Have You Been Reading...

Kelly Rae Robert's book taking flight?  I have been hearing about it since last summer from my friends on the net.  I wanted to take her class at the ArtNest Retreat which is going on right now but didn't get to.  So, I did the next best thing, ordered her book.  I have read chapters one and two.  The pages above are the results of chapter one, making a journal, the cover and a couple of the inside pages.  

Names?

Do you ever wonder, like I do, how others name their blogs?  My name Swallowcliffs is from my environment.  I drive at the base of these cliffs, full of swallow nests coming and going from my home.  The swallows return each spring the first week of May.  I like to think my art "soars" like the swallows who keep us company each eveing during the summer.  How did you happen to name your blog?  Leave a message here about it... I would love to know!

Idea

I have been trying to come up with an idea to upholster my headboard.  I decided maybe since the cover is a patchwork quilt that I would do that.  Then I thought maybe I would paint some pieces of canvas with flowers or something and patchwork those.  Then, I remembered!  I have some art quilts I made after attending the Artnest Retreat last June, where I attended a class with the classy Alma Stoller.  She does some really amazing art!  So I dug out the art quilts, glad to have a use for them, and covered the headboard.  I like the new look!

Book Review

Altered Book Special Effects! by Laurie Goodson and Betsy McLoughlin  This book has some great ideas for altered books, that could be extended to other art work.  It shows examples from the writers for book covers, then for painting, masking, adding papers, tiling images, and one I like am going to try is to make a black and white copy of your image, cut the color and b/w into stripes then put on page alternating color and b/w.  I like the looks of this one. Then they get into some window and doors, niches, frames, embellishments like beads and buttons, fibers and another one making spinner page which I used on my mask page... if you saw that earlier.  Also some fun ideas for stamping pages in checkerboards and weaving with paper and ribbons for backgrounds.  And tags!  Now she has some great ideas for using tags like tabs on pages, and using tabs that stick on to write out words on edges of pages.  Layering pages and making pop-ups are next, plus a bit of added origami embellishments.  There are a couple of other rather advanced things like making  multi flip pages to make up sentences and cutting holes, and pages with flags that flip up.  I don't know... this book probably would be good if you are just started out with altered books and/or mixed media.

Puppets

Today I finished up some paper puppets.  Meet Joy who is very colorful, and Healthy who is... well... healthy looking, and Happy.  I hope they keep me on track!

Art Toys

I googled artpad.com and it gave me a selection of sites.  I found the one with the toy to draw and play on and created this little bird.  I just wanted to be sure the site was still there and still working.  I believe they have added the text capabilities since I last visited.

Artpad

The depressed looking lady on the right was done on line in the Artpad site.  I think if you google artpad.com you can find it.  It allows you to play and draw.  Someone emailed me and asked me about that a while back and I am just now getting back to explaining what it is.  

Reading

I read lots of books.  I read for pleasure, and have been known to have maybe four novels going at the same time.  I also read self-help books.  I guess I always considered myself as needing some help.   Many times, I read only portions of books, finding the parts that are of interest to me.  This morning, I was looking for one particular book and as usual, got caught up in my "library" of artist self-help books so, as I know other artists out there are always looking for inspiration and self-help on techniques to use in their art, I thought I would list a few here every once in a while.  

Painters' Wild Workshop/Lynn Leon Loscutoff.  This book has the writings of twelve different artists writing in chapters about what to do with art like Explore, Experiment, Extend, Exotic Inspirations,and  Express Yourself.  Some ideas I gleaned is to pull out those things from the storage places, the things you love,  and use them as inspirations for drawings and paintings, to paint without a brush using found items for interesting looks (one I want to try is painting with sand this summer), work on multiple paintings or pages at once so you can let parts dry before moving on, use emotionally charged words, if you have a subject that intrigues you, explore it as far as you can go with it and to try new painting methods. This book has lovely pictures and some beckoning ideas.

Tincture of Positive Thinking

Here is a journal spread I just finished.  It is to remind the healing tendencies of positive thinking in all aspects of our lives.

Daily Art Activities

Some days are just sorta okay.  I mean, as opposed to the days when an art adventure pumps up your inner blissful feelings of creativity and inspiration.  Today, I think, was a just okay artsy day.  I started in my studio sorting through and looking for some images for a collage I need to do for VOG.  This is the one of zero to five years old, for those who are familiar with VOG.  As I was looking in my stashes for the collage, I found lots of flower images which reminded me that over in 14 Secrets a flower ATC swap is going on.  So, I spent a while making the flower ATCs.  They turned out lovely, as most flowery things do.  Then, back to the collage.  I finally found enough images (JC recommended about 20) and mounted them on the substrate.  I let them dry, then added water colour crayons and words.  It turned out quite nicely, I think.  Next, I moved on to a housekeeping kind of job, making a new cover for the hassock our cats redecorated with their claws so that each of the corners now look like hair.  I got out the material, cut a piece to fit, lay it over the hassock and started pinning the corners.  Got two done and stopped.  My heart just is not into this project today.  Tomorrow, it will be the first thing I work on when I am on the upside of my strength and enthusiasm.  

