Playing

I finally have some time to just play with art.  You know, you dig out the media and just start in!  Here I made a monoprint, then enhanced it a bit.

I am getting some feed back on my 29gifts project!  Fun!

Moving On

I am busy preparing for the Art Quilt work shop I will be teaching soon.  I know it will be fun!  The above photo is from one of Milliande's prompts, using photo's taken by members of her club.

Finishing and Art

I am wrapping up my posts on my 29gifts project today, one day early.  I have to move on to my other projects now.  I want to thank everyone who sent me their names for the drawing.  I wish I could have sent you all a gift.  I am thinking of doing a couple of blog give a ways if my life gets to a point where I can keep up.  I think the time I have spent with the gifts project has been so worth it.  It has given me a focus, something to meditate about, a reason to blog each day, the ability to meet such wonderful people!  It is leaving me with positive feelings.  THANKS to all!

Here is the list of the last persons receiving gifts:

23.  Diane D

24.  Letha R

25.  Eileen F

26.  Jean F

27.  Jean T

28.  Windy S

29. Susan H   

The photo is of a coffee table I painted for my oldest Granddaughter a few years back.

Today + Two

Yep, my 29gifts project is winding down.  Hmmmm....what will I be doing next?  I have a couple of other projects to finish up, then, I hope the weather will be warm enough to get outside and do something.  I am thinking of trying to so something with my wild flowers.....

The picture above?  A painting I did on an old trunk...

Sunday Art Activities

I am so involved in preparing for a workshop I will be teaching here at home!  It is interesting how much time and preparing it takes to do a one day class.  Student materials, teaching aids, that sort of thing.  I can hardly wait until the day of class!

Counting and Art

Down to four days left of my 29gifts project, so I will be posting the last of the names by next Wednesday!

I have received some emails from people whose gift reached them!  How nice to receive a thank-you from people.  I have to say, though, I have no idea who got what and I wonder.  I guess I should have made a list of what when into each envelope, but I wanted it to be unbiased in anyway.  Do you  have a tendency to name your creations?  I think most of my art has a name...so I guess maybe each piece is like a child??? or a pet??? lol.

I keep posting a photo of some of my art too.  That is actually why I started this blog, so I think at least one photo with each post sounds right!  Today is a photo of a peek at zine and giftie envy I am making for my upcoming workshop!

Five Days

Five days left on my 29gifts project.  Have you considered doing something like this.  I can tell you, I think it is a great activity!

Last Week

I cannot believe I am down to the last six days of my 29gifts project.  What an interesting idea and activity the gift giving  has been!  The whole month of April has been filled with delight and fun from giving out pieces of myself, some to strangers, some to cyber friends.  I listed some of the places I have sent a package to before and here are some more:  Minnesota, Illinois, Alabama, North Carolina, California, Arkansas, Florida, Australia, United Kingdom, Maryland, New Jersey, Wyoming, and Texas.  Wow!

Primerose, Book, 29gifts

I am working on my textile book.  I put the pages together (6) and added sleeves between them and on the ends.  I cut twigs for uprights from the dogwood and one from a desert bush that has a lovely scent to it.  I glued small polished rocks to the end of the twigs for little feet to hold the book up for viewing.  I was going to add some beads and other ephemera but the pages are already full of business and I think enough is a enough-as W Morris said, "less is more".  I like the way the pages can fold in any direction and so gives the book a new look depending on the folding.  I am definitely going to make another one of these!  I will post a picture soon.

29gifts Days

15-E Hagood

16-L Skelton

17-B Murray

18-B Starrier

19-C Evans

20-A O'Connor

21-B Smith

22-M Roque

More Art From My Past

I have two art projects I am working on right now.  I will be finishing my textile book that I started at retreat.  I am making a zine for my workshop, with an envelope giftie package.  I decorated the envelopes yesterday.  They are looking spiffy!  Oh, and, beyond that, I am planting a flat of pansies today.  A bit of color in the yard will be nice! 

The pictures above are just photo's taken back in the early 90's with a poloroid.  I do believe my photography skills have improved with digital camera capabilities, lol.

SNOW

I made it home from Colorado Springs where I spent two plus delightful days at the Textile Evolution Retreat.  The digs were fabulous including the deer peering in the windows of the classroom, the teachers fabulous, the food fabulous, the snow over whelming!  It snowed the complete time we were there, with maybe a mini sun break once or twice.  The ladies I spent time with were sooooo much fun, and our instructor for the class I took, the talented Laura Cater-Woods (please let me have spelled that name correct!) lead us through some great techniques for making artsy textile books.  Above you see a page as I brought it home, and then the page after arriving home with quilting added.  I will continue to post my progress with this project!  I had a great time and if you get a chance to go next year, I recommend it!

