New Work!!! Life in Brunoland

Bruno's logo for The Life in Brunoland Project

Well, making art with a busy 6 almost 7 year old is more than just a notion.  We are more than halfway through the project, and are almost 1/3 of the way funded.  It's been fun- I have learned a lot about my son, man, he is DEDICATED.  As soon as John gets him home from school, he's pulled out the sketch paper and declares that he needs to make some art.  I am loving it.  Man, he's more dedicated than I am- he draws when he gets home, does homework, eats supper and draws while watching qubo.  He's really into aliens, space ships and friends right now and the images that are coming soon will reflect that.  I just love the one above, though.  It even looks like him!  Here are a few of my contributions to the project.

All is Well

Authenticity

Elation

The Gathering

The Right Way

Truth

The Perry Fam!

Burning Questions...

I just got turned on to Danielle LaPorte's website and it got me thinking.  The burning question was raised:  How do you describe what you do? 

Here goes!

I’m an artist.  My brand is all about creating handmade ooak artifacts from what I call “the rich and textured life”.  My goods are inspired by the folk art traditions from Africa, South Asia and Japan.   I create precious and semiprecious handcrafted jewelry, art quilts, dolls and wall adornments, paintings (representational and abstract), drawings and silkscreen prints.  Occasionally there are a few eclectic mixed-media pieces that are thrown into the mix for good measure.   I’m currently developing a side line called Proverbs 30 ONE woman which is a kinda funky, urban- inspired concept that’s a “one-world vibe”  extension of Caprichos Studio.  My main products with Proverbs 30 ONE Woman at present are original handcrafted, ooak purses made from unique and collectible fabrics and trinkets from my special stash that I’ve been accumulating for the last 20 or so years.  

The name Caprichos Studio comes from a conversation with a grad school roommate from Colombia who got a care package from home filled with “caprichos” as she called them- goodies, keepsakes, knickknacks and the like.  Most people associate the word caprichos with “caprichuda”, the Spanish word used to describe someone who is very high maintenance and difficult.  Nah.  Caprichos, or the term “un capricho” can be used to describe having a yen or hankering for something.  Gotta have it.  That’s what customers have told me over the years!  The font for my logo resembles Hindi script, and is inspired by my burning desire to go to India one day to do missions work and to buy a bunch of salwar kameezes and block-printed fabric for quilts.  Proverbs 30 ONE is inspired by the wife of noble character described in the 31^st chapter of Proverbs in the Bible.

Easter Bunny Cake

   
Ha ha, haven't done this for awhile.  Two layers, about 7" high.  Red velvet on the bottom, lemon on the top, almond and vanilla cream cheese icing.  Yum.  Too rich.  Took some to my sister around the corner, John has hit it, I have had a couple of slivers (really!), and Bruno hasn't touched it yet.  He  might get a sliver tonight.  Gonna put a chunk of this baby in the deep freeze for when we need a sweet fix.  Too much sweet stuff in the house!!!

April is Autism Awareness Month

I just finished reading one of the autism awareness blogs and I am livid. One of the organizations that I have recently connected with to locate resources for Bruno has posted the new stats on autism prevalence.  The last research I located giving autism stats collected by the CDC were that one in 110 kids in the U.S. would be diagnosed with autism.  That was a year or so ago.  According to the article, the updated figure is now 1 in 88.

1 in 88.

In my earlier blogs I have discussed Bruno's diagnosis, and I had to revise the Kickstarter project several times in order to delete the facts.  No apologies or hidden agendas- my kid has this crap and I am doing everything in my power to ensure that he has as normal a life as possible.  But what is going on?!   Autism is not the "new normal".  My money is still on the vaccines that they pump into our babies nonstop.  Green vaccines or not, all I know is that my son was FINE and progressing beautifully until he was vaccinated at around 8 months- then things began to change.

Ha Ha!!! The video's done!!!

