New Beginnings with my Art

Watercolor I made for my Mom as a Christmas present.
IBook page where I was playing around with angles.
IBook page of images that I really liked by themselves. Love clear glass ornaments.


I made this to try out the little needle top applicator I found at the art store.
It looks more like a spider web than stained glass but it is my first try.

I was reading a blog of a woman who wrote that she has caps for her paints that allow her to make thin lines. I liked the effect so went hunting for the caps, the bottle was all they had.
I was able to make my own mixture of gel medium, water and 3 colors of acrylic paints. It worked well though holding a small bottle does not give you that sweeping arm movement that I like as when using long-handled brushes.

The little pieces of paper were from an EBay auction I recently won that had a variety of stuff.
I love getting a mix of items that other artists use that allow me to try out new things. They are like new toys for me so I was as excited as a child when they came.

I really, really need to make some time just to practice my artwork. Am thinking of finding a little sketch book and at least a couple of times a week making little design drawings in it.
By using colored pencils and markers I could add some color combinations. I am not the type to do a bunch of little drawings before I start a new painting and this gets me into trouble sometimes. I still want the spontaneity but when I get stuck in the middle I can have the designs I drew to help me along to the next level.


On the home front, we have spent the last couple of days keeping an eye on our basement.
The yard is filled with water and the creek over-flowed once again and we were all prepared for another flood. ( just had a major one 3 months ago) We really hadn't done anything to the basement since then, other than to rip out walls and tile so we weren't as worried because there wasn't much the water could hurt, except for the new furnace. Amazingly we only had huge puddles in places. The bummer was that it kept us from going to Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas with my family. We are hoping to get up there in the next couple of days and have a belated celebration with my Mom and sister.

I hope my Mom likes the painting I made for her. She lives on a lake with lots of trees in her yard and the birches are one of her favorites. I made the trees by ripping up some strips of painting tape and putting it on the paper first and then doing watercolor washes over it.
I then added some black ink to outline them.

Trying to get on canvas what I imagine in my mind, is one of the biggest struggles I have when I am creating. Sometimes there are happy surprises and I go with it. Other times I realize that I am just out of practice..... then there are times when I just want to yell argggg and grab a match!

I remember my collage teacher telling me that you should expect one out of every 10 pieces to come out like you wanted and the others are just practice. I admit to impatience. I want my pieces to look good from the beginning. I have to remind myself that the good ones are often made in steps or layers and are not the finished product. I want instant art satisfaction!!

So one of my resolutions for the new year is to practice more and with that I hope to gain some patience and with that the confidence I need to go on. There is something about the new year that gives you a nice feeling of being able to just start over fresh. I like that a lot!!

I Book Pages

People collage.

Hopper collage from when Diane and I went to the Art Museum.

Square collage.

Black and white with one color.

Circular composition assignment

Word collage.

These are some of the pages from my Inspiration book ( I book). I made these when I was taking a collage class last winter. They are fun and easy to do. The word one was fun in that I worked on making it say things. I am keeping up with adding to this book more consistently than doing other art work. I have a big box of pictures and scraps I have cut out under my desk. I like to just start pulling out ones that appeal to me at the moment and make a page.

I have been cutting pictures out of magazines for years. It is really amazing what you can learn about yourself after you have a good collection. If you study them you will start to see similarities. For instance that is how I discovered that my real favorite color is blue. I thought it was still purple which was my favorite growing up. I also like cast iron, wainscotting, brick walls inside the house and fashion drawings of women in dresses.

Will take some newer pics of more recent ones and add them at a later date. In the mean time I always keep a big glue stick and my brayer handy.

The i Book

Today was the very first snowfall of the year. It is pretty but already I miss my flowers.
I love colors and as much as I like how the white snow shows textures of the things it is covering, it just isn't as satisfying. So maybe this is what I need to get me back to painting.

