GINNY'S CHAOS

Fall is a wonderful time of year

2010-11-11T00:37:00.004-07:00

I walked out into my backyard and marveled at the play of sunlight on the few remaining plants. Ran in and got my camera, I just had to share them.

I'm new to Etsy!

2010-10-25T13:06:00.002-06:00

Last night I posted my first item on Etsy. Some of my fabric beads.
I have been talking myself into this for quite some time and now I have committed. There sure are a lot of pieces to go through and to think about to start this up.
I still have to figure out how to make a link to it but I should be able to figure it out soon. Computers are my friends.
Computers are my friends.
Computers are my friends.
Computers are my friends.
I'm working on my mantra.

I don't sit still well

2010-09-23T16:27:00.004-06:00

I hate sitting in meetings but doodling really helps. These are from the last two I sat through. I really did listen, and I am not being paid, it's just mostly a listening thing.

After cloth --- paper

2010-09-16T12:38:00.004-06:00

A few days after I dyed my fabric I took the spent dye and dyed paper with it. It worked great! The colors can be odd because it depends on your previous project. But I love most of what I got. The brown paper looks kind of leathery and the white has beautiful colors.

Dyeing with friends

2010-09-12T13:05:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago some of us friends got together to have a play day dyeing cotton fabric, parfait style. We had a great time and came up with some cool fabrics.

I had been wanting to overdye some silk fabric so I gave it a try and I am happy with the results.

I am alive and still kicking

2010-09-09T23:15:00.013-06:00

It has been so long since I have been hanging around here. I really had to work to get caught up on what everyone else is doing. I have been working these last months but I just have not been on my computer.

Last February I took a class with DJ Petitt out in California. It was so much fun and I learned so much. My favorite part was learning to overpaint on a photo. It was a great way to take a photo that wasn't right or couldn't be taken the way one wanted it.

I think the horse looks almost magical.

Getting rid of the background and correcting the skin and hair makes it much better and more interesting.

Great times have been had

2010-03-08T22:07:00.007-07:00

I have been so busy these last few months. I have learned so much in both Photoshop and in my mixed media ventures.

I have been participating in a live feed class on Photoshop with a group called CreativeTech. They have some wonderful classes that are free for the watching. If someone wants to watch them at their own convenience, and receive some files that help expand the knowledge, one can buy the programs at a pretty reasonable rate. I am 2 weeks from completing a 6 month course. Give them a look at creativetech.com.

During January I took an online class from DJ Pettitt. It was called Memories and Manipulations. This was a course on Photoshop but from an artistic angle. I learned how to create brushes and to use the opacity and filters and joining layers, and so much more. I still have to go back and finish up.

This is one of the exercises that we did in class.

I also attended a retreat in Los Gatos. I will report on that in the next post.

Synergy

2010-01-01T17:12:00.007-07:00

A brand new year. A brand new time. I am feeling uplifted and hopeful for the future.

I was sitting, watching the Rose Parade, looking at the latest postings on blogs that I feel inspired by when one kind of hit me between the eyes. It was from Nina Bagley of the blog Ornamental. She was talking about the forest and individual trees. I will let you read her to get her meaning but it gave me some symbolism that I needed.

I keep getting stuck in my art. I love mixed media or at least the concept because I love doing many types of art. I have all these pieces of things done (think tree) but I have not been able to compile them into some wonderful things (think forest). I don't want to just tack them together I need them to be coherent.

So here comes my word for 2010.
"SYNERGY"
That is where the total is greater than the sum of the parts. This is what I am hoping for this year.

I do not do resolutions anymore. It makes me angry at myself when I do not succeed, however I am continuing to work on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I need to go back and review it again to stay on track.

On a really fun note my DH gave me an online class with DJ Petitt. It is on using Photoshop with an artistic flair. I am so excited. I love DJ's work and I have so many photos that I want to work with. People can sign up until Jan 4.

I also am starting an additional blog to post photographs. I am going to take at least a photo a day this next year (thank you Jane Dunnewold). I will post them each week. I am hoping some of my friend at Mixed Media Mavens will join me. We will see if they decide to play.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Thank you Kathy

2009-12-29T20:26:00.006-07:00

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

2009-11-12T13:05:00.001-07:00

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

Zoo time with friends

2009-11-11T20:18:00.004-07:00

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

2009-11-09T22:49:00.005-07:00

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

2009-10-08T00:26:00.001-06:00

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

2009-10-07T22:46:00.004-06:00

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

I've missed being here

2009-09-14T23:02:00.001-06:00

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

2009-09-11T16:06:00.002-06:00

JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER

JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER

JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER
JUST REMEMBER

My gifts from Seth

2009-07-15T17:14:00.002-06:00

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

2009-07-07T23:11:00.009-06:00

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

2009-06-07T02:41:00.003-06:00

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

2009-06-07T02:37:00.003-06:00

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!!!

