No Resolutions

  So it's a new year. 

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 And all the bloggers I am reading at the moment have all these excellent insights for where they are going in the next 12 months or where they've been the previous 12. That is all actually really cool to read. It makes for a thought provoking post and excellent food for thought. And I thought I would be doing the same thing this week.

But I'm not.

I'm purposely NOT making any blogging resolutions or barn sale resolutions. Because there is only one thing in my head right now, and that's ART. You know. The real kind, where you look at it and try to figure out what the heck the artist was thinking, what kind of a statement this is. Visual philosophy and all. It has been almost a year since I created that kind of art. 

You can read about this piece here

This decision coincides nicely with my husband being out of town. He doesn't like it when I camp in my studio 24/7, so this is a particularly timely absence. He's at the South Pole, making sure your tax dollars are being used responsibly. I am totally not kidding about that.

So I just get to bust out my exacto knife and start cutting up 

mat board and gluing it to stuff. 

All day long.

Well, that last bit might be a bit of wishful thinking. I AM a single parent at the moment. I am sure I'll stop long enough to shove a freezer pizza in the oven. But I do plan on giving myself plenty of space to make the art that has been swirling in my head, talking to me for months. I have one piece started, one piece almost finished, and one piece not started but completely fleshed out in my mind. I even know how I'm going to frame it. 

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It involves wing nuts 

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 and the Taj Mahal. 

Seriously. In the same piece. 

Now don't you want me to stop typing and go back to my studio 

so you can see it? 

Me too.

I promise I'll show you as soon as there's something to see.

Branches Fall show 2012 is almost here! Directions and more photos

We have battened down for the storm, but now we are ready to throw open the hatches! The staging has begun with a flurry of furniture moving and merchandise upwrapping. The show will go on, as planned. You should come. you will have a good time and most likely find something you like.

Branches: the Barn Sale Without a Barn

 Friday, Nov 2 from 10 am-8pm and

 Saturday, Nov 3 from 10am-5pm

Getting here: If you live in the area, and you know where West Springfield High School is, the show is in the neighborhood right behind the school. Please turn on the road NORTH of the school, Center Road, rather than turning at the light. This will make it easier for you to park, although you can get here by turning at the light in front of the school

Here are a few more pics of what you'll see in the show:

Ok, this peice is too cool, so I just have to tell you guys about it. This is a painting made of flakes of glass! Then the artist, Emily Pezzulich, sticks the peices in a kiln and fires them into one sheet of glass. It really is amazing when you see them in person. Here are a couple more.

Photos of the glass art by Alan Pezzulich

That is just the tip of the iceberg. Seriously. I have to keep adding furniture peices to hold all the stuff we have for you guys. And we have four different mini cupcakes for you to try form Cakes By Amy. You won't believe the flavors: Gingerbread, Cherry Chocolate, Pistacio, and Key Lime.

You should come, if just to try the cake.

See you all there!

Building a Barn Sale

It's Barn Sale Season!!!!

 Which means my regularly scheduled life has left the building. Sharon and I have been feverishly "Gathering Branches " here in Burke, to bring you our best show yet! We are also being featured in The Burke/Fairfax/Springfield Connector Newspaper! So look on your driveways, before you back over our cute little faces.

We have a gorgeous venue, a house in Springfield, VA with high ceilings, 3 spaces open to each other and decent parking. I am always amazed that someone would let us come take over their life for a week, so please make sure to say thanks to Lauren (she's the cute lady on the far right) and buy her bears and aprons, if they suit you.

I know you guys are thinking, "Come on Marian, just get to the pictures."

So without further delay, here's the info you need:

Branches: the Barn Sale Without a Barn

When: Friday, Nov 2, 10am-8pm

           Saturday, Nov 3, 10am-5pm

So you wanna see what's gonna be in the show?

We have some much really great stuff this year! I am super excited.

The soap smells like heaven and is hand made by a woman and her mother in Sterling. The wallets and purses are made buy a guy who goes and buys old leather jackets at thrift shops and up cycles them into the delightful bags you see before you. You're gonna buy 4 when you see how reasonable the prices are.

And the wreath above is made of hand twisted paper. Here's a closer pic, so you can see it better:

Don't you love how she singed the edges?

And I almost forgot...We have Kelly of Stylish Patina selling Annie Sloan Chalk Paint at the show!!!!!!

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OK, that's all I have for you today, but I'll come back soon with more unseen pics of cool, amazing things we have been gathering for you. And I'll tell you some more about our fantastic artists.

So go on. Write it down on your calendar. Branches barn sale. Can't miss. Nov 2-3.

Wow! What a shoot! (Pictures for the 2011 Barn Sale)

We shot the promotional pictures for the barn sale last Tuesday. It was SO INTENSE! And the pictures turned out AMAZINGLY WELL. But I'll just show you that part later.

So if you know my art, you know that I have a background in photography. It might surprise you then, to learn that I hired Kodi Wright, of Kodi Wright Photography (check out her blog and gallery here: http://kodiwrightphotography.com/ ), to shoot the barn sale pics. In fact, she looked at one of my shadowboxes and said "Why exactly am I here?" Well, frankly folks, there are two answers to that. First, I am WAAAAY to close to this to take my own pictures. And I'm too stressed out and over-arted right now to have the mental space to take good pictures. The second reason is the point of "Gathering" Branches is to promote the artistic growth of artists who working on a professional level, but don't have the space in their life to have art be their primary focus. See? Hiring Kodi suited both purposes. It took stress off me and allowed me in turn to help promote her career. Besides, she put up with me as a roommate in college, back when I was still learning how to be a decent human being. You gotta love anyone who will still talk to you after that, right?

So you wanna see some pictures?

So you guys totally want to come to the sale now, right?

Almost everything we used in the pictures is the actual item for sale.There are a few things shown that may or may not make it into the sale, but that is at the discretion of the individual artist. (For example, the antique pillar and  aqua door shown in one of the pics will not be there. They live in my bedroom.) But for the most part, if you see it, it's for sale. Even the cool tea pots and wooden boxes and spools and chairs and tables. Yup folks, it's all for your shopping pleasure.