Today in History

Today has been a very stressful day for the east coast of the US.  We've been experiencing hurricane "Irene".  The backside of the storm is finally beginning to depart the NC coastal areas where she first made landfall but none too soon.  This has been an ongoing event for over 24 hours.  She did extensive damage and sadly there were lives lost from the storm.  My heart goes out to those families.  The clouds parted long enough for me to see this beautiful sunset.  It signals, for me, the calm after the storm.

Poppies

Text on this AJ page is:  Flowers are loved by all for their beauty,

Earthquake

So today on the east coast we had a rare earthquake.  It was in VA, but we felt it here.  It was a 5.8 quake, not causing much damage.  But for awhile it created quite a stir.  I was sitting on my couch working on the computer and felt the house shake.  Very freaky feeling.   I decided to do a quick AJ page to document the event and to get some of the feelings out on paper.  I only had a few minutes and really had no time to think, just put it on paper.  Sometimes that makes the best pages.  Create without thinking!

AJ page with pan pastels

Worked with charcoal pencil, stamped with pan pastels, then pan pastels for background.  I did this page to try the technique of putting pan pastels on the stamp and then spritzing with water before stamping.  I like the effect and will use it again.  The more I use the pan pastels the more I see how they can be used.  If you've never tried them, I highly recommend you try.  You are able to get such wonderful effects of depth in color and blending is super easy.  I will probably add something else to this page at some point.... or maybe not. 


I decided to add some text to complete the page.  "The silence of a flower".

AJ page

Tulips

AJ page of tulips.  DD stamp, acrylics, pan pastels and charcoal pencil.

Mr. Jeremy Fisher

I wanted to work with oil pastels some more so I did this AJ page inspired by the children's book about the frog Mr. Jeremy Fisher.  I used oil pastels, pan pastels, Golden fluid paints and charcoal pencil.

Journal reads:  Once upon a time there was a frog named Mr. Jeremy Fisher.  He lived in a little damp house among the buttercups at the edge of a pond.

She Art Girl

Another Christy Tomlinson inspired "She Art Girl".  I think maybe she's not finished yet.  It's always good to take a picture and see the piece from that advantage.  This helps to see if you need to add something to make it more cohesive.  I may do some more work on her and them add the final picture.  

Oh yeh, she needed some help.  Looking at the picture, I realized I didn't even do her left wing. Isn't that crazy that looking directly at the page I didn't even notice that it was missing.  I added her wing and the text.  Now she looks complete.

AJ pages using oil pastels

Two different versions of AJ pages inspired by Pam Carriker.

Imagination

I started the AJ page by gluing fabric scraps to the page, adding gesso and color to the background.  I decided I wanted to go with the butterfly and birds, then added the girl.  After that I just continued to build the background which has several layers and different types of paint, pan pastels and charcoal pencil work. I wrote the sentiment and kept adding layers until I felt that it all blended together and expressed what I wanted to express.  When I finished, I realized that the original fabric scraps are barely visible but have great texture.  I think that I'll start another page and leave a little more of the fabric background.  That's what is so fun about AJ pages.  They give you the opportunity to experiment without a lot of time or supplies invested in the outcome.  The more you experiment, the better you become.  You are able to see how the products work, what you like or don't like and best of all you can just have FUN.

Quote

I found this quote by Kelly Rae Roberts and it just sums up how I feel when I am creating:

"I've been making art and I think I need to make art every single day. I just love it. Time stands still, I pause for freedom, for stillness, for inspiration and my heart breathes its fullness into the work - a welcomed and needed release of love, of creative energy, of a life unfolding."

What is an ATC ?

                                   I found this wonderful explanation on Joumana Medlej's blog:

"The very basics"

"As their name indicates, ATC are collectables, a brilliant idea born of the older sports-themed trading cards. The one rule that makes an ATC derives from this: the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5"x3.5", or 64x89mm.

To this rule are appended a couple of conventions. First, an ATC mustn't be sold, only exchanged, as the whole essence of these tiny works of art is about artists meeting (by correspondence or online if need be) and exchanging their works, thus meeting many artists and getting exposed to many personal styles.

Second, on the back of each ATC the artist writes part or all of the following information: name, contact information, title of the ATC and number (1/8, 2/8...) if it's part of an edition. By definition ATCs are made in limited numbers, often no more than one of a kind. Unique ATCs are called originals; sets of identical ATCs are called editions and are numbered; sets of ATCs that are based on one theme but that are different are called series. Don't be intimidated by the concept of small editions or originals: very few people are anal about this. What most collectors really want are cards that were made with care. Based on that, numbers are meaningless.

That's all! The above is all you need to know to start making your own ATCs. Common sense dictates that they should be sturdy enough to survive mailing, and of reasonable thickness (unless you specifically want them otherwise. Transparent card sleeves are useful to protect the cards if need be. This is particularly true if they can easily get smudged or if the medium might stick during transport."

This is an ATC that I did for a PAO swap.  Rules: use at least one Tim Holtz product.  This one is actually my ATC and a little different than the one's I swapped.  I used TH papers, TH paper tape, and pan pastels for color.  It was a 9 for 9 swap, so I sent 9 and will receive 9 little works of art from my friends.  Now how cool is that?  I love participating in ATC swaps.  It is a chance to send/receive to/from my artistic friends.  I have them displayed in a 3 ring notebook placed in plastic trading card holders.

Lovely Ladies

These all began from giant puzzle pieces which are approximately 9"x7".  I didn't think to take a picture of them before creating these, but here are the final pieces.  I am swapping the top and bottom ones, and keeping the middle one.  I have a Paris theme going, and wanted it for a companion piece.