My room which includes my art area is still piled up with things misplaced from our basement.
we are slowly working on it but other than dragging bins down there it is still an unusable part of the house. It is funny how you can adapt - I almost forget that it is part of the house.
Still coming out of shock I guess.

Lately I have been enjoying studying design. I went to Borders this weekend, just for some alone time. I bought a Chi tea latte (am not a coffee drinker) a blueberry muffin and grabbed an "Interior Design" magazine. I was in just the right mood to sit and really focus on each page. The great thing was that the ads that filled the front of the magazine were amazing. Not every one but many were great examples of design at it's best. I just slowly let my eyes move around each section of the page trying to absorb the details that made the whole work together so well.

I splurged and bought the magazine. I had sat there for an hour and was not even half way through it. Plus now I can tear out the pages that I really find interesting and put them in my scrapbook and write under the pic what it is I like about it. This is the same sketch book that I use to make collages in as well. It is slowly being built up into an inspiration book. I really like that I can record there ideas and themes and colors that capture my imagination. I hope to combine them all in some artwork. I will not make any promises ( to myself) as to when this will take place. Holidays coming up and I know how fast this month can fly by.

No I think I will take the pressure off of myself and just try to work on building up my i Book which is what I will call it from now on. Get it so crammed full of pages that I won't be able to help myself with wanting it to capture some of it on canvas. Yes, that is a worthy goal.

Kitchen Art

These are hanging in my kitchen. The brown one was for an oil painting class, in which you had to take all white objects, shine a light on them and paint them in burnt sienna. I actually painted this in my downstairs bathroom, so I could use the fan. It was in winter and I wasn't used to using oils then and was worried about any fumes. It was pretty cozy, the items were on the vanity and my easel just fit in front of it. I was trying to capture the shadows the light cast on them. It was fun and I would like to try another in just one color again.

The second one I did with watercolor pencils. I enjoyed adding water to a brush and blending with it after I colored in the areas. Looking back at it now I wished I would have let more of the colors run together. I went around the petals with black ink afterwards. I framed it to put in the County Fair a year ago and I added some colored papers as "matting" behind it.

If I were to take another class I was thinking about watercolor and inks as fun mediums to play around with. I do like touches of black. Even in decorating my house. I am drawn to pictures in magazines that have cast iron elements or black trim. It just makes the colors seem so much more vibrant. I also like watercolor paintings and have only played with them a little. Maybe that would be a good Christmas present to ask for - another art class. I know I need some kind of inspiration to get me going.

Life seems so busy lately that I actually forgot that I am a member of a Collage Society and have missed the last 3 meetings. Unbelievably busy for me to have let that totally slip my mind. I am going to try to make the December meeting, where they usually have a swap. I'm sure I can find something to bring in amongst all my stashes of fun stuff.

On a different note I have bought some basic knitting supplies and when winter really hits, thought I might try my hand at that. Most likely will make a scarf as that seems easy. I suppose the ultimate would be to get a rocking chair to sit it while working on it too. That does sound Grandmotherly but I have always liked rocking chairs so won't let that stop me.

Yes, the feeling in the air, is that cold weather is coming and need to batten down the hatches and get ready to be warm and snug. I planted 70 bulbs earlier this week ( daffodils and tulips) all in anticipation that spring will once again come around. In the meantime digging out the sweaters and couch throws and mittens. May I have sometime new art wise to show for all the hibernating about to start.

A Flood of Emotions!!

Felt the need to post some art of my own, since it has been a long time since I have.
These are all old ones and the colors are more vivid in real life. They will have to do for now until I get the chance to create something new. Hope I am getting closer to that time.

Last month we had a natural disaster at our home with the all the rain coming one weekend. It surrounded our house so that it looked like a blue island and our poor basement was flooded.
It has taken an incredible amount of work! Had to replace the hot water heater and furnace. Still ripping out all the drywall and are getting a dumpster this week.

