Nurnberg linocut by Goddess Gruia

The linocut section in my Goddess Gruia Etsy shop has just been enriched with a new item. This a special, large-size print inspired by a trip to Nurnberg. The preserved medieval elements of the city are outstanding, matching its fame during the Middle Ages. I was especially impressed by the rich urban houses in the typical Bavarian style, with their organic and decorative timber and daub outlook. It can be offered as a travel souvenir or a nice decorative print.

Nurnberg houses, large original linocut print, medieval architecture of Germany, decorative color print, unique historical Bavarian style

The linocut was made employing a special technique - one cut out plate fragment (for the yellow roof) and ink applied by roller and by hand (for the roof openings on the cut out fragment). Due to this technique, each print is unique, thus not numbered but marked as EA, epreuve d'artiste, author's test copy. I have used tones of dark brown, black and saffron yellow for a strong contrast. Signed and dated by the author.
Total (paper) dimensions: 31 x 40.5 cm.
Ready to send.
The print shall be sent unframed, rolled in a sturdy cardboard tube. If it becomes a bit curved upon arrival, please roll it in the other direction and leave it thus for one more day in the tube. It will straighten and be ready for framing.
Check it out in my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/584340303/nurnberg-houses-original-linocut-print

New linocut by Goddess Gruia

Check out this new item in my Etsy shop, the Goddess Gruia https://www.etsy.com/listing/576488657/linocut-print-on-handmade-paper-medieval.

It is part of a small series of three unique linocut prints on handmade paper, depicting medieval houses on Buda Hill, in Budapest. Each print is singular through the combination of colors, as each ink is applied by finger and roller in various combinations, the ink have different consistency and texture, and some parts of the lino plate are second prints. The uncut edges of the paper contribute to the antiquated look of these unique prints. Entirely hand pulled.
Fell free to check my brand new Instagram profile as well: https://www.instagram.com/ana_maria_gruia/?hl=en

Medieval Houses on Buda Hill

Detail of linocut print

Detail of the above

 

Small series of linocut prints, before signature.

Variant 1 - available on Etsy

Variant 2

Variant 3

These works best reflect the description of my shop and style:

I am a weekend painter and it gives me great joy to go to the studio [aka Goddess Gruia's holy place, her Sancta Sanctorum] for the benefit of all, mostly myself.
My job is a great source of inspiration - working with historical artifacts and depictions allows me to research past techniques and the effects of time and patina. My profession is another advantage, as an art historian's eye is always receptive to aesthetic compositions and surfaces, even in everyday life.

Etsy sales winter 2017 by Goddess Gruia

 

Mixed media on canvas by Ana-Maria Gruia

In the spirit of the approaching holidays, my shop on Etsy - the Goddess Gruia - has a special, limited time offer: there will be one or more free linocut bookmarks for every order PLUS free shipping for orders over 50$ (until the end of the year) AND 15% off all listings over 35$ (until November 14th)!

I have also introduced new shop sections:

• Thanksgiving specials 
• Transylvanian paintings and prints 
• Christmas gifts

Feel free to check them out on Etsy.
 

Linocut mounting and framing

I usually write about my art projects while they are still fresh in the studio, so I rarely get to follow up to the final, mounted works. I have recently recovered a mounted and framed linocut work from 2015, part of the Nurnberg project, from an art gallery and re-discovered the series. The print rendered below now hands in my home.

Unlike with other prints, for this larger work I chose a strong, colorful passepartout and a copper-colored frame, not of the thin, simple kind usually employed for graphics. It is like approaching prints like "proper" oil and acrylic paintings, thus making it more "serious" and "respectable".

See the Nurnberg linocut project HERE.

"Nurnberg" linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

 

linocut project in the making by Ana-Maria Gruia

20x20 cm painting format

Most artists prefer certain techniques and formats for their works. Some are miniaturists by default, working in great detail on small format supports, while others are more impulsive and feel comfortable on very large canvases. Still, this apparent division only applies to (some) of the modern artworks, as in the past great attention was paid to large paintings as well. We are often surprised to discover, when visiting museums, how small or large some iconic paintings actually are, so the format of artworks is well worth discussing.

