On Your Mark...Get Set...Work Marathon!

It's here, this week is here and I cannot wait until it is over!  It's Barn week and weekend.  It is always so much fun but it will be nice to finally relax on Sunday night :)
The other marathon I was doing for a little while was finishing up some pictures for the sale.  They aren't all done but I think I have a good showing.  I don't have any pictures of my pictures in place, merchandised in the Barn yet but I will definitely post those the beginning of next week.  Here are the ones that I finished and some you may have not seen yet:

 This one is one of my favorites.  I love the Christmas gifts and using the graphite for the main part and highlighting with colored pencils.

 This snowy picture is painted on canvas with acrylic paints.

I painted the holly on the canvas fabric, it looks so nice with the olive green mat around it.

One of my moms favorite pictures is this little tree.  I used a charcoal stick fort he background, pastels for the tree and skirt, acrylic paint for the star and lights, and I used some glitter glue for the center part of the tree.

I have a hard time getting the lighting right when I take pictures.  All of these look so much better in person!  If you'd like to check them out come on down to the Barn.  It's located at 117 Pleasant Street, Attleboro, MA 02703.  There's no sign, just a flag with the Mangiacotti girl on it.  I hope you can stop by and take a look at them in person.

Here are some of the displays that I worked on in the Barn:

Here are some other displays that I helped with:

My friend at work, Chris, made this amazing toy chest for the kids.  It came out awesome!!

The kids are going to go nuts when they see this with all the goodies inside!
The hours for the sale are Thursday and Friday 10am-9pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-3pm.  I hope we see you there!  Wish me luck!
xoxo Savannah

There's Just Not Enough Time In The Day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  There is so much food and I love to eat!  Some are traditional, some new, and some experimental but always delicious.  This holiday is also very important because it reminds us that we have at least one thing to be thankful for.  I know I have many things and I appreciate each and every one of them.  We always have Thanksgiving at my house and it is so much fun.  This year we have new twins added to the family and  it is their first Thanksgiving (they are 11 months old).  It is going to be very exciting to share this special day with them.  Before being able to enjoy the actual day, there is lots of preparation in the kitchen and out.  The Holiday Barn Sale at work is directly after Thanksgiving (starts on Tuesday night for us).  So it has been crazy at work!  We have all been running around and working so hard.
My brain has been non stop with thoughts and ideas on what to draw and paint.  I was driving to work and had an idea but the only thing I had to write it down on was my Starbucks cup at a red light.  You know what though, it works for me :)  Usually if I don't write the idea down right away I will NEVER remember it.  There has been by far WAY too many things going on in my head that I feel like my memory is shot!  Sometimes I may never act upon the idea but it's written down for a day that I may not know what to draw, I guess you can say I have a notebook of ideas.
I had only a few days left to get as much stuff done as I can before the Barn Sale at Mangiacotti.  And I really only had 2 days until my art space is consumed with desserts instead of pencils and paint!  The table I use to do my work always has to be cleaned and my stuff has to moved and packed up.  Since my dad has already reminded me a week ago.....I really have to get a move on!
Here are some pictures of what I have been working on:

 In the picture it is hard to tell around the rim and on the snow but I have glued sparkles like I did on the tree.  I have been experimenting with decorative plates.

 So far, this is one of my favorites, nice and simple.  I used pastels and colored pencils for it and the olive mat around the picture did the touch.

 All of the black in this picture I did with charcoal pencil and the rest was with pastels.

 It's hard to tell in the picture but the mat around the edge is a nice, almost jean blue.

 In the Fall I did a lot of painting on the fabric cloth canvas, so I figured why not try some of the Holidays.

 Another plate, but this one is still in the works.

3 more pictures that are in the works, they are just barely started. One is going to be a tree in the corner of a house, the other some birch trees and the last one a winter tree.  I still have a bunch to do and will be posting more pictures as I finish them.

I started some of these this morning before doing some work, a lil house cleaning and before baking.  I just put some Red Velvet Bars into the oven.  They look and smell amazing!  It's my first time making them.  Here is the web address where I found them if you would like to make some yourself!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/red-velvet-bars-recipe/index.html

I hope everyone is able to enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities, the Black Friday shopping, the Cyber Monday shopping, and the transition into the next round of Holidays.  My art table is almost cleaned up, my time is up for now :)  I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving tomorrow and eat lots of yummy food!  I know I will be!
xoxo Savannah

Back To The Grind....Getting Ready For Christmas

It's that time of year again.  All of the stores are setting up their Christmas decorations, radio stations have already started to play Christmas songs, and I have already seen commercials for Christmas movies on TV. I personally am not quite ready to be decorating my room yet, Thanksgiving needs to happen first :)
But just like every other retail store, Mangiacotti's Christmas Barn Sale is right around the corner.  I can't even believe it!  The Barn Crew has been working non stop for weeks already in preparation for this sale.   It is going to take place the first weekend in December.  Since we are only a few weeks a way (I still can't believe it), I need to start drawing and painting some of my holiday winter pictures :)
I have some pictures of some of the pictures I did last year.  Unfortunately I only took pictures with my camera after they were set up, so the picture quality isn't too great but you will get the idea.  Here are a few that seemed to go over really well:

 Last year I tried painting a decorative plates, just to try something new.  I'm not too sure I will do that again but we will have to see.

This year I am going to try and redo a few of the same ones, and try some different pictures as well.  I'm hoping to start this week, I already have my list of ideas written down and my table is all set up.  I will keep you updated with some of my new holiday and winter pieces that I will be working on.  Let me know if there is anything you particularly like or if there is anything you would like to see me do.  I love suggestions!
xoxo Savannah

Getting Dirty...With Charcoal

My first passion in art has always been drawing.  I always drew with a graphite pencil and would use my finger to smudge the graphite to show depth.  When I was in 7th grade, my middle school art teacher taught us how to do that by drawing a ribbon.  I am currently a substitute teacher and whenever I work with students who love to draw, that is the first thing I try to show them if there is any free time during the day.
When I took a drawing class at RIC that taught me a lot about perspective, it also taught me about using different materials.  There I was introduced to charcoal.
I find that many times charcoal is easier and much easier to smudge than graphite, but it can also be tricker to erase.  I usually use my fingers or a smudger stick to smudge.  I prefer my fingers however because I find them easier to use and the area ends up looking smoother to me.  Whenever I use charcoal, my fingers, the table, my pants and shirt always get dirty.  Sometimes my fingers will stay dark for a few hours, even after scrubbing my fingers.  But it is fun :)
Charcoal and graphite drawings are classic, they remind me of the beautiful and elegant black and white photos.  They are able to go with any house decor and is easier on the eyes.  There aren't any colors to process or get distracted by, you can simply just enjoy the beauty of the piece.
Here are some charcoal and graphite pictures I have drawn for myself or for my portfolio.

 I love the patriots and the sox!  I wanted to try drawing something different one day and really like how it came out.  This picture is currently hanging in my room and one day will be hanging in my sports room in my house :)

 Another shadow box in my room.

 I usually am drinking chais from Dunkin Donuts.  I wanted to draw something and had the cup right in front of me, so I just started to draw it.

 I am still learning, this is my first person that I have ever drawn (and have it actually look like a person haha).  I have difficulty with faces but am continuing to practice.  One day I am hoping to get it right!

 haha I sat down, trying to decide what to draw and started just drawing my feet in front of me.

 Of course I draw charcoal pumpkins!

When I was in college, I always had books around and some sort of hot drink.
Let me know what you think!  I hope you get inspired and appreciate/see the same kind of beauty in charcoal like I do!
xoxo Savannah