Debbie Overton Designs

Dreams Unfolding......

For months I have eluded to a new business venture I have been working on and many of you reading this have been searching for clues within the posts here.....some of you were given some of the details several weeks ago and it didn't take long for word to spread.  Some of you found the new badge posted on my blog a few days ago and have spent countless minutes visiting the new sites.....and I thank you for your interest.

I am proud and excited to share with you....the MMCA Marketplace and Blog!

Even though it is official, the marketplace is not open yet, but it is getting very close.  The blog is up and things will be posted there as we progress.  You can learn more about the marketplace by visiting the blog.

This is not something that just came about a few months ago.....over 5 years ago I did research, bought the domain, started building the site....but as with anything there are things you don't think of....as things began to unfold I realized the timing was not right....there were legal and accounting issues I needed to investigate further.  I spent the next several months meeting with our attorney and accountant while I continued to work on the website....then life decided to throw us a few loops and I made the decision my dream of a marketplace would have to wait....the timing was not right.  There is a time and place for everything....sometimes just not on our own schedules.

Back in 2005 when I started MMCA I envisioned more than just a place for a group of artists to meet and share....I could see in time my dream of an online marketplace for artists and crafters just might work.  Without saying anything to anyone and that even included Steve, I pulled out all the research I had done years ago and began doing some more homework.  After putting my plan to paper, I decided it was time to run my idea by Steve not sure of what he would say.  He was thrilled and suggested I call our attorney and accountant and move forward.  The initial visits went well....they both sent me home with a list of things to do. 

Life still continued and I had an idea in the works that I couldn't share just yet.  After countless hours....well the accountant and attorney knew how many hours I was spending with them...funny how they don't miss a thing, I was finally ready to share just a wee bit of info with the MMCA group and mentions of a new venture here and there.  Never giving way to what I was actually working on.

If was no secret to the group that I envisioned bigger things for us and on April 16th, I made the announcement of taking MMCA to the next level with the marketplace and blog.  I was immediately greeted with support and questions which I did answer within our private forum.   I kept them updated as much as possible with the details....and on June 4^th; I posted the links to both sites. 

For the past months, I have spent more time with the accountant and attorney taking care of all the legal issues.  The past few days have been spent tweaking the application and Seller's Agreement hand in hand with the attorney. Information on how you too can be a part of the MMCA Marketplace will be posted to the website and blog soon.

Some of the questions that have come up....

Is this for members of MMCA only?  No not at all......all artists and crafters are welcome to apply for a shop within the marketplace.   Like any other gallery, shop or brick & mortar there will be an application process that has to be fulfilled prior to acceptance into the Marketplace. 

How will the applications be processed?  I have recruited directors of the local arts associations and owners of some of the local Brick & Mortar shops to assist me in making this decision.  The way I see it who better to seek the advice of than the people that do this on a daily basis.

Are there any benefits of being a member?  Marketplace members will have their own shop to showcase their artwork and be part of a national ad campaign in at least one well known publication to name just a few.

Where can I find the application?  The application, fees, benefits and guidelines will all be posted to the website soon.  If you are interested the best thing to do at this time is to keep a watch on the marketplace blog as updates will be posted there.

Can I share about the marketplace with my art friends that might be interested?  Yes, please give them our website or blog address.

I know there are a lot more questions and I promise in time all of them will be answered....everything you need to know will be on the website soon and updates will be posted to the blog.  I already have a list of artists and crafters interested and I would love to have you join them.   Many of the MMCA members have already put the badge on their website….thanks girls!

As my dreams of owning my own online marketplace unfold....remember dreams do come true!

Free to Fly

I received one of the nicest emails this afternoon from Enzie at World Market Portraits.  She received a small package from me yesterday and is using the inspiration from one of my notecards "Free to Fly" to start a wonderful project....."GIVE CREATIVITY WINGS TO FLY".  Click on the link above to read all about it and while you are there take a few extra minutes to view her gorgeous paintings.  I look forward to each morning finding a blog feed from World Market Portraits....It is such a wonderful way to start the day.

KC and I hit a few antique shops and flea markets a few days ago....she is okay with the antique shops, but those really old dusty flea markets like the trading post pics I share with you a while back....she does not care for.  As we were wondering through one Monday she could not get out of there fast enough....so I will have to return without her as it was filled with hidden treasures.  I was able to grab a few things before she bolted when she thought she felt something run across her foot....told her not to wear flip flops!!!  But what do I know!!!

Here is one of the postcards I picked up recently...I love the gorgeous flowers, but the back is what I fell in love with.......

August 3, 1913

Dear Wife............From your husband.  I smile everytime I read it.....if I were to receive a card today from Steve written to Dear Wife and signed From your husband.....I would probably ask which husband!!!!  Because mine would have signed his name!!!!

I want to finish up a few things tonight so I can pack up some pieces to deliver to the shop at Goodyear Cottage Art Gallery on Jekyll Island Friday and then some things need to be delivered to The Painted Cat Studio and Gallery in the next few days....Michelle is being very patient and waiting on me!

