7th Annual T-shirt & Dancer’s Art Sale

My daughter Zoe has been dancing with Betsy Dunphy at Elm Street Studio since she was in Kindergarten. Seven years ago Betsy and I came up with the idea of creating a t-shirt with one of my designs and the annual Dancer's Art Sale was born. It is that time of year again! I think this year's design especially celebrates the wonderful spirit of students at Elm Street Studio!

Here are the details!

New! I am are offering 3 different items incorporating this year’s design:

• T-shirts – available in Children’s Medium and Large, and Adult Medium, Large and X-Large.
• T-shirt transfers for you do-it-yourself-ers! These are the same heat transfers I’ll be using for the t-shirts above. They come 3 to a package with instructions, so you can decorate your own cotton or polycotton shirt, bag, etc. All you need is a hot iron.
• New! Art prints of the design, 8 x 10, suitable for framing or as a poster.

The cost is $15 each (tax included), with 20% of sales going to help defray recital expenses.

Please pre-order by May 28th. All orders will be ready for pick-up the day of the recital. (There maybe some extras for last minute folks, but no guarantees. So please pre-order.) Samples of everything are hanging on the bulletin board at the studio.

2 Ways to Pre-Order

1. E-mail Sue at sue@suzannedrown.com
2. Call Sue at 409-4897

You can pay the day of the recital via Cash or Check (preferred), or credit card.

To see other dance themed items, you can visit my Etsy Shop, (Etsy is an on-line marketplace for all things hand made). If you would like one of these items let me know. Also I have just looked through my stock and found a number of items from past sales. I will have them with me on June 6th as well. Remember, 20% of all sales will go to defray recital costs.

Please stop and say Hi on June 6^th!

A Surprise in the Mail

I got an envelope in the mail on Thursday. It was full of thank you notes from a kindergarten class I had recently visited.
During my visit we had made masks. Their drawings and notes made my day. It was a lovely surprise!

First Show of the Season!

I am busy preparing for my first show of the season! The Designing Women's Studio Spring Cleaning Sale will be featuring supplies and sale items!

All my pins will be on sale for $7!
They make great teacher and mom gifts!

New Fabric fun packs! Quilting squares!

Don't forget a scarf for mom for mother's day!

Other surprises! New products and designs for 2010!

Please stop by and say hello!

Spring Workshops

I am very happy to announce my schedule of spring workshops for adults and teens!

They will be held at So Po Art Studio's Community Classroom in South Portland, ME! Check out all the information on my website www.suzannedrown.com. Hope to see there!

So Po Art Studios: A Dream Come True!

The life of an artist can be a solitary endeavor, so I'm always on the lookout for ways to build community. One of my favorites is an awesome group of women artists! We get together once a month to support each other, swap ideas and give (and get) feedback on everything from shows to marketing to manifesting our dreams for the future. Susan, Laurie, Kendra, Lisa, Claudia and Maggie have been a great support and comfort to me! Lucky me!

Last week, two members of this group, Laurie Spugnardi and Maggie Bokor, took the big step of partnering to create a new small business: So Po Art Studios. Laurie is a tile painter and ceramic surface designer, and Maggie is a jeweler and painter. They hope to create art, community and a living in their new business home at 855 Sawyer Road in South Portland, Maine.. Congratulations Ladies!

You can get more info about this new business at their Facebook Business Page. If you would like to find out more about each of them check out their websites: Spugnardi Design and Maggie Bokor.

A great example of dreams really coming true!

Next Step: Painting with Dyes

There are two ways to color your fabric: Paint the dye on or dip the the fabric in a vat (bucket) of dye.
Today's post features painting on the dye.

Here is the waxed fabric before I start to paint.





I have started to paint with yellow paint that I will mix with some blue to create green.







Adding some green paint now to fill in the leaves.









Now I am painting the back ground with the bright blue paint.









Here is a close up of the finished piece of fabric. After drying for 24 hours I will rinse it out with hot water to remove the soy wax and excess dye.










The finished fabric.

Next post -Vat Dyeing!

The Batik Process- Waxing

The most common question I am asked is, "Exactly what is batik?" So, over the next few posts, I thought it would be fun to do a virtual demo of the batik process, complete with photos of each step. Ready?

What is batik?....Batik, an Indonesian word meaning, “wax writing,” is a process in which an artist “writes” or paints on fabric or paper. The wax prevents the dye from being absorbed by the fabric when it is either immersed in or painted with the dyes. A new waxing and dying process must be repeated for each color and layer of the design.

Here is my work station: tools, melted wax and cotton fabric.



Getting ready to paint with the melted wax.






Here I am painting the fabric with a sumi brush and the melted wax.











More progress.











This piece of cotton is ready for dye!








Tomorrow...painting with the dyes.

Also check out my new business page on Facebook!