Tales from Studio Mailbox

Screw Black Friday, Buy Handmade!

The title says it all people.  *For my European friends, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, which is the biggest shopping day in the United States.

Let me say it like it is; if I wanted to go fight crowds or push in lines, I'd move back to Germany and shop on a Saturday!  In fact, I'd like to start the FBF Movement! (I'm such a weenie though I titled it a little softer).

So if you're with me, I'm here to share some alternative deals and steals. These are TJ's top picks for your holiday gift shopping.  All this is available to you by plopping your ass in front of your computer. So join me in supporting the handmade movement this season, and don't feel one bit bad about staying home!

BARGAIN BUYS

• Fingerless Gloves from Well of Creations (I saved these leopard-print ones for you, 'cuz I snatched up the "Rock-Star" set.  You snooze you lose peeps).
• "Amore" Handmade Mini Quilt from Hanna of Sweden (I sort of want you guys to order something else from her shop and see if my husband gets me this)
• Zipper Flower Pattern - (want to make your own groovy accessories? BUY A PATTERN from the Sewing Loft -duh! Imagine these atop your gifts)
• Sweet Mary (for those keeping Christ in Christmas) OR a Set of 10 Postcards - (if stationery is more your thing)
• Customizable Charm Necklace - (pets, nicknames, kiddos - the possibilities are endless.  I've got my eyes on these fancy)
• Printable Journal Kit - (what a cool project if you're snowed in this year)
• Quirky Hairpins (I own one that shows a portion of a map --where you might ask? BERLIN of course!)
• Camera Cozy (Jacqueline will even stitch your monogrammed initials in it.  Unbelievably cool!)
• Underwater Book of Adventure for Children (illustrated by an artist here in MN!)

TWISTED GIFTS 

• Girl Selling Pretzels - oil on canvas (I am a HUGE fan of Julie Galante's work.  She did an entire study of girls in Dirndls, and I would hang any of them proudly in my home)
• Pretzel Glam (5-inches is a long earring, but I can't help myself, I LOVE THESE.  The etsy seller's profile says "I like my people crazy."  I think I'm in love).
• Museum Quality Wood Turned Items (the bottle stoppers, S&P shakers and napkin holders would make very classy gifts.  Personally, I'm loving the wooden pins and I'm thinking of a million decorating ideas for those faux flakes)

EXPERIENCES

• Drawing Courses (Brigitte holds classes in Germany as well as workshops abroad, she speaks great English)
• Brave Girl Camp (I met Melody and Kathy at the Creative Connection in St. Paul.  They are as kind and cool as they seem on-line.  I would die to go to BGC)
• Writing or Creative Coaching (I was treated to coaching for my birthday this year, and haven't been the same since)
• Intuitive Healing with Spirit (learn about the fascinating concept of energy cords and how Nanci can heal yours)

Perhaps you have your own strong sense of taste?  Check out ARTSCRUM and search artwork yourself by style, medium or type - it's brilliant!

Of course it's impossible to buy everything handmade, but how about becoming a Locallectual? Use their site to enter your zip code to find retailers nearest you, or wherever you are traveling to. This is an awesome resource to find cool gifts in your vicinity. 

*Image credit & Fingerless Glove Warning: the fantastic image above is being used with permission from Robin at Well of Creations. Robin gets animal prints just right; a little goes a long way and makes a BIG impact.  But here's the deal with fingerless gloves: you may find yourself wearing them all the time, not because you're actually chilly but because you want to be cool.  Every time I put a pair on, I pretend I'm Muhammad Ali.  Play Lighters by Eminem and Bruno Mars, and suddenly I think I actually can fight.   So watch yourselves with those gloves.  Love xxx tj

Dankbar is Thankful

For the first time I can remember in years, I am home for Thanksgiving.

In the past, no matter where I was, I always made a ceremonious dinner of gratitude.  Even the time the German butcher and I had a BIG misunderstanding between pounds-versus-kilos and he presented me with a bird I could not physically carry home. We had to break bones and tie it down to get it in tie oven, no joke. 

I have been lucky enough to share my country's custom with many friends over the years, always with lots of laughter and love around our table.

But this year, it's going to be with my family.  I can barely stand it.

One of the things I'm grateful for is the amazing autumn we've had since moving home.  Up until last weekend, it was sunny skies and unseasonably warm weather.  It really felt like Minnesota was welcoming me back and putting on her very best, just for me.  So here are some random shots from my iPhone to share with you.  A few of the moments where I gasped from the beauty of it all and how lucky I am to be part of this one crazy life, wherever I happen to be.

Minnesota is so pretty this shit should be illegal!

My best wishes to you and your families this Thanksgiving.  What are you thankful for this year?  xxx tj

Einsamkeit

Here are some images from a single journal page I just finished.  I am in love with ColorBox Wild Hare.  It's not particularly anything special on paper, but check out how it looks on fabric...! 

I made a little tag that fits into the hanging heart using an old German poem titled Einsamkeit, by Kl. Dörner.  I'm not a huge "poem person" but this one was really appropriate for the project.

Some may cringe at my crude translation, (I cut out all the lines in the middle that were too hard!) but here's my interpretation:

Loneliness

We have to expand
To travel sincere silence
By the solitudes
Until we are truly pleased....
One day when we are alone, we may find that loneliness is it's own best offering.

