Sleeping Dogs Studio

My husband is an amazing collage artist, and he’s always saying to me that I ought to try my hand at making our greeting cards on a larger scale.  Somehow I’ve never really had the guts, however…and then I thought – well, maybe having something different for the give-away should be my motivation!

So – here it is, and I hope you like it!  Meet “Polly # 5″…

She is a hand-tinted vintage image that is layered onto a 12″ X 12″ canvas covered with a variety of scrap paper, including some of my favorite vibrant patterns and old sheet music “fogged” out with sheets of white tissue paper.

I don’t know why exactly – but I like the #5, so made my own stencil (yes, I really cut that out myself!), then spray painted it on one side.  It needed something to balance it out – so then came the drips down the right side (I had the most fun with that part – messy!), and a string of buttons.

On the sides, there is a zig-zag of black paper interspersed with the white sheet music.  So there is no need to frame it if you don’t want to…

This is perfect for someone who loves color – and I think would look great in a child’s room.  Anyone wanting to enter simply needs to add a comment below with their e-mail, and the words “Give-away – 3/5″ – yes, it’s March already! – in the copy.  Your entry needs to be submitted by no later than 5 p.m. on March 5th to be eligible, and the winner will be chosen at random at that time.

I think I have a lot more to learn when it comes to collage work – but that’s the beauty of art - it’s always a process, always a learning experience, always a chance to push the limits of your creativity to the limit.  And who knows, this might be one of those “I knew her when” pieces that will be appraised for millions at an “Antiques Roadshow” in 2035…hope springs eternal.

For those of you that didn’t see Chris’ response in the comments, that totally adorable cat that I featured on the give-away winner entry was in fact, NOT Pike, but instead Igity, her son’s cat.  So – still adorable – but not the cat that encouraged Chris to enter the give-away.

Instead, below is Pike, the studio cat and forceful personality that convinced her.  What a great photo, isn’t it?!

And he’s obviously not only quite the character, but generous too, as he has told Chris that she can use the box she won to hold catnip for the non-studio cats as long as he also gets a taste once in awhile.  (I’m going to really have to break the news about the catnip carefully to Owen…that might push him over the edge, as he thinks boxes only have one function and that’s holding dog treats!)

Regardless, never let it be said that the Sleeping Dogs Studio owners (at least not the human ones) are not cat fans – we feel they deserve equal time even if we’re still working on convincing Jasmine and Owen.

Congrats again to Chris and to Wehaf!  Off to work on my “special prize” for tomorrow’s give-away (I hope I’m not building it up too much!)

So the green box is hers – Chris, should I just send it to the Studio?

But wait – what’s that stuck in Owen’s teeth?!  Another paper – he’s eating it, catch him quick!  It looks like we have ANOTHER winner!  Wehaf (urchicken@gmail.com), Owen is in a generous mood tonight!    (Or, once hearing that Pike was involved in Chris’ decision to enter, he quickly decided to go “anti-cat” on us, and pick someone else!  Naughty dog!) 

SO – how about this – why don’t you, Wehaf, pick one of the small boxes below as an alternative to the green box, and I will send it to you?

The one above is our “Alice in Wonderland” box; the one below is called “Paisley”, and both are lined in black velvet, just like the “Fern” box.  If the colors for either of these aren’t right for you, just let me know, and we’ll find another item (cards, etc.) that will suit you better!  Just e-mail me at carolyn@sleepingdogsstudio.net or via a comment below with your preference.

Be sure to come back on Sunday for the announcement of the next give-away…I am planning something different and unusual, so I don’t want to say too much about it or I’ll spoil the surprise!  But hopefully, it will be something that will appeal to many of you.  Until then, have a great weekend!

For those of you who saw my excessively anal comment upon how I was going to try and follow a schedule for the Blog, I know you’ll be THRILLED to find out that it appears to be falling into place!  Ideally, you will now be able to see the following items as you check in to our Blog each week:

SUNDAY:  Give-away Kick-off!  Twice a month we will feature Sleeping Dogs Studio items; and twice a month will have guest artists whose work is truly exceptional.  The variety is truly fantastic, and they are all tops in their field, Indiana Artisans, etc.  You’ll want to check in and sign up for these, and I owe them a special thank you for being so willing to share their talent with you, our readers!

MONDAY:  Off – or wild ramblings about who knows what, depending upon how the spirit takes me!

TUESDAY: Sleeping Dogs Studio info on a personal level…what’s going on with the dogs, with our artistic endeavors, what are our current challenges (any help you can contribute would be most welcome!), etc.

WEDNESDAY:  This day will be devoted to a highlight of another artist.  During the weeks when the give-away comes from one of our talented colleagues, the spotlight will be on them, and we’ll be asking them the questions that YOU said you wanted to know more about!  Other weeks, we will highlight those artists that have inspired us, and we know that you will also find their stories compelling.

