Finished Whimsy

I am very happy with the result of my attempt at whimsy. This is the first time I have ever put my handwriting on anything artistic. It is such an untidy scrawl that I never thought it would work, but it ain't half bad!

So, this is an 8x10 canvas. First I put a light coat of modeling paste down. After that dried the first color went on. Sfter that dried I put on the second color. But I didn't cover it completely. And around the edges of some of the open spaces I dabbed with a paper towel just cuz. I put the blue on sort of thick and while it was still wet I wrote in it with the big end of a flat toothpick.
Here's what I wrote:
what would you be if you could dream a new life
would you fly across the clouds or glide to the bottom of the ocean
would you dance across the stage of life taking bows and giving encores
would you sing in a voice so pure it would make people cry
or would you just be


Then I wanted some big stamp effect, but I don't have any big stamps. So I cut one out of a piece of that foamy stuff you use for kids crafts. That's what the diamond shapes are.

Then I found a bird image and cut into it so it would look like the bird had dressed up in peacock feathers. Then I found the metal thingie in my stash and there ya go!

Oh and I painted some little wooden pieces black and glued them up top.

This piece is titled' Dream' and after I live with it for awhile it will probably go into my Etsy shop.

Peace

A Dragon In The Making

I am really excited about this. It is going to be a Dragon sculpture. You are looking at the tail and the head. I am stringing small bones on copper wire. They are very small, about 1/4 inch or so. The biggest cgallenge is getting them glued together without any glue showing. So this is the tail and next I will be working on the back, ribs and legs. I even got some cat claws to use as talons! Did you know when cats get REALLY old they shed their claws? I didn't, but they do.
This is going to be the head. It is a piece of Devils Claw from my friend Rose in AZ. I gave it a shot of white spray paint and am going to add a little off-white so it matches the bones better.
This is a collage/mixed media piece I have just started. I have never used my writing in a piece before because I write like a grade school kid. But I figured I would give it a shot on this piece and it's not too bad.
I wanted to stamp big shapes, but I don't have any big stamps so I made my own with that foamie stuff you use to make stuff for kids.
So that's what I've been up to.

Peace

OMG I left out a step!!

Sorry everybody! I forgot to say that I sanded the wood filler after it dried and before I painted it!
Peace

Sunken Tin Tutorial

First I want to thank all of you who posted such kind words while I was in my funk. I'm better now. I think it was a combo of isolation, flooding work, and being cut off from Hobby Lobby and a good grocery store because of the water. Hopefully they will open the road again one of these days.

So anyway, here is how I did the piece retitled 'She Waits'.
I took an Altoid tin apart. Then I traced around the bottom of the tin on the front of the canvas. Then I cut into it in an X shape, making sure not to go all the way to the edges. I wanted to have a snug fit.
Then I put the tin in from the front. I masking taped it in front to hold it in place. Then I folded the pieces from the X over the tin and glued them in place. I glopped Wood Filler around the tin and pushed it around till I got close to these shapes. Then using clay tools I scraped off the excess and refined the shapes. Sinci I don't have any big stamps, I drew in the filler after it had dried a little, maybe 5 mins., using a toothpick.

I cut a piece of paper and glued it into the tin. Then I found an image I liked and a flower, and took the middle out of the flower. I glued a watch face to the flower and glued it into the tin. Then I gel mediumed the image so it looks like she is holding the flower.
Oh, before I filled the tin I painted the background. Then I thought it needed something, so I got out my Rub n Buff and applied it to the swirls. I used copper. I love this stuff. A little goes a loooong way and you can buff it to a shine.

Then I painted some lace trim black and glued it in place and glued on the letters. I may knock down the background color a bit, but other than that I think it's done.
Oh, I did put some filler on the inside edges of the tin too.

I listed some more magazines and supplies in my Etsy store. One set of mags is Arts and Activities. It used to be put out by the Expressions folk. A great mag for working artistically with kids.

Peace

This and That

I got the nicest surprise in the mail from my friend Pat. She is Artrix in my links, check out her amazing work. This is a grungeboard piece and I just love it! It is a pin, but I think it needs to be incorporated into an art piece. Hmm.. This is a little collage I did for my friend Cathie from Magickal Glassworks in my links.
The little girl is her baby Willow. She got her self dressed up and this is the adorable result. The hat and boots really make the outfit!
This is an experiment using wood filler for texture on the background. I didn't have any suitable stamps to stamp it so I just swirled with a toothpick. Then after it dried I started sanding.
I sunk an Altoid tin into the canvas. I have an image and some stuff to fill the tin and the background will be painted and whatevered. The basic idea of the piece is 'Alone". I am going to be using some words from songs like 'One For My Baby' and 'In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning'. It will be kind of a dark piece because I have been feeling sort of dark and lonely lately.
Peace