Janet's Art Play

Lifebook and Book of Days

2012-02-15T08:50:00.002-06:00

I'm not exactly following directions in Lifebook--coloring outside the lines, so to speak--the assignment this time was to use a picture from a magazine and paint over the face and alter it-which I did--the theme was supposed to be about accomplishments you are proud of--I just went with where the painting took me.
Next more Book of Days (which is now called Sisterhood of the Book). We are also reading "Life is a Verb by Patti Digh. This spread is inspired by her book.

I am sure my granddaughter would not appreciate the silly hat, but this page was about her birthday--and the page with me with the pink glasses was again inspired by "Life is a Verb".

This and That

2012-02-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

Sparky with his nice new bath and haircut.

I participated in a swap that Tee at the Altered Paper facilitated. This is the ATC that I sent to Donna at Red Apple Junction and here is the lovely ATC I received from her!

I am participating in an altered tin swap over at Roses on My Table. This is the first time I have made an altered tin--not so easy as it might seem--I have a great admiration for those who make these little gems.

Inside this tin

And the other

And the inside

Some swap art I've been working on

2012-02-09T08:01:00.002-06:00

Steampunk Paperdolls

Valentine Postcards

Cowboy's Sweetheart ATC's

Book of Days and more

2012-02-05T12:46:00.000-06:00

A couple of other journal pages from Roses on my Table

Jeanette Antoinette

2012-02-01T08:32:00.001-06:00

I'm taking the Lifebook class. The concentration so far in the class seems to be on finding your "inner goddess". Now no offense to any of you on that search--but this is a search that I went on and completed in my forties and it's a good one--but I don't really want to search again. The workshop for this week was to do a photo transfer of your face and then create your goddess self. I just wanted to have fun, so here you have Jeanette Antoinette.

Book of Days pages

2012-01-30T09:15:00.001-06:00

I'm having fun with the Book of Days pages--quick little remembrances of what's going on in my life.

On the left a card from Darlene at Freenie Beanie.

On the left a tip in card from my friend Judy.

Little Bird Packet-Part 2

2012-01-28T18:56:00.002-06:00

Please see the post just below this one for an explantion of this project and for the fabric pages. The pages in this post are handmade paper and collage with some stitching.

So along with the five fabric pages in the post below, there are ten individual pages in my little bird packet. It was really a lot of fun to make!

Little Bird Packet

2012-01-28T09:58:00.002-06:00

Periodically, I like to pull out old issues of Somerset Studio magazine and look through them. In the Nov/Dec 2010 magazine was an article by Mindy Lacefield called "A Packet of Notions". That article combined with the inspiration that I got from the book "Nature Inspired" by Tracie Lyn Huskamp resulted in my own packet of little birds.

The packet itself is made of canvas which I painted, stenciled, collaged and machine and hand stitched on.

Inside the packet are 10 pages. Five of them are primarily fabric and the bird images I have used are fabric made from Tracie's bird images.

The next five are primarily handmade paper and collage pages. I will have to post those tomorrow, as blogger doesn't want to let me post any more photos in this post.

Fairy ala Traci

2012-01-24T12:31:00.001-06:00

Here is my final piece for the Traci Bautista class that Strathmore is offering. I knew I didn't want to make a "glam girl", so just started working with no idea what I would end up with.

I love it when the unexpected happens and when you aren't trying too hard--magical things happen!

A few Journal pages

2012-01-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

A page for one of my journals with a quote by Julia Cameron.

A gothic arch for the challenge group at Roses on my Table--the theme was fashion--don't you think he is fashionable? I always glue my arches into my journal.
And then below--some various pages I have been doing for Effy Wild's Book of Days.

Jane Austen ATC swap

2012-01-16T08:45:00.000-06:00

This month, I participated in a one for one ATC swap at Blissful ATC swaps and my partner was Donna.
Here is the beautiful ATC I received from her

And here is the ATC I sent to her

Check out both of the blogs. There are swaps every month at Blissful and Donna has some wonderful art on her blog. Thanks Donna for the wonderful ATC and the extra goodies or "sassies" as Donna calls them.

Naptime

2012-01-14T11:30:00.000-06:00

Sparky loves his bed--most anytime of the day or night, you can find him here, luxuriating. Sometimes I look over at him and he is lovingly licking his bed. Isn't that the goal? to be so content and happy?

Marlene and Charley

2012-01-13T08:19:00.000-06:00

My friend Anna and I are participating in a postcard project over on the art and sole blog.

The project will last for 52 weeks and will be an exchange of postcards featuring different countries. Anna and I have created a blog for showing our postcards and telling the story. I hope you come and follow our blog. Please click on the word blog to see our cards and read the ongoing story of Marlene and Charley.

Registering a motor vehicle on line

2012-01-11T11:35:00.000-06:00

)

Have you ever done this--they give instructions, but leave out part of them so you have to keep trying over and over and you keep getting error messages and finally you have to call them and be on hold forever---and then you want to shout "Serenity Now"--(if you are a Seinfeld fan-you will remember George's father shouting that at the toe of his lungs!--too funny). That was my Monday.

