Monday, February 26, 2007

Spring is on the way

We had a wonderful surprise visit yesterday. Kevin and boys came. It was a beautiful early spring day and my dear son motivated me to get outside and do a few chores. Lord knows that my gardens got neglected last year. I feel like with his help, I have a little head start and desire to get back to my gardens this year. You know it's about the "balance" I spoke of early in the new year.

Aren't these paper whites beautiful? They faithfully show themselves each year before anything else.

More later,
Sharon

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Cabinet of Curiosities

Art Curiosities
Happiness

Happiness to me is a very simple lesson I learned so so many years ago. And he said, "if you want to be happy, you will be happy."

and so

i am happy

it is all in my hands

it is up to me

i make me happy

art makes me happy

a lot of things make me happy

it is all in my hands

Friday, February 23, 2007

Calendar Doodle for the week

Oh mercy, I just had a fortune cookie. It said, "You are soon going to change your present line of work." Could it be? I've added that little piece of paper to the above calendar page, which by the way, doesn't have to make sense to anyone but me.

So, how is your weekend shaping up? Mine is going to be ART-FULL. You know what that means....I will be showing and telling...I hope. So,
More later,
Sharon

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Cabinet of Curiosities

My tiny book of Art Curiosities
Theme 6 Collections
Here is my collection of glass baskets. It was very nice to have this prompt from Artsymama as I would have never taken the time to photograph or chronicle or present in an artistic way my collection. I made a tiny book with two signatures to go inside my tiny book.
I first had to photograph the collection. Some baskets are captured in their setting. Some I staged the photograph.
This exercise was also about hands. I purposely took pictures with my hands. Just to say...these are mine...I guess.
I intended to collage hands from the newspaper advertisements on the baskets without my hands. As I sometimes clip and collect those as well....you know hand models. Turns out I changed my mind. Because these are my baskets.
Each page has a gold edge added, a little gold embossed swirl and a little stenciling through my magic mesh.




After I finished the tiny book of glass baskets I had to think about the facing page. I digitally altered the color of this basket (it is another shot of the basket above where baby Ashley is framed by the handle....I did that on purpose and notice her little hand). Anyway I wanted to do a little collage and yes the hand is from today's paper. It seemed OK I guess since I don't have a basket this color.


I'm off to think about Theme 7...Happiness

More later,

Sharon

Friday, February 16, 2007

Calendar Doodle for the week

I thought I would share this weeks work of calendar art. I just love using candy papers on stuff. Do you?

I know I said I was on a little break. I really am. I'm not suppose to be doing this. I really should be doing some more real work. I didn't even bring my art-to-go-bag today for art-at-the-desk......but I had an oil pastel set laying right here and I hadn't made calendar art this week. So, here you go.

Now, I still have time to do real work and then I'm going home to play ART. How about you?

More later,
Sharon

Thursday, February 15, 2007

I've been on an Art Marathon

and I finished......



Inside front cover
Twenty-five pages between this one and the inside back cover below.
If you'd like to see them please click on the link below. I really like having them all on my blog but I am so tired and just now coming up for air after this Art Marathon that I've been on. I'm sure I will need a couple days break to recover. To see the guts of this journal, please click and go here.....

I'll be back with more....
Later,
Sharon

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Happy Valentine Day

I got my second batch of valentines in the mail this morning. Oops, they might not quite get there. So here is a little preview. This batch went out last week.

I'm still working on the Altered book and I painted the cover today. Whew, art-at-the-desk...big time. Well I had to. There was no way I would get finished in time. I will put the finishing touches on some of the pages tonight. I'll show you more later in the week.
Until then...
Sharon

Monday, February 12, 2007

Art Journal Donation

I thought I would show 3 of the pages of the altered book that I am working on. It is a donation for a silent auction to be held this weekend. The event is a fundraiser for our library.
These are scanned and the one above is one side of the spread where I extended the top of the page. It folds down over this. When I have time to photo the book, I will show more.
Actually, I'm not quite finished. I'm hoping I have the energy to do the cover tonight but I'm fading. I just had too much fun playing art this weekend working on this altered book.
I also will be finishing up another batch of valentines. The might be a little late. I guess depending on how far they are going.
More later,
Sharon


Saturday, February 10, 2007

Come Play ART with me

HeART Tutorial

I was up this morning before 6 o'clock. That would be because I was in bed last night by nine pm.

