A Month of Creativity

I have been getting so many creative things done in the last 30 days that my blog postings have fallen by the wayside. Be warned...there is a lot to see!

These are practice pieces from the Claudine Hellmouth "Composition for Collage" workshop.

                                  Asymmetrical Composition                      Horizon Line Composition
 

 

                                           Grid Composition                             Vignette Composition

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Here are some personal pieces I created..a scarf and a bracelet...both created from recycled materials.

                             I used some favorite cotton tops and dresses (they no longer fit but I loved the
                             materials too much to throw them out), wedding dress lace that I dyed and
                             hand-embroidered, vintage lace passed down from my grandmother,
                             clearanced embellished ribbons, and some machine embroidery. The
                             green panel was a dress with pockets that I decided to utilize in the design.
                             I just love the funky artsy feel of the scarf.

                                 This project was inspired by Christy Tomlinson's Artsy Bangles class.
                                 I made this bracelet from an old faux leather belt that was getting a
                                 little tattered, stamped metal, and acrylic paint.

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Here are too more pieces from Christy Tomlinson's "Your Living Canvas" workshop. I can't recommend this workshop enough!

                                                                           "Vision" Canvas

                                                                      80/20 piece - work in progress

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This is my canvas from Donna Downey's Canvas Create workshop. I have really enjoyed these workshops and look so forward to a new video each month. I don't know what I am going to do when the year is up!

                                                                              "Lotus" Canvas

Multitasking creating...

Hello friends,

If you know me at all then you know that I do everything with multiple layers and multiple meanings. This is due in part to my overly complex nature and my need to resolve things. I tend to have a lot of irons in the fire which makes completing projects challenging. So to resolve this issue and still accomplish everything I want I combine projects. I feel this not only allows me to do more but also gives my art depth and meaning hopefully touching more people. 

If you have been following my blog then you already know that I am taking the Your Living Canvas workshop with Christy Tomlinson and Art McCracken and you have probably noticed that I participate in blog challenges when I can. This post gives you a peek into how my mind works and how I have successfully combined projects.

Lately, I have been fusing my Your Living Canvas journal art with Color Throwdown colors and getting two bangs for my buck. For me journal pages are challenging because I am not a journaler. Coming up with new themes, ideas, and color palettes can be overwhelming and stop me dead in my tracks. Using Color Throwdown's color palettes give me a great boost of inspiration and oftentimes a direction.

Here are the Color Throwdown challenges followed by my journal pages.

Words of Wisdom:
For me all the world is connected and intertwined, everything affecting and being effected by everything else so it is a natural course of progression to showcase that in my art in both large and small ways. If you are feeling like you have taken on too much find some creative ways to combine your tasks and projects. You will feel accomplished and your life and work will have deeper meaning.

July's Canvas Create - Birds on a Banner

Hi there,
I have been taking it easy today, resting from a weekend of intense redecorating of my daughter's bedroom. I decided instead of counting the day a total loss I could at least post my latest Canvas Create project!

This one was probably the most challenging for me thus far. I am not sure if it was the project or my state of mind but in the end I do like the results.

"Birds on a Banner"

Prayer Flag Swap with Lenna Andrews

I just finished my first ever mixed media prayer flags and boy was that fun!

The lovely Lenna Andrews is hosting another one of her fabulous international art swaps and this time it's prayer flags. If it sounds like something you would like to try click here for more information.

Here are my offerings....

 "Keep the Faith" 

 "Bliss"

"Just For You...Love...Joy"

The how tos:

The main focus of all three pieces are copies of art journal pages I created for my "Your Living Canvas" workshop printed on Claudine Hellmuth sticky-back canvas. I then backed each piece in a cool tie-dye peace sign cotton fabric and brought the fabric around the front for a rolled edge hem. Then using Stickles, water color crayons, Gelatos, paint pens, Scalet Lime pens, stamps, and machine stitching I embellished each flag. After everything was good and dry I sprayed them with fixative to keep everything protected. For a last bit of bling I added eyelets and strung specialty fibers with bells on each side.

"Your Living Canvas" online workshop...amazing!

I have been taking an online workshop with Christy Tomlinson called "Your Living Canvas" and let me tell you it has been a great experience for me.

I have really wanted to delve into art journaling and it has been a struggle since I am not one to just sit and create without purpose. This workshop not only inspires me to sit and create but the content is also a meaningful journey into yourself.

I encourage everyone to at least check it out and see if it is something that you might need in your life. The 6 week workshop is available for a full year so you can do it at your own pace. This is especially good for me because I was not able to follow along while it was "live."

Out of respect for Christy and Art (her co-teacher) I will not divulge any pertinent information like workshop subjects or exercises. I will simply let your eyes to the wandering. Enjoy!

The cover and following pages are only 1 1/2 classes worth of work (I told you I was behind).

 This is the book I used.