first day on the pier!

first day on the pier!
Originally uploaded by PoPkO!

This is my little tester set-up. I'm watching pattees booth (painter) and able to sell my stuff while Im at it! Soon three of my sisters will be setting up with me (monique aka gurlygirl.etsy.com, annmarie aka superduper.etsy.com and april bohemianpulse on etsy! This was an easy day, simple set up with one table and dishes from my moms house, filled with sand. It was the least effort I have put into a display and think it came out pretty good! I was taking notes this day on how to best set up in the future, see what foot traffic was like etc. It was GREAT day!

Bubbles the Whale gets a fresh coat!

This humpback whale hangs out on the pier of Provincetown, Ma. My dad , Julian Popko, coordinated the re-vamp of this cement whale last year. It was originally created by an artist for the public, then spent the last several years hiding out in someones yard in Wellfleet, elements chipping away at the paint and structure. He managed to get it back out into the public eye and onto the pier for all of the world to sit atop and take photos.

Above: john paints the lettering on one side

Heres a few photos of the retouch! Were considering doing a full body re-paint in August, when all the sisters get back into town. For now, he gets some soap and water, and some touch-up paint on his body, tail fin, and white paint on the sides and new lettering . I did the lettering, what do you think?

Its been a happy little (big) addition to the pier, where people head to their whalewatch tour, hop to the ferry and stroll to admire the fishing fleet. Bubbles is always there! When we (my dad, my sisters and I) put it out, the words CAPE COD were on the bottom, but wore off over the winter. We added PROVINCETOWN to the other side, for all the photo opps. We touched up his side fin that got quite dirty form all the climbing and also added "dont climb/hang on the tail" because all you want to do is hang off that tail. Its just a natural instinct, ever for 60 year old men. Theyve been caught hanging too! But bubbles is old, and we dont need anyone getting hurt (including the humpback)!

<----Read the original newspaper article from 2008 in the left column <-------

above: dad and john workin' hard! the planks of the pier were scorching! but it was a gorgeous day.



ps- you can see the artist sheds behind him, where they sell paintings, pottery, jewelry and other handmade goodies. Its really great! The pier if full of life!

Friday : The goal post (on Tuesday)

Did I meet my goals this week?

Here are some of my goals from this week, mon-fri:

(yeah, okay you caught me, this was for last week, but it flew by)

Okay, goals for the week June 22-26:
1- figure out recycling/ trash schedule problem thingie with DPW

2- ship out order for boutique
3- get all new orders out

4- order supplies x 2 (i always procrastinate on mega ordering day)

5- exercise
6- write in my blog x 2

7- buy black shoes

8- get new printer

9- update my flickr
10-list new things on etsy

What I accomplished:
(Success 1-10, 10 being the best)

1- trash- well, i did that today, 4 days late, but im in cahrge and am taking full credit for accomplishing that SUCCESS 10

2- order shipped! done! and i even did a photo shoot with it before sending. see picture below (part of the order) SUCCESS 10

3- get all orders out -eh, this one was tricky, due to weather, supplies, and timing, AND what you consider 'all orders', does custom count? i need to be more precise when i give myself a task or i will skirt around it. SUCCESS 7 (because i wasnt clear with what this goal meant)

4- I did order the supplies, but BOTH orders came incorrectly. For one, I had given the wrong codes and got the worng items, the next was their fault for giving all the wrong things. So I have to reorder EVERYTHING. harumph. SUCCESS 10

5- exercise- I went for a canoe ride, and did some push ups. lame. SUCCESS 1

6- write blog x 2- i wrote once SUCCESS 5

7- got them! i had been putting off that task for two years. SUCCESS 10

8- heaven sent, my father GAVE me his printer. magical day. SUCCESS 10

9- flicker updated! SUCCESS 10

10- new things on etsy right now! though i did that today, so it doesnt count. that counts for this week. SUCCESS 0

TOTAL SCORE out of 100: 73
Well, its better than last week! I still dont think its a great score though. Next week I will try for more (well, THIS week)
Success of this post: 100!
DO YOU MEET YOUR GOALS EVERY WEEK?
DO YOU MAKE GOALS?
WHICH ONES DO YOU USUALLY ACCOMPLISH?

Follow all of my goal posts here:

6/15-19 http://popko.blogspot.com/2009/06/friday-goal-post.html

Behind the Scenes : Studio

Just a quick post for all the voyeurs out there! These are a few shots I just took of things happening on the studio table. I dont know about you,

but I always love looking at other peoples stuff.

Photo rocks. I put my jewelry on top of these for photo shoots. See the one with holes in it? Thats the one I drill my fused glass onto. Its probably not the best thing to drill into with a diamond bit, but it works for me.

Tools I use often. I use everything with a red handle just about every day.

