Valentine's Pretties

As previously mentioned I kind of sucked on the Christmas gifts so here are a few Valentine's make goods.

This one is a necklace I made for a super sweet friend of mine. I couldn't resist the "Queen Bee".



I've had this collage on my desk for a long time and finally finished adding pieces parts.



The collage made its way into this charm and I love the close up. I want to think I was channeling Frida Kahlo without the color and amazing talent but it's my moment of delusion so there you go.

Mom's Collage

I posted back in February a collage I did for my Dad as part of his b-day and it's got his baby picture on it, I think it's really cute. My Mom called a few weeks ago and requested her own collage and I was swamped with several other projects ... and kinda forgot... until now and I finally did it last night when I was having trouble sleeping. Note: staple gunning at midnight when hubby's sleeping is really just asking for trouble! Anyway, I finished it last night and my husband just needs to make the frame and it'll be ready to ship north to Mom.

I should explain that my Mom is ultra-feminine and girly. For Mother's day one of the things we got her was a hot pink polka dotted faux fur lined dog carrier so she could carry her 6 lb bichon around with her... yeah, Nikki and Maya the Akita are not friendly. :) I wanted her collage to be reflective of her personality so this is what I made. Pink and chocolate are one of my favorite combinations and the colors go perfectly with the rose. My mom has loved roses and worn a floral/rose scent for years so I always think of her when a smell roses.

I hope she likes it.

Mixed Media Herbal Collage

Over the last couple of days I've been working on a collage piece using a large tile I made when I was in my tile making frenzy. I added a button and covered the black clay in pearl-ex prior to baking then I went through several ideas of what to use inside of it. I originally wanted to find a renaissance or Elizabethan period costume and add charms but I decided to search through a reproduction herbal book I have (it's okay to cut up and use for art... Maya chewed most of the pages and completely destroyed the cover when we first got her) and I found an image I liked and added it to the wood base. I decided to keep using my new found border technique with the torn paper, I used vintage sheet music a friend gave me, but added paint and charcoal pencil rubbing to add texture and interest. I finished it off with cut out text of a German herbal and decided I really liked how it turned out.

I'm sure it's still not to hubby's taste but maybe I'm getting closer!

Mother-in-law's Mother's Day Card

I just realized I never posted my mil's card. I think it's kind of cute to go along with my Mom's card. The only problem is that they're never seen as a pair... oh well, they're a pair in my mind and on the blog. I had a lot of fun tearing all the elements and piecing them together. Ripping paper helps get rid of any frustrations you might've had for the day!

Mentioning of frustrations reminds me that my hubby is being really, really patient with me as I've taken over the kitchen in my making of polymer clay tiles. I have a couple of specific projects and gift projects in mind and I really want to have an overabundance of tiles to choose from so I can pick just the right one. You know, like shoes. :)

He's a very sweet man and even I'll do a post-Mother's Day thank you to his Mom, she did a great job!

Slow and steady

I'm working on this philosophy for a few days to see how it goes. I usually do things in a fit of frenetic energy and then am wiped out and veg. I'm working on taking it slower and working on a few cross-functional kinds of things like art and cooking for next week when I'm too tired to do it at 7. So far, it's kind of ok. I had dinner almost completely done tonight because I made it last night but I'm now cramming in Mother's Day cards because I didn't do it last night... so maybe not so ok. :)

Here's my Mom's card... good thing she doesn't know about the blog! I was in a vintagey floral feeling, which is very much my Mom, so I hope she likes it. Tomorrow, hubby's Mom's card.

Late Night/Early Morning Collage

I started this piece last night (I've been mulling it over for weeks) and I was compelled to just get a version of it out in the world. My photo choices were a little limited. I originally pictured this with a baby but I came across the little girl who looked very sweet and I loved the idea of her playing with a wand and creating shooting stars and flowers.

I started the piece with gesso, paint and paper border. All of that dried overnight and this morning I added gel medium and the silver paint. Again, drying time that for once I didn't try and push. I started adding the images and art bits and called it done once I had the floral images on. For some strange reason, I love all my pieces that have something floral. I guess for me, I know it's finished when a cabbage rose has been added!

