creative accountant

New Direction

2011-06-25T12:10:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new blog Spiral Journey Studio so I don't expect to be updating this blog regularly in the future. I hope you'll follow me in this new direction.

One Down, Eleven to Go

2011-02-13T10:36:00.009-05:00

Water for Elephants is the first book I've read for The 2011 TBR Pile Challenge. See the rest of the books I'm planning to read here.

Review

Sara Gruen succeeded in drawing me into the world of Depression-era circus life. I could sense the movement of the train that carried this menagerie of characters from town to town. I could smell and hear of the circus lot. I could also feel the desperation of many of the characters living this unorthodox lifestyle. The only downfall I can site in this magical tale is the naivety of our young narrator, which made Water for Elephants a bit more saccharin than I usually prefer. But even so, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves good storytelling. 4****

2011 Reading

2011-01-07T15:10:00.008-05:00

I've been planning my reading for 2011.

I'm participating in The 2011 TBR Reading Challenge. The books I plan to read for this challenge are:

The Sorrow of an American by Siri Hustvedt
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
~~Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen~~ Complete 2/13/11 - 4**** See review HERE
Windfalls: A Novel by Jean Hegland
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
Atlas of Unknows by Tania James
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
~~Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett~~
Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

And 2 Alternates

I'm really looking forward to the challenge and moving some books off my bookshelves.

Zentangles

2010-12-23T15:28:00.002-05:00

Well I've not been blogging much this year, but I've been doing a new form of art... Zentangles. You can find out all about them and the Official Zentangle site.

You can also see all of my zentangles on flickr here.

The zentangle pictured here is for Laura Harms weekly zentangle challenge. This is week #1 and the prompt during this busy holiday season is Simplicity. I took the simplicity of one spiral and added one pattern. Fairly pleased and happy to start the weekly challenge.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2010-07-07T11:57:00.004-05:00

This Wednesday Jamie asks,

"What do you wish for your relationships?"

#1 on my wishlist is Openness.

It doesn't seem like this should be hard. That's what relationships (particularly friendships) are all about, right?

But this is an area with which I've had difficulty since I moving to Philly. I've had a number of close friends here that have pulled away when difficulties arose in their own lives. For me it negates the love and support I want to give, and jolts me awake to the fact that they do not want to share the whole of themselves with me.

So today I wish for open, no holds barred relationships... the relaxed state of knowing where there are no secrets kept or omissions made. Relationships containing the knowledge that we are both lovable in our humanity and can depend on one another for support in times of need.

Wednesday Wish to the Universe

2010-06-30T13:16:00.006-05:00

It's been forever since I blogged about anything, but things are brewing here in my life and it's time to let some of it out.

I'll start where I am today... since I really can't be anywhere else.

I recently came across the blog of Jamie Ridler. Wednesdays on Jamie's blog are all about wishes, making them and supporting others in their wishes.

Jamie's question for the day is: What do you wish for your well being?

I'm actively working on a number of different areas in my personal life, but the area I need some help with (are you listening Universe?) is companions.

Companions to celebrate with me in success and comfort me in loss.

Companions to go to for advise and to advise as needed.

Companions to Love, with Love returned.

Companions who look for the very best life has to offer, with their feet firmly planted on the ground.

Companions in both work and play.

My life is filled with many, many blessings, but it would have much more meaning with companions for the journey. I'm dedicated to opening to others for my well being.

A New Favorite

2009-08-08T11:37:00.004-05:00

Another reading update. I hope I'm not becoming one dimensional here, but I have to share a bit about the book that I just finish today - Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos.

I read this book specifically for Summer Reading Challenge and boy, am I ever thankful I did.

This book is an immediate all-time favorite. It follows the path of two people: 1)Cornelia, a 27 year-old coffee shop manager, drifting her way through life and comparing almost everything she encounters to a classic romantic movie, and 2)Clare, an 11 year-old, struggling to cope with the abandonment of her troubled mother and seeking solace in orphan characters from classic children's literature. I loved and connected to them both and marveled at the wittiness of all the characters throughout Love Walked In. I recommend this book to all who like deeply drawn characters and a pace that keeps you turning the pages.