2009-05-25T17:10:00.003-06:00

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

2009-05-25T12:04:00.004-06:00

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!

2009-05-25T03:03:00.010-06:00

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.

Trip to a junkyard

2009-05-13T00:57:00.005-06:00

Went to a junkyard the other day with some girlfriends (I so wish I had a camera with me). It was a fun adventure and we found some really cool gears, springs, and odd things to rust up. If they won't rust I will paint them or some such thing.

Fabric Art Workshop

2009-05-12T16:35:00.003-06:00

I have almost finished the Fabric Art Workshop from the group Artists of the Round Table. One more exercise to go.

This is a piece of upholstery fabric free motion quilted onto a piece of felt. The felt is melted with a heat gun creating a lacy background.

Layer Love

2009-05-10T13:56:00.008-06:00

Julie Prichard from "The Land of Lost Luggage" is working to Julificationate the world with her Layer Love project. The techniques are wonderful and she is teaching an online class that starts on May 18th. Go to her blog and see this for yourself!!! http://lostluggage.typepad.com/the_land_of_lost_luggage/

She has created a video that is fun giving an idea of what will be taught in the class.

http://lostluggage.typepad.com/the_land_of_lost_luggage/2009/05/you-think-you-know-me-class-video.html

These techniques are gorgeous!!!

Backgrounds for AB101

2009-05-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

I am involved with a group that is doing an online class for Altered Books. Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/ is directing it. I get a little bit intimidated trying to put this all together but with Elizabeth's and the group's input I will get through it and I will have grown again.

This is a paper towel dyed with old markers. It had some creases in it when I photographed it which created these awesome shadows.

This is a technique that Elizabeth gave us using acrylic paints and baking soda. I love it, it looks like suede. This was done on brown paper.

This is marbled paper done on a paper towel with shaving cream and Dyna-Flo.

A dryer sheet painted with acrylic and then swiped with black and gold acrylic (using an old credit card). I love the look. That credit card is quickly becoming my best friend.

This is a paper towel dyed with old markers then splashed with a wash from pearlized acrylics.

Brown paper bag rubbed with oil pastels and blended using Goo-Gone.

A paper towel dyed with old markers and then swiped with acrylic using my friend the credit card.

This is a copy of a piece of sheet music that was mono printed with ink sprayed on a plastic sheet.

Macro shots of fabric

2009-05-10T11:45:00.000-06:00

I have been looking to find backgrounds for my immersion into Adobe Photoshop. I was going through some fabric samples and realized that I could do macos on them and get some really cool backgrounds. Since I receive so many samples I will keep an open eye when I go through them from now on. One twelve inch piece can give you many different images.

One more project completed

2009-05-04T03:07:00.003-06:00

I finished nineteen ATC's tonight for a swap on Wednesday. I am happy with them.

They are on a matt board base, fused fabric, dyed gauze, hot glue with foil and crystals.

Disintergration Revealed

2009-05-01T02:36:00.007-06:00

May 1 has come and it is time for the Disintegration Reveal started by Seth Apter last January. My bundle has been through the New Mexico sun, rain, snow, and canyon winds. When I opened it three hornets came out of it. That would not have been so bad except I had already taken it into the studio. They were not happy but I was able to get them back outside. My papers came through the ordeal quite well. They have faded and weathered but they still look strong. I have saved all the strings. Now I"ll have to figure out a cool project to make out of this stuff.

Walk with a camera

2009-04-26T02:13:00.006-06:00

I know I am supposed to exercise but I don't like to, however give me an excuse to take photos and I will get out and do it. So the idea is to trick myself into walking to where the subjects may be. In truth I know that there are things to photograph everywhere. I went for a walk with my friend Lynne and found many within a half mile of the house.

The day was sunny, great for shadow play.

Found an old wall that had great texture.

Texture and light is what it is all about.

Repetition makes for comfort and depth in this photo.

I love macro photography. This is actually a edge of a four inch wooden landscaping post.

Part of a grate for water drainage.

