January Art Journaling - GPP Crusade 47 & Strathmore Workshop

Detail view of new art journal page.

Here's a fun winter project you should try.  Strathmore is offering free on-line workshops.  The first was introduced earlier this month and is taught by Pam Carriker.  Check out this link for more information.


Early in the journaling process.

 Pam guides us through a project that invites you to re-use previously created art.  Start by making copies of your art.  I used copies of monoprints that I created for the GPP Crusade No. 39.I cut out the plain butterflies and some border pieces.  Using scraps of the same paper, I punched out flowers and leaves and hearts.  They were adhered to a Strathmore Watercolor Paper Visual Journal. This paper stands up well to all the layers that went into creating this page.  I used a charcoal pencil to draw some details and outline some elements.


Layers of gesso and oil pastel have been added.

 I tried to cut loose and not judge too much.  But I have to admit that I was feeling discouraged at this point.  Seemed like I had an ugly duckling in my hands... but we know how that story turned out.


The completed page.

 Maybe it's not a beautiful swan, but I'm happy with the results.  I was stretched and learned some techniques that I know I can use in future art.  The following page used some of the same techniques.

GPP challenge using some newly learned techniques.

 The Green Pepper Press Street Team Crusade No. 47 - It's A Wrap challenges us to create an evidence page using gift wrap from Christmas and to journal about gifts given, received, etc.  We use very little gift wrap these days.  I love reusable gift bags and tissue paper.

This page started in the same Strathmore journal.  I wrinkled a piece of tissue paper that had red and green circles, then applied it to the page with matte medium.  I purposefully did not completely flatten the paper which left wrinkles and distorted the circle pattern.  I cut out the poinsettia from a scrap of paper that managed to come home with us from the in-laws.  (They are great about recycling regular gift wrap.)
The poinsettia was also applied with matte medium.

I knocked down the white background and neutralized the colors a bit with some walnut ink and a thin glaze of green oxide paint.  Charcoal pencils, gesso and oil pastels add more character to the page.  But the real star of this page is my new Sharpie poster paint markers.  They were on my Christmas wish list along with Sharpie pens.  I got Sharpies in spades.  In addition to my requests, I also received a large assortment of regular Sharpie markers with fine points.  I have NO excuse for not journaling.
I very loosely wrote over the top of the images.  I'm trying to not make the pictures so precious. Using a wet, juicy marker helped accomplish that goal.

So there you go.  That's my art out-put for the month.  I hope to spend some time at my easel very soon.

Creative Play at Kil'n Time

Have you ever gone to a shop where you can paint your own pottery?  I went to Kil'n Time in Ames with some church friends on Monday.  It was a cold and icy night... just perfect for sitting around a table with friends.

There's definitely a learning curve to working with this paint/glaze.  It dries much lighter than it will look after it's fired in the kiln.  You have to paint several layers to get a uniform color.  Then there are all the specialty applications....  It was a good exercise in just PLAY for me.

I chose a tile to do one of my doodle birds on.  You can write on the tile with a Sharpie or other pens and pencils.  The marks will burn off in the kiln.  I drew a quick sketch of my design with the Sharpie and then went from there.

I was running out of time when I got to the mug.  There's a special paint that has flecks in it.  Borrowing from my usual journal painting, I used up the paint on my palette to base coat the mug.  Then I added a couple layers of the flecked paint.

We left our creations at the studio and picked them up a few days later after they had been fired in the kiln and had a clear glaze coat added before another firing.

I think one of my favorite things about the evening is when one of the women who does not consider herself to be creative commented on how relaxing it was to be painting.  YES!  Often people deprive themselves of creative processes because they do not consider themselves to be creative.  My opinion is that since we are made in the image of our Creator, we have the need to create.  Create without judging ourselves.  Just do it.

I've been very creative this month.  Most of it has nothing to do with painting.  I'm learning a new eating lifestyle with the goal of improving my health.  In the process I'm taking the information and creating new recipes.  Breaking old habits takes work and creativity to make the process fun instead of a drudge. 

So on to the creative life....

