Opening night at Gaartdensity Gallery

My opening night came and went in a flash. It was a huge success! I had a live mannequin, my friend Dom, in the front window, Ursula on the street, and art up on all the wall. I presented 30 pieces of embroidered art and my entire stock of lingerie. Amazingly, I sold 12 pieces! What an accomplishment, eh? Check out the entire collection of art in my Etsy shop.

Gallery owner Stephanie Sunshine Forbes and Ursula. Still waiting on professional pictures from my friends that were my photo guys for the night, so I'll show you some pictures I stole from Facebook. (Thanks Stephanie Forbes and Fred Swindell)

Local art teacher and friend Carrie Brooks and myself.

Panoramic view before the place was crowded.

Art on the walls. All is for sale in my Etsy shop. I'm posting the rest this morning, so keep checking back to see the whole collection. Nothing new was used in the entire collection. Even the cards on the wall, giving the name, price, and materials used are old notecards from my recipe box.

Lingerie on crazy clearance. Check out my Etsy shop for some sweet deals or swing into the Gallery at 1155 Broad Street, Augusta, Georgia so see everything first hand. 

I'm relaxing for a week or so, regrouping and reorganizing my work room, taking stock of all my supplies, and figuring out what's next. It's been quite the year in regards to my work. I've presented three shows and so much work in the last 7 months! A December fashion show for my winter line, a mini Valentine's line, an April fashion show for my spring line, and now a June art exhibition. I don't know where I find time to have a social life and relationship with Matt. It's always work, work, work. Even when we go on our weekend getaways, I still bring my work with me. What's next you're wondering? I think a purse line perhaps, getting back to my roots. Well, Sally Ann, as a brand's roots. 

It feels nice to do nothing. Finally. Thank you to everyone that came out or showed support and enthusiasm regardless of your distance. I wish you all could have been there. Video and photos soon!

Setting up at Gaartdensity Gallery

Tomorrow night, June 1st, is the opening of my first gallery show! Doing something a little different, and something I've never done before, the butterflies are starting in my tummy. I've always considered myself an artist, working with clothing, lingerie, and most anything in my home, but I've only presented accessories and clothing to the world. People like to refer to me as a seamstress, but I'm more than that, and now I'll finally show them. 

I'll present a collection of 30 embroidered wall hangings made from all recycled materials. Many are nude portraits, influenced by work from my mother, models of the 60s, and everyday situations. I can't wait to unveil my new collection to all of Augusta, the blogosphere, and to everyone on Etsy. The entire collection will be for sale in Gaartdensity Gallery (pronounced Garden City), and online for those that can't make it to Augusta to purchase it in person.

Stephanie Sunshine Forbes and myself. Stephanie owns Gaartdensity, and is herself a very talented artist. She is only 20 years old and owns a gallery! Can you believe it. She's so sweet. And a great painter. 

Eep! I can't believe I'm finally hanging everything up for the show! Whenever I find myself stressing out about the show, I remind myself, there aren't 15+ models to handle; everything is hanging and won't move. How relieving compared to my last two (fashion) shows. There will be a "live mannequin" in the front window of the gallery for opening night. My friend Jaye is going to dress in some of my lingerie and stand as still as possible, allowed to move every few minutes but stay as still as she can. And since it's First Friday in downtown Augusta, this will be a real crowd pleaser, drawing many people in off of Broad Street.

And I can't tell you how great it felt to get everything out of my house for the show! I slept so great last night, knowing that none of this work was staring at me, waiting for the show. Poor Matt will finally have a clean house again, maybe. I'll do my best but I always seem to make a mess out of everything. I like to call it organized chaos. I'm mostly organized, I just have everything everywhere. Haha. I can't wait for tomorrow night! 

Happy Thursday everyone!

What I wore to my spring fashion show Rusty Cuts Review

Check out this fabulous dress I wore to my fashion show last month! It's handmade by Judith at Rusty Cuts. Since I didn't have time to make myself a dress, I still wanted to stick with my theme of recycled fashion, and I don't buy new clothes at all anymore. I went to Etsy and started searching a few weeks before my show. As soon as I stumbled upon Rusty Cuts, this dress stuck out to me. I debated between this dress and a few others, but this one just felt right! And it was exactly my size! Bonus. It was meant to be. 

Above is myself with Erin Marty, the owner of Stella A Salon And Spa, that was responsible for beautifying all the models! 

The bodice's fabric is from 1950s curtains imported from Europe. The skirt is lace and the brown lining is from a sheet. Judith works at a vintage clothing store that imports a lot of clothes from Europe, so she has a chance to find some great fabric. 

The dress is very well made, and I am so very happy with my purchase. My friend, Morgan, bought a dress from her too! I can't wait to see how Morgan likes hers. My favorite part about this dress, aside from it being recycled AND handmade, is the low back. So fun!

Check out Judith's shop and Facebook page for more amazing dresses! I want this one and this one next!

Photos from my fashion show by David Kernaghan. Above photo taken from www.rustycuts.etsy.com.

You missed it:: My spring fashion show video!

It's here! Hooray it's here! The video of my spring fashion show. It was the most amazing night of my professional career (though I hope to keep topping myself with each new event and show)! The ladies wore my new spring line, hair and makeup styled by Stella Salon A Spa. They walked the runway at Sky City, in Augusta, Georgia. There were 50 outfits and 17 models. Check out the video and tell me what you think!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial day from Matt and I and all the animals. We're enjoying our Memorial Day with a belly full of food from the grill, our skin kissed from all day at the pool, and kicking our feet up on the coffee table to enjoy a movie together. We are taking time to appreciate our freedoms that are due to brave people that fight for our country.

 

Our home is very festive, celebrating the day we honor fallen soldiers, with an American flag hanging in the doorway to the house's front door. Carl, our neighbor on the back side of the house, got this flag at a garage sale of all places. And it's the saddest story. 

This American flag is the flag that draped over the coffin of a Sergeant Frazier, an Army Sergeant that fought and died in the Iraq war. I can't find much information on the soldier, all I know is that he was from Augusta. The saddest part is that the flag that draped over his coffin was up for sale at a garage sale. Thankfully Carl was kind enough to buy it and proudly display it for many to enjoy. 

Thanks to all of those in the Armed Forces. It's important that people realize today isn't just a day for grilling and drinking; it's to celebrate our soldiers that fight for our freedoms. As much as people like to divide themselves according to politics, religion, and class, we're essentially all the same. We are all Americans, and we have it pretty good here in America. And we shouldn't forget that.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!