Reading Update

2009-07-26T12:07:00.010-05:00

What I liked most about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was the variety of character voices presented through their letters. The result for me was that I felt closer to the group as a whole, and their struggles through difficult times, than I did to any one character. Without much connection to the characters, particularly in the beginning of the book, I could keenly imagine the emotional impact the wartime events would have made on me. I feel very lucky that I have not had to experience such challenges in my lifetime.

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner was a re-read for me, but loved it, loved it, loved it. Cannie, the protagonist of book, is one of my all-time favorite characters. I'd definitely have her as a dear friend if given the opportunity. This book is characterized as chick-lit by many, but it is far surperior to anything I would put in that genre. There's a lot of life-truth weaved into this often funny, sometimes heartbreaking tale.

Still really enjoying my summer reading. I have two more Jennifer Weiner books to read. One even continues the tale of Cannie. I would definitely recommend any of Jennifer's books as a good summer read.

Check back here for my updates and feel free to ask questions about any of the books I've read.

4 Days of Fun

2009-07-18T10:04:00.016-05:00

This is the start of a 4-day weekend for me. I definitely have some fun in store for myself that I would like to share.

I signed up for a doll workshop online this week. I’ve wanted to do this workshop for awhile and this weekend is a great time to start. The coolest thing about this process is getting to sculpt a face for my dolly. The doll will be made of fabric with paint and paperclay applied to the body form to create features. Very exciting!

Here are some of the dolls made by others who’ve participated in this workshop:

Rachel's First

Moira

Circus Trio

Antonia

I’ll be sure to take photos of the process and final product.

In addition to starting on my doll this weekend I plans with a friend which involve lunch, visiting Spool and Loop on South Street and helping her start a sweater for her first baby due in November. I also have plans to go see the Phillies with a large group of folks from my neighborhood Monday evening. Let’s hope they win.

Cracking the Books

2009-07-08T14:12:00.007-05:00

So what have I been doing with my summer?
READING…
I came across a great website for those who enjoy books, Goodreads. I’m participating in the Summer Reading Challenge on the site which has gotten me really reading. Here are the books I’ve read since June 1st:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker (4 stars) – One of my very favorite movies. So glad I’ve finally read the book.
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (4 stars) – Really enjoyed the movie. The book was really good as well, but I have to admit I hoped it would be a little racier.
The Whiteness of Bones by Susanna Moore (2 stars) – This is by the same author as In the Cut, which I enjoyed. Didn’t like this book half as much, primarily because I found it somewhat depressing.
Under the Skin by Michel Faber (3 stars) – Read specifically for the Summer Reading Challenge. It started out really good, but really didn’t have a satisfying ending.
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (4 stars) – I really enjoyed this book, although it was a little long for my taste.
The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman (4 stars) – By the author of Practical Magic, this book also has a family with magical abilities as its center. I liked every single character in this uplifting book.
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy (5 stars) – Another book I read specifically to fit a category in the Summer Reading Challenge. This book remarkably captures the thought processes of childhood and sheds light on growing up with a visible disfigurement in a society that values beauty.

I’m currently re-reading Jennifer Weiner’s Good in Bed. This book has one of my all-time favorite characters, Cannie. Weiner has a new book out with this same character. I’ll be reading that as well in the next couple of months. And Weiner’s newest book is coming out next week. She scheduled to appear at the Central Library next Wednesday. I’m hoping to go and see her speak.

Agnes Martin

2009-05-30T09:25:00.009-05:00

Agnes Martin - With My Back to the World

I saw a very interesting documentary last night on the Sundance Channel. It was about the art and life of Agnes Martin, an artist I had not heard of before. She describes her work as abstract expressionist, although her art is often associated with minimalism. As the movie progressed, I became more and more fascinated by her somewhat mystical approach to her art. Abstract art is fairly difficult for me to connect with, but listening to her speak of what she was trying to express through the grids and horizontal lines that predominant her paintings I traveled to a deeper connection to what art, even my own, could express. Perhaps this is the path to "true" art.

