brightorangethoughts

see you later!

2011-09-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

I am migrating my blog... please check out where www.brightorangethoughts.com leads you...

This blog will cease to exist on September 30th, 2011... or whenever I get around to deleting it.

Checking in...

2011-05-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hello, again. It's been a busy while, so I thought I'd check in and letcha know what's been going on in the world of brightorangethoughts.

I've been working on a fantastic new project for blue manatee, www.bluemanateeboxes.com. I've taken the knowledge and experiences I've had from bookselling, art teaching, and being a kid (and a kid at heart) and mashed them together to make some "instructions" on how to play with the boxes the books come in. Because everyone knows that the best gift for a baby/young child is a box. They like the stuff in the box, but they LOVE the box.
On the site, you can check out some of the illustrations I've done, as well as order a 3, 6, or 9 book box for a reasonable, shipping included, price.

The boxtopus, by me.

Oh, and I also learned to use Photoshop and Illustrator. Booyah.

In the land of felted goodness, I have a couple of things coming down the pike, too.

blue manatee is having another "manatee mart" on May 13th, at which I will be selling some funny little monsters (see last post) and some delicious-looking felted fruits and veggies, as well as coasters and some other stuff that I'll be frantically making in the next 10 days.

Really- these look delicious, don't they?

I also love that a long-lost friend from high school purchased one through my etsy site for her mother.

So stop by blue manatee on May 13th, from 6-9pm, say hello, and bring cash or check if you want to buy from any of our lovely vendors, including Halominer and Uniquely Upcycled. You'll also find hula hoops (a favorite of mine), artwork for children's rooms, lovely picture frames, backpacks and accessories.

One last tasty tidbit, I'll be entering hue: YELLOW at brazee street studios. Looking forward to getting my hands all yellow for this one. Maybe my feet, too.

'Til next time,
Kellib.o.t.

in the beginning...

2011-01-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

there was this:

the first incarnation of the abominable snowman...

complete with cute tush.

then came the kool-aid dyed blue versions...

and the giant mohair ones...

many more exist out there, without photographic evidence.

oooh... I'm famous!

2011-01-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

As the show at Brazee draws to a close, I'm thinking it's going to be time to start working on more of these little guys... 'cause they've been spotted on my etsy shop and blogged about here:
http://www.ionlylikemonsters.com/

Thanks to jmonster for putting this up!
I'll try to remember to post more of these little guys, just so you can see the evolution of the abominable snowmen...

felted trophies

2010-12-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

I've finally let these guys out of my head-they've been taking up space for at least a year now. I remember sitting at a friend's house, waiting for tv night to begin, and it hit me- I think I even made some kind of weird "ooooooh!" noise.
Anyway, I created these felted animal heads for a show called "Multiplicity" at brazee street studios in Oakley. They'll be up until January 10th, or until they all sell. Kind of a big deal for me, as I've not shown my felted before.

I'll gradually post more pictures of the animal heads- if you see one you want, let me know at kelligleiner@gmail.com for pricing info.
These won't be available on my etsy site- at least not for a while.

big things at Brazee

2010-11-16T10:18:00.000-08:00

I'm finally resurfacing!
It's been a busy and exciting fall thus far- I arranged blue manatee's holiday art and craft sale, "manatee mart," and I'm currently showing my latest and greatest at Brazee Street Studios in Oakley. I've been working on a series of felted animal heads- think tiny trophies. I'd love to post photos here, but I'd really you'd rather go see them. Not to toot my own horn (but, toot! toot!), these are really my best work, and inspiring me to want to create more larger, interesting pieces. Don't get me wrong, I love my ornaments and animals (see photo), but it's definitely time to move on.

So, here we go, onto the next leg of the adventure...

my very own farmer's market!

2010-05-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

Happy May!

I was recently asked to create a set of pieces for a young lady for her 2nd birthday. She's got a fabulous hand-made play kitchen, and she needed hand-made fruits and veggies to go with it.

Her mom was so delighted and said that she had searched for quite a while, but hadn't seen anything so well made on etsy or beyond. It's so nice to hear such kind words- the customers I most aim to please are the youngest.

Naturally, you can visit the farmers market on my etsy shop, and everything is available for purchase.

What's goin' on...

2009-10-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

I've been felting like a crazy lady lately... I can't sleep at night because so many ideas are floating around. That's good, right? I woke up this morning because I'm working on an etsy order, and I just couldn't get the idea that I NEEDED to dye the mohair for her ornament out of my head.
I'll put pictures up later...

What's really been keeping me up is my work for Secret Artworks, a fundraiser for ArtWorks. http://www.artworkscincinnati.org
Obviously, I can't post my "secrets," but I can say that I'm making 4 pieces for this year. I'm a mad woman...
photos to come, my friends.

uh... whoops

2009-10-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

So every time I decide to update, I promise to keep up with it. Apparently, that's a promise I just can't keep. Sorry about that.

