Spiralicious!

Here is the Exalted Beauty Spiralicious Medallion collection fresh from the oven:



The main focus of the Spiralicious collection is on the elegant simplicity of the fabulous spiral shape in combination with a dynamic range of beautiful, specially mixed polymer clay colors. However, keeping it *simple* was much more difficult then one would think (at least for me). If you haven’t guessed from the collection above and from my body of work in general, then let me just tell you; Spirals are my absolute FAVORITE shape! However, while I really liked the Spiralicious medallions in their spirally, fresh from the oven state, I felt they didn’t quite have that certain *something* that made them *Amyesque*. So I decided to give them some more individuality and character by using a number of transparent glazes and tinted varnishes, with the intention of adding history, texture, gloss and sophistication.

Here is a closer look at the finished Spiralicious pieces:



I really love how the final Spiralicious pieces turned out.
Now I’m looking forward to finishing the backs on both the Spiralicious and Prophecy collections so I can move on to the beading and cataloging. The Ravishing Round backs are finished and curing and should be ready to string in a few days. Yay! So at least I will have the Rounds ready in time for Mer’s Exalted Beauty Medallion party on September 7th. With any luck the rest of the medallion backs will be finished tomorrow and cure in time to do it all again!

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!

I will be back with the Ravishing Round catalog next week!

Prophecy!

Here is the Exalted Beauty Prophecy Medallion collection fresh from the oven:



And here is a closer look at the finished Prophecy pieces:






[BTW – the floating multi-angle sensation is due to the marbles rolling face down on the scanner, in actuality the pieces lie flat against the body as seen in the fresh from oven picture]

And finally here is a sunlit close up photo of my new luminescent crusty sparkle finish, part crackle, part crystal, part corrosion:



Would love to hear what you think?

Spiralicious is up next...

Ravishing Rounds!

I would like to start off today’s post with an apology. I have been a very bad blogger lately and I am so sorry! I know I promised to show you the new Medallion collections that I have been working on over the past few weeks, so rather then going on and on about my extremely hectic life, I’ll just share the first of the three new Exalted Beauty Medallion collections in progress.

Here are the new Ravishing Rounds:













The Exalted Beauty Rounds have continued to be a staple item at every Medallion party so I felt the need to replenish my stock before the holiday rush begins. I was planning to wait another month to make these (after my next art show deadline) but I had a recent wholesale request for the Rounds so… no time like the present! I am so glad I decided to make this collection sooner then later because these truly are my best batch of Rounds to date! I am really happy with how they turned out; each one is its own unique abstract art piece. But don’t pick out your favorite Ravishing Round just yet, because not all of these are going to make it to the Exalted Beauty Medallion catalog, as 60 or so will be heading over to The Razzberry Kiss. I will put about 90 in the catalog, but if your favorite is missing from my selection then you can always head on over to The Razzberry Kiss to design a necklace around your favorite Ravishing Round!

Well, that’s all I have time for today! I’ll be finishing up the Ravishing Rounds over the next few days, they still need backs and time to cure before I can begin beading and cataloging, but I will reveal the next two Exalted Beauty Medallion collections in progress; Spiralicious and Prophecy, later this week!

The Cornish Fair!

The Cornish Fair opens today along with the opening of The 7th Art Show & Sale at the Cornish Town Hall! The photo below was taken Tuesday night after I dropped off the 6 Garden Room paintings to be exhibited in this year’s show:



What you are seeing on my very tired face is relief! I made it! I conquered yet another exhibition deadline! While I was not able to complete as many new works as I had hoped, I was able to come up with a set of six *Squares* that I felt complimented each other very nicely. So, I’m feeling pretty happy about that and I am extremely grateful for the exposure the paintings will receive in this popular venue. Thousands of people attend the Cornish Fair every year and it is a widely anticipated local event. I know we will be there for the art as well as for the fun family events! I hope to see you there! If not, I’ll catch you back here next week! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Santa’s Village

Yesterday we returned to the White Mountains again for another exciting fun park adventure. This time Jody, Caden and I, went to Santa’s Village with my niece Gracie, nephew Griffin, sister-in-law Amy and mother-in-law Susie. The weather was perfect and we had a fabulous time! Here are some fun pictures of the kids:







Speaking of Santa, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have had Christmas on the brain this past week and my studio is starting to look like Santa’s workshop! Why you ask? Well, I’m back in medallion production mode! I have a big Exalted Beauty Medallion party coming up in a few weeks and I am anticipating some early holiday shoppers. So in answer to upcoming customer demand, I have been trying to create collections designed especially with the gift giver in mind. Think simple and versatile. I’ll let you know more about the new collections next week! Until then, I’ll be at the Cornish Fair! It opens today! Read more about that in the next post!

