Untamed Art Blog

Our New House

2010-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

My R.V. Resort Plans

2010-02-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

1964 Kenskill Travel Trailer

2010-02-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

My Birthday Party

2010-02-09T04:39:00.000-08:00

My best friend Amber and my roommates and friends all got together and threw me a surprise party after I got home from work on my birthday. They didn't realize I would be working till after the show was over so they were up till midnight waiting for me to get home. I felt awful and you can tell how tired everyone is in the pictures, but it made me feel really special! They did a Hello Kitty theme with ice cream cake and lots of fun kitsch party favors and presents, even vintage travel trailer theme presents! Amber said she would have made my cake in the shape of an airstream travel trailer if she had had more time, maybe for the grand opening of the shooting gallery once we transfer everything into my new 1964 kenskill 19' trailer that Darrin got me for my birthday gift! I will post pictures on my next blog.

Visited my family for the holidays!

2010-01-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

2009-11-29T01:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a look at some of the costumes, masks and accessories we have in the shooting gallery live action photo booth. I have been having computer problems, so I apologize for the long delay since my last post and update. The wet weather has prevented us from doing the photo booth at any events recently, and I anticipate we won't be able to do anything until late February when it starts to get warm again. For now I am working on the collection of props, costumes and the overall business. Check back soon for more photos of our newest costumes like the Bettie Page Mermaid, Sexy nun and priest, peacock princess, dia de los muertos masks and costumes, 1920's french lingerie, burlesque costumes, victorian gowns, circus sideshow snake charmer, and wildly styled wigs to go with the Edward Scissorhands costume...+ many more! Also, check out the new Flash site I made (if your browser supports Flash) by clicking here

Last Thursday on Alberta St.

2009-09-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Shooting Gallery

2009-09-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our first event! Come check us out at Last Thursday Street Fair on Alberta Street from 3 pm - 9 pm.

"Classy" Pin-Up Shoot

2009-09-10T01:09:00.000-07:00

Trailer Trash Shoot

2009-09-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

So today my room mates got together and helped me practice some trailer trash themed photos that I want to offer with "The Shooting Gallery" Live Action Photo Booth, along with classy vintage pin-up themed photos (which we will be practicing in the next few days. Here are some of the sample photos we did. It was a lot of fun!

Trailer Photos

2009-09-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Vintage Trailer Photo Studio!

2009-08-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

So I recently put down a deposit on this vintage 1971 Streamline Countess Travel Trailer and I am so excited to get it. I'm going to use it for a mobile photo studio to take to festivals, events, and out on location. I want to be able to offer vintage pin-up photos, or themed photos with props, costumes, backdrops, hair, and make up, and edit and print them right then and there while people wait (like a photo booth). I can always have my lighting kit and studio set anywhere I go, and the vintage trailer adds to the whole feel of it. Retro Streamlines are perfect because they don't come with furniture in the living room portion so it is the perfect space to make a small photo set. This trailer is in pristine condition, new toilet, new shower, air vents, remote controlled lighting, new fridge, custom woodwork and upholstery, phone, cable and electric jacks throughout, it even has the original gold hubcaps and the actual owners manual. The trailer was kept under a cover for ten years and before that was lived in by an older woman who took amazing care of it.

Thanks to the recession I am getting such an insanely good deal on this trailer, and I finally feel like my photo business will have a new service to provide that hasn't been done before. I will be able to bring my studio to events, festivals, wedding receptions, and anywhere on location. I can spend the day at pet stores doing creative pet portraits, or when merchants need product photos taken for catalogs and websites I can come to their business and easily shoot each item so all the images are clean and consistent. When I shoot Vintage Pin-Up style portraits, I will have a changing room for costumes and space to do make up and hair in a well lit area with a big mirror. There is so much storage, I have never seen a trailer with as many cabinets and drawers, as well as electrical outlets so it will be perfect for all my crazy props, backdrops and lighting equipment. I will also have my laptop plugged in during shoots so images can immedietly be photo-shopped and printed while the customers wait. Then they will be given a receipt and card telling them how they can order more copies of prints at a later date. I will post more pictures in my next post, wish me luck!

