Midnight in the Garden

This work was totally unplanned. Infact, I was working on something else. I was looking for something for the other piece when I found the rusted "wing-thing" (a Christmas gift from my brother). I laid the charlotte on it, and kept right on going...

Downstairs Upstairs and Two Jacks

Went downstairs today and made a Jack-in-the-Box.

 

 

 

 Then I went upstairs and created a pumpkin-head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack-in-the-box and Jack-O-Lantern

creative in other ways

 

I'm feeling a little "saturated" today. I should be working in my studio, getting work done for my last show of the season. (Rochester Museum & Science Center Holiday Bazaar) But I wasn't feeling "it" this morning. I've been working on these little date magnets for my Advent calendars for the last 4 days now and I'm getting a little burned out. Or saturated.

 

 

So I went out to mow the lawn. Then I broke the mower.

Now what??

On my way back into the house to figure out what to do next, I passed my wagon full of ripening tomatoes plucked from the garden just before the last frost and suddenly knew what I was going to do next!

I would cook up the ripe tomatoes, along with some peppers, including some habeneros I bought last weekend at the farmer's market and then freeze it to use as a chili or soup base. And just like my artwork, this idea evolved.

It tasted wonderful and had quite a spicy kick to it! I only used 1 habenero, but I also used some fresh jalepenos and a tiny hungarian pepper from the garden. I decided instead, to make some black bean dip.

 

After simmering the tomatoes in olive oil with onions and fresh garlic, I added sea salt, some pickled jalepeno juice, and (yes) cinnamon and sugar. Added to that, 3 cans of black beans.

 



 

This delicious concoction is now simmering to perfection and I feel as if I created something today ~in my kitchen, if not in my studio.

 

Now I need to go get some tortilla chips!

 

 

 

 

 



BCA Project Update

Yikes! Now I'm stymied!! I am suffering from artist's block, probably brought on by the deadline for this project being August 15th if I want it photographed.
Well, this is what I completed 2 days ago. I added a vintage faux pearl choker to which I added a vintage trim of glass beads, probably from a Flapper's dress!
I affixed a stone heart to a rusty metal heart and stuck that on with some glue and some rusty wire. Vintage lace was added to the bottom and a mix of different shades of pink and white sequins were glued to the breasts.

Hopefully, I'll get an idea or 2 today. I guess if I didn't get any more ideas and didn't do anything else to it, it could be done. But in my mind, it is not completed.

Breast Cancer Awareness Project

These next couple of blog entries will document my progress with the Impact Artists Gallery Altered Perceptions: A Journey of Strength and Courage project. 80 artists were asked to donate their creative imagination with recycled PVC mannequins. These mannequins will then be exhibited, juried, with the 30 best printed on a poster for sale, and finally, put up for bid in a bidders' live auction.

First, I made a plaster cast of the PVC mannequin. The top is then decoupaged with dress pattern tissue paper. The bodice is painted with pink, acrylic paint.

So far, I've glued tiny, square glass and stone tiles left over from one of my husband's construction projects across the top of the bodice. I affixed the stone heart to a rusty metal heart and affixed both with wire and glue to the form. 2 vintage drapery tie back tacks have been added to the center of each breast and a line of m.o.p. buttons embellished with rusty wire has been created down the center of the bodice.

That's all for now!

Childish Dreams

I have two more antique clock cases

which is awesome

'cause now I don't want to sell this one!



Tuesday Night Random Act of Art & Wednesday Morning Walk

My first attempt at a Random Act of Art!

I'll call it a success because no one caught me placing it. I guess I was pretty stealthy since I attempted this right outside of a room filled with about 25 4-Hers and 10 parents and didn't get caught!

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous, but I felt like I was running out of options for the "Drop and Run". I felt I had made a commitment to complete this mission in a timely fashion. On Monday, I thought I might be able to do it when I ran my errands. Problem was I didn't quite think that out. I was going to the bank and post office. After further thought, I didn't think this act would be received well under camera surveillance. I imagined it going like this:

Security guards watching video feed; "What did she just do!? Did she just leave something there?" Then I take out my camera to take a picture of the RAA. Security guards; "GET HER!!"

Not that it wouldn't make interesting blog fodder, but you may not have read about it here for about 20 years or more.

Moving on, on Tuesday I thought I'd leave it somewhere at the park during my son's soccer game. Perfect! There were so many places to put it, I just couldn't decide where. Turns out I didn't need to. Soccer game cancelled due to an overly wet field. : (

Last option (in my mind): 4-H meeting place, which brings us back to the first sentence of this blog.

This Random Act of Art challenge is awesome! Bringing a fun, little surprise to someone when they unsuspectingly find it just makes me feel all happy inside. You should try this, even if you are not an artist. Leave a special little object for someone else to find to brighten their day!

This just reeminded me of something that happened to me as a child.

When I was about eight years old, I found my first sea shell. I found it by the slide in the school playground. The best part of this story, is how lucky I felt. And how happy! We don't live anywhere near the ocean! I still have that shell, as well as many, many more...

