Fun in the Studio!

This past week, I've had fun playing in my studio.  Here are the pieces I created - two different frames of mind are reflected - upbeat for spring, and more of an vintage feel.  All were fun to create and hopefully to view!

 

 

A Tree in Winter

(10" x 5")



 

I keep noticing how leaves sometimes just don't want to let go and fall off trees, even in the dead of winter.  This piece reflects that - the tree is bare but for one leaf still hanging on.  The piece is on a wood substrate and includes text pages, an image of a tree I photographed and then printed on rice paper, paint, a stamp pad dragged over the piece and some metal leaves. 

Paris, 1924

(10 1/2" x 7 1/2")

 

Here's another piece with a more vintage feel to it.  For whatever reason, this piece seemed to want to be about Paris.  I again used a wood substrate with text pages and paint to build up some layers.  I then placed pieces of a napkin on the various wood pieces, some stamps with a air mail feel to them, some stamps that had a definite French air about them, and a couple of vintage postcards, one of a scene in Paris from back in the early 20th century. 

Spring Romance

(10 1/2" x 9")

 

Now, my creative muse switched to a much lighter frame of mind, looking forward to spring.  Can't you just feel romance in the air when you look at this piece?  Paint, decorative tissue paper and lace sit on a wood substrate.  I then topped it off with an apparent piece of what I like to think of as a love letter, some butterflies and a spring bloom. 

 

Sing!

(9 1/2" x 6 1/2")

 

Thinking of spring does bring out the whimsical side of me, and you can see it in this piece!  This time, I sprayed alcohol inks onto the text covered wood substrate, and added flowers, a butterfly and a bird made from polymer clay.  I also used bits of leftover fabrics and added some stenciled text to finish the piece.  Makes me happy just looking at this piece!

 

Enjoy!

(Note:  If you want any of these pieces for your home or as a gift, you can find them in my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/studio39designs )

 



New Mixed Media Art !

Here's some new art that I've completed over the past few weeks..... you can click on each image to see a larger view.

 

The above is a set of 4 mixed media pieces using photo images that I've taken.  Each piece is a separate piece - I just put all 4 in one image to make putting them out on the blog easier!  These are all cars or trucks that are completely wrecked - the two on the left were in a junkyard, the bottom right truck was in the Seattle area and the one in the upper right corner used to be on Old Rt. 66 not far from where we now live.....but it's now gone.  Glad I got the images of that one when I did!

These are the latest additions to the Whimzy Lane collection.  The themes are Bloom (the tall one on the right), Joy (upper right), Sing (middle right) and Shine (lower right).  Again, each house stands on its own - I just put them onto one image for the sake of the blog.

 

Enjoy!

Wood Block Houses!

What fun!  I saw similar wood block houses in a creative magazine I subscribe to - and I thought they looked so fun, I had to try my hand at it.  I really like the whimsical feel they have.  

The houses start off as 2' x 4' pieces of wood.  Jeff had a scrap piece laying around the hanger, and cut it up for me.  The base of the house is one piece, and the roof is a similar piece, but cut in half diagonally.



I sanded the blocks a bit and then covered them with various pieces of text and music.  I then painted them with white paint and then wiped it off, to create a sort of whitewash.  I then did the same with various colors.

I then applied some various texture "stamps"  - bubble wrap, the bottom of flip flops, hair comb teeth, etc.!  I also added in some paint swipes of other colors.  (By the way, don't you love the funky shape of this roof?  Jeff thought it was a mistake, but I think it's character!) 

I then added a number of cut-outs, stencils, and drilled some holes in the roofs to add whimsical jeweled mobiles or wind chimes - whatever you want to call them! The icing on the cake are the positive affirmation words used on each house.  I'm thinking of putting them up for sale in my future online shop - what do you think I should call them?  I'm open for ideas!!

 

Enjoy!

Mainly Green Chunky Book Swap

One of my new favorite forms of art is what's called a Chunky Book.  The pages measure 4" x 4" and the pieces have some sort of dimension to them (that's the "chunk").  I participate in swaps so that I get multiple pages from different artists and share pages with them.  The theme of this swap is "Mainly Green".  Take a look.....

