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Friday, May 26, 2006

New techniques and new blooms




A combined-subject post, since both these things came about on the same day. Yesterday I got some nice macros of the rhododendrons and peonies in the yard; thought I'd share. And the artwork is a result of my latest "try-it Tuesday" challenge: easy image transfers. Believe it or not, for all the years I have been doing art, this is something I have put off learning. I think now I am hooked! The background is primarily watercolors, acrylics and embossing powders. The pearls and text are stamped on, the leaves and stem are acrylic, and the flower and face and tranfers.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

20 years!

So, its not art...but I survived my 20th reunion, and that takes talent and skill!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Try-it-Tuesdays challenge



I took on Chrysti's Try It Tuesday challenge last week and here is the result; I did a gel image transfer and added some paper lave for texture over the acrylic background. it was a lot of fun and I learned an easy technique; what more can you ask for?

Monday, May 15, 2006

Mother's Day


One of the best things about being a mom. Mother's Day. And roses from your boys. My whole studio smells like an English estate garden. Heaven.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

More journal pages

I have been a bit startled by the effects this art journal has had on me. It occured to me as I was working in it, that this is the first art I have done for myself in over two years. For me to keep! Not to trade, sell, auction, donate, barter or gift. It completely changes the way I relate to the work. It is far more fearless and authentic. I love the feeling. Here are some pages (or some portions, if the text is too personal!) that I am pleased with!(click on the images to see detail or read the poems)

Letter to a Muse (handmarbled paper)

Crazy Quilt (Stamp pad/Prismacolor)
Underneath (gel image transfer/WC/Pittpens)
Verdant (text and other papers/pearlex/gesso/acrylic)

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Art Journaling



So, I have been blessed enough to have an amazing supervisor, Zura, who is teaching this wonderful 3 month art journaling workshop, and she graciously gifted me enrollment! This is a leap for me, as I have done a fair amount of journaling and a whole heap of art, but never the two entwined as a form of expression unto itself. The Pitt brush markers I bought were begging to be used for this, so along with some watercolors and gel image transfers, I create my first two pages. (The assignment was "What is a journal for?" and "Why do I want to keep a journal?"


Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Tag!

I have been tagged by Amyma for this particular meme; seems I have to answer these four questions and then tag some other poor unsuspecting bloggers.

Five items in my fridge:

1.Strawberries
2.three kinds of lettuce
3.Asian sesame dressing
4. fresh mozarella
5. cream


Five items in my closet:
1. A number of items that are too big
2. Several shoes with no mates
3. a pile of sketch books, all full
4. a hand painted silk scarf from Thailand
5. a black garter belt, worn once

Five items in my purse:

1. Mint breath strips
2. Business card for my sons' psychaitrist
3. Driver's License that expired today
4.Various charge cards: Kohls, Old Navy, Target...
5. A picture of my youngest son.

Five Items in my car:

1.Umpteen Bionicle pieces.
2. mix tapes from high school and college
3. broken sunglasses
4 .An air freshener shaped like the sun
5. A large tribal butterfly decal

Five people I've tagged:
1 Tammy
2 Edna
3 Braen
4 Tam
5 Beth

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Less than Pretty


So, I've grumbled in the past about my reluctance to get a bit more...well...raw with my work.Been keeping it nostalgic, or dreamy, or opalescent, and quite impersonal. Tonight, as I say farewell to 37, I decided to honor a deeper part of my vision and do a canvas with less emphasis on pretty and more on real. It measures about 10 x 10", acrylic, gesso, watercolor, alchohol inks, pearl ex. Called "There Are Ghosts".

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Papa



When I was a kid, my grandfather scared the tar out of me. Let's be clear; I loved him very much then, and do today. At 95, he still keeps a respectable amount of his wits about him, and the more I learn about his life, the more I realize my fear over the years has given way to awe and respect. Mostly I think I was scared because he was so very disciplined and formal, and I was a really scattered kid (who has morphed into a flaky adult). This led to a great deal of conflict, meaning, I screwed up a lot, he got mad a lot, I got punished a lot, and I assumed he did not like me very much.

