’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 work…

Posted on July 2, 2013 by susie carranza studio

i’ve been busy! playing with my Gelli plate, painting, drawing – it’s been great. just wanted to share my newest pieces, which are available on our website at www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com –

hope you’re all having a great summer – can you believe it’s JULY?!

trying to get back to work…

Posted on March 13, 2013 by susie carranza studio

since lawrence’s dad (my father-in-law) passed away life seems to have…stalled. it’s already going to be one month that we lost him (on the 15th) yet it still seems unreal.

so…this week i’m making a conscious effort to do something creative (art therapy?) so i’ve been going through our packed boxes looking for my art supplies. so far, not bad: found my boxes of acrylic paints and my box of wood pieces, so i can hopefully have new work to share really soon.

yesterday, my creative endeavor was to photograph textures found outside. i enjoyed it; it was a very warm day, and i’d been sort of hibernating inside lately. i liked all the textures i found around my parents’ yard (i even included Canela, our dog).

i was hoping this would spark some idea or light a fire in my artistic brain…

…and it did. it gave me the itch to work on some mixed media pieces. i’ll be starting with the large green heart in the photo below (seems like i painted it eons ago, with watered down lime green acrylic paint).

i have been busy listing sets of cards in my Etsy shop – each set includes 3 greeting cards, blank inside, with images of my original artwork on the cover. take a look and let me know what you think! Below is the “Flowers” set; click my shop link below to see the other sets…

https://www.etsy.com/shop/asucarr

’til next time…

Arte de Nuestro Corazon – art from our hearts.

Posted on September 12, 2012 by susie carranza studio

july 2011 was an exciting month for my husband and me. that month, our website Arte de Nuestro Corazon went live. LIVE!

Arte de Nuestro Corazon is spanish for art from our hearts. “our” being my husband, lawrence, and myself along with artist friends jose, annette, and theresa armas. we started the site as a way to share our work with people all over the world (hopefully!).

from our “About Us” page:

“We are a group of five artists who share the common interest of expressing our cultural and emotional thoughts through various types of art. The common goal is to share our Mexican/American heritage with other people that appreciate unique and inspiring art pieces. Each piece of art is designed and/or created by our hands.

Susie Carranza was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in El Sereno. Susie began her art by doodling on paper with her Sharpie marker. She now combines her Sharpie images with her paintings and mixed media pieces on canvas, wood, tin, plaster and clay. Susie’s art work has been in stores and museums in Southern California.

Annette Armas has been drawing since Jr. high school. Her art form has been a reflection of her personal life. Enjoying and creating traditional tole painting and selling her wares at boutiques around Los Angeles and Orange County for 24 years. With the passing of Carlos (her son) she has fully embraced her art through Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Her preferred medias are painting on wood, clay, tin and now canvas. She is now Co-Owner of CJ’s Angels with her husband.

Theresa Maria Armas jumped into the art scene in 2003. She started creating her art on canvas using her whimsical skeletons as the subjects. Theresa now has included sewing and mixed media in her work. Over the years Theresa has had her art exhibited in galleries and art shows in Southern California.

Lawrence Aguilar is new to art. He was introduced to the art world by his wife Susie Carranza. Lawrence prefers painting on wood and clay. He also enjoys working in mixed media.

Jose Armas has recognized his talent in painting Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art. Jose’s vision of the art he creates is unique to his imagination. Much of his inspiration has come from his wife Annette Armas and his daughter Theresa Armas.”

getting the word out has been slow-going. sometimes (for me) painfully slow. have i mentioned that patience is not really a virtue i possess?! but i truly believe one day we will successfully create a large client base for our site with happy and satisfied return customers.

if you like colorful, culturally-inspired, original work, please check us out at www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com and let me know what you think! i have much more to write about our website and how it came about, so look for a much more detailed future post.

here’s some of the work i have available at Arte de Nuestro Corazon…

i’ll be adding new work soon to both the Arte de Nuestro Corazon site and my Etsy shop. i’ve been happily painting away and creating new work!

btw, you can also keep up with me on my facebook page at Susie Carranza Studio…