50% OFF SALE!!

Hey there! I know I haven't blogged for what seems like YEARS but wanted to let you know that I'm having a 50% off sale in my Etsy shop til Sept. 12. Here's some photos of some of the sale items--click on this link to take you there!

Teaching My First Workshop!

I am very excited about the opportunity brought to me by Jenny Doh (of the fabulous Crescendoh) to teach a mixed media workshop in lovely and hip Santa Ana, CA! The dates will be June 23-24, 2012. We will take a very unique and fresh approach to this workshop, in that I will teach you how to use wire, metal, clay, and various other found goodies to create dimensional works that reflect you or a person in your life. For instance, The Juggler for the person who is always multitasking (and who isn't nowadays?) Or the trapeze artist for someone who is a risk-taker (or longs to be.) We'll draw inspiration mainly from the circus, but it doesn't have to be limited to that. Let me help you unearth those facets of your personality with a mixed media piece that is truly all your own! For details or to sign up, please click here!

Creating A New Visual Narrative: Part One

I've been commissioned to do a piece for a friend commemorating his wedding anniversary. He has given me free reign to create anything I want (which is a gift but is also somewhat scary to me) but it does need to be about a city-specifically, it should be about New Orleans. This city holds special meaning not only to my friend and his wife, but also to me as I used to live there and still have family there. I've been mulling it over in my mind and I keep getting stuck...how do I create a piece that depicts a city yet is still in my style? I've never done a city before....I mean, what would it look like? I called this post "Creating a new visual narrative" because in a sense that's what you do as an artist when you set out to create something that has your unique look to it--and it's not always easy. I'm showing you my sketchbook here with some beginning twigs of an idea...(now you can see how bad a sketcher I am.) These aren't the first sketches of this piece by any means, but this is the first one that actually has promise-at least to me. To you it probably looks like chicken scratch, but to me I know what to start on now. A title "Saints and Sinners" popped into my head so I've drawn some saints flying overhead and also contained within boxes (Saint in a Box-THAT should be a product:). Now to create the scene: I'm thinking of trying to do a wrought iron gate along the bottom with a 3-dimensional Saint Louis Cathedral behind the gates. Not sure yet how to build the church, possibly out of wire with either fabric or papier mache over. I'll keep posting my progress here in case anyone else is interested in how a piece comes together. This is what I'd call "Part 1-The Struggle". I know something's going to work out, just not sure what yet!

Crescendoh interview

That Jenny Doh. She amazes me...she never seems to lose her fascination and enthusiasm for artists and bringing people together around creativity. Although I've never met her in person or even talked to her on the phone, I feel her positive presence every time I get an email from her. She must have a life full of good karma and wonderful friends! I was fortunate enough to be interviewed on her wonderful blog Crescendoh. Take a peek here to see the full article:

http://blog.crescendoh.com/crescendo/2011/02/legato-tammy-smith.html

Etsy shop reopened!

Well, today we dug out of our deep snowdrifts after the biggest blizzard in years. Sounds like most of us in the U.S. were affected in some way. We were lucky and didn't lose power but I know quite a few did. The snow was sure beautiful though.

I decided to take advantage of this snowed-in time to finally reopen my Etsy shop! Below are some of my new mixed media prints that are in my shop. They come in two sizes: 5"x5" and 12"x12". They'll bring a fun, whimsical look to either your childrens' rooms or your own room. Each of them is made using a multi-step process. First I cut each of the words from a linoleum block, print them and combine them with the rest of my hand drawn illustrations. Then they are printed with archival inks on heavy duty canvas before being mounted on another 2" deep gallery canvas that has been handpainted and distressed. Finally they are finished with tinted wax encaustic for that vintagey circus poster look. Click on the following link to visit my shop:http://www.etsy.com/shop/homemadecircus

The Cyclone completed plus 4 new pieces

Here is the completed Cyclone piece from my previous post plus 4 of my new pieces that I'll be showing this starting this Friday, Nov. 5-Nov.30 at the Hilliard Gallery-1820 McGee-KCMO.

The Juggler-She was trying to keep all the balls in the air. This piece is about trying to juggle it all in life. It is a working dexterity game. It contains 5 metal balls which fit into the round holes over the woman's head. This piece is constructed of wood, tissue paper, handprinted fabric, painted metal, and wax encaustic. It measures 8"w x 10"h.

Conundrum-Sometimes I can't keep my mind from wandering. I wanted to make a piece that depicted a person's thoughts shooting around their head and pinging off of one thing or another, winding around Wonder and Imagination, occasionally getting stalled on Doubt or Skepticism but ultimately landing somewhere between a Bad or a Brilliant idea. This piece is a working pinball game with a ball shooter, faucet handles as spinners and curved metal scoops that provide ball stops. It's 16"w x 20"h.

Bed of Nails-He was on pins and needles.This piece is constructed of clay, found wood, nails, handprinted fabric, and acrylic paint. It measures 12"w x 6"h.

World's Tallest Man-He was above it all. This piece is constructed of clay, acrylic paint, found wood, wire, and handprinted fabric. It's 6"w x 12"h.

