A Featured Artist Giveaway on this Fun TGIF Friday

www.etsy.com/shop/museumshop

I met this amazing artist while working on a treasury for Etsy; Ray Koshy owner of Museum Shop does not work in paints or ink but in straw and leaves.  His work is so unique and very detailed, it is truly amazing at how many different shades there is of rice straw. 

I fell in love with a piece he had done of Bill Cosby and he was very gracious to offer my readers a wonderful giveaway.   I am sure Ray will do a much better job at describing his art than I would so he has provided us with the following interview. And Don't forget to enter the drawing at the end for his wonderful giveaway gift.

Information about Rice Straw Art.

Rice straw art is an ancient & Endangered form of leaf art. There are only about 100 artists practice this unique form of leaf art worldwide & that is why it is considered an endangered art.

It origin goes way back to hundreds (may be thousands) of years when people didn't know how to make paints, colors or dyes. At that time people used the natural shades or hues of the rice straw (dried leaves of rice plant) to create art using the natural things available. For example the glue used in this art is gum arabic which is sap from a tree and sharp stones to open up, flatten & cut the rice straw. Lately we used double edged razor blades and a primitive arrowhead style tool instead of sharp stones. Other than that the artists still uses everything like in the old times, Everything natural for this ancient leaf art.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/90206136/marilyn-manroe-rice-straw-art-portrait?ref=v1_other_2

The shades of rice straw goes from pale brown to golden brown and everything in between.

No color, paint or dye added to the natural color of rice straw. Different colored rice straw is sorted out & separated and it is opened up and flattened out with the primitive tool. Select the right shade of straw and apply glue (gum arabic) on one side placed in position and cut with double edged razor blade. (I learned this art over 40 years ago staying with the masters, living with them for months at a time )This process is repeated till the work is completed. Some work take half hour and some others take weeks to complete.

Some work has twenty to thirty pieces of rice straw and some others have three to five thousand of tiny pieces in it. Especially in portraits each strand of hair is over a dozen tiny pieces of rice straw.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/99607536/greece-the-cradle-of-civilization-the

I have been doing this rice straw art over forty years and I have a collection of hundreds of pieces in my collection. I am an artist and curator of the Rice Straw Museum. Rice straw museum was a FREE museum at 501 23rd street in Galveston, Texas for several years in the past. I was paying the rent and all other expenses to run the FREE museum and later on I was unable to do it due to expenses. So I have that museum on the web on ETSY and I am selling some of my collection at this time. I did this due to my passion to Preserve, Promote & Protect this ancient leaf art from extinction and to introduce this beautiful, unique art to America & the western world.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73323898/sale-beautiful-handmade-leaf-art-request

This ancient leaf art originated in southern tip of India thousands of years ago and in danger of being extinct due to less & less artisans learns it & practices it. That is why I took it as my job to learn it, practice it teach, preserve, promote & protect it from extinction. Few individuals learned it from me but it is very tedious & time consuming and so I don't know how many still practices it.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/43632164/not-a-print-but-handmade-with-rice?ref=v1_other_2

I get inspired from nature and I create birds, cats, dogs, people, ships etc with rice leaf and you can see my collection of leaf art at www.etsy.com/shop/museumshop.

Ray's twitter www.twitter.com/rajankoshy
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rice-Straw-Museum/198948560132998
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/rajankoshy/  

Ray's Giveaway is valued at $9.99 and he is offering both US and International shipping.  Giveaway ends 6/22/2012 at 11:55pm.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/museumshop?ref=seller_info

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Meet and Greet the Members of the Pacific Postcards Team - LavennzOsy

Our Meet and Greet Pacific Postcards Team Member today is Lavennz Ooi, who is a lovely artist that owns and operates Etsy shop LavennzOsy.  Her art work is whimsical and pretty I just adore the stories that each piece tells.  She offers painted pocket mirrors, prints, book plates and more, but of course, my favorite is the Postcards! 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61269539/my-secret-fairyland-postcard

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58579163/im-holding-you-postcard?ref=v1_other_2

Make sure to visit her FB page Tales of Lavennz Wonderland and Website http://www.lavennzosy.com/ where you will find her stories and sketches. You can also find her on   Twitter at http://twitter.com/lavennzosy and on Deviant Art at http://lavennzosy.deviantart.com/ .

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61269534/princess-of-the-birds-postcard

Here is a bit more about Lavennz Ooi from her Profile on Etsy:
"My name is Lavennz Ooi Sin Yee. I am 26 years old and I born in a beautiful island, Penang island of Malaysia. In case you did not know, Malaysia is a country between Thailand and Singapore, where the average daytime temperatures are around 27°C and we have rain drops whole year.
I just finished my bachelor degree of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and planning to work as a full time engineer and a part time artist. I am a part-time self-taught artist, working hard for my dream career, independence artist.

LavennzOsy is my first online art shop, selling my painting, illustration, handicrafts and merchandise. Every creation of in LavennzOsy reflecting the stories of my life and inspiration from everything surrounded me. The only artist and owner of this shop is me; however, there are some people behind who always give me great ideas and supports, they are my friend, Sean Lee and my parents.

