A Treehouse

I’ve been moving scraps of collage papers around on a piece of paper which reminds me of looking for animals in fluffy clouds…

 

It is a simple exercise for generating new ideas and quite satisfying! 😉

Do you see a treehouse?

How about a picnic in the park?

 

And of course, this weird bird showed up!  He is only a day late… so I anchored him down with tape.  I didn’t want him flying off!

If you are ever in a creative rut I suggest you give this idea a try!

I’d love to hear what YOU see in these paper scraps!  Please share!

Cheers! 🙂

P.S. As a child, I created a lot of “forts” which were all on ground level…sigh.

May’s Square-A-Day Project

It seems amazing that a new month, June has begun…

Time to show you my square-a-day project for May!

I hope you are enjoying this project as much as I am!

Cheers! 🙂

P.S.  What colors appeal to you?  Please share!

By The Book

I have been taking an online class with Melinda Tidwell, hosted by Carla Sonheim, called, “The Fine Art of Collage.”

It’s not my typical collage making… I prefer a more colorful, whimsical style.  However, I am enjoying the process of creating by the book:

You see, we are using the “actual book!”  I used several paperback books for my above collage.  The inside cover of a book is used as the “backbone.”

I am surprised how interesting book covers can be!  Below is my color wheel of covers.  I am cutting around the titles for the most part which gives interesting shapes:

I found a great secondhand bookstore with paperback books for .50 cents and hardbacks for $1.00!

I am enjoying the hunt for the right book cover colors and titles to add to my stash!  I even found a book on birds… I can see you are surprised! 😉

The class ended today with its last chapter but I am just beginning my exploration!

Next, I will experiment with hardback cloth covers.  They take a bit more strength to remove from the book…

I think we are never too old to learn from books!  Happy creating!

Cheers! 🙂

Painting Tulips

I am in LOVE with the flower photos and gardens of my sweet, blogging friend, Ali at The Mindful Garden!

She grows the most gorgeous flowers in her yard!!  And takes stunning photos of them too!

With her permission, I tried to paint some of her tulips yesterday in watercolor.

Here are my process photos:

Watercolor is a difficult art medium for me.  Perhaps I struggle too hard to make my flowers look “real.”  And yet, I always feel like I learn to “see” my subjects a little clearer when I try to draw or paint them.

I do hope you check out Ali’s blog!  Her gardens are always a delight to my senses!

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! 🙂

New Year Inspiration

Happy New Year Friends!!

Have YOU put on a your creative thinking cap(s) for 2019?

 

I purchased this art book a few years ago…

It is just the daily inspiration I need in the new year!

I made a book-marker for it… You can see I have a square as part of my design (see yesterday’s post).

What inspiration will YOU use in your creativity in the new year?  I hope you share it with me!

Cheers to new creative discoveries! 🙂

Letter “C” Is For…

Letter “C” is for color!  Like this continuous still life I did over the weekend:

Each week, I’m inspired by many creative blogging friends!

This week, I’d like to share a COUPLE of them with you… CAN you CHECK out their blogs?

Sharon, is currently creating an alphabet journal – colorful, captivating and clever…  You CAN find Sharon’s cheerful blog:  Make Art Magic Happens

Cheers! 🙂

Be Still, Jill

I remember being told to be still, Jill when I was a child!  Oh, is that possible? Lol! 😉

Maybe if I was given a crayon and an assignment to draw!

I started a new online class this week with Lynn Whipple – hosted by Carla Sonheim, called, “The Essence of Still Life.”

Lynn brings such positive energy to her classes.  I know I will learn so much!

I hope you enjoyed these colorful drawings I did!

They were super fun with water soluble crayons!

Cheers! 🙂

Weird Monday?

I enjoyed creating with my hand-painted collage papers over the weekend.  Carla Sonheim gave us a fun assignment to cut out random collage shapes from our own painted papers with our eyes closed!  Who knew this could be so fun and freeing!!

This cat and mouse showed up first:

Then Louise…. Louise loved to dress with lots of color and patterns:

I just love Louise’s sense of style, don’t you?!

And lastly, this friendly beast made its appearance:

It is a Rhino-leaf-a-rear-as!  The children loved to ride this beast at the strange animal zoo…

I hope this silliness gives you a smile today!

Cheers! 🙂

Mistake Or Possibility?

I recently purchased  this children’s book, “The Book of Mistakes,” by Corinna Luyken on Amazon:

I must admit, the book TITLE grabbed my attention!  And I wasn’t disappointed! 🙂  This is an excellent book for everyone at any age in my opinion.

We all make mistakes – I know I do, especially in art!  Yet, I have learned that how I perceive a mistake in art making can make a difference…

Do I give up and throw away the art project or see it as an opportunity to learn something new?

Do I figure out how to make a mistake part of my design?

Or do I take a step away and later return to see possibilities instead of failure?

I hope you will google this author – Corinna Luyken.com and look up her Q and A for writing this book.  Her drawings are wonderful too in her Portfolio!

What do you do when you make a mistake in art?  I’d love to hear from you!

Cheers! 🙂

P.S. In tomorrow’s post I will show you how I changed a mistake into a possibility!