DESIGNS & RAGTAGS OPEN STUDIO
4 Days Only!
For Holiday Giving & Treats for Yourself
Saturday Nov. 10 - Sunday Nov. 11
Saturday Dec. 1 - Sunday Dec. 2
11 AM - 4PM

119 East Harvard Street FoCoCo

❤Trinkets & Treasures❤
$5-$105
Need more details?
email
sarah@sarahfishburn.com

Step right up and get some art...and make a difference while you're at it!

This original artwork of mine, a copy of my book In This Garden, and a copy of Pasticcio Quartz, Issue 12, are among the MANY cool, fun, lovely, and wonderful items being offered in a fundraising auction for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, hosted by my good friend and art comrade, Seth Apter of The Altered Page. I really hope you will consider making a bid - your ❤❤❤ will grow several sizes, I'm tellin' ya! If the bidding for Bundle #5, including the canvas pictured here, goes above $250, I promise I will include several exciting "extras" for the winner...Please support our efforts, and score some swell treats, for yourself or to pass on to your own lucky recipient. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul!

Remembrance of Things Past

These are journal pages I constructed for one of the True Colors journals.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
 

Emma Lazarus, 1883

The Pulse of Mixed Media: my review on Amazon

It's Alive! (and kicking), March 13, 2012

This review is from: The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed (Paperback)http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Mixed-Media-Passions-Revealed/dp/144031070X/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

Seth Apter's blog-gone-book will be the subject of art talk viral and actual for months to come. Maybe it's inevitable that an artist with a Ph.D in psychology would always want/try to peel the proverbial onion when it comes to his art cohorts and peers, but Seth always takes it a step further and digs ever deeper with questions seeking answers cathartic and confessional. He pushes the limits in such a gently gracious manner - no it's NOT cleverly diabolical! And artists respond. Obstacles, emotions, choices. Secrets, fears, desires, anger. The depths are plumbed. The book serves up 133 artists (and their diverse and wonder-full art) on a gorgeously graphic platter of layout and design. Dozens of questions are answered in more and less detail in the first two sections of the book by 31 featured artists, and the additional (100+) artists are highlighted in the final third section, with responses to still more questions presented statistically by percentage. Danny Gregory, Angela Cartwright, Michelle Ward, Robert Maloney, and Julie Prichard are a few of the fantastic artists Seth has brought together in another deliciously crafted North Light Books publication.

Ahh - Musing Grace (for a Wednesday morning)

Yes, it's Tuesday night. But I need to make sure I'm on time, and present, just in case you all come knocking on the Ragtags Studio door Wednesday morning 3am. Where have I been you might well ask? Gosh, it always seems like more of a commitment than I'm ready for, to actually sit down and post something worthwhile (aww, whatever made me think my posts hafta always be "worthwhile"? And who's to say what worthwhile even is anyhow??). If you know me from Facebook, Twitter, or Real Life(!), you know that the past year (and some) my life got a little more - what's that word? Harried? Frenetic? Impossible? You pick ... frankly, I'm too tired ... and yet,  I still have a few thoughts, especially on the subject of grace.

Now when I'm NOT at work at the pre-school or gym, it's a stretch to think of doing anything besides curling up with an enthralling read, luxuriating in a steamy bubble bath, or to be realistic, just getting a decent night's sleep. But there are berry bushes and the coffee house geraniums to prune, children and grandchildren, and a husband to tend, friends and neighbors (and coworkers) to "be there for", and all of the daily commitments, duties, promises that make one's life a pleasure and a pain, that fill the days and craft the spirit of one trying to learn to serve.

So wherein lies grace? As an artist, I look for grace in moments (not infrequently stolen) of clarity and courage, the clarity of a piece moving forward, abounding with love and my halcyon vision, and the courage to see it through to the end, despite doubt and fatigue. And really, extrapolated to the whole of my life,  courage and grace (and a wicked sense of humor) in veritable CinemaScope are what I pray for,  each and every day of it.

And some in Velvet Gowns

Hark, hark!

The dogs do bark;

the beggars are coming to town.

Some in rags and some in tags,

and some in velvet gowns.

Nursery Rhyme

Prologue

My two older daughters have often gritted their collective teeth in exasperation at how many times I have suggested miscellaneous costumes, names, titles, ideas, scenarios, etc. which though *obviously* clever, funny, terrifically witty to me, and even at times, they themselves, require explanation to EVERYone else in the world...

