Guilt and Orangery

Gift Time: Mug Cozy

2012-01-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

I decided to knit a couple gifts for the holidays as well. I created a fun cozy for disposable coffee cups to replace the cardboard sleeves most coffee places use... but I didn't take a photo of it before I gave it to my friend! Oops.

I did photograph this mug cozy I knit up for my future mother-in-law. I used Sugars n Cream cotton yarn. The variegation pattern was longer than I anticipated, so it ended up being only two colors! There are lots of mug cozy patterns out there, but most of the ones I liked were knit on double-pointed needles, which I'm not quite ready to learn. Instead, I modified a bracelet pattern and knit it up on sz 8 straight needles.

The design has two buttons - one on the bottom (visible) and one on the top on the opposite side.The vintage buttons I used were part of the collection I inherited from my mother-in-law's mother-in-law, which made it a little more personal. I'm not sure how well it will insulate the mug, but it sure does look cute!

Gift TIme: Dimensional Painting Part II

2011-12-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share another painting I made as a holiday gift. This painting was for my sister. It's the logo to an event we love to attend. You can see the original logo on the left.

The scariest part was adding the paint splatters at the end. I was so afraid I would somehow mess up all of my work!

Here's a closeup of the sides of the canvas. It's not a gallery canvas, but I decided to finish the sides anyway using a deck of round playing cards from my stash.

I just love how the textures came out in this painting. It was relatively quick and easy to make. Oh, and it was also lots of fun!

Gift Time: Dimensional Painting

2011-12-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

Back in October, I took an awesome workshop with Sarah Whitmire. We learned about using textural elements in still life paintings. This class was only my second time using acrylics on canvas. The textural elements created some interesting details in my painting! The most valuable thing I walked away from the class with, though, was confidence - I CAN paint on canvas! I don't have to rely completely on collage to convey images in my work! Holy cow!

When it came time to plan my gift-making adventures for the holidays, I spent some time carefully considering my options. Last year, I felt like I over-committed myself. Part of the cause was unexpectedly working extra hours at my day job. However, I think the projects I chose to make also played a role in causing unnecessary stress. I made projects last year that I thought would please the recipients, but I didn't consider how enjoyable they would be for me to make. I spent many frustrating hours cranking out items that I didn't feel inspired by. Yes, the gifts were successful and well-liked... but I think there must be some overlap between making items that inspire me and making items that the recipients will love... right?

This year, I chose to follow my muse - I worked on a series of random projects (sewing, knitting, painting, jewelry...) that made me feel energized and inspired all month long. The list included a couple of textural canvas paintings, inspired by Sarah's class. If you had told me a year ago that I'd be gifting people canvas paintings for Christmas, there's no way I would have believed you... but I'm here to share the first painting that was given to its recipient.

One of my friends loves Hula Minnie. For a variety of reasons, this character really resonates with her. Well, there is virtually no Hula Minnie merchandise out there, so I decided to paint this for her as a gift.

It's on an 8x8 canvas. I used Tim Holtz crackle paint (background), and Golden brand fiber paste (sand), coarse molding paste (lei) and light molding paste (skin) for the textures. Here's a closeup of some of the texture.

I finished the painting the night before I gave it to my friend, so I took the photos under my studio Ott light. It created a little glare on the glossy black paint... the color is more crisp in person. It took several days of work to complete the underpainting, the top coat of paint, the detailing work, and the layer of distressing paint, but the process was extremely enjoyable. I had spent so much time with Minnie that I had second thoughts about giving her up! It was worth it, though. My friend was teary-eyed when she opened it - the ultimate reaction to a handmade gift.

I'll share some more gifts after the holiday! Hope you are enjoying the season as much as I am!

Sewing Adventure: Pleats!

2011-12-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

My muse has been insatiable lately. Every day she wants to try a new project and she's constantly seeking new inspiration out there on the interwebs. Sometime in the last month or so (it's been a blur lately!), I discovered Skip to My Lou - a super-fun blog with tons of inspiration. I decided to be bold with my sewing machine and try (*gasp*) pleats! I followed the handy Zippered Pouch tutorial and pattern. Here's what I came up with:

Check out that pleaty goodness! I will admit that there were some challenges with the size of the fabric I cut and the sewing of the zipper (conveniently hidden in this photo), but overall I'm quite pleased with my work. If you're ready to step up from super-basic beginner sewing (that's pretty much where I am...), be bold and try this pattern out!

Removable Journal Cover

2011-11-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

Ah, sewing. I like the finished product, but I don't like the math.

My journal from Artfest 2011 is a spiral-bound Visual Journal from Strathmore - I'm pretty sure it's the Mixed Media kind. The pages are great, the size was perfect, but the cover was definitely "meh". As soon as I got home, I started looking for a tutorial on how to sew a slipcover for my journal to dress it up a bit. I found this great one from Susie at Gathering Up Bits of the World (I love her - her journals are so inspiring, and she loves U2 as much as I do!).

Math is not my strong suit at all. I'm a writer in my day job, as a matter of fact. So although I tried to adapt Susie's math instructions for my journal size, it's not surprising that it didn't come out quite right...

Yeah, it was almost 2" taller and 1.5" wider than my journal. Oops. Then, in a stroke of genius around 1:00 in the morning, I decided to just trim it down and resew the seams. Except I forgot to factor in a seam allowance, so now the fabric was too small. Ugh. Math. I went to bed feeling defeated.

The next day I decided to start over, calculating the measurements again with the seam allowance I intended to use. It was just a tiny bit too small, but I was able to make it work... the seams may be coming apart in some areas, though...

Front cover...

Front inside pocket...

Back cover...

Through my experimentation, here's what I came up with for measurements:

Strathmore Visual Journal, Mixed Media 5.5" x 8"
Back fabric panel: 9" tall x 13.5" wide
Pockets (2): 9" tall x 4.5" wide

I'm pretty sure I used a .25' seam allowance, too. Using these measurements, just follow along with Susie's excellent instructions and you'll have a lovely cover for your Visual Journal!

American Photo Safari

2011-10-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

I went on a photo safari not far from my home to capture some colonial-style buildings. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I enjoyed peacefully meandering around by myself. Here are a few of my favorites. All were taken with Hipstamatic on my iPhone.

Stack 'Em Up

2011-10-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

I was checking out Kelli Nina Perkins' blog and she had a fun stack entry inspired by Seth Apter. It turns out, Seth is a serial stacker (like many artists are!). I perused his amazing collection of stacks from bloggers around the world and was inspired to put together a little stack of my own!

I"m sure you've noticed that handmade journals have been a favorite of mine lately. Here's a close up...

And my bonus stack... it's more like a horizontal stack, really. I bought some great decorative tapes from Etsy seller Pretty Tape, who was recommended on Diana Trout's blog. Although I adore my little collection, I see collections like Teesha Moore's and feel like I should do more shopping!

Fun Free Journal #2

2011-09-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here's my second Free Flip Flap Free journal inspired by LK Ludwig (you can see my first one here). Have I mentioned that I just love this project? I posted a couple of shots of the inside pages in my last entry. Now here is the cover...

... and the back cover.

Both covers were made from several 4x6 cheapie watercolor papers that I painted using LK's technique and then collaged onto pressboard.

Here's a close-up of the binding, too.

