August 30, 2011

Introductions...

The newest member of MarissaInk is:
Carabella
Carabella in Falling Leaves, 14x72 Fringeless Scarf
A beautiful young italian breaking into the modeling business. Carabella, literally meaning "beautiful face", joined MarissaInk to help viewers see a scarf being used. Look to her for ideas on how to drape oneself in 100% luscious silk. 


Carabella in Roots, 8x54 Fringeless Scarf

August 29, 2011

Hello Kahlo

As promised I have a new theme to be reviled. This theme was brought about by a conversation about current trends and Mexican artists. These two designs were based off of the mexican artists Frida Kahlo's paintings are new and now available.
First design is based off of Frida Kahlo's Roots. It is a 8x54 fringeless scarf with orange background and large green leaves. 

The Second is based off of  Portrait of Dona Rosita Morillo, also a 8x54 fringeless scarf . It features a long blue-green cactus with three crimson flowers. 


























Turning Over a New Leaf...

Have you felt this weather? I don't know about you, but we have be having some great late summer/fall great weather... though I have heard that the high temperatures are coming back next week. But outside, in my grandma's driveway there have been leaves falling for a while. And she must use miracle grow on her trees because all of the leaves are huge. [Big Leaf Maple or Sycamore?.. much larger then my hand]
So after mulching them and raking them, I desided it was time to paint them. 
One is a 8x54 fringeless scarf with a light brown back ground and scattering of leaves in mulitple colors.
The other is a 14x72 fringeless scarf with a multi-colored background and leaves falling from one end to the other, starting small and getting larger.




August 27, 2011

Saturday

Enjoying a free birthday treat from starbucks. Thinking the smell of coffee might start up some creative juices

Today is going to be a really good day. Usually I write my posts in the evening or the morning after finishing a new design, but today [and yesterday] have been pretty lazy and not extremely eventful.

I did get four scarves steamed and washed yesterday, but other then that really didn't spend any time in the studio.  Some new photos WILL be coming... i did promise you earlier. But to get said photos online, i need to switch computers. [Earlier this summer I felt "selfish" for having two personal computers, but now i find them really helpful, because I can leave one in the studio and still have one at home]

So the Secrete Design Theme will be reviled VERY soon!
And hopefully I will have some other designs that I am playing around with also posted soon.

August 25, 2011

Nice clean studio. With new layout.

Tory fell asleep while i was cleaning. I think she is sleeping near the dehumidifier because it throwing out warm air

August 20, 2011

Hardly a trace of dye in the rinse water... That's how you know your test of a new steamer design works... Best birthday present! Saving myself tons of money! :)

August 19, 2011

This very cute sun dress is 80 at inVogue

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August 18, 2011

New Technology.

So some of you may have noticed that MarissaInk Online has been going through some changes, I am very sorry to anyone that had issues of trying to get on the website this past week.
With the change over of Layout and color schemes came some new technology. Some things are not quite finished but is working and availible for previewing.

One of the Most Excieting things I think is a new feature called .....
This is a fantastic new feature which allows you to submit ideas to me without having to bother sending me an actual email. [YOU]ink is a simple form that helps me understand what you are thinking and jump start the creative process. Questions include things like: colors, dream design, and what silk items you would like to see available. Also there is a place to attach two photos to give me even more inspiration. [YOU]ink is not a contract and anyone can submit a form, even more than one form. You are asked at the top of the form if you are interested in purchasing your idea or if it only for MarissaInk's sketchbook... 
which brings me to the next feature.........

This is a place for me to put sketches and ideas that I am considering but not yet put on silk. Here you will see a mixed bag of themes and have the opportunity use these unfinished sketches in your custom orders. **At the time of this blog post there are no sketches currently up, but there will be soon, as the final website changes go into place. 
Also there is now a Help page... and I am sure that will be updated and changed as time goes by. This page also has a collection of helpful ideas of how to wear ones scarf, which will also be updated as I am always looking for new ways to help you.


