How to Hang a Cluster Of Framed Art Hastypearl

How to Hang a Symmetrical Cluster of Framed Art

Hastypearl 

Have you ever been too intimidated to hang art in a cluster?

I get it. 

I would have been too, however, I married into a family of art dealers/ framers.

It was inevitable, that I was going to be exposed to a good bit of art framing.

Over the years, my husband and I have bought our own art for our own homes.

That is when I needed to learn how to hang art.

So, as happens in couples, hes a perfectionist. 

I'm a hold your thumb up, look over your thumb and eyeball it, kind of girl.

When he hangs art, there is a penciled in page full of fractions.

When I hang art...no pencil and paper is necessary!

Stick with me. 

I'll make it So Easy...

First. Our setting?

Our "new to us" home in Colorado.

If you've followed this blog, you will know that Colorado is important to us and dreaming of owning our own home... has been long.

Well, it Finally Happened Yippee, so, let the decorating begin...

We found two WONDERFUL Habitat for Humanity ReStores outside of Aspen,

 and the pickins' are GOOD :)

I found this set of four VERY AFFORDABLE watercolor prints of Victorian men fishing.

Vintage and fishing together in One frame....awesome!

So, Ill step out the EASIEST way to do this.. and.you'll be hanging clusters of framed art in NO time :)

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We will start with the Vanna White picture first, so you can see where we are headed.

You say...What? Your going to hammer into that beautiful paneling AND it has horizontal lines???

You'll fill it with tons of mishammered nails AND it will show your mismeasurements!

Nope.

I promise This only took a FEW minutes and I got the nails right FIRST time, every time.

(Whew...I look tired. Hmmm. Wonder if that's because we went like bats for 6 straight days! 

Cant wait until our trips are for playing and NOT working :)

OK. This is not a new concept, but it IS what makes this work.

TRACE around your art on some newsprint or whatever you have handy. Trace Every piece!

Cut it out and play around on the wall placing each piece, just where you want them.

Take your time. Go back and forth looking to make sure its even.

The horizontal lines in the paneling were actually an asset for me, but if you don't have that, measure either from the ceiling or floor, to see if your newsprint is even. 

Your Eyes are Trustworthy...they are almost ALWAYS Right...learn to trust them!

I had the tv cabinet and thermostat to work between. You will probably have those kind of issues, too.  

The Next step helps you determine where EACH piece will be hung.

Lay your art on the floor and simulate it hanging, by pulling a bit on your tape measure and note where the tape is at the TOP of the frame.

On THIS piece for me, it was exactly 5".

Framers aren't robots. They don't wire (I had NEVER seen a piece of art hung with twine before..eww) every piece exactly the same, so make sure that you do this step for EACH PIECE. 

MY measurements were slightly different for each piece.

OK. 

Calculate what the center from side to side of your newsprint, is.

Go to the wall and from the TOP of your newsprint, mark down YOUR MEASUREMENT, 

right in the CENTER of the newsprint.

.

Mine was 5", so I penciled a line at 5".

On EITHER side of your line that you drew, Mine was at 5 ", place two identical hangers with the BOTTOM of the hanger resting on your line.

(Two picture hangers are what keep your art from needing to be straightened all of the time. Its worth it to do, two :)

That will make your picture wire hang AT your measurement.

Your nail will be slightly ABOVE your measurement.

I left the newsprint on the wall, throughout the WHOLE process.

That way, you can always go back to the beginning if you need to.

See? You cant even see the paper behind picture # 1. That's because it is exactly on top of it.

No math.

No fractions. 

EASY!!! 

Can you see the nails on top of the first newsprint where I hung the first piece?

Go to the next piece, and repeat the steps.

Remember, measure the wire on EACH piece, as the measurements will likely vary.

Keep working around the cluster, until you have them all done.

See, my paper is still  there throughout, just for a safety net, but when you are all done...

you can finally take it down!

This is what happens when you ask your husband who can function perfectly using only a few words a day, to take your picture! 

Whatever happened to the words....R-E-A-D-Y?????

BLOOPER SHOT!!! :)

So...that's IT!!

You Can Do It!!!

I literally did this in the last minutes before we ran out to catch a plane.

Not something that you would choose to do under a time crunch, 

but I did it completely alone, and so can YOU!!!

Below, is an example of a smaller grouping.

You still use the same steps.

*Make paper templates.

*Measure the wire on the back of the art, to the top of the frame.

*Mark that number in a line from the top of the newsprint.

*Hammer your two picture hangers... Bottoms Touching the line.

*Hang Your Art!!!   