Peace & Happiness by Agnes Martin

Her description of her work that I found most intriguing was the idea that so, so many painters were painting about painting, and she wanted her art to be about life. This is the primary reason for the abstract, minimal approach to her work. In this way there is nothing between the idea and the art. She waits... and waits.... for inspiration on how she can express whatever concept/trait she would like to express and how that can be done through the use of lines, grids, color fields. It is only when she has been visually inspired that she starts painting. Very fascinating. I think I'll look into whether the Philadelphia Art Museum has any of her work on display.

Feel Like Traveling?

2008-10-05T12:22:00.009-05:00

Well all you need to do is listen to one of my favorite new musical groups, Rodrigo y Gabriela. I heard them first on WXPN, the only radio I listen to here in Philly. The station has introduced me to so many of my favorite artist... RyG are merely the latest. The video is pulled from their website. The best part to me comes near the end of the piece when the crank-up the speed.

I'd love to hear what you think about them. If you'd like to see more videos you can see them here.

Moonlight Memories

2008-08-21T13:27:00.007-05:00

A dirt road . . .
acres of potato plants
white-flowered under the moon
Robert Spiess

There has been a lot of reminiscing going on around my family lately and I came across this beautiful haiku that brought to mind a personal memory of my own…

A moonlit night, a dirt road and a sense of adventure…

I had the wonderful luck in my early teens to go to Camp Pinecrest a number of times; for summer camp and also for church youth group retreats. I’m pretty sure it was on one of these retreats that a number of us from the group went on a nighttime hike. Our ultimate destination was a dilapidated old shack that was covered with kudzu, presumably haunted. I vividly remember walking down a dirt road with my friends and the moon shining so bright. At one point we came to a soybean field and it was so bright that the light was bouncing off the leaves in the field. I was immediately struck by wonder at this nighttime world that I had no idea existed. I wanted to stay and look at the field, forget the creepy house. I wanted to drink in this scene; become one with the night.

We took a pause in our journey to gaze upon the field, but soon the more adventurous, less contemplative kids in the group urged us on. I left the scene reluctantly, but carried it away with me, enriched.

A good memory. I’m glad it was awaken by the words of another.

In the Works

2008-08-10T08:44:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak peak at a knitting project I started yesterday. So what do you think it is? Hint, I've never made anything like it. I'll post the end product as soon as it's complete, so you won't be in suspense. Off for Sunday breakfast....

Challenging Myself

2008-08-08T07:06:00.005-05:00

Jukebox Days

Acrylics & Collage on 8"x8" canvas

I joined a creative challenge this week. Crowabout has organized a weekly challenge where she posts a group of collage elements for us to work with every week. I'm not particularly excited about this piece, but excited about participating. I joined mid-week so I did not have a lot of time to work on something. The next set of collage elements posts tomorrow and I'll have a whole week to work with those. I can't wait.

It's All About the Music

2008-08-07T14:31:00.003-05:00

John Mayer
Originally uploaded by jay west photography

"It's all about the music" is the catch-phrase used by my favorite radio station here in Philly, WXPN. It's a public radio station that plays a variety of music; mostly singer-songwriter. And there are no commercials. I've been so spoiled that I just can't listen to commercial radio stations any more; the commercials are just too aggrevating. If you'd like to listen to the station yourself, they offer online listening here.

In order to make my blog a little more personal I thought I’d add a little music. I made a small playlist at Playlist.com. They provide handy code so all I had to do was add a new page element and, there you go, music. I’ve tried to make the player handy to access so if our musical tastes aren’t the same you can easily pause the player in the left hand column.

I hope you enjoy.

Opening Up

2008-08-06T16:38:00.006-05:00

LOL ATC

My blog reading has changed a lot over the last year, moving away from Art & Soul teachers and participants, to individuals who may not even participate much in “art”. Instead their art is living and they share intimately their thoughts on that in their blogs. It’s inspired me to want to share more of myself here. Rest assured, I’ll still continue to post my art & craft doings here, but you can also expect to see other aspects of what occupies my mind and life on a daily basis. Hopefully that will mean I’m posting more, even during times when there’s no time or inclination to create.

