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!

33 Years and Counting...

It IS possible to stay married to the same person for 33 years!  

We met in the summer of 1972 and we've been together ever since.  We survived a brief separation due to Uncle Sam but through letters (remember those)  we stayed in contact.  Fortunately Jimmy was able to find a base close enough so that he could visit on weekends.  When he was finally free of his duty and settled into civilian life, we decided it was time to tie the knot.  I know this man really loves me cause if it was up to him, we would have made a quick trip to Las Vegas instead of having the garden wedding I wanted.  I compromised by keeping it small.  We've done a lot of that throughout the years.  Compromise.  I think that's one of the key elements to our survival in the unpredictable world of marriage. And lots of laughter.  If you can both laugh at each other without taking it personal, you've got a chance of making it last.  I've probably shared our story before.  Thanks for reading it again. 

I had so much fun this past weekend at Stampin' From the Heart with a group of dedicated woman who painted, stamped and glued the day away!  They are my kind of people!!  The subject of Josephine Baker came up and I mentioned that I have used her beautiful face to model some of the outfits I've created for my art dolls.  Just thought I'd let you take a peak at them.

Hoping you have a wonderful Monday.  I'm off to Olvera Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  I love the smell, feel and food they serve over there!  A great place to spend an afternoon with my better half.  

Arftul Runway Info

Presenting "ARTFUL RUNWAY - A TAG PROJECT!" 

There's a fun and exciting class coming to Los Angeles at Stampin' From the Heart on Saturday, August 18.  It involves painting with acrylic paints, stamping with various inks and paint, altering a rescued book and six artfully finished 8 x 4 tags that you will create.  I'll post info on the book later.  

It takes me a full day, sometimes up to 10 hours, to figure out which colors, stamp images and art components for the art dolls work well together for just ONE tag but it should take you no more than 20 minutes to put one together.   

The art doll above had not been glued onto the tag when I took the photo which is why she looks as if she's ready to fly away.  LOL!  I pre-cut everything to make the assembling process an easy one.


I've only given you a preview of three tags but there will be three more for you to view very soon.  I hope you'll consider joining me for this class.  You'll leave with a handout of color combinations that you can paint on the blank pages of your journal or for future backgrounds on your preferred choice of material.


Sign-ups are now being taken.  Call the shop at 310-391-0466 to reserve your spot.  Total cost is $45 and all materials are provided.  Hope to see you and please sign up early to allow enough time for me to assemble your kits.


More samples of this class to come.  Make it an artful day!  

Colorful Summer

Little did I know that the first photo from my last post (back in May) would literally mean "Goodnight, Sleep Tight."  Well, after a hurdle of deadlines from the day job and a dose of antibiotics from a serious bout with bronchitis I am happy to report that I am finally AWAKE!

I first awoke when I realized my baby sister's birthday was coming up fast.  Like real fast.  I wanted to make her something special.  We're 11 years apart and we spent a lot of time together despite our age difference.  She's often said that I felt more like a mother to her than a sister.  I had some old photos and decided to make her a photo holder using some reclaimed wood, a little bit of paint, fiber, buttons and some sea shells.  A painted pocket was embellished and it made the perfect pouch for the surprise tag that sat within.

I photo copied an old photograph of the both of us and aged the tag with walnut ink.  I brought a little bling to the aged tag by adding some fancy shimmery yarn through the hole at the top.

My hubby has known my sister since she was four years old and I found an old Easter photo of the two of them.  I made a copy of it and aged it as well.

I was happy with the end result and my sister Rachel was equally happy and surprised to have an old photo of us in her possession.  I was touched when she announced in front of everyone that this was her favorite gift.  We're both pictured below.  She's the one standing over me and my mom and although my mother did raise us all, I can't help but notice my sister's body language.  She's leaning her head on me.  Oops.  Thank goodness  Mom does not read blogs!

 It's been quite a while since I made ATCs.  I plan on trading these at the stamp store on Thursday night.  There's a group that meets once a month to demo a technique and do a trade.  Do you think I used enough color?   

Hope you're having a great summer.  I plan on making mine colorful. 

Powerless Artventures

When the lights go out, light candles.  And that's exactly what I did last night when our power went out.  Interesting.  I never noticed that two women I admire the most sit side by side in my art room.  How cool is that?        

I also found those lemons I've been looking for!  Never know what you're gonna find in the dark.  

Meet Miss October.  Isn't she wickedly lovely?  Notice the background?  It's the same one I used in my "Spooky Wishes" post card in my last post.  Miss October was created over the summer in my calendar workshop.  

Halloween!  It's the most spooktacular time of the year and I want to plan something fun but the practical side of my brain is holding me back.  ACK!!!  If I go for it, you'll be the first to know.  Now go create something spooky.............