The page above is what I call "Birds of a Green Color".  The peacock may not be totally green, but the tail feathers definitely have green in them.  I added the little green & yellow bird, and some other green papers.  The stitching around the page is embroidery thread in a variegated green color.

I enjoyed this vintage image of the woman, and thought she'd be perfect for this theme.  I added some spangles, a little umbrella from one of those fancy drinks, and a feather.

This is a cocktail napkin that had green bottles on it, and the glass of wine is white wine - Green and white!

I think these are Lilies of the Valley, and some tiny pearl like beads on what I think was florist wire that reminded me of the flowers.  I added some artificial white leaves to add a touch of something delicate to match the flowers.

This last piece is an abstract with just various shades of green.  The 3 circles are actually buttons.

 

Enjoy!

Chunky Book Pages - Mainly Red

The assignment for this chunky book swap was RED!  Thought I'd share some of the finished pieces ~

I actually made up 2 of these - one digital (above) except for the key I added, and the other (below) the traditional paper type collage.  The car (or what's left of it!) was one in a junk yard that we happened to be driving by last month.  Couldn't resist taking a photo of that!

The above piece is sort of an abstract on red with some touches of lighter colors.  The white flower was cut out from some really cool handmade paper scraps that I picked up at an artist shop in ABQ.  Love that red button!

The above image was a napkin glued to my background, which is why it has that sort of dreamy feel to it.  Anyone who knows me knows I couldn't possibly do a collage swap about red without some reference to red wine!  I added the bit of cork (from a bottle of red wine, no less!) and stitched around the edge of the piece.

And, finally, I had to do the traditional "red" topic of roses, using a vintage image of a red rose adding in hearts, including the one peeking out from behind the page!

 

Enjoy!

Chunky Book Pages - Garden Life

I completed another chunky book page swap, this one with the theme of Garden Life.  Of course, I focused on flowers, and put a tag in each page with a quote about gardens or nature.  Below each of the pages is the quote on the tag -

The Amen! of Nature is always a flower.......Oliver Wendell Holmes

My garden is an honest place........Ralph Waldo Emerson

All gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so.......

Joseph Joubert

Every flower is a soul blossoming in Nature.....Gerard de Nerval

Earth laughs in flowers.....Ralph Waldo Emerson

All gardening is landscape painting......Alexander Pope

 

Enjoy!

Another Chunky Book Swap - Houses!

I just finished my second chunky book swap pages. These were to be in the shape of a house, so they are actually larger than the 4" x 4" chunky book page size.  They end up being 4" by 6".

 

This first book page is one I call "Romantic House".  I tried something a bit different.  I took a page of text (in this case a dictionary page) and printed an image on it.  I really like the dreamy quality to this, and will probably use it on future  projects!  The background is actually fabric that I found at our local quilt shop.  

 

I thought this was a fun page.  The background, which makes up most of the page, is a napkin.  The 3 "dots" are the edges of some wine corks that I have. I added the rose in the wine glass, so I'm calling this - what else? - Wine and Roses.  Go ahead, groan!

Isn't this a fun page?  I used raffeta (is that how it's spelled?) for the "roof" area, added some shells, and the image on the piece is a sort of Monet-like image of a surfer guy coming back from the beach.  I like the whimsy of this piece!

Here's an image of the loveliness of a nice warm house with a couple of books to read while it's winter weather outside - as evidenced by the glimpse out the window of the 2 girls attempting to skate!  And, a personal note - the photo of the girls are my Mom & Aunt Helen when they were young girls!

Isn't this a fun piece?  I guess I'm ready for spring!  The bird is a fun lighthearted harbinger of what's to come.  I just love the bright colors - and the flowers are actually something I did freehand.  I know, not much, but for someone who thinks she can't draw, I thought they came out pretty good!

Enjoy!

Postage People ATCs

Today, I worked on an ATC swap and thought you might like to see some of the results!  The theme was "postage people" using postage stamps for the heads of the people.  The first card, below, used a postage stamp of a very young Queen Elizabeth.  I sort of pretended that she was still a princess, since she looked so young!

