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I quit my job. Nearly three months ago. Or rather, should I say, I UPDATED my career status to Freelance? Yup. I thought this would be scarier. I thought this would be more complicated. I don't know where to begin chronicling the ginormous life change, but it's essentially listed up there as one of the most difficult decisions I made in my life. It was a long time coming though and the conditions were right, so *poof!* I'm here! The past few months have been filled with activity. So much so, I kept thinking "I should write a blog post about this…" and I'm just now getting around to that. So what have I been up to? Here we go: #1: Prepared for and attended the New England chapter Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference . Finished portfolio cover art! Want to see inside? ;-) The entire month of March was essentially me in a flurry of paper and matte medium putting some new images together for my portfolio. In the end...

NOTE: Tickets are now VERY limited.  Get your tickets for Friday night (May 1) here . Original sketch concepts for WAE Spring 2015. © Samantha Grenier. The Wearable Art Extravaganza is here! The  Miracle Providers NE  have picked out an awesome theme for this Spring's fashion/drag show: The 4 Elements. How could pick an outfit for ONE element? I couldn't, so I'm making an outfit for each element… plus the finale. Five. FIVE outfits. Here's a splash of what to look for: Dress of coffee filters. © Samantha Grenier 2015. Mini "Flames". © Samantha Grenier 2015. Dress of coffee filters (Earth). © Samantha Grenier 2015. Painted coffee filters. © Samantha Grenier 2015. Painted coffee filters. © Samantha Grenier 2015. Painted coffee filters. © Samantha Grenier 2015. Dress of coffee filters (Wind). © Samantha Grenier 2015. Future Dress - Braids. © Samantha Grenier 2015. As one can see, I've got a lot going ...

Whoosh! March is gone and April looks like it's going to be a whirlwind adventure. I've got a LOT in the works and a bunch of upcoming events to note: First up is the April Open Studio at Western Avenue Studios and Lofts : THIS Saturday, April 4th, from noon - 5pm. Please stop by and say hi … and buy some art from me and/or the 150+ other artists on site. ;-) I will be in my studio (#112) working on costumes and more picture book portfolio (more on that shortly). Next up, I have a piece in the Four By Four for Education show over at the Brush Gallery . The show has been up a few weeks. The final day/fundraising reception: Saturday, April 11th, from 2 − 5pm. My piece on display is the Woven Heart ( #141 in the slideshow ). Admission is $25 which benefits a UMASS Lowell (art) scholarship. The admission fee also gets you one of the original pieces from the show. Woven Heart © Samantha Grenier 2015 To cap off my month, the  Society of Children's Book Writers and Il...

Gifts from the HeArt Promotion at Western Ave. Studios & Lofts Saturday is looking like we're expecting a little bit more *s-word* (snow). Just a little bit. Not enough to keep people inside…. at least not enough to keep me inside. I will be "studio-ing" in Lowell this for First Saturday Open Studios, snow or no-snow. I invite you to stop in for a visit because it will be worth the trip. For this Open Studio,  Western Avenue Studios and Lofts  (WAS) is hosting a sweet promotion in honor of Valentines Day: Visit the heart-marked studios and get a sticker. Try to collect as many stickers as you can for a chance to win up to $75 in WAS Gift Certificates. I am one of a participating artists, so stop by Studio #112 - I will have a (heart) sticker for you! Additional details about the Gifts From the HeArt program are available on the WAS website . While there, you can preview all the participating studios. There is also a  special Facebook page for the event if yo...

Last Fall's Wearable Art Extravaganza, hosted by the Miracle Providers NE , was a smashing hit. We're all up and eager to work on the next show, but we're looking for a little help. First on the agenda: MODELS. We need models and we're going to need some soon. All shapes, sizes, ages, genders welcome…. Well, maybe not children… nor animals. Want to show off on the catwalk? Join us. Designers are getting garments ready for the runway and the show set is in the works. Bodies are needed to fill our artistic creations, and if you have other performance skills, BONUS. The Extravaganza's Spring theme is Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Everyone is excited about the theme, so we can tell already this show is going to be a lot of fun! As a model, you will be fitted for an element… or maybe two, or four ;-) Some of the designers (such as myself) are attempting costumes for all four elements, and since most models are shared, we're hoping to get as many people committ...