I confess preferring small and average-size formats myself. I am not confident enough for large formats, nor do I use a big enough studio :) For larger canvases, up to 1 m, I used a mixed technique - linocut, collage, acrylic - in which I actually get to do puzzle with my own smaller linocut prints, thus cheating a bit on the matter of art format.

But this technique also applies to the recently-discovered 20 x 20 cm canvas. These paintings are easy and fun to make, they are easily shipped and displayed in smaller apartments, either individually or in pairs/groups.

20x20 cm canvasses by Ana-Maria Gruia

All of these works are available on my Etsy shop, the GoddessGruia, HERE:
In clockwise order:
1. Acrylic painting "Ode to Cluj", unique work of art, green and orange, ready to hang collage, Goddess Gruia, Transylvania, Romania
2 Original acrylic painting, contemporary miniature, gold leaf, "Golden network" medieval architecture from Transylvania, Sibiu, Romania art
3 Contemporary art, original acrylic painting on canvas; "Medieval story", mixed technique painting, linocut, acrylic, collage art
4 Acrylic on canvas original painting Return home; mixed technique - linocut print, paint, collage, contemporary art, ready to hang, miniature

5 Medieval scene from Transylvania, fortified church in Calnic, Virgin with child and St. Catherine of Alexandria, original collage, linocut
6 Art collage, original painting, mixed technique (linocut, acrylic on canvas), "Life in the city" ready to hang European art, architecture

An Etsy seller's experience

I opened my third Etsy shop, the Transylvanian Trove, less than one year ago, hoping to have learned from the strategies and failures of the first two and having a chance to try a different approach.

My first shop, the Goddess Gruia, was opened in 2015 and focused on my artwork. As painting is just a (serious) hobby for me, I have little time to organize exhibitions, go to art camps, and collaborate with galleries (anyway few in numbers in my home town of Cluj-Napoca), as I did before getting a full-time job. Considering these time limitations, the decorative character of my paintings and linocuts, and the affordable prices I believe are right for them, Etsy did seem like a good solution. Still, two year and 8 sales later, it proves that the platform is not really the best to sell art and promoting one's listings is equally time consuming than all the things mentioned above that I was trying to avoid.

I then tried a shop with a different profile and promotion approach - the Proper Leather Studio. The handmade leather manufacture started with my husband worked rather well in Romania, so we though about making special items for Etsy as well (the design is different for wallets, for example, as the Romanian ID card is rather large and requires a special pocket). We decided to take this second shop easy, not invest time in promotion games but rather pay for Etsy marketing and not stress about having enough listings, long descriptions and all the rest. It was indeed very stress-free, but we  had only two sales in over a year and concluded that a bit more involvement is required, at least in the number of listings :)

Print screen - the Transylvanian Trove - July 2017

The third - and I believe my last Etsy shop - the Transylvanian Trove, brought me the greatest joy. The strategy was to sell items I already owned (vintage accessories, retro jewelry, unique prints, collectibles, some older creations of mine, other made by friends or bought over time) so production seemed to cost nothing and I got to free up some space :) I also set aside only small objects for this shop, things that could be send as correspondence, thus not requiring me to take longed trips to the international postal office (for larger packs) and reducing the cost of shipping that buyers certainly appreciate as well. At the same time it seems that cheap nice things sell better and more often, and this makes sense as well. Selling a pair of 6$ earrings - packed in 5 minutes, shipped in 24h hours and received and reviewed in 1 week, often made me happier than selling more expensive, but larger and much more difficult to pack and ship paintings.