Friends Collage

Just a reminder that sometimes our best friends have 4 legs and not two. I love my puppies (100lbs each so allowances have to be made with the term puppies!) and they bring some of the best love and comfort, especially when you didn't even know you needed it. I made this collage tonight not quite sure where it was going but I found the vintage picture and kept adding until I was relatively happy with it. I still struggle with knowing whether to keep going or to back off so next time, maybe I'll keep adding until it's 3-d on top of 3-d!

So tonight be sure to tell any furry companions how much you appreciate them... They'd do it for you! :)

Buddha at a fuzzy angle

Here's another collage I made this weekend. I was playing around with color and texture but Buddha isn't translating as well from the scan as I hoped. I may need to try it with the camera. I like the background but I didn't get a good balance with the mail elements. I tend to like things very sparse or way overboard. I'm working on finding the good middle ground...

Again, I used a mix of acrylic glazes on a gessoed canvas. I used one of my favorite text stamps to create the words and then the red dragonfly stamp was used with the colorbox chalk stamps... fyi, the ink really doesn't want to dry. I had to use the heat gun and a little clear embossing powder. I love the colors but really need to work on the composition.

Some days are easier than others

I inadvertently took a little art break by becoming swamped at work and by non-art life. I managed to get a couple of collage pieces done but I'm not sure how happy I am with them. I wanted to make something really fun and spring/summerish with memories of school almost being out and 3 months of freedom to ride bikes, swimming in the creek and eating homemade ice cream while chasing fireflies. I don't think I got there, but it was something different and kind of fun. I used acrylic paint and glaze on a gessoed canvas then wrote all my great summer memories in a word list with a sharpie. I rounded it off with a collaged ice cream cone. I added ribbon and some glitter and pronounced it festive.. not what I have in my mind, but fun with the sharpie was had!

Cranky

Okay, I was a little cranky when I started this but blogger losing my post has just verified that I'm now justified in my crankiness. I took it out on my sweet little ATC that was waiting for more romantic and whimsical touches. Instead, it's a little more cranky as well! There's always room to believe that the sweet little couple in the corner really did find true love...

I have no reason for crankiness except a fairly serious sunburn that's been plaguing me since I played in the herb garden on Sunday. My very sweet husband did drive all over Dallas to find homasote for me so I no longer burn my desk, wood blocks and cutting board while playing with the soldering iron. He's a very sweet man and a good reason to not be cranky!

Birthday recovery

I had a great birthday weekend. Dinner at Jasper's was lovely and my salmon was cooked perfectly. My gifts added up to a fortune in gift certificates to the bookstore, I have 3 shipments coming in the mail... online is much less expensive, and still a little saved back for upcoming new releases! I worked in the yard today and scorched my upper arms and shoulders so I need to remember to put on the sunscreen!

I did manage to get a few things done in the studio. I re-worked a bracelet I had made previously into a necklace and I love the new version of the materials. I used Chinese porcelain beads in turquoise and red with alternating black jade. I also made a longer necklace with howlite and inexpensive beads from the discount store. You can really stretch materials when you alternate pricier items with less expensive ones and it makes the less pricey items look better. With all my new clothes for the new job, I wanted to have some unique jewelry to dress up the relatively stuffy business attire.

My friend, and new boss, saw my ATC I made for my b-day and declared that she too wanted art so I made the ATC for her. She's an amazing artist who used to work in costuming for films, theater, etc so I had to use my corset stamp. I layered it over an earlier version of the stamp in chestnut to give it the look of actually being on a dress form. I really struggled with what else to include so I left it simple with just text. Also, she's one of the strongest people I know so I wanted to just give her a little push to reminder she doesn't have to do it all herself. I hope she likes it.

Madonna Altered Book

Madonna in the Madonna sense not Madonna "I have cones for breasts" kind of way... anyway, this is an altered book I worked on a while ago that is one of my favorites that I'm thinking of submitting to Somerset Studio. I have a couple of concerns.