This next care used the bodies of an older couple posing for a semi-formal picture.  I found 2 stamps - a woman and a man that seemed perfect for the feel of this.  I have no idea who these folks are, as they were foreign stamps, and I couldn't tell what country they were from (ok, I didn't look very hard either!).  They just looked so serious and somber, I couldn't help but decide to name this piece "Happy Couple" !

This last card reflects opposites, in a way.  Again, I have no idea who the woman is in the stamp, but she seemed perfect for the picture of a young woman posing for a more formal portrait photograph.  So, I combined the 2 and then put her on a background that had a very busy, vibrant absract design to it - sort of the opposite of the "Prim & Proper" title!

Enjoy!

Cool Background Papers

One of the coolest techniques for creating background papers for collage/mixed media involves the cleaner/degreaser called CitraSolv and a magazine with high quality pages, like National Geographic.  I'm lucky enough to have a sweetie who subscribes to National Geographic (thanks, Jeff!) and gives me his magazines when he's done with them.  I can't take credit for this technique - I've read about it in a number of different places.  You simply brush or spritz the CitraSolv onto the magazine pages, press the pages together, let them sit for about 10-15 minutes, and then gentle pull the pages apart.  You then need to let the pages completely dry.  I usually give them about 24 hours or at least overnight.  These pages were some that I did yesterday.  The results are always unpredictable, since it's about how the print loosens and sort of merges with what's on the other page.  

I really love how the first page turned out.  I don't know why the type didn't run, but I sure am glad it didn't - the phrase seems to add just the right touch to the page!

I found the page below to be pretty cool, too.  Somehow the image of the surfer survived and is sort of faded into the other print effects.  I think this would be a great background for the digital collages that I'm playing with.

Here's another neat effect.  I wasn't even aware of the face on the page - her blue eye really sort of pops and grabs your attention, doesn't it?  Another great background for digital collage!

The image below is more like what I find when I do this technique - very surreal and otherworldly.  I just love how soft the effect is with this page.  Also, in the lower left corner, there's some very faint impression of text.  I have no idea if it was on this page originally, but it is cool.

This last image is another abstract, this time with a splotch of turquoise in it.  I sometimes wish I could remember what the original page looked like, but when I do this, I just work quickly and in batches of pages or an entire magazine, so I have no way of knowing or remembering what the page first looked like.

Enjoy!

Newest Mini-Art Pieces

I was playing in the studio last weekend, and created these two new pieces of mini-art.  Not sure if I totally like this first piece - I think it's the raffia that is giving me pause.  I do like the feel of the turquoise color with the white shells, tho.  Any suggestions re the raffia?

I do like this second piece, tho.  I got some feathers from a friend a while ago, and thought one would make a great focus for a piece.  I added the butterfly  to lightly balance it.  On this piece, I do like the raffia - go figure!

Enjoy!!

Artist Arches ATCs

For this ATC swap, the theme was to have the ATC be in the shape of an arch of some sort, and have the word "art" reflected in the piece.  I enjoyed this challenge, and thought I'd share some results!

The above piece has the word "art" spelled out in some artistic stamps that I found.  They aren't real postage stamps, just sort of art stamps.  The background of the piece is layers of paint over an aerial map - an old one that Jeff doesn't use any longer!  I also added some rubber stamped images on it. 

This piece used book pages as the background, with paint and a marble effect rubber stamp over it.  I then used a scrap piece of handmade paper, stamped with the word "art" and a butterfly image to complete the piece.

This piece has sheet music covered by paint and rubber stamps as the background.  Again, I used a piece of handmade paper stamped with the words "primitive art".  The image of the woman reminded me of the type of art that seems somewhat primitive, kind of like a Grandma Moses type of art.

And, finally this piece speaks to the supplies we need to create art.  Again, book pages covered with paint and some circles stamped from using an old pill bottle make up the background.  The image of used crayons speak to how most of our supplies look after a while!

Enjoy!

