Homage Collage Reflection Workshop

I will be teaching a two-hour workshop on how to create your own personalized 12" x 12" mirror including the wide dark wood frame. You choose the subject be it a friend, relative or something you would like to honor with this personalized piece of art.

When making my sample for the workshop, I considered who would I honor? and guess what I decided -to make it for myself! It's always so hard parting with all these projects I make that I thought, "This way I get to keep it"

First step is gathering all your pieces of ephemera...tickets, pieces of old greeting cards, buttons, old jewlery, photos..etc. and laying them all out on the mirror frame.

 The hard part is taking everything back off so you can glue down the bottom pieces  and then remembering where everything goes. I did take some photos so I could look back but didn't have to. The memory still works... sometimes :)

 The next step was overlapping the papers with tissue papers.

 Then added a layer of further embellishments and some acrylic paint.

Using E6000 glue I added the 3D elements.

The final step was coating the whole project with Gloss Heavy Gel.

This workshop will be held Thursday October 13, 2011 from 5-7 pm at Twigs and Twist 1304 W. Eastman St. in Boise. To register call Gretel @ (208) 342-0600 The class will be limited to 10 people. Cost is $50 and includes mirror with 12" x 12" wooden frame and basic supplies.

What to Bring:

Ephemera (Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.) related to a theme or a person.

These can be small 3 dimensional objects such as buttons, jewelry…miniatures of any sort.

And 2 D papers such as maps, ticket stubs, photographs, interesting papers, stamps, tissue papers, such as old sewing patterns, gift wrap etc.

*Assortment of ephemera available for purchase at Twigs and Twist

What happened to using up all the stuff I already have?

I spent this last weekend in Twin Falls Idaho while my husband attended a National Ski Patrol meeting. I was going to stay home and work on some art projects but when he asked if I wanted to come along, that one of his buddies wives was going and was looking for someone to go to garage sales and thrift shops, I couldn't pass that one up!

This pile of "stuff" is from my friend Marsha who had an art business that is no more. She had a sale where you could fill a bag for $10. I stuffed mine with so much stuff, I gave her $15! Now my husband is threatening to call hoarders, so I better use it up.  Which I will since I have a lot of shows coming up, so no more shopping for now...just playing with it all and creating some new objects 'd art!

Small Oval Treasure Boxes

2 1/2" oval "treasure" boxes $20 each

We had great fun at studio em last night. There were 6 of us. Jennifer, Lynn, Marianne, Katherine, Nancy and myself. Thanks Marianne for a much needed "girls night" after all the backpacking and camping and hiking I have been doing lately.

Before heading over to the studio, I embedded keys, and antique buttons and beads to the top of each box, this gave the modeling paste a chance to dry. I also added a touch of e6000 glue to each key were the button overlapped to make it extra secure.

Inside each little box, I added a word...live...believe...hope...mom...harmony...hope.

 The fun part was adding collage tissues around the sides of the boxes and then using various very thin layers of acrylic paint to the sides of the boxes as well as the modeling paste. I used at least two colors on each box to bring out the texture of the modeling paste as well as add a richness to the finish.

Little jewels of boxes, I will hate to see these go...

Aspen First Thursday...Not so much....

First Thursday in Boise is a big deal. Lots of shops and galleries and restaurants and all manner of businesses downtown are open late, have special deals or special events, offer wine tastings, snacks and live music. Not to mention all the familiar faces and friends to be seen on every corner and in every venue.

So when I happened to be in Aspen this last week and saw a banner across the main street in town, touting First Thursday,  I was like " WOW," this is gonna be great!

Now we weren't actually staying in Aspen, so this required a special trip back into town for the festivities. I first went to the tourist "information booth" and this should have been my first clue that something was up, when I asked her about information for First Thursday she looked puzzled and disappeared into the back for a minute and then handed me the generic map pictured above. Stating "Tonight and every First Thursday beginning at 3pm."

So I set off for the first gallery. I walked in amidst, piles of wrappings and hammers and saws and packages and I said "are you open?" and they said oh, yes, excuse the mess, we are getting ready for an opening on Saturday. and I said, Oh, I saw you on the First Thursday map and they said " oh, is that today? Well we are busy getting ready for this big show coming up...."

On to the next gallery...we walked in- nice art, saw one show coming down and another going up... asked the gallery owner about First Thursday. Her response, "Oh, is that today? We really don't pay any attention to it as we have customers all the time and don't really need to do anything special to draw them in."

Next gallery, "oh I don't think that starts until 5..." Strange but we were the only ones visiting most of the galleries that afternoon.

Well, my husband and I went on and saw lot's of nice art ... but nary a glass of wine, nor cheese, nor cracker, nor live music was to be found.  I'll take First Thursday in Boise any day.

Traveling Art Kit when weight is not an issue...

So I am off on another trip but unlike the last adventure where I had to carry all on my back, this time weight doesn't matter as we are taking the truck and staying in a condo. I brought the same art kit I usually take to Marianne's on Studio Night.

I brought supplies to make my one of a kind collage cards. I will be showing three more times at  Capitol City Market and in Art in the Park, so I want to make sure I have enough items to show and sell.

Top of the kit has a zippered section with 2 pockets for ephemera.

The inside of my kit is not so well organized but I usually pull everything out anyway...

...as you can see here.

cards...

...and more cards.

A button I picked up at Anderson Ranch Art Center, a really cool place I just stumbled upon while out and about.