A New Goal!

I decided I need to upgrade my drawing abilities. You know, if you don't use it, you lose it really does apply here. I am going to try to draw something everyday. Just a small sketch. Here is my first of hopefully many! Sigh.

I am also sewing. I started with a piece of muslin. Then added strips of fabric to that to make a sort of log cabin type pieced piece. Eventually this will be a sofa pad for my new sofa. Just a bit of protection from my dog, my cat, and myself, lol.

Stripey Man

My friend Lin, over in CCS, and I decided to swap images. I sent her a scan of what we later named Au Natural, and she sent me stripey man.

Have you tried swapping images? You can get some great stuff for your collages that way.

Using My Heads

From some magazines, I cut out all these faces thinking I would start a little file for future use. I am always looking for ways to organize, lol! But, instead of filing them, I decided to use them. I change my mind a lot it seems. Like yesterday, thanks to comments from Poetic Dreams and others, I was going to give pastels another try. So, I go out to my garage studio to do that, dug out some papers, went to my work table and decided I needed to straighten up the area a bit. So, I spent most of my time doing that. Then, as I was digging out some paper before, I found some paper bit and pieces that I had saved from some where that had nice texture. So, I thought I would quickly mount them into my journals. I do that at times. I add stuff to my journal pages when I can like stamping, extra paint, etc. Then, when and if I get round tuit, the pages are ready to go. I love preparing journals, but I don't spend a whole bunch of time journaling. Right now, I am trying to commit to doing better with that. Art journaling is fun and it is therapeutic. Today, I am trying to think of how to do the promt "Kindred Spirit(s)."

Shaping Us

A bit of stenciling, laminating (edge) and some mag pics and a saying. Rather simple in design. I have always quoted William Morris with his "Less is More" thoughts. I think this will end up in a personal journal... there is room to write here! I just finished this a couple of days ago. I had lots of "heads" I have cut and torn out of the magazines and wanted to use them. One was a full page and is what I used for the stencil.

Most of my "projects" are finishing up. Now I need to sign up for some more. I hope my groups come up with something fun soon! Any good swaps going on that you know of?

Pastel Nightmare

I have had this collection of pastels like forever. I run on to them every once in a while when I am looking for something else, ya know? And I tell myself "you should do some pastel art or something" then I move on to something else. But one day last week, I decided I would give these guys a try. I have never had any instruction with pastels, and never had much luck making something that looks good with them either. But, I grabbed a piece of paper, in this case paper canvas, and decided to give it the old one two. This is the result. I think I want to layer the chalks, and they get muddy looking on me. I have accepted that detail has to be on the light side with these sticks. Oh, I don't know... this is just not something I love. SIGH (She looks as happy as I did as I worked on her, lol)

Burning

I wet an old book paper and smooshed into a ceramic piece that had this little angel holding onto a lion. When it dryed the angel and lion were embossed on the page. So, I then layed her on the cement floor and burned her with the heat gun. Then I mounted her onto the journal page. Since, an underlying theme was "color" I used chalks to add some color. She sort of disappeared so I used a china marker to try to pull her image back out. Not a real succcessful attempt here. The other page was a title page I crumpled up a couple of times and then burned it and colored it. Another bummer. Oh, well, one must keep trying!

Bags

Over in 14 Secrets the "Lost Marbles" swap is rolling (he he) right along. I made these little mini bags to put the marbles I found in to protect them a bit while they roll around from destination to destination. They are made from a hand woven wool piece.

Walk in Someone's Shoes

You remember this saying, don't you? If you had to walk in someone else's shoes, what insight would you get from that experience?

When you pick an element to play with, does it invoke a memory of something like this saying? When I was cutting out the little bird, for some reason the walk in some one's shoes kept playing in my head so that had to be put into the piece. This is another experimentation, which I did in my junk journal. I used bees wax, crayons, an old iron, and an exacto knife.

The experiment told me something. I really need to find that article in one of the sommerset magazines on doing encaustic painting! This piece is okay, but I am sure there are some better ways of doing things with this!

Experimentation

Remember the "binder" I found at a yard sale for $2? Well, I bound some scrap papers together just to see how it worked. This picture is the little mini journal result. The covers are actually some pre printed pellon that I found in a yard sale fabric buy. I colored it by spraying it with water, then adding acrylics to it. The woven piece is also a yard sale found something... I have no idea what it was to be but there were about six of these. I found them interesting so have been incorporating pieces into my art. I decided I would just use this "junk" journal for experimentation of ideas. I want to try some encaustic efforts, pastels, stuff like that. I think I can really play since it will be in a journal that is just... well... an experiment! SIGH.

WTJ pages

Here are a couple of pages of string doodling.  This was rather fun.  I learned the longer the string the harder it is to doodle with it!  Also, very short strings are hard to doodle with too!  I think I might have learned that string doodling could be added to a mixed media piece.  Have you tried this?  I just used white glue to doodle then followed the glue lines with the string mooshing it into the glue a bit with a dowel.  

ATC Swap

Over in 14 Secrets I am involved in an ongoing A B C ATC swap.  We are doing C is for color this month.  Here is the cards I colorfully made. They are Color Me Happy cards!  SIGH

Art Stamps Swap

If you have been here before, you might remember when I was making art stamps for a swap over in 14 Secrets group?  Well, the stamps were swapped out and here are the ones I received!  Aren't they just fun and gorgeous?  I have already used one as I mailed out some ATCs for an ABC swap with the same group.  

