Light Box

Today I finally constructed a light box. 

It is just a cardboard box with sides and top cut out.  The cut out space is then covered with tissue paper and the back with white paper.  This is supposed to diffuse the light you will add on each side of the box.  No flash needed with this baby.  But you do need to KNOW how to use even this minimal apparatus.  You will see my mistakes soon!

I had two florescent portable light fixtures I thought I would use.

I had to prop them up a bit so the light seemed in the middle of the tissue windows.

And now...to try it on my creations!

The latest creations-small shrines... the first one is 

surrounding a Princess...

I decided to take the same shrine on different settings to see if that mattered.  

(As you can see...the lights are too close to the light box but I did not know that until just now.  I will have to adjust that the next time I try this.)

My point and shoot camera lets me change settings. 

I used 3200 iso

portrait

color assist

indoor

and auto

I am not sure now which ones are which here.

I will have to try that again and take notes (oh bother!)

Can you tell any difference between them?

The bright light down the sides are distracting and I am not happy with that at all!

Here are the other shrines...

These were fun to make...using up bits and pieces of things I have around the studio.

The pointy tops are cut from old book covers

They actually started out as wooden boxes...

Dowls, beads, children's blocks for feet made them quite enchanting.

Gold paint, collage, and pickling finished them up!

The other creations I was hoping to be able to get better pictures of were the wonky birds.

I don't believe the light box helped with their portraits at all-do you?

All the shrintes and birds will be going to Gypsy Mamas soon...

This one is the one made from an old backing in a barometer...

And this is a close up of that piece of tin that makes up it's body...

And the owl with her scissors eyes and beak...

Her belly is actually a cat!

And the frog gig belly and feet on this one is interesting as I did not know about these frog gigs before finding this one at a yard sale...

I don't know if you would know about the glass globe girls I made a few weeks back, but I dropped one and broke her body.  I salvaged the head and used it with this piece of iron from an old check writing machine, adding a spiral wire handle for the arms and ribbons to decorate the bottom.

On the back I added a saying about the value of friends...I thought that rather fit in with the detail of the piece of metal...friends are worth thousands...do not cancel, do not over draw, make sure you have paid them their dues, share... etc.

You might remember this as gunny sack tan...I dyed it green and think I might actually wear it now, lol!

And while I was in the mess... I threw in this 100% cotton sweater that was a tan and brown tweed color which I am working on to make a yoolie.  Wow was I surprised that it turned out all green!  You can't tell it had a tweed too it now.  I like the way the edges frayed out when I washed it after dying.  I am going to add some embellishments eventally...

I am also still busy destashing my studio rooms.  I am pretty much finished with the garage area, and have started on the sewing room...I thought getting rid of paint and other stashes was hard but letting my fabric stashes go is really really hard.  But, I am doing it.  I have a big sack of upholstery fabrics already loaded in the suv, and another one of synthetics to go in, and starting on my third sack which will be cottons.  I am sure once these are gone I will breathe easier...right now I have to hold my breath in order to toss some of those pieces.  But, what do I want something that I never use for?  I have to keep telling myself that!  And, I will have room to bring in something new if I actually get all the pieces a new home!  

Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this very long post, lol!

Wonky Birds

I so want to take a class from Leighanne Light!  Her work inspires me.  After viewing a few of her things on her blog, I had to try.  I did the viewing of her blog last year, and once I had the studio reorganized and cleaned, I decided to try.  It didn't hurt that I found some "art supplies" in the way of junk pieces while I was cleaning either, lol.  I had some tins to cut up and other metal parts so I went to work.  I could not remember exactly how she makes her creations, in this case birds, so I just started with what seemed the right way.  I made two, and started a third.  Then everything got put on hold for a while due to health.  I am glad to report that that all seems to be resolved and I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!  Any way, with each effort, after the first three birds, I found I began to get more creative with the designs.  Here they are:

My third effort.  The first two are already gone to JFGs.   Body and wings and tail feathers cut from recycled tin...in this case the insides of a barometer type thingy...I love the map and lines on the bird.  The legs are table cloth weights I found in a thrift shop when I was in the city for the Terry Brush workshop.

The back side I tinted with alcohol ink.  And one wing is a recycled wing from something copper, lol.

I decided to just cut a head and a body on this one, put them together with some chain links, table cloth weight legs...I like the little clips for feet and think they could  hold a note if a person wanted to use the bird for that...The wings are a drawer pull-so cute.  She just seems so perky!

Again, a head and body from recycled tins, wings from previously metal creations.  I really like the tail on this one and she is much prettier than the scan shows.  Her tail was a "frog fork."  It was made to be on a long handle then used to "fork" live frogs, or maybe crayfish.  I like that it is now used to look interesting on an art bird instead!

Using a piece of tin from a previous metal sculpture for the head, I added a tiny pair of scissors which gave it an owlish look.  The tail is a left over purchase from several years back.  I purchased two of these to use in a Micheal DeMeng workshop, but only used one.  I am glad I finally found a use for it.  

These birds have been fun to try.  I think I will make more now that I have an idea of what "supplies" to watch for, lol.  

Next, an art doll...thanks to more of Leighanne's inspiring creations!

So Many Journals

I keep books that I want to alter and recycle into journals by my art desk.  They are very handy for those days I have too much paint left over to throw away...so it ends up in one of those books.  And they are close if I just don't feel like doing much, so I can still play by collaging in them.  Eventually, they become almost "completed" even though I have not actually purposely worked on them.  But, once they reach a certain point, I have to then focus on the "finishing" part.    This last week or two, I have been finishing up all the journals in progress so they can go to JFGs to find a new owner.  I am always amazed about how interesting they are...and I hope someone will find them fun to write, draw, collage, play in! Here are some photos of the completed journals.

