Charm Necklace

I have been at a crossroads artistically wondering what direction I want to pursue. I decided to make this charm necklace using the covers of most of the books and magazines that I have been published in as a reminder to myself of what I have accomplished when it seems I am going nowhere in my art career. The largest charm features the cover of my first book Interactive Art Workshop. A large number of charms are covers of Stampington Publications that my art has appeared in. Time to work on another necklace full of charms!

The Creative Connection Event

The first time my artwork appeared in a publication was the Sept/Oct issue of Somerset Studio 2002. It was a thrill then and continues to be whenever I see my art in a publication while holding the actual magazine in my hands. Stampington and Company has played an integral part in the growth of my artistic career. I had the fortunate opportunity to help out at the Stampington and Company booth at the Creative Connection Event and meet Christen Olivarez who is the Editor-in Chief & Director of Publishing. Kerri Winterstein is the marketing coordinator manager. Both have a great sense of humor which made for a fun time! Stampington and Company is located in California so I didn't know when I would have the opportunity to visit in person. Whereas the Creative Connection Event was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota about a 6 hour drive from my house.

Stampington & Co. booth. Stampington publishes over 30 magazines. It was fun seeing repeat customers as well as new ones discovering Stampington & Company for the first time.

I met my facebook friend Kecia Franzee Deveney for the first time in person. She wears wonderfully arty outfits, her booth was fabulous, and her jewelry is gorgeous! I also met facebook friends Ruth Rae and Cindy Dean but unfortunately didn't take any pictures. I wish that I had taken more pictures as usual!

The closing party complete with cupcakes...yummm!

Because I worked at the booth in the Handmade Market I missed out on a lot of the other fun going on. I did have the opportunity to attend two morning panels which were fabulous! The panels were:
How to Launch a Business
Blogging: How to Make it Matter More
The exchange of ideas and information was phenomenal! I would certainly recommend this event to any creative woman entrepreneur.

9/11

A day that I will never forget. A reminder of how vulnerable our Country actually is. A sign I passed on my way home. I took a couple of pictures to record the moment.

God bless the USA. God bless our world of different faiths!

Today 9/11/2010 was also our granddog Gunther's 12th birthday. Mark and I stopped by to drop off his heart medicine and gave him a treat :)