Mixed Art

Three more pieces of art.

Have you noticed?  I am doing a daily mandala... (almost daily).  This number 7!

A journal page about what I love in this world...good food, good books and art!

A stenciled face from a magazine cover.  I really like her.  

I have been trying to cut back on the busy-ness of my art journal pages and my art.  Getting back to less is more.  All those layers in mixed media might be just a bit much for me!  I am an over achiever I guess so I over paste, glaze, draw, and such to the point of the whole thing being too BUSY!  I decided to leave some areas for journaling, and bwa la, I liked them better that way.  Space.  Some day I will write on the stencil face.  Right now, I like her bare!

Accidental Art

Have you had something happen unexpectedly when you are doing your art or art journal?  One of those "happy little accidents?"  I have.
About two or three weeks ago, I noticed a piece of tape on the writing of a vintage book.  I pulled it off and the writing came with the tape.  It made me think, what if.  What if I put a stencil on the page and covered the open spot with tape, so I tried it.  I like the kinda fuzzy edges it leaves on the blank spot.  I made several pages, some with hearts since it was getting close to that time of the year, and some with birds, since I have fun bird stencils.  The pages I was able to use on a couple of collages.  Interesting.  Play around with it and see how you like it.

The other happy little accident happened today.  I gave my "glossy project" embroidered piece a gesso wash. Then I immediately painted it in red and green, for some reason.   I left it on one of those cheap kitchen mats you can buy in the dollar store... I use them for under mats for my art work.  I left it to dry, and when I pulled it off, the embroidery piece made a "shadow print".  I made a copy of it so I can use it some where some day.  Then, I sprayed the matt and brayed a piece of scrap book paper onto the almost dry gesso shadow print and left it to dry to the paper... I will see what happens.  Maybe nothing, but you never know.  Anyway, here is the scan of the shadow print:

Daily Journaling Art

Just some journal pages.

An average day....and I had all these bug stickers that needed a new home!

Thinking about crazymakers as explained by TAW....

Using up some scraps... I had the hair left after using a face from sometime in the past, lol.

Mermaid Art And...

I work in journals sometimes when I have nothing in mind.  I just smear paint around and play, and add some pics.  I had this two page spread with background watery color and some ships.  Some map tape I wanted to see how it would work on pages.  That is as far as it got.  So. when I found this sea creatures/mermaid prompt from one of my groups, I flipped through some pages and found the pre pepped page.  I really had not thought of making a mermaid but as you know, sometimes things just happen.  I just made her to fit between what was there.  Mergames...

Her hair is actually sparkley but you know scanners...

And playing with some hand carved stamps !

Black Background and Mandalas Art

Some one posted a prompt to use bleach.  Sorry, I can't remember where.  But I found a couple of journals that had black pages.  One had heavy card and one just heavy paper.  I used a brush dipped in bleach to draw on them.  The paper did not bleach very well.  The card one hardly at all, the paper one a bit more.  But, not enough to see it well.  So, I dug out the gel pens, something I haven't played with for quite a while.  I made a page on the card for "The Year of the Rabbit" and on the paper "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  The gel pens saved the pages!

And doing a seed mandala every day this week is starting to make a difference in the mandalas shape and look.

Gel pens on the last one... I had forgotten how much fun it was to play with them!

An Experiment and Journaling Art

I had this idea that a person is like an onion... maybe you have read or thought of this too.  I wanted to make an "onion" head.  Here is what I ended up with...

This is pretty close to what I had in mind.  I could give each layer a name...

Another journal prompt from BAJ...

Some rubber stamp play from today play with collage lab....

Some fabric birds I am working on....

And a new mandala for the WPS....

Art Journals Art

I belong to several groups that throw out art prompts.  I do those that I want to do.  Today, a few new pages.

From the Creative EveryDay blog, January prompt is Cosmos.  I used the moon from last years vision/dream board and rubber stamps.

From the Traveling Artist's Guild blog, and ee commings poem.  I used a copy of a mandala from last year, and a photo copy of an experiment on the many layers of a person, rubber stamps, pen.

From the Traveling Artist's Guild, the Higher Place.  I used colored tissues and pen, and tape transfers.

From the Wild Prescious Studio, portrait of your Artist.  I used sharpie markers.

From WPS, Mandala from seed Day 1.  Sharpie markers, # 2 pencil.

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From WPS, Mandala from a seed Day 2.  Sharpie, brush tip markers, metallic mechanical pencils.