Look What I Made

2008-07-18T15:45:00.001-05:00

My oldest niece had her first baby a couple of weeks ago... a girl... Magnolia Clare. That makes me a great-aunt. Shocking! I'm very excited for my niece and felt inspired to pull my sewing machine out. It's been far too long since I've used it. I'm very pleased with the results. I hope it fits her. It looks sooooo long, but I guess she won't be tripping on it at 3 weeks. Look for more sweet treasures like this one to be posted soon.

2008-06-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

True Colors ATC

I made this very colorful ATC today. I'm really not very satisfied with it, but I did give it my best shot. Colored pencils are still more difficult than charcoal in my book. It's for a swap at Illustrated ATCs entitled Colorful Stylized Portraits. I'm much more please with a couple others I did for the swap. You can see them here and here. I found iATCs last month. It's a juried site, so you have to be voted in by a panel. I really hope my cards measure up. The swaps there are very inspiring. My first swap card returns are in the mail. They may even arrive as early as tomorrow.

Up & Running!

2008-06-07T22:49:00.006-05:00

As the saying goes, "Out with the old and in with the new!" New computer that is. I'd hoped to get back to blogging as soon as I returned from Art & Soul, but my old computer had other ideas. My new one came this week and it's so nice and shiny. I usually don't get this way about "things"(or at least I like to tell myself I don't) but it's been 7 years since my last computer purchase. At this point I am enamored with my brand new toy. Tomorrow I'll share about what I've been doing art-wise, but I just wanted to dedicate today to my new toy.

Still Alive!

2008-04-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

I've been away for so, so long... But I'm starting to get really excited about Art & Soul later this month. This year all my classes are painting classes.

Tweaking

2007-07-16T10:41:00.001-05:00

Who? Me? ATC

I received some additional guidance from Marta, and decided to work on her just a little bit more. Now I think she's done. Although I'm ready to move on from this piece, I'm always open to a critique. I've been drawing for less than six months, so I know I still have a lot to learn.

Helpful Critique

2007-07-15T21:54:00.001-05:00

Who? Me? ATC

I reworked this ATC after the helpful critique of Eli Edmundson. You can see what Eli had to say about the piece originally in the comments here. Although it looks less like the photo that inspired my drawing, darkening the background made this pretty little subject really standout. Thanks Eli.

Discovery IF

2007-07-15T17:00:00.001-05:00

Who? Me? ATC

Charcoal on Stonehenge

Even though the card is labeled with the innocent plea "Who? Me?" I think it could just as well be labeled "Ooohhh!" and work very well for this week's Illustration Friday theme, Discovery. It was inspired by this sweet photo. I'm pretty pleased with the resemblance. I do believe her mother might be able to recognized her from the drawing. What do you think?

(For those of you who've stepped in from IF, take a look at my main blog page for changes to this piece I've made since this post)

A New Look

2007-07-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Baptism

Mixed Media Collage

I thought I'd spruce the blog up a little bit. The new banner and icon are part of the piece above which I did for a class I took at the University of the Arts back in 2005. All feedback on the new look is appreciated. Have a great day.

New Icon

2007-07-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

Here's my new icon

Geeky IF

2007-07-10T13:16:00.001-05:00

Mr. Serious ATC

Charcoal on Stonehenge

Here's my submission for this week's Illustration Friday theme. I drew him last month. I hate to label him at such a young age, but he does look a little geeky in his glasses. The original photo that inspired me was somewhat distorted in it's perspective and I exaggerated that a bit here. Pretty pleased with the results. I just love working in charcoal. It's such a forgiving medium.

International Trading

2007-07-10T12:37:00.000-05:00

ATCs for Fun at the Beach Swap

I finished these cards off last weekend and mailed them to the Netherlands yesterday. That's two swaps I've completed. The other set of cards was mailed last week to Finland. It will be interesting to see what comes my way in return. I also mailed this card to Serbia for a beautiful watercolor nude. I love international trading. I never thought any of my art would be much of anywhere but in my own hands. For 90 cents you can send an ATC anywhere. How wonderful.

