Another View

My family all loaded up in trucks and drove to one of our high mountain canyons for the purpose of viewing this special dam, which is overflowing.  This was a news making dam when it was built because of its location and its purpose to force water through a mountain tunnel to the main metropolitan area of our state, for their culinary use.  The waverly overflow is beautiful, as is the mist that results from the water falling.  This has only happened a couple of times since the dam was built.  Today, a warning in the news paper... do not eat the fish from here, too much murcury!

In Progress Work

I have had these vintage ecrue colored napkins.  They have an unusual feel to them.  When I tried to collage them onto something, they disappear!  So, I put them in a tray, sprayed them with water, dropped some thinned acrylic paint onto them to give them a bit of color.  When I put them on the pages, they now show up.  They have scalloped edges.  Once I had them on the pages they reminded me of wings... so I added a body to them using a cut out I had for a pattern, added heads and dresses.  Angel 1 I have enhanced with charcoal and graphite.  I also enhance with water colors.  I don't know yet what other layers I will add.  Still playing.....

Game Box+Patio

My randomly laid brick patio in progress

I picked this game box up at a yard sale.  It has two game boards on etched glass inside.  It has glass chessmen and glass checkers too, two sets of dice, cards, all the stuff you need to play games.  But, it was a rather dark and ugly color outside, so I have been painting on it, thanks to the lovely influence of a lady that goes by the name of "epiphines of an art girl"  on twitter and facebook.  She has a blog too.  She makes the most amazing and fun decorated boxes!  This is not a completed project yet...still working on it!

A Childhood Memory

I had the breath so knocked out of me when I thought I was big enough to swing as high as I could then let go.  My plan was to land on my feet like Tarzan!  LOL

Just For Fun

This is  left and right pages from a journal... just for fun!  

Organizing Artistically

Do you sometimes think...whew, I gotta get rid of something around here so I can breathe?  That's where I have been lately.  So, every day I think...I will organize and I will remove anything that I will never use!  And the other stuff I will sort so I can find what I want when I want it!  So, out to my "garage" studio I went, pulled out a few drawers of paper, sorting them into decorative paper handmade, deco paper commercial, hand decored papers, card stock, ephemera large and ephemera smalls, letters and numbers, patterns and plains.  This works for about maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, and then something just flips a switch in me, and I sorta just float off into an "artistic' fog.  For example, I was sorting my "sayings" from my "alphabets".  And I have this journal that is so full but still had some empty pages.  So, I thought I would just pick a saying at random and paste on each empty page, then I would art journal according to the saying.  So, now I have pages that say things like "explore, change your power, choose sides, very funny, relax and have fun, eighth moon, fetish, chocolate, born to, the moment..."  Then I was sorting some pictures I had so I was trying to add pictures to the saying pages that matched.  Then I decided to gesso some pages and so rounded up all my "in process" journals so I could do pages in all to have them ready to go.  So goes my organizing... it is so much more fun to create than organize.  LOL

Visitors To My Rock Wall

This is the biggest fly I have EVER seen.  It was over an inch long!



The middle car girl and her friend enjoys a snack, and the view of the valley from the rock wall.  I love, love, love this picture!

serendipity and sychronicity theme

Over in True north Arts there is an art challenge going on.  You have to do something dealing with serendipity and sychronicity theme.  I have like forever, had problems with spelling these two words.  I usually just do the best I can with (sp?) after them, which I feel sorta covers my @&$ for the spelling.  I think I first become aware of these words through Julia Cameron books, about nine or so years ago.  I know that this happens, because it has happened to me.  But as far as being able to give an exact example here, I just can't remember one.  But, if you would like to share your experiences with serendipity and sychronicity theme you can find the True North Arts link on the right of this blog, just scroll down to it!  PS-the reason the words are spelled correctly for this blog?  Because I copied them from True North and pasted them here, lol. (and sigh)

My Yard Rocks!

                                             A Map?

           This actually is a wasps nest inside a holey rock.

                                            Stripes.

     Well, of course there has to be a piece of wood now and then.

                                            Mottled.

                               Stripes and showdows.

     The growth is actually part of the rock. ???

                                                 Topo up.

                                       Topo sideways.

I thought some of the texture on some of the rocks on my rock wall would make nice backgrounds.  If you want to use them go ahead.  Just come on back and tell us where we can go view your use of them.  Inquiring minds want to know, you know?  Sigh...

Dots

Here is a connect the dots drawing.  The dots, I think, were put on the page at random.  I just connected some and this is the result!  This was fun!

Another View

Here is a photo I took of our mountains as the rain clouds were starting to disappear. 