I learned something important binding this one. I used nylon cord instead of cotton on this one and WOW did the nylon ever fray while I was sewing the journal together. It looked like the covers were lined with little hamster-sized toupees. After it was all bound, I trimmed the frayed cords and melted the ends to prevent additional fraying. Next time, I'll melt the ends before I start binding! I'm very relieved my journal didn't catch on fire!

I've already started painting the pages for another Free Flip Flap Free journal, but since my long weekend is over, it probably won't be finished for a few weeks. One thing I love about this project, though, is that it's easy to work on when I only have 30 minutes of art time - I can get a few brochures sanded or a few pages painted and then save the binding for a longer session. It's a great way to incorporate a little art into my day!

More Free Journal Fun

2011-09-20T19:18:00.001-07:00

Here are the pages for my second Flip Flap Free Journal waiting to be sewn as well as a close up of two of my fav pages.

Fun Free Journal!

2011-09-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

I adore LK Ludwig and had so much fun in her Big Time Book journal class at Artfest, so I was super excited to see her free online class, the Free Flip Flap Free Journal class. It was a great exercise for my muse and for my budget, since the supplies to make this fun book are free! The pages are made from fold-out paint brochures from the hardware store. The ones I used for this book were tri-fold. I rounded the corners with a corner punch. LK teaches you everything you need to know if you follow the link above!

Here are my pages right after they dried...

... and stacked up all pretty!

The binding was a little tricky for me since I hadn't tried a sewn over cords binding technique before. It felt a little bit like wrangling an octopus. The "cord" I used is actually a cord with a wire inside, meant to be used in candlemaking. I bought the spool at a thrift store not realizing it had a wire, but it ended up working just fine! This is the front cover.

Here are some inside pages partially unfolded.

...and here's the back cover...

I had soo much fun with this project that I have already started on my next one. I haven't yet decided how I'm going to use the finished book(s) yet, though!

Summer Knits

2011-06-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

It's a little warm in Florida for knitwear. This is probably why our local yarn shops carry less wool and more cotton than the stores I've visited in the north. Anyway, despite the temperature, I've been enjoying the 10-yard cuff patterns I bought from leethal knit designs. I've finished a few of the Lacy Chevron pattern, a sample photo of which you can see here, but I haven't added the buttons yet so no photos of my own have been taken.

Being a Florida knitter is a bit ironic in the first place, and starting knitting projects at the beginning of June is even more so...

Artfest 2011 Part 4

2011-05-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

The last day of Artfest came much too quickly. There were so many things I meant to do before it was over! I guess there is always next year...

I don't have many photos from Saturday. I didn't go out on photo safari in the morning, choosing instead to take my time getting ready for the day, and arriving extra early for my last class - Lynne Perrella's Foreign Intrigue class. We spent the morning getting to know the other attendees, which was a great way for us to bond as artists. Everyone had a story of how they came to be artists and why art was important in their lives. For me, it definitely emphasized the "kindred soul" feeling Artfest has.

In the afternoon, Lynne taught us some painting and oil pastel techniques, then coached us individually with our pieces. This is the largest piece I've ever worked on - it's about 24" x 36", and took up most of my work table. Working in this large format definitely changed how I looked at my collage elements and paint techniques.

One of the class "rules" was not to take photos until the end of the day, so the only photo I have is of my piece as it was at the end of class (still not done, but you can see where it's going). Since we all selected different focal images, everyone's worked looked dramatically different. I wish I had spent more time walking around during class to see what everyone else was doing!
There's still some work to do on it, as you can see by the unpainted areas. I'm going to add some more collage papers too, and then add a dowel to hang it like a scroll. I'll probably add some three-dimensional elements too, like fibers and coins.

Right after class, I joined a group of my friends to head into Port Townsend. We had a lovely Japanese dinner and got to stop by the Artisans on Taylor gallery where Michael de Meng was hosting an artist's reception for some of his Dusty Diablos assemblage works. I've always wanted to see his work in a gallery, so for him to be there hosting made it even more special.

Once we returned to Fort Worden, we had a last hurrah of socializing and sharing our class projects around the dorm. I went to bed with sadness in my heart, knowing that when we woke up, it would be time to go home.

Artfest 2011 Part 3

2011-05-21T09:45:00.001-07:00

The weather on Friday morning was even more beautiful than it was on Thursday. The sky was clear and the sunlight was beautiful. I took a photo safari back toward some of the bunkers that overlooked the ocean.
View from the top of the bunker. It was a beautiful, peaceful walk.
My second class was Big Time Book with LK Ludwig. As I've mentioned before, I took The Camera in Your Pocket iPhone Photography class with LK online. I've also learned a lot from reading her books, which are all fantastic and full of inspiration. I was definitely star-struck to be in the same room with her! Here she is demo-ing one of the paint techniques we did in class. Isn't that the cutest apron ever?
The pace and the techniques of the class were really playful. We started by making our pages, then moved on to paint techniques, which we practiced with for most of the class. My friend Annie and I got seriously messy! I had paint on my nails for a week afterwards, but it was a heartwarming reminder of the class.
At the end, LK showed us how to bind our books so that the pages would open flat. By the end of the day, my book was no where near complete. I'll be sure to post photos when it's done, though! It was such a fun class, and LK was just as sweet in person as I'd always imagined. I hope I can take another class with her in person someday!

Friday night was vendor night, which past Artfest attendees had assured me was a pretty crazy event. Now that I've attended one, I can totally understand why! It's a huge room full of people selling stuff that I want to buy! Eek! I did some serious shopping and discovered some new artists that I hope to take classes from in the future. It was a fantastic (and exhausting) end to a fantastic (and exhausting) day!

Artfest 2011 Part 2

2011-05-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

I started the first day of Artfest classes with a walk along the beach. There was so much to photograph - I could have spent the whole day out there! This photo was taken with the Pro HDR app.
This photo was taken with Hipstamatic.
My first Artfest class was Strange Angels with Michael de Meng. Here's the initial layout I did for my piece...
After 8 hours of class, I still have a ways to go on my piece. Here's where I ended up, though.
In the evening, I enjoyed the Artist's Iron Chef challenge and then did some journaling and socializing down by the beach at the kitchen shelter. It was an amazing, amazing day.

Artfest 2011 Part 1

2011-05-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since I attended Artfest 2011, and I'm just beginning to blog about it. I have an extensive journal documenting my experiences, but I wanted to share some of the highlights with you.

I traveled with my BFF, Jane, to Seattle by way of San Francisco. This photo was taken on the plane somewhere around Monterrey - this is the first time I had ever seen California!
We arrived in Seattle and met up with some lovely ladies to form the Fabulous Five - we carpooled together from Seattle up to Port Townsend. Here I am in Seattle for the first time, on the ferry to Bainbridge Island. The wind and the cold didn't stop me from running around on the "sun deck" to take photos of the skyline.

And here are the Fabulous Five now! This was right after we checked in to Artfest at Fort Worden. We were all tired due to traveling in from different parts of the country, but you can tell we were elated to be at Artfest! Jane (R) and I were the only first-time attendees - Ilene, Annie and Debbie gave us great insight into what to expect!

The Creative Battle

2011-05-02T16:46:00.001-07:00

I think all artists/writers/creative folks experience moments when their own fears block the creative process. If you've ever experienced this, spend the 20 minutes to watch this video.

Then free yourself.

