Hello artists!

More art photos

Happy Spring

Hello Friends and Family. I just wanted to take the first step in updating my blog. I have a couple of new photos to share with you. On a personal note, in the fall I had my hip replaced. This makes the fifth time due to complications and infection. Hopefully this will be the last replacement. It isn't great but it is soooo much better than it was. It has taken me a long time to be back in the to creating mood. I have joined a cloth book round robin, and I will be posting photos from that. Here are photos of an altered RR book and my spread is Life of a spy. Hope you have a wonderful day, and keep creating and sharing.

New Art

Hello Friends and Family. Well, I finally got around to scanning in some new art for my blog. I hope that you will enjoy it, and please leave me a comment if you will.

The first piece is a double image transfer. I printed the images on matte finish photo paper, and transferred them to an acrylic background using matte gel medium. I came back in with a black pen to add a little interest to the top image of the woman. I especially like the crackle look to the images that I was able to do with the heat gun, due to the fact that the background was acrylic, and when heated it expanded a little and cracked the transfer.

The second and third pieces are beeswax collages. These are fun to do, and not being able to leave well enough alone, I like to add additional color with an inexpensive crayon in one hand and my heat gun in the other. Way fun, and you can get some neat results. I would love to be able to get my pieces more smooth, but when I try with my heat gun it seems that I end up melting away too much of the wax. I think next time I am going to use a low temp small sewing aid iron, dry heat of course. If you have a suggestion on how to get that really smooth look with well attached elements, please let me know.

Well, spring is in the air, almost, and I am going to try to redo my blog again, and this time try to get back to the three columns that I had before things went haywire. I am just worried about saving my elements, and especially my archive. I will do some researching first before I try it. I am planning on adding some more new art very soon, and some pieces will be for sell so please drop by when you are in the neighborhood! Haha! I hope to do some spring inspired things, and some more painting.

BLOG IS A MESS!

Hello Friends and Family. Well, I am really happy that you came by, but hate for you to see my blog looking a mess. I was trying to install a new background and somehow I ended up converting my three column to a two column blog. I am going to have to sit down and take the time to fix it.....I hate all of that wasted space on the sides. However, I am working to meet a deadline at the moment. One piece of my art was selected for a juried show and I am so excited about that!! Then there is another one to try to get into on Monday. Hopefully, I will have next week to get this blog done,and add some new photos.
Oh, and I am still trying to keep up with my journaling, not too often, but still, better than last year! I will share that later too.
Have a great weekend, and be safe!

Happy New Year

HELLO THIS IS MY LAST PAINTING OF A GARDEN GATE DONE IN ACRYLICS ON A STRETCH CANVAS. PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE IT OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO OFFER A SUGGESTION!

Hello Friends and Family. I am so excited about all of the possibilities for the new year. I am feeling creative, connected, and committed to my goals for this year. I am not really one for resolutions, but I do see this as a wonderful time to make changes in myself. Someone said, and I wish I knew who, that if we don't stop to examine who we are that life is not worth living. I have been doing a considerable amount of this self-examination.

If you are like me, one of my goals is to continue to watch my calories, (I am slowly loosing!), but I know that I have got to increase my exercise. I want to be stronger, and more flexible so I am really going to work on this.

Number two on my list is a simple enough statement: I want to be more creative. WOW is that one ever loaded for me! I am starting about four journals. I have never even kept one, and now I am starting four! I must be out of my mind! #1 is a visual art journal of images, colors, and textures of things that I just like. I want to practice my doodling and lettering in this journal too. #2 is just a Wine Journal, more concrete with various information about wines that I will purchase and taste this year. #3 Is a Spiritual Journal. It may contain images, colors, etc, but also Bible verses that speak to me, quotes, and I don't know what else! #4 will be a Diet/Exercise Record book for the progrss (do you like that positive word?) that I make with my diet and exercise. Please wish me luck with these Journals.

As if that wasn't enough, I have decided to practice drawing more. I have a new Sketch book, and I want to go to Half Price Books, and find another copy of the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". I am terrible at drawing, and as I add sketches I will upload them so you can offer suggestions and comments, and if you would like, you can draw along with me.

Part of my being more creative this years means that I am becoming more involved in creating my own art in the form of paintings and collage. I am a member of a couple of local art associations, and I want to enter some shows this year. Of course if they are juried shows well then you have to be selected to be in the show. That is scary!!

If you have read my blog in the past you know that I have been involved with online art groups. I was the owner of such a group, but two days ago I stepped down to make more time to do my own art. I still love altered art, and I will continue to do that, maybe in the form of small collage art, en caustics, and altered objects, but I am not going to be doing any ATCs or Book Round Robins, well not any RR of any kind.

