Summer Heat 3/30

The photo I was planning to use today didn't turn out... so on to Plan B! The mixed media group I participate in has the challenge this week of "summer heat" but the studio is still in flux. What to do?!? Noticed the small clock in my cabinet of painting treasures (will share that one day soon) and decided it met the criteria for the challenge and would give me a blog post as well - twofer! This is a little piece I designed several years ago. I remember growing masses of roses when I lived in Southern California. We had old vines that grew along the garage wall and up onto the roof. That first bloom of summer was nothing short of amazing - a solid wall of color. Alas, my roses struggle here in Florida. The cooler weather of late winter & spring (cooler being not as hot as July, mind you) is wonderful but by August the heat and heavy rainfall begin to take its toll on the hardiest specimens. That doesn't stop me from trying though. I just enjoy what I can get and paint the rest!

Storage Idea for Hanging Stencils 2/30

The blog challenge group that I mentioned yesterday is thru effythewild.com - still trying to figure out how to post up her button but I will persevere!! Now back to today's post... While I am in the process of cleaning out the studio, thought I would share an idea from someone else's studio - just wish I remembered where so I could give them credit! This is a short over the door towel bar I found at a discount store. I used a package of those cafe curtain rings with the dangling clips and threaded them all on the towel bar. This get-up is hooked to the front panel of my cutting table. The panel doesn't go all the way to the top of the table but stops about 10" from the top so I have access to the top cubbies without having to rotate the whole table. Paper rolls and small storage boxes/bags are accessible through these openings. Okay - I am off topic a bit - back to the hooks! I have collected quite a few long stencils that don't fit nice & neat in the filing cabinet. These are hung 2-3 together on the hooks. I can easily flip through & find what I am looking for, they aren't getting bunched up and/or wrinkled and bent up, and I can store quite a few in a very small space! Since I stand at this table when I use my Gelli plate they are getting much more use. Win/win!

August Blog a Day Challenge 1/30

Challenge Accepted! Kelly Hoernig is participating a blog a day challenge via (will post this info tomorrow) and I thought it would be fun to play along. I will try to get the challenge link up by tomorrow but am a bit short on time to get that info plugged into this post. Working on some new ideas and my hibiscus tree has been prolific with new blossoms. Photographing this particular intense red has been a challenge. I am having to photograph the flowers at different times of the day. Intense bright sun gives me the glow from underneath the blossom but washes out all the detail on the surface. Fortunately these are only reference photos!

Glass Pendant

Artist Expo in Houston is over for another year! Class was 32 students strong and they had a great time creating lots of scarves. Now it is time to clean up the studio which is in dire need of an overhaul once again. How do I manage to make such a mess? While that is going on, not much in the way of artwork is happening. I do have a photo for you of a new piece of artwork to wear. My great friend, Margot, has a company that manufactures the color for fired glass (and Mud) - uniqueglasscolors.com. Her art partner, SJ, created some small pendant size dangles before we left for Houston. When I saw them I could see the potential for some necklace work. A little coated wire, a few beads, and the glass as a focal point was all it took to create some wearable art. What do you think?

New Website!

The new website is finally up & running - check it out!

THE WORLD IS BUT A CANVAS TO THE IMAGINATION... Thoreau

Creating this mixed media art piece gave me an opportunity to design in a way I seldom get to experience. With the only guideline "feather" it was clear that imagination would come into play in a big way quickly! Fortunately, I have been gathering quite a diverse collection of bits & pieces. The new stack of mono prints created with the Gelli plate would also be a factor. Bridging colors/shapes was accomplished with the addition of some colored pencil work. The final addition of a large button with silk spaghetti pulled through the holes added the cherry on top and finished the design.

Courage

Courage is being yourself everyday in a world that expects you to be someone else... Love this message! This was on one of the Tim Holtz stamp sets I just bought from Stampers Anonymous. This is the beginning of a new piece of art and I love the way it is coming together. Will show the final piece soon.

Etsy Store is Up & Running

Finally, I was able to post some of my work for sale in my Etsy store! More stuff will be coming soon but it was important to get this first step started. Here is one of the scarves that are available. What do you think?

Putting the Pieces Together

Once the silk square was trimmed to the finished size it was placed back onto the waiting canvas. Hmmm, the dark blue swallows the square - not enough contrast. Out comes the paint again and a bit of green is mixed with some black. I taped off a border around the silk square and painted this inside area with the black mixture. EDGES TOO STRAIGHT! FIX IT!! I grabbed the spray bottle with water and gave the edges a good spritz to soften and allow them to run a bit. Of course each side had to have a bit more paint dabbed on and allowed to run in each direction. Took a couple of times to get the dark in just the right place but finally it was complete. Once dry, a light coat of sealer gave the paint a finished feel & the silk was attached. The best part? I have a lovely piece of leftover silk from my trimmings that is just the right size for a journal cover. My next project has already begun! And my journey continues...

Determining Placement

OK, so all of those skinny strings of silk have been stitched down - now what? I remembered my handy cropping frames and pulled them out to help me figure out the best placement of the design. Since my canvas was square with a loose grid already established with paint, I decided that a square would be a good choice. I moved the frames around until I found a pleasing composition. This decision was tough as there were some really interesting areas I didn't want to lose. This is about the time I realized this wasn't a cruciform motif and the journey aspect came to the forefront. I could see roads leading somewhere - the path less taken perhaps? Where was this piece taking me?