If you have not visited Enzie at World Market Portraits I hope you will hop on over.  Thanks Enzie for such a heartfelt email and the compliments you shared in your blog post.

Creatively,

Monkey See Monkey Do

Mixed Media Collage 10 x 20 Gallery Wrapped Canvas

This piece is on exhibit at Monkey Love.  I have had the images for several years and when I found out I would be exhibiting at Monkey Love I just couldn't resist!

Several years ago I offered Ephemera Paper Packages on my website, but when I did my re-do I didn't add them back.  Instead I redid the packages and added them to my Etsy shop I had had for over a year and was not using.  I decided to go back to what worked before and have added a couple packages to the ole Etsy shop and will add more later.  After I get the new venture up and going I may add the shopping cart back to my website and do away with Etsy.

Mine and KC's afternoon at the beach was cut short when she received a call from Steve...he was heading out of town for a few days and wanted to know if I wanted to go...I told him I just didn't have time...way too many things around here to get done...but KC volunteered to go...she thought it would be a mini vacation for her....sleep in, Jacuzzi, pool....and the executive suite at the hotel!

So here it is almost 2am and Seth and I are still up....he can stay up all night if he wants!  I need to finish up a commission I have been working on for several weeks and then get started on a few others and I need sleep in order to function tomorrow or I should say later this morning considering it is already very early morning!

Creatively,

Excellent Start

Nancy of Sugar Lump Studios sent me this gorgeous handmade birthday card.  The quote "A sister is one that reaches for your hand and touches your heart" is actually how I have felt over the past several weeks as I have been receiving emails, cards, phone calls and little surprises in the mail all wishing me a wonderful fun filled birthday.....And it was just that. 

Sunrise at the beach...brunch...more beach time...balloons...more beach time...shrimp...cake...sunset at the beach...and a day filled with phone calls from friends and family.

Steve surprised me with another glass fishing float....a gorgeous aqua to go with the white one he gave me for our anniversary a few months ago.....together they remind me of the white sandy beach and blue/green clear water of the ocean......a favorite place for me.  As I opened the package a fragrance as fresh and clean as if I was walking on the beach arose....it was Seashore Eau de Parfum, Body Lotion and Shower Gel.

A couple weeks ago I intercepted a FedEx package addressed to KC.  Steve thought since she was coming home within a few days I would just put the package in her room and when he got home that night he was going to ask about it....well KC called and I told her a pkg had been delivered....of course she said open it.....much to my surprise was something I had been wanting for several years....Adobe Dreamweaver.....now why was she getting Dreamweaver?  She didn't know and I didn't know so I called Steve.....I could hear the surprise and disappointment as I told him what had happened.  He couldn't believe I opened it...it was addressed to KC....I explained she called....didn't know anything about it and asked me to open it.  I told him I had put it back in the box and would tape it shut if that would make him feel better.....no you have already opened it.....go ahead and install it and start playing if you want too.  Well I didn't have time to be playing as I was still working on the last minute details for the gallery exhibit.  He should have clued KC in and I would not have opened it!  However I am glad I did....I installed it and started playing.

It is taking some getting use too especially since I have been using Frontpage all these years....I am building my new business site with it...some things have already been easier to do while others are taking a bit of reading and playing and redoing....but I am getting there.

Do any of you use Dreamweaver?  I would love to hear your experience with it....the good and even the bad.  For years I have heard great things but just couldn't justify buying something else when what I had was working.  I am so thankful Steve supports all my art dreams....because now I have something else to expand and grow with.

Now with a line from one of the cards I received.....

Think of yourself as experienced and smart....and just getting off to an excellent start!

Road Trip

I see some of you have missed me....you have been coming by several times a day, but found nothing new posted....I am so sorry to disappoint you, but maybe you did find something in the older post since you spent time here. 

I have had 5 days of down time or atleast time away from art and the everyday activities here at home.  At the last minute I decided to take a road trip with Steve and have a little fun while also giving me time to work on details for a business venture that I will be announcing soon.  Since the first day was just going to be driving I kept my eyes open for signs of antique shops, flea markets, etc....if I spotted one early enough we would stop. 

How about this spot I found.....

Now I know some of you would have been doing a rather wild happy dance while the others are thinking I can't believe she went in there....trust me it is not a place you would wear your flip flops....maybe knee wadders, but personally by the time I got out of there I was thinking hip wadders would have been nice.  The things I found hidden under piles of old junk were unreal.  This is a place I will visit again and in a later post I will share more of the places I found during our road trip as well as tell you more about this one.

I have canvases everywhere....in the works for the Monkey Love Exhibit in May and my mind has been working non-stop on a business decision I have made...I have filled many legal pads with notes, scribbles and strikethroughs.  I have spoken to my accountant and attorney with all of the what if's, how to's and more.  I have done tons of research, talked Steve to death....don't think he had that in mind when he asked me to tag along on his trip....closed up in a truck for hours upon hours....no wonder he was helping me look for places to stop....I am actually surprised after the first night he didn't get an extra room just for me so he could get some rest....but he was steady fueling the fire with questions, suggestions, and comments....so I took that as he was interested....but when I started asking myself questions and answering them out loud....he did show a little concern.

