My Girl

I finished her the other night and hate to leave her anywhere. I move her from room to room with me throughout the day and love looking at her. She's my Angel of Inspiration and she represents who I am as an artist. She's constructed primarily of fabric and wire- my personal fave's. She is also very mixed media and glories in it. Besides fabric and wire she has a torso made of a spool of thread and arms that are paper clay. Her skirt and jacket are- of course- artist's canvas and have needles embedded on either side of the front. You've probably caught the sewing theme by now but for extra emphasis she's holding a small embroidery scissor given to my by my mother. Besides sewing she loves found objects (the pieces of carpenter's ruler) and she is of course, much enamored with birds. Because she represents my inspirations I had to include my love of drawing and color by adding in the used and broken bits of caran' dache crayons.

Because I love flowers (you all know that I do) she wears flowers, one in her hair at one at her breast. She's my girl and I love her and I hope you do too. She is also, my final entry for the Artisan contest so I am done done done! In the few weeks since I decided to jump in and enter so many amazing artists have contributed their work to the contest, I really want to encourage you all to stop over and take a look. But it's a little scary. There are some truly amazing works and I look at my entries and feel the pull to protect them and myself by not entering. If I don't then there's nothing risked and I won't feel badly if no one likes them. But if I do enter, and post my three little projects then I'll feel like I've been brave and feel good about myself for having done it. The flip side of course, is feeling regret if I let this opportunity, this chance, pass.

So I'm gonna jump- I think My Angel would approve.

Valentine Inspired Art- 2009

The act of creating amazes me. Sometimes I have to really work to create something. These pieces seem to develop over time and take a lot of thought and questioning. I consider each decision I make carefully. Then there are the other times when the work seems to flow effortlessly and I hardly know what I'm doing. I just do it. Those are the pieces that to me seem inspired. Then I'll have to slog through 2, 3, or more of the first experience to reach the place where everything just flows effortlessly again. This can get discouraging. It's like reaching the peak only to have to go down and start all over again. I want the peak experience every time. I've come to realize though that art, like life, takes a commitment to work on through the difficult places. You have to be willing to create bad works of art in order to create a great one.

With Valentine's approaching I've been thinking about love and when I had the chance to create on Friday I did a light, sweet mixed media piece with lots of hearts (above). The entire process was a struggle. Nothing seemed to look just right. I think I painted over it 2-3 times at least. Finally I decided to give it a rest and I slapped a bunch of paint on some recycled canvases I had. Slopping paint is purely therapeutic and really that is where it's artistic value lies. But I was going to use these as backgrounds and really didn't care much about how the slopping went. Then the painting started to develop and became "true love..."This piece just flowed. It seemed to create itself- it was also a true reflection of how I see love now. The first piece was fun and sweet. This piece has a darker side to it. The text says: "true love comes only after we make the choice to be true to the one we love". I've been married for ten years to a wonderful man and I know now what I didn't know in the beginning. Marriage takes work and commitment not just sentiment and chemistry. It takes making the choice once those fade, and life gets rough to commit and be true. When I fell in love it was involuntary. Later, I made the choice to love truly.

So be willing to work when you don't feel like it. Be willing to make truly awful art. Trudging through those valleys, committing to the path, and then making that climb upwards is the only way you will reach the peaks.



Note: This was originally posted February, 2009- Enjoy!

Chicken Wire Inspirations- New Mixed Media Art

OH- the creative juices are flowing lately and I have way too many ideas and plans. Today I ran over to my local craft store and picked up a grey sweatshirt, a bunch of wooden finials and wooden accents, some snowflake stickers, a wooden ruler, some snaps, and when I got home and poured out the contents of my bag on the table I just sat down and laughed. I had the pieces for four different projects. When am I going to get done 4 more projects? But I'm determined. Otherwise the ideas are going to just flit around my mind bothering me until I give them some attention. Do your creative thoughts pester you like this? They suck up my concentration and disturb my thoughts until I'm just annoyed with them and will work on them just so I can move on.

