Newbies- er, New Bees!

Here is the drawing that I mentioned at the end of my last post! I didn't want to upload it before it was given to the recipients. I know the chances that they *just happen* to read my blog or anything related to it are pretty much 0.00000000000000000000000000000001% but I felt it was more respectful to wait to post it.

So in my head, I've been calling the piece "Nectar," partly because, of course, that's what the bees are feasting on in this picture. But also partly because I had just downloaded Tindersticks' first album and was enjoying listening to it on repeat while I was drawing. One of the songs on it is titled "Nectar" which seemed quite appropriate :)




I'm working on a box with some decoupage of this drawing in there... it'll be up in my Etsy shop eventually, which, by the way, is up and running again!! Yay!

Operation Fill-A-Frame #2 & #3

I filled up a couple more frames a while back and completely forgot to post about it!

Valentine's Bugs!

This artwork wasn't created specifically for Operation: Fill-A-Frame, it was actually created last year for an Etsy Team Challenge. However, like the frames, it was something I had laying around that I wanted to finish (i.e. frame it) eventually. So the two projects came together perfectly! I had the art... I had the frames... They just needed mats.

I was really torn between matting it in green or red. The dark green went well with both pieces and seemed practical because dark green is easy color to match to almost any decor in any home. But since the art was created for Valentine's day, it made sense to frame it in the obligatory red. People love buying things in red for Valentine's day... for what other reason does every store currently look like red, pink, and magenta came in and threw up all over their entryway!?

I decided to offer the option of either color mat.

They are both pastels with ink. Both pieces are currently $35 each, but check the listings as they may go on sale. I may offer a bundle discount if someone's interested in buying both!

Original "Bee Mine" framed artwork

If you're interested in buying this piece or seeing more photos, it's here in my Etsy gift shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65547037/bee-mine-original-valentines-honeybee

Original "Love Bug" framed artwork

If you'd like to buy this piece or see more detailed photos, it's here in my Etsy gift shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65546619/love-bug-original-valentines-ladybug

This ladybird beetle one was a tough one- I had an idea for the composition but it took a lot of sketches to get it just right. Ladybugs love climbing around on the grass and the red and green colors look so nice together. The little beetle is pulling down blades of grass into the shape of a heart, and I made his little body slightly heart-shaped too :)

New Project Idea!!

Last night on our way home from PA, I was chatting with my husband and we came up with an idea for an AWESOME PROJECT!

Awesome because it's going to combine me making art with my favorite subject matter- POLLINATORS!- with raising funds for the Pollinator Partnership!

I don't want to give away too much about the project because I'm paranoid of jinxing it or other applications of Murphy's Law ("anything that CAN go wrong WILL go wrong"). So for now..... I'll just give you some visual hints! :)

In the meantime if you're starting your Christmas shopping a little early, take a look in my CafePress Bees store for great "Bee Kind!" shirts, bags, and more! All profit from these items goes to the Pollinator Partnership! :)

Soon, little bees.

Soon I will be back to gardening and planting for you.

For now I will reminisce with old photos.
          Come with me and let's enjoy these bees from 2008  :)

"We're in your flowers... Pollinaaaytin' your world!!"

P

P

Last Featured Bug Shop: Honeybee Crochet!

Last (but NOT least!) in my list of featured Etsy Buggy shops this week is:

HoneyBee Crochet,
AKA SturmDM on Etsy!

Honeybee Crochet is a very special bug shop because, while her entire shop doesn't *just* consist of bugs (she has a wide variety of items and subject matter!), she does HELP bugs with her crochet! Specifically, she helps honeybees! She donates proceeds from some of her crochet work to honeybee research.

She has a whole section in her shop with one-of-a-kind freehand bees! They are designs she's made up herself without a pattern!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SturmDM?section_id=5582273

Here are some of Doris's beautiful handmade bees:

Adorable little bee pin, perfect size to pin on a jacket, a purse, a wristlet, etc.

Cute little bees with BIG hearts! Perfect for someone you love...

Realistic fancy bee :)

BEE green, shop handmade this holiday season! :)
http://www.SturmDM.etsy.com


Also, BEE sure to check out her blog here- she ALWAYS has fun stuff to share!
http://CrochetinginGeorgia.blogspot.com

More Etsy Treasury Fun!

