How Much is That Doggie?

I had to try out my "Micaceous Oxide" Golden paint. It doesn't show up really well here, but it is a different look.

Scribble faces 1

These next four images are just scribbling -- they will probably be incorporated into future journal pages. The kid looks a bit like a chipmunk with food stored in his cheek for winter doesn't he?

Scribble faces 3

Scribble faces 2

Ugly Betty

Junk Mail

Is your mailbox stuffed with paper (useless paper that will go into the landfill) better known as "junk mail"? I far prefer to get mail art -- even bills are okay. I just hate the junk mail. So I went to a site called www.proquo.com that promises to make it EASY to remove your name from all the various databases and marketing firms. Okay, I did that -- set up my account with password, etc. I began clicking on the various gremlin companies that sell my name to other organizations so they can load up my mailbox. It's not as easy as they make it sound. Most of these firms will not remove your name until you print off the letter, sign it and mail it in. Worse, some make you go to their site and fill out a form on line and pay some amount by credit card to get off their damn list!!!!! I'm sitting here looking at five form letters I have to sign and send in. However, Proquo at least typed the letter in a PDF format, so I can just sign. What a hassle. I think junk mail companies should have to clean up dog poop in all of our yards!

Fruit and Fur

These are not colors I would normally use. I must make myself do more with colors I'm not "drawn" to. It's something akin to eating those weird vegetables I did not like as a child. I was going to add more to this but decided to keep it simple and let the images do their thing. I like the contrast of the fruit and fur.

Christmas card 07

I really wanted something simple this year. The annual card making becomes an assembly line process every year, and I get to the point where I don't want to do one more card!!!!!!! But since friends love to get them, I keep doing them. This one has very simple lines and a nice message(s). Next year I may just draw a pine needle!

Fiber-bound Inside Spread

The cover for this journal is below. I did not post in the correct order. If only I could drag and drop the order of these posts. If someone knows how to do that, please leave a comment. I'm attempting to get used to the new format.

Fiber-bound journal

This is the front cover of my fiber-bound journal. I needed the cover to be wider so taped another piece of heavy cardstock painted in different colors. I rather liked the way it came out. These journals are so flexible you can do them any way you wish. Pages can be any size. Small pages can fit inside large pages. Use up all your fabric scraps for the binding.

Inside Spread for Journal

This is another inside spread for the fiber-bound journal. All kinds of painted paers were used and even ledger paper and manilla folders. Again I used different sizes so some papers can be seen behind the ones shown.

Kiana

This was inspired by Shona Cole's spread in July/Aug spread in Somerset Studio Magazine. I should also give credit to Karen Michel and her book "The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery". I love working with the plumber's metal tape. It's easy to apply and easy to scribe on.

Malia

My granddaughter Malia

Gel Medium Transfer

I forgot to post this transfer, so it's out of order. You can scroll down to the next image to see that there are several images with instructions for various methods of image transfer. This one was done on watercolor paper that first had been washed with acrylic. Then I applied regular heavy body acrylic paint and while still wet placed a magazine image face down. You must let this dry overnight. Don't get in a hurry. It has to be good and dry. Then lightly sand the back of the image, spritz with water and rub off the paper. You can also use a clear acrylic gel for this, but I wanted to try it in a color. I think the results would have been better if applied to a lighter color of acrylic paint. Perhaps the edges would not have been as visible.

Contact Paper Transfer

I took a wonderful "all you want to know" transfer class from Darlene McElroy last week. It was a very informative and fun class. I have wanted for some time to explore the various methods of making transfers. Darlene made it seem so simple I came home and played for a day or two and came up with this image and several below. This was done with clear plastic contact paper and a magazine image. You can also use clear packing tape. Simply place the contact paper or tape over the image. Then soak the piece in water for a minute or two. Then with fingers rub off the paper. It's easier if you sand it a bit before trying to rub off the paper. I left this as it was applied to the surface, so you can see the edges of the paper/tape. I would usually apply acrylic paint or water soluble crayons to hide the edges.

