A biography of the artist

I've written a handful of blogs about my art but I haven't necessarily covered the story of my art. As an Artist who is trying to sell a piece of my heart, I want to be known and to tell that story. 

I began making journals late in 2012, November-ish. My first journal was an experiment. I saw these journal-making kits in a craft store, which came with bookboard, the binding, the cover paper, and the pages. They didn't have the tools included. I was at a point where I found myself running out of notebooks and wanted something special to replace them. I am the kind of person who is always writing things down. If someone recommends a book, or a restaurant, or an event, or a band, I write it down. If I discover something I want to buy but am uncertain about, I take notes so I can look it up later or remember it.  I pretty much always need a notebook in my purse. I didn't want to spend $15 on a kit to make a journal with a cover I wasn't keen on, so I decided to look for materials on my own.

My first journal was made out of a stiff bookboard with a cover of  deep blue with gold bodhi leaves.  I still have it (I mean, it's only 6-7 months old). It's running out of pages but I intend to refill it when it does. Since that first journal, I have made about 30 hand-stitched journals, and I am about to make about 100 more. I'm trying to build up a good inventory so that I can sell in stores, plus I need to fill some custom orders. 

I decided to take journals seriously in January of 2013. To make a long story short, I had reached a point in my life where not being creative was physically and emotionally painful. I realized that I needed to honor the Artist spirit in me, because I had been pushing it aside for a long time, for many reasons, some good and some bad. I grew up around art and creativity and creating has always been a part of my life. My mother is an amazingly versatile artist who has made clothes, jewelry, pottery, soap, candles, preserves, cooked and baked food, oil paintings, watercolors, quilts, and other art. I got her crafty gene, which just never quits. Somewhere there is a photo of my mom, her mom, her mom, and I all crafting together. Creating is a family trait. I also have four brothers, all of whom are amazingly creative people too. They all draw very well, and in completely different styles. One brother is a good actor and voice-actor, another has done some amazing logos, another creates playlists and is a radio deejay, another is a club deejay and also creates these hilarious knitted coasters that say "F*ck You." In my short life, I have drawn, painted, made jewelry, embossed leather, sewn quilts,  made amazing collages, and sewn and hand-embroidered/beaded pillow covers, in addition to the stuff I am now doing. 

Like my mother, I see a craft and I learn how to do it. Learning new skills is what keeps life interesting for me. All of my favorite jobs have included a learning component, and despite my deep loathing of homework, there's a reason I went so far academically, which is that learning is fun for me. I'm not the best at everything. For instance my paintings were pretty grim. My pillow-case business survived one art show and then fizzled out. It's a work in progress. I am a work in progress. However, paper crafts are an area where I shine. I first began working with fine papers in 2009, crafting trinket boxes for storing things in the house. It's been great fun making trinket boxes, and I think they are a seriously underestimated commodity. My latest paper project is making landscapes and pastoral scenes with fine papers. It unites my talents with paper and my talents as a collage artist, and gives me an outlet for my pastoral-landscape-loving side. 

A big part of where my art comes from, be it journals, skincare, or scarves, is a belief in a softer side of life, where small luxuries are appreciated. I am a big fan of microluxuries: the little things that add a personal touch, that add color and brightness, that soothe the eyes, and that appeal to the senses. The modern world is very hard and geometric. It's full of smooth, straight lines and flat, unyielding surfaces. I like to think of my art as being like a powder puff in a container of scented talc. It's soft, feminine, old-fashioned, glamorous, and kind. It slows you down in a hectic world. I get inspired by nature, and by culture. Most of the papers I work with come from Asia, and that's no mere coincidence. The papers made in Asia are made from a mindset where beauty is highly valued, especially the beauty and brilliance of nature. These papers are the bright magentas, turquoises, golds, blues, greens, silvers, and reds that I work with. They have floral patterns, vegetal patterns, patterns taken from nature. The colors are unapologetically vivid. 

While I can appreciate a pastel or something sleek and neutral, nothing excites me more than color that is alive and vibrant; purples that bleed out and browns as rich as freshly-tilled soil (or freshly-melted chocolate, yum!) My journals and trinket boxes reflect this more than anything else that I make. I consider the journals the core of what I do, because they are also about inspiring creativity in others. The second journal I ever made was for a writer, to inspire her to write more.

In the skincare, I've gone for clean, fresh scents, and of course, it is all-natural. The honey-hibiscus lip balm is luscious and shiny, and I used honey and hibiscus because they are rich in flavor and scent, Mother Nature's mouthwatering best. The cuticle/all-over balm has rosemary for a clean and gender-neutral scent. 

With the scarves I chose cool blue batiks because hot summer days demand coolness and soft, breathable fabric. 

The magnets are a different kind of art, stemming from a deep joy. I love and cherish my refrigerator magnets, and they are to me the kind of microluxuries that exemplify quality of life in little things. You can have a staunch, boring fridge with bills, to-do-lists, and magnets you picked up from your credit union's tent at the whatever festival, but that's boring and sad. I aim to create happy little pieces of art that hold up whatever needs holding up on your fridge door- and hopefully make you smile whenever you go to the fridge. The magnets are less personal for me because I try to make them appeal to a broad audience. I am currently working on some more styles and hope they make my customers as happy as they make me. I won't say what they are but I will say they are inspiring and uplifting. 

Focus on Book Arts Conference & Artists' Shop; Last Thursday update

I am excited to announce that not only do I have awesome inventory variety for Last Thursday this month (4/25), but that I will be selling my hand-stitched journals at the Artists' Shop at the Focus on Book Arts Conference.

