fabric-o-rama

my etsy pals are having a little challenge on the melange blog. glenda bailey, who is a fabric addict, has challenged all the melange members to use fabric in our art. as a costume designer, fabric is always a part of my life. this love for fabric made it's way into my art. from the first altered book i made to the dolly shrines that i have been working on this week, chances are if you are looking at one of my pieces, there's apt to be some fabric on it some where.

using fabric for me has always been about texture. besides the fact that i don't seem to have the patience (or the skill) to make anything come out "flat", i love to have texture in my work. when i started this art journey and making altered books, i quickly found that fabric had so many uses. first, i adds texture and interest to the surface, secondly, i used it to cover the myriad of mistakes i made, and lastly, it help the pages from sticking together. now, there are fewer mistakes to cover, but i still use fabric. besides, it's a resource that i have tons and tons of. there was a time when i was selling bags of fabric scraps on etsy because i had so much of it.

the scrap bin is getting smaller. mostly because i have a special project, that i have been working on for craft shows. all i am going to say right now, is that it makes excellent use of scraps, in a truly artist way.

the piece that really shows how versatile fabric can be as a medium is in my altered book, "angels have wings." the cover is a corset and fabric is found on almost every page, from the flames that engulf the workers of the triangle shirt waist factory from hand embroidered flaming heart of Mary that boldly sings out on the final page.

i love using fabric so much, it's pretty much always been a part of my art. i do recommend that you take the plunge and try it yourself if you haven't already. you might like the results!

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.

commitment issues

Last week, when I was making very large gel medium transfers, I was inspired to start a new project - three collages created from an old class photo. Looks like the photo is from the early 1900's, some where here in Vermont- I think it's Woodstock, but not sure. There's a distinctive brick building in the background. I'm pretty sure this is the the green at the center of town.

So I went out to Recycle North looking for canvas to collage over- they are in the middle of re-doing their art section, so it was slim pickin's. I found one and picked up a two pack at Michael's and as luck would have it- they are all the same size.

I gessoed the recycled canvas and then took over the dining room table laying out the collage elements. Usually when I am in this mode- it's really easy to go from step to step. But for some reason, I was hemmin' and hawin' about this. I'd put the elements on, take them off. I don't know what was making me so unsure- Maybe it is because they were real blank canvases, that I paid money for, instead of some thing re-purposed from the thrift store or dump. Who knows....

When I finally had a rough idea of what I wanted I started in on the background, gluing down large sheets of really old news paper (1916)- Pulling some off with tape and then painting with a wash to make it look all old and uniform.

We took the dog to the park for an hour or so, had some lunch, then it was back to the canvases. Laying three out on the table, laying the elements back on, taking some off, thinking about it too much. I did this for several hours. Between the indecision, I was scanning and listing new pieces on Etsy.

Finally, after the kids where sound asleep and I felt like it was time to just take the leap- I started in on with the glue. Now, two canvases, have first layers glued- and I'm ready to start up on the final one- I don't know what the problem was.... just a little fear of commitment I guess.

UFOs and rusty treasure

These are two new cards I made for a UFO challenge with some other ETSY artists.

The idea is to take some of your un-finished originals (and Oopps!)  and send them to someone else to finish.

I received a envelope of Jennifer Price Davis ( aka gingerlime.etsy.com)  and sent an envelope of my stuff to : Linda Donnelly (aka LDphotography)

This is what I created from Jennifer's UFO stash:

Also- sorted through all the garage junk I got from a fellow freecycler:

I pulled this treasure from three boxes of stuff she had in her garage.

Now, I need to find a way to get rid the stuff I can't use.... any one need rubber tubing????