to work very quickly. Amazingly we were able to get everything done and the booth turned out great.

Photo's from my booth at the end of the day from my cell phone.

As soon as the door opened the customers poured in, and we had wave after wave all day long. We meet lots of great people and enjoyed talking with everybody. If you were at the show thanks again for stopping by!

We had customers till the end of the day, and when it was time to pack up we were tired!

As much fun as the day was, I was really happy to be home. My sister fell a sleep before 9:00 pm and I barely made it to 10:30, the earliest I have been to bed on a Saturday in a long time.

Shows are great fun and a lot of work, I am glad its behind me, now it can be all about the holidays.

Creative Happenings

I am doing my first Additions art and craft show this weekend in Chicago. I have done a lot of Fine Art shows with my Art Jewelry, but now only about 2 a year. I am looking forward to this new opportunity.

The DIY Trunk Show 09
Saturday November 21st
10 am - 5 pm
Pulaski Park Auditorium
1419 W. Black Hawk
Free Admission
More information - http://diytrunkshow.com/

If you are in Chicago this weekend stop by and say HI!

This is the first time I am showing the Additions merchandise at a show, and I have been working hard to come up with interesting display ideas to showcase how fun this jewelry is to wear. I think I have come up with some great ideas and I will post pictures on Monday.

I have spent the last week pulling out all my inventory, putting on price stickers, and packing up boxes. I have a few more pieces to create and I will be working on them for the rest of the day.

It's hard when you do a show for the first time, because you don't know what to expect. I know I am going to bring more stuff then I need, but it's better to be safe then sorry, right?

My sister gets here today (she is driving down from Minneapolis) and I can't wait to see her. I am looking forward to having her help me at the show and the good giggles we will have over the weekend.

Wish me luck!

Inspiration Everywhere

Last Friday I shared with you about my weekend plans in the post Creative Happenings. My family and I went to Chicago's Navy Pier and enjoyed a wonderful day.

The art at SOFA was truly amazing! Their were artist from all over the world in almost every medium, and the displays were just as unique as all the very special art.

When I go to art events they inspire me to want to take my art to the next level, and the this show got my creative juices flowing. I see new and exciting hardware inspirations coming soon.

Do you have an event in your area that inspires you?

Awaken you Creativity - Art Opportunity

I was reading the magazine Fiber Arts last week and in the back they have a listing of Competitions & Opportunities.

I saw this opportunity and I had to share

The Sketchbook Project: Library

Call for participants. Ongoing. Be one of the founding contributors to The Sketchbook Library by signing up to receive a sketchbook, filling it up with art, and sending it back. Sketchbooks offer a glimpse into an artist's life, which is why we want to make a publicly accessible library of sketchbooks that people can browse, peruse, and check out. This sketchbook collection has the potential to open a new line of communication between the artist and the viewer, since the experience of making and viewing are both so personal. Anyone can sign up to receive a sketchbook. Before joining our permanent collection, sketchbooks will be exhibited at select galleries across the United States. Each sketchbook will be barcoaded and cataloged, allowing visitors to choose what they want to look at via theme, medium, geographic location, name of the artist, etc. Sketchbooks will be shown in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago, Atlanta, and St. Louis. To sign up to receive a sketchbook, www.thesketchbookproject.com. For more info on Art House, www.arthousecoop.com.

Sound like a great opportunity. Are you going to give it a try? Let me know. I would love to feature you on the blog.

Creative Book Review

I love books! I can never have enough, I ask for them as gifts, and I buy them every chance I get, and when I can't afford them I spend time in my library checking them out.

The book I am reviewing today, I purchased a month or so ago and I read the whole book in one night. (It's an easy read)

How To Be An Explorer Of The World: Portable Art Life Museum
by Keri Smith

This book is filled with project, experiments, explorations, and quotes. It gives you new ways to look at things, and experience the world around you. I have tried several of the experiments in this book and they are fun, easy, and really get you thinking about the little stuff in a whole new way.

I love this book! If you are looking for ways to jump start your creativity, are feeling in a rut, or just like to try new things, then you should read this book.

Here how they describe this book on Amazon.com:

Product Description
From the author of Wreck This Journal, an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life.

Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists.

The mission Smith proposes? “To document and observe the world around you. As if you’ve never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.”

With a series of interactive prompts and a beautifully hand-illustrated two-color package, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world through this gorgeous book.

Click the link and check out this book today.



Want to read more books to inspire your creativity?
Check out the sidebar - newly update links with more creativity book. You can also check out the review I did on The Creative Entrepreneur and the post Books to Inspire Creativity.

So many good books so little time. What book inspires you to create?