Ever hear of a Garage Sale with Nothing But Art Supplies? Me Either!

 A stack of magazines I picked up for a song!

We've all been to our share of garage sales over the years, but when I heard La Mesa artist, Lisa Bebi, was having one with nothing but cast off art supplies -- I jumped for joy! Plus, she found two other artists to join her -- bonus!

 Lisa's garage ready to go. This pic and the next two came from her blog.

Lisa has been an artist all of her life and this was the first major overhaul of her art studio. It got so full of cool art stuff, that she uses her dining room table to paint. Please visit her blog to see some of the inspired mixed media art work she does.

Since Lisa does mixed media, she has all sort of ephemera, books, papers, brushes, pens, glues, mediums, rubber stamps, ink pads and more.

 The sale started today at 8 am. The early bird gets the worm and I didn't arrive until 8:30. The woman pictured below got there first and bought a ton of stuff, including ALL of the rubber stamps, ink pads and a giant box of magazines. I didn't see what else she picked up, because I had to hurry and find my own treasures before she bought everything!

The smart shopper (l) and Lisa (r).

Here are a few of the boxes she loaded into her car! She filled up those two empty ones and more.

She bought almost everything on that table!

I started in the ten cents an item section and selected some old issues of Art Forum, Art in America, a book of colored paper and the only Stampington magazine the other woman didn't buy. It was in the bargain bin, because it was missing its cover.

I bought a slew of gel pens for 20 cents each, a glue stick, a roll of raised tape and a zipper bag for the pens -- for a dime each. The partially used tubs of Golden mediums, the bag of acrylic paints and the bottle of ink were in the quarter box. 

I picked up 24 sheets of scrap book paper for $2, plus a pack of white envelopes, some smaller papers and a roll of sheer paper for my collage's and card making.

I'm new to adding fabric to my artwork, so I really don't own much. Kathy Olson sold me that whole box of fibers and ribbons for $5. The individual pieces of fabric in front of the box were $1 each.

Kathy Olson

More of Kathy's items for sale.

I ran into two of my artist friends, Diane (l) and Hilari (r).

We poured over the wonderful selection of colored pens!

Here's Bet and Hilari checking out some of the books for sale.

Believe it or not, Lisa is not yet finished cleaning out her art studio. She still needs to sort through more of her books and vintage papers. You know I'll be there for that gARTage sale too!

I would love to see this as the beginning of a new trend. I know many artists who are also in the midst of spring cleaning, so maybe we could have more group garage sales in San Diego. In fact, why limit it to San Diego? 

Why not start a nationwide trend and get artists together, who are committed to stamping out clutter from their homes and art studios and have them team up and sell their art supplies to other artists and craftsmen?! Are you game?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this idea. Please leave me a comment below. Thanks for stopping by! ~NR~

Something I made in one of Lisa's Paint-Over Style workshops in San Diego, CA 2009.

Upcoming Art Classes I'm Taking with 2 Global Artists!

Paintings by Lisa Bebi



Lisa Bebi at an Open House Summer 09, where she displayed her paintings all over this lovely home in La Mesa, CA

Two Technique Classes taught by Lisa Bebi:

Lisa Bebi is a frequent contributor artist and an Artist-On-Call for Somerset Studio International Mixed Media Magazine, where she's been published more than 50 times. Lisa has enjoyed a global fan base, continually receiving international workshops invites, as well as workshops here at home. I took her paint over class in June and enjoyed it so much, I want to go back for more. I really enjoy the paint-over technique!



Paintings by Lisa Bebi on display at an Open House in La Mesa, CA Summer 09

Lisa is teaching on Thursday, Sept. 24 for a FAMILY PAINTOVER WORKSHOP - all day - East County Art Association (Rancho San Diego Library). It's only $30! Here's a link to the library with directions and map.


Samples of Milk Resist Technique

Then there's The Milk and Milk Resist Techniques Workshop by Lisa Bebi, Wednesday, September 30, 2009 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM. In Somerset Studio magazine, October 2007, Lisa authored a 4 page article on the wonders of using milk as your ink for your stamps in order to create a resist. The results from stamping with milk are beautiful, subtle and dreamy-creamy. And No, there is no residual smell, stickiness or trouble with ants invading your cards afterward. You may simply stamp with milk and let it air dry and then color with a variety of pigment, or you can heat the stamped milk until it becomes caramelized to a toasty brown - then add pigment on top. Cost $35.00. Here's a link to The Stamp Addict


Cover Art/Story by Pam Carriker & Friends

Two classes taught by Pam Carriker:

Maybe you've seen Pam's artwork featured in various magazines including the recent Somerset Studio featuring the cover story of, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Canvas," and also in the current issue of Art Journaling Magazine. She's also been published in Stamper's Sampler, Somerset Apprentice, Cloth, Paper, Scissors, among others. I adore her backgrounds, as well as her portraits. She teaches online classes too. For more info, check out her blog at: http://thebagladysart.blogspot.com/

ATC workshop----Friday, September 25, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Stamp Addict, San Diego, CA ($20). (I won't be taking this one, but wanted to mention it anyway.)

Portraits in Mixed Media Workshop with Pam Carriker 12noon - 3pm, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. Register today. Space is limited Workshop fee: $65 for EAP members/$75 for non members. It will be at the Escondido Municipal Gallery. Click here for more information.

Next month, I'm already looking forward to more classes by Chris Cozen at Stamping Details in Poway, CA on Halloween weekend. She's teaching classes on color mixing, faux encaustic, painting on vinyl and works in progress. I'm signing up for the color mixing and faux encaustic classes. Hoping to see some of you at there. Please introduce yourself, because I'd love to meet you! Thanks for stopping by.