{a tiny little painting}...

Finally had sometime to do a little painting.  And considering I am painting

entire rooms in my house this really is tiny.

This is the original painting and below

 is another after being altered in PSE.

I'm experimenting a bit with a different style in hair.   She's a little 5X6. 

 I have a large canvas and I'm thinking

perhaps I could do a really large painting

as I am feeling a bit more convenient in my painting abilities.

And seeing how I got the canvas at the Goodwill and learning that

you just keep painting over and over, layer after layer  until you get something you like.

What do I have to lose?

 

Until later.  Thanks for stopping by.

{give it a go}...

A Sundance catalog painting by artist Rebecca Puig, inspired my painting.

I really found the painting unique so I thought "just give it a go and try

it yourself".

She's titled expressing thanks.

My painting is a personal reflection of me . 

 And when I display it in my home it speaks directly

to, or perhaps is speaking to me from my soul. 

Jeanne Carbonetti said "that when we create from the unity of

body, mind, and spirit, we are one with our muse, and our work

is always original, and always powerful".

I think she's correct.

the inspiration

{continuing pages for Christmas Art jOURNaL}...

A few page options for my Christmas Journal.

I've included a couple of magazine pictures I have been saving to use in the journal

along with a couple of altered photos.

 

 The page below includes more personal Christmas items.  Along with one

of the same magazine photos.

I plan to use one of these 1st two photo layouts as the first page in the journal. Then beginning with page 2 I will

begin the family photo pages interspersed with all sorts of non tradition page sizes and items.

 

The 2 photos below are from the box I packed these ornaments in last year.

 I'm not sure which of these photos I perfer.

But I think they will be on the inside back cover.

Before I can assemble the pages I will need to decide what will be on the outside back cover and page 2.  I have begun the first of the family photos from 1972.  But haven't any idea about the back cover yet.

But enough time has been spent on this for now.

 

I didn't get enough takers for my photo challenge to do a post.  But if Eden still wants to send hers I will post it.  Thanks Eden, maybe next time more will join it.  I think maybe you have to have hundreds of viewers for a challege to work.

{from photograph to faux painting and challenge}...

I set out to create a piece of art in red and yellows.  Not colors I usually work with.

Using only PSE, and a bit of luck with my layering I came up with this.

I am really pleased with the results.



Once I created the photo I attached it to a 3" wide styoform block that I had prepared with a

plaster texture.  This allows it to sit on a table or hang on a wall.  It's now at the Raven Cafe

Collage Show.



Below is the original photo from moguefile.com  

I don't have all of the layers available to show as I work with so many combinations

it's difficult to remember which one's I keep. 

But after doing a bit of cropping, and a hue/saturation to tone down the colors

I tried a Gaussian blur, which I often try, but rarely keep as the results seem to just create an out of focus photo.  And not in a pleasing way.  But this time it looked really great and showed real promise.  I then add a greenish yellow layer a couple of times and grunged it up a bit with some brushes.

 

It's just amazing how this nice photo can become so much more.

If you took a dozen people, even a hundred people they would all come up with just as many

other amazing results.

 

Which suggests.

 Why not offer a challenge.  Is anyone game?  What can you do with this photo?

Here' the link to the original photo.  http://morguefile.com/archive/display/690489

As these photos are free to use I don't think this is a problem.

 

If you leave a comment to let me know you'd like to participate I'll know who to wait for

and collect everyone's

photo for a later post.

 

Just email me your photo and I will post all the results here.

My email is at the top right column.

 

No rules.  Just do your own thing.

 

I hope you will join in.

{last hurrah for summer flowers}...

" they" say Summertime is coming to it's  official end this weekend.

But our temps are still well into the 80's  (which is a very summertime heat) and yes the wild sunflowers are in full bloom.  But I'm not quite ready to bring in the yellow sunflowers.

 Yet.

So after bring in some fresh cut Echinacea flowers.  I shot a few photos of the old dried

Echinaceas.  Then spent too much time playing with them in PSE.  But I enjoyed every moment

of it.  I haven't been in PSE much this summer so it was time well enjoyed.

 

There are sooooo many choices in photo editing and I always wonder why I am so attracted to

whatever it is I see in them that is so beautiful to me.  Why this combination of layers?   Rather than another?   So when I came across the following quote from Carl Jung.  I knew I was not alone in my wondering.  And that there must be something to it.

 

Trust that which gives you meaning

 and accept it as your guide. ~ Carl Jung

 

Now if I just knew where is was guiding me!

 



{Raven Art Show}...

I'm excited to let all of you locals know that I will have several pieces of art

at the Raven Cafe.

I'm with a great group of Collage Artists

that will have our art displayed until Oct 7.

The Raven is a really fun cafe in downtown Prescott.

Opening reception is this Thursday, August 30th from 5-7 pm.

I may not be able to get there until 5:30.  So I hope you'll wait around for me

I love to see you.



{What ifing}...



I wanted to have a more translucent look to painting on fabric then

just painting on fabric would normal have.  Which of course dying would do just

beautifully.  But I don't want to purchase a whole new inventory of supplies that require mixing and measuring and storing.  As well as matching certain dyes to certain kinds of fabrics and on and on.  Not to mention the expense of yet another media.

