Sharon’s Blog

I have finally opened an Etsy shop! I’ll be stocking it over the next several days. Please visit, and  tell your friends to check it out too! You’ll find beaded birds, hand-bound journals, picture frames, art and more. Here is the address:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GoodLittleBluebird

I’ve named the shop Good Little Bluebird because at our home, when you’re doing what you’re supposed to, you’re being a good little bluebird. Going into the studio to make art qualifies!

This Saturday our Village is having a fundraiser to benefit Buddy Baseball. They are selling and auctioning off birdhouses decorated by local artists. Guess who is participating? Yes! Me!

I had an excellent time making up my birdhouse, and hope it’ll do a good job raising money for a worthy program. It is titled “Anything Can Happen” and I made it with the pre-fab birdhouse, some wooden pieces, felt, stuffing, wire, acrylic paint and a piece of aquarium tubing. My Honey helped by drilling the hole for the tubing to go into; power tools are not my forte.

Here’s what it looks like:

Here is another of the small birds I’ve made. It reminds me of spring!

Well, it would be nice if I posted more regularly. I need to get a handle on that. It seems I get so engrossed in making art that it is easy to forget about blogging it.

I have finished the ketuba (Jewish marriage contract) I was working on. The couple now have it, so I can show you what it looks like.

I’m really happy with the way this piece worked out. It was a lot of meticulous painting, but the gold gouache really sparkles surrounded by the rich green and blue. The couple liked it, too!

I’ve also been working on more birds. I’ve been inspired by spring and decided to try making some smaller-scale birds. This purple and blue bird is one of them. It reminds me of summer evening skies.

Besides working on the bird sculptures, I’ve been occupied with a ketuba for an April wedding. Right now, I’m working on the border designs, which are all hand-painted. Here’s a sneak peek!

Spring must be on the way. Lately, in the morning, I can hear the birds singing! It seems the birds that overwinter here don’t have much to say until the weather improves. I was thinking about the sounds of sunny days when I made this little bird. Sounds like the breeze blowing, children playing, and the ice cream truck driving down the street and playing a tinkly, tinny version of “Have You Ever Gone A’Fishing” on a constant loop. I was also thinking about how some people have personalities like summer days — sunny, positive and colorful. This bird is much smaller than my recent birds. It’s only 2 1/4″ tall.

Here’s what I’ve been working on lately:  I finished these two birds to be juried for a group show.

They are both large-scale pieces (for me, anyways!). The white bird is about 15″ tall, and the blue one is about 22″. The necks are beaded, but the feathers in the body are made of fabric. On the blue bird, I hand-painted the fabric before making the feathers. I’m happy to say that even though I had problems with the first set of legs I made for the blue bird, it is now standing firmly on its own. It was a pain to figure out how to make that happen, but I’m glad I stuck with it!

Welcome to my blog! Here is where I’ll share my finished art, work in progress, musings and creative things that happen. Please check in often to see what’s new!