April 2010 – Kirsten Bailey: Art

Posted on April 27, 2010April 27, 2010 by Kirsten

Art for Art’s Sake

One of the many things I love about creating art is the opportunity it provides me to support more charities. You may remember earlier this year I donated a painting to the Young Variety’s ‘Heart Art Show’.

This year I’ve also been given the opportunity to participate in the Cerebral Palsy League‘s ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ exhibition. The Cerebral Palsy League is the largest non-government disability services provider for people with a physical disability in Queensland. Having taught a student with Cerebral Palsy I’ve seen first hand the necessity of an organisation like this, and so I’m very happy to be able to support them.

This year’s exhibition theme is ‘The Joy of Living’, and I am donating the following painting, titled Sunset Joy:

The painting will be auctioned at the Gala Opening and Cocktail Reception on Wednesday 12 May 2010 from 6:30pm, at Waterfront Place, Eagle St, Brisbane. For more details, please see the Art for Art’s Sake website.

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Kirsten

Mother’s Day

Mother and Child by Tracey Potter — "Mother and Child" Acrylic on Board by Tracey Potter

Mother’s Day is nearly here again – doesn’t it always sneak up on you? This week I’ve been lucky enough to be featured in two blog posts about Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Firstly, one of my favourite artists, Tracey Potter, has blogged about her Top 10 Gifts under $50 for Mother’s Day, featuring my “Pink Lemonade” pendant along with many other beautiful items including her gorgeous original painting “Mother and Child” (featured above).

Kylie from Tiges and Weince has been kind enough to feature my “Little Twilight Field” ACEO in her collection of pretty raspberry-coloured Mother’s Day items featuring Aussie designers.

What’s your favourite handmade item for Mother’s Day?

Posted on April 25, 2010April 25, 2010 by Kirsten — 2 Comments

Sunday Selections – BrisSylin’!

Yesterday I attended my first ever BrisStyle meeting (this is my excuse for doing my Saturday Selections post on Sunday, btw). It was great to put faces to names, even though I was a little too shy to talk to everyone!

I thought it fitting that I highlight some of my favourite items by fellow BrisStyle members this week:

Top to bottom, left to right:

1. Lavender Scented Bird by Edward & Lilly. I just love these little birds! The belly of the bird is filled with lavender flowers, and hand embroidered on the front. Perfect for hanging in your wardrobe to keep it smelling lovely!

2. Old World Rose earrings by Little Yellow. Aren’t these pretty? I love the combination of the antique bronze with the cherry pink quartz rondelle. A little bit of old world style and elegance.

3. Delightful Daphne – Cream Brown and Gold Cameo Necklace by Love Chrissa. This necklace certainly is delightful! The beautiful brown and cream Cameo matches perfectly with the ivory coloured antique Cameo base. My favourite little touch is the pretty antiqued brass sparrow – it adds that little extra interest and charm to this necklace.

4. Small Shoulderbag with Eucalyptus screen print in black by PalumaPrint. Made from cotton canvas fabric in grey and black, this one of a kind bag features PalumaPrint’s original eucalyptus design. It’s simple elegant style makes this a versatile bag that would go with any outfit! With free shipping to Australia and NZ, what’s not to love?

5. Blue and White Spots Clutch by Chi Designs. I love the soft pretty polka-dot design of the Japanese linen/cotton fabric this clutch is made from. It’s large enough to fit all the essentials, making it perfect for everyday!

6. Lepidolite Wire Wrapped Pendant with Stirling Silver Necklet by Rock’n’Wrap. Isn’t this just stunning? Featuring a focal pendant of frosty purple lepidolite paired with a solid stirling silver necklet, this isn’t just a necklace, it’s a work of art!

I’ve only highlighted a few Brisstyle members in this post – be sure to check out the other members and the beautiful things they are making!

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Kirsten — 2 Comments

More Swappy Goodness!

This month I once again participated in the DUST team swap, and once again it was a wonderful experience.

I was paired up with Briony from Petaliferous, who makes handmade, one-of-a-kind, vintage, upcycled, fun and whimsical jewellery. I was spoilt rotten – here are the goodies I received:

A purple rose Cabochon Ring – handmade for me! Not only does it look great to just wear, I’ve found it looks fabulous when I thread through the ends of a wrap top I bought at an Intimo party. So versatile!

I just love this Hot Pink Rose Cabochon necklace – I’ve been looking for a nice bright pink necklace for ages, and this one is just perfect!

My favourite item by far is this gorgeous bracelet made with handmade sparkly blue, black and silver beads. It is just my style and is *so* comfortable to wear (yes, I HAD to wear it as soon as it arrived in the mail – and I happened to be wearing blue that day too so it must have been fate).

My photos (taken late at night because I’m too impatient to wait until the weekend when I’ll have time to take daylight photos) really don’t do this beautiful jewellery justice, so please check out Briony’s store to see pieces like these and many other beautiful jewellery items.

Posted on April 18, 2010April 18, 2010 by Kirsten — 1 Comment

The Handmade Expo

Yesterday I spent my morning at The Handmade Expo, at the Ipswich Turf Club.

After a bit of a shaky start (I am prone to stressing out at the best of times, and a mix-up over where to set up had me freaking out just a bit) – I had a great day!

It was definitely a better venue to sell than the Suitcase Rummage was – people were expecting higher quality items. I sold quite a lot of pendants, some cards and a couple of keepsake boxes.

