3 Generations of Struthers

My family was recently approached by the Creative 360 Studio in Midland, MI to do a exhibit with them. I come from a family of artists and they said that they were interested in doing a generation show.

If anyone is in or around Midland January 18 - February 22, please stop by and see our work - Creative 360 Stage, Studio & Gallery 1517 Bayliss Rd. The opening will be on January 18 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Visit their website for further information: http://becreative360.org/class-942.htm

Just to give you an idea, there will be five of us showing our work:

Carol Struthers - My Grandma - She will be showing her beautiful woodblock prints
Clint Struthers - My Dad - He will be showing his wonderful handcrafted furniture
Leslie Struthers - My Aunt - She will be showing her carefully handcrafted turned wood
Jodie Struthers - My Mom - She will be showing her outstanding oil paintings
Me - I will be showing my watercolor and oil paintings

Hope to see you all there!

New Year

Hello everyone! I have been bad and not written on here at all lately! Between work and traveling for the holidays, I haven't had any free time.

I have some resolutions this year for my design and jewelry:

1. Post on my blog at least every other day - might have to work up to this
2. Possibly start another blog that would be dedicated to my design work. Possibly update this blog and use this one too.
3. Get my jewelry into some galleries around Grand Rapids and the possibly other states.
4. Create some more glass wall hangings and get them into galleries.
5. Promote my Etsy shop - get it all over the web!
6. Create more designs that I can post
7. Create a website to showcase my design work and to use as a portfolio

Ok, this may seem simple and easy but I think it will take some time. I am getting my mind set on how I want to achieve all this and in what order I need to do it in.

For now, I hope you all have a happy New Year!

Happy belated Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has had a nice couple days with family and friends.

I am very thankful for the love of my family and my husband. For my job where I learn something new everyday and my coworkers that make me smile.

After a couple days with family in Iowa we are headed back to GR this morning anPd Payton is happy to be heading home with her new Thunder Blanket!

Happy Monday

Mondays are always hard to get back in the swing of things, but knowing I get to come home and snuggle this sweet girl makes my day!

Finished Display

Finally finished!

Jewelry Display

Fun DIY way to display my pendants. I bought some old frames at a garage sale, then cut foam core board to fit in it. Then I found some fabric I liked and wrapped the board with it. After taping it in place in the frame, I used sewing pins to hold the pendants up. Very simple!

Happy Weekend!

I know for my little girl, the weekends are the best. Hope everyone else has a great one!

Promotional Material

I don't know about everyone else, but I love to create things, but I am horrible at marketing my work. Creating this blog and creating my Etsy shop was a big step for me. With the holidays coming around, I thought that a postcard might be a good way to get the word out there. I am sending it to the printer tomorrow, can't wait to see it!

ArtPrize

In 2010 and 2011 I participated in a wonderful city wide even in Grand Rapids called ArtPrize. I didn't have the time to do anything this year, but I thought I would share with you my painting from last year.

I would love to be painting more, but I find that there are so many things that I want to do that there just isn't enough time in the day! This is to help inspire me to get back into painting soon :)

The painting in 2010 was dedicated to my Grandma because she would garden with me as a child and started my love of flowers. The 2011painting was dedicated to my Grandpa. He passed away that year and this was my tribute to him. This was the most difficult and challenging painting I have done and I think he would have liked that I pushed myself with it.

Both painting are done on 200lb cold press watercolor paper with watercolor paint.

 

Here is the beginning stages of the bottom Iris.

 

 

View of the two iris as they develop. I like to work all over the canvas as I go, but this one was a little different. I completed the bottom iris first then went on to the second. Then I went back in and added the darkest parts.

 

After the flowers and background were done, I went in and added the fuzzy yellow part of the iris.

 

This is a picture of the 2010 and 2011 paintings together. They are framed and matted the same so that they are a pair, just like my Grandparents were for over 60 years. :)

Pinterest

I have had a Pinterest page for about a year now and for some reason it never occurred to me to link it here! Being one of those people are addicted to Pinterest, there are a ton of fun things for you to check out. Everything from design, glass, clothes and fun pet pictures, you name it I probably like to pin it!

Struthers Studios on Pinterest

Here are a couple images I found on there this morning - might give you an idea of what I like to pin :)

Grand Opening!

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.

I am excited to announce that my Etsy shop is open for business!! I have been hard at work getting all of my fused glass pendants posted while fusing more to post soon.

