VIVID gallery opening

2016 started off with a bang for Funnelcloud Studio when one of my paintings was accepted into an art show at a local gallery. While this was not my first gallery show, in the past I've focused on selling art through the Funnelcloud Studio website, Etsy shop, and art markets instead of exhibiting my work in galleries. My goal is to get my work in more galleries in 2016, so it was nice to start the year off with a gallery show.

The show is called VIVID: Abstract Expressions. It is hosted by Falls Church Arts and runs through February 7th at Art Space in Falls Church. The gallery opening was on January 9th and a group of friends (and my mom!) showed up to check out my painting, The Water's Fine #11. The opening night was a lot of fun and the gallery was packed! I was really impressed with the gallery space and the quality of the other pieces on display and I was shocked at how many people came to check out the art. This made taking pictures difficult, so I gave up on photography and enjoyed my wine and the company of my friends instead.

I had a really good time and was flattered that so many friends came out to support my work. I also had no idea there were so many talented artists in my town and it was fun to feel encouraged about the art scene in Falls Church. My painting is currently available for purchase through the gallery, or you can shop other paintings from The Water's Fine series on my website.

Here are a few pics from opening night:








My painting looked surprisingly small when hung on the gallery walls, so I'm looking forward to going bigger in 2016 and hopefully being able to exhibit my work in more galleries this year. Check out my Upcoming Shows page to see where Funnelcloud Studio will be exhibiting next!

introducing the NEW Funnelcloud Studio

New art, new shop, new website! I'm so thrilled (and a little terrified) to launch the new Funnelcloud Studio. This has been a looong process and I've been so encouraged by everyone on Instagram who has followed along behind the scenes, put up with months of teaser photos and sneak peeks, and commented with their excitement over seeing the new work. It was back in December 2014 that I mentioned that the prints from my Etsy shop would be retired when they sold out and that Funnelcloud Studio would be taking a new direction in the new year. It's finally here:




Two new series of original abstract paintings are now for sale at www.funnelcloudstudio.com - The Dive In Collection and The Water's Fine Collection. The 71 new paintings in the shop are all gouache on 100% cotton rag and feature the bright colors and gestural brushstrokes that get me excited about art.

The new work is completely different from the prints and illustrations I sold in my Etsy shop when I first started Funnelcloud Studio in 2010. Abstract is my true love when it comes to art and I had always hoped and planned to sell abstract paintings, but Funnelcloud Studio somehow ended up going in a different direction over the past four years as I experimented with block printing, text-based art, and greeting card design. By the end of 2013, my work was feeling stagnant and Funnelcloud Studio wasn't exciting me any more. I decided to take 2014 off from vending at art markets and spent some time traveling and thinking about the future of Funnelcloud Studio.

By Fall 2014, I began to paint every day. For years I had wanted to create abstract art for the shop, as this is what I made in my studio for fun, but never had the confidence to sell. After years of selling prints of my work on Etsy, I was also interested in selling original paintings. I finally went for it. I experimented with acrylic, gouache, wax pastels, and mixed media. I tried different surfaces and brushes, I painted with my non-dominant hand, I made messes, I celebrated the surprises and unexpected results. By early 2015, I had discovered the media, surfaces, supplies, and techniques that worked for me, and most importantly, I had found my confidence and my style. For the first time in years, my work felt like me and made me excited. By late winter I had entered a painting frenzy, creating dozens of paintings, each one better than the last.

By Spring, I had enough new work that it was finally time to start creating a website to actually sell the art. Which brings us to the present: A fancy new website. Yay! My own original paintings for sale for the first time ever. Terrifying! After I launched the new site I had to jump in the shower to calm myself down because I was practically shaking. Putting new art out into the world feels so scary and personal - like someone reading your diary or seeing you naked. But the butterflies have subsided and now I'm just excited about the big leap I've finally taken.

So what does the future look like for the new Funnelcloud Studio? In the next few months I will launch illustrations, mixed media paintings, paintings on wood panels, and prints for sale in the shop. I hope to paint even bigger pieces. I'll be selling my art at art markets again. I'm more excited about my little business than I've ever been.

