Censorship in Western Society & Losing Our Freedom

Posted by on May 11, 2012 in Art, Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 2 comments I was just reading a blog post by my artist friend Janice Tanton about a tax audit that she just recently had to go through. It was painful for her. Please read her post, it’s passionate and I love how she is speaking the truth. Most of the times, auditors do not understand what visual artists do. And it’s everyone’s fault why that is. Now my thought went even further: we are...
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A Letter From My Chiropractor

Posted by on Apr 24, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Food, Ideas & Inspiration | 3 comments As I walked into my chiropractor’s office yesterday, I found this letter on all the chairs in the waiting (actually it’s the exercise) room. And if you have read my mission or know a little more about me, you know that his letter speaks to my heart! I asked him if I could quote him. It’s passionate, honest and straightforward. We need more people like Dr. Rick and I know there...
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Painting as a Language & Journey

Posted by on Apr 6, 2012 in Art, Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 3 comments It’s been a while since I painted last. I am not a mass produce artist and I rather paint when ideas come and I feel like it, than forcing myself and ending up with meaningless stuff (well, meaningless to me). Or let’s say: when I don’t have a question, problem, task, or am under pressure I can’t paint. My mind needs to be busy in order to paint. Painting is my way of...
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Life is Supposed to Be Easy Not Hard

Posted by on Mar 19, 2012 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 6 comments Tadah, I am back to blogging, painting, sewing, building and selling at the art markets! It’s been two weeks since my last blog post and I just wanted to give you a quick update what happened in my exciting life. First, my parents announced themselves for a visit and of course all my attention, love and care was on them, sorry dear readers After almost 4 years in Texas, they finally...
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Can I Call A Blog Post “Miscellaneous”?

Posted by on Feb 27, 2012 in Art, Art Marketing, Blog, Everything Green, Food, Ideas & Inspiration, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 1 comment It’s my blog, I can call it whatever I like! This is a little visual review of random things I did, that kept me busy in the last couple of weeks, days… Here’s a sneak-peak into the life of Franziska! Enjoy Can you change the color of your leather boots? Hell yes you can! Will they last? I don’t know but I painted my boots from purple to brown to glossy black: I made...
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Because I am REALLY Bored, I started a 2nd Blog…

Posted by on Feb 10, 2012 in Ideas & Inspiration | 13 comments …and no, I am not bored, not at all! I just had a big aha-moment recently. And because after an aha-moment there needs to be some kind of action, I took action and started documenting my progress in my new blog. Is there a better journal than a blog? That way I can share my experience and document my progress. It’s more for myself than anything but if I inspire someone else, why...
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New Addiction For Artists, Creatives & Visuals: PINTEREST!

Posted by on Jan 26, 2012 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration, Living & Design | 23 comments Who’s tried it yet? Do you have an account? Yes, there’s another forum on the market and I am usually the one who watches the benefits first and analyzes its pros and cons. Kinda like facebook. I was on facebook when they just started and I had 5 friends for 1 1/2 years. How often did I use it? Not at all! If you have just 5 friends who post as much as you do, you can imagine how much...
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New Year 2012: Shining!

Posted by on Dec 29, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 18 comments After I summarized 2011, here’s what I am planning for 2012. - My blog will be bilingual! So I will also write in German, which is a lot easier for me but that’s not the reason. - I am making more money: I am thinking of $500,000 for the entire year. I don’t know how but it’s coming. Why don’t you start and head over to my SHOP section? - I am getting ready to...
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Look Back, Look Forward

Posted by on Dec 27, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 4 comments I want to thank you for being a loyal reader and friend! Did you have a good christmas? I have taken a break from my blog to dedicate my attention to family and loved ones. And now the year is already coming to an end. 2011 was exciting because I got to know you and I didn’t think this would be possible. I met so many of you first via twitter and then we became friends and I even met some...
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What To Do When There Is No Market For Your Product Part II

Posted by on Dec 16, 2011 in Art Marketing, Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 2 comments In Part I, I wrote about the most important ingredient that you need in order to have success for the product that you are trying to sell: PASSION. You need to love what you do and you should not have a single doubt that it is great and has value. It’s the result of the work that keeps you up at night! There are many different ways to sell your artwork and let me assure you this: there is...
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What to Do When There is No Market for Your Product Part I

Posted by on Dec 14, 2011 in Art Marketing, Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 6 comments “It’s all about passion…” (source of quote: myself) As some of you may know, I used to be an Executive Chef working for celebrities and the upper class for many years before I got married and settled. In 2008, I moved to an area that doesn’t offer much culturally (read one of my earlier posts). Contemporary museums, grand operas and world theaters are not exactly...
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Atticus Uncensored: This is for Atticus RIP

Posted by on Dec 13, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 26 comments I had so many things in mind that I wanted to write about, all the things I’ve been working on: the last flea market in Canton where I set up my booth for the entire weekend and camped inside my husband’s truck. About all the other things: new paintings on my easel, suggestions, ideas and experience at the markets selling artwork, my expanded business and how it’s taking shape,...
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The Music That Defines Me

Posted by on Nov 23, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 8 comments As promised: here’s my music! I have been asked by my friends what kind of music I listen to when I am creative. Instead I decided to give you a list of music that defines me… Have fun! Music that makes me complete and one: Music that makes me strong: Music that makes me dance: Music that breaks my heart: Music that makes me laugh: Music that makes me dream: Music that makes me...
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Don’t know what to paint?!

