GPP Crusade No. 45 - Back to Back

 This month Michelle Ward has challenged us to make copies of a previously prepared journal page and alter it some way.  This is what I chose.

 Watercolor paper was washed with the dregs of paint left on my brush and lots of water.  Plastic wrap was laid over the wet paint and left to dry.  The wrinkles in the plastic leave voids on the paper that look like...

On a black and white copy of the page, I saw a portion of a face looking out from scattered leaves.  I used Prismacolor pencils to bring out the shapes.  Later I added text from Psalm 139 in the white areas with a Sharpie Pen.

This is a collage I developed from more black and white copies of the same journal page.  I saw a heart in a tree.  I used Derwent Graphitint Pencils to define the heart and branches.  A damp paint brush intensified the color. Then I cut out the design.  On another page, I randomly stencilled flowers with Distress Ink. Then I cut the page into strips. On a third copy, I added blue distress ink and used this page as my base.  The other prepared papers were adhered to the base as well as a strip of music. More Graphitint Pencil was added to accent the edges.

This collage was a big departure for me.  What I like is that by using the same original paper, there is unity.  By altering each sheet differently, I created variety.  Putting them together was more interesting than each one on its own.

Added later... I forgot to mention that I was inspired by Diane to create this layout.  Go check out her blog post here.

I may add journal to this or play with adding digital text layers.  But I'm running out of month and it's time to get this challenge posted.  Check in at the GPP Street Team page here.

I've had some comments about my choice of grey tones instead of the original color.  That was not my original intent.  I was having technical difficulties with my scanner/copier.  I decided to make lemonade out of my lemons...

Faith Hope Love Sunflower Trio



The three paintings shown side by side.

 This is a mixed media set I created on 6x6 gallery wrapped canvases.  After preparing the canvas with sections of sheet music, I painted the sunflowers and backgrounds with acrylic paint.
Text was stamped on paper and adhered to canvas with soft gel.  Additional details were added with water soluble brown pencil that was blended and sealed with matte medium.

The paintings are for sale as a set. Cost is $90 + shipping (and sales tax to Iowa residents).

Art & Jewelry at I Scallon Gallery

Linda Scallon, owner of I Scallon Gallery with one of the famous Ackley dummies.

If you are driving across Iowa on Highway 20, you will see signs that advertise Ackley.  It's just minutes north of the highway.  Ackley made the national news when CBS did a story on the dummies that are found seated on benches up and down Main Street.



Main Street Ackley has plenty of charm.

Be sure to stop in at I Scallon Gallery and  Art Studio.  A variety of artists are represented and I am pleased to say that I am one of them.  I met Linda Scallon, the owner, while exhibiting at the Linn Creek Art Fest this past summer.  She invited me to bring my art and jewelry to her gallery.

Scene from my booth at Linn Creek Art Fest where I met Linda Scallon.

Linda runs a working studio in half of the building where she teaches and creates her own art.  She has a very fun water color technique that involves painting with evergreen branches.  Stop in sometime to meet Linda and see all the art.

Versatile Blogger Award

Sara from Fifth Child Studio recently honored me with this award. Check out her blog if you haven't been there before. It's lots of fun!

To accept this award I have to:

* reveal 7 truths about myself

* select 7 blogs that I would like to share the award with

TRUTHS

1. I do not like tomatoes. I wish I did. They look so lovely and yummy, especially cherry tomatoes which I dislike the most!  But I do like tomato juice & tomato soup - so it's just the raw ones that offend me.
2. I eat breakfast. Yogurt with granola or oatmeal with yogurt or peanut butter on toast are my typical choices. My beverage is a glass of juice - cranberry/grape juice mixed 50/50 with club soda.
3. I go to a pool three times/week for aquatic exercise.
4. Happily married over 29 years!
5. My first car was a 1969 Ford Custom 500, a large, roomy, gas-guzzling sedan.
6. I had a custom sewing business and once designed a tuxedo for a 3 year old.
7. I believe everyone is creative because we were all designed in the image of our Creator who is creative. Creativity is expressed in so many ways. It's not just about art, music. etc.

BLOGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT
(There were a lot of great blogs to choose from.)

1. Painted Heart Studio - Jane Royal
2. Rooks Paper Scissors - Andrea Rooks
3. Natural Dye Journal - Kimberly Baxter Packwood
4. A Tailored Line - Laura Taylor Mark
5. Fannie Narte - Fannie Narte
6. Happy Shack - Kelly Warren
7. My Art Journal - Diane

Thanks again to Sara for singling me out.