Decos

I've been struggling through some decos this week and these are four of them. I say struggling because I've gone off decos lately for some reason. :o( I think I'm just all deco-ed out for the timebeing, maybe I'll come back to them at some point in the future but for the moment they're not my favourite pastime. I've got three more to finish and then I'll be deco free for a while.



Inked background, stamped embossed violin, text.



Inky paper towel (from Traci Bautista experiments), text, image, foil.



Stamping on monoprint (Traci Bautista again!), alcohol inked backing from number plate number, foil, pen, text.



Encaustic wax background, image, text, ribbon, safety pins.

Hand Art!

Well, I've scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed my hands but they still look like this after yesterday's inky adventures! LOL Mind you, I'm not at work today like Becky is! :oD Might print it out and use in my art journal! It is a one of a kind artwork after all!!

Assemblage

I made this assemblage piece for my friend, Becky, whose birthday is tomorrow. I love the way the piece turned out and couldn't wait to give it to her! She opened it tonight while I was there and not only does she love it but all the family do too! :oD I was really pleased as this piece definitely came from the heart. That's the kind of art I want to make more of, the kind that feels totally right for me, that comes from inside and speaks my art "language" for all to see if that makes any sense! On a lighter note, when Becky asked her 12 year old son where they should hang the piece, his reply was "In the toilet"! LOL He did quickly follow this up with "where we put all the other really cool stuff we have" though! :oD I've had a fab day - Becky and I spent it in painty, inky heaven playing with techniques from Collaged Unleashed! I'm absolutely pooped but I'm feeling at peace with the world and like an artist with something to say!

Drawing

One of the Yahoo groups I belong to has started a project working on techniques that are out of your comfort zone and the first of the topics is good old drawing! I haven't drawn anything in ages although I've been wanting to try and get back to some regular drawing. Anyway, last night I plonked myself down in the living room and drew the fireplace while I was waiting for the breadmaker to finish! And here it is:

Altered Book

My friend, Kari, is hosting a new altered book RR on my Yahoo group. The theme is children's classics and is entitled Literatura Infantil. My book is Anne of Green Gables and this is my sign in page:



The paper I wanted to use wasn't big enough for the spread so I improvised with paint (not a brilliant colour match it has to be said!) and pencil! The players are all snuggled in with their Avonlea classmates in the school register!

This is the first spread in the book:



I wanted to do something simple to start the book off with, using my current favourite colour scheme of beige and black. I'm now wondering if it's a tad boring but I can always add to the spread when my book comes home later this year.

Also, can't resist sharing the dust jacket picture:



How lovely is that picture? I think I'll incorporate it into the covers when the book comes home.

Kilt Pin

Still on a kilt pin kick, this is another that I've made for a friend's birthday:



I had a job to get it laid out prettily on the scanner so it's not looking at it's best! I'm learning something every time I make a kilt pin so by the time I make some for the swaps I'm participating in maybe I'll have cracked all the little problems I've encountered!

Chunky Book Page

I'm running a monthly chunky book page swap on my Yahoo group and this is my page for January.

Background Papers

Had some arty fun with my friend, Becky, today! Collage Unleashed by Traci Bautista finally arrived at the library yesterday so we just HAD to have a play, of course! We didn't have a huge amount of time but we had a bash at the scraping technique, the first one in the book! These are the four sheets that I made:



They're brighter than the pic in real life. I think I may use some of this as backgrounds for some chunky book pages. We were just getting going when we had to pack up but we're planning another day of creative fun and frolics next Wednesday! :oD

More 2006 pieces!

Blogger is being temperamental and wouldn't let me add all the pics in the last post, so here they are:

2006 Review

I've shamelessly stolen this idea from my friend, Kari. :o) On her blog http://www.inkytinker.typepad.com/ Kari reviewed her art work for 2006 and posted some pics of some of it. So, I thought I'd have a look through my artwork for this past year as well. I started off by looking through all my scans and totting up what I'd created. I then had to sit down with a very stiff drink! I was stunned at the total! LOL This is just SOME of my output for 2006:

• 51 ATCs
• 7 greetings cards
• 86 collages
• 54 art journal spreads
• 28 assemblages
• 34 deco spreads
• 46 altered book spreads
• 5 entire altered books
• 93 chunky book pages and
• 7 other pieces that don't fit any of the above categories!

That lot totals 411 pieces of art! Bearing in mind that I don't scan everything I make and I also have artwork that I took digital photos of rather than scanning and they aren't included, I reckon I could be looking at near on 500 pieces of art which has absolutely floored me!! Anyway, while I pull myself together, here's some of my fave pieces from 2006:

Kilt Pin

This is the kilt pin I made for my friend, Elizabeth, for her birthday today. Now she's opened it I can post without spoiling the surprise! :o) The word on the altered button that's a bit obscured is "faith". This was my try out for a couple of forthcoming kilt pin swaps I'm in and I learnt alot from making it!

