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.

Valentine collages

After working in the public schools art programs for so many years and being steered clear of doing anything for the "holidays" as that was out dated and so behind the times...I pretty much had avoided doing anything specifically for any holiday. Then today while looking through my papers - I distinctly heard my muse pulling me toward doing some Valentines. These are 8"x8".

Gloomy Day

Finished Tiles pictured with powdered pigments and embellishments.

Mosaic Tiles: First step shape with hands then press rubber stamps or anything 3-D in surface.


I woke up with a neck ache and headache to what seemed like day 965 of dreary skies. Decided I wasn't feeling well enough to go workout, big mistake. Amazingly I did get some art work done.

My sister gave me some plastic dried orange slice Christmas decorations which I put to good use with this water color painting that I completed last night at the studio.

I purchased a book last week " Mixed Media Mosaics" So last night I started playing with some Fimo clay and rubber stamps.

Today I got out some jars of Pearl Ex Powdered Pigments I had had for awhile and had never used. I wasn't sure how to use them or what they were for, but they looked a lot like what was demonstrated in the book. They are pretty cool. I dry brushed them on the clay. Then found some beads, jewels and embellishments. The last step was to put them in the toaster oven at 225 degrees for 30 minutes. After 5 minutes we put the toaster oven outside so the fumes wouldn't get to us. I will use these in various projects at a later date. Now I have to buy more clay in other colors!

Monday Playtime in the studio

Saturday I went to a couple of art studio's with my friend Nancy and to a thrift store to gather some more ideas. Sunday I went Skiing up in the sunshine and got out of this horrible inversion. Today was spent "playing" in my studio and I came up with two new pieces.

The first piece relates to my ABC theme and uses a lot of my miniatures that I have collected from various places including, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico and Belize.

The second one is named "No Maintenance Pet" Except for a few assorted cats and dogs I had with my first husband 25 years ago I have never had any pets in my adult life. Reasons: I like to travel and don't want to have to worry about what to do with them. I do not like hair on my clothes, furniture etc. I do not like to clean up poop. Hence all the reasons for my "No Maintenance Pet." $25 SOLD

Artist Date

This piece is named "Community Garden" After the Sunset Community Garden that I joined as a working member last year. I always said I had a brown thumb and do not have a garden of my own, so have really enjoyed learning and harvesting this past year.

This piece I finished Tuesday at the studio, and have named it "Come Hell or High Water" which are the words printed on the cork. The wine cork is from the Hell's Canyon Vineyard on the Oregon /Idaho border. I hiked 7 devils this summer, on the edge of Hell's Canyon and took the short "climber's route" up and over the "devils" to get back to the car- I was horrified at this prospect as I had never considered myself a climber or stupid enough to attempt something like that. But I lived through it and actually had fun. This piece looks kind of creepy...the hair- like strands are actually brown glue, melted and draped over the tin. I have long thin straight hair that has always tormented me, this reminds me of my bathroom counter after I comb my hair. But back to 7 devils...at one point during our trip, my husband and the rest of the party went on a bag-peaking day hike, while I stayed at camp and babysat Milo the dog. Around the time they were to return I heard a huge rock slide and ran to see 3 people returning and not the 5 that had left earlier and was convinced my husband was buried forever under heavy rocks, but later found out he and another friend had decided to do another peak and were not buried in the debri.
The rock with a whole in it is from Texas and reminds me of a skull.

Artist Date:

My daughter came back from visiting her dad in Texas yesterday and we spent the day today on an "Artist Date" Those of you that have followed Julia Cameron's "The Artists Way", will understand this concept as doing something for yourself to inspire your creative side. We spent the day scouring antique shops and thrift stores. She bought a jewelry box that she is currently visually enhancing, while I am working on my blog. I bought a postcard from the turn of the century with writing on the back that says " This is our Home", this will be incorporated in an assemblage to come - the other piece I tried to buy had no tag and she refused to sell it, so I left my business card and hope to get a call as those two pieces are inextricably tied together!

