Baby's Got Some Back.....Grounds :) Art Everyday Month Day 12

 

Let's just say I have a whole bucketload of ATC's on my art table today.  That's in addition to the bucketload of supplies, and tools and tricks of the background creator's trade laying around :)

 Tomorrow I'm doing a demo on making funky backgrounds for your paintings and Artist Trading Cards. I could probably make about 200 cards if I had time there are so many cool things you can do!  I like  LOVE making backgrounds!!!!

 I know, I know...eventually the backgrounds need to turn into paintings but heck, they are there for when the inspiration hits.     Check out the burnt umber rusty background above....That's a part of my citra solve experiments with a paint color wash over top.  FUN>

 Another from the same stash with a phthalo green wash.....Yum :)

Sweet funky flowers....love making these too....

So many possibilities so little time.  We won't even go into the 400 some dollars I spent today on new art supplies and canvases...LOL.   I better get off this computer and get creating to pay for my shopping excursion at the Art of the Carolina's today!

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If you are in the Raleigh area tomorrow, be sure to stop by the Art of the Carolina's at the North Raleigh Hilton.  I have 2 demos scheduled..one I know for sure is at 4:15 in the make and take room hosted by the Carolina Mixed Media Guild, and the other will be a demo/discussion over at the Strathmore booth featuring their new product, Visual Journals.  Not sure on the time for that one though...somewhere between 1:30 and 3:30 :)  I'm just excited to be going and to hang out with so many of my artsy friends!

Mini Zentangle Doodles and a Demonstration

In honor of Art Everyday Month hosted by the uber talented Leah, I'm trying to be better at showcasing what I'm doing and blogging more frequently (as well as visiting blogs). Over the last few months, it just seems that I've been bogged down with misc. things that have kept me from my little online world of blogging. Art has not stopped though...in fact, this year I've done a lot of projects, shows, and even a bit of writing. (Stay tuned for a new article coming out in Cloth Paper Scissors come January)!

I'm trying to position myself to one day doing this gig full time. I'm having a hard time deciding when that would be though. When do you know you are ready??? Is anyone else out there self employed??? How did you get started? Did you have another income coming in before you hit the ground running??? I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I don't have a lot of money saved, that's the problem. AND I just bought this house. I do have my 401k I could tap into...but...not sure if that would be wise. hmmmm...all things to ponder as I decide what I want to do with the next 40 years of my life :)

In the mean time...I'm conducting classes, creating when I can, and even doing demos for different functions and organizations. My next two demos will be at the Art of the Carolina's this coming weekend, held in Raleigh at the North Raleigh Hilton. On Friday at 12:00 I will do a ATC demo on creating distressed backgrounds using ranger inks; then on Saturday I will be doing a demo at the Strathmore table featuring their ATC papers and these quick little pen, pencil and marker doodles-similar to the ones featured in Cloth Paper Scissors on "Zentangles". I am a bit addicted to these mini mindless activities. I've added a twist to a few of them by lightly sketching a subject rather than random tangles and filling in the body of my sketch with fun doodles and limited colors. I love how they look matted! Come see me at 1:00 pm on Saturday at the Strathmore table!!

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Question of the day--when do you know it's time to go off on your own???

With Heartfelt Thanks!

I can hardly believe it's been over a week since I last posted. Well, when that happens you know I'm out of sorts as I'm normally pretty reliable....normally. This week has been the exception to the rule with me feeling like total junk, run down, congested, body aches...blah blah blah blah blah. Add that to having to work on opening a new branch, get adjusted to a new schedule, and a few other misc. things added in and you have my excuse as to why I haven't posted.

I did manage to get to the Carolina Mixed Media Guild meeting on Thursday, lucky thing as I was to present a demo on using acrylic mediums to add texture to mixed media paintings. I debated on whether or not to cancel. I really really wanted to have the opportunity to do the presentation but with feeling so ill I could barely muster the energy to get dressed and get to work let alone work on a presentation and samples. Well, somehow I did it even though I wasn't at a 100%, and I actually survived! :)


This is one of the samples I brought to the monthly meeting. 4 x 6 mixed media collage on canvas, using acrylic paint, papers, stamps, graphite pencil & washes, gesso, then for my feature technique-I used tar gel to create a unique image transfer. This piece is called "Broken"--which is basically how I've felt for a long time, brokenhearted if you will so I thought it appropriate to use a portrait of myself over top a little journal writing which lets my constant questioning of 'why' come out in my art. I've pretty much moved past this time in my life, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have sadness over what could have been....

The uniqueness of using tar gel for an image transfer is the fact you only need one coat of the gel over top of the image. With most gels, you need to use typically 4 coats to get a good transfer, letting each dry for a day before adding the next coat. With tar gel, one coat does the trick! For this image I used an inkjet print sprayed with workable fixative to set the ink. I added a layer of gel and then let dry overnite before peeling the paper off the back of the print to acheive the image/skin.


