Pages 06/29/07

It's been awhile since I've painted in large format. I ordered some pretty nifty Sharpie acrylic paint pens with a wide nib from Mister Art. I was pretty dubious. It worked really well on the canvas and the nib and paint held up almost until the end of my line work. It started choking right at the end and I had to go over the last bit twice to get nice coverage. Now that the painting is all drawn, I am working on adding color. The size of the painting is about 4'X4'. (The other photo is the whole painting before the color was added. Taken on my lousy camera phone.) It's pretty cool to see the artwork I've been doing so small (4"X4") translate into large format. It's pretty trippy.

Pages 06/27/07

I've been decorating bamboo tile beads and using them in crafty things. The beads are drilled in an odd place so it's rather dificult to use them. I outputted a Day of the Dead image onto clear paper and transferred it to the bead. I've sealed it with many layers of protective varnish to give it a nice sheen and to prevent it getting scratched. Then, I made various charms and attached them to a 'pleather' bracelet. I bought a bunch of these bracelets fairly inexpensively awhile ago, and didn't know what to do with them. They had big gaudy charms on them that I used in another artsy something. I never toss anything! There's always another art project you can add a 'leftover' to.

Pages 06/23/07

I recently made this collage for a swap I joined up for on the Altered Art Obsession Yahoo group. This was an open themed digital collage ATC swap. It was the first time I've really done this type of swap, which is strange because, I do digital collage every day in my job as a graphic designer. It was neat just to do a collage for myself, rather than a client. The entire collage is done in Photoshop and I've used copies of real letters from Frida to Diego. It's an interesting concept, digital collage ATCs. I'm not sure why I haven't done any in this manner before. It took me less than 1/2 an hour to put this together, while a traditional collage might take an entire evening, plus time to dry. I've uploaded this image high res, so feel free to print it and add to your ATC collection from me, to you. ;-)

Pages 06/22/07

"Rule #1 - Be Wierd" I've been taking a class on travel journaling with Jackie Ernst. I wasn't terribly interested in learning to journal while traveling, but I was eager to hang out with some like minded folks. It's been fun. It's good to go back and learn the basics like contour drawing. I pretty much sucked at it, like I sucked at it in Art School. But, it got me collaging and journaling again, which is good. It's amazing how a little comradary with some other creative types can spark your inner artist.

Pages 06/21/07

Fly. Open your mind. Reach for the stars. Small steps will take you there. Look up. Aim high. Fly.

Pages 06/10/07

"Today was my Birthday". I used some of Teesha Moore's stamps and painted and layered some collage over top. I found some gel pens over at Target (4 for a buck, I love a bargain) and am loving them. I haven't really used gel pens before, and I am not sure WHY as they are very powerful. You can draw over practically any surface.

Pages 05/19/07

I've been playing around with some different shaped glass slides for pendants. I've also been reworking vintage jewelry to hang them from. Some of the old junk jewelry I find is awesome, and worth bringing some life back into it. The back is a textured piece of glass which is pearly purple. I've also been trying to solder in some different materials. Soldering isn't the easiest material I've ever worked with. Solder and I have a love / hate relationship. I love what it can do, but it's fussy to work with and stinky. I've burnt myself countless times and almost burnt a hole clear through my work table. Don't tell my husband. ;-)

Pages 05/18/07

Well, I'm still messing around with charm bracelets but the reaction has been pretty underwhelming to say the least. Everyone seems to be making them right now, and that's cool. It's really 'craft of the week' right now. I'm not one to follow the current trends, so I've tried to make them a little unusual. Also, it's been alot of fun to actually *use* beautiful beads or trinkets I've been hoarding over the years. My wiring skills are definitely getting better and I think jewelry making is becoming a medium I like more and more.