Crows

I've been making a few crows while my creative mind incubates some ideas I can't wait to get working on but won't be able to until I get back from a family vacation. I know I need to relax, but my favorite thing to do is make art. What can I say?

Crow VI

Watercolor

5" x 7"

Little Crow

watercolor

2.5" x 3.5"

Little Crow II

watercolor

2.5" x 3.5"

Little Crow IV

Watercolor

2.5" x 3.5"

Little Crow

Watercolor

2.5" x 3.5"

Crow I

Watercolor

5" x 7"

Crow II

Watercolor

5" x 7"

Crow III

Watercolor

5" x 7"

Crow IV

Watercolor

5" x 7"

Crow V

Watercolor

5" x 7"

More Mixed Media Jewelry

I am fascinated with the juxtapositon (don't you love that word?) of fine gem stones (garnets and peruvian opals) and fine silver against a bottle cap-a found object, trash from some unthinking individual. Lovely.

Again another bottle cap with coral, pearl, turquoise and sterling silver wound around a bottle, and yes there is a message in the bottle, a prayer for peace for all mankind.

Mixed Media Jewelry

Here is one of the necklaces I made today. I was supposed to be drawing faces of demons for a piece i am working on and just couldn't get to it. I overtly allowed myself to be sidetracked by reading http://www.susanlenartkazmer.net/Susan Lenart Kazmer's new book "making connections" which is chalked full of ideas for making cold connections and other inspirations. Being a self-taught jewelry artist, I am happy to report that I have used many of these techniques (ego talking). I learned a bundle though, and had so much fun.

The pendant is a copper piece that has been etched and pounded into a bowl shape. I drew beads of silver from my wire to create headpins, and used a"bezel" from the top of a chopstick I had and stuffed it with a roled-up piece of an altered page of paper from a book, on which I wrote a prayer for peace, held together with a pin of wire, the ends of which I hammered flat. this was connected to a thick rondel of coral. The wire hanging in back has a piece of amber with a fine silver pendant with a hand.

The photos do not do this piece justice as it is striking if i do say so myself.

Gocco Printer

This Thursday at the Art Clinic we are hosting a ATC trade- the first of which will be held on the Third Thursday of the month. I've been thinking about printing some ATC's as I just don't have the time to make a lot (I tend to spend a lot of time on them) soooo

I pulled out my Gocco printer. I'm not sure why I haven't been playing with it sooner!!! It was so much fun!!

With a Gocco printer the plate is a mesh screen which one squeezes the ink through onto you paper or cloth. The plate is made by a reaction of heat and carbon.
I made a few drawings using graphite, the pear and egg were done with charcoal, the bird is from a lino block print and the fairies were made from a gouache resist painting. It was so much fun and I realize the potential. Why have I waited so long to play with my Gocco printer??
I love how the egg came out, the plate picks up all of the subtle values so well. I printed a bunch on all kinds of paper as you can see by these pictures.

If you want an ATC- let me know!!!

New Art

I have been inspired by the work of an artist by the name of Anne Bagby. One of the things she does that I like (because I love faces and patterns) is she cuts her own stamps and prints unique papers which she uses with her lovely drawings of faces and hands. I have admired her work for a few years now and have finally decided to try my hand at making characters using paper, faces and hands. Some of the papers are decorated with my hand cut stamps, something I have enjoyed creating for a long time, and I needed a good excuse to practice drawing hands (more faces too).

Below are two I did today and the beginning of a new passion, as the possibilities are endless.

"Huburt the Earless"

Collage

4" x 8"

"Count Niko"

Collage

8" x 10"

"Prunilla"

Acrylic

5" x 7"

Here is the latest in my collection of chickens which are now showing and selling atThe Quackenbush Cafe and Gallery in Los Alamos. I also have jewelry there. It is an honor to have my work there hanging with my friends Syd McCutcheon, Sue Sattler, Jo Helgesen and Susan Buchanan as well as with all the other artists that the Gallery shows. The food is really good too!!

Ebb and Flow

This is my journal page from a project I lead in my visual journaling class. Everyone was given a collection of stuff (they chose it from a bag), and asked to create a page or spread. I also showed them a product call "Metal Magic" which gives a cool metal patina effect to all sorts of materials including paper. After they made the page they were asked to create a sentence from a page torn from a unknown book. It was a great class and I was very pleased with the participants work. Below is a close up of the face on my page.

Working at SB arts

Today I worked at Santa Barbara Arts on Canon Perdedo between Anacapa and Santa Barbara streets. I just rented a space there this month and have sold a few pieces already!! Made my rent which I take as a sing for the best.

I enjoyed my day working with Lynn Adams who is a lovely person with an abundance of positive energy. She is a hardworking advocate of the arts, an artist herself a graduate of Brooks institute, and also a dedicated supporter of animals. She rescues many, both ferrel and abandoned as well as wild animals. I appreciate the effort she extends to our community.

Some of my stuff-sorry about the poor photos.
Journals, one of which I sold today,yeah!
watercolor called, "Lifes a Beach"

A new Face

I have been extremely busy lately, thankfully teaching, getting ready for art shows and hanging out with my kids!!! But I'm making art everyday, though not necessarily able to show everything now as some of it is for a collaborative show at ART FROM SCRAP in Santa Barbara.

I'm very excited about those pieces (which I will post when the show opens), as the experience was very informative about who I am as an artist. More on that later.

Below is a portrait, a face to aid to my collection. I was working on a board coated with joint compound which I painted and drew on.

"Blonde I"

Acrylic and Graphite on textured Mat Board

4" x 6"

" Two Pears"

Watercolor

3"x3"

Valentine ATC's

Below are some valentine ATC's plus a few other pieces I've made in the past few days.

If you are interested in trading ATC's, let me email me at lifsart@verizon.net

"I Love,Therefore I Am"
ATC
"Marilyn Love"

coin envelope pocket for valentine card
"A House is a House"
"A Mermaids Life"
these two peices are book covers- examples for a childrens class I'm teaching. The kids painted the paper using gesso as the under design with color on top, then shapes are cut out.

"XO"

ATC

"Be Mine"

ATC

"Be My Untamed Love"

ATC

Visual Journals Rock

Here is the advent calender style self portrait page from my journal. I embellished an idea I read about in Linda Woods' and Karen Dinino's book Visual Chronicles, the no fear guide to creating art journals,creative manifestos and altered books, in which they spoke of creating a self portrait from symbols that represent you. It was Christmas time and I love those little doors in advent calenders. I used a slide mount as a template and created a grid of little doors and windows on a piece of watercolor paper that had been created for another project that just didn't work. I found a bunch of images or symbols that represent me.

I had my students do this in my visual journaling class and they loved it as much as I did. You gotta try it. I still have a few windows and doors to fill-up. I know I'll do this again in another journal as this one is almost full!!!

This eye is the remnant paint from my palette as I was playing with oils. When I was a kid my friend Mary's parents had a drawing of a Geisha in pen and ink on newspaper in their home. I enjoyed looking at that that piece then and continue to love the look of artwork done on such a common surface. I must do more oils on newspaper.