It has been a good opportunity to clear out what we really don't need. We carried tons of stuff up from the basement, the weekend of the storm and have been slowly either finding new homes for it or donating it to a local charity. It has kept me quite busy including a weekly visit to the Laundromat. My nerves are still a little jangled when I think back on it all. There were many bright sides, as friends and neighbors have been so kind and did what they could to help and we really appreciate them all. So slowly bringing my house back to normal - whatever that is = ]

In the meantime I am also looking into finding a part-time job. It has been 4 years since I worked so that will be a change. I know myself well enough to know that changes are hard on me. I tend to do all my worrying up front while trying to keep a positive attitude. A warring mix of emotions. "I am sure it will all work out in the end. " " But what about ?????"

I am thinking of applying at an local art supply store soon. Have the application filled out and need to drop it off. My daughter texted me today and said to drop it like it's hot, which made me laugh. She said it would be a cool place to work at. So steeling my nerves to go in and smile and act confident. Maybe tomorrow.

It certainly would motivate me to create art.
I always feel better when I get started creating and the flood memories may be a good starting place. Lots of blue and things floating...... yes it may be good therapy for me.

Wedding and more wedding!!

Nat carrying Ellen to the bridge after the ceremony.
Lighting the unity candle.
The path the guests took to the meadow was marked by tiki lamps.
Nat placing the ring on her finger.
Dark clouds at the very beginning, but then the sun came shining thru!
The part in the ceremony where the parents came forward and I vowed to love Nat as a son, which is a very easy thing to do! They are so happy together.

I am posting this for everyone who is not on Facebook and can't see the great pics there.
What can I say? She is my only daughter, so Mother of the Bride this once.

Art is coming around the corner.

A note to self - start creating art again!
I am really looking forward to getting back into painting and collage. Hoping that this long break will give me a fresh outlook and some new ideas.

I realize this blog has turned into a gardening /wedding journal . I hereby promise that the next entry ( or maybe the third ) will be about art again.
This is mostly to myself that I am talking here.

Joined Facebook and have found that to be really fun and a great way to see photo's.
Boys first full week of school so back to lunches and homework.
Garden still needs attention. Labor Day and Hubbies B-day coming up.
Ellen will be home to finish packing up stuff.
Thinking of having a garage sale to clear out the basement.

Yep a few things to keep me busy. Somewhere in there though, art will be done!
Ok - good! Got that off my chest.
Now I need to go and make dinner.

Wedding Decorations

OK - I admit it - the wedding is still one of my favorite subjects. Pictures are coming in that I haven't seen before and it's fun to relive the day. This is the cake, which was 6 layers, each a different flavor and was delicious. It was made by a friend and he did a great job. Thanks Peter!

The green hydrangea's and apples looked cool around it. The apples were a surprise from Tim for Ellen. Way back, when she first started planning the wedding, she had thought of using them as place markers at each of the tables. They were to have a burgundy ribbon tied to the stem, with a tag that had their names and date on it. Then when she realized that we would need 300 of them, that idea was sadly dropped. She liked the surprise.

The blue vase is one of the 30 made by Diane, me, Wendy and Luanne ( the mother of the groom). She had stopped by when they got into town, the day before the wedding and was very excited to come and help make some of the arrangements. At the end of the wedding, we gave away bouquets of flowers. Luanne brought back the blue vases to Minnesota to use at the reception they had for Nat & Ellen there and to my great delight, tied on the 20 tags I had made to each one.

Just saw the newlyweds this weekend, at the last wedding of the season. We had 5 to go to this summer. This one was for her Maid of honor and she was the Matron of Honor at hers on Sunday. So funny to hear her called that name. Married 2 weeks, they are so fun to watch together. They get such joy from being together.

The boys started school this week and I am going to help Diane with organizing her art room. I decided that since she and Wendy were so great in helping me with the wedding, that they should each pick a project we can help each other with. So tomorrow, it's the art room. A fun place to be - so will enjoy it.