Remember Christmas is just around the corner, so get some of your shopping done early for your friends and family. Check out my Etsy shop for some beautiful fused glass pieces for your loved ones. Also, be sure to check back within the next week for more options as I get some more pieces done.  Click here Struthers Studios

Enjoy looking around!

Happy Birthday to the Best Mom!!

I would just like to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother. This past weekend we went home and spent a lovely Saturday with her and then a yummy dinner and INCREDIBLE chocolate cake from the best bakery in the world. (Hamilton's http://www.hamiltonpastries.com/Pages/default.aspx)

I won't reveal her age, since she told me "I don't celebrate birthdays unless they end in 5 or 0, so don't sing to me." But I will say that she is the best mom I could ever ask for. She has not only loved me unconditionally, but she has supported me in everything I have ever done. She would kill me if I posted her picture, so, to stay on her good side I won't. But these little guys below are her two babies Dakota (on the left) and Wyatt (on the right).

If you are interested in seeing some of Mom's beautiful paintings, please check out her website!
http://www.sorraiastudios.com/

Quick Witt Designs

I have to brag about another one of my wonderful friends who has opened her own shop on Etsy! Janelle Joyce is an incredibly talented designer with a love for typography and invitations. She has a wonderful selection of designs to pick from for you to have your very own customized invitation. From wedding invitations to save the dates to baby showers - she has everything you need.

Janelle follows trends and her beautiful work reflects that. Take a look at her shop for all your invitation needs :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/quickwittdesigns

 

Head Over to the Brooding Artist Blog

Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you all my wonderful friend and coworker's blog. She spends every Wednesday night at the humane society volunteering by taking pictures of all the pups to put on their website. I have no doubt that her beautiful pictures have helped some of these fuzzy friends get loving homes.She comes in to work on Thursdays and shows me all the love bugs that she photographs and it takes everything I have to not run over there and adopt all of them. As many of you know, four legged babies hold a very special place in my heart. If it weren't for my husband continually reminding me we don't have room for another dog (even though he is a dog lover himself) I would probably come home with a dog each month. :)
So, please check out Miss Adrianne Adelle and see some of her wonderful photography!

http://adrianneadelle.wordpress.com/

Sneak Peak!

I have been working tonight on getting my images edited to post some glass pendants on Etsy this week. Thought I would show everyone a sneak peak. :)
~Courtney

Little Helper

Hope everyone has had a nice weekend. A little cold and rainy here, which is perfect to get things done inside.
I spent most of my weekend getting my fused glass photographed to put on my Etsy shop. Takes time, but I am a couple steps closer!
Of course I had to get some house chores done this weekend as well. One of those included folding laundry. I have to share this picture with you because it is a perfect example of my little helper.
Have a great Monday,
Courtney

Jewelry!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!
I wanted to give you a little taste of the jewelry that I will be posting on Etsy this weekend.
This is a beaded bracelet that I made for my dear friend Amy.

Keep checking back to find out when the Struthers Studios Etsy shop will open.
~Courtney

Introducing Baby Payton

Happy Monday everyone. I would like to officially introduce you to my little girl. This is Payton and she is my little helper in everything. She sat and snuggled with me while I created this blog.
Payton is 5 years old and rescue baby. We love her so much and you will find me posting about her here and there.
Cheers
~Courtney

New Logo

To get this blog started, I knew that I needed a logo to put at the top. I have an obsession with typography and right now, chalk board drawings are very popular. I love the look so much that I knew I wanted to do something like it.

Here are some images that I used as inspiration:

I had considered doing the whole logo digitally, but then decided that might not be the best idea. I wanted to get the hand-drawn look across and knew as hard as I tried to accomplish that digitally, I would not be satisfied. So, after digging in the studio closet, I was able to sit down and start drawing. Here is the drawn version:

 Then, after scanning and cleaning and adding a background this is what I finally came up with (which can also be seen above):

I am hoping to keep working this and develop it even further. I know, easier said than done . . . . I need more hours in the day!!!!

Cheers,

Courtney

Welcome to Struthers Studios Blog!!!

I have been wanting to start a blog for the past year and never sat down to do it. But it is finally here!! 

For those of you who don't know me, I have a degree in Illustration and Graphic Design. I work as a full time Senior Designer in the greeting card department at Design Design - gallery19.com  When I am not working I am at home designing. I find as a creative person my mind fills up quickly with ideas or projects that I want to work on but don't have enough time to accomplish. So, I make lists to help me keep my brain in check. 

This blog will be a free-for-all of design, illustration, painting, drawing, jewelry and inspiration. 

Hope you enjoy in the inner workings of my crazy brain.

~Courtney