DIY Trunk Show/Chicago Trip

Earlier this year I applied for a spot in the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago, and was accepted into my first show in The Windy City! My boyfriend, Mark, and I traveled up a day early so that we could do some exploring.

On the way to Chicago, there's a stretch of land with tons of wind turbines. It's really amazing to see. At night, they all blink a red light simultaneously.

It starts getting dark at 4:30 in Chicago.

Navy Pier at night from Lake Shore Drive.

A trip to the Shedd Aquarium was in order the next day, so we took the train, but first stopped at a nice place called Yolk for a hearty breakfast.

Across the street was a bunch of sculptures of legs in Grant Park. A little research led me to find out that it's called "Agora" and was designed by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. 

We decided to get the expensive passes at the aquarium so that we could see everything. Most of it was worth it. 

These fish were huge and didn't look real. I forget the name of them.

One of the main reasons we got the expensive passes was to see the beluga whales and dolphins perform. It actually wasn't very impressive because they're still training for their big holiday show. I still loved seeing belugas, though. 

Right now there's a special jellyfish exhibit. The moon jellies are my favorite. 

One of the things I really love the most about the Shedd Aquarium are all the little details in the architecture and design of the building.

We got up Saturday and I of course had my pre-show anxiety nausea. This is what happens when you're a worry wort.

But I had nothing to worry about! The show went wonderfully. Sold all of my shadow boxes, most within the first few hours. 

Thanks for having me, DIY Trunk Show! I hope to be back next year! 

Things I am obsessed with

Ursa Cub by RoyalMint

I should mention I'm also obsessed with the other bears in her shop also.

Giant fabric whale by Philadelphia artist Tristin Lowe

Read more about it here.

Magic Breeze by SandraDieckmann

Everything by Elly MacKay of Theater Clouds

Bison Badge by Coral and Tusk

Really, this is one of those times where I see something that I really, really wish I had made.

Go Confidently

Go Confidently, originally uploaded by sadlyharmless.

Mini printed shadow box

Where We Landed

Where We Landed, originally uploaded by sadlyharmless.

One of the pieces in my show up in LaLa Gallery in Lafayette. Show is up until Dec 11!

2011 Calendar Pre-Order!

It's finally here!

The theme for the 2011 calendars is ADVENTURES!

It's my first full-color calendar, and you'll find ink and watercolor illustrations of animals exploring and venturing to places they wouldn't normally go. You'll find foxes sailing on the high seas, caribou on the moon, polar bears climbing a giant tree, penguins in a hot air balloon, and more!

They're only $12 and you can see more of the drawings and order them from my Etsy shop or directly from my website!

I've been working on the 2011 calendars for the last 5 weeks. They should be done by the end of the week! The theme is a secret until they get printed up, but here are a couple of snippets from two of the pages. This year they'll be in color!

Other than that, I'm working on a duo show with my friend Candice Hartsough McDonald that will be in Lafayette in November. I'm doing a series of shadow boxes with cut paper. It feels so good to be making actual art!

I'm doing a bunch of craft fairs in the fall, including the gigantic Strange Folk Festival, located just outside of St. Louis. There are going to be 150 indie craft vendors! I hear it is pretty awesome, and it will be my first outdoor 2 day event!

Lastly, I started a new mailing list, which will be sent out once a month. I also really want to surprise people with things in the actual mail! So be sure to sign up and put your snail mail address. You never know what you'll get! Clicky here to sign up. 

Why don't I ever update this?

In my younger years, I used to write constantly, and I think it's because I went through so much emotional turmoil all the time (I was the epitome of teenage angst, though you might never know it from looking at me.) I have so many journals kept away in my drawers, and I haven't written in one in over a year. I think part of it is just growing up, and that life has sort of "evened out." I feel the most creative when I am going through something rough, and the urge to write very rarely visits me anymore. I find this to be kind of annoying, because I'd like to write and like to make updates. I just feel like I don't have much interesting to say!

So for now I'll just tell you when I've been doing the last few months.
I've made some new prints of illustrations, and mainly I have been working on the next Bloomington Handmade Market which is coming up on April 3rd. I've also just been juried in to my first out-of-town craft fair, which is Crafty Supermarket in Cincinnati!