So, I thought after all of that work, we deserved a reward and it comes in Visual form!

This is a glance that I caught, just outside of our front door.

I will always remember that sight!

I sure hope that this Step by Step, was helpful for you!

You may already have a method that works for you...awesome!

If not, Give this a Try.

I once knew a person, that didn't hang pictures in their home for years, 

because they were afraid they would mess up.

Remember, its not the end of the world, if you miss and have to try again...

Life is Short

...there are few mistakes that we can can make, that are going to Matter for Long!

You Can Always Fill the Holes!!!

Hey, I think I will make a Bumper Sticker of that :)

So GLAD that you stopped in to read my blog...

Hope that you will again...Soon!

xoxo Laura

p.s. This home is eventually going to be our half time home with Texas. Until then, we have it listed on VRBO for Vacation Rentals. In our first year, it has been rented almost 100% of the time. We are SO THANKFUL for that. If you or someone you know, is looking for a place to get away, THIS IS THE PLACE. It will accommodate a couple for a romantic get away, or a large group of 10 for a retreat or family reunion. I hope you will take a peek at our VRBO listing and see all that there is to do in Redstone!   

Interview with Artist Laurie Mika Hastypearl

Interview with Mixed Media Artist Laurie Mika

Hastypearl

I'd  say God knew what He was doing when He sent Laurie Mika into my life :)

I first met her in a transitional time in my life, at a workshop, in San Antonio.

I Hadn't Ever Been to an art workshop, so, I was a bit anxious when I walk in alone.

I'm a firm believer in recognizing and announcing  my "Noviceness", so I did.

Laurie doesn't care. 

In fact, I think she sees it as an asset, and she treats 

EVERYONE in her class as equals.

While you are learning at Light Speed, you don't know it. 

She makes it that easy and relaxed.

Laurie's style was exactly what I needed to see.

MORE and LAYERING are my favorite Colors! :)

She believes in MORE and LAYERING...but, Laurie's art is deceptively tricky. 

It may look easy to do, but there is so much experienced wisdom involved, 

and she knows just when to Stop!

I recently sent out a FB tease of one of her images, encouraging my friends to be watching for an upcoming mystery artist blog  interview...so for those of you that saw it...now you know.

Lets get started. I cant wait for you to see her answers!

 Laura: 1. At what age, did you recognize/feel, that you had an ability to express yourself artistically and what medium was it?

Laurie: I grew up drawing and doodling, so my first medium was a good old pencil and paper! I clearly remember drawing horses like crazy in the 7th grade!

2.Were you encouraged?

I would not say that I was overtly encouraged but my parents used to give me creative/crafty presents during the holidays and for my birthday, so in a sense, they understood my love of creating from an early age and that fostered a growing desire to "make things".

3.What/Who inspires you?

Medieval, Renaissance and Mexican Folk Art are my biggest influences. I have decided that these influences come together in Spanish Colonial art which I am passionate about. Travel inspires me especially when we are in locations to visit shrines and churches and to see examples of local arts and crafts and to go to local flea markets. Pinterest inspires me, such eye candy! Going to a museum and walking through their Medieval collection is sure to get the creative juices flowing. Jewelry design often gets me thinking of new ways to approach my clay work, There are countless artists, both from the past and the present that influence my work.

4.What percentage of the time, do you like your finished product?

I would say about 85 percent of the time I am happy with the finished product because with clay, you can wad it back up into a ball and start over...there are always chances to redeem something that is headed south!

5. Do you start and finish a piece, or do you work on multiple pieces at a time?

I used to only work on one piece at a time, but have noticed over the years that while I am working on one thing, it tends to spark another idea and then I begin something else. Ever so often, I have a piece where I start off totally inspired but midway through the process, lose the inspiration. I hate when that happens! Those tend to be the 15 percent of the pieces that I am not happy with.

6. What gives you the most satisfaction in your work?

 i.e. The idea? The process? The materials? Or none of these?

I would say all of these! I love coming up with the new idea or inspiration and can't wait to see how I can push the medium (materials) to make the idea come to fruition ( the process). It is the experimentation with the medium that brings me the most joy. I always love combining clay with just about anything else and seeing what happens.

7. I hear people talk about running out of ideas. Does that ever concern you?

I have the opposite problem, I have too many ideas and not enough time to execute them? I am often up in the middle of the night thinking about ideas and ways to do something new but get frustrated when I don't have the time in the studio. Teaching also keeps me on my toes coming up with new ideas.