Summer has come

2009-04-26T01:55:00.003-06:00

It is so nice to go outside and feel the sun on my face and see all the flowers that are blooming now. It also means I really have to get out and work on the yard. Maybe some tomorrow.

California poppies are always such bright spots in the garden.

I found seeds for these beautiful wild poppies in a vacant lot across the street from where I live. They no longer come up over there so I am glad I was able to save some of them. They are very prolific. The flowers are short lived but they keep coming up and then they have a pretty seed head. I know spring has come when I see the green shoots from these plants.

Music ATC's

2009-04-26T00:33:00.003-06:00

I mailed off seventeen ATC's today. It was so good to get them finished! I am happy with the results.

Rusted fabric background/ music notes printed with laserjet printer / rusted lace / treble cleft made with a glue gun and foil.

Fabric Art Workshop

2009-04-26T00:13:00.004-06:00

I am getting close to the end of the Fabric Art Workshop. I really have learned a lot by participating in this group. It made me try things that I had only intended to do. Does anyone else buy products and have them set for years before trying them out? I am so bad!!!

Commercial fabric over dyed with a marbled shaving cream technique, then stamped with a natural aspen leaf sprayed with a translucent paint and applied with a brayer.

It is still disintergrating

2009-04-25T19:52:00.006-06:00

Just a few more days until it is time to take down my disintegration bundle. This photo was taken about six weeks ago. The canyon winds have knocked my bundle to the ground five times already.

Two weeks ago I took this photo. Winds had taken it to the ground again. Apple blossoms can make anything look better.

My first Altered book

2009-04-05T02:46:00.008-06:00

I began an online class given by Elizabeth of the "Altered Book Lover" blog. I truly am appreciative of her generous gift of her time and talents to those of us who really want to learn. I will be posting pieces that have taught me something new, or that I really liked. My theme is from a Tony Robbins seminar of Life Mastery that I took many years ago. I have such wonderful memories and I am looking forward to encapsulating them in an art form.

My inside cover.

I created my first niche.

A background page made with acrylic paint and a old credit card.

My Time for 101 in 1001

2009-04-01T21:50:00.003-06:00

Lately I have been working at challenging myself to do new and creative things. I keep seeing the 101 in 1001 days challenge on other artists blogs. I decided to try setting up my own challenges. Most of my items have to do with my art work and not my life as a whole even though I know they intertwine. There are a few that do affect my ability to do more so I included them. I want this blog to remain as my art journal. There is no order to this list just random thoughts. I am going to use Jan 1, 2009 as my start date. I do not want to loose the momentum that I have begun. September 29, 2011 is my end date.

1) Take class to push myself to new level
2) Take class to push myself to new level
3) Take class to push myself to new level
4) Take class to push myself to new level
5) Take class to push myself to new level
6) Teach art class
7) Teach art class
8) Have art retreat -home
9) Have art retreat - home
10) Have art retreat -home
11) Have art retreat - home
12) Work with Friendly plastic
13) Zentangles
14) Shrink Plastic
15) Non wax resist
16) Rust Dyeing
17) Altered Book Workshop
18) Fabric Art Workshop
19) ATC Workshop
20) Water Color Journaling Workshop
21) Soap
22) Cloth paper
23) 1000 photos
24) Blog on my site 150 times
25) Circle quilt
26) ATC group exchange
27) ATC group exchange
28) ATC group exchange
29) 50 individual ATC exchanges
30) 50 individual post card exchanges
31) Small journal books
32) Art retreat - travel
33) Vacation
34) Vacation
35) Vacation
36) Organize the large studio area
37) Organize the bedroom studio area
38) Organize the fabric area
39) Organize the mini studio area
40) Organize the ceramic area
41) Potters wheel
42) College art course
43) College art course
44) College art course
45) Armatures
46) 2 foot by 3 foot machine felted piece
47) Set up paper letter file bins
48) 5 purses
49) 5 purses
50) 5 purses
51) 5 machine felted pieces
52) 5 machine felted pieces
53) 5 machine felted pieces
54) - 10
55) - 10
56) - 10
57) Workable pool
58) Railrunner
59) Make a self portrait
60) Draw people
61) Donate an art piece
62) Submit to an art magazine
63) Read 25 books just for fun
64) Really read my art magazines when they come in
65) Make 5 niche art pieces with framing pieces
66) Model Magic
67) Get 3 friends to join me on this journey
68) Carve 3 stamps
69) Make 3 stamps
70) Make 3 stamps
71) Downsize my things
72) Tassels
73) Learn Adobe PhotoShop
74) Set up family's (Mom) photos on the computer
75) Fabric dyeing
76) Set up my photos on the computer
77) Make 10 photo art pieces on the Internet
78) More fabric beads
79) Quiet time on the couch on the patio
80) Garden around apple tree
81) Photography day at the zoo
82) Photography day on Canyon Road
83) Set up on Etsy
84) Work in black and white
85) Walk once a week and find art things
86) Work with an volunteer art group
87) Go through old magazines for letters, color and images
88) Enjoy working on flowers in my yard
89) Go to galleries and shows
90) Make art from a poem
91) Make art from a song
92) Make art from a picture
93) Make art monochromatic
94) Art quilt
95) Art quilt
96) Paper making from gourds
97) Assemblage
98) Painted paper 5 different techniques
99) Glass ball from bowling ball
100) Review this list monthly and update
101) Keep building this list for the next 1001 days