AB Spread

This is a spread in my friend, Laura's, nature themed AB that I created at my art group this evening. I have a bit of a bird thing going on in my head I think after the birdie mini collages and now this! LOL The background is acrylic paint over black gesso then I added eggs cut from a vintage encyclopedia page, whizzed round them with metallic oil pastels and then just added a wee bit of stamping. :o)

ATC

Finally got around to doing these house themed ATCs this afternoon, there's four and the only difference between them is the text (courtesy of Longfellow, of course!) in the bottom right corners, "broken stairways" is my fave and here it is:



My to do list has shortened to 22 with this one crossed off! Ho hum....

Deco

I have several decos to work on at the moment and this is one I've finished this evening. The theme is "where do you get your zest/heart/vitality?". The scanner didn't take kindly to the shiny silver heart so it looks a bit dark and the wording isn't very clear (it says "being myself"). On the back of the big heart it says "of all the things I am, the one that gives me my zest is...".
The background is watercolour paper.

New Year Assemblage

This morning, whilst up in my studio (well, if I'm going to be an artist it's about time I used the proper words! LOL) I was inspired to create a piece of assemblage to celebrate the New Year. The pictures I took are awful and this scan isn't much better but I wanted to share it anyway on this first clean slate day of 2007. :o)



As the pic is so bad, I feel a little explanation is required! So, the base is a piece of plywood (found in the outhouses) with some paint slapped on. attached to this is a sweet little cake tin with a lightbulb wired on. You can't see at all clearly but I have added the word "hope" on the lightbulb. Last additions were the verdigris screw and the wire with beads as a hanger. I wanted to make something with meaning (to myself) to start this new chapter in my life and I think I have achieved that, in alot of ways this piece sums up what 2007 is going to be all about for me and I'm really pleased with it. ;o) Just wish I had a decent pic of it to share - trust me , it's better in real life than it looks here!! Wishing everyone a happy, creative, inspirational, whatever you wish for yourself, New Year!

Mini Collages

Hot on the heels of the ATCs I made earlier, these are some mini collages for a swap I'm in on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. I haven't been a member for very long and this is the first swap I've taken part in. The backgrounds are spray inks on glossy card. I added images from an old bird book I picked up on my travels and text from Longfellow. I recently bought a battered copy of Longfellow's works from the local junk shop. I love Longfellow and have two copies of my own so I specifically bought this one to use the text in artwork. I'm keeping it on my desk and if text is needed for anything I'm trying to use just this book for a while. :o) A touch of teal Staz-On round the edges and that's that!

ATCs

I haven't felt the urge to make any ATCs for a good while but I recently signed up for a swap being hosted on my Yahoo group on the theme of New year/resolutions/new beginnings. This evening I thought I'd crack on with them nice and early and here they are:



I picked up some foil from the scrapstore before Crimble, different colours from the usual gold and silver - a glorious pink, a green and a turquoisey blue. I used the pink and blue on these but as usual the scanner doesn't do them justice!

Another rubber stamp!

Ok, never mind the mince pies, I've moved on to shortbread now! LOL These are two stamps I made this evening from both sides of a piece of the plastic tray that housed a scrummy selection of shortbread biscuits! :o)

Rubber stamp

I was absent mindedly munching a mince pie yesterday when the plastic packaging it came in caught my eye! LOL The bottoms of the dents where the pies sit had this pretty little pattern on them! Ever thrifty, I chopped one out and this morning I made a rubber stamp from it.

Here it is:


It rather reminds me of Spirograph patterns! :o) I knew I could justify eating one more mince pie! LOL What do you think?

Altered Christmas Card

I found a pack of Christmas cards squirrelled away AFTER I'd sent all I was going to send this year so I thought I'd alter one to share with everyone online. ;o) I bought a teal blue Staz On inkpad recently and I'm a tad obsessed with using it on everything I make! LOL The dark bits around the edges are green foiling but, as ever, the scanner doesn't like them! Anyway, here's the card and a very happy Christmas to one and all! :o)

Christmas Decs

These are two examples of some Christmas decs I made for a few friends this year. I picked up the trees and hearts at the scrapstore during the year and just embellished them with some little extras, nothing too strenuous, just words glued to vintage fuses, washers and beady bits! I had a pleasant time making these, I felt at peace with the world as I sat constructing them thinking about all my lovely arty friends. ;o)

Chunky Book

This is my page and the cover of a little chunky book for a friend on the theme of friendship. The cover is made from a cut down book cover with a (slightly) altered vintage photo attached, the blobs are gold foiling. The page was prompted by the quote.