I found out today that the wonderful Ms. Elizabeth Graf of Etsy has included my "Busy, Busy Bees" in her beautiful treasury! (Alongside some very pretty items- how flattering!) :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=93614

In other exciting news, I've sold some more framed artwork from my Imagekind gallery! The great thing about the store at Imagekind is that you can buy printed artwork, already framed, at a very good price... Check it out :)

Wishing everyone a happy weekend full of bugs and hugs! (Or just bug artwork if you're not a fan of being around the real ones.)

Featured Etsy Shop... SturmDM!

Since I'm part of the handmade community over at Etsy, every now and then I like to spotlight an extra special shop...

This time I've decided to feature "Honeybee Crochet", the shop of a dear friend of mine, Doris. Like me, Doris is a friend to the bees!... Which is how we became acquainted. Her shop is full of many functional handmade items such as afghans, pillows, kitchen items, shawls and other wearables.
But my favorite things in her shop are her bees!

Is this patriotic bee not one of the most cute and creative things you've ever seen!?

She crochets them all by hand from patterns that she has created herself, so all of the bees are one of a kind! She truly has a creative gift, to make all these wonderful and adorable bees!.. Here are some of my favorites:

"Beeatrice" the Autumn bee

"Sassy Bee" pin accessory- Sooo sweet and cute!!

"Frizzy the Frazzled Honey Bee"

Little Bees with Big Hearts!

(Great for Valentine's day, Christmas, Anniversary, or any other occasion for someone you love who loves bees!)

Doris donates some of her proceeds from sales in her Etsy shop to Honeybee Research. Check her Etsy Profile for more info.

You can find Doris on Etsy at:
http://www.SturmDM.etsy.com




And read about her life of bees, Gizzy, crochet, and Georgia here:
http://crochetingingeorgia.blogspot.com/
She's always got something interesting to blog about, and she's currently got a pet costume contest going on! But if you're going to enter, hurry, because there is only 1 week left for submissions! (Entry deadline to submit your pets' pictures is Oct. 21st!)

In addition to having a wonderful creative gift, Doris also has a big heart and is one of the nicest people ever. Please go visit her blog and her shop and show her a little love :)

Back home.....

Mendenhall Glacier

Normally I would have guessed that I would be sad upon returning home from Alaska, a place I've always wanted to go, and knew I'd fall in love with. In fact, I am ready to plan my next trip to Denali.... But I'm happy to be home!! For one thing, I missed my pets!

Besides missing the pets, Alaska Airlines made coming home a lot easier to look forward to! I want to thank them for the delight of rearranging our travel plans without informing us, which then allowed me the luxury of burning off calories by making me run with my carry-on across 3 different airports end-to-end, sometimes more than once! (with some asthma issues thrown in for good measure), an unplanned flight to and night spent in Chicago, missing a half day of work on Wednesday, eating no actual meals on Tuesday (dinner consisted of 1/3 a bag of Cheezits! YUM!), and conveniently having no customer service desk in Minneapolis.
You silly airline!
I mean I love Cheezits and all, and I have been trying to exercise more, so I'm really thankful that they conveniently removed us from that flight that would have gotten us to Minneapolis, thus connecting to get back home, on schedule.

After a day like that, anyone would be glad to come home from where ever they are.

And now, what I know you've been waiting for.....

PICTURES
OF ALASKAN BEES!!!!!

A bumblebee on a giant Dandelion.
His fuzzy bee butt was a neat reddish color!



Is this a bee?
It looks like a bee.
He buzzed like a bee.

But I can't find a picture of him anywhere online to confirm what he is. He must be in the bee family, I just want to know what kind he is. I just LOVED his yellow knobby antennae!

Hydrant Hysteria: Finished!

I'm done!

I'M DONE!
IIIIIIIII'M DOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!

I am sooooo happy to be finished with it!

I think I get so excited about finishing an art project because I sit there and nit-pick every. Single. Little. Detail. and won't stop until I'm pleased with it. I very rarely call something done unless I'm 100% satisfied with it (which is why my paintings take so long). So when I call something done, it means I'm happy! :)
And I finished it before my vacation. What a relief! I still have to clear coat it, but I think I will do that after I get back- maybe touch it up if it needs it, too.