Long Distance Friendships

I have had this old metal mailbox for quite some time. I bought it from a mixed media artist in Texas. Even when we downsized and sold most of our belongings, I hung on to this one for some reason.

I have always liked shrines...I have participated in many "Dia De Los Muertos" art shows were I had to create a shrine...one was for my grandmother...one was for musicians that had died.

I have been missing and thinking about many of my best girlfriends over the years that I have either moved away from or they moved from were I met them. Back in the "old" days" we kept in touch my mail. It would take a few weeks to more than a month to hear back from them or them from me.

I then got this idea to turn the mailbox into a Shrine to Long Distance Friendships. Collaged around it are various pieces from traveling, glued on it are various charms and beads and in the center opening is a vintage photos of two girls that says "friends" and a brass angel looking over them from Mexico. SOLD

Inspiration needed on a cloudy day

Art everyday....be creative every day...a portrait a day....seems like everyone that I know that is an artist has committed to do this this year. Trouble is the last 2 years I did a journal page a day and got burned out on it and now I can't seem to get fired up about something new to do.

I went to the museum today for their new docent training- I was all excited about doing this and then found out I would be missing 6 of the 15 required training days as we are going on another T@B cross-country journey. So the lady in charge said I should wait and get in on the training next year. boo hoo. Though I am excited about traveling again. And who knows maybe this new blog will be my daily creative outlet.

My other thoughts on the theme idea- I completed 26 pieces of art based on the alphabet October through November. I just completed the White Mirror- maybe my next series will be based on colors.

This is a bowl I did over the New Year Holiday when both of my kids were in town and we all went to the local pottery place. This was a memory painting based on a hike I did up in Stanley Idaho and painted a scene of the Sawtooth mountains and Redfish Lake.

What kind of drugs are you taking?

After holed up in my studio Friday afternoon I proudly came out and showed off newest creation "Senor Raton" to my husband. He said "how did you come up with that idea" and I replied , "it just popped into my head" and he said, "What kind of drugs are you taking back there?"

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

...who's the biggest slacker of all. So at almost 50 years old, for the first time in my life I am getting my wish of being a full time artist...but now not holding down a "real job" I feel like a slacker. People always ask, aren't you bored? What do you do all day? Which makes me feel a little guilty...Yesterday I read my horoscope for LIBRA:

"It takes a lot of time to be a genius," said Gertrude Stein. "You have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing." I agree with her statement which is why I have high hopes that you're going to tap into more of your dormant genius in the coming days. The cosmic rhythms are nudging you to enjoy a time of profound slack, and I think there's a good chance you'll agree to that."

Well now that I have permission from the cosmos to slack...I am actually back to getting my creative juices flowing once again. I completed my project based on the snow I saw over New Year- an assemblage piece named: "Mirror Mirror on the Wall" and started a second piece which I will post this weekend.

CHAOS

Lately I had been feeling like I had too much in my head and was too scattered to really accomplish much of anything. I would start one task, see something else that needed attention...start on that...etc. Then I came across this quote the another night: "You need chaos in your head to give birth to a dancing star." Friedrich Nietzsche good- now I am validated and won't worry about it.
Above photo is me snowshoeing at Galena Summit on New Years Weekend, the only thing going thru my head then, other than how beautiful it was - was I sure hope this slope doesn't give way under the weight of the new snow! Avalanche Warning signs were posted as we started up. We did hear some whumping sounds of snow shifting but other than getting my leg caught in a tree well all went well and we had a great day.

A New Year a New Start

My kids have been home for the holidays (I was glad to see them) but I did not get much done. We have a small house and since my studio is the guest room...I saw more dirty socks than artistic inspirations. One is now back at school and the other is in Texas visiting her dad, so last night I went to my artist group (The Gypsy Gallery) pot luck and was re-inspired to get back to my artistic endeavors. Marianne told me about a blog she is following "Creativeeveryday" after looking at that blog and several others, I am making a new commitment to get back to my creative "roots". The collage above (Junk Mail Blues) I entered today in the juried exhibition "We Art Women." and I started on a "found object" mirror...inpsired by my recent snowshoe trips and a photo I saw of a tree all covered in snow. More to come...

