Dayton Love

if you know me, you know that I love Dayton. truth be told, I used to hate it, but this place got in my bones.

there's something about the people here.
we don't quit. we have big ideas. we're visionary.

to express my love for this city, I created a  bumper sticker. I really just had them made for me...but several of my close friends suggested I sell them, with almost half of the proceeds going to Dayton Habitat for Humanity.

so...if you wanna rep the DYT AND help a good cause, D8N sticker!!! get one from me in person or buy online in my square store.

xoxo

cherry fullam art now has an online store!

you can now buy your cherry fullam art awesomeness, online at My Square Market .

if that isn't enough excitement for you, I started making lotion bars with all natural ingredients and essential oils (sweet patchouli, butter rum, cherry, mint jasmine, and mint lavender). they're freaking amazing. seriously. go to my online store and check them out, now!

2013 ARTtoBUY

rather than try to catch you up on all the things that have happened since this time last year, i figured id just start right here...in the present. here goes.

an acquaintance turned friend, suggested to another friend, that i should submit some of my work for Dayton Visual Arts Center's (DVAC) blind juried 2013 ARTtoBUY Holiday Show (which means they look at your work in private, not knowing whose it is...so you cant charm them. then they choose who is in or out. eesh.)

these friends of mine texted, private facebook messaged, and public facebook messaged me about this show, almost daily. they pretty much harassed me until i gave in (i see a pattern here). finally, i thought, "okay! fine!!!" (hahaha), and took the leap.

with more than just a few nerves involved, i submitted all seven designs of my laser etched, hand stained and polished, wood jewelry to DVAC's blind jury...AND WAS ACCEPTED! my pins and pendants will be shown and sold, along with the work of 40 other local artists from 1nov - 21dec.

i heart dayton!

limited edition pendants

from what i understand, ARTtoBUY has been a dayton thing for almost 20 years and im pretty humbled that i get to be a part of it this year.

 ARTtoBUY is DVAC's annual "Holiday Gift Gallery featuring 40 local artists; 100+ fine art and fine craft giftables at affordable prices". the opening reception for DVAC's ARTtoBUY show is Friday, 1nov13 from 5-8pm. along with the gallery opening, there will be food, wine, and music. support local art! come see me and also meet many other dayton artists, this friday night.

who's teaching who?

i havent posted since may. im not gonna make any excuses, but if i were...facebook would surely be mentioned. lol

but i digress. let's just post about one thing at a time. today's topic: ART CLASSES FOR KIDS

some time in the spring (i think), a friend of mine asked if i would be interested in teaching kids art at her studio. i love kids. i love art. i love my friend, Tabitha Guidone, AND her studio. sounded like a good match to me. so, along with my regular art shows, painting classes, and commissions, ive been teaching kids art every saturday from 1130a-1p at Decoy Art Studio in Beavercreek, Ohio. (by the way, Decoy has recently opened a boutique at Second Street Market in downtown Dayton.)

anyway...Decoy really means a lot to me. i mean...i *knew* id enjoy teaching art to kids, but i guess i didnt realize how much. these kids are absolutely fantastic. theyre creative, imaginative, hilarious...and they see things WAY differently than adults. they have no preconceived notions and no expectations. they just want to have fun. they make art as gifts. they make art as memories. their art is their hearts.

so in the past six months, these kids...with their bright eyes and sunny smiles...have changed the way i see my own art. every week, i look forward to another project. i get excited about what new kind of thing we're going to explore. i cant wait to see them and to see what i will learn from them.

funny...who's teaching who? lol

Dayton Sideshow 7

last month, i was telling you guys how im now making *these* :

custom duct tape wallet

last week, i took a break from making them (theyre on back order) so i could participate in Dayton Sideshow 7.  Sideshow is a huge community event of music, art, and merriment. 50+ visual artists and 20 musical acts over 2 days. plus, it's free. 

this was Sideshow's seventh year and believe me when i tell you IT. IS. AMAZING. each year (this was my third), we're encouraged to really step up our art game and not display the same old same old. so each year...being a procrastinator...i scramble to paint something totally new, specifically for this show. this year was no exception.

im not sure how it is for other artists, but for me, coming up with an idea is half the battle (cue GI Joe music). a month before the show, i was freaking out about what i was gonna do. i had a few ideas written down but i wasnt really feeling those. finally, with two weeks to go, i decided i should do something. i mean...something is better than nothing, right?!. i sat down to sketch and was totally unhappy with what was coming out of my hands. im sure the stress of only have 2 weeks didnt help. i erased everything and started absentmindedly sketching out my facebook profile picture. as happy as i was with it, i immediately thought, "great. another self portrait. everyone's going to think im in love with myself." then, 8 year old cherry whines, "i need models! i only paint myself because im always here (that's debatable)." quickly following, 38 year old, sarcastic cherry says, "youre painting a profile pic, genius. think about it." thus, the idea of FACEBOOK: A GRAPHIC NOVEL, was born.

my entire sideshow 7 installation

me (detail)

1of 8 friend profile pix (detail)

i really had a lot of fun doing these and im actually thinking about doing a comic starring me and these 8 friends. theyre on 6"x6" framed canvas with acrylic. if youre interested in commissioning one, i'll be selling these for $50.

to see the work of some of my other friends involved in Sideshow, please check out:

Troubadour Art & Design 

Cathartic Slant 

Tracy McElfresh Dresses

ductapery and other such nonsense

over the winter, my son and 2 of his cousins, plus the son of a close friend all had birthdays at about the same time. that's a lot of birthday presents, people...which equals a LOT of money. i remembered my sister in law saying my nephew wanted a wallet for his birthday. genius procrastinator that i am (think absent-minded professor) decided they ALL would get wallets...and i WOULD MAKE THEM. i had no idea what i was doing. i looked at about  8 bajillion tutorials and i didnt like how any of *those* wallets ended up. thus, my time-saving efforts fell to my artistic nature and i created my own template. so i made 4 wallets out of duct tape. the end. cool story, bro.

...not really...

a few months later, the dayton circus was throwing a fundraiser for sideshow 7(a FREE weekend long art/music festival in dayton) called DAYTON CRAFTY-CON 2012. im not crafty...unless you count in a macgyver kinda way...so i volunteered to be a floater. the end. justkiddingnotreally...

one of my INCREDIBLY crafty friends lissa lush (of lissa lush makes stuff) said, "why arent you vending at crafty-con?" to which i replied, "im not a crafter." to which she threw back, "didnt you make some duct tape wallets a few months ago?" i tried to explain to her that it was a fluke. i had to! i only made 4! im not a crafter! it's a mistake! these arent the droids youre looking for!

fast forward two weeks...im losing sleep. scrambling to put together enough stuff to vend at a craft show. whatwasithinkingnooneisgoingtobuythisineedcoffeeeee!!! i made prints of my paintings. i made magnets of my paintings. and i made EIGHT wallets. nine if you count the one i made there. i sold ALL of them within an hour and the ninth one was sold before i finished it. next thing i know, im making stuff like *this*. it's not exactly painting, but i like it.

i'll be posting in a few days about another project. try not to miss me ;)

so i guess it's been a while...heh...

having a facebook page for my art has caused me to neglect my blog. not to mention...life in general.
great show coming up this weekend. see you there!