Giving thanks.....

I have so many things to be thankful for...

a loving husband and our furry 

four footed family, friends, the gifts

I have been given and the ability

to share those gifts.

It has always been my belief

that the gifts or talents I have are not

inherently mine, rather, I am  their

caretaker and as such it is my duty, my 

responsibility to nurture, grow

and share those gifts with others.

I am so thankful to all the friends,

family members and fellow artists who have

been so generous with their support

and encouragement as I pursue my dream of

The Art Tramp.

GOOD NEWS!

I have almost reached my first goal

with my Go Fund Me campaign.

I just need a few hundred more to be able to 

securely get to and from my first show,

The American Artisan Show

November, 6-8 in Wilton, Connecticut

I invite you to come join us 

and enjoy a truly wonderful event with some 

of the most amazing artisans.

Please stop by and say hello and I look forward 

to meeting you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just wanted to take a moment

and share some of the pieces I am creating

for The American Artisan Show.

Most of these images are "works in progress"

but you will be able to see the 

finished pieces when you come to the show!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of my extremely gifted friends,

Tammy Black, had a wonderful give-a-way

on her blog recently.

It seems I never win these give-a-ways

BUT when it is something that

is truly unique and wonderful and makes

my heart sing (like Tammy's work)

I feel compelled to enter

and guess what.....I WON!

I have always loved acorns and

have an affection for Squirrels, Ravens 

and Crows. So, I was thrilled to 

discover that I will be the caretaker 

for this sweet little Acorn! 

It and Tammy's friendship are a 

treasure to me, worth more then gold.

For any of you who are stitchers

or simply appreciate exceptional design,

please take a moment to visit

Scattered Seed Samplers by Tammy Black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last but not least,

if you would like to contribute to my

Go Fund Me campaign

any donation would be most gratefully 

accepted and be put to good use.

I am almost a third of the way to my goal

and am feeling very thankful and 

very blessed for all of your love and support!

THANK YOU!

David A. Schump a.k.a. The Art Tramp

A little birdie told me...

I woke up this morning and it

finally feels like fall....

there is a cool breeze coming through

the kitchen window and I can

hear the birds off in the garden as a

lite drizzle falls to the ground.

I want to take a moment to thank

all those fellow artist, friends and family

for the contributions you have made

to my Go Fund Me campaign.

Your encouragement and support are

a real blessing.

I am still hoping to get enough to 

cover the costs of getting to and from my 

first show in November and if possible 

enough supplies to make some wonderful 

new pieces to make their debut at 

the American Artisan Show.

If you would like to contribute to 

this effort any amount would be 

such a gift and much appreciated...

just click on the link above.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wanted to take a moment and share

some of the new pieces as well as some special

pieces I have made for some of my fellow

artists and friends recently.

A dear friend and a most exceptionally gifted

needlework artist, Tammy Black, ordered

a Heart In Hand Thread Holder & Pin Cushion

about 6-8 weeks ago and she received it 

in the mail yesterday!

"I will cherish this very special piece

with all my heart, it will sit on a table beside my

stitching chair...I'll think of you and

your amazing talent every time I look at it.

So beautiful..."

I am so happy that she is so thrilled with it!!!

If you are a stitcher or simply love good design

I would suggest you check out her work and 

take a moment to read her blog.

Scattered Seed Samplers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A wonderful doll and Santa maker, 

Bonnie Jones, ordered one of my small 

1800's German style sleighs. 

I can't wait to see what glorious Santa

she creates to ride in this sleigh!

If you don't know her work 

you should really look her up on the web!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another friend, Benjamin William Bradley, makes 

stunningly beautiful cotton batting ornaments.

These treasures are made using vintage materials and

are truly heirloom quality pieces to treasure.

This little treasure is in my collection.

I made some miniature sleighs for Benjamin

so that he can play around and see 

what he comes up with to accompany them.

If these sleighs work then I may

just have to make some more or even create

a custom sleigh just for his use.

The smallest sleigh is 3"l x 1.25" h x 1"w

and the largest sleigh shown is

6"l x 2.5"h x 2"w.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for the "little birdie"....

well, one of the new pieces I hope to have

ready for the American Artisan Show

is a series of Limited Edition ornaments.

