Medieval Fragments--Revised

Black and white line drawings are a favorite 

technique of mine, but these just didn't seem finished

without color.  Watercolor added in

my purchased Mixed Media Art Journal.

(Canson multi-media paper)

It seems odd to know that sculptures of the

Early Middle Ages were probably brightly

painted. We are used to seeing the

worn sculpture surfaces without color, 

the texture of the stone and the shadows

created by the shapes creating subdued

but striking compositions.

I am thankful that in our time, art can be

created and enjoyed by all, and is not

 found only in churches and museums.

The packaging of your morning cereal

is art, and even the billboard down the road.

(though some more so than others!)

Where did you see art today?

Stitching Roses

Christmas gifts stitched for someone

whose Christmas tree is decorated in

white crocheted ornaments, with

accents of mauve and light pink.

Cross-stitch on cream Aida

with organza ribbon and white cord trim.

Rose patterns from a book by Leisure Arts

titled "Sweeter Than The Rose," copyright 1993.

I used portions of larger patterns to 

create the ornaments.

Medieval Fragments

Art of the Middle Ages, though it seems

primitive to us in many ways,

fascinates me in its richness of

design, pattern and symbolism.

Above, drawing done in my art journal

after a twelfth century sculpture.

(photo in Art of the Early Middle Ages 

by Souchal, 1968) 

Mary seems melancholy, but

the child Jesus looks happy to

be in his mother's arms.

Above drawing in my art journal

inspired by a stone relief called

Adoration of the Magi, Mid-twelfth century,

Church of Sainte-Croix.

I chose to draw only Mary and Jesus.

Jesus' head is missing in the photo

of the relief, so I improvised.

Regardless of the stiff pose of

the figures, it still has a charm 

all its own, and this particular relief

is "evidence of the vigorous art being

done at the time of transition from Romanesque

to the new Gothic style,"  according to the author.

Peace and Blessings to you all.

Rust and White Pages

"Farewell to Age"

8.5" x 11"  collage on watercolor paper

for Elizabeth's themed book "Rust."

Images from a vintage book.

The woman is an Elizabeth Arden

advertisement.  Lace and 

metal embellishment above,

acrylic and watercolor background.

Fabric, buttons, and vintage metal key;

collage on watercolor paper.  Acrylic paint

and watercolor background.  

Embroidery, felt, and paper combined

to create the round embellishment.

Click on the image for enlargement.

Assorted papers, fabric, and rusted metal

on painted watercolor paper.  Thanks to Halle

for the Citrisolve papers! They were a nice

rusty brown color perfect for this page. 

The unbleached muslin fabric was quilted

before stitching rusted metal piece onto

the surface. All rusted metal was coated with

gloss acrylic medium to stabilize.

Fabric pockets with unbleached muslin strip
gathered with a running stitch,

 and a tattered stitched rose.

Lace and embroidery accents.

Tags for the pockets, with my swap

information on the back.  A bit

of brown paper bag on the tag at right

is from the paper covering my work table.

Lots of paint from other projects,

and a spattering of gold spray.

It's always a fun challenge to work

with colors that I don't often choose.

Now back to Christmas stitching...

have a creative day!

Journal Pages: All Sorts

Journal page resulting from

a tempera paint session with 

the grandchildren, ages 2 and 6.

They really enjoyed it, and so did I!

Combined my painted doodles with

magazine images, fabric 

and pen work.

Some of my pages are for sketches

or notes.  Above, some ideas for

necklace 'beads' and wrist cuffs.

Ethiopian prayer box beads are 

made of metal, but I think 

a fabric version with beads and

quilting could be quite interesting...

Notes from a book from the library.

You can click on the image to enlarge and

read the notes.  Sometimes I find that books

for 'young people' make the concepts 

much more understandable, and

therefore more enjoyable.

Above, another sketch from a library book.

I believe it was about Irish art. 

This portrays a book shrine, in which

manuscripts were housed. Some were 

wood covered with metal.  Stylized motifs

of spirals, trumpet patterns, crosses,

winged beings, people and birds

decorated these shrines.  Icons and

saints were often portrayed.

Shrines were also made to house relics

reputed to be associated with a saint

or religious person.  I just admire the

beauty and devotion which these

pieces represent...perhaps

inspiration for a 'shrine' to house

an art journal?

Blue Swap Pages

I belatedly realized that I had not posted

the swap pages that I had made for Halle.

Her color-theme was blue. Above,

A bluebird in watercolor and

Sharpie pen with spattered background.

A quote and some fabric bits

on acrylic, watercolor background

with chalk pastel accents.

Two tags in a fabric pocket,and

a doodle border in watercolor.

Above, little boy image from a collage sheet

on a background of fabric.  I used a circle-punch

to create the scalloped border with fabric and paper.

Blue is one of my favorites, so I had lots of

paper and fabric to choose from!

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week in the U.S.

I wish everyone a wonderful holiday.

May we remember to be truly thankful.

"The most important things in life

are not things."

~Helen Keller

Art Journal Pages

The Scrappy Green Journal is almost finished.

Showing a few more pages...

Elizabeth had placed the opera figures on the

left page with the blue and rust background,

and the colored bars with the numbers 

at the bottom. I added the pen work, the

strip of blue polka dot fabric, and the

Listerine ad.  Just couldn't resist...

The page on the right with the cartoon

is a flap that opens up

so I got to add images and writing beneath the flap too.

The '$1000 Beer' is courtesy of Elizabeth,

and it made me smile.