Lately, I've had chicken wire on the brain. Maybe, because I'd toyed with the idea of submitting a chicken wire entry for a Somerset Life call. Maybe, because one of the projects I revisited at the photo shoot was chicken wire. Maybe, because a friend mentioned a bed stead made of chickenwire. I don't know why but it would be on my mind after all that.... :) Two days ago I had a vision of a chicken wire angel. Her body would be wood, her wings- metal, and her skirt- chicken wire. I've done some figures in wire but I think this mixed media angel could be something really special. So I gathered up a bunch of potential materials and I thought I'd give you a look. See what you think. I love how a mess of mismatched elements can become something.

Two weeks ago I created a chicken wire heart and then wrapped it with cheesecloth strips that have dried plaster compound on it. You dip it in water and then it hardens into the shape of whatever you lay it on. Mine was originally created to make medical casts. You know, to wrap broken arms or legs or whatever. I got it at a surplus store ages ago and it wasn't performing as well as it did 13 years ago. Maybe there's a shelf life I didn't know about. :) But whatever, the plaster was a bit crumblier than it had been and so I ended up covering up most of it with fabric strips that I dipped in liquid starch. You can buy the plaster product under the name Rigid Wrap at any craft store- mine came on a bigger roll th0ugh and was tons cheaper. So here's a look at that project too.

I love setting myself the task to really explore a medium or material. Once I start to play around with the possiblities of something the ideas just flow. So think about it... What could you create? Maybe it'll get your creative juices flowing as well....

Tinned Treasures

It started as a challenge to my creativity. I'd asked my Dad to pick me up some old lunch trays I'd seen at a garage sale he'd organized. When he brought over the trays he gave me a box of old cookie tins too. Thought I'd want them too. I think cookie tins are kind of pointless and I really had no use for them- but it's my dad and he'd got them for me so I mumbled thanks and tossed them in the garage. But later I was thinking about art and how really we should be able to make amazing art out of anything. So I started to play around with the tins. I did a post a while back with my first experiments altering their finish. I'd crackle painted one and spray painted another trying to see what I had to work with. Then I dropped it to do the book stuff.

So a couple of days ago when I needed to try and quick come up with a submission idea for the next Sew Somerset my eye fell on the tins and I thought I'd give them a try. Anything can be art right? The tin on the right is my first attempt. I really struggled with it at first. I knew I wanted to use some fabric and wire- :) and I knew I needed to include stitching, and because of the depth I thought it'd be cool to have things at different levels. So those were the parameters.

It turned out kind of fun. The central flower is actually fabric petals that I cut, coated with gel medium and then stuck to a mini plastic easter egg. To attach the wire, I used my handy dandy crop-a-dile and punched holes. The little silhouette at left is courtesy of Singlestone Studios. I was trying to channel the whole cameo look.

So there you have it- a little creativity and now I'm looking at the tins in my garage in a completely different light. Thanks Dad!

The Thing with Feathers....

There is a piece of a poem that has been circulating through my mind for some time now and because of that I wanted to use it in one of my creations. The poem goes like this....

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all....
By Emily Dickenson

Maybe it's the bird connection, maybe it's just the magnificence of Emily's poetry... I don't know why this poem has become a jingle that lingers and pesters and sings to me at times but it has. Because I love this poem and because it has been right at the surface for so long now I've been wanting to explore it and own it by using it in my art. But like the thing with feathers it's been ever present but illusive and I've not found the right place for it. Last week it became the text of a mixed media piece I've been working on.

The art work itself has been lingering for quite a while as well. I did the background months ago during one of those slop it on paint sessions and the stitching followed about a week later. The wire nest was next and although I knew I wanted a bird for the piece I was stalled out for a while trying to imagine the right medium to use for that bird. I wanted the look of an old illustration but didn't want to draw or paint it myself. So a photocopy seemed the best answer but I didn't fancy the look of a piece of paper glued on. It seemed too one dimensional in comparison to all the 3d work that I had wired or glued on. But I didn't want another sculptural element either. It would upset the balance between 2d and 3d to add another 3d piece. SO I let the entire work alone for a couple of weeks and let my subconscious work on the solution without me. :) Finally I decided to print out the image on fabric and then stitch it on.

