hello, all! the Mome Rath Garden blog has moved homes! it is now included in my new artist site. come visit me there! ♡

Etsy night and birthdays!

time needs to slooooow down. i have been a terrible blogger, from my lack of posts. i know many of us down here at Crafted have really been feeling the strain, but it's finally the day of our Etsy Craft Party! yay! we've all worked long and hard, so please come check it out, if not for the crafts and demos, at least for our fabulous decorations.

tonight also happens to be my dad's 67th birthday, and my sister Autumn's 38th! (sorry if you didn't want me to announce your age, Autumn...) so, Dad, i'm sorry you have to spend your birthday evening making crafts (or more likely not), and Autumn, i hope you're doing something fun! happy birthday and love to you both!

Dad and Autumn on their birthday, perhaps 1985...?

and i promise, before too long, i'll have something new to announce. cheers!

don't judge a book

I know that my work is not for everyone, particularly some of my more visceral oil paintings. But is it really offensive? Enough so that people cannot mask the disdain on their faces or refrain from unkind comments?

Over the last two years or so, I have been primarily making work that is, by my standards, quite pretty. I’ve been using watercolor, a delicate medium that first gained popularity among well-to-do Victorian ladies as a favored pastime.  Working on paper, incorporating the ground color (white or beige) as my background, I use lots of pale colors, refined details, flora, and scroll-work. Yes, there are also bones and organs as the main subject, but these are things that are a part of us. Presented in a beautiful and unobtrusive manner. 

Part of my fascination with anatomical imagery is that we have living, working examples of it inside of all of us, but it cannot be seen (under normal circumstances). It is the most ancient, deep-rooted, natural curiosity of human kind.  What makes us live? Your heart beats for you, your skull cradles your brain, your stomach and bowels absorb nutrients and expel waste. It is easy to forget this, but is it really so awful to be reminded of it?

Far more disturbing things can be seen, in both hidden and obvious places. I’m not asking anyone to like my work, just please don’t be so fast to dismiss it. I am simply visually vocalizing my amazement and appreciation for the beauty of our physical beings. With a few other emotions thrown in, but I’ll leave those interpretations up to you. 

Anatomical Heart Study, 2012

save the date(s)!

two announcements:

1. i will be vending at an exclusive event put on by the Hester Street Fair and Space 15 Twenty THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 11th.

it will be held at Space 15 Twenty, an experimental retail space put on by Urban Outfitters. a select few Hester Street vendors have been chosen to participate in the one-day event, so be sure to come check it out, it will definitely be worthwhile.

Facebook event page
Directions

2. CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles is hosting an Etsy Craft Party Night on FRIDAY, AUGUST 24th.

it will be a blast, market stalls will be open, and there will be demos and make-and-takes (meaning you get to make something awesome with supplies provided by Crafted, and then you get to take it home!) hosted by the very talented Crafted vendors. and, parking is FREE.


spread the word to everyone you know!

**and please RSVP, even if you aren't sure you'll be able to make it. the more people who officially RSVP, the more goodie boxes Etsy sends us!

pics from renegade

last weekend at Renegade Craft Fair was tons of fun. a bit too hot for my liking, but fun. my niece, Leah, accompanied me both days, and i was so grateful for her help! it was a bit difficult for two girls who definitely fall in the smaller size-category to set up a tent with all the works, but, with numerous sweaty, panting trips to and from the car, we managed to haul everything to my booth space and got it set up and decorated to our liking with plenty of time to spare before the crowds started flowing in.

and man, were there crowds! we chatted with some awesome people, both vendors and shoppers, and i got to do a little shopping myself while Leah manned the booth. i finally got to purchase a few items from the lovely Sara of Sweet Siren Designs, which i have been lusting after for quite a while. i also met Drew Morrison, a very talented illustrator who, it turns out, was a senior at Pratt when i was a freshman. i bought a great print from him for my boyfriend, thought it is residing at my house for the time being : ). also, if you ever get the opportunity, i highly recommend waffles sundaes from the Crispy Truck. you won't be disappointed.

all in all, it was a great show. load out was quite an ordeal, and i came away with a good few bruises and a very sore back to prove it. and, sadly, i lost a very specially ring when packing up. i still have major intentions to go back and search for it, just trying to find out where i can rent a metal detector. if anyone knows, please tell me!

as a final note, many, many thanks to Leah for going above and beyond, to Shannon for running my Crafted stall while i was at Renegade, and to everyone who came by my booth at the fair (and especially to those who bought something, signed up for my mailing list, or simply had a smile and a few kind words to say).

front view

side view with Leah!

my sunburn from day 1. didn't stop me from wearing a strapless jumpsuit the next day!

a last-minute visitor at the end of day 2. he was upset that i only carried women's tee-shirts.

Renegade Craft Fair

come see me at the Renegade Craft Fair this Saturday and Sunday at the Los Angeles State Historic Park from 11am to 7pm each day!

not only are there over 200 crafters to buy awesome hand-made goods from, there will also be several DIY workshops, food trucks, and live entertainment! and (fingers crossed) i should have one or two new items for sale. or at least a pretty set-up, haha. find me at booth #35! also, be sure to seek out some of my fellow vendors from Crafted, including Koko Candles, Salvage Shop, and Kelso Doesn't Dance. and you won't want to miss the amazing hand-painted pendants by my talented friend Heidi of Charmed by Heidi. 

pet friendly event, sunscreen recommended! hope to see you there!

etsy update!

my etsy has just been updated, with the addition of King Cranium (below) and some more 5x7" and 8x10" prints. i have made good, productive use out of a very slow day at Crafted.

goodbye to the old site...