Last Thursday is only a couple of weeks away so don't forget to be on Alberta Street Thursday afternoon and evening! We are building up towards the big summer months, so there's less of a crowd and a select group of artisans selling.

Focus on Book Arts is an annual conference that does exactly that- there are workshops on book making, book arts, and professional development; an artist's market; keynote address; and discounted professional photography for art.  Journals by lumos: lovely trinkets will be sold in the Artists' Shop.

The conference is June 25-30, 2013, at Pacific University in Forest Grove. The Artists' Shop is in the Cawein Gallery, and is open Tuesday (6/25) from 7 pm to 9 pm, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (6/26-28) from 8 am to 7 pm, and Saturday (6/29) 8 am to 6 pm.

For more information visit Focus on Book Arts.

A reminder about tomorrow's event...

Infinity Scarves, just in time for warmer weather!

Happy to say that at this very moment I am sewing some beautiful infinity wrap scarves for Last Thursday! One down, ??? to go!

These scarves are handwashable 100% cotton. They are lightweight and cool, so you can look awesome without breaking a sweat. Better pictures will be coming soon; bear with me because I am no photographer, but I took some just to show off the product.

I intend to set up at Last Thursday at around 11 am, in front of Clary Sage Herbarium on 28th & Alberta. I will of course have some lovely items from Kimber as well, who must be congratulated on her latest work of art, Robin Aria Donnelly (8 lbs, 21 inches!!!)

Remember to think globally and shop locally- at the lumos lovely trinkets booth!

Here's me wearing a scarf

The design is a cotton batik print of flowers and swirls

The scarf is about 6" wide and 26" long; I am fully extending my arm to show the length.

Exciting News!

As you may or may not know, there is a monthly event in Portland called Last Thursday. On the last Thursday of every month, vendors line the sides of NE Alberta Street for fifteen blocks (from 15th to 30th) and sell their one-of-a-kind creations. I am proud to announce that lumos lovely trinkets will be a part of this ongoing event.

 I will be in front of Clary Sage Herbarium between 28th & 29th Streets, so real close to one end of Last Thursday. Clary Sage Herbarium is a great store and is one of my main sources for raw materials and supplies, so be sure to check them out as well!

The first Last Thursday that I'll be at is March 28, so mark your calendars! This year's Last Thursdays are sure to be even greater than before, due to the new policy that restricts would-be garage-salers from plying their wares alongside artists. (Previous years got a little out of control). The new policy favors artists over schmucks selling whatever crap they want to get rid of, so it's going to be exceptional from here on out!

For more information on Last Thursday, see Friends of Last Thursday on Alberta.
Read reviews of Last Thursday here at yelp.

                   







"My advice, is go to Last Thursday on March 28 and shop at the lumos booth"

Make what sells so you can make what matters?

Recently I had a conversation with my neighbor, whose wife, Blanca, paints these amazing, whimsical paintings. He told me that Blanca sometimes sells abstract paintings, even though she paints other paintings that are way better than abstract art, because they sell. For some reason, people who can't connect to art that tells a story, can connect to random "open to various interpretations" art, which doesn't make sense to me but okay. The moral of this story was, you have to make what sells in order to make what you really love to make. Not that abstract paintings suck. It's just that sometimes, what matters to the artist is painting something else (like a fairy riding a stag beetle, what beats that?)

For me, journals are the things that matter. I recently did an art show of Valentine's Day art. I went away from my usual themes and color schemes to make some red, pink, purple, glittery, heart-adorned journals. I sold one.

What I did sell- like, immediately- were these little magnets I made sort of as an afterthought. I love magnets and they are darn cute, but I didn't set out to sell magnets. However, I am thinking now that I will do more magnets, because why not? I like them, and they are both lovely and trinkets, which fits well with my mission statement.

Two questions for artists: have you ever "expanded" your repertoire to do something because it sold? And if not, why not? Was it a moral thing, or an emotional thing, or a practical thing?  OR If so, was it fun, and did you surprise yourself with what you made?

News update: One Billion Rising, lip balm, and more

After my experience marching, dancing, eating, and learning with One Billion Rising PDX, I was astonished to see hardly a whisper of news coverage. The largest global movement, with 203 countries signed up to participate, many of which included Risings in several cities, was barely a blip on the radar screen of major news outlets.  I do believe that with or without these news outlets, women are being empowered on the ground, on a massive scale. Watching videos of Risings in other parts of the world is so encouraging. With all that said, I have decided that lumos will now donate 5% of all earnings to charities that support women and the first of those is Portland's Raphael House, which is committed to ending domestic violence and supporting survivors of domestic violence.  I would like to make this commitment for all time, that lumos will always give 5% to a worthy cause. I will also offer a donation deal where if you would like to contribute to that cause, you can add any amount onto the price, and notify me that it is for Raphael House. If you add money and I don't know why, I will assume it is for this. All the funds that are earmarked to Raphael House will be added to the pot, which I will hand over quarterly. I will provide 100% accountability. Basically I want to provide a way for customers to donate whatever little bit they can. You can also just go to their website and donate there.

Lip balm is coming soon! I am perfecting the recipe for a unique lip balm made of all-natural ingredients. Lip balm will be sold in a .5 oz size, and will include plain and tinted options. Along with lip balm, perfume solids and all-over balm will be ready soon... as soon as I get off my butt and do it! So feel free to pre-order.

Don't forget that custom journals are the perfect gift for artists, graduates, listmakers, and everyone you know! Our journals are refillable for a flat rate of $5... so, use the journal up, cut & compost the binding, and send back the cover for a paper refill! Don't forget to recycle the used paper, either!