Altars, Frida and ATCs

A portable Mary Altar brings me hope.

A Frida themed ATC brings me a smile.

Vibrant colors bring me happiness.

ATC swaps keep me going!

Life has been busier than usual lately.  I joined an ATC swap, work is in full swing with loads of art projects and library books galore circulating, and my personal life has taken a change.  But I'm adjusting and surviving and that's good.

I received a portable Mary altar in the mail today from the artist of the Frida themed ATC featuring her pet monkey.  If you look closely at the edges of that particular ATC, you'll notice that it's framed with thorns inspired by Frida's self-portrait "Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird."  The card also features some characters she (Frida) painted.  My altar could not have come at a better time as my life is in somewhat of a transitional period.  A strong bout of asthma sent me to the hospital right before Christmas and the following week I brought my father home with me. Can't go into details about that now but prayers are what have helped me along this new journey.

I find this ATC trade very therapeutic and the cards I've received  range from faces of Frida to "things" related to Frida.  I'll have to show you my Thumbprint Frida in another post along with other ATCs I've received. 

Art and prayers.  For me they go hand in hand and have kept me from falling apart.  And chocolate helps too.  Lots of it.  LOL!  What helps you from falling apart?

Upcycle/Recyle

Oh no, I need a new calendar!

Realizing that I needed a new calendar because the month January was quickly approaching and I knew there was no way I was about to head out into the public to buy one, I decided that recycling my 2013 calendar was the way to go.  I found a free calendar template and looked around for arty scraps that have been hanging around my desk waiting to be used for that "one day" project.  

I also decided to make my collection of tag girls the main feature of my "new" calendar.  Because my tags usually have a busy painted and distressed background, I knew that I'd have to place them against a calm piece of patterned paper so it wouldn't get lost.  After a few adjustments and additions of more found scraps, I was done.  

The tag girl featured for the month of January is Urban Chic.  She was one one of my last creations from a workshop I held at Stampin' From the Heart.  

If you're someone who's taken my classes and have a collection of tag girls, why not turn them into something functional for the time being.  My plan is to feature a new tag each month.  I just stuck a piece of double stick tape behind the tag onto the patterned paper for easy removal and glued the calendar grid onto the previous page. The hardest part is deciding which tag to feature.  Good thing I have more than 12! 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

 

Rescued crayons!  I can't believe they were headed for the school dumpster!  They're so perfect and look at those beautiful colors!

 

My stomach is getting butterflies as I begin to envision lessons that involve paint.  Lots of it.

 

You can never have too many paintbrushes.  In fact, I need more.  Way more.  Uh-huh.  Really.

 

Watercolor bottles, not Kool-Aid.  Need to refill and get ready for next week.  I love color.  Am I lucky or what?

 

OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating calling this the most wonderful time of the year.  For many it is.  Parents.  LOL! 
You only got a small glimpse of what I've been organizing over the past three weeks. 
Beginning very soon (next week) these supplies will be put to good use.  I have plans and I'm excited to get them started! 
You know how some people go scrounging through trash in neighborhoods, dumpsters, etc?  Well, I do my own version of looking for goods.  I wait till the end of the school year and go up and down the halls looking for treasures that have become junk to others.  Well I'm not the only one who does treasure hunting.  Upon my return from a brief vacation someone gifted me with a container full of crayons (practically all of them brand-spankin' new) that she found on one of her hunts down the hall!!!  Am I lucky or what?!  Crayons.  My first exposure to art.
Until next time, keep an eye out for found treasures.  You never know what you're gonna find. 

 

Tag Girls Finale

In the beginning there were four.

 

Six years later it would come to an end.

 

 Everyone worked their magic creating distressed backgrounds on six blank tags.  Angie left with blue paint on her face and it was good.  Carolee left with blue paint on her bangs and purple paint on the back of her pants and that was good too.  But everyone left with smiles and happy hearts and that was pretty good.  It was a bittersweet day.  It was my last class at Stampin' From the Heart.  The doors are closing at the end of this month. 

 

Many thanks to everyone who came out to do Friday night Make-it-take-its and occasional workshops.  It was fun and I met so many great people.  But HUGE thanks to Karen, the shop owner.  Because it all started when she gave me a few bottles of paint that had just come into her store and she told me "take them home and play with them."  And I did.  And the rest is history. 

Wishing for more leisurely weeks of summer vacation.