Life Book week 1

2012-01-09T07:04:00.000-06:00

Here's my page from Tam's Lifebook class. Much like hers--she does make beautiful eyes!! I think next time, I will do more layers in the background-it's a little plain for me-but wanted to try this style.

Here it is opened.

January Journal Page

2012-01-05T10:04:00.000-06:00

This page was made for the Journal Journey group at Roses on my Table.

The prompt was What's new in your life. The hand and arm still need work--I think maybe they are too small...

January 1 and January 2

2012-01-03T13:53:00.000-06:00

Finally caught up with the Book of Days group--January 1st--

I love it when serendipitous events happen. The printed words on the page on the left all had to do with a mystery and the transcontinental railroad. As it so happened, George and I spent a large part of January 1st getting caught up on the AMC series called "Hell on Wheels" which takes place after the civil war and is all about the building of-you guessed it--the railroad!! The page on the right is doodling from Traci Bautista's lesson on the Strathmore journal classes.
January 2 for Book of Days was to be about looking forward to 2012.

This page was supposed to include a fold out tag and on the inside of the tag-the things you look forward to in 2012.

Book of Days

2012-01-01T19:35:00.000-06:00

Are all of you just overwhelmed with the start of all the new classes and swaps that start in January? And I have certainly signed up for my share of them!! Here is the altered book I am using for Effy Wild's Book of Days class.

I used a copy of a collage I had made previously-then added more paint, stamps and embellishments.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:47:00.000-06:00

Wishing all my blog friends a happy, healthy, creative and prosperous 2012 filled with laughter, friendship, and love!

2012 Art Journal

2011-12-30T10:27:00.000-06:00

Hot off the presses!! Had so much fun creating my2012 art journal cover this morning!

And I did feel so joyful as I was making it! Listening to Il Volvo-those great Italian boy tenors who sing ala Andrea Bochelli-singing along at the top of my lungs, gluing sewing, stamping--so much fun. The center image is a piece of paper cloth I made last year that I embellished with some stitching and embellishments. Each year I order the Book of Days calendar from One Spirit book club. It has a hard cover and nice weight pages. I use the calendar as a calendar that year and then recycle it into my art journal the next.

Santa's Helper

2011-12-22T09:36:00.000-06:00

Sparky's friend Rocky sent him a little red coat for Christmas. It's quite cute, but Sparky doesn't much like posing in it as you can tell by the next photo!

Sparky and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest Creative New Year!!

Klimt Inspired

2011-12-18T10:15:00.000-06:00

I wish you could really see how the gold shimmers on this painting. I am taking a class called Magical Mythical Beings from Tam at the Willowing ning site. We are working on goddesses and the inspiration was Gustav Klimt. I have always loved his paintings. I decided to paint my canvas with black gesso and paint on top of that, as I had never tried it before. I also used gold gesso for the moon behind the goddess and I scratched the design into it before it dried. The pieces on the dress are a combination of papers and fabric. I will definitely do the black gesso background again.

Christmas Tags

2011-12-16T08:09:00.000-06:00

And then I made even more, but I forgot to photograph them before I mailed them out! And then, here are the little purses I decorated.

December 12: Feast Day for Our lady of Guadalupe

2011-12-11T17:57:00.000-06:00

Some of the Our Lady art quilts I have made over the years.

Pennants

2011-12-10T07:47:00.000-06:00

In the Roses on my Table ning group, we recently had a little class on making pennants. Here are a couple I've made. You will have to click to enlarge to really see them.

The first one I made using pieces of gameboards. I'm going to send it to my little granddaughter for Christmas. The Christmas one I may keep or maybe I will give it to someone. Haven't decided yet. This was a fun project.

The final "element"

2011-12-07T21:28:00.000-06:00

Spirt is what brings all the elements together. And here is my page

A quote by Ghandi and the Goddess Kwan Yin, Goddess of compassion.

Purses in Progress

2011-11-30T08:14:00.000-06:00

I had several small crochet purses that I hand dyed about a year ago and I decided to decorate them for my grand daughters for Christmas. I started digging through my stash and pulling out things I might use on them. My table looked so pretty-the colors-yum-that I just had to take a photo.

Elements of Water and Fire

2011-11-28T08:55:00.000-06:00

More pages from Effy Wild's Elements class.

Water represents the emotions and for this spread we were to think about compassion.

For the Fire element, the feeling and thoughts to express was "what do you desire" and to select music that moved you. I chose a CD I have called the Quest of the Dream Warrior by David Arkenstone. We were supposed to do only an abstract, but I had to add this image that I had in my collection-it fit so perfectly.
We have one more "element" to go--technically not an element, but it is Spirit. I would really recommend this class of Effy's. It is a self guided class and costs only $35. You have to join her ning group to take the class, and she has lots of other things going on there too.

The Element of Air

2011-11-17T07:43:00.000-06:00

The second was a writing exercise where we wrote a page about what we know for sure and then pick a key phrase to make a page about.

This week the element in Effy's class was air. The first has to do with breath.

Busy! Busy!