I haven't really made a real art piece in forever, and it's really starting to get to me. I've been making things that I know I can sell, which is fine, but I want to make some things that really mean something. I have a show in Lafayette in November that I want to make a bunch of shadow boxes for, which really I should start on now. The fall/winter is going to be so busy!

Calendar Pre-Order now available!

This is the 3rd year that I have made a calendar of animal drawings. This year is Sadly Harmless' Creative Creatures. Each month has an ink and watercolor drawing of animals with hobbies! Featuring: stargazing giraffes, gardening elephants, knitting narwhals, musk oxen flying kites, and more!

The calendars measure 8.5 x 14 inches when unfolded. They will be printed on a cream paper with black ink.

This is a *pre-order* for this calendar. I am making a limited number of these, which is why I am making the pre-order available.

The calendars will be available on or before November 21st and will be shipped flat to you via First Class USPS. I will be sending emails to everyone letting them know when they are being shipped. Bloomingtonians can pick them up at the Bloomington Handmade Market or I can deliver it to you!

These make wonderful gifts for both children and adults!

How to get one:
Send $8 + $1.50 shipping to me via PayPal to sally@sadlyharmless.com
or
mail a check or well-concealed cash to:
Sally Harless
2836 S. Walnut St. Pike
Bloomington, IN
47401

Please e-mail me if you have questions! sally(at)sadlyharmless(dot)com.

Just a small update

Some things:

I added a few new necklaces and prints to my Etsy shop.

I'm working on the 2010 calendars and will have them available by November 21st! 

Speaking of November 21st, if you live in or around Bloomington, come to the Bloomington Handmade Market! I am one of the co-organizers, and will also have a booth there! 

I think I have done 6 art fairs so far this year, though it feels like I've done 100. And I have 4 more to go. I like them because it is good exposure and it's fun to see what other artists are doing. But it is SO TIRING. It takes everything out of me. The last one I did was the Indieana Handicraft Exchange, and it went really well. There were so many amazing artists. I sold almost all of my mugs, which is great, except now I have to make them all over again! Or I should say, I GET to. I often have to remind myself that what I'm doing is a blessing. It is insanely hard and I feel pretty burnt out all of the time, but I am working for myself! I feel stupid complaining about it. 

The next one is this Saturday, which is the Hoosier Artisan Holiday Boutique in Carmel. It is all Indiana Etsy artists. I've never done an art fair in Carmel before, but hopefully it will be good!

Hello!
I've been pretty terrible about keeping up with this blog, but I am going to post more often starting now!

I've been making lots of pendants and drawing on coffee mugs, and have also started making shrinky dink necklaces. Remember shrinky dinks? Mostly I've been drawing whales and sharks, and it's amazing to watch them shrink in the oven and stink up your kitchen! My roommates love it.
I'm doing a bunch of art fairs. Some are big and some are small. I'm also one of the organizers for the first ever Bloomington Handmade Market, to be held on November 21!

Here is the list of upcoming art fairs:
People's Art Fair: Saturday, Sept 5 in Third Street Park, Noon-6pm (Bloomington)
Fountain Square Art Fair: Saturday, Sept 19 (Indianapolis)
Indieana Handicraft Exchange: Oct 2 +3 (Indianapolis)
Hoosier Artisan Holiday Boutique: Oct 17 (Carmel)
Bloomington Handmade Market: November 21 (Bloomington)

I've been working working working. Or at least, it feels like it. Mainly I've been working on documenting everything from my last show and putting it online. I've yet to update my website, but you can view everything on my Flickr page. I've also applied to be in the Indieana Handicraft Exchange in Indianapolis. I'll be honest, I don't really expect to get in because its more geared toward functional art and crafts, as opposed to fine art. However, in preparation for the application, I made my first pendants and also drawings on ceramics. I plan to continue to make these, regardless of whether or not I get into the craft fair. I'm finding them to be a nice break from making paintings, and also a way to sell my work at a less expensive level.
Coming up: a poster for a night of plays in Bloomington, a commissioned piece of elephants in peril, and a group show at the Art Hospital, which will be March 27th.