Poke A Frog

My mother used to say this to me.  I am not sure why now.  I think she was meaning that if one gets "irratated" or "poked" enough times, one will "do something" or "jump."  I was out in my garden a few days ago and a small toad was playing there, and he reminded me of this saying so here is the results.

Names

A prompt from one of the sites I visit was to do a piece of art about "how you feel about your name."  I know many people don't like their name.  And when we were little, sometimes we chose a new name.  I always wished I was named something else as a child at school there were so many girls named Carol we all had to add our second name so all us Carols would know which Carol someone was talking to.  As I have gone about life, I have found that almost everything I do and everywhere I go, there is always another Carol....

New Day

I am still practicing trying to make my "drawings" look more whimsical and elfin looking.  I think I have improved but I really have to work at it!  Just need more practice practice practice!  Since I scanned this page I have add the words "Everyday new day is a new beginning."

Ugly Is...

I made the doodles and kept thinking "how ugly this page is."  Then, I remembered a saying people used when I was younger... so I added it to the page.  This is just all so ugly....

Blue/Green

Back to my art journaling~as I watch TV, I draw.  This was in a response to the prompt of              " something you like about yourself".  

The Last Ones

Here is the last of my depression glass journal pages.  Tomorrow...who knows what will turn up!

Glass Again

Yep, today and tomorrow and you will have viewed all the pages I have in my documenting journal.  These are mostly examples, not all, of the glass I have.  And the funny thing about my collection is that I really collect GREEN!  The pink was just an aside.  I never even tried to do the green glass documentation.  Collecting seems to become addictive, and in my case spread to collecting other things too.  And you never know when you might find a piece to add to your collection!

Misery

I decided to put myself and you out of misery and post several of my depression glass documentation journal pages (whew what a mouthful) at once.  

Today, in my place, it is rainy and cold... I have a room heater on for gosh sakes!  I am not very active because of this.  I have been working on a hand made journal using file folders.  Interesting concept.  I will have to see if I like the folders to work on now, not that I am that particular when it comes to substrates.  I will post a scan, once it is completed.

Gifts

We  get to share many gifts as artists.  My special friend Barbara St.... sent me this lovely gothic arch!  It just arrived in the mail with no fanfare and for no reason.  Gifts like these are so awesome!  Thanks Barbara!

And today, another journal page showing my glass collection.  I have been working on some art projects but nothing is turning out!  Waaaaaaaaaaaa!

Buzz??

Our extraodinarily rainy and cloudy spring and summer weather has a somewhat "downer" affect on my spirit.  I am a sunshine person, all the way!  My creativity has also been down.  Hmmm... I usually feel like I have to create something everyday.  I still have those feelings but don't seem to find something that gives me "that buzz".  You know the one where you start to create and it is just there, buzzing, and you get lost in your creativity?  It happens to me when I am excited about what I am doing, or if I have a visual in my head, or if I am trying to cypher out how to get a certain result to my art.  Not happening right now.... But, I have these old journal pages, which I am sharing while I wait for a new buzz to start!

Kill Two Birds

I have collected Depression Glass since 1963.  I thought, a few years back that I "should" document what and where I collected pieces.  I decided drawing the pieces would be a good way to " kill two birds," I would get some drawing practice and document my collection at the same time.  I made several pages before I gave up on this idea.  At first it was interesting and fun to try to draw the pieces and make them look transparent and have the right color.  But, that ended after not too many pages, as it began to be too much like doing the same thing over and over, which I detest.  I almost never never never, repeat something I do, I need a newness and uniqueness to most things.  One of the reasons I don't go to art and crafts fairs, by the way is the repetitiveness of the venders, with tables covered up in the exact same creations.  I will show you the pages I did draw on this abandoned journey now and then.  

I Wish....

Did you ever just take a piece of paper or card stock out, lay it on your art table and just start working on a collage and something evolves?  That is what happened with this.  The first layer is some vintage napkins torn and placed with matte medium.  I had the I wish and stars torn out from a mag.  And, I had the old woman from a mag cover.  I gessoed out her face, gave it a flesh color then used pencil for the facial details.  Then I just grabbed one of my stash boxes and added things that seemed  to fit or that seemed to balance the over all look of the composition.  A bit of conte crayon and some liquid chalk was used to unify the over all look.  I don't know,  if I like this yet or not.  I need to do some new projects, I am about out of scans to show you!!

My View

As I have been "playing" in front of the TV with my colored pencils, besides glancing at the TV once in a while, I also get to see out the family room window what you see in my drawing.  Nature and natural environs are supposed to be good for your soul, and I believe that is so.