NEW CHRISTMAS GREETING CARD DESIGN IS COMING AROUND THE CORNER

'HEY, ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE, HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY'   2011
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2011

Hey guys...Well it is that time of year again and you might know what that means?  If you follow my other blog MIND GIGGLES, you will have the scoop on the Annual Friends and Family Christmas Card Design?  If you do not know, click here and  here and here to get the skinny on how I create these cards and how I come up with the ideas.  In previous years, I have made pop-ups, Christmas tree ornaments out of aluminum, mobiles, swinging trees, snowflakes and rubberstamped designs just to name a few. 

'POP-OUT" FRIENDLY SNOWMAN      Blank inside    2005
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2005

Every year, I try to create this handmade 'gem' of a Christmas card that goes out to my all my friends and family.  I have been doing this since around 1987-88.  I have to check on that to be sure.  The design is always a challenge to create because I have to create something better than I did the previous years.  I put a lot of pressure on the concept and idea of the card design.  The bar is always set high by everyone and myself, so they will be thrilled and excited when they open the envelope. They have to experience the 'MIND GIGGLE".  Receivers of these cards say that they know that it is indeed 'The Holiday Season' and Christmas is on it's way when they get the card in the mail.  As my brother Ken puts it." It is like the very well known window designs at Macy's in New York City, at Christmas time.  When they go up, you know Christmas is near."

'SNOWMEN ARE REAL COOL DUDES'               (inside) 'so you be a cool dude, too!'       2006
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2006

As I have mentioned, each year the designs have been such a stressor a lot of pressure and they wear me out!  I 'hunker down' for 3-5 days and just go to town, cutting, gluing, folding, scoring, paper punching and coloring,  There are usually little papers all over the floor that I track around the house, but I don't care at the moment. I am in the 'zone' and a woman on a mission.  As I say each year, "I am not going to do one this year, I ultimately feel compelled like something greater than me, has to get them done and sent out on time no matter how I feel.  Some times I don't feel in the Christmas spirit. I'm feeling tired, low energy and just have some seasonal 'mood problems'.  But each year as the date for completion comes closer, I ramp up my creative drive , and I put it in 'high gear' because it has become such a family tradition.  I ask myself, "Would snoopy not decorate his dog house, if he was in a 'low mood'?"  No way!  " Would Santa not deliver the presents on Christmas Eve because he is 'too tired?  Absolutely, not. They journey and carry on." So I have to say, "Let the game begin!"

THIS SEASON LET'S CELEBRATE...   ( inside) World Peace!  1998
(c) Loren Fidalgo 1998

So, you might be wondering, "do I have an idea for this year yet?"  Well, I am happy to report, that "I am almost there."  I am so excited about it and I hope the final design looks as good as I have created in my mind. You can read here to see how I came up with an idea for past card design. I will be posting glimpses of sketches, mock-ups and prototypes that I use to help generate the final design, however I don't want to give away the idea, until the card is in the mail.  Timing is everything.  This year's design will be something inspired from my much missed Gram who passed away last year.  In this card design, her memory will live on especially, at Christmas time.

DEAR SANTA,  WE HAVE BEEN REALLY GOOD THIS YEAR SO, PLEASE SEND SOME HOPE, LOVE AND JOY!  IF NOT...         (inside)  JUST SEND CASH!  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!  2012
(c) Loren Fidalgo 2012                    

Keep following along on this blog and my MING GIGGLES blog to see the evolution of the Annual Friends and Family Christmas Card Design take shape.
Cheers,
Loren

SAYING 'GOOD-BYE' TO UTRECHT

Last Tuesday night,  I was leaving my painting class at Fleisher Art Memorial and drove onto Spruce Street to make my way home.  As I approached the light at Broad Street and Spruce Street, I slowly glanced over to my left as I always did at that stop. Now it is where I see that Utrecht Art Supplies Store is dark and closed for the good. All the signs are still up around the building though, which gives it an erie ghost like feeling. 