After that I added the text. I wrote it on with a watersoluble pencil and then added a bit of water. Unfortunately or fortunately it blurred my lettering. So I have to address that yet. Do I want it legible? Or is it fine if only I know what it says and the text becomes a blurry design element? What do you think? Leave it or make it readable? I could do another print out of the poem and stitch that over the handwritten text..... that would accentuate the contrast between the printed and the painted elements of the piece further...... I also want to add some eggs to the nest. I'm thinking paper mache but maybe clay....Maybe I should make some feathers and add those to the nest instead of the eggs. I've too many ideas! HELP ME PLEASE!!!! Maybe one of you wants to just tell me what to do....;)

On my mind- Construction and Clay

A quick look in a new direction-I made this piece this weekend. I had a ton of orders and work to do but needed a creative break. So I grabbed a piece of bark from the garage and went to town with some new flower forms. The rose in the middle started life out last week as a little bird's nest but I liked the look of the form so much I kept it as is (there's a close up if you scroll down a bit). Lately all my creative dreaming has centered on two ideas.

The first is a constructed piece. I want to continue to develop my construction skills. It started out with the birdhouse assemblage I demo'd for you all a few months ago. But now I'm thinking of framing the wood all around and using a teal crackle medium to coat. Maybe with a cream on top- or below. Haven't decided yet. But then I want to wire on some more flowers. And here's the revolutionary part- I'm thinking of painting my wire. Not with a spray- hate that look but by hand with some metal compatible paints. I just have such a yearning for color lately. We'll see. Soo stay tuned on that one!

Now that I know you're riveted I'll let you in on the other idea as well. I've been playing around with clay and wire pendants (see Paris- a few posts ago) and want to start sewing into the clay. Maybe wiring elements like buttons or beads. I've just got a strong feeling it could really develop into something I love.

Part of the art of art I think is to continue to develop as artists. Sometimes that might mean just learning a new technique. Sometimes that entails a complete shift into a new direction. But for me, right now, my art is branching. I'm continuing to stick with some of the images I love but starting to use them in different ways. I can't wait to see where this all leads. Hopefully you all will stay tuned and help me along the way with your comments. I really appreciate knowing when something you see here on the blog strikes a chord. Or if you'd like to see more something.

Thanks again to all of you who have stopped by and have commented on my work. I love getting the reaction of others to what I do!

Aaah...Paree!

It's officially Spring now but today it's sleeting outside. Luckily I have my new and beautiful stamp set, Paris in Love, to focus me on much lovelier things and buoy my spirits! This is the third set Shelley of Singlestone Studios designed for her April 1st release. I LOVE this set. More than any of the other sets this one seems to speak to me. Yes I love the images but I love the way you can look at the images and see a story. As if they are illustrations to some great romance that has yet to be written. There is great music out that will paint a picture in your head while you listen to it. That is the best way I can describe how I feel about this collection of text and images. The rose tossed to the ground, the looming Eiffel Tower in silhouette, the swirl seems like a breeze, the postmark, they all point to a place and a story. Maybe there was a love letter? Maybe some secret assignation between two lovers who's hearts pound as they meet. They don't need to speak, they've written all their thoughts in letters. Now they only whisper little phrases that say nothing but that speak to each heart of a great love.

I don't know how Shelley chose the images and text she did for this set but I really do LOVE how it all comes together in my imagination and tells me this story. The first piece of artwork I did with this set is kind of a memory board of this love story that didn't actually happen. I chose postcard papers and pages from a French-English Dictionary to create the background. Then I added some ink, some paint, and the stamped imagery. I loved the scratched up, mixed media feel of the piece. So I really accentuated that. I added some paper patterned with script that made me think of the love letters I was envisioning. The red acrylic was to add a sense of passion and romance. I think the addition of the wire flower, because of the way it's attached, gave me the sense that this was a sign of sorts. In another form it would have been hanging over the entrance to a cafe but here, it merely points the way to my story of lovers. I really loved how this piece came together and I had a ton of fun creating it.

After this piece I thought it would be fun to make an invitation with the stamps. I created some ink blots, and used a credit card in black acrylic to frame the Tower. Then, because I was having waaayy too much fun with this set, I threw together this little clay pendant. Again it has the roughed up aged quality that just screams romance to me. The final project I have in mind I haven't done yet. But can't you just imagine a pair of white undies embellished with red lace and some of these stamped images? I have to try it! When I do I'll post so you can see what I mean. Trust me, it will be sooo cute you're gonna want your own!

The Paris set, the Tweet set, and the Butterfly Garden set all go on sale TOMORROW- April 1st! To purchase go to www. singlestonestudios.com! Then when you've done you're own projects I would LOVE to see pics!!