Artfest Trades Part 4

2011-04-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

The birds are done! The final design omits the button eyes because A) it would be a lot of buttons, B) it would be a lot of button sewing and C) I actually liked them better without the button eyes. Something about the sewn buttons reminded me of the X eyes they put on dead animals in cartoons... Anyway, here are some of my first finished birds...

... and here is the entire flock! 75 birds in all.
Close up taken in Hipstamatic...
Birds are packed and ready to go! Wish I had time to make a fancy carrying case for them...
I also ordered mini Moo cards to include with my trades. These were SO fun to make! I can't believe I limited myself to just 20 different designs...
To get to and from Artfest, my friend Jane and I are sharing a rental car with three other lovely ladies. At the last minute, I made us each a little Moo card holder pouch out of my leftover fabric paper. I had fun making up the design as I went, but if I had more time I probably would have tweaked and customized even further.
Trades are done! Now to pack...

Artfest Trades Part 3

2011-04-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

More photos of my Artfest trade process! I assembled the bird beaks, bodies, wings and hanging ribbons using a combination of glue for the smaller parts and double-sided tape. There were about 77 of them assembled by the time I was done.

Here are two birds ready to be sewn! The top bird shows the front design and the bottom bird shows the back.
Here's my first complete prototype. This is the front.
And here's the back.
The only task left is to sew! Lucy likes sewing...

Artfest Trades Part 2

2011-03-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the fabric paper for my trades all decorated up and ready to cut and sew! I did 6 or 7 different sheets.

This photo was taken with Hipstamatic.
Also taken with Hipstamatic:
Once the paper was decorated and dry, I started cutting out my bird shapes! I drew the template on tissue paper and cut out 150 bird bodies...
I also cut out 75 wings and 75 beaks. Here's my original sample before gluing/sewing:

Artfest Trades Part 1

2011-03-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

Artfest is getting closer and closer! I've been working on my trades since the beginning of March, and I've been photographing along the way. Here are a few early photos of the process of making my trades! FYI, I'm using the fabric paper technique in Kelli Perkins' Stitch Alchemy. If you don't have this book, you should SO get it! Making and using fabric paper is totally addictive.

Photo taken with the Toy Camera app: piles of base materials

Photo manipulated with Plastic Bullet app: stack of paper fabric, pre-decoration

Photo taken with Toy Camera app: One sheet of pre-decoration fabric paper

Photo Safari: Magical Forest

2011-03-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

There's a block on a street near my neighborhood made up of undeveloped land that's for sale. It's only a few acres squashed between busy roads and neighborhoods, but when I would drive past it at sunset, the way the light filtered through the trees and vines made it look like a magical forest. You almost expect to see tiny fairies zipping around in there, glittering in the warm light. I promised myself over a year ago that I'd take a walk down to photograph it at dusk one day.

After an inspiring Saturday with my friend Shelly, I finally worked up the creative energy to hike over to the magical forest with my phone. Here are some of the results - all photos featured here were taken with Hipstamatic.

See any fairies yet?
I took this kind of creepy shot of an abandoned glove on the walk home. It's only about a foot away from the road, so I'm sure it just blew out of someone's work truck as he drove past. I'm sure the folks driving past as I was photographing this were really confused!

Filling the Well: Antiques Extravaganza!

2011-03-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

My BFF, Jane, and I recently attended one of the Antiques Extravaganza weekends at Renningers Antiques Market. The primary purpose for me was to find items to use during Michael de Meng's Strange Angels class at Artfest. I did find most of the class supplies I was looking for, but I also walked away with lots of fun photos (all taken with Hipstamatic)!

I had to wonder where this guy acquired so many ship wheels...

A storefront of one of the regular dealers that are open every weekend.

Jane tried on some jaunty hats!

The random collections of old stuff definitely made my muse excited!

Recent Art Journaling

2011-03-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

I have four art journals going on at the moment (not counting travel journals - eek!).

Technique journal, for taking notes and trying new techniques
Class journal, for whatever online class I'm working on at the moment
Writing journal, for documenting everyday life on pretty paper
Art journal, for pages that use both art and words to explore a theme

I work on each of them in fits and spurts, gravitating to whatever one calls to the muse. Here's a recent page from my writing journal (taken with the Toy Camera app). The background was created well before the journaling was added. I use Judikins Microglaze to keep the pages from sticking together:

And here is a recent spread in my art journal (also taken with the Toy Camera app), where the art and journaling were created simultaneously around the same theme:

How many art journals do you have going? What are their purposes?

Photo Safari: Mayan Temple

2011-03-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

When I find someplace visually interesting, I try to take at least a few photos to add to my collection. Here are a few I took at a local hotel that I needed to visit recently (all photos taken with Hipstamatic).

Mail Art

2011-02-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Mail Art always makes for a fun afternoon project. I like using sendsomething.net to distribute my art randomly into the universe. Here are a few simple postcards I designed in January. The quotes came from a vintage book of humorous quotes I keep in my studio.

Appropriate for Valentine's Day:

This one is my favorite, so I sent it to my best friend.

Inspiration is Everywhere

2011-02-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

It could be just another trip to the grocery store...
or it could be a photo safari!

(I think I made the guy in the produce department proud when he noticed I was taking photographs. Him "Do you like apples?" Me: "They just look so beautiful!")

Photo Fun

2011-02-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

In the spring, I took an amazing online class called The Camera in Your Pocket by LK Ludwig. Taking this class really opened my eyes to the art that occurs naturally in every day life. By using my iPhone and trying out a variety of photo editing apps, I trained myself to use this on-hand camera to capture and enhance/emphasize beauty wherever I saw it. Here are a couple images from the class.

Taken with Hipstamatic, my favorite app.

Edited in Camera Bag.
Edited in TiltShift Generator.
Edited in Film Lab.
Learning how to use all of these apps and more has turned my everyday life into a quest for more artistic material - you can "fill the well" anywhere if you believe in the power of a cell phone camera!

Time to Resurrect the Blog

2011-02-16T19:16:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm less than two months away from attending my first big mixed media event in person - Artfest 2011 in Port Townsend, WA. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I might just make some friends while wading through the herds of paint brush-wielding, art journal-crazed attendees. I figure that these potential friends may even want to connect with me post-fest... thus the blog resurrection. Let's see if I can come up with some fun content to share!

On my quest to determine what I should create as "trades" for Artfest, my research led me to a pretty cool craft site: Cut Out and Keep. If you're looking for a fun new project, visit the Projects tab. Have a Barnes and Noble gift card burning a hole in your purse? The Library tab has book reviews of all sorts of art and craft books. It's a fun craft hipster community with some cool ideas (and way too many mustaches - I really don't get the fascination with that one).

Background Techniques from Soul Journaling Yahoo Group

2009-07-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

I was recently talking to a friend about how I have trouble remembering things from just a few years ago. Because of our extreme reliance on our short-term memory, it is perfectly normal to forget things from the relatively distant past. With prompting, though, it is possible to recall these memories. That's why I've started journaling day-to-day life in addition to soul journaling (which is a deeper, more emotional process). I want to be able to remember little things about my current life many years from now.

Sarah Whitmire posted some background techniques on the Soul Journaling yahoo group that I decided to use for some of these daily journal pages. Here are a few:

I encourage you to join the yahoo group, download the technique file, and try some of these backgrounds yourself!

SJAT Week 2

2009-07-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

It's about time I posted my Soul Journaling Advanced Techniques Week 2 assignment. I finished it about a month ago, but I'm pretty lazy about posting to my blog.