2011-11-15T11:30:00.000-06:00

Trying to catch up on a bunch of projects and post on my blog. Here are a few things I've been doing.
Christmas paper dolls

Ten pages for a chunky book swap-the theme is maps. The background map is of ancient Mexico and the Mayan Goddess is Ixchel.

Cards for friends

Elements class with Effy Wild

2011-11-09T11:53:00.000-06:00

I am taking a class from Effy called Elements. The first element we are working with is earth and our body.

It says Autumn-touching the wisdom of owl. I liked doing this spread so much I decided to do all the seasons.

This one says Winter-still and quiet; layers of life lived. My body-wrinkles and scars of time and circumstances. I like the guardian figure on the left. On the right, it says Discovering what is important...conversations, connections, friendship. I cut this photo out of a magazine years ago--I love these two older ladies on a park bench in the snow.

Here's the final spread-Spring on the left. It says hands in the dirt; feet in the grass and on the left--the summer "goddess" ala Frida Kahlo--inspired by a painting that Frida did of Luther Burbank with an addition of Guadalupe leaf rays. The photo of me was actually taken in Coyocan, Mexico in front of Frida's house. I think I am ready to move on to the next element.

Home again Home again

2011-10-28T18:07:00.000-05:00

Beautiful weather; fabulous scenery; yummy food and lots of art

Friday

2011-10-20T13:00:00.001-05:00

Here's where I am going

To visit my cousin in lovely Santa Fe, New Mexico. Just a short trip, for few days to soak up all that beautiful scenery and art! I'll be back next Wednesday. Southwest has some great ticket prices right now!! Too good to pass up.

Seasonal Pages

2011-10-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

A page for my journal with the theme "harvest moon"

Another gothic arch with a Halloween theme

Shall We Dance

2011-10-02T05:00:00.011-05:00

Dia de Los Muertos Art Quilt

A Few other Projects

2011-09-22T15:59:00.000-05:00

A little book from a pattern in "Adventures in Mixed Media" by Jane Davies

ATC's for a swap at Roses on My Table group. Theme is "harvest"

Tags for a swap at Roses on My Table. The theme is "statues"

A page for a chunky book swap with my Sketchbook Yahoo group. The theme is "Music" I had to make eleven of these.

A Potpourri of Halloween Projects

2011-09-20T11:59:00.001-05:00

Paper dolls for a swap on Roses on my Table ning group
Day of the Dead paper bag book for a swap on my sketchbook yahoo group
Small book of Spells for a partner swap

This and that

2011-09-13T08:09:00.000-05:00

A journal page for the prompt "beauty"

Another for the prompt "vanity".

A page for a get well book for a friend.

Remembering 9-11

2011-09-09T22:05:00.000-05:00

Pray for New York Art Quilt

The Sandpiper's Bride

2011-08-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

This piece was inspired by the class I took last weekend. Magazine collage and paint.

Oriole Orgy

2011-08-17T08:02:00.000-05:00

In one of my groups the other day, we got to talking about birds and someone mentioned that orioles love grape jelly and oranges. This was news to me and I just had all kinds of images come to mind of the orioles having a tea party with grape jelly and oranges. Well, here they are with their fancy cake made of grape jam! That's Big Bob, the bouncer at the bottom of the page. As you can see some party crashing crows have come to try and join the fun!

Metamorphosis

2011-08-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I went to St. Louis to a workshop taught by Kathleen Barnes . The workshop was about mixed media icons. It was a really wonderful workshop and I learned many things, but two new products I learned about were gold gesso and stabilio water pencils. I expected that I would come home with a traditional looking icon and some in the class did make pieces that were more traditional. We brought limited supplies and were asked to bring several magazines with images in them. One of our first steps was to go through the magazines and pull out images that appealed to us. I thought the cocoon shape would be transformed into a garment of some kind, but surprise, surprise--when I began playing with the pieces I had torn out, the metamorphosis began and I think I ended up with something much more interesting than I thought I would!! Love it when the magic happens like that!!

Revisiting Art

2011-08-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

Several years ago, George made this frame for me. I painted it black and it sat in the closet. Last winter I made this angel paper doll and mounted her on a piece of plywood and there she sat. She just wasn't finished. The other day, I saw the frame and wondered " would that angel paper doll fit into that frame?" Perfect fit. I painted the frame a metallic blue, added a piece of foamcore board covered with sheet music and glued the angel to that. Added the gold doily medallions and voila! a new improved piece.

Pray for Somalia

2011-08-04T10:42:00.000-05:00

I finally have a photo with colors that are more true. Please donate what you can to the starving people in Somalia.

Another Goddess

2011-08-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

I may tweak her some more and she hasn't told me her name yet. I am really having fun with these ladies!

Friendship

2011-07-31T10:20:00.000-05:00

I love this quote about friends!

"School Days" themed paper dolls for a swap on the Roses on my Table ning group.

Move over Fonzie!!

Brunhilda

2011-07-31T10:16:00.000-05:00

A few things I have been working on: These are my ATC's for the "divas" trade on Roses on my Table ning group. Brunhilda in different poses.

