Fall Greetings!

Special thanks to Diana, who created

the background for this piece: layers of

assorted papers, including music, scrapbook,

and text from a book.  I completed the
piece with images that are

color copies of watercolors I did several

years ago, based on vintage Halloween.

Added some off-white acrylic paint over

the papers, stamped swirls, then adhered

images cut from cardstock copies. 

Text written in marker. Black inked

the edges, and then decided to add

dark brown chalk pastel for a

darker frame.

 Also sharing a couple of pages

from my hardback art journal that

were created quickly, using images

that I had collected, but didn't

really fit into any of my recent

work.  Sometimes it's good to

just do something to get going.

The grid format created by the

tags really makes it less complicated

to finish the page...

I really like the juxtaposition of

unrelated images, but often

find it difficult to pull off,

so I tried not to over think

the process this time...
Inspired by a Michelle Ward
GPP Street Team challenge.

Art Journal Pages

Last spread in my little watercolor art journal.  Watercolor, Sharpie marker, white Signo Uni-ball pen, assorted painted papers and fabric.  The profile above is actually paint on fabric.

The square mini-collages are  1 1/2" and I make these up several at a time, not knowing how I will end up using them.  The blue section on the right is a 'flap.'

This is what is underneath the blue 'flap.'  The quote is from a poem entitled "Beauty" by E-Yeh-Sure:

Beauty is seen

In the sunlight,

The trees, the birds,

Corn growing and people working

Or dancing for their harvest.

Beauty is heard

In the night,

Wind sighing, rain falling,

Or a singer chanting

Anything earnest.

Beauty is in yourself.

Good deeds, happy thoughts

That repeat themselves

In your dreams,

In your work,

And even in your rest.

Trees

Watercolor and calligraphy on 

watercolor paper.  Collage elements

of painted cheesecloth, papers, fabric

and tissue paper.

A previous post showed

the 'sneak peek' of just the

trees on the left.

Our cottonwood trees 'modeled'

for this painting. 

Now these trees in our yard

are bare.

The leaves turn brown

and fall.  We have to look to

our Maple trees for color 

in the fall!

New Pages

A new page in the Green Journal.

The original page is shown below.

I painted the envelope with watercolor,

painted the margin nearest the spine

with acrylic, and added scraps of

painted papers, collage images,

fabric, scrapbook papers, and 

handwritten text.
(click on the image to enlarge)

 

The tag inside the envelope

shows a poem through the window,

also handwritten text:

November Night

by Adelaide Crapsey

Listen...

with faint dry sound,

like steps of passing ghosts,

the leaves, frost crisp'd,

break from the trees

and fall.

Art Community

Mixed media Art Journal,(which I have dubbed 'The Green Journal') created by Elizabeth of the Altered Book Lover blog.  I continue to be inspired  by her quirky and creative combinations of paper, fabric and images.  This is another set of pages from that journal.  (Click on any image for a closer look.)

After a wonderful day spent with Art friends in Ohio,  I felt the need to count my blessings: for the people who 'get' my art, who encourage me, who help me grow, and provide much needed support.  Thank you to all, both 'face to face' friends, and the on-line community! 

The Green Journal continues:  the tan page (above) with border added and hand-written text, top.  Bottom, the page as it was before altering. E had applied subtle color, and there is a wonderful sparkle to the page that doesn't come through on the scan.

E created the lovely red flowered page (above) with a white envelope protruding from the back side...and the little red bird cut-out.  I added some old wallpaper images before I realized I needed a 'before' picture.  After scanning, I then added fabric and hand-written text. I decided to stop here, as I feel the richly patterned surface is complete.

As I enjoyed laughter, artwork, and techniques with my art friends, we discussed something that you may have discovered yourself, or may be surprised to know.
"What do you do with it?"  people may ask--referring to your art.  It is my belief that the finished product is not necessarily the most important thing.  The process of learning, creating, and enjoying that process can be very therapeutic. Recent research shows that people need to play, even when they are adults. It is a way to relieve stress, have fun, and actually helps us focus and problem solve in other areas of life as a result.  Artists probably didn't need research to tell us this. I think we have always known.  Have some fun with art today!

Various Inspirations

Here is a partial view of a 

mixed media & watercolor

that I've done for a private swap...

some of the cottonwoods 

in our yard.

Mixed media art journal page

in my watercolor journal. 

Scraps of leftover paper & fabric,

craft acrylic paint, and marker.

5 3/4 inches wide by 9 inches high.

Problem Corrected, Hopefully

YAY!!!

After much fiddling, downloading of programs,

and generally trying everything he could think of,

my dear husband thinks he has 

corrected my Blogger problem.

At least. We think so. Only time will tell.

He's not even sure which thing he tried

was the actual fix...

Very glad to be back--

I really missed being able to stay

in touch with the blogging community!

Technical Problems

My computer has been infected with spyware

 and is not letting me log into Blogger.

 I keep getting a "connection interrupted" message... 

I am posting this from another machine to let you know

 I may be away from "blogland" for a bit...

DH has purchased some software to 

take care of the problem, but it may

take a bit of time and effort to 

get back to normal.

Still making art and looking forward

to sharing it with you.

Thanks for your comments

and encouragement. 

later...

Warhol Soup

The Green Journal had a great line drawing

of a Campbell's soup can, just begging

to be colored in...a la Warhol style...

quotes from Andy Warhol surround 

the completed image...

Here is the page before I 

attacked it with fluorescent 

highlighters and my trusty

Extra Fine Point Sharpie marker.

The stitching makes 

great additional texture.

More pages of the Green Journal

to come in the future...

"I am a deeply superficial person."  - Andy Warhol
 

Journal Pages

I am trying the new Design version of Blogger, but it doesn't seem to be letting me insert text between the images...(gnashing of teeth & sounds of frustration here)

Any suggestions would be appreciated...I am not so great at the technology part of blogging...guess I need to break down and look for instructions...

These are pages in the Green Journal that Elizabeth made for me.  It is delightful that she included so many different types of paper, sizes of pages, and clear acetate pockets to put stuff in.  I forgot to take "before" pictures...sorry!

Elizabeth had sewn on the pieces of photo film, so that's what prompted me to put in the movie ticket stubs and an image for the movie 'Prince of Persia.'  The letters spelling out "create" were also included by E.  I'm not sure what prompted me to do the paper cut out face graphic, but I am pleased with the way it turned out. I didn't sketch it first, just grabbed the scissors and started cutting...and

I like how the face peeks out from behind the pages preceding it.