Art Workshop by Susan Champeny

I've been busy discovering (and selling to) new stores! And, of course, keeping up with the creation of new designs and merchandise to sell. Sometimes the blogging takes a break when I get this busy.

First, let me say that my friend Susan Champeny is at it again. She is offering an art workshop on Saturday, March 29 at the Alternatives Unlimited building in Whitinsville. It is called "Paint Beyond the Horizon Line - create landscape greeting cards with artist Susan Champeny". Contact Sue at champeny@attglobal.net for more information. She has a nifty emailed postcard she can send you with more about what she will be teaching and a sample of her technique.

As for my latest news, I will be writing about those adventures in my next blog entry. (I like to keep topics separate.)

Lottie Ta Dah (gifts & jewelry) - Hudson, Mass.

Ok, so after I went to Serendipity (see my latest post, below), I glanced over at the car and sure enough, my son and husband were still happily dozing. Time for one more store! (It’s wonderful, really, as nice art & gift shops had been increasingly hard for me to visit since my little one became mobile. It’s only now that he is nearly five years old, that I’m beginning to be able to trust him in such places--places full of what we call “breakables”. But I digress..)

Right around the corner from Serendipity, located on the rotary in the center of Hudson, is another lovely shop called Lottie Ta Dah. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to stop in there, but I’m usually whizzing around the rotary with a child in the back seat, so I just never have until now. I wish I hadn’t waited so long. It’s a place that is at once fun and elegant, and full of unique items. And you’ve really got to check out their web site (www.lottietadah.com) and read the story about how that name came about. The owner, Kim Gilligan, is yet another one of those fabulous woman/mom entrepreneurs who I admire so much. In the interest of full disclosure, I now have some of my art for sale there at Lottie Ta Dah, so while I am telling you what a great store it is (which it is), you must know that having my art there increases my own level of excitement! If you stop by, tell Kim you heard about her store from me.

Worcester, Mass. artist Susan Champeny

I have an artist friend, Susan Champeny, who is a real inspiration. I really love the way she handles her business so professionally, yet never loses sight of the art itself. She doesn't let the business of selling put a damper on her spirit. (This is something I struggle with, in all honesty.) I asked Sue to write a blurb; here it is:

"Susan Champeny is commuting to the Blackstone Valley to paint on-site for the next two months. She is preparing a series of watercolor paintings for a show at the Alternatives Gallery, housed in a rehabbed mill in Whitinsville. She loves the old mills found in the area, and is enjoying an excuse to get outside and paint them, despite the winter weather. If you know of a site you think would be good for her to paint, please send her an email at champeny6@yahoo.com."