Art Journal Sketch

Sketch done in my art journal, drawn from a
National Geographic photo. Masai bride in her wedding finery...
her expression is sad as she is dressed to
leave her family for her
"arranged" wedding. Her large beaded collar
(which I chose not to detail in my sketch)
is made from small beads arranged in color blocks and stripes...
wonderful artistry. The geometric background is not
necessarily authentic but suggestive of
tribal African designs.
Ball point pen, permanent marker, black paper

Painted Muslin

painted muslin strips
on 4" x 6" cardboard

"I found I could say things with color and shapes

that I couldn't say any other way -

things I had no words for. " ~Georgia O'Keeffe

Halloween Images

Folding Artist Trading Card
from recycled cardboard
and acrylic paint.

The inside shows the Goblin Queen
using a color copy of an original watercolor.
Purple background is snipped from a magazine.

"Pumpkin Jack"
Original watercolor inspired by vintage images.
WISHING YOU A HAPPY HALLOWEEN
with creative treats and no tricks!

Images copyright dbcarey.
Please do not copy without
the artist's permission.

Shades of Black

mixed media collage, 6" x 6"
Magazine clippings, pen drawing, & found word.

beauty.
Is it the model or the mountain,
the male or the female,
the trees or the clouds,
the drawing or the photograph of ancient metalwork,
the images or the word?

Pebbles in my Journal

Doodling patterns can be soothing...
not sure if these combinations
really work for me...

Sometimes I think we are so busy
thinking of what we are going to say next
that we aren't truly listening
to what is being said...
I am guilty of that.

More Mail Art

Muslin painted & stamped with acrylics,
drawing with permanent marker,
a little sparkle added with gel pen.

Painted, pieced, embroidered,
stamped, and drawing in
permanent marker.

Happy autumn to all!

End-Of-Summer Poem
by Rowena Bastin Bennett

The little songs of summer are all gone today.
The little insect instruments are all packed away;
The bumblebee's snare drum, the grasshopper's guitar,
The katydid's castanets--I wonder where they are.
The bullfrog's banjo, the cricket's violin,
The dragonfly's cello have ceased their merry din.
Oh, where is the orchestra? From harpist down to drummer
They've all disappeared with the passing of the summer.

Quilt and Goodies

Celebrating our soon to be arriving
granddaughter at a
"Welcome the cute lil' pumpkin" party...
a candy man for each guest...
I adored the decorations that the hostess created!

an adorable diaper "cake" with
baby headbands, pacifiers and booties...
made by one of the guests.
I couldn't resist the photo opportunity!

The Shoo-Fly quilt that I made is finished!
All hand-pieced and hand-quilted
in cotton print fabrics.
Made with love for a precious baby girl.

Autumn Greeting

More quilted postcards...
painted white muslin fabric with acrylic paints
using a brush to quickly blend colors.
I hung the fabric up to dry overnight, and
pressed with an iron on the back side the next day.

Painted muslin was then stamped with black acrylic
using hand-carved stamps, painted free hand with a brush,
and details drawn in Sharpie permanent marker.
Some hand quilting through top two layers
(batting and the painted muslin.)
Machine quilting through the 3 layers of
muslin, batting and cardstock backing.
Zigzag stitch around the outside edge.
We'll see if the puffy results makes it
through the U.S. mail. I have received
wonderful PCs from others, and most seem
to have used interfacing as the "batting"
in between layers, and therefore more flat.

If you try machine quilting on paper, keep in
mind not to make stitches too close together,
as it creates an almost "perforated" area
which could tear easily. The paper backing
helps to make the postcard stiffer and presumably
more likely to make it through the mail system...

Collage Rebirth

Make a color photocopy of one of your collages
at a local office supply store,
then modify it for a new composition
and purpose. This one will be
applied to the front of a composition book,
to be used as a journal.
This collage was from my art journal in 2008.
The little photo of 3 girls (Digital Collage Sheets.com)
in the upper right covers the original face
I had painted. The quotes were added as
a reminder to be open, positive, and
accept yourself as you are...

Art Journal Pages

Had fun doing the images on these pages,
but for some reason "writer's block" struck...
so used some quotes that I found inspiring.
Watercolor background...

Assorted scrapbook paper snippets
adhered to outside borders, magazine clippings
of flowers and the girl's body. I drew the head
and glued it above the body, having fun with
the exaggerated proportions.
Doodling and writing added with
Micron Pigma pen. A few bits of added
color in Sanford Uniball gel pen...

Quilting Art

Sketch for a baby quilt that I am working on...
all cotton fabrics, hand-pieced and hand-quilted,
for a new granddaughter on the way!
As usual, I bought extra fabric, "just in case"
and now have leftovers for other projects...

Tips of fingers get calloused and a bit sore
from quilting, even with the use of a thimble,
but the quilting is my favorite part.
(Basting is my least-favorite part)
Stuck a corner of the quilt in the scanner,
so not the best image but you get the idea...
hope to post photos when it's done--
hopefully in time for the baby shower!

Mini collages

Painted papers mounted on black.

















They measure 1 and 1/2 inches including black frame.

Heart Series

Collages made from painted papers...

Acrylics, watercolor and crayon

Black fine-point marker

paint applied with paintbrush,
and some white applied with palette knife...

Inspired by a friend's poetry.

Life is full of color!

Rose Petal Soup

Here is a sketch done in 2004, reborn as a watercolor (and acrylic) in 2009. This celebrates the visit of a very sweet little girl who took some old roses ( I should have thrown them away before my visitors arrived...they were pretty wilted) and removed all the petals to make "rose petal soup!" I thought perhaps she had read it in a story but turns out it was her own creative recipe. I gave her a bowl and a spoon and she had a great time stirring her "soup" and feeding it to her baby doll. She played with triangular wooden blocks and dolls and whatever she could find around here. I recently enjoyed seeing her again at a mutual friend's party and it reminded me of the sketch I had done but not quite finished. So I located the drawing in one of my sketchbooks and used
watercolors and acrylics to finish it.