100 Visions and Revisions

I knew there was a reason I keep buying stuff...

I have so many art supplies, that I honestly do not have any more storage space. That did not keep me from buying some things when I visited my friend Joanne earlier this month.

While visiting her local stamp store, I picked up these really wonderful gold foil wings. I had no idea what I would do with them, but found a good use for one in the Stone Angels Round Robin. Here is the work I did in Debby's book. The wing is mounted with a brad so that it pivots to reveal the artwork underneath. The page on the right is a digtial collage, printed out, then transferred to hot press watercolor paper (the watercolor paper was a find on a trip to Dick Blick with Karen).

Here is a close up of the left page

and here is the right page

I added the large wing at the last minute, and I really like the effect.  I hope Debby likes the work I did for her as much as I enjoyed doing it.

iPod Worthy

It has a good beat, but can you walk to it?  If so, it may be iPod worthy. I have been trying find for new music to add to my iPod shuffle. The music I walk to now falls into two catagories:

• music I would listen to anyway
• music that I would be embarrassed for anyone to know is on my iPod, but is great for exercise.

If you have a suggestion for good exercise music, please leave me a comment.

On another *note*, here are some gothic arches I made for a swap. This first one features Lily, from a collage sheet by Karen Owen.

The second one features vintage text ripped right out of an antique journal purchased last year at the Paris Flea Market, and an image by Paper Whimsy.

Life instead of art

Sometimes life gets in the way of doing art, and sometimes I prefer to do things other than artwork. Like visiting friends. Really wonderful friends - Karen in Atlanta, and Joanne in Michigan. While I was in Michigan I also got to spend time with an extended circle of wonderful women, Catherine, Chris, Beth, Brittany, Lori, and Lynn.

Since I have not posted any new artwork, here is something I did a while back for my friend Lou. It is the one and only altered cabinet card that I have ever made.

I used vintage paper doll dresses, rubber stamps, and scrapbook paper.

Stone Angels for Kelly

This month in the Stone Angels round robin, I worked in Kelly Snelling's book. I have already posted a photo of the digital collage I did for it, but here is a photo of it in the book.

Here are the additional two pages I did to finish out my work.

I really like how the feather page turned out. I made it using another technique I learned from DJ Pettitt.

Here is a closeup of the feather. It is hard to tell from the photo, but the feather is encapsulated into the page; the entire surface is smooth.

 

I hope Kelly likes the work I did, and I loved working in her book.

Publish or Perish

In the academic world, there is constant pressure to have work published; the behavior is named "Publish or Perish", implying that those who do not have work published will not advance in their career. I have been very fortunate to have had work published in a couple of magazines, and it was a wonderful experience. That said, when I make artwork, it is not my goal to be published, and it is a good thing because I cannot make artwork for a theme. I applaud those who can, and do, but I am not one of them.

My first attempt at having something published was such a traumatic experience, that I swore never to try again. Several years ago I made a card, and I was so pleased with the way it turned out, that I decided to send it in to Somerset Studio. They did not have a theme that it fit, but I decided to send it in anyway -

The magazine did not send it back, so I thought that was a good sign. Soon after that, they announced a "garden" theme. I thought for sure that was a sign that I was going to be "published". My card was not in the magazine, and I was crushed. However, soon after that I got a notice that the card was selected for the "Stampers Sampler Catch Up Issue". I was thrilled and called several people and told them my exciting news. Unfortunately, my card was cut from the final edit, now adding embarrassment to my disappointment. 

It took me a very long time to get the courage to submit something again, but I did. Maybe someday I'll submit something else, or maybe I won't. The one thing that I finally realized is that being published pleases me, but it does not define me.

Turning the corner

I have cried many tears this past twelve days, something that is rare for me, as I almost never cry.  I have been thinking about mortality a lot lately, but always my own, never my child's or grandchild's. My grandson Lucas has finally turned the corner and I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. He is only 2 1/2 months old, but has been very sick for the past 12 days. He is finally out of intensive care, and in a regular hospital room. When he went into the hospital with a full blown respiratory virus called RSV, he was put into the ICU. The worry turned to despair and helplessness as his condition worsened for four straight days. There were hours at a time that I longed for physical pain to take the focus off of the pure anguish I was in while he fought against the sickness. He finally stabilized after a week, and the healing finally began.

UPDATE: Lucas is home from the hospital and is doing very well. Thanks so much for all of your kind words.

Lucas and I have a strong bond - the day my daughter found out she was pregnant, I dreamed it that night. When I told her of the dream, she laughed it off, because she had not told her husband yet. When he was born, he had fluid in his lungs, so he did not get to come home for ten days. I spent many quiet hours with Lucas in the darkened neonatal ICU. I would just go sit with him at night, and the room was practically deserted, so we had a lot of time together.

I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of my friends during all of this, and the unflagging support I received from a few really close friends. It meant more than they will every know.

from Emily Dickinson

Hope      

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

On break for a while

I don't normally post personal things here, but I'll just say that I am on break for a while due to an illness in my family.

I am not sure when I'll be back - maybe in a few weeks, maybe longer.

In the meantime, make art, and go hug your loved ones.

Details, Details....

Here is a snippet of a piece I did for Beth Wilts in the Stone Angels group.

I really struggled with this piece because I have not been in a round robin for so long, and I think I have lost the ability to adapt quickly to different formats. Beth's book is made up of a series of canvas pieces. I only had to do one canvas, and have worked on canvas before, so I am not sure why I had a hard time getting started.

I loved English and Grammar in Junior High School, thanks to a wonderful teacher. I often use text from old grammar books in my work, and here I used "The Verb - To Love", with a focus on the past tense "loved".

Here is the entire canvas. The transfer method I used was developed by the inspirational  DJ Pettitt.