New Intuitive Art

Nonni's Baby Birds

Time to Fly

Teach Me

little glimpses studio cardboard challenge

What to do with cardboard?? That was the challenge this week from little glimpses studio. I had a box that I had saved thinking i would be great for adding marks to a painting.  But, when this challenge came up, I looked at it and since I was running out of room to store my spray inks, I decided to create a Spray Box.  

I removed the lid, painted with cobalt teal, added Tulip spray ink in pink through a stencil, white paint sponged in with a stencil, washi tape, braided trim, mat board square, domino done with alcohol inks and a rub on letter.

Prayer Flag Making

 I was very excited to participate in a Prayer Flag exchange through Book of Days run by
Effy Wild, Sisterhood of the Book, Facebook group.  Although I had never made a prayer flag before it seemed like a lot of fun.

Lucky day at the craft store I found the fabric sprays on clearance

with  an additional 40% off! Also used a coupon for the painting stencil.  

I wanted to see if these would work as well as the Crafter's Workshop ones.

I decided to use just the violet and pink after

testing out the greens.  The stencil...not so good.  Not as

strong as the Crafter's Workshop.  I don't think I 

will buy these again.

Measuring and cutting canvas fabric I had from

the fabric journals I had made last year.

This is my make-shift ironing board.  Forgot

the cutting mat was under it!

Bought this before and never used it because 

I was too impatient to follow the pre-steps to using it.  

This is one of my favorite stencils from Crafter's Workshop.  

The fabric paint went on well with only a few drips.

See the watercolor paper underneath? I will

use this later to make the envelopes.

Second color with another Crafter's Workshop stencil.

Drying time

I read on the back of the bottles that you could do

a watercolor technique by spraying with water first.  

I tried this, turned out nice, but didn't look much like watercolor.

2nd time on the "drying" line

Adding interface for strength to fabric flowers I cut out.

Cutting

Adding trims and flowers with Helmar's 450 adhesive.

Mini bead time to the flower center adhered with 

Diamond Glaze.  Also, I wrote the word JOY

previous with a black Copic pen and went over

the letters with a Micron black.

Looking to add a bit of dimension to the flowers.

I was wishing I had the Souffle pens here, but didn't

so I went with the Glaze pens.

As this point I am trying to decide if they are done.

I decide they need a large bead or something to 

break up the green on the bottom.  I ransack my

stuff and find nothing. Time for a road trip!

I brought one of my flags with me to the craft

store and tried to find something that would

be right.  Finally I found these hearts!

Here is where I use the watercolor paper to

fold into the inner envelope.  The template for a Square, Yet Cool 

envelope I have

had forever and from the book, Cut Up This Book!

published by River City Rubber Works.  

Clear envelopes stamped with Staz On and ready for the

post office.  The art girl is from Teesha Moore/Zettiology that

I bought many moons ago and is still one of my favorites. Sister came

from a StampinUp set, and the Martha Graham quote is from PSX.

Altered Book Spreads, Book of Days

This week was about physical pain due to back issues.  

Background of Pan Pastels, letter cutouts painted and

bead gel medium added to them

This week was about having too high of expectations and the disappointment that can follow.
The design was inspired by the Traci Bautista's doodling workshop on Strathmore online.
Background in Pan Pastels, Uniball Signo white pen, Sharpie black pen and Micron black

Art Imagination from Layers

I have been very inspired and excited since participating in Life Book's latest lesson with Mystele.  Mystele's lesson was different than many mixed media lessons that I have taken in that you were to use your imagination to pull figures, symbols, etc from the background after layering.  This indeed was my cup of tea! I love the creativity side and the authenticity of it (my word for 2012).  It was real and I wanted to do this again and again!  This weekend I created and finished one piece and started a second one.  I decided to do this one on a canvas board, a little larger than the 9x12 paper I had been using. So here are the step outs so far:

Writing in pencil about creativity and passion, covered with watercolor crayons.  I also got to try out my new Niji water brush, a flat one.  It worked GREAT for watering down the crayons.

Collaging papers, starting to think the dark purple is too much

Layering with acrylics swirled into a glaze mixture

Acrylics done, but it turned out much darker than I wanted

Time for another layer, Quinacridone Nickel Azo mixed in H2O to make a wash, Crafter's Workshop stencils and plain water (spritzed the plain water on the stencil while paint was still wet)

This need to be toned down.  Using the glaze&gesso&H2O mixture poured on then moved around with water spray

Mark making

More homemade color wash (pyrolle orange, quin red) and white airbrush paint

More gesso mix, this time brayered on

I see birds...again! This is my fourth painting in this style that I see some type of birds.  I don't think I have eVeR painted birds...until now because they keep coming back.

See the other two birds at the top? I saw them too.  It just called for a tree then and I wanted it to be glittery, so I used Byzantine paint.

Doodling on the tree with Glazes

And there she sits, waiting until next SatARTday!

Book of Days (or Weeks?)

I never believed that I would be able to create art EVERY day, although I would absolutely LOVE to do so.  I work full-time as an art teacher helping students with their art exploration, I am the main chef/grocery shopper/laundry do-er/teenager taxi driver at my house. But, I liked the idea of a year long journey, a sort of visual diary of my year.  I felt this Book would inspire me to create at least a weekly routine of creating art.

I created my cover after I arted the first two pages below.  Now I wished I waited just a bit longer so that I could re-title it to "Weeks" not "Days", but I always can later or just think that days make up weeks! Yes, that's the ticket!

Cover created with cardstock painted with acrylics to cover spine, hand dyed ribbon to cover cardstock :), then number tissue paper was applied with gel medium, number and letter stickers added then dotted with white gel pen.  Eyelash and pom pom ribbon with added hand made copper embellishment.

Book of Days

 I was excited to follow Effy Wild an instructor with Life Book 2012 to her Book of Days posting and year long project! Today I finished the inside cover which is "Closure" on 2011. On the back of the door tag is my journal entry of memories from 2011, now sealed to the book.

The word for the year, Authentic.  It is meant as a focus word for the year.  Sometimes I don't always feel that I am or can be myself.  This year I want to reflect on what is real.