For a while now I've been contemplating selling decorative tape via my Art Fire shop. After much back and forth with myself on cost, setting up with wholesalers, etc. I finally made up my mind. I just finished placing an order for an outrageous amount of tape and will be selling it soon!!!!!! You hear that KELLY??????!!!!!! I'm gonna have a boat load of tape for sale. Just what you need right?????
I can hear some of you now, "Tape, why tape????? " Because it is one of the hottest, coolest art/craft items out there and you can never, ever have too much of it.
When the order gets here I'll post a photo of the enormous box of tape I foolishly, I mean WISELY, bought..........
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Random Art Drop
I went out tonight to do a random art drop. This time instead of dropping a painting somewhere I left a hand-made art journal tucked on a shelf at the local library. This isn't the first time I've left a journal somewhere and it certainly won't be the last! I just hope whoever finds it puts it to good use. Who knows, maybe this little journal will start someone on the road to art journal happiness!
The note inside telling the finder what it is and some suggestions for how to put it to good use:
And finally where I left it:
I'd intended to leave it in the art section of the library, but our library actually has a pretty crappy art section. So, I left it in the spiritual/self-help section instead. I love how the 'Pick Me!' tag stands out so well.
The front cover, made from an old concert program and an image of a film strip. I covered over the cover with clear packing tape. The spine has metal tape added to it for strength and interest:
Top View of the painted pages:
The note inside telling the finder what it is and some suggestions for how to put it to good use:
And finally where I left it:
I'd intended to leave it in the art section of the library, but our library actually has a pretty crappy art section. So, I left it in the spiritual/self-help section instead. I love how the 'Pick Me!' tag stands out so well.Sunday, April 12, 2009
April 8-10 Journal Pages
It's Easter and my boy came bounding out of bed at 6:45 all revved up and anxious to start hunting for his basket and the eggs the big bunny left. I wish he'd bounce out of bed that easily and enthusiastically on school mornings!
We had a nice anniversary day yesterday. Hubby gave me a wonderful card that actually brought tears to my eyes. The sentiment it expressed was so heartfelt and very much needed at this moment. Although we didn't go anywhere the day was great. Very relaxing and peaceful. Also, fruitful. I painted and collaged a bunch of journal pages and hubby managed to get the big brush pile burned. A good day for it too as there was a slow to heavy drizzle the whole time he was burning. The boy was exceptionally well behaved. So much so that I wondered if the Pod People had come and created a different child who just happened to look like ours!!!
Tomorrow hubby has the day off and we're going to lunch and a movie. I can't wait. It has been ages since we've seen a movie in the theater that didn't involve talking rats, cars, mice or robots!
A few journal pages from this past week:
April 8--two page spread:
April 8--right hand side:
April 9:
April 10:
We had a nice anniversary day yesterday. Hubby gave me a wonderful card that actually brought tears to my eyes. The sentiment it expressed was so heartfelt and very much needed at this moment. Although we didn't go anywhere the day was great. Very relaxing and peaceful. Also, fruitful. I painted and collaged a bunch of journal pages and hubby managed to get the big brush pile burned. A good day for it too as there was a slow to heavy drizzle the whole time he was burning. The boy was exceptionally well behaved. So much so that I wondered if the Pod People had come and created a different child who just happened to look like ours!!!
Tomorrow hubby has the day off and we're going to lunch and a movie. I can't wait. It has been ages since we've seen a movie in the theater that didn't involve talking rats, cars, mice or robots!
A few journal pages from this past week:
April 8--two page spread:
April 8--left hand side:
April 8--right hand side:
April 9:
April 10:
Friday, April 10, 2009
Happy, Happy
I'm a happy, happy camper today--My glaze pen replacements finally arrived AND Sakura sent a 10 pack of Soufflé pens to cover my postage costs and to compensate me for the hassle. WOO HOO!!!!!!!!
Hubby and I are married 10 years tomorrow. We've been together for 20 years, owned a house for 15 years, been parents 7 1/2 years and married for 10 years. That's a whole lot of time and experience together!!!!!
My favorite journal page from the past week:
Hubby and I are married 10 years tomorrow. We've been together for 20 years, owned a house for 15 years, been parents 7 1/2 years and married for 10 years. That's a whole lot of time and experience together!!!!!
My favorite journal page from the past week:
I LOVE the colors, the focal and the way everything came together so beautifully.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Sakura Glaze Pens
It's been over 3 weeks since I returned my 22 defective Sakura Glaze Pens to the company and I've yet to receive replacements. Each day I walk to the mailbox with hope that they'll be there. Only to be disappointed once I open the mailbox and see that there's nothing interesting there except the usual bills, bank statements and flyer's. SIGH I hope they come soon. My journal pages are feeling the lack!!!!
April 3 & 4 Journal Pages
I'm finally getting around to scanning in my pages for the past week. Some weeks I do it daily and other weeks I let it slide until I have quite a few to do. Obviously, this is one of those letting it slide weeks!
I finished 'The Sixteen Pleasures' by Robert Hellenga What started out as a great book, full of unexpected wisdom turned into a rather muddled, convoluted story that dragged on too long. Pity as the first half of the book was above par.