Looking Back at those who made it happen!

Zina, Wendy and Diane who used every last flower and they were beautiful!
Tim on the left who coordinated the whole wedding and did a spectacular job decorating! Just look at the bridal table behind him. Cheryl on the right who along with her husband worked so hard to get everything done. It is days after the wedding and I am still so thankful to them all. I told Cheryl that when one of her other daughter's gets married I will be there, she laughed and said we are going to tell them to elope! Her daughter had a wedding at this exact spot 2 months earlier and Tim also helped with that. He is quite simply super-man!

Diane, Wendy and Zina stayed at my house while we went to the rehearsal and the dinner afterwards working on the flowers. When I came home they were just finishing the last ones. It was a wonderful sight and I can't brag about them enough!

I asked someone " how do you thank someone for being so good to you? " She replied that they don't expect anything in return, they are just doing it because they care for you.
I am feeling very cared for at this moment - it is a nice warm fuzzy feeling!

Oh what a Day !!!

It is the day after my daughter's wedding and I am feeling so happy that I can't stop smiling. I can't wait to see all the pictures from it.
Am sharing this one from the rehearsal. Pastor Judy, standing to the left had come to the part where she would say "you can now kiss your bride" and said they could practice if they wanted. This was how Nat responded and we all whooped. Ellen was fanning her face when she was standing again... woooh.. think this will be a good marriage!

The wedding was wonderful!! So many special moments.
The ceremony took place in a meadow and when I walked down before it was to start, it was wonderful to see all the smiling faces of friends and family gathering there.
It had rained cats and dogs 3 hours before so the woods smelled so green and fresh

The music was playing, a violin and piano and it was just magical.
Bryan escorted me down the aisle and then the parents went up and lit two candles under a wooden trellis that was draped with gauzy fabric blowing in the breeze and had branches interwoven on the top.

The bridesmaids were met at the bridge by each groomsmen and came down the grassy aisle carrying the bouquets my cousins had made and parted at the kneeling bench and stood on either side of the trellis.

Gary did a great job carrying the ring pillow and looked so handsome in his little suit with Elsa the flower girl (who is 3 ) scattering the rose petals from her basket. When they came to the front, she started to follow Gary as he sat down by me and I whispered to her to go and sit with her family. She turned and saw her smiling Mom beckoning to her and spread the flowers all the way to her seat - it was so sweet.

Then I rose to lead everyone in singing "Seek ye first". Ellen has always wanted that sung at her wedding. We turned and saw her come across the bridge where Dan was waiting for her. She looked so beautiful with flowers in her hair and I was so proud of them both as they came down.

They stopped just in front of Pastor Judy and stayed with arms linked as Grandpa Seis read and Grandpa Eldon led us in singing. These would be her last moments with just our family before she began a new family with her husband. It was very meaningful to me. I was looking at them and feeling a mixture of love and sadness that she was leaving us. Then I looked over at Nat and felt secure in the knowledge that he would take good care of our girl.

The bride was then given away and Dan shook his hand and put Ellen's hand in his and came and sat down beside me.

When Nat was saying his vows to Ellen, his face was shining with love and the sound of his voice when he came to the part where he said he would never leave her, made me cry happy tears.

Yes it was a wonderful wedding! Afterwards I followed the bridal party down and went across the bridge and up the steps and there they all were all lined up. I felt so thankful to them all for making this such a special, special day that I said I have to hug you all . I was smiling and crying and feeling oh so happy for Nat and Ellen.

3 Days and Counting !!

Diane, Wendy, Me and Ellen in our basement turned flower shop!
Woke up early and was at the Farmer's Market, 15 minutes after they opened. Hoping there would be lots of flowers and Cathy from Tidey Farms came through for me. There were these big beautiful bouquets and I went crazy and bought tons!! I had to call Dan to bring the VW camping van to bring them all home.
My cousins Diane and Wendy came over and we spent the day separating them all by color into buckets. Wendy very nicely ran to the dollar store to get us some more buckets, as we had every available one filled and there were still more bouquets. Now have 30 buckets of flowers.
My basement has never looked prettier.