Those who know me well, do you want to join me on some of these? Great fun to be had!!!

Friends + Art = Happiness

2009-03-28T13:00:00.001-06:00

I have just had two great days with my art friends. The comradery by itself was worth every moment we spent together but we touched so many things that I only had thought about doing and we were able to share things that we thought others might enjoy.

This was the first time I tried rust dyeing. Some came out great and some that we tried in a big bin did not (too much liquid). But we learn from out mistakes also.

This was the first time I tried a silly kids product, Friendly Plastic. I had so much fun with this stuff. I have a bunch of ideas for future projects. This is about 5 sticks so $10 bucks. I felt I got my money's worth.

I hate working with wax resist so I was more than ready to try one that was supposed to wash out. We used glue gel to make a design and then painted Dyna Flow over it, then dried it with a hair dryer. The next delima was do you wash the fabric to get the glue out first or heat set the fabric to set the paint? Both seemed like a bad idea. I was picking at it while we were talking and found out you could just peel off the glue. Fantastic!

I must have had a deprived childhood (actually just a neat mother) because no one could believe that I had never done anything with paper mache (my school also was not very art oriented). But now I can not say that anymore. We started armatures with foil and then began the paper mache part. Great fun but I still am peeling glue off my fingers. I spent last week trying to get paint off my hands from the Jesse Reno workshop. Maybe it is going to be a permanent condition. I started a few pieces so I can work on one while the others dry.

We also worked on paper cloth. There are so many twists on doing this that we just shared the way we choose to do it and learned from others. One friend, Holly, was using copies of some of her artwork. It should have been obvious that that was a good thing to do but I never thought of doing it. I will now. Elizabeth showed how to make really cute books out of this stuff. She also shared on how to make a stamp pad for using acrylic paints. Again pretty obvious but we hadn't thought about it so thanks Elizabeth. Right now mine are pretty ugly so I will post them when I am further along.

One of our members is going to Africa to visit and work with some young girls. Hopefully she will have a chance to share some of the ideas with them. She is excited to be going and I wish I was mouse size so I could fit in her pocket.

Flying outside my comfort zone

2009-03-22T14:18:00.004-06:00

I had an opportunity to spend a day with Jesse Reno. The class was fantastic! Those of you who are familiar with his work know it is wild and expressive. I have never attempted anything like it before and I wanted to push myself. I had a blast!

The pictures I am posting are not finished but they are pretty far along. I will show them later when I have time to work on the details. So much fun.

What did I start?

2009-03-15T00:50:00.002-06:00

I keep emptying bins, drawers, and bags of stuff. I feel like they will never end but each time I finish each one I am so proud. There is hope! So far I have cleared out a couple of car loads of stuff. I am so glad I found our local art center. I can not throw things away but I feel good when I know someone else will have access to my excess.

Finding time for some art. I took another class from Leighanna Light. Her classes are so much fun. I do not get uptight, I can relax and learn while I play. This one was collage on canvas. I really like how they are coming along. I will post again when they are done.

Our art group met the other day. I love show and tell there are always so many good ideas and examples and we got a mini demo on wire wrapping from one of our members. Thanks Elizabeth! We are going to do an ATC exchange next month so I will post them then. And we are going to do a mini 2 day retreat. I am looking forward to spending extended time with my art buddies.

I made my first charm swap. I have not done this before so I am a little nervous that I did what I was supposed to do.

