Art Rocks!!

I spent the last several days in bed with the stomach flu so I was excited when I felt better yesterday to do a little Gelli-plate printing!  Yahoo!!  🙂

I was experimenting printing on transparentcy film which I learned from Carla Sonheim in her online class:  2019 Year of the Collage.  I used Golden High Flow Acrylics for this technique.

I wanted to show you one that reminded me of rocks in a stream:

I did the second print or what is called a “ghost” print on deli paper:

And here is a photo of sheet music behind the printed transparentcy:

So many possibilities!  I can’t wait to get back to my art table!

Art Rocks!! 

Cheers! 🙂

In Stitches…

I’m having fun sewing on paper in my art journal and adding collage papers.

I can only sew in one direction since my journal is bound but I like the challenge it adds:

I start by gluing a piece of paper randomly on a page that I explained more about here: It’s A Splash!

Since the stitching is on BOTH SIDES of the paper, one side is a total surprise:

These paper collages are keeping me in stitches!  I enjoy using two different colors of thread, one for the bobbin and one for the top stitch… they add an unexpected color surprise!  And each collage is unique!

What have you created or discovered this last week that brought you unexpected joy?  I hope you share it with me!

Cheers! 🙂

A Square A Day…

Do YOU have any creative goals for 2019?

 I believe creative goals can be a good thing even if we get distracted during the process of completing our ideas.  I see goals as a starting point, like making a recipe…

Sometimes when I start a recipe for dinner, I discover that I don’t have all the ingredients to complete it.  So it means I need to substitute what I do have to make it work.

Completing creative goals can be like making a recipe, sometimes we need to change “ingredients” to make it work for us.

I started, A Square Project in 2018 but I didn’t get it completed as planned.  Perhaps I got bored.  Perhaps I got distracted with other art classes.  It doesn’t really matter as I enjoyed the process while I did it.

I recently started an assignment from Carla Sonheim’s “365 Right Braininess” online class; to paint watercolor in a square format and fill each square with doodles, drawings and paper collage.  I have found that I like creating in a square a day…

How many birds can YOU find in the art piece above?

And it reminded me of this book, “No Excuses Art Journaling,” by Gina Rossi Armfield:

I recently purchased the 1.75 inch punch!

After seeing the journaling ideas from this book and others online, I decided to create my own creative challenge for next year!

I wrote about it in my art journal yesterday:

I hope you will join me in creating a square a day in 2019 with the creative  “ingredients” that make YOU happy!

Happy New Year!!

Cheers! 🙂

Just Words?!

I’ve been drawing my own patterns lately for collage papers.

I got the idea from Kara Kramer’s online class, hosted by Carla Sonheim.  You can check out her class at Improv collage

She got me thinking about words…

So I started cutting out JUST words that “spoke to me” from old magazines and junk mail:

It helped to think about words I like AND different lettering “styles.”

Then I created a page of words that I can copy and use in my own artwork:

What WORDS speak to you to write and doodle on a page?!

I have to say that YOU inspire me every day in your art, poetry, photography, blog posts and encouraging comments.  Thank you!

Cheers! 🙂

Bird Watching

I think I saw a Mountain Chickadee on my Crabapple tree yesterday morning…

That was before my cat, The Bird Watcher scared it away!

It was my inspiration for a page in the art journal that I told you about in my post here:  The Art Of Noticing

I must say, it was super fun to color with my Prismacolor pencils in a rainbow of colors!  I felt like a child again.

What creative activities help you feel young at heart?! ❤️  I hope you share them with me.

Happy Bird Watching!  🙂

The Art Of Noticing

I recently started a new online class with Lynn Whipple called, “Joy Stuff – The Art of Noticing.”  The class is hosted by CarlaSonheim.com

This class is about creating art in a journal or sketchbook:

I liked that we would be using monoprints from the Gelli Plate (what I call gelli-prints) and inspiration from nature:

I also liked the idea of making pages in advance like the ones I did here:

And then writing in them later or adding more art.  I know that I can always cover up what I don’t like with gesso! 😉

It is a new way of creating a journal for me – creating pages ahead of time so I am experimenting with new ideas:

Like adding a pocket as you can see on the left page above.  I also discovered that the washi tape adheres better with a little matte medium (glue) on top.

I will be posting more of my journal as I work on it.

And I’d love to hear your ideas!  I hope you share them with me.

Make today awesome!

Cheers! 🙂

Autumn’s Display

My hubby and I closed our lake place this weekend as it is getting colder.  Autumn brings cooler temperatures in the Pacific Northwest where we call home.  Soon the snow will be falling…

Autumn’s Display of wild rose hips always dazzle me in the fall.  Especially on a sunny, blue-sky day:

It is always sad to see the lake season end as we will miss our lake friends. We will also miss the lake and this stunning view:

Yet, I look forward to more time in my art studio in Autumn.

The crisp, cool air of October is Apple Harvest time too!

This week my art these will be focusing on APPLES… I hope you stop by for a bite or two…

On Monday, I will share my process for creating this art piece.  (I also discovered some ways to “fix” mistakes that may be of interest to you!)

Do you have 4 seasons where you live?  What is your favorite time of year?

Cheers! 🙂

Do You Have A Favorite Poem?

I’m starting an online class tomorrow that I am very excited about!  Carla Sonheim is hosting an online poetry and mixed media art class with Lendon Noe called, “Making Meaning:  Inspired By Poetry.”

I am excited about the mixed media techniques Lendon Noe will be teaching in her class and also learning what poets and poems other students in the class enjoy.

One idea Lendon shares in her intro video is taking a section of a poem and illustrating it.  This is what I tried to do below with one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost, “Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening.”

Morning temperatures dipped into the mid 30’s this weekend so it seems we have skipped Autumn and gone straight to winter here in “my neck of the woods!” Lol!

Do you have a favorite poem or poet?  I hope you share it with me!

Cheers! 🙂

 

100 Days Of Drawing Faces

I posted my 100th face on Instagram yesterday!  WHOOT!  😊 I accomplished my goal of drawing 100 faces in a little over 100 days… Phew!!

Maybe some of you recall my first face I posted on April 4th – it was a quick sketch in one continuous line:

100 days is A LOT especially when I am working full-time… (What was I thinking?!) and yet having limited time helped me to accomplish my goal because I didn’t have time to fuss over it.

I didn’t post everything I did like this one:

I would have liked to have more time to do more like this one, where I mixed collage and acrylics:

But I enjoyed trying a variety of art mediums:

Sprinkled with a little humor:

I think this one is one of my favorites – Picasso style:

And this one I did in watercolor with drips for hair:

I found I could draw more realistic looking faces and even my own – or at least my better half!  Lol! 🙂

I think the greatest lesson I learned is that it isn’t perfection that matters but PRACTICE!!  Daily practice does make a difference….

Especially in finding ones “style” in art!  I found I really liked creating “characters” rather than REAL people:

And yet, drawing a variety really is the best teacher!  Here is my 100th face:

I’m sure it won’t be my last…

Yet, let’s FACE it, I need a little break from drawing faces!

Cheers! 🙂

Fixer Uppers…

I’ve been wanting to create these “fixer upper” homes with scraps of collage papers…

It was an assignment in Carla Sonheim’s “365 Video Every Day” online class that  I’m doing this year.

Super fun to use a stapler instead of glue.  I encourage you to give it a try!

Happy Building!  Cheers! 🙂