Selection of design accessories and collectibles from Transylvania

I also decided to learn more and use the promotions tools available - partly paid, mostly free- such as relatively frequent shop updates, correct tags and titles, longer descriptions, variables, team work games, social networks, related blogs etc. With more time invested, the 10 sales so far have bough me greater joy than those made with the other shops - even if the prices were so much smaller :)

Earrings, leather tooled bracelet, leather coasters and vintage necklace from the Transylvanian Trove

I am (still) committed to all three shops on Etsy and I believe all can be improved to lead to more sales and better visibility. It is also a matter of perseverance and stubbornness, but one also makes a habit out of checking the shops daily and being active on the platform just for fun.

Paintings by Goddess Gruia that fit the palm of your hand

Miniature paintings feel like a separate art category, as there is something magic about small-size formats that squeeze reality onto sub-nature-size artistic surfaces. My Etsy shop, Goddess Gruia, includes several such works, acrylic on cardboard paintings inspired by architectural elements from Transylvania and Slovakia. These paintings are shipped unframed, rendering transportation fast and affordable, but one can adapt them to various display areas. My favorite method is to combine a generous passepartout and a simple frame, but there are other options as well, such as combining several small works inside a single passepartout and frame and thus creating a larger final artwork or using lavish, ornate, wide frames, without passepartout for each individual work, fitting narrower walls or corner areas of your home.

Small painting inspired by the old town center of Brasov, a Saxon town in southern Transylvania, in Romania. 9.5 x 10 cm (3.7 x 3.9 inches)

 

Small painting depicting one of the preserved medieval street corners of Brasov/Kronstadt, one of the leading Saxon cities in southern Transylvania, Romania. 5 x 5 cm (1.9 x 1.9 inches)

Unique cityscape fragment renders the atmosphere of the medieval cities of Transylvania, with their red roof tiles and prominent chimneys. 5 x 5 cm (1.9 x 1.9 inches).

Tiny acrylic painting, depicting the architecture of Bratislava. 7 x 8 cm (2.7 x 3.1 inches)

 

Tiny houses linocut

I have just added one of my favorite linocut pieces to my Etsy shop, the Goddess Gruia - a tiny print entitled "Extra muros" depicting tiny houses and monuments from Transylvania. It can be framed and displayed as a picture or used as a card (using the blank back side for writing).

Dimensions: 11.5 x 17 cm (4.5 x 6.7 inches).
Original print on special beige/orange printing paper, typographic inks and pencil signature by the artist. "EA (author series) 2016, "Extra muros" (outside the walls, in Latin), linocut, AGruia (Ana-Maria Gruia)  
Celebration discount 20% OFF with coupon code HAILCEZAR!

Tiny houses linocut, original miniature print, Extra muros, street front art, small artwork, medieval architecture from Transylvania

Detail of coloring

Detail of the linocut print

See the related Happy Houses project present before HERE, HERE and HERE.

And the original project using the entire linocut plate with these houses, the "City tracks in the mud", on my Facebook Page HERE.
Fell free to check all the linocut prints available in my shop:

Linocut prints by Goddess Gruia - June 2017

 

Exotic fish tank linocut

I have just added a new listing in my Etsy shop, Goddess Gruia, an original, one-of-a kind linocut print entitled "Exotic fish tank", entirely made by hand. Each print is unique, marked accordingly "EA" - Epreuve d'artiste, signed and dated in pencil by the artist, aka Ana Maria Gruia. The linocut also includes handmade details in gold marker that shine under oblique light and reveal new decorative elements.
The subject, exotic fish tank decoration, with tropical fish and plants, is less usual for my style, but this is part of a small series created for a special order.
Size: 14x21 cm (5.5x8.2 inches).

Exotic fish tank linocut, tropical leaf, tropical fish, original print, home gift, handmade golden details, unique artwork by Goddess Gruia

Detail of linocut with golden elements

Detail of the print with the individual lino plates used in its making

HailCezar on Etsy :)

My art online store on Etsy, the Goddess Gruia, has just launched a new, celebratory discount of 20% with coupon code HAILCEZAR. 