Nat and Ellen stopped by and loved them so we took some pictures. We are so excited! It looks like the weather is going to cooperate this weekend - so Hooray!

Tomorrow bouquets, corsages, boots, Friday centerpieces and Rehearsal. Saturday - Wedding!! They look so happy!!

Flower Power Wonders Getting Ready!

My cousin Diane working on a sample bouquet for Ellen's wedding at my house. They are going to be beautiful!! The hydrangea's are from a friend and we are also going to use the sedum and vines I have growing in my yard, they are all a pretty shade of green. The flowers will be purple, cranberry (to match the bridesmaids dresses) and a little yellow to make the colors pop.

It's hard to believe that the wedding is in 10 days. Sometimes it feels like a dream and other times it is very real. I go back and forth between trying to stay calm and feeling very happy for Ellen & Nat. They are more excited about being married than having the perfect wedding, and that is the way it should be!

Tomorrow starts the harvesting of all the flowers, the ones that I have been growing and the hydrangea's. Then we will decide what else we need to make everything. It is a tall order! 6 bouquets, 12 boutonnieres, 10 corsages, 20 centerpieces for the tables, 2 sprays for the ceremony and 3 big ones for the reception. I think we can pull it off!

The Flower Power Wonders Team consists of my cousins Diane (the designer) and Wendy and my sister-in-law Zina. They will be doing the actual assembling next weekend and insisted that I not help, as they know I will be very busy with getting ready for the big day.

When the fog ( that I'm sure I will be in) lifts - days after the wedding, we will have to all go out and celebrate. In the meantime I will just listen to what Wendy keeps telling me.... "Breathe ...... just breathe!" = )

Winning Flowers!!

My flowers on display at the County Fair in the Wednesday flower show.
Since I have been babying these all summer, I thought it would be fun to enter a few.
My two mixed bouquets (pictured) took 2nd and 3 rd place.
My Cosmos took 1st and the Oriental Lilies and Balloon flowers each took 2nd.

It was fun and very easy to do. Much more relaxed than last year when I entered my art. We brought our entries in on Tuesday then Gary and I went yesterday to see if we had won anything. His Lego creation didn't get a ribbon but he was okay with that, this was his first year and he really liked the one that won 1st place. Proud of him for trying and other fun things to do there.

Gary loves to talk to all the men who come to the fair each year.
We stopped and watched a blacksmith who stamped his name on a horseshoe after heating it up over hot coals. The wood carvers with their chisels making art out of logs. The metal engineers with their hand-made creations that move and remind me of miniature oil drills.
The farmers who let him turn a hand grind to get the kernels off of dried corn.

Then there are all the animals - he loves to pet them all.
His favorite is the pig races.
There is a little track set up and the pigs are put in starting blocks and race around to the finish line, where is waiting for the winner an Oreo cookie. The pigs have fun names like Arnold Schwatzenhogger, Hammy Sosa and Brittany Spareribs.

Had our traditional funnel cake and corn on the cob. Yes, a good year at the fair!!

Art Is Waiting For Me!

I feel it is more interesting to post a pic when I write. And since I haven't found much time to do art, I am showing yet another oldie but goodie! This is one of my very first acrylic paintings done on canvas paper. I think I named it "Misty Waters". I still like the look of it and can remember all the feelings I felt while working on it - which ran along the lines of ..." hey! this is fun...... surprise! maybe I can paint....arrg! why won't this part look right?....oops! should have left that area alone....... hey, this is Fun!"