Finally there is the Newly improved Digital Store
Here will be an assortment of what is available to purchase. There are many tabs including: What blanks are currently in stock, and what has been dyed and ready for new owners. The digital store will be continually updated.... and in the event that MarissaInk opens an Etsy store, it will be converted...so you don't have to worry about learning any new links. 
So I think I have covered most everything. Love getting feed back! 


August 16, 2011

On the Road Again

Today was a day of a lot of walking, talking, and learning. My dear artist friend pushed me out into the real world today.... "fly little bird" [teasing]. In fact it was just a overall fun day learning about who and where would be good places for my scarves. We visited about 6 shops on the Zionsville Brick-street. Most of the shops where very nice, and spoke very positively [there was one who had a friend in the shop and so she spent most of her time talking to said friend once she found out we where not interested in buying anything]
But all in all it was a good experience. Some of our original ideas where crossed off as not possible at this time were as other ideas where brought into light.

I am delighted to tell you that some MarissaInk scarves can now be found in the SullivanMunce Cultural Center's Artisan Boutique. And I really hope that even if you can not afford a silk scarf then you will at lest stop in to see a wonderful exhibit on WW2 Stained Glass. [Admission is Free, but donations are welcome to contribute towards shipping costs]

August 10, 2011

Screen Paint

Today is a GREAT day! The weather is amazing!! And I just got the chance to raid my grandma's "closet"...well more like her garage, but same thing right?

You will never guess what I now have possession of.... Hint: Look at the title

Give up? I have three, THREE (3)!!! screens. This are six foot wall divider type screens. So I now can make a U-shaped room approximately  6' 5"x6' 5"x 6'. Today I had a few hours before going to the state fair to paint one side of one of them. Now only 5 more sides!

And where did you get the paint, you might ask? Well for the past two weeks my mom has been sending me to the Toxic Waste Collection Center with some old paints, and I just so happened to still have some left. [I have been taking about 3-5 cans per trip, along with other chemicals..so to not completely overwhelm them with how much Junk we have] So I have some white and three shades of blue that I am trying out.

 The one side that I painted today is light blue [And now that I have the screen inside I can see that its the left over paint from my bedroom, no wonder I liked the color :) ] Sadly, I have about used all it up with that one side.. but thats ok because I envisioned the screens to be either different colors or have light and dark rims. As you can tell ideas are still being mulled around, with lots of testing and just seeing how far the paints will go.

So do you have anything that I could barrow for a mock sale? To remind everyone, I am trying to apply for the Indiana Art Fair at the Indiana State Museum, and one requirement is to have a booth photo in the application.  So I would love ideas, suggestions, and even donations/loans [or point me in the direction] for this booth display.  I have hopes of finding/borrowing:

  •  a dress form, or something similar to display a scarf, technically i only need the neck and shoulders.
  • Mirror, and ideas of how to set it up...full length mirror? small mirrors? 
  • Folding table, would love access to the type that fold in the middle. 
  • Director's Chair, or a folding chair that looks very "classy" for possible Silk Pillow Case display.

August 8, 2011

Rawr... Part Two sneak peak

Ok so its back to the sketch/doodle pad for this next scarf. I am not a huge dino-fanatic... but I am someone that thinks the Phrase Rawr is pretty darn cute.
So I am back again with my little dinos, this time looking at the very popular. T-REX!
So after making SERVAL attempts, I finally got the essence of a T-rex I wanted: realistic yet kinda cute/friendly

Now I just need to figure out the colors. Now usually, I just "See" the colors in my mind's eye and don't really need to plan ahead. But sometimes [very rare] I do actually get out my colored pencils and lay out the full design. This idea is in fact one of the puzzling ones for me and got colored. [I think some of the reasons that I don't color them on paper is that dye colors are hardly ever the same color and I like to me flexible with how things turn out... and I usually don't take the time to "blend" colors on paper... since dyes on silk flow and bleed very easily] 
  So you see my beautiful sketch here, with three colors surrounding Rexy... those are my current visions of background for the main part of the scarf. The camera does change the colors slightly but the three I am considering is dark Red, dark purple, or dark green
The Red in the photo is not nearly dark enough... but looking at what I have here, Im leaning towards the green.  I really wanted to keep Rexy in "traditional" colors of brown, orange, and redish tints. Although real dinosaurs could have been neon yellow for all we know... You would really see that coming at you. no wonder they went existent.