I am so annoyed. Blogger will only let me upload one photo per post and that is only sometimes!!

Finished! (I think)

2011-07-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

I think she is finished. I used gold oil pastels on her halo and background-which don't show up in the photo.

Georgia O'Keeffe

2011-07-27T07:16:00.000-05:00

Here is the second shrine I made. This time I chose Georgia O'Keeffe. The words are hers and say "if you ever go to New Mexico, it will itch you for the rest of your life." I agree with Georgia!

In Progress

2011-07-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

My second painting from the Shiloh Sophia class. This is more like it--much looser and stylized--still working on this one--but I like it much better than the other. They are very different from each other, so not sure I can really compare-but this one makes me feel happy to look at it-not that the other one didn't- well can't really explain it, but this one feels good and right to me.

Permutations

2011-07-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

So I am taking a class from Shiloh Sophia McCloud through the Artful Gathering online art retreat. It is called "The Goddess of the Divine Spark" This canvas is 16 x 20--largest canvas I have ever worked on. So above is the first photo I took.

Here she is again--didn't like her at all--I think I painted her face too much, so I sanded it off!

Here she is again-I think she looks better. She's not done yet, but I think it's time to let her sit for awhile and see what she tells me is next.

Garden Party and more

2011-07-11T08:04:00.000-05:00

A few journal pages that I have been working on lately. First the garden party.

The prompt for the one below was "A mermaid's tale". I don't know what possessed me to do tiny bits of paper, mosaic style, when I have only one eye that can see well right now--but I did!

And the prompt for the next one was "fishing expedition". I just love this little boy. I think he is so cute!

Tomorrow I have cataract surgery on my left eye. It will be nice to be able to see out of both eyes clearly!!

The Final Frida Book

2011-07-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

We are finally finishing up the Frida Round Robin. This is the last book I had to work in. Kate's theme was Frida in San Francisco. One of the places Frida liked to go in San Francisco was to Chinatown. If you enlarge the photo, you can read what she said about it.

A Garden Box

2011-07-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

I recently purchased "Adventures in Mixed Media" by Jane Davies and have been playing with some of the projects in her book. This one was a lot of fun, altho very time consuming. When you remove the lid, it "falls" open to reveal the surprise inside.

All of the box sides, inside and out are decorated with scrapbook papers and ephemera, little pockets--one pocket has binoculars in it; another has a little card. One outside page has a little window, so that you can see a bird inside.

A Young Virgin Mary

2011-06-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

I actually drew and painted her face on some drawing paper about a year ago and just couldn't decide what to do with it. So this morning I was looking for something to do and decided to put her in a large scrapbook that I bought at a yard sale not too long ago for $1. It's the same book that has Saint Catherine in it. I glued her in with gel medium and added papers all around. Then painted the papers; added the doily halo and the roses; added more color to the image itself; highlighted around her with a neocolor crayon and added some stamping. I think she looks like a very young Virgin Mary.

Frida Shrine

2011-06-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

I belong to the RAIL group at Roses on my Table ning group. Our latest project is making shrines. This one is made using foamcore board. When I used to make artquilts, Frida was a favorite subject. over the years, I've collected lots of little things to put in a Frida shrine. This was such a fun project. i already have an idea for the next one!.

Here's one of my Frida art quilts.

Mona and Friends Blogswap ATC's

2011-06-21T16:52:00.000-05:00

I am part of a blogswap/ATC swap over here. We are to pick any Renaissance paintings and alter them.

These were so much fun to make!!

Rockin Robin and friends

2011-06-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

This is a journal page for the Roses group. The prompt was lyrics. Do you remember this son? "He rocks in the treetops all the day long, rockin' and a boppin' and a singing his song"......
And the page below is for the prompt song. I've spent a lot of time on the porch this summer resting my eyes. This year is the year of the 13 year cicadas, so we have many more than usual. Every afternoon they start with their serenade. It rises and falls, ebbs and flows and if you close your eyes and listen it is very mesmerizing. Soon you can feel your breathing ebbing and flowing with cicada song and you become one with the sound.

Some people don't like this sound, but I do--the sound of the cicada's in summer brings back memories from years gone by.

St. Catherine of Alexandria

2011-06-09T08:26:00.000-05:00

First: a disclaimer. I am not Catholic, but I have always loved reading the stories of all the different saints. I have a book that pulls together the secular and religious stories of each saint. St Catherine of Alexandria was a pagan Egyptian princess living in the fourth century, daughter of the emperor Costus. At fourteen she was urged to marry a Roman emperor, Maurentius. She refused to marry him and said that her groom must possess certain traits. Legend says that the Virgin Mary appeared and suggested that she become the bride of Christ. In a dream He appeared to her and she converted to Christianity. As you can imagine, this did not sit well with Maurentius. He tortured her, by tying her to a wheel. Angels miraculously appeared and destoyed the wheel. This caused many to convert to Christianity. Then Maurentius had her beheaded and when he did, instead of blood, milk flowed from her body.
She is the patron saint for women seeking mates. She is also patroness of lawyers, librarians, nurses and schoolgirls. Her feast day is November 25.
I googled paintings of St. Catherine to see how she had been depicted. She doesn't look Egyptian in any of them. I wanted to portray her as an Egyptian princess.
It will be interesting to see what this looks like when I can actually see it with both eyes!!! I have trouble making straight lines (well, I have that problem anyway LOL) but it is difficult to see what the edge of my paintbrush is doing and particularly on the left side.

