Saturday, April 20, 2013

GRATITUDE

 My life is so full. After so much tragedy this week in our country, I realize how full my life is. I am so grateful for God's love for me, love from family and friends. cheerful signs of Spring, new and old friends in fellowship in a new Bible Study, the opportunity to be a participant in a couple of special online art classes, the chance to be with children in my part-time teaching and so much more......

......my loving, helpful husband, my daughter and her husband and their daughter, my brothers and their families, brothers-in-law and their families who provide me with nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews to love (new great niece arrived yesterday).....and I have aunts and uncles who don't forget me....and so much more.......

We all look at our own lives more closely, when we are jerked into the realization that things can quickly change and go sour.

It is such a joy to be able to go  into my studio whenever I want. I am lost in a new project, testing a new art technique, or completing a project-in-progress. The experimentation results of Citrasolv® and an old National Geographic magazine are shown here. For now I plan to use them as part of collages, but I may use each as a journal page.

So, as this week comes to an end......I am grateful for some resolution to the tragedies in the U.S.A. this week, for the people in my life, and the opportunities I have.

God bless us all.......
.....cbs


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Praying for the Boston Marathon victims and their families

We are all affected by this horrendous event, no matter how far away we are.

Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers.....they will need lots of comfort and strength.


Friday, April 5, 2013

I Rocked My Book

When I first saw the information about Andy Skinner's workshops "Book of Ruination" and "Rock Your Book," I really thought the projects were soooo strange, not my style AT ALL. Yet, the images kept calling to me, and I KNEW I'd learn some great techniques if I signed up, and that's what happened.

First thing I like about his workshops is their year-long availability - that is very important to any workshop participant, in my opinion. Then, I liked the detailed videos and PDFs that he provided. They were clear and concise. My only negatives were that I didn't have the acrylic paints he recommended (I try to find things at my local stores first.). It's not really a negative because I experimented with mixing some paints to find something that was similar to his sample. I ended up using a small jar of wonderfulness, that has been residing in my studio for years. and it was super!! (LuminArt® Indian Copper is what I used to cover the alphabet letters.)

The book that I "rocked" was from a larger book  cut in half.....I didn't realize until my cover was underway that I was doing it upside down, but I will be painting and tearing out pages anyway. I used so many interesting techniques to finish the book; another project is checked-off on my creative path this week.

It's been a delightful week of creating and learning. I TRY to clean up my studio, but then I stumble on something that triggers a new idea, and I'm off and running again with some new project. SUCH FUN! My mind is spinning.

Hope you enjoy how I "rocked my book" shown in this image. A link is on the right of this blog to "The Book of Ruination."

Thanks for coming along on my creative Spring Break week.....
Blessings on your weekend.......
...........cbs

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Creative Spring Break

This is Spring Break from substitute teaching for me this week, and I've been in my studio almost non-stop. Sending lots of thanks to my husband who takes over many household chores when he's not on an assignment out of state.

Online workshops are such a fun way to learn new techniques so I signed up for a few. WOW! They certainly stirred up my creative juices and I've been churning out lots of things.

These photos are a few examples. I highly recommend participating in online workshops, especially if you have access to the videos/materials for a year.

The bluish/green book cover is from a course with Andy Skinner.... "The Book of Ruination".....great technique.  I will upload the second book.... "Rock Your Book," when it is finished. Click on the logo on the right of this blog for more information.

The silhouette image is not from a class but it's the second project I've done with the crayon melt technique. The images were cut from stamped images from a Close To My Heart set, called Childhood Portrait. The branch was from a stencil by The Crafter's Workshop.

The third image is a collage painting based on a Funky Flowers workshop offered by Melody Ross Brave Girls Art School...a link is also to the right of this blog.

Hmm...these certainly are different!! I just realized that I'm jumping all over the place with my art, aren't I? LOL

I would love to have feedback but it seems that my visitors just like to visit....so, thanks for stopping by.

Blessings............
.......cbs





Monday, April 1, 2013

Funky Flowers

This canvas may get a complete whitewash of Gesso because I only like it from a distance. It was going to be an 8 x 10 journal cover, based on a Funky Flower online class from Brave Girls Art School.

My original sketch and marker drawing had bright, vivid colors, which I think is in the archive on this blog. The collage began when I decided to use paper towels I had on hand that were covered with the excess ink from stencils. I used them as the petals for the largest flower and then just took off from there. But, really....are their greenish/brownish/yellowish flowers?? I don't think so!! I guess that makes them "funky."!!! LOL

So, guess who will probably try again and follow the original sketch? One of the canvasses will be the back and one will be the front!! Nothing like having OPPOSITES, eh? :-)

I suppose this is called being free with my art!

April blessings....................
.........cbs