Saturday, December 31, 2011

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?


Sunday, December 25, 2011

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.




Friday, December 23, 2011

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.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

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!


Friday, December 2, 2011

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?



Tuesday, November 22, 2011

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




Sunday, November 20, 2011

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.




Monday, November 14, 2011

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...



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

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!


Monday, October 31, 2011

Friday, October 28, 2011

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...


Saturday, October 22, 2011

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!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

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?





Sunday, October 9, 2011

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
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!