Poppies

2011-06-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

I've been playing around with this for the past few days. It has lots of layers-just kept adding paint. Then I thought I would "see" (literally) what kind of detail I could add wearing George's reading glasses. With those on, I can add detail in some areas, but areas around might look wavy or blurry. Just add a little bit at a time--at least I can do some kind of art making while in limbo land!!

Cat Eye Glasses

2011-06-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

Another silly drawing using my own eyes!! Now for a cataract surgery update. Everything went well. Thursday evening I was watching television with NO GLASSES! Pretty amazing! No need for the fancy eye patches I made (but they were fun to make anyway). My distance vision in my right eye is great--the other eye, still to be done--very blurry, so my depth perception is off some and I feel just a little tipsy! Discovered if I put on my husband's reading glasses (kind of like the cat's-LOL) that I can read email and see the computer screen for short periods of time and I can read a page or two of a magazine before everything starts looking wonky (I will need a prescription for close and mid range). No reading any big (or small) novels in the next month or two. But everything with my eye seems good for now. Big Smile!!

The Eyes Have It!

2011-05-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about my eyes lately. I tried taking some close up photos of them-they turned out pretty blurry--appropriate for someone is is so very nearsighted-don't you think? The eye of the bird, actually started out as one of my blurry blue eyes. The reason I've been thinking about my eyes, is because I am having cataract surgery on Thursday. I've worn glasses since I was 7 years old and probably needed them years before that. When I got my glasses, I noticed that there were patterns in the wallpaper and that trees had individual leaves-not just one big green ball! As the years went by, I got more and more nearsighted and as I got older, graduated to bifocals and then trifocals! Several years ago, the eye doctor told me he saw the beginnings of cataracts and About a year ago, he couldn't correct me to 20/20 anymore. This past year, my vision has gotten worse-can't read highway signs or the signs over the aisles in grocery stores and so forth. So on Thursday he will remove the cataract from my right eye and then about 3-4 weeks later, from the left. I will still have to wear glasses after it is all over, but they won't be nearly as strong as they have been. The time in between surgeries will be strange, because I will have to use one eye or the other--they won't work together at all. If I wear my glasses, I will be using my left eye, so will have to cover the right eye which has had surgery and if looking with my right eye, will have to cover the left..which brings me to my latest artistic endeavors. The nurse told me I could cover the right lens of my glasses with tape--Tape? like nerds to to hold their glasses together--not me!! So below, you will see the lovely little "patch" that I have devised that slips over theright lens of my glasses and the "fashionable" eye patch to wear over my left eye when tryng out the new one.

So I may not be able to visit all your wonderful blogs for a while, as I will only have one eye for reading, but I will keep up as best I can--Wish me luck!!

Garden Fairy Paper Dolls

2011-05-27T08:04:00.000-05:00

Garden fairy paper dolls for a swap at Roses on my Table group. The face and bust are a stamp that I've had for a very long time. I thought she would make a good fairy.

New Journal Pages

2011-05-25T08:47:00.000-05:00

I belong to the Journal Journey group at Roses on my Table. Twice a month, we are given a prompt. Open and closed was the prompt for this one called "Pandora's Dilemma".

For this page, the prompt was wild and untamed.

This is a page I did on my own. I cut this picture of a child dressed in a fairy costume out of a magazine years ago and have had it in my files and finally decided to use it.

Roses and irises!

2011-05-23T13:49:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite places to go for a walk is the Shelter Gardens. And in the spring, every few days there are new flowers blooming. Yesterday George, and Sparky and I went for a stroll through the gardens.

I have an small Olympus digital camera--nothing fancy-no bells and whistles. Yesterday, the gardens were full of people with fancy camera's and tripods One man was trying to take a photo of the orange rose

(the first one). He was complaining that he couldn't get the depth of field right--the wind was blowing--so many problems. I just point and click with my little camera and hope for the best! The man with the fancy

camera finally left, because he was sure he was "wasting his time". I think my roses and iris photos

turned out pretty good! I'm happy with them!!

Melting oil pastels

2011-05-21T11:33:00.000-05:00

I belong to the RAIL group over at Roses on My Table. Each month, Zinnia offers a project with new techniques. I always wanted to know how you use those little irons and melt oil pastels and beeswax. This was so much fun--got to use all kinds of different techniques on this canvas. I wish you could see it in person, because a photo just can't capture the metallic paint and the Stewart Gill Gliteratti paint. I think I've got to do more of these!! Welcome back Muse, inspired by Zinnia!!

Daydreaming

2011-05-14T11:25:00.000-05:00

Not sure where I got this image from, but wanted to post something today. I am in a bit of a creative slump--I walk in my studio, look around and then turn out the light and leave. Don't seem to have any good ideas--this too shall pass. Hope you are having a creative day!