Happy 1-1-11

It's the beginning of a new decade. I'm looking forward to living this life the Lord has blessed me with.

This past February, Hubby gave me a smart phone.  It's an HTC Eris.  In the world of technology, it was a grandfather in a matter of weeks.  It's not the fastest and smartest of it's kind.  But it still is a giant step up from my previous phone.

One of my favorite activities on the phone is to take photos and alter them with an inexpensive app called PicSay Pro.  There's a free version, but for a couple bucks you get SO much more.

Today's post started as an image of an ATC I created last year.  The ATC is mainly turquoise and shimmery silver tones.  The clock face, a scrap booking accent, is actually black.

Using PicSay Pro, I altered the image in just a few minutes.  The text was added and voila! I had a message to send out to family via texting, FaceBook, email...and now my blog.

Thank you for being faithful followers of my blog.

Merry Christmas 2010

In my garden, new snow formed a mantle on the angel statue.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord  appeared to them, and  the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all  the people.  For unto you is born this day in  the city of David  a Savior, who is  Christ  the Lord.  And  this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 


And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”


When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
                                                        Luke 2: 8-20 English Standard Version

God has sent angels to make announcements to men and women over the ages.  How glorious this appearance must have been to those lowly shepherds out guarding their sheep by night...
The message is the same today.  It is for all of us.  Those who are placed low and high amongst men and women.
Jesus came to be our Saviour. 
Will you see this thing that has happened? 
Will you acknowledge Jesus is Lord and Saviour?
Will you return glorifying and praising God?

May you know the Peace & Joy that only Jesus gives.

Octagon's 43rd Annual National Exhibit



Oh, The Wonderful Cross I

This past week I received the happy news that the above painting has been juried into an upcoming national art exhibit at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames.  I've been submitting entries the past few years, and this is my first acceptance.  Care to join me in doing the happy dance?


Oh, The Wonderful Cross II


To the left is another painting I submitted that won't be in the exhibit.
Both acrylic paintings have a lot of texture.  They started with layers of heavy gel medium that I incised to create texture. I mixed the paint into heavy gloss gel and applied it to the canvas with palette knifes.  I enjoyed the process very much.

The title of the paintings comes from a beautiful worship song that I sing with my church's praise band.
These words are from the chorus:

Oh the wonderful Cross, oh the wonderful Cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
Oh the wonderful Cross, oh the wonderful Cross
All who gather here by grace, draw near and bless Your name
 
 
The 43rd National Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood Exhibition will be on display January 28 – April 10, 2011.  The opening reception will be held on Friday, January 28, 2011 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. 

GPP Street Team Crusade No. 46: What's Your Hang-Up?

Previous GPP Crusade art framed and hung with related art.

 The final challenge presented by Michelle Ward for 2010 is to frame and hang some of our own art.  I have framed many of my art pieces, but many are not hanging on my own walls.  Thankfully, some are at the I Scallon Gallery in Ackley, Iowa and waiting for new homes.

Earlier this year, I created a page for this challenge.  I had originally intended to add the page to a journal I will bind with the year's challenges, but liked it so much that I put it under glass on black matting in a frameless frame.  Then I set it aside not creating a place to hang it.  I came across the art again shortly before Michelle put out this Crusade challenge.  I was already thinking of putting a narrow black frame around it and followed through with the thought.  I liked that better.  Now I just had to figure out where to hang it.

I decided to move a calendar and remove a wall quilt that had been hanging beside our lower staircase for several years.  It's an awkward space that gets a lot of traffic.  But I forged ahead...

A grouping of related colors and inspirations made sense to me.  As I wrote in the earlier post, I had been influence by Matisse to use black with the vivid colors I had laid down on my paper.  A framed postcard of his art is in the grouping.  Cezanne had influenced Matisse.  A postcard of that art is also in the group.  A print by Kandinsky that complements my color scheme and art sensibilities was added.
The silhouette painting on the far right is a watercolor that I painted several years ago and it had been in a solo position on a small wall.  It added balance to my grouping and helped to fill the space.

This was a good challenge for me.  It was good to put inspiration and results together.  I ended up calling my painting "XO Matisse."

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...