Posted by on Nov 3, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 5 comments Sometimes there are those days… That’s when I’d go through old sketchbooks, trying to find something appealing, a dropped idea or something unfinished that could use a happy ending. I’d surf the internet, google stuff, look at pictures but nothing would excite me. Sounds familiar? Well, then I hope I can help! Here are some ideas to get back into gear: 1. consult your...
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Where Does An Artist Feel At Home?

Posted by on Oct 20, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 11 comments One week after our trip to the West Coast, I am still digesting all the information intake and the impressions we swallowed along the way. We started our trip in San Francisco where we stayed for a week. Then we took our rental car, a silver 2011 Jeep Wrangler, and drove to Crater Lake. We have met so many people who live in Oregon who have never been there. Seriously? And then we met a retired...
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25 Random Things About Me

Posted by on Oct 15, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 28 comments I encourage you to do the same on your blog: write 25 random things about yourself that I wouldn’t have guessed. Let me know if you did! Here’s mine: 1. My favorite color was red when I was a kid, black when I was a teenager and it is blue now. 2. I have a sister who is three years older and a brother who is two years younger and they’re all in Germany (of course..). 3. I want...
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Vacation Pictures My Style

Posted by on Oct 5, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 11 comments When I am on vacation, I am never really interested in taking pictures of things that have been taken a million times already (and the postcards always look greater than my photos). So why should I waste my time and take shots from stuff I can look at online or in photo books? My idea of a vacation is to meet the people, connect to nature, see the local wildlife and eat food produced right there....
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Visit Within And You’ll Understand The Universe

Posted by on Sep 20, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 4 comments I think it is obvious that artists go through different creative phases in their lives. It is part of the developing process. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post “Abstract Artists Don’t Know How to Paint” and I just had to smile because my work is getting more and more abstract, away from impressionism, through expressionism into something that doesn’t have a name yet....
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How To Gather New Ideas

Posted by on Aug 24, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 8 comments My mind is all over the place right now, so I decided to write down more and make notes. I have quite a few notebooks that are all in use but they all have a different purpose. My favorite is my idea book. It is great to look up previous ideas when my creativity level is low. But today, I started a new idea book which is divided into material categories: - paper - wood - metal - styrofoam -...
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New Projects, New Ideas, New Concepts

Posted by on Aug 22, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 1 comment After a great weekend, I am back to my studio! My husband and I decided to have a summer party and we invited some of our friends last Saturday. We never know who is going to show up and the mix of people is always interesting and so was the outcome. We laughed a lot and during my juicing diet, the two beers I had made me grow wings and a little dizzy. The day after, I felt like I had shots the...
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An Artist Needs Play-Time To Evolve

Posted by on Aug 12, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 7 comments I hope you missed me! I have been absent from my computer for almost a week, I ignored Twitter, Facebook, G+, my phone and all the other modern toys. No, I haven’t been on vacation. Every time I wanted to write a blog post, our internet was down but I also did not really push myself very hard whenever it was back up. My creative mojo kept me busy and too many things happened: ideas kept on...
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The Person Behind This Blog – Franziska San Pedro

Posted by on Aug 3, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 26 comments Let me introduce myself Today, I decided to post a video -my first one! Last week, one of my online friends, Adrienne Smith got inspired by another online friend to do an introduction video and I thought it’s a nice idea. This way, we all get a little more familiar with each other, hear the voice and see the person behind the blog. I know it’s ten minutes but I promise my future...
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Finding Answers About Ourselves In Artwork

Posted by on Jul 31, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 12 comments One of my favorite motifs is the ocean. I have just started to play around more with color and create more abstract paintings but for some reason I keep on coming back to water, skies and the color blue. In my studio, it is the most used color (also in my closet). Water has such a calming effect on me and it is my safe subject to paint. Water is life and I guess its symbolism keeps to suck me in...
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How Many Sketchbooks Does an Artist Need?

Posted by on Jul 29, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 5 comments Today, I went through my stack of sketchbooks that are currently in use and realized that I had more than ten. In fact, I counted 16. Sketchbooks are more than a diary to an artist. These are some of the reasons why an artist uses a sketchbook - to doodle around - because there is nothing to do - can be used as a diary - to brainstorm - for inspiration - to capture a moment - for genius ideas...
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A Creative Mind Living In A Fake Bubble

Posted by on Jul 27, 2011 in Blog, Ideas & Inspiration | 10 comments Most of you know that before I moved to McKinney in Texas, I traveled the world, lived in exciting places like Germany, England, Switzerland, New Orleans and worldwide at sea. Some of them seemed less exciting but they all had something to offer for my needs. McKinney was voted #5 “Best Places to Live in the US” by Money Magazine in 2010. The criteria chosen: - unemployment rate...
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