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Setting Your Intention: Using Power Words to Stay Focused

January 28, 2013 in Accomplishing goals, Kate Renee, Shoes, Strategic Planning | No comments

Princess Lasertron is one of my most favorite bloggers. She is a bridal designer like me, but while I create custom painted shoes, she makes custom bouquets! I love reading her blog because she not only has a wide range of beautiful work, she has some great blog posts and ideas for creative people. For 2013, she created a short list of power words to focus on during the year to help guide her.

I decided to try the activity and here is what I came up with!

1. Play: I am a very serious and focused artist. And, while this is great for maintaining professional demeanor with others, it hardly reflected my quirky, bright and fun paintings. I am intending to rediscover my inner child and artist soul by bringing play back into my life. 

2. Gratitude: From gratitude comes happiness. It appears that the more giving and thankful I am, the more I receive. I am intending to be thankful for all of the opportunities, people, resources, gifts, changes and events that happen this year.

3. Transformation: During the next two years, I am working with the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) and working with a mentor, Jill Waterhouse, to guide me. I have set aside these two years to determine what I really want and allow for it to manifest. I am learning to say NO!….so I can say yes to other opportunities, I am setting boundaries, and I am allowing myself to grow and change. Just in the first few weeks of the program and of this year, I have had numerous changes, both small and large. The transformation has begun (insert evil laugh)!

4. Imperfection: I am a perfectionist. The first step is admitting to it! So I am practicing being an imperfectionist. I am learning to take a step back, put perfection aside and not expect certain outcomes.

5. Pace: If you have been following me and my arts career, you know that I am always busy, always doing something, always having a side project. I have been on hyper-drive for a long time now. I am changing pace and taking it down a notch. If I stay on hyper drive too long I will burn out. So 2013, marks a more consistent and doable pace for me. Slow and steady wins the race!

While we tend to focus on a resolution, how about trying to focus on power words, setting intentions and guiding principles to make changes in our lives? This sort of method is a lot less rigid than “I am going to walk the dog every day” or “I am going to lose 20 lbs by March.” Power words and intention setting give you wiggle room to explore, they don’t set a bar or a standard for success or failure. If goal setting and resolutions are difficult for you try thinking up your own power words list and use it like a guiding principle.

Do You Hear Wedding Bells in Your Future?

June 18, 2012 in Commissions, Kate Renee, Shoes | No comments

If so, what are you wearing for shoes?

How would you like custom designed shoes to match the colors, theme and design of your special day?

I can create custom designed shoes for you! The designs are one of a kind and custom tailored to your needs.

Pumps, flats or converse,

how ever you like to walk down the aisle is fine by me.

Here is what one bride said about her custom made shoes:

“I was so impressed with the outcome of my wedding shoes! I gave an idea to her and she drew a sketch of what they would resemble. They turned out above and beyond what I expected, plus way better than anything I saw on the internet to specially order. I asked for both a high heel and flat shoe for the day and my guests were in AWWW over my shoes. They were a great accent with the theme colors and a cute peek-a-boo under my dress. Elegant with personality! Detail done so well with such precision.”

-Cassy Lahr, Married December 2011

How it works:

1. If your thinking about custom shoes, feel free to contact me by email or give me a call at katerenee@katerenee.com or 952-769-7159. Let me know what you want designed, colors, ideas and details.

2. If you are ready to get started, the go buy your shoes! Nothing made of plastic like patent leather or pleather shoes. Choose something softer which paint can stick to. I will cover them in a solid base and top coats to protect the shoes for multiple uses or occasions.

3. Give me about 6 weeks per pair….Yes you can have more than one pair of shoes on your big day! The happy bride below had two pairs made for her wedding!

Special thanks to Jeff Yuppy from Yuppy Photo, who has granted me permission to use photographs of the bride and her shoes.

www.yuppyphoto.com 

theyuppys@yuppyphoto.com

Interested in checking out some more photos? Look at my Pinterest Pin Board

Pacman Shoes

May 14, 2012 in Kate Renee, Shoes | No comments

At the Level_13: Cheat Codes exhibition, I created a hand painted custom pair of high heels with Pacman on them.

