ERA Graphics
NEWSLETTER ~ WINTER 2007 ~ V.8 No. 4
ERA Catalog
Online
On Paper
 
Resources
About ERA
Classes
Copyright
Mounting Tips
Newsletter
Spring 98
Winter 98-99
Spring 99
Summer 99
Fall 99
Winter 99-00
Spring 2000
Summer 2000
Fall 2000
Winter 2001
Spring/Summer
2001
Fall 2001
Winter 2002
Spring 2002
Summer 2002
Fall 2002
Winter 2003
Spring 2003
Summer 2003
Fall 2003
Winter 2004
Spring 2004
Summer 2004
Fall 2004
Winter 2005
Spring 2005
Summer 2005
Winter 2006
Winter 2007
Order Form
Order Info
Projects
Gallery
Home

envelope
E-mail us.

Weeeeee'r back! Well we never actually left, just went into a premature hibernation. Why, you say, since we all missed you terribly and were beyond despair without the ERA Graphics Newsletter? Well a whole lot of reasons and distractions. But not to bore you overly much we have lots to tell you, BIG sales to offer, and the best news of all, as 2006 becomes history we enter the 21st century.

Before the news, The Hun and I would like to wish you all the joy and happiness we have experienced in our lives, and wish you and yours a happy holiday season and a joyous and prosperous New Year.

era graphics enters the 21st century

When we put up our web site some eight years ago, we were stumbling in the dark, never having done this before. Web mistress Christina was using us as her training wheels. One of the things we forgot was to put tags on each image as it was entered into the database.

When we decided that a shopping cart was needed, the task of tagging each image had grown to massive proportions, something like 1400 tags. When I approached The Hun about redoing the database he didn't come home for three days. So we continued asking you guys to snail mail, email or fax us your orders. Not a very satisfactory solution.

Well we finally bit the bullet and with the help of a good friend in Calaveras County (think Yosemite), Ron Platt, we finally did it. As of the New Year we will have an integrated shopping cart just like the big boys.

All I can say is thanks for your patience.

shows and classes ta ta!

I. Artiscape

I will be at Artiscape in May, just east of Columbus, Ohio. For detailed info go to Lisa Olmer's web site www.EuropeanPapers.com .

As you all well know, I consider this to be the best mixed media event - an Artist's Retreat from May 4-6, 2007. Lisa has found a wonderful home for the retreat. The Cherry Valley Lodge, offers beautiful accommodations and facilities- the only hotel in the US designated as a botanical garden and arboretum. The Hun will be there to entertain and delight all as he reads his newspaper in the back of the room.

By popular request I will again be teaching the gourd purse class I taught last year. This workshop was the most requested class to be included in the 2007 retreat. And here is one of the reasons:

Roberta,

I just wanted to tell you again how much I loved the Gourd Purse class. I'm so excited about working with gourds. At the risk of sounding like a drama queen, I think I've found my calling! When I got back to my hotel room on Sunday, after the class, my best friend told me I must have found my passion because I was beaming. That's exactly how I felt. I don't think my feet touched the ground until today! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Margaret S.
(of the blue and green purse!)

Please note that this workshop stretches me to the limit (The Hun included), since so many different techniques are involved. Thus I must limit the class to 15 students. If you missed this class last year jump on to Lisa's site and sign up now.

In addition, I will be teaching two other classes; a Right Angle Weave bracelet, just perfect for an intro into beading, and a fun polymer clay class using my pewter faces.

II. Big Oak Arts

My neighbor, Sherry Hoeger, here in the foothills of the Sierras near Lake Tahoe, is one of the top Trompe L'oeil and faux finish artists in the US. Check out her web site: www.TheMadStencilist.com.

Sherry has a marvelous studio and has started Big Oak Arts, with husband Hugh. Their aim is to bring some of the finest artists in various media to teach in the workshop-starved northern California and Nevada area (we are about two hours from Reno or the San Francisco Bay area). I am pleased that she has asked me to be an instructor.

My workshop is scheduled for January 24th thru the 26th, 2007. For those of you who have always wanted to learn to make amulet bags, this is your opportunity. This three-day intensive will be a super fun time and the perfect antidote to the post holiday blues. Get ready to treat yourself, for if you won't who will, and go to www.BigOakArts.com for more information.

As a special treat, The Hun says he will host the entire class for a knock out dinner at the conclusion of the workshop.

III. Sierra Art Affair

Standing as an oasis in the desert is Stamp-It-Rich, the beautiful stamp and craft store in Placerville, California. Linda Johnson has catered to foothill crafters for many years. But now she is entering the big time with her own mixed media artists retreat, the Sierra Art Affair. This retreat will be along the lines of the Creative Pallet and Artiscape, and be held from August 4th thru the 7th, 2007. The planning is proceeding at a furious pace and top instructors are lined up.