Big thanks to friends, family, customers, readers, and followers who have supported and encouraged me throughout the past five years of building an art business! I hope you'll check out my new shop on www.funnelcloudstudio.com and follow @funnelcloudrach on Instagram to see my process and progress.

what I did during olympic break

I've been quiet lately, but I had a really productive and creative Olympic Break. Basically, I converted my house into a sewing sweatshop and spent two weeks toiling over my sewing machine and rooting for Team USA. I'm really excited about these projects and many are worthy of their own blog posts, so I will photograph and share details soon, but for now, here's a sneak peek at what I accomplished over the past few weeks:

+ Sewed two quilt tops!


This was my biggest accomplishment. Ever since I sewed my first quilt last summer, I've been obsessed with quilting, and snowy February was the perfect time to work on these projects. In true Rachel fashion, I started the second quilt without finishing the first one, but I hope to have these both quilted and bound soon.

+ Framed and hung artwork:



Top two pieces are original mixed-media paintings by me. I hope to add abstract art to my shop this spring. Dog illustration by Kelly Puissegur/Retro Whale. Smiths poster by Wasted Rita.

+ Baked Ina Garten's favorite chocolate cake:


+ Experimented with stitched art:


+ Read The Orphan Master's Son:

Great book, though I had dreams about being in a North Korean prison.

+ Designed and sewed pillows:


+ Survived for a week on a can of refried beans, a dozen eggs, and a jar of salsa. Some delicious combinations: omelet-quesadilla, chili topped with a runny egg, omelet stuffed with chili, huevos rancheros.

+ Watched hours of Olympic coverage. My favorite event to watch is snowboard cross, but I love watching everything...except curling.

+ Had a recurring dream that I was using my sewing machine while on skis. Maybe this should be a new Olympic sport?


I learned that it is important for me to schedule time to focus on personal projects. Productivity and creativity breed more productivity and creativity - I found that completing personal projects got me inspired to work on business projects, too. My Olympic Break was so awesome, satisfying, relaxing and productive, that I now plan to schedule break weeks every few months throughout the year - a time to unplug and make things and live.

funnelcoud studio | holiday happenings + SALE!

The holidays are just around the corner and I'll be doing my best to avoid shopping malls, big box stores, and mass-produced items in favor of handmade gifts.

If you're a like-minded shopper who likes to support artists and give unique gifts, here are a few places you can find my shop during the holidays (as well as scads of other talented artists and crafters):

HOLIDAY MARKETS

Funnelcloud Studio will be at three markets in December in Virginia and Maryland:

December 1 -   Merry Mart (Baltimore, MD)
December 7 -   GRUMP at Artisphere (Arlington, VA)
December 14 -  Richmond Craft Mafia Handmade Holiday (Richmond, VA)

OLD TOWN HOME'S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Check out the feature on my shop in Old Town Home's Holiday Gift Guide. Wendy and Alex have impeccable decorating taste, so it's an honor to be included in their round-up and among such other talented local artists.

ETSY + Black Friday and Beyond SALE
I hate having to fight for parking spots and deal with inconsiderate shoppers, so online shopping is my favorite thing. (Plus it can be done while wearing pajamas with my pups at my feet!) December is always a busy time for Funnelcloud Studio, too and now that I have my life-changing thermal postage printer I can get those orders out faster than ever!

I have three new prints plus a couple of holiday card designs in the shop:

And while I pretty much never have sales in my shop, everyone likes to save money at this time of year, so to celebrate shopping without leaving the comfort of your own house on Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday I'm offering 10% off a $50 minimum order in my Etsy shop using coupon code SMALLBIZ. The sale is valid through Monday, December 2nd at 11:59 pm EST. Awesome, right? (And now is a good time to pick up Things That Are Awesome...a Christmas gift for your favorite awesome person...or perhaps for your awesome self?)

