The Other Side of Somewhere

News-a-palooza

It's a little publish-y around here this month.  Hee hee!

I recently had the opportunity to do artwork for Somerset Studio magazine's regular feature, With One Palette!  My aqua/tangerine/berry/black artwork appears in the newest issue (July/August).  The pieces in the article will be available at Boodzoo Studio over the next couple of weeks.

Stampington & Company has also included a reprint of my With a Pencil and Stencil article in the latest issue of Hand Crafted. The article originally appeared in Somerset Studio magazine in 2006.  This was my first article and it came about in an interesting way:

I submitted artwork for one of Somerset's themes, hoping one would be selected for their reader gallery (Expressions).  Instead I received a phone call (!) from the editor asking me to create additional artwork and an article! It was something I never expected in a million years.

I share this little story in the hopes it will inspire you to submit your work (if that's something you aspire to do).  So many of us are afraid to put our work out there for fear of "rejection" or "criticism" and sit on the sidelines wondering "what if".  If you're on the fence about submitting your work - do it!  Do it today!  You never know what might happen! 

Hand Crafted is a wonderful collection of articles and projects from all of Stampington's line of publications, from Somerset Studio and Art Doll Quarterly to The Stamper's Sampler and Somerset Memories (Legacy).  I can't possibly subscribe to all of these magazines, so Hand Crafted gives me the opportunity to see what's going on elsewhere. (And no, Stampington didn't pay me to say that!).  Hee hee.

Enjoy!

Bird

5" x 7" mixed media on stretched canvas: paper, paint, neo color II watercolor crayons, found papers, pencil and relief print (eraser carved stamp).

Getting ready ...

... tweet, tweet.

Art & Soul

Art & Soul was an amazing experience!  This is my third time attending, and hands down, it was the best time!  My original plans got shaken-up about a week prior to the event, but it all ended up for the best as I ended up having unhurried time to get together with individual friends for dinner (or lunch) and conversation.  Much laughing and sharing ensued.  It was all very good!

I took three classes over four days and came home with a renewed spirit, clarity about many things, new friends, and a completely new appreciation for tape.  Yes, tape.  Scotch, masking, packing, strapping, electrical, decorative, transparent, tape.  They even make cool tapes with pictures on them, including the Jolly Roger. Jill kindly shared her pirate tape with me.  Tape is my newest obsession.

My favorite and most deeply meaningful class was the visual journaling class with Juliana Coles.  It was such a great experience to spend two days with 12 other women doing very personal journaling work.  The purpose of the class is not to make pretty art.  It is about letting go: of expectations, control, judgment.  It is about personal expression and not keeping a visual journal to impress anyone else.  It is about trusting your intuition to guide you.  In this way, I used colors I never would have chosen, experimented with familiar tools and found new and surprising ways to use them.  I had a couple of epiphanies that rocked my world like little earthquakes. 

I left her class yesterday afternoon, changed. 

My description does not do justice to the experience.  At some point I might share some of the pages I did, but as they are more process driven and not results driven, I'm not sure their "beauty" would make sense to anyone but me.  What's funny is, the resultant pages are not meant to look good, but I'm always very happy with the work I create through this process. 

In any case, if Art & Soul wasn't wonderful enough, the bigger news (saved the best for last!) is that Mr. P. arrived home two weeks early.  He arrived home at midnight Sunday/Monday!  It is so good to have him home for awhile!

If you're reading this at my blog site, you'll notice some changes which I'm still tweaking and will explain in another post.

Cheers!

(Journal page made in Traci Bunker's "Confessions of a Daily Journaler" class).

 

(Bees)Waxing Euphoric

Beeswax is one of those materials that I use in spurts mostly because it requires special handling.  I keep my beeswax in a dedicated mini-crock pot.  It takes some time to heat up each time I use it so when I plug that puppy in, I usually spend a goodly amount of time playing with it.

Playing with beeswax is magic because you never really know how the beeswax is going to react with paper - especially old paper.  Today I used it with a scrap of vintage ledger page and Joss paper for ATC/ACEO #82 in my year-long daily art project.  I love how it turned the Joss paper into a vision of orange and gold! 

I also continued working the wax on three canvas boards I started yesterday afternoon.  Each of these pieces has multiple layers of beeswax and the beeswax is used here not only as a finish but as the actual glue for the collage!  I did not use any mediums or adhesives to collage my items to the board - it's all done with the wax.  I use a heat embossing tool to smooth the wax once it has cooled.  I also have a small quilting iron for this purpose but I don't like using it as much as I tend to burn my fingers on it and if you don't hold it just so, it will gouge into the wax.

I spent a good portion of the day prepping for the collage class I'm teaching at The Red Thread Studio this Saturday.  It's sure to be a fun time.  Hope you can join us!  The class runs from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the gallery.  All you need to bring is your self, a magazine, a pair of scissors and something to protect your clothing.  To sign up, please call Angelia at the gallery. (757) 923-9832.

I Love My Sewing Machine and Clark Gable

Oh happy day! 

I picked up my sewing machine from the service shop today!  I haven't been without it for very long at all, but ever since seeing Hanna's hearts, I've been itching to sit down and play.  And now I can!

You might recall the initial scope of my "marking time" project involved a fabric component.  I planned on making a quilt square each week to yield 52 quilt squares by the time Mr. P. returns home, that I would then make into a quilt. 

Well.

I tend to Plan Big (ahem).  The fabric component has not materialized (hee hee, no pun intended) as of yet.  The idea of making fabric collaged squares each week bores me because I'm already making collages every day with my ATC/ACEO project.  I still want to make the quilt but I'm not sure if it needs to be a weekly project or ...?  I'm stumped for ideas.  At least I have my machine back so when I figure it out I can get right to work.