This applies to all 24 items listed, original artworks created in several techniques, acrylic on cardboard, linocut, and mixed media. The promotion is available until the end of July 2017, when baby Cezar is planned to arrive and when the intimate celebration begins :)

Goddess Gruia on Etsy

Here is a thumbnails view of the artworks available at discounted prices - both my own works and two of my father's:

Original artworks available on GoddessGruia

 

Happy Easter!

My Easter egg painting project this year combines acrylic color and marker graphic designs, a bit in line with last year's batch, light and fun. See my 2016 and 2014 egg decoration projects HERE.

So here are my Happy Easter wishes for all of you who celebrate today or just enjoy a good occasion to spend family time and gourmet experiences :)

 

Easter wishes with an ancient Dacian twist from #Atelieruldeistorie

#GoddessGruia

Street front in an imaginary green city

I have just renewed on Etsy a large-size linocut I made a couple of years ago, entitled "Street front in an imaginary green city". This large-size linocut work is part of a series imagining street fronts through the combination of my favored independent lino plates depicting architectural elements. The separate houses, towers, and synagogue are inspired by actual places in east-central Europe, from the cities of Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, and Dej (Transylvania, Romania) but also Torun (Poland). The unifying elements are color - in this case the green paper, and graphic interventions in silver for the contours.

I find it difficult to work directly on large formats, so my larger works are created through combinations (different linocut plates, like in this case, or collage, like in several others works you can see on my website www.anamariagruia.ro).
It is an appealing sofa-size artwork that will bring color and joy.
Dimensions: 26 x 68.5 cm (10.2 x 26.9 inches).

Street front in an imaginary green city, greenery 2017, emerald green, large-size linocut, architecture, original artwork by Goddess Gruia

Detail of linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

Detail of linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

Do not miss the sales coupon available on my shop, the Goddess Gruia on Etsy until the end of March 2017. 20% off on all prices using the code SPRING.
This season opportunity is about to expire - just 3 more days! 

Goddess Gruia is the patron of modesty, asymmetry, self-love and self-irony, peace, women museographers, hypochondriacs, slave reenactors, women artists, fat ballerinas, small business owners and many others! Buy these pieces of original art that are contact relics (have been touched by the goddess) and you will immediately feel the benefices!
Read the monograph here: https://issuu.com/anamariagruia/docs/gg_carte_tot_mic/3?e=3801591/39284262

Goddess Gruia painting Transylvania

Goddess Gruia, aka painter Ana-Maria Gruia on Etsy, is inspired by the cities of  Transylvania, especially by their details of medieval architecture. Using only natural colors and hearth-tones, she depicts such cityscapes using various techniques: linocut, collage (linocut, acrylic on canvas), mixed techniques (gold leaf, pencil). See more on her website - www.anamariagruia.ro, such as the 2010 exhibition "Medieval Cluj".

For the works available on her Etsy Shop, the Goddess Gruia, see them below, inspired by anonymous corners (such as the rooftops scene) and certain cities such as Cluj, Sibiu, Brasov and the Saxon fortified church in Calnic. These original artworks promote the heritage of the historical province of Transylvania and its aesthetic beauties.

Medieval scene from Transylvania, fortified church in Calnic, Virgin with child and St. Catherine of Alexandria, original collage, linocut

The small town of Calnic is built around a Saxon fortified church, dominated by a central keep. This latter elements and part of the curtain wall is depicted as background for an imaginary religious scenes with Mary and Christ child and St. Catherine of Alexandria.

Acrylic painting "Ode to Cluj", unique work of art, green and orange, ready to hang collage, Goddess Gruia, Transylvania, Romania

This original work is inspired by my home town, Cluj-Napoca, in the heart of Transylvania. The main square of the city is dominated by the Gothic church dedicated to St. Michael and I have chosen this landmark as focus of my miniature painting. 

