New Stone Bracelets!

Poppy Jasper, Blackstone and Sterling Silver Bracelet

Blue Goldstone and Sterling Silver Bracelet


Ocean Jasper, Pietersite and Sterling Silver Bracelet

Garnet, Swarovski Crystal and Sterling Silver Bracelet.

Just one more week until the Linn Creek Arts Festival (July 19, 2009) in Marshalltown, Iowa. I've been making new jewelry. It's been a while since I made stone bracelets. I love the variation of color in the different Jasper stones.

Listening to Michael Card while I work.... so inspiring and uplifting! I was blessed to win a set of his CD's while at his concert in late May.

Celebrate Freedom and Hope

In the July 2, 2009 edition of USA Today was a commentary titled "A holiday message on hope and freedom" by Capt. James Key. He wrote about the importance of hope. He was surprised to find it expressed in the artwork of Haitian-born artists. Haiti has had a history of dictators and corruption. It is one of the world's poorest and least developed countries in the world. Despite these circumstances, there are artists who maintain a hopeful outlook and express this in their art.
I liked Capt. Key's commentary because he reminds us to remain hopeful and to be grateful for the freedoms we have in America. On July 4th, Independence Day, let us give thanks for freedom and all the other blessings we experience.

This is one of a group of four 5"x7" acrylic paintings I recently completed. In honor of Independence Day, I altered the scanned painting with PS Elements to create the image at the top of this post.
May we all celebrate freedom where ever we are.

Birthday Inspiration - GPP Crusade No. 31

There was a special birthday celebration at our house last week. I created this small painting for my husband.
I started with the same background that I used here, but I added several more layers and more colors. The focal shape was created with a foam stamp and layers of paint. Accents and shadows were created with Stabilo water soluble pencils.
It was fun to get Hubby's reaction to this piece. I chose the stamp because it reminded me of a gear. He's very technical, so I thought it was a good shape that he could relate to. After studying the painting, he told me it reminded him of outer space. This is one thing I enjoy about working abstractly and why I hesitate to name my pieces very specifically. Different people will see different things in the same piece.

Make It Your Own - GPP Crusade No. 31

I'm finally back to painting after a long break due to a full schedule. One of my first projects was to paint this small piece for my brother and his bride. I promised them a larger painting as their wedding gift. Now that I've seen their new home, I have some ideas of what to paint.
I haven't been checking out all my favorite blogs as much as usual either. I think it was good to have this break and start back to painting with less influence in my head from other artists. When I decided to make this little painting, I flipped through my visual journal for inspiration. I could really "make it my own" which is the theme for the current Green Pepper Press Crusade.

I've learned a lot from my fellow crusaders and other artists, and they have influenced my art. Through my visual journal and other art play, I discovered my love for circles and abstraction. I have learned the richness and depth that come from adding many layers. Michelle Ward has generously tutored the GPP Crusaders to take our art to new levels.

"Cherish" is mixed media on watercolor paper. I started by writing a portion of I Corinthians 13. The graphite writing is all concealed under the layers of paint, but it set the mood for the piece. I alternated dry brushing, stenciling, stamping, mono printing, etc. to build the color and depth I was looking for. I used water soluble graphite for accents. Cherish came from a page of scrapbook embellishments. The finished artwork went into a 5 x 5 inch frame.

It was a joy to be playing with paint again. I've been working on small canvases in preparation of the Linn Creek Art Fest next month. I hope to post pics very soon.

Ames Art Walk 2009 Sneak Peak

May was a very busy month with special events and special visitors, so I've been away from this blog. Thanks to those who keep checking on me.

Tonight I will join my Tuesday night painting group, Artists of the Heart, to set up our exhibit at Chocolaterie Stam in Ames, Iowa. The annual Art Walk will be held in the downtown shopping district on Friday, June 5th from 5-8 p.m. This is a great venue to hold an open house because the atmosphere is cozy and the treats can't be beat... gelato and European chocolate. ~swoon~

Earlier this week I took paintings to the Swinging Bridge Studio in Story City. The annual Scandinavian Days festival is being held all weekend in Story City. I plan on spending some time at the studio and meeting fellow art-lovers.

The above image is cropped from my mixed media painting "Remember". I'm showing it at Stam. You can read more about it here.

I just finished reading "A Three Dog Life, A Memoir" by Abigail Thomas. Memory is a major theme in this book. Abigail's husband suffered a major brain injury when he was struck by a car one evening while out walking the dog. His skull was crushed and part of his brain was destroyed. He lost his short term memory. You would think this was a depressing read. Yes, there were aspects that were extremely sad, but Abigail does not wallow in sorrow. She is a woman of courage, loyalty and strength. The book stimulated a lot of thought for me.
I thought of the journey my Mom took with Dad as he was taken away gradually by Alzheimer's Disease. I wonder what lies in the future for my family. Where will AD show up again?
I am so grateful for the hope I find in Scripture. When fears nip at my heals, I remember Who will never forget me and find my comfort in Him.

Linn Creek Arts Festival

I received word that I've been accepted into the Linn Creek Arts Festival to be held on Sunday, July 19, 2009 in Marshalltown, Iowa. I will have both jewelry and paintings to sell.
This festival was formerly organized by the Central Iowa Art Association, but this year the Marshall County Arts and Culture Alliance is organizing it. It has a new name, but is being held at the same location as previous years.
Mark your calendars! I hope you can come.

Golden Acrylics Workshop 2009

Late last month I had the opportunity to take another Golden Acrylic Workshop with Bonnie Cutts at the ART Store in Des Moines. Last year I took her acrylic skins and transfers workshop. This year we explored gels, pastes, and grounds, compared gloss with matte, fluid paint with heavy body paint. It was a blast!
This is my favorite project from the day:

We started the day making reference sheets with a samples of Golden products being placed on papers and tinted mixtures of the same products placed beside them. Another sheet compares heavy body paint to fluid paint mixed in a variety of gels and mediums. A third sheet shows paint mixed with a variety of gels, covered with the gel and painted over the gel. We also prepped a couple of our boards with grounds to allow time for drying. We would paint them in the afternoon.
Bonnie is a very knowledgeable and experienced artist. And to make it even better, she's a lot of fun. There was a wide range of experience and interest represented in the workshop. Even though I've been painting with acrylics for a few years, I found this workshop very valuable and worth taking. The less experienced that I observed seemed to be having a great time, too.
Check out the links I provided at the beginning of this post. Golden has a Working Artist Program with instructors located around the world! Patti Brady is the director of the Working Artist Program. If you can't attend one of the workshops, then you should certainly check out Patti's new book: "Rethinking Acrylic". This book is a great resource with plenty of inspiration for anyone who is driven by the "What If?" when playing with acrylic. In addition to Patti's work, she has featured several other artist's work including three of Bonnie Cutts' pieces.