Lazertran Transfers

Both of these were done on masonite squares -- the above square has a layer of gesso which was scribed and then washed with acrylic. The tile below was covered with aluminum (plumber's) tape, scribed and washed with acrylic. The transfer is a photocopy done on Lazertran paper. No inkjet printer. Must be regular toner copier. Follow instructions on Lazertran package, but to give you as much as I know, soak the photocopy in water until you can start to slide it from its backing. Then remove from water and blot really well with paper towel. Then place the image face up on the surface after having slid it partially from backing. Then you can hold the top of the backing and slide the image off on to the surface. Take care when doing this as the image can tear. Also be careful when you place it on the surface because once it's down, it's pretty much down! Then dip a cheap brush in artists' turpentine and starting from the middle brush out (make an "X") and smooth out any bubbles with the brush. You may need to hold up to the light and tilt to make sure all the bubbles have been smoothed out. It's a smelly process, so those of you who are sensitive to the odors or chemicals may not want to do this process. A word of caution, this will not work with turpoid (the odorless turpentine).

Chartpak Blender Transfer

The transfer above was done using a color photocopy (not inkjet). Apply image face down and burnish with Chartpak blender (it's the only blender I know of that will do this). The surface is watercolor paper with acrylic washes. The image below is an inkjet image applied after spritzing the surface with water (see instructions below) - then burnish and voila!!!

Inkjet Transfer

The surface on this is cold press watercolor paper with acrylic wash. The white areas are where I dripped rubbing alcohol. When dry, I spritzed the surface with water and laid the inkjet image face down. Burnish with a bone folder or something similar. Because the watercolor paper has a lot of texture the image did not come out smooth, but I like the process. It's so easy to do. You can even do it on a paper towel.

Silks and Taffetas

I watercolored with watercolor brush and pan paints on a photocopy of my original sketches in my journal. I haven't gotten up the nerve to actually color the original. I don't particularly like the application on the left side -- it might be my inexperience. Then again the paper is very thin, so that probably doesn't help. The right side turned out more to my liking but the color is so light, it looks washed out. I'm still thinking about what to do on the original. Of course I could use something besides watercolor - since the paper isn't the greatest to receive watercolor. I will post when I have finished the original.

Who?

This was a fun collage - inspired by Lynne Perella. I'm sure nobody will notice. Lots and lots of layers of paint and images. I had bent some wire into a figure 8 "swirl". I had it on my work table and kept trying to figure out where to use it. I thought I might use it on a card, but it just wasn't appropriate for the cards I made (besides I haven't made many cards recently). Then it just seemed perfect to go over his mask.

Bird Talk

I started this with an image of wild birds and then got the idea to cut out my own bird from newspaper. I glued that to the support. I then used the negative left from cutting out the bird and made two more impressions. I added the sheet music to indicate birds singing (talking). There are lots of layers of acrylic paint on this. I wanted to use my label maker to add the words "Bird Talk" but thought about it and decided to leave it. It's hard to know when you're done. But I'd rather err on the underdone side. I must have my mind on birds as we just purchased outdoor cages and about 14 parakeets. I love watching their antics. They are little clowns. I also love their chattering. It just makes me feel happy.

GloryDays 2

Okay, it's finished I think. I added borders, a packing tape transfer, some text and a rubber stamp over her eye. I think that's enough. The altered pic on the right side is of two of my recruiters getting awards for their sales.

"Bad Drawings"

Sometimes I get anxious looking at a blank page in my journal. But then I think of the quote (don't know who said it) that went something like "Give yourself permission to make bad drawings". After all, it's just a cheap journal. There are days when the ideas flow so well, and then there are those days when I go to my supplies, close my eyes and pick three things to work with. It does make me use things that are sitting on my supply shelf. Journaling can be like cooking. I have a whole box of recipes, recipes on the itnernet, cookbooks, a pantry full of food and I cook the same things over and over. I have so many inspirational books for art. That is my primary source for ideas. Teesha Moore said to look at magazines upside down, so that your brain cannot see the symbols. That makes for better images and paper backgrounds to use in my journaling. On this page I used a photo I took and altered in Photoshop. I punched some flowers out of that photo. I then used the "negative" of the punches, a bit of watercolor crayon and covered over some drawings I did not like.