Recent Work 1:Train of Thought

It's been awhile since I've been home and not hurrying to get ready for a show so I thought I'd start posting some of my newest work. This is one of my two-dimensional mixed media pieces. It consists of handpainted clay tiles over painted metal train cars. The words are made from handprinted fabric. The wheels and chain are made from wire. It's entitled Train of Thought and it's about the thought process that I go through almost every time I start a new project. As you can see, I sometimes start with Fear: even though I know better and I read self-help books, sometimes I can't tame my thoughts that say my ideas aren't good enough. The next step if I start with Fear is Doubt: this is where I edit and cross out many of my sketches before I even give them a chance. Then what I usually do is take a break at this point and either call an artist friend or do something else completely like go for a run to clear my head. When I return to my work after this break, things don't seem so bleak. New ideas have usually popped into my head while I'm running, or my friends and I brainstorm another way of approaching my discarded ideas. Enter Hope: the clouds part, the sun shines and the process seems fun again. And with Hope, I finally approach Courage: I realize that I do this to myself and also realize that it's just a part of the creative process. The finished piece may never have happened if the initial "wrong" ideas didn't come to me first. This piece is 16"h x 42"w. The price is $595.00. Please email me if you have any questions or are interested in purchasing this piece.(Click on the photo to see larger version.)

Lovebirds On The Wall

True Lovebirds in Heart Shaped Perch-8x10

In the background are the words "love-adore-devotion-admire"

Lovebirds Under Circus Tent-4x6

On the sheet music are the words "You're the little birds that sing, darling you're my everything"

Bluebirds in Heart-5x5

In the background are the words "angel-darling-sweetheart-sugarplum-honeypie"

Lovebirds in Heart #2-5x5

Lovebirds in Large Heart-8x10

Here are the new 2D mixed media versions of my lovebird cages that I mentioned in the last post. They are constructed with wire, fabric, painted metal, and wax encaustic. They're for sale in my Etsy shop now-just click on this link to take you there!

Yeehaw! Roundup in Roundtop

Before I leave for Texas, I thought I'd post a few images of various pieces I've made for the show along with one photo of my empty studio...it really feels strange to not have ANY artwork in it at all. I will try to post some photos of the show and the town while we're there if I can...if not, this may be the last post for a week or so...Happy Trails!

Circus Wagon 1 and Cavalcade of Mischief

Thanks so much to the people who commented on the booth shot in my last post, and for those who requested a closer view of my 2D wall pieces, here ya go- the first one is titled "Circus Wagon 1" and it's made from tent canvas with tissue paper, custom printed fabric, wire and acrylic paint. It's around 13"high by 17" wide. In these photos I'm showing both these pieces without the larger canvas and frame.

The second piece is called "Cavalcade of Mischief" and it's also made from tent canvas, acrylic paint, wire, fabric and fringe. It's 25" high by 15" wide.

Booth Shot

Okay I finally got a photographer in to take some better shots of my pieces that I'll use for art fairs, etc. I know it's hard to see the detail in the smaller pieces in this shot but I love the light and think she did a fantastic job. By the way, "she" is LisaRae Turnbull-Oliva and I would love to send some business her way if anyone needs some photos! 

If you are interested in purchasing any of this work, please

email me at ts826@kc.rr.com

If a piece you are wanting is sold, please contact me

and I will be happy to let you know what I do have in stock

as I'm constantly making new cages!

Helter Skelter Tower
This piece stands a statuesque 26" tall and is 13" in diameter.
It's what I call my "signature piece" because it means the most to me
and conveys everything my Homemade Circus look consists of
--old, broken down circus rides that nature has reclaimed and
made beautiful and whimsical again!
Click on the photo above to go to my Etsy shop to get more
info or buy this piece

Two Bluebirds In Love
These bluebirds live in their own little world in a wire heart entwined
with red raffia. These birds, like all my birds,are handmade by me
from paperclay.

The antique silver tinsel covers their perch and they sit on a
twig of real cherry wood!
Click on the photo above for more info or to buy



The Flying Dutchman
I built this piece to display my little birds in boxes
but like a real carnival ride, it actually spins around!
It stands about 23" tall and is about 15" diameter
Right now this piece is only for show but the birds
in boxes are available.

Individual small birds in boxes

approx. 3"h x 3"w

$20.00
email me to purchase


Red Circus Bird on silver tinsel perch
This bird can be happy on his perch either swinging from the
swirly wire hook or sitting on a table! He sits on a cherry twig
and is surrounded by antique silver tinsel.
SOLD-thank you!

Black and Red birds in cages

These two birds are practicing their "high wire act"
on the twisty wire vines and leaves on
this 6" high cage. -$45.00
Pedestal is sold separately and is
handmade from tissue paper, ribbon and heavy cardboard.
Pedestal-$20.00

SOLD-thank you!

The Lovebirds
These two are definitely two peas in a pod in
their cozy nest made of real iris leaves!
The heart shaped perch is made from raffia
and wire and is sold separately from the
striped pedestal beneath it.
Approx. 9" high w/ pedestal.
Lovebirds-$75.00
Pedestal-$25.00

Tammy Smith©2008.
All content on this site is property of Tammy Smith
and may not be used in any way without permission.