Keepsake boxes, pendants and cards by KL Bailey Art at the Handmade Expo — Keepsake boxes, pendants and cards

The best thing about the Handmade Expo was all the lovely people I met. I really enjoyed being able to meet the people buying my work and hearing their comments. It also gave me a good idea of which styles were popular. One lovely lady who purchased two of my paintings at The Coffee Club Springfield popped in to meet me, which was wonderful. A huge thank you to all those who stopped by and said hello 🙂

Original art by Kirsten Bailey at the Handmade Expo — Original Artwork

The Handmade Expo is held every month at the Ipswich Turf Club. While I won’t be able to make the May market (I will be participating in Padua College’s Artscape Exhibition), I will be at the June Market on Saturday 26th June. I’m hoping to make it a regular event!

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Kirsten — 1 Comment

Seeing Stars

I’ve always been fascinated by the stars – I love looking up at the night sky, especially when I’m away from the city and the artificial light no longer dims the stars. One of my favourite childhood memories is that of looking through a neighbour’s telescope. So it’s not surprising that stars feature heavily in my artwork. Nor is it a surprise that some of my favourite Etsy items are star-themed as well. Here are a few of them:

From top to bottom, left to right:

1. Starry Night Cobalt Glass and Silver Charm Bracelet by Trash and Trinkets. This charm bracelet features the prettiest shade of blue, along with star and moon charms.

2. Stellar Stream – Indigo/Gray Freeform Crochet Necklace by Irregular expressions. I am in LOVE with this necklace! I love the title ‘Stellar Stream’, and it really does bring up memories of seeing the milky way clearly emblazoned across the sky. Best of all, it’s totally unique!

3. Starry Night Serving / Pasta Dish by Spinster Sisters Pottery. This dish is so pretty it almost seems a shame to put food on it! Glazed in midnight blue with white crystal stars, it would make a wonderful centerpiece to the table.

4. The Original Velvet Purple Candileria by Blue Room Pottery. How cool are these? I can just imagine how pretty a room would look lit by candlelight filtered through one of these beauties, stars playing against the walls.

5. Starry Night Necklace Lapis Lazuli, Pyrite, Sterling Silver by Red Chair. If you were to trap the night sky in a string of pearls, I think it would look something like this. This stunning necklace features lapis lazuli beads, blue as the night sky, offset by the shine of Pyrite.

6. Starry Night Embroidered Cloth Napkins by Monkey Beetle. These simple, elegant and beautiful napkins would add a little starlight to any dinner table. You can even get a glow-in-the-dark version!

Posted on April 13, 2010April 13, 2010 by Kirsten — 7 Comments

Illustration Friday – Linked

This week’s topic over at Illustration Friday is “linked“. Here’s what I came up with:

It’s titled Entwined.

I really enjoyed creating this one, and I’m happy with how it’s turned out… but painting the way I do can be quite messy:

I’m so glad watercolours wash off easily!

Posted on April 12, 2010April 13, 2010 by Kirsten

Two Happy Stampers April Colour Challenge – Take Two

I recently wrote about participating in this month’s colour challenge at Two Happy Stampers, which involves creating something using the following colours:

I wanted to have another go at creating a painting using these colours, and this is what I came up with:

It reminds me of the shrubs they have around my school which drop white flowers in a carpet all over the ground. The branch of the tree is actually painted in navy watercolour paint although it looks pretty close to black.

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Kirsten — 2 Comments

Suitcase Rummage

Today I spent my time at King George Square for the Suitcase Rummage – basically, people were allowed to bring a suitcase full of whatever they wanted to sell, and it was all free!

I was there to sell some unframed paintings, my keepsake boxes, pendants and cards.

I wish I could say it was a really successful day, and I was busy the whole time, but it was not to be. I was surrounded by people selling pre-loved clothing for 5o cents or $1 a piece, so I guess in contrast my stuff seemed expensive to people.

I did get lots of lovely comments though, and I’m hoping I’ll have more success at the Handmade Expo next Saturday.

If you live in the area, I’d love to see you there!

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Kirsten — 1 Comment

Saturday Selections – Colour Challenge

Earlier this week I wrote about the Two Happy Stampers Colour Challenge. When stuck for ideas for a theme for my Saturday Selections this week, I thought why not take the colour challenge that little bit further, and find some lovely items from Etsy featuring Coral, Teal, White and Navy?

Here’s what I found:

Top to bottom, left to right:

1. Mermaid Twist Earrings by Gypsy’s Closet. Simple but elegant and beautiful, these earrings feature a coral bead and aqua chalcedony briolette connected by a gold twisted loop.

2. Royal Blue Earrings by Designs by Tisha. These are just stunning. The Morrocan silver plated filligree drops are so pretty, and are set off beautifully by a blue Czech fire polished crystal.

3. Navy Blue Pillow Cover with Cherry Blossoms by Sassy Pillows. I love the way the navy background on this pillow sets off the pretty coral, green and white cherry blossoms.

4. Lotus Favorite Mug by YogaGoat. Most of us have a favourite mug or cup – the one you always reach for when you need that cup of tea or coffee. I can easily see this mug becoming someone’s favourite – I love the coral lotus flower design, and the little thumb rests on the top of the handles.

5. Unique Summer Garden Necklace by You and Me and Bead. Isn’t this necklace just so pretty? It features a coral coloured flower with little antiqued brass branches and soft teal green freshwater pearls.

6. Turquoise and Ivory Traditions Damask Table Runner by Darling Occasions. I love table runners – they’re a great way to create a feature of your table, and tie in the colours of the room, without covering up the whole table like a tablecloth does. This pretty runner would be a great centerpiece to any dining table. I love the way it’s been paired with the white vases in this photograph, too.

I think I still have one more idea up my sleeve for this colour challenge, so stay tuned…