August 7, 2011

Rawr... Part One

Well the newest scarf is fresh off the stretcher
"Rawr" in Royal Blue with a "Large Plant Eater" [Shunosaurus? Saltasuarus? Jobaria? Yeah I not sure which dinosaur you would say it is]

For those of you who have not ever heard "Rawr", its a 21st centry phrase: "Rawr means I love you in Dinosuar"
Some people say it comes from Michael Gondry's The Science of Sleep, Or a children's movie from the 90s... others say the origin of the word is uncharted since it dates back a few hundred million years. 
Either way you look at it, its still a cute phrase and very cute scarf if I do say so myself.  So expect to see Rawr in Royal Blue on the website under "For Sale" soon. Also keep your eye out for Rawr Version Two sometime soon.

August 6, 2011

Climbing up the Ladder...

Today was big for great sales... not only did my favorite store have a 50% off store wide [which I sadly never got a chance to go to] but there where many garage sales. And it just so happens that at one of these fine sales I found the first piece of my future art booth... crossing fingers that I really do manage to get everything in place. 
I also had an opportunity to show off my scarf work to a few of my mother's colleges. [Shout out to the girls with the Blackberry Pie!] 
After a few minutes of conversation, many new ideas have risen which I share here to 
  1. Get opinions... thumbs up, thumbs down
  2. Give a sneak peak into what may be coming out of the Studio
So one of the first things we discussed was of course what they personally would like to have MarissaInk design for them.
Such ideas were: More cars and trucks, Food -such as summer pies, lemons and limes, watermelon; Dogs- head shots with name, mix of breads.
Second topic of the night was how to help MarissaInk branch out and reach more people.
Personalized Weddings! 
  Ok so I have been thinking about this for quite a while in the far off dream of my own wedding. [Nobody Freak.... nothing happening and you already know more than me about it... haha]  But I had thought that it would be really special for a DIY Bride, which I'm sure I will be, to make-- or have a hand in making-- the ties for groomsmen, or shawls for bridesmaids. What a unique gift for them to take from your wedding... and it might even be warn more often then that dress you promised them they could shorten and wear to another event in their life. [Its ok, I have one of those dresses in my closet too.] 
 After all, satin and silk is often a main staple at weddings, so why wouldn't I look at creating something. Even if the bride does not want the item to be worn for the wedding [Who wouldn't?] it would be able to make something completely unique to give their attendants since all MarissaInk items are handmade and thus never perfectly duplicated,.
 *since writing this I have found a great current example of a DIY Bride bringing in Hand Dyed items. In this photo, a bride in Virginia contacted Handmade by Leah to create some hand dyed fabric bags to be used as candy bag favors for her guests. (And look at the blue!!) 
 

August 5, 2011

Cold Blooded... RAWR

This week I went to the Dr for my yearly physical.  And my favorite thing of the whole visit is getting blood work done... YEPPIIIEEEE!! [yeah that's sarcasm]
However I did have a brief oppertunity to share my scarf work with one of the nurses in the lab... Great big shout out to THE BEST LAB TECH, you know who you are!! [My arm only has a little tiny bruise and it only hurt a little bit, so THANK YOU for being so amazing. To fill in everyone else, Nurses seem to complain a lot about my veins. Usually I hear they are too tiny or that they move, so I usually end up with big bruises and a useless right arm for a day or two]

Anyway, not to pressure you if you are in fact reading this, but Super-Nurse was interested in a scarf for one of her "little rascals". Particularly the possibility of a dinosaur one. So with that idea in my head, I keep seeing  RAWR.... so now I looking up if that is copyrighted. But I think even if I never get in contact with her again, I will in fact try to make a cute-chic scarf with RAWR.