I miss losing myself in the process of creating art. I am hoping that after this break, I can start again fresh... with new ideas and my art will be bolder, brighter, better!! Maybe take another class? Visit an art museum? Go back to copying pictures I like, as this one was, though I changed it? Take a vacation to somewhere new?
Ohh, like the sound of that one !! I've read of artists whose work was influenced after traveling - though (of course) it was to exciting places like Italy or Paris or even the desert. I may have to stretch that one and see what inspiration I can find in Wisconsin, as I have told my Mom that I will visit after the wedding.

The wedding of my daughter that is, which is now less than 4 weeks away. Everything is moving along, the flowers in my garden are growing, the reply cards are coming in, every thing is bought. Except my own dress, I am working on that one. I will know it when I find it and I remind myself that I only need one and it is out there waiting for me somewhere!

The waterfall reunion I wanted to plan with my family never got off the ground. A very busy summer for every one including me. Maybe I will wander out to the falls some day and take lots of pictures and then make art from those. I 'll bring a sketchbook along and just doodle as I sit beside them and see what happens. Like my dress, art is waiting for me somewhere out there too!

First Oil Painting

It was an exciting day for me when I first opened my new tubes of oil paints to try them out, 3 years ago. I wasn't expecting much - just exploring.
I chose my smallest canvas and put it on my easel. I squeezed out little blobs on to my palette and decided to try them all to see how they looked.

The colors were so rich and creamy ! It was a joy to run my brush through them and see how easily they blended. I went back and forth many times and it just kept getting better! It was like playing with finger paints for the first time.

The center colors looked like a flower so I carefully "pulled" out the petals with a few strokes of my palette knife. I was cautious enough then to quit while I was ahead. When I look at it now, I remember how fun it was to try something new.

Art is Healing

This is a picture I drew years ago with charcoal. I was feeling very sad about a loss in my life.
Sitting on my bed one day, I just grabbed my drawing pad and started this without anything particular in mind. I drew the tree and then the rest just flowed out of my heart. My emotions were so strong that I was crying as I drew. I imagined going to this place and leaning against the rock ( on right almost out of pic) to be alone and mourn. I named it "A Place to Weep."

I felt so much better when it was finished. It was comforting to create a space that was there for me, as I was feeling at the moment. Somehow in this setting I was able to accept the sorrow as a part of my life, the pain was softened and it was okay. The mountains in the background were like the future, where the sun was still shining and God was watching over me.

Older Collages

It's been a long time since I posted some of my artwork and an even longer time since I have made some! I have been busy with the garden, bridal showers and summer in general.
These are two older ones I did when I first started in collage ( before taking any classes).
The one above is about the desire to take a vacation, which is something I haven't had in a long time and really feel the need to sometimes. Other times I am happy to just be the home body that I am. The first one is about autumn in which I played around with gluing down lots of textures first, including some gauze out of the first aid kit. I am still interested in making art and hope some day soon to get back to it. For now it is fun to dust off some of the older things and see them with fresh eyes.

Flower Power Wonders

The Flower Power Wonders is the name my daughter gave to my cousin Diane (top pic) and me (above). Today she came over and we planted 50 more bulbs and the perennials you see behind us in the pics. So far have planted all the glads, oriental lilies, freesia and phlox.
We had fun while we were at it. She would dig the hole, I would put the plant in and the dirt around it and then she would dance around the plant to press it down firm. We were joking that we were doing an Indian flower dance (there is Indian blood in our family) so I would pick up the empty pot and beat it like a drum! She is always a lot of fun to be with. She has come along with me on this project and I love her for it. She is going to be the flower designer for the centerpieces and the bouquets. Tomorrow we are going to plant some more.

Wedding Garden Phase 1

I want to document the garden from beginning to end and hope it will have a happy ending.
The site where the garden will be as it looks now. Pulled out some stubborn mint that was taking over that I had planted last year from it. In doing so didn't see the giant bee on one plant and as he didn't care to be squeezed was stung in the palm of my hand. Taping a penny to it does work. So first causality of the project... haha. Will do some more rototilling this weekend so it will be one big triangle and work in some organic material while at it.