Mini canvas

I love summer.  It is a time where the warm weather and beckoning beaches slow down the pace a little.  I love to sit on the beach and relax with a good book or some soothing music.  I love to grab my camera and catch a beautiful sunset. This canvas was inspired by some of those gorgeous changes of color in the night sky.



Top canvas: Inspired by a summer beach sunset  (This one will be sent to the winner of the PAO July lottery which I am hosting.)

Bottom canvas: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

2 1/2 " canvas done with pan pastels.  These were fun and will do some more.  They were easy and quick.  I just had to decide the subject and begin.

Awesome

Well, sorry I've been MIA.  Having vacation fun and been so busy.  I did win the June lottery for fairies and the art I've received has been awesome.  I did  have a chance to do many scrapbook pages while gone and a Christy Tomlinson inspired "She Art" canvas.   I stayed up until 2:00 AM one morning working on her.  She was such fun and I was so absorbed in the art that I didn't even realize the time.

Be prepared

Be ready when the spirit strikes!
I saw this is an article by  Barb:

"Whether you're into collaging, sketching, painting, journaling, or something else, if you have your art supplies at the ready, you won't miss a creative opportunity, no matter where you are.

What perfect weather for sitting outside and sketching...doodling...journaling. This doesn't mean you'll want to create every time you're able to just sit, but I am here to encourage you to be prepared for the moment(s) when your Muse encourages you to make art. Whether you're sitting in your own backyard, on the beach while on vacation, or relaxing in some far-off exotic place,  you can make art IF you're prepared."  Barb


This is so true!  Recently on a ride home from the beach I was able to draw and paint a poppy AJ page and to draw and paint the base layer of a She Art girl.  Later at home I was able to finish her quickly.  I had only a few supplies with me on the ride, but because I did, I was able to create art when the mood stuck.

Spread your wings and let the fairy in you fly!

This is my entry for the June Fairy lottery challenge at PAO.  She's a small art quilt.  I sure hope I win so I can keep her.  She was fun to make and has many, many layers.  I am going to attach some pictures taken as I progressed.

Step 1-6:  5 layers of fabric, darkest on top.  Free motion quilt circles so that you can cut away layers until you reached the last layer.  At some point in the quilt you have exposed a piece of each layer.  Brayer white gesso over the top, then use a background stamp with black paint (not ink pad ink since it won't take to the fabirc as well), making sure to dry in between layers.  Then I added paint from oil sticks, Stickles, Golden paints, Dyna Flow fabric paint, MS glitter, and metallic rub on paint.  You can add anything you want to give more color and depth.

Step 7-10:   I used Golden molding paste and a daisy and a flourish stencil(s) to give some added depth.  Let them dry and colored with Golden paints.  I stamped the fairy, colored her with Prisma colored pencils, added glitter for some bling.  I cut her out and popped her off the page for dimension using Liquid Scrap dots.  This allowed her to stand out and not fade into the quilt. Then took some flowers, glittered to make the flowers and butterfly.  

I decided she needed something else to pop her since even though she was popped up, she still seem to fade into the quilt to much.  I found some very sheer fabric and created a bed of fabric behind her to separate her from the quilt background.  I was very pleased with the finished quilt which is featured in the first photo.

She was fun to do and I know that I'll make more art quilts using part of this process.  The stamped was unique to this challenge and may not use that process again, or will I ?

Art Journal page

I am doing a Fairy lottery challenge over at PAO.  This is isn't my entry but just a fun little AJ page using the fairy theme. She makes me smile.  Drew her, painted with watercolor, accented with pan pastels and glitter.

Art Journal page

Here's a page from my AJ.  It's done in watercolors and pan pastels.

Why Art Journals ?

Keeping an Art Journal is a fulfilling and creative experience.  I can choose to write about the little things in life, reflections about my day....or my Journal can be purely decorative!  My journals tend to be on the more decorative side.  It’s whatever I want it to be.  That’s what I love about art journaling.  I am in charge of what goes on the pages....the book is just for me.  (Unless I want to share it, but that’s my choice.)   I do share some of my pages in this blog and participate in swaps with other artistic friends where I journal in their books.  Now that will take you out of your comfort zone, but is so rewarding.   It is a place where I can experiment and try new types of media.  I always have five or six journals going at the same time.

If you've never tried art journaling, I'd encourage you to give it a try.  There is no right or wrong way to journal, it is whatever you desire to create.  You will be amazed at how much fun a journal can be.

AJ page for swap

This was a page I did for a recent Art Journal swap.  I used pan pastels.

She Art Girl

I didn't take the She Art class by Christy Tomlinson but wanted to try my hand in making one of the girls. Sunday I was in the car riding back from the beach and decided to give it a go. That was new for me to draw and paint while riding. All I had with me was the blank AJ page, pencil, water soluble wax pastels and a water brush. I had no patterns or pics, just my memory/imagination. I got her drawn and colored right before we got home (the first pic). Last night I couldn't sleep so I decided to finish her. I'm pretty pleased with the way she turned out. Think I'll try a canvas next.

Birthday card

I used some of the scraps from several other challenges to make a birthday card for a friend.

Tim Holtz ideology challenge

I made this for a PAO Tim Holtz ideology challenge.  You had to use some thing from his ideology line.  Had this in mind for awhile and finally got it done.

Vintage Woman

I did this vintage lady for a May Lottery Challenge.  Random winner will be drawn and receive all the creative artwork from those who participated.