I plan on making 9 different ornaments

and the editions will be limited to 12 of each.

Two of the ornaments will be clip-on birds....

a Dove and a Raven.

I started working on these this week. 

So far  the Dove is chip-carved and assembled. 

I hope to chip-carve and assemble the 

Raven today. By the end of the weekend both

should be painted and ready to photograph.

Then once I have the supplies I can

beging to make the other 7 ornaments.

Once that is done I will start on making all

12 of each design.

Here are some "work-in-progress" photos

for you to enjoy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REMEBER MARTHA!

I am proud to be among those fine artists 

nominated on the Martha Stewart AMERICAN MADE

 website. I would appreciate you taking a 

moment to read my profile and write a comment.

The voting will begin on September 21st.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for spending some time with me today.

I hope you all have a good day today

and a wonderful weekend. Enjoy yourselves!

Gathering...

It seems that we, like the squirrels, start to

 gather around us the things we find necessary in the fall

 so we can be sustained during the winter. Of course,

 for us it isn't quite as simple as gathering nuts...

This gathering process was helped along

when I received a small box of treasures earlier this week

from my dear friend and extraordinarily talented

artist Charlene Geiger. Vintage ribbons, florals, celluloid

reindeer, antique metal trims...it was like being

a child under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

Here are some of my treasures and those I received

that you will be seeing in some of my Tramp Art pieces

in the coming months...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's September!

This month is the time to vote for your favorite artists on the 

Martha Stewart AMERICAN MADE website.

There are many fine artists and categories to choose from 

and I would appreciate your taking the time to leave 

a comment on my profile and vote for me in the category:

Crafts~Recycled, Upcycled & Vintage Crafts.

VOTING begins September 21st 

but you can read the profiles and leave comments at any time.

Martha Stewart AMERICAN MADE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's SHOW TIME!

As you may know, I am getting ready to participate 

in my very first show. I will be attending the 

American Artisan Show in Wilton, CT. on November 6-8, 2015.

I am very excited about this opportunity. 

While I have created a website, an Etsy Shop and this 

Blog it is apparent that the only way for me to

continue to create my pieces and be successful is to

get myself and my work out in front of the people most

interested in folk art. The shows will afford me

the opportunity to reach a much large audience and really

introduce my work to the world.

As a very new artists it can be a bit daunting

as the costs of the shows and expenses involved can be

enormous when you consider ones resources.

In an effort to be able to keep moving forward and having 

the ability to keep creating and moving forward

I wrote a profile and started a fund raising campaign

at GoFundMe.com.

I have had several friends and fellow artists

share this information on their Facebook pages, blogs 

and in personal emails they have sent out and I am 

so grateful for their contributions, support and encouragement.

Their contributions have been a great help as I 

continue to transform this dream into reality. If you are able 

to contribute any amount I would be forever 

grateful and most appreciative.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a peek at some pieces I am working on

for the American Artisan Show...

My new Brochure and a wooden business card 

with an edge reminiscent of the chip carving done in Tramp Art. 

The card is printed on Cherry wood.

A Four Drawer Chest

good to use for storing balls of needlework thread, jewelry or 

whatever one might want to tuck away in a safe place

The Tall Clock

A Tramp Art version of a pocket-watch case 

although I found a great vintage alarm clock that I will be 

making into a large Tall Clock.

Heart In Hand Thread Holders & Pin-Cushions

Soon to be a Bank!

The start of a Moravian Star.

A few 1800's German style Automobiles.

The SnowAngel Box.

I ran out of wood but hopefully this piece 

will be finished in time for the show.

The 1800's trade card with an embossed 

Victorian Scrap Angel will be placed inside the box. 

I plan to stain and then white wash the exterior 

of the box. The interior will most likely be painted a deep 

BrownBlack with a possible metallic gold wash 

and the bottom of the box will be lined with an aged 

soft white velvet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for taking a moment to read my blog.

I hope you enjoyed it and I wish you

All the Best!