Tea and Tell Tuesday: Darjeeling

Tea and Tell Tuesday is back! I drink enough tea to keep this section of the blog in business for years so let's do this! 

The past few weeks in my tea world have been shared with my very strong friend, Darjeeling, from the Darjeeling district in West Bengal, India. Also called - "The Champagne of Teas" - Darjeeling is a little full of himself, but being quite a strongly caffeinated black tea, I get it. I tend to hang out with Darjeeling's black counterpart but the tea also comes in green, white and oolong. 

To brew a nice, black Darjeeling tea:

- make sure you have a nice boiling pot of water - about 185 degrees

- rinse out your tea cup/mug with hot water

- add one tablespoon of tea leaves per 8 ounces (or one tea bag)

- pour heated water over tea into mug

- steep for 3 to 5 minutes 

- Try it without milk the first few times to taste the fruity and brisk qualities

Darjeeling and I have become good pals but I am quite interested in his relatives green, white and oolong. Have you ever had green, white or oolong Darjeeling? How does it taste?

♥ Kenzie

In the Studio: Dip Dyeing and Straddling Screens

(1. Box of blank t-shirts received in the mail; 2. Dyeing day at the studio; 3. Dip dyed and washed waiting to be printed; 4. Designing the graphics; 5. Thrifted paintings bought for the frames. Used the frames for screens; 6. Screen burning kit; 7. Burning the first image; 8. When the bulb died, I found this to use; 9. Straddling the screen to hold it in place. Attractive, I know; 10. Printed shirts!)

The studio has been busy this past week! Mostly, I have been I have been working on this project for Health Simple Is, my Aunt Sue's nutrition business. We had a show at Room Full of Sisters in Auburn, NY and guess who joined us? None other than Miss Kirsten Nunez from Studs and Pearls!

I have missed this girl so much! We had a great time hanging out and of course, she brought a car full of projects so we could both work. Because we're crazy craft ladies.

A shot of our section of table above.

Have you ever screen printed before? Or dip-dyed anything? 

♥ K

p.s. To get immediate studio updates, follow me on Instagram: @mackenziegelina

Gallery Show - Wanderlost

It was a night full of art, knitting, food, a community painting and lots of hugs. A few Fridays ago, we had the opening to my show - Wanderlost. Being my first solo show as a college graduate, I was sooo incredibly nervous and excited but it turned out wonderfully and so many people came out to show support.

These are just a few images from the night.

(Credit to Ms. Teska and my mom for the photos!)

The show will be up at the North Rose-Wolcott High School until May 31st available for viewing during school hours. 

 Above is the community painting that we created. How great is it!?

Thank you thank you for all of you who came out to support! And special thanks to Ms. Teska, Mrs. Allen and my mom who helped me through this entire gallery process! You guys are the best!!!

♥ K

No limits just epiphanies

This is the finished piece from my last post. 

It might be my favorite painting that I've done so far. 

I will be posting more pictures from the opening of the gallery show later today. It was such a great time! 

♥ Kenzie 

Progress

Do you remember this painting in the top left corner? I've made some progress since my last post. Though I've been busy planning my art show, I actually remembered to take progress photos! Yeah, I know - I never remember to do that. If you've been following me on Instagram, you know this. But if not, here's a little update on that painting:

At this point (above), I still had no idea what was going on...

I started to see it here.

And now, I'm refining the details as you can see above.

If you read my last post, it might give you more of a wordy description into what my process is. But I hoped you enjoyed a visual look at my start to almost finish of a painting. I will post the final piece when it's complete! 

Other than this, I have been working on two other paintings, as I said in my last post, and preparing the final details for my show. Food, getting work together, getting supplies together, handing out postcards and flyers... It's so exciting!

♥ K

Painting / Making a Mess

If you've seen my instagram lately, you know that I've been hermiting away in my studio painting. It's a mess in here people. But that's how I work - with bits of tissue paper, pieces of photos and bottles of matte medium spread out around me as I stare at a canvas on the floor and music blasts through my huge headphones. 