 

Less than 2 weeks of summer vacation left.  YIKES!

 

This summer was full of emotions ranging from happy to very sad.

 

Loosing a friend is never easy.  This summer I lost two.  Feelings of sadness creep in each day so I try to stay active.  But when it gets quiet, usually at night, I find myself grieving.  alone.  And it's hard.  I have tokens, little treasures and memories that I can cling to.  But I'd rather have them here.  In person.
Don't take anyone or anything for granted.  It's easy to get comfortable and then boom!  Your whole world changes.
The above journal page was created with scraps of paper I had sitting on my desk.  How appropriate that they were just the right pieces for me to use as I was thinking of two people who are going through some major adjustments.  The words next to the flower eyeball (yes, I was feeling very creative last night!) reads "Some times you have to go away to see where you have been."  
Hope you enjoy the final days of summer and that they're happy and full of appreciation for what you have. 

I remember that scent.

 

 

As I walked up to the house where I grew up the other night, a strong perfumed scent hit me like a ton of bricks and I was immediately taken back to the past.  It was the smell I'd encounter on walks to the park with my siblings on summer mornings.  It was the scent I would inhale as I would began my early morning walk to catch the bus while I was in high school.  And it was the scent that would greet me when I'd return home from a date with my future husband.  

The mysterious perfume would only be available for my senses during early mornings or late at night.  Until two nights ago I had completely forgotten all about it and then BAM!  Sadly, I don't know what it is or whose house it comes from and I've never smelled it anywhere else.  I only know it's one of the best things I've ever smelled and it reminds me of home.            

Like it or Not....

 

I never look forward to this time of the year but like it or not it's something that needs to be done.  Never mind that it gets pulled and stretched and mashed it HAS to be done.  And at the end of the day I am thankful that I have something to get checked out.  Still, I prefer mashed potatoes over mashed boobs. 
I'm beginning to journal one thought at a time.  That thought is what came to mind as I got dressed this morning.    
So there I tried to stand with my feet planted on the floor (they were both trying to get me the heck out the door)and my arms outstretched with my head turned and chin up.  Less than ten minutes and four x-rays later it was all over.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  The whole time I tried to imagine myself eating a bowl of hot mashed potatoes with a dollop of melted butter on top.  It got me through it.
Stay tuned for my next journal thought.  I  Promise it won't be about one of my body parts.   

August.  Really?

 

Whoever said time flies wasn't kidding.  The summer months are practically over and since the calendar page turned to August I've begun to think about the past few weeks, months and years.
I spent five weeks in summer school with close to 50 elementary students.  I've come to the conclusion that BOYS are much more talkative than girls.  Feel free to argue with me if you'd like. 
My first group consisted of a class with 2 -3 girls (depending on the week) and 14+ boys.  THOSE BOYS!  That's all I'm saying.  But we had fun as long as I kept the paint circulating around the desks.  Watercolor, acrylic and tempera all made their rounds quite frequently.
My second group consisted of 1 - 3 boys, again depending on the week, and 14+ girls!  These kids did as much painting as the younger kids and we spent the last week painting pages for a journal and on the last day we binded the pages together.  It helped me so much to have an assistant who I could depend on each day.  The journals came out fantastic by the way.  Why no pictures?  I was either running back and forth with paint or helping students to master the pamphlet stitch!  There's just no way I can easily maneuver a camera and paint at the same time.  Or needles and awls.  Let me just say that my heart was very happy to see how these students put together their very first visual journal.  They brought magazines to cut and glue images onto their pages.  YES!  The above image on my journal page came out of a rock magazine several years ago and she was one of my inspirations that began my signature "Tag Girls" way back in 2007.     
It'll be back to school soon.  Two weeks.  Have you seen the latest Target back-to-school commercials?  They've become my favorite new back-to-school ad.  Love the recorder playing old rock tunes and the way slashes of what appears to be post-it notes being thrown across the screen at the end advertising something come together.  See, I don't even pay that much attention to the words, I'm just listening to that rockin' recorder instrument in the background! 
Yes, it seems another summer has come and gone leaving me wondering where has the time gone.  Now that I'm back at home it's time to give my poor cluttered art room a good scrubbing and cleanse.  It looks neglected and I must admit that it's not much of a motivator as far as making art goes. 
So off to my art room I go to begin the decluttering process. Hopefully I can once again get inspired to paint pages of my own, reflect, and perhaps post about it here. 

