One Thing Leads to Another

I have such a hard time cleaning my studio because One Thing Leads to Another! Today's project is a result.

I have been trying to sort through things and either get rid of or find a use for some of the random "stuff" I've accumulated over the years. One of those things was a result of a craft I'd tried years ago - scherenschnitte. If you've never heard of it, it's an old German paper craft than involves lots of teeny, tiny, detailed fussy cutting. It was all the rage back when rustic country decorating was hot. I bought some paper patterns and tiny scissors, but quickly discovered that I did not enjoy it. I don't have the patience to do something that requires such slow, careful attention to minute details. Because I hate to throw things away, though, I'd hung on to a rooster that I'd cut out (mind you, this was back in the 80's! Do you think I have a problem???)

I pulled it out the other day, determined to throw it out, but I just couldn't do it. It occurred to me that I could use it to decorate one of the gift bags that I sell at a local shop. I call them "junque" bags because "junque" seems better than "junk" and because I use up odds and ends to decorate them. I had a lightweight piece of paper sitting on my work surface that had been sprayed with red ink. I thought it would look nice behind the rooster, but it wasn't quite big enough. I decided that a little red & blue collage would look good with the rooster (which was a plain, cream colored paper).

I tore a page from an old dictionary and rubbed a blue ink pad on it, then added some spray ink on top of that. I layered the two papers together, using a little washi tape to hold it together temporarily. I stitched the two pieces together with my sewing machine, then added some additional pieces of torn washi tape as well as some leaves I'd previously die cut that were also sitting on my work surface. Hey - maybe I'm doing a better job of cleaning than I thought - I've managed to get rid of a couple of things that were cluttering up the place!

The rooster was looking a little plain now against the collage background, so I decided to pull out an old Stampin' Up! background stamp to add some detail to it. I randomly covered the stamp with Distress Pumice Stone & Black Soot. Then I sprayed a little water on the stamp before pressing the rooster over it. I really like the way it turned out, and it seemed to work better with the background now.

I used acrylic matte medium to glue down the greenery and the rooster and put everything under a telephone book to dry for a while. Then I spread some adhesive all over the back of the completed collage and glued it to a plain brown kraft bag. That also went under the phone book for a while until completely dry.

I hope you enjoyed today's project - I know I did! I'm linking this to the March Take It Make It Challenge over at Craft Stamper.

Immi

Volunteers Rock!

I work for an adult basic education program, and volunteers are very important to our work. We have volunteers who work directly with students one-on-one or in groups; we also have a special volunteer who does all kinds of mundane clerical tasks. Every year, those in charge of our volunteer program organize an event to thank the volunteers for all they do. A special day is planned, and the staff works very hard to come up with a theme, decorate, and find/buy inexpensive gifts.

For this year's theme, we had to incorporate butterflies. They've been a symbol for us this year, as we've gone through a major change. After 50+ years, it was time for a name change and a new logo. I enjoyed being a part of the committee that worked on choosing the logo and new colors. The timing was perfect, as we wanted to celebrate the remarkable ways our program has improved. Just a few short years ago, we were at the bottom of the state "report card" for programs of our size (we're the fourth largest in the state). Thanks to the gifted leadership of a new director, lots of hard work from clerical staff and teachers, and plenty of innovative thinking, we've moved to the very top. That's an incredible turnaround, and we are quite proud! (I think it's so funny that the only area we missed being #1 is in the area of student retention. State Corrections beat us on that one!)

Anyway, I was asked for advice about a way to incorporate butterflies into this year's gift. The volunteer coordinator had scoured the internet and Pinterest, looking for interesting ideas, and she showed those to me. I was especially drawn to a couple of examples that used collage. We talked about trying to mass produce something original for each person, but that was overwhelming. Then we had the idea to have one original "something" which could be reproduced via color copier as a card. I timidly volunteered to take a stab at creating a piece of art, and she took me up on it. Yikes! I get myself into all kinds of pickles this way! I was nervous, but excited to get started.

The inspiration was a poem she had chosen that would be printed inside the cards. I won't include it here since I don't know the author, but it's about the migration of monarch butterflies and their difficult journey. Two important words in the poem are "believe" and "achieve".

I decided to use a quality piece of watercolor paper for this, and began as I love to do by creating a messy background. I used paint, gesso & spray ink, and included a few pieces of cheesecloth for texture. The butterfly I drew the way I learned  in grade school: fold a piece of paper in half, draw & open. Easy peasy. I traced the shape onto another piece of watercolor paper which I cut out. I pulled out an assortment of papers and created a collage, adding some ink & paint over that. The words in the center are too small to see here, but they are words that came to my mind when I thought of volunteering. I cut them out of an old dictionary and glued them down.

Once the butterfly was finished, I glued it to the background. I made antennae out of some copper wire I had, running it through a paper crimper for texture. I stamped the words believe & achieve, and added a few fun touches. Voila! All done!

I'm going to be excited to see this up when it's time for display, and I'm happy to have had an opportunity to do something I love to make a positive contribution at work.

Till next time,
Immi

Breath of Spring

Spring in Minnesota is usually heralded by potholes after a long, difficult winter. This year, we had an unusually mild winter, with very little snow, so the potholes are hardly a problem at all. March has been amazingly warm, with the trees budding much earlier than we normally expect. The freshness of spring seems to inspire the desire to clean and freshen indoors, too. What I'd really like to do is swap out all the drapes and bedspreads with lighter, fresher choices. While I'm at it, why not get some new throw pillows and placemats! That's not part of the budget, and I don't have room to store all that "off season" stuff! (It's hard enough finding storage space for all my beloved Christmas treasures.)


