Recent watercolors

I learned a new watercolor technique that is so much fun!  You paint water over 140 lb. watercolor paper until it's pretty wet, then drop colors onto it.  They spread and make patterns which you can then pick up on and embellish into images.  You don't even have to come up with your own ideas....the spreading colors do it for you!  The top one I call "Flight" and the 2nd "Ancient Winds".  It will go in my journal somewhere.

Traci Bautista's Class at Artfest

I LOVED Traci's class.  Made the first 2 pieces above.  I love the fact that she loves color like I do and that she uses everything that can make a mark...nothing is left out.  I mean she even had us using fabric paint.  I guess I'm in too much of a box, but just never thought of that!  Anyway...wonderful fun! 

Next is the cover to the gate fold journal I made in LK Ludwig's class....again a great time!!  We spent most of the day making the 22 pages with acrylics and stencils...a glorious, messy time!  Then, we learned the easy binding technique in the last part.  I'm working on the pages inside now.  I loved her class!
Also took a class with Misty Mawn, but didn't accomplish anything.  I was functioning on only 1 hour of sleep and became totally overwhelmed.....ended up leaving halfway which was ok...just couldn't do it, plus the spot was too small for the HUGE canvases we were working on.  I discovered, however, that I prefer working small and feel overwhelmed rather than freed working large.
All in all a great time!  Got to visit with many Bad Baby friends and make new friends.  Thanks to Tracy and Teesha Moore for another year of art, glorious art fun!

Journal Page

I'm taking a workshop on Lynn Perella's book, "Artist's Journals and Sketchbooks" from one of my online groups.  This is the first page in my journal.  You can tell I can't stand mandalas...right up there with my dislike of shrines.....Smile.

Paintings I did..."Moon Study #2" and "Moon Over the Orient/Moon Study #3"

Mini-Matchbox Shrine "Dream"

Mini Matchbox Shrines...

November 14th, Moon in Scorpio

I have really been into making these mini matchbox shrines lately....They are so much fun.  I'll also post some of the polymer clay shrines I've made after taking Laurie Mika's class at Artfest last  year.  This on is for my favorite Beatle, John Lennon.  The next is about all the dreams I have written down and worked with.  There is a yellow owl that is hard to see, but it's night, so stands to reason.  I love dreams and working with interpreting them has added so much to my growth as a spiritual person.  They are a wonderful gift.  I'll be adding more shrines..haven't had my fill of them yet!

More paintings on canvas

Here I am embarassed again because it's been so long since I posted here. What HAVE I been doing??? Who knows. I am doing NaNoWriMo the month of November so I'd like to get caught up on posting my art before I start writing. Anyone else out there doing it?

Trying Something New

I've done a collage on canvas before, but never a painting....this is very new to me. Last night, trying to go to sleep, I had several ideas I wanted to follow to see where they led. This is one of them.
It is titled "Lotus Studying the Moon Moon Studies - Part 1"

Pages going to Australia

I am doing a tip-in challenge at one of my Yahoo sites. We all have a themed journal and each month we do a 6"x6" 2 page spread for another player. This month I am sending these pages (if they scan) off to a gal in Australia whose journal theme is "Italian Affair".

July 8th - Some exciting News!

I'm posting an atc I did for a Twinkling H2O swap hosted by Lily at the Bad Babies site. I had to post the back of it too because the title is Les Poires and i found the perfect pear paper for the back!
Well, the news is that a mini album I did titled My Family - My Roots has been chosen for publication in Somerset Memories. I had originally sent it in for hte black and white issue of Somerset Studio, but it was decided it would be perfect for the memories magazine. I knew a few days ago, but i had to pinch myself and be sure it was true before I blogged it.
Out weather has gone gloomy and cool on us all of a sudden. I don't really like the temp in the 90's, but I wouldn't mind 80's instead of low 70's - high 60's.

July 3rd - Hanging My Head

I am sooo embarassed I have not written on my blog since March! What has been going on? Got me....Well, there was Artfest which was splendiferous and and and...who knows. I loved my class with Laurie Mika. Have made another mosiac shrine which I must take a photo of and download. I just finished some Steampunk atcs for a swap and really have fallen in love with steampunk....right up there with Zetti for me. I am having a writing workshop in my home/studio on August 8th and perhaps another on Sept. 9th. On Aug. 8th it will be given by Renee D'Oust and I would list her published works except I can't find her flyer! Later....I'm going to try and download my steampunk atcs. Each one had to have a movable part which added to the fun.

Mini Book Swap

whose theme is "If I Could BE Queen for a Day...." I'm going to post (if the comp lets me...depends on the day) one of the 3 books I made. They are made from 1 sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper with only one cut....really cool! We were supposed to keep them very flat with no embellishments. That was a challenge because I love loading on embellies!
Only 3 more days until I leave for Artfest. I thought it would never get here and now here it is already! I'm sure glad I made my swaps already altho I did just add some atcs to my pile. They are photos of creatures that washed up on shore during the 2005 tsunami. Most of them had never been seen before. Isn't it grand that there are still so many life forms we know nothing about on our planet?
Our piles of dirty snow are slowly disappearing! HOORAY! Lots of sunshine the last 2 days, though still cold.
OK...here's hoping the scans will download. Nope...it says error on page. I'll try later.

