IA: things I love

In honor of fast approaching Valentine's Day, Inspiration Avenue is celebrating a little early and this week's prompt is to make a digital collage of some type referencing what I love.

I decided to show more than romantic love - my life is full of things I love to do and people I love ...... these are just what quickly came to mind.  There's still time to join in the IA fun.....use your own images or find royalty free images online (flickr has lots).  Have fun!

a swap & mail art news

A quick FYI - I just read over at Inspiration Avenue that they're planning the first swap of the year - Tags with Hearts.  Any kind of tag -gift, luggage, hang tags or even bookmarks - with a heart in the design....in honor of heart month and Valentines.  The early notification gives you a heads up - if you're ready to jump in and flex those creative muscles this early in the year, this is an easy one to get started on.  Details will be posted next week so check their site....

More good news - Karen has posted two new MMSA prompts for January so it's time to get your mail art mojo working...... I'm busily working in blue!  We'd love to expand the number of participants so if you've ever thought about exchanging a little mail art, this is the perfect time to start.  Karen is quick to encourage everyone, beginners or long-time artists, to participate.  Join in, your mail box will thank you.

I got my ATC cards for Sandy Hook in the mail to Jessica (In Search of Dessert) - she provided each participant with a quote to use, so while each card is different, front and back, the sentiment is the same.  I used some of my own photography on some of the cards.

Here's one more tidbit to share - I've decided to join Hanna in the 365 challenge (commit/try to make/do/create 365 of something of your choice - collages for me) and so has Michelle at Lost Coast Post. She's going to make 365 character drawings!  Anyway, she posted a great reflection on tackling a project like this and how to make it more workable.  It's worth a read if you're considering a year long commitment to anything.

another challenge combo

Again this week I was able to combine the APR and IA challenges.....IA, orange and APR masquerade.  So what's the logical thing to do?  Put the masquerade mask on a pumpkin, of course!

Hope you enjoy my bit of silliness - hope it's not too late to get this linked.....I kept forgetting to work on it in the evenings.  Anyway - visit Jenn's Artist Playroom and Inspiration Avenue to see other interpretations.

APR and IA

Once again my two favorite challenges have meshed in their themes.  Artists Playroom (the 29th week!) hosted by Jenn at Just Add Water Silly is encouraging us to do something botanical.  Over at Inspiration Avenue, the theme is rose.  W-e-l-l......first I did something digital with one of my bazillion rose photos (layers, brushes, splotches, color, cutting & pasting):

I used this photo and a separate one of just leaves as the starting point:

If you like roses, here are a few more of my fave shots:

Okay, enough of that - but then I realized that wasn't enough so I printed a couple more pics and decided to see what I could do with collage.  

These smaller two collages I started with scraped paint backgrounds made at Jane's class at Art and Soul; the top one is on a large Michaels sale postcard, gessoed and stamped/painted, etc.

Hope you'll join in when you can - Inspiration Avenue (IA) and Artist Playroom (APR) are welcoming, encouraging communities of creative folks who want to support your artistic efforts. So come play with us!

happiness is: a pretty door

Inspiration Avenue chose one of my favorite things to photograph this week as its theme:  DOORS.  Travel with me as I show you some of the doors I've photographed over the years.

As recently as last week on vacation, this doorway in Nanaimo caught my eye.

Church doors in Indianapolis, IN

Sometimes it's the closeup version of a door that is intriguing.

Beijing, China - we learned about all the symbolism in this doorway, but I'll be darned if I can remember it.

A Madrid bookstore - one of my favorite types of doors.

Nothing here to give scale, but these doors were massive - 3 panels = the standard door height.  Taken at Alhambra castle, Spain.

This church door in Barcelona was tucked away down a quiet alley - we found it totally by accident (aren't some of the best finds done that way?)

I love this door of a small merchant's stall to a souvenir shop in Rabat, Morocco.

Across the street from the capitol building in Montpelier, VT is this surprising door.  Dan was taking photos of the capitol building and I turned to this instead.

As you can see from this (and from the posts from other participants who all have equally fascinating door images/drawings), doors come in so many shapes, sizes and colors.  Each one has a story and if my imagination worked that way, I'd come up with a clever story of what's going on behind one of these doors.  But alas, my brain is creative in other ways, so I hope you're happy just seeing this selection of really cool doors!  Be sure to visit Inspiration Avenue to see more.

IA: teapot

Inspiration Avenue theme:  teapot.  Well, I can't draw a teapot.  Not and have it look much like a teapot.  All symmetrial and even and dimensional.  Unlike some Aussie friends I could name (Tracey!) - this is totally in her wheelhouse.


But, I do have a beautiful teapot we bought on our trip to China.  I have a camera.  I have PS Elements.  I make art! :)

I haven't used my camera artistically in months - it might be time to pull it out and remind myself why I love it so much!

art journal & baseball nut

Two challenges accomplished though I wasn't sure I'd get around to them this week.  At Twinkle Twinkle, the summer of color continues, each week based on an ice cream flavor.  The flavor of the week is Baseball Nut - never heard of it (I'm not much of an ice cream person, remember?) but the colors are DE-licious!  I'm right at the tail end of posting for this, partly because I couldn't figure out what to do with the color combo.  But I finally just pulled out a piece of paper and started.....and you know what? I like it!