Winter Themed Found Poetry ATCs

I just completed an ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap that I really enjoyed!  The stated theme for the swap was "winter themed found poetry".  Found poetry is basically poetry that one creates by using words and phrases found in books.  I use book pages that I've removed from books that I've altered.  It's always interesting to see how the words and phrases sort of "grab" you and somehow just manage to come together!  Each of the pieces has paint as the background - white, with silver sort of wiped over that (with a baby wipe) and then stamped images of snowflakes and occasionally a punched snowflake.  I wanted to create the feeling of a winter snow storm as the background for these.

For the above piece, I used a transparency on which I stamped the image of the face.  She has sort of a dreamy, private feel to her, and that type of persona seems to sometimes just generate rumors and negative thoughts among certain folks.  The phrases I found just seemed to fit that overall feeling.  Somehow, I like to think she rises above all of that.

What is winter without the Christmas holidays (or whatever holiday you celebrate)?  For this piece, I again used a piece of transparency stamped with an image of a face.  This time, I colored in her eye and her lips - after all, she is at a holiday party (in my imagination)!  I then found these phrases that just sort of created the feeling of her standing back at the party and reflecting on all the other people there enjoying themselves, and thinking about what she'd like to have happen.

There was something about this young man that appealed to me.  He seems to be sort of interested and up for some sort of new adventure, but hesitant just the same.  The phrases seemed to fit, altho I have to wonder what the question was that created those possible answers.  The bird just seemed to add the perfect touch, like he represents us, an audience watching the next installment of this young man's life unfold!

This final piece reminded me of those times, either as a child or an adult, when I would be standing by a window, watching what was going on outside - a sort of invisible all-seeing eye, in a way.  The reference to "silence" also reminds me of how muffled everything sounds right after a snow storm, as if Nature is just telling us to "hush".

Enjoy!

Mixed Media Mini Art

Here's a new idea that I tried initially to submit a Readers' Challenge to Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine for possible publication (still haven't heard if my piece is selected).  It gave me the idea to take the idea I had for note cards, and use that idea on mini-canvases.  These are the results of that exploration, and were Christmas presents for some friends this Christmas.

The above piece is based on a photograph that I took of a lily in our front garden this past summer.  I used PhotoShop Elements 10 to enhance the image so that it looks more like a painting that a photo.  The background of the piece is a couple of layers of paint in a color complementary to the photo.  I then added some handmade paper, and other decorative paper to slightly contrast the color palette, and added the word "Live".  My feeling is that we should all strive to truly live each day of our lives, and not let life pass us by while we are unthinking passengers.

This piece speaks to me in terms of reminding me to be fully present every day.  The bright yellow flowers were taken this past summer when we were in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  It would have been very easy for me to miss these beautiful blooms, given all the beautiful blooms in that area of Victoria. However, slowing down and looking down showed me these wonderful treasures.  Again, I added handmade and decorative paper to complement/contrast the basic palette of the piece.  Ribbon is added around the edges of each piece, which you couldn't really see in the first piece, but is more noticeable in this piece.  And, the word "Be" speaks to being present. 

There was something about this fern leaf that reached out and touched me when I saw it.  We were in Juneau, and had ridden the tram there up to the top of the mountain immediately next to the city.  Atop the mountain was a rain forest with a path winding thru it.  This fern was one of several photos I took up there, but it just sort of spoke to me as being the best image to use for this piece.  I love the fact that the handmade paper I chose to complement it has a leaf embedded in it that seems to echo the image.

This final piece uses a digital collage that I created as it's theme.  I love the image of the little girl and there is some handwritten paper in the background of the piece.  The autumn leaves reflect the coloring of the little girl, and the original title of the digital collage piece was "Someday I'll Write".  I decided to stick with that title and used the word "Someday" for this piece.  The snippet of handmade paper with handwriting stamped on it echoes the handwriting in the digital collage and the decorative paper is in keeping with the color palette.  The little piece of ephemera I added to the piece is not a feather, altho it sort of looks like one here.  It's actually a piece of sort of fuzzy ribbon that I thought added just the right touch.  I really like the sort of whimsical dreamy feel of this piece.

Enjoy!