Art Party!

There was an Art Party today and I didn't have to dress up!

 

It was big fun to get together with a great group of women, paint brushes, paper and glue!
I've been super busy at the day job but now with summer here, I'm ready to have a go with my personal art side.
Having time to work on my growing collection of painted faces and actually putting them to work was a fun experience for me to watch unfold today.  They were accepted with surprise and big smiles!  Thanks for the support you guys.  Looking forward to sharing more with you! 

Silence

Is silence really golden?

 

I haven't worked in my journal since Nov. 16 of last year.  There was a gap in my blog beginning around that same time.  I didn't know what to say.  Things were happening all around me.  There were definitely things to share but I couldn't get motivated to write about them.  I was mourning in silence.

I lost a friend.  Someone who I'd never talk to, write to or ever see again for the rest of my life.  Her last words to me were something like "Have a great time celebrating Raymond's birthday tomorrow and tell him happy birthday for me."  Sometime between the hours we were celebrating my son's birthday and possibly up into the following morning she died.  Just like that.

When a mutual friend told me that he was surprised that I didn't cry or show great sadness at her memorial service I wasn't sure how to take his comment.  I could only explain to him that she and I had spent an unusual amount of time together the last week of her life and I could only guess I found comfort in knowing that.  I had told her of my new artventures that were to take place at school, she treated me out to an early birthday lunch (instead of the following week on my birthday), we spent time shopping, eating and talking all weekend.
I wish I had saved some of the silly messages she'd leave on my answering machine at the job just to hear her voice again but due to bouts of foul language I had to immediately delete them!  HA!  Not cool in a school setting!
The initial sadness has lifted and now I know what the true meaning of "her memory will live on" means because that's what I've been left with.  But there's still that void that will be around forever. 

Summer's Here....

.....and believe it, so am I!

 

 

 I've been traveling up and down the school hall with a cart full of art supplies stopping in each class to inject healthy doses of paint, ink, glue, paper and whatever else I can think of.  Below was the seventh grade's interpretation of Romare Beardon's collage art piece "Three Women."  I knew all those scrapbook paper packs I'd been hoarding would come in handy one day. 

 

What's scarier than a group of 14 year-old students wielding paintbrushes? 

 Answer:  I'll tell you what's scarier than a bunch of 14 year-olds wielding paintbrushes:  a bunch of 14 year-olds wielding SPRAY PAINT CANS!  But didn't they do a great job with their abstract sculptures?  This was the eighth grade's last art project before they graduated.   

Tucked inside the vintage painted folio below are pages holding tag art dolls - all with original painted faces that I've been working on over the past few weeks.  I'm pretty excited about my leap into drawing my own faces to use with my tag art!  I'll share them with you in the coming days.  But you can get a glimpse of one of the tags at the very top of this post.       

The Tag Art Project is a class I'll be teaching on Saturday, June 29th over at Stampin' From the Heart in Los Angeles.  If you're interested in taking the class, e-mail me for more information. 
As much as I've enjoyed preparing art lessons and watching them evolve at the hands of children ranging in age from 4 - 14, it feels good to be free to create my own personal stuff.  Hope you can join me for some fun next Saturday!

Boys and Girls a Lot Has Happened Since My Last Post.....

If you can make out the words in my journal you will see that I have taken on another position at the day job.  I was asked to help teach art and after a long and thought-out process, I said YES!  I'll still be managing the library but now I'll be doing it with glued up nails and possibly painted fingertips!  WOW!  How's that for a change?!!  The family is happy and excited and I'm well, full of ideas!!!

The five year-old Pilgrim below turned 29 last weekend!  I can't believe he was only in Kindergarten.

We celebrated my birthday on Thanksgiving and I know I have a whole lot to be thankful for.  This little tot was thankful she got to sit like a big girl at the dinner table in her bright pink high chair.  Here she's seated on her grandma's lap as the birthday song is being sung!

My life has been one artventure after another and for that, I'm truly thankful.  Hope you're all enjoying the left-overs of a long traditional holiday weekend.  I know I am.  

