michelle my belle

new painting: breaking free

  original - "breaking free" 18"x24"x2 3/8"  © michelle allen 2010
check out not only my new painting but this killer old library cart i scored at our local resale shop! quickly i changed it's color from black to this turquoise and as soon as it was dry enough i loaded it with art and inspiration books and set it up in my studio. and i'm still swooning over it.

  original - "breaking free" 18"x24"x2 3/8"  © michelle allen 2010

i'm loving this painting and all its depth.
i feel like she's got quite a story to tell.

sometimes it's even the people who love you that try to hold you back.
maybe they're trying to protect you from something?
maybe they don't want you to fly away/succeed and leave them behind?
to break free from this thinking must be so hard.

i am truly blessed that the people in my life that love me have all encouraged me to go for my dreams, to live adventurously, to take risks.

off and running...

i'll be back in a few days.
say some prayers for me please :)

here are a few of my friends (julie & ashley) who are also running.

bunny girl painting

original- bunny girl 18"x24"x2 3/8"  © michelle allen 2010

almost 2 months ago i got together with some Portland area friends/artists to do some painting and enjoy some creative company. lulu did a wonderful detailed post, i don't even think i took my camera! bad girl!

on another note...
2 more days till the marathon and i really need new running shoes baaaad!
i know it's a big "no-no" but, i think i'm going to buy some tomorrow and run in them.

busy friday-simple cards & food

teacher/school staff gifts done!
this year we gave art blox with each girls picture printed on card stock and wrapped in a simple brown lunch bag.

my oldest goes to a charter type school which, in this case, doesn't offer PE or Art.
therefore the child is responsible for fulfilling those contracts outside of school.
lex chose culinary arts as her art contract this semester.

her final was picking the menu, sending invites to 5 of her friends, preparing the meal, plating, serving and clean up.
her menu: salad, homemade pizzas, marinated (from scratch) chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus spears and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. yum! we got the leftovers! :)

painting in my color faves!

my long-standing joke with myself is that "i want to retire and paint".
i guess it always sounds funny cause painting is what i do now.
but the reality is, most of the painting/creating i do now is with product in mind.

so, inspired by my workshop at Artfest with Jesse Reno, this piece was purely for fun.
and i cherished every minute of it.
okay, okay.. i admit, there were a few moments of frustration.
especially when i felt like i had to paint over some of my favorite spots.

i have to say, all said and done, i love it!
i love the blissful colors mostly but i also love the surprise that awaited me.

p.s. thank you for all your sweet and encouraging comments on my workshop post. :)
i wanted to also tell you that my friends Janne and Shelly will also be teaching at Artfest 2011.
this will be their first time. very exciting!


oh, and did you know... i'm running another marathon in 9 days?
yes, ANOTHER ONE! what was i thinking???
i thought telling you about it might relieve some of my guilt for not even running for the past 4 days!
............
nope! didn't help! :(

yay for Artfest 2011!!!

what's your story? -michelle allen

silkscreen & stitch journal -michelle allen

dangling dudelings -michelle allen

i am once again thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to teach at Artfest 2011!
depicted above are samples of the three workshops i'll be teaching.

this truly is an amazingly inspiring and enriching retreat.
Teesha, Tracy, their staff and all the attendees are so nice and encouraging you can't help but have the best of times. not to mention all the uber talented teachers!

the workshop line up will be posted August 1st and registration will open September 4th.

have you been to Artfest?
or another art retreat?
what are your feelings on them?
just curious :)

colorful randomness

i have much to share...
some very exciting news and lots of sweet new art!
i am just going in too many directions right now to pull blog posts together on any of it.
soon, very soon. i promise.

i'll leave you with this painting in progress.
can you see where i'm going with it? bet not! :)

artist studio - in home or out?

working on our banner for our new website!! yay! soon!

i thought i'd give you a visual of where i usually write to you from.
yepper, except it's 11PM-ish and dark!
where i paint, sew and really make a mess is to the right of this area.

my studio looks out over my house,
so i can tell you that my whole family is currently asleep.
i know many of you dream of having a studio separate from your home.
i myself used to have this same dream.
it's like anything, it has its pros and cons.

what i love about it is:

• i don't have to worry about making noise late into the night.
• i can make big messes and walk away.
• it makes it a little easier to separate work life from home life.
• i get less interruptions

what i don't love about it is:

• i don't feel as part of everything.
• i miss hearing all the "goings on" of my family.
• it's more of a commitment to head to the studio.
• my family doesn't visit me as much.

all that being said, i couldn't really tell you what my preference is.
or which space would be more productive in the end.
for me it's such a toss up.
how about you? do you have a preference?

robot, running & rain

many of you guessed right! it was a robot money bank :)

i'd love to reveal the rest of our fabulous Allen Designs summer line but you'll have to wait till July. boo! so sorry.

did you have a good weekend?

being here in the NW, we were blessed with one absolutely beautiful day, in which i went for a 7 mile run and took my kiddos on a 27 mile bike ride.

and one day of torrential downpour, soak you to the bones-RAIN! ( forgive me if this is bad grammer/punctuation, if you haven't noticed-not my strong point!)

pouring rain and all, my friend Ashley (thank you Ashley!!!) and i managed to run 20 miles.
i have never ran a "long run" in non-stop rain before.
admittedly, i was a bit nervous.
would i get blisters?
would i get cold?
could i handle over 3 hours of this?
would it just be downright miserable?
i really...REALLY didn't want to go.

pushing past things that are unpleasant or daunting, is challenging.
but can be so rewarding. the feeling of overcoming obstacles is empowering.
like i tell my kids, "if it was easy, everyone would do it!

be different.

amazingly, it turned out to be a great run.
fun, adventurous, mentally strengthening and definitely memorable.

what have you recently pushed through?
sometimes it's the smallest things, like emptying your Inbox! :)

new pretty art journal

do you like it???
well, i have some good news if you do...
i'll be teaching a workshop on it at Artfest in 2011!
yay!!! i'm so excited to have this opportunity again.
more info. to follow in the next few days.:)

oh my goodness, how cute is this!
the seriously talented Helen from Orange You Lucky is offering these and these as free printables.
how perfect are these for teacher gifts?!!