Weirs Beach

We went to Weirs Beach again this week and we had *this much* fun!

Sensational Sunflowers

Pretty Poppies

California Grace

Pink and Orange

Fabulous Fawn

Black Eyed Beauties

Thistle

Native Wildflowers

Poppy Perfection

Here are some more photos of my Icelandic Poppies:



















Don’t you just love their delicate crepe-like blooms?
Ahhhh, perfection! :)
Well, enjoy!
I am gearing up for another unbelievably busy weekend, including yet another trip out of town! So, unfortunately, I’ll be continuing to neglect all of you, my most fabulous friends, who have been so kind and thoughtful with your wonderful blog comments and e-mails. I am SO sorry! Your responses have meant so much to me! Sincerely; you are the absolute best! And just so you know, I truly have been struggling to make time to reply, but with all of these impending deadlines and events, each day has blurred into the next, and before I knew it, weeks passed! I feel really, REALLY terrible! I hope you can forgive me. Please know that you ARE appreciated! And I will do my very best to get more organized so I have time for the computer! Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and for sharing your thoughts!

The Razzberry Kiss!

Here is a picture of me from yesterday at The Razzberry Kiss:



Which I put up because some of you just can’t get enough of my big dorky grin! And, well, mostly because I needed a visual to accompany my *New Exalted Beauty Inventory Available At The Razzberry Kiss* announcement!
That’s right folks; more brand new Exalted Beauty Medallions are now available at:

The Razzberry Kiss
Olde Nugget Alley
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 643-2283
Open: Tuesday-Saturday 10-6, Sunday 11-5

The beautiful owner and fabulous jewelry designer Elizabeth Gil De Rubio is on her way to NYC today on a big gemstone buying trip; so make sure to stop into The Razzberry Kiss soon to check out all of her amazing new stuff! You will be in heaven! The store is absolutely delicious! Elizabeth’s taste in jewelry and accessories will completely blow you away. I know I will be heading back very soon to check out her exciting new stock. I’m dying to go back to see what marvelous things she creates for her new Exalted Beauty Medallion display presentations. The Razzberry Kiss displays are always gorgeous works of art!

Side Note: If you are a regular Exalted Beauty Medallion Catalog cruiser, please do not panic about the sudden rash of SOLD pieces. Some of those medallions ARE still available at The Razzberry Kiss, however, they will no longer be available for sale through me. But if you hurry on over there, you might still be able to purchase your favorite piece! And in the process, maybe even a whole new necklace can be designed just for you, around your special medallion! What fun! Go! Experience The Razzberry Kiss! You will be so glad you did! :)

Bean’s Art Store!

Guess what I just got?
More new fabulous custom made mats for my Garden Room painting series! Yay! Where did I get such finely crafted mats you ask? Well, I bought them from Bean’s Art Store of course! My favorite art supply store ever! My adorable cousin Heather is the owner of Bean's Art Store and she does an amazing job creating whatever you need for an extremely reasonable price. Very high quality and craftsmanship. My new mats are extra super fabby! Go check out Bean's! They have Everything! :)

Bean’s Art Store
38 South Main Street
(Behind Ledyard Bank)
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 643-2607
Open: Monday-Friday 9:30–5:30, Saturday 10–2

JD’s Birthday!

Everyone wish a big huge Happy Birthday to my Mr. today!
He’s at work at the moment but he’ll be leaving soon to have a fabulous time at the Golf and Lobster event!
Hope he has tons of fun and kicks some serious Golfer butt!
The Wild Monkey Child and I will be waiting with breathless anticipation for his victorious return, but we may have to have a fire extinguisher on hand for tonight’s candle blowing festivities!

Happy Birthday Mr.!
Have a great day!

A CHARMED LIFE!

After a year long journey around the country, the Charmed Life necklace has finally returned home to master jewelry designer and concept creator (and all around fabulous person) Cyndi Lavin. Well, the famous necklace is only staying home temporarily because there are more exciting adventures ahead for “A Charmed Life”! Next “A Charmed Life” is going to appear in the Sept/Oct issue of Belle Armoire! Very exciting! And then it’s off to auction where we hope to raise a grand donation for breast cancer research! Pretty cool huh? :)

Check out Cyndi’s post on Bead Arts to learn more about the Charmed Life story.