Cancelled postage, fabric scraps, hand carved stamping over watercolor Lebkuchen heart with marker detailing, and vintage text sewn onto blue and white checkered scrapbook paper.
Man it felt good to get the sewing machine out again!

Creality - it's Real!

Well since I've already shared the hotel with you, I guess there's no reason to stop now. 

Here are some photos of me jumping around the room like a loon when I realized my artwork was published in the Sept-Oct edition of Somerset Studio.  And I'm sorry that this issue is no longer available on news stands, but I still wanted to share this awesome moment with my blogging friends.

After being a guest on QuinnCreative's blog, I contributed the artwork to Quinn's article in Somerset Studio.  That artwork was the first to appear in Quinn's column in the last three years!

I found out about this shortly after arriving in the US.  It was a phenomenal feeling to pick up a magazine that wasn't readily available to me in Germany and see the article about Creality, see the name TJ Goerlitz, and see the words Studio Mailbox in Quinn's beautiful writing about this crazy phenomenon we've all experienced.  

Not convinced Creality is real?  Page 12 my friends, page 12... I assure you it's real. 

But the hotel's TIGER CURTAINS - I hate to admit, they're the real deal too...

 

 

 

Art Deco Meets Southwestern Miami

I had promised you a glimpse at the hotel we were in for nearly a month when we first arrived in the US.

The hubs kept referring to it as “an oldie but a goldie.”  And the more time I spent in it, the more I fell in love with it in a bizarre and historic kind of way.  The staff was great. The rooms had  a small kitchenette with microwave that helped make our transition more comfortable.  All our needs were met. 

It’s really just the design that I’ve got to share with you guys!

Art Deco was the predominate feel, especially in the lighting.  And for whatever reason, there were also ceramic tiles all over the place!  And not just any tile.  The tiles were glossy jet black with touches of a miami palette: baby blue, power pink, green and white.  The complimentary colors were in flat and s atin tiles which meant not only a dramatic color contrast happening but also mixed-up finishes! 

There were all these odd half-walled paths that were landscaped with a mix of both real and fake plants.  I have never seen anything like it and the only way I can describe it was like being inside some sort of human-sized terrarium! 

There was a groovy fountain in the middle of sectioned seating areas and when you sat down it really felt like Sammy Davis Jr. or Old Blue Eyes might walk in at any moment.  They even had a black player piano, although it was over by the front desk. 

There were six floors laid out in an open plan where you could see the opposite hallways across the entire floor.  There were iron railings along the inner perimeter so you could look down into the tiled pathways below. The rooms had long windows next to the front doors with curtains in them which made it seem like being at an old fashioned outdoor motel except for the fact that it was inside a downtown building!

Everything was pattern on top of pattern. Argyle wallpaper up against tiger print curtains.  Furniture painted in metallic bronze paint with flat gray stripes.  (I am amazed how much I like these colors together).  The carpet added more pattern and even the privacy curtains had to get in on the act with their swirls. 

The elevators were glass, and the track that they rode up and down on had bold black diamonds painted behind them.  There were big globular Hollywood style white light bulbs reflecting in the brass finishes of the lifts.  All that was missing were poles in the middle with go-go dancers.

The absolutely coolest thing was that they used the perfect font on the room numbers as well as the signage in the hallways.  I was very impressed by this little touch and it sort of made up for the weirdly stenciled ceiling. 

One stranger said to me in passing, "well you don't see them like this anymore!  Maybe only in Vegas." And that was exactly it. Only Vegas and Hollywood have this kind of groovy interior magic anymore.  And so does the Comfort Suites, downtown Minneapolis.

Anyway, this little layover in our lives absolutely had to get documented in my art journal.  There is no way I could be around this kind of visual stimuli and not get a little something down onto paper!  So here are my journal pages as well as my little numeric study.

New Sony Google TV - who needs the S anyway?

Thank you so much for all the kind comments to my last update when I told the story of our broken Sony TV. I swear this really still is a creativity blog, yet the story is so tragically funny, I feel compelled to share.

Perhaps the rest of you have been enjoying internet TV for years, but remember... I lived in Germany where there was no such thing!  So imagine my surprise when the hubby called me downstairs and in the middle of the moving boxes, and showed me this...

(and don't I look just way too excited to see my own Facebook page? I'm almost embarrassed).

No wonder my heart was broken when the installer couldn't put it on our wall! 

So it was big-time excitement to get the new Sony Google TV finally installed on our wall, only to realize that the "S" in the word Sony doesn't fully light up on the screen as it should.  We get one-half of the letter "S" next to a nicely glowing "ONY."

2 Sony Google Internet TVs.  2 Sony Google Internet TVs that are defective within ONE day of trying to use them. 

Here's my question... would you keep this TV because it seems to work fine in every other aspect or would you go through the stress and hassle of exchanging it?  How important is the darn "S" in Sony anyway? 

For all I know, I could be sitting with my great grandchildren in the nursing home who ask me about why the name on my 50 year old TV doesn't light up properly, and I'll shake my head and smirk before I start into it, "Let me tell you about the broken S..."