From WPS, self protrait via Pam Carriker.  Photo copy, sepia pencils, sepia charcoal, 

From WPS, Standing in Your Truth.  Collage, stamping, perm pen.

From WPS, Teesha Moore inspired.  Collage, unfinished...

Many fun journaling prompts out there, are you doing some?

TAG Group Prompt Cards Art Again!

Here are some more of the prompt cards I am doing.  I rather enjoy doing these.  I have to play with them and see how they spark my writings... if they do.  I say that cuz I am not really a writer, so if they spark any writing at all that will be... well, remarkable! lol...  I like doing the cards, I do not like writing.  And actually, I do not read much of what is written on other peoples blogs... I view the art and I am out of there.  I suspect there are others like me too!

Organizer Art

Some time during Dec. and after the first of the year, I panicked!  OMG I thought!  I don't have enough art projects to keep me entertained like I like to be entertained!  The after the first of the new year, all these new ideas, groups, projects started up on the net.  I am usually not impetuous, but after having a so called "drought" of projects, I jumped in to several groups and projects.  I was and am happy.  But, now, six weeks into the year, I have found some confusion happening in my retired mind... meaning since I don't have to I don't function on as on top of things level as I used to do when I worked.  I used to be good at multi tasking but am getting rather out of the habit... more layed back sort of thing.  The confusion, however bothered me.  So, one day, I thought about the task bins I used to have at work... a bin for each task.  And suddenly I had a plan.

I recycled some cardboard boxes, cutting out one long strip which would be the back, bottom and front of my bins.  Then I cut some angled pieces to make the dividers and ends of the bins.

I dug around in my paper stashes and decided to use a roll of wallpaper to cover the card board parts.

Then, using my glue gun, I glued the dividers to the base of the organizer.

And to reinforce the "seams" I used tape and this gave it a nice finished look too.  And I coved all edges with the tape so the corrigation of the card board didn't show.

And here is the result!  Six project bins where I can keep my different projects and ephemera for those projects from getting lost in my "creative chaos" area.  Now, I can just grab which ever one I want and go to work on it.  I am loving this.  See, the table it is setting on?  Well, before the organizer, you would not have been able to see it, lol.

And, right above the bin is my "vision boards."  Yep, I have this big one and the two little ones by the door.

One of my visions for this year is to get the inside of my house painted!  And live well in a stylish and beautiful life.  Having an organizer helps with that!

Another Card

Insightful Art Cards Art

In our traveling artist's guild group, one of the activity prompts was to do some cards, rather like soul collage cards, but with definite prompts.  There are thirty prompts.  I have been having fun looking for collage elements to match the prompts and making the cards.  I will be posting some of the cards as I get them finished.  Here are the first two.

I cut the cards from some hanging folders.  What ever they make them out of is pretty tough.  The cards are 5.5 X 8 in.  I used a half inch stamp set to put the promts on the top edge.  Then just sorted through my stash to fine things that fit the prompt.  Roses and hearts are romantic, and paper dolls, make believe monsters, pets, and such are childish.  I have to go back to the prompts to see what it is I am to do with these when I am done, I think we use them as prompts for writing about our travels.  I will be adding more to them, words, and maybe some blending glaze.  It is a great way to use up some of your stash.

Truth Journaling Art

Over in the Wild Precious Studio group (http://wildprecious.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network)
I joined a couple of groups, one dealing with finding your truth.  I am not sure where we are going with this as the group just got up and going, but one of the prompts was to do something with how we hide our truths.  The two page spread I made:

I am not really sure what all my truths are at the moment. I will have to meditate on that, lol or just wait til they emerge now that the thought is on my mind.  I did have the little envelope with "envy" on it, and since I have been envious at times, I figured that was a truth.  And, I painted the shoes bright red since I know I used to wear wild shoes because it was a way of attracting peoples eyes away from staring opened mouth at my 6 foot stature, although, I really did not realize that for many years.  And I really never let myself "see" truths, ie the hanging head and hidden eyes.  And I am sure I hide much under my art so the list on the right, a list I have had in my stash ever for so long and I am glad to finally get to use it on a spread.  The open spaces I will fill up with more truths when and if I happen to figure them out, lol
Elements I used?  A magazine lady, an envelope I stuck the word envy on sometime ago, a paper place mat I used for a stencil for another art journal page, matt medium, watercolor crayons, charcoal pencil, sayings saved from magazines and other places, gouache, sharpie poster paint pens, gesso.  Is that mixed media or what?