Week 2's assignment was to incorporate the photos from Week 1 into a killer journaling spread. Here is the first view of my journal pages:

...and a close-up of the right page:

Here is view 2 - getting a little more complex!

And here is view 3! From top to bottom, the spread measures about 33"!

Here's a close-up of part of the left page:
I had a ton of fun with this assignment. Although the Advanced Techniques class is over, I've still got about two weeks of assignments to catch up on! That's ok, though - it's something to look forward to!

SJAT Week 1

2009-05-24T10:20:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share some photos of my Soul Journaling Advanced Techniques week 1 assignment. I'm really glad I signed up - I'm feeling more inspired already!

This altered photo has me in the foreground (circa 8 years old).

Manatee statue somewhere in Tallahassee.

This hibiscus photo had some amazing colors in the background! The text stamp on the bottom says, "We are famous, glamorous artists."

This one is probably my favorite! I love England...

Soul Journaling Advanced Techniques

2009-05-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

Although my blog has been dormant for a few months, my artistic projects certainly have not. Most of my recent work has occurred in my art journal, with a foray into some painting technique experiments on watercolor paper (thanks to Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists). Although learning from books is great, I've definitely felt the need for some guided instruction lately (to "fill the well", as they say). That's why I am SO excited to be in Sarah Whitmire's Soul Journaling Advanced Techniques class, which starts on Friday. As I finished (most of) her original prompts, I shared them in previous blog posts and reflected on how they pushed me out of my "safe zone". Months later, I can tell you that a lot of techniques I tried during the original Soul Journaling process appear frequently in my post-SJ work. I'm greatly looking forward to the new set of prompts and the inevitable boatloads of inspiration! If you aren't familiar with Sarah's work, definitely check it out!

"Art in 2009," or "Happy Birthday, Jane"

2009-01-05T17:15:00.000-08:00

It's the beginning of a new year, which means it is time to make some goals. Artistically this year, I'd like to:

Become more comfortable calling myself an artist (without qualifying it, for example, "I am crafty" or "I am kind of an artist")
Challenge myself to use items from my stash that I would typically "save" for a "special" piece
Stop accidentally splattering paint on the blinds behind my art desk
Avoid leaving the gesso or gel medium open overnight

As it so happens, the beginning of the new year signals something else - my BFF Jane's birthday! I've already written about how fantastic Jane is, and how we maintain our two-person mixed media art community in Central Florida, so for her birthday I wanted to create something very special. After all, she is walking with me on the art journey.

Before I started working on Jane's birthday present, I was re-reading through the last few pages of Michael de Meng's fantastic book, Secrets of Rusty Things. Jane took a class with Michael last year and shared with me some of his ideas about paint and assemblage, and I've been intrigued by his work ever since. I cannot wait until I am able to take a class from him myself (hoping that will happen in 2009 as well...).

Anyway, the reason I mention the illustrious Mr. de Meng is because his work served as a key part of the inspiration for Jane's birthday gift (obviously, I think). The other inspiration was Jane herself, of course. Before beginning, I found it incredibly helpful to write a few lines about our friendship to give me direction. It was the first time I really gave myself words as a jumping off point (as a "writer by day", words make me feel more comfortable in the art world), and I will definitely try it again.

So, here is what I came up with:

One thing I really wanted the work to convey was peace. I wanted it to remind Jane of how I wish her serenity when things go wrong or she has a hard day. When I started, I only had the iron form (a very generous gift from my friend, Robin) and the wooden box lid I used for the background. After that point, my muse seemed to take over and the whole thing fell into place. The Buddha image was the third page I flipped to when looking for something to fill the window. All of the beads were from my stash and just happened to match. The quote was from an old hymnal - the first book I picked up when looking for something to fill the bottom space.

The only roadblock I ran into when working on the piece was getting the chains at the top to attach to the inside of the box lid. I tried caulk first, but ended up yanking the supports out when I was attaching the jump rings. Oops. Liquid nails did the trick on my next try, though.

The most unnerving part of the process was painting the iron form. When I originally decided to use the form in the piece, I wasn't planning to paint it. I loved the look of the lightly rusted iron. As the work progressed, however, I realized that it really needed to be teal. Oh, the torture it was to put on the first layer of paint! I had to take several deep breaths before picking up the paintbrush, but as I added more colors, I knew it was the right decision. The brass hand was something I picked up to attach to Jane's present, but it looked so nice (aged with a layer of teal paint) on the iron form that it was incorporated into her present instead!

I'm not sure how long the entire piece took me to complete, but once it was done, I probably stared at it for a good half an hour. It is unbelievable to me that I was actually brave enough to use the best stash items and a variety of the artistic skills I've learned over the past few years to make a piece with confidence. I only freaked out a little, and I didn't turn back.

I was also really surprised at how emotionally exhausted I was once it was done. It was most similar to the feeling you get right after you've had a really good cry... tired, kind of empty, but relieved that you got it all out. That's the first time I've felt that after working on an art project. I wonder if that is normal for other artists...?

Anyway, as I told Jane after she received her gift today, I couldn't have done this if it wasn't for her - not only because it required many skills that she has taught me, but also because I couldn't think of a piece that would be more special for me to go forth with my muse and create without limitations. Happy birthday, my friend, and thank you for everything!

Post-Christmas Creations

2008-12-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, I was crafting like a mad woman. Sure, I made my Christmas cards and gift tags like usual, but what took up most of my time was creating a Halloween Horror Nights scrapbook for my sister. Although I don't have any photos (yet), I am proud of my work. It's actually the first originally-designed (as opposed to being from a kit) complete scrapbook I've ever finished, and I'd say that most of the layouts were quite good.

After a month of scrapbooking during every free moment, however, I'm relieved to be able to return to creating art for art's sake. I always enjoy creating gifts for friends and family, but on some level it is not as satisfying as creating art for myself. I am looking forward to getting back into my art journal, even though I can already feel the blank-page syndrome coming on. I also want to create some mini art to use for soldered pendants. As a matter of fact, as I type this, my mind is generating more and more project ideas. There is so much art to make, and so little time!

Where did October go?

2008-11-03T18:51:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted since mid-September. Oops. When I realized this, it made me wonder - "what have I been doing for the past month and a half??" Well, one of the primary answers is attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Because it is a late-night event that I often attended on weeknights, on the nights I didn't go I was so exhausted from the loss of sleep! My creative endeavors slowed dramatically, hence there wasn't much for me to write about here.

Anyway, enough with the excuses. Here are a few of the photos I took at Horror Nights. Hopefully I will have some art to post soon!

March Hare. There was an Alice in Wonderland scare zone this year.

Body Collector

Shelly and I posing with the "Evil Queen"

Not-completely-headless horseman

Collecting bodies. Don't worry - that wasn't a Guest they were picking up!

Posing with the Frog Prince.

Soul Journaling: Days 16 through 18

2008-09-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated the ol' blog in a while, but it's mainly because it has taken me so long to finish the "potpourri" soul journaling prompts. It's not that I haven't been working on them - it's that they took so long for me to develop!

Day 16: Potpourri 1

During the process of creating this spread, I learned that splattering paint is way more messy than I thought (it took me 10 minutes to remove the purple paint from the blinds...). I wasn't happy with my original color choices, so I added multiple extra layers of paint to blend everything together. I also used tape to hide some of the coloring I didn't like. The white rectangles you see are where I used scotch tape, wiping off most of the paint washes as I added layers.