Things I've done lately:
-Gone to the Wool Gathering during the 3rd weekend of September, my favorite weekend of the fall. Not only do I get to spend a very relaxing weekend in Yellow Springs, but it's when I stock up on some very high quality wool and get inspired by what other people are doing with it. And I always notice that what I do is very different...and it always leaves me wanting to learn how to knit. Anyway, here's some info to see what happened this year and something to keep in mind for the next one: http://my.voyager.net/~nfisher/

-Met some authors: Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black from The Spiderwick Chronicles and just today I met YA and now tween author Lauren Myracle. And got to hang with Loren Long a little, who is always an inspiration.

So now I'm back to work, and trying to organize my space/self to make the best use of my time. I find myself felting in front of the tv, which makes my concentration on both kind of useless. I mean, I can't fully devote myself to Project Runway if I'm busy making art. And then there's my furry friend, who always seems to find my lap (see picture).
I'm going to try to move myself back to a studio space, and devote time to just making art. And it'll give me time to spend listening to music more than mindlessly watching tv- which has it's time and place, but that's a different mindset than "art mode".

If all of the problems in life could be resolved by moving furniture, then between blue manatee and home, I'd have it all figured out. I think rearranging things just gets me closer and closer to some sort of resolution.

And, now... it's time for a very long day to end. I'd promise to be back soon, but...

where does the time go?

2009-04-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

It's already into April, and I figured that people would start to wonder what happened to me... ha!
What I do have to tell you is that I am now a homeowner, which has been very time consuming. I love the house and finding fun- naturally, mid-century- pieces for the home.
Also, things...er... fell through with the Cincinnati Beehive, which kind of threw me for a while, but I'm working on some pieces that will become wedding gifts (no pictures until May) and then will hopefully go into some other boutiques.

So, there will be pictures soon. and hopefully snacks.

happy 2009

2009-01-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

i love the fresh slate of a new year; the excitement of all that is to come and the reflection on the past year. i'm looking forward to spending more time working on my art... and i'm lucky to finally have some of that time.
i spent 4 hours yesterday on exhibit, as part of a family scavenger hunt at the Cincinnati Art Museum, opposite a vanGogh. it was pretty intimidating at first, but soon, i had a crowd around me, of mostly children and their grown-ups, asking what i do and how i do it, and what other kinds of art i enjoy. it's hard to come up with an answer that children will understand. "big art" was a good answer, as was "surprising art". i saw some friends from the manatee, and some from my former teaching days. and, while i was at trader joe's today, a woman saw me and told her kid, "there's the fiber artist." i'm starting to like being recognized. it's kind of fun.
back to the whole new year thing... my plans/resolutions for the new year are...
-be a more productive artist
-write more about stuff on my blog (since i did switch my domain name here, i might as well...)
-post more of my artwork
-get more of my work "out there

i'll keep you posted on how that's working out for me.

18 down, 12 to go...

2008-11-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

I'm gearing up for the Good Design Event at the Contemporary Arts Center, and trying to get it all done before tomorrow...I have at least 48 little claws to put on the abominable snowmen. So that will be fun. and 5 whole ornaments to put together. Sleep...feh.

I think I misprinted my last post; my night at the CAC will be Thursday, December 11th. We'll see what goodies end up there...

Here's a preview of what you'll see.

what i do, how i do it, and what's going on...

2008-11-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

I am a fiber artist, though I went to school for 2-d design. My felting "career" began while teaching a camp at the Imaginattic here in Cincinnati. I was enthralled by the tactility of wool and immediately began thinking about how I could translate some of my drawings and paintings into the felt medium.

Many people ask me how I create my work, and the simplest explanation is that I take a needle, and stab at the wool over and over again, pushing the wool into the desired shape. It is remarkably simple, but to create a piece that is high-quality, it is time intensive.
I recently told a friend that if I was trying to keep track of the time spent on each piece, so that I might price my work by the hour, I would probably cry. That's an area in which I struggle, and will be working on in the next couple of days, as I am preparing work for the store at the Contemporary Arts Center, and an event there on the 12th of December. Check out my first little felted friend, Freddy the Sheep, on the CAC website! http://store.contemporaryartscenter.org/

Today, I spoke with the owner of Beehive Co-op, which is opening in the neighborhood of Pleasant Ridge, about carrying my pieces and doing some work with and potentially teaching some classes for them. I am excited to be a part of a designer's coop and to meet some fellow artists/designers. And it made me really really want to live in that neighborhood. We'll be looking for homes very soon, and that is one of the front runners on our list. Here's a link to what they do... http://www.beehiveco-op.com/

I am in the middle of making my pieces for the CAC, so I'll be writing more later...