Twist IF

2007-06-30T17:13:00.000-05:00

Twist ATC

I haven't been very creative the last couple of weeks. Luckily Illustration Friday is there for inspiration. Here's what I did for this weeks theme, Twist. A martini with a twist is the first thing that came to mind. I don't drink them, but I do think they're pretty. Thanks for checking in.

Camouflage IF

2007-06-23T16:05:00.000-05:00

Camouflage ATC

Here's what I've done for this week's Illustration Friday challenge. It was inspired by this photo. I was attracted its mystery and innocence. A wonderful combination.

Better Late Than Never

2007-06-14T19:46:00.001-05:00

Beach Beauty ATC

Well here's my submission for last Friday's Illustration Friday theme, Suit. I know it's late, but I thought I post it anyway. This is the first of four cards I'm making for an At The Beach ATC swap. It was inspired by this sweet photo. I may do all the swap cards like this one - charcoal with an element of the composition in color. I haven't decided firmly yet. Check back and see.

It's been awhile

2007-06-13T20:58:00.000-05:00

Dell came through and replaced my laptop's power cord, so I'm back in business scanning and posting my cards. Here's what I've done since I last posted.

Mr. Serious ATC

The photo this was inspired by was a little distorted, but I exaggerated that a bit. Really pleased with the effect.

Khumdung ATC

This card is based on a photo of a co-worker's dog. His name means Golden Dog in Korean. When presented to her, she said it looked just like the him.

Nathaniel ATC

Added a little yellow pastel to the straw hat on this young Amish boy.

That's all for now, except I want to send out birthday wishes to my sister... Carla, you're the best. Have a great one!!

I'm In Love

2007-06-05T20:08:00.001-05:00

Piggy ATC

I wish I could bring him home, but he already has one. Once again, this ATC was inspired by a flickr photo. There are any number of precious photos of this dog, so look for more drawings of him in the future.

Paradise IF

2007-06-05T09:59:00.000-05:00

Paradise Motel ATC

Illustration Friday theme of the week is Your Paradise. I can't say this is my idea of paradise, but I was trying for something a bit stylised. This was inspired by this photo, a pic of the Holiday Motel on the Vegas strip. I think it also fits well with the FineArtsATC's Motif Challenge of Dots.

Yoga/Meditation ATC Series

2007-06-03T18:46:00.000-05:00

Here's what I've been working on this weekend. They were all inspired by Flickr photos. It's my first ATC series. They're for a swap I've signed up for with ATC_ART_EXCHANGE yahoo group. They're off in the mail tomorrow to Finland.

AAAHHHH

2007-05-31T21:28:00.001-05:00

Plymouth ATC

AAAAHHHH!!! That's how I feel being back with the charcoal in my hand. I love color, but I love the forgiving nature of charcoal. This ATC is a take on this photo.

Other art news of the day... After visiting this artist's blog who works in colored pencils, I made it to Border's on the way home to buy the Colored Pencil Solutions Book. I'm hopeful that it will answer some of my questions and frustrations working in this medium.

Thanks for checking in. Visit again soon.

Practice, Practice, Practice

2007-05-31T06:35:00.000-05:00

Red Tail-lights ATC

I think I bit off more than I could chew with this attempt. It's inspired by this complex photo. The perspective is off on the bumper but I learned a lot while drawing this. I'm particularly happy with the blurred background effect. Still don't know what to do to produce white after so much color has already been applied to the card. Visitors comments very welcome on the answer to that.

And the Trading Begins...

2007-05-30T22:26:00.001-05:00

Trades
Originally uploaded by angie19130

Here are the ATCs I've received in the mail over the last few days. Such artistic talent. I'm amazed.

IF - Cars

2007-05-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

Endless Summer ATC

Well I've decided to post to Illustration Friday and see what happens. The piece above is another ATC done with colored pencils. It was inspired by this photo on Flickr.

Let There Be Color!

2007-05-26T11:53:00.001-05:00

Inmost ATC

Exuberance ATC

Two new ATCs, but boy what a difference a little color makes! Both are done with colored pencils and a blender pen. Inmost also includes a little white ink at the center. Here are the photos that inspired them: Inmost & Exuberance. I made both to include in the Stripes challenge for the FineArts ATC group. I hope they like them. I'm pretty pleased. Hope your having a great weekend.