Linocut work depicting the old apothecary shop in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, "The Hintz House" - original linocut print, historical monument

The Hintz House is one of the landmarks of the city of Cluj-Napoca, currently the History of Pharmacy Museum where I work and the site of the late medieval pharmacy. During the twentieth century it was owned by the Hintz family, hence the name of the monument- The Hintz House.

Tiny acrylic painting, The Guild House in Brasov, Transylvania, miniature art, small format contemporary painting, original from Romania

This small painting depicts one of the preserved medieval street corners of Brasov/Kronstadt, one of the leading Saxon cities in southern Transylvania, Romania. The building in question is the medieval Guild House of the city, a representative building of the trade that made the inhabitants rich. Brasov was an important mediator in the commerce between Transylvania, on the one hand and Walachia and the Ottoman Empire on the other.

Original acrylic painting, contemporary miniature, gold leaf, "Golden network" medieval architecture from Transylvania

The imagine scene is placed in the medieval town on Sibiu/Hermanstadt, in Transylvania, easily recognizable through the eye-shaped opening at roof level and the unmistakable shape of the medieval tower separating the large and small town squares.

 

Small acrylic painting, Roofs in Transylvania, miniature art, small format contemporary painting, original from Romania, unique original art

 

Imaginary street front from Cluj, Transylvania - linocut project

This large-size linocut work is part of a series imagining street fronts through the combination of my favored independent lino plates depicting architectural elements of my home town Cluj-Napoca (Transylvania, Romania): the Hintz House (The History of Pharmacy Collection, where I work as museographer), the Silversmith's House, the Dominican Church (in Museum Square), and the Tailors' Bastion, all in the center of the city. The separate plates are imprinted on black paper and the contours of the buildings are subsequently stressed in silver.
This is a unique, original work, signed and dated by the author, Ana-Maria Gruia. It is available online in my Goddess Gruia Etsy shop HERE. A 20% discount is also available until the end of March 2017, using the coupon code SPRING.

Due to the work's size, the best way to send it is in a cardboard tube, and you will be able to frame it according to your taste and budget :) As all graphic works, it is best framed in a simple, square section frame, but it can also be turned into a sofa-size painting by adding a generous passepartout and a flamboyant golden or silver frame.
Dimensions: 24 x 67.5 cm (9.4 x 26.5 inches)

 

Large linocut, Imaginary street front by night in Cluj-Napoca, original art from Transylvania, Romania, architectural scene, Goddess Gruia

Detail with the Silversmith's House from Cluj-Napoca, linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

Detail with the Dominican Church in Cluj-Napoca, linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

Detail of the Hintz House in Cluj-Napoca, linocut by Ana-Maria Gruia

Painting inspired by the fortified church in Calnic, Transylvania

Another original artwork has been added o my online Etsy Shop - the Goddess Gruia. It is a another average-size mixed technique work (linocut, collage, acrylic on canvas), this time inspired by one of my favorite historical monuments in Transylvania, the fortified church in Calnic. Read more about the site HERE.

This original painting is inspired by a historical landmark that I like in my home region of Transylvania: the fortified medieval Saxon church in Calnic, Alba County. There is a central keep, depicted here in the background, surrounded by a courtain wall, and I have added out of my imagination but also inspired by medieval altar paintings, a vision of the Virgin with Child and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with her iconographic attribute, the wheel.
Dimensions: 20 x 20 cm, 2 cm in thickness
Technique: collage, linocut, acrylic on canvas
Unframed but ready to hang, with painted edges and provided with a saw tooth hanger (allowing perfect balance and balance corrections if needed) and canvas stretchers already in place, on the back (if, due to display or storage conditions the canvas should need stretching in the future, the pegs are just pushed in a bit). 

Medieval scene from Transylvania, fortified church in Calnic, Virgin with child and St. Catherine of Alexandria, original collage, linocut

Detail of the above - original painting by Ana-Maria Gruia

Detail of the signature Ana-Maria Gruia 2015