Hello January! As the world reflects on 2014, many (people) want to re-start. I just want to keep 2014 going, so I'm NOT picking an official "word of the year", nor am I going to commit to any new resolutions. We'll I do have the one (Less Dunkins), but to be fair it's a 3-year carry-over. Every year I get a little better. 2014 was good to me. I think I'm the cheese standing alone with that statement, but it's true and I'm proud of it! Of course, I don't want 2014 to come to an abrupt end; I want it to live on and on and so for me it will.  So here's hoping Twenty-Fifteen is just 2014 in a new outfit.

Tomorrow night is the final Holiday shopping excursion at Western Avenue Studios & Lofts . The Loading Dock Gallery is hosting a Homemade Holiday Shopping Night . Stop by after work if you'd like - Official Gallery/shopping hours are 5pm - 9pm, Thursday, December 18th. I will be stopping by the gallery as well. I hear there will be some food sold to benefit the Miracle Providers . I have a couple things to finish up in the studio, so naturally my door will be open once I've finished shopping/grazing/socializing. My studio hours will be (about) 6:30-9:00 pm. I'm located on the 1st Floor in the C/D Mill. Hope to see you there!

Peacock Dress and Jacket. © Samantha Grenier 2014. Tah-dah! The finished peacock-inspired garment. Yep - inspired by this guy: Peacock - From the HNMNH

Peacock Dress Snippet. The paper jacket is done. This isn't the big reveal… sorry! If you want to see the real-deal, you'll have to join me at the Wearable Art Extravaganza (details below), or visit me in the studio on First Saturday/Sunday, October 4-5th…. or just wait until later next week and peek back here. Wearable Art Extravaganza Poster. A couple things to note: Event is FREE and Child-friendly There will be a cash bar for beer & wine This will be wicked fun - I've seen some of the other pieces walking in the show Hope to see you there ;-) ~ Samantha

So we're just about 1 month away from the Miracle Providers Northeast Wearable Art Extravaganza ! Tickets for the event are officially available for those wanting to attend {wink-wink!}. There's also a Facebook page for the event , for those who'd like to be kept up to date on details, or mark up their FB calendars. I've had a busy and productive couple of weeks in the studio. Firstly, the final results of my very-blue painting sessions: My (incredibly) blue painted table. I've been dragging my feet on the clean-up. I'll just be a quick switch-a-roo of the contact paper, but there are more important thing to attend to… plus I may be pressed for more paper-painting in the near future. I can just FEEL it; a paper-feather shortage is in the forecast for next week. Blue painted papers (and fabric). And dah-DAHH-DAAHH! The final color pallet and fabric selection for my garment(s): Peacock color pallet. I should have my sketches and dress cons...

Paper painting/studio floor. The evidence of my studio work/play today is embedded in my hands: they're peacock blue-green. Even after a couple passes with a loofa there are still some blue-filled creases. My blue-green hand posing in front of painted surfaces. This acrylic has some impressive staying power. My work surface was affected a bit too: Blue surface phase 1. Blue Surface phase 2. Why am I so blue? The Miracle Providers NE are hosting a Wearable Art Exhibition on October 4th, and I am assembling a tissue paper jacket for the fashion show. The jacket is going to require a LOT of material… blue material. The once-white contact paper coating of my work surface is screaming for a change, but I'm not quite finished with the painting, so this will have to wait a little longer. I will be sharing some more work in progress on my art garment once I can get past the paper-prep work. I have some sketches and a mood-board I can share in the near-future.