Wishin' and Hopin'

Awake is the New Sleep

I found a tiny square with the words "Awake is the New Sleep" in an old Indie/Rock Music magazine.  It fit with the way I've been feeling lately.  The recent time change has me feeling sleepy way too early and if I go to bed I find myself laying in bed super early with my eyes wide open.  Then I get up and find myself getting sleepy before I leave for work.  
This page was created as I was struggling with a decision which will bring a new change in my life.  It wasn't easy finding my answer but I'm sure I made the right choice.  I'll share it with you in my next post.
Hope your sleep patterns don't have you sleepwalking.  Night.     

Rubber, Baubles and Vets

Rubber.  It's a Good Thing.

 I'm very proud to say that when I went to the rubber stamp convention this past weekend,  I kept my rubber budget low and I was very much in control!  I'm getting better.  I even had enough money left over to treat my son, hubby and daughter-in-law to take-out fish and Baskin-Robbins ice cream!  YAY!  To have missed the convention because I "have too much stuff" would have been committing a rubber sin.  Really.  I mean, who am I kidding.  Who are WE kidding?  Those of us who find ourselves saying "I have too much...  I need to weed out stuff...I don't need another stamp....blah blah blah."  Nonsense!  There's no such thing as TOO MUCH RUBBER!!!  Now, that being said I hope to post some pages of my journal using these new stamps.  I've already stamped a page where there was a huge space begging for words.  Pat pat on my back for using my new found rubber.  HaHa!  
OOO, and I found some really cool beads.  Rubber conventions have it all.  Paper, rubber, ink, paint, beads, ephemera, magazines, books and lots of happy people.  I bought these baubles to make bracelet and earring sets for my sisters for Christmas.  Shhh, don't tell.
  

Can't let the day go by without giving all the U.S. Veterans a big shout out and high-five for their dedication to our country.  Daddy, you're one of the bravest soldiers I know.  To be a young man drafted and sent to a foreign land where you were greeted by bombs and bullets is something I know I could never endure.  When your legs got shot up and you were sent to Japan for surgery, recovery and rehab, you went back to the front lines without complaining.  Another thing I could never deal with.  BIG THANK YOU for being the best not only for the U.S. but for the four of us you raised.  Love you and big hugs.

Autumnal Uncertainties and Delights

What to Do?

The noodles in my brain have been getting too much exercise lately.  On Halloween I was asked to THINK about something.  Thankfully I was given reasonable time to make a decision.  I thought having time on my side would make it easier for me to decide my answer but I was wrong.  Sleep has been restless and it seemed that each free moment was spent trying to figure things out.  Can I?  Will I?  Maybe?  No.  Well.  Hmmm.  And so it went on like that for nine days.  Having time to make a decision is not for me.  I mean, this is BIG.  For me anyway.  I figured that one way to help me distract from my answer was to do some art journaling.  It helped.  But I only kept journaling about IT.  To be continued....

Guess who went to her second rubber stamp convention?  YES and you should have seen her face when her eyes fell upon a vendor demonstrating a technique with glitter!  Right then and there it became clear to me.  This child will be a glitter princess!  There was so much for her to see.  There were no dull moments.  I mean, look at her!

She did her best to not miss a thing but given her age a nap took priority.  It's good to know I have a normal grandchild.  sigh.  

Those of you who read my blog will have to wait to learn what the heck I'm talking about up above in this post.  In the meantime I'll continue to post pages from my journal regarding this "mystery."  In due time I'll reveal the details.  My kids don't even know.  Are the noodles in your brain working overtime?  Hurts a little, huh?

Political Artventures

Late Night Artventures

I was watching a commercial promoting a movie about America last night.  I loved the way the U.S. colors were splashed across the screen in no particular order.  I decided to make something similar in my journal and since election day was in the near future I chose to create a political statement.  
Today as I left work with sore feet and a tired body, going out to vote was not at the top of my list.  As I drove past the polling place I became very discouraged as I saw the line of people out on the sidewalk.  I drove around three times before I found a parking spot around the corner.  By the time I walked up to the building the line had moved inside.  I saw an elderly woman being helped to a seat because she was not in good health, I saw a young woman surrounded by 5 little girls waiting patiently in line and a very confused but ready to vote (probably for the first time) young adult.  Suddenly my feet didn't feel so sore anymore, my tiredness had lifted and it felt good to be there exercising my right to vote along with these very diverse and dedicated individuals.
So did you get out to make your vote count? 

