Gecko Galz for April - a tribute to my Mother

I know that this is a bit early for Mother's Day but really everyday is Mother's Day -

I used Gecko Galz Tudor Rose Hampton Court paper and M is for Mother ephemera. I created the base by scrunching tissue paper and then layering it on cardstock and painting with gesso. After it dried, I sprayed it with Glimmer mists that sort of continued the look of the Gecko Galz paper. I cut out the ephemera and layered it along with Prima flowers around a photograph of my mother and me.

Next week I will be taking a 4-day watercolor workshop from Janet Rogers, a national teacher and painter. I am so so excited!!!! I have scheduled some posts as I know that I will be exhausted every evening.

Hope you have a fun April Fool's Day and a great weekend!

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Into the Wild - a mixed media fantasy

The painting/collage is finished

All the while that I worked on this piece, I kept thinking

Into the Wild

Where the Wild Things Are
Women Who Run with the Wolves

Do not go gentle into that good night
The Path Less Traveled

Perhaps I have been reading too much fantasy (is that really possible?)

I saw the muted murky forest

and then a path wove itself with gems

Wild creatures hide amongst the flotsam and jetsam,

and grasses and leaves from my yard demanded to join the revels

Have a great Sunday,

Chris

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some peeks at a Classic and some random thoughts about art and craft

I have been working on a canvas to submit to Somerset Studio for their "Classics" challenge - lots of paint(acrylic and watercolor), paper, fabric, laces, vintage items, and adhesive - the real definition of mixed-media!

I got some fantastic books at the library this week (along with the dvd Inception) - I had asked the library to see if they could get 2 books via interlibrary loan - Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style, both by Natalie Chanin - well, the library ended up purchasing them and I am the first person to check them out - so love the patterns and recipes. Chanin's way of deconstructing teeshirts is explained very well and her projects are so intriguing, stylish, and useful.  I have gotten interested in bookbinding (due to Marit's wonderful blog) and got Book+Art and Cover to Cover - I loved Marit's stitching over the tape - and the 2nd book has instructions on how to do that. I am creating a book project to submit to Somerset Studio and am trying out different book art techniques. I also got a wonderful drawing and painting book - Natural History Painting with the Eden Project - the cover has a watercolor feather on it that I so want to learn to paint. The book also has techniques for painting shells and goodness knows, I have a lot of them from when we cruised on our sailboat.

I will be starting a new knitting project - the Shalom cardigan designed by Meghan McFarlane (free pattern on http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shalom-cardigan . Amanda Soule on http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ has knitted 2 of these sweaters, and I love the look of them. This cardigan project is very different from the Jane Thornley free-range style of knitting that I have been doing the past year - the pieces that I have knitted are very artsy but I rarely wear them. I have been thinking about why I create - why I craft - and what types of projects give me the greatest pleasure. Sometimes I look at what I have created and say why - what was the point?   I remember this quote from William Morris: "Never have anything in your house that is not useful or beautiful."  The Shalom cardigan is useful and beautiful.

Do you ever think about your art - your craft, and why you do it - what is its purpose? I read Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions (mentioned in an earlier post) and both she and Natalie Chanin (see above) talk about the art and craft that women created in earlier and poorer times. They couldn't afford to go off to a craft store (of course, they didn't exist) and purchase the newest papers, embellishments, fabrics, and yarns - they had to make do with what they had - and they made beautiful quilts and other domestic use items, useful and stylish clothing, and arts and crafts that brightened their homes and lives. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to inherit such treasures are forever reminded of the resourcefulness and artistic urges of our foremothers (our grandfathers were also creative but mostly their efforts took other formats).

And then too, I have been reading several books about sustainability (and some novels about Tibet) and wonder about the sustainability of the craft of scrapbooking - all that paper!

Anyway, just some things to think about - what do you think?

Have a super weekend - I have to work this morning but plan to paint this afternoon. Tomorrow I am going out to the beach for our annual Gardenfest - hopefully to get some herb plants. Then cast on my new sweater (with yarn from my stash). And finally watch the Superbowl - I bought avocados for guacamole and shrimp to boil, French bread, and a big salad - YUM!
ttfn
Chris

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Valentine mixed-media

Here we are, barely into the new year, and it is time to think about projects for Valentine's Day.

I am currently working on 2 new projects but here is a glimpse of things that I made in 09 and 10

I am keeping busy busy with my drawing and painting - and of course, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and...

There is so much creative energy out there on the web, and I have been infected or injected or whatever.

I have so many ideas spinning in my head - an abundance of creative thoughts

Hope you are feeling energetic and creative!

ttfn

Chris

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Some days..........................................