About 4-5 months ago, I learned that Utrecht would be merged into Dick Blick art supply store and the Utrecht I knew would be no more.  You see, Utrecht was not just a art supply store to me, it was a hip, chic, cool, trendy place where artists from all over Philadelphia purchased their art supplies.  Their employees were art students and it had this feel of 'pure art'.  They featured a cork board where artists could post their info, business cards etc.  It was a place to mingle.  Utrecht was the 'it' place to shop in the art world in Philly. Their prices were awesome and they always had what you needed. A lot of their supplies were behind the counter where students artists would assist you with your chosen materials.

Utrecht was not just a art supply store to me but a place where memories were formed and made, a place where my personality was defined and a talent was realized. 

When I first moved to Philly to attend Moore College of Art and Design, Utrecht was the place to go for most art supplies.  I remember when I walked the first time from my dorm room on Cherry Street to Utrecht at 14th and Broad Street with my friend Linda.   It was 17 blocks, seemed so far but well worth the trip.  I realized I was being introduced to a city for the first time in my life.  Utrecht seemed so 'cool' to me back then.  I had never been in an art supply store like it.  Illustration board, Letraset press type, Chartpak press type were the top supplies that I purchased at Utrecht.  Airbrush machine and supplies were 'hot' and drafting tables were 'in'. If you remember that computers had not arrived in to colleges in 1983 and everything was done by hand, from rub down type to colored rub down film that came in such an array of colors that amazed me.  These were the days of Pantone markers for marker renderings to matching colored papers and film were the top materials that we used in school.  Illustration board was the top material to create designs, logos and advertisements to prepare artwork for printing presses.  When I went there I felt like I was in artists heaven!

I loved Utrecht. I loved the materials they carried , the ambience of the store as well as the people that shopped there.  I loved Utrecht for carrying the fabric paint called DEKA (now out of business) when I started painting T-shirts, baby clothes and pillows.  After college, I moved to 17th Street and Spruce and Utrecht was just a couple blocks from my apartment.  I remember the days of carrying home large sheets of illustration board and matte board inside large clear plastic bags.  Some time after I moved to my apartment, Utrecht moved across the street and on the other side of Spruce Street.  I didn't like it as much as the first location, but tried to adjust with the times.  Utrecht always had the paint I used in acrylic and oil.  They had canvases that I really loved.  They’re canvases were weighty and had a strong cross bars in the back for extra support.  The texture of the canvas was great to paint on and after I first began painting, I ordered 10 canvases 30x40 and had them shipped to my home.  The total cost was approx. $180.00 for the 10.  Can you beleive it?  That was $18.00  for one 30x40.  I still have two remaining and I will save them for a special project.

Utrecht is where I found most of my 'bags of tricks' on my blog.  It is where my early college years had formed strung memories of friendship. It is where I learned about walking the city for the first time and where I felt like and learned to live and feel like an artist.  Now Utrecht has formed some sort of partnership with Dick Blick and they have finally left their home on Broad Street and Spruce Street.  Dick Blick is located on 13th and Chestnut Street approx. 4 blocks from Utrecht's former location.  They said that they will still carry Utrechts paint but not their canvases.  I have never used a Dick Blick canvas and I hope they are as good as Utrecht’s.

Utrecht has moved on to a new venture and I will miss it.  I will never forget the memories it created for me.  I will never forget the way it gave me an introduction into the art scene in Philadelphia. and helped me become a professional artist..  Utrecht, like Borders Book Store will be thought of as a happy, welcoming and teaching experience for me.  So, Utrecht I say my goodbyes to you.  Thank you for all the memories and for opening the world to help me live and become an artist. 

Cheers.

Loren

THE LANDSDALE ART FESTIVAL

Hi, there. I wanted to share some photos from the Landsdale Art Festival.