The kids and I found this Robin's egg on the drive way this morning on our way to the bus stop.

I found this hammer on the side of the rad on my walk this morning.

 I found these pretty weeds this morning, too!

Have a great day!!





Much Better Pictures!

Here they are! I retook the pics of my latest assemblages and these turned out much better.

The longer I look at the one with the rust frame, the more I think I might change the small pin of the woman to a tiny face made of clay. We shall see...

Sidetracked

I thought this blog would be titled, "Two Done", but on Monday, when I was downstairs in my studio working on yet another "Alice in Wonderland" inspired piece.(which is another 'story' in itself) I got distracted. I was looking for something to help complete the piece when I found a little altered doll head I'd made some time last year. (Ooh! Something shiny!)
I pulled it out and then went to find a piece if wood from my collection of Cape Cod beach finds to mount it on (because that was the idea I had for this head). I pulled out the wood, placed the tiny head in it and determined it wasn't going to work the way I thought it would.

From there I grabbed a small Victorian Era photo pin back of a woman, stuck that to the small piece of drift woodand just kept on going with it. Eventually, I had something and decided it was going to look best in a shallow black box. Ooh! And so would this other idea that just popped into my head, so why don't I paint two boxes black as long as I'm getting the black paint out...By the time the afternoon was over and it was time to get the kids off the bus, I had completed two really cool pieces of artwork. Except the one I was trying to complete is still downstairs, unfinished, and awaiting my undivided attention. Maybe tomorrow...

(Wow! After I published this blog, I saw how awful these pictures are! They are so grainy! And not by design. : (   

I'll have to retake them and repost them another time. I'm not Blog Savvy enough to know how to remove them.)

One Done

One of the two WIPs I had going is now complete!

I call it "Birth of a Song"



The egg, covered in music notes, is the idea, the inspiration, coming from the head.

Below the head, where the heart would be, is the innards of a music box, on display in a glass sided box, for all the world to see (and hear)

Can you hear the music?

Two Works In Progress

There are 2 works in progress here. I am so excited to finish them, but right now I have to get to my kids school to help hang their art show!

So just a glimpse for now...

I traded for these doll heads at a flea market last month!

Great News and New Work

Last week we got some awesome news! Once again, my husband beat the odds and is once again cancer free!! Amazing and miraculous! Thanks to all for well wishes and prayers. Your support is truly appreciated and may you all be as blessed as we've been!

As for my creative life, I've been busy taking my 3rd chair caning class in as many years, I just started taking a crochet class and I managed to get this project completed.

                                                           Its called, "the Mind's Eye".

   I am incredibly thrilled with the way it turned out!

                      It began with the eye. Well, no. It began with the door plate, but when I got the eye and it fit in the hole, it became focused around the eye. (no pun intended.) One night, while lying in bed thinking of the project, I had a thought that I needed a hand, with no real idea why. Two days later I found the hand at a flea market. From then on, the pieces just fell into place and into this antique wooden box. Then ...TA-DA!                 

Oh, yeah! And I finally submitted some work to the lovely Alicia (alteredbits) for her next incredible ezine. I can't wait to see how wonderful this next issue will be!

This Week In Review

Flea market and side of the road finds!!

I found this great vintage leather suitcase ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD! I know, right? Its AWESOME! Smells a little inside, but its old, so expected. A little fabreeze or baking soda should help. Its a great prop for pics or show display. Or maybe I'll sell it... don't know yet, but I love it!

That was Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I went to the Springville Fleamarket and found these great old tart tins and cake decorating kit! Not sure what I'll use them for yet, but I love these too! Look at the cute little metal, sectioned box for the tips!

This weekend is my 2nd Art Festival in as many months. It is the Quaker Arts Festival in Orchard Park, NY. Here's some pics of some of the work I finished for the show.

This is  called "Jorinda Waits". "Jorinda and Jorindel" is a Grimm's Fairy Tale. It's a tale about an old witch who lives in a castle in the forest. If young lovers wander too closely to her castle, she takes the young woman to her castle and turns her into a bird. In the story, Jorinda is turned into a bird and Jorindel rescues her by finding the magic red flower and touching her with it thus turning her back to a young woman. In MY story, Jorindel never comes and Jorinda, well, she waits, looking into a mirror on a wall seeing a reflection of what she was. Look close and you can see a young woman's face in the mirror.

On the lighter side, I created a memory pocket out of an old leather tool belt, a piece of hand-tatted lace, some of my vintage button flowers, an old photo, some fluffy plumes, a piece of sheet music and a rolled up letter. I tied it all together with some of Lisa Jurist's awesomely wonderful, hand-dyed silk sari ribbons.

On a happy note, hubby is home from the Round One 5 day in-hospital chemo treatment and on to his 2 week out-patient leg of this undesirable journey. Happy 'cuz he's home. Won't ever know for sure if it works(complicated), but will always keep the faith!