Tags and ATC's

2011-05-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

ATC's with a beach theme for a swap in the Roses on my Table ning group and

Gypsies with mandolins and guitars for a music theme.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

I love these photos of my mother. These are probably taken around 1930. My mother was an artist. She was a painter, a basket maker and a weaver. But beyond that, everything she did was done in an artistic way. She always made the most wonderful Easter baskets and filled our Christmas stockings full of interesting things. She enrolled me in many art classes every summer and took me to galleries and art shows. She was still creating and making art in her 80's and always full of ideas of what she might create next. As all children do, I think we don't realize what a treasure our mother's really are-we think all mother's have tubes of paint and yarns and art materials available for us to use and wonderful books to read and great music to listen too. As I get older, I marvel at the energy my mother had and the youthful spirit she possessed. For those of us whose mothers have passed, don't we all wish we could have one more day to spend with them.

R.I.P.

2011-05-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago, George found a wonderful book on gravestone rubbings at a rummage sale. The images are from gravestones in early New England. They are just perfect for using as patterns for stamp carving. The angel at the top of this arch is a stamp I carved from one of the images. The arch itself came about because of a challenge in the Roses group. The challenge was to make a gothic arch and use inchies in it. The lower half of the arch are pieces of commercial stamps and scrapbooking papers. I have some other ideas for how I will use the angel stamp; and I am looking forward to carving some of the other images I saw in the book.

15th Anniversary

2011-05-03T21:22:00.000-05:00

So May 4th is George and mine's 15th wedding anniversary. The second time around I actually had a "real" wedding at a little wedding chapel with friends attending, rather than running away and eloping! One friend made that little flower wreath for my hair; another sang at the wedding; and another was our official photographer. The first time I got married, I was only 19!! Can you believe that? The second time around, I was much older and wiser and knew myself so much better and understood what I wanted so much more! So to celebrate our anniversary, we will go out for a nice lunch and a glass of wine and tour some of the art galleries downtown. The weather promises to be sunny and warm. A day to look forward too!!

Goddess of Spring--where are you????

2011-04-24T16:55:00.000-05:00

The only place I can find her is in my studio-because she sure isn't outside--cold, cloudy and rainy and that's the forecast until Thursday!! She is painted on previously used clayboard (that's why she has the lines in her face, because I had previously distressed the board. I want to do something to tone the flowers down a little bit-i did paint over them, but I still don't think they look quite right. Any suggestions?

Beginning..Grant Wood meets 60's hippies

2011-04-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new embroidery piece this morning. I had so much fun doing the forest friends, that I thought it would be fun to do a farm. Yesterday I found the perfect vintage dish towel at the antique mall--made from a flour sack and has a sun bonnet Sue in the corner. Perfect for "back to the land" and Earth Day-a good day to start. I just have an idea in my head of what I want to make and I just start free motion sewing the outline. I have a rather small table that I sew on, so I can't even see the whole piece as I sew--so sometimes I get very tall people--but I like that. This is just the beginning. There will be many animals, crops, maybe the house behind--not sure yet. So much color and pattern with hippie clothes--will be fun to hand embroider!!

Soiled Doves

2011-04-20T09:06:00.000-05:00

This is the third project for the Altered Canvas class I am taking. This was so much fun to do. We made a standing book or shrine from two canvases. I decided to stay with the vintage look and chose the "soiled doves" of the Old West as my theme. The shape of the canvas and the shape and size of the "windows" on the inside helped determine the theme. The first photo is the cover--I don't know that she really was a soiled dove, but she had such a "come hither" look on her face, that I thought she was the perfect choice.

The two ladies inside are actual photos of two working girls.

Here is the book standing up. What a fun class this was! Using canvases in different ways!!

Graduation Day

2011-04-15T13:03:00.000-05:00

This is the second canvas from the Altered Canvas class in the Art of Altering ning group I belong to. (I posted the link in a earlier blog-Springtime in Paris). This is my first time to try using wax. There's a lot to learn about it! First lesson: put your wax pot on the same side as your dominant hand--don't be lazy and put it on the left side because that's where the plug is!! Very awkward reaching across and lots of drips! There is an art to applying the wax thinly enough--I spent a lot of time scraping extra wax off; and also getting the wax smooth--but when you are finished-if it is rough, you can take a heat gun and melt and spread with a popsicle stick. The brush I was usuing was absolute toast by the time I got done--it had so much wax in it!! But, I like the end result--even though the surface of this one is a little messy-I would definitely try this again.

Springtime in Paris

2011-04-13T07:40:00.000-05:00

I've been taking a class on altered canvases through the Altered Art ning group that I belong to. I've been trying some things in this class that I hadn't done before: image transfers onto canvas (finally got an image transfer to work!); adding other embellishments to canvas. This was done as a result of the first class. The second class uses beeswax, which I haven't used before and then the third class looks really interesting also.
I called this piece Springtime in Paris, because the lady in the transfer is holding an umbrella. I think next time I do a transfer, I will choose one that isn't so dark.