Let's Have Another Go At This

2007-05-24T20:58:00.001-05:00

Swirls ATC

Well I thought I was going to start with color ATCs today, but I had a request to try my hand at this photo. I think I've come a bit closer to looking like the actual person in the photo, but I'm still pretty sure her mother wouldn't recognize her here. I may have a better chance of capturing resemblance in a larger format. I hope the woman I'm hoping to trade with likes it. That's all for today. Hope yours was a good one.

Deep In Thought

2007-05-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

Deep In Thought ATC

Yes it's another charcoal portrait ATC. I hope I'm not becoming boring, but I'm enjoying the process and getting in lots of drawing practice as well. I made this one specifically to entice a trade with the woman in this photo, the inspiration for my drawing. Here's the card I'm hoping to trade it for.

I'm very excited about trading The Thinker for this card today. Love it! It's actually THE card I was hoping to trade for when I made The Thinker. I can't wait to see the lovely acrylic piece live.

The Thinker

2007-05-22T22:20:00.001-05:00

The Thinker ATC

Another charcoal portrait ATC. I made this one especially for the Stripes challenge in the FineArtsATC group. It was inspired by this great photo. Although the original photo was not named, I think The Thinker suits it well.

I made trades for both Sincere and Wonder ATCs today. I'll post what I got in return as soon as they arrive. Really enjoying trading.

Wonder

2007-05-21T23:15:00.000-05:00

Wonder ATC

Another charcoal portrait ATC. This one was inspired by this great picture. I was unable to capture the baby-nature of the original photo, but I like the end result anyway.

My First ATC

2007-05-21T21:07:00.001-05:00

Sincere ATC

This is my first ATC. After working on a variety of artistic things this weekend and feeling very dissatisfied, I decided to do another charcoal portrait inspired be this photo. I recently came across fiDoArt and the amazing ATCs at Fine Arts ATC yahoo group. They both inspired me to take the leap into trading my art.

The Class I Went For

2007-05-14T07:14:00.000-05:00

Alphabet With Square Hands

by Ann Baldwin

I've admired Ann Baldwin's collages for years and years. Unlike most of the teachers at Art & Soul, Ann spends more of her time being an artist rather than teaching others her techniques, but arthritis has limited her ability to create or teach in recent years. I was so excited to see she was back teaching and couldn't believe she was actually coming to the east coast for a change. The opportunity to take a class from her was my main motivation for signing on for Art & Soul this year.

Here are the pieces I created during her class, Collaging with Words & Paint:Text & Texture. I'm pretty pleased with them and plan to mount and frame them sometime soon. Ann had us painting two pieces at once and it just so happened that mine included the letters A & Z each. I loved incorporating cheesecloth into my work. It created wonderful texture. Rest assured I'll be doing more pieces like these.

Where Have I Been?

2007-05-13T12:13:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? Art & Soul in Hampton, VA. It was an exhausting and rewarding five days. I learned so much and made some new art friends as well.

Here's the pretty little book I made in my very first class there. It's a mere 4 ¼" X 5¾". The class, Carved, Bound & Wired, was taught by the very generous Doris Arndt. She provided almost all the supplies for the class even though we hadn't paid a materials fee. Her patience and spirit really won me over.

The process for making the book is just what the name of the class implies... First we Carved designs into the covers of the book and covered them with hand painted paper. Then we Bound the book. I love this binding. I'm sure I'll use it again, but not until I get myself a Dremel. I can't imagine not getting one. Doris suggested we wait until near Father's Day when she's sure they'll be on sale. I hope I can wait. Lastly we attached a Wire closure to finish it off. Every time I pulled it out for people to see at the event, others would walk up to see this great little book.

Stay tuned for more entries on my Art & Soul experience.... Have a great Mother's Day.

More Drawings

2007-04-29T17:33:00.000-05:00

Another charcoal drawing. I'm a little happier with it. You can see the photo I used as model here.

This one is still in process. I hope to finish it tomorrow.

