Time in the Studio= New Work!!!

Lots of new stuff to make in the next week or two- it's made getting a post done difficult. My sketchbook is overflowing and it's just a matter of getting it out of my head and into my hands. Or your hands as some of this will be available for purchase in either the Etsy shop or at The Studio at Rush Creek.


Finding time to work on my art is always difficult. I'm sure it is for you too. Time spent making art is time away from the family, the to-do list, and other commitments. So it was really wonderful to be able to have some free time this weekend to work on some projects. One of the projects was this mixed media corkboard. The other is this little photo holder. Both are newer versions of previous projects. The photo holder can be found over at Etsy later tonight. The corkboard will only be available over at The Studio at Rush Creek for now while I work on a way to ship that size item.

I've also a new mixed media in the works, a couple of tutorials, and a few more storage ideas to share. SO have a good Monday and see you soon!

Art Quote Collage- Inspired by Play

Yesterday I was looking for some inspiration. I was feeling like the thing I was working on wasn't coming together; so frustrated, I moved on to something else. One down. I got a little crazy with that next work, realized the smear of paint was not going to work. Sigh. Two down. I'm sure later I'll come back to it and figure out a new direction to take it, but yesterday, it felt RUINED.

Now desperate for something, anything to actually work out for me, I decided to calm down and just play a little. So I grabbed a little canvas I'd started to paint and collage a while back but set aside when I just wasn't feeling it, and I started to play on that. I got out all the yummy yummy art materials I've collected lately and haven't tried yet and started to piece them all out on this canvas. It got a little busy looking for my taste but it was fun and I couldn't, wouldn't stop. It felt like a luxury to be able to use all of these beautiful art materials and in the process of playing I let myself unwind and enjoy.

The quote came at the end- the very last thing I found and added. It makes me smile to realize that the words of Matisse were just the words I needed to hear when I began this piece. Don't wait for inspiration, don't worry about a lack of it, just go make stuff. You'll find that when you play, the inspiration comes through that very act of letting go and enjoying yourself and your materials. Matisse said it shorter but this is what I heard in his words. :)

Some of the fun materials I used:
An old carpenter's ruler
Melody Ross Artsy Urban line of chipboard stickers
A piece of a birds on a wire decal from Single Stone Studios
Fabric from my Basic Grey for Moda charm packs
Some lovely and fun Rub-on's from Jenni Bowlin studio
Some torn pieces of text from an old swedish poetry book
My fave crackle paint- Broken China from Ranger
Some scraps of Basic Grey's Urban Prarie scrapbooking paper
A couple of old buttons
Quote hand stamped on fabric and then stitched around edge
A wire heart- of course!

I'm Dreaming of.... Chicken Wire and 16-Gauge Steel

I've been dreaming of chicken wire and 16-gauge steel wire lately. The ideas are stacking up so much that it's starting to make me anxious. Does this happen to you? Do the ideas come in floods at times till they threaten to overturn your artistic boat? The only solution I know is to play and work at getting some of the ideas out of my head and into my hands. Either in sketch form or actual created form. To do this I really need to turn off the computer, throw on some music, and find some alone time. All harder to do than you'd think!

Speaking about chicken wire creations-Here's another of my chicken wire angels. She's only part way done (she's going to be my little token for spring) a garden angel. So I'm still trying to work out a way to include some seed packets, or more leaves, or some charms, I don't really know yet.

I'll keep you posted- maybe today will be my chicken wire day. I'm thinking chicken wire frames, chicken wire with fabric, chicken wire photo holders, chicken wire silkscreened to pillows, chicken wire wall art, chicken wire with candles.... hmmm.

New Art Coming Soon!!

I'm getting really excited by all the new things I've been working up for Etsy! I plan to reopen the shop either later this week or early next. YAY!!!!

Here's a look at another one of the trays I've been playing with. This one has the word "sweet"written in wire and then attached to it. The added 3D element really made the composition for me. Fun!

Here's a picture of it up on my wall. To hang I used E6000 to glue on a little sawtooth hanger. The tray is insanely lightweight so I think it should work beautifully. SWEET!

Junk Art- Using Old Trays in New Ways

Wondering what to do with all those old metal lunch trays you have lying around the house? Ok- so you probably don't have that problem, but I did. Last spring I was at a charity garage/rummage sale my dad runs every year and was about to leave, when my dad tossed me an old tray. He had a stack of them and thought I would want to do something with them. I didn't- they looked pretty hopeless, I mean they weren't even a pretty color, just a rusty old cream.

But I took a couple anyways and when I got home I played around with one of them. My first idea was this memo/magnet board. It turned out kind of cute so I called my dad and asked him to save me the rest of the trays- if they were still there. They were. :) So I got the whole stack.

The memo board came together really quickly and didn't require much in the way of tools or materials either. Some fabric scraps,embroidery floss, a little memo sign, a scissors, glue stick, and my trusty Crop-a-dile were all it took. The Crop-a-dile is my favorite tool ever. It chomped through the tray like butta'. So I went a little crazy and chomped holes on each side of the tray, but then I was able to thread floss through them and give the edge a stitched look. The magnets are buttons stacked and tied together with butcher's twine with a magnet stuck to the back. Easy and cute!

I didn't have the time to get back to the trays until yesterday when I grabbed one and started to play around with an idea I'd had. I wanted to use the tray as a base for a fabric collage. It turned out to be super easy and the result was pretty cute so I thought I'd share it with you. I thought maybe you'd like to make your own. I mean- there's a shortage of inspirational signs made of old lunch trays in the world. Right?

Wire Embellishments- Coming SOON!

I stayed up late the other night writing with wire. It was fun and I liked the look so I just kept going... and going...and going. In fact I bent the night away! I was watching Cold Comfort Farm while doing it and the time just flew.

On occasion people have purchased items from me to use in their own artwork. Birds, flowers, words, little bits of this or that. I love the idea that they are combining my work with theirs. So for a while now I've had it in mind to try selling some of my wire work as "supplies" on my Etsy site. I thought I'd start with words. I've used them stitched into mini art quilts, and my canvas paintings, as well as on scrapbook pages. They just seem to add a really nice dimensional layer and I really like the look of the wire combined with fabric and paper. These are sized just right for use in any of those mediums. I also thought that maybe using the words in their mixed media work would maybe encourage more people to pick up the wire for themselves and bend a little of their own. A girl can dream, right?

In the meantime.. for all those mixed media artists out there- Wire Words Embellishments- Coming Soon!