Another good reason to go to this month's CMMAG meeting was our ATC Valentine's Day swap. Penny our new President made these uber adorable goody boxes to hold our treasures. After my demo, everyone started the ritual of trading cards and ohhhhing and awwwing everyone's beautiful creations. It was so much fun! I truly felt like I was back in grade school!

These are samples of the ATC's I made for the group. I collaged canvas paper, used a brayer loaded with 3 colors and then adhered fabric/paper hearts I made then finished off by adding some text and a little decorations with gel pens. Lots of fun!!

Enjoy a sampling of other members cards--each and everyone was totally unique!


Awww...Debbie's included a sweet treat!


What a great way to spend the Thursday before Valentine's Day, don't ya think?? I appreciate those that were at our meeting and put up with my feeling under the weather, it was thrilling to be able to do a presentation amongst such a talented group of artists! Thank you again for support :)

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Some sad news to report--my step mother in Florida is not doing well at all..things don't look good unfortunately. Out of the blue, her heart stopped and she went into seizures one night last week--she has spent the last week on life support and nothing seems to be working. No answers as to why this happened or even any forwarning. According to my father, the evening was normal, laughing, joking, spending time with the family, went to bed, hugged good night and said their love for one another then next thing he knew, she was having seizures (never happened before). It doesn't seem fair to have no warning, or is that a blessing? Please keep my father and my step sisters and all in your thoughts and prayers if you will. Life will not be the same for them.

CMMAG Interview--check it out!

I'm excited to share this interview I did for the Carolina Mixed Media Guild for which I've been a member of for a little over a year. This group has a huge pool of wonderful mixed media artists. I'm honored to be a part of such a diverse and talented group.

Thanks Michelle for doing the interview with me, it was lots of fun!!

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On the creative front, not much going on this week. I've been struck with some sort of flu bug that has left me pretty much useless. It came on all of a sudden but when it hit, it felt like someone took a sledgehammer against my chest and then hit my head for good measure! I even missed my beloved First Friday at the Artist Alley.....wahhhh...that's one event that I've grown to enjoy with all my local artists friends. We meet monthly, share goodies, network, and then often meet afterward for dinner and or a drink. Always lots of fun and many laughs.

The good news is that I did have a chance to meet up with several of the gals over at Nanette's for another creative Art Play Night--a tradition I think we are going to keep! Check out the fun!

Penny, Nanette (our lovely hostess with the mostess), Amy and Kathy all enjoying some wine and creative time

My project for the evening--working on some Valentine ATC's. The hearts are made from from some cool fabric paper I made with a combination of fabric, tissue, paper, paint, stamps, stencils and more. Lots of fun :)

Hope you have an opportunity this week to share your creativity with the world :)

Art Everyday Month November 11-12: Going home and Decluttering the mind!

So this is what it looks like during the heat of the artistic moment.....the blanks start to get some faces and the world begins to make sense again....

then suddenly....it all becomes much clearer and you see where you are going in this chaotic world.


After making, oohhh 30 or so different cards, I decided to go back to my quaint village in my favorite colors. You get to know an artist and then she decides to change her shoes...ya it feels weird but ya know, a girl can never have too many shoes. She has a right to change her style every so often :)

I didn't quite make my internal goal of 60 cards, but I did make about 42 I believe. I experimented with watercolors, india ink, graphite pencil, water soluble graphite, water soluble oil pastels, charcoal, and acrylic paints, and a couple of collage. ATC or ACEO's are great for experimenting. You can try out new tricks and and learn new treats :)

Oh yes, my elusive portrait work...I dont' know if I will ever master this skill. I'm getting better though, although my girls still look like fairies or victorian women..it is what it is, maybe she is SUPPOSED to be a fairy and I had no control over the situation. The pencil did it, really!


I've never been that great at getting my holiday house in order. Maybe next year I'll have more holidy geared items but so far my only holiday creations are these cards and then my new originals that are in modern holiday colors.