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

The so-called nursery rhyme above holds the key to one of the major components of my art business name, sarah fishburn: Designs & Ragtags. And it all harks back to childhood, from which I am a firm believer one must raise oneself up by the bootstraps if said childhood was something less than idyllic.

No precept was considered utterly sacred or immutable throughout my somewhat bohemian childhood; the awfulness of "begging" was the sole exception. Not only were we four kids not supposed  to "accept charity"(outside of from our blood relatives - I certainly had to often as not wear ill-fitting cousin cast-offs) but, for example, we were not ever allowed to trick or treat. The man I married insists this was all because we really DID need help. Ironic...

One year I won a citywide essay contest and had no parent available to take me to the evening award ceremony, and told my teacher who consequently offered to fill in. It was touch and go, as that fell into the category of not simply charity, but begging on my part as well. Finally to my great relief, I was allowed to go, but it was not without repercussions and recriminations.

The saying is, "Pride goeth before a fall." My family's pride certainly did go before my fall. I  grew up to be a woman who generally doesn't have much of a problem asking for things I want or need. World community is something I believe in with all my heart, so I try to be there for others as well, whether their needs are tangible or spiritual. The man I married is much more like my parents, and grandparents. I frequently find myself advising him to just ask for help when he needs it. More often than not, he ignores my advice and often as a result, does without.

Anyway. Back to the rhyme. According to several online sources (I edited the following):

The "Hark, hark! The dogs do bark" rhyme dates back to 13th century England. The origin...is steeped in history. Wandering minstrels, troubadours and beggars went from town to town singing their songs...Messages of dissent to the common people were often found in secret meanings in the words of their ballads. In this way, the propaganda of the day was passed from one community to another.  These secret messages sometimes lead to plots and uprisings against the royalty, clergy, and politicians of the day. 

But eh! Who cares for all that historical folderol? What a fabulous image comes to my mind's eye --- a raucous crowd meandering down the street, velvet gowns --- no doubt richly embroidered, if well-worn --- dragging through the dirt, ribbons streaming. Who cares if they're begging or carrying messages of revolution? All I knew then, and still believe now, is I want in. And if I have to beg for admission, so be it.

Spanish Gypsies

National Geographic 1917

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
 
Emma Lazarus, 1883

"Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?"

We're one, but we're not the same...
We get to carry each other -
Sisters, Brothers -
One life, but we're not the same...
We get to carry each other...

me, tonight ---

Don't forget to tune in and listen for ME, here tonight...

ANTICIPATION!

We can never know about the days to come

But we think about them anyway
And I wonder if I'm really with you now
Or just chasing after some finer day.
Carly Simon

Can't wait for the oh-so-brilliant
Susan Tuttle's latest (with CD!)
& btw (I'm elated to tell you),
she let me contribute a piece -

Inspired at home Pasticcio 7 giveaway

When? Where? How? Sunday night,
November 1, as part of my dealio on
Inspired at Home over at blogtalkradio.
Be sure to listen in ---

Like Project Runway...

Yes, I'm seriously considering traveling to Mexico sometime next year to offer an art retreat at Vane Erosa's little shop - but in the meantime, I do really hope you will consider taking my December workshop closer to home, in beautiful, historic, scenic, delightful, Longmont, Colorado, at KC Willis' darling studio. Can I confide in you? I no longer offer classes at any of the large venues because honestly, I feel that the overwhelm of atmosphere, the often too large classes where only the least shy are likely to receive one's absolute attention, and the not infrequent dramas of so many (rightfully) excited people in one place are not necessarily conducive to a quality experience. That's not to say they aren't fantastic for many; just that I personally prefer the intimacy and attention I can offer to my students when I teach locally, or while on personal travels. Whether you love attending the large workshops or prefer a more intimate setting, whether you are outgoing or a bit of a wallflower, I can promise a weekend you will count among your most inspiring and with plenty of fun, too!

The details of my workshop at KC's are here, but let me stress that we will be covering all the techniques I EVER use, and my personal "elements of design" as each student creates an entire artist book over the course of the weekend. Think of it as a book artist's version of Project Runway...by Sunday afternoon, we will be having our own runway exhibition, and NO ONE WILL BE OUT!

The printmaker's art

A while back, I spent an afternoon with my friend Jean McBride and her gocco. Just ran across this that I did, repurposing one of the prints I made that day.

me

Still more vintage SF