August 4, 2011

Antiquing It Up

Did you know that Antiquing is in fact a word? 
"Antiquing" is the act of shopping, identifying, negotiating, or bargaining for antiques. Items can be bought for personal use, gifts, and in the case of brokers and dealers, profit. Antiquing is performed at garage sales, estate sales, resort towns, antiques districts, collectives, and international auction houses.
Note that the word "antiquing" may also refer to the art of making an object appear antique through distressing or applying an antique looking paint application.
Anyway, today I had some errands that took me to Westfield and Noblesville... with a lot of time in-between stops. So what did I do? I looked at displays and went to two antique shops looking for ideas for scarf booth displays.

First up saw this rack with three rows of hooks. It was hanging WAY above my head, so the photo is not the best.

Also saw a lot of laders being used, handy because it is self supporting and yet collapses easily. I am leaning more towards a ladder right now, some where painted to make it less industrious.

But I also saw potential in one of the last things I saw.
Anyone have a guess at what it is?






The skeleton of a lamp shade! They had stripped the outer part and wrapped some ribbon around it.
I thought this was a very interesting idea.... the scarves could then be hung similar to a wind sock, possibly drawing more attention to themselves. Anyone else have any creative and cheap ideas for putting a display booth together?

August 3, 2011

Google This...

First off I want to thank EVERYONE who is reading this [please please please leave me a comment :) ]
Secondly, today has been a very lazy day, one which I have been spending a lot of time reading other peoples blogs. [Welcome to those who are reading this because I started following you today]
Today's google search words were: Art craft booth, art fair, and silk displays
Silk displays didn't really get me very far, but art craft booth did. Found some lovely new people on Blogger that where either new to craft fairs, talked about setting up for craft fairs, or just had advice on craft fairs. This week I received a email from Aunt forwarding me a flier for the 2012 Indiana Art Fair at the Indiana State Museum. The actual event will be in February of 2012 but all submissions need to be in by October.
Because that date is a little farther out then the previous fair [finding out about it a week before due] I am considering it... hence all the Googling... or is it Google-ing?
Anyway, so that being said there are some things that needs to be done before this can happen.
  1. The application requires a photo of the booth setup.
    • Thus I need said booth, and items for "setting up"
  2. I need to design all of the scarf blanks in my current possession,
  3. Also should try designing some of the silk ties I purchased at the Father's Day sale [Thank you Melissa at *Tangible Daydreams* for great blogs about painting ties]
  4. Then once all that is underway, I should finally be able to get:
    1. A Possible Esty store open as a precursor to the Craft Fair
    2. Finalize the cost of production... No more "in the air" costs!
  5.  FINALLY, I will have a working goal. This is the true test of if I can do this.
So now I would love to hear advice from you, or encouragement.

August 2, 2011

Come Fly with Me...

Today I might have been pushed, shoved, catapulted to my next scarf design. As you all should know by now my current designs have been around the theme of Stained Glass. When I was looking up ideas, this beautiful photo popped up and ever since has been pinned to my wall. 

I have not yet created this butterfly design because I honestly was not sure if anyone would really want a butterfly... or that it would not look cheesy. However I think my mind has finally decided that Yes! I should just go for it, I mean what do I have to lose? What was it that changed my mind today? 

Well I was at my Favorite Store and saw this shirt. And I ALMOST bought it Just becaused it looked kinda said in just black and white. [Yes I almost bought a XS that I would never EVER be able to wear, just so I could have the fun of painting the butterfly....sadly I was even trying to justify the purchase  by telling myself Cherry Coke could wear it. If you do not know who Cherry Coke is Click Here ]

So there we are, the next scarf to come off the rack will be a lovely Butterfly. Anyone interested in bug scarves?