Elfin Good Giggle

No time to properly blog today, but wanted to start the holiday decor off right, and Dawn http://www.artistreborne.typepad.com/ always has so many wonderful holiday ideas I couldn't help but peek at her blog first to mentally enjoy holiday art. Her hilarious creation at this site sparked Mike, Macie and I's own holiday giggle.
Please consider this our holiday card to you! (Thanks Dawn for the point in the right direction!)

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9629028656

Wow-where did the week go?

Did so much this past week, I don't know where the time went! It seems that here in the Columbus area, life speeds up in some sort of weird space-time continuum thing the week of the OSU-Michigan game! We had a chili cook-off and corn hole play-offs at work the Friday before the game and the Mayor came to award the prizes. It's the only day we can all wear jeans and sweats into the office, so everyone gets into the spirit. Although I am not a football fanatic, I enjoy the revelry. I've never quite seen any other town go so crazy for football. There are plenty of goings-on during the season. My uncle's company hosts a big breakfast every year to say "GO BUCKS" and thanks to his clients. The band plays, there are corn-hole tournaments, prizes and I've done face painting for kids and adults alike. It just seems as if as soon as the 'big game' is over you race screaming towards Thanksgiving. Throw in a couple of close friends birthdays to be celebrated, a FIL's birthday, and the presents and mailing involved with that all to get done BEFORE the "relaxing" holiday, and it's just a whirlwind of activity.

Garage sale challenge

I hostessed a swap recently that was called the Garage Sale Challenge Fatbook. The artists had all summer to peruse garage sales, flea markets and dollar stores to find their materials. Anything already in their studio was fair game and could be used to create with as well.

I was excited to see the creative and resourceful pages they each came up with.

For the first set of pages I did, I spent a whopping 10 cents for a misc. baggie of sequins, beads and confetti. I love the shaker effect the little window makes. I used cancelled postage stamps, old pages from a book, a scrap of fun foam run thru my xyron, and scraps of scrapbooking papers. I traced the image on deli paper from one of my sketchbooks, and painted and watercolor penciled for softness.

The second set of pages were leftover pages from a book, that I had used to test out different colors of paint on. I then used rubber stamps and several layers of paint. More stamps, and a couple different layers of color misters, and sparkle misters. I had the butterflies left over from a class I taught earlier in the year.

Neither page was any great work of art, but it helped me to look thru things I already had with a new appreciation.

Flower Art Series

Over a period of time I've been working on a flower series of computer altered photo art. I take the original photo and then alter it digitally with my Wacom graphics tablet and Adobe CS 2 software. I have in mind a calendar, or maybe book of some sort down the road, but all the ideas have not been fully explored. Right now I'm just enjoying the individual pieces.

The Yellow Lillies piece is currently hanging in 2 galleries, as I did a small run giclee series. I feel it is my signature piece and I've used it for many different things, including my own ATC's. The original lillies were photographed in my parents backyard.

The Bougainvillea piece is my new favorite. I just finished it this week. The original photo was taken in February outside the door of our vacation condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Mariposa the Studio Fairie

This is Mariposa, my studio fairie. She is a seed of the inspiration for the class I am developing. My Christmas presents this year will be an odd mix of Mariposa, and the exciting clay techniques I've been developing inspired by the wonderful paper techniques I learned while attending Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby's fabulous "Ultimate Painted Page" workshop in February. I'm not posting any photos of the finished ornaments yet, as some of the people receiving them for gifties read this on a regular basis and have already been sniffing around for clues LOL!

Feeling Sistery.....

Lately, I've been blessed to "meet" some of the most fabulous, talented people through various online art groups. Two groups particularly close to my heart are The Altered Art Divas and The Sisters of the Secret Fatbook Society. Both groups have given me the opportunity to "get to know" some of the most wonderful, artistic, giving, open and sharing women I've ever had the priviledge to run across. It blows me away, the way they open their hearts and share their art in such a supportive manner. As a product of an "official art education" the support and positive attitude is something I can't quite wrap my noodle around yet. I pour thru their blogs every free moment I get, amazed at their daily creations. Amazed at the sheer quantity of wonderful work they are producing, just for fun. They challenge me daily to create just for the sake of creating, rather than "producing" for an end product, as I must do daily for my job. It is taking me in a whole new direction within myself, a place that I sort of always "felt" was there but didn't quite know the address for. For these artists I am so thankful, in this of all months to express thanks.

This is a piece I did in my art journal, inspired by 2 other tremendous artists, Anne Bagby and Lynne Perrella, and what they were generous enough to share with me. It sings what my words cannot about these artistic sisters.

Altered Book of Hope

For a while now, I've been working in a themed altered book, and I finished the last spread recently. I purposely chose the subject to lift my spirits, and it really did! Not only is it a collection of hundreds of wise sayings about hope, but it also was a place where I tried out new techniques with no preconceived notions. On the Dove spread in particular, I was working with home-made rice paper, and copying sketches from my sketch journal onto it. I loved how the paper disappeared into the background, but gave me my dove's outline to embellish.

For the cathedral spread, I just liked the mindless playing with stamps. It was one of the "background" pages I did that sat unfinished for a while. Then one day, it seemed as is the idea jumped out at me as I was flipping thru, and caught site of that un-blank page.

Beautiful time of year

I think this is my favorite time of the year! I love the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the holidays! I love the planning, the decorating, the shopping, the wrapping, the baking, the eating, the cool weather, the time with family and friends... Thought I'd start going to that happy place by decorating my blog with a nice fall shot or two.