Studio Warming Party

Yep. You got it. Toca Mojo, now with VIDEO! :-D I filmed my studio tour this morning with my Flip camera.



Now be nice. I didn't script it...just improv. And I deliberately did not pull out all the stops on my "professional voice". (that voice being the one I used for this commercial . yes. That's MY voice) I am giving away TWO prizes to celebrate the opening of my wonderful new space.

The first is this cuff, the first one made in the new studio.



There are four chances for you to get your name in the drawing.

1. Comment here
2. Link to this post somewhere - be it facebook, your blog, or twitter - and let me know you did.
3. Tell me how many etsy artists' work appear in this video and try to name them
4. Give your opinion on curtains for this room. I briefly mention that in the video and hold up one possible fabric. Thoughts?


The second prize, and how to win it, is explained in the video....so you have to watch it! :D I'll announce the winners of both prizes on Saturday morning. So enter before then!! Hope you enjoy - and welcome to my studio!

Mo mo mo MO Mojo!

I did it. My studio is done. D-O-N-E Done. It's awesome. I love it. And I wanna give you a full tour...but I hafta check with someone first. Another blogger said something about wanting to do a studio tour interview with me, and if she still wants to then...well, yeah. ;) Stay tuned.

In the meantime. I rewarded myself this afternoon for a job well done with a lovely sojourn with spray paint. Sussudio!

(ADHD moment. Did you know that the word Sussudio means...NOTHING. It's a made up word. Phil Collins came up with the notes..the song... and he just kinda babbled Sussudio and decided he liked it. It's supposed to describe the giddy feeling of a youthful crush or something like that. ANYWAY....)

I now have ten+ cans of spray paint, and I'm gonna collect more. I don't plan on taking up graffiti anytime soon, but I DO understand the temptation!

Today I put a final coat on the guitar I started a few days ago.



Here you see it resting on one of my lovely worktables. It's not finished yet. I have big plans that involve wire, beads, and perhaps some brushwork or collage... Hmmmmm. Then there was the djembe. This was a kids' Remo Djembe that belonged to, appropriately, my children. But four boys can take a toll on the material world (and the spiritual too for that matter, Oy). Being used, abused, and left for the sun and sand to denude... well. It was done baby done as a musical instrument. But as a base for a 3D art piece, oh yeah baby!



This will definitely receive a LOT of collage. Plus I'm thinking either some leather and/or metal embellishment. Wait and see!

Then there was the stuffed animal tree. Yes. Stuffed. Animal. Tree. This thing was a thrift store find. It originally was a light wood with pastel knobs and elastic bands hanging from the pegs.... Well, I did NOT buy it for stuffed animals, I promise you. I cut off all the bands and painted my heart out. It's a cuff display, yo. Though right now it's sporting three frames I painted. Eventually they will be filled and hung on the wall. Probably with mojo inducing quotes. ;)

I also painted a battered step stool cherry red to go in my new kitchen. Then I was rather high and sickly from the fumes and it was time to quit. ;)

What really excites me is that..well...these things are not leather cuffs. Don't get me wrong. I love what I do. I love making and wearing and selling leather cuffs. BUT I don't wanna just do that. It feels incredible to be branching out into other areas, other mediums, other colors and textures and dimensions! OOH. I'm pumped! And ultimately I know it will feed back into my leatherwork as well. The mojo flows apace and life is good.

Birth of a Studio Part 2

It is so hard for me to believe that just a week ago I was blearily blinking and chatting with an old friend in her living room while her girls and my boys were having breakfast and getting engaged. (they're 8 and 5...so we're not too concerned) The keys for my house were picked up that day, the movers arrived the next, and it's been moving pandelirium ever since. Oy! But the house is awesome, and it's starting to look like a home. Our "Jam Room" is the best room in the house so far. It's a converted patio that is now a funky den housing our electric keyboard, congas, djembe, bongos, doumbek, and various shakers and triangles and such. Plus all books about music, some couches, and a few games. It's FunTastic!

But yesterday was the day I couldn't take it anymore and started unpacking my studio. I had to. I just had to. I knew the rest of the house wasn't finished...but it was CALLING me.

