Some art while I was away

Even though I was at a conference I did manage a little work in my journal. This one had the spray painted background already done.




















I played with some collage elements over some spray painting.




















This pen and ink was fun to do just doodle my way through a lecture.




















I tried another castle/princess drawing in pencil. These are more fun to do in color.




















I drew in the notebook that I took for writing too.




















Another face I drew in that notebook.

Sarah is here for a short visit to renew her license and go to the dentist and all that jazz. Its great to be able to see her again so soon.

Play Day

Its the first day this week I have had a chance to be in in the studio so I did play at lots of things.






















First I cut this Buddha stencil. There was a mistake but I tried it anyways. Then paint got under the stencil but it was already in my journal so I am stuck with it but that's ok.

I did more spray painting, some success but more that didn't turn out some days it is frustrating.



















Then I tackled lesson 5 or 6 I can't remember which, in my layer love class. Several of the lessons were pretty much the same thing so I won't be doing them all. Some of you know I really don't like pink so I am skipping that one for sure. We were to pick colors or a picture we like or a combination of the two and do a background with it as inspiration. I love this picture of this glass bowl. I have been planning on using it in a journal page but haven't so far.


















And here is my background. I may try next time to use less colors but I like it. I didn't add the drips because they are ok but I don't want them in every painting.

I also did some more wrecking of the journal but that is for tomorrows post.

I found out that Golden has this great guide on paint mixing. I didn't know such a thing existed so I printed it out right away. If you use these paints or need help mixing colors this might be helpful to you too. Here in the link http://www.goldenpaints.com/artist/mixguide.php

Lots of Playing today

I am playing catch up in the Layer Love class. Here is my painting for lesson 3. Its supposed to have that old world look about it. I really didn't blend it the way it is supposed to be done but I will really like it. I used a new product on this one called Polymer Medium gloss. It really adds a glossy texture to the piece. This is one of the reasons I like taking on line classes. You learn about new techniques and new materials and how to use them.




















I tried a technique mentioned in the latest Cloth Paper Scissors. They suggested to use up that leftover paint on your palette in your journal. You can add glazing medium or water for a wash and paint backgrounds with any extra paint. I thought it was a great idea. So I tried it on this page. You can see all the colors I was using in the first picture. I will be adding a lot more to this page but thought I would share its beginnings. I love learning new little techniques like this.




















I got to play with the spray paint today and started these journal pages. They are all in progress of sorts. They had been pages I painted in my journal but I was not inspired by the background so nothing became of them. So I added a little spray paint and the magic began. I like this page so much I may not put anything else on it. I hate covering up all the wonderful colors.




















About all I did here was add the stencil, some Japanese fabric tape and a stamp. I may journal or add some text later.




















I tried a mask on this page and kept making mistakes in the spray painting. I think with some journaling on the page it will look great.




















I bought this lace template that made a great stencil. Its really for a scrapbook page but I think it turned out great as a stencil. Janet if you don't have this one let me know, I got 3 in the package and I can send one to you.

Layer Love

I have signed up for Julie Prichard's Layer Love class and I finally got around to trying some painting today.
















This one is is all about reds. I had my challenges with this one but that is they way when you are learning a new technique.

















This is for lesson 2, there are some collage papers used. I actually liked it better before I added all the dark green. The drips I ended up making are so light you can't even see them. Anyways I think that both of these pages will be great backgrounds to use in my journal so all is good.






















Speaking of journals this page fell together really easily, I am happy with it. The image makes me smile and I suddenly feel more at peace when I look at it.

I will be out of town for a few days so no posts till at least Friday.

Surprise Visit

The Snake River Fiber Fair was this past weekend and as usual it was lots of fun. I picked up a few goodies for myself.
















This is some yak/silk top. I plan to spin it up and make a shawl out of the yarn. It is really yummy to the touch.

















Sarah wants me to make her some of these.














This is the fiber that she picked out. They should look great in this color.


















This is some green merino wool. I really liked the color, I think it would make a lovely scarf.

