Day 17: Potpourri 2

I loved smooshing the paint together in between the pages of my journal. That was the first step I did, and it formed beautiful wing shapes. I tried to go with the wing theme, even so far as to sew on feathers. It didn't turn out the way I imagined, but a top wash of iridescent white seemed to help bring it together.

Before I added on to my work (beyond the assigned steps) for Day 17, I became really frustrated since I felt my potpourri pages just weren't coming together. I decided to take a break from the prompts and just put together a spread for fun:

Day 18: Potpourri 3

Looking at the photo of my day 18 spread now, I notice that most of what you can see are the pieces I added after completing the prompt. You can kind of see my face portrait (right), and might be able to tell that I randomly listed the activities in my day in the background, but it's more noticeable that I added an extra wash of white paint, and that I attached paper over my gessoed sections and journaled.

The journaling mostly discussed how challenging the porpourri prompts were. However, I'm pleased to recognize that the prompts really helped me understand the process of adding to my work instead of just abandoning it when things don't work out. I was very tempted to start over, but instead kept pushing and adding more elements until I felt like I really owned it. It was definitely a beneficial exercise for me!

Soul Journaling: Days 13 through 15(ish)

2008-08-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

I titled this post Days 13 through 15(ish) because, although the prompts for those days are complete, I'm not sure if the pages are actually done yet. I think I need some time to think about them...

Anyway, days 13 through 15 were all about paper dolls. Cool. I made a paper doll once. It was an ATC, so all of the limbs (and the head) folded up into a 2.5"x3.5" rectangle. I loved making the form, but hated the "outfit" I had put on that doll... eh. Anyway, the point is, I was kind of looking forward to making new paper dolls.

So, here we are. I have a rather large family, and most of the members have fur. In the bottom left are Pearl (the white one) and Ruby, our newest additions (we just got them on August 4 - they are guinea pigs). Next to them is Halle, then Adam (with our rat, Eve, on his shoulder), me, and Lucy.

I was surprised about a few things during the process. First, I had way more fun than I could have imagined drawing cartoon bodies for me and Adam. I knew I didn't want to do articulated joints for this project, but I didn't want five-fingered hands, either (too realistic), so I "hid" our hands behind us. I emphasized Adam's broad shoulders and gave myself extra-long pants instead of shoes to emphasize how short I am (I do know a really great tailor in Orlando, though, in case anyone needs one...).

I was also surprised at how much more difficult it was to draw bodies for my cats! I spend an extensive amount of time looking at them every day. How could I have so much trouble translating it to paper? I kept chasing them around as I was drawing. "Sit still, Lucy. Now turn this way..." (naturally, this was not very helpful). One thing that does come across in their bodies is how much rounder Halle is than Lucy. Even though Lucy is two and a half years older, Halle is shorter and weighs a pound more! I didn't really plan to make their bodies so distinct from each other!

Overall, I think this two-page spread (house + dolls) has been the most fun so far. I'm definitely thinking up gift ideas for family and friends, now that I know I can incorporate personal photos and memories into my art!

Thanks again for hosting, Sarah!

Soul Jounaling: Days 9 through 12

2008-08-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to posting my latest work in the soul journal! I am still far (faaar) behind, but I've been working slow and steady through the assignments. First, day 9, which had us revisit our previous work:

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not so comfortable with covering up work I've already done and that's exactly what day 9's assignment entailed. I started by adding a light blue wash, but it just was enough. Then I added a bright yellow wash... eh, still not quite right. Then I added a little bit of red oxide (looks more like pearlescent orange), and I finally felt like the colors worked together. I'm sure you can't really notice in the photo, but I was so pleased with all of the different shades that appeared in my work!

Here is my work on days 10 and 11. You know what I loved most about this spread? That we totally didn't have to draw well to complete it. I felt such freedom! Even when I picked up the permanent marker, I wasn't particularly careful. I just got my idea on paper, as imperfect as it turned out.

Anyway, here is a representation of my house. I love on the end of a row of townhouses, so the "scenery" was pretty straightforward. I used some found papers for all of the plants and a roof or two. The windows were created with little squares of gel - the transparent colored pieces of paper-thin plastic used to change the colors of theater lights. I felt very clever at the time, but now I wish I had taken advantage of their transparent quality a little bit more.

And here is the finished spread. I added paint in shades that somewhat, vaguely represent the color of my house. It didn't really come out as I imagined it would, but I'm really pleased that I finished pages with this much detail. Looking at the photo now, I feel really accomplished!

That's as far as I've made it so far. Now that I've finished those layouts, I can catch up reading blog posts about what everyone else created!

Binding Machine

2008-08-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a binding machine. Jane and I "co-purchased" a Bind-it-All tool many months ago, and I love it so much that I'm going to buy out Jane's share so that the binding glory will be ALL MINE! Well, honestly, I am willing to share... as long as I buy myself primary custody.

Anyway, I've made (or finished, as the case may be) a few self-bound projects recently and thought I would share them.

A few months ago, I thought creating an acrylic album might be a fun and challenging project. Since I was making it with the (since-abandoned) idea that I might teach a class on it at my local scrapbook store, I chose a family-friendly, photogenic subject - my little sister. Here are a couple of sample pages:

I really enjoyed the challenge of placing the paper and photos just right so that no "dead space" would show through on the back of the page. Although I am kind of rub-on deficient (seriously), I liked the look of the black swirls on the acrylic pages. I definitely plan to work with acrylic pages again!

Then, a couple of weekends ago, I was looking at my stash of newly-created greeting cards and worrying about how I would preserve them so I could actually find them when I needed to. I made this nifty card book to solve the problem:

And finally, I attended a friend's baby shower last Saturday. Since it is her first child, I decided to give her a book full of "advice" (see sample, below).

So that's what I've been up to lately - lots of binding. In the near-ish future, I plan to bind my own visual journal to use after the Soul Journaling project is over. I've had so much fun combining words and art that I am sure I will want to continue!

Soul Journaling: Days 7 and 8

2008-07-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

Day 7 of Sarah Whitmire's Soul Journaling project included both journaling and art. I found the journal prompt, "I forgot to tell you...", turned out to be pretty intense. Knowing that I would be covering up what I wrote was actually a revelation - I didn't have to worry about regretting something, about hiding something, or even about the embarrassment of poor grammar and punctuation. I already firmly believe in the therapeutic value of journaling, but I think the act of burying the words away would add a new level on honesty in my writing. I will absolutely try it again, both in my art journal and my personal journal.

Anyway, about covering up what I wrote: I gathered the tape that I had around the house, but I didn't have too much. I used two layers of drafting tape and the attempting to add some electrical tape. I found that the surface of the tape was sticky, though, so I covered most of it with more drafting tape! Then I added some fun decorative tape I just happened to have lying around. I totally loved the result!!

And then.... Day 8. Jane hit it on the nose when she described me attempting this prompt in her blog. Our instruction was to sand our "tape collage" and cover it with paint. "Paint?," I thought. "But... it's so pretty the way it is!"

You see, I have a "but my background is so pretty, I can't cover it up!" complex. I know this will consistently hinder me as I try to evolve my work, but I'm having trouble getting over it. Where is the line between having a minimalistic style and being an artistic chicken?

Well, I managed to console myself by taking a photo of my Day 7 work (above). It gave me just enough confidence to complete my Day 8 assignment.

