Experiencing Open Windows

Are you able to open your windows and soak in the great stuff that might filter in?  Over in On TheWing group, someone posted a journal prompt about this.  These are my windows... I might journal a bit in the blue sky.  The quote says Never keep your curtains drawn lest you should miss the glory of the skies.

Home Town Swap

Over in CCS we got up this little collage swap of our home towns.  I have mailed mine off and it should be to the person today so I am showing it to you.  We live in an area with lots of wild life, and indian reservation, dinosaur deposites, lakes, streams, mountains, desert, and lots of other things I had no room to put in the collage.  I received one from a cyber friend in Australia!  Now there they have some interesting animals, and the city looks beautiful!

Mustard

Years ago, spices came in tins!  Now the tins are quite a collectors item.  When my Mom died, I found this tin, the only spice left in her spice drawer that was still in a tin.  It was rather grubby looking as she must have had it for many years.  But it wiped up nicely and now has a home on the top of my dish cupboard along with some tea pots, and other collectibles.  I don't think I would have thought of drawing this if it had not been a prompt over in EDM.  It is a nice little reminder of what a wonderful cook my Mother was.

Thankful

The advantages of having background pages already prepared is that on a day like Thanksgiving, you can do a journal page in a hurry... just a couple of minutes.  This page I just glued some stuff on one time, staying with the purple theme, just what ever I found.  Then, I stenciled the birds on.  It has been in a journal I have been trying to finish up as it is so full and bulky now from so many pages I have completed over the last year or two.  I am definitely going to make my journals with fewer pages from now on, having learned that one big fat journal is not easy to work in and is not easy to scan.  Anyway, I hope you took the time to do some sort of gratitude awareness activity!  We should do these more often!

Practicing Making Artsy Looking Writing!

We were to write something on wavy lines then erase the pencil lines and then to write something on wavy lines and keep the lines.

Slide Mount Efforts

Have you played with slide mounts or coin protectors?  There are so many things you can do with them.  If you scroll back about a hundred posts or so, (hehe) you will see some jewelry I made using slide and coin mounts, wire, beads, collage, all the stuff you know about. Actually, if you look at the lower left corner of each of these photo's, you will see a couple there.
 Now, recently, in our book study, we are playing around with the little "picture frames" so we can use them in our journals, or on cards, or whatever.  Many are painting them, as I did for the jewelry, but this time, I decided to use some of my papers, since I have so much in my paper stashes.  The thing that is fun about these is that the tiniest little piece of ephemera can be just the perfect element to give them the pizzazz they ask for!  Fun project!

Drawing Practice

My intention to draw everyday to improve my drawing skills did not stick!  For one thing is finding the things that are suggested over in EDM takes time and effort.  I have been a bit off my game lately.  I have a foot that makes me not want to walk much, so I try to stay off it as much as possible.  I have been wearing these soft slipper shoes, camo colored.  So, those are what I did for the "draw a shoe" prompt.  I hope I will soon be able to forget the foot and the shoes!
And another prompt, "draw a coffee pot" I had to go out to the garage and dig the coffeepot out from amongst the camping equipment.  We used to camp lots.  And we always kept a campfire going and there was always this pot, full of coffee, sitting on the rocks by the campfire, hot and ready to go for anyone who wanted a cup!  Such lovely memories.  If you have time, why not pull up a memory and do some journaling about it?

A Journal Spread

This is a two page spread.  I am not happy with the writing.  Last night I decided I would gesso it out and try again.  Usually, when I try something like that I ruin the thing.  I like how the background looks like morning light and I don't know if I will be able to recreate that.  The one with both pages was automatically stitched in my photo computer program.  My very first effort at this.  The program probably would have let me move the two photos around a bit or something but I was just relived it put them together and didn't notice the missing parts, lol.  My journey through the e stuff is very consistant of my age...slow!

Cloth Paper

  How you make paper cloth,  if you don't already know, is you cover a piece of muslin with watered down glue and thenwith paper, just like making a collage.  Then colorize it some way with all your art stuff.  Then, you are supposed to sew on it then make things out of it.  My cloth paper is very stiff... they say it depends on the glue you use.  As, most of you probably know, I use what ever is available in my studio at the time.  I guess in this case, it actually does matter and you have to be picky.  I think some of the ladies over in mmartfriends group said the best glue for this is SOBO.  And it helps if you leave a bit of space between the papers too.  But, I ended up with pieces that are as stiff as heavy water color paper.  I made a fish, YUCK!  So, I threw the stuff on a shelf waiting for inspiration to hit about what to make with this odd stiff stuff.  Finally, I decided to use some pieces to decorate an old journal.  I covered the cover with thick black acrylic paint and then just sorta set the squares into it, kinda like laying tile.  I think the book is much more attractive now.  The cloth has interesting colors.  Let me see now, I think I have enough cloth paper to maybe cover a thousand journals... yep, it was that fun making the stuff!

Art Quilts

Last late winter early spring, Quilting Arts asked for some "Rock On" mini quilts.  These are the ones I sent.  This was a fun challenge for me, the quilts being only 8.5 X 11 inches.  The Still Rockin one I consider a self portrait, lol.  The Groovin 45's made from vynal.  The zetti a result of having just been involved with a zetti zine swap.  I only just this week got these returned to me in the mail.  Now, I will use them for something... but what?