My friend AMy took a class on making felted vessels. She is going to show me how, I bought this corriedale wool fiber to make it.
















There was a big sale on sock yarn so I got these 3 colors. The light colored one is bamboo. If you have never had bamboo socks before I suggest you try a pair, they are wonderful. I may send these to my sis to knit up on her sock knitting machine.


















This is a wool/bamboo blend. I really liked this color green. These are earth friendly socks. The 75% wool they have is recycled.


















I found this Laurel Birch purse that was just perfect for me. The more I use it the more I like it.

In addition my daughter Sarah came home for a surprise this past weekend. I had not seen her since January so this was a fantastic surprise. When she left on Monday it was so sad, too short of a visit. I miss the days when she came home for the summer. We did manage to work in going to see Star Trek again. I just love that movie. I need to find someone else who has not seen it so I can go again. She brought along her boyfriend and her roommate. It was nice getting to know both of them a little better.






















Yesterday I went to lunch with my friend Gari and she gave me this birthday gift. It was a long time coming because she had problems making it but well worth the wait. It really is gorgeous in person. That's a goddess as the pendant and its made of freshwater pearls in greens and bronze colors I love it.





















This is the only artsy thing I have done of late, a page in my journal.

Investing in Yourself

My weekend trip was great. We had beautiful weather and I took lots of pictures. I will show them in a few days when I get them all sorted out. The new lens on my camera was fantastic.

On Thursday I pulled a muscle in my left arm and shoulder that was really painful. Being in Yellowstone before all the facilities were open was a handicap. I had to wait till Monday to get it checked out. After a trip to the doctors today I discover yes it was only a muscle pull. Now I have some meds for the pain and a muscle relaxant to take. Prognosis is if its not better in 10 days then I will need a MRI. I of course am hoping that the meds and some time will heal this. I was afraid I needed shoulder surgery so I am happy that is not the case.




















I realized I had not done a journal page in some time so I finished this one today. I see the up stretched arms of my silhouette as a way to embrace life. I found it cathartic to write out ways that I might embrace life more fully. Is there one simple thing that can you do to make your life more fulfilling?




















While I was away this weekend I drew these two ladies.




















I had a pre coaching session with Jamie Ridler and it was wonderful and enlightening. I really look forward to working with her in the coming month. I think it will be a great investment in myself. Now that is interesting, its easy to invest in many other things like art supplies or classes or redecorating a room but how often have I invested in myself. I know this really feels like a great time to be doing this. Have you invested anything in yourself lately? Maybe now is the time.

New books to inspire

This is my friend Kate who I talk about a lot. I took her up to Market Lake to see the nesting Owls. The day was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We saw Swans and Great Horned Owls, coots, bohemian waxwings and lots of Canadian Geese and Ring billed gulls but no Snow geese. Later on we had a nice lunch. I like simple days like that.

















My books came in the mail, I have been anxiously awaiting these two wonderful books. I had not see this book on Vision Boards in person but it had been mentioned on many blogs so I ordered sight unseen. It is so much more than I ever expected. I think this will take my vision boards and my life to the next level.

















I often browse through all the new mixed media books out there. There are so many new ones it is almost a glut on the market. Most are I wonderful but I decide that I don't really need them. I thought different when I saw this one. Creative Awakenings is so different, more than just a show and tell project book. It comes with its own deck of transformation cards plus instructions on making your own. I really love these. Then there are wonderful projects and insights. I am so looking forward to working with the ideas in this book. There is also a ning site for this book. Ning sites are communities on line where you connect with others doing the same thing. I really like the format. Many of the online classes I have taken have been in this format.

















Today's journal page I did at 2 in the morning when I couldn't sleep. I just love that tape on the right side. I found it in a drawer the other day when I was looking for something else. I completely forgot about it. The background was done with water soluble oil crayons. I hadn't used them in awhile so it was fun playing with them again. I am slowly trying to take the ideas from Kelly Kilmer's class and incorporating other mediums and techniques of my own. It fun to see where that will take me next.