And you know what? I LOVE the result!

The inspiration for my paint selection was the polka dotted tape. I just managed to find the most nuclear shades of light and medium green in my collection. Whoa. Then I added some pearlescent bright pink. I love how the texture of the tape is emphasized by the paint. As you can see on the right page, the tape even started peeling up due to all of the sanding. It looks - dare I say it! - even cooler than it did on Day 7!

Needless to say, I had a ton of fun with these pages... right after I got over my trepidation, that is! I'm looking forward to seeing the other ways that the Soul Journal project will push my boundaries!

Soul Journaling: Days 5 and 6

2008-07-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

I completed my 2-page soul journal spread for days 5 and 6 on Friday. I've been so busy working on projects that I just got around to posting it now! I mixed a few burgundy/red colors with a little bit of black paint to create the background wash.

I probably went through over 10 magazines looking for the "right" image for each prompt. Cutting them into 1" squares wasn't as traumatic for me as I thought it would be. I spent a good half an hour arranging and rearranging the images, although I didn't have any conscious idea of what looked right or wrong. Guess I just left it up to the muse!

That was a fun scavenger hunt!

Soul Journaling: Days 1-4

2008-07-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I've taken an interest in Sarah Whitmire's Soul Journaling project. I finally sat down and took some photos!

Here's how my first page looked at the end of day 2's assignment:

I think I was most excited to use my "this book belongs to" stamp. I made a few stickers with it that I sent out to some random people via sendsomething.net, but this is the first time I used it for me!

I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed using my watercolor pencils. The pink, orange, and purple versions of my name, as well as the blue outline around my name, were done with watercolor pencil. I originally used the pencils as substitute colored pencils, but decided to break out the water brush just to see if I liked it. Those pencils are addicting!

Anyway, here's a photo of my second journal page after day 4 of the project:

There was a very long story that led me to the "soul armor" image I chose. I did initially find a nice traditional armor line drawing in one of my Dover books. I decided that, while I scanned it, I would see if any other pages of my Dover books needed scanning.

Out of the many images I looked at, the Art Nouveau artist stood out to me. I love how her back is turned away from the viewer - she's so involved in what she's doing that she doesn't care about the criticism and distractions from the outside world. She also seems to stand without hesitation - she looks confident while also maintaining her feminism.

I printed her out with the intention of using her for another project, but my friend Jane pointed out the obvious - she is a perfect image of "soul armor" for me. I colored her with colored pencil and added in "her writing" down the side of the page.

I actually felt a little uncomfortable finishing this page. I had read through Day 3 of Sarah's instructions, and then worked on the page until I felt it was done. As with most of my work, the composition is very, very simple. But then I looked at Sarah's Day 4 and felt like maybe I hadn't done enough. Did it need more alteration? More words? So I went back to my journal, looked at my soul armor and decided... I just need to let my art be what it wants to be. If I didn't feel rushed and I felt it was complete, then that's what it is. The only person that can tell me if my art is correct is me. I just really need to get comfortable in my soul armor so my inner critic loosens up!

Thank you, Sarah, for hosting such a fantastic project! I look forward to each assignment!

And thank you, Jane, for recommending the Soul Journaling project!

Secret Wish for the Day

2008-07-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

It's 11:03 on Monday morning. I'm still at home. I have two air conditioner technicians upstairs trying to replace a TXV valve. I'm using the time to read up on Sarah Whitmire's Soul Journaling project and I've got to say...

I don't want to go to work today!

I just started my Soul Journal yesterday (photos to come), and I'm about 5 days behind on the project. Wouldn't it be lovely to sit at home with my beautiful cats today and catch up? I could also finish the card holder I started, paint the box I made for Jane, start the second visual journal that I've been imagining, and perhaps even hit the jewelry-making sale at Joann Fabrics.

It always feels like there is never enough time to create all of the projects floating around in my mind. The last thing I'd want to do is truly catch up on all of these projects - what would I have to look forward to? - but every so often I yearn to devote a day to art, without distractions, just to make a bit of a dent - to make time for all of the new projects I'm bound to think up.

I just thought I would share. I hope you have an inspirational day!

Textural Bliss

2008-07-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

From the class she took with Michael de Meng, my friend Jane taught me how to make some cool textures and cover them with washes of acrylic paint. I've been having a lot of fun with this texture/wash concept recently.

I tried a couple of 2-D experiments first:

The object on the left is a piece of chipboard that I punched with a bind-it-all. I layered tub and tile caulk on top, added gesso, and then added a few washes to it. The ribbon on the bottom of that image is a close-up of the texture.

The object on the right is a strip of matte board. A couple of years ago I bought a jar of "jumbo snow-tex" on clearance at Joann, of course having no clue what I would use it for. It's texture is more granular than caulk (see close-up at the top of the image) and it creates lots of crevices for the acrylic washes to pool.

Both of these pieces gave me a "did I really do that??" feeling. They look almost organic. Unlike most of my art, which generally sits in a closed drawer, I love staring at these pieces.

***********
I also decided to use these textural experiments to move into the realm of 3-D. I have a large collection of little wooden boxes that I've been developing for years. 90% of them are completely unfinished, and the 10% I have worked on I've been pretty unhappy with. Whenever I pull out a box and start painting, I always feel that it looks unfinished when it's done.

Using the texture/wash combination, though, I'm pretty pleased with the result. I don't think these pieces are "done", but they make me feel inspired to finish their transformation.

I added caulk and a wash of "serial killer red" paint to a cylindrical container that I've had forever. Not sure if you can tell from this photo, but I imprinted a bottle cap into the caulk of the lid to give it a different pattern.

The second box I worked on was a hexagon covered with caulk. I used a credit card to apply the caulk and found that if I laid it flat on the surface, it left a funky pattern (close-up on right). I painted it with a turquois wash. Not sure what the finished piece will be this time, but I think the pattern turned out pretty cool!

Since I was so pleased with my texture/wash experiments, I prepped a few more pieces that haven't been painted yet:

The circular container has my key-shaped paper cast in it from the Green Pepper Press Street Team's Crusade #20. I surrounded it with caulk in an attempt to make it look "embedded" into the box lid. I'm a little nervous about applying a wash to that one - even though I covered the lid uniformly with two coats of gesso, I'm afraid the acrylic washes will look different on the caulk vs the paper cast.

The square box on the right is one that I'm preparing for Jane. When I brought the painted pieces (above) to show her, she had so many ideas for each one that I thought it would be cool for her to have one to work in as well. The biggest challenge is deciding on the color to paint it!

So those are some of the things I've been working on lately. What have you been up to?

Catching Up and Looking Back

2008-07-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm going to try to catch up on my blogging. I've been working on a wide variety of projects over the past few weeks. I received the latest issue of Papercrafts magazine a couple of weeks ago and, after reading it over dinner one night, I became inspired to make a few greeting cards:

I actually hadn't sat down to make cards in a while, aside from special occassions. I was actually really pleased with the result. They are simple, but (to me at least) they look much more professional than my early cards.

My descent into the world of crafting and, subsequently, art, began with card making circa 2005. I was hired by a contracting company to help a local corporation complete a large documentation project. Unfortunately, when I started (on a Monday), I was told that the large project had finished the Friday before. For some reason, they kept me around for months with nothing to do. I know some people might think that getting paid to do nothing sounds like a dream, but for me it was a very miserable experience. My self-esteem took a dive. I felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything in my life.

