a little time for art

I've managed to find just a little time for art this week.....a couple of art journal pages....

Then, while on vacation, I was mulling around what to do with my big, WIP canvas.  Toying with this idea and that.  Wondering, speculating, visualizing.  One night as I'm laying in bed trying to sleep, I got a germ of an idea....tossed and turned some more and as I laid there kept telling myself "don't forget this in the morning"..."use this color palette"....."remember this plan".  Finally I just had to get up and sketch the idea, write it all down and get it out of my head.

One of the things I noticed about not having access to a computer and the ability to peruse everyone else's wonderful art is that I started to feel more confident about my own.  I started having ideas and sparks that I feel like are just mine.  It took a few days of NOT thinking about art to have the art come bubbling to the top and my little sketchbook (my new moleskine that I wasn't sure I'd like) has numerous beginnings, baby ideas, and 'what ifs'.

Once home I wanted to try out my idea in my journal and see what I liked or didn't before moving to the big canvas.  Here's my trial pages.....

As a reminder, here's the big canvas when last I showed it - I'd covered up much of the riot of color and added this bold stencil - which I like but wasn't feeling connected to.

So I painted the whole thing gray - shades of black, white, gray but with hints of the former layers and colors still peeking through.....don't know how much, if any, will be there at the end, but that's the joy, right?  And I'm thinking a vertical orientation instead of my typical landscape.....

This weekend I MUST focus on making some mail art....I have so many beautiful cards that I've received and want to respond to.  BUT, I also am feeling the pull to work on this baby.  Will let you know how it goes.

[ed to add] I'm adding this to Artists in Blogland - a great resource to see what other folks are up to artistically.  I often forget this great weekly resource....just link up one of your posts showing what you've been up to in the last week so people can find you -

icad and mail

First, posting my ICADs for the last few days.  Remember, you can join in any time for as long as you want - do it every day or do it as often as you can.....it's all about making a little time in your day to be creative.

#13 - desk clean up time again...discovered I have all these edge strips left over from various projects - now they are the project.

#14 - simple today, just a spritz of color wash, a stamp and some marker drawing....

#15 - found some textured paper scraps....

INCOMING MAIL:

Then, I've received some fabulous mail this week....Remember to check out Mail Me Some Art if you're interested in participating with sending and receiving great art to brighten your mail box.

From Valerie at Bastelmania for the IA swap - I just love her vintage style....I'm pretty sure she's in Germany based on the book pages as part of the background.

Also for the IA swap, above is from Shelly.  These darling little faces made me smile.

This beautiful card is from my buddy Karen at I am Rushmore who just makes gorgeous cards!  The leaves and flower blooms are real, pressed flowers!  How cool is that!  Thanks so much Karen - now I'll have to try that....Every so often I push the envelope a bit by trying something attached to the card and I think they've all gone through okay.....

More international mail from IUOMA members - from the Celestial Scribe in Brazil, a handmade envelope with a postcard and a tiny handmade envelope with a dried leaf tucked inside!

And from Mich in Greece, an original artist copy of one of her drawings and some really cool stamps!

I hear stories about people sending things like a yellow rubber ducky with an address tag around it's neck, a plastic teacup with the address on the handle, etc. so I think if I attach string or ribbon or a jigsaw puzzle piece firmly, there shouldn't be an issue.  Right?  Why don't you reach outside the 'norm' next time you make mail art and see what might work?

By the way, I'm linking this to Artists in Blogland too.....

snail mail

I've rediscovered the pleasures of snail mail.  I've made new friends; I've made and sent art; I use recycled papers, cardboard and more to make postcards; I look forward to checking my mailbox every day.  I'm sending out some snail mail love tomorrow (none of these are my IA cards....they're going out soon).

If you'd like to send and receive your very own mail art, watch for the occasional postcard swap or ask someone whose blog you follow if they'd like to trade mail art and exchange addresses privately.  Also, you can explore and join IUOMA (international union of mail artists - it's free) which is a site that's been around for years connecting people who enjoy the art of mail art.  Flutterbye is another site that will have occasional art/postcard mail art swaps (generously managed by Karen at IamRushmore), so register and join the art swap group there.  Currently you can join a postcard swap, an ATC swap and/or an art tag swap - sign up by May 25.  I always love sharing mail art (from anywhere in the world) and if you're interested in swapping, email me or leave a comment and let's exchange addresses.

ED:  I've also shared this with Artists in Blogland - no challenges here, we just want to see what you've been working on - easy, easy!

artful alphas

After taking Joanne Sharpe's first Lettering Love class (open forever so I can go back and review the videos whenever...), I signed up for her second class as well - Artful Alphabets.  We'll be learning 25 alphas over 5 weeks....I'm moving a little slowly - I think she's on alpha 10 and I'm only on 5, but I like that I can proceed at my own pace - the videos will always be there.

She starts off very basic (won't bother showing you those) then starts building and encouraging us to show some flair.

The cursive alpha is one that seems to have given others trouble, but since I still use most of the cursive letters in my writing, it wasn't too tough.  The hard part is to connect them all and not lift the pen.  Hmmm

Take our print alpha and fatten one segment, then add doodles - she shows 4 but encourages us to experiment....Here are my trials.

Take your own print and thicken it up.  Then I tried some phrases.

Still need work, but fun so far.....  (I'm sure you can join Joanne's class at any time - she makes each alpha easy with a video and PDF).

I'm sharing this with Artists in Blogland Saturday roundup and also Creative Every Day.  This week I worked on my lettering, on my photography (IA words prompt), my ALAW project using Zentangles, and shared progress in my altered book.  A fun week!

collage: share

My latest collage effort has been satisfying. I love it when a plan comes together! :) Though this piece evolved away from my original concept (started last year), I really like how it came together....

Here's the process (on a 12x12 canvas):

I was thinking something with stripes - the dark rusty brown is actually over Golden fiber paste for a very textured stripe.

Oops - a little glare...

I like that the stripes still peek through depending on the light.  I made the butterflies with PSE layering type, color, etc then cut out and collaged in place.

Finished piece in a vignette.  This will be making an appearance in my ETSY shop today - plus I've added a bunch of new photos....  Hope you all have a creative, productive weekend!  I'll be sharing this with other creative types on Artists in Blogland.

digital abstract

I found a new site (I know, big surprise, huh?) that will challenge my digital art efforts in a new direction.  Pixel Dust hosts a Photo Art Friday to showcase digital experiments and artistic efforts.  After browsing Bonnie's site and seeing her style, I was blown away and inspired to give it a shot.  I've done some playing with textures and enhancing some of my images with that, but her free textures are so totally different and the results are quite dramatic.  This will take a little getting used, but I like the stretch!

BEFORE:  an interesting ceiling - I like architectural photos but don't always know what to do with them

AFTER:

I used her textures Happy Day (hard light @ 65%), Mauve Magic (color burn @ 60%) and one call Water Stains (hard light @ 20%) from Hibbary.  I love the vibrant color and how extreme it is from the soft look I usually do.  After reading her process on the example in this post, I really experimented with some of those blending modes that I never really touch and didn't use my fave soft light.  I can't wait to do more of this!

Next Friday's challenge is to try something totally new, something we've been considering but too timid to try - I already know what I'll be attempting...... be sure and check back to see my efforts :)

I'm also linking this to Artists in Blogland which is a place to share your creative efforts each week.  Check it out.  I produced a few different things this week, but picked this post to share because it was the most outside my comfort zone piece - and I actually quite like it.  Sometimes taking off in a new direction or trying a new technique is slow going and not always immediately satisfactory.  But, it's sure fun when it finally comes together!