On a recent rip to New york city, I went, for the first time, to Coney Island.  It is crazier and more fun than one can imagine.  There are thousands of people everywhere, on the rides, on the beach, at the cafes.  There are people of all kinds, scary rides, and the ever present smell of hot dogs.

Many people might find such a place, well, difficult.  Too crowded, too noisy, too tacky.  But I thought it was very beautiful.  The people watching was outstanding, the rides were scary, and the energy was fantastic.

So how can a sticky, sweaty place be so wonderful?  It all depends on how open i am to the world.  when reality seems boring, or scary, or grey, there is little beauty, no matter where i am.  But when i love the sensual side of life, in all of its intensity, EVERYTHING seems great.  So, beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but in the heart.

Are there crazy places you find beautiful, despite all evidence to the contrary?

Back from a great weekend in New york City!  I spent time in places I rarely linger, or even go.  I walked all of chinatown, strolled Coney Island and enjoyed a great Flea Market in Brooklyn.  wow.  fun, and very photogenic.

Most tourists see Chinatown as the area where knock off purses, costume jewelry and souvenirs are hawked from tiny crowded stores.  But walk east and you will find a more interesting cultural treasure.  Neat Mott Street Most people are Asian, most stores are geared to Asian-American customers, not tourists.  It smells great.  There are so many colors and patterns it is wonderful.  I tried to capture it in photos, and I only think i was partially successful.  In one moment of international understanding, i hd a little conversation with a French woman who was also trying to capture the craziness and the color in her camera, and we agreed it was beautiful and very hard to capture--all in a few shared words in English, french and Italian.  In China town!  What a wonderful world.

Meet Muzzy.  Muzzy is one of my alter egos.  She appeared one day on a long train ride .  She is going to help me post on my blog from time to time.  She loves art and is the proprietor of Muzzy's Gallerie d"Art. (I guess she is French).  From time to time Mussy will feature my work or the work of others.  would you like your work included in the gallery?  Just respond here, posting your art with some little comment.

When enough pieces are collected, Muzzy may publish a catalog, for print or ipad.  She would like to include short prose or poetry pieces from time to time.  So send it on in.  If there are classic pieces of art you love or art of others you wish to include, just send in the name of the artist and some contact information.

So, Welcome to Muzzy's!  The champagne is always cold and the conversation always witty.

Todays theme is BLUE as in Blueberries.  My sister has a u-pick berry farm in Wisconsin where we spent the day.  Quite a different place than the city where I live, there is a large quantity of silence and peace, with soft rustling of trees, birds chirping and beautiful views.

Blue is not my favorite color, and I rarely feature it in m art, but I am going to make an exception this week as I work with the photos I took today and on other trips to the farm.

So, if you are anywhere near Minneapolis, go to www.rushriverproduce.com and get the skinny on a great country experience.  If not, get out your favorite blue crayon and make believe.

More soon!

So todays theme is CELEBRATE!

This week it is my son's birthday, my daughters AND my husbands.

So there is a lot of cake around here, as you can imagine.  When my kids were little we started planning their birthday parties fight after school let out.  It was the biggest deal of the whole year.

As adults we often forget to celebrate, or we don't think that many things deserve the BIFG DEAL label.  Truth is, many more things are worth celebrating than you would ever expect.  Finish that to do list?  Make someone's day?  Finally learn all the words to you favorite poem.

Celebration is not about big things, it is about an attitude of success.  It reinforces our efforts, and reminds us we are capable, successful and special.  Who does not need that?  So today, celebrate my sweet  husband's birthday (a big one that ends in an 0), or celebrate whatever went well today.  You will never look back and say "Ooo--too many good moments--too many celebrations."

Happy happy birthday, or half birthday, or three quarters--whenever your special day may be.

Who doesn't love a baby.  And, they are great to celebrate with  tiny tennis shoes, soft rattles, and that great baby smell.

I love to give art for nurseries as baby gifts.  Of these, my favorites are my personalized nameplates.  They have blue or pink backgrounds for girls and boys, and have the whole name spelled out in celebration of the new little one.  These work great for moms and dads, and grandparents too.

I have a whole set of baby art, some personalized and some not.  Here are some examples--

So, what are your favorite gifts to send to celebrate new babies?

Ok, today I get to stop and smell the roses (yes, I know these are not roses, but I like the picture.)
Last night I hosted a cocktail party for a bunch of people I knew, did not know, or wanted to know. I had no idea who, if anyone would show up, and no idea how all these stranger would interact.

Success.  Everyone had a great time.  Enough people came to make it fun and let people interact individually with several people.  Guests shared their ideas of their art and got to know one another.

I had decided to do this months ago, and I actually did it.  Too many times I excuse myself from accomplishing my goals.  But here, I just jumped in and let go of results, and it was great.

So, take that leap, forget those excuses, quit worrying, and try something new.  Get out these odd crayons you bought but never used, try that new idea for a menu for dinner, take a class in something that intimidates you.  It will undoubtedly work out great.  It does not matter what happens, just because you did it, you will be a winner.