These shoes started out as a crummy well worn pair of fake-cork shoes from Goodwill. And after about 10 hours of work, these shoes are now a high fashion work of art.

The shoes had a few coats of gesso and white acrylic paint to stiffen the soft black canvas of the shoes. This also made the soft fake cork harden up and smooth out a bit. I then covered the main body of the shoe in a vibrant royal blue, and painted the heel and shoe sole in a bright Pacman yellow.

While I had plans to include a lot more imagery and themes into the shoes, I stopped after I painted a simple design on the back of the heel. It features a jeweled heart between Mr and Mrs. Pacman.

I then mimicked the consecutive dots that Pacman eats as he travels through the game by edging the shoe in a red bead of rhinestones. I also added a cute bow and a white Pacman dot button on the top.

I showed up to the exhibition opening wearing these shoes, and within 5 minutes of walking in the door, I had people asking to take pictures. The best part was surprising people with the custom painted Pacman game map I created in the underside of the heel. The white dots were replaced with rhinestones too!

If you already have not made your way over to City Pages, they have a great slideshow of the opening. There you can see a few shots of my heels as well as some of my other work that was in the show! Thanks City Pages and thank you AE for nominating me as the Featured Artist!

City Pages Slideshow

April 16, 2012 in Altered Esthetics, Kate Renee, Press and Promotions, Shoes | No comments

PHOTOS BY HILARY STEIN on April 6, 2012, Artwork by Kate Renee 2012

Published on April 9, 2012 on City Pages

Didn’t quite make it to AE for the Level_13: Cheat Codes exhibition? Well, there is still time. You have until April 26th to see the show. City Pages came and took a bunch of pictures as well and I have about 6 photos or so in their slideshow. Check it out here!

Reflections on 2011 and Beginnings of 2012

January 2, 2012 in Accomplishing goals, Altered Esthetics, Bloomington Theatre and Art Center, Commissions, Faux Poco, In the Studio, Kate Renee, Local Artist Interview, Prairie Center of the Arts, Residency, Shoes | 1 comment

January 2011

2011 was the first official year of the Solo Exhibitions Program at AE. I am the developer of this program and as Director of Solo Exhibitions, I teach emerging artists how to become working professionals in the art world.

February 2011

I began the year off with my biggest exhibition to date, Two Perspectives. It was at the Coffman Art Gallery at the University of Minnesota and featured my animal paintings along side Katherine Sheehan from Texas. I had 9 works in the show and it had a great turn out. Many family and friends showed up for support. Thank you to all that attended.

In February, I also worked at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for the Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting,. I absolutely Loooved working there, even though it was just the gift store!

March-May 2011

The next following months I had many exhibitions, 7 to be exact I had work showing at Altered Esthetics in the Online (Dis) Connect show as well as Flesh and Form. I also got a few press articles printed about me, and I was featured on Michael McGraw’s Local Artist Interviews blog page. I also won a membership to Visual Arts Minnesota in the First Annual Interviewed Contest.

Read my interview here:

http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2011/04/kate-johnson-painter.html

The Katherine E. Nash Gallery and Nude Night in Florida featured life drawings. I had a bookarts piece at the Susan Hensel Gallery.

July 2011

But what was more exciting was my artist residency at Prairie Center for the Arts. This residency was 6 weeks long and I got to travel to Illinois. I packed up my little Saturn and drove the 7 hours there. I had lovely accommodations in Germantown Hills, and then a big painting studio in Peoria, the next town over.

I managed to make 50 some paintings, as well as a whole list of other projects. I began to also blog during this time; I figured I would like to remember my residency experience. Since then I have expanded my blogging topics to include my work habits, career guidance topics, artist interviews, book reviews, recipes and my current projects. I have always had a passion for creative writing and this really feeds into it!

2011 came with a bunch of fun commissions too!

My Toes Are Cold, 2011
Commission made for Rusty Gallaway

I Can Blow Bubbles With My Nose, 2011
Commission for MJ Winlaw

September 2011

Bringing back all my paintings from IL was quite the haul, but everything made it home alright! Upon returning from my residency, I sent out submission packets, and still anxiously wait replies from galleries. I am excited to show all of my new work, I also wrote and submitted 4 grants!