More Storage

OK...the stamps are in what could again be a closet. This photo shows my stamp pads piled on a shelf. Nothing very original I guess! I used to have a wood shelf system with a hole for each pad, but you couldn't see what colors they were and I didn't find it user friendly at all, so got rid of that and now just try and keep them piled up according to brand and colors.

Storage Solutions

Hi - Some sunshine today...a welcome relief after yup, you guessed it...snow yesterday! It's mostly gone thank heavens. Someone on one of my Yahoo groups asked about storage for stamps and stamp pads, so I am posting a couple of photos showing what I have done...or my husband, actually. All I did was fill up what he made!

It's Monday Again

The recent rains have knocked down so much of the snow...thank heavens! Even the messy, brown mud is welcome.
I used to hate Mondays when I had to go to work, but now I love them because I get to go to my Monday Morning Writer's group. As I've mentioned before we write from prompts. I'm going to put on a couple of short writings I did with the prompts. If anyone else out there is a writer maybe you could put what you wrote from them under comments. We usually have 8 minutes in which to write for each prompt.

The Secret Life (Prompt)
I lie upon the garden path and discuss soil amendments with my broccoli and water requirements with tomatoes.
I place crystals among the herbs as directed and send love to all.
It keeps me sane to sit beneath the flowering plum and laugh with Buddha.
I talk with Esmerelda, the fairy watching over the lettuce and tell no one of my discussions with the water sprites.
I revel in the world beneath the one we see, immersed in its' joy and help. Perhaps beneath is not the right word. It is beside the everyday world walking hand in hand unbeknowst to most.
I hug the pine tree hanging close to the edge of the river bank, worried that the day will come when it will topple down the slope into the water, but that fear is not a part of its' consciousness and it comforts me.

Capers in the Churchyard (Prompt)

Perhaps I have spent an inordinate amount of time in churchyards which I consider includes cemetaries.
When I was 7, my best friend, Sonja Carmichael, lived in a ratty old house with a monkey and a parrot who had bitten off her mother's right pinky finger. I later considered it karmic because the mother made her extra household monies by wrapping a clean hankerchief around puppy's tails and biting them off thus saving their owners a large vet bill.
But, I digress. Behind Sonja's house was the town cemetary. She and I would gather our dolls and head to play house among the gravestones. We would double dare each other to step on graves taking the chance that horrible things would befall us for such desecration. Little girl's laughter would fill this hallowed spot as we chose which grave we would step on next, taking into consideration age and sex, usually choosing old men on which to bestow our feet.
My Jr. High School was directly across the street from another town's cemetery. In seventh grade, I was in love with Brad, whose real name was Foster and who had a metal plate in his head from hitting it on a diving board so hard that it removed a portion of his skull. He said if anyone ever punched him on that metal plate, he would die. It made my love for him that much stronger. He would put his hand in mine and lead me into the cemetery where, crouched behind the largest gravestone we could find, we would hug and kiss all lunch hour. Ah, to once again, want that more than food.....

Fabric Postcards - Love and Luck

Hey everyone....it's not snowing...

I hardly know what to do....Yesterday, the first day of spring the temperature actually reached the high 50's. WOW It was great! Well, just continuing to get ready for artfest in my mind as well as my suitcases. Only 9 days???EEEK!
Yesterday, went to Spokane to see our friend Fritz who has cancer and is dying. He's on a respirator. Very important to have a living will if you don't want that to happen to you. Sorry to be so grim, but it can happen. It did to him...very quickly and he's only 52 which gets younger to me all the time. Today, the friend with POA comes and will probably have them shut off his life support which is what Fritz would want if he could speak for himself. He is a good man, a good friend and a brilliant patent attorney...the world is losing a good soul.
I made some fabric postcards yesterday. I'll post a couple. Still trying to think of other trades to take to the fest, but so far my muse is keeping quiet.
Have been seeing so many birds lately. Even one yesterday I have never seen before. Sometimes, I think they get off track and land here by mistake. At least there's some earth showing under the trees where they might find food of sorts and we have suet, etc. out for them.

Sargasso Seahorse

I have always been fascinated by the Sargasso Sea and the seahorses who live there in particular. Sargasso seaweed floats on the top of the very slow moving sea and the seahorses hang out in the seaweed for safety. They are very difficult to distinguish from the seaweed itself...they're so feathery and gorgeous. And honestly, in the photo I was looking at to do the drawing his eyes looked just like I drew them...honestly.
OK...this is getting ridiculous....it's snowing huge flakes. I guess it's raining in town, but we are just high enough that it's snow....oh goodie, goodie. If it's snowing on the coast when I go for artfest, I'm going to need horse tranquillizers otherwise I can't say what I'll do. I'm leaving a day earlier and joining my bad baby friend JoAnne! So...only 15 more days or as my darling granddaughter and Bad Baby Kelsey say - 15 more sleeps. Is that an Aussie thing, Kelsey?