OK - Back to Play I mean Work

2009-02-24T21:43:00.001-07:00

Even though I am not done reorganizing my work space I am feeling optimistic. Today girlfriends and I took a sledge hammer and crowbar to one of my old work tables. Tomorrow two new ones (new to me) are coming in. I will have an eight by eight foot table space!

We tore it to bits to get it out of the house.

An empty floor for 24 hours.

I decided to join Seth Apters disintegration project so my piece is now in my backyard.

I did not roll things real tight because I have started sort of late and I want the weather to have a chance to do its thing. I also added strings and fluff for the birds. It is about nesting time here.

Finished and mailed my 22 ATCs for a swap. This is my first swap so I am enjoying it and excited to see every ones work.

Machine felted backgrounds with embellishments.
.

Worked on my Fabric Art Workshop. I am really enjoying this and learning a lot.

Dyna Flow on silk (Lasagna dyeing)

Sun printing with Dyna Flow on silk.

Bubble wrap and Dyna Flow on silk.

Accordion pleats with Dyna Flow on silk.

Saturday I am taking another of Leighanna Light's workshops. This one is called "Funky Found Object Canvas Village". It also should help stretch me (maybe I could get tall and skinny). It is going to be held at Off Center in Albuquerque.

Last night I went to a local quilting chapter (New Mexico Quilters Association) and heard a lecture by Lauren Camp. It was exciting and I loved her Jazz series. It is interesting to see how different artists approach their work.

Beat but happy

2009-02-21T01:04:00.004-07:00

It has been way too long since I have posted. I stay busy all day but sometimes I do not seem to get anything finished. Have been working on ART workshops and a couple of swaps. The ATC's are almost done, they should be finished this weekend.

A local frame shop decided to close up and had lots of mat board they gave away. I was able to save some for myself but most of it I hauled down to Off Center. They were happy to get the mats, some nice frames, glass, some shelving and some display stuff. Many thanks to Diana and happy framing to Off Center! It was five loads of stuff and I am tired. Over sixty and fat can do one in.

I keep seeing artists on line who are straightening or redoing their studios or work spaces. Maybe it because it is almost spring here but I have started to work on mine. I have fives different spaces available to me and they all need work. Right now I am working on two of them and they are coming along nicely. I get so frustrated when I can't find things so I am labeling everything and it already is helping. Mixed media uses so many different things and I want to save everything because i just might need it someday.

Well, I guess I better get some sleep so I can start again tomorrow. I will post picture next time. it just doesn't feel right not to have color on my blog.

Keep working forward

2009-02-04T17:55:00.017-07:00

OK I am breathing normal again. It is nice to play off of all the things I started in my week of chaos. Yesterday I worked at a polling place for a local school election. Boring!!! However, good things come from strange places. One of the ladies there uses Adobe Photoshop (a program I just got) and she showed me how to get started on the system. So much better than trying to learn from a 700 page manual. Also with the down time I was able to do a Zentange that I really like.

My Zentangle

Done on a piece of paper from a card I received. Look at Christmas cards and other cards, they often are done on wonderful paper. There are areas of the paper where there is no writing or it is thick enough that the printing does not show. In these cards there are other gorgeous papers that can be recycled.
.

I am working on some ATCs for an exchange. Not done yet, but definitely making progress. I need to make 22 of these puppies.

These are all made from scraps and recycled items (an old lab coat, scraps from my machine felted art pieces, pieces from upholstery samples).

I have been working on an ATC workshop. I love working on the pieces but so far have only been working on the bases. I think I am intimidated by the paper. I just am not sure what to put on it. I will figure it out, but right now fabric is easier. But what the heck, by the time I finish the workshop I should be able to sing and dance, stand on my head, and put embellishments on paper, right?

intuitive drawing on watercolor base

stenciled acrylic - acrylic base

acrylic paint on stamp - watercolor over metallic pen for base

pearlized paint on paper towel - torn and applied to base

torn paper applied to base & inked

Lumiere paint on paper towel and applied to base

Lumiere painted paper towel - torn and applied to base - ink stamped

slide holder painted and stenciled

I have not forgotten about my photography. I still am carrying my camera most places I go. I was in the bread store the other day and snapped this picture. I love fresh bread but I don't make my own anymore.

STIMULATION ON OVERDRIVE

2009-01-26T09:54:00.021-07:00

It has been awhile since I have had time to sit down and visit my own blog. I had eight days of constant art stimulation. I am so tired but so happy. First. I did take my class with Leanna Light and had a great time. It introduced me to using metal in my art (aside from a little silver smithing I have not really used any).