Photo Play

In one of the book study groups there is a section on what you can do with real photos, not scans of photos.  So, I had these extra prints of Lake Tahoe which we visited several summers ago, and gave them the suggested treatments.  I really did not like this activity.  I really do not foresee me using this in any of my art.  If I had to pick one or two that I thought was successful... the marker enhanced one and the sanding.  I ended up sanding on some of the others, just because I did not like how they looked after their treatment.  You might want to use these ideas IF you get like double prints or something and then you are wondering, what shall I do with these extras.  I have cut up some old poloroids and used in my art, like on an ATC or something, but not too much.   I used to tell my students, who would be freaking out because their art was not perfect... "art is supposed to be imperfect... if you want perfection, take a photo!"  Photos and I are not what I would call, best buddies, lol.

Moon Drawing

You know how they say people get weird when there is a full moon?  I am not sure if that is true but one thing that made me feel weird was an EDM prompt:  Draw a Moon.  I don't know, how much is there to drawing a moon?  A circle, a bit of shading, yellow... But, I decided to give it the old one two!  I just played around with it.  I have to say, it is rather pathetic as far as art goes, but maybe, one day, I will journal on this page.  I used a pencil, inktense pencils, watercolor pencils, pens, etc.  I wanted her to look like she was peeking out of the clouds but that didn't work out so well.

Woolycat

After I got involved with making the woolycrows, someone posted a pic of a cat they had made.  I am sure that there are all kinds of "cuties" out there to be made.  I had to try my hand with the cat.  I still want to experiment more with these.  They are fun and cute.  Working with the wool after it is felted is so easy and fun.  Have you tried it?  I am hooked.  Old 100% wool pieces picked up at yard sales and thrift shops turned into something fun!  Last week, I found a bright red long coat and the felted wool is lovely now that it has been washed and smells so fresh.  Now red, would make a beautiful........

Creative Lettering

I find it interesting how a spark (idea) spreads a fire though out all the artsy blogs.  Seems like creative minds want to know about any creative idea.  Right now, the spark has started a flame about creative lettering and using words in your art.  This is a journal page I just did to incorporate words... it is in reference to having to kiss some of your dreams, one by one, good bye, as you get older and realize it was not really what you wanted after all...

Red Cedar Berries

The berries on my red cedars are so eye catching.  They look so blue against the green twigs of the red cedars.  The cedar waxwings come every fall and make sure not one berry is left on the branches!  I love sitting in my studio room looking out the window and watching these fascinating birds with their topknots and bright yellow stripe on their tales.  They will all fly in and perch on another tree, then some of them will fly to the cedars while the others take turn on look out.  They flit back and forth taking turns until one of them gives and alert, then they all fly off in a group, circling and weaving through the skies, then eventually returning to the look out tree to start the cycle again.  I wanted to catch the blues of the berries with this scanner art picture, but as with anything, nothing looks as beautiful second hand as it does in the original.  But, it is a nice scan anyway...

Sketch Journal Pages

One thing I have discovered over in EDM is that you can draw anything and then enjoy viewing what you draw.  It is also interesting to me to see the drawings after they are scanned.  A good close up view on the computers reveals your drawing skills like nothing else!  Like how afraid you are to make that strong line here, and how un practiced you are on perspectives, and how something might look okay on the drawing but the scan shows the teeny details of how you hid that goof up!  And how a bit of color helps the overall look of things.  The tissue box was color enhanced with inktense and water color pencils.  My mug of tea was drawn using graphitint pencils, so I get to workout some of my art supplies as well.
 I need to round up some more mundane things to draw... there is only a list, I think up to around 250 suggestions!  

ABC ATCs for November

I don't know, is it a good thing or a bad thing to "pre-post" something you are sending for a swap?  These are my E for Earth ATCs for the month of November.  I really like them.  What more can I say?  I hope the swappers will like them too!

Found Things to Play With

This past season during the yard sale mall shopping, I bought this roll of paper.  It caught my eye because the paper is soft and embossed, quite nice almost like a napkin, and I think it was probably lacy looking table coving.  I picked up the 39 inch long roll, felt the paper, looked at it's texture and thought "I could do something cool with this."  I made an offer that I do not remember and they accepted so I brought it home.

 Over in mmartfriends group, we are doing a book study on the book Stitch Alchemy by Kelli Perkins and I tried using some of this paper on some paper cloth.  I tried using it once before on a collage a while back.  What happened is the embossing disappears once you "wet" the paper with glue or acrylics.  :>((  I was disappointed in my find.  But, a couple of days ago I thought, there must be a way to enhance the embossing so it would show up!  So, I played... I rubbed some pieces with pencils and  crayon, I tried dry brushing with acrylic paint, I tried chalks and oil paintsticks, and finally charcoal which I like the best!  The color was added mostly with liquid watercolors.  Now, I have lots more pieces of paper to add to my collages.

What kinds of "art supplies" do you like to play with?

