Index Cards for the End of July

Cover created for my spiral

index card pad

of index card art. (above)

"Zodiac"



"Chinese Porcelain Ornament"

Various motifs combined in

one design.



"Brussel Sprouts"

"Milk Glass"



"Forty-six"

"Bb"



"Chair"



"Inspire"

Visit DaisyYellow to see more

index card art.









A New Book of Inspiration

Christine Clemmensen had a give-away over

at her Blog a while back...

and I was the lucky winner!!

I received the US version of the book

Scraps, that she has co-authored with

Elsbeth Gynther.  It is full of fun

and inspiration, and I love it!

It is not one of those step-by-step,

"make it my way" books, but a book that helps us

realize that collage is about "making choices." 

 The materials that you choose to create a collage

 will determine the mood of the final outcome.

To quote some comments on the back cover:

"Scraps" is an enchanting book that illustrates

 the transformative nature of collage."

                            ~~Jenny Doh

"Scraps" is overflowing with visual eye candy, inspiration,

 tips, and tricks you can use in your collages right away!

 A perfect addition to any paper artist's library."

                                       ~~Claudine Hellmuth

I especially liked the fact that the authors included

a section in the book that gives a simple explanation

of composition, and some ideas for how to organize

your collage.  To quote: "Viewers attain a certain calm

when their eyes are led around the composition."

Little sketches of the composition, or 'recipes' if you

are familiar with the scrapbooking term, 

accompany several of the collages, so you

can see how the composition translates into

the actual art piece. 

A wide variety of materials is shown in this book:

quirky and fun, exotic or vintage. 

It is "An Inspirational Field Guide to Collage"

 and an encouragement to trust your own abilities! 

Both beginning and experienced mixed media artists

will find this book from Lark Books a delightful resource.

Christine also included some of her lovely postcards

and other ephemera in my prize package. Thank you

so much Christine!  Please visit Christine's blog,

to view her gorgeous photos, and updates

on her creative pursuits.

Index Card Art

I was having issues with Blogger last night...

or my computer is not happy in this heat!

Or all of the above, as I wasn't able to

add any text to my blog post, or even see the scan

 on this post. Had to 'publish'

first and it was there on the blog, even though it didn't 

show up on my Compose screen.  Creepy.

The black and white background is a photocopy of

a drawing that I did several years ago, using Sharpie 

markers.  I cut up the photocopy and used portions

for this card. The berries were a scrap that I saved that

is acrylic on black card stock, hand-painted similar

to some medieval designs. The yellow & orange patterns

are origami paper.  The flower is from patterned

tissue paper gift wrap.  The bit of muslin was painted

with acrylics, and there is pink card stock behind it.

The bird came from on-line, but I apologize that I 

don't know the source.  These were all scraps that

I've saved and recently organized into zip lock 

baggies by color.

Went to the Cleveland Museum of Art

this week and thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Stay tuned for some sketches, notes, 

and information about my visit.

Color Swap

Color swap pages for Cath in Cyprus.

Her color theme was yellow and black,

which made me think of sunflowers.

The face (above) is drawn in Sharpie

on a vintage piece of fabric, which had been

cut for a Dresden Plate quilt.  The 

yellow tag, below, fits in the pocket.
The sunflower is also done in Sharpie,
hand-drawn after a Kate Greenaway
illustration. The flower & leaf motif is
a hand-carved stamp from an eraser.

Halfway

Celebrating the Half Way point

in the "Index Card a Day" challenge!

Index Card A Day (ICAD) Update

'Pocket Change'

'Black and White'

 'Documentation'

'Earrings'

'Lilies: Past Their Prime'

'In My Head'

Visit DaisyYellow to see

links to the other participant's

art work. Make some art today!

Collage and Drawing on Index Cards

My index cards for June 30 through July 7, 2011

Stop by DaisyYellow's blog to see other participant's

index cards, or to join the challenge! 

I have found that it is easier for me to 

do several cards in a sitting, rather than

one per day.  But I am trying to stick to 'one a day'

in order to make art every day.

Index cards are a great 'warm up' exercise.

Then I often move on to another project or

my art journal pages... 

Trouble

A new Art Journal spread,

watercolor, hand-carved and commercial stamps,

crayon-watercolor resist,

and Sharpie marker.

This spread was indirectly inspired

by visiting my friend Marlynn's blog,

Honeysuckle Breeze.  She has been organizing,

straightening, and purging in her studio.

She mentioned watching the TV show

'Hoarders,' which I don't receive on my TV,

but after watching an episode on-line,

I really got motivated to start cleaning! 

This spread was completed

after sorting through a stash of scraps

and magazine clippings. 

I find it difficult to discard even the tiniest 

piece of painted paper, because of the potential

that I see in it! The above tiny collage measures

1 1/2 inches x 1 1/2 inches, and is 

located on the bottom left of the spread.

I did, however, throw away a lot of 

magazine clippings, as I have resolved

to use my own drawings, images, and prints

as much as possible in my collages.  I still have

a long way to go, but feel as though 

I made a little progress!

Quilt Stars

Index Card A Day

for the 

4th of July
~Happy Birthday USA~

Watercolor and Sharpie marker 

Traditional quilt star patterns:

Top left - Blazing Star; Top right - Ohio Star

Bottom left - Rising Star (simplified); Bottom right - Starry Paths

Index Card A Day (ICAD) -- Catching Up

'Alphabet'

Collage with painted papers

and markers.

'Blues'

Collage with painted papers,

fabric, and marker.

'Pink and White'

Collage

'Yellow and White'

Collage

'Coffee (and thin bagel)'

Zig pigment pen

'Simple Pleasures'

Watercolor background,

markers and pens.

(I doodled this while listening to 

a podcast of Teesha and Tracy Moore)

'Jeans'

Collage with fabric,

label and stamp

'Pink Sky'

Collage with painted fabric

and painted papers

'Rust'

Gel pen and chalk pastels

'Stitch'

Acrylic background, marker,

embroidery and fabric collage

'Watercolor Rose'

Sketched in pencil,

watercolor applied, let dry;

Pigma pen outlines

'Spring Flowers'

Watercolor, crayon,

and assorted pens

Since I started this challenge late,

I did two cards each of the six days this week,

so now I am caught up.  Be sure

to visit Daisy Yellow  to get the links to see

the work of the other challenge participants!