I'm still figuring out my process, honestly, but I try not to analyze it too much. After I took a painting and collage class at RISD, it all just started happening. It was a nice discovery to have it just come out of your hands with no struggle. I know they say that the best things are those we have to work hard for but this was a really great thing that came easy. Maybe I *had* worked hard before and I just wasn't using the right medium? 

Anyhoo, I'm so glad to be back into the process and just enjoying it with no pressure. I just got totally lost in my own world the other day. So much that I worked from about 10 am to 8 pm. (I did take breaks.) That's why I wear my headphones - to drown everything out and be in my own head and in the moment. That way, I dont think about every little thing too much. I just do it. (Like Nike right?) 

When I would work like this in school, it was the same way. I would get lost. Once, I was painting in my apartment - I started at about 9 pm - and I got so lost in the process and the joy of it, that the next time I looked at the clock, it was 5 am. Whoops. 

Because of the drying time on each piece, I usually work on 3 - 4 pieces at a time. I use a lot of paint mediums and layers of materials. Sometimes a layer can take an hour to dry depending on what I'm using. I don't want to sit and literally watch paint dry! I move onto the next painting and just keep going.

Usually, I'm not looking at any specific landscape or image when I'm working either. I tend to start layering material until I see something and then go from there. This stuff can start out really ugly people. I'm talking bad ugly - a few random shapes or images on a page that have nothing to do with each other and probably a 1st grader could have painted them. (see: painting in top left corner) But the best thing about layers is that you can layer over them! The ugly turns pretty with more shiz on top! 

I will delve into some techniques that I use a little later, but I thought you might like a peek into my process. 

Do you paint? Is your process similar or way different? Would this giant mess drive you nuts??

♥ K

And the winner is....

Hey folks - We have a winner from the giveaway! 

But first, I want to thank you all for your support and for participating in the giveaway! It's been so exciting!

The lucky number was 21 and that was...

Dawn - please contact me via email (strokesofserendipity@yahoo.com) or facebook to receive your prize! 

If you are not Dawn and are still yearning for a print, please visit my etsy shop here. Again - Thank you all!

♥ K

***Drumroll Please***

*Cuts pretty orange grand opening ribbon*

And we're open! 

I wish I had a real grand opening ribbon that I could cut, but a virtual one is going to have to do for now! Check out the new Etsy shop here.

In honor of Grand Opening Day (which is what today will be officially known as), I propose that we have a ***giveaway*** Woot woot! 

I will giveaway one print - your choice - from the shop. 

---------- Andddd *game show voice* here are the rules: -----------

The giveaway will last for one week, ending midnight on April 15th (EST). The winner will be announced on my blog on April 16th. He/she should contact me for which print they'd like and shipping information. 

To enter the contest, you must comment on this post with your name and the name of your favorite print.

To get extra names in the giveaway, you can do the following:

- share this giveaway on your blog

- like my facebook page here

- follow me on twitter here

In your comment, please write what you have done. If you have previously liked my facebook page or followed me on twitter, it counts too - just make sure you write it in your comment! 

Good luck! 

♥ K

Etsy Shop Grand Opening

It's almost time for the Grand Opening of my Etsy shop! Check out my Facebook page tomorrow for the details and some other surprises! www.facebook.com/strokesofserendipity

♥ K

The Real World:: This ain't no reality show

Post grad life is a funny thing.

While I was in college, I was so freaking excited that I was almost done with school. I was there for 5.5 years, ya'll. And RISD ain't no cake walk. 

I thought of all these cool projects that I could do without the opinions of the professors getting in my way. I thought of the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I wanted to. I thought of the hours and hours of sleep that I would be getting in my comfy bed at home.

Then I had my final critique and they kicked me to the real world. To be like, a real person 'n stuff.

I said goodbyes and had final drinks with friends.

I packed up my life in two days.