Yellow Packing Tape

One day as I was poking about in the "scratch and dent" store, I found this roll of interesting tape.  It looked golden, but when I unwrapped some, it was more like the clear packing tape but a bright yellow.  Well, I had to bring a roll home.  I dug out some prints and gave the yellow tape a try at packing tape transfers.  The photo shows some transfers stuck on a cutting board.  One day they will find their way into a collaged piece of art.  Some of them already adorn some luggage tags for some zines!  SIGH....

Remember the wildlife quilt blocks?  (The top photo)

We live in the middle of a sportsman's paradise and wild life enthusiast's heaven. 

This morning my DH woke me to "come see the deer!"  I quickly took a couple of snaps through the window... not very good photos but you can see the deer!

And the last photo?  The finished artsy quilt for my very first great grand son born the first week of September... the quilt ready to take to the elk, deer, camps! 

 My son was seven days old when he went to deer camp the first time, my DD about ten months for her first.  They still love to camp and so do all of their kids, and now the greats are being initiated too!  lol.

Collaborative Art

Seth, the talented and inspiring author of the Altered Page (see right side bar for link) always has something and collaborative fun going on. He shared this Ladies interesting site, and she had a fun collaborative piece of art happening. What you have to do is take a picture of a tree three times over the next few months to see how time and change affects the tree. So, today, although a bit late, I am posting my first photo of the tree I chose. I so loved the idea of this, and I may not even be involved in her activity officially, but I am going to do it anyway. The first photo had to be end of summer/ the next one will be, I think early November, and then there will be one more later in the Winter. I love this idea, thanks Seth for another interesting idea! You can check out other's tree posts by copying this link: http://lostluggage.typepad.com/the_land_of_lost_luggage/2009/08/getting-arboreal-a-nature-collection.htmlt

Don't you think this is a fun project?

And Then There Were Two Collages

Here are the last two collage photos. (Well, the example one's anyway.) I am sure I will soon be doing more in the future but not so many at a time!
Today seems like a perfect day to go play in the studio. It rained in the night and today is cloudy and overcast. Kind of a gray day. And a bit cooler too. My best friend and favorite model, my old dog, Bubba, is curled up next to me trying to stay warm. I can add some color to the day by doing some art! Art has a way of bringing sunshine and happiness into your life, I think. At least for me. What kind of things do you do to cheer up a day?

Change of Pace

My good friend and great ceramist, Ronda, answered my call for help last summer when I asked her to make me some marbles. She made these in where she lives and somehow got them to me a week or so ago. Just in time for a swap I am involved in. Believe me, the scan does not do the lovely raku look justice. I love looking at and feeling these guys! I am not supposed to show them quite yet, but I really really wanted to say "Thanks!" to Ronda and what better way to do that then posting a picture? I understand some of these were wrapped in horse tail hair before their final heat bath (kilning.) Hey, THANKS Ronda!

Number 11

Okay, another collage. Have you figured out what I am doing yet? I spent the whole month of August doing these collages. Collages are fun to make. I actually did these with no theme in mind... just worked intuitively! Most of them I like. You have seen almost all of them! I used papers, magazines, computer print-outs, crayons, water colors, inktense, matte medium, you know, all the standard collage supplies.

I have several new things to show you but I really do want to finish up the collages first. Is that okay? I hope so! I have received two new swap returns to show. You are going to like them! And I continue to work on a marble swap and zine swap. I might give you a sneak peek at those. And, yesterday, I painted some fantastic envelopes and I hope to add a bit more decorating to them too. And today, I picked up some darling mini cards/envelopes at a yard sale. Do you decorate envies? Well, today again another collage, but I will be posting some thing new soon! You will stay with me won't you?

Collage #10

This morning, I did my usual weekly "artist's date." (yard sales). I found a few pieces of ephemera I will use in my art one day. Nothing fabulous, however. I stopped by to visit with my only surviving sibling, and only brother, which was something new. So, today, I will work on my Corn Moon vision board, and a couple of other projects.
JUst a few more collages to show you!

Number 9

Right now I am working on putting a bit of writing into some zines. I am not sure if my zines are even worth swapping! I am having major doubts! I hate it when this happens. I just have to go on with them as I don't have time to start new ones. SIGH majorally!

Visiting Crows

I just have to show you the crows that visited me for a week or so. There were actually maybe a dozen but I could only get focused on these. The stayed around and played on my cliffs for a few days. Now, all that is left is the photos. Crows are very interesting birds, and much bigger in real life then I realized. And, they are noisy!

Just A Reminder

Today, my photo and art prompt is up on 365 Prompts site. Here is the link: http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/365/pictures.html or just scroll down on the right hand column to find it.

Back From The Mountains

I had such fun camping in on the Mountain with my family.  What a great way for the opportunity to just concentrate on the important people in your life!  I am so blessed to have had this time and experience!  Sigh!

Number 7

I am leaving for a few days camping trip but will be back on Tues.!

Number 6

Remember... these collages are just "samples" for ideas... not really "keeper" art.  Sigh.

Back to My Zine Collages-#5

I have been doing some other things but wanted to show you all my collages, so a few days of collages interspersed with other art!  Sigh!

#3

No, not number three collage, but my third Great Grandkid!  So, I thought I would make him a typical family type quilt.  I have been working on it for a bit today so thought I would show you the blocks.  LOL... we all love to camp, and watch wild life, and you are never to young to start that don't you know!  lol.  I had this yardage with lots of big animals printed on so I backed them with some iron on interfacing, cut them out, sandwiched them with some polar fleece and the quilt block,  then free motion quilting.  Set the blocks together with some soft flannel, and I am ready to put the quilt top to the backing.  Sigh!