Woo Hoo!!! There's a lot of excitement around here.  Thanks to Bruno's Auntie Nichelle for the use of her Flip camera!  We finished the video last night, prayed over it for its success and sent it off to Kickstarter.  We are  hoping to go live with the project on Thursday, March 15.  Yay!  So this week I will be updating, updating and doing more updating...to the Caprichos Studio website, the Life in Brunoland page on Facebook, and preparing to Tweet and looking for whatever other resources that I can to get the word out about the project.


Spring break just started for us (4:15 p.m. last Friday, to be exact!) and I finally had enough time to jump into this.  I was so bummed that it rained all weekend because I was really looking forward to the show at Whole Foods.  I'm going to do it this coming Sunday March 18, and more info is coming on that one.  This week is gonna be a busy one- getting caught up with stuff around the house, getting Bruno psyched about our project (he is drawing up a storm, practicing!) and planning on activities to keep him from getting bored.  I can relate to that, that's part of why I'm a multitasker.  It's supposed to be in the 80s today, so we will go outside and practice riding our bike, and maybe go for ice cream or to Souper Salad later.  We got a DVD with 300 Looney Tunes cartoons, some of them go back to 1937.  A lot of Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd stuff that doesn't even look familiar-nothing like the cartoons that I grew up looking at.  Gonna go out hunting for purse snaps later on when I take the boy to speech and OT.  Too many new ideas.  Ok, People are starting to get up and are looking for breakfast.  Gotta go!

Update to the Whole Foods Show

Well, the week started out warm and inviting, and now as we anxiously await the weekend the temps are dropping and it is COLD.  The weatherfolk are predicting rain ALL WEEKEND LONG.  There's been an update on the show this weekend at Whole Foods.  The Whole Foods Craft Fair will go on, but unfortunately due to the wet weather that's forecasted this weekend Caprichos Studio won't be in the lineup. 

 

HOWEVER...

 

An additional day has been added for this Craft Show and benefit for the Whole Planet Prosperity Campaign. It will be Sunday, March 18, 10a.m.-8.p.m.  Caprichos Studio will be in attendance with lots of new purses, freshwater pearl jewelry and other goodies.  I'll see you then!

 

March 10-11 Whole Foods Patio Show

It’s March 10th and 11th from 10a until 8p on the patio at the Whole Foods Market in Lakewood!

 

2118 Abrams Road
Dallas, TX 75214 USA
map, directions & nearby stores

Phone 214-824-1744

Store Hours are 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

 I love this store- I lived in the Lakewood area of Dallas when I first moved here in 1997, and located in a really pretty, historic part of town.  If you live in the DFW Metroplex come on by- 20% of vendor profits will benefit the Whole Planet Foundation . The Whole Planet Foundation's mission is poverty alleviation through microcredit in communities worldwide that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products.

By that time we will be almost into the Life in Brunoland project (http://www.kickstarter.com/), and you will be able to see the type of artwork that I plan to include on display.  It will be available for purchase, too.


Hope to see you there!

LIFE IN BRUNOLAND

Hello all,

I’d like to introduce you to someone.  This is Bruno, my inspiration behind Bruno’s Multitasking Mama.  Besides being an artist and teaching for the “real” gig, I’m also mom to John Oliver Perry, III (a.k.a “Bruno”).  He’s a smart, lively and high-spirited 6 year-old kid with PDD-NOS, an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  Life as a wife, mom and working woman (artist/educator) can be a wild ride, and I’ve decided to challenge myself to do a painting/drawing/collage/mixed media exploration a day for a year starting on March 15, 2012.  Some will be collaborative works with Bruno, as he loves to draw and paint.   I’m doing this as a challenge to myself to hold fast to my art while doing all of those essential things that a Mama with a treasure kid’s gotta do.  It’s my desire to encourage and nurture his appreciation for creativity by working directly with him.  My hubby,  John Oliver Perry, Jr. turned me on to Kickstarter, an online venue on which to do this project. I  ultimately plan to  present an exhibition of Bruno’s art alongside my own in venues to be arranged in the upcoming year.   These will be small works, visual thinking and ideas to springboard into other media (such as quilts, t-shirts, posters, coloring books, calendars, greeting cards, postcards, etc.).  In the process I also plan to develop a collection/book of selected works created over the course of the year by Bruno and I which will include art projects  that could be used by home schoolers and school districts alike for munchkins who on or off of the spectrum.  Your support with this project would not only help me to keep my creative juices primed and flowing, but to also get more insight into how to help my son to grow in terms of confident visual self-expression.  Despite Bruno’s current limitations with speech, his interest in art and creativity and could possibly serve as a means for him to earn a living when he becomes an adult- and I believe that my boy is gonna go FAR .  More to come about the project, so stay tuned!