So, next my thoughts turn to art projects I could do. These don't take up a lot of room, and I don't spend much on supplies. Now if I can just think of something...


A few months back, I saw a call for art based on the color chartruese. Thinking I might submit something, I got out one of my old book covers, and glued down odds and ends of paper. Next came layers of paint and spray ink. This has become my favorite way to create a background. There is no way to ruin it, because another layer of paint or glaze will fix anything. I also enjoy creating the look of texture by using a material called sequin waste. It's what's left after the sequins are punched out. It's available with a variety of hole sizes, and works really well as a stencil.


I ended up with a background with a lot of pink and green, and a little blue as an accent color. I didn't achieve chartreuse, but I loved the way it looked. Perfect for spring! The board sat tucked away until I came across it last week.


I decided I wanted something three dimensional, using a bouquet of flowers. I went to the craft store and bought three small sprigs. After I brought them home, I cut them apart and arranged them in a single bunch. I wrapped strips of dictionary pages around the stem ends to create a neat bundle. I had a piece of green polka-dot ribbon I'd saved from a gift, and there was just barely enough to tie a bow.


Next I found a spring quote somewhere online, and printed it in a font that I thought fit the theme. A little ink helped the white paper blend into the whole. 


Finally, I used some heavy-duty adhesive to glue my bouquet down, and left everything to dry. I took the completed project to work to enjoy on my desk. Every day when I walk in, I enjoy seeing it there to greet me!

Happy Spring!

Immi

Preliminary Sketch

Somerset Studio (one of my favorite artsy magazines) regularly encourages submissions of art work from readers. In the back of the magazine, there is always a page with themes that are going to be used in the months ahead. Recently, one of the themes got my attention: the power of words. I immediately thought about the verse in Hebrews that talks about the word of God being living and active. I got a picture in my mind of a vine, and thought it would be interesting to pursue the idea. Here's a preliminary sketch of what I'm thinking.

The idea I had is of a rather free-flowing, kind of crazy vine, with a part of that verse written on it. In the middle, I'm thinking about using "YHWH" rather than "God" - possibly using Hebrew letters. I'll definitely need some assistance with that!! I think the vine would be cut out and collaged onto another surface, but I'm not sure yet what I'll use as a substrate - maybe a canvas. I'm thinking about submitting it just to say I did. I've been promising myself for some time now that One Of These Days I would do just that. I'll keep you posted!

Without Ceasing

Here is another of the pieces I made while the energy was burning high. I've had a lot of phrase snippets floating around in my head that I'd like to get into concrete form, so I expect that this may turn into a series. These bright colors seem exactly right to me just now. So much of what I've done in the past has had an old world feel. I still like that look a lot, but maybe the warmer weather is influencing me in color choice. I could spend hours layering paint and ink! There is really no way to mess this up - you can always cover everything with a fresh layer of paint. I like the depth that comes from peeks of previous layers showing through.

"Without Ceasing" and "Stand  Firm" were both done on canvas, utilizing miscellaneous papers glued down as the first layer. I've also done this technique before on the covers of discarded books. I love the idea of breathing new life into something that otherwise seems of little value. Yet another way to recycle! It occurred to me the other day that I could do the same thing while leaving the book intact. I'm excited to give that a try to see how it turns out.

I've toyed with the idea of setting up an Etsy shop to see if anyone would be interested in purchasing any of my work. I also would like to donate some pieces to the annual camp auction for Flaming Pine Youth Camp. I have given previous pieces as gifts, but I always worry that the recipient may feel obligated to "make nice" while cringing inside!

For me, this represents a beautiful string of pearls. Everything about this art exploration makes a happy song in my heart!

Staking a Claim

A few evenings ago, I got together with some of my co-workers for a "Welcome Summer" evening. We've had a long, cold, damp spring here in Minnesota. Everyone is ready for some warmth and sunshine. We had fun eating, laughing and talking. Our hostess likes to pose an interesting question for her guests. We began to discuss what we would be doing if we could choose any career. It was very interesting to gain insight into the dreams of others. Some of those dreams have been realized, but some have been left behind with little thought of trying to reclaim them.

As soon as the question was presented, almost without thought I said I would be an artist. One of the women present began talking about finding joy in play. She had been in a toy store and ended up having a great time with one of the employees as they played with some of the toys there. She talked about how energized and joyful she felt afterwards. Apparently that sparked something within me, because I continued thinking about the subject after the party was over.

I realized that it was silly and fruitless as well as self-pitying to think that maybe "someday" I could be an artist. The only reasons to stay locked into a helpless state of waiting for something undefined to happen are fear and laziness. I'm an artist right now! I've never made any money from what I do. I've never had my work featured in an exhibit or publication. That doesn't make me any less an artist.

Thinking these things, I felt motivated to get into my paints and make art happen. I've had the idea for a while to create some pieces based on phrases that have meaning to me. Here is one of the happy results of that inspiration. I've taken this piece to work so that I can enjoy it and be reminded of what it means.

I'm staking a claim to the title of artist!

Immi