A paper backed book called Oddities... I kind of like that title!  

I added a bit of collage inside on the pages...leaving room for wrtiting or drawing.

Because the book was old, I did not get the papers flat as I laminated...something I should have paid better attention too... the scan makes it look worse than the reality however.

A pamphlet from a local business had such strong pages I had to use it for a journal.  I added a corrugated cardboard piece that had left over paints on it...and a title...

Inside, bonded art paper covered the business' propaganda, cut to fit inside the lovely black borders, this will be a really great little travel or event journal for someone!

In this grouping is altered recycled teacher's books, a date day planner, a child's book, a board game book (the game boards made awesome backgrounds!) , a small child's book, all of them made really great journals!

This one has very interesting "hand made" feeling  papers for pages. I added some paintings on linen  I had left over from a few years back for the front and back covers... 

Lots of space for writing in this one... plus interesting collages too... great for poem writing and such.

A recycled found journal with a piece of my mixed media painting added to the cover.  The pages are really nice...great sketchbook.

The game board book... I think someone will really love this, especially if they like games and like to write or draw...

I am glad to have taken these to completion.  When you finish a project there is always a feeling of pride for the accomplishment, but a bit of thinking that now you have to start all new again.  I am ready for that!  I have some speciality books that I have been wanting to alter but did not start them as I already had too many going as it was.  

On to something new...

Sunday, Feb. 12...

So far, this has not been a normal year for me at all.  Usually, January gets me going with a selection of my "focus" word, and I also get involved in all the new projects floating around blogsville and fb.  Not so this year.  I have just been ho hum about doing things.  If it happens it happens, and if not, well so what?  I am still purging my studio rooms...the next one is the sewing room...dragging my feet on that!  I just love all the fabrics.  But, I don't really ever do much with them.  I pull out a storage tubful and think I will only keep pieces I love, but the problem is that I love most of it.  Oh, the polyesters go easily but I hardly ever really "collect" polyesters so there is not that much of it.  I don't make quilts so can't use up pieces that way.  I am going to up grade the TV room sofa pillows soon.  But for now, I have to find a new home for the fabrics.  I think they will probably go to some quilters who do humanitarian work.  I would feel okay with that.
Yesterday, I got rid of some papercloth that I know I will never use.  I went through all the journals I have been working on, and found I have about five that will go to JFGs soon to sell.  Yep, I am making headway.
Here are a couple of pieces of art I worked on this week.  Not, much really but does keep me "arting!"

A newsman on TV...his eyebrows have fascinated me for awhile so I decided to do a portrait...lol.  I did not get the mouth right.  Doing a portrait from quick shots on the TV is rather hard...not enough time to actually study the shapes of things...in this case facial features.

And a quick journal page...the missing word on the bottom says wellness...

Art Moments

I have been so distracted since the first of the year with health, and then the blackening of my studio by HRH's heater fiasco.  But, once in a while some small art success has popped up.  Here are a couple I haven't shown you yet:

HRH's GrandDad...this arrived in the mail from one of his cousins.  I love this photo.  IF you look closely you can see a bronc rider in the background.  HRH thinks this may have been taken in NM or maybe in TX.  Interesting place to have his gun hung, don't you think?

I decided to make an effort of making art, no matter how small so I did this zen doodle one evening.  It felt good to make some art!

I needed some new business cards for a community fashion show that will be happening around here the first of March,  so I printed my information on some card stock and then collaged at random, knowing I was going to cut it up, I didn't really try to plan a composition...just adding things I as I found them sorting through my papers in the garage,  sticking the things on at random knowing I was going to cut it up into ATC sized cards.  This is the result, and I really love it so I made a copy to hang in my studio.  I am amazed that something this cool came from thoughtless randomness!

If I used this like a soul collage prompt card...it might make an interesting essay, don't you think?  Something like "I am the old crow that wants to improve her wardrobe...or update her look."  Something like that, lol...

Super Bowl 46

I worked all week trying to clear out all my stashes after washing the walls in my garage studio so I and the car girls would have a place to do our annual super bowl sunday activities:
Arts and crafts of course!

I will let the pictures speak for how successful I have been with this.

After washing all the cupboards down the North wall and along the West wall... many things ended up onto my work island.

The West wall all cleaned and organized-looking through the door into the sewing room.

The North wall cabinets are actually white again!  

I worked until sunset a day or two...the beauty of the sunsets are a boost to a tired studio cleaner, lol.

On SBS...the car girls and I always design valentine boxes...litttlest's car girl made a square one.

The middle car girl made a cylinder shaped box.

The biggest car girl no longer wants to make valentine boxes, so she made a T-shirt scarf for herself and their dog, beamer.

She was happy with a purple scarf!

Once in a while as I sorted my stashes, I had to stop and do a bit of something...in this case I cut apart two tins so I could stack the tin up in the new tin area... lol.

I a found a whole stack of overhead sheets of acrylic and wondered what they might be good for?  I decided they might make fun signs for my vision board.  I  also found some metal corner brackets-thinking  "great stencil materials" so I cut an oval, put the brackets on the corners and spray painted the acrylic sheet.  I will put a word or something behind the clear oval on my vision board... 

After rearranging many things, I am almost back down to the island work area again!

This stash of acrylic paints went to JFGs since I had not opened one of them in more than a year or two.  They will make good use of it I think.

And today...for our super bowl party...

HRH made potato salad, fresh veggies and dipS, BBQ chicken, deviled eggs, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed celery, little smokies, italian sausage, chips and dips, and he bought some super bowel decorated cup cakes, lots of candy for the car girls, so now we are really partying! 

 Yoo Hoo!