**To see the entire lot--please check out my flickr page!

Late last night, I had a wild hair to rearrange my furniture. I was sick of looking at my art mess and while it's still there, I have magically opened up things by moving my furniture around. I also came up with a brilliant idea to take over a whole built in book shelf and turn it into art shelves. Now...I did say idea, I didn't make this happen yet other than move some supplies close to their new home...but now at least I'm not caged in by chaos..lol. Isn't that funny that the things that give us joy can also give us pain?? I am inspired by all my supplies but I'm also at times overwhelmed by all th things that are everywhere. I've bought quite a few bins lately and other storage but there is still a ways to go before I have it to a mangeable level. Once the books get rearranged so that my art stuff can go onthe shelves in a more orderly fashion, I'll be good to go. Lia, our fearless Art Everyday leader is also working on the Soul Coaching program. One big healing/growth activity that they recommend is cleaning and purging to cleanse your soul. I can see how it helps. I feel slightly less stressed today. It also could be because I finished and met a few deadlines in the last couple of days so I have that off my mind. I do think the purging of the old and organizing of what is left is very neccessary to free my mind and soul so I can move on to the next big project. Time is what I'm lacking so I plan to do a little everyday. Tonight, I got a late start so I just cleaned the kitchen and took everything off my art table so I could start fresh with new paper and new supplies. It does feel good :)

Hope you can cleanse your palette and free your mind even in a small way this week!!!

Art Everyday Month November 9: ATC's

I am knee deep in just about every art supply I own. My arm muscles are about to fall out. Anyone have some Ben Gay?? LOL


My goal was to make 60 ATC for a make and take table the Carolina Mixed Media Guild is hosting at the Art of the Carolina's this coming weekend--so far I'm a little over half way there. I'm not sure I have the stamina to finish, but I"m going to try!

For these, I've experimented with watercolors, ink, mica powders, graphite pencil, and graphite wash. LONG LONG LONG ago, I used to paint in watercolors only. It's something that I may start back into--I forgot how fun they are. So unexpected, so unpredictible, yet simple and pure.





The gallery show I went to this weekend influenced these abstracts and are something I want to explore further.

Can you tell what one of my favorite color combos is lately???

graphite washes and watercolors



Florals were my first love in my creative endeavors.


oh my--you dont' even want to go there....I have a royal flippin mess on my hands. I have put my nose to the grind over the last couple of weeks to finish up 3 collections (still have one more to go) and these ATCs--it's just total chaos here. Since I've tried some new things for the ATC that I haven't used in awhile, it was cause for more ART supplies to come out from their slumber. yikes. I did manage to pick up the house a bit despite the chaos but I didn't get to purging my DS's room. That is a major must before the holidays!

Anyway--after this week, I should be good to go and things back to a more manageable pace. I am all about working hard and focusing but my candle is burning thin lately. Calgon take me away!


***Looks the photos are cropped funny-to see the whole collection, please check out my flickr page
Hope you all have a great week ahead!!

Halloween ACEO and Other Random Thoughts

I know it's hard to believe, but I really do finish projects that I start. It may take me awhile (1 week for these, okay...who am I kidding. Probably more like two weeks. But hey...I have work during the day, and shopping, and watching tv, and using the computer, and well--there's lots going on here that just gets in the way of finishing things like artwork in progress, and laundry, and cleaning...you know how it goes.



But somehow it all does get done. Even the laundry. Even the mopping. Even the artwork. When I put my mind to something, I normally achieve what I set out to do. Sometimes it's in due time. Hopefully, it gets done before DUE time. I stress my self out waiting until the last minute to complete things though. I have gotten a little better over the years. Pulling all nighters and burning the midnight oil, well, let's face it. I'm not getting any younger. I can't be doing that any more. LOL I can't tell you how many times I lie in bed working on something for work, whether it be pulling a meeting together or catching up on reading emails or corporate info.

If company comes over (which they rarely do anymore HINT HINT MOM) I will stay up to 3 in the morning spit shining the palace. That's just how I roll. I make lists. I like to see things crossed off the list. But then I loose the list so I start a new one.


I like to plan things out to ensure everything gets done. I always start out with a plan, sticking to that plan, well...we won't go there today. Let's just say, I stay flexible. I roll with the punches. I've learned long ago, things don't always go as planned. Why loose sleep over things you can't change or can't control. You can only control yourself. Kinda. It's nice to think that way..lol. Sometimes I start off the day and say, I will not do this or that today...and then my hand is right back into that cookie jar. Slap slap. Control yourself?? Hmm. that's a work in progress.

What does this all have to do with anything?

Well, I'm just rambling on about my desire to do something larger one day than what I'm doing today, but in the meantime, I'm going to continue on as I do today. I wonder sometimes how do I get it all done? It's just me at the house with lil man. I'm not complaining, just sayin.


It's mostly determination. But sometimes I do wear myself out doing what I do. Many nights, I only get 4 or 5 hours sleep because I'm so jazzed up on coffee that I drink all day and into the night just so I can pack it all in.

One thing that has helped me in at least doing my artwork--create several in a similar vein at one time. It makes me feel once it's all done, I've got a lot to show for the time I've spent working on it all. I still burn the midnight oil getting everything done, but at least this....I enjoy doing :) I wish I could say the same about other things in my life. Like laundry. Or mopping. LOL

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To see the rest of my ACEO's recently created--me sure to check out my flickr page!