Paper Knot Studio - #112 at Western Avenue Studios. 1st Floor in C/D Mill Tomorrow marks my first  First Saturday Studio Opening. First Saturday is the widely advertised Western Avenue Studio opening to the public . The building is generally open during the week or whenever The Loading Dock Gallery has active hours. The first Saturday of every month is pinned as the day many of the artists will be opening their doors to buyers and general curious. Western Avenue Studios If you want to visit me, please feel free to do-so! Studios will be open from Noon - 5pm Saturday. As you can see above, there are a LOT of studios to browse…. not everyone will be open, but many will be. Paper Knot Studio (a.k.a. me) is located in Studio 112. You should be able to spot me just from my cute stripy awning. But if you want to find me quick, I'm on the first floor of the C/D Mill; entrance is next to the loading dock (seen there on the within that GREEN space. There should be a sign and/...

A bit of color blocking for a 4-page narrative. Book Pacing workshop by Deborah Freedman and Frank Dormer. And *poof* the New England SCBWI Conference is over. Actually it's been over for about two weeks. I'm still working off the inspired energy I picked up from all the workshops. I miss it, but I know it'll always be in my heart… I took copious notes! Other illustrators working-working-working. I still have a small stack of postcards remaining from the portfolio showcase. Those will be mailed out to select Art Directors later this week. I have to admit I still hold my breath a bit when I'm about to send out postcards. It reminds me of the theme of this year's conference: "Be Brave: Make your mark". Though I've become a lot more confident with showing off my work, it's the ceremonial mailings which throw me. It's been a while since I last sent out any promotions and now I'm trying to build it into a seasonal routine. I'...

Portfolio - Spring 2014 We're setting out for the SCBWI New England Conference tomorrow. "We" is me,  Sheli Petersen  and Sheli's mother/author, Patricia Petersen. I'm packed, updated , and eager to meet everyone. I can hardly believe it's already time to head down to Springfield again :->; I am really pumped for this conference and I'm ready to let the inspiration vibes strike me. Above are a few bits from my book assembly from the past week. On the left are some finished snippets from one of my spreads, and the right is the black and white study of my mock mini portfolio. I have to tell you the mock-mini folio helped a LOT. it was great to see the impact of my ills in the small scale and to make sure that my values had enough contrast. Highly recommended. I did a similar study last year for the Infirm Pachyderm poster . This year I combed through my full book in black and white format before taking everything to print. I'm very pr...

Morning collaging - torn papers and glue. I'm still here. Quietly working on my portfolio… neglecting my blog. The past month was filled with doodling and other paper-cutting activities. On top of that I'm slowly, slowly, slowly building out my studio space to make it viewer-friendly. Priority number one is polishing off my portfolio for the New England chapter Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's conference . I've only got one more week left on the timeline, but I'm feeling confident with the book organization as it stands. Though I still have oodles of work to complete by next Friday, I'm close to press and assembly, so the deadline doesn't feel scary-close (this time around). Fingers crossed for my postcards. They should be landing some time Friday or Saturday, so let's keep our eyes on the mailbox for them. ~Samantha

Badge by Denise Ortakales - Source Whew-Hooo! I JUST signed up for the New England chapter SCBWI Conference . I can hardly wait to see everyone again :-)

Think bright pink exclamation point. 200 pt Nueva: Pink Exclamation Mark - © Samantha Grenier 2014 That is me this week. I am an exclamation mark because 3 great things occurred in my life this week: 1. I toured and have a studio space on reserve for me at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, Massachusetts. This not only puts a rocket launcher into my part time freelance illustration career, but it's getting me out of the house so that I can interact with an inspiring community. I sign my lease later this week and there will most likely be many  studio set-up photos to follow over the next month. 2. Did you know I wrote a macrame book? Did write/illustrate... now sifting through the draft. I got to see my Book Baby for the first time Tuesday. I'm pretty sure followers on Twitter could hear my scream from delight. Here is the official book announcement sent by Fox Chapel Publishing: Hello! Macramé should be landing in crafty stores April/May. 3. Though ...