Debbie Overton Designs

Playing a Little Catch Up

My friend Sue at Artful Adventures asked to see some close ups of some of my new pieces on exhibit at Monkey Love....Here are two and I will share more later on.  The reception Friday night went well.  Two hours of chatting it up with old and new friends...laughter, music, wine, coffee, great food and lots of talk about my art.  What more could I have asked for?  Even Steve enjoyed this reception....although he would never admit some of the ones in the past have bored him to death....he had fun Friday night.  Thanks Britt for a great evening!

Someone recently emailed me asking for advice and in my reply to Ellen's email I included a few links to some of the resources I have used here on the Internet.  Of course you know I mentioned Alyson at Artbiz and the author of I'd rather be in the studio and I also told her about Luann Udell's blog....a wealth of business information.  I must give credit where it is due...Deb Trotter recommended both Alyson and Luann to me several years ago and I have referred to them many times.  Thanks Deb! 

Saturday and Sunday were spent working on the new business venture website and updating the MMCA website and forum.  Finally around 2:30am last night I called it a night, but couldn't sleep due to thinking of things I wanted to get done today....I watched the clock until Steve's alarm went off at 6.  Just as soon as he was out the door I jumped up, showered, dressed and started my day.   So far today has been very productive...follow up emails and phone calls are all made from my to do list and now I am ready to move on to finishing up a few pieces of art.

Creatively,

Are you staying in the Loop?

It is no secret I think "I'd rather be in the studio" by Alyson Stanfield is a must have book.  Several weeks ago as I was jumping around from page to page, excuse to excuse, action to action I came across her paragraph on Feedblitz....I got excited because I already had a Feedblitz subscription form on my blog....yeah!

I can already see some of you going what is Feedblitz!  Feedblitz is a free service that will deliver updates from your favorite blogs in one email to your inbox. 

To quote Alyson "If you were creating your ideal newspaper, you'd get to select the content from your favorite writers about the subjects most dear to you, determine the order in which it is laid out (to some extent), and when you read it.  A blog feed is very similar.  You get to choose what you want to read and when you want to read it."

I love it....even though I still have times when I don't leave comments to others...I still am in the loop with their happenings without jumping from one blog to another to find it has not been updated in weeks.

There are lots of ways to receive RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds, my choice just happens to be Feedblitz.  So if you are like me and would really like to know when your favorite blog has been updated sign up for their updates and you won't forget about some of your favorite blogs.

Signing up for a blogs updates with a feed is not the same as signing up for their newsletter.  I have both on my blog.  If you want to know when I make a new post to my blog then you can sign up with Feedblitz for email updates (left column) and you can also sign up for my occasional newsletter (right column) that I send out every 1-2 months with images and snippets of news and updates to what's going on with Debbie Overton Designs.

Sign up is easy and quick.

Anniversary Beach Shopping & Exhibits

So many great things have been going on I'm not even sure where I want to begin....March 13th was our anniversary and with it being Spring Break Steve and I decided we would just go out to eat and then do something special later.   Since we both had agreed we would not buy gifts for each other imagine both of our surprise when we each received something from the other one that we had wanted for a while.

January 1 through February you can comb the beaches of Jekyll Island to find beautiful, one-of-a-kind glass fishing floats.  Each day a select number of the floats are placed along the beaches just above the high tide line.  I spent many days walking and searching for one of the hidden treasures, but always came home empty handed.  Steve surprise me with this gorgeous white glass float created by artist Mark Ellinger.  Each one is individually crafted with the same techniques that have been used for 200 years to create glass art. All floats are engraved on the plug with Jekyll Island, Georgia's Jewel, the year, and the artists signature.

And I surprised him by paying attention one day while shopping on the island when he was intrigued with the Galileo Thermometers.  The glass spheres are calibrated and fitted with a metal temperature medallion.  The weight of each sphere varies slightly and as the actual room temperature fluctuates, the glass spheres will rise or fall.  As the room temperature decreases, the spheres rise and they fall as the temperature increases.  The lowest sphere with the group floating at the top of the thermometer indicates the correct temperature.  Needless to say ours usually has all but one at the top as we keep our home on the cool side....but it is fun to actually see them float up or down occasionally.