The fact is, he was very much a product of his culture, raised youngest of three boys in northern Germany from 1910 until the mid 1930's, when he and my grandmother came to New York. They were high school sweethearts and were married for over 60 years before my grandmother's death.


The reason I chose to write about him today is my parents just came for a visit, and spent some time at my grandfather's apartment. My father returned to my house with boxes full of ephemera, years of the accumulated paper flotsam and jetsam that collects in the homes of those who have lived long and well documented lives. My grandfather saved virtually EVERYTHING. For several hours my father sifted through old passports, photographs, financial statements, menus and letters. A portion of some of these marvels he gifted to me, and I wanted to share my grandfather's extraordinary artistic talent with my friends. Papa was an artist, a graphic designer, a calligrapher, a technical illustrator. His work was precise and detailed and beyond the scope of anything I could ever hope to master. In my collection I now have portfolios of the amazing illustrations and designs he generated for Ingersoll-Rand in the mid 40's. I also have a handful of random sketches from ruled notebooks, and some scratch card art. So here, in honor of his talent, are some items I found particularly impressive.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Trapped

At home today with my youngest, whose allergies have triggered a terrible cough and wheezing. This always makes me nervous, as I feel so helpless watching his labored breathing. He is subdued when ill, which means he is more like your typical boy than his wild, war-whooping self. He is such a contrast to his brothers.

Behind our house is a small shed, a very sturdy structure built as well as our house was built. Underneath are three "denmates" whom I frequently observe coming and going uncover of darkness. They are the oddest little group, like three bachelors sharing an apartment. Out on the deck at night, when I look down, most often I see the possum as he waddles out to nose around and gather some newly fallen leaves to line his nest. He is an ugly, ugly critter...but almost sweet, he is so ugly. He is very shy and timid.

Denmate number two is a young racoon; at least I assume it is young, he is not very big. He is pretty bold and will come up and sit on the deck and watch us through the sliding glass doors like we are some zoo exhibit. He is also responsbile for attempting to get at our garbage (sometimes succeeding) and is the reason I invested in a lifetime supply of bungee cords for the trash can lids.

Lastly we have the skunk. He is squat and wide and silent. He is generous with his scent, which he seems fond of realeasing directly under the bedroom air conditioner. Silent...but deadly.

These three vastly different critters all cohabiting under one shed. It reminds me of my three critters. My oldest, the possum, quiet and retiring, slow moving and deliberate. My middle, the raccoon: cheeky, bold, clever, cute but don't cross him. And my youngest: the skunk. Though not silent, he is a study in contrasts, his mood goes from black to white in seconds. His reactions are extreme, and affect everyone around him. And yes, I'll say it...he can be a real stinker!

"FunkedUp Flowers" for Artellavisions Mojo of the Month
pen and ink and watercolor followed by digital manipulation.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Commission


Been pushing myself today to complete a commisioned piece which I am delivering Friday. There are so many layers, I sort of burned out partway through and had to come back to it. Its a collage (yeah, I guess that is obvious by the pic). There is a buildup of layers of vintage text pages, tissue, handmade and mulberry papers, watercolors, acrylics, pearl ex powders, silver embossing powder, matte medium and PVA. My studio is now a riot of torn paper and purple puddles, but I am happy with the result. The collage itself measures about 10 x10". Next I need another push to get myself going on my Masterpiece Copy atcs for Sharpie Scouts. I treated myself to a brand new package of the full array of ultra fine points, since my kids left the tops of half of my previous set. Grrr. I also treated myself to a set of Faber Castell Pitt brush pens. Holy crap, they are awesome. The pigment is sublime and the brush tip so flexible. I am going to get hooked on these.