Elmers

I read in Quilting Arts magazine an article by Cynthia St. Charles.  In the article she describes using Elmer's Washable School Glue, No Run Gel, (blue-green) as a "resist" on fabric.  So, being the inquisitive soul that I am, I bought me one of those bottles of glue, got me a piece of pfd (prepared for dying) fabric and gave it a try.  The photo's in the magazine showed roses and architectural pieces.  I wanted to try something different, so I drew with the glu, faces.  Once I removed the glue, I said to my self, "yeah, right" these will never be anything but trash.  But, I let them lay about for a while, and one day, after reading on my new inkpencils that they can be used on fabric, I decided to give the faces a bit of touch up and then I added a pad and some machine quilting.  Now, I'm thinking, I could use these for something.  I decided to cut the faces apart and make some small pillows with them, as they remind me of my beautiful car girls.  These are the results, one being scanned before being stuffed which make the color look ugly, and one that I already stuffed which is more representative of how they actually look.  I like them.  I have another piece started of a free form leafy looking thing that I will play with next.

Surprise

My lovely birds are back today.  Hmmmmmm....

I am so excited, I won a piece of art work during the blog party.  Yay!   I will write more about it another time.

Cyber Customization

Today, when I got here, my fine feathered sidebar birds were gone.  ???  I don't know why.  But, a bit of color change and the look is okay for now.  Time for a change anyway.  

I enjoyed the Blog PaRTY and saw lots of fun blogs.  Thanks to all of you who visited my blog and left me a comment!  

Now, I am on to more journal pages, using buttons, bits of textiles, embellishments, beads-fun explorations!  and a one shape page, a fave artist page, word art, front and center.  These prompts come from mistymawn.typepad.com/ 

I still want to do the 2 doors prompt, an altered photo page, and stitched paper page from Milliande.

And, some of my own prompts, which could be whatever.

Birds of A Feather Blog Party Part 1

Green and Joy

Looking forward to

Spring!


A Quote From

Shakespear

I am loved beyond my 

comprehension.

A detail of an intuitive

wild heart painting.

Birds of a feather Blog Party Part 2

Welcome to my special pictures for the Birds of a Feather Blog Party part 2.  You see a scan of some vintage postcards, a scan of a vintage music cover and the words to the song, and a swallow graphic.  Hope you enjoy!

Blog Party

Okay, I joined the Soul Journal group blog party for Valentine's Day, Saturday.  So I spent all morning looking through my "stuff" to see what I had to post that day.  I found some really fun items, so be sure to stop by starting Saturday and you can find lots of other artist's posts by going to collagediva.com/souljournal/

Should be interesting and fun!  See you there!

On Saturday, February 14th, I will be involved in a blog party, so look for something "loving and lovely" to be posted that day! Join me for the fun!

Whoops

Sorry.. my cut and paste didn't work so here are the short version of the strategies:

Create relationships and sense of community.

Take charge of something in your life.

Be the heroine of your own story.

Look for good things whenever possible.

Voice your goals and wishes.

Believe in yourself.

Create time for insight, art, creativity, to be good to yourself.

Laugh often.

Base decisions on personal values.

Take care of self.

Make an art journal.

Create time for meditation/spiritual needs.

Explore resilience.

Resiliency and Art

My mentor and hopefully friend Lani The Puppetmaker is hosting a invitation only group dealing with resiliency and art for a few weeks.  I am a lucky recipient of a "scholarship" to the class.  We are lead by Lani to think of resilience strategies for life and to do art that reflects that. This week we were to make some seed packets of art ephemera to mail to someone.  I made my seed packets, (see in last post.)  A very supportive and awesome artist, asked me to post the words on the back of the packets.  These are a few strategies for developing resilience, as new studies in positive psychology are pointing to.  So, here they are for you Jinxie.

Tuesdays Art Attempts

Today I finished up a "red" page... nice for February don't you think? And I made some "art seed" packets.  They were easy and fun!  

New Pages and a Kit

I know, I have been a bit close mouthed about my art lately.  I just haven't been able to "chat" about it.  I think mostly because I wasn't sure how I felt about the pages.  Today, however, I am going to tell you about the last post, the green celtic symbol for "mother".  It was a challenge to do some sort art that represents the "warm and protective" feel a child would have as cared for my a mother.  I played with some new paint markers for that one and I am not happy with them at all.  The "marker girl" I made because I found this huge plastic case of markers in a thrift shop so I want to see how many actually worked.  There was one missing and the black did not work but all the rest did.  There must be about 50 of them!  The crayon play girl to try out my new water soluable crayons.  Been reading about these but never had any before.  I did wash a bit around her face but not the outer limits. My inner jury is still out on these.  The ATCs are the start of a self-care kit I am making, each card has an idea to help with stress, relaxation, etc.  They will all fit into the tin when I am done.  The Bird shadows on white was a challenge to do a mostly white page.  I had a page in my journal which I had covered in masking tape then gessoed some time ago.  I added bits and pieces of white from my white stash.  I then stenciled on some birds in an off white...they are hard to see.  Then I stenciled on some birds with glitter glue.  Hard to see too but they are there.  Last, I stenciled on some birds using golden micaceous iron oxide.  I wiped the birds with a baby wipe as soon as I lifted the stencil so they are just a shadow.  I like the results of this.