Cows and Chickens and Pigs, Oh My!

New Country Girl farm animal garland. ©2016 Kelly M. O'Brien.

Are you a cow person? Sheep person? Maybe chickens, ducks or pigs? A paper garland of tiny farm animals is just what you need!

They are 100% unique on the planet (for now) and you won't find them anywhere else. I've had the idea to do these for awhile, but couldn't find the right die cuts for the job. In my studio, I have a professional hand-cutter for steel dies, through which thousands of paper flower pieces have been passed for various paper sculpture installations.

When I was in the US over the holidays, I had a custom steel die fabricated to cut the animal shapes. Each shape is approximately 2.5 inches high, so they're fairly small. I kept going back and forth with the designers on details so that they looked authentic, especially the sheep. It took three tries to get enough fluffy wool lines for it to look right. Tiny details like the pig's tail and the chicken's feet were elusive too. It turns out you can only get the steel blades to render so much detail.

Custom die for the New Country Girl farm animal garland. ©2016 Kelly M. O'Brien.

Running the die/paper/mat sandwich through the die cutter. ©2016 Kelly M. O'Brien.

Where the magic happens. ©2016 Kelly M. O'Brien.

Ta dah! Tiny paper farm animals ready to be sewn into a garland. ©2016 Kelly M. O'Brien.

I recently added these little lovelies to my online shops. They are made from high-quality art papers in soft, heathery hues. You can choose from a barnyard mix, or an entire garland of your favorite animal. It's amazing what joy tiny paper farm animals sewn into a festive garland can bring.

New Country Girl farm animal garland. 102 inches long with 35 animals! ©2016 Kelly M. O'Brien.

Bath Artisan Market this Sunday!

This Sunday I'll be at the Bath Artisan Market again, 10am to 4pm. This month, I'm testing new products with prints and cards from my New Country series of original paintings.

Kelly M. O'Brien, Village Committee. Limited edition prints from original painting. ©2015.

The prints turned out beautifully, carefully calibrated to match the color, tone and texture of the original paintings. They're printed with archival pigment inks onto creamy 300gsm fine art paper, with a half-inch boarder all around. You can frame them as is, or add a mat to create a larger framed piece.

Kelly M. O'Brien, Are You Lonely Over There? Limited edition prints from original painting. ©2015.

Each print is signed and dated, then packaged individually in a protective sleeve with a bit of board to keep them from bending.

Kelly M. O'Brien, You're New Around Here, Aren't You?. Limited edition prints from original painting. ©2015.

I'll have both A3 (16.5 x 11.7 inches) and A4 (11.7 x 8.3 inches) sizes in most prints, plus blank cards and postcards for all of them. If you'd like a different size (e.g., a standard US size), please contact me directly and we'll work it out.

Kelly M. O'Brien, New Country series. Blank cards from original paintings. ©2015.

Kelly M. O'Brien, New Country series. Postcards from original paintings. ©2015.

I hope to see you Sunday if you're in the area. It's not too early for a little holiday shopping!

Bath Artist Market Autumnfest
Sunday, October 11
10am to 4pm
Green Park Station

Kelly M. O'Brien, Should We Invite Her to Tea? Limited edition prints from original painting. ©2015.

Bath Artisan Market this Sunday

Hard Tryers at the Bath Artisan Market, Green Park Station

I'll be back at the Bath Artisan Market this Sunday, September 13, 10 am to 4pm. My first market in August was such a pleasure, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

Susan Whitelock, Pulp Paper Heaven, Bath Artisan Market

The other traders were inspiring with clever booth ideas and easy customer engagement. The introvert in me always finds these kinds of events a challenge, but I'll be a hard tryer and show up again anyway.

Lydia Needle @blackdoglydia and her felted critters, Bath Artisan Market

If you're in the area, stop by and say hello. It's a wonderful way to spend a bit of your Sunday, wandering among beautifully-made work, eating food made from the heart, listening to talented musicians, and soaking up a unique slice of Bath life.

Marilyn's "home cooked food for busy people," Bath Artisan Market

More details and directions here.

Kelly M. O'Brien, She Decides to Show Up (detail). Watercolor, coffee and pencil on paper, 8 x 6 inches. ©2013.

This Sunday at Bath Artisan Market: Hard Tryers and more!

Beginning this Sunday, I am pleased to be part of the Bath Artisan Market, a curated monthly event featuring Bath's talented artist makers, gourmet food booths and local live music.

For this first market, I'm bringing small, original Hard Tryer work and Postcards. The latter are high-quality reproductions of my original mixed media prints, in the form of lovely Moo.com blank greeting cards and postcards. The original prints are happily sold out, save for a couple that are still in Germany on exhibition at grassgrün in Frankfurt.

The market is held under cover at Green Park Station, a glass-roofed former train station in downtown Bath. I'll be there most months 10am to 4pm on the second Sunday, so please come visit!

Details and directions:

Bath Artisan Market | Sunday, August 9, 10am to 4pm | Green Park Station (map) | Bath, BA1 1JB