It's dreary here, with high winds and biting cold. We even had a bit of a snow squall earlier. I'm getting tired of being cooped up in the house and long for warmer weather to be the norm!!!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
More Journal Pages
A few more of my recent journal pages. The first one is from March 31:
And April 2:
The colors on the April 2 pages are more intense than they look here. I tried 4 times to get a decent photo of the spread and this is the best of the bunch. I wish it had fit on my scanner bed! That gives me great, no-fuss images!!!!
This one is from April 1:
And April 2:
The colors on the April 2 pages are more intense than they look here. I tried 4 times to get a decent photo of the spread and this is the best of the bunch. I wish it had fit on my scanner bed! That gives me great, no-fuss images!!!!Saturday, April 4, 2009
April 4, 2009 Journal Page
I haven't been feeling very happy lately. This bothered me for a while. I kept thinking 'What is WRONG with me? Why can't I be happy????' This morning it came to me, like a slap upside the head from the Powers That Be. There is NOTHING wrong with not feeling happy every moment of every day. In fact, it would be even stranger if I, we, YOU, did all experience happiness like that. We're human beings and our emotional state is not static. Our emotions ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean. Sometimes the flow is gentle, caressing, like a kiss from a lover in our youths. Sometimes it is tumultuous, raging, like the waves during a hurricane. And that's OK.
In fact, it is more than OK. It's the way it suppose to be. Which makes me wonder: Why do so many people spend their lives trying to convince themselves and others how happy they are? How totally and absolutely wonderful their lives are with nothing getting in the way of their joyous overflowing of happiness????? I know a lot of people like this. They spend so much time talking about how great their lives are, how they have happiness beyond measure, etc. etc. but you know what? I'm not buying it. No one can be that totally happy at all times. No one's life is so great that they never have a moment of sadness or a moment where they wish things were slightly better. Unless of course they're on mood altering drugs and even then I don't think they'd be totally happy.
Right now I say to you: Admit that you are not always happy. Give yourself permission to be sad once in a while. I'm not talking depressive, taking over your life sadness. I'm talking sadness that comes to you once in a while. The cyclic kind that's caused by stress, illness, a rotten job, LIFE in general. It's OK to be unhappy. The unhappy moments in our lives show us what happiness truly is. It makes us step back and look for the blessings in our lives, no matter how small. It's a necessary emotion that we, as humans, need. If we didn't have that then we wouldn't be here. We'd have ascended to a higher plane of existence where happiness and perfect balance are the norm. In other words, we'd cease to be human and become a Higher Being. Angel, Spirit, Light-Bearer, whatever you want to call it or believe in. A fine goal to be sure, but right now, at this very moment, I prefer to be human. To jump into the Void of my sadness and see what happens. Embrace the emotion and learn from it. And by doing so, I know that happiness will return.
In fact, it is more than OK. It's the way it suppose to be. Which makes me wonder: Why do so many people spend their lives trying to convince themselves and others how happy they are? How totally and absolutely wonderful their lives are with nothing getting in the way of their joyous overflowing of happiness????? I know a lot of people like this. They spend so much time talking about how great their lives are, how they have happiness beyond measure, etc. etc. but you know what? I'm not buying it. No one can be that totally happy at all times. No one's life is so great that they never have a moment of sadness or a moment where they wish things were slightly better. Unless of course they're on mood altering drugs and even then I don't think they'd be totally happy.
Right now I say to you: Admit that you are not always happy. Give yourself permission to be sad once in a while. I'm not talking depressive, taking over your life sadness. I'm talking sadness that comes to you once in a while. The cyclic kind that's caused by stress, illness, a rotten job, LIFE in general. It's OK to be unhappy. The unhappy moments in our lives show us what happiness truly is. It makes us step back and look for the blessings in our lives, no matter how small. It's a necessary emotion that we, as humans, need. If we didn't have that then we wouldn't be here. We'd have ascended to a higher plane of existence where happiness and perfect balance are the norm. In other words, we'd cease to be human and become a Higher Being. Angel, Spirit, Light-Bearer, whatever you want to call it or believe in. A fine goal to be sure, but right now, at this very moment, I prefer to be human. To jump into the Void of my sadness and see what happens. Embrace the emotion and learn from it. And by doing so, I know that happiness will return.
I'm reading 'The Sixteen Pleasures' by Robert Hellenga right now. I have to say it is totally captivating! I've only read 59 pages so far, but in those 59 pages there have been many Wow moments that have made me stop and think. I highly recommend picking up a copy, reading it slowly and taking the time to mull over what has been revealed. And don't let the description of the book fool you. It is far more than a novel dealing with art treasures that were almost lost in a flood. There's life wisdom there. Deep, raw, personal and zen-like wisdom that makes you want to roll the words around in your mouth, tasting them to their fullest.
Friday, April 3, 2009
A Few Pages
The last of my March journal pages. Actually, there are more but these are the last ones I'm sharing. I'm working on two journals this month so there will be lots more pages to come!