My original paintings are hand painted and all the art prints produced by myself in my room. Besides the arts, I make the merchandise of my art works myself as well; e.g. jewelries, note cards and bookmarks. It is meaningful and important to produce and sell my work to my customers who appreciate my arts, without involvement of intermediary.

Besides than painting, I compose songs, writing novels, reading, go for movies and I love fashion too. I have many wonderful hobbies and I just wish that I could have more time for them. I enjoy traveling too but I really need more budget to go oversea! I love natural and ocean maybe it is because I was born and raised on island. Other things I like are architecture, design and photography."
~Lavennz Ooi Sin Yee

Here is some more of her wonderful work:

If you are interested on becoming a member of the Pacific Postcards Team please go to this link http://www.etsy.com/teams/9158/pacific-postcards-team?ref=pr_teams and click "Apply."

We have just started offering 2 different memberships: one will be for general membership, for those who love postcards and collecting postcards and the other will be for shops with at least 25% of their

items listed are postcards.

The only difference in the memberships is that the latter will be included in shop

interviews, BNRs and postcard related activities. We also plan on having activities for

the general memberships. Hope to see you there soon.

Spiritual and Inspirational Sunday - May 27, 2012

My inspiration today has been driven by a single leaf I found yesterday.  That one leaf caught my eye because it stood out with such contrast in the sea of green that was comprised of all its "normal" companions.  One leaf dared to stand in beautiful solitude and donned a bright red cloak that screamed "look at me" and I obeyed.  We can be like these leaves; we can either be lost in the seas of mediocrity or be unafraid to show our true colors and stand out in the crowd. Just think of all the beauty and advances we would have missed if everyone was too ashamed to show that they were unique.  So, here's to those who were not ashamed nor afraid to be themselves and changed our lives or even our world.

“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.”  
~Bill Cosby
This wonderful postcard of Bill Cosby comes from Etsy Shop ChihuahuaSnaps at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChihuahuaSnaps?ref=seller_info
They are having a 50% off sale throughout their store if you use coupon code: Happy2BSnappy



“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. ”   ~Bill Cosby
This amazing artist uses dried leaves of rice plant to create their masterpieces.  You can find this and their other amazing works of art in Etsy Shop MuseumShop at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/museumshop?ref=seller_info



"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." ~Albert Einstein
These amazing coasters can be found in Etsy Shop OnceTattered at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/OnceTattered?ref=seller_info

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr. Seuss

This wonderful fabric pannel can be purchase from Etsy Shop LuckyKaeruFabric at http://www.etsy.com/shop/luckykaerufabric?ref=seller_info

“To be normal is the ideal aim of the unsuccessful.”

~Carl Gustav Jung

This great novel can be purchase from Etsy Shop SometimesAGreatNovel at http://www.etsy.com/shop/sometimesagreatnovel?ref=seller_info

WOW! - Handmade Fabric Postcards ~ Introducing ~ Sew Upscale

What a wonderful Christmas Eve!  Pine scent is in the air, I am off work and I just met a great artist; who could ask for more?

I love stitchery and you all know I   L  O  V  E   postcards! so what could be better than handmade fabric postcards.   Linda Johnson, owner of Sew Upscale, creates these unique quilted postcards.  I must confess that this is the first time I have seen a combination of the two arts and I think they are simply wonderful.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewUpscale?&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=App_Seller&utm_content=shops&utm_campaign=fb_seller_shop

Tell me a bit about yourself……
Making quilted fabric postcards has been an obsession for about three years. I thought I would get over it, get bored and want to move to something new but I haven’t. I think it is because each one is so different. Soon after I joined Etsy in 2007 as a buyer, I started selling a variety of sewn items. I saw a quilted fabric postcard and taught myself how to make one. After that, I started selling the postcards on Etsy. I have developed a style I feel is unique. I’m very lucky to have a wonderful family that encourages my passion.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88764234/fabric-postcard-art-quilt-fiber-art

Apart from creating, what do you do? 
 I am retired from my job as a social worker so my schedule is flexible. I try to exercise regularly. I walk and hike. Also love to spend time with my grandchildren. I recently got a bread machine so I have been experimenting with making bread. Traveling is also a passion of mine.


What first made you want to create?
Sewing was the first crafting I can remember doing. My mother and grandmother both sewed so I learned from them. I’ve just always loved to create things.


Describe your creative process? 
My creativity is driven by my surroundings. I love nature and outdoor stuff so these are my inspiration. I don’t use a pattern. I start with a 4” by 6” piece of fabric and build from there. I draw with scissors and paint with thread.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/86316659/cat-and-moon-fabric-postcard-art-quilt

What handmade possession do you cherish most? 
A doll quilt made by my grandmother.


How are you promoting your work? 
I promote my work online by using Facebook and Twitter. My Facebook is http://facebook.com/SewUpscaleQuilts and twitter is http://twitter.com/sewupscale. My postcards are also sold at Mountain Made in downtown Asheville, NC.

Thank you Linda for taking the time to do this interview. 

Please stop by Linda Johnson's cute little shop Sew Upscale to see more of her amazing art.  Remember to add her shop to your favorites and circle too! 

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!!!