as of tomorrow, my current artist site, meagansegal.com, will no longer exist. it has been a good four years, but my work has evolved, and i feel the current design is no longer well-suited to exhibiting it. and, i haven't updated it in about two years. pretty bad. i wish i could wake up in the morning and magically contain all the web design knowledge/ know-how that i would ever need. then i would update my site all the time. but i also would probably nit-pick over every detail and constantly be editing, so perhaps it's a good thing i am mostly web illiterate.

in any case, if you've never taken a look and are curious, check my website out now, because tomorrow it's coming down! a new site will be coming, and it will still be meagansegal.com. just not sure when yet. and hopefully a momerathgarden.com will soon follow. or maybe they should both be one? hmm...

awaiting deliveries

just ordered new business cards! the current ones seem to be rapidly walking away with customers visiting Crafted, so i figured i should stock up before i run out. and what do you know? yesterday i got an email for 50% off business cards from my favorite printer, 1(800)Postcards. what timing! i know they are just little pieces of paper with my name on them, but i can't help but get excited.

front

back

i also came up with a new design for a pillow. i ordered a sample of the fabric last night. these colors make my eyes sing.

print rack alternatives

between conversing with customers and fellow crafters here at Crafted, i've been thinking of ways to perfect my market stall. as much as i love and am proud of the print rack my dad helped me build (which involved a lot of guess-work for nail placement and a lot of repair work when those guesses were a bit off...), i think it is more appropriate for my weekend shows and not as fitting for my Crafted space, which is more macabre Victorian parlour than craft booth under a pop-up tent. i toyed with the idea of sawing off the easel frame and attaching the rack to the wall. then i thought that perhaps it is too bulky, and maybe shelf ledges in a fancy moulding would be more appropriate. now, however, i have come up with an idea to create framed boxes with an open top. picture a shadow box, remove the top side of the box and the glass, and hang it on the wall. it will look a bit fancier, and then shoppers can get an idea of what each print looks like framed, and when they find one they like, they can pull one out of the stack! anyone else think this idea is as awesome as i do? (please don't tell me if someone has come up with this before, i'm sure someone has, but i'd rather not have the evidence burst my bubble)

current print rack (p.s. like my new rug?!)

mock up of new design

blog love

a few places some kind words have been said about Mome Rath Garden (better late than never!):

China Shop Mag
Fresh Rag
Examiner.com

thank you, Teresa, Dave, and Sandy!

a new home for Skull x Flowers

today was the first day that my wonderful assistant, Shannon, filled in for me, running my Crafted stall this morning while i was teaching ceramics to a lively bunch of 9 to 14 year olds. and... she sold an original! i did not get to meet his new owner, but whoever you are, i hope you enjoy him! and thank you for liking my work enough to look at it every day! 

Skull x Flowers (2011)

and, here's a peek at a new skull piece i am currently working on:

Pansy for Your Thoughts (tentatively titled)

up and running!

the craziness of the past two weeks is paying off in leaps and bounds. Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles opened on Friday to a great crowd and beautiful weather.

after the frenzy of hurriedly putting together my market stall in six partial work days (broken up by a trip to San Francisco for a dear friend's wedding and the commencement of my summer teaching job), it was a major relief to have it completed. however, even better than the relief is how rewarding this venture is turning out to be. it is always great to make sales, but my favorite part of the last two days has been talking with the shoppers, whether it is explaining the evolution of my work or relating with fellow natives of San Pedro, and expressing our shared wishes for the success of Crafted and the revival of the Los Angeles waterfront.

because i have not posted since giving a hint to my plans for my stall, i'll just give a quick re-cap of its realization. basically, my dad was amazing and helped me with just about every last detail, from constructing a print rack i designed to applying two different stains to the baseboards for my stall to achieve the perfect shade of brown/black. not to mention, using about four cans of spray paint to paint all of the moulding and many picture frames gold. he commented (complained) that his lungs are probably thoroughly gilded by now.

before leaving for San Francisco, i had primed my walls, hung stretched ivory burlap with my dad's assistance, and painted exactly three black stripes. and so they sat for four days, a lonely trio. upon my return, i came straight down to the warehouse every afternoon after teaching my last class, and quickly finished the stripes, planed furniture arrangements, and cut moulding (again, with my dad) until 5pm. then it was straight home to paint furniture, cut letters for my sign, and organize inventory. at last, about an hour before opening on Friday morning, everything was completed. well, for now. i have spent the past two days, between greeting customers, drawing up plans for more displays and making notes on how to perfect my space. hopefully to come soon!

*if you are in the area (or feel like taking a drive), i assure you, a visit to Crafted makes for a fantastic way to spend your day off. and be sure to come see Mome Rath Garden in stall A195!
**thank you to my sister, Lyneigh, for the opening day photos!

dad staple-gunning burlap

stripes in progress

ta-da!

getting ready for Crafted!

i should have posted about this at least a week ago now. butttt... you know how it goes. we vendors over at Crafted are finally able to start moving into our spaces, decorating them and making them our own! i am so excited, i cannot wait until it all comes together! below are a few (slightly grainy) iPhone pics of the space before it was completed, and a limited sneak peak mock-up of what i've got planned. i'd welcome any suggestions and ideas!

center view

side entrance

wall close-up

ceiling!

best attempt at photographing myself in the space. didn't work so well.

you'll have to wait to see the rest!

iSkins on Etsy!

i've finally added my iSkins to Etsy! get them here! (t-shirts coming next!)

summer show schedule

so, turns out it's going to be a very busy (but fun!) summer. below i've posted the dates of all my shows, as well as the links to all of their websites. please note: Crafted at the Port of LA's grand opening is June 29, but after that, the market will be open every Friday from 11am to 7pm, and every Saturday and Sunday from 10am-7pm. i will be doing other weekend shows, as you can see on the calendars, but most of those days my Crafted stall will also be open, overseen by a very helpful friend or family member. hope to see you at some!