Crisis

Some musings that don't matter to anyone. I saw this quote posted on a company's "billboard" seen from one of our local freeways. They always have really cool quotes.

Memorial Day

A little late to be adding this since Memorial Day came and went. But I never do anything in the correct order, so why start now. On this one I used watercolors, rubber stamp and a transparency of a drawing I did of found things in nature.

Malia

Tada!!!! I finished my paper collage of my granddaughter Malia. Malia is a ball of energy. She came out of the womb screaming and wiggling, and she is still screaming and wiggling at 8 years of age. From the time she awakes (early) until 9 or 10pm, she is constantly on the move. And then suddenly, she just drops and is sound asleep. I would give anything to have that energy!!!! She is funny, creative and, of course because she is my grand, very smart. She is a terrific sales person and a bit lazy. If she can "con" someone else into doing her work, she will. She's very good with math, but when playing Yahtzee, she asked for a calculator. My husband told her she would need to figure out the scores in her head or no Yahtzee. Amazingly she did it and very quickly. Her birthday is the 28th, and I plan to give her this collage. I'm not sure that she will think it's so great, but I think she will appreciate it when she is older. I remember some gifts I received in my younger years. My parents had some intellectual friends who always gave me books. An example -- a book on the life of Albert Schweitzer. I was not at all excited about it. I was 10 at the time. I thought it was a totally boring gift!!

Shirley

This collage was done at home after Jacki's class. I have a red-headed friend named Shirley. Her hair is curly, so I used this tissue paper with roses. I also added (what else) glitter! This can be as laborious or as quick and easy as you prefer. It's much better to just put the paper on the canvas and not worry. If you don't like it you can just collage over it. In fact this is a canvas board that I had done an acrylic painting on. I hated the painting, so I collaged over it. Remember, there are no mistakes -- just some art is better than other art.

Jodi

I did this in Jacki Long's "Rip Roaring Collage" class. Just rip papers and glue them on a canvas. She was featured in Somerset Studio's March/April issue. This was such a fun class. It is so freeing not to be worrying about making something look pretty or perfect. She uses only paper on her work and a tiny bit of glaze. I, of course, had to add glitter to mine when I got home. Why? Because I love anything shiny, metallic, or glittery!!!

Queen Bee

Part of a journal I'm creating. I'm doing individual pages. I don't have a clue how I'm going to bind the pages, but I'll figure out later. I started this with a color wash, added a layer of another color, added the queen and other images. Then I began playing with texture and color. This is the way I work. I almost never have an actual theme in mind. It's all about color and texture for me, but along the way a theme will develop. Since the bubble wrap application reminded me of a honeycomb, I decided to name this "Queen Bee". I added a layer of tar gel which makes it really shiny.

Red Hot Lips

The following five images are journal pages I did in a collaborative journal. It's the first time I've worked in someone else's journal -- a very satisfying endeavor, though I had to be really careful not to mess up the clean page after my last page which was actually two of the pages glued together for strength and a lot of paint and layering. It's fun to see what the others do on their pages. I have not been terribly prolific with my art due to some minor health problems -- lots of physical therapy. This collaborative effort was just what I needed to get the juices flowing again. I really like recycling junk mail and cards (I might use a piece of the card in a collage).

Junk Mail

Granddaughters

Sun Moon and Stars

Untitled

Art is for art ATC

Another attempt at an ATC. I like working small but this is challenging. I can hardly imagine working on "inchies". I used a transparency of my drawing which is posted a few pics down.