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8. I first met you at a workshop. You ARE a teacher, but it doesn't feel like it from a students perspective. You have a way of sharing, that feels like we are friends in your living room. You build confidence in every student, so that any "fear or anxiety" slips away. Can you talk about "teaching", from your perspective?

I never thought that I would be teaching, but once I did, I loved it and was hooked! I love sharing the knowledge I've gained over the years from all of my experimentation with polymer clay. I especially love having newbies to clay in my class because the medium is magic, and there are just limitless possibilities with it and to be able to share that with people and encourage them to express themselves through clay is incredibly rewarding. The fact that polymer is so forgiving, makes teaching with this medium a true joy. I don't think I ever taught a class where I didn't learn something from someone...it truly is a two-way street, the giving, the taking and the sharing of ideas and seeing how someone else interprets the process.

9. You are the author of, Mixed Media Mosaics: Techniques and Projects Using Polymer Clay Tiles, Beads & Other Embellishments, have a website, an Etsy shop, a blog and you teach workshops nationally and internationally...whats the next exciting frontier/idea, brewing in you head?

Retirement! Lol!

Actually, I will be teaching my first E course next year at an online polymer clay retreat!

This will be my first time teaching online though I have been thinking about it for a long time. Of course, a second book has been brewing in my head for quite some time, it is a matter of which way to proceed. There are so many options out there now for publishing. So, in a nutshell, I think the next exciting frontier will be exploring possibilities in the digital age!

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So, there you have it! 

Start to Finish, Laurie, is as one of my friends says, Top Shelf!

Her work, her career, her heart and love of her family...who I meant to mention are involved in her business, make her someone to latch on to and follow.

Just I as did from that first workshop!

I hope that you enjoyed meeting her either for the first time, or learning something new about her since your first time meeting her.

I'm very thankful that she generously shared images of her art.

Be sure to check out her website and enjoy her extensive gallery, and  do some shopping! 

Also, check out her yearly schedule and see if there is a class that you can make, soon!

Thanks Laurie... You're the Best!

xoxo to all...Laura

Mixed Media Acrylic Greeting Card "How To" Hastypearl

Mixed Media Greeting Card "How To" 

Hastypearl

Hi Everyone!

I thought it might be fun, to show you a really simple and fun Mixed Media project, 

that you probably already have all of the supplies for.

Remember, it doesn't have to look like mine when you are finished, in fact you don't WANT it to.

This is just a technique, the Creativity, is up to YOU!

Supply list:

Paper any size, or Blank Card

Your favorite Acrylic paints 

Painting  masking tape

Palette knife, or anything with an edge...could even use an old credit card or piece of cardboard

Rubber Stamp 

Stays On Ink or anything that wont smudge off of ...

Waxed Paper

Double Sided tape...I used Ranger Red line

Gold Leafing pen...or anything to make an edge on the waxed paper

Art is like Cooking . You start with a basic recipe, and then you CHANGE IT UP :)

So, as you can see, I used a blank white card for my husbands recent Birthday card!

I taped off the edge and used thinner strips horizontally, through the middle.

You could choose to skip the tape and paint the whole thing, or make a different shape than I did.

Make sure the edges of the tape are really pressed down, so you get a clean edge.

I used a palette knife.

I literally, just put tiny dots of acrylic paint directly on the knife, and smeared them in random patterns.

You can use a heat gun or blow dryer, in between colors, if you want the colors to stay sharp. 

Acrylic dries super fast, so there is almost no waiting in between colors.

Keep working along, until you get the spaces filled in like you want them. 

Feel free, to let some of the paint build up.

You can see that the buttermilk color that I used, is raised and textural.  

Don't lift the tape, yet!

(I lifted some of mine, so that you could see how things progressed) 

After the acrylic dried, I splattered some metallic paints, that are the consistency of a wet water color.

Use what you have!

Your tape is still down, so you can splatter, without worrying about it getting on your white spaces.

After everything is dry, pull your tape up.

My husband likes to fish, so I used a Fred Mullet fish stamp, stamped in Stays On, 

on a piece of waxed paper.

Then I edged the waxed paper with a Gold Leafing Pen.

You could use yarn, thread, wire...anything that you have.

Finally, I taped the fish waxed paper down with the Red line tape. 

Use whatever you have that will be clear.

Place your stamped waxed paper, wherever you want.

I wrote Happy Birthday.

You can write whatever you want!

So, There!

See how easy that was?

This has the potential to be a larger piece...maybe a 5" x 7"...whatever you want!

My only regret about this project, is that I want to get to see what You come up with!

You can see a button on the right of the screen where you can email me and send me pictures of what you make if you would like!