November 2011

November was a very busy month; I had my first installation piece shown at Altered Esthetics in the Food Fight show. It was called The Bad Fortune Cookie. I began to create this piece while at my residency this summer.

I created 100 fortunes out of wood. They were made from a Waterjet machine. I stained 3 times and ployacrylic-ed each cookie. Then I created custom bad fortunes for each one…good fortunes are boring. Then I stuck the fortunes all over a wall. Bad fortunes only cost $5 and you get to keep the cookie! I received a scholarship from Springboard for the Arts to attend the Giant Steps conference in 2011.

Following a project I began at my residency, I have begun to custom paint shoes. Since July I have made three pairs of shoes and a possible commission on the way! I made Cassy Lahr (Peterka) two pairs of custom shoes for her wedding this past December. They turned out gorgeous!

December 2011

I have my own studio at Faux Poco in St Paul! It’s the best thing I have done for my art career. This year I learned that I can’t work and live in the same space, and a computer and the internet are a huge distraction. So my studio is now my safe haven, and productivity master. I have completed 3 commissions during my first month there! And have clocked about 60 some hours of studio time already.

January 2012

2012 is already around the corner, but believe it or not, do not make any art related resolutions!…I do it in Julys Don’t as me why, but I goal set, and career plan in July and it seems to be extremely effective for me. I’ve done it two years in a row.

So here’s some upcoming 2012 art updates:

I was awarded the 2012 Featured Artist for the Level_13 Classic Video Game Art Show at AE… I was printed in the 2012 Altered Esthetics calendar with my work: Tipsy Shrooms. The exhibition is in April 2012.

I also got hired by Bloomington Art Center to teach a workshop on internet and social networking for artists. This workshop will be May 1st 2012. Contact me or Bloomington Art Center for more information. Register on their website.

2012 I am also working on some re-branding of my work. Soon I will have a new website under Kate Renee. Keep up with me and my work on Twitter, Youtube, MNartists, Linked In, Facebook and here on my blog The Suction Cup! Email me with any questions or comments; they are always appreciated kate.r.johnson (at) comcast.net

Thanks for reading my blog and supporting me and my creative work. And I am looking forward to another year of blogging! Now time to break in that new easel I got for Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Custom Painted Shoes

November 28, 2011 in Commissions, In the Studio, Kate Renee, My Medias, Shoes | No comments

My latest creative endeavor has been hand painting shoes with custom themes and imagery. I first began to experiment with this concept while at my artist residency this past July. One morning, I woke up with the idea that I needed to paint a pair of shoes. There just so happened to be a Good Will a few minutes away. I found a cheap pair of red pumps there and bought them with out even trying them on! Eight hours later….and tadah!

These are my octopus tentacle shoes!

Complete with rhinestoned suction cups too! I’ve worn these shoes to the Giant Steps 2011 conference and also to two interviews (both with job offers!). And people have been very interested in my unique creation! Seems to me like I made my own lucky pair of shoes!

My second and third crack at custom painting shoes was for a family friend who I have known most of my life, Cassy (Peterka) Lahr. She asked that I make her two pairs of shoes, pumps and flats, for her wedding which is in a couple of days.

Approximately twenty hours and hundreds of rhinestones later, I created these gorgeous shoes for her to wear during the ceremony!

Her theme of the wedding was roses and snowflakes! These shoes are decked out in tons of rhinestones.

The entire is covered in silver stones with a red accent on the very bottom. The sides of the shoe show a snowflake and red rose design.

And the second pair of flats is for the dance! Also themed with the snowflakes and roses but a different spin to them. These had no rhinestones but featured a lovely snowflake charm and bow, and white roses and small snowflake designs along the side!

I took the original bow off that came with the shoes and replaced it with subtle sheer ribbon and added a snowflake charm.

Are you interested in getting your own custom pair of shoes?

Here’s how it works: You buy the shoes so they fit and are comfortable. I would not recommend any dyeable wedding shoes from David’s Bridal and would also not recommend pleather or other sort of plastic material (paint may not stick!). Pick a theme you would like for me to paint on them. I love rhinestones and I hope you do too… I can do a ton, or a few tastefully! I truly wish to make your shoes one of a kind!

Contact me at kate.r.johnson (at) comcast.net for more information.