Practicing

This is some "adding color to your pages" practices from the book study I am doing over in A.R.T.  I started the 3X5 in cards, then switched to one of my journals as I thought I might just as well have full pages ready to journal in.  Then, I switched back to the cards, thinking, it would be nice to have them to refer to.  I mostly just work intuitively, doing what feels right in the moment, so I don't know if I will ever refer to these, but they do have people I care about on them so will probably do something with them eventually, even if it is just to cut them up!  You know me, I recycle even my worst mistakes to make something better out of them!  Do you cut up your old stuff to make new stuff?
Well, I had fun playing with these cards and the journal pages.  The next thing we will try... altering photos by burning, scratching, drawing, painting... should be fun too!

Sagebrush Scanner Art

A very kind reader of my blog left me a comment with a link on my earlier and first attempt at scanner art.  Because of the what he said and the link, I jumped up off my fave chair, threw my laptop on the side table, ran out of the back door to the big sagebrush bush I have growing at the bottom of the deck stairs, broke off three pieces of the sage, ran back into the house, closed the blinds on the window in the room where my scanner sets, placed the sage on the scanner, and gave scan art another try.  The lighter background is just the sage scanned, the dark one is with a sheet of black paper over it.
 I love my sages, they have the most remarkable pungent smell to them.  and since I have live amongst them, I have discovered they bloom.  The blooms, you can see them in the scan, are so miniature you have to really look close to see them.  The sages and their smell always remind me of younger and happy days of camping with my extended family members, all together in October... enjoying the fall Indian Summer Days with people you love!  What things take you back to happy memories?

Art Journaling

Over in the blissful art journal group, there has been quite a convo going on about books.  Wow, I thought I was hooked on books, but I have discovered there are worse addicts than me out there. LOL  This is a page I had designated as a page for book journaling and this is the result.

This page is about my littlest car girl.  She came to spend the day with me and fell with a folding step stool and mashed and cut her fingers.  It was so bad, I had to take her to the emergency room.  After Xrays confirmed no broken bones, stitches to sew the finger end back on and a hole drilled in the thumbnail was the next step.  While we waited for this, one of the emergency people printed off a paper copy of the Xray for me.  I used the print out to journal about the whole horrifying mess.   I saw her today, and she has had the stitches out, the thumb doesn't even look like it was mashed, the other finger looks lots better than what was expected.  This Grandma is grateful it is not as bad as she thought!

Yard Sale Mall Shopping

You know I am the queen of shopping at what I call the "Yard Sale Mall."  I have been shopping at yard sales so long, it is a habit, kind of like creativity... making a habit of doing something creative everyday.  Except yard sales happen mostly on week ends so you do it once a week from like middle of March until about the end of October.  I find some fabulous finds, some great finds, unusual finds, art supply finds, so many things at prices I am willing to pay.  Today, I am showing you an old leather snap shot photo that I believe someone had when they were stationed in Hawaii right about the time I was born.  It is small and the snap shots are about 3 X 4 inches, maybe a bit smaller.  Since I am doing the Lynne Perrella book study over in A.R.T. the photos caught my eye for some I could "alter."  Twenty five cents and it came home with me!

EDM Drawings

Are you creating everyday?  As you know, I am trying to hone up my drawing skills.  When I started, drawing felt rather uncomfortable, well, it still does.  

Sometimes I fail terribly... as in the camera pen drawing.  Angles and perspective is all wrong so it looks deformed.  I don't know why.  I seem to need to try to "study up" on drawing boxes, which is what this is basically.  I think I talk myself out of doing a good representation when it comes to angles on anything boxy.   

Drawing the glove was rather easy... just flowing lines for the most part.  This glove has a couple of holes in it from my last early summer playing in the yard with the rocks.

The organized chaos I like.  It is amazing what a bit of color does, isn't it?

Session Two

(Rap rap rap).  Attention.  ATTENTION!  Please settle down, ladies.

I know how excited you are to see the rest of the designs!  Is there any business we need to take care of before we continue?
No?
Well, okay let's welcome our next model

Mz Brown is wearing a brown sateen dress with chenille swirls and matching pill box hat.

Hmmm, this rather reminds me of the cover on swallowcliff's foot stool.

Oh, well, sorry about that remark.

And our next lovely lady...

She is wearing a lovely matched ensemble of electric blue fabric that reminds me of....

well, a rain coat. But, it is still lovely on her, don't you think?

Excuse me please.  I have an announcement.  The board of the Carolsville Ladies Garden Club has decided to not extend the show into three sessions, so this session will last a little longer and it will be the last one.  Please bear with us!

Okay, so here is our  grand finale... the whole group together!  Aren't they just luscious looking "tomatoes!"

We would expecially like to thank our sweat shirt and jeans girl for all her behind the scenes help!

Ohhhh, thank you so much, it was nothing really!  I only had to sort through scraps, plug in the hot glue gun, find the sissors, well... you know just general stuff....

And our last order of business for our show... a big thanks to all our sponsers!

*Note:  the models this year turned out to be much bigger than last year's group.  The board believes this is due to more precipitation during the growing season. Watch for the next annual meeting in Fall of 2010