simply me

when i grow up...

if you asked me today what i want to be when i grow up, i would tell you that i want to be an Artist with my own Studio where people come to create...create art, create hope, create joy and create and re-create themselves eveyday.

dont get me wrong, i LOVE to travel, but to teach in my own studio is "the dream". this weekend was AWESOME!!

i was able to test run my 2 brand new workshops as well as teach my "big 40" workshop (which has been probably my most requested and technique filled workshop i have taught to date)

so many new faces and lots of old friends.

i thought i would share some snapshots from this weekend.

{friday 9.21.12} NEW "Paint like an Artist - STENCILS"

holy hell best class ever!! so much fun, we made our own spray paint, creative chaos and what emerged from each canvas was just incredible. we had people walking in off the street asking what we were making!!

{sat 9.22.12} NEW "PanPastel Painting"

thank god for trial runs because what i thought i wanted to teach in this workshop turned out to be a dud. with the help of my awesome students and the benefit of being on my home turf, we put together a whole brand new workshop, with 3 times the art and the results were A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

so glad i made the changes because it is so much better, check it out...

this was the direction i thought i wanted to take them...

and this is where we ended up!!

the last piece we created was a "free create" where the students can either draw, transfer or design their own image

if you would like to see more photos from this weekend you can stop by the studio Fan page here

the "Altered Brush project"

May sound crazy but the bathrooms in our new studio space are BIG and the blank white spaces are begging for art. As I started making decorating decisions I knew I wanted to do something FUN and unusual. If the rest of the studio is filled with bold color and art, then why not the bathrooms? Then while browsing Pinterest I stumbled upon a really whimsical & fun altered paintbrush by artist Mindy Lacefield.

Mindy's original brush on pinterest

I knew immediately what I wanted to see the large blank walls filled with brushes like hers.

Then I thought, “that is a hell of a lot of paintbrushes.” So that’s when I decided to contact Mindy as well as call on my artist friends to help me start off this collaboration and I sent each of them a plain wooden brush. Now as I have started to get some of the the brushes back I am gobsmacked. The brushes are PURE ART and I am overjoyed to share the first ones returned with you today.

brush by tejae floyde

brush by tracie lampie

brush by julie fei fan balzer

my brush (like i had to even tell you right? lol!)

But then I thought, that’s not going to fill the walls, what if I made this a global collaboration? it would be really fun to not only invite my artist friends, but also the general public. So that a small piece of creative goodness from across the globe could be a part of the shared creative experience (in the toilet, lol)

So we are taking The Altered Brush Project global!

"The Altered Brush Project"

display your creativity, market your skills, join the art collaboration and own a place in the studio.

1. Purchase one of our brushes & a spot on our wall. For your purchase you will receive one of our unfinished paintbrushes, space to display your altered brush and market yourself in the studio (price includes the cost of shipping).
2. Alter the brush anyway your creative spirit takes you. They can be as simple or elaborate as you like NOTE: do not obstruct the hole in the handle so that it can be hung on the wall
3. Sign and date the back of the brush giving it your artists’ signature!
4. Attach your personal calling card (business card size) with any information about yourself you feel comfortable sharing that hangs through the hole in the brush handle
5. Mail or return the brush to the studio:

donna downey studios
501 s old statesville rd.
huntersville, nc 28078

i will share pictures of every brush we get back and how they look on the walls as the collaborative art installation grows!

Join "the Altered Brush Project" collaboration TODAY!!

US Artists $15        International Artists $20

the STUDIO is growing...

about 2 months ago the local newspaper that occupied this big office space in the front of my building moved out. i secretly have always coveted this space because of its huge windows and natural light not to mention the street presence and space. so bill started asking questions and by the end of his conversation, i am elated to say we are the NEW tenants (the address even remains the same after we move)!!!

my current studio now sits in a smaller office space off to the right of this picture, attached to this building tucked quite a bit back off the street the building is 80 years old and in its former life, was an old FORD dealership. it has charm and character, but it needed to be overhauled on the inside...too many walls, ugly ass floors, and YELLOW...LOTS OF YELLOW!

