Are you inspired yet?

Yellowstone in the summer ----
The following photos are actual photographs
and have NOT been altered
in any way, shape or form.



There have been numerous wildfires in the area this
past week resulting the closing of
the Cody, Wyoming entrance to Yellowstone.
Fortunately for us, we entered through the west
entrance via Eastern Idaho and Western Montana and experienced clear skys and no threats
to us.

They meet in Saluda. . . to visit us!

NO WAY!!!
Both girls, 2 separate basket of goodies, all different items, friends, family and both crazy about our shop and the same final total at the cash register? How did that happen? No mentioning of the totals here but just take a look at their packages! Their hands are full and that's after spending the "entire" day here on Saturday. "Why not", they say. Both girls meet in the middle (the mountains of North Carolina and spend time at Lake Lure at a time share and they have followed us ( or should we say we have
followed them) around the country. Christi from Jacksonville, FL
and Jean from Tennessee.
We have met up with them at Creative Palette in St. Marys, GA
and again at Art and Soul in Hampton, VA. Now here they are in
Saluda. After a couple of hours of shopping, I sent them off to get
some lunch ( because you can't shop on an empty stomach) right?
Back they came for the afternoon and while they were browsing
around I created 2 Artist Trading Cards and gave one to each of
them. Then I sent them to our classroom area to make one for
me. Happily they returned with a card for me to add to my
collection. If only I wasn't so busy, I would have loved to join
them in their creative mis-adventures. Duty calls as I happily
continue to serve customers in the store. boo hoo.
Everyone is happy as they head out the door at 5 o'clock.

Saluda to Raleigh

Go to Wimi's blog to see the "rest of the story".
In the August 7th blog in the
Raleigh News Observer, Marcy tells
the "world" about us... Random Arts.
Check it out and see what the
folks from the "Capitol City"
have to say...

Business as usual?

In lieu of my lack of creative activities and my attention to the retail side of this business I have had the opportunity to meet some very cool people from all over the world. On Saturday it was a couple from Spain. They loved the store but since I was so so busy I didn't get a chance to take any photos of them.
Today, a friend and customer from Charlotte, Suzi Hunt, brought in Karen from Livingston, Montana. While she was here we got to chat about the area where she and my daughter both live. She is a rock collector so she frequents the running rivers there such as theYellowstone and Gallatin where she has found agate and other gems.
That might be something that I might try when I go out there next week and she said August is good time because the rivers are low and you can wade out onto the islands and search for special finds. Maybe you will see me doing that next week when I report in from Bozeman.
A young, blossoming artist from West Palm Beach was in today
loading her basket with goodies to make a memory book of her trip to North Carolina. We chose Stargazers and a water brush for color on the blank pages and a black Aquarelle pencil for outlining and
a couple packets of our very special Random Arts papers. Of course
she needed Golden Soft Gel Matte Medium to hold it all together.
As Jackie left the shop her father snapped a picture of the 2 of us, with his disposable camera and I snapped one of her. With alot of coaxing,
she promised to send a photo of her pages of "North Carolina". We'll see how that goes, you know how those teenagers are!

Mooooooooooooooooooo

The "Royal Mail" has arrived! What is inside this package
so simple, so demure, so plain? Just waiting for
me to "zip" it open. A surprise? No, it is just what I
wanted and I have Cheryl Prater to thank for
turning me on to this... MOO Cards! This clever
and innovative company generates these "moo"
cards in England - thus, the Royal Mail.
Moo Mini cards are mini business cards with your own
personal photos, art or designs. You can add your
name, email, website, phone number, address or
whatever. Look at mine! I did about 10 different
designs so I got 10 of each one. . . 100 in a package.
Just think of the possibilities...I did! So I had
a set of 100 created for my daughter and her
family who just moved to Ohio. It has pics of them
in 6 different photos with their name and
email on the back. Great gift for anyone! Only 100
in a package so ....Now the question is...rationing.
Are you "moo worthy"?

Just ask Marcy...

Who's that over Marcy's shoulder? You must go to her blog at the Raleigh News Observer to find out. Oh, oh, oh. so much fun. Marcy spent a couple hours at Random Arts this past Saturday with several other friends and I could tell right away "she was in the right place". In spite of it being so very busy, Marcy took a moment to corral me into a corner for a picture of me and her whimsical little muse "Wimi". Her creation had long gray hair, just like her and dutifully on my shoulder and above the ribbon rack while she shopped till she dropped.
While Paul did his best keeping things in
check I was back and forth with Martine
House's workshop at the Methodist Church
Hall. I think the best comment came from
Elizabeth Hunley who was so shocked that
she actually made something using a sewing
machine. She had never touched or used a
machine before Saturday. She was so excited
to have the opportunity to learn so much
from Martine.

All over the country...

People are talking about Random Arts.
Visitors from Kennebunkport, Maine? Yes, right here in Saluda
making a stop just for us! Stephanie Whiting visited today and
has been looking forward to coming to our shop for years and
today was the day. She was on her way to the worlds biggest
garage sale starting in Alabama and of course she had to make
a side trip to Random Arts. Next to her on the left is Joyce, who works here on Tuesdays.
Thanks Stephanie.