Background

You know how sometimes you're tinkering about with one thing in mind and then all of a sudden what you're doing takes you off in a different direction? Well, I've had one of those moments this morning and thought I'd share it with you. ;o) I was working on making a green background for some chunky book covers but all of a sudden it turned into a Christmas collage background! The scan hasn't quite captured it's gloriousness but here it is:



What do you reckon? I'm planning on chopping it up and making two or three Christmassy collages that I'll then scan and print out to use for Christmas cards. The leftovers will become 1" collage squares. Just call me thrifty! LOL

AB Spreads

Here's a couple of spreads I've done in an AB belonging to my friend, Kari, on the theme of dreams.
Each of the black squares on the first spread contain a different word.

Everyday Book Spread

This is my final piece for the Everyday Book RR that's been running on my Yahoo group all year. The theme this time was autumnal/family. Inspired by the recent 1" collage swap I hosted I decided to use more of the little cuties for my spread. The collages are quite simple, just appropriate words and pictures, but I really enjoyed making them and found it quite therapeutic. :o)

Assemblage

I've made this little shrine/assemblage piece for my friend, Jill, who's moving home tomorrow. She's offline while preparing for the move so I feel safe in posting this pic! The scan isn't very good (I must get to grips with photographing my work instead) as the light has bounced off the back and it doesn't show the verdigris/rust colours very well! Anyway, it's an old madeline tin with a key and rusty washers wired onto it. I do so love working with knackered metal stuff! LOL The wording at the bottom says "I am home" and is stamped on aluminium tape and then blacked up with gesso. I wanted to convey my message with a simple piece and I hope that's just what I've done!

Decos

These are the decos I've been working on which will be winging their way to Switzerland this afternoon. :o)

First up we have a deco where each spread has to incorporate a transparency. Whilst rummaging about looking for something to use I came across some old slides of Venice so went with that as my theme. It was a bit of a pfaff cutting the holes, not being the most accurate soul in the world, but it worked out fine. ;o)

Second, we have a deco entitled Golden Dreams. The text doesn't show very well on this scan but it says "golden slumbers kiss your eyes".

Next is a body parts themed deco. This pic doesn't really show the colours very well, in the light you can see the golds and reds over the black gesso
.
And last is my fave, a winter wonderland themed deco. I wasn't at all inspired by this one until I found the text and then it all just came together as these things do! ;o) I'm a sucker for beaded trim so that's probably why it's my favourite!


Ok, that's enough deco talk for one day!

Chunky Book Page

This is my effort for a Christmas recipe themed chunky book. Although my recipe isn't exactly Christmassy, it is one I make for special occasions as it's dead easy and totally delicious. :o) Yellow isn't a colour I work with alot (I had to beg fibres as I have so little yellow stuff!) but I thought it would be nice to use it as a step away from traditional red/green for Christmas. Probably means it'll stick out like a sore thumb but hey, who wants to fit in?? LOL DH brought the metal banana shapes home from work, they're stainless steel though so I used alcohol inks to make them a more bananaesque colour. :o)

Mini Collages

These are my batch of 1" square mini collages for the swap I'm hosting on my Yahoo group. I spent a very pleasant time with my friend, Becky, today making these. :o) There's nothing like good company and someone else's supplies within arm's reach! LOL

Altered Tin & Book

I've been working on a swap piece for a challenge on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. The idea of the challenge was to create a piece of artwork inspired by this quote:

There is an Indian proverb that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, an emotional, a mental, and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room everyday, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.
Rumer Godden

I decided to alter a house shaped tin I had and make an altered book to go inside it. I sanded the tin and then gessoed it before stamping randomly all over it. I then added the border around the bottom and fiddled about with gold foil around the edges of the shapes. On the lid I stamped the four "rooms" along the edges and wireded embellishments through the four holes that DH drilled for me. ;o) Each embellishment represents one of the "rooms" - spiritual - feather, mental - spiral, physical - body and emotional - heart. The chunky board board book that I altered is more of the same (gesso, stamping and gold foil), with hand written quotes for each "room". The book sits in white net inside the tin.

Here's a few pics but there's more on my Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/58739721@N00/

Another sketch!

I went to London this weekend to see a show for a friend's birthday and we stayed over in a hotel. I was lying in bed, wide awake, while my two friends slept peacefully, pondering the painting reflected in the mirror opposite and decided that since I wasn't sleeping I might as well use my time wisely and propped myself up on the pillows and drew the view! Here's the end result! It all went a bit pear shaped as I wrestled with defective perspective and trying to put shadows in but it filled a wee bit of what turned out to be a loooong pretty sleepless night!!