Dark Boy

2007-04-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

Another charcoal drawing of this image from flickr. I really need to practice on faces. They're really hard. I guess I'll just have to keep at it.

First Charcoal Attempt

2007-04-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

Drawing from this week's drawing class. First time to use charcoal. It's a lot of fun. Next Tuesday's class we'll have a live model. I'll report back on how it goes

Remarkable Gift to Philadelphia

2007-04-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

I'm taking my very first drawing class...and it's FREE.

One of the amazing things available in Philadelphia is the Fleisher Art Memorial. Due to this remarkable place, anyone can receive professional art instruction for free. Drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics. Some of the classes are limited in size, but the beginning drawing classes are available to just about anyone who wants to take them.

The piece above I drew during last week's class. I realize it's no masterpiece, but I thought I'd post in anyway. Maybe I'll be able to show my progress at a later date. I don't aspire to incredible realism in my drawing, but I would like to feel free to use drawn elements within my art without fear or a sense of complete ineptitude.

Thanks for checking in.

Look what the mailman brought me!!

2007-04-19T20:20:00.000-05:00

Carlene was so generous. Now I have all the vintage wool I could possibly want. The question is what to make?

I've been very inspired by some of the unique pillows I've see out there. Geninne's pillows here and here are great. What about something like the ecstasy pillows for sale here? Or maybe something completely different... Like the pillows at matthew izzo. I even have a picture in mind.

I recently fell in love with this pitbull's photo at a California rescue group. I ran the photo through dumpr's sketch maker and now it looks like this. Can't you just see the outline embroidered for a one-of-a-kind pillow?

But really... I think I'm going to do some rendition of Gustav Klimt's beautiful Tree of Life. Check back to see the progress.

Red

2007-04-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

Here's some red, as well as a lot of other colors, and my sweet kitties, Gilbert & Sprite.

Yellow

2007-04-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yellow post for Handmaid's Color Week. Another flower collage inspired by this photo. This is my first attempt at painting clouds. I'm not unpleased. Really enjoy making these collages, although I'm not sure they have artistic merit or are display worthy.

Check in for Red tomorrow.

Pink

2007-04-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

These are some of the trades I've made for the Art & Soul retreat I'm going to in May. I used Juju's tutorial to make them. I'm sure I'll use my Purl purchases to make some more, but first I'm anxious to tryout Moonstitches little owl tutorial. They're just as sweet as they can be. I had hoped one day to have some tutorials here, but that feature isn't available through Blogger, only through typepad.

See you tomorrow with some yellow...

Green

2007-04-10T05:46:00.000-05:00

Here's another handmade book I made a few years ago. It's a little worse for wear after being used as my personal journal for about six months. The cover is a paste paper I made. Paste paper is a favorite for book covers, but messy to make. My favorite book on the subject is The Art of Making Paste Papers. Check it out. Truly inspiring.

Turquoise

2007-04-09T13:58:00.000-05:00

I've decided to play along with Julie's daily color post this week. Today is turquoise.

Above is a handmade book I made last year for a co-worker to give to her daughter. The book itself contains letters of encouragement from her friends and family on becoming a woman, presented to her upon her first menses. Personally, I was overwhelmed at the amount of love contained within its covers and felt it was an appropriate gift for any young woman... a place to visit when life's bumps come along. Although her mother was uncertain about how her teenager would respond to such a gift, she reported back that it was well received and even shared with a few close friends.

I really enjoy making books. Although confidence is not my strong suit in most of my artistic endeavors, it's not lacking in making books. All that measuring and precision cutting is right up my alley. My xacto knife is my friend. I'm really looking forward to the Doris Arndt's class I'm taking at Art & Soul in May. I just couldn't resist the beautiful book pictured with the class description.

If you'd like to explore the process yourself, I'd start with a couple of books... Cover to Cover and Making Books by Hand. The material in Making Books by Hand is included in a larger book, Making Memory Books and Journal by Hand and I'd recommend this larger book for all the additional material included.

Look for something Green tomorrow...

