Journal Pages

  Today is going to be a babbling day. If you prefer to skip the babbling and go straight to the art, go right ahead. I'll never know....  
    It's been a busy week for me. For whatever reason, late autumn is the time I feel most compelled to clean and clear. For three days now I've been going through closets, drawers and cabinets cleaning them out and amassing piles of things to donate. Clothes and shoes mostly. Or rather boots. The women in my family seem to have a hoarding issue when it comes to boots. Especially black boots. I'm not sure what it is about boots, black boots in particular, that we love so much. This love, and hoarding issue, carries over to coats too. I in particular have a weakness for vintage wool coats that I find at the Salvation Army. Something in me cannot possibly leave a vintage 1950's red wool coat with black cuffs and collar or a 1947 full length black wool pea coat to languish, unappreciated, at the thrift store. So I, of course, buy them, usually for less than $10.00, give them a good cleaning and wear them with pride. And love. Lots and lots of love. But I digress...
    What is it about late autumn that makes me want to get every nook and cranny of the house in order? I believe it's an instinctual knowing from deep inside. I know that the cold, dark days and nights are upon us and my time will focus on indoors. Somewhere inside I know indoors needs to be tidied up, swept free of summer's energy and made cozy for the long months ahead. For me, all this must be done before Samhain, October 31. As a pagan, Samhain is one of my most sacred and important seasonal celebrations. It's the time we say good bye to the harvest, give thanks for the abundance of summer, welcome back our ancestors and focus our hearts, minds and spirits on the darkness ahead. It's really a time of renewal and reflection for me and others who dance the spiral of nature based beliefs. Which completely explains why every year I am compelled to cleanse, purge and release that which is no longer needed.

Tiny journal pages, 4.5" x 7".
The one on the left was created using Neocolor II crayons on 9/30/11
The one on the right was created with collage and Gellyroll pens on 4/29/11

Another tiny journal page created with collage and Gellyroll pen on 10/9/11

Page created with collage, ink jet transfer, Sparkling H2O's, and Gellyroll pen
on 10/10/11

Productive Bed Rest

I've been on bed rest for the past couple of days, which we all know can be pretty boring. However, over the years I've managed to make bed rest productive. Countless times I've taken a pile of supplies to sort through or a box of art supplies and my bed tray into my room and created art, while still following doctor's orders. This time is no different.

I've been spending my time sorting through art supplies, doing the BIG PURGE once again. It was only a few months ago that I went through everything in my studio and amassed a pile of books, supplies, ephemera, etc that I felt I no longer needed. This time I was still able to come up with a few boxes of stuff I want to pass along. This constant purging leads to a much neater studio and also helps me to let go of that pack rat mentality that most artists have. For whatever reason, we amass stuff that we think we will later use in our art. And, yes, sometimes we do use these "must save" items, but I suspect that the majority of the time the things never get used. Perhaps it is because artists tend to be cyclic. What we love one day we may not the next. Therefore, what we once had to save for future use becomes less appealing to us over time. Our art evolves and grows so the items we hold on to loose their meaning.

I've also managed to paint two pairs of leather shoes while resting in bed. Both were purchased at the thrift store, cost me less than $3 a pair and are now far cooler and more unique when I brought them into the house a few weeks ago. One pair, a short styled paddock boot, I'm keeping. The other, a boxy looking heeled shoe, is off to Unique Boutik, a local consignment shop that deals in vintage and unusual items. Just last week this same store took my painted leather purse and a whole bunch of vintage hats, jewelry and clothing for their store. The prospect of making a few extra dollars on my vintage items is great, but even more thrilling was the fact that the owner wanted my painted purse and asked me to bring in more items like it! Proof that my new endeavor of painting or altering items for sale has potential. Also, proof that I need create a stockpile of such items, all unique and one of a kind of course, and get my Etsy shop set up.

And now I am off to bed where I'll create something new, while watching endless episodes of the West Wing on DVD and have a very snuggly kitty for company. Productive bed rest at it's finest....

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Alterations

I've been having a blast altering some of the items I bought at the thrift store. I've 3 projects in the works, a pair of jeans being turned into a skirt, a pair of shoes I'm painting & a top and skirt I'm combining into a dress. I've also finished a few projects. I painted a small leather purse, finished altering a jacket & have finally photographed the skull jeans I created.

I'm really digging all this altering. My head is chock full of ideas and I cannot wait to see them all come to fruition.

Thrift Store Treasures

The past few days I've been having a blast prowling through the thrift stores looking for items to alter. I hit pay dirt at three different stores and now have a stockpile of jeans, skirts, shoes and purses to get creative with. I also unearthed some fabulous vintage items. A mouton lamb coat from the 50's, a little black dress from the 60's and a full-length wool coat from the late 50's or early 60's. At one store I managed to pick up 9 pairs of jeans, 11 skirts, 3 pairs of leather shoes and 2 leather purses for the bargain price of $40! The items I bought are all in great shape, are major brand names (not that I give a hoot about brand names, but some do...) and are perfect for digging in and altering in any way I see fit. I may never shop retail again.