I really want to thank my husband Paul and my brother Ken for helping me make the event happen.  They were both an enormous help and without them, I wouldn’t have been able to assemble everything, and carry everything to the show. My husband Paul was so dear and he helped me build the wooden easels, from sawing, drilling and painting them.  He is such a 'gem’.   Ken had his truck, and even so, we were packed solid with easels and boxes of paintings.  Ken was so awesome because he made me easels out of PVC piping and along with the wooden ones I made with my husband, they all looked so great.  The paintings sat on them so nicely and they really allowed them to shine.  He also made me a rack to display my small paintings.

The day was so beautiful nevertheless, when we arrived on the site, it was windy.  It was something that we didn’t expect.  But thanks to my brother and my thinking, we attached some really large white sheets (purchased many years back, preparing for this possible event) to the top of our tent with Ken's nifty plastic ties.  He also attached them to the bottom of the tent legs on two sides.  This really cut down on the wind and it gave the tent a really awesome feel to it when the sun shone in so bright. It had this heavenly, ethereal ambiance to it when the sun was shining in it. It was an unexpected joyful effect.

My friends Rebekah and Nerida also came to show there support.  They got lost on the way to the show so thank goodness they made it there.  They brought me a small birthday cake and a birthday gift.  It was very sweet and I was thankful for having them as my friends.

Well, the day flew by and it seemed that just as how soon we put everything up, we had to take everything down and pack up.  So pack up we did and off to home we went.  Good-bye Landsdale.  See you again next year.

Leave a comment if you would like to comment about what you think about my booth display and the artwork showing.  I'd love to hear what my viewers think about my work, so feel free to comment.

Cheers,
Loren 

I AM IN HEAVEN FRIENDSHIP AND NEW STUDIO NEWS

Rebecca and Neurida

It's 5:00 in the morning and I am still up!  I am thinking about all that happened yesterday and I am reflecting about the wonderful day I had and how I shared it with two really great friends, Rebecca and Neurida.  We planned a day of painting outdoors at my home. First time doing this.  Well, the weather was great, however there was too much wind so we decided to take it in indoors. The three of us moved my wicker furniture and porch stuff out of the way, in the corner.  We opened a big table, Rebecca selected her zone with a table top easel (love those!).  Neurida selected the other corner of the table for her palette of paint, and I fit so nicely with my easel into the corner of the porch. We were packed in, almost too close for comfort,however none of us cared.  It was thankfully just right. I opened all the shutter doors on the windows and let the beautiful light in. We were all comfortable in our zones and we began painting and talking and painting and chatting and then some more painting and discussing and on we went.  The conversation was effortless and so meaningful. I don't remember when I had such great conversation with my friends. When Rebecca and Neurida had to head back to center city Philly, we were all disappointed that the day had to end.  They both shared that they had an awesome time and we had to do it again really, really soon!

When my friends left I found myself still full of energy and inspiration.  I continued to paint in the porch and as I put the brush to the canvas, my mind started to expand and I had a revelation.  I decided then that I wanted to move my studio out of the dining room and into the porch. This was big.  I mean really big. A bridge was being crossed, meaningless thoughts were becoming a plan and I was elated. The porch was always out of my option range. When my husband Paul came home, I told him that I was joyful and happy and I would like to move my zone into the porch.  He was skeptical at first but then he saw all the benefits, such as reclaiming our dining room!  Here the porch was there all along just waiting for me to see it for what it is and it's potential. I was not able to see the benefits to using the space to my advantage. I was closed off to seeing the possibilities. Having my friends over to my home to paint and talk about the 'human condition' as I call it, was the best thing I have done for my soul personally and creatively in more years than I can express here and now.  A door was opened yesterday for me and I walked through it. I opened my heart and let the light in.  I felt like I was in heaven!

NEURIDA's painting-------REBECCA'S painting--------MY abstract painting
See the wicker furniture in the background!!!  Close quarters.

Thank you to my friends Rebecca and Neurida for helping me to see the person I am becoming and the person I hope to be.  Even more, thanks for reawakening the person I used to be. Mostly thank you for trusting in me to share your heart and souls. I love you guys!