with bill working his magic, the landlord agreed to modify the building to all my requests (i was shocked!)

first up was to knock down the walls as you walked in the front door. because it was used as office space it was sectioned up and felt like walking into a dark and walled coffin.

with the walls down, WOW!!! look at that light! i LOVE THE LIGHT!!! to the left will be the new classroom (the room with the chandeliers...one of the only random things i am keeping) and to the right the new shop!then the floors were next to go...the black and white checkerboard was not only icky, but lifting and well...just icky

so so the demo guys came in to started ripping up the decades old tiles and two weeks ago i made my final decision on the flooring treatment...a white wash over the cement floor that was revealed under the tiles. in my head i have this vision of industrial meets authentic. i am a bit excited to see it when its done because of the potential character that may be revealed from the old floor as it was decades ago it laid in an old FORD showroom.

last week the flooring company came in to start sanding down the residue and prepping the cememnt floor below for a white wash.

the new space even has a kitchen! perfect for INSPIRED events and Grandma Cookie's (my moms) catered lunches and snacks. there is even more space to the right, a small kitchenette nook as you walk into just beyond the doorway here of the kitchen. i am thinking a candy display or snack spot for our INSPIRED events.

the arched doorway leads to another small room...we are calling this "jenny's room". this will be where my neighbor and kit maker extraordinaire assembles and stores all the supplies needed to make the kits for when i travel and teach workshops

this might seem silly but the new space has 2 incredibly large bathrooms, WITHIN THE BUILDING! see in our current space they are down and around the hallway separate from out actual space. they are big and screaming for a creative idea and i happen to have a few up my sleeve (more to come).  we are even getting a mud sink put in one so we can clean out our supplies!
 

these are just the first round of pictures of the changes being made...looks like we may be in by august 1st and i will continue to document and post updated photos the changes  of the move and the process from transforming the space from "drab" to "donna downey studios".

we have been so excited about the changes and the possibilities that will now open up for us in the new space, it has been so difficult for me to keep the secret, lol!!

BIG THINGS are happening here in in my small town of Huntersville NC and i hope to take you all with me on the journey!

more to come!

MEGA Moleskine in progress...

just a little sneak peek...

today we are actually on the road driving back from Florida & Disney, but before we left i began working on another couple pages in my MEGA Moleskine journal...here's where i left off.

not sure when i will finish but i have been recording the progress.

Dina Wakley is coming to the studio this week...i cannot wait!! thursday kicks off her "Expressive Artist" weekend at the Studio and i am about to jump out of my skin with excitement!!

creative mess (ok maybe chaos)

for the past week i have been trying to "re-invent the wheel" creatively...this never works out.

truth is creativity is what it is, it is what you do, it is the process in which you do it.

sometimes i just need to talk myself off the ledge and just do what feels good...makes me HAPPY.

listening to this brings me back to my happy place again...

goal today, "shake it out"

inside the studio...

last week i spent the day "gutting" my studio...after a while i seem to end up with my counter space cluttered with stuff and i really wanted to get it better organized which meant clearing out a lot of drawers and simply re thinking how i am organizing my supplies.

i figure, if i haven't used it in the past 3 years, chances are i am not going to in the next 3. so 1) it doesn't need to occupy prime real estate in my room and 2) it may need to be purged.

not that my room looks much different now, but it is a bit more cleaner.

my favorite redo in the room, my fabric wall! check it out!

just 3 ikea bars, ikea clips and a butt load of fabric!

i am the kind of person that can ride the high of an organized fabric wall for a while...incredible HAPPY PLACE!

today i will be in my off-site studio reorganizing.

right now it is in shambles because i get these twinges to reorganize and i obsess, make an enormous mess tearing it apart and then put it all back together again. if you stop by the studio today you may have to turn a blind eye (and forage for the product you wanted to buy, lol!)

whats in my bag?

i call this my "ARTIST on the GO" case. essentially it always remains packed and with the exception of swapping a few things in and out of it depending on my mood or what i am working on it essentially is always "READY TO GO!"

it is a small vintage suitcase from the 70's...i love it, it has personality. the uglier the better!