Henry and Anne

2011-04-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

I finished the second part of the paper doll couple-Anne Boelyn.
On another note, I was without my computer for three days--oh, so much can happen in three days! I had 500 emails and the majority were not junk!! I follow many blogs and didn't get to see all the recent postings, but hope to get back to looking at all my blog friends wonderful art today! I'm not even going to try to go back to catch up or I would be at it for the next week!! I missed you while I was without my computer--enlightening to see how much we rely on our computers--not just for email and friends; but for simple things like googling an answer to a question that comes up or looking at a website that is reported on the news. I hope I don't have to do it again any time soon!!

Sometimes....

2011-04-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

"Sometimes on the way to our dreams, we get lost and find a better one." Recently I was part of an ATC swap and the envelope that they arrived in had this quote stamped on it. Of course (and I know all of you will understand), I carefully tore the quote off of the envelope, so that I could recycle it! The canvas is actually on it's third life----the first time I used it, I painted the girl-I liked her at the time, but it was a while back, so decided to reuse the canvas. I completely covered over her with papers and stamps and made a she art girl. After looking at her for awhile, I decided that she looked much too "scrapbooky" and so I scraped all the paper and paint off and there was my girl painting still mostly in tact beneath. So I took the part of her that I liked (half of her face) and decided that being lost in the woods, so to speak and finding your way out, fit with the quote. She is also wearing a little red hood--think I've been influenced by the Red Riding Hood talk recently! I think I will keep this canvas!!

Summer Daydreams

2011-03-31T09:22:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it! I am finished! I've been working on this since January. It started out as a 36' x 36' tea towel from the 50's that had a small embroidery in the lower right hand corner. It's a little lady doing her laundry. Last summer, I was following Pam Garrison's blog and she was doing embroidery and just kept adding to it and it was so wonderful. I hadn't embroidered in a long time and wanted to do it again. When I started this, I had no idea where it was going or what I would make. I started out with the tree elf. I did a free motion outline stitch on my sewing machine and then filled in with hand embroidery. Then I just kept making it up and adding as I went along. I decided that he needed a companion, Blossom. And so it went. When I was nearing the bottom, I decided that the name would be "Summer Daydreams"--the little lady hanging out her laundry was daydreaming. When the piece was finished I decided to attach it to a piece of white cotton fabric using white buttons and then I also did a blanket stitch around the edge to frame it. Below are some close ups of the different areas of the embroidered piece.

Garden Party

2011-03-30T08:28:00.000-05:00

This is my final girl for the spring themed show I am in. I have three girl canvases and three bird canvases that I will take.

More birds!

2011-03-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

This is a little owl that I did in my journal as a response to a prompt from the Roses group. I make my journal backgrounds ahead of time and they are usually made from paint and other mediums left over at the end of the day. It's fun to see how I can use them.

Here's another little canvas bird. I still need to think of a word or words to go on this one. Any ideas???

Nesting

2011-03-25T10:37:00.000-05:00

Here's my newest little mixed media bird. She's queen of the nest!!

Sparky gets a haircut

2011-03-23T17:25:00.000-05:00

We always are surprised at how small Sparky really is when he gets all that winter fur trimmed off. Sparky likes his groomer, Robin but doesn't really like the actual grooming part--just the treat afterwards part. And to add insult to injury, they put a little scarf around his neck and it had CATS on it!! Now, of course, after several days of 60's and 70's, a cold front is coming with possible snow by Monday--time to get out his sweater again!!

Best Friends

2011-03-21T12:52:00.000-05:00

In the Roses on my Table Rail group, this month we are doing journal pages and then doing something similar on canvas. These girls were fun-using some of the Roses techniques, some of the She Art techniques and bringing it all together.

She Art Bird

2011-03-17T11:28:00.000-05:00

I decided to try something different than a girl. I'm loving these background techniques and I think I am becoming addicted to rub ons!!

Henry the Eighth

2011-03-14T09:58:00.000-05:00

In the Roses group, we have a paper doll exchange group. For our next trade, we will be making couples. I had so much fun yesterday making Henry!! (I have to go to Michaels and get just a few more gren gemstones-didn't have quite enough to finish his coat). I've had a lot of fun with Henry-posing him in different ways-my husband says I'm in my second childhood--I just think I am easily amused!! Now on to Anne Boelyn!

She Art Garden Angel

2011-03-13T08:51:00.000-05:00

Here's my latest She Art girl. The shop in town where I take my work is having a spring themed show, so I am making art for it. If you like the She Art girls and think you might be interested in taking this course, Christy will be offering it again in April. Right now, she is having a give away on her blog . She's giving away one free class! Also, if you sign up for the class, please give her my name and I will be entered into another drawing. This has been such a fun class. I'm really enjoying it.

She Art Girl #2

2011-03-11T07:53:00.000-06:00

Here's my second girl inspired by Christy Tomlison's class. No face! I think it felt okay not to do a face, because there is a lot more going on in this piece than in the previous one. Lots more doodling and layers.