Working on Balance

Today's Journal Page is a result of the little challenge at Goddess Leonie's site She has taken her word or intention for the year and made a painting of it. I plan to do that but this journal page was a faster way to do it at least for today. I need to find a canvas to do a word painting or maybe I will just use watercolor paper. My plan is to hang it in my studio as a reminder.

I was reading blogs and Collage Diva did this post on maps and personal map making and I just loved it. Here is the link if you are interested.

I spent the day at Market Lake with Kate. It was just beautiful out. We saw Owls and swans and ducks galore. Then we had a nice lunch at Applebees. I came home to take the cat to the vet only top find out she is being Houdini. I still haven't found her. It turns out our appointment was for tomorrow at 4. So I get to play the game again tomorrow. So after moving the couches looking for the cat and discovering all the dirt behind them I am now vacuuming, what a mess. I hope you all had a fun filled day.

Celebrations

It was snowing this day and I really felt like being out in some beautiful spring weather but it was not to be. Soon I hope to be out on the river again.

















I like how this page evolved. First I had this really different background that I kept tweaking with. Since it had a pink tinge to it I decided to look for a kids image and then it seemed all about friends. Our girlfriend are the glue that holds us together. I salute all of you with this page.

I am happy to report that I finally got a crown that had no problems. So I do not have to visit the dentist for another six months. YES......

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women book group concluded with a celebration call that was wonderful. Jamie Ridler who is just the best facilitator/coach has put together a package of all the inspiring interviews from the 12 weeks plus some added pdf's. Goddess Leonie has a special pdf included that I love. She is wonderful reminds me a lot of SARK. Check out her site it is wonderful. These interviews are really awesome, I know that when I need a pick me up I will be listening to them again and again.

One of the things on the call was to celebrate everything. I have just been moving from project to project not really taking the time to celebrate the accomplishment. Its time to change that. I had just taken that scarf of the loom and even tough it needs some finishing done I was already putting something new on. I decided to step back a little and enjoy the accomplishment of this piece at least for a day or so. As soon as I have the fringe prepared and washed then I will be able to post it and celebrate it with all of you. Celebrating is important and I will now make it part of my creative process.

How do you celebrate your projects, accomplishments, life? If you don't I think its time you started too!

Monday Musings

This page has evolved over time. First I put masking tape on it and painted it, hated the color and painted it again. The it sat since I still didn't like it. Ripped off most of the tape and painted with black gesso. Decided to collage over it since it was a smooth page anymore. I like it now. So don't give up on pages as they sometimes can have a 2nd or 3rd life or more.













This is what is on my loom. Its going to be a rayon chenille scarf. The yarn was dyed by a friend. Its almost finished so I should be able to show the finished project later in the week. Sometimes the rhythm of weaving is so meditative, I enjoy sending time doing it when everything is in the flow.

We had high winds and a snow storm yesterday and today its all melting with beautiful blue skies. I didn't even have to wear a coat, weather in the spring is always so amazing in its diversity.

I put myself back on a schedule and although I did not follow it totally today it does feel good to be on track again. I am making some goals for all my creative endeavors and it seems like that fact of writing them down somehow sets their life in motion. I have 2 weaving projects to plan, a writing plan and ideas to finish paintings, make journals and enjoy the classes that I will be taking in April. It feels good to have goals for some reason. Usually I balk at that but it seems different now I am not sure why. Perhaps I can see their use and that they are a tool that really does help me. It makes me feel empowered and ready to go.

How about you, Do you find having goals motivates you?

The last of the journal pages

Well March is almost over so here are my last journal pages for the month. I have to say I learned a lot taking Kelly Kilmer's class and I highly recommend it. She starts a new one on April 1st so if you are interested just head over to her blog.
















March 30
















March 31

This next month I am taking Mary Ann Moss's class on stenciling. We'll be cutting stencils and using spray paint, color wash and other inks. This is something I know nothing about so I am existed to take the plunge.