Square 17 [The Garden Room]

Presenting "Square 17" from *The Garden Room* painting series:



“Square 17”
By Amy E. Fraser
Mixed Media Painting (Black Ink and Acrylic Glaze/Paint) on 8.25” x 8.25” 110#, Acid Free, Archival Drawing Paper.

This painting is part of *The Garden Room* series; a unique collection of bright and colorful botanical, floral, and flower compositions with bold, illustrative, graphic designs, that are cheerful and high energy.

Click HERE to visit THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

The paintings from *The Garden Room* series are presented in 12” x 12” black, solid wood, American made frames. Each painting is matted with a professional, custom made 12” x 12” black on black mat with 8” x 8” opening.

A selection of *The Garden Room* paintings will be on exhibit at The Cornish Fair Art Show & Sale at the Town Hall on August 17, 18, and 19.

Square 16 [The Garden Room]

Presenting "Square 16" from *The Garden Room* painting series:



“Square 16”
By Amy E. Fraser
Mixed Media Painting (Black Ink and Acrylic Glaze/Paint) on 8.25” x 8.25” 110#, Acid Free, Archival Drawing Paper.

This painting is part of *The Garden Room* series; a unique collection of bright and colorful botanical, floral, and flower compositions with bold, illustrative, graphic designs, that are cheerful and high energy.

Click HERE to visit THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

The paintings from *The Garden Room* series are presented in 12” x 12” black, solid wood, American made frames. Each painting is matted with a professional, custom made 12” x 12” black on black mat with 8” x 8” opening.

A selection of *The Garden Room* paintings will be on exhibit at The Cornish Fair Art Show & Sale at the Town Hall on August 17, 18, and 19.

Square 15 [The Garden Room]

Presenting "Square 15" from *The Garden Room* painting series:



“Square 15”
By Amy E. Fraser
Mixed Media Painting (Black Ink and Acrylic Glaze/Paint) on 8.25” x 8.25” 110#, Acid Free, Archival Drawing Paper.

This painting is part of *The Garden Room* series; a unique collection of bright and colorful botanical, floral, and flower compositions with bold, illustrative, graphic designs, that are cheerful and high energy.

Click HERE to visit THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

The paintings from *The Garden Room* series are presented in 12” x 12” black, solid wood, American made frames. Each painting is matted with a professional, custom made 12” x 12” black on black mat with 8” x 8” opening.

A selection of *The Garden Room* paintings will be on exhibit at The Cornish Fair Art Show & Sale at the Town Hall on August 17, 18, and 19.

Woodland Textures

Well, it’s Monday morning, the busy weekend has most definitely taken its toll, and I’m getting a very late start. I haven’t started painting yet and there is a long list of things to attend to before I can start (Argh!). So, for now, I thought I would entertain you with some new Woodland Textures:

















Soft, spiky, sharp, slimy, spotted and subtle; I think these are all great forms of textural inspiration to think about for both painting and jewelry design.
Are you inspired?
I am (trying to be).
Off to inject more caffeine into the system.
With any luck I’ll have a new Garden Room Square to show you this afternoon.
Stay tuned! :)

Fresh Wildflowers

Here are some more photos of what’s currently growing in the *Living Painting*, including the very first Sunflower of the season!





















Beautiful, huh?
Well, enjoy!
I’m off to the mountains of Vermont today, so yet another day without painting, but this event will be much lower key, so hopefully I will be rested and ready to get back to work tomorrow! :)

California Poppy

Here are some photos of my home grown inspiration:

















I’m not sure if I am ever going to find the time to paint that Poppy series I mentioned during my Spring seed planting frenzy, but whatever the case, I have most definitely grown the inspiration! So I thought I’d share the results. Pretty fabulous, huh? So sweet and cheerful. I think these California Poppies have made an excellent addition to my *Living Painting*. I am looking forward to seeing what other California Poppy shades pop up over the next few weeks. I plan to continue to photograph plenty of examples of both species of poppies *just in case* I do decide to paint a series of them later. I’ll keep you posted!

I’m off to a party this afternoon, so I won’t be painting any Garden Room Squares today, but stop back in tomorrow if you would like to see more inspirational Wildflower photos! I will be back on my painting schedule Monday, well, except for Wednesday, I’ll be updating Exalted Beauty Medallion stock at The Razzberry Kiss, but really, other then that, lots of painting this week, I promise! The Cornish Fair Art Show drop off deadline is in 10 days!

