June Pfaff Daley » Uncategorized

Getting Into this Book

June — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:29:45 +0000

I was thrilled when this arrived in the mail. Even more exciting than the book’s actual arrival was being included! My article “The Mixed Adventures of a Superhero Series” can be found in Chapter 4: Collage and Assemblage. I’m honored to be among so many talented artists gathered by author Barbara Delaney. This inspirational book is mainly a compilation including some of the best articles and projects from the first six years of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. The book also includes an intro chapter with tips to start making art and ends with a chapter about getting that art out there. As a graphic designer, I totally appreciated the book’s gorgeous photography and layout (publisher Interweave has quite the talented staff!)

I’ll admit it was pretty fun to discover my leg on the back cover. Well not my leg exactly, but the leg of the apron-wearing heroine I painted. You can order The Cloth Paper Scissors Book right here.

Happy Halloween

June — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:00:02 +0000

I do realize that some may view this post and incorrectly assume that I have waaay too much time on my hands because:

1) I made six dozen decorated halloween sugar cookies for kid’s classrooms and family.

2) I photographed and made a photo illustration out of sugar cookies.

3) I sat and wrote a blog post about how I baked, photoshopped, and justified baking and photoshopping sugar cookies.

I assure you this is not a symptom of having too much time. What it is: I am creatively delaying what I really should be doing like scrubbing sinks and attending to grunt business/work type stuff. Don’t tell my husband what goes on here during the day. So glad we have that all cleared up. Now back to “work.”

Signs of spring

June — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:57:00 +0000

So tell me, just how is one supposed to work with all of this going on outside? It’s been taking my very best focusing skills to get just a little done.

I’ve also been on a major decluttering kick…I’m pretty sure there’s something in the air that demands it. Six stuffed garbage bags and five very large pieces of brightly colored plastic (several with wheels) are outta here. What a feeling that is.

And we couldn’t wait one second longer to decorate our eggs that happen to fit right in with the vibrant landscape. We’re so happy to have our spring back. I’ll be returning soon with cookies to properly celebrate.

Snowed in

June — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:27:00 +0000

Sometimes a weekend blanket of snow isn’t a bad thing. Especially when you have hours and hours of design work and…

a brand new, fire-engine-red mixer that you were lucky enough to get for Christmas.

Now, I’ll be getting back to business. Of course that’s right after the cookies. Priorities you know.

Proof…

June — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:14:00 +0000

… that I haven’t been goofing off. Unless, like my husband, you don’t see the “work factor” involved in sewing together two-sided pages, adding brads and glitter, gluing feathers and finally stringing sequins, dice and beads from 25 early bird mouths for chunky/fat book participation. But I bet you do. And it was on my “to do” list…right after ‘grocery shop’ and ‘schedule yearly doctor checkups for the kids’ (btw anything written on a “to do” list is most definitely a job/work that must be completed. ) This is all in prep for February’s much anticipated art retreat.

If you don’t know what a chunky/fat book is (like I didn’t two years ago), it’s a collaborative project that brings together a little bit of each participating artist into a 4″ x 4″ *typical* book spiral bound by the organizer of the event. Pages include lots of embellishments and unique touches so no two finished books are exactly alike.

There they are. whew. All 25 pages shipped off yesterday to our kind organizer down in Florida. I can’t wait to get my hands on the finished project. Okay back to more work (really…it’s on the list.)

my first Christmas

June — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:20:00 +0000

errr…hi there.
I’ve been asked to drop in and let you know that all is well. This is my first December. They told me that things would be chaotic, but I had no idea. Makes me want to hide under a bed if I wasn’t so curious. Paper and lights and people and shiny things and food…
Speaking of which, I used my big eyes and best manners to get a taste of that ham. delicious. Then somebody (one of the short ones) spilled a whole cup of chocolate milk that nobody but me noticed ;> )
And just when I thought things had mellowed out one of them had a birthday. More paper, more people, more noise, more food. Anyway, I’m here to pass on wishes for a warm, wonderful holiday season. She said she’ll be back soon (hopefully…I’m not so fond of typing.)
I need to go now and find a quiet spot for a long, cozy nap.
XXOOXX Penny

Have a hair-raising Halloween

June — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:32:00 +0000

We’re busy today getting costumes together, candy ready and pumpkins carved for the big night. I’m taking a short break from our halloweenish prepping to wish you fun and safe trick-or-treating and share a truly unique, completely cute costume.

Meet Nancy from Oklahoma. Last week, Nancy ordered several packs of frustration pencil kits mentioning that she was going to dress up as a giant frustration pencil herself! I had never met Nancy, but thought to myself how she had to be a pretty fun gal. I asked if she would share a photo which she kindly did. I’m loving the hair. Nancy passed out frustration pencils to her coworkers yesterday and won third place in her office Halloween contest! Way to go Nancy!

Now off to carve our pumpkins…

This is spooky…

June — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:01:00 +0000

To get you in the mood for Halloween, I thought I’d take you on a haunted tour of the latest project happening around here. Be warned…this isn’t for the faint of heart.

If you think you can back out now or that any of these light switches actually work you are sorely mistaken.

Watch your step. The floor may or may not be underneath you.

Secrets of the past are harbored inside these walls.

Plaster tiled walls will not let go of their memories without a fight.

Did you think you were going to be able to take a bath here tonight? (insert evil laugh and spine-tingling music.)

Now, now, don’t be afraid. It’s just our first floor bath being remodeled or as 4-year-old Nora more accurately describes, “destroyed.” Lucky for us, we still have a bath and a half intact to help us through these harrowing times. However, I will admit that the past few days have had me on the edge of my seat. The banging/sound of walls crumbling along with a fine mist of circulating dust is happening on the other side of my studio walls. All who have lived through remodeling of any kind know that these are not fun times. It will be good in the end though. And I promise to share photos when the light shines again in our brand new bathroom.

Nature is painting.

June — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Is that a gorgeous palette or what?

Happy first day of fall. My favorite season.

This is why I wear a bell….

June — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:32:00 +0000

My owners bought a sporty new collar for me with a shiny red bell. Since I’m an indoor kitten it’s not to warn the birds, but to warn my family that I’m underfoot. I admit I like to be as close as possible to where ever one of them might be. In other news, I’m really happy in my new home. In the past month, I’ve doubled in size and now weigh a whopping 2.8 lbs! If my brothers and sisters could see me now they sure wouldn’t be calling me “runt!” A couple of weeks ago, I traveled with my human family an entire 7 hours (each way) to visit out-of-state relatives. It was pretty exciting. Now I’m back home in my favorite spot. This one (the feet in picture above) says she’s really busy with design work and I’ve also noticed a few sewing projects in the works.
More soon.
XXOOXX Penny