Teeny Tiny Tid Bits

The news about our new t shirt has gotten out
but...I am going to let everyone in on part of the
design. This is only a small portion
of the entire design, but you can get an idea of
the colors, the feeling and the look of it!
We love all of it and we have graphic designer
and artist from Asheville, Annie Christ, to thank
for her creative choices in color, design and
composition. She really knew how to bring
the feeling of our shop into the design. She has
been a customer of ours for years and that
certainly helped when it came to the design
part of it. Annie knows our shop quite well
& has been here with us as we evolved over time.
All of us here are so excited to see the finished
product; which should be in the next couple
of weeks. During this process, Joyce came up
with the idea of an apron, soon you will be
able to identify who works here and who doesn't
because we will all be wearing aprons, except Paul.
He's the guy, so you will know who he is.
Jen added her input on the design and so did
Susan and she says, "it takes a village".
With our team in place, it can only
get better.Keep us bookmarked so you can see
more clues to a finished product and a release
date as well. Hey, lets have a party, too.

HGTV Star in Saluda

Saturday's workshop with Louise McClure

was a sure HIT for all those in attendance.
Each of the eight participants created a
multitude of charms made from mica,
metal, paper, bone, buttons and transfers.
Louise showed off her work with
wire wrapping on layered necklaces
that she has done for various
publications, ETV, HGTV and book
contributions. We were taken back
by all that we could do in one class
and of course, by popular opinion,
Louise was asked to come back. I
suggested a " cold connection" workshop
on a weekly basis here at the shop.
Anyone interested should get in touch with me.

While all this was going on in the classroom I decided to work with this new stamp from Tin Can Mail and wholey paper to create some new ATC images for my trade book. Come on everyone, you know what ATC's are!
I have six more very cool ones to trade so anyone that gets here first has first chance at choosing which one they want in trade.

The Word is out!

Look what they are saying about us!!!!
"I'm also glad to see that you've finally gotten Patti Brady
scheduled to come to Random Arts. I worked as her assistant for 3
1/2 years and I learned so much exciting information from her, you
will all be thrilled to have her. I am now back in the 8 - 5 office
world... but find every moment I can to be creative.
Best of luck with your business, your blog and your projects. Your
existence in Saluda is a goldmine. Keep up the good work!"
Sent to us via email by Susan Stone, Greenville, SC

Look at that! We are on the right track here at Random Arts. Come see what we do and "how" we do it!

Authors, artists and writers, oh my!

Childrens book author, Steve Tiller from Atlanta, Georgia visited Random Arts in Saluda on Saturday. What a joy to meet him and his daughter. Some of you may be familiar with his books and now, I am too. It is so much fun to meet so many talented and creative people who come through our doors on a daily basis. One of the questions I asked Steve was if he had a website? Do you have a blog? Hmmmm! A writer without a blog, so I encouraged him to do it an assured him that it was so simple, that he had no reason not to. But you know how that goes with deadlines, book signings and day to day life seems to interfere with our most creative urgings. He came in looking for a way to letter on a wooden frame and "everyone" was telling him that it "couldn't be done". My reaction was anything could be done so lets start with this idea and we chose rubber stamps and acrylic paint. We chatter, he left and returned shortly with a gift.
"Tangle Fairies" one of his childrens' books that he had written. He told me about his illustrator who does computer art for all his books. Very interesting and very talented, I must say. HOW does he do those pictures?
We will be waiting to hear from Steve regarding the creation of his blog.
Speaking of blogs, Apex artist, Susan Hecht also visited us on Saturday and we discussed the benefits of blogging and just how easy it is to get one started. She sells her paintings in galleries in Greensboro, Apex, Sullivans Island and other places. Check out her website for more info.
The " RANDOMLY ALTERED DIVAS" have a blog too and I will be adding pictures of past and present adventures of our group as time goes on. Click to see some of what we do.

The "nature of my heart" book

It's here ! Kristi Steiner dropped off the "nature of my heart" project for the "Believe in Yourself" retreat coming up in Blowing Rock in September. My words cannot express the beauty, the detail, the color and the energy of this book. Susan Edmonson and Kristi have created a masterpiece here by using the "nature" theme and carrying it through with the robins egg blue colors, the painting with threads, the water color techniques on fabric, the little hand stitches that make me want to put needle to hand to fabric and do exactly what they have done.
We feel so honored that Kristi allowed us to "hold" onto their precious sample until the retreat. Anyone who wants to stop by and see it in person is more than welcome and if you were in the least bit considering joining us in Blowing Rock Sept 5, 6 and 7th - seeing this may help make that decision a reality.
My pictures do not show the true beauty of the colors, the dynamics of the creativity that went into this project or the detail of each and every fragment of it's every page. Wow! Do I love it or what? You just need to see it to understand what I mean. Please try and stop by.