A Wonderful Gift

2009-07-27T03:21:00.001-07:00

So I had the one of the coolest and most unexpected experiences in a long time just a couple of weeks ago. I have been wanting an antique Vatican sick call altar for years and I've been outbid on them one time after another on ebay, disappointed and left with that empty spot in my collection of catholic artifacts. Then to my surprise I saw someone on Craigslist locally selling one for an incredible price of $65.00. Not only was it in mint condition, it had all the original pieces along with it including the ornate candle holders, the silver engraved plates, the spoon, the box of cotton, the oil cloths, the crucifix and even the original booklet that came with it in 1909! I contacted the seller and Sara wrote me back and let me know it was still available. I asked her about the Guadalupe and Jesus statues she also had in the ad and she told me she would just give them to me for free since she could tell that I was such a passionate collector like herself. I arranged to go up to meet her and her husband Cork the following Sunday, though I didn't realize how far away Kelso is from Portland or I would have planned things a little better. I could have spent hours hanging out with this wonderful couple, their house was absolutely incredible, and they even had an AKC Standard Poodle named Molly June! Anyone who knows me, knows I am absolutely infatuated with poodles, they are so iconic and pure kitsch.....I love the ones with styled hair and the dainty way they prance and show off their good looks. They are unlike any other dog. They also had a Malamute mix I believe who had the most incredible coat of large puffy hair, she seemed like a mammoth, yet the Poodle runs that house....=). Begining from the mosaic walkway to the beautifully manicured storybook cottage, their house was full of inspiration and symbolic pieces of art - and Cork could tell me the story and origins of nearly every piece they had on display. They had a room dedicated to one large shrine, made from symbolic pieces they had gathered throughout their travels to Mexico and beyond, it was so neat to hear how they acquired each item, and what it meant to them. I was so mad that I hadn't brought my camera, but luckily Sara had one and took a picture of me with their poodle and the two statues. All in all that was such a great day, Sara and Cork are amazing people and artists who treated me like we had been friends for years. Even after everything she had given me, she gave them these gorgeous antique, ornate sacred heart that she had a double of! I really hope to visit with them again, and bring some new statues and crucifixes that will match the style they like, and to take pictures of them with their dogs, and hopefully use the poodle for some creative artistic shots I have planned.

My Favorite Things

2009-07-27T02:45:00.001-07:00

These are pictures of different sections of my bedroom, then there is one that shows a large portion of the room so you can see my awesome new stripper pole! I'm not planning on becoming an exotic dancer, but I figure it will be a great way to get in shape and get in touch with my inner-sexuality (and I will have a killer skill if I ever decide to show it off...ha ha). My room is becoming more of a museum than a bedroom, what else do you do though when your room is the size of an apartment, I figure I ought to take full advantage of it!

My Altered Art Work Area

2009-07-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my new altered art shell shrines, paper weights, crosses, collages, and photo prints that I hope to sell on etsy or at Portland's Last Thursday in the Alberta Arts District at the end of this month. It's so hard to sell things like this though, when you use your favorite charms and collected findings and put your heart and soul into each piece....it makes me want to price them really high so no one will buy them. At this point I need to start learning how to let go, my house is becoming horribly cluttered and over run with "found objects and craft supplies" (I can justify just about anything I buy by saying it's for my art or photo studio - a prop or a piece I need for a new shrine I am making). Unless I start using all this stuff I've collected I am going to officially be a hoarder/rat packer....or I better make plans to open a really eclectic museum, ha ha. I love to be surrounded with visually stunning art and objects that get my creativity flowing, I am always afraid that if I don't buy something that catches my eye and gives me that fluttery feeling of excitement and inspiration that I will forget and never find it again. The other reason is that everything I find is at flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores and on craigslist at insanely good bargain prices and a lot of the times one-of-a-kind, so the chances of getting it again are usually impossible. I'm sure there are a lot of others who struggle with this same problem, let me know if there is a name for it or some kind of support group I can join =).
Here are some photos of my work area, so you can see what I am talking about.

Dia De Los Muertos

2009-07-20T00:07:00.001-07:00

Me and my friend Amber Mercedes decided to practice doing our makeup for an upcoming Day of the Day photo shoot I have planned. Amber is my makeup artist, hair stylist and set designer on my photo crew, and we had a lot of fun as you can see in the photos below.

More Pictures

2009-07-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

These are more awesome treasures that I picked up at the sale last week! fetwjcysup

My first Blog!

2009-06-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here is my first posting. I am so new to this even though I have been reading other artist's blogs for years, now I finally have my own. I'm going to begin by sharing some photos of some new treasures I found at the most amazing garage sale ever last weekend, advertised as :

RAD YARD SALE and Vegan Bake sale!!
HUGE sale of 6 crafty collector friends bringing objets d'art for your purchasing pleasure! We got art, boxes and boxes of shoes and clothes of ALL different styles and sizes.. jewelry, accessories, my entire cassette and vinyl collection, vintage turntables, weird furniture including a re-upholstered hospital chair, chandeliers, kitchen stuff, fabrics, vintage Christmas light-up lawn decor including a full nativity set, lamps, vintage pink sewing machine, insane chotchkies of every sort. NOT TO MENTION fabulous vegan baked goodies! A portion of our total sales will go to the Oregon Humane Society, cuz we luvs the animals ;)
One friend is also going to go on a VEGAN BAKING FRENZY and ALL of her proceeds go to OHS!!!
Sale is around back in the driveway, garage and yard.

It was my dream sale, I cleaned them out of all their Catholic and religious icons, statues, pictures, damask upholstery sample books, fake taxidermy, and antique frames. Here are some photos~