You can see the entire photo set from Hydrant Hysteria here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samanthasartstudio/sets/72157619272137811/

Today was the last day I worked on it. I went out for a couple of hours at lunch and was able to finish it up.

Unfortunately I had my very first negative comment about it today, too (unless you count the guy who was telling me I should have painted all the chains the same color so it was symmetrical. Symmetry.... barrrrrf).

Some grouchy nasty woman walked by and commented loudly to the people she was with:
"I WONDER HOW MUCH OF OUR TAX MONEY IS BEING SPENT ON THAT."

I sat up, sort of in shock, then yelled back, "I'm not getting paid for this!!"

She didn't look back, and maybe she didn't hear me- She was most likely too busy looking for something else to b!#@h about. I'm pretty sure that complaining consumes most of her energy. What bothered me the most about it, and ruined a good part of my day, was her all-too-obvious implication that whatever was being spent wasn't worth it. So the art of everyone else involved in the project is worthless.
Thanks. Thanks a lot.

It made me realize why so many people have asked me if I'm getting paid to paint the hydrant. Maybe they're concerned about their tax dollars... Ohhhh noooooooooo! I had to explain that it is a volunteer project and really we're just doing it for fun, but it was a juried project, there is also a contest involved, and it's part of a downtown beautification project.

"Like the cows?"
Yes, like the cows.
"And the kites?"
........I have no idea what you're talking about, but yes, probably?


And now.... Hydrant Hysteria by the numbers! Fun!

Number of job offers: 1
Number of times I was asked if I "gotta boyfriend" (no comments made about the hydrant whatsoever): 25.
Number of times someone asked me out for pizza then less than 30 seconds later asked me for a dollar: 1 (I guess I would have been paying for pizza, too!)
Number of times someone wanted me to get in his car with him and go have coffee, then proceeded to run over the curb after I laughed at him: 1
Number of times a grumpy hag ruined my morning: 1
Number of times people honked and waved and screamed out compliments like "Looks nice!": 12
Number of times people stopped and told me the hydrant looked really nice/beautiful/cute/pretty: I lost track. Seriously. Some people were so enthusiastic about it! It felt awesome. Take that, crappy lady.
Number of times random tourists took my picture while painting: 7
Number of times a guy from The Patriot News stopped to take my picture while painting: 1
Number of car accidents I witnessed: 1 (no one was hurt)
Number of times a bird pooped on me while painting: 0! Woohoo!
Number of times a bird pooped on the hydrant: 1. Booooo.
Number of spiders currently living in the hydrant: 3, ewwwww.
Number of spiders I squished: 0. Heeyyy, I'm nice you guys!!!
Number of days a lady who sounds sort of like an old, sick cat was singing across the street from me: 3
Number of hours she sang on those days: WAY too many
Number of times I contemplated going over and suggesting she audition for American Idol: 17 (but I didn't, again because of the nice thing)
Total number of days the hydrant took to complete: 6


Don't forget that next week is National Pollinator Week! Me finishing my hydrant in time for it was no coincidence.

www.pollinator.org

Bumble Bee & Rose: Bug #26

I knew I wanted to include at least one composition with some bees in my series. I did honeybees for Bug #6, but knew I wanted to eventually add a bumble bee, too. So here he is, in his giant, fuzzy glory! Actually maybe too giant... I tried to illustrate a small, baby rose bloom here with the small petals all packed in together, not fully unfurled. But I think I just ended up making the bee look REALLY HUGE.

Huge bees.... Awesome. All the more fun for petting.

2 Happy Things!

On Saturday, I went to get our mail and found a large, stiff envelope with my name on it.
From the Pennsylvania Governor's Office.
"Oh, crap! Now what? What did I do this time?"
I was totally afraid I had messed something up horrifically on my taxes and really didn't want to know what was in this very, very official looking envelope. Ugh.

So I opened it first, to get it over with.
Imagine my pleasant surprise to find an official letter from Governor Rendell proclaiming Pennsylvania's participation in
National Pollinator Week (June 22-28)!


This is the first time I've ever gotten something like this in the mail, so as you can imagine, it made me extremely giddy. I was so excited that I had to take a picture of it (sitting here, with the other mail, hehe). Check out that gold seal and everything!