She Art Girl

2011-03-07T08:52:00.003-06:00

I am taking a little online class with Christy Tomlinson where she shows how she makes her "she art" girls. It's a fun class-always interesting to see how others do backgrounds and figures. Christy's girls don't have faces and I love them-but I just couldn't leave my girl faceless. She just didn't feel finished-I think I made her head too big for her body--something about her just didn't feel quite right to me--next time I will challenge myself to leave her face blank!!

Spring Tags and ATC's

2011-03-06T16:52:00.002-06:00

Some ATC's and tags I've been working on for a couple of upcoming swaps.

Fairy Child

2011-03-04T07:47:00.002-06:00

In my sketchbook yahoo group, we decided to do a 4 x4 swap. Another group member Lisa had made a little book she called the fairy yearbook. Her pages were all images of little children she had made into fairies. So we thought it would be really fun to each find a photo of ourselves and make pages to exchange. There are 12 of us in the swap. Here is me as a fairy child. Each page I made is a little different. It will be so much fun to get all the pages back and compile my own fairy yearbook of my sketchbook friends!!

New Forest Friends

2011-03-01T09:32:00.003-06:00

The tree elf and blossom have a few more forest friends and flowers. You see that blue line? That is the start of the little stream the separates the forest from the original little lady on the corner of the towel hanging her laundry! I still have another fox on the other side to do and many flowers, but I am working my way towards the end.

Clayboard

2011-02-28T08:29:00.002-06:00

I recently purchased the book "Flavor for Mixed Media" by Mary Beth Shaw. I would highly recommend this book. It is not your typical mixed media "same old techniques" book. Mary Beth has a lot of techniques and ideas that I hadn't tried before. She uses a lot of clayboard for her abstract paintings and collages. I enjoyed working on the clayboard, although it takes a lot of muscle to scratch into it. This piece that I made has a lot going on, as I had only one piece of clayboard and I not only wanted to try scratching into the surface in different ways, but I also wanted to try some of the surface techniques using fiber paste, tar gel and glass beads. Be sure to click on the image to see all the scratching! I would definitely like to try this again.

Photos of the Week

2011-02-25T12:01:00.003-06:00

What a variety of weather this week! But that's Missouri-warm one day and cold the next.
A warm day at the Shelter gardens-new sprouts; A lovely sign at the gardens; Sparky goes to school!; grapes, celery and onions to add to the chicken and walnuts for chicken salad; Town hall meeting with our awesome Senator, Clare McCaskill; 10:30 at night-a pinkish orange sky-reflection from the snow and lights-such a pretty color; a puffed up Robin trying to keep warm.

Playing around

2011-02-22T10:45:00.005-06:00

I don't really keep a journal--I don't write about my life or pour my thoughts out on paper, but I call these books I keep art journals--they are really just pages that I make sometimes from a journal prompt; or I want to try a new technique; o-sometimes just because. Here are a few I have made lately.

More forest friends

2011-02-20T09:08:00.005-06:00

A little raccoon friend and some bunnies. I've started adding grass and plants and flowers.
Here are the ground hogs-I know-they look like prairie dogs, but I say they are small groundhogs!

Just to give you an idea of how much I have completed and how far I have to go. Since I can't hang this up yet, I have to photograph it on the floor, so it's kind of distored. This tea towel is 36" x 36". In the lower right hand corner is the original embroidery that was on the towel. It's a woman hanging out laundry and says Monday underneath. She will stay on the towel. There will be more animals and flowers and plants in the grassy area. Under the grassy area, there will be a little stream with fish. Maybe this whole scene is what she dreams about while hanging up the clothes?

Photos of the week

2011-02-18T09:11:00.003-06:00

My grand daughter Audrey with her "new" car for her 16th birthday; Sparky at the gates of the Shelter Insurance gardens-still closed-too much snow; Valentine's Day dessert--so sweet; flowers to remind us that spring will come; Sparky looking wistfully into the woods from the porch; an old chair and birdhouse in Blackwater, Missouri- 70 degrees-but so windy; dining table art--what happens when you put me at a table covered with white paper and a little cup of crayons! Doesn't he look like he could be a friend of the tree elf? And about the tree elf-I have added a lot more to the story-just haven't photographed it yet; and I am working on some other art things--it just doesn't look like it from the past few blog posts. Thanks for visiting and come back....

One World One Heart

2011-02-17T08:05:00.002-06:00

Well, for some reason blogger won't let me leave an image--Annoying!!!

It was so much fun participating in OWOH. Thanks to Lisa for organizing the whole project. And the winner is #92, Gracie "Neky"White . Thanks to everyone who visited my blog and left a comment.

Happy Valentines Day!!

2011-02-13T22:37:00.002-06:00

Hope you love whoever you are with or whatever you are doing today!!

My week in photos

2011-02-12T09:16:00.003-06:00

A basket of seed pods; a pot of vegetable soup; embroidery tools; dirty snow (this is what is really looks like after several days--not all those pretty woodsy photos!); a detail of a handmade basket (looks kind of snowy); my hat hanging in the closet-like the way the scarf is moving; and when all else fails, Sparky will always pose for a photo!!