Welcome to Mayms Art

Busy days!

Maym Cunningham — Sun, 20 Aug 2023 04:22:59 +0000

Summer is winding down, fall is in the air – as the rabbit brush starts to bloom, grass has cured and days are getting shorter. What a season for grass it’s been. While summer rains have slowed the haying process a bit, the grass in the meadows and range land has flourished. Years of drought have taken a pause in this neck of the woods. We hear that others aren’t quite so fortunate.

As I’m embarking upon my new business venture, my obligations at work are culminating as well. It is sort of a perfect storm. The sheepdog trials in Meeker are September 6 – 10, 2023 – I have artwork to get ready for Meeker AND the Born In A Barn event in Sheridan is September 15 & 16. Yikes! I couldn’t have planned it any closer! By day, I’m at the computer organizing final touches for sheepdog trials and by night, I’m painting, printing and packaging.

I had every intention of getting my website up and fully functional. It’s up, but not fully functional. Do take a look around, you’ll see a good representation of my art work. So sorry, but with luck October will see that goal come to fruition. So, for this post, I want to share a bit about what I’m taking to Meeker and to Sheridan.

You will see my work in Meeker at the sheepdog trials and in Sheridan, Wyoming at Born In Barn. Most of the work will be my functional art line – the Saddlestring Creations part of the business. While it’s all art these items have a lower price point and are able to fit into your lives in different ways. You’ll notice on a lot of my product labels I have written “PERFECTLY IMPERFECT”. That’s a mantra that I find to be true and appropriate of most handmade work. A little glitch here, a crooked line there – the touch of the human hand leaves its mark in many ways.

In Meeker at the sheepdog trials, A good friend that owns Farmgirl Goat Milk Soaps has been gracious enough to let me put my work in her booth during the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials. I’ll have my floor cloths, tea towels and note cards there.

In Sheridan at the Born In a Barn Creative Sale on September 15 & 16th, you’ll find a complete selection of my functional work with some of my fine art as well. I’m a list person so will briefly list what I’m bringing. Each of these items and the stories behind them will be explored in a later blog discussion. But for now, I must just get the info out there! Thanks again for your patience!

Floor Cloths – patterned after the early American substitute for floor coverings when carpeting was unavailable or cost prohibitive, original floor cloths are made from primed, heavy duty canvas. A tent maker/seamstress in Colorado, cuts and seams each mat to a 24 x 36” size. I then paint an original acrylic painting on each piece and seal the with 3 coats of water based polyurethane. Cushioned with a carpet mat underneath, these cloths last for years and are an attractive yet functional addition to any room.

Tin Can Art Candles – I outsource these candles from a small company in Illinois. They are hand poured and slow burning with a wide variety of scents. I buy a 16 oz advertising candle that has a blank from label with the name of my business on the back. I then hand print etchings on Japanese paper and adhere a print to each candle. They are then packaged in a cello bag and tied with a primitive fabric ribbon.

Feed Bags or Nose Bags – ranches and horse owners know what a nose bag is. A bag fashioned from heavy weight canvas with a leather strap to go over the ears, they are used to feed grain to horses. I use a unique design. My seamstress in Colorado make these for me. They have a weighted bottom so they will sit flat of the floor. I add one or two original paintings or prints to each bag. The prints are done on soft deerskin leather and the paintings are on a heavy duty canvas. Each image is approximately 6×6” size. These nose bags are repurposed for tote bags or catch-all/display pieces in the house.

Hand Printed Tea Towels – I hand carve my designs on linoleum or other substrate. They are then hand inked and printed onto 27 x27” cotton tea towels. These are an affordable, attractive, and unique gift item – also original art.

Scented Saddle Bags – scented 3×4” sachet bags filled with scented material that I mix and create from scents ordered from the candle company I work with. Each sachet is hand printed with a linocut saddle design of mine – thus labeled “Saddle Bags”. The scent is long lasting and can be re-scented if need be. A nice little extra, handmade gift item.

Furniture, Boxes, and things – Depending on what I come across that’s on sale, I paint my original acrylic paintings on stools, small tables, or wooden boxes.

Notebooks and Journals – I look for good quality art journals on sale. I put one of my hand printed etchings on the cover of each and seal them. This is a good way to use up print proofs that don’t meet quality standards for my fine art printmaking. Sell 10 – 20 each year.