THURSDAY:  This is our day to either introduce new items, stores, or directions for SDS merchandise; or to provide tutorials on how to do some of what we do!  Need a quick Mother’s Day card?  Just let us know what you’d like to see in these tutorials re: comments, and we’ll try to meet your needs!

FRIDAY:  It seems logical that TGIF day should belong to the animals.  And the number of studios out there with animals to meet and be profiled is HUGE! I even have one business that will require a TWO – PARTER!  That’s right, they have so many cats, dogs and bunnies that one entry just won’t cover it!  So check this day out each week for adorable photos and info about animals “on the job”.

We will also announce our weekly give-away winner on Fri.!

Saturday – Off

Sunday – And we’re back for another giveaway!

I hope you like the schedule – any ideas, suggestions for stories, etc. are always welcome!    This Blog may be about us – but it exists to give you the reader a peek into our lives – so be sure to let us know what you’re thinking.  Thanks much for joining us on this artistic journey!

Apologies for the late start to this post…as I passed along in an earlier post, we were at the always wonderful Indiana State Museum Fair all weekend, and it was a real treat!  Not only was it great to see old friends and meet new ones – both customers and artists! – but the museum itself was looking its very best as it hosted the Abraham Lincoln exhibit that has been getting so much press and positive reviews.

The museum is something of an architectural marvel anyway – and seeing just over 90 artisans’ booths scattered along the catwalks, in the lobby, and on the main floor certainly brought a very festive feeling to the location.  There are fantastic pieces of art already in the museum, and the large red piece below was one of my favorites – I kept thinking what a great kite it would make!  In actuality it is called “Urban Geometry” by artist Greg Hull.  The Museum’s staff geologist wrote a funny column about it, the link to which is below…

http://indianastatemuseum.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/giant-hanging-coccolithophore-runs-amok-in-museum/

If we saw you at the fair, thanks for stopping by – if not, we’ll hope to catch up with you at one of the others still coming up later this year!

And now to the Give-Away!  The good news is that I came home from the fair with generous give-aways from just about all of the terrific artists I talked to – the variety and depth of what you’ll be seeing over the next several months will be fantastic!   

As I collect all of these goodies, however, I am showcasing a Sleeping Dogs Studio item this week.  Called “Fern”, it is one of our small boxes, and can be used to hold anything from favorite jewelry to any kind of special treasure.

Retail price would be $32, and like all of our boxes, it is lined in velvet to keep those treasures from getting scratched or nicked…

The box is square, approximately 5″ in diameter, and about 3.5″ tall, including the feet.  Those feet are not only glued on, but also screwed in to ensure that short of bouncing it off the floor (!) it will stay in pristine condition.  It is embellished with gold and green ribbon, as well as a brass flower on the top with a green glass bead at the center.

Sign-ups for the give-away will proceed as normal – simply respond to this post in the comments, making sure that your e-mail address and the words “Giveaway – 2/26″ are included, and you will be among those from whom we will draw a winner at random after 5 p.m. ET on Friday, 2/26/10. 

And here’s a fun wrinkle just for the heck of it – I’ll add your name to the hat an extra time for every friend you have sign-up who mentions you in their entry!  (I just love the idea of adding additional blog readers as we really get the give-aways and feedback going strong!)

Good luck to all of you!

It was a total surprise to learn that Sleeping Dogs Studio was recently featured in a magazine article – some days, good things just happen serendipitously!

The article in question was in the February/March, 2010 issue of “Bloom” magazine, which is a very high-quality magazine that has wonderful photos and articles for those interested in learning more about our home base of Bloomington, Indiana.  I’ve lived in this town 20 years myself, but I am still surprised by the things I learn!  It’s a creative, wonderful city with a world-class University, and full of terrific, hard-working, helpful “Hoosiers”!  Needless to say, we like it here.

The article profiled a store called “Elements” in greater detail – and if you’ve been reading our blog from the beginning, you may remember an entry I posted about Elements, and their wonderful items.  They make a habit of carrying local artists whenever possible.  One of the local artists mentioned was us! 

 They said, “Sleeping Dogs Studio shows signature picture frames and earring holders…and collage greeting cards by Carolyn and Don Madvig.”  I have the sneaking suspicion that perhaps they didn’t realize that they were giving us double coverage by mentioning us once as the studio, and once as individuals – but we’ll take it!

 The photo below gives you a peek at the frame that is profiled – and the caption mentioning us. 

I encourage you to pick up a copy for your own benefit and to see more.

Thanks to “Bloom” – for the very nice mention  -

and to Elements, for always being such great supporters of our work!