around here…

Posted on December 6, 2013 by susie carranza studio

i’m not in a celebrating-the-holidays mood. losing my sister in october and losing my father-in-law in february did not leave me in a party mood. our thanksgiving here was a quiet meal with my parents, my brother, and my nephew. (my husband lawrence was with his mother.) it was quiet, peaceful, and simple. we also had a small cake for my mom; that day was also her 79th birthday.

lawrence and i did visit Huntington Library again a couple of weeks ago. (read my other post about the gorgeous library and botanical gardens here.) this visit was more about just clearing our heads and getting some exercise, so i was not concerned about taking too many photographs…

(i love how lawrence’s shadow looks in this photo!)

we watched some ducks for a while…

bridge in the japanese garden…

so – not many pictures to share this time, but we enjoyed the day. we even finally had lunch in the tea room: garlic shrimp spring rolls with jasmine tea. it was delicious!

i haven’t been painting as much as i should be, but i did start up again. funny thing – even though i don’t feeling much in the holiday spirit, i have been painting ornaments for my Etsy art shop – and enjoying it!

i added a pretty metal heart charm on sheer ribbon around the birds’ necks…

if you’d like to see what i’ve been adding to my Etsy shop, please check it out – hopefully you’ll find some holiday gifts you can check off your list! ♥

’tis the season – for Dia de los Muertos…

Posted on October 17, 2013 by susie carranza studio

i love this time of year, when there are lots of events and shows celebrating Dia de los Muertos. i was going to write about it, but realized i already did last year, which you can read at Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead: Honoring Loved Ones No Longer Here. i also love creating pieces Dia de los Muertos style, like these hand painted & embellished mini wood coffins. they’re perfect for keeping on your home altars for your loved ones who are no longer here, with space inside for small mementos or treasures.

hand painted and embellished mini coffins, Dia de los Muertos style

i’m happy to say that the first three sold quickly after i posted photos on my facebook page – so i created more today:

mini wood coffins, hand painted and embellished Dia de los Muertos style

hand painted and embellished mini coffins, Dia de los Muertos style

here’s just a sampling of some of my DOD (Day of the Dead) work on our website:

and some from my Etsy shop:

i learned so much about Dia de los Muertos from Annette Armas (i’ve mentioned her before, Annette of CJ’s Angels and our Arte de Nuestro Corazon business partner). she creates Dia de los Muertos art like it should be: beautiful, colorful, culturally-inspired, in a way that honors the tradition of celebrating loved ones no longer here.

check out some of Annette’s work for yourself, and let me know what you think:

work by Annette Armas

Annette and her daughter Theresa also have a gorgeous 2014 calendar out right now, with 14 all new images, all Dia de los Muertos (the calendar is available for purchase right now at Arte de Nuestro Corazon, while supplies last!):

So – do any of you celebrate Dia de los Muertos? what do you do? if you have a related blog post, please share in the comments. i’d love to see what you’re up to for Dia de los Muertos…

peek into my sketchbook…

Posted on October 1, 2013 by susie carranza studio

happy october everyone – my favorite month! LOVE the cooling temperatures, the changing leaves, Halloween – everything!

so, i’ve always doodled. when i worked a ‘regular’ job i doodled during staff meetings, i doodled on napkins at meal times (and still do!), i doodled while on the phone…but i never really kept a sketchbook. you know, one book where i sketched out ideas. i doodled everywhere anyway, and i never sketch out a painting before i paint it, so i guess i never saw the need.

well, this past june my husband took me to Dick Blick Art Store in Pasadena for some birthday shopping. i went to just buy a Gelli plate but came home with more. you know how that happens, right? (you can check out some photos from my first time using the Gelli plate here – playing with my Gelli Plate.)

so, along with my new Gelli plate, i got some Jacquard Textile paints (which i was very excited about but haven’t used yet), a roll-up pouch for brushes & drawing supplies, and a sketchbook. and i’m enjoying it. i haven’t done alot in it yet, but i really love drawing/painting in it late at night, when everyone’s asleep and it’s quiet.

here’s a peek at a few things i’ve been doing. please forgive the not-so-good pictures; the lighting here hasn’t been great for photo taking…

so tell me – do you use a sketchbook?

new items in Etsy shop!

Posted on September 22, 2013 by susie carranza studio

i’ve been busy! i’ve been happily painting away, into the early morning hours, and i’m loving it!

creating new work really makes me happy, and with all the curve balls life has been throwing out lately, painting and drawing are really the only things keeping me sane. when i’m in the zone, everything else disappears and it’s just me and my paintbrushes. and that’s all i need in that moment. ♥

anyway, i just wanted to share a few of the new pieces i’ve added to my Etsy shop. Dia de los Muertos is so close, and i added some one-of-a-kind paper mache skulls that would be great to add to any altar, or would make beautiful gifts for anyone who loves the culture, color, and beauty that is Dia de los Muertos. you’ll also find hand painted wood birds (fun & whimsical!), crosses, and original canvas paintings and mixed media pieces – and much more.

so please – pop over to my Etsy shop now and see if there’s anything you like!
Susie Carranza Studio on Etsy

more gelli printing, and new original pieces

Posted on September 1, 2013 by susie carranza studio

it’s been a while since i’ve posted here. i keep telling myself i’m going to make a point of blogging consistently and then – life intervenes! i won’t bore you with personal issues, but i will share that i have been doing lots of painting, drawing, and adding work to my online shops.

i’m still working with my Gelli plate – and stil loving it. there’s lots of videos & tutorials online about using your Gelli plate, but i find that lots of them use store bought stencils. while there are some very cool stencils out there, i’ve come to find out that the most inexpensive, common household items can be used on the Gelli plate, with awesome results!

here’s two items that have quickly become my favorite:

1.) a 99¢ store comb.

you can create lines or waves in any direction you want with a comb and get some great texture and dimension. in the third photo, you can see what happened when i pressed a canvas onto my Gelli plate. in the final photo, i pressed a piece of white cardstock onto the paint that was left on the Gelli plate, getting another, different print – and cleaning up the Gelli plate at the same time.

2.) shelf/drawer liner (also from 99¢ store)

by pressing the shelf liner onto your Gelli plate, you get these tiny squares AND circles on it. the second photo shows you what happened when i pressed a canvas onto my Gelli plate this time. in the final photo, once again, i used cardstock to pick up whatever paint was left on my Gelli plate.

i love playing with different items on my Gelli plate to see what results i get. another thing i love to do is cut out my own shapes from cardstock. by cutting out exactly what i want, in the size i want, i create shapes and patterns personal to me, to use as backgrounds in my artwork.

here are two original canvas pieces that i’ve done with Gelli print backgrounds. (it’s been really hot here, hence the suns!)

“el sol”: marker, acrylic paints, and paper on a Gelli print background, available for purchase at our website www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com

“Sun”: marker and acrylics paints on a Gelli print background. it’s available for purchase in my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/susiecarranzastudio.