We had made reservations for Easter weekend at St. Augustine Beach a while back....Colby has good and bad days trying to adjust to all the meds, KC had just been home for 9 days and only back at school for 4 and didn't want to make the 14 hr drive for the weekend and Seth just is not a beach bum.....so Steve and I took advantage of the long weekend and celebrated our anniversary.  The weather was beautiful....the beaches were not crowded and the shopping was great! 

We left early Friday morning making our first stop within 30 minutes at Me and My Partner Antiques and Collectibles/Woodbine International Fire Museum.  I found some old school report cards from 1917 and Mr. Windy the owner pulled out a few other papers he had in a drawer to give me.  I just love the sign he has out front!  It certainly has gotten my attention a few times.  I would highly recommend a visit to Woodbine to this great antique shop and the Fire Museum is awesome...fill with tons of history.  We continued heading south making several stops along the way. 

Sunrise Saturday!  This is the view we had from our balcony!

North Country Antiques located in the Lightner Museum Antique Mall in historic St. Augustine is filled with Ephemera, Old Books, Magazines, Postcards, Stamps, Records, Advertising, Prints, and more.  Lightner Antique Mall is located inside the famous Lightner Museum. Built on top of the old Hotel Alcazar's swimming pool (The largest swimming pool in the world in 1888) and features many antique stores and a café under one roof.

When on San Marco Ave a must stop is Claire's Collectibles Fun Rubber Stamps.  If you can't find it here you most likely don't need it.  I made two stops there and came home with tons of stamps, inks, elements and magazines.

Upcoming Exhibits

For those that come to Waycross GA for Swampfest April 4-6, I will be exhibiting with a group of artists from the Okefenokee Heritage Center in the Phoenix Hotel located downtown.

I have been asked to do a solo exhibit for the month of May at Monkey Love Dessert Bar & Gallery.  Monkey Love's mission is to serve the community and their customers with the honor and respect they deserve while contributing to children's organizations to help stop child abuse. 

When you walk into Monkey Love you feel at home and the aroma is to die for....sinful desserts and pastries and coffees.....and since I am not a coffee drinker I had to have a Banana Milk Shake.....let me just say Heaven.....and then there was the slice of Coconut Lemon Layered Cake I got to go for Seth....I have looked at it all afternoon and finally just couldn't resist any longer.....I took a bite and then I took another....then I set it in the cabinet out of sight! 

I will share more about Monkey Love and the Wine and Cheese Reception at a later date.

I have lots of art to work on over the next several weeks, but I am refreshed from my trip and ready to move forward.

Thanks for stopping by!

Debbie

Spring is finally here.....

It's official.....Spring begins today....and I am so excited.  I have blooms popping out everywhere....just love to look out and see even the stray weeds that have come to life in the past week here.  Today is only going to reach the low 70's windy and sunny.....just a little let down from the mid 80's we had yesterday.....but clear blue skies as far as you can see.

Last week we had kids home for Spring Break....lots of fun....beach...shopping...eating out...beach....more shopping...late night movies...ice cream...beach...kids coming and going day and night...sand...flip flops...swimsuits and beach towels everywhere....but it was worth it.  Only a few more weeks and it will all start again for the summer!

A couple nights ago I decided to check in on a few of my favorite blogs and if you have not visited Nina Bagley's blog Ornamental lately you are missing some great reads.  Especially this one where she talks about spending time with her parents in their little cabin.  It was a perfect ending to my day....so whether you are starting your day or calling an end to one....I think you will enjoy it....I certainly did.

I finally finished another collage yesterday...actually the picture was taken while it was still drying....so please excuse the mess around the art couldn't wait to share....There are 18-20 layers of paints glazes mediums and papers....tons of drying time....I don't much care for that part....I'm not know for waiting long!  Have several more pieces in the works and will share with you soon.

A couple years ago I took an online organizational class taught by Alyson Stanfield....she has a wonderful website and her book "I'd rather be in the studio!" is filled with wonderful tips on self-promotion.  Now mind you....you actually have to do what she recommends for this to work....I already was doing some of it, but there were things I knew I needed to be doing and seeing it in black and white just makes it somehow easier to see the big picture.  So if you are looking for a little guidance in promoting yourself....take a look at what she has to offer.

I have a few things I want and need to finish up today as Steve is home for four days and as much as I enjoy his being home...I just don't get as much done.  I am counting on beautiful warm sunny days so we can work in the yard and head to the beach for a sunrise or sunset....maybe both.

Wishing each of you a wonderful Easter weekend.

Debbie