Thank you Kathy

A while ago I won a drawing given by the talented Kathy Botsford. Just before Christmas I received my package and I just have to share a picture of the wonderful loot that I received. A beautiful necklace. I love the medallion and the clasp is to die for. The note cards are also wonderful so full of depth. Thank you Kathy.

More zoo pics

Here's a few more zoo pics from my excursion this week.

Zoo time with friends

Within the city there is no place like the zoo for taking photos. Four of us girlfriends went yesterday. It was so much fun. Took over 700 pics, here are a few.
More tomorrow.

Sketching

I'm trying to learn to sketch. I have no formal training but a friend came by and helped me begin. Thanks Linda.

This is my second sketch.

A little of this a little of that

I have been trying to be looser with my work. I used to believe that everything had to be crafted perfectly but now I am trying to pay more attention to balance and color. It is much more fun.

Canvas with acrylic paint.

Relaxation

When I have a few moments I play with Zentangles. I love watching each stroke making the piece grow.

I've missed being here

Hello everyone,

It has been so long since I have posted and I have missed it. So back into the grove!

Ten of us from the Mixed Media Mavens group met to learn and create.

This was our first attempt at deconstructed screen printing. We all loved it. It was surprisingly easy as a technique but there is so much potential for design.

We decided to try something like an Alisa Burke technique. We all had our own ideas of what that meant to us so there was quite a variety. The important part was to free ourselves up and just paint.

Then one of the ladies, Linda, gave us a quick tutorial on drawing faces. Loved it! Have a long long way to go though.

Next was some stamp carving and building.

Then we painted on our canvas until the end of day.

Just Remember

JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER

JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER

JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER

My gifts from Seth

Last week I received a box from Seth Apter of The Altered Page. I won this a little while ago and I was so excited. Now I need to find a special use for the papers and images and spend some time on my patio with coffee and some good books. Thanks Seth!

I'm back

My life has gotten so busy!!!

An opportunity came up to garden like crazy. An art friend gave me the name of a lady who was going to put her house on the market. She has (had because they are now in my yard) a yard full of flowers that had become somewhat overgrown. Digging up four pickup loads of flowers and many days of putting them in the yard was quite an ordeal. It was so worth it! Next spring will be wonderful.

I love the larkspur.

This area is so sunny with all the yellow.

I love my miniature roses.

I am about halfway through my Photoshop class. It is much harder than I expected but I am learning a lot. We will see if it pays off as time goes bye. I also cashed in my Christmas gift certificate and got a Bamboo pad and pen. I am excited about using it.

I have started two classes on Artists for the Round Table. One based on the book Create Your Own Hand Printed Cloth by Rayna Gillman and the other based on the book The Decorated Page by Gwen Diehn. I am enjoying both of these workshops.

I carved the stamp for the above piece.

These are some of the beginning pages of my new journal.

I am wrapping up a class on Altered Books (AB101) given generously by Elizabeth of the Altered Book Lover blog. I learned a lot in this class which has made starting The Painted Page workshop so much easier. Thanks Elizabeth!

One of the spreads I am learning to make.

First attempt with Photoshop

This is my first attempt using Photoshop as an art form. The individual pieces were created in a Fabric Art Workshop. I took all the pictures from the same distance so I could maintain the proper ratio of each piece, one to the others. This is the final collage piece for the class. The intent was to use a lot of the work we had created over the last few months. I think there are 20 different images in the piece.

Locking Zentangles

I finished this one the other day while I was waiting for a class to begin. I carry a book with drawn circles in it. It keeps me sane when I have to wait.

I am so lucky!!!

I WON ! ! !

Seth Apter of The Altered Page at http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/ has had over 100,000 hits on his blog so he celebrated by doing a give a way. I am so excited to be one of three winners. I love the textures and colors that he uses in his art. He said I will receive a package of goodies. I wonder what will be in it. ANTICIPATION !!!

THANKS SETH

A time to remember

Today is a time to remember those who sacrificed so much for us. To contemplate what was given, what we have received, and how we live now because of their service. Our country is such a wonderful place to live and we owe it's survival to the brave men and women who fought and cared for it.

Remembering my grandfather, father, and uncles who have now passed. Also the people who worked in the factories as my grandmother did to help with the war efforts.

Even though it is Memorial Day it is important to remember those who still live and those who still serve today. Thanks to my brother John, my sister Kay, and my nephew Tony.

Brain pieces everywhere!

I feel like my head is going to explode. I started a class on Adobe Photoshop at our local college. I hate realizing my limitations!!! I will learn this stuff. I love the Photoshop part, but I am so inept with my computer knowledge. It probably is taking me four times as long as the other students to do my assignments. But in a few weeks I should be able to start posting some of my collages (I hope).


One good thing is that my friend, Ella, took my gears to clean and rust so that she could use them. Thank you Ella! I do not anticipate that I will be working with them for at least a month.



I have taken over a thousand photos in the last ten days. One day at the Bio Park here in Albuquerque. I spent that wonderful day with my daughter Lisa just browsing and doing macro photography. A walk in the neighborhood with an artist friend gave me more. And then a day at Fiber Arts Fiesta gave me lots of inspiration and targets for my camera.