The second is some of the plants I have bought that are waiting another week to be planted.. Am looking everyday for the thirty-six plants I ordered from Burpee to arrive on my doorstep.
That will be interesting to see how they pack those for shipping. I will plant, fertilize, mulch and say a silent prayer over it all. Wish me luck!!

J for Joy Painting

I have been working on this large canvas for almost 3 years now. It keeps changing and I am still not sure if it is done! It is about feelings.... the tensions we experience and then the resulting emotions when these are expressed. Happy feelings and tensions when we are excited about something and for awhile keep that hidden in our hearts. The most recent additions are the "swirly skies" at the top, which the words from the Painters song I have in my play list, inspired.
It is painted in oils and I love the creaminess of them and how beautifully they blend. I like that they take a while to dry, so that sometimes, if I have to wait until the next day to continue working on an area, I can still have workable colors to play with.
For now I like it as it is, though, I wouldn't be surprised if some day, I want to add to it again!

Memories Maze

I really like the colors in this one. I found an old spatula at a thrift store that had grid lines on the back. I pressed this into wet acrylic paint and like the effect. This is on watercolor paper and I painted a bunch of other pieces of the same paper and then cut them up and attached them to the page. I had also found some floral pins that I added and tied some fibers to it and sewed on a few orange buttons. It has some of the writing in ink that I have been playing around with. Lastly I painted lines in between the pieces to pull it together.

Memories maze seemed a good name for it. I was thinking that our memories have so many components to them. Sights, sounds, smells - all the senses. when we think back on things, these all play a part in making up the picture of the memory in our mind. It is a maze of feelings.

Woodridge Library Collage Exhibit

Yesterday morning I learned that I had a chance to put some of my artwork in the Woodridge Library art gallery. This was last minute as I hadn't signed up for it but the Collage Society I belong to called to say they needed some more pieces. I ran around collecting any available frames I had. I was able to get 4 pieces done and delivered to them this morning. I was excited to have this opportunity.

I also learned something valuable. Some of the pieces were not particularly my favorites but once they were matted and behind glass they looked a whole lot better.I guess it's like clothes that look good on you but not on the hanger and visa versa.So a pleasant surprise.

I had to come up with titles for these and tried to fit them into the theme of the show, which is Herstory ( aka women - so a fun play on words).

The green one pictured has an image transfer of a woman in a gown and has sentences that say " will I clash with the decor?" etc.
I titled it " How Do I Look?' -(a question every woman asks!)

The red one has leaves in it and so named it "Autumn Song"
( the dance of the leaves we would all like to join in!).

The brown one looks like a jungle and has beads, fibers and wire on it.
I titled it "It's A Jungle Out There!" ( the experience of shopping!).

These plus two others will be in the gallery in the Woodridge Library for the month of May. This is my second show sponsored by the Midwest Collage Society. This time I am planning on going to the show so I can see my art up on the wall. That will be cool and worth all the work!

Graffiti Love

Blue is my favorite color and I love it with orange, it's complimentary. This is a collage piece I worked on during my last class. It has different types of papers underneath, including my favorite mailing envelopes and some altered magazine pages.

While working on this I discovered something fun. If I wrote in cursive and connected all the words and then over-lapped each line with the one above it, I could write a secret message. It is not readable! This one happens to be a love letter. My teacher suggested I take that one step further and write either a word or letter much larger. I created the word love (also connecting the letters) on a piece of watercolor paper using ink and then collaged it onto the canvas board.

It started to remind me of graffiti. So I wanted to make it look like it had been on a wall outside and the colors had started to fade and run. I used oil pastels to do this, choosing several different shades of blue and orange. They were a lot of fun to work with, as I could blend them with my fingers. I also used some chalks for the same effect, and could easily rub them off if needed. The bottom layers have acrylic paint on them. Need to frame it or find some way to varnish it. For now I like it propped up in my art area.