Surf, Sun, Sand

$50
this original acrylic painting was completed while attending The Savannah School of Art in Savannah Georgia a couple of summers ago. My teacher was from Egypt and told us how he always put some symbol of man in his landscapes/seascapes...hence the sailboat way off in the distance. Glued to the easel are coral from Florida, sand from Galveston, TX and a wooden boat from Mystic Seaport Connecticut.

eXtraneous iXtappa

$25
Original acrylic painting of some of my miniatures. Attached to the frame are various other miniatures purchased while traveling in Mexico. (My high school years were spent living on the border of Mexico in Texas) This title stretches the letter "X" but I did not have a Xylophone!

Yellow Yes

Wooden Hook with all things yellow. Upside Down. My daughter goes to University Of Oregon (the ducks). After she said she liked this one... guess what? One Christmas gift down.

Maria Milagrosa

$50 SOLD
Maria Milagrosa- Miraculous Mary
This is one of my favorite pieces. This small wooden chest is collaged on all sides. The silver embellishment on top is a vintage piece from Italy. The "M" is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. (both added after the photo was taken) The metal church was purchased in Mexico.
Several inspirations for this piece...my confirmation name is Maria. My travels to Mexico. And the reading of "The Secret Life of Bee's" and the black Mary shrine portrayed in the story.

Itinerary: Idaho

$75
This "vintage" looking collage is a personal testament to everything my husband and I love about the outdoor activities available living next to the foothills in Boise. We moved here exactly one year ago and joined Idaho Outdoors, Idaho Mountain Rec., and the Woman's Hiking Network. We have made many wonderful friends on our new adventures in the wonderful state of Idaho.
The Idaho miniature license plate was purchased in Colorado before I ever imagined that I would be living here. DONATED TO "WE ART WOMEN" AUCTION

Natty Nutcracker

$15 yes, this one too requires the jaunty tilt of the head...
painted frame, glitter, Wooden Nutcracker and collaged background.( The title of this one necessitated the use of my Thesaurus. )

Peaceful Pastures

$25
Yes, you have to turn your head or your computer screen to the left to view this one from the correct angle.
Original acrylic painting, vintage sheep from my mom, plastic trailer. This is inspired by the farms we visited in Iowa and the sheep I see in the foothills of Boise, ID.

Road Rally

$25
I have never been on a road rally but my parents talked about the fun times they had back in the 50's and 60's participating in several. The red '76 corvette is a copy of the one I owned back in the 80's. The "1st" on top is from one of my daughters trophies that she donated to the cause
( mom's art career)

Vast View

All things tall- the Eiffel Tower was purchased in Paris, France. The Empire State Bldg. was purchased in New York City. Birds are perched on the top. Lizards are crawling up the sides of this handmade, handpainted/collaged wooden box. one of a kind. $40

LadyBug Love

Shadow Box of Valentine sachet, miniature strawberry pie, ceramic hearts, bird house, stickers, glass ladybug, silk rose. $25

Magic Monkey Mirror

This piece consists of a vintage necklace that was my mothers, a mirror from The Museum Co. and a plastic monkey and bananas. I sold this one to my friend Nancy. SOLD

Gypsy Gallery

I found this old, slightly suggestive dog sculpture at a yard sale years ago, then I bought this mirrored shadow box at a local craft store it fit the dogs perfectly and the marriage was complete. $75

Tonight I am putting the finishing touches on all my pieces for my first showing in Boise. 36 pieces! Also with the help of a good old friend, I am publishing my blog for the first time and printing business cards.

I have been accepted into the Gypsy Gallery- a group of 7 artists without a permanent home, hence the name Gypsy.

Please join us for our 6th Annual Holiday show on First Thursday, December 4 from 6-9 p.m. in the lobby of the Pioneer Building at 6th and Main. (entrance on 6th or through the shops)