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Spend it with your families and not at the mall!

funnelcloud around the world

Sometimes really amazing things happen to Funnelcloud Studio. I never would have guessed that my art would end up in these locations around the world:

ONE | The other day, the president of Massachusetts-based Sundin, Inc. tweeted me a link to a blog post about their new conference room. They chose pieces for the room made by independent artists and furniture-makers, including a handmade reclaimed wood table and my Things That Are Awesome illustration. I LOVE when corporations support small businesses and I also love the non-corporate approach to the design of their meeting space. Wouldn't meetings be so much more fun if you were surrounded by interesting things to look at like artwork and suspended paper cranes?

Sundin, Inc. looks like a great place to work - well done and thank you! (Photo via Sundin, Inc.)

TWO | When the Surfcomber Miami-South Beach Hotel in Florida was being designed several years ago, the designer ordered 150 of my Embrace Messy Hair prints to display in the hotel. I never shared the photos of the prints on the wall in the hotel because I had to discontinue Embrace Messy Hair several years ago when the printing block finally wore out from over-use. (I still get e-mails and requests to print it, but sadly it just isn't possible.) But anyway, it's SO amazing to have my work on display in a hotel:

I hope to stay in this hotel in person one day...would it be weird if I requested to stay in the "Embrace Messy Hair" Room? (Photo via Surfcomber Miami-South Beach.)

THREE | This last one is a bit of surprise - I certainly never fancied myself a tattoo designer, but when U.K.-based tattoo artist Will Powell contacted me for permission to use my whale print as a tattoo, I said yes! Well, first I thought - HUH?! I was definitely blown away that someone wanted my design on THEIR SKIN, but the result is pretty freaking awesome:

I have to admit I was relieved that my whale ended up on this dude's calf and not as a tramp stamp - that would be awkward. (Photo via Will Powell/Indelible Tattoo Studio.)

So a big thanks to all the businesses, big and small, who have supported my small business. It's amazing to me that the work created in my tiny spare bedroom is now in corporate offices, hotels, and even walking around the streets of England!

back to your regularly scheduled programming

My blog has felt like an extended vacation this year. Two weeks in Hawaii turned into two months of blog posts. And while my blog became All Hawaii, All The Time, in real life we had a very busy spring here in Virginia.

Sneak peek | New art coming soon!

There have been good things: weekends out of town (Western Maryland, Durham, Richmond), cooking challenges, lots of books being read, the creation of new art, a book signing, lunches and happy hours with friends, dinners out with family, a concert, the start of a sewing project, and yes, believe it or not, a return trip to Hawaii...

And bad: jet lag, an injured pup, snow, a fender bender, tax and business stress, headaches, and the Boston Marathon bombing and ensuing manhunt.

My poor pup was prescribed two weeks of "bed rest." He was not happy about it. (He's all better now.)

And just general busy-ness: We've traveled every month of 2013 so far. We can't keep up with the yardwork. (Being out of town for a good chunk of the spring results in an overgrown yard - we're those weird neighbors who live behind the giant hedge...) We had another last minute trip to Hawaii to plan. (I'll spread out my blog posts and share the photos from Hawaii, The Sequel throughout the summer.) I have a truly sickening amount of unresponded to e-mails clogging my inbox. (Sorry!) My shop vended at two art markets in April and will be at two more this summer. (New art finally coming soon!) And my Etsy shop has been out of control while I've been traveling and on bed rest. (Thanks so much to my patient customers!)

Richmond Craft Mafia's Spring Bada-Bing

Welcome to the Jungle! (AKA, The Vine That Ate Banjo.)

Funnelcloud Studio's "Shipping Department." Ack.

And that doesn't even account for all the hours I've wasted playing Candy Crush!

I've kept a running list of a few of our favorite things to remember from this spring, since time seems to have disappeared into a black hole this year:

BOOKS
During these jet-lagged post-travel weeks, I've turned to books to get me through sleepless nights and sluggish days. I polished off five alone in the week after returning from our last trip. By far the best book I've read this year is The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe. I can't recommend this book enough - by the end I had bookmarked 60 pages and added 30 new titles to my To Read list.