Just a little Tweet

Today's projects were inspired by the So Tweet set of art stamps designed by Shelley of Singlestone Studios! The So Tweet set is much more mod in styling then the Butterfly Garden set I showed you a post ago. SO the projects it inspired in me have a totally different look than the accordion book.

The first project I did was this clipboard. I used papers that Shelley designed, then ripped them, painted over them, and continued to layer them. The colors of these papers are purple, yellow, chartreuse, and pink and all very very tweet. After layering the papers and paint I added some stamps from the Tweet set. I love the birds and flowers. The little birdhouse stamp is adorable as well. Then I stamped tweet all over and then to finish added rub-on's from memory makers (Chloe's Closet).

I love the way you can mix and match the text stamps in this set. Shelley included words like "home", "tweet", "shower", "your so", "baby","our new nest", and "thanks so much". In the birdhouse piece I used the home and tweet stamps but other combo's include "your so tweet", "tweet so much", "tweet shower", "tweet baby", "home- our new nest", and "baby- your so tweet" the applications are endless.

In fact, all the images are scaled just right to really mix and match everything.The tree was a blast to work with and I think stamping a little line of trees- and adding elements to show the change of seasons would be sooo fun. Did I mention I LOVE the versatility of this set? I love the way all the projects I did turned out. My favorite however, is the birdhouse. To create this piece I first glued on torn pieces from an old french-english dictionary I found. Then I painted over the entire piece, adding more or less as I wanted the pages to show through. After this I set it aside and played with the stamps. I used Sculpey and pressed the tulip stamp into it then cut apart the stem from the flower and baked them seperately. That way I was able to paint them red or green with more ease. Plus, when I glued them to the birdhouse I was able to position the flower heads at different angles for a slightly more natural and engaging look.

TIP= When I cut out around the image prior to stamping I left a little border all the way around the image. That gave me the raised outline on all the finished images. SO CUTE!!!!

After gluing on the clay pieces I stamped on the bird on the roof,the text, and the butterflies using my ink pads. The leaves of the branch I stamped on with acrylic. The doodling was all done with a black wax pencil. Then I went back over the entire piece with more white and added some purple paint to highlight- which I then brushed right over with a bit more white to blend it in to the rest of the piece. Finally, I used my black wax pencil to doodle in the butterflies' flight pattern and to add a few more finishing details. I'm really lovin' how cute it is. By the way, should you want to make your own birdhouse, I purchased the wood form complete with the little fence out front, from my nearby JoAnn Etc. for under $5 bucks!

For more information and actual images of the stamps I used check out www.singlestonestudios.blogspot.com. Shelley has been posting sneak peeks all week along with photos of projects created by the other design team members. So go and check it out to see all the cool frames, tags, and super trendy cards YOU could make with this set!!! The sets will be available for purchase April 1st!

The Fab 5- Update

My time the last couple of days has been devoted to creating some sample projects for Singlestone Studios new line of ART STAMPS! It's been nice to have the chance to get back into the paper arts. Although I couldn't leave it all behind- many of the sample projects did get a little sculptural. Shelley, of Singlestone, designed these beautiful stamps. Lucky me, as a member of her design team (the fab 5) I was able to get an advance copy of the stamps and then told to run with them. PLAY!!! I think I did a total of 6 projects. I tried to vary between easy and wild. But the birdhouse was just me having some fun. Shelley will be introducing the stamps this week along with projects from the other design team members as well. Her hope is that they inspire other artists to create their own fun and imaginative projects. SOoo.. check them out! They go on sale April 1st and for the sneak peek check out Shelley's blog.

I think for pics I'll show you a few each day as she unveils the stamp set I used. There are three sets. The first, Butterfly Garden, was very easy to use. The stamp images are beautiful and vary in size- which was helpful. I created an accordian book with pictures of my son Jasper. He loves to pick me flowers- and he knows he'll always get a hug and kiss for them, so as he presents them he braces immediately for the hug. He didn't quit when the flowers died either. He's been breaking off the seed heads all winter and "surprising" me with them. It's pretty cute. It was really fun to get a chance to put together in an album the different pictures I have of him with these flowers.

A quick note- the papers I used in the book were also designed by Shelley. They coordinate with the stamps and will be available as downloadable PDF's sometime in the near future. Using the two together made this project really simple to design.