Hence, the what ifing.

So I sat down with a limited palette of paint (2 colors) and supplies, grabbed a piece of

fabric that was laying on the desk, add water and just laid down the paint in some basic shapes.

I wish my camera would capture the colors accurately.   The golds you see are actually

shades of  much prettier yellows.   Anyway...

The hand of the fabric is quite acceptable for these small pieces.

I added the white "flowers" with the paint straight out of the bottle which of course

really effects the hand but it's a limited amount.

These pieces came out well enough that I will continue experimenting  with thinner paints and larger pieces of fabric.

In the meantime I will have ready to go pieces for as yet unnamed projects.

{Echinacea and Contemplation}...

Echinaceas are growing everywhere.  And I had the perfect little vase waiting for them.

Then of course the camera had to come out and the next thing I knew PSE was opening ~ just to see

what I might come up with.

All the while contemplating the question from yesterday experience?

That if in a moment of absolute clarity, when you suddenly realize that your life was designed with perfect care for your well being. Then if even this one tiny moment of your life was perfect

would that not mean that the whole of your life has been perfect?

And if this is True for me then would it not be True for everyone?

{local art graffiti}...

I love to catch the messages

we are receiving all the time.

It's just a matter of being present in our lives.

I could just have easily have missed this little graffiti sign

as not.  And who knows how long its been there.  I drive by this fence often.



The original ~ on the street...

Have any of you locals seen it?

{da vinci for everyone}...

While we have all heard of and know Da Vinci's art.

I have never felt his art before.

To feel so connected to his art and perhaps even Da Vinci himself was unexpected.

But that's what happen.  I had spent several hours (it's been raining again) working in PSE

with two of my favorite images of his.  And when I had finished and stepped back

to look at the finished pieces this art felt like it was real and alive in my live.



Head of Madonna

and

Female Head

After all these centuries, his art is available to everyone.  So dare I say,

I hope he would approve.   

{freshing up the blog banner}...

Well ~ even though I haven't been spending much time blogging lately

I felt my banner really needed a renewal.

So here it is. 

I'm still spending most of my time relaxing and gardening.  Although

after the storms this week, in which hail and wind destroyed most of the flowering plants

and trees.  (I have leaves plaster to the front of my house).  Its more like major clean up than gardening.

So while the rains have stopped, for now,  I think I will go outside and do some more clean up play some more.  Play because here in Arizona we do love the rain.

{OMG I don't even recognize blogger}...

When I did my last post I didn't know I would be gone sooooo long.

I've been doing more home decor projects and gardening then art of late and

I've also been doing a lot of reading and contemplation this summer.  Just relaxing. 

But I've got the collage show coming up in August at

The Raven Cafe here in Prescott.  I wanted to do at least one fiber piece for the show.

So I ask by looking at the photo below what could all this mess I mean layers be?

 This is how it all starts.  Collage means layers so...  Grab a bunch of fabric for the collage layers,

rip them into strips, mix in a few thoughts and then lay them all out into some kind of

cohesive whole.

Below is the result.  This project sort of took hold of me and wouldn't let go until

I completed it.  Whenever I tried to go in another direction nothing worked.

I spent a whole day trying to go another direction and at the end of the day

I had nothing.  It felted like such a waste of time.  

But in the morning it was clear that this is what I needed to complete before

moving on.

 I kept the edges raw, a layer, which seemed a bit odd for such a large piece.

But I got over it.

I've gotten comfortable with loose threads and raw edges for my art journals

but this was different.  Or at least I thought it was thinking you "shouldn't"

have raw edges and threads.  But it would have been a very different look if I had seamed

all the edges.  I would not have liked it nearly as much.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the raw edges.

 Close ups

It reads

...and just when

you think the whole world is going to implode

from hatred, separateness, and fear

when light, liberty, and sacredness are missing

their are still  those who will see the beauty

who will act with kindness

and

who will live with hope and gratitude

these are the souls that carry

the entire planet

I've put this thought into my own words which I've adapted

from a quote I read from Tut Notes from the Universe

Like I said I've been spending time contemplating things lately

and this just took hold of me.

Now I need to keep blogging.  I feel so out of it.

{one last blast of winter}...

While we are experiencing a winter blizzard - 18" of snow and counting.

I have been spending a little time in PSE with some photos of spring flowers

knowing full well spring will return shortly.

I'm really glad I didn't plant the peony shrub outside on Friday.



{more fiber and poem}...

You may remember when I got this window frame last year.

Since then I have played with different ways to use and display it.

My first decision was whether or not to put glass in it.  I decided I would if I could find some "interesting" glass.

So off my sister and I went to a local glass shop.  He had some textured glass that seem perfect.

So I added glass.  The texture is subtle and difficult to see it the photo.  But it looks old.  And heavy.

Now

for my most recent use of the frame I stitched a

 Hafiz poem title using ribbon to add width to the lettering.  I want the stitching to be large so the whole poem

was out of the question for this piece.  Although the whole poem may show up at a later time.



the poem in it's entirety.