I have to say it was a little sad to give up owning a group, and sad to think of the things that I won't be doing this year, but I needed a change, and so I am going after it. I want to encourage all of you to 1) examine your life, and 2) make your own changes. I want to learn, create, and expand on who I am as a artist.

My third and final goal for the new year is two parts: to give back more to my community and my church, and to have a closer walk with my Lord and Savior. This is what this means to me and some of my plans: Through a friend at a local gallery I will be teaching art to some under-privileged children. Since this is what I trained for, I think it would be a shame not to use my skills in this area. Through my church there is a program of helping others called Hearts and Hands. I am planning to volunteer there whenever I can. Also my church has a school, and they do not have an art teacher, and I would like to discuss with the school how I could volunteer my services there.
I have decided to take up a challenge to read the Bible cover to cover in a year, and I know that by reading God's Word that I will find the closness, the faith, and the spiritual growth that I am seeking. If you are a person that prays then I ask for your prayers on my behalf to reach my goals.

All of my goals I am going to write down in my Art Journal. If you don't write it down and then make the time to do the things that you say, then you will never reach your goals. I am feeling so good, so full of life, so willing to share and to change that I am very excited by all of this. I know there will be many days when I won't do a thing, but I will be aware of them if nothing else. Sometimes when you are retired like I am, one day just runs into the next, and it is easy to procrastinate! If you like, please send me some encouraging words, quotes, questions, and if you want I will do the same for you. Just let me know in a comment.


On a very personal note, most of you know, but in case you didn't, I am a widow. My husband passed away in January of 2002. I have been alone all of this time. Well, in July of 2009 I decided to start dating. I am dating now, and looking for a new love of my life. Dating is never easy, but I find it more difficult since I have not done it since I was 24 years old! Oh my goodness! Has dating changed!!! I am doing online dating, and it is slow and time consuming, but I think it gives me the best chance I have to find the perfect match for me. I'm not saying a perfect man, because there aren't any, but just someone who will love me unconditionally, be honest and faithful, and committed to the relationship. That is all!!! I wouldn't mind if we had similar interests but that isn't really necessary if we are respectful of each other and the things that we do. I could use so luck and prayers in this department too!

Well, time to close and head off to bed. It is almost 3:30 here, and I plan to be up early to start my new goals! God bless you all, and happy creating!

Lisa's Countdown to Christmas

Hello Friends and Family. Just wanted to remind everyone that Lisa Vollrath is hosting another wonderful Countdown to Christmas with free collage sheets. Just click on the title of this post to be taken to her web site! Happy downloads to you all!

HELLO TO EVERYONE!

Hello Friends and Family. I have been gone from my blog so long, and really feeling guilty about it! I have been working on some new Christmas ornaments, and I will post a photo of the one that I created and mailed yesterday for a swap.
I just joined Twitter today, and I will be adding that to my blog just as soon as I figure out how! I hope you are all staying warm. It has been really cold here in Arlington today. I am working on a small canvas for an art club swap. Doesn't that sound like fun! I hope to get it finished very soon since I will be swapping it on Saturday. So, I have an art club meeting on Saturday from 3 to 6, some friends are having a gallery show from 6 to 9, and I am co-hosting a Christmas party dance at a local club from 8 to 2AM. I am not sure how I am going to do all of this, but I am going to give it my best shot! I am also working on some art to give as gifts, but I'm not going to say anymore about that!

Well, it really feels good to be posting again, and I hope that you are all well, and enjoying this wonderful Christmas Season. More to come very soon!

New Collage

Hello Friends and Family. I didn't mean to go so long without posting. I have just been tied up starting a new Yahoo group, and preparing for our first meetup. It was last Saturday, and everyone had a wonderful time. We all did a sort of directed collage and they came out so well. I forgot to get photos of all of them, but I have a few and I have mine.
I am not quite happy with this one yet. I plan to do a little more to it, and to the one that I finished before. I just need some time to sit down and do that. I am having car problems, and I am looking into getting a new or used car. I will see what comes my way.
Well, let me know what you think of the photos,and I will do a little more work on them and rescan. Thank you for checking out my blog and for being a follower. I think it is important for all of us artists to visit and appreciate the work of others!

Recent Collage

Hello Friends and Family. I had an opportunity to work on a collage this week at a creative nights meetups. We have a really good time there, and each month the project is different. I have met some new friends there, and am looking forward to the meetup next month. I am sharing this collage with you even though I am not crazy about it. I had limited paints and supplies, and being in a rush just took its toll on this. I think I could work on it again and possibly make it work. Let me know what you think I should do to it. I call this piece Angela, after my daughter.