Simple Pleasures

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Sewn paper collages

Yesterday I spent time at my friend's house, using one of her sewing machines. (I don't own one.) She quilted while I sewed papers and fabrics onto cardstock. I just loved it!
Many of the papers are hand-made, while some are photocopies of fabrics or of other artwork I've done. I really, really like the effect.
Not to mention the COLORS! I feel so color-deprived after this long winter. Anyway, it was great fun to play with her machine. I must get one of my own now.
This shows some of the stitching detail. I wasn't very precise in getting them straight, but I still like the effect. Not sure yet what I'll do with them. Ideas?

Wearable Collages

I worked on these for a couple of days and ended up with over 20 necklaces. Many of the charms I had already made, but had not done anything with them; others, I just made yesterday. I used a lot of wood and metal on these.
Some of the wood are small cubes, while others are the backs of Scrabble tiles. I either collaged on them as is, or glued a small background on & collaged on that.
It feels good to use up some of my stash of goodies! I didn't realize how MUCH I had!!

Be-ing

Just completed this piece today. I worked on it, off and on, over two months. I knew it needed something, I just couldn't figure out what. Then, as I was reading MaryBeth Shaw's new book, chapter by chapter, it hit me like a ton of bricks--VALUES!! I needed more contrast. So I did that, made a few more layers of color on the figure, and now it feels finished.

I wanted to convey the importance of having gratitude. To me, gratitude begets peace. It's where I must start from, when I am overwhelmed or feeling out-of-sorts. So in this piece, although the figure is surrounded by bumpy rocks (lots of texture), she/he is aglow within.

Valentine ATC's

I made a batch of ATC's for Valentine's Day. This one is my fave. The background paper I used was from last year's Family Mixed Media Madness event. All my kids, significant others, and grandkids made papers. It was a lot of fun, and we all ended up with tons of papers.
Here's the bunch. I have always loved Valentine's Day. I suppose I'm a true romantic at heart. Or maybe I just like an excuse to use lots of pink and red. Regardless, my friends and family can usually count on some Valentines from me!

a serving of poetry

Today, before throwing away a Better Homes & Gardens magazine, I decided to skim through and snip out words to which I was drawn. I placed them in a small bowl so I could carry them into my studio. I think it looks like a delicious serving of Words! I challenged myself to create a poem, using only these words. (I made sure I snipped the little words too--prepositions, "a" and "the", etc.)
Then I spread out all the words, and began formulating a bit of a poem....
and here is the final poem. (The word on the left that got cut off is "Tomorrow.") I pasted it into my art journal, and now I have a great little entry for a snowy wintry day!

stencils and masks and fun, oh my!

It amazes me what things can inspire us. I've had a dry spell for awhile, with family situations and with our new cottage. But I've been aching to create lately, and stencils and masks have turned me back on! I needed to come up with an idea for our Creative Spirits group that meets soon, so I began leafing through Collage Lab, by Bee Shay, and spotted a section on masks and stencils. I've been curious about them since taking Michelle Ward's class last summer when we used them with spray paints. Then I began thinking about what could be used as a stencil/mask, and decided to leaf through some magazines in search of good silhouettes.

One of the magazines was the Fall issue of Vogue, which is jam packed with all kinds of artsy inspiration. I began cutting out figures of the models in various--sometimes comical--poses. I'm just beginning, but I will soon have a great stash of stencils/masks I can use in my art! Here's the first one I cut out.
I traced her onto a manilla file folder, then cut her out, using a craft knife. So I have both a stencil and a mask.
Here's a sample of using the stencil, with just some scrapbook papers I had handy. I added a few collage elements, and she's all done!
Here's another sample, again using scrapbook papers, this time using the silhouette as a stencil. I added a lacey skirt and some shading, and another quick fix for my creative need.
And another collage, cut out of some collaged paper I had made, glued onto an envelope I received from an artist friend at Christmas. And this is all, just using papers. Imagine what I can do with paint! Simple, yet effective. I think my dry spell has been healed!