    

Playtime

Playtime Journal Entry

I did a lot of playtime with my children.  I made "play-doh" for their little hands to mold the time away with, we made cookies, planted seeds in the garden and we even had a picnic in the backyard (on the floor of the concrete portion of the patio) but I never once got in the crib with either one of them!  
You can imagine my surprise and huge smile when my DIL e-mailed me pics of my son and granddaughter in her crib enjoying a little "Daddy and Me" time.  If you had told me 16 years ago that the boy who was good at giving his opinion when it was least appreciated or not even asked for would be climbing in the crib of his baby girl, I may have not been so hard on him.  But a momma's gotta do what she's gotta do when faced with the teen beast.  Well, maybe I should take a little credit for attempting to tame him.  I mean, look at him will ya.  He's playing with a baby and a lamb!  In a crib!  sigh.
  

Memories

80 What?  How?

My mom recently celebrated her 85th birthday.  Eighty-fifth.  As in eighty five.  Wow.  Talk about someone who has stood and watched changes all around her.  
Mom is the fourth child out of 13!  I say is because all 13 children are still living.  She was born and raised in Los Angeles in an area that is now surrounded by high-rise buildings and small warehouses.  It was probably because of her strict Catholic up-bringing that she would do the opposite with her own children.  Don't get me wrong.  We did not get off easily and we did get corrected, if you know what I mean.
During the 60s I remember her enjoying music and listening to Pop and Soul radio stations.  She thought she knew the lyrics to some of the popular songs but we didn't say anything, we just let her sing.  She loved songs like "I Can't Help Myself" by The Four Tops and "Baby Love" by The Supremes.  
When it came time to tell me about the birds and the bees, that's what it was called back then, my mom did not hesitate to answer my questions although I wished she had.
My sister and I were having lunch one afternoon when we heard some stomping sounds coming towards the kitchen.  It was our mother streaking through the kitchen.  Butt naked.  It was the "trend" back then.  We laughed so hard as she ran past us!!
My mother's hearing is now almost gone so she doesn't listen to music. Her leg gives her problems so streaking is a definite no-no.  But she still does not hesitate to answer any questions.  Although sometimes I wish she would.
Happy Birthday Mom....and many more.

THOUGHTS OF PAST HALLOWEENS RESIDE WITHIN.

Halloween has a special place in my heart.  

Last Sunday as I was driving through my old neighborhood, I passed the building that was once a little mom and pop market that had the best candy counter.  It was at that counter where I first discovered Lemon Heads, Apple Sticks, Hot Cinnamon Sticks, Sweet Tarts and during the Halloween season, Wax Lips and Wax Harmonicas.

Isn't it funny how some things are almost forgotten and not thought about until years, even decades later?  That is exactly what happened to me today when I asked myself what was my favorite Halloween costume.  I thought about all the hobo outfits I put together at the last minute, sometimes adding a patch or two onto an old pair of jeans.  I thought about the time I was a Gypsy, a very happy Gypsy because I got to wear make-up.  And then I remembered "The Dress" and what it turned me into one Halloween back in 1968.
On my 12th birthday I received a wrapped package with a tag that read "Para Linda."  Strange how that one little detail just entered my mind.  I can't remember what kind of wrapping paper it was, but I remember the tag with those words.  It was a gift from my grandfather.  When I unwrapped the package my 12-year-old eyes fell upon the most beautiful piece of fabric they'd ever seen.  It was soft and shiny like satin and the colors were amazingly beautiful in various shades of blue.  My grandfather told me to make something out of it and so a year later, I did.  A year later.  HA!  Some things never change.  To this day it takes me a while to get going on a project.  Anyway, a year later I decided to make a dress.  It was the summer of 1968.  My sewing skills were zero but I had an idea and based on that, "The Dress" was born.  It was literally handmade.  All the stitching was done by hand and when I did the top stitch (I didn't know that's what it was called) on the neckline,  I made sure to keep all the stitches tiny and evenly spaced.  It looked good and I wore it several times before I decided to make it my Halloween costume.
I was going to be a Hippie and I was going to wear "The Dress."  With a couple strands of beads, sandals and my hair down, I had transformed into my costume.
As my brother, sister and I went trick-or-treating from door to door we came upon an elderly couple.  It was rare to see Mexicans in our neighborhood back then and so when my siblings and I shouted out "Trick-or-Treat!"  the elderly woman who answered the door and who laid eyes on me first, exclaimed "Hey, you're a Mexican!"  To which I replied, "No, I'm a Hippie!"  Cause really, that's what I was.  LOL!
So what will you be this Halloween?