Pearl

This is 'Pearl'. I had found this image and saved her because her face reminded me of my Mother. She sat in my files for a long time. Then one day my brother Michael, who is an artist as well as an art teacher, was over. He comes from time to time and helps me by looking at my work and making suggestions. One thing he talks about that I don't do is frame my work. A lot of my canvases are large and they have things going off the edges, so framing is just not something I do. So he mentioned it again, and my mind started going. I mentally shifted thru my stash and remembered this image. She is very vintage-y and I thought that framing her in a broken frame could be sort of cool. She also seemed to need pearls. So I found some textured paper that i painted and partially covered with modeling paste and painted that too. Wonderful stuff modeling paste. Then I just started gluing pearls in swirls. Yup, I did them one at a time. Needless to say 'Pearl' took a long time to be born. So today (hopefully) I figured out how to put the picture in the middle of the post. We'll see when I'm done talking and push the button!! And I started adding some links. More will come.
Peace

P.S

I forgot to say that 'American Romance' is available on Amazon.com

Books and the people who write them

I love books. I would rather read than almost anything in the world. If I were going to be stranded on an island I would take my books. I reread and rereread my favorites. I think it is like visiting with old friends.

I am in awe of the people who write books. I bet it must be a thrill to invent whole worlds to share with others.

So here are 2 books written by people I know. The first is 'The Journey' by Renetta Dudzinski. It is Christian fiction. Sort of little house on the prarie-ish. A good read that made me thankful to be living in this time. Life was just too hard back in the good ol' days for me!
www.the journeybooks.com

Then there is 'American Romance' by Skitz M. Jones Esq. This a collection of free form poems and thoughts that covers all parts of relationships and romance. I love this book. The author is funny, thoughtful,baffled and all the emotions we all are when it comes to love and life. And I am amazed that these things come from such a young (25) man. Skitz is also a medic in the Illinois National Guard.

So happy monday!
Peace

Leaping out of the box

I see so much inspiring work online, and I wonder where these artists get the sense of freedom that comes through so strongly in what they do. I have a problem stepping outside the box. I find myself worried about messing up or making a mistake. Which is silly really because noone is judging me but me. I am better than I used to be but not as good as I want to be.

So my resolution for this year is to LEAP out of the box artistically. Or try anyway!

These are some shrines I made using foam board to make the buildings. Tricky stuff, foam board. You REALLY need to keep a sharp blade in your knife. And you REALLY need to be exact in your measurements. Not my best thing. I had seen walls covered with rice paper and I tried that. But I found it too flimsy. I like to use pages from old dictionarys and books instead. And you REALLY need to be patient thru the whole drying/setting up process. Also not my best thing. And I found that you shouldn't try to set too many walls at a time. Patience patience patience.

For the Fairy shrine I used real butterfly wings that I gel mediumed onto cardstock. The nests and eggs in both shrines are things I found on our property. My husband Jimi knows to always be looking down when he is out and about and has found a lot of cool stuff for me.

The stuff on top of the Angel Demon shrine is devils Claw my friend Rose from AZ. sent me.

So those are some of my shrines, hope you like them.
Peace

Vintage Sewing Shrine

Yay, it's done. Well, I still have to attach the hangers because it is a wall shrine. But other than that I am done. This was a fun thing to do. It shows how you can use things that other people would toss. The wooden silverware tray was really rough and beat up. But I am happy with how it looks whitewashed.

The ads on the back walls are vintage. So are a lot of the bits and bobs. The dress forms were made by my niece Rachel for another piece that never came to life.

So now I am working on an altered book. Usually I just alter them as they are. But this time I am trying the block pages technique. So far I like it.

It's still cold and windy here. And gray. But that's Illinois in the winter.

Peace

Cold Cold Cold

It is -10 here. Our water pump has frozen up so we can't run water again. During the Xmas holidays when we had a house full of overnight guests, the septic acted up. Aaaah, life iin the country, ya gotta love it.

No pictures today. But I did change the colors of some stuff here and added a quote I like and added to my profile. So I don't feel like I am neglecting my blogging.

Today just might be a curl up under a blanket with a book and a cat kind of day.

Peace

Off day creatively

Yesterday was a sort of off day creatively. My sewing shrine hit some snags when one of the dress forms fell off her base. So I can't put a hanger on it and show it to you yet. And I was just having one of THOSE days ya know? But I did make these little Button Fairies. I used pics from old year books I have scavanged. These could be cute Xmas ornaments done with angel faces and reds, greens, and golds. Or use baby pics from your kids. I'll have to think about that.

The second pic is a skull I dot painted. I've always admired the Aboriginal dot paintings I've seen on line. So I figured I'd give it a shot. And I'm here to tell you that this is much much harder that it looks! But I am really pleased with how it came out. I used metallic paints so it sort of shimmers in the right light. I don't know if I will be doing another one , but I'm glad I tried it.

My husband Jimi and I went to a movie together yesterday. First one in 14 years! He's retired now so he's not working all hours and weekends and we should be able to actually do stuff again! We saw 'Bucket List'. Definetly worth seeing. And here's my bucket list:
1. Stand on a fairy mound in Ireland
2.Have an outfit designed just for me in the colors and fabrics I pick.
3.Spend some more time around the mountains in Wyoming and Colorado
4.Have a gallery show
5. See Stomp again

What's on your bucket list?
Peace