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

Block of the Month

Hi gang,
I have been a sewer since I was 9 years old (that is 33 years of sewing), and in that time I have made doll clothes, fashion and costume clothes, outfitted nurseries and children's rooms, and even some home decor items.

I have truly dabbled in a lot of sewing projects, but quilting has never been something I was interested in. I think it's because quilts seem country and ultra traditional, neither of which appeal to my style sense.

A few months ago I happened upon a site called Craftsy.com. It started out as a little group and has grown tremendously in just a year. They offer all kinds of crafting courses and workshops from jewelry to knitting and sewing to paper crafts.

At the beginning of the year Craftsy started a free online workshop called Block of the Month hosted by Amy Gibson. Each month she presents two easy quilt blocks for you to create at your own pace in your own time. At the end of the year she will show you how to finish it into a lap quilt.

This workshop appeals to me on so many levels! First, I love the modern graphic blocks, not at all the traditional, country vibe. Second, a "work at your own pace" schedule really works for me since my crafting time is randomly squeezed in throughout the week. Third, I have missed sewing for myself and thought this would be a fun project for my bedroom.

If you have never heard of Craftsy.com go check them out. You just may find something that interests you!

Here are my first 4 blocks....

My bedroom is ice blue and brown with accents of white and tan. This should look great in there if everything works out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Have a great week, Marnie

Final Week of Doodles Unleashed

I have finished the final week of Strathmore's Online Workshop - Doodles Unleashed. Here are the results....

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Final Piece

Exciting News!!

I just received the most wonderful and validating email ever! A Marketing representative from Strathmore Papers contacted me about using my painting from Workshop 1 Week 1 (see below) in a video for their homepage!!!

I know it isn't exactly like being published or having a gallery showing but it is incredibly exciting for me. I am looking at is as the first step on my road to being a "real" artist!

Thanks to the creative mind of my husband I have named it "Primordial"

Doodles Unleashed - Week 2

Today I am continuing my Stathmore's Online Workshop Series hosted by Traci Bautista. This week's project was all about water soluble mediums. It was quite fun but still a challenge to let go and just doodle. Here are my results....

 In Progress

 Final - Landscape

 Final - Portrait (I couldn't decide which way I liked it better. Eventually we are suppossed to hack up the piece anyways so it really doesn't matter)

Below are all the cropped (by photo not by scissors yet) views of the piece. I like the pieces much better than the whole.

New work as promised

I am super excited to share my first piece from the Strathmore Online Workshop Series - Doodles Unleashed by Traci Bautista! If you are in a rut, have trouble with abstract painting, have control issues, or just want to learn a new technique you have to check out this workshop. It's free to, so no excuses!

It took me two days to complete this piece for a couple of reasons: 1. This type of thing is way out of my comfort zone. Freely drawing anything goes against my sense of order. 2. I spent a lot of yesterday getting back into the blogger groove and preparing for all the new challenges. 3. Life, you know the routine...chores, dinner, business, dance (my daughter, not me), etc.

So here it is presented in stages. I am not going to go into too much detail here because if you are really interested in the process.....go take the class (nudge, nudge, hint, hint) :)!

Stage 1

 Stage 2

 Stage 3

 Stage 4

 Stage 5

 Stage 6

 Stage 7

 Stage 8

 Stage 9

Final Piece

Materials Used: Water color paper (10"x14", 140#, cold pressed), Smooch Accent Sprays, acrylic paints, DecoColor Opaque Paint Markers, Copic Markers, oil pastels, Uni-ball Signo Broad white pen, India ink, various size paint brushes, stencils, feather, small dowel, rubber bands, chain, clothes pin, and a paper drink umbrella

Process: building of layers with paint and doodling

Result: new skills and techniques, patience, and fun!