Wine Tasting @ 20 Brix

Some of you may already know, I have a night job as a bartender at 20 Brix.  I get to work with my sister-in-law Cambrey Hastings and Tuesday we worked a great wine tasting. 

This time I had the pleasure of meeting Hunter Vogel, the label owner of Treasure Hunter wines at the 20 Brix wine tasting brought in by Purple Feet Distributors.  They featured 5 red wines.  My favorite right now is the Man O' War Cabernet.

Chef Paul Borraco paired a 5 course meal to pair with each wine.  Grahm, Dylan, and Josh assisted Paul in the kitchen to prepare and plate this for 25 people while still taking care of all the normal restaurant business as well.  Between each course, Chef likes to come out and talk to our people at the tasting.  I think my favorite quote of the night was after one guest told him how great the food was he says, "I enjoy creating mouth adventures."

Hunter Vogel was one of the funnest people to listen to of all the wine tastings I've worked there.  After the tasting and bottle signing ("Thanks for letting me put my Pinot in you."-hahaha!!) I was able to get some pictures of him with our General Manager Clay Mitchel, Cynthia,  and Chef Paul. 

Yup, I also get paid to work there.

The Power of Nature



Artist's Block- Same thing as Writer's Block which we are all familiar with, Artist's Block is something you don't want to run into EVER.  But all creative people eventually do.  Whether you're painting, drawing, making a pattern or writing a paper for school; all of us need our creative thinking to be in high gear to make something of value.

My living is based on my creativity and I can say it is hard to stay creative and not just fall into a rut of making the same thing over and over.  Sometimes I may just make things that aren't quite up to my standards.  I know I've experienced this loads of times and had to take apart or just start completely over with a project. (Just ask Rozena, she has seen my "To Be Finished/I Threw This Against the Wall" drawer.)  I never let these pieces out until they've been properly yelled at and reworked....

Ahhh...but there's hope.  One thing I have found to keep this at a minimum is to be in the Great Outdoors.  Just sticking your bare feet on the grass can do wonders.  I find that studying the Greatest Artist helps me to stay creative myself.  I have pulled out my phone to take a picture of a sunset that had a great color palate that helped me blend my colors better, thrown rocks down a river to take out frustration only to be inspired by the shapes of them and figured out a new way to weave a necklace.  Like the one shown here:   "Wisdom" Owl Necklace

It's not always oooh aaaaah I was just inspired!!  Sometimes it's just about being, just relaxing with the people you care about or on your own.  Don't underestimate this time.  We live in a culture that doesn't play outside all day until street lights come on (honestly it's just not safe for our children to do this anymore), and most of our shopping is done in a large mall rather than at an outdoor market, and a lot of our human contact is done virtually.  So now we must make time to enjoy outside, I'm just sayin'...love that dirt!

In Cincinnati, where I live, it's been raining like crazy!  Getting outside is difficult.  So this week I enjoyed a trip to Krohn Conservatory where the Brazilian Butterfly Show is currently going on through June.  Just fantastic!

So that's what I do to get rid of Artist's Block... the Power of Nature!  Hope it helps you if you give it a try. :)

Earth Gathering

Earth Gathering is an annual event that happens on the weekend closest to Earth Day.  It is a day long event promoting earth friendly art, music, food, products and ideas. This weekend was my first official juried show and I'm not going to lie, I was nervous!  The drive down to Chillicothe was eye opening, I have never really ventured into Appalachia before. There was a great variety of people from Amish to Hippies and everyone had a smile on their face.

This was the first time myself and Lindsay had set up our booth together. We were surprised at how full it looked! Next time we will defiantly be bringing another table! Luckily the overall look was much more cohesive than we first imagined.  Although in the beginning sales were slow around about 2pm things really began to pick up. I was happy, although a little sad, to see the first piece of Art I ever burnt found a new home.  It really created a sense of pride in me, that someone I have never met deemed my Art good enough to gift to someone they loved.

Lindsay's son Jaden had a fantastic time in the Kids Craft tent! He made me a rain stick, Lindsay a collage type magnet thing and grandpa got a new bird feeder. All of the projects the kids did that day were made from upcycled art supplies, what a great way to teach the next generation that our home is precious! 

We had the pleasure of meeting some real characters at this festival, bought some honey, listened to some very talented musicians and had delicious Mediterranean food in the most unlikely place. One of the great characters I got the pleasure of meeting was Lindsay's dad John Sanders. He was kind enough to open his home to me as a tag along daughter. Johns home is the most interesting I have seen in a while and really reminded me of my own home back in England. Big Thanks John, the food was great and I had a fantastic time. 

Like I said, "Some REAL characters!"

Phoenix Rising Designs Intro

Ok I decided to add this as a way of introducing myself and let you know what Phoenix Rising Designs is and the people behind it! I'm now a member of Phoenix Oddites Studios with Rozena and we're starting our first season together in April.

I started Phoenix Rising Designs  in 2004 after about 6 years of apprenticing and selling for other artists and designers.  I have worked some really great art shows and one really muddy one.  Seriously, shin deep in mud and sleeping in my van.  The bathrooms weren't finished with walls between the toilets so... Anyway, I've done my share of moving around with my work! haha  I am a wife and mother to one son.
 

 I mentioned "people", right?  Well those of you who have helped me in the past are free to add your stories. Rozee, we almost got stolen, remember? haha Brittany, you helped me for about 6 or 7 seasons and one time fell asleep with mud and rocks in your hair, right?  My husband and son helped be run stuff to the van in pouring sheets of rain in Huron, Oh.  Cambrey, how many lunches did we eat at that apple festival again?  I also have met some great people, had wonderful sales and fantastic times on circuit too. Rozena and I will be adding some of our experiences from this summer and looking for fun and interresting people or places to introduce you to.  So check back with us.

I am currently working like crazy to add more wholesale accounts to my business. I'm currently in 4 stores and opening another display in Waynesville, OH (Windsome Cottage) this May.  My styles are tribal and steampunk jewelry, hair accessories, and walking staff grips.  I have an online store: http://www.phoenixbartender.etsy.com/, check it out.  Thanks!

(Why "phoenix bartender"? Well I like the mythical creature and I'm a bartender at night and an artist by day. )