Gerber Daisy Collage

2007-04-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

Here's what I've been doing over Easter weekend. I enjoyed the results of my fatbook page I so much that I decided to try some more flowers. It was inspired by this photo. The paper for the petals all came from mail order catalogs. I love it when free art material comes in the mail. The color scheme is one of my favorite... so much so that I've decide to use this palette for my living room. Now if I can find that perfect chocolate couch.

Collage Technique

2007-04-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

This is a large photo collage I made for my grandmother's 90th birthday. It's an example of the collage technique I want to share here. Although I was going for a random look in the piece, I didn't want to cut people's faces off, so I needed to arrange all the photos before actually glueing anything down. Jonathan Talbot's technique for collage without liquid adhesives is the approach I took. I bought his slim book that details this technique 5 or 6 year ago when I first got started doing collage. Although I use any number of techniques in my art now, I still find his process very helpful, and I'm glad to include it in my art technique arsenal.

Here's the technique:

First cover the front and back for your collage base with acrylic medium. Golden Polymer Medium is what I (and Talbot) recommend... the shiny kind, not the matte finish. If you want a matte finish to your piece you can use matte finish acrylic as a final step in completing your piece. Covering both the front and the back of the base cuts down on the possibility of buckling.
Then cover the front and back of all collage elements you want to use in the piece with acrylic medium.
After everything dries you can "work" the collage, arranging the elements on the base to your heart's content.
Once you have the composition the way you want it, you cover the piece with silicone-coated release paper and iron everything in place. The heat from the iron reliquifies the acrylic medium and fuses the whole piece together.

I bought both the release paper and a small craft iron from Talbot's site, but really the release paper and a regular iron is all you need to get you going on this technique. Release paper can be purchased at dickblick.com or any number of other art supply sites, but Talbot's site offers the best value and they last forever.

Pros for this technique: 1.) It allows for maximum flexibility in compositional alignment without having to deconstruct your collage to glue everything down. 2.) The bond created in this method is very strong. 3.) This technique eliminates the bubbling that can happen when using magazine paper in your art. 4.) It's archivally sound, creating an acrylic barrier between all elements in the piece.

Cons for the technique: 1.) Coating all the elements you want to use is pretty tedious. 2.) You need to allow for drying time before moving forward. 3.) Not the best technique for creating lots of texture in a piece.

Just thought I'd share. Questions to clarify the process are welcome and I'd love to hear from others who incorporate this technique in their art.

Talbot also has a great list of other collage artists to peruse. Check it out.

Trekking to Purl

2007-04-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend I made the journey to NYC to visit Purl Patchwork in person. Although I'd originally planned to go with a friend, her plans had to change and I decided to take the trip anyway, going solo. It's very easy to get there and the Chinatown bus in Philadelphia is a great deal at $20 round-trip.

So I arrived in NYC's Chinatown around noon Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and Canal Street was hopping
Lots of bling, but too crowded for me.

Once I got to Soho it was quieter.
Passed Purl Patchwork's sister shop,
Purl on my way.
Final destination! It's really just as wide as the storefront you see here. And yes that is a glimpse on yours truly in the window's reflection.

So here's some of what I brought home...
Sweet, sweet bundles

And tiny birds & bees

These sweet flowers made me grin.

More little bundles.

Here's my slice of Liberty of London. The pattern is called Enchanted Garden.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with all this fabric. I have a number of ideas percolating and the projects on The Purl Bee are inspiring. I can't wait to use them....

It's time to take the plunge

2007-04-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

This year is offering many forms of creative inspiration for me. One I'm finding surprising (and apparently boundless) is the world of artblogs. I've looked at artists' websites for years, but when I started exploring the blog links for a number of teachers I'm interested in taking a class from some day, a new world opened up to me. There I found an inside look at the daily triumphs and trials of women artists, like Misty Mawn and Claudine Hellmuth, whose work I've admired. Soon I was finding blogs by other women; mothers and secretaries, students and graphic designers, who spent as much time as they could creating... and sharing that part of themselves with anyone who cared to explore and read. Be it Geninne in Mexico, Juju in England, or Moonstitches in Japan, I'm very thankful for all they're willing to share and it's given me the courage to want to join in. So down the rabbit hole I go...