Tag Archives: links

Jen’s Challenge Week 3

monoprint1, originally uploaded by Charger’s Mommy.

This is one of the monoprints I made last night as part of Jen’s Weekly Challenge. I used the stencil resist method and went with a heart theme for upcoming V-Day. The extra heart on the left side is the cut-out that was used as the resist for the print. Basically I had some pieces of plexi-glass in my collage bin, I smeared some blue and red acrylic paint on it and moved it around with my brushes. Then I placed a cut out heart on the paint and then printed with some pieces of paper that already had images or background printing on them. I wanted a very layered look. Finally, scanned this after over 30 mins of downloading new drivers and restarting numerous times to get my old scanner to work with the new vista computer… ahhhh technology!

Peter Clark

This guy uses paper in a way I have dreamed of! these pieces seem to be 3-dimensional and have so much detail and texture. They are wonderful! He has a dog series that looks pet-able and a clothing series that look wearable. The website is easy to navigate too.

Check it out!

Collage Unleashed

So yesterday Shawn wanted to trade in his car for a new sporty one… (perhaps a mid-life crisis thing?) Anyhow, I had to go along since my name is on the loans, but I knew it would be HOURS of boring sitting and number crunching. So I brought a stack of books to read and view to entertain myself. I actually READ through the entire Collage Unleashed by Traci Bautista. I have been planning to do some projects out of this book for a while, perhaps even ALL of them like Eliza is doing, and I already did do one for Jen’s challenge last week. Lots of great ideas in there. BUT I really need to organize my studio so that I can get going on some of them. Luckily the two go hand in hand as Jen’s Challenge this week is Mono-printing and that is also in Traci’s book. So if I could only convince myself to clean off my desk!

While reading and waiting I also made it mostly through The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery by Karen Michel and Free-Style Quilts by Susan Carlson.

I think I was MOST inspired by the Free-Style Quilts since fabric is really what I want to be doing… part of me wants to just purge ALL my paper stuff… and make more room for fabric stuff. But I still do like to create with paper sometimes and it hurts to thinking of getting rid of so much stuff. I know I could just take it all to school and therefore still have access to it, while letting the kids use it. But even that sounds like a huge chore.

I am working on a “hand” series right now… though it is mostly in development phase right now. While looking through Free-Style Quilts, I realized this picture would make a great fabric or paper collage…. so next will be sketchs and patterns to turn this into some arty goodness…

stay tuned!

Guiding Word

4422Still on my hunt for tips and tricks for setting SMART Goals I ran across Christine’s Blog. There are SO many wonderful and creative people out there, it is hard not to spend the whole day on the computer exploring… So anyway, she suggests a GUIDING WORD to be an alternative to resolutions. She has done this and blogged about it for a few years and I really like the idea. Here are a few of the words from her list that are grabbing me… but I will need to ponder and settle on one for the year that fits my other goals and plans as well as my overall direction.

Growth: this can cover a lot of areas… and I strive to always grow and be open to growth… but this word really was a great focus for me a few years ago when I returned to school for my masters and did a lot of mental health healing. Not that I can’t use a word just because it was a past focus, but I think I am not in this part of my life cycle right now.  

Health: This one fits my fitness goals but doesn’t really cover any of my other ones.

Action: This one could address my fitness goals and my art ones as well… so I am leaning towards it.

Adventure: My life has become so settled and kinda in a rut…so I feel like I want some adventure but I think I am too comfortable to really use it as a focus word.

Discipline: This word is a tough one for me… something I really need more of but something I hate! It has a real negative connotation in my mind, so I hesitate to use it, but If I could wrap my mind around the positive aspects and really focus on it in every area of my life it could be a good thing.

Artfulness or Creativity: I think these are such a part of my life and person that I don’t need the word to drive my actions anymore.

One word that she didn’t list that popped into my head right away is Interact. I really want to participate in art groups (both live and online) as well as my teacher community more. Plus join some fitness events, and generally get-out-more! not be such a homebody… I think this word might be in the top three of possibilities.

Fiber Favorites

Sewing: I like to sew, I love fabric and make quilts, dolls and other fiber art. Here are some links for buying and using fabric.

http://www.threadbared.com/ A fun site that shows old patterns and all things weird re: clothing

Fabric: quilts, dolls, fabric books

AADA Artist Doll Gallery The Academy of American Doll Artist Foundation, Inc. Continue reading →

My Favorite Sites of 2006

art propensity Chosen for TOP TEN, not only because she is really coming into her own style with her dolls, but also because her web site is really top notch. Patricia Anders,  claiming my propensity for art on this spec of the world wide web where I weave my work into galleries of:  figurative sculpture, art dolls, “Diva Dollie” jewelry sets, and flat art

DJ Pettitt Chosen for TOP TEN, because I LOVE and WANT one of her fantastic purses. Creating artwork using original photographs and drawings, vintage ephemera, found objects, newly painted papers, and recycled papers. Substrates include stretched and unstretched canvas, Stonehenge and watercolor paper, recycled book covers, and fabric, all treated with a variety of polymer mediums, acrylic paint, glazes, and colored pencil. Original images are created using a combination of digital and traditional collage methods.

Keith lobue Mixed media, Chosen for TOP TEN, not only for his artwork, but also for his amazing web site! Keith E. Lo Bue’s work with found objects gave rise in October of 1989 to his first solo exhibition, entitled Oddments. In the ensuing years his work has evolved into minute constructed environments, oftentimes viewed through lenses, that have been called “diminutive museums, reliquaries of dreams.” (Raymond Smith) His art has been recognized and selected for awards by Senior Curators at the Museum Of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the American Craft Museum. Solo exhibitions have occurred in New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, Westport, CT and several other cities.

Kirsten Francis Printmaker Chosen for TOP TEN, because I have LOVED this artist since I saw her work at the Bellevue Fair YEARS ago. Here method of printmaking is inspiring and her subjects are deep and filled with symbolism. Woodblock Print Creation Process I use the color reduction printmaking technique, whereas only one woodblock is used to print successive layers or runs of color. I begin by drawing directly onto the plywood block with pencil and fixing the image with a spray varnish.
Each run of  color is then made by repeatedly carving out additional areas of the wood block,  rolling the block up with an oil-based ink, and then printing it on to paper  using an etching press in my home studio. I build up the image, layer upon  layer, starting with the lightest colored inks and progressing to the darkest. I  usually print 8 runs using between 8 and 13 different colors.

 

Off the Hook Studios, Art by Jami Moffett what can I say I just love this site.