Journaling and Art

This map is a representation of my trip through Blogavania, starting with tip center of unknown land and going clockwise to just learning, then to feeding the curiosity, then stepping into the stream, and finally the heart land, where I heart blogs!  What a trip!

Check out more maps over at the new True North site:  http://collagediva.typepad.com/truenorth/

worth the time!

Retreat and Art

I am posting names of my 29gifts project today rather than tomorrow because tomorrow I will be on a road trip to the Fabric Extrangivansa (or something close to that) Fibre Retreat in beautiful Colorado Springs!  I am excited, I know I will learn some great new techniques!  I will probably be off line for a few days, but will be up and running when I get back!

Here are the names:   Hope you all receive your gift and that you like it!

9-   Jennifer Maroney

10- Tabitha Webber

11- Jinxie Goforth

12-Ariel Bouvier

13-Sandra Taylor

14-Mindy Hartwich

I Think That I Will Never See....

Some doodling I did over the week end...

Quote ATCs

Using qutoes on ATCs... fun art!

Sketches From the Past

Here is some sketches I did many years ago...

Some ATCs Again

I am starting to get some responses on my 29gifts project.  How fun to hear form people that they actually like what I sent.  How hard it is to send a "piece of yourself" to a total stranger, maybe to never know if they hate it, like it, throw it away, give it away.  I am amazed I was able to do this.  I think this is a gift to me... that I took the step to "put my art out there!"  

Shades of White

This seems springy and right for the season.

Art and First Week Giftees

Okay, here is the list of people who should be getting a gift in the mail for my first week of 29gifts!  This project has been so much fun and made me happy!

1. B. Baughman

2. S. Wagner

3. M. Hicks

4. H. Westfall

5. K. Masone

6. J. Hudgins

7. H. MacMicheal

8. T. Kazakevicius

I sent gifts to Florida, California, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Utah this week!  

Lani, in the Resilience and Art group, challenged us to make paper dolls/puppets of ourself at different ages.  These are my results.  A baby, a child, a teen, a young woman, and beyond, lol.

Good news, I am going to be teaching an art class sponsered by one of the local businesses here where I live.  I am excited to do this.  Sharing art is always fun!  

Old ART

I found a box of old photos with some art of mine from the early 90's and a cute pic of my BBF and fave model, Bubba, when he was a baby.  The painting is sorta an American Gothic look of DH's ancestors.  Sorry the photo is so glarey, I have improved on my photography skills a bit since back then, lol.  I will share some more as we go along.

Making stamps

I have to make some fabric ATC cards for "trade items" for a retreat. Having just received the Quilting Arts magazine, and read an article about making your own stamps, I decided to give it a try.  The photo shows the finished ATCs, the charm from my sweet friend Barbara St-----------, which I used for a pattern, some pieces of rubber type tapes I pilfered from my husband's "man type" stashes to make the stamp, and the stamp I used to "print" the cute little swallows!  Yay!

Sketching

Do you have a sketch book, or do you use your art journal?  I am not all that organized... I use whatever is handy.  I have been known to write on walls, if I feel the urge, lol.  I do like to do sketches of "live" models.  My models are not known for  their inertness, which sometimes makes for interesting sketches, lol.

Mandala Affirmation Cards

Over in the Blissful Art or Soul Journal groups, Megan is hosting a mandala affirmation ATC card swap.  I experimented with recycling ABC (already been changed) cards.  Some of them had stenciling, some had drawings cut up from larger drawings, some were from had made or hand painted carts,  etc.  I tried to allow the previous creative parts tell me what to do with the mandalas. Notice the I will listen one... can you see the ear?    This is some of the results.  

To Post or Not To Post

Okay.  If anyone absolutely does not want me to post their name as a recipient of one of my 29gifts, please let me know asap.   Otherwise, I will post a weeks list of persons at a time.  So, next Wed. I will post numbers 1-7, and then the next week 8-14, and so on.

The Giving is Started!

Today, I drew out 29 names from everyone's submissions.  I put the names on the envelopes!  I had so much fun getting the envies ready for the mail.  I will be looking forward to each of the winners responses to their gifts!  I so hope everyone likes what they get!   I don't know, should I announce who will be getting a gift or let it be a surprise?  Well... hmmm...