check out ABC Family’s “The Fosters” next Monday!

Posted on August 8, 2014 by susie carranza studio

papel picado

i’m so excited that i can FINALLY share my news! remember this post from May: “opportunity knocked – we answered!“?! well, i can now tell you that this coming Monday – August 11, 2014 – you can see our artwork (‘our’ being my husband Lawrence and me) on an all new episode of “The Fosters”, on ABC Family!

i’m very grateful we had the opportunity to do this. as i wrote in the previously mentioned blog post, Lawrence was very surprised that i applied for this. to be honest, i had initially thought about NOT mentioning it to him, and not doing anything about it. i’m so glad i didn’t go with my gut reaction this time!

set life was like nothing i’ve ever experienced: it’s hurryhurryhurry, set up your space (we were to set up a 10′ X 10′ booth as we would for an art show), then wait until we were needed. one day they didn’t film near our booth at all, so we got to roam the set location (out of the way of the cameras, of course!) and watch all the action strictly as spectators. luckily, we were allowed to leave our setup for the whole week, as opposed to taking down and setting up again each day. it was really interesting to watch filming, see how the cast and crew worked together (they all seemed to get along great), chat with all the extras and hear about their experiences on different jobs – AND we got to enjoy some of the most delicious food too! the catering company for this job was awesome – we couldn’t wait to see what we were being offered each day!

i got to personally meet artists whose work i’d admired for quite some time, hang out with them a bit – even discussed the world of art and blogging.

i heard that the episode would air August 11th, but August kind of snuck up on me. it wasn’t until earlier this week when our niece texted Lawrence a picture of the preview for next Monday’s episode of “The Fosters” that we realized ‘our’ episode was here! 🙂 we were so excited!!! i mean, we would have never thought that we’d have the chance to have our work exposed on television to so many people!

i’m sharing this photo from “The Fosters” facebook page. it’s actually a photo of the preview video for next week’s episode, showing our booth and some of our work in the background…

To learn more about “The Fosters”, check out their official page at ABC Family. and maybe you’ll check out the episode next Monday. if you do, let me know what you think!

’til next time…

not much painting going on…

Posted on August 3, 2014 by susie carranza studio

the past several days have been very busy around here. unfortunately, no new artwork has been created in that time!

this past week, my mother-in-law ended up in the emergency room. she ended up undergoing another angioplasty to open up a blocked artery. so Lawrence and I have been spending our days at her house, keeping a watchful eye…

on a more positive note, renovations are finally under way at my in-laws’ house. a little backstory on that: when my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in January 2013, Lawrence made the decision that he wanted us to move in with his parents for the time they had left with us. unfortunately, there were other individuals in the house who stood in the way of us doing that in time to live with my father-in-law (we lost him within a month; he passed away February 2013). I won’t get into the details, but I will say that we are FINALLY able to get necessary repairs done to the house, getting us closer to moving into Lawrence’s childhood home so we can live and care for his mom. so we’re also dealing with contractors and renovations! I’m enjoying seeing the work being done – I really wanted to join in and tear down some walls…

so, as you can imagine, I’m not getting much artwork done. today’s the first day I’ve been home for awhile, and it was spent printing out invoices and letting customers know orders were shipped out. I do have some photos to share, at least!

’til next time…

newest pieces: mixed media wood plaques

on our way to Kaiser Permanente on Sunset Blvd.

lavender hibiscus in my in laws’ garden

bougainvillea flower hanging on to Lawrence’s shoe

spent most of a hot Friday under this…

happy birthday Frida!

Posted on July 6, 2014 by susie carranza studio

my first ever Frida-inspired art piece

today Frida Kahlo would have celebrated her 107th birthday. although she passed away in 1954, she continues to be a huge source of artistic inspiration to many.

i love Frida’s art work. she portrayed beauty alongside tragedy, joy alongside sadness, and her pieces are full of raw emotion you can’t help but also feel if you really look at her work.

above is my newest art piece, simply titled “Frida”. it is my first ever Frida-inspired piece – but i really enjoyed making it so it definitely won’t be my last!

til next time…

working on: hand painted and decoupaged wood boxes…

Posted on July 3, 2014 by susie carranza studio

i love painting on wood. it provides a smooth surface for paint, and can take LOTS of it. and wood boxes? FUNCTIONAL art! 🙂

i came upon these boxes in my storage area, one already base coated in a beautiful turquoise, so i decided to finish them up…(forgive the photos; i mentioned previously that my digital camera stopped working, and i’ve been relying on my iPhone for photos.)this 1987 Webster’s dictionary has been with me for years (obviously – 1987!). i love to write, and during my college years and several years after that, i wrote short stories and poetry. this dictionary helped me out, so i thought it would be cool to repurpose and upcycle it into my present-time creative work…i love to fold and tear my papers, rather than always rely on scissors. it gives paper nice imperfect edges, and old paper is awesome for tearing this way!Hard Coat Mod Podge from Plaid is the BEST for decoupaging, collaging, etc. i don’t remember when i first used it, but it’s what i always use now for these kinds of projects. it doesn’t have the tacky feeling that the regular mod podge leaves behind, and you can build up lots of coats for a more durable seal. works great on wood…this box ate up lots of paint! it needed a few coats of paint, and there were drawers and crevices to deal with…(i’m using one of my FAVORITE colors: Americana Acrylics from DecoArt in Calypso Blue. LOVE!)

the colors on the flower in this photo are NOT true to life! this was taken late at night with the only light source being a table lamp… i always paint the inside of my boxes, but this wood looked so pretty that i decided to just seal it as is and let the beautiful natural wood color show.

as soon as the boxes are finished, i’ll be posting them to either my Etsy shop or our website at www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com – stay tuned!

’til next time…

LOTS of new items added to my Etsy supply shop…!

Posted on June 25, 2014 by susie carranza studio

as an artist who likes to try out any creative medium i can get my hands on, i have lots of art & craft supplies. LOTS. so i opened a second Etsy shop (Susie’s This & That) to destash these extra supplies. i’ve used several of these items in my mixed media and assemblage art pieces – the miniatures especially are perfect for Dia de los Muertos shrines, altars, and art pieces.

the shop (which i opened in february of 2012) has really taken off! it keeps me busy; i wish my Etsy art shop and our website were as busy, but i’m grateful for any and all sales coming in…

here are some of the items from my supply shop. several i just added over the weekend – some of which have already SOLD OUT! 🙂