Even though I was thinking of painting the room, I went ahead and unboxed everything and stuffed it in the closet and the bathroom. After all, if I hadn't unboxed it, it wouldn't have fit in those spaces. And I realized my packers were rather odd people who thought things like towels, kitchen decor, and my bathroom scale were art supplies.... :? So many things actually left the room as I unpacked it. Here is the bathroom after I was done.... This room has a full bath because it used to be the maid's quarters many decades ago. I'm actually thinking of putting storage shelves IN the shower because the odds of my showering in here are extremely remote. ;)


So I was going to paint. I was. And then I got so overwhelmed by the thought of it..and so distressed at the concept of NOT being able to get this room in order... That I think I may have reconsidered. But while I was undecided about that, I took a break and did something else colorful! Saturday morning I bought an old desk for $25 dollars. (my thrifting mojo made the move with me, apparently!) It's great. Solid. Basic. Will stand up to LOTS of whackity-whacking... (hitting furniture at yard sales gets you odd looks, sayin?) But it was a nice basic boring brown. No no no. This will not do.
Please excuse the mistiness of the photo. After all those years in El Paso, I forgot what happens when you take a camera from an air conditioned house into the rain-forest weather that is Coastal NC. O_o So the table was ready for its makeover...and so was I. I shoulda got a pic, but I'm sure my neighbors were a bit surprised. I was in a dress. I do just about anything in a dress. When it's 97 degrees and about 150% humidity, a little sleeveless linen dress is WAY more comfortable than anything else you can imagine. I picked one I thought was about ready to get rid of...but now that it has paint splashes on it, I think I like it more and will probably keep it. Ha!

Here are the after photos... And inside...

There is a pull out shelf which goes on the right hand side. It is also painted and will be reinstalled today. The colors are SUPPOSED to be dark grey and brick red. If you ask me...that red is a bit on the orangey side. I don't mind it on the desk...actually I kinda like it! But I'm glad I did this first...because that color was supposed to go on the walls too, and I realize I don't want it there. So if I do paint the studio at this point, it will be a light sterling grey. But I'm really leaning towards not painting and using a bold rug and LOTS of wall art to make this room flow with color. What do you think?

Birth of a Studio Part 1

An important part of keepin' the mojo flowin' is your workspace, sayin? I'm not a New Age kinda gal...but do know that if your workspace does not make sense, your Shui will get all Fenged up, and no one wants that. Your Chi could get stuck somewhere...OUCH!

At the moment, I am in-between workspaces to call my own. I was living in El Paso, Texas. And you can see my workspace (and me!) in this wonderful feature. So as you see... I was tucked into one side of a large family room.

Right now I am temporarily ensconced in a section of my mom's work area. She sews awesome aprons, purses, and the occasional quilt, and most graciously allowed me to use part of her space while we were here for a long visit. Insert moment of silence while we are profoundly grateful and admiring of Toca's awesomely accomodating mom here I am NOT showing you that space. But what I have done to it is truly frightening. Insert ANOTHER moment of silence while we are profoundly grateful and admiring of Toca's awesomely accomodating mom here

Today I got word of the house I will be moving into in a few short weeks... and I get *drum roll!!* a Room. Of. My. Own. A creative haven, if you will. A Studio. The room is 7.5 ft by 12 and has a closet, a full bath (Ha!) and a tiny window to the front yard. It's also just a few short steps away from the garage, which is awesome since I plan to start working more with power tools in the months to come.

Now. My worktable is black. I want another, but right now I just have the one. My shelving units are white cubbies of 4x2 blocks that can stand upright or horizontal. I have two of them. So let's start with room color. I'm thinking a slate grey with an accent wall of brick red. And then LOTS of etsy artwork for the walls, plus a chalkboard and maybe a collage of my own making. What do you think? What would you recommend for my new space?

Strange Foods Fit to Feed On

One way I like to feed my mojo is by savoring information about creative processes that I don't do. It only makes sense that I would spend time on jewelry magazines (love Belle Armoire) as I am a jewelry artist. But why would I feast my eyes on, something like "How to fire raku"? I don't do pottery. (yet) I don't have a kiln. And if I ever do get into making my own raku, it's a long time in the future.

But click the link, yo. Let your eyes drink in those fabulous photos. Be inspired by the glorious colors and shapes, and by the fascinating details of how others have worked through the details in their craft. Looking outside the box of your own area of expertise is a great way to be refreshed and reinvented in your approach. Not to mention, it's fun to find new places to shop...like maybe with the wonderful Marianne Kasparian of Maku Studio.