everything in my case is also airport security/flight approved. i have traveled across the globe with these supplies and have yet to have anything confiscated, however, twice i have been asked to "prove" i was an artist going through security having to actually show the journals i work in on the plane. it always ends well and the conversation is fun!

right now inside my ARTIST on the GO bag is the following...

i have been traveling lately with my collage journal. many of you email me to do videos for the collage journal, but the true purpose of the journal for me is to be able to create on the fly with whatever scraps you can find and a glue stick. keeping it simple.

under the journal is where i keep "the color".

you can fit 10-1 oz. golden fluid acrylics in a quart size baggie. when i go through security instead of carrying on shampoo and toothpaste, i check those items and place my baggie of paint in the bin. usually no one even looks twice...at least i haven't noticed.

i always travel with a brush roll filled with pens, water soluble graphite pencils, charcoal pencils, waterbrushes, regular brushes and a scissor. the brush roll serves several purposes.

1. it allows me to see and access all my tools in a cramped airplane seat without them rolling off my tray table.
2. the canvas flap gives me a place to wipe my brushes as i paint.
3. it is extremely flexible depending on the space i have to work in.

NOTE: people always ask me how i get scissors on the plane, but the TSA allows up to a 4" sharp on the plane. the cutterbee scissors are the perfect traveling scissor for that!

i always bring my travel palette of winsor & newton watercolors...perfectly sized and easy to paint within a small space.

a black stazon + a few new or favorite stamps at the time...this changes and sometimes i buy a stamp to play with on the road.

masking tapes...I LOVE MASKING TAPE!

i also have in there now some gelatos, because they are super easy to create with on the go,

bubble wrap because it is FUN to brush some paint onto and stamp,

and a glue stick...i try to find a super-sized one for my travel bag because it is always deceiving how little glue is truly in a normal sized glue stick.

in the front zipper pocket i keep any scraps i have cut/collected from magazines, bits of travel maps, brochures, business cards, anything collage worthy really.  i also have a few stencils tucked in there as well, they are thin and perfect for travel.

so why the case and not a bag you may ask? great question!

the case is flat so i can open it up on my tray table, access everything without digging around in the bottom of a bag and i can actually close it up and work on top of it on the plane without needing a whole lot of room. sometimes i get lucky and i have an empty seat(s) next to me and i can really spread out!

i will admit i always get weird looks, probing questions and a million compliments when i create on the plane. as an only child i secretly like that attention, kinda reaffirms my joy for creating. often times the flight attendants will even bring me an extra cup of water or napkins if they see me dipping into my water cup while i am painting. it REALLY helps pass the time too. it is like creating your own personal in-flight studio 30,000 feet up in the air!

i know many of you have emailed over the past several months about my travel supplies and i hope that answers all your questions...if not feel free to post some of your questions here.

over the past couple of weeks i have been collecting/searching out similiar style cases and putting together "ARTIST on the GO" cases preassembled. these of course are all one of a kind kits because of the vintage cases and i have already sold the ones i put in the shop the other day, but am continuing to be on the lookout and will be adding more of them to the shop next week and as i find the cool cases.

pretty little things...

over the past few days i have been procrastinating playing. finally the adjuster made it here and fingers crossed they start next week. with my home studio in flux i feel a bit creatively crippled.

i have a lot of deadlines looming and really needed a little play time without purpose.

these are a few happy tidbits of that play!

 

before & after...

it took me about 4 hours, but finally a place for everything and everything in its place!

now that it is clean i kinda lost the creative urge? apparently chaos is my muse.

gonna see where the day creatively takes me, might just take me out to lunch with my kiddos!

BEFORE

AFTER

love what you do...do what you love

that really sums up how i feel right now...

spent most of the morning at the studio, getting ready for inventory, thinking about rearranging the store possibly next week, orders, etc

i came home a couple hours ago and started playing in my PanPastel journal for the upcoming series workshops and am having a creative love fest with myself right now!

i am "feelin' it"!

just had to share cause i know you "get it"...

that universal feeling of creativity, that endorphin pumping high on color and design satisfaction.