One of the things I did was go looking for items that might be used for stencils at thrift and dollar stores and came up empty, I thought I would stop in a local craft store to look at precut stencils and got a pleasant surprise. I walked in and they handed me a flyer. I said is this something special and she said yes its our anniversary and you get a 10.00 gift card, they also had a 50% off coupon too. I was almost the last person to get one. Lucky me. So I got a 32.99 stencil burner for 6.50 so I can cut my own now. What a deal. Wouldn't it be great if every time you went shopping the store would give you a gift card.

I hope you are having a great weekend.

Mishaps at the Dentist

I went to the dentist to get my last crown and after having a shot of Novocaine because the tooth next to it is really sensitive and then doing a temporary fit of the crown. The dentist left for a minute and it ended up being several minutes and I thought oh this is not good. So when they got back I was not surprised there was a problem. The lab made the crown for the wrong tooth. They ended up used the one they made as a temporary crown even though it doesn't quite fit. I need to wait another week for another crown. I sure hope that it all works this time. Its been quite a saga so far.

More journal pages.

















March 26

















March 27

















March 28

Writing

I was organizing things to do my taxes and found that Sarah has sent me a hard copy critique of a part of my novel. It was a piece my writers group had critiqued last year. They were all pretty nice but Sarah treated it like they do in one of her classes so it was full of red pen. Some of the suggestions others had made and she had new ones. Some I agreed with an others I did not. As I sat looking at it and how much needed to be done with this small amount the enormity of actually the task completely hit me. Like if I can't write several thousand words well than how can I expect to write the pages needed for a novel.

So yes that inner voice reared its ugly head once more. This time I didn't dwell in the pit though. I came up with a plan, actually I have 3 plans to improve my writing.

1. I am revising the piece and I plan to work on it over and over until I am satisfied and then I'll send it out for a critique again.

2. I am choosing a book to go through to learn from. I will look at how the author develops her major and minor characters, and how she moves the story along, setting, plot etc. I plan to work on one chapter a day. With 13 chapters it will take me a couple weeks but I will have learned a lot by then.

3. I want to write a short story so now I am making a list of some ideas that I have and then I will choose one and go for it.

I feel good about these decisions. We were out driving when I fleshed out these ideas and I couldn't wait to get home to start writing. I think that's a good sign.

A trip back in time

Day 24, this page really brought back the memories of my trip with Sarah overseas. Lots of good times, I really want to go back. I want to go to Cornwall and I want to go to Ireland and see the land of my ancestors. Hopefully someday soon.

















Day 25, I wish that I were on a beach today, I really love this image. I want to take a walk there right now. I envy all of you who live near the beach, go enjoy a walk for me.

Today I am spending most of the day at home, I do need to go to the gym so I will do that this afternoon. I will clean up the studio and get back to a painting that keeps staring at me every time I walk in here. I tend to get stuck, I know the work needs something but am not sure where to begin. I hope that my muse Zoe will show up to play.

Making Art Journals

Some of you may have seen this but for those who haven't these are videos on making an Art Journal out of a composition book and manilla folders. Its done by Samantha Kira. You could easily substitute watercolor paper if you like that better.






I haven't made one this way but it looks pretty simple. The ones I have done are using canvas boards as covers but I put it together the same way. I think all Art Journalers at some point start making their own books. They are relatively easy to do and then you can make it any size and also add the paper that you like.

Making Journals

Today I have been playing with my bind it all tool. Its the tool that binds books. First I made the small book and then went on to make a full size journal. I had a 11 x 15 140lb cold press watercolor pad and I folded the sheets in half and cut the holes in the edge. Then I used the hard back of the pad to make the covers. I will probably decorate them and use this for my next Art journal.


















March 23rd journal page from my class with Kelly Kilmer.

















March 22nd journal page.

I found out on Friday that I have diabetes so the wellness plan I have been planning on going on is of primary importance now. I also went to have my crowns put in and one of them was defective so I had to have another temporary one put in. I have to wait another week for the lab to make a new one. Then I found out that my friend Annette who has been struggling with cancer had died on Monday. The funeral was today and it was a sad time. She was so full of life and truly lived out loud, I am going to miss her.