Fancy!

A few months ago, www.Pollinator.org sent out an action request to members, asking us to write to our state governors and ask them for a state Pollinator Week Proclamation. Pennsylvania participated last year, so I had faith that Governor Rendell would be in favor of it in 2009, too. But apparently for a state to have an official Proclamation, there has to be a request for it. I didn't know that.
Another happy surprise to me yesterday was that I was checking up on some of the blogs I'm following, and one of those is The Speckled Pear. Beautiful blog, done by a graphic designer who has done a lot of remarkable backgrounds for others' blogs and offers some eye-catching and intricate Etsy Shop banner designs (check this one out, I love it: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23534282) in her store. As a graphic artist myself, can't imagine the time spent creating some of them.

But anyway, the surprise came when I was scrolling through her blog, checking out her 10 Featured Etsy Shops for the month of June. I remembered her posting that she was looking for shops to feature, and as I scrolled through the Chosen Ones, I was in a state of awe. Beautiful items, tons of talent, and perfect photography in these shops. I thought "Of course, of course, she's got the best of the best here. No way would she have featured my shop in this, but this certainly gives me something to aspire to- these folks are amazing!" As I scrolled down, imagine my complete shock when, staring back at me, were thumbnails of my art. From my store. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I am really humbled at being seen next to these other shops.

Please hop over to The Speckled Pear and check out her blog and the featured shops at the bottom of her blog... You will thank me later! :)

Hydrant Hyperventilation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I'll be posting today's bug later on....)

I received quite the surprising email late last night...

I am one of 58 artists selected to participate in "HYDRANT HYSTERIA"!

I had written the project off, since the notification date had come and gone a couple of weeks ago and I had heard nothing. (Turns out my own handwriting did me in. One of the numbers in my zip code looked more like a 9 than a 4, rendering the original notification undeliverable. Ooof.) I decided, instead, to focus my energy on my 30 Bugs in 30 Days series! I figured I would create a new challenging project to distract myself from not having been picked. Imagine my surprise when the email arrived! I wasn't sure whether to panic.... vomit.... scream with delight... or a combination of all three?

I spent days working on my design, and I tweeted about it, but didn't want to do an elaborate blog post about it because I was almost certain that I would jinx myself. In fact, I convinced myself that by tweeting about it, the damage had been done.

Since pollinators all around the world are in trouble, I thought a pollinator themed design would be a good way to raise awareness. Of course to most, it might just look like a cute design, but pollinators are so important and they need to be appreciated!

Here's my design: "Pollinator Paradise."
(This wraps around on itself in a cylinder.)
Click to enlarge!

I tried to include almost all of the pollinators I could think of. I will have to work extra hard at making the bat very cute, since I already know people generally have this "Eewwwwww!" attitude toward them.

In the design, the 3 circles/sunflowers and the red flowers going in a circle represent the water outlets (not sure what they are called?). The dark purple part will be painted on the back of the hydrant, and shows the night pollinators.

In a way, I'm worried that my concept might not come across clearly (even though I was dorky enough to print this out on a small scale and make a mock-up hydrant out of a toilet paper tube. YEAH, I DID IT!!!!). But I also think that as long as the flowers and bugs are executed well enough for people to know what they are, with bright colors of course, the design will look nice. Doesn't everyone love colorful butterflies and flowers?!

#6 of my "30 Bugs 30 days" ACEO Series: Honeybees!

Click on the card to see the listing in my Etsy shop!

Admittedly, I am exhausted right now so this won't be a very long or in-depth post! But I did finish the 6th ACEO in my series, and this one is depicting some busy honeybees capping cells full of wax. The dark cells are full of wax, and the lighter cells are full of wax and have been capped!

Unlike the other ACEOs in my series, this was created specifically for honeybee research funds- so it has been listed in my Etsy store for $11 plus $1.50 shipping and handling, and $10 will go to honeybee research at pollinator.org.

Visit my Etsy shop if you're interested in purchasing any bug from my series! :)

Seed Scattering!! Earth Week Day 2...