I have a lot of little jewelry boxes on my table, holding different assortments of things. The little earrings are glass studs that I made for my last show, but photographing them for the etsy shop is soooo time comsuming. Ive been procrastinating with that one.

Real butterfly wing pendants, getting ready for a boutique in South Carolina.

Lacy white earrings made of metal. Love them! This is part of the product shoot I did the other day, soon to go into the shop, in the next week. Im travelling alot until next Wednesday or Thursday, so my schedule is a little unpredictable for the week.

Next up: the Friday goal post!

DIY Instructions - Babyshower Activity - How to make iron-on onesies!

How to decorate onesies for a baby shower! This tutorial is also great for embellishing baby or adult t-shirts, bibs, tote bags and anything fabric.

This is just a simple example of what you can do to make a baby shower extra special with a group activity. I like to think I channeled my inner-Martha for this one!

photo:hiding on the guest of honor behind our "shower" umbrellas.

This past week my mother and I hosted a very small surprise baby shower for my sister! The key to doing this as a group activity is having a SMALL group. I can see that doing this in a large group would be unruly and awkward and well, noone needs that many onesies. If you are having a large party, then consider doing this project as a gift item.

Our party only consisted of five women. Four plus the guest of honor. This was her second baby so it usually a smaller party, and luckily we DID have the party when we did (on Wednesday), because the baby came on Friday! The guest of honor was also able to create her own outfit for her new baby.

SUPPLIES:
COTTON ONESIES- (white and yellow) from A.C. Moore Crafts (michaels sells them too, and you can also get plain ones at target and baby stores anywhere).

BIBS (optional)- i didnt actually find any blank ones in my town. I know ikea sells them. So if you know of a place that has blank bibs please comment below.

TSHIRT(optional)

IRON-ON TRANSFER PAPER - from the craft store, you can also find it at staples & walmart. I used the one with iron-on paper for WHITE shirts. it has something to do with the background color. They also have the option for black.

SCISSORS

IRON

PIECE OF WOOD- the instructions on the iron on paper package said not to use ironing board, just wood. So i had a scrap board inthe studio that i used. My mom used the ironing board and it worked just fine though.

PENCIL- in case you want to draw out a shape first

Prep:
To make this an easy group activity, I made blocks of color using the most basic 'paint' program on my computer. I made strips of color on four sheets of paper. Another option would be to print (reverse) images of your choice on the sheets of paper, and even words.

I thought I would let my guests get creative so I just made blocks of color.

Create:

Lay out your onesie on the table, so when you lay out your paper design onto it you can move it around.

Cut the color printed iron-on paper into any shape in the world. You can cut letters, or silhouettes, polka dots, anything. If you are cutting out letters, make sure they are backwards, as you have to lay the transfer paper color-side-down to iron it.

Arrange the paper cut-outs onto the fabric.

Iron over the paper for 2 minutes on the NO STEAM setting. Just read the package directions for each manufacturer.

Let paper cool completely.

Peel away slowly. If you notice its not comoing off easy, iron again, and let cool completely.
Give to the mother-to-be! ENJOY!

Friday : The goal post.

Did I meet my goals this week? I feel like every week just runs into the next. Working at home, there are no days off, nothing to divide your week into working and not working times. I'm always working. Sort of. I can take time off to visit with my neice when I want to. I can go grocery shopping at noon. I can do things during the day that I wouldnt be able to do if I worked for someone else. But its very tricky balancing it all, at least it is for me.

Here are some of my goals from this week, mon-fri:

(Let me be clear, goals and responsibilities/commitments are not the same. I want to include "throw a surprise baby shower for my sister" into the goals I accomplished, but thats not really a goal, its a plan and event that was already in place. So I cant fluff up my accomplishments.)

Okay, goals for the week:

1-find some new inspirations

2-design something new for summer shows

3-NO COFFEE

4-make one new thing per day, in addition to things I have to make for orders

5-exercise

6-shower everyday

7-find one new place to advertise

8-update my blog

9-update my flickr

10-list new things on etsy

What I accomplished:

(Success 1-10, 10 being the best)

1-I went to the mall to see whats in fashion in a mainstream place. The jewelry at the mall was very depressing. It was really cheap. And girls were clamoring for it and purchasing it everywhere. I have to remind myself that mine is different. But I DID get inspired by this and also got some new ideas. SUCCESS 9

2-I designed one new thing, a whale in polymer clay. I am selling things on the pier this year and want nautical, whale, fish themed things. I dont know what to do with thr whale, but hes cute! Maybe a pin? A pendant? SUCCESS 5

3- I only had half a cup on Monday morning, prior to making this decision. I've been drinking my favorite earl grey all week long. Probably three huge cups a day. SUCCESS 10

4-SUCCESS 1, just the whale thingy, but i DID buy new supplies!