Who wrote all the music

Why is it now
that I come to you like a humble servant
willing to feed you brilliant words and love
from my own sacred mouth and hands,

willing to say, "I am sorry,
I am sorry for all your pain"?

It is because when God
fully revealed Himself in me.

I saw that it was Hafiz
who wrote all the music you have been playing.

I saw it was Hafiz
who wrote all your notes of sadness,
but also etched and gave you
every ecstatic wince of joy your face, body,
and heart has ever known.

Okay my dear,
you have stumbled enough in the earth's sweet dance,
you have paid all your dues
many times.

Now let's get down to the real reason
why we sit together and breathe

and begin the laughing, the divine laughing,
like great heroic women
and magnificent
strong men.  ~ Hafiz

{the post that almost had no title}...

3 finished pieces. 

 I only used one of the original photo collages I started with. 

I wanted something with a bit less of a polished look.  So I chose

a couple of my first paintings.

But how to attach?  There are so many options.

 After considering encaustic.  I went with gel and matte medium instead.

I know these materials better.  My experiments using encaustic are still to unpredicatable.

More on that someday.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the sides.   

A solid color white or black would have been fine

but I wanted something "different".  Whatever that meant. 

I had a grunge ribbon around them for a while and I was about to

go with that when inspiration struck.

Laying on the desk top were writing scraps from

another printing experiment.

It was the perfect touch.

It was just what I was wanting.

{6X6 Canvas Art ~ paper}

A couple of little pieces of canvas art. 

Collecting paper can be as addicting

as collecting fabric.  So it was time to dive into my paper stash for

a little collage work.

I've been starting the day with this in my mind.

It's layer upon layer of paper petals or rays depending on whether

I see a sunflower or the sun



 The second piece is a quote from Walt Whitman.

Made of far fewer layers.  I could keep adding more

and more and it may be just as fun but I tend to like the simple clean layout . So I stop. 

It's bright and cheery and

the quote helps set me free.



{WIP-Finished}...

Today

poem stitching is finished and I have

submitted it for consideration to the Tis Gallery show Piece and Poem

which begins Feb 22



 Close up of additional hand stitching and flowers.

The poem that I created of the fabric strips reads:

I

want to step

beautiful

through

today.

The

truth

of existence

now.

So

sacred

is

your

Life.

~autumn

The main poem reads:

Today

I

do not

want to step so quickly

over a beautiful line on God’s palm

as I move through the earth’s

marketplace

today.

I do not want to touch any object in this world

without my eyes testifying to the truth

that everything is

my Beloved.

Something has happened

to my understanding of existence
that now makes my heart always full of wonder

and kindness.

 

I do not

want to step so quickly

over this sacred place on God’s body

that is right beneath your

own foot

As I

Dance with

Precious life

Today.

~ Hafiz 

{WIP~Machine Stitched Poetry}...

Ever since I first saw stitched "writing" by Ruth Rae I have been

excited about trying it out for myself.

This is my first large scale attempt.

The peice measures 16x20.

The main poem is by Hafiz titled

Today

 Then  using the existing words in the poem I created an additional poem by me.

Which I distingished from the Today poem by stitching those words on strips of fabric and applying them 3 dimensionally on top of the original words.

Below a close up of those lines

 I also plan to add additional 3d "flower" elements

as shown below.

 I will enclude the words to both poems when I show the completed piece.

{New Collage Series}...

New collage series for the Raven Cafe show.

I am using some of my paintings and collaging layering them in PSE.

I am quite pleased with the results of the first couple of attempts



I am working with a couple of series titles.

Either

 Daughters of Eve

or

Evolving Expressions

 These two collages are done using several different layers along with the same

painting.

I loved to know which one you all prefer.

That's the thing with PSE it can go on forever.

And you never know when to stop and just pick one.



{Collage Face #2}...

Collage #2 for Raven Cafe Art Show

Continuing with my experiments in collage.

If nothing else I am learning how to make my face paintings work.  Seems with enough

layering you can make them look nice.



(Christmas Art Journal~part 2}...

The inside front cover

 I've completed all of the machince stitiching so I've attached the inside cover page to the journal's cover. Now on to the back cover pages.

Once I complete those I will be able to start the inside pages.

Below is a close up of some Star stitching



{New Art for 2012}...

I will be apart of a collage art show at the Raven Cafe this spring.

So I am trying out some new art styles for that show.

This little painting is inspired in the style of Misty Mawn.

I am really pleased with my painting of such a small face.  It's barely an inch.

And a body for my paintings.  Both are new to me.

I wanted to do some encaustic on it but I used acrylic paint

on it ~ then learned you can't use encaustic over acrylics.

I have 2 more piece of substrate this same size so I will be doing a couple more

pieces in this series for the show. 

More on the show as it gets closer

{2012 Word of the Year}...

My 2012 Word of the Year

I think this poem sums it up perfectly.

Faith

When we walk to the edge of all the light we have

and take that step into the darkness

of the unknown,

we must believe that one of two things will happen...

There will be something solid for us to stand on.

Or, we will be taught how to fly.

~Patrick Overton

Happy New Year to all!

Please forgive my slowness in responding to comments.  I just can't seem to catch up.