Mini Mixed Media Frame Project

 I stopped by a garage sale by my house and came upon these gems. They were all wrapped up in there original plastic but had seen better days. I wound up having to throw away the actual art and the wood they were mounted on as they were moldy. 

But I could save the beautiful metal frames from Italy. I cleaned them up and added some white highlights.

Then I tinted them with layers of transparent washes of Golden acrylics.

I traced the shape of the frame on paper made for acrylic paint and added a few layers of paint and tissue papers.

Now what to add next? I went through my old transparencies from teaching and cut this one up.

and layered those on top of the collages.

The glass needed attention next, I cleaned and scraped off the paper that was stuck to them and added details with pen and paint. 

Now the fun of mixing and matching the collages with the frames and glass.

A more tedious next step was cutting out new backing for all of them.

I glued the cardboard in with liquid nails and glued paper over that with Elmers and then signed each one.

Last, I added small embellishments and dots and flourishes a la Michael DeMeng. 

Before and After

 What do you think? I sold one the next day and still have 6 available. Thanks for looking. 

Process of a Collage

Much Ado About Nothing 18" x 24"

Step 1 get rid of the white of the canvas by brushing a couple different of colors around, it doesn't matter if you cover the canvas completely. 

Next I went through my stash of ephemera and started cutting, tearing and gluing, tissue paper, flowers from a birthday card, a canvas bracelet that was a gift, parts of a calendar and a business card from an art studio in Hawaii. 

Step 3: More layering of papers with addition of white paint circles and oil pastels overlapping some of the papers to give a more unified feel. The wooden bicycle was later removed... 

...when I found an old page from the Shakespeare play "Much Ado About Nothing" I was making this piece for a show titled  Love and Heartbreak. One of the quotes I used was from Beatrice, "A dear happiness to women, they would have else been troubled with a pernicious suitor. I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humor for that: I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me."

For some three dimensionality, I took a completed small piece right off my studio wall named "button candy' and glued it at the bottom slightly to the right of center.  This piece was made with buttons and resin. Other 3D items include a miniature circus horse from my collection, a vial of glitter, a resin heart and a glass blown fish drink stirrer. 

Our old table is new again!

We wanted to do something with our everyday dining table. At first I thought I would paint a design on it with those new chalk paints I've been hearing about. Then my husband and I got the idea to glue a map that shows all of our travels onto the table and add collage elements around it then pour resin on top to seal it all.

This photo shows the first attempt of trying to glue down the map. I used a whole jar of acrylic gel medium and it had some horrible wrinkles I couldn't even get out. I carefully took it off before it was dry. The photo shows were parts of the map stuck. I poured water on the table and used a credit card to scratch it all off. 

The map sat around for a week while I gained courage to start over and  got some helpful hints from my friend Marianne and the internet. I tore the map apart on its creases and crinkled up each section to make overall wrinkles and coated the front and back of each section. 

It came out perfect this go around.

After I glued down the pieces, I added dots and swirls of paint between the ephemera. 

The next steps were to put masking tape around all the edges and then pour a coat of 2 part resin. Unfortunately the resin soaked through the map making dark mottled areas where the paper was thinner from it sticking to the table the first go around.  Now what to do?

I decided to start painting on the resin.
I painted our tandem bike.
I really liked the way it turned out so I painted some more...

Next I added our teardrop R-Pod trailer complete with
our little pink and blue trailer shoes under the door. 

Next I added our  Dodge Ram Pickup truck we had to buy to pull the trailer, then the second coat of resin was added. We thought it still needed more "stuff" so my husband and I decided to add some current travel photos to the mix...

In total there are 3 layers of resin. I waited until it was dry to the touch to add the second and third layers. After letting it cure for 72 hours, we removed the tape and had to do a light sanding around the edges as the resin had tried to creep up the tape. I didn't have the resin pour off the sides. The table top is 3' x 4'. I have ordered some silicon place mats so we don't scratch it up or cause any damage since it is a table we use every day. 

Birdhouse for fundraiser

I received this letter in my inbox the other day from a friend: 

Dear Artist and Friend of the Animals,

I have these sweet little unfinished birdhouses and I’m looking for folks who would like to support the Idaho Humane Society by painting/designing/enhancing one for our upcoming 25th Annual Lawn Party fundraiser.

I couldn't say no and that afternoon a cute plain wood bird was hand delivered to me to "do my stuff" to.

Here is the finished birdhouse, collaged and painted with a cat guarding the entrance 

and a vintage butterfly pin above the door. 

And a view of the back with some more cats. 

Summer Travel Pages in my Re-purposed Journal

This blog post is part two from January 8
  Repurposed Art Journal

These are travel collages, using maps and ephemera and watercolors, crayons and markers.

This 2 page spread reminds me of the nice vacation we had with my sister-in-law.

I usually complete a group of pages at once, instead of one a day.

This 2 page spread captures the lovely weekend we spent with our friends Mario and Bella. 

 The left hand page is a collage from a Public Art Dedication that I went to that my two friends Marianne and Lynn created.

These pages are created while on my trips, I'm usually pretty busy but can find an afternoon here or there to catch up on my journaling. If I wait until I get home, it is too overwhelming and I never get around to it. 

On the left is a tattoo design I created for my friend Mandi. On the right is one of the original pages from my daughters journal. 

This 2 page spread will remind me of the fabulous time I had with my oldest daughter this summer while spending a week at her home. 

Mine on left, daughters on right. I am currently reading "The Time Traveler's Wife"
and working in this journal reminds me of the story a little bit as my daughter and I are not passing the journal back and forth to work in it, but it is her journal from 10 years ago?
And when I see her markings I think of her how she was then instead of now as a young adult. 

"I could never resist the call of the trail" Buffalo Bill

I love trying to make sense of my daughters diagrams and doodles. 

Repurposed Art Journal

I have been making artist journals since 1995. I try not to buy anything new, but reuse and repurpose what I already have. Well my journal for 2013 is all filled.

So I was looking through my books and sketchbooks to see what I could use for this year. I came across this one that was my daughters that she had given me to store or throw out or whatever. Well I'm going to use it for whatever... Voila, My new 2014 art journal! 

I started by cutting up a shopping bag and glueing it on handles and all. I used a credit card to smooth out the glue. 

Some pages of the book was used for random drawings, some I am keeping, others I'm just working over. 

Here is a page where she has counted out all of her halloween candy and added up the different types. (and I thought she was in there just gobbling them up!)

It will be fun coming across her random things as I go through the year. This is way better than throwing it away. 

I collaged and painted over the shopping bag and even added a bow. Last night I had the privilege of getting together with some artist friends and finished the first two page spreads. Marianne, I left your little doodle on the cover! 

The first 2 page spread is all about the new trailer we just bought and look forward to taking out this year on many adventures. 

The next 2 page spread is my first adventure of the year going cross country skiing in Oregon. (not with the trailer) 

I'll have fun sharing this with you through out the new year!