I jazzed up the focal image using my Latte pens. I LOVE those pens! the colors are so vibrant and the pens themselves flow nicely. I wish they'd come out with more colors. I'd buy them all!!!!!
I've been having some glum moments lately. This page shows some of what I've been feeling. the under-layer of writing is done in red. A great way to write freely, but still maintain privacy because red is so hard to read!
This page is smaller than the others. I love having various sized pages in a journal! It keeps things interesting!!!!!
April brings another month of Kelly Kilmer's A Prompt A Day classes. A lot of the journal pages I show on my blog were done using the prompts from her classes. If you haven't done so already, check the classes out. Seriously, you NEED to be a part of these!!!! Go sign up. NOW. You'll never regret it.
I jazzed up the focal image using my Latte pens. I LOVE those pens! the colors are so vibrant and the pens themselves flow nicely. I wish they'd come out with more colors. I'd buy them all!!!!!
I've been having some glum moments lately. This page shows some of what I've been feeling. the under-layer of writing is done in red. A great way to write freely, but still maintain privacy because red is so hard to read!
This page is smaller than the others. I love having various sized pages in a journal! It keeps things interesting!!!!!
April brings another month of Kelly Kilmer's A Prompt A Day classes. A lot of the journal pages I show on my blog were done using the prompts from her classes. If you haven't done so already, check the classes out. Seriously, you NEED to be a part of these!!!! Go sign up. NOW. You'll never regret it.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Updates
It's been a busy time around here lately. A few days of warm weather had me outside working in the gardens. I love being able to get out and do some work in the outdoors. My crocuses are blooming and the daffodils are all budded. Even though the temperature has dropped the past two days just knowing that those flowers are out there makes my heart soar!
I've spent the last few hours adding supplies to my Art-Fire shop. I had a bunch of unopened silver clay that I never used so thought the store would be a good way to get it to someone who will actually use it. My adventures with Art Clay silver and PMC were short lived. The materials are too expensive and you have to be conscious of every little bit of the clay and make sure not a speck of it is wasted. Scraping off my fingers, Teflon mat and tools just to save a minuscule amount of material, but a large amount of money, is just not my thing! Not that I'm wasteful, but I don't feel my creativity benefits from having to be so exacting and material conscious. I'm more of a wild, seat of your pants, live in the groove type of creator, ya know?
I have a nice journal all made, tagged and ready to be left in the wild. I think I'm going to leave it in the art section of the library. I figure if someone is in the art section they might have an artistic streak and would probably love to find an art journal there waiting for them. The journal itself isn't very large, but it's pages have been painted, an inscription is inside and a tag hangs from the binding saying 'Take Me'. Very reminiscent of Alice and the 'Eat Me' tags on the cookies she found. At least in my mind that's the way it is!!!!
I'll snap some pictures of the journal, both before it's dropped off and once it's in among the library books so everyone who comes here can see. I'll also get some new art work photos uploaded--journal pages and paintings--so you have some eye-candy when you pop in instead of just my blathering.
OH! And I NEED to get back down the road to get a photo of the car I saw the other day. The entire side had been spray painted with Shepard Fairey's Andre/Obey image and beneath it the words 'Free Shepard'. As some of you may know, Shepard is my *favorite* graffiti artist so seeing that car was a real hoot for me. Not that he did the work himself, but finding out another Shepard fan lives near me was a kick!
Enough with the fleeting thoughts for one day, I'm off to create.............
I've spent the last few hours adding supplies to my Art-Fire shop. I had a bunch of unopened silver clay that I never used so thought the store would be a good way to get it to someone who will actually use it. My adventures with Art Clay silver and PMC were short lived. The materials are too expensive and you have to be conscious of every little bit of the clay and make sure not a speck of it is wasted. Scraping off my fingers, Teflon mat and tools just to save a minuscule amount of material, but a large amount of money, is just not my thing! Not that I'm wasteful, but I don't feel my creativity benefits from having to be so exacting and material conscious. I'm more of a wild, seat of your pants, live in the groove type of creator, ya know?
I have a nice journal all made, tagged and ready to be left in the wild. I think I'm going to leave it in the art section of the library. I figure if someone is in the art section they might have an artistic streak and would probably love to find an art journal there waiting for them. The journal itself isn't very large, but it's pages have been painted, an inscription is inside and a tag hangs from the binding saying 'Take Me'. Very reminiscent of Alice and the 'Eat Me' tags on the cookies she found. At least in my mind that's the way it is!!!!
I'll snap some pictures of the journal, both before it's dropped off and once it's in among the library books so everyone who comes here can see. I'll also get some new art work photos uploaded--journal pages and paintings--so you have some eye-candy when you pop in instead of just my blathering.
OH! And I NEED to get back down the road to get a photo of the car I saw the other day. The entire side had been spray painted with Shepard Fairey's Andre/Obey image and beneath it the words 'Free Shepard'. As some of you may know, Shepard is my *favorite* graffiti artist so seeing that car was a real hoot for me. Not that he did the work himself, but finding out another Shepard fan lives near me was a kick!
Enough with the fleeting thoughts for one day, I'm off to create.............
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