I Will Be Good

So, how did I come up with this idea? Well, there were 3 distinct and different ideas that converged together.

#1 was I had bought a bag of "school" items from the Salvation Army a few months ago. I was a school teacher for many years, so I know these were items meant to make a door or desk ornament for a beloved teacher...in order to be a little different from the iconic mug and/or apple. But I did not want these to go towards the basic.."Oh, this is cute..I think Ms. Smith would like this kitschy item."

#2 My daughters went off to college and left me with all their art and scrap booking supplies. (somethings just don't make the cut as they are not "cool" enough) I'm betting in a few years they will want them back. Anyway within their belongings I found a Vintage Stock Photo Book!
I flipped through it quickly to see what it was and this photo of the boy with the dunce cap immediately stood out as something I might use at a later date.

#3 I decided to start my project using the boy in the dunce cap and some of the 3D school items. Then I had to consider what was he in trouble for? and/or what was he thinking about? I have been working out at the gym a lot lately and am getting stronger- so have been egging my husband into wrestling matches-hence the wrestling photo. So the thought bubble could be what he got in trouble for.

Clutter or Inspiration part 2

Last night Nancy came over and we hung out in my studio since Marianne was out of town and Kristy wasn't going to the shared studio space across town. We were very productive while we listened to Obama in the background. Above is a picture of my spare table which I had to clear off for Nancy. On it are finished projects as well as some newly acquired items from the local thrift stores.

ABC, 123, what will I make today?
my tiniest miniatures, rubber stamps, pocket watch and pen nibs....
more rubber stamps and my collection of miniature vessels....
...my French collection....one of my fondest memories is traveling to Monet's Garden in Giverny and to Cezanne's studio in Aix-en-Provence with both of my daughters.

Clutter or Inspiration

I just finished reading the book "Art Making Collections and Obsessions" by Lynne Perrella. Which made me of course reflect on my own collections and obsessions and how it relates to my own art. I have also been reading "Living the Creative Life" by Rice Freeman-Zachary, and reading Rice's blog and thinking about where creativity comes from and how I get the ideas I do.

I wanted to show my studio and how sensory overloaded it is. The picture above shows a corner of one wall. Not only is my own art on the wall but that of both my daughters. I was their art teacher in elementary school and am quite happy that they are still making art while in their college-years.
My art and my treasures. I have a story for every piece...
...and every piece tells a story.
My Asian collection....
..and my mask collection. These all give me ideas and I now feel free to use these pieces in my art. As I get older and think about leaving this earth (Don't worry I'm not dying anytime soon...but I will turn 50 this year) I think about why am I saving all this stuff. No one will probably want it and I might as well use it in my creative endeavors.

Buttons, Beads and Fossils

I inherited a large tin of old buttons and beads. This has been my inspiration this week, digging through it and seeing what I could do with them.

I am an "out of sight, out of mind" sort of person- so I keep a lot of my assemblage items on a wall of cubicles from Target that my patient husband put together for me.

This nautilus fossil was one of the items that I have kept even through our massive cleaning out phase of moving across the country. It was given to me by my daughters kindergarten teacher 15 years ago. It had a crack in it and had been glued back together so not sure if it is worth anything as an artifact but I think it makes a perfect piece of art. I have glued it to a metal plate stand so it can stand up on it's own.

I had picked up this wall hook from JoAnne's not too long ago 'cause I thought it would be good for something. Added buttons and gold acrylic ink. Now I like it, hope you do too.

Art Was Her Saving Grace

This one has been brewing in my head for a while. Everyday I move around the pieces, adding and taking away elements, changing the title and the theme. As it stands now it is named "Art Was Her Saving Grace" Many of the pieces are items from my dollhouse from the 60's, the painting is a watercolor that I completed a few years ago. All the household chores surround her but she keeps her wits about her with her art.

Here is what I finally did with the polymer clay tiles that I baked in the toaster oven. I glued them on a frame then added seed beads and antique buttons to fill in the area around the tiles. I then used acrylic gold ink to paint over the seed beads. The edges of the frame are painted with a pattern using acrylic paint. I collaged patterned tissue paper on the mat and downloaded the 1920's photo from someone from one of the yahoo groups I belong to. Thank you whoever you are. The photo and mat can be removed if someone wanted to use the frame for a picture of their own.

Silver City 2

Last night I took my silver city sketches to the studio and tried to figure out what to do with them. I came up with two collages. The first one (above) shows details from some of the metal work on the light fixtures. With watercolor detail on the mat.
This collage shows my "picassoesque" wood burning stove which was the main source of heat for the dining room, a collection of glass bottles from behind the bar and one of the solar powered original light fixtures that also helped light the dining room in the Idaho Hotel.

Silver City Inspiration

Picture post card perfect. My husband and I had the opportunity to snowshoe into this old mining town in the remote Owyhee mountains in Idaho. The roads are closed all winter and the only way in is to walk or snowmobile. It took us 4 hours to go about 5 miles and a couple thousand feet in elevation.
Day 2 was an optional hike to SawPit Peak. I decided to stay in town and explore and take photos. We were privy to a tour of the Drugstore, which it's newest drug was dated 1906. We also got to go in The Masonic Hall. Our hotel was built in 1863. Our bed and furnishings were all original. The light fixtures are all original and are now run by solar power. It was like staying in a museum were you are allowed to touch stuff.
Some of the blind contour sketches I did while relaxing at the hotel. These will probably be incorporated into some kind of collage.

This Is Our Home

If you read my post on January 16th, I told about a photo postcard I had purchased of a woman and child in front of a house around the turn of the century. Penciled on the back is "this is our home" no names, dates or location. The door knob plate was the piece the store would not sell because it had lost its tag. I went back a week later and they still didn't know anything about it. One of the guys there said "for pete's sake just sell it to her for 50 cents." Then the lady said "how about a dollar" and I said "I liked his price better" and she said "he is not in charge" so anyway I was happy I got the piece. I had the Italian metal picture frame for a while just waiting to use it for something. The keys, pin, and buttons are from my great aunts home in New Jersey. SOLD

Vintage Sun Valley collage

At my last "First Thursday" showing, one of my visitors- after looking at a collage I had done on Idaho, suggested I do a Vintage Sun Valley Collage. As luck would have it we spent a few days at Sun Valley last week and I collected some images to use in a collage. I also found some 3-D Vintage Ski Christmas Ornaments. One was a ski boot, which is attached to the top of the black frame (not shown)

Good Art matches the sofa....right?

...or the bedspread in this case...we got a new bed spread so I needed to redo the art on the bedroom walls. I have always been fascinated with the simplicity of Japanese brushwork and the Zen circle. The gold foil squares in the center of the circle are Joss papers purchased at an Asian Market.