Just before I started the aimless contract job, though, one of my previous co-workers had taught me how to heat emboss. What a funny thing, huh? So when I started to feel unfulfilled with my job, I turned to this neat little technique and started researching card-making online. That was the first year I made my own Christmas cards.

The journey from card making to the art I create now has led me in many different directions, but as I have progressed as an artist, I've found that my art has really influenced me as a person. It went from being a hobby to becoming part of my definition of myself. It has greatly influenced my self-confidence in my personal life and has helped me let go of the infinite urge to be "in control" (I haven't completely let go... but I'm improving!).

Anyway, it was nice to return to the familiarity of card making for a while. Now, to whom do I owe greeting cards?

Retitling

2008-07-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

I hit my 26th birthday on June 30. Unlike most recent years, I didn't have a party. I didn't do all that much out of the ordinary. In fact, last weekend I had to remind myself that I was no longer 25. The lack of ceremony almost made me forget how old I was.

So anyway, I decided early in June that I was going to use my birthday, the end of my 25th year, to retitle my blog. I haven't liked my title since I started. I thought it might grow on me but.. eh.. not really. So look for a new title (or, better yet, send me suggestions) in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I've been creating some new art. A few wooden boxes. More than a few greeting cards. I will try to post pictures soon. I find that I get so excited when I have free time that I go straight to the craft table and start working, thus neglecting the documentation of my work on my blog. In the virtual world, I probably look like I sleep a lot.

And finally, I just watched the last three episodes of Season 4 of "The Office" tonight, and it's totally on my mind. I love that show!! *swoon*

GPP Street Team Crusade #21

2008-06-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

After a month in the making, I'm ready to post my results of this month's Green Pepper Press Street Team Crusade. As I relayed in my previous entry, I broke my right thumb early this month. Within a week, though, I was trying to complete this month's Crusade. Here was my first successful attempt, lifted off of a mounted rubber stamp:

The first challenge I ran into was that my first crayon (goldenrod) just wasn't working well. Second, I am not very strong nor am I graceful with my left hand. The impressions I made in that first week were very light, so the resist technique didn't really work as well as I hoped.

Fast forward 2.5 weeks. My thumb is healed now to the point where I can use it now and then for important things, like writing and GPP Crusades. I decided to pick up the crayon again tonight and, with the help of my boyfriend's coin collection (didn't realize he had one until he offered it for this Crusade), made some super cool crayon rubbings!

The coins are from all over the world. My favorite of the bunch is two shillings from England - it has a beautiful ornate pattern that transfers really well. Portraits, found on most of the coins, came out with varied results. And the largest circle - on the bottom right - was actually the faux strainer I used for straining pulp in last month's GPP Crusade. It turned out looking like mini sequin waste! (I love sequin waste! Wish I knew where to find more.)

I was so excited at the crisp impressions the coins made that I probably overexerted my thumb a bit. It's feeling kind of stiff at the moment. Perhaps I will give it a rest for a few days - I need to be ready for Stampfest this weekend!

Hope you are all enjoying the long days of summer!

Cause of Hiatus

2008-06-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't created too much art as of late, but it's mostly because I had a bit of an.... accident... playing softball. I wasn't a particularly good softball player to begin with, but I really enjoyed playing on a team in the rec league at work. On the last night we played in the tournament, I managed to hit the ball with my right thumb rather than, you know, the bat, and here is the result:

Yeah, it's broken. The incapacitation of my dominant thumb has done nothing to advance my creative endeavors. Well, almost nothing. Since I was referred from a clinic to an orthopedic doctor, I got to take my x-rays home and had a little fun playing with them in photoshop:

I find it delightfully creepy, especially considering it's my own hand. :)

It's been nearly three weeks now since I broke it, so I'm starting to regain some light use. I plan to post some new art pretty soon (at least my GPP submission for the month!). In the meantime, I thought I would share what I've been up to lately: Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

(My sister Amber and I trying to act serious around Darth Vader)

(My boyfriend Adam and I hanging out with some Jedi - Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, and Kit Fisto. My "nerd bone" is totally showing - what a silly grin I'm wearing! I love Star Wars.)

GPP Street Team Crusade #20

2008-05-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

I am finally done with this month's Green Pepper Press Street Team Crusade! This is the third crusade I've participated in and it was actually the one I had the most difficult time with. My paper casts are shown below.

(Clockwise from upper left - fish made from a ceramic piece, key, fairy made from a brass charm, and face from a polymer clay mold)

I used tissues with a handful of small paper scraps to make the casts. During the process, I kept feeling like I was spending more time straining and blotting the pulp than I did actually applying it to my pieces. It was driving me crazy! After conferring with Jane, I think I discovered the issue - my "strainer" was actually a repurposed kitchen drain stop, and was thus inadequate for the project. I intend to buy a real kitchen strainer (I know - who doesn't own a strainer??) a try making casts from rubber stamps and polymer clay molds in the future.

Meanwhile, Lucy is prepared to "recycle" my paper casts into cat toys. As I was trying to take photos of the casts, she decided they were interesting. You can't really see it in the photo, but she had the key cast in her mouth. Who knew tissue pulp was so tasty?

The Miracle of Potato Chips

2008-05-29T17:59:00.001-07:00

Although I haven't really found time to blog this month, I have at least had time to make a little art! After Jane returned from her vacation/class with Michael de Meng, she got me all fired up on paint and caulk. I went out and bought some fancy new colors and experimented a little in my art journal (pictured below). I put a layer of caulk down on the page first, stamped into it in one place, covered it in gesso, and tried out a few different washes. Although difficult to see here, I love the unexpected textures and patterns that the washes picked up. I can't wait to use it on a bigger project!

On a similar night of experimentation, I was inspired by Metal Craft Discovery Workshop, a book by Linda and Opie O'Brien. The metal techniques they share are really cool, and I fell in love with their patina recipes. It took me a little while to actually find little pieces of copper (patina works on copper and brass), but I managed to find little pieces of copper pipe for $0.39 each at Lowe's. Not ideal (I was looking for flat copper), but I just couldn't wait any longer to try out a patina recipe!

I used the recipe that involved leaving my little copper pieces in a tupperware of salt and vinegar potato chips overnight (there are a few more steps involved, but it's the chips that do most of the work), and my results turned out so cool!

As I stood in my kitchen fumbling around with potato chips and copper tubes, I had to wonder why I was going through all of this (somewhat bizzare) trouble just to make a perfectly good copper tube look like it was stuck in a drainpipe for years. I have some strange hobbies... but I wouldn't have it any other way.

GPP Street Team Crusade #19

2008-05-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

So, funny story. As I stated in my last entry, I haven't dedicated enough time this month to my art. I knew what Crusade #19 was over at the GPP Street Team, but hadn't gotten around to doing it.

I finally had some free time tonight, so I picked out an issue of Somerset Studio to gain a little inspiration while I had dinner. Mindlessly flipping through all of the lovely photos in the March/April 2007 issue, I stopped at an article about, of all things, creating stencils. And you know what? It was written by Michelle Ward! I took that as a sign - "the spirit of Michelle is telling me to stop slacking and complete the Crusade," so I did!

Let me start by saying that I didn't follow the directions. That's a funny thing, since I am a technical writer and write instructions for a living, essentially. However, I have a fear of glass (too many bad cuts from photo frame glass), and I didn't have any acetate lying around, so I went off in search of something kinda-sorta-but-not-really similar.