Recent Tags

Front and back of one of my recent tags. I really like tags because there is just enough room to do a nice composition. Maybe I'll get better with the ATC's.

Inside the Gates

My last (I think) in my "spiritual" studies for my postal art. Now I just need to figure out how to reduce to post card size. Oh, if only I was a Photoshop wizard. Click on right page to read writing on wings.

Serenity

10 minute sketch. Seems all I had time for today. Oh, I guess I did my journal pages as well. I wanted another image I could copy on transparency film, and I think this one will do the job. Unfortunately the scanner chose to cut off part of her profile. Technology........

Uternity

Another study for my "spiritually" themed postal art. Ouch, I don't want to get in that hot zone..... This could also be called "The Road to Nowhere (Now Here). It's a beautiful sunny day here in Southern California - the first really warm weather - it's actually going to be 80 degrees here on the coast. It was 100 degrees on the coast two days ago! Wow, getting close to that hot zone! So what am I doing in this beautiful weather. Why, I'm cleaning my aviary that is home to my eight noisemakers -- chatterbox parakeets. I'm also surfing people's art blogs and doing my own art.

Beauty - My First Ever ATC

This is the final result of the technique I learned on http://www.lindart.blogspot.com/ It was fun and I plan to do more.
I scanned these in the incorrect order, so you will need to scroll down to the beginning image. I don't know why but I've always been a bit intimidated by ATC's. Working small I thought would be too constricting but I really enjoyed it. Since one does not have a lot of space, it needs to be concise and still have the appearance of a nice composition. Anyone want to swap?

Images after using Marvy Matchables

And the results after coloring with Marvy Matchables over the negative images.

"Negative" of embossed images

Here is the result of ironing with cardstock over the original embossed images.

Images embossed between layers of paint

Following Linda's instructions http://www.lindart.blogspot.com/ I painted on matte coated cardstock and gloss cardstock. I then used clear embossing ink and clear embossing powder. I painted over with another color of acrylic. I covered with white cardstock and then ironed over it. I first tried with a craft iron. I found that unsatisfactory as it did not heat up enough. I then dragged out my "real" iron and got much better results. The "negative" image transferred and you can see that effect above.

Ticket to Heaven

Working on ideas for spiritual mail art series. Gee, I'm really into blue the last few days.

Dancing with a Star

My 3-minute sketch for the day. I really have to set aside at least a few minutes daily if only to get myself back in the groove. This type of sketch doesn't take a lot of thought but I like the casualness of it. Maybe I'll even get to some more art today. If it makes me so happy why do I let other things get in the way like responsibilities?

Creative Abandon

A piece of journal art using an image I drew, some collage images, gel pens, markers, glitter glue and rubber stamps. I had to incorporate the butterfly image which always makes me think of my son. One of the collage images is from a vintage typing study book I found in a box stored away. It had belonged to someone in my family. It's so fun because it refers to things like "when the bell rings" and manual carriage returns. These were the days of original typewriters.

Soul Search

I met an interesting woman this week at a local coffee shop. I found out in conversation that she and spouse run a non-profit dedicated to multi-cultural arts including visual, music and theatre. As we talked further, I told her I was an artist (I actually called myself an artist. I'm very proud of myself to have finally told a stranger that I'm an artist!!! instead of "I dabble in art"). She told me their exhibits are by invitation and they are geared more to underground artists and "post art". I had to laugh since I consider that a part of my art. She suggested I go to their website www.arden2.org and read about them. Also suggested I submit some of my work. So I awakened at 4am with the idea for this piece of art. I could not go back to sleep and even contemplated getting up then to do it but decided not to wake up dh. This is the first of a series with a spiritual theme. I plan to submit a few more.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

This was challenging for my limited skills. I need a template for circles or I need lots of practice. But overall I'm happy with it. I love the juxtaposition of modern technology with organic. The wheels do look a bit stone age though.

Stress?

Do you think we need therapy? This is such a stressful environment!

Space Cadet

Did I just drop in from outer space?