Leanna on the right - getting us started.

My pieces at a very early stage. I will post them again as they are completed.

Girlfriend Ella, came over and we worked on the Fiber Art Workshop exercises together. It is always a day of giggling and great fun.

FAW(2) Hot glue on foil - then applied to quilt block. This is so shiny!

Then my friend, Judy, made it down from Colorado. It was so good to see her and her husband. This was the first time in over twenty five years we have had an extended visit without having some outside influence on our time. I was able to introduce her to some of my mixed media passions and she helped me to get over some of my inhibitions regarding watercolor. We both did Zen Tangles for the first time. Her's were great, mine were OK.

I need a finer pen if I am going to work on ATC sizes.

She fell in love with my felting machine. I think she will be a proud owner of one soon. I got some of my pieces trimed to ATC size. Now I need to embelish them.

The ATC's are a great way for me to use up the trimings of my larger pieces.

Another friend, Lynne, and I started on papercloth awhile ago. I pulled mine out and got the pieces done. I don't know what I am going to make out of it but I think it is kind of fun and funky stuff.

(muslin - matt gel medium - images on paper - matt gel medium - tissue paper - matt gel medium - paint - stamping)

We worked with watercolors a bit. It is just background stuff but I was able to keep my colors clear.

Pieces for my ATC workshop

water color on paper

Acrylic paint on paper towel

Pearlized paint on paper towel

Watercolor on baby wipes

We also started dolls. I have lots of parts that we made. I will show them as they get farther along.

There's a picture everywhere

2009-01-16T20:00:00.010-07:00

Went to the store, saw all kinds of color and shapes, had to take pictures. Here are a few.

I love the colors and textures of the market.

Tomorrow I take a class from Leanna Light. I have never worked with metal before so it is exciting. I'll post soon. Monday my friend Judy is coming to stay for a week. We have been friends since I was seventeen and it has been a long time since we have had time to play together. We have five whole days to create together. I can't hardly wait!

The Need for Community

2009-01-14T00:40:00.012-07:00

I began my day by taking a car load (and I mean a load!) of fabric down to a place called Off Center. So much fabric is lovingly donated to our community quilting group, but some of it really is meant for clothing or crafting so we find homes for it. They were so happy to get it that it made my day. There is a place for everything in this world if we just look for it.

While I was waiting for them to open I went to a little cafe down the street. I sat with a raspberry scone and a cup of coffee and people watched for a few minutes. I had my trusty camera so I took a few pictures inside the cafe.

They had plenty of coffee.

What a great roaster!

MAKING MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE

2009-01-07T21:40:00.018-07:00

I have put myself in the position of having to produce, I joined three groups. The one I talked about last time "Fabric Art Workshop", and "artist trading card workshop" by Bernie Berlin. These each have a weekly exercise so I will post what I do. The other is "creative every day". Theory is to create something everyday, right now the theme is play. I also committed myself to my photography exercise.

(FAW-1) Angelina fibers fused over a stamp.

(FAW-1) Angelina fibers fused, sliced, woven, fused.

(FAW-1) Angelina fibers fused, cut into bits, dropped on a bed of fibers, fused again.

(FAW-1) Shiva paint stick with stencil.

(FAW-1) Shiva paint stick shadowing (the soft black lines).

(FAW-1) Shiva paint stick rubbed over a texture sheet.

Today was our local mixed media group. Good friends, great show and tell, and yummy food. What more can you ask for?

Michelle Jackson is so talented. You might Google her name and see her work and patterns.

Some of you may know the lady on the top left. Elizabeth Dawson made a new quilt for her own bed.

I was looking out my window and realized how seldom I really looked at the bottles on my windowsill. Today's picture.

I love blue glass.

No New Years Resolutions

2009-01-02T11:25:00.013-07:00

On New Years Eve I thought about resolutions and decided that I want to do more and learn more. But I also want to be relaxed and enjoy life, so no artificial deadlines and lists.

I am joining a online workshop for the first time so I should have pics as I go along. I don't know the rules about giving out data on groups, so I will just say it is based on Susan Stein's book "fabric art workshop". I buy books, look at the eye candy, say I'm going to try it, and then go and buy another book and do it all over again. This workshop will get me to actually work with the different products that I buy instead of just collecting them. Can you tell I am sort of down on myself? I really do like myself and I enjoy my art but sometimes I get in a rut. Anyway, I have gathered my supplies and I am ready to start.