Happy New Year, All!

Now that all of the hustle, bustle 

and general madness of the holiday season is over, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and awesomely blessed New Year!  Lots of changes already- the website has been spruced up, so please come on by and check it out.  We're featuring a New Year's special on Red Sari, my premier limited edition print.  

It's huge, 24" x 36" and it's only $30.00 plus s/h.  Hey, it's a new year, and EVERYBODY NEEDS SOME NEW ART! 
She'd make a great Valentine's Day gift.

For those of you in the Dallas Metroplex, I will be teaching several classes during the spring semester through the Continuing Education program at Mountainview College in QUILTING and fiber manipulation techniques.  I am soooo excited because I have been looking forward to an opportunity to share this information for a long time.  My classes are listed under FUNtastic Education for Adults and they are for ages 18+.  The first one is coming up in February, and I'm really looking forward to it.
The descriptions and course numbers are as follows:

Art Quilts and Quick Primer on Elements of Design $20

ARTZ 1000 4 HRS

This class is designed to provide a quick, concise introduction to art quilting and to provide sources and resources for inspiration for quilters of all experience levels. Art quilting today is a wide open field that demands exploration. Students will begin a simple “quickie quilt” utilizing color and shape as

an introductory piece using an iron, fabric and heat and bond as a means of visual thinking. Min. Age: 18.

66601 9:00AM - 1:00PM S 3/24 MVC W220 Ritter-Perry

Art Quilts Printing Your Own Designs on Fabric $40

ARTZ 1000 9 HRS

This technique is great for personalizing your quilts and wall hangings! This class will discuss and demonstrate the basic “how-to’s” of creating iron-on fabric transfers; scanning images; and printing techniques. Fabrics that are suitable for this technique will also be discussed and demonstrated.

Students will be shown design possibilities for this versatile and fun medium as it relates to fabric quilts. Min. Age: 18.

66701 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM S 2/11 - 2/25 MVC W228 Ritter-Perry

Art Quilts Immersion Hand Dyeing Techniques $50

ARTZ 1000 12 HRS

Flower children, hippies, and Bohemians in general will love this throwback technique! Immersion hand dyeing is similar to tie-dye, but is great for art quilting because it is done on a small scale with minimal muss and fuss. It’s easy to do and the results will enhance the originality of your quilts. Once

the technique is mastered it can be applied to t-shirts, onesies, pants, whatever your heart desires. Min Age: 18.

66801 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM S 4/28 - 5/19 MVC W22 Ritter-Perry

More to come.  The pop-up markets should be starting up in a couple of months once the weather stabilizes, but stay tuned for a Trunk Show at my studio for those Valentine's Day goodies.  Go to the website and sign up for the newsletter if you're not on it already- you don't have to live in Dallas to take part in the giveaways and special online discount offers.  


So what's new for 2012?  The quilting bug has bitten me HARD- I have tons of sweet original designs that I developed back before Bruno was born (almost 7 years- Moms, you know how it is) that I plan to compile into a book and/or develop into a line of quilt and purse patterns that will be available for sale on my website and on Etsy.  I've got more one-of-a-kind purses and messenger bags in the mix, too.  I'm so mad that my clone hasn't come in yet!  Oh, just come on by the website and see what's new...LOL!

Cheers,

Beth