Art Chickadee's Reflections

Tags & getting ready for Art & Soul VA Beach

Just played around making a few tags that will probably end up in trades for Art & Soul.  Usually there's someone in a class trading things.  

The one below has a transparency overlaying the bird underneath...

and when it's down, the look changes.

You get the feeling the boy is now an angel.  Has copper tape along the bottom.  Trying to use up some of the overload of stash!  Below another transparency over a tag.  This one's a bit simpler and has copper at the bottom and some copper-colored ribbon at the top.

Blast from the Past

Found some things at my mom's house that I painted about 10 years ago.  It was fun to see them again.

My dad loved birdhouses and birds so I painted one for him.  I still like it after all these years.  Can't always say that about things I do.  :)

This is a pen (technical pen) and ink drawing that was watercolored after.  Done in a class about 10 or so years ago, too.

Another garden picture.  May put this over a door in our house.

Not any painting or picture I've done but one of my all-time vintage photos of my dad.  I have used a scan of it in different things however...one was a shadow box done in Stephanie Rubiano's class (beautiful butterfly boxes class).  

Black and white tree painting for a friend (the ground is really gray and white...didn't photograph well at night)

Going back and coloring in some pages in my journal.

A 9x12 page I did using the 'kitchen sink'...stamping, gesso, paints, colored pencils, markers, stencils, vintage papers and so on.

 

Work in Progress

 

Sorry I have been absent for so long but my mother became ill with blood clots in both lungs, was hospitalized and then had to go to a skilled care facility.  She won't be going back to her house as her ability to care for herself seems to be lacking these days.  She won't come to live with any of us either.  So, things have been a bit, well, unsettled.  Sometimes during times like this family members aren't at their best especially when it's the mother involved.  That leads us to this page.

I've never painted deliberately while angry before.  Not until Tuesday, that is.  I was working on a page for Lifebook 2013 and it was supposed to be on 'heart connections'.  Wow, where my heart wasn't good.  While Tamara Laporte was painting and putting "gratitude" on her heart page, I was thinking mine needed 'healing'.  Anyway, the process was surprisingly cathartic.  I left the house in a much better frame of mind.  I will have to remember that.  

I came back to it the following night and it is evolving in to something a bit better.

I don't know where it's going next.  Stay tuned.

Oh an update on the studio Princess Pig.  She's still excavating at times...

 

 

A Meaningful Piece...to Me

Carla Naron made one like this some time ago and I held on to a picture of it. It was just what I was looking to make to remind me of those faces challenges.  So, I pulled out bits of this and that and it began to come together.  I'm please with how it turned out.  

The kneeling charm came from Artchixstudio.

Antique spools and a found metal washer form the "stand" part of my little shrine.

I got to use up some bits from my stash which is working toward a goal of mine.

If the word "Pray" doesn't appeal to you, 'Think', 'Dream', 'Create', 'Imagine', or 'Muse' would make good alternates.  If you do make one, please share with me.  I'd love to see it.

 

Class by Christy Tomlinson

I've admired Christy Tomlinson's work and the work that I've seen others do in her She Art class so I decided to take her online class.  It's so much fun.  She's very thorough and if you're not familiar with mixed media art and materials, it's a great place to start.  I did the first lesson's piece and it was a lot of fun so I pulled out a wooden box that a friend gave me and decided to do something with that...

I took a piece from Magdalena Muldoon's class that I took at Art & Soul 2012 and put it on the top, with the girl above.

I "tweaked" it a bit more a few days later...added the butterfly near the girl, shading, and so on

 

 

New Year, New Class

January 1, 2013 brought the start of Life Book 2013 with Tamara LaPorte.  What a line-up of teachers she has as well as the lessons she's teaching.  Every week is a new lesson with a fun piece to work on.  We started off creating a Fairy Art Mother/Father to watch over us during the year.

Birds mean a lot to me for a variety of reasons.  My mom used to call me "chickadee" (hence my blog's name), my dad loved birds...watching them, feeding them.  I love watching them, identifying and creating art with them.  I've had parakeets throughout the years and have one in my studio now.  I think it would be so amazing to fly.  Plus, flying has many meanings...taking wing with an idea, taking chances, leaving safety.    