TELEVISION
Evidently political shows/thrillers set in DC are my thing right now:

Our cable provider gave us a free month of Showtime this spring and Larry and I immediately became hooked on Homeland. Yeah, we're late to the party, and still haven't finished watching the first season, but we love this show!

We're still huge fans of VEEP - the perfect Before-The-Work-Week-Starts way to laugh your ass off on Sunday night.

My friend Sarah recommended Scandal, and I recently finished the first season and am hooked. The plot is definitely far-fetched (as seems to be the norm for Shonda Rhimes shows), but it's definitely entertaining.

And since I still have a trial subscription to Netflix, I've just started watching House of Cards. I'm intrigued. Kevin Spacey creeps me out, and like most political shows, the plot is complicated and a little confusing, but I'm interested to see what happens next.

Josh Ritter at 930 Club. Our favorite - I think this is the 5th time we've seen him live.

MUSIC
Larry and I have a travel tradition of buying new music before going on a trip - we listen to a few albums on repeat as we travel and this becomes the soundtrack to our vacation. Even years later, I can't listen to Josh Ritter's The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter without thinking about driving around Olympic National Park in 2007 or Pinback without reminiscing about driving through Utah and Arizona in 2006. The soundtrack to our trip to Hawaii was Lord Huron's Lonesome Dreams which not only brings up visions of exploring Oahu's windward side, but has definitely earned a spot on my list of favorite albums of all time.

Other favorite albums this spring:
Tegan & Sara's Heartthrob
STRFKR's Miracle Mile
Stars' The North
Phoenix's Bankrupt!
Metric's Synthetica

FOOD
I'm addicted to the food at the new Cava Mezze Grill that recently opened up near our house. It's like the Greek version of Chipotle! Falafel and crazy feta on a pita? Yum!

I'm crazy for pistachios. I can't get enough of them on salads, in ice cream, or straight out of the shell. Have you tried pesto made from pistachios? It's the best! Throw it on some pasta with a couple of shrimps/scallops for a delicious, elegant, and easy meal. (We like a recipe from a Cooking Light cookbook, but the one from Food & Wine is also delicious.)

I bookmark and pin a lot of recipes, but I made Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Coconut Bread immediately after reading her blog post. It did not disappoint!

Did someone say coconut bread?!?!

Our time in the islands whet my already fruit-loving appetite for tropical treats: I've always loved pineapple, coconut, and mango, but now I'm obsessed with lilikoi (passion fruit) and especially guava. I LOVE guava and predict that many of our summer cooking experiments will contain guava in whatever form I can get here on the mainland.

Whew! We're pooped!

So that's Spring 2013. I have more to say on a few things we've done in the first half of the year, but am ready for a fun and busy summer. Onward!

coming soon: april art markets!

...and suddenly we're more than halfway through March. How did this happen?

I feel like it was JUST January...we were recovering from the holidays, I was looking forward to several months off from art markets to work on new art, and Larry and I were talking about the possibility of him taking a business trip to Hawaii in February and how it would be fun to turn it into a vacation.

And now, somehow, it's March 21st, we did spend two weeks in Hawaii, came back married (still trying to wrap my brain around this one!), and art market season is just around the corner. What just happened?! January Rachel, you had no idea what was comin' right atcha!

So here we go, spring art markets! I'm trying to catch up, organize, and motivate myself for a busy season and have already had to turn down a few markets because life is crazy right now. But I'm super pumped for these two and really excited that my shop will finally be doing a market in North Carolina. (Do you think a 48 hour stay is long enough for me to thoroughly stuff my face with BBQ, biscuits, grits, pimento cheese, and chicken and waffles???)

April 6 -   Rock & Shop Market (Durham, NC)
April 20 - Richmond Craft Mafia Spring Bada-Bing (Richmond, VA)

Hope to see you there! I'll be the one with BBQ sauce on my shirt. Southern food, you are awesome!

P.S. Thanks to you all for the sweet words on our news! There will be many more wedding and Hawaii posts coming soon, too. (In my free time. Ha!)