First, I just don't know if I'm good enough. To a certain extent, that's ok and I just want to get better and be more challenged but on the other hand, no one likes to be rejected. I take it personally and mope for a while before the husband finally calls me on it and slink back to the art room. Obviously, I need practice with rejection and building up the thick skin (do I get any points for admitting it? I've heard that's important... I want credit... see, never ending cycle here!).

Second, if a piece gets accepted why should that make me feel validated. Why isn't it enough that I like what I create, other people I know (some not even related to me!) like what I create. What's up with the need for outside validation?

So, while I pose that question I've uploaded the cover image for your perusal not that you would in any way be enabling the outside validation... Oy, I get a few extra hours of sleep and look what happens!

Envelope Book

A great friend of mine told me today that he had lost his job, he had been unhappy there for a while but this was fairly unexpected. He's a really lovely person who is amazingly talented and always looking out for everyone, often to his own detriment. Anyway, I'm having dinner with him tomorrow and wanted to surprise him so I made an envelope book for him. I have to admit that I thought it would go faster than it did but I'm really happy with the result. I had a fabulous picture of his sister dressed as a geisha from when she was really young that I had been saving so this was the rainy day to use it.

Anyway, 5am is going to get here fast so I'm heading to bed!

Mini-collage/pins

I've been working on some jewelry for my Mom and I've had a lot of fun working on the mini-collages for microscope slide jewelry. They were scanned prior to soldering since it's easier to get the flatter images. I've got 4 more waiting for foil and I'll post those later.

Light at the end of the tunnel!

The room is almost inhabitable again! My husband remarked on how much bigger it appears and I'm thrilled that I can find everything when I want it. I'm adding a few photos of sample CD's I'm playing with to see what I like. My brother is a musician and I would love to get the cd collages to where I"m happy with them as they'd make a nice gift for him.

I'm still struggling with finding the hours in the day... do you think they'd notice at the office if I set up a little mini-studio - a little gel medium, some great vintage finds and a few odds and ends to alter and I'd be set. Maybe since were basically paper free my overwhelming large scrap pile would get noticed. It's something to ponder!

As for the cd's I've just been adding paint, pearl ex, gold leaf and stamps until I find something I like. I want something more ethereal than heavy layers of collage but I'm not quite there yet. Oh well, it's fun just playing and as long as AOL keeps sending me free trial disks I won't run out of canvases!

Altered Cirque Book is DONE!!!

I finally finished my altered cirque book and am really pleased with how it turned out. I had a lot of fun playing with the colors, not that you can see much since I covered it up, but it was fun to dig through all my stamps and ephemera to see what I could use.

Next, I really need to finish my jewelry for the swap. I've got the bottlecap additions done but it's a major ordeal to get the soldering iron out so I'm going to need to clear a space first. I've uploaded pictures of a few pages of the cirque book.

p.s. you'll notice I couldn't help but add sparkle!

Time

It's a gorgeous foggy misty morning here where you could stay curled up in bed all morning but instead we get up at 5am and drag ourselves to work. I've been feeling really strained trying to fit everything in that I want to get done. I'm really excited about my take on the altered cirque book but I'm having real trouble finding time to do art. What's amazing is that when you're working on a piece or thinking about an idea, at least for me, this then spurs even more ideas that I want to explore so I either end up with 5 pieces in various states of completion or not even starting because I have other responsibilities I need to get done.

I don't have any illusions that this struggle is particular to me but am a little lost on how to work it all in. That's probably the trick right, that what's really important will get done and if the house doesn't get dusted on Sat or after work one night, no one will implode and all will not be lost!

On a more arty note, I've signed up to do a swap and the theme is Fool for Love and it's a jewelry swap. I've got a couple of ideas about working in some mixed media pieces to create a fairly large pin or pendant made up of found objects. It's either going to be fabulous or truly tacky, it's a fine line to walk and sometimes, I'm clearly on the tacky side but there is a fundamental truth to life that there is no such thing as too much glitter!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I'm adding a photo of a collage I made a couple of years ago and it reminds me of my sister and I. We just framed it so I'm showing off my amazing painting 101 skills. My husband built the basic frame and I got paint and nail gun it on! He's working up to letting me play with his toys, but I have to admit to being the clumsiest person in the world so his reluctance isn't entirely without cause!