Our next piece was to show the start of our art journey for the year.  Clouds were to contain our blessings and flowers in the foreground was supposed to show some goals.  A road and mode of transportation for us to travel were elements as well.   Tam drew and painted an adorable car for her travels.  Again, a bird came to mind.

My art friends are truly a blessing in my life.  It's like being with people who speak the same language but on a much deeper level.  They "get" you in a way that family often does not.  I do have a friend who probably would never call herself an artist who supports my habit by bringing me interesting bits from yard sales and from her parents' stash of things (particularly the older things...sewing notions, trims, photos). She encourages and believes in me in a way that all of us love.  Cheri is named in my cloud.  Of course, my family is my rock and while they don't always "get" what I do, they support me and humor me in my crazy art frenzied times.  :)

Our most recent lesson was taught by Monica Zuniga in Mexico City.  She's amazing and the video was nice as we were able to see where she creates, too.  Our challenge was to create an art doll.  I doubt that I will be able to stay on schedule with watching and creating for the whole year, but I'm off to a good start.  I used Outside the Margin's wonderful Color Mists for the background on Fabriano hot-press paper. On that note, I love Color Mists.  You get nice lay-down of color and it's a sheer layer so it's hard to over-do it.  They clean up easily off your hands (which not all mists do...some stain terribly).  Then I raided my stash of images in files and on DVDs.  I mulled over things that have meaning in my life and some things I want to work on and some things are on-going from previous years.   

Yep, once again birds.  Can't help myself.  I'm sure it will change and vary but it's what my muse seems to want at this time.  I hope you've enjoyed the journey so far and maybe it will make you think about what you want 2013 to bring for you.  I send you my best wishes for a great year.

 

Paintings at Christmas

 

Merry Christmas!  May your holidays be filled with joy and the promise of good things to come.  Just finished this last night.

Here is the journal pages version...slightly different colors:

The last painting is one I finished a while back but couldn't post because it was for my bestie.  She's got it now so I can finally share it.  It's been hard waiting!  I used a photo that Cheri posted on Facebook to work from.  

The top picture is a bit too bright and the one below too muted.  It's somewhere between the two.  lol

Okay, well this is about right but the background wasn't finished or framed yet.  Maybe somewhere between the three you can get an idea!  rofl  I'm such a good photographer...not.

 

A fish ornament and a journal cover re-do

I bought some clear glass ornaments for a project with the Sunday School kids and couldn't resist playing with a few of them.  A transparency (by Artchix), some glitter, beads, trim and a tag later and I had a fish ornament.  Funny thing is that when I posted it to Facebook, some people thought a real fish was inside!  

Do you ever have a piece that just bugs you but not sure why?  This journal cover has bugged me since I finished it.  Maybe the colors aren't me (they aren't), but they've bugged me.  

SO, I kept adding layers of color and "stuff" until I'm finally satisfied.

 

I wonder if Michelangelo ever had this problem with the Sistine Chapel?

A Framing Trick

I learned this some time ago and just used it again yesterday.  If you are finishing off the back of a piece you've framed and you're adding a dust cover (you know, the brown kraft paper on the back), here's a few steps to get a good 'fit'.

Lay the frame on the kraft paper (or inside of a paper grocery bag) and draw around it with a pen or pencil.

Cut just inside the drawing (or it will be too big).  

Using white glue, stick down the paper to the back of your piece.

Chances are, it will not be that tight or smooth.  Use an old credit card or bone folder to get good firm contact with the frame.  Now here comes the "magic" part.  Take a spray bottle and fill it with tap water.  Spray the paper until it's nicely damp and then leave it to dry.  As it dries, the paper will shrink and pull it tight and snug. Here's one I did yesterday.

Then add your sawtooth hanger or hooks and eyes.  With hooks and eyes, place them 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down the frame for it to hang nicely.  Add a few of the rubbery bumper dots at the bottom to counteract the projection of the hanging hardware and you'll have a picture that will look almost professionally framed and will hang well on the wall.

Now, if like the one above and the edges aren't nice and clean, apply washi tape, ribbon or other finishing material to cover the edges. 

I'd love to show the front of this piece as it is ones of the best paintings I've done, but it's for a Christmas present and she just may see this!