A Mother's Heart canvas (9x12)

Scrumptious tags

Had a fun afternoon making this lovely tag in a class taught by my dear friend, Jo. Can't think of anything more fun that relaxing with friends and creating, especially when the temperature broached 106 degrees in my backyard!

Two new things for me: The large canvas flower on the left was much easier to make than I would've thought -- it basically involved cutting a flower out of canvas, spritzing it with various colors and rolling in my palms after each application. It frayed all on its own. The second new technique involved the smaller flower just to the right of the canvas one -- the rolled paper flower. It involved cutting a spiral out of text or music paper and hand rolling it. Made a cool looking rose-style flower that I then spritzed with bronze.

What makes a house a home? Mixed media altered book.

Really loving getting into houses in my art. This is a spread in an altered book I did for a member of my art group. Love how her book substrate is cut into a house shape!

Tulips: My May canvas

 

 

Part of my monthly canvas series. This is May, or spring.

In a Tulips frame of mind: Artist Trading Cards

 

Part of a batch of ATCs I made for my art group. I've been in a tulip mood lately!
 

Easter joy: my March canvas | My Monthly Canvas Project

My March canvas, celebrating Easter. This is part of my monthly themed canvas project for my home. These are 12 x 12 canvases, mixed media, acrylics. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)

 

Chimed, I'm sure

This is a slick mix of antique, vintage and vintage-style embellishments cold-fusion assembled to make this beautiful chime. Its many goodies include an antique bisque doll head excavated from sites in Germany where doll factories were bombed during World War II. The doll head is estimated to date back to c. 1870-1920. The chime also includes an antique bisque doll arm, a vintage outdoor faucet handle, a vintage spoon, an antique glass drawer knob and lots of other artful embellishments.

Well, folks, I have found a new passion. As if I needed to add yet another facet to my artistic pursuits! I so enjoyed making this chime in an awesome class by the prolific Erin Keck that I immediately began imaging how I could make more and can't wait to do it again!

Now that I'm back from Art & Soul, I am busy gathering all my doodads and trinkets and scouring online sites for more elements so I can get busy creating more of these chimes. Maybe I'll even put some up for sale eventually!

It was supposed to be a girl: My effort with clay

I've been wanting to work with clay for some time now, so I jumped on the chance to take a class called Story Tellers with the talented Tory Borkenshire at Art & Soul using original Sculpey modeling clay (baked). The figure was sculpted, painted and attached to a vintage Prince Albert tin by me (with a little help on the fingers by Tory, love her!).

I did not intend for my piece to end up looking like a old Middle Eastern market vendor. My original intention was to make a cute little girlie face to attached to an adorable pink croquet ball. However, the more I worked this baby, the more he ended up looking like an old man.

But, as Tory so generously put it, Michelangelo only hewed away the rough walls to reveal what was inside the marble, LOL. I couldn't help it! I do love his white hair fringe that encircles his mostly bald head.

I enjoyed this class and can't wait to work more with some clay. Maybe that elusive girl will make her face known yet!

Steampunk necklaces

Four cold-fusion steampunk necklaces I made at Art & Soul.  The first two are made using vintage fuse tins and genuine antique miniature tin types. Also, some beads from my own collection.

The key is an a sort of gas lever key on which I attached watch parts and gears. The fourth is a small leather bag which I sewed (!) and embellished with a tin type, a vintage brass thimble and some beads, including some from my own collection.

So enjoyed these classes. Can't wait to make more! Had great teachers in Jen Crossley and Erin Keck!

A colorful mask: Art & Soul project

The left eye has a mirror behind it and behind the right eye is a dangling light bulb. The copper plate on the nose says "Journey." The eyebrows are made from a broken necklace I found at a thrift shop. She also has fiber eyelashes.

Art & Soul sent me this papier mache mask as an optional project to bring to the Kansas City retreat next month. I wasn't sure if I could complete this, but once I got started, I couldn't stop.

They will display everyone's masks and I have the option to put mine up for sale or not, so I'll be thinking about whether to do that and how much I would charge for this (I have no idea!). My  husband didn't want me to sell it because he wants it, then he said if I sold it, I could just make him another one, LOL.

Little chunky book necklace

 

Made this cute little necklace at my friend Jo's house a few weeks back.

"Green for a Day" ATCs

A selection of ATCs I finished last week to trade with my art group this month.

LOVE: My February canvas

Oops, I'm a little late posting this, as I just took this February canvas off my wall and put up my new March canvas (wait until you that one). Better late than never! As some of you might recall, I've decided to make a new canvas for every month of the year. By time this year is through, I'll have, hopefully, monthly changeable art that captures the season, the holiday or the sentiment for the month.

For February, obviously, I was going for a "love" theme. The whole idea came about after creating a neat fall-themed canvas in a workshop and thinking, Why not do one for every month? And also because over the past year I've gotten to the point where I like hanging up and keeping my own art. In the past, I always made things to give away, or for a specific person or event. I really never kept anything I made. But I've grown much more comfortable and confident with my style and my husband loves it, so why not?

These are 12 x 12 canvases, mixed media, acrylics.

 

 

 

Fun with Paperclay

Wanted to try a little 3D sculpting with my small stash of Paperclay. I really enjoyed this. Need to take a class from the talented Sunny Carvalho to hone my skills, but what fun! This puzzle piece is for a puzzle swap with my art group. Her theme was, of course, "Alice in Wonderland."

More puzzle fun!

I finally got around to working on the myriad puzzle pieces from my art group. Here are a handful I've completed in the past week or so. The puzzle pieces go back to the owners after I finish my artwork on them. The themes are written on the back of each puzzle piece, as chosen by the various puzzle owners. Can you guess what the themes are based on my work? :)

 The silhouettes, above, are painted using black acrylic.

Altered Pages: Beauty part II (again)

Sorry for the repost -- I ended up doing a little more work on this page and I liked it better, so wanted to represent the finished version. :)

Another spread I did in my friend's altered book with the theme "beauty."

 

Altered pages: Beauty

My two-page spread in a friend's altered book. Her book's theme is "Beauty." My altered art group decided to do an altered book round robin this year, among other things, so this is the first of, hopefully, several altered pages in various books.

Winter Whimsey: Painting with my husband

What a blessing! My dear husband sat down with me to paint tonight, going step-by-step with me through Christy Tomlinson's fun class "Winter Whimsey." His canvas, the snowman, turned out just delightful! I painted a "She-Art" girl on mine. 5x7" canvases, mixed media.

Christmas 2012 ornament

Better late than never! I forgot to post this in December. I made this ornament to swap with someone in my art group. The paper on the background is from a late 1800s hymnal and the girl is handpainted by me. The opposite side has the world "Joy" on it and the sides sport snowflake rub-ons.

Waiting at the door: Girl with cat

This is a piece I painted for an art friend for an altered item challenge. When she gave this to me, it was a two-part blond-wood picture frame with a $2.99 price tag on the back from a dollar store. I removed the glass, painted the girl and cat on the wood panel and then altered the outside frame with a knob and other embellishments to look like a door. Here are two pictures: the panel canvas and the finished frame. Hope she enjoys it!

                                

"Winter": a monthly themed canvas

Here is the second in a series of themed canvases I want to make for my wall so I have one to change out for each month of the year. After working on this inter...mittently for a week or two, I completed it tonight. This is called "Winter."

My first themed canvas, which gave me the idea in the first place, was a Fall piece I did in a workshop in October. I've thought about doing this ever since. This is a 12x12" canvas: collaged, painted, embellished, etc. I hope I can keep up!

 

 

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