Let it begin

I also am working on a quilt right now. I have been creating wonky circles out of my bright scrap pile. I think it will be a fun quilt. I don't know how big it will be when it is done. I guess it will let me know.

my kind of colors

As I have said before I love working with scraps and recycle fabric and things. I have this wonderful source for upholstery scraps but I need some more ideas on how to use them. I make pillows and purses. I pull threads to use for couching. I fringe small pieces to use for emblishments. I use the fabric as background for some wall hangings. I needle felt it. Anyone have any other ideas? It is a gorgeous mountain of fabric. Taking this picture made me realize that I really do need to tackle it again.

inspiration needed

I was working with my Sweet Charity ladies this week. They were learning a new crochet pattern for making blankets to wrap still born babies in. I was watching their hands and realized how special this group is and what those hands have done over the years. Thousands of quilts, hundreds of handmade scarves and pillows have been made. They work tirelessly and then donate all their work to people they have never seen.

works of art

Photo Inspired

2008-12-28T22:29:00.001-07:00

Just before Christmas I stumbled across a site,http://www.dailyvisuals.blogspot.com/ Jane Dunnewold is the author. I won't try to speak for her but I was inspired. I love photography and I will try to photograph something at least 5 times a week. I have started to carry a digital camera in my pocket. It is great fun to look at things differently. I hunt for shapes, color, texture and light.

This is an easy one.

Reflections

At the bakery

How much flavor can you handle?

A little light on the subject

Merry Christmas to all

2008-12-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

The holidays or holy days are upon us and it truly is a wonderful time. The tree is up and the lights are strung. Christmas cards have been addressed and mailed, menus have been prepared and the house feels of good cheer. Us older folk (speaking for myself) are doing quiet things like watching Christmas movies. Seventeen people will be here for Christmas dinner so the day will be filled with children playing, lots of food, presents and wrapping paper everywhere.

Art is on hold for a few days and then I will get busy again.

Here are a few close ups of our Christmas tree. I love the Victorian look of it. Merry Christmas to all!

December 2008

2008-12-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

The blog is about ready for weekly use. Look backwards (old blogs) to see what I have added to my history. After today I will write forward.

Sweet Charity - We finished and distributed 737 quilts this year. They go to about thirty groups in New Mexico.

This is a work day making love quilts.

These are for the Blue Stars mothers.

My mixed media group did a tin exchange. We all took a altoid tin (compliments of Lynne) and decorated it for someone else in the group.

This is the one I made for Linda. I think of her as elegant and glitzy. The flowers are made from Crayola's paper clay.

This is the one made for me by Michele. I love it.

This mixed media group is full of wonderful women. Here is a picture of some of the group at our last meeting.

Buried Treasures- - -What I have been doing in 2008

2008-12-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Seth Apter of http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/ has started a challenge to find buried treasures in our blogs. I think this is a great idea as it is so hard to look back through just found blogs. This one of my favorite posts that I have done.

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This year has been a breakthrough for me. I am trying new things and trying to release my inner muse (it thinks I have lost it).

I bought a new tiny camera that I can easily take with me wherever I go. The week I bought it I headed to Kauai and took over 1200 shots. I was in heaven!

I make a lot of what I call "stones". They are small things that I can build on. I normally have no idea of what I am going to do with them but I can't seem to stop once I begin.

Fabric beads (mostly polyester) rolled and heated with a heat gun.

Made with fabric and glue.

Pipe cleaners wrapped with fabric.

My second group exchange was a post card challenge. No theme to this one, but since I had just come back from Hawaii fish seemed logical.

All the cards are made from cotton scraps with just a few emblishments.

I participated in my first art exchange with my mixed media group. It was a "skinny book" and our theme was "woman".

I used paper towels and dyed them with old markers. Then I drew on them with india ink and added crystals.

I have a wonderful source for upholstery fabrics. I made a number of purses, designed one myself, sold a few, and taught a couple of classes.

I discovered felting machines. A friend came over for a play day and brought this wonderful machine that she had found at a quilt show in Chicago. She let me try it and I was hooked. I bought my own the same week. This is one of my favorite things to do. I haven't done much quilting since I bought it.

These are all 4" by 6".
I used silk on some and polyesters on others.

In our mixed media group we do some mini workshops. One day a member, Debbie, show us how to do a type of free form quilting. We worked up rectangles and then slice them up and put them back together.

I found some wonderful silk leaves and made some small art pieces.

