Coming Soon - Art Prints.

Very excited to tell you that coming soon, after our move, I'm trying something new. Because of the economy, or maybe because the selling of paintings is feeling too elitist lately, and I want everyone to be able to own one of mine that wants one.
I've decided to do limited edition high quality prints of paintings, starting with The Entrepreneurs (above), and going from there.
Pricing and availability to come in the next couple weeks, as we figure all this out with a local printer.
I hope this will help some of those who have expressed interest, and been disappointed when they couldn't afford art.
I want my art to be always available, and I don't want only wealthy people to be able to own it.
I started Red Prairie Press in the hopes of putting my art into a medium that people could afford, and that was perhaps more utilitarian and approachable. Everyone wears clothes, right? So... in keeping with that mantra, I want to make prints of my higher priced paintings. A fun and affordable solution until (if you want to) you can build up to owning the real thing.

Still Here!!

Apologies for the sparse blogging this week...er...month. We still have no internet at the house, are building a cardboard fortress inside our living room with packing boxes, and are generally burnt out with our house buying/moving/cleaning/loan-obtaining experience & trying to keep up with orders when our inventory is covered in cardboard.
QUESTION: can you run a business in the 21st century without the internet, while moving houses & studios?
ANSWER: not very well.

Luckily, we're becoming BFFs with our friends at the Evergreen, where we camp out and check our email once a day, and eat their delicious bagels & drink their delicious coffee while enjoying free wi-fi & local art.
In between a yard sale at a friend's house, and packing more of the studio, I think we'll check out the Hamilton festival this weekend, as Charm City Craft Mafia (and many other awesomes) has a booth among the chaos.

Also in the plans for sunday: FLUID MOVEMENT's annual WATER BALLET!!!! One of my favorite summer activities in Baltimore!!! Be sure to check out one of their performances in federal hill this weekend, or patterson park pool next weekend!

PS- poison ivy update for those emailing with concern: today is officially my last day on steroids. I'm only moderately itchy, and am almost completely healed. I'm no fan of performance enhancing drugs, but am momentarily thankful for them none the less.

Recovering From Artscape

Dear Baltimore,

I love you.

Love,
rachel

PS- Wow. We don't have very many tshirts left after this weekend's artscape, guys. You cleaned us out. Doing our best to recover... sorry if it takes a couple extra days to ship your online order. I promise it's coming!! Thanks to the thousands and thousands of people who came out to see us this weekend. It's truly inspiring to see so many people in the city trying out new things, embracing the arts, and enjoying the sunshine (and fried food) together. After a rough trip across the country last week, it sure is nice to know our own fair city is the place we find the most energetic support. It means more than you know.

TONIGHT & THIS WEEKEND in BALTIMORE

TONIGHT - July 16th 6-8pm
Sondheim Semi-Finalist Exhibition Opening!!!
Meyerhoff Gallery at MICA
Mt. Royal Avenue, Baltimore

Come see three of my new paintings, along with some really amazing work from many other Baltimore area artists! Open all through Artscape, so if you don't make it tonight, drop by sometime soon!

Also TONIGHT - Go see my friends The Spinto Band play The Talking Head at 8pm with guests The Swims & The Moneynotes.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY
Artscape!
We'll have a booth in the DIY section of Artscape Baltimore this weekend. We're #C-26
which is on Charles street between Mt. Royal Ave and the train station.
It's our last fair of the summer, and before we move to Charles Village in a couple weeks...
so be sure to come get shirts in person while you still can!
YAHOO!!!!!!

Me vs. Poision Ivy. Or, How I Became Like A-Rod.

Oh Dear Readers.
A fool more cynical than myself might say that the above photograph pretty much sums up our recent weeklong trip to L.A.
The main drawbacks included:
-Mild chilly nights, and me without my fleece jacket...
-traffic jams
-California in economic turmoil, and not wanting to come shopping... making our trip "less lucrative" than expected.
-oh yeah.....and the massive killer poision ivy rash that swarmed my body and tried to eat me.
-having health insurance that doesn't cover you in California.

yeah... some might look at this trip and be even a little pissed off. But the thing is... I just went through our photos, and we're all smiling. In every single one of them. Yes I have bandages all up my legs & sores the size of small grapes, Phil had to endure sleeping next to me moaning and groaning all night, Linsday had to drive me to urgent care, CVS, the craft fair and back and get more personal information about me than she probably needed to know or see... But I can't help thinking that this trip really brought us closer to our dear college friend... and made us appreciate the good things in life. Namely: the beautiful weather in California, the silly people there, the delicious endless food, the beach... each other. Made me appreciate the spots on my body where I thankfully did NOT have poision ivy, and suck up my dependance on material things (the dress I JUST made myself, that I apparently sat in a pile of poision ivy while wearing... was thrown away. Because really? could I EVER wear that without itching again?)
My friends are amazing, my husband is loyal and did not throw up ONCE from being shown the backs of my legs, and I can now safely say I've been to California.
Plus, what better place to go on steroids than Muscle Beach? We were staying in Venice, just a walk from that beachside outdoor gym where one imagines 80's neon-lycra-clad musclemen pumping iron and girls roller skating in bikinis (it's all true).

After a ton of fun with one of the best little ladies Syracuse University ever spit out, and a bit of a rough planeride home, we are safely back in Baltimore... medicated and resting up until Artscape starts on Friday.
Here's a taste of what will stay in my memory longer than any bitterness over our few speed bumps. The rest will be a story to tell people who have already heard about my first trip to college...which has now officially been trumped.

Happy Monday

Had an absolutely fantastic weekend here in Baltimore. We had some wonderful people at the house on the fourth of July to help celebrate independence and our wedding (dependence?) anniversary. Sparklers, whiffle ball, good food and plenty to drink abounded.
Yesterday we spent our 1 year anniversary napping, hiking in the woods at Robert E. Lee park, grilling, eating cake and watching Marx Brother's movies.

Hope you had a safe & happy holiday. If you're up for hearing more of my blabber, you can check out this interview with me up now at the Shiny Squirrel blog. We're off to L.A. in a couple days, so I'm working hard getting everything set to leave for a week.

Happy independence day.
Despite our flaws, I'm sure glad to share this wonderful country with you all.

Independence.

SO bummed I'll miss this screening in 2 weeks, as we'll be in L.A. (YAY!!!) but if you get the chance, PLEASE go see Handmade Nation, and listen to director Faythe Levine speak. It's a great film, from the trailers I've seen, and is dedicated to all that we crafters do and love. Plus, it's worth seeing for the opening title sequence alone.

No internet on the Prairie at the moment... it's a long story... so posts for July may be a little more sparse than usual... but maybe you should be out enjoying the sunshine anyhow.

Happy Independence Day. Be well & be safe. And be full of beer and grilled food.

First Fridays/Last Fridays

I've known for a while that Megan, co-owner of Double Dutch Boutique was leaving Baltimore for Savannah, GA at the end of July. Phil and I found out about 2 months ago, when we fell in love with the Baltimore rowhouse she and her awesome husband and son are leaving behind... and... well... decided to buy it.

Megan has done so much for the shop (which carries Red Prairie Press ladies apparel, and was the among the first shops to do so), for Hampden, and for Baltimore. I'm glad to know she's staying on behind the scenes at DoubleDutch, though I will sincerely miss seeing her face there.

If you love Double Dutch, or if you've always wanted to go in, but never found the time, you really should make an effort to go in this Friday evening, during Hampden's First Fridays. Have a ginger mojito, have some sushi, shop with 10% off the whole store, listen to music mingle, and say farewell to one of Baltimore's finest.