After crunching numbers last night and making another list of questions I need to get busy....as they say I am burning daylight!

Have a great day and please know you are always welcome to drop in.

Debbie

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

JIAA Arts Festival and More

Several of you emailed me over the weekend wandering how the Jekyll Island Arts Festival went.  I am very happy to say one of my pieces entered in the exhibit placed 3rd in the Advanced Collage and Mixed Media category!  AND I didn't even know it even though the judging was Thursday and the Festival was open Friday.  We had nasty weather and I just couldn't make myself get out in it.  I would have been very happy to receive one of the many Honorable Mentions and was thrilled when after working my Saturday morning shift to find all three of my pieces right in the middle of the main gallery and tried very hard to contain myself when I spotted the ribbon. 

Saturday was bright and sunny with lots of wind and I do mean wind.  Most of the outside activities had to be canceled, so the gallery was filled to capacity all day.  Gorgeous collage & mixed media oil watercolor acrylics pastel charcoal and more filled all the walls and free standing walls of the first floor of the gallery with more artwork filling the stair wall and landing to the second floor where you found photography fiber arts pottery and more.  I met lots of wonderful artists and enjoyed interacting with all the visitors from all over.....Canada New York Ohio Pennsylvania Michigan Maryland Virginia, North and South Carolina Florida and many others were there.

There was an older gentleman, Mr. Malcolm Hanson inside Goodyear Cottage playing the piano and I had the privilege of working the table next to him.  He had a wonderful Irish accent and so funny and could carry on a conversation with anyone that stopped by while never missing a beat.  I could have listened to him all day....play and talk.

Sunday morning Steve Seth KC and I headed back over to the Island stopping at our favorite IHOP for breakfast....after a delicious breakfast and lots of talking we headed to the Festival....the day was beautiful and lots of people out milling around.  We stopped in some of the other historic district shops just browsing around before making our "can't go to the island without stopping at the beach for a few minutes" stop.  When we left the house at 10 we didn't expect to be gone all day....but we were and we had a really good day together.

Kids are home for Spring Break so my time here will be limited to their time with friends....come to think of it.....I may have lots of time to myself.....especially with KC....either her phone or the house phone has been ringing non-stop wanting her to do something. 

For those that have posted here, emailed us or called about Colby....we all thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  He had a good day Saturday....even went with friends out to dinner and a movie that night.  Then he pays for it the next day....he has to learn to pace himself....I have tried telling him this....but this coming from me....that goes 24/7 does not really mean much to him right now.  He will learn and he will adjust.  Again thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

After seeing so much wonderful inspiration this weekend I am just itching to start a few new pieces and finish up some sitting in the corner.

Debbie

Just by Hand

It has been a few days.....trying to find a balance with everything I have going on.  Making progress in some areas....some still need to find there place in my schedule.  All I can say is I am glad last week is over....my kids are better.....the weekend was gorgeous and I have my to do list made for the week.  Yesterday was in the upper 70's and Steve asked to go over to Jekyll Island....you know me anything to get me over to the beach. 

We parked in the historic district and took a leisurely walk around....going in and out of shops....last week I took some of my Paper Books over to one of the shops....he knew this as I told him about it....as we made our way through shop and after....I wanted to say something.....but I thought no.....he is going to have to remember and find them.  Just when I thought he was going to say are you ready to head over to the beach for a while....he surprised me....he wanted to know if we were going to visit Just by Hand....YES, he was listening the night I told him!  His next test was to actually go into the shop with rooms filled with wonderful hand crafted items and lots of shoppers.  It took a few minutes but he circled around and said your books like nice! 

Thought I better throw in a little artwork as someone recently asked me why I never posted my artwork on my blog.....well I do....I just don't post everything I do....so here's a 6x12 canvas I did while experimenting with different paints and techniques.  This piece has several coats of black gesso, antique sheet music snippets and lots of Golden Acrylics under and over the snippets.  The reason for so many coats of black gesso....I would use a color and didn't like it....so I would cover it with the gesso and go at it again.

This week is going to be busy....Tuesday I deliver the pieces I will be exhibiting in the Jekyll Island Arts Association Art Festival this coming weekend.  Wed or Thurs I need to take a few pieces over I will have in the Festival Shop for sale and Friday I go to Savannah to meet Colby's plane.  He is flying in to spend a few days with us.  Steve and I are excited...all three kids will be here....home from college.....Colby will fly back Tuesday afternoon and KC will leave the following Sunday.  Seth is already complaining about the other two coming home for so many days....he likes being home with just us....and it is just Seth and I usually for several days at a time....now the middle child will have to share us with someone else!

Thanks for stopping by!

Debbie