I drove 6 hours back to my hometown. 

I slept for... a few days. 

I moved my studio into my parent's basement. (and realized that I had just fulfilled the typical college grad stereotype)

I had a few omg-I'm-a-real-person-now breakdowns which my wonderful mother calmed.

I did yoga and meditated on my post grad life.

And then I started a freaking business. WHAT!?

That might have been the scariest thing I've ever done. I didn't even want to announce that I got my DBA because I was scared shitless. Super excited but let's be real - who isn't scared when they start a business? I hope at least some people are scared like me!

It's a whole work in progress. There are TONS of questions that I have been asking friends and family who have small businesses. I have been scouring the internet for tax and marketing advice as well as finding print shops that meet my (very small) budget. 

Basically, right now, I have a DBA and the rest is... coming along. 

While all this real life crap is happening, I am also planning a gallery show of my work and working on products that I will be selling in another show. Both of these shows are happening in the first week of May. Right. 

To say I'm not busy is a huge understatement. But it's better to be busy than bored, right? 

If anyone has a small business and would like to offer any advice to a girl just starting out, it would be extremely appreciated!

♥ K 

Semester Update #3: The Finale

The Finale of the semester was a little crazy and really weird. I had to deal with the fact that this part was going to whoooosh by and in no time, I would no longer be at RISD, my home for the last 5.5 years. That was (and still is) a hard reality to face. 

There was:

 - knitting

- goofing around

- walks around Providence

- major tired-ness

- LOTS of tea

- thesis writing in the woods

- sewing until my eyes and arms hurt

- broken headphone cords with one week left (immediately followed by screaming)

- notes to classmates 

- much laughing 

- super late nights/early mornings in studio

Though all those memories don't seem wonderful, they were. I miss all my textiles girls and guys and the late night bonding that could only happen in the midst of exhaustion. It was an amazing experience that I couldn't imagine being complete without each one of them.

Look for one more update to complete this mini series of Semester Updates!

♥ K

Semester Update #2

This edition of Semester Updates includes embroidery projects, dyeing fabric, road trips back home, knitting, yarn shopping and beer (to keep us sane). It didn't get too tiring at this point in the game but it was the beginning of the real stressful stuff that makes Thesis Project so wonderful. This was the point when projects started forming and the finishing began. 

See Semester Update #1 here and look for two more updates to come! 

♥ Kenzie

Architectural Inspiration: La Sagrada Familia

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This incredible ceiling belongs to La Sagrada Familia, a large, beautiful Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Spain designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. 

How amazing is that ceiling? It gets better.

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The church started construction in 1882 (130 years ago) and still is not complete. At the time of Gaudi's death in 1926, the project was only a quarter complete. The construction passed it's midway point in 2010 and is estimated to be completed by 2026! It was delayed by funding and the Spanish Civil War.

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The design of the building combines Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms as you can see in this detail above.

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The church holds 9,000 people! And how amazing are those columns??

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The stained glass window creates some amazing colors on the forms inside the building.

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Aren't those colors magical?

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This is one church that I would absolutely LOVE to visit. Though I am not involved with the church, to hear the echoes of the mass in that structure must be incredible. Just to see the building would be incredible!

Have any of you ever been there?
I would love to hear about your experience if you have!

♥ K

Lalala

Just a little taste of what I've been listening to lately.

What have you been listening to?

Send me anything. I love new music!

♥ K

And I'm back!

Hellooooo SOS-ers! 

Though my blog has been on hiatus for the past... has it been a year?, I am finally back! There has been a lot of changing in this past year or so, but I am ready to jump back in with ya'll.

The biggest change? I am officially a college graduate. Damn.

Still adjusting to that one. I'll elaborate on that later.

I'm going to try to update you on my last months of college through photos.

Part 1:

This will happen in sections as there are a lot of photos and I like to keep the suspense. But, along with more life photos, expect some changes around here! All good ones, I promise.

Glad to be back!

♥ K