I just hope I remember my own advice.  I love this feeling of success and freedom, and want to feel it again and again.

I love to cook and entertain.  tonight, some wonderful artists will gather here.  So, my menu---

                                                    Roasted  Orange Shrimp

                                                Fresh Veggies with Curry Dip

                                      Bleu cheese and Italian Monte Bello Cheese

                                                  Roasted Eggplant Spread

                                                           Garlic Toasts

                                        and for dessert, mini raspberry shortcakes.


Nummy.  Wish you could all be here.  Does this menu sound good to you?  I am pairing this with Sangria and Chardonnay.  I think it will work out well.

The key to all of this was a careful plan--to get all the ingredients. to start early enough to get everything done, and to have fun doing it.  Whatever I am doing, it always benefits from some serious time at the front end anticipating the requirements and making it all work.

Wish you could all be here.  it is a beautiful night in Minneapolis.
Where ever you are, have a great night.

Tomorrow I am hosting my first Artist Party.  As creatives, we often work alone, so this is a chance for local artists to get together, just to have fun and socialize.  I think that it will also give us a chance to share issues, explore collaborations, and have people to call upon when we need feedback or support.

There are many times when other people are the key to happiness and success, but so many things keep us from one another.  Some people are shy, others worry their work or ideas are not "good enough".  We worry that we are imposing on other people's time, or that we don't deserve help.

Collaboration can be time consuming and even frustrating, but for creative work, it is invaluable.  Even the Harvard Business Review knows this. They indicate that research proves collaboration is very important for issues with no obvious solutions, for problems without clear paths to resolution, and where interdisciplinary information is critical.

So if you want  better process, a more innovative solution, and input form many perspectives, make that call, send that email, even host a party.  Only good things can result.

Hi Everyone,

I know it has been some time since I posted, but from now on we are going to remedy that.  Expect a new post every day, Monday trough Friday.  I might miss a few days here and there if I am traveling, but mostly, you will find me here 5 times a week.

To make up for my tardiness, I am sending you my new puppy, Max.  How can you be disappointed with such a face looking at you.  Yesterday was his 3 month birthday, and you can expect to see him grow up here.

That brings me to the topic of Puppy Love.  It can be a teenage crush, or it can be that instant, bonding experience you have with a person, place or thing.  I had an instant crush on the city of New Orleans.  I was introduced to that wonderful place on a family trip when I was 15, and I  have never forgotten the first rush of attachment.  Every time I go back the smells, the sounds and the friendly people blow me away.

For me the same is true about making "art".  When I was a kid I made ethnic costumes for my troll dolls and parade floats out of kleenex and individual cereal boxes.  A new box of crayons was pure delight.  I had plenty of toys but nothing that smelled so good, and lasted so long.

As an adult I lost some of the wonder of puppy love.  I thought that I should be more serious, more practical, more grown up.  How wrong I was.  Now I know that it is love, puppy or not, that makes the world go round.  It is about enjoying those things that really get your juices flowing.

So have some chocolate, or spend half an hour in the park this afternoon.  Puppy love your own obsessions. You will be a happier, healthier, more creative person for it.

I spent the weekend at Surtex, the surface design show in NYC.  I saw so many wonderful pieces and met terrific people.  I want to share many of them with you over the next days and weeks.

Keiko Suzuki makes delicate collages from newspaper.  She tears pieces selected by color.  She wets them to create a les textured piece, and she pieces them together to create these fabulous animals.  She is generous with her technique.  You can see a video at www.keikosuzukiart.com/how-my-arts-are-created

Her pieces are unique.  they are so different from the norm.  I will write to here to see how her show went.  I think this is fine work, and I can image kittens playing on notebooks, pillows and wallpaper borders.  What do you think of this art?

Sorry I have not posted for a few days, but I was in New york CIty at a trade show called Surtex.  Here, artists sell and license images for use on surfaces such as paper, cloth, and more.  This is where some of the greeting cards, wrapping paper, gift products, notebook covers, and shower curtains that you buy are born.

There is also the National Stationery Show.  Here, manufacturers sell paper and gift products to retailers.  i collected dozens of business cards from both artist and manufacturers.  Most of them were lovely and effective marketing tools.  however, some were, well, odd.

the most common problem was o try to put too much on one card.  Some little business cards had over 5 images, and everything lacked drama and clarity.  Some were so busy displaying images that it was hard to find the company name and contact information.  one large card had the exact same images and info on each side. Wy pay for 2 sided printing here?

I did not post these error.  Embarrassment was not my goal here.  i just wanted to pass along simple mistakes we all can avoid.

What are your biggest tips on marketing postcards and business cards--positive and negative?

Perhaps i am showing my age, but I still love snail mail. It is a very rare day that I get a REAL pice of mail in among the bills and the ads.  It makes me excited like a little kid.  I send cards for birthdays, sadness, congratulations and just because I have don a piece of art and I want to share it.

