• Art - Blog - Creativity

    Roses are red….

    February 16, 2017 - By 

    So far this month I wasn’t feeling the love for the color red. Maybe because from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s day we are swimming in it. Finally, yesterday after doing some cleaning and organizing in my art space, I was inspired to create with a whole bunch red.

    This is yet another loose leaf page that will go in my scrapbook journal.  I created on the back side of an ugly piece of scrapbook paper using two shades of red and a credit card to scrape it around.  Next I layered some German text from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale book. I find this ironic now as I’m totally obsessed with the TV show Grimm.

    I also used a new art supply…it’s plaster casting cloth. I sprayed it with color mists before lightly distressing the edges. I like the texture it adds although it is messy. The plaster likes to flake off if you manhandle it a little too much.

    I tried something new with rub-ons as well. I have a couple sheets of quotes that really don’t speak to me so I decided that using them as part of the background in a wildly random pattern would work quite nicely. I do love the effect and I’m not just throwing them out.

    The photograph is mine…taken at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum several years ago. They have a beautiful rose garden…it looks and smells heavenly.

    Linking up with Art Journal Journey for the tongue in cheek theme of Fifty Shades of Red.

    Art Journal Journey
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    A new happy ending

    December 9, 2016 - By 

    Some quiet reflection brought me to this page.

    new happy ending

    I used light cardboard for my substrate adding layers of paper and paint.

    glass-look mason jar using punched plastic

    Gelatos were used on this paper pieced mason jar. I punched a jar from a plastic sleeve and adhered over the butterfly giving the illusion of glass.

    charcoal doodles with white pen journaling

    Before punching holes in the page for my polka dot journal I did a bit of paint scrapping, doodling with charcoal pencil and personal thoughts in white pen.

    nearly full polka dot journal

    My polka dot journal is basically full. I may do two more pages that I can adhere to each of the inside covers before called this one complete. I originally thought I’d do something on the front cover as well but unless it’s non-dimensional…which has not been my MO lately….it’s likely better that I leave it just plain.

    I hope you forgave me for being so insensitive…so long old friend.

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    A Tale of Two Pages

    November 14, 2016 - By 

    This tale is about the “right way” and the “wrong way” to be creative…at least this is how it went for me this weekend.

    Saturday in an attempt to kill some time while waiting for some laundry to finish, I decided to challenge myself again to create for the Art Journal Journey theme of Collage~no wings, no leaves, no faces. To begin, I tore a page from a vintage basic electric manual figuring it had some good background to it already. In addition I snagged a couple of random scraps from my worktable and took the works to the sewing machine.

    a tale of two pages

    I then did a bit of journalling along the edge of one of the scraps. Ok…still feeling it…the creative spark was there but dim.

    a tale of two pages

    I added some color…still good. Then I sprayed some black mist through my circle stencil. It was as if the mist put out the spark. Instead doing the smart thing and walking away at that point to regroup…I was still waiting for the stupid laundry cycle to complete so I just kept throwing more crap at the page.

    a tale of two pagesI’m still not excited about this one but that’s ok. Challenges are just that…a challenge. Otherwise it would be called super happy fun time.

    Art Journal Journey

    On Sunday while cleaning up my workspace I felt that creative spark again. This time I made a deal with myself not to push through if I wasn’t feeling it. I noticed a freebie art paper I had pulled from an old issue of Somerset Studio. So I had a great starting point…maybe an easy way to redeem myself.

    a tale of two pages

    Given the fact that this page has an eye on it it wouldn’t count for the challenge away.

    a tale of two pages

    I didn’t do a tom to the background…I used gelatos to intensify the colors in certain places, some outlining in white gel pen, lots of stamping, gesso through a stencil and heat embossing…but all in a very subtle way. After deciding on some layers of goodies including ink stained babywipes I adding stitching over my layers and around the page in a random fashion.

    a tale of two pages

    Some black paint splatters and added “eyeliner” were my final touch before looking for words. see possibility everywhere was just perfect.

    So my lesson to myself was to know enough when to walk away. You can’t force it. I suppose it’s something like writers block…you can stare at a page but you can’t will the words or art to flow.