Placerville is a beautiful old gold mining town in the foothills of the Sierras, about eight miles from Sutter's Mill (the site of the discovery of gold in 1848). It is also the site of the hanging of several thieves and murderers in 1849. Thus the nick name – Old Hangtown, and the effigy hanging over a bar on Main Street, where the stump of the hanging tree remains to this day in the cellar.

Placerville is also the home to the oldest newspaper in the west, the Mt. Democrat, started in 1851. And the oldest continuously-operating hardware store west of the Mississippi. Plenty of comfortable motels and beautiful B&Bs. Also a wonderful old and very comfortable hotel right at the foot of Main Street. Check it out at: www.ci.placerville.ca.us .

Treat it as your vacation and bring the hubby (or wifey) and do Tahoe or wine country after the retreat. I will let you know when Linda's web site is up so you can get more information and signup for classes.

New Year's Sale - Sale – Sale (but available right now)

Last newsletter I offered a sale on my little stamp packs (mini dies for mini projects), most suitable for ATCs and really cool for Xmas grab bags around the office. Since them I have added three new themes; Butterflies, Hearts, and Stars.

Having gotten into ATCs this year, I noticed that really small stamps to use on these cards were hard to find. I have many small stamps in my line, but scrolling through 1500 designs to find them, and then not being sure of the sizes does try one's patience. So I have made it easy by putting together 15 different grab bags in themes of eight dies each. I also throw in a travel mahjong tile. The themes are:

  • Asian symbols
  • Butterfly
  • Celestial
  • Design elements
  • Doo dads (tiny corkscrews, squiggles and spirals)
  • Feathers
  • Hands
  • Hearts
  • Insects and animals
  • Kaleidoscopes
  • Leaves and flowers
  • Petroglyphs
  • Stars
  • Women and goddesses
  • Words and Misc. In addition, we are having a 10% off sale on unmounted Art Doll Kits (four faces, two hands and two feet). Plus we have added two new kits to bring the total to three different art doll kits. The new ones can be seen on New Images No. 60 and the first set is on the Women 8 Page.

    The size of these stamps is perfect for ATCs and polymer clay jewelry. But wait there's more. As a special offer to newsletter readers, these kits are available mounted (six stamps in each set) for $10 each.

    bistro hun

    Hi again. No newsletter, no chance to get your emails telling me how much my little column has brightened up your lives. This time a few trends and tips that have crossed my stove since I last wrote:

    * Slow Food: This is a movement that is sweeping Europe and beginning to make some inroads in the US. This concept is a counter to the fast foods that have taken over much of our lives and is so unhealthy. Much of the child and adult obesity is being traced back to fast foods and its reliance on high fructose corn syrup and trans fats.

    Slow Food takes this one step further and builds on the veggie/whole grain movement of the 1960s without the feeling that you are eating raw veggies or dog biscuits. It's about cooking, and family and the wonderful smells and flavors developed by long braising and stewing, etc. Crock pots work wonderfully here. You can put up a stew (beef, chicken, lamb or root vegetables) after breakfast, then steam some potatoes or rice, make a salad and dinner is ready. Use a pressure cooker and you can make a stew in under 30 minutes.

    The symbol being used in Europe to denote a slow food restaurant is a snail on a small bronze plaque by the door.

    * Slow Cooking - Rather than cook a fillet of salmon, or other fish, at 425° or higher for eight minutes each inch of thickness, I bake it at 250° for 30 to 35 minutes. Moist and succulent. I also put some fresh dill on top and covered the fillet with steamed cabbage leaves, to hold in the moisture and for appearance sake.

    * Flavored salts can take a dish to a new level with very little effort. Sprinkle on soups, fish, meats and vegetables.

    Try heating up some Szechwan pepper corns in a pan until you can smell them. Then crush or grind them with a mortar and pestle, or use a blender or food mill. Then add them to some kosher salt. Or add the grated, dried zest of a lemon, lime and/or an orange to some kosher salt. You can also do this with the dried fringy leaves of dill, or dried lavender flowers for a wonderfully exotic flavor. Use your imagination and come up with your own mix. Keep the salts in a small dish by the stove to season the food as you cook. If you keep them in the cabinet you will forget to use them.

    You can also make lemon or orange powder by drying the peel in a slow oven for two to three hours and then grinding them into a powder. Use on one side of a scallop or fillet of fish you then sauté.

    * Add one ounce of bittersweet chocolate or two tablespoons of cocoa powder to a beef stew. It will provide a depth of flavor that is astonishing.

    That's all for now!
    Roberta

line
Copyright ©2008 ERA Graphics -- e-mail ERA Graphics
Web Page Design by SkyBluePink Design -- Updated 16 May 2008