This little guy is from a series of birds of spring.  I not only use it for a card, but sometimes I print it up about the size of a playing card and just leave them around my life--at the coffee shop, the library, where ever.  I write on the back some fun message addressed to whomever finds it.  I like to think I create moments of happy confusion all day long.

So to you--Thanks for finding me a racing my little pieces of happy confusion.

How do you spread happiness or best wishes?

I love to draw.  i like charcoal, pencils, and crayons, but most of all I LOVE the feel of a Sharpie pen on paper.  I go a little nuts when I can not find one.  Luckily, I can usually find a lost one on the bottom of every handbag in my closet.

I particularly like how scanning drawings give them new life.  I would have  trouble creating this image all together, but with a little squirrel and a vase of flowers, I can combine them and use other drawings in so many different ways.  I can remove sloppy marks, color them in, and pull them apart.  I think the fact that I can change them with unlimited undo's makes me a better draftsman because I have the freedom to make mistakes.  I wish a scanner could erase all sorts of mistakes, but for now i will hae to stick to pictures.

Do you like to dew? what do you like o dew? With what?
I would love to hear from you!

Meanwhile, stop and smell the roses (and the tulips of spring).

Good mooring!
Every year for nearly 20 years my family has vacationed in South Florida.  We saw billboards for "Butterfly World" many times, and always poked fun at them, thinking it was a crazy tourist trap.  One day I felt like a new experience, and went there.  It is wonderful.  you walk into screened rooms filled with all sorts of butterflies.  If you stand still they land on you.  You can watch children and old people smile and giggle when butterflies land on them.  It is magic.

I took a ton of photos.  Unfortunately, butterflies do not stand still often, and most of the pics are of the place a butterfly has recently been.  But a few came out.  To remember the feeling of being in this wonderful place I am working on a set of butterfly patterns.  What do you think of these?  What do you do to remember great experiences?

This lovely thing is called a piano key butterfly. It's more orange than simply black and white, but its name suggests all sorts of pattern ideas.  So, over the net few posts I will play with this image, and  others of these wonderful butterflies to see what kind of pattern i can make for this spring.  Meanwhile, I would love to hear your ideas of butterfly patterns, your butterfly experiences and whatever else you would like to  share.

One of the themes that i return to over and over is the graphic nature of letter forms.  i used to design new type styles in my school notebooks when bored or waiting.  It was nothing i ever talked about.  I just did it without thinking about it.

Many years later, I was sitting with my then teen aged daughter in an emergency room waiting area, when a relative was being.  Those place seem to defy time, and we had no idea how long we might be.  I glanced over at my daughter to see her designing new letter forms in hr school notebook.  Could it be in our genes?

I love letters because they make sentences and communicate.  I love them because they are one of the earliest things we learn.  I am fascinated by the fact tat one letter can be drawn so many ways and yet remain readable and recognizable.

Here is a recent take on lettering.  Its made up of good old crayons and watercolor paint.  As you put the watercolor over the waxy forms, they seem to fight through the moisture to rise to the surface.

So try your hand at letters.  Beautiful, formal calligraphy or simple crayon marks, its all fun..  I would love to see your ideas.
Talk to you soon,
Mary

Good day all,
Thanks to everyone that read yesterdays post.

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite images from my portfolio.  I call it a Universal Symbol of Celebration.  Do you like it?

I love a good party.  I am big into Christmas, birthday cakes, fun cocktail food, and just about everything that goes with making a big, big deal out of a special moment.  In our house, the kids birthdays were at the end of July, and my husbands is August 1.  So, we always began to plan these celebrations right after school let out in June.  I miss this ritual and these parties.

When I plan a party, I try to grab a good theme.  It helps me create a color story, and then defines some single important image, sort of like a logo.  i have need used the image above for a party, but i have printed in on a wood background and glued it to a wood block, sending it out as a birthday gift.  It is our little secret that the tiny piece of art is a warm birthday hug every day of the year, any time its needed.

Tomorrow this little birthday (or any day) gift will be available on Etsy.  Just search for my name--Mary Wertz and my shop will come up.

If you are celebrating anything this week, -CONGRATS!-If you are enduring some bad days, my thoughts are with you.  Try to make life a little celebration any day you can.

Pattern Agency Concentrates on Collaboration

Hello, Hello, Hello.

If you have found your way here, you are reading the very first entry in the Mary Wertz Design Blog.  Here, I promote my images and those of other artists interested in selling and licensing images for products of all types.

Our little group  works together because we like one another, help one another, and share a similar sense of aesthetics.  Most images display hand made components.  Many pieces share a sense of whimsy and a light touch.  Other pieces begin as photographs.

There are many reasons to buy or license images and patterns.  If you are a manufacturer, publisher, or on-line distributor, you already know the importance of a vibrant print and pattern market.  But smaller businesses and even individuals may love to have something unique or even custom designed.  How about custom bags for your retail store or business promotion?  Can you see a custom pattern on table cloths at your restaurant or picnic?

Please check back often.  I will post every few days if not every day.  Like us on Facebook at "Mary Wertz Designs".  Send me an email at mwcollage@aol.com.

Looking forward to talking more soon
Mary