Most of the leaves are silk but the backgrounds are a blend.

The Year 2007

2008-11-20T21:07:00.001-07:00

2007 was a time to relook at my artwork.

On a trip to California and Nevada I started to do macro photography. I love seeing what is inside of things we take for granted. I started taking pics of green things and just couldn't stop. I'm not sure what I will do with all these images but a few art projects are floating in my mind.

Recycle was in my blood before it ever became part of everyone's lifestyle. When I would take a class I would see people throwing away bits of gorgeous fabric. I asked for them and such began my fabric scrap addiction. I love making scrap quilts.

Postcards are so small. They are a perfect way to use up more scraps.

Still worked with my wonderful Sweet Charity group. We began making love quilts. We have gone far afield of the original style and it continues to evolve. This group made over six hundred quilts this year.

Before 2007

2008-11-20T20:53:00.001-07:00

This helps define where I began.

Art Quilting - Within NMQA I meet a group of art quilters. They encouaged me to start to look outside the box. Less patterns and color freedom! I began to take lot of classes. I felt like a sponge, I just couldn't learn enough.

Community Service - While I was learning to quilt I met a lady who invited me to look at New Mexico Quilters Association (NMQA). The first time I went to a meeting I met a wonderful group of ladies that were in a sub group called Sweet Charity. They were making quilts to give away to those in need here in New Mexico. I joined them and we made over 3,500 quilts during this time.

Quilting - One day a friend walked into my house with five bins of fabric. A pack rat had gotten into her shed and she had to wash everything. She said she did not want the fabric back in the shed, and she knew I would find something to do with it. Back to my pack rat habits. I took a bin of fabric and my old sewing machine and headed down the hill to a local fabric shop, Quilts From the Heart (I still go there).

This is not the first quilt I started but it is the first I finished.

I took a class on creating art with found pieces. We went into a local wooded area and created art, took pictures and left the sculptures there for others to find. I went back months later and they were still there.

Claywork - I was going through a time of trial and found myself in a ceramic class. One teddy bear and a rabbit later I found I really enjoyed learning how to use glazes and other ceramic stuff. I took a bunch of classes, opened a storefront and began my journey into clay.

This is the store and production facility in Los Alamos.

Marketing was the hardest part for me. But I went to market in Dallas here. It was designed for only southwestern products.

New Mexico has a ceramic show where people compete for ribbons. My store took Best Shop for two years. My students were awesome!

I've done a little sculpting.

I developed a series of dishes that I marketed in Santa Fe and in craft shows.

I developed the glaze for this chili series. It was a hit.

Designs were based on the Anasasi Indians' work.

I developed a Lords prayer series. I have a friend, Marilyn, that did the most beautiful caligraphy for me.

This series was blueberries on top of a white glaze.

My very first class. They all made yard bunnies.

I taught many children. I loved watching them try new things.

Amanda & Bill

Amanda & Bill - I came across these pictures. This is my granddaughter and my husband. It sure brings back memories.

Cast dragons done with raku glazes.

Burial Urns done for a scientist in Los Alamos.

Burial urn done for a friend in Mexico.

Jewelery - Who can resist strings of beads? I can't, so I designed necklaces and strung them to my heart's content. One day I tried a little silversmithing.

I found a source in Germany for some wax that would soften at hand temperature. I made a line of candles by using this wax to sculpt designs and then attached them to premade candles. I also hand dipped candles but I do not have any of them left.

Knitting - A very sweet white haired old lady taught me how to knit in my senior year. I made a letter man's sweater and a car coat. I was so proud of myself. I wish I had taken pictures but I did not. I'm afraid I have regressed and the only thing I have have been making is scarves.

Picture at an arts & crafts Christmas show.

Sewing - In my junior year of high school I discovered I could sew (a teacher deserves a lot of credit). I started on a formal for the prom and made a matching coat (in black velvet and white pique no less). If you don't know you can't do it you probably can. Followed by four wedding dresses, a few bridesmaid outfits, and a couple of more formals and finally I decided that I could sew.

Daisy chains - As a child I loved to do repetitive things. I spent hours knotting daisies and clover (more plentiful). I don't remember what I did with them but I remember loving it.

Sandcastles - One of my first memories are of a sand box my father made. He filled it with sand that was full of periwinkle shells. I hunted for them by the hours. Probably my beginnings of found art. Mustard flowers and a few flowers stolen from my mother's flower beds adorned my sand art work.