That would be awesome.

There is also a place on the right side, to sign up to receive e-notices that I have posted, 

if you want to follow this hastypearl blog...and I Hope that you Do :)

I don't share those addresses...EVER, and I wont annoy you with tons of postings.

I hope you had fun with this project!

Its fail proof, because there isn't a right or wrong way to do it...

and its great to know, that there are no REAL Licensed Art Police!

Only people that THINK they are ;)

  

Art is about Exploring and Learning...and hopefully having Lots of Fun along the way!

As Always...Thanks for stopping by to hastypearl...

I hope your days are Wonderful!

xoxo Laura

May Blooms Acrylic Mixed Media Hastypearl

May Blooms 

Acrylic Mixed Media

Hastypearl

I'm really enjoying...Jus' Playin' in the studio these May Days.

I mean, there is so much going on in these two pieces.

There are all manner of compounds under the paint. 

If you feel them, they feel like topographical maps!

I also laid down wire and metallics and then covered them up.

Waiting quietly for you to find them on both pieces, are some Red Poppies.

Can you see them?

Hey, its May and its time to Celebrate...the Flowers!

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When I tilted them into the light, it made the copper metallics more evident.

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Jus' Fun to show you how I Jus' been Playin' !

;)

xoxo Happy May

Laura

Mothers Day 2014 Hastypearl

Mothers Day 2014

Hastypearl

Well, here we are!

The Mothers with 130 years of Mothering Experience between us.

My Mother is 85. 

Isn't it interesting, that after a certain age, and I don't know what it is officially, 

 it seems to be acceptable, to say a woman's age.

In my mothers case, as you look at her, its because she has Somewhere, 

seemed to Find the Fountain of Youth.

On the other hand, I would NEVER say my Sisters age. 

That must be because she hasn't reached that magic number, yet!

So as our kids weren't in town, it was a day for the Three Originals, to be together.

And that almost always means...Mexican Food!!!

There are a million restaurant choices in San Antonio, but one that we frequent, is near my Mothers house...so...even though we were all stuffed, 

we went back to her house, for some Impromptu Celebrating and Chatting.

Mothers ALWAYS love Chatting!

My Mother, has lived in the same house since the early 60's.

That turned out to be a good thing, when we lost my Father.

Check out her great collection of Milk Ware, and some commemorative plates, from the church that she has also attended for that long.

And Then Enter...the Cherry on the Top of the Day...

a Collection of Seriously Chocolate Cakes.

We sampled all and came fairly close, to finishing them off. :)

Sweet Misery!

Its wonderful, to have family nearby...and to be able to say that that has been true, our whole lives.

And like last year, I got a happy surprise from both of my Out Of Town Sons.

These Stargazer Lilies from One...(you should see them NOW, with almost all blooms open), 

and a Skype call from the Other including my Grand Granddaughter, Katherine Anne!

The days and years fly by, but its Wonderful to have Loved Ones to Mark them with.

I hope your Mothers Day was Wonderful, too!

Glad that you stopped by to Hastypearl...and

maybe Next Posting, I will be able to Disclose where that Fountain of Youth, is! :)

xoxo Laura

Mixed Media Acrylic Collage Cross Training! Hastypearl

Mixed Media Acrylic Collage

Cross Training!

Hastypearl

I thought that you might enjoy seeing something that I worked on in my studio, last week.

I had SO MUCH FUN playing in a way that I'm not as accustomed to.

After reading Chris Cozen and Julie Prichard's book, Acrylic Solutions, I got busy on an assemblage box, which is easier for me, but this piece on today's posting, was more of a departure.

I love that the ladies first encourage in their book, layering the board with Texture...of all kinds.

Now THAT, is right up my "mixed media alley"!

I started with crackle paint and burlap, and the horizontal mushroom brown line on the bottom, is actually done on the lining of a 1940's men's silk tie! Hey, I couldn't help it...I've got STUFF you know!

The little circles, are some round pieces of cardboard, 

and with all of the linear shapes, I like the little circles standing tall for themselves.

I placed the finished piece on some black card stock to photograph, and wow, 

it really made the blacks in the piece, pop!

Black would definitely be a great color choice for matting or framing. 

Top Half

Bottom Half

Finished piece leaning up against a frame.

I like how it looks, but I love how it Feels.

There is a lot of texture and that's always important to me.

Not only does it feel good, but texture lends itself to depth and shadows, that a flat surface wont.

I Loved this Exercise!

Its good, to get out of the regular groove that you are in, in whatever category you want to apply that to.