I have had an interesting day so far - I did the laundry this morning and as I was pulling a pair of Dan's shorts out of the washer, it felt heavy so I thought he had left some coins in the pocket - NOT! He had left his cellphone in the pocket - it was dead!!!!!!  When he returned from golf, I told him, and he took it very calmly - he still had the last phone he had before he got this one (long story, he left his phone in a golf cart in North Carolina when we were on vacation in 2008 so he had to get a new one here - and then they sent him back the old one so he still has it) so he took it to the AT&T store this afternoon and they reactivated the old phone for free. I was very relieved!
This has been one of those weeks where things happen - not for the best. Yesterday as I was driving to work, my rear view mirror fell down.  Dan says it will be easy to fix but what a pain it is driving without it!
Of course, I realize that none of my little aggravations are as bad as the things that happen to Claire in the Morganville vampire series books - I just finished the first one yesterday and was able to put some of the others on reserve at the library. If you liked Twilight, you will probably like these books by Rachel Caine.
I have been playing with some new ideas this past week - with fabric and lace. A while back Cassie Box (one of the ScrapGals) made a bracelet from a cuff she had cut from a shirt. I liked the idea so I cut the cuffs off of an old white shirt that I had and added frayed fabrics, laces, and Gecko Galz vintage buttons. I love how it feels on my wrist and am inspired to make some more - I started on a black sort of Goth-y one and have ideas for one in shades of pink.   I plan to put them in my etsy shop - got any colors you would like?

I purchased a 100 yard spool of rayon seam binding on ebay and plan to dye it - I can use glimmer mists and also some Making Memories dyes that I bought marked down 90% at Crafts'n'stuff. Don't you just love the names of the things like that - never yellow or red but instead sunsoaked, hibiscus, key lime, grapevine, aquamarine, dusk, and nutmeg.
I have also been knitting quite a bit - 2 projects that must be completed by the end of July - one for vacation and one for a contest. My fingers will be flying. Below is a pic of a scarf that I am knitting that looks like a leaf - it's from a pattern by Jane Thornley, my knitting idol. I would so love to go on one of her knitting trips, like to Santa Fe or Tuscany (she calls that trip Knitaly - sigh...................).

Hope your day and week is going well, and thanks so much for visiting my blog - no scrapping to post today - not that I haven't been - it's just that I can't post them yet but soon................

ttfn
Chris

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Down the rabbit hole

I went to see Alice in Wonderland on Sunday - although there were a few parts that were a little tedious, overall I loved it. I have the original Disney cartoon version on DVD so I had watched that again this past week to get in the spirit. I found it interesting how Tim Burton integrated other things (like the Jabberwocky) into the story - I will admit I was totally mesmerized when Johnny Depp started reciting the Jabberwocky - I had a college professor (my degrees are in English Literature) who could do it brilliantly, and Depp was certainly as good. I can picture Depp doing Shakespeare  - remember Michael Keaton in Much Ado About Nothing!

I began by tearing out the rabbit hole from a piece of watercolor paper. Then I applied a thick coat of gesso with a palette knife and sculpted it to create the tree. While it was still wet (it actually took overnight to dry), I sprayed it with glimmer mist - suede, coffee shop, chocolate cherry, and black gold. I sprayed the rest of the background with green, blue and  peach; and then used some lime paint dabber to add more contrast.

I tore papers and created the hole (edges are inked and/or sprayed to create more depth). I cut the little Alice from a black and white drawing and colored her with pencils (wait until I get my copics!!!).

I then created my garden with a Prima spray and some vintage flowers and leaves. I added the dragonfly (didn't you love the dragonflies in the movie - I had always loved the little horse flies in the cartoon.)

I had 10 things to do last night and instead of doing them, I created this. Oh well.......

I am off to work today at the book store and then run some errands. I should have some items listed on etsy by Thursday - we are going to have company this weekend so I have to put away my craft stuff for a few days as they will be sleeping in my studio so I have to get a lot done in the next couple of days. 

I have a post on the http://thegalblog.blogspot.com/ today - please check it out.

thanks for reading and ttfn,

Chris

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I am the daughter of a HERO

I did this little canvas as a tribute to my incredible mother who passed 9 years ago. I still miss her and find myself thinking during the day - I need to remember to tell Mother ..... then I realize that she already knows. If anyone goes to Heaven, she did.
I used the cover of an old book for this canvas, gessoed it, painted it, glimmer misted it, and used some Barbie packaging for the dress form, papermached over it, and added the dress made from an old sewing pattern. The belt is leftover yarn and I added pieces of shells and coral for the necklace, belt buckle, and ends of the belt.
Hope you have a great weekend. They are forecasting a cold front to come through tonight so that tomorrow will be much cooler (we have broken records for heat the last 2 days) and it will get into the 50s tomorrow night (I will believe it when I feel it). But I am ever hopeful!!!!!

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