Note Cards – Printed using my original etchings and paintings, my note cards are printed through an online company. A story is printed on the back of each card. I at least 15 different designs that I have printed. These have always been popular.

I’ll be sharing pics and information on social media. If you have questions, just message me or text at 970-462-6495. It would be great to see you at one of these shows. I always look forward to these times to catch up with old friends and make new ones! Stop by my booth and say hello. Thanks for sharing this time. I appreciate it!

I’m so glad you could join me

Maym Cunningham — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 03:36:29 +0000

I’m so grateful that you took the time to visit my website.

This first blog post will give a snapshot into my life, my inspirations and my work. Bear with me as I embark upon this voyage – of taking my art and my business to the next level. Talking about myself has never come easy, it is much easier to do for someone else! As we get to know each other, I encourage you to join me in this journey of life. We have a wonderful family, grandchildren and raise cattle and sheep on a small place near Bosler, Wyoming. Working remotely as the Director of the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials allows me to schedule time for my art and life. It’s a perfect situation – I’m blessed.

So grab a cuppa and settle in for a bit while we get to know each other.

How did I get to this point?

As a young girl, growing up on a ranch in the Colorado mountains, I found my three passions for life: art, agriculture and the outdoors. The oldest of four daughters, we learned to live and work the land from our dad. We played, we tussled, explored, built forts, and grew up together. Rock piles, meadows and brush covered hillsides were our playgrounds. Here we learned to listen and to observe, to test our limits, to scrape our knees and to get right back up again. Mom and Dad taught us to love and respect all God’s creations. From Dad we learned to see the movement of a gentle spring breeze and to feel the warmth of the sun on a clear fall day. We came to know that true wealth is measured in the sunsets you share. He and Mom brought music, books, words and wonder into our lives. Those early years scripted my life – a narrative that guides me each and every day.

Art has always pivotal part of my life, the ballast that keeps me on track,

having learned from dad that mother nature’s canvas was one to embrace and enjoy. I was forever seeing a moment as one that I wanted to put to paint or pencil. Originally getting a degree in Animal Science from Colorado State, my art education was largely self-taught. Life took me to Cisco, Utah where my husband’s family had a large public lands ranch – I lived the old cowboy way and saw ranching from a different perspective than from what I grew up with. The challenges of running on public land eventually led us to Kaycee, Wyoming where we raised our children in that wonderful community. 20 years later, Dad was ailing so we moved Meeker to be with family. While there I spent a few years as a non-traditional student at the University of Wyoming where I immersed myself in art. There I found learned Intaglio Printmaking. It combines my love of drawing with opportunities for tonal and textural variations that lend emotive painterly qualities to the piece. It was a wonderful two years that I am forever grateful to have had.

Wyoming beckoned and back we went,

Wyoming pulled our at our heart and back we came.
After 10 years in Colorado, we found our way back to Wyoming. Now, enriched by chronicles of family and life, I am guided by my dream, make art and tell my story. I am limited by my obligations at home and work, but encouraged fully by family and friends. My exhibitions are limited to local galleries and shows that fit into my work schedule. Somewhere along the way, I developed a sideline of functional art. Much of what I did came out of my own needs. I started printing note cards because I needed to have some around the house. Then came floor cloths – a functional, pretty mat to use in my house and so on. I’ve developed a line of functional art that allows people to have artwork around them in their homes. Most of the work I do is original, it’s a great way for me to experiment with style and techniques and offers a practical alternative to paintings and prints. Over the years, I’ve been blessed to have been able to market most of the work I create. Those friends and customers have given me the confidence to continue on with my art.

I took a leap of faith about six months ago

and applied for a program presented by the Wyoming Women’s Business Council for Women Artists. It has been amazing and I’m now being held accountable to the dreams that have guided me thus far. What a wonderful organization! They provide a comforting support system and offer resources that help guide me along the way. “Yikes” I say when I sit down to write a blog post, or entertain the thought of creating a social media campaign. But I’m reassured that it will be fine and that all is well.

So, here we go – I’m launching my art business!

This is the first of what I hope to be numerous posts on life, stories, my work and my projects. It will come easier as I move forward, there will be stumbles and falls but fear not. I hope you can find time to join me as I share these moments and thoughts with you. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out with an idea, a question or a comment. So, there you have it in a nutshell – my beginning, my middle and now my present life as I embark upon a journey I’ve been preparing for my whole life. Thanks for joining me!