Fawning over the Fawn

Mama Deer dropped off her fawn at the Exalted Beauty Wild Animal Day Care Center again this afternoon. Here are the photos from today’s visit:

Square 14 [The Garden Room]

Presenting "Square 14" from *The Garden Room* painting series:



“Square 14”
By Amy E. Fraser
Mixed Media Painting (Black Ink and Acrylic Glaze/Paint) on 8.25” x 8.25” 110#, Acid Free, Archival Drawing Paper.

This painting is part of *The Garden Room* series; a unique collection of bright and colorful botanical, floral, and flower compositions with bold, illustrative, graphic designs, that are cheerful and high energy.

Click HERE to visit THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

The paintings from *The Garden Room* series are presented in 12” x 12” black, solid wood, American made frames. Each painting is matted with a professional, custom made 12” x 12” black on black mat with 8” x 8” opening.

A selection of *The Garden Room* paintings will be on exhibit at The Cornish Fair Art Show & Sale at the Town Hall on August 17, 18, and 19.

Square 13 [The Garden Room]

Presenting "Square 13" from *The Garden Room* painting series:



“Square 13”
By Amy E. Fraser
Mixed Media Painting (Black Ink and Acrylic Glaze/Paint) on 8.25” x 8.25” 110#, Acid Free, Archival Drawing Paper.

This painting is part of *The Garden Room* series; a unique collection of bright and colorful botanical, floral, and flower compositions with bold, illustrative, graphic designs, that are cheerful and high energy.

Click HERE to visit THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

The paintings from *The Garden Room* series are presented in 12” x 12” black, solid wood, American made frames. Each painting is matted with a professional, custom made 12” x 12” black on black mat with 8” x 8” opening.

A selection of *The Garden Room* paintings will be on exhibit at The Cornish Fair Art Show & Sale at the Town Hall on August 17, 18, and 19.

Square 12 [The Garden Room]

Presenting "Square 12" from *The Garden Room* painting series:



“Square 12”
By Amy E. Fraser
Mixed Media Painting (Black Ink and Acrylic Glaze/Paint) on 8.25” x 8.25” 110#, Acid Free, Archival Drawing Paper.

This painting is part of *The Garden Room* series; a unique collection of bright and colorful botanical, floral, and flower compositions with bold, illustrative, graphic designs, that are cheerful and high energy.

Click HERE to visit THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

The paintings from *The Garden Room* series are presented in 12” x 12” black, solid wood, American made frames. Each painting is matted with a professional, custom made 12” x 12” black on black mat with 8” x 8” opening.

A selection of *The Garden Room* paintings will be on exhibit at The Cornish Fair Art Show & Sale at the Town Hall on August 17, 18, and 19.

THE GARDEN ROOM GALLERY

I’m attempting to get back into The Garden Room painting series this week. So, in order to get back into the swing of things; I decided to put together a gallery of the completed Garden Room Squares!

Click HERE to visit THE NEW GARDEN ROOM GALLERY!!!

Why am I putting up The Garden Room Gallery before the series of 33 Squares is completed?
Um, well, I thought it would be interesting to watch the series grow square by square?
Nah, mostly this is about self inflicted psychological torture! I secretly created the web gallery to motivate myself to complete the Garden Room painting series. How will the unfinished gallery affect my mental health? If you know me, then you already know I have real *issues* with leaving things hanging. Meaning; I’m definitely NOT one of those people who has a bunch of unfinished projects lying about, as I have (undiagnosed) OCD. Stuff like that actually makes me frothing at the mouth insane! :)

Why make myself crazy over some paintings? Well, I have honestly had AMAZING feedback on the first 11 Garden Room paintings so far, so I feel completing the remaining 22 paintings will be worth while… but the main problem here is that I am seriously running out of steam. I’m exhausted! We have had a really crazy summer with lots of out of town day trips, parties as well as a multitude of other various family get togethers scheduled every weekend. Not to mention my enormous work load, but really, who counts that? :) And Hello! It's SUMMER! Who can concentrate? I know, I know, excuses, excuses! Although, I’m sure most of you can relate and can understand why it has been difficult to stay enthused and focused in my limited work hours.

Anyway, so now the deed is done. I have made my big GARDEN ROOM GALLERY announcement; all of the wretched *unfinishedness* is up there for the entire world to see! Oh dear! So, on with it! Here’s to self inflicted insanity, caffeinated ambition and the need to follow the inner voice; that evil, sadistic, part of the self that drives one to continue, even when one is already WAY past her limits! :)

Please wish me luck! I'm going to need it! :)

[Side Note: The immediate goal is to have a brand new set of 6 Garden Room Squares completed in time for the Cornish Fair Art Show drop off deadline: August 14th!]