I also added the black & white striped 

fabric at the top, and a 'tab' of 

painted watercolor paper.

Here, Elizabeth had painted the left page with purple

and added the giraffe sticker.(which is also sparkly)

I added blue watercolor paint, stickers,

book and magazine images, and bits of

leftover papers. Those bathing beauties on 

the left are from a vintage book, describing them

as being arrested for indecency in those

'skimpy' bathing suits!

On the right, Elizabeth had sewn the green paper

with many zig-zag stitches, and the iris image.

I added the woman image and the building. (a flap)

Beneath the flap I created a 'found poem' 

from words gleaned in a book.

On the back side of the flap, I did a

mini collage with some pieces of the

'Collage fodder' page that I showed in

a previous post. Yes, I started 

cutting it up already. Only the first 

snip is the hardest.

This has been such a fun journey...

alas, there is just one more page to go,

as seen above. Not only was the

journal a generous gift, but has

'kept on giving' as they say, through many

hours of wonderful art-collage-fun!

Thank you dear E.

Swap Pages

Here are swap pages that I received

from Rikae. I had requested colors

in red, pink, and yellow...

They are simply beautiful!

The paper beads surrounding this 

page are so happy and colorful.

Live, Love, Laugh...

butterflies for transformation...

and most have figured out by now

that I am a fan of almost any type of fabric.

This is a wonderful combination of

color and texture.

Thank you Rikae!

May you and your beloved

receive healing, hope, peace,

and blessings...

Collage Fodder

I decided I needed some new painted papers

for collage.  I did some shapes, patterns

and doodles in watercolors.

When the watercolors had dried,

I added some stamping, outlining,

doodling and drawing.  These will

probably be cut or torn into pieces

and used in collages.

Sometimes it's hard to make the first

tear or cut, but after that it's ok.  I do

like it as it is, but it is destined to be 

torn to bits as the need arises.  Usually

 I tear off each piece as I need it so

I can gauge what will make a nice contrast.

Have a colorful day!

Mixed Media Greeting

Happy Halloween!

Art Journal Pages

More pages from the 

Scrappy Green Journal.

Above, drawing and collage.

The flap with writing opens up

to reveal the drawing of a face.

The notes about drawing a face

tell how I approach the process.

On the left, 'found poetry' from

a book about art of the early middle ages.

Click on any image for

a closer view.

This Scrappy Green Journal was a 

gift from Elizabeth. She sewed two signatures

of pages into a book with a green fabric cover.

The pages are a wonderful assortment

of scrap papers and recycled images.

Flaps and pockets abound.

The yellow Post-It note was a flap,

so naturally I had to add images underneath it.

Quotes and doodles...

Paper and fabric scraps...

The ice cafe package is sewn on

to make a little pocket

that holds a tag.

Notes on 'shading' are written on

a piece of paper from a

vintage-style popcorn bag,

which I glued onto the page, 

along with the fabric scraps.

It has been a lovely journey in this book...

and an incredibly generous gift from

Elizabeth. Only about 5 more pages

are left to go, which is sad in a way.

But I have many more journals

so there will be no lack of opportunity

to keep making art! 

I have signed up for 

Mary Ann Moss' on-line class

"Full Tilt Boogie," so be looking

for the results of my 'studies' here...

I am going to be making more journals

and plan to reveal them here!

What is your favorite  journal?

Did you make it or purchase it, and what

 do you put in it?  I love to receive comments,

so share your insights!

Have a colorful day...

Color Inspires Me

A quilted art journal cover

made similar to Teesha Moore's technique~

making little 'pillows' and then sewing

them together in an

unplanned composition. 

You can see video of Teesha's

 Fabric Journal Workshop here.

As a traditional quilter, it was hard to

avoid carefully planning it all out,

especially the crazy haphazard non-matchy

stitching to connect the pillows together.

But I do like the colors and the beads

and the texture of the quilting...

Click on any image to see more detail.

The back of the cover is one piece, and I 

just started quilting with the contrasting

colors of floss in circular patterns, 

without marking the pattern ahead of time.

I will put watercolor pages inside, probably

one or two signatures with a pamphlet stitch binding.

Above, a collage in my 9" x 12" art journal.

I am trying to use up scraps I've saved. 

I generally don't use magazine images,

but the intricate scroll work in this gate

was just too good to pass up.

Acrylic on cardstock, collage & magazine images,

white gel pen on black cardstock.

Have a colorful day!

Art Journal Pages

Art Journal pages 

in the 9" x 12" journal.

Above, background of craft acrylics,

phone book pages and

gesso, with watercolor drawing

added last.
Click on any image to
view enlargement.

Above: Random magazine clippings,

painted papers, a map

and collage images combined

to create this page.

Above: The word 'signs' came first.

It was from a poster that I had made

for a talk that I gave.  I tried to think

of as many phrases as I could

with that word in it ...

Craft acrylic background, scrapbook papers,

phone book clippings, watercolor and 

acrylic painted papers, and 

Sharpie pen.  

What signs do you look for?

Pink, Red and Yellow

Pages in my little pink journal, above:

gesso, craft acrylic paint, Sharpie pen,

and hot pink gel pen on pink paper.

(Click on the image for a larger view)

Beautiful pages received from Jan

at Dandelionanddaisy

for the Color Swap.

The colors I chose were red, pink,

and yellow.  Lovely interpretation!

Relief prints have a unique look

that I love,

and the paintings and collages

are full of texture.

Another great print on the tag,

this one in several colors.

Thank you Jan!