Give the Gift of Collage

So it's officially Christmas Shopping Season. If you are looking for the perfect gift for the artist in your life who might like to try something new, my Collage Process Overview book is available in hardcover, paperback, and PDF download.

Another great gift idea is my Collage Process Overview DVD, which has had rave reviews from all over the country, and the world!

The Paper Paintings coffee mug has wrap around graphics in vibrant color and is dishwasher safe.

iPhone 4 cases by Case-Mate are high quality and custom made. I can also have them made in other phone formats, but order FAST to allow production and shipping!

Over The Moon holiday cards are still available for a limited time, as well as the Ornament cards.


Flashbags™ hand-made in Vermont with my artwork reproduced on all sides continue to sell well in galleries and gift shops, get yours on their website.

WORKSHOPS are listed on the right hand side of this blog always. What an amazing gift, to spend the weekend with a friend or family member making art and meeting new people.

Don't forget that you can always email me about giclée prints on fine art paper of my original collages.

Saved the best for last,  how about an ORIGINAL work of art? visit paperpaintings.com and email me about any piece you might be interested in!

Thanks for the Small Things

Cherie on a boat somewhere exotic!

Today I just want to post this email that I received from Cherie's sister last night. I wanted to remind myself and all of you, how thankful we should be every day for the little things in life we take for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving. Cherie is getting settled in to Shepherd Center.  She has done well her first couple of days although she had been on the vent since she arrived mainly because of some secretions due to the transport and the need for the staff at Shepherd to do their own assessment of her.  She was up in her tailor made wheel chair today for a few hours and she said it was very comfortable.  They also started her on solid food and drink today!!!  She has not had nearly as many food requests as drink requests but this is very exciting!  We all shared chocolate cake tonight.  Tomorrow they will be moving her out of ICU and she will be able to get in her chair and tour around the halls a bit.  Rich and I are getting acclimated to our new surroundings as well.  We did take one of the family care lectures this morning.  It was good to get a chance to talk with a couple of the other families here.    The mailing address is the same as I had given in an earlier email: Cherie Stannard C/O Shepherd Center 2020 Peachtree Rd NW Atlanta, GA 30309 Love, Sue

New Opportunities

Over a year ago, I gave a workshop in Amelia Island and had a fantastic water color artist in my class named Sean P. Callahan. Sean and I "clicked" even before the class when he emailed me about the supply list. I went to his website and was in awe over his amazing water color work. I wondered what in the WORLD he could learn from me? We all know that being great in one medium does not make you great in all media however. I am not even going to tell you how difficult watercolor would be for me.

Sean has permanently relocated from Vermont to Key West, FL. When he took my collage workshop in Amelia Island, FL the timing worked out for him because he was driving from VT to Key West and stopped along the way to take my class.

Serendipitously, Sean called me the weekend I was teaching this year in Amelia Island again, to ask me to be part of a Small Works December show at Stone Soup Gallery in Key West, FL where his work is now represented and he is curating shows!

Over a year after meeting Sean, he has asked me to be included in this show. A mutual admiration for talent, having kept in touch, and the "click" has opened up opportunities for me in a whole new place. I have earned my placement in all of the galleries that represent me with some level of networking. Let's face it, it's not only the art but YOU that the gallery is representing. The more personable you are and the closer you stay in touch, the better your chances are of being included.

I'm looking for an excuse to head to Key West in the future! Hopefully my work will be well received and Sean will choose to keep  me on at the gallery. If you are in the area, stop in and say hello to Sean and have some soup for me!

Florida Museum for Women Artists

Martha's amazing work with wood "City of Angels"

Princess and The Pea...

5,000 Sq. Ft. of amazing exhibit space

My girls!

Abbe comes out from behind the camera

I visited the FMWA over the weekend, attending their opening of the first annual juried show. They had 1200 pieces of art submitted for this show and they narrowed it down to just 40. Kudos to all who were accepted!

Martha Lent works with wood and power tools, I have three of her pieces in my own art collection. I was proud to see her work City of Angels featured so prominently and well lit.

My favorite piece was a clay sculpture by Barbara Balzer of Tallahassee called "Princess and the Pea, Sometimes Power Knows Sensitivity" simply amazing, the colors, the concept, bravo!

The best part about the evening was running into Martha & Larry and my photographer friend Abbe Eshack Arenson as well as spending time with my artsy mother-in-law, Pam and Talie for a girls night out!

Raising Money for Cherie

Wildflowers #2 / 12x16 / collage on cradled panel / ©St.Hilaire Nelson

Crista Porpiglia (above) purchased a Wildflowers collage from me in my efforts to raise money for Cherie's family in their amazing support of her in this awful situation. She contacted me via Facebook and told me she really wanted to help and that she really enjoyed my artwork. It's not a coincidence, Crista has been Cherie's Trauma PA since she arrived at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center on September 30!

Both Cherie's brother Rich and sister Sue had to commit to caring for her 100% after her rehab at Shepherd Center in order for Cherie to be admitted. They both have had to quit their jobs and head to Atlanta with her tomorrow morning in order to receive full nursing training for Cherie's needs which will involve 24-hour care.

Many thanks to Crista in her donation of 100% of the purchase price of this collage which was transferred to Cherie's sister Sue today.

You do not need to make a big purchase to help this family! We are working on a donation website as soon as we can get a trust fund setup for Cherie. I will also have a new address for Holiday cards which I will let you know as soon as I find out.

I'll be talking to Cherie tomorrow morning at 7am before she flies out, thanks to Crista and her cell phone!!!

iPhone 4 Cases are Here!

Last week I created four custom iPhone 4 cases with case-mate and they came out fantastic! This is a Barely There dual-layered Tough Case, it has an inner lining of thin black silicone and an outer lining of custom printed plastic. It comes with a micro fiber cleaning cloth and a full face screen protector. This case offers extra protection for your phone but is still very low profile and sleek. The art wraps around the edges as well as the back side.

I can also custom order iPhone 3G/3GS, email me for info on those. iPhone 4 cases can be ordered in four designs via PayPal below. Please allow 4-5 days production time (plus shipping) as I am making cases on a per order basis.

A perfect gift for yourself or a friend! Packaging is signed by me and includes artist info postcard.

Custom Paper Paintings iPhone 4 case is $39.95 plus $4 shipping.

4 Designs

Butterfly Tuscan Trees Peacock Plumage Florida Coconuts

New Work - Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush Series, 12x16, collage on cradled panel, ©St.Hilaire Nelson
CLICK TO ENLARGE

More work in the flower series to be considered by Pier One Imports for reproduction on canvas. This particular set utilizes "another man's junk" as my treasure! Three steps show above, 1) Sketch, 2) Under-painting, 3) Finished Collage.

Kimberly Santini of Painting a Dog a Day sent me discarded palette papers from her work in open acrylics to consider using as collage material. Kim and I have gotten to know each other through blogging and email and I have to say that she has become one heck of a good friend. The kind of person you look forward to reading email from with your coffee in the morning!

I absolutely love these palette papers and the combination of colors that happens randomly from Kim mixing paints! Keep them coming Kim, I am officially a HOARDER.