Today's ACEO (#77 if you're following along) is not a card at all, but a miniature quilt.  It's all fabric layers and batting.  I love holding it in my hands.

The other day I remarked to some friends that I have reached the point in The Lifecycle of a Deployment where I've dusted off my alternate life.  This sounds more exciting than it actually is.  One element of my alternate life is watching a lot of old movies and this month is a great month to tune in to TCM because they are screening Oscar winners for each decade on designated days of the week.  *swoon* 

Monday I saw It Happened One Night with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and the infamous scene where he - gasp! - takes off his shirt on screen, which was considered racy at the time of the film's debut in 1934.  What a clever and smart movie!  Tonight is The Quiet Man (which I've never seen), and Roman Holiday (Audrey Hepburn! Gregory Peck!).  And next Friday, my absolute most favorite movie in the entire world ever: The Goodbye Girl with Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss (I have it on DVD but it's still fun to see it on TV).  Oh go check out the classic-movie-goodness for yourself ... the schedule is amazing!

Friday

Ahhh ... Friday.  The end of a crazy week.  A good week, but busier than usual.  I decided not to participate in Illustration Friday this week, but I do have some other creative things to share.

This is #65 in my daily art project.  The original work is available at Boodzoo Studio with all the proceeds going to a cause dear to my heart.

Today's mail brought the latest copy of Altered Couture magazine.  I am so excited to have a little project/article in this issue (pages 35 - 37).  Working with clothing was a completely new experience for me and I learned so much doing this project.  I'm definitely going to make a point of thinking about clothing as canvas in the future.  The projects in this issue are so inspiring - I really like the idea of making a piece of clothing my own instead of relying on something "off the rack" to dictate my style. 

 

If you're local and would like to see my ensemble in person, please come out to The Red Thread Studio tomorrow, Saturday, February 2nd from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Angelia put together a great show called "Upcycled Fashion - Project Runway Style Art Exhibit (Art Created from Recycled Clothing).  This means not just clothing but stuff made out of clothes.  I got a sneak peek at the exhibit earlier this week ... it's amazing what people made from the clothes in their closet!  Sloane made the most incredible piece - it is not to be missed.

Illustration Friday (Stitch)

Illustration Friday (Stitch)

Artist Trading Card measures 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", and features layered sewing pattern tissue, gesso, charcoal pencil, and stitching done on a sewing machine. 

Like last week, this week's artwork also counts towards my year long art project, Operation Marking Time (#44 if you're following along).

Previous Illustration Friday offerings: 100%, Soar, 2006 Retrospective.

Wednesday . . .

(left) This is the beginning of my brainstorming process for an assignment involving color.

I'll be working on this for the next couple of weeks.  I always feel a mixture of excitement and dread when working on an assignment.  To me, assignments feel fraught with someone else's expectations which is enough stress and pressure to make me want to run and hide and trade in all the fancy art supplies for a box of crayons and a Hello Kitty coloring book (ahem).  But, I know if I keep going and work in spite of the perceived pressure, it all works out.

Discoveries made on my Wednesday wanderings on the web:

Oh how much do I love this project!  I reeeeaaalllly want to do this!  I enjoy talking to people (I inherited this trait from my Dad.  We both like to talk to people, thus you are likely to find us yakking with cashiers, waitresses, doctors ... anyone we interact with as part of our day.  I'm sure we are both quite annoying).  Still, there is something about asking to take a stranger's photograph that is intimidating to me. 

In the "File Under Year-Long Project" category, here is another interesting one from 2007.  Post-It Notes elevated to art.  So cool!

If you keep a blog or share your photographs or artwork in any public way, read this post from Inkygirl, linking to interesting articles about copyright. Using your work illegally isn't just limited to the hacker down the street, apparently.

It seems obvious if you don't want to risk your work being ganked and used without your permission, you probably shouldn't post it publicly, but I can't quite bring myself to do that even though I have had people take my photos from my blog.  I try to believe in the best natures of people, but it does pay to be cautious.  I'm not sure what the middle ground solution might be. 

Thank you!

Today was the first day since I started Operation Marking Time that I almost forgot to do this and, when I remembered, considered skipping it.  But, I didn't.  I am determined to honor my commitment to this project and keep it real.

Thus, #38. 

Sometimes these old photos (this one is from Paper Whimsy) are so beautiful it is difficult to improve on them; they are breathtaking as is.  I like the swirl though ... it looks like a Mardi Gras mask, which sparked an idea that is now percolating on the back burner of my brain.  (I love when that happens!).

Thank you to everyone who came out to The Red Thread Studio this afternoon for the collage demo!  It was such a fun time!  Particular thanks to: Jill, Lynne, Catherine, Jen, Matt, and Linda.  And thank you to Angelia for coordinating everything.

If we missed you today, please note that I will be teaching a mixed media collage class on Saturday, February 23rd from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at The Red Thread Studio.  The cost is $40 and includes all materials (well, almost all!  You'll need to bring scissors, a magazine, and an old shirt or apron to protect your clothing from paint and glue).  We'll be learning basics about adhesives and mediums, how to make exciting backgrounds, basic design principles, packing tape transfers, and we'll do a lot of fun exercises to get that creative energy revved up!  To sign up, please call Angelia at (757) 923-9832.

Illustration Friday (100%)

Artist Trading Card (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").  Cut and paste collage, charcoal pencil, found text, scanned then digitally altered for color/light.

This piece serves as my offering for Illustration Friday AND my year-long art project which means I've met 100% of my artistic commitments for the day. 

100%?  Get it? Get it?

(It's a stretch I know, but when I saw 100% as today's topic all I could think of was a pie chart and that isn't very inspiring!).

Previous Illustration Friday offerings: Soar, 2006 Retrospective.