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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 ...

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/...

Scrapbooking bits - final assignment Who doesn't like scoping out the towers of loose papers at the craft shop? It's a pretty big area to avoid. Scrapbooking is usually my first stop: search for paper textures and eye the motifs. What surprised me most about this week is that there are still scrapbooking companies licensing from freelancers for there collections. I thought this was an area where companies relied on in-house designers. Well... surprise ! They also find artist inspiration to make accessories too. How about that? This week's assignment was to design a sheet of icons which could be suitable for chipboard pieces or stickers, or inspiration bits and pieces. I started with a LOT of drawings... here's a snippet: Sketchbook spread with scrapbooking inspirations. Then I went nuts on PATTERNS to apply to my digital cuts: Pink-pink-pink herringbone pattern Assorted patterns which could be used for washi tape, paper, icon decorations, etc. ...

I flourished despite about 50 disputes with a container of Mod Podge: "Flourish" decorative collage. I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I nearly (and am still tempted to) tear up a huge wad of tissue/tracing/velum/watercolor papers and just spell out the word "SHIT!" I didn't think it would be appropriate for the class, it seemed resentful. It does sound snarky and negative, but I can see it... "Shit" would be fun. Who wouldn't want a big "S-H-I-T" on their wall? Yes, I did swear at my materials about a dozen times before collaging  won me over. I think it's the designing of the composition I like so much... that and transparency papers. Part of the construction of this piece consisted of a fight with a single paint brush, glue, humidity, bleeding inks, and my inability to get a zipper to zip the way I wanted it to. Also I was stabbed by a staple from the zipper package. My grudge against the zipper has passed and I...

Illustration contest submission for Jane Yolen's "Infirm Pachyderm". As one can see, I have been heavily involved with elephants lately. Nothing wrong with that! The New England SCBWI Conference (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) is only a couple weeks away. I had to pause portfolio preparations to submit to this year's poster illustration contest: Jane Yolen's poem "Infirm Pachyderm". My gut reaction to the first 30 or so reads were all somber. I wanted to gauge other illustrator's responses, so I preformed an image search... same reactions there. Since the poem is written for an audience that's Middle Grade age group at max, I wanted to illustrate a positive spin on the poem's outcome. Construction the illustration was a little less positive. I'm going to admit I have a weakness with Black & White drawing, so naturally I wanted to cut TONS of grey-scale images! Since my technique dwells on paper tex...