On a Little Walk

  My imagination went on a little walk and this is what it saw.
  
    A couple of little mixed media collages from my studio.

      These were made on canvas board, with acrylic paints, magazine bits, metal charms, and game pieces. A bit of graphite for a shadow here and there and a ribbon for hanging.

So many things can interrupt us from following our muse as artists. Here's hoping I have found my way back.

Pull up a Comfy Chair

Here's some more texture-filled fun I had with paper mache. I was sooooo inspired by Sue Pelletier in the May/June 2008 issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors that I had to create my own versions. I hope you like them.

They turned out very cush-ie, I think. I even had a fellow come to the viewing during First Friday at City of the World Art Gallery and say, "I know those chairs..." and proceed to name them.  What fun!

Art Makes my Heart Beat...

Lately my schedule has been overwhelming. When this happens I know that it is time for some art therapy.
So I make up a project that involves my hands in a very tactile way. A project where I have to really get my hands into the medium in order to create what I have in mind. Like modeling papier mache hearts, for instance.

Recipe: white glue + water (1 to 1 ratio), stirred well; plus torn tissue paper. And the fun begins!

Hot tip: It is a good idea to tear a bunch of tissue paper or soft paper before beginning the process. Not so easy to tear strips after your hands are all sticky. Lesson well learned!

 "Fleur de les Heart"

  

"Silver Springs Evening"

"Blue Heart Key"     

Caught the Art Bug

I really caught the art bug this last week at the Art and Soul Retreat in Las Vegas.  It was my first mixed media event like this and I had a blast. Jumped in with both feet and took four classes. Whew!
First one was a little overwhelming. We used  fluid acrylics, watercolor crayons, decorated papers, 3-D objects, and encaustic wax. It was "process overload" and not everyone was able to complete the steps. Personally I think the piece was too big to complete in the time.  I will have to work on this one on my own to finish. A disappointment for me.
Tuesday I took a soldering class which was satisfying, even though my piece shows that I am a beginner. Still I had fun smoothing liquid, hot silver over the charms. 

That evening Steampunk became the focus in the form of a metal shrine. The teacher was generous and it was a great class to take in the evening. I added the finishing touches at home and I plan to make some more.

"Over the Moon" Steampunk Shrine
Thanks to Lesley Venable and her inspiring class.


The bookmaking class on Thursday was super too. I had a great time in this one too, just want to do some more pages before I do the "final reveal".
Whew! I feel like I took a rocket trip to the moon and back- a marvelous mixed media adventure.

Early Spring songsters visit imaginary gardens

Spring seems to be arriving early this week. The sky has been clear and there is a faint cool breeze. And when I looked around my garden, it seemed the bulbs were being choked by the crafty crabgrass. And the crabgrass was laughing in triumph as it tried to overtake everything in it's way... Argh! What a mess!  It haunted me in those early morning dreams one has when you are slipping between sandman land and daylight. After my brief workout at the gym, I went right out to clean up the mess.

And on my painting table....
wishing for a better garden view, I splashed some gouche colors around to create these little impressionistic scenes. Added my favorite wire screening for a bitty fence, and a clay bird for personality and whimsy. Old text from a used encyclopedia, (no one uses these any more, do they?) was ripped into a cloud shape. One of my favorite things to do is rip paper. Just love those raggy edges.    Hope you like them.

"Nature is the art of God" favored quote of the day by Dante Alighieri.

"Yellow Bird Among Wildflowers"  and
"Bluebird Among Wildflowers"--Mini collages