ACEO Cards by Maria Kitano

When I created this blog, I decided not to feature painters because there are so many talented ones out there. Choosing would be agonizing for me. I'm making an exception because I had never heard of ACEO cards before. Until I visited Maria Kitano's blog. ACEO (Art card, editions and originals) are similar to ATC cards (Artist Trading Cards) in that they can be traded with other artists like trading or business cards to promote ones craft. ACEO cards are usually 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches in size, and are also sold today as art to be displayed. Maria started making ACEOs about a year ago, after seeing a few on a website. "I had never tried painting such small formats so it was a challenge to me. After making a few it became an addiction."

Maria lives in Hamburg, Germany, and has been painting and drawing since childhood, and professionally for six years. On her blog she explains, "My work is a celebration of life, inspired from things I see every day, things that most of us do not pay much attention to. My daily experiences: watching the sky, a bird, conversations, media, photos, television, memories, are reduced to abstract shapes and colors which allow me to show what I feel is important and beautiful. Abstraction is the way I come closest to representing the world around me." You will see that birds are one of her favorite subjects, as her blog titles, Tweetart, also suggests.

"I use various techniques, going from pencil and graphite to pastels, watercolors and finally oils which I like the most. There is no complicated philosophical explanation about my paintings." Her craft gives her the opportunity to communicate emotions through her painting. Emotions that are universal. Her goal for the future is to hopefully have a "real" exhibition. But, for now, Maria is content with painting what she loves, and promoting her business. Visit her blog to see more of her works HERE. And, her Etsy site HERE.

Images used with permission from Maria Kitano.

Found Object Assemblage Art Dolls by Suzan Buckner

What do most artists and craftspeople have in common? They are obsessed with their craft. In a positive way, that is. And, Suzan Buckner is no exception. Visit her blog, and you'll see what I mean. "The only frustration that I have with my artwork is that I want to make more than is humanly possible. I want to paint a gazillion paintings a day, and do a couple of dozen assemblages a day, and I want to make art dolls on top of all of that. So, it's frustrating to have to write my ideas down on paper, and do them as I get to them. I need four of me, and 50 hours in a day, and I could make everything that I want to make." Her greatest "unexpected" joy from art is the inner peace that it gives her. "I am high-strung by nature, and art calms me. I also use it to work through various problems in my mind..things that bug me."

Suzan is married to Chuck, and between them, they have three grown children and four grandchildren. Her dog Petey is about three years old (they think). "He showed up in my yard one day, and we tried to run him off, but he kept coming back. Finally, I fed him, and then named him, then took him to the vet..now he's a spoiled rotten brat of a dog." She adores Petey! And, she feels the same about her craft. "I have always loved art, and took art in high school, and I have ALWAYS said that I am going to be an artist. No one believed me because I didn't actively DO art. But, I have said that since I was about 4 years old (I am 44 now.) So, I really think that it was predetermined that I would make art...it just took me 42 years to get around to doing it." And, this month is her two year anniversary from the day she "got around" to doing it.

Much of her assemblage pieces are made from recycled materials. "I begin by having my husband get the wood, and cutting it like I want it. Then, I sit in my studio, and just move things around until I like it. I have a gazillion things right at my fingertips, so it's just like putting a puzzle together. I get all of my materials for assemblage at junk stores, thrift stores, antique stores..anywhere. I hoard it. I could probably create a couple of thousand pieces without ever leaving my studio, but I keep buying more stuff." Suzan gets her inspiration from other artists, from pictures, from things that she sees. "Inspiration is everywhere. I jot things down when I find them, and use them for reference later." If you want inspiration, visit her blog to see her artwork HERE. And, her website HERE. And, be sure to take a look at her journal pages on her Flickr site HERE.

Images used with permission from Suzan Buckner.