5-I played with my neice twice, tossing her over my head as many times as I could, then throwing her on my back and running till I was out of breath..does this count? SUCCESS 1

6- I usually shower every 3-4 days. shush. I showered three times this week. SUCCESS 7
7- I contacted a great blog that I think I can get onto in August! SUCCESS 10

8- blog, Three times, in two days. Good, but I need to space them out! SUCCESS 10

9- flickr- Eh, it was a lame update, but I made new contacts, and accomplished the update. SUCCESS 10

10-nope, no new listings on etsy. ACk, this one makes me feel bad. But theres always the weekend, right? SUCCESS 0

TOTAL SCORE out of 100: 63

I think I like this game! It really opened my eyes. 63 is NOT a good score.

Success of this post: 100!

DO YOU MEET YOUR GOALS EVERY WEEK?

DO YOU MAKE GOALS?

WHICH ONES DO YOU USUALLY ACCOMPLISH?

ps-I found these great free stock photos on a website called stock xchng.

Thursday Three!

I keep saving things in my 'favorites' over at etsy, knowing that I cant possibly have them ALL. So I thought I could start sharing them on Thursdays to make myself feel better about not being able to own them all myself, maybe YOU would like some too!

Heres my favorite "Thursday Three" for the very first time:

Traingle Nightie by LuciaApparel

This nightie is so feminine. Looks perfect for summer. $48

Live What You Love Letterpress Print by hijirik

This print comes in many colors, and says something that I live by. $12.50

Xo - Translucent porcelain cup by stepanka

Im a big fan of light and details. This looks like the sweetest little surprise to find when the sun shines in. $30

Easthampton Bearfest, artist proposal: Getting Comissioned for Public Art

This was such a great project to get involved in. After completing the bear, going to the opening, seeing all the positive responses, I know it was all worth the crazy time and effort.

I titled this "getting comissioned for public art", but it was honestly an open call to artists, a juried contest of sorts. We were rewarded with money to make the bear, so I can call it getting comissioned. This is just one way to look at it if you are planning to build a resume. Luckily they DID pay us, because I used every penny on glass and nippers and glue. I will write a whole post on that too, don't worry.

How did I get comissioned? I submitted a proposal.

A long time ago, maybe 5 or 6 months ago, my dad had cut out a "call to artists" from the newspaper and sent it to me. Sometimes I read his crazy clippings "pierogi pincher needed" is one that I have gotten from him more than twice. I saw the call for bear proposals, and put it aside. A month passed and saw it in another paper. I thought I should really try it. It's local, it's cute, I love bears. So I tend to think about ideas before I fall asleep. I thought this one out, but still like to mill it around for a while, as I can be a little pokey. I decided the week it was due that I should try for it. All that can happen is that they say no. I usually live my life with this in mind, and you wouldnt believe the things that can happen if you just go ahead and try!

I followed their guidelines, and drew out my idea. Two bears, the mama and baby sitting side by side. The mama had her head sticking out of the glass "bushes" and the baby sat next to her. This was to be done in glass and grout. The drawing was terrible. I submitted it at 2:59pm the last day you could submit. They were due at 3pm.

I also didn't know that they would be mounting them on matboard and displaying them publicly! AHH! I thought for sure that mine wouldnt make it. I knew I had a good idea, and that it would look great translated into glass, but it would take a little imagination. Luckily the judges had imaginations. HUGE imaginations. I was notified that I had been one of the 30 artists chosen out of 129 submissions. It was such a great day! I didnt get both bears, just one baby bear (which, thank god I only got one, more on that later). Read my acceptance post here.

Next post about the bears : "Getting started"

Easthampton Bearfest makes the news! Unveiling of the Bears

(for those just joining, I was an artist chosen/commissioned to decorate a bear for the town of Easthampton, details to follow all week!)

Easthampton Bearfest on the News! Yesterday was a huge success, with the unveiling of the 30+ decorated fiberglass bears. I will be posting my process of this project through this week. Ive mentioned it before on the blog, but now that they are finally unveiled I can show you all the details, and behind the scenes of how I made MY bear. Mines the first one in the video, the little green one. Then Im at the very end in the "Nature" shirt, hamming it up next to my bear while people took photos (and apparently the news station was too!).

Here's the link, unfortunately I couldn't get it to embed properly.

Easthampton Bear Fest

Etsy Handmade Weddings: featuring...ME! (okay, ALL the Popko sisters)

How exciting! My sister AnnMarie wrote an article for the Etsy Storque (their blog) about my Handmade Wedding! I knew she wrote it, but we didnt know when it would be published.

Today I was feeling a little bogged down with work and orders and my public art project that was due last week. But my frown just turned upside down for sure!

I went to the etsy homepage a few minutes ago... and there was a photo of me and all my sisters!

Here's the article that she wrote in its entirety. AnnMarie runs two shops on etsy, superduper for headpieces, and things to wear and a few vintage supplies, and also her gourmet pecan shop, cocktailparty. Way to go AnnMarie!