Transmorphing gourds into purses

It's everywhere, it's everywhere and I am surrounded by all of you, beautiful artists who continually show me and bring to me all that you create. Denise Henderson creates with gourds, among other things, but her passion is gourds. She is a regular at the gourd gatherings in Cherokee, NC where she takes classes, donates her work for auction and sells what she has created. Here on the upper right, Denise is showing her most recent work of art; a gourd purse with a dragonfly that the mysteriously etches somehow into the gourd... Each piece that she creates is meticulously perfect, each delicate line, the colors and the form and function. On the lower right, Sharyn Stressing shows off a gourd purse that she purchased from Denise. Her request was for the scribed tree with 3 eggs, so Denise took her artistic liberties and came up with this design. The robins egg blue paired with the rich sienna are a perfect match and just what Sharyn had in mind.

Random Arts Runway

Jen is back from her holiday in Sweden and Germany, finally. After telling me all about her trip and sharing pictures of awesome sites our shop began to fill up with familiar, fun and creative friends from around the country. Karen from Country Mercantile in Lowell, NC came in to see us wearing her "altered jean skirt" that she made in Susan Edmonson's workshop. "Sew" awesome, I WANT to make one. (whine, whine, whine). I love details on the back pocket and the little postage patch piece. Susan sells the kit and teaches it at quilt shops and shows in the Charlotte area. Speaking of Susan Edmonson, she will be here on October 20th to teach her newest piece of wearable art " the sewn cuff with photo transfers". Karen and her partner, Pat do the quilt shows like we do and we meet up with them and both Jen and I spend lots of money buying great fabrics, trims and "stuff". We love their shop.
Two talented women from the Pensacola area in Florida came in together on Thursday and first thing I saw was this beautiful beaded necklace that one of them was wearing. Come to find out, Darlene Samuel teaches beads and embroidery and will be doing so at the Fiber Fair
in Fletcher, NC this coming October. Her work is phenominal!
The dates of the event right here in this area are Oct 26th, 27th
& 28th, at the Ag Center in Fletcher. Lorraine Cathey brought
in her vintage suitcases filled with her needle felted dolls that
she creates and shared them with all of us in the shop. She will
also be teaching there in October. You need to see these dolls up
close to appreciate the amount of work and time that goes into
them.They even have little butts and teeth and fingernails all
made out of needle felting. Aaaaammazing!

Stay away

It's a busy week in Saluda with Coon Dog Day approaching this Saturday, July 7th, and if you don't like crowds, and I mean "ccrrrrroooooowwwwwwdddddds, than stay away from Saluda on Sat. July 7th. Every year someone tries to get to the shop on that day forgetting that this crazy event is going on and is stopped at the interstate by "local police" and police wannabees telling them that all the roads are closed.... and they are! WE ARE CLOSED that day for a very good reason, so, "fair warning" to all those that don't need to swelter in the heat with the maddening crowds and the loud sirens of at least 50 fire trucks from the area. Enjoy your day somewhere else and come back to see us the following week when you can park in front of our shop and walk right in.
By the way, I started a new blog featuring our house that is for sale here in Saluda. I am not going to do any posting about it on this site so if you want any information you can email me.

I should be sleeping

Back home in Saluda after a week in Charlotte.... ahhhhhhhhh. I only slept for 18 hours after I got back into my own bed. Thanks to Joyce and Susan and Paul the store remained open while I did my grandmotherly duties while my daughter recuped from an emergency surgery. Dad arrived home from Shanghai with bags of candy and toys so everyone was happy and it was time for me to head back to Saluda. I forgot how busy it can be to be a full time mom with 2 growing boys.

When I walked in the store on Monday to look around I found the newest Cloth Paper Scissors magazine featuring 50+ pages of mixed media techniques, layered graffiti art, fabric collage journaling and a great feature by Chrysti Hydeck from Raleigh entitled " Get the skinny on Mixed-media Books". Chrysti hosted a recent "get your doodle on" ATC swap that I joined. She is an amazing, go getter, energy -filled, gal that never seems to stop. Now she is doing a Skinny Book swap. check it out on her blog.

Cheryl Prater's blog has a brand new look- LOVE IT!

A new book that I had been waiting for also arrived "Metal Clay" the complete guide. Innovative Techniques to inspire any artist. Looks like the best book available for those of you working with PMC.

Just got a message from our Golden Girl Patti Brady, who will be here on Sept 15 teaching us "everything" that she knows about Golden paints. Be sure to sign up now as space is limited and the other good thing is all you need to bring is paper cups and paper towels.( and maybe an apron if you are the messy type) She furnishes everything else that you will use and we cater the lunch. It doesn't get better than this..... Here is what she calls this workshop. . .
Seductive Surfaces with Acrylic
It will be a wild mix of cool product uses, transfers, skins with transfers, faux wax looks, glass bead gel, paper from acrylic fiber gel, crackle paste ideas…..and on and on it goes.…….it will be fun!!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••