I planned to finish up my valentines. I got a batch mailed yesterday. I also must finish the altered book that I am donating to the Library fund raiser. And the house needs blessing. You know what I mean?

All of this is to say that I was possessed this morning with you know who...norah's here...
.....and when I started this, it occurred to us that it would be fun to do a HeART tutorial. So........ here goes.
This is a little plaque that I got at the $$ Store before it closed. It was really really cheap and I thought it would be good to do something on as it has a little hanging hole on the back. That is why I bought it, to alter.
I have sanded it to get rid of the slick finish.
Here I have Gessoed it but didn't try to cover up the flowers. It is OK with me if they shadow through but I didn't know if they would or not.
I got out the tissue paper and proceeded to fold a stack of it together and cut hearts. Just like we always did in school. Notice the clips holding the tissue.
I figured out that the clips needed to hold the fold of the tissue where the heart is going to be cut out. Not the edge left after cutting. Because.........
The next step is to smudge a little black edge around the hearts. Now I know everybody knows how to do that. But tissue is very flimsy and works best if you do the whole stack at once. So if the clip is in place before you cut the heart, then you can rub the edge on the stamp pad. Wa la!!
This is to show that I keep the scraps of tissue. May use it later to cover the edge or any place left between hearts.
Remember this paper. I need it again...now.
And here is another little spot of paint in my book where I clean my brush. Notice I'm just going to get the heart and leave the page in tack as I really like that title on the page and...... (oh dear norah's at it again)............................
Here I've used my lovely little Love stamp and kissed the board over and over again.
It's time to start the collage. As you can see, I use Golden Matte Medium; however this is one of those times that Mod Podge would do just fine. I didn't tell you but the problem I had with Mod Podge was that the pages of the altered book stuck together.
..................................More hearts.
Here I have finished the collage of hearts. I snapped this picture and didn't know until I loaded them to my computer that the camera strap is making a big, black, almost diagonal, hash across the collage. Do you get it and do know why??????????????????
We didn't like it and called......DO OVERS ......................
I decided I didn't like it because I didn't like the size of the hearts. I didn't like the silver or maroon heart and I thought I would want a layer of big hearts. Turns out, I didn't.
So, I got out my Golden Zink White because it is translucent and Medium Magenta because is is pink and using the matte medium, I just painted over the collage, but letting some shadow through. At this point, I really didn't know what I would end up with. Sometimes, you just have to listen and do it.
This time when I picked up my lovely little Love stamp, I had pink on the pallet. I used the knife and spread it thin and then used the stamp in pink paint instead of red ink.
I cut more hearts, smaller and only used two shades of pink. And this is the heart collage I ended up with. I really can't see the "Love" on there too much but that's OK. If I wanted to, I could use the stamp again now. But I don't want to. I like this much better....at this point.

From this point, you can do your own thing. This is when it becomes yours and not mine.
..................................Here is what I did.
Although, I messed it up with the stamp slipping on the tree at the top right, I like it OK. Also, when I put the poem on, I didn't put it where I planned. It is too far to the right just a smidgen. The poem is printed on vellum. But I have learned over and over again that you can't glue vellum. So I used my Xyron and once it was down, there was no moving it.
Well, I think I will have DO OVERS again but on something different. Maybe a canvas or Book Cover or Watercolor paper or wooden board, or how about a piece of glass, or a wooden chair, or maybe my art journal, or well.....you get it...do it on anything.
More later,
Sharon
I need to know did you like it.?

Friday, February 09, 2007

maryb...I think it's done.......(edited)




I think this little board book is soon to be on its way to maryb. Since I took the last picture, I have added a little foof, which I am not very good at. So, when maryb gets it she might show.

More later,
Sharon

Edited to add picture with foof or is it fluff.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Art-At-The-Desk...might get fired

Heart Gift Journal for maryb......


If hearts fall in the forest
Can you hear them?
If hearts fall from the sky
Can you feel them?
If hearts are pink
Can you see them?
My heart is singing
Can you tell?