Cloth Paper Scissors May/June Issue

The weather in Vermont has decided to go along with the fact that Spring might actually be here! It's an amazing blue sky day; daffodils are blooming, the birds are singing, peepers are peeping. To make it even more outstanding. I have just received my comp copy of this month's Cloth Paper Scissor Magazine. I've been waiting for this issue for a while. It contains my first published article. I am so excited about this opportunity and honored to be in a publication that has featured some of my favorite mixed media artists (and friends.) 

 

The article features my Bird House Shrines series and discusses my motivation and process behind making them. I am so please with the way the whole thing turned out, and the photography is just stunning.

The Soul House series stirred such a strong response in people that created a workshop on how to create your own bird house shrine. 

I'll be teaching this process later this summer in Wisconsin at Inspire My Life and in the Fall at Art-Is-You in Danbury, CT. The class sizes are limited so don't delay in registering.  I'm so excited to be able to reach out to a broader audience and talk about artistic potential and creative fearlessness! I can't wait to get back into the class room again. I hope to see you there!

So as the stream bubbles by, outside the screen porch where I sit, taking in the issue, my heart brims over with thanks to all the people who have helped me along the way. I can only bask in the serenity and joy of the moment for a brief time. My own creative fearlessness, is being tested tonight.  I'm wrapping up a new piece for a looming deadline. I thrive on meeting time lines, so I know it's going to be an all cylinders evening.

So friends, I must jet. Thanks for stopping by, be well, stay creative and fearless! 

i am a space cadet

yes, i am a space cadet. for some BIZARRE reason, i thought the deadline for the Sailor's Valentine challenge for CPS, was on the 15th. i was so excited, i had mapped out my hectic life, first i would get the art hop up on Friday, then spend all day Saturday and Sunday making my submission and send in my photos just in time. but as my luck would have it, i had the submission date wrong (yes, i am a space cadet.) it was on the 8th.

the finished pieces is still drying and i am peeling glue from my fingers as i type. and i am really happy with what i created. too bad for CPS, because, i really created a unique, haunting piece. oh, well, so much for best made plans.

i felt so inspired this weekend. it was great to work with my colleagues to put up a great show at Burton and then spend all day saturday checking out all sorts of amazing work up and down pine street.

i met an incredibly talented woman, Beth Robinson, who makes eerie steam punk inspired dolls. they are so haunting and strange.i really enjoyed seeing them in person. and got to see my neighbor and friend jackie mangione in her new studio at the soda plant. by the end of the day i was exhausted by so jonesing to get my materials out and make something.

so, i've been painting background pages and prepping a set of trays for another group of assemblages. i hope i can keep my muse in my heart this week. it's been a while since i have had this sort of spark. and it feel pretty dang good!

sailor's valentine

I've been thinking about making something for the CPS sailor's valentine challenge this weekend. so with the wheels in my mind turning I've been doing some research about what exactly they are and how I can create some with my little twist.

Sailor's Valentines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sailors' valentine is a type of antique souvenir, or sentimental gift, originally brought home from a sailor's voyage at sea for his loved one between 1830 and 1890. Sailor valentines are typically octagonal, glass fronted, hinged wooden boxes ranging from 8" to 15" in width, displaying intricate symmetrical designs composed entirely of small sea shells of various colors glued onto a backing. Patterns often feature a centerpiece such as a compass rose or a heart design, hence the name, and in some cases the small shells are used to spell out a sentimental message.

Although the name seems to suggest that the sailors themselves made these objects, a large number of of them originated in the island of Barbados, which was an important seaport during this period. Historians believe that the women there made the valentines using local shells, or in some cases with shells imported from Indonesia, and then the finished products were sold to the sailors.

Today, antique sailors' valentines are collectibles, valued for their beauty and unusual qualities. Collector interest has sparked a resurgence in sailors' valentines as an art form, and shell kits and patterns are now sold at craft shops.

Spent a few hours this weekend, surfing the web for shells and nautical bits to use with my collection on old things to construct my entry. The web searching sent me into my own workroom to clean and re-organize. Not quite finished with the overhaul yet, but I did fins me pretty pink shells that I want to work with and lots of collage paper to make into ephemera packs.

I've also heard through the grape vine that Somerset Studio is doing an Alice in Wonderland theme challenge as well. I suppose I should check into that as well, especially since last weekend was our Mad Hatter, Merry Un-birthday party. Waiting for my brother in law to send over some more pix.

I suppose, I should get back to work....

Life is like a box full of challenges

Cloth Paper Scissors has a call for entries for a reader challenge: Life is like a box full of ......
It's due in on 2/27 and of course, I have waited till the last minute to finish. I have to retake pictures tomorrow and get them printed out at Staples, then mail it in via Priority mail so it get s there in time. I am stuck on the box full o' honey, so I took it the little box a step further to this 12"x12"x2" shadow box. Remarkably, I think I have learned a few things from my fine teachers over the course of the past year. This piece has more depth to it than anything else I have done. I'm very happy with it, I just pray I can get good professional looking shots of it tomorrow.