I read once, that if you repeat the same physical exercise over and over again, you muscles memorize it and the effectiveness goes down. That is why Cross Training was invented.

If Cross Training is good for the Body, its got to be good for the Artists Brain, too!

Try it! Who knows, you just might be surprised...and have some Fun :)

As Always...Im So, glad that you stopped in!

Have you done anything New lately, that you were surprised to have enjoyed?

xoxo Laura 

100 Etsy Sales...Another Benchmark! Hastypearl

100 Etsy Sales...Another Benchmark!

Hastypearl

Yippee!

I made it!

Well...Thanks to my Wonderful Customers, I made it!

I've told some of this story before, so you may have already heard it, 

but LONG before I had a shop on Etsy, I was a Buyer on Etsy.

The allure of having a shop, hit me right away.

I imagined having a space, where I could sell my handmade's and the 

vintage found items that I loved to discover.

It took me several years, literally, to Actually Open.

Mostly, because I just didn't have a clue as to how to go about doing it.

My skill set, isn't strong on computer literacy, but thankfully, I am comfortable ASKING for help, and there has been an Abundance, of Wonderful People, to help me along the way.

I started Making and Collecting for the shop, and on December 5, 2012, I opened Hastypearl!

People have asked me where I came up with Hastypearl.

Part of the explanation is easy...

Pearl, is a nickname given to me in my early teens, by my best friends family.

I have NO idea why they picked Laura Pearl, but it stuck!

Seriously stuck, as it is also, my Grandmotherly name that my sweetheart granddaughter calls me! 

"Hasty" happened, as I was listening to an Adele song where she sings a line in a song...

"watching hastiness unfold".

Obliviously, That part stuck...too!

While I'm actually disciplined in some areas of my life, 

I also have a Hasty side to me...so...

Hastypearl...was born! 

I thought you might like to see what my first item to sell, looked like. (below)

It didn't happen until February, so, it was a L O N G two months wait.

I've heard of people getting a sale the first day, and others waiting a long time.

Each shop has its own story.

I was SO thrilled.

I called my cousin Beverly, who has the Etsy shop BevsCrochetCreations, 

and she talked me through the sale.

You can see in the fourth image, what the shops screens look like to the owners,

 since they don't look the same to the shoppers.

I packaged up the three items for that first sale, and was Amazed, that someone from Minnesota, 

had found me!

At first, I only listed to people in the U.S., because I was pretty intimidated about international purchases.

I was excited about the possibilities and realized that Anyone, could find me!

The piece below, was one of the first that I Listed.

I learned a lot from making that piece...like, little pointy things, have to be Specially Packed!

But I was an ARTEEST, and wasn't going to let that effect what I made!

It also showed me, that if someone from the United Kingdom could find me, while looking for a shrine for their home, to rotate special pictures of her deceased mother and brother in, that what I was Doing, would be more like a Ministry, than just Making things. 

With that discovery, I began praying, for all of the future buyers of my items.

While I sometimes wish my pieces would sell faster, I believe that they are each meant for 

Someone Special,

 and will be patient to see who that person is.

Many buyers have told me amazing reasons that they are buying my art or vintage finds and I love hearing their stories.

 The Vintage Cross below, was my 100th sale!

I was VERY happy about that!

The Significance of The Cross, both to me AND the Buyer, wasn't lost on me.

It went to a Texas Mixed Media Jewelry artist, who makes amazing pieces and also teaches people how to  create their own jewelry.

I had actually recently, bought her book..  

So, this is what my page looks like to me...

There's lots of info to help me run my business.

The picture below, is what my screen looked like for my 100th sale!

I had actually been excitedly Waiting, to see it!

The Truth is, I early on, sold 4 of my little wire ornament hangers to a set director, to be used on stage for a current monster Tony award winning play. I wasn't sure how to do it, so I grouped all four pieces into one sale, so I always showed that I was 3 sales behind my actual number...but oh well, it just taught me a little more patience, for that 100 on the screen, to roll around!

So, there you are!

I can't tell you ALL of the wonderful things I have learned in this process or about how many 

Great Customers, I have had.

 I've have friends and family, that have Totally Supported me either in purchasing, or Like"ing", 

yet One More of my Hastypearl listings on Facebook...ONE MORE TIME!

I feel supported...and LOVED!  

I guess the most important thing that I could say would be, if you have a Dream to Do Something...DO IT!

Don't wait until you have it all figured out.

GET HASTY!! :)

The Learning Curve will teach you things about yourself , that you cant Imagine!

Don't miss out on that :)

Thanks Everyone for a Wonderful First 100!

xoxo Laura