Custom Animal Portraits!

Custom Animal Portraits!
$25!
$3 shipping

Now is your chance!
This listing is for one 4x6 ink and watercolor animal portrait that will be displayed in a quality vintage frame.

These portraits are a great, inexpensive way to own or give away an original piece of art.

These are done on archival, acid free watercolor paper, with archival paints and ink. The background will be an acid-free paper that will have a pattern of your choice or a solid color.

Upon receiving your order, I will email you with a few questions about what you want in your portrait. I can draw any animal you like, and adorn him with whatever you see fit!

*Please note that this is not a listing for custom pet portraits, but rather a portrait of your favorite non-pet animal.

Email me at sally AT sadlyharmless DOT com if you are interested!

If you live in Bloomington, please go see my show at Boxcar Books! Titled "The Winter Year," it features 15 new works of Arctic animals and giant beards. I was lucky to get some press for it, which you can read here. The work will be up until March 3rd.
The opening reception was great. So many people came out, and I even sold a few things. Making a show can be so stressful, but it always ends up being worth it.
Work from the show will be added to my website as well as Etsy within the next month. In the meantime, free calendars will be given out with every order or commission!

Valentine prints!

I've had a print Gocco for a couple of years now, but rarely use it because the screens and the bulbs are expensive and have to be ordered. But I decided it was time to make some Valentine prints, so here it is! I also did some in red, but I think the pink looks better. They're 4x6 on acid-free cardstock and are available for $5 in my Etsy shop. Signed and dated on the back. The perfect way to show someone you love them all year round. I posted this on Craftster, and most people that replied said they would love it as a card. But my thoughts are that cards often get thrown away. Whereas a print is more considered a work of art. Though cards can be considered art too! So I don't know. I'm not making these into cards. These are meant to be given as small, affordable gifts that can be framed and hung on a wall.
In other news, my show in Lafayette went pretty well. I sold 3 pieces, which is great. I will put most of that work into my solo show at Boxcar Books, which opens February 6th.

I have a write-up in the Lafayette newspaper about my show.
You can read it here!

Please, please excuse my lack of updates! I was working on my biggest show ever! The show is called, "The Winter Year," and has 16 new pieces. It is up now through January 3rd at LaLa Gallery in Lafayette, Indiana. This is one of the pieces in the show. It's called "The Haunting," and is ink and watercolor.

I have an interview posted on the Indiana Etsy Street Team's website, which you can read here.

I stil have lots of 2009 calendars for sale! You can purchase them on my Etsy shop for only $8. They also make great Christmas gifts!

2009 calendars are here!

Welcome to The Ocean World of Sallee Cousteau.
Sallee has lovingly drawn various sea creatures for this calendar so that not only will you know what day it is, you can also enjoy a different underwater drawing each month.

These calendars measure 81/2 by 14 inches when unfolded. The covers are ivory cardstock and the inside pages are a thinner green paper. These make really great Christmas gifts for children or adults!
$7 plus $1 shipping

*Btown kids get free shipping or hand delivery.

How do you get one of these?
Pick one of these 3 methods:
1. You send a check, money order, or well-concealed cash to me. Email me for my address.
2. You send money via paypal to sally at sadlyharmless dot com.
3. You see me in person and we go in the alley and seedily make the exchange.

These are also available on my Etsy shop!

adventures in rolling pin printing

Whale Song
Linocut
14x8 inches
$18

This took FOREVER to get a good print from, mainly because the press I have does not like blocks that are more than 1/4 of an inch thick. I spent so many hours trying everything I could possibly think of, and almost gave up. As a last resort, I asked one of my roommates if she had a rolling pin, and she did! I've been spoiled in the past and never really printed anything by hand, but it was this or nothing. Surprisingly, it worked really well, with the help of a little wooden spoon action. Sadly, I used a lot of paper trying to get it to work, so I only got a few printed before I ran out. I'm hoping a second edition of it will happen soon.

new work!

"Joshua Beardsly"
Commissioned piece
ink and watercolor


















"Used Up"
Ink and watercolor
This piece is available in my Etsy shop.