Inspiration from Kristin:  Baseball Nut ice cream


My efforts:

Black raspberry, vanilla and a touch of caramel, 5x7 on watercolor paper......

Inspiration Avenue had the easiest prompt ever:  art journaling.  I have a few pages I did a week or so ago AND I bought a new art supply (shocker, I know!) and added black gesso to my table.  So, I had to try it right away - in my art journal of course.

Double spread using black gesso, stencil of laser cut scrapbook paper spritzed w/ white, duck tape, stripes of light yellow made of ripped cardboard, silk flower bits.....I love black backgrounds so this will get lots more playing!

 Using one of my many window/door photos as a starting point and trying to figure out how to integrate it on a page....

 Trying to save a BAD scribble start....

Digging out my watercolors and playing - skills definitely a little rusty....

Please visit both of these sites/challenges - there's a wealth of talent and inspiration to be found.

postcards mailed

Hooray - I finished my Inspiration Ave postcards for the swap and all 5 are in the mail in the morning, winging their way around the world (Australia, Germany, Canada, US).  I'm sure looking forward to getting mine starting any day now..... :)

No pictures just yet as I don't want to give away what they'll be receiving to those who might read my blog, so I'll share in a few days.  My envelopes look like this:

So if one of these shows up in your mailbox, it's from me! :)

inspiration ave: words

Words.  My fave.  I love reading; I love quotes; I love inspirational snippets (poetry, not so much).  Look what I've made using words, photography, paint, whatever.....   Be sure to visit Inspiration Avenue to see other interpretations of this theme (in honor of poetry month).

Sometimes the words are more subtle ("share" is collaged and painted over, there is French text on the wings)

Taken yesterday at the Washington tulip fields.  (more of these to come)

But, here are my favorite words - bound in book after book, all for anyone's reading pleasure and enrichment.  I was cleaning my bookshelves so had them stacked on the floor so I could dust ... man oh man books collect a lot of dust.  I read everything from mysteries to family sagas to popular novels (The Hunger Games, The Help) or what's showing up on a "Best of" list, or books about other cultures or .... I do tend to read mostly fiction though I've been known to pick up a 'teaching' or 'enlightening' book now and then.  Do you have one I need to add to my list?

By the way, I'm tracking all my reading for this year on my Reading List tab at the top of the page so you can see what I'm reading at any given time.

I love words.

foliage, spring, and more

I did it.  I actually made a piece of art to submit for Seth Apter's open call for art in conjunction with the publication of his book (read all about it here).  I read about it weeks ago but decided I couldn't participate - you know all the usual 'I'm not good enough' thoughts rolling around.  Then I saw the entry by my blogging buddy Karen at IamRushmore and had to tell her how great hers was - but that I am a big chicken so wouldn't be sending anything.  W-e-l-l that didn't fly.  She immediately responded with some very encouraging words, ending with "you are worthy".

I thought. I ruminated. I daydreamed. I mused. I embraced "you are worthy".  I got busy.

I started my 5x5 piece with a layer of tissue paper printed with "I am worthy" over and over to completely cover the watercolor paper. Then I layered on pieces of a dress pattern tissue. Then some paint and stencil layers, mostly obscuring the original words (cuz I'm not really sure I'm worthy).  Then, draw the branches, collage on the leaves in a combo of new growth colors (representing my growth as an artist).  Finally, I decided to add a layer of vellum to further obscure the image and add some mystery.  The beads serve as the blooms on the branches....

It went out in the mail to Seth today.  All I can say is a huge thanks to Karen for the kick in the butt and the reminder that we're all amazingly worthy, we're all incredibly capable, we're all deliciously creative.  Just give yourself permission.  THANKS KAREN.

So this little gem is also showing up for Inspiration Avenue's foliage prompt, Artist's PlayRoom (a new weekly challenge offered by Jenn at Just Add Water Silly) spring prompt and Creative Every Day.

inspiration ave: mail

I haven't participated at Inspiration Avenue in awhile but as I saw some of the entries being finished for this week's mail challenge, I put my thinking cap on.  I had several ideas:  picture of postcards I've received from blogging friends, postcards I've made, decorate an envelope artfully, draw a mailbox .....aha! a mailbox.....

That reminded me of a photo I took on vacation last year when we visited the little town where Dan's folks lived for many years, Rockfield, IN. It's a little farming community of a couple hundred people and I took a picture of their post office, on main street - one of about 3 businesses still functioning in town.

I desaturated the image, added PSE filters and frames (thanks for the info Michelle) and a Shadowhouse texture to make my piece of digital art.

One of the best things about Inspiration Ave is how each week so many different interpretations and styles and medium are represented .... I really like all the creativity that shows up at these challenges.