When I left Maryland and moved to Pennsylvania, into an apartment, a lot of my friends and family asked if I would miss having a garden. You know what? I don't! Because I don't miss the squirrels, voles, groundhogs, rabbits, deer and whatever else raping and pillaging my gardens, helping themselves to my all-you-can-eat-buffet of hard work!
I'm still bitter about the hostas, mostly.

However, since helping the honeybees and all pollinators is a concern of mine, I always found it essential to have a great garden. True, it was also for selfish reasons- obviously I can't deny that I love to look at beautiful plants and flowers. But after researching the local native pollinators, I did spend more time researching and then planting the kinds of things that they would enjoy. I felt really happy about helping the bees and other bugs too.

I found a lot of my information here:
http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm

So now that I live in a place with a shady back porch, what's a girl to do for the pollinators in the city?

Answer:
Guerilla Gardening!
I had a big box of seeds I collected from lots of my plants back in Maryland, and planned to make seed bombs with them. But the weather got warm and time got away from me and the seeds..... still sit there. So today, between rains, I gathered some of my seeds (and brought my dog out to get some fresh air) and picked a sunny spot along the fence of the designated pet-relief area in my apartment complex and planted them. I'm hoping all the dog pee doesn't kill them all! Tomorrow there is also supposed to be a break from the rain, and I plan to take some more seeds into the parking lot next to the complex and sow some into the grassy area there- while ALSO trying to clean up the area in general. If I'm even remotely successful, I'll try and post some pics. It's pretty horrific.


So how about for Earth Day this week, you try your hand at some seed bombs or guerilla gardening, too? Do you know of a vacant or unkempt grassy area? You would not only beautify your town, but you'd be helping the local wildlife, too! Bees, butterflies, birds..... and probably even the deer, voles, squirrels, etc. If you stick to native plants, once they're established, they should need very minimal care. You may have to water them a bit initially. If you choose plants that reseed themselves, you'll only have to do it this one time! Think of the sense of pride you'll feel each time you pass by and see the beautiful flowers and the bees and butterflies busily swarming around- not to mention the birds you'll get to see in the fall!

Yay for CafePress and Pollinator.org!!

CafePress makes it very simple for shop owners to donate their proceeds to a charity!
I'm very pleased and excited to announce that the proceeds from my Helping Honeybees store now go directly to www.pollinator.org, instead of having to go through me first. I love eliminating the middle man, especially when it's me.

I plan to add some new T's for the summer to raise awareness of all pollinators including honeybees, but also butterflies, bats, beetles, and more.
So far there are bags and both short and long sleeved T's in the shop.

Clicking an image below will take you to its page on CafePress. Happy browsing! :)

Do ya, do ya, want my bugs?

Well, I've taken about a week long hiatus from painting- which is sad, since the first painting of grapes really didn't take a long time and I know the second one won't, either. Sometimes it's hard to get motivated when your best areas to paint are right in the middle of your living room (and you have to make a mess of it when it's just been cleaned top to bottom), or your alternative is to paint in a somewhat cramped and dimly-lit office.

However, I did work on a fun project last week... Bug cakelets for my husband's birthday!! Yeah, I know I'm the bug person, but how can anyone not love little bug cakes?

I started with this adorable cake pan from Williams Sonoma (unfortunately I think they no longer sell them, however, you may be able to find one on Ebay or something).I ended up adding green food coloring to some of the batter, figuring that would increase the buggy factor. Cause when you bite into a bug, you would expect it to be green, right? Luckily I spared our guests of any slimy explosions upon biting into the cakes. I could have filled them with vanilla pudding or something, I suppose..... but, ew.

Here are the cakelets awaiting the decorating committee! (That would be me.)



Aaaaannnnd, here they are all decorated! Admittedly they do not look nearly as cute as the bugs in this Williams Sonoma promotional photo for the pan (below), but I also had no idea what time my dear husband would be home that day and didn't want him to end up arriving in the middle of my surprise-cakelet-decorating fun.

Bee store! Bee store!

I've come up with another way that I hope will raise both awareness AND funds for honeybee research,
Check out Cafe Press- Samantha's Bees!
http://www.cafepress.com/samanthasbees



By carrying one of these bags, wearing one of the shirts, or adding a button to an outfit, a person can show many people the simple things that can be done to help the bees.

