CREATIVE MINDS – Nemo

I am very pleased to have Nemo on my blog for my monthly CREATIVE MINDS interview! The very first time I came across Nemo was on Lori McNee’s blog in her series #PowerArtists (I just checked her blog, that was in May 2011), and I loved his answers, his honesty, sense of humor and his lifestyle with his wife. And so I followed him on twitter and we connected. Read and find out...
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Can I Call A Blog Post “Miscellaneous”?

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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Silly Things People Say at a Fair

I had another long weekend at the Third Monday Trade Days in McKinney (an antique and craft fair) with my upcycled home decor, some of my artwork and other handmade things. It’s once a month for an entire weekend before the third Monday. I love going there because of the interaction, I meet a lot of interesting and very nice people and I get to sell my items! But sometimes, there are people...
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Did you Know Monet Won the Lottery?

I am sure some of you knew this already. But for those who didn’t: yes, Claude Monet won the lottery, quit his job and painted full-time. Thank you lottery! In 1891, he won 100,000 French Francs which he used to travel France and paint, sometimes he had several studies going and worked on up to 10 pantings at the same time. There are quite a lot of interesting stories about Monet and...
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CREATIVE MINDS – Dan Fonseca

I have met Dan on twitter, maybe a year ago, started reading his blog and was attracted by his thoughtful and inspiring writing skills. We had some great discussions, thoughts about anything and everything. Besides his writing, I found out that he also paints, makes music and studies communications/media. Let me introduce Dan Fonseca for this month’s Creative Minds...
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What To Do When There Is No Market For Your Product Part II

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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Ron Mueck: Introducing an Artist

Ron Mueck, born in 1958, Australia, a former photographer (advertising industry) works as a sculptor in Great Britain. He also worked as a puppeteer for movies i.e. “The Labyrinth” and TV in his previous career. Using his talents, he decided to turn his back on both to model oversize (and some undersize) humans. He is using fiberglass resin instead of latex to be able to work more...
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CREATIVE MINDS – Jeff Mueller

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I just recently nominated “The 15 Hottest Male Artists” and one of the top candidates was Jeff Mueller. A big, fat thank you to all who left a comment; I was stunned and happily surprised by the response! I am very honored to have Jeff on my blog this month for my Creative Minds interview. Please read on and find out more about Jeff, his...
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Why Non-Functional Art is Better Than Functional

So, now I confused you, ha! I hope I got your attention with this For all those who don’t know what the difference between non-functional and functional art is, here a short summary (which I found at WikiAnswers): Functional art is art that serves a purpose. A potter who creates tea sets is making functional art. Non-functional art refers to paintings and such pieces of art that are...
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Shock Art -Controversial or Ahead of Time?

Definition according to Wikipedia (I know, I know, not the most reliable source of information but I thought it was well described): SHOCK ART… “…is contemporary art that incorporates disturbing imagery, sound or scents to create a shocking experience. While the art form’s proponents argue that it is “embedded with social commentary” and most critics dismiss it...
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The 15 HOTTEST Male Artists

I am not going to define “hot” in detail here but here’s a list of artists I have met online and I think the stuff they make is smokin’ H.O.T. The order is random (or maybe not?!?). If you think you are hot, leave a comment and tell me why you think you should be part of this list Something like this: “I should be on the list because my art is like whiskey &...
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CREATIVE MINDS – Therese Lydia Joseph

I am very honored to have Therese this month for my Creative Mind Interview. She’s such a talented lady! We have met on Twitter and expanded our friendship online. I adore how far she has come in her personal development; today, she’s a well-known visual artist living her passion in Canada. But find out yourself, check out her websites and don’t forget to leave a comment! About...
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Where Does An Artist Feel At Home?

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

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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CREATIVE MINDS – Jennifer Ressmann

Is it really already October? Time just flies but I am glad we are already going into the fall months after such a long and very hot summer in Texas. This month, I would like you to meet Jennifer Ressmann with “Art for the Recycling Heart” and “Touch of Colorado”. We met via Twitter and connected more through facebook and our blogs. I love her great eye for fabulous shots...
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The Challenges Of A Self-Employed, Full-Time Artist

It’s been pretty quiet here on my blog: this week, a friend from my childhood together with her husband came to visit and I dedicated all my attention and time to them. I picked them up at the airport, they stayed with us for a couple of days and now they’re off to explore Texas; before they return to Germany, they’ll be back for another 2-3 days. Self-employment is fabulous...
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Painting As An Experience Rather Than Making A Picture

One of my favorite artists once described his work as “more like I’m having an experience than making a picture.” I was thinking about having just this statement as a complete blog post, adding some of his paintings and that’s it! So much has been said about him and he couldn’t care less about his critiques. He did what he wanted to do, just paint, no comments, no explanations....
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CREATIVE MINDS – Bret Taylor

It’s September, and with a new month, a new creative favorite interview. This month it’s Bret Taylor answering my questions -an amazing artist that I have met on Twitter. He’s a hard-working, dedicated and passionate man with a great sense of humor and love for life. Please read on, leave a comment, check out his sites and get one (or more) of his stunning artworks! About...
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The Person Behind This Blog – Franziska San Pedro

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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A Creative Mind Living In A Fake Bubble

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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CREATIVE MINDS – Jake Beckman

Jake Beckman is an amazing artist whom I have met on Twitter. She creates some wonderful artwork and I am very happy to have her for my Creative Minds Interview here on my blog this month! I love love love her answers -please welcome Jake Beckman: Summary of Performances 1996-Present Renaissance Woman & Self-Realized Artist 2004 Strategic Volunteer artlink Inc. & Recovering...
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CREATIVE MINDS – Jennifer Duchene

I have met Jennifer Duchene online and we have become very good friends. Just recently we have met in person and spent a whole weekend together at a seminar with Brandy Mychals in Pleasant Hill. Let’s welcome Jennifer to my first monthly Creative Minds Interview! As a graduate of UCLA Interior and Environmental program, - over 15 years experience in Design Color and Rearranging Furniture....
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My Interview at Plano Profile

So I was out of town for an extended weekend attending Brandy Mychals’ “Cracking the Confidence Code” -what a fabulous seminar! And when I came back, I responded to all my emails, updated my stuff online and went through my mail. And yay, there it was… Last month I got interviewed by Barbara Walch, the food editor of Plano Profile. We spent two hours talking (I mean I was...
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Abstract Artists Don’t Know How To Paint

I just recently came across Rod Jones’ Art Studio Blog where he asked the question “Why Do Abstract Artists Paint Abstractly?”. And he asked the thought-provoking question if artists who mostly paint abstract, actually do not know how to paint naturalistic or why would they use this technique? One of the most popular abstract artists is Pablo Picasso -my favorite artist ever!...
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Challenges of an Artist

So I made it to my studio (our garage) pretty late today. I spent the morning with my daily exercise (today I chose Latin music and danced like nobody was watching -I think nobody was..), a very inspiring conference call, ordering more pigments for my oil paint, going through my to-do-list, doing the laundry, cleaning up the kitchen and other little stuff. Now that I look at the list of things I...
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