Tea anyone?

i've just finished this tea pot and cups quilted wall hanging. I've been determined to use the many UFO's (UnFinished Objects) stashed on shelves, in drawers and baskets around the house as holiday gifts by dragging them out and finishing them. These pot and cups blocks have been abandoned for too long to remember, so it was high time they made their way into a finished project! I made a few 4 patch blocks, added some borders and played endlessly with arrangement until it felt right.
This was going to be a reversable table runner, but ended up as a wall hanging after The Man suggested I add a way to hang it. In the spirit of keeping our holiday gifts handmade, I cut and stripped a maple branch for attaching the quilt to. Who needs dowels when branches will do? Plus, no dowel can compare to the uniqueness of a crooked branch!

The Holly Queen

Many years ago I made this ceramic mask to hang during the Yuletide Season. Being pagan I celebrate Yule, or the winter solstice, more so than Christmas. To me, this mask represents The Goddess in Her Holly Queen incarnation. I love the layering of colors, the greens over gold, reds over silver and the various flesh tones. The subtle layers don't transfer well to a photo, but I wanted to share my artful interpretation of a holiday symbol. Whichever winter holiday you celebrate I hope you receive many blessings and an abundance of joy!

Bird in Paradise

I think this one's done! Spent a bit more time on it, with music cranked as usual, and now it feels done. You never know though. I've been known to revisit a painting years later and take my brushes to it. Some people can't do that because they're afraid of ruining what they've previously created. I don't have that issue! What's the worst that can happen, afterall? You need to be able to take risks. In painting and in life...

New Painting

This acrylic painting in a large format was begun tonight. It had been a super high pain day for me so I needed to get out of my body for a while. Best way to do that is crank up the music, grab the brushes, paints and get to it!
The wonderful thing about having a creative soul is that, no matter how difficult things are to deal with, you can forget about it completely once you let loose and create. That's what I mean about "get out of my body". My pain levels are left behind, for a brief time, once I paint. Definitely a blessing.

Sketchbook Project 2013

 

  I finally decided to sign up for The Sketchbook Project, sponsored by the Art House Co-op. I'd read about it last year, but didn't end up signing up for whatever reason. Honestly, I don't remember why I never joined, lack of money perhaps, because this traveling sketchbook project idea really intrigued me! As things go, I totally forgot about the project until the other day when I happened to come across their web site again. This time there was no hesitation! I signed up immediately and am now awaiting delivery of my blank sketchbook.

  For days now I've been thinking of a theme for my book. I still haven't come up with one and have decided the theme will present itself once I have the book in hand.

  If you aren't familiar with the project, do check it out! You can look through the books that have been digitized, not all of them are, in the Digital Library area. You can also read all about the project, watch some videos or sign up to participate.

 I'll be posting updates, with photos of my book's pages, as often as possible. I can't wait to dig in and get creating. It's been ages since I joined anything of this magnitude!

Face Painting

The latest incarnation of this painting I've been working on for a while now. I've added more shading to the face, layered glazes, papers and transfers to the background and redone the nose, mouth and eyes. Every time I add or subtract something the work becomes less flat and more expressive. Like a good stew, the more you blend the ingredients, the richer the whole becomes!

Blech!

This is how I feel about getting up at 630 am on a freezing Saturday morning. Blech! But, my son has Boy Scout can duty this morn, where they sort all the returnables that've been donated to the Troop to help fund camping trips. So, awake I am. The mask is a hand carved and painted one from a tribe in Peru. Even at this icky hour I can still focus on cool art!

Cooking As Art

   Art comes in many forms and I for one believe cooking is an art! Especially when it's done with love and enthusiasm, the way all things in life should be done.   My son loves to cook and is becoming quite accomplished in the kitchen.

    This Monkey Bread, which isn't your run of the mill, easy to make type of Monkey Bread, we made together. It was a great way to keep our minds off of Jimmy, the love of my life, being in the ER while we waited to find out what was wrong. Waiting's never easy, but that type of waiting's torture!

   Anyhow, always remember to make life's moments count. Something as simple as making Monkey Bread can be a "moment" when it's done with love and enthusiasm.

Painting

I added some more paint to this face. I know most people would do the underpainting of flesh tones first, but I've never done things like most people! I'm more of a fly by the seat of your pants, running amok type. Just ask anyone who knows me. Anyhow, the addition of layered acrylics adds more depth and definition. The more of this your achieve, the less "flat" the face becomes.

Mixed Media Work

I've been working on several mixed media pieces the past week. This one's inspiration is 'The Visitant' by Theodore Roethke, a poem I came across in a library discard. The image of the woman at center is a packing tape transfer. Love the ethereal quality of tape transfers! At right is a face done with fluid acrylics, Neocolor II crayons and gel pens. She started out as a stencil called Eva by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Love how you can use her stencils as a jumping off point for creating fabulous painterly portraits! I don't feel quite finished yet, definitely needs more layers to tie it all together.