The Cracker House

No, the title does not mean this is where you go when you have truly lost your mind... nor is it a place to score illicit drugs. A cracker house is old style Florida. The houses were built on a raised foundation and designed so that natural breezes could flow through. This is a colored pencil drawing I just completed. A friend has a newly refurbished cracker house on their property and wanted artwork to mark the completion. This isn't my usual art medium but was a very nice change of pace. Have you tried a new art medium or method recently?

Celebration of Discovery

Power of the Purse is an annual fundraising event for a local women's philanthropic group. The monies collected throughout the year is endowed to different support groups dealing with women's issues - ranging from literacy to legal and medical aid. The grant process was very thorough & the presentations by the recipients showed that the money will be used for worthwhile causes.

I had the opportunity to participate this year by donating a piece of art (enclosed photos) for their silent auction. The theme is purses - functional or nonfunctional pieces - and the amount of creativity in the entries was inspiring! Recycled materials was a definite ingredient in many of the pieces. We were invited to an artist's reception prior to the auction and it was really wonderful to get to know some artists that I wouldn't normally meet.

I had a wonderful time and am looking forward to submitting a piece for next year!

Roses & Denim

Two weeks from today Margot & I will join other decorative painters in Tampa for the Society of Decorative Painters' annual conference. Margot is teaching a class and is part of DecoArt's big event. The Decorative Arts Collection is also displaying a new book on handpainted carved Santas and Margot has a wonderful Santa in this book!

I have been busy painting a floral master board for submission in the SDP certification process - which is the reason for no post for so long!!! These submissions pretty much dominate your life for a serious chunk of time and I always seem to wait until the last minute to finish - must allow more time for next year!

Being in such a creative atmosphere for nearly a week can be very heady stuff and we are both working hard on our preparations for departure. I finished my handpainted jeans to wear to show & tell for our chapter's May meeting and wanted to share with you as well. Here is a close-up of the leg. There are a number of techniques included: hand painted roses, stamping, pen & ink, and vintage lace, button & fiber embellishment.

I have a commissioned piece I am working on right now that I will share when it is completed next week- something a bit out of the ordinary.

Okay, I am off to finish some more deadlines before we leave!

Do you have an upcoming creative pursuit coming up in your life?

Vintage Rose Collage

Today is a bit of a play day. I bought these wonderful clear stamps from sweet Gail at Shabby Cottage Studio and they have been "burning a hole" on my painting table for way too long. They finally came out of the wrapper today and became part of my artwork du jour! I started with a piece of wrapping paper that had a bit of a collage thing for starters. Various stamps were used with ink colors ranging from metallics, burgundy, rose & coffee, then embossing powders in an aged gold and white pearl were randomly sprinkled on, then heated with a heat gun to bubble away merrily. Before the heating, I discovered that I could take the sharp end of a wooden skewer and clean out areas where I really didn't want the embossing powder to stay, especially inside letters. I had the makings for some quick little mirrors and used a template to draw circles for the mirror backs. Before cutting out the circles, I painted some soft little pink roses in and around the embossing. When dry, cut out circles & assemble the mirrors. Voila! Quick & sweet & ready to give or sell. Hmmm....

Comments please...

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Hot Glass

Margot had her first ART Experience in her new studio last week! It was a whole week of creativity - LOTS of new painting to do!! And we were exposed to some new stuff out of the normal such as..... HOT GLASS! This was just too much fun. There were tons of glass colors to play with as well as all kinds of ground glass and other things to put in or on the glass before firing. Our special glass teacher, SJ, was wonderful and encouraging... can't wait to do more of this! Here is the piece I designed from one of my butterfly patterns. I quite liked the loose result I achieved and already have plans for more! More photos are coming from this wonderful week of learning.

What techniques or new materials have you tried?

A Sunny Disposition

We just returned from a week in Cozumel for their version of Carnival - a much more family oriented affair than the Mardi Gras in New Orleans! We spent a wonderful week with lots of beach/reading time for the gals and diving for the guys. Our friends from Idaho, Nancy & Eric, were glad to get out of the cold for a few days and we had a wonderful time visiting with our friends, Christy and Chucho - and their adorable little sweetheart, Sarina. Here is a photo of Sarina enjoying some wave action. She is a true water baby!

Light a Path to a Happy & Creative 2008

This is the time of year for new resolutions, but I prefer to think about which direction I want my creative self to travel. Are there new mediums & techniques I haven't tried yet or maybe old techniques just need to be revisited in a new way. My brochure is here for the Society of Decorative Painters convention held in May... do I want to try new techniques & teachers or do I want to further challenge and refine my knowledge in my current painting mediums?

Do I want to teach more classes this year? (of course!!) And what do I want them to learn?

This past year resulted in traveling down some very different creative paths. At the beginning of this past year, who knew I would have my artwork hanging in a fine art gallery in downtown Orlando? Didn't see that one coming at all but it was a direct result from challenging myself to follow a path never before attempted. For that matter, who knew I would start a blog and put forth my art for all the world to see?

My creative path is illuminated by many sources, but just a few are... very creative friends willing to generously share their time and ideas, the many and varied creative publications we have accessible in today's market, and so many creative blogs that provide so much inspiration... all have been invaluable.

Where does your creative path lead you?

Wishing you a Happy New Year and a richly creative journey.

miss harmony

Wow - who stole November and how can it be only about 2 weeks until Christmas? Margot & I are preparing for a new show at the City Arts Factory in Orlando that opens on the 20th. The theme is shades of Black & White! This is definitely not a normal style for either of us so the challenge has been quite intriguing. Here is a portion of my entry. It is a reverse glass painting with a mixed media background.

What have you attempted lately out of your comfort zone?

Frog-O-Rama!

This is another element from the 7 Naughty Witches trunk designed by Bobbie Takashima. There are frogs of all shapes and sizes found in this design and this is one of my favorites. These little guys were just too much fun to paint!

I am off to a SCUBA trade show for the next few days and will return in November just in time to post some Christmas stuff. Until then, HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND TRICK OR TREAT!!