The profits from these items will be donated to a honeybee related charity- either vanishingbees.com , pollinator.org, or Penn State honeybee research (find out more on www.helpthehoneybees.com).

There are t-shirts, bags, and buttons currently in the shop. The items feature pictures of bees and a slogan- either "Bee Kind, Bee Green" or "Bee Aware, Bee Kind" and list various ways that everyone can help our dwindling honeybee population:
Buy organic. Don't use pesticides. Eat local honey. Plant native local flowers. Support beekeepers. Have a garden for all seasons....

Yes YOU can do at least one thing from this list! :)

In 2008 I started the Honeybee Helpers team on www.etsy.com. The team has a blog, BEE sure to check it out!
http://etsyhoneybeehelpers.blogspot.com/

In my Etsy shop, I donate $10 from the 8x10 prints that I sell to honeybee related charities.

"The Busy, Busy Bees!" (CCD Awareness Honeybee painting)

That's the name of my new painting!


I created it for the May Plant Parade Challenge on WetCanvas. The challenge was to create a piece using both cherries and cherry blossoms. I did a lot of thinking about what I wanted to create, and since a concern of mine has been honeybees, I worked that into the concept as it seemed so obvious. Show the flowers, show the delicious product that we get from them- thanks to honeybees. Obviously you'd never actually see flowers and cherries on a branch like this at the same time, but showing it this way seemed to be the best way I could illustrate pollination.

The painting is 12" x 9" acrylic (big surprise, right?). I haven't gotten a proper frame for it yet- I think I'll get a white linen liner with a white frame.

I've also got this as an 8"x10" print on Etsy and as with all of my 8"x10" prints, $10 from the sale of it will go to pollinator.org, part of the CoEvolution Institute, toward bee research.

Bee Month, Part Deux

I had originally planned to do lots of bee related drawings and art this month. I do have a painting I'm working on- and tomorrow I'm at Old Towne Crafters all day, so I'll have lots of time to work on it. It's so little (9x12 I think), so hopefully it WILL be done soon.

But in the meantime, instead of working on drawings, I've been working over on Etsy...
While browsing around the site, I found other artists on Etsy who are concerned about the honeybee crisis and who want to help by raising awareness or donating proceeds from sales, or both!

Etsy has a great community and part of that community is Etsy Teams. Teams are groups of artists and crafters with something in common- whether it's location, or type of craft, or nationality, or- pretty much anything!

I contacted some of the other artists who expressed concern about the bees to guage interest. Since everyone seemed enthusiastic, I created the Etsy HoneyBee Helpers Team. Along with that came the Etsy HoneyBee Helpers Blog, which has information about Bee Team artists and their news, what we're doing to help the bees, what related things are going on over at Etsy, etc.

I know things will probably start out slowly, but I'm really hoping we can all come up with some great ways to raise awareness of CCD and the importance of bees and maybe actually make a difference.

May = Bee Month

Incase you may not already BEE aware, there's a honey bee crisis going on. You can read more about it on http://www.helpthehoneybees.com , http://www.honeybeepreservation.org , and http://www.vanishingbees.com . It's a very, very sad thing for someone who loves bees as much as me, to hear about them being in such a bad way and no one can really pin point just one reason why- yet. But it's also a very bad situation for humans in general, as a lot of our food supply depends on honeybees, and food prices are getting higher as it is.

I've wanted to do a series of bee drawings for a while now, so this seems like a great time to start that. With the flowers in my garden starting to bloom like crazy, I might be able to get more inspiration there.This month I'm hoping to get a small painting done, and as many small drawings as I can- I'm looking to sort of challenge myself to do a bunch. I've seen some teeny-tiny drawings and paintings in little frames (I'm talking 2" x 2" here) and they are ridiculously cute. So I'd like to try my hand at some of those.

If I do a few this month in my spare time- especially since drawings generally don't take that long, and if I do a small painting, hopefully that won't take too long either- I can put those up in my etsy store. And if I sell anything, I can donate to one of these bee research charities.

I've loved bees since I was about 6 years old (when I was known as "the bee girl"... Ask my family... I'm sure they loved hearing how their kid was a bee-loving-weirdo). And now that I'm doing a lot of flower and bee (and bugs in general) artwork, it seems only natural that I should make some contributions to help out the bees that I've loved so much for most of my life.