One of the first things I spotted was a glossy-covered paperback book that I'd been keeping to tear up in my craft room:

Not only would I be able to wipe the paint off of the glossy surface, it also had an excellent stencil image right on it. I cut out the hand:

And then I made some sample pieces in my art journal just to see how it worked. I used acrylic paint (was itching to try out some new Golden paints I bought last month), and had some decent results.

(Aside: The text at the bottom of the images were on a little scrap of a novel page that was leftover from another project. Every time I read "Jesse's hand," I get the song "Jesse's Girl" stuck in my head. Argh!)

I didn't want to stop at one stencil (it just felt too easy), so I decided to use some glossy junk mail for further creations. I knew I wanted to hand-draw my images, so I selected a copy of Ed Emberley's Make a World drawing book that I've had since I was a kid. I drew a whale!

For some reason, the whale told me it wanted wings. I made a tiny wing stencil, too, and gave him wings in my journal (again with acrylic paint):

I had fun playing around with the stencils, but I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else created!

Until next month...

I just wanted to say...

2008-04-25T16:20:00.001-07:00

I am such a slacker! I have barely created anything this month, even though I have lots of new paper and even a new book (Metal Craft Discovery Workshop). April turned out to be far busier than I orignally imagined. There are still a few days left, however, for me to complete this month's GPP Street Team Crusade! As a matter of fact, the deadline was even extended by a week. It should be no problem! Right?

.... right?

Inspiration to Write

2008-03-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

One of my latest artistic endeavors was to make a birthday present for my friend Robin. Robin is difficult to shop for because, well, if she finds something she likes, she usually just buys it. It makes finding a unique gift around town a challenge. That's why I decided I would make her birthday gift this year...

Robin recently told me that she wanted to get back into creative writing, a hobby of hers that had fallen to the wayside in her busy life. I finally landed upon a "journal jar" concept, which would allow her to select a prompt to write each day's entry.

I didn't have an appropriate jar for the occassion, so I decided to make a journal prompt box instead, along with a matching journal:

The box and journal are painted with black Golden gesso (because it's just so fun to use!), then covered with scrapbook paper. The letters are pink Heidi Swapp "ghost" alphabet letters. I dry brushed silver paint onto them to make the gel medium I used to attach them a little less noticeable.

Inside the journal, I used a bunch of random papers. Many of the papers were stamped, and some were even found ledger, graph, and notebook papers that I had in my collection. I loooooove found papers.

The journal was bound using the Zutter Bind-It-All that Jane and I bought. I learned the hard way that binding anything wider than about 4" is tricky unless you use the sizes listed in their special book. That's why it's only bound on the top and the bottom! Still, it created a sturdy binding and was way more fun than having to paint around wires.

In other news this week, Jane and I attended Scrapbook Expo Orlando. We took three classes - one by Rusty Pickle and two by SEI - and came home with three impressive, almost-finished projects. Well, three projects and lots of new supplies that we bought in the vendor area... hehe. Speaking of our purchases, has anyone heard of the company Sassafras Lass? They were new to me but had my personal favorite papers of the entire show! Soooo cute.

Tonight I think I will work on completing at least one of the class projects from the weekend. I also carved a new stamp last night that I should photograph and post. *sigh* So much art, so little time!

GPP Street Team Crusade #18

2008-03-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

Woo hoooooo!! Can I even tell you how excited I am to be taking part in my very first crusade with Michelle Ward's Green Pepper Press Street Team?? As I said in my first entry, the main reason I started this blog was so that I could take my friend Jane's advice and start playing in the crusades. I'm so excited to share my work!

Crusade #18 was to carve an original stamp. I knew it was possible, but it always seemed so... unattainable? Like something so mysterious and nebulous that I couldn't possible figure it out without a four hour class, you know? Fortunately, Jane has a little experience with stamp carving, so she was able to guide us to the proper tools for such matters.

I sketched a number of stamp ideas before actually carving, and even still, I consider my first attempts to be "prototypes" for larger, cleaner versions in the future. I have always been very frugal with my supplies (I think I have a subconscious fear that the world might run out of art supplies and I will be stuck with only the massive amount of supplies I already own), so I cut one of the blocks I bought in half and then carved my stamps into the front and back of it. Here they are:

After all that sketching, my first stamp was still totally free-hand. I think it's going to be used to write dates or possibly adjectives to describe a day in my art journal:

I don't know where my second image came from. I set out to make another journaling frame and it somehow turned into a cat... I have planned on starting a scarpbook of my cats, Lucy and Halloween, for a while. This might be a cute addition to the journaling. I'm hoping to carve it again, but bigger and more equally proportioned.

The only drawback I found of carving on both sides of the block was that although the "Today" image was pretty even, the cat frame was off-centered... which led me to get ink in the unbalanced corners. To remedy this, I cut some of the unused block out. It made the block a weird shape, but it did solve my ink issue.

Also useful - I have some of those markers that can be used as ink for stamps and they worked great on this material! It's an easy way to keep ink where you want it.

Thanks to Michelle, Jane, and the GPP Street Team for the inspiration! I had so much fun!

Experiments with Aluminum

2008-03-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

My dad owns a machine shop. At some point last year, he bought a fun new toy that is essentially a metal punch - it punches out standardized shapes in aluminum and other metals. He gave me a bag of these aluminum shapes last fall and I finally got around to playing with them.

The ones on the left were my first tries - alcohol ink and then an image stamped with Staz-on. The Staz-on didn't set as nicely as I hoped, so I decided to try embossing to get a cleaner image (middle). Although the aluminum took Versamark just fine, the embossing powder stuck all over the place! My best guess is that I should have cleaned off the aluminum first - maybe it still had some oil left on it?

In a final attempt to complete my "vision" of alcohol ink + rubber stamp, I tried the reverse (right) - stamp first, then add color. The results on that seemed to be a little inconsistent, too. This lead me to wonder - maybe Staz-on just won't stick to this type of metal? So I tried just the ink, using some fun dia de los muertos stamps from Stamp Camp:

The images came out crisp (except when I moved the stamp while making the impressions.. oops!). However, I found a few days later that I could literally rub the ink off with a tissue (the dude with the cigar is no longer with us... *sniff*). Jane suggested spraying them with fixative. As soon as I have a chance to work with them again, I think I will try it.

For now, though, I'd love to hear suggestions on what else I could do with little metal shapes! Maybe I could even mail a few out to let other people join in the fun...

Welcome to Quarterlife

2008-03-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Jane, understands me better than anyone else in the world. Lots of people know that I love coffee. There are 25 people in my department that know what my job truly feels like. I've got plenty of cat-owning friends that can sympathize with 3 AM hairballs on the bed. And every woman I know understands how challenging it is to find a nice pair of jeans.

Jane is special because she is the only person I know that understands the love of my life - art. She knows why I'd want to pick up a rusty washer in a parking lot. She can distinguish between a Lynne Perella piece and a Traci Bautista piece from 25 yards. And, of course, we can discuss adhesives for twenty minutes at a time. Jane's artwork is tremendously inspirational to me and I feel so blessed to know her.

All of that gushing is meant to explain why I have so much respect for Jane. This respect is the reason why, when Jane said "You have to join the Green Pepper Press Street Team!", I had to try it. So, here is my blog - my first step on what I am sure will be an inspiring journey. Watch this space for future creativity!