YOU are awesome!

The last few weeks have been busy. Really busy. And I'm WAY overdue in posting a huge thank you to all the readers of Young House Love who purchased Things That Are Awesome over the past few weeks. You are all awesome. Seriously, thank you so much. Thank you for your kind words. Thank you for supporting my little shop. And thank you for your patience as I processed and packaged a truly overwhelming number of orders. Hopefully, all those prints have made it to their new homes by now and are maybe even hanging on some walls. (Psst! Looking for frames? I DIY all mine with frames from American Frame - highly recommend them!)

And another huge thanks to John and Sherry for stopping by Handmade Holiday in Richmond in December, for checking out my booth yet again, and for featuring small businesses on their blog. As my friend and fellow small biz owner Steffanie tweeted, "I love it when a small VA business supports another small VA business! It's another #ThingsThatAreAwesome!" Thank you, Petersiks!



I wish I had some fun photos of what I've been up to the past few weeks, but I'm a one-woman shop and almost all my time was spent packaging prints, frantically ordering more shipping supplies, and running back and forth to the post office. One post office clerk said "It's like rabbits coming out of a hat!" as I unloaded tube after tube. He then proclaimed that I need to hire a worker. Another started greeting me with "Hey Tornado!" (Awesome.)

The tornado has subsided for now and I'm finally able to catch my breath. What a great end to 2012 and a great start to 2013! Thanks again to all my amazing customers for supporting Funnelcloud Studio! 

And keep on being awesome! xo

random holiday update + GRUMP

Just wanted to take a quick weekend break from my Handmade Holiday posts, for a few December updates:

+ How is it December 9th already? I thought I was doing a good job of preparing for the holidays ahead of time this year and I'm already behind. I've only done about 10% of my Christmas shopping and our plans to finally buy our tree today were thwarted by rain.

+ I had a fabulous time vending at Richmond Craft Mafia's Handmade Holiday yesterday. Thanks to some amazing friends and blog readers who came out and introduced themselves, chatted with me, and supported Funnelcloud Studio. You all made my day! Thanks so much for the sweet comments!

+ I get lots of nice comments at art markets, but I get some downright hilarious ones, too. Had to share this one because once my eyeballs returned to their sockets, I couldn't stop laughing:

Elderly Lady: Why are the sperms swimming away from the egg?

(I'll never look at that print the same again!)

+ The second funniest conversation was with Larry:

Larry: Are teeth a thing?
Me: WHAT?
Larry: I've seen a lot of pillows with TEETH ON THEM from other vendors. Are teeth a thing? You know, like moustaches? Are they trendy right now?
Me: Hahaha. THOSE ARE TOOTH FAIRY PILLOWS.
Larry: Ohhhhhhh!

What's next? T-shirts with ears on them? Will elbows be trendy next? Will big toes ever be cool? (I hope not! Ew!)

+ I was so exhausted, that I couldn't even muster up the energy to walk around the market and check out the other vendors! The past few weeks have been brutal. But I had a great time chatting with my friendly and talented vendor neighbors at the end of the show when things slowed down - check out Penny & Paul's fabulous crocheted hats and Happy Felties' felt creations.

+ Larry and I have been going out for daiquiris every night. Ok, I've been the one getting the daiquiris. Night-before-art-market daiquiris. Post-art-market daiquiris. I can't get enough. Shouldn't I be drinking hot chocolate or mulled cider or something wintery?

+ My last art market of 2012 is this coming Saturday, December 15th from 10-4 at Artisphere in Arlington. I'm really excited about this one for two reasons: 1. It's called GRUMP, and 2. It's local - after driving to Baltimore and Richmond for the past two weekends, it will be so nice to pop over to Rosslyn! Plus, the vendor list looks awesome! Hope to see you there.

That's all I've got, friends. Over and out.

funnelcloud studio | cyber monday sale

One more sale of the season - use coupon code CYBER12 to get 10% off your entire order in my shop. Today only!

Happy Cyber Monday!