What to say?

I haven't done a lot of art lately, but I have been working on my denim vest. I took the advice of my blogger friends and decided to bead a version of my tilty headed girls on the back. It's still in the first stages, but I thought you might like to see it.



Also, I have mentioned before that I get great coupons for Jo Ann's and Michaels on line, so here is a quick shot of my purchases today. I prefer not to pay full price for my art books, so 40% off of Michael de Meng's book was quite a good deal. 10% off of all the other items, that were already on sale, made for a good haul .



Also, on another subject completely, I know there must be some of you out there that come up blank sometimes when you want to blog. I can't be the only one. I want to post but I can't really think of anything interesting to say. I am somewhat of a private person, and although I do feel strongly about certain things, I try to stay away from them in a public forum. I don't express my opinions regarding politics or religion, but that doesn't mean I don't keep my eyes open to what is going on. I just don't post about them.

Oh, look at how I just filled up a paragraph with nothing. This feels like the Seinfeld show, a blog about nothing.

One thing that I have been doing lately, is answering questions on Yahoo Answers. It makes you feel like an advice columnist, in a way. Sometimes the questions aren't "real", but you get points for answers, so I answer the silly ones, too. Some of the questions, when they are real, touch your heart. Young folks ask a lot of questions, sometimes asking questions that they are ashamed to ask someone in person. Right now some of them are concerned because they don't know what to do if the hurricane hits their area, things like that.

Some time back, one young guy ask in an obvious panic, what to do about his hair, he had cut it too short and it was almost time for school and what could he do to get it to grow really quickly. It was an obvious plea for comfort, you could feel the pain in his question. I wrote back that I could understand his concern, that I had done the same thing before. I told him how hair only grows about 1/2 " a month and how a good diet of protein, fruit and veggies and plenty of water was important. I suggested a gentle scalp massage each night before bed (this was actually to keep him relaxed, also) and suggested that he get a really rockin' hat and make it his trademark. I also suggested that if it was really bad, maybe to shave his head, but whatever he decided to do, to act like it was done on purpose and to make it his own style.

He marked it "Best Answer" and commented what great advice it was and how much he appreciated my taking his question seriously, and said "Thanks" is all caps.

The only reason I am mentioning this, is not to pat myself on the back, but as a reminder, that often something as simple as a few sentences of support, hope or commiseration can really affect someone's day.

That's all I have today in this silly little non post. We'll talk and please don't forget how much I care about all of you. Take care.

He's doing well...

To all my sweet friends, I say thanks for the well wishes you sent to my hubby. His procedure is over and he is resting quietly, sleeping off the rest of the medication. It rained like crazy, but I got us there and back.

I need to use this time to clean up my computer some, but before I start that lengthy endeavor, here is a picture of the latest experiment with alcohol inks. I have made a lot of practice beads over the years and they are great for continued play with my alcohol ink markers.

This flower was made originally as a novelty bead, but the colors I had chosen were garish instead of cute, so she had been banished for several years. I did the "color and spray" technique and then used a sealer for a bit of gloss. Not as exciting as the leaf beads, but it did let me see how a sculpted bead reacts to this technique.

I am pleased enough with this to incorporate it into a necklace, so you can't ask for much more than that. It looks almost like a glass bead, and I am going to do the same technique on some accent beads to continue the theme.

This really is a fun technique. I don't have many liquid alcohol inks at my disposal, as some of the scrappers do, but I find the markers give me the control that I like, anyway. There are lots of ways to manipulate alcohol inks, like blowing thru a straw and others, that I may try later. Who knows what we might get into in the name of art.

Well, that's all for now. Take care and thanks again for thinking of my Dear Hubby. We'll talk soon.

New Jewelry Art

I promised to show you what I have been working on, so here goes. This first piece is a white faux marble set. It is accented with sterling silver beads and the donut is wrapped with silver wire. I have always been a fan of matching jewelry so I went all out on this. It looks really good with my black and white checked blouse.




This next piece is probably one of the most exciting things I have worked on lately. I have been working with polymer clay for over ten years, and I just found out that if you finish up a polymer piece with liquid polymer and heat it with the embossing gun, you get a great gloss. It took me several tries to get the hang of it, but I am quite happy with the results. The leaves were cut from translucent Sculpey with an ordinary cookie cutter and baked, they were then colored with alcohol markers and sprayed with plain alcohol to get the blended/mottled effect. I accented the beads with the gold leafing pen and I finished it up with gold wire (the good stuff) bent into shapes and even made my jump rings, so they would match.


This piece looks so much better on, it is one of my new favorite pieces.

One fun thing to mention..., I finally found the time to sit in on one of Susan Carlin's online painting demos and it was very interesting. She is able to talk while she paints, and we were able to type in questions and such. It really was a treat. I look forward to doing this again.

I may be quiet for several days next week. My DH is having a fairly complicated dental procedure done Wednesday. He has to have a bone graft done in preparation for a dental implant. He has had this done before and knows how invasive it is. Needless to say, he is not looking forward to it. The upside is that our dentist is wonderful and she even calls in a prescription for him to take the night before. This drug has a special side effect - amnesia. That's right, he won't remember anything about the procedure. Having to recover from this is difficult enough, but he is a strong guy and will be ok.

I am sure I will be checking in on all my bloggie friends, in between fixing mashed potatoes and gravy and scrambled eggs. So think about us on Wednesday and I'll be sure to keep you posted.

The House Bunny

If you liked Revenge of the Nerds (yes, very much thank you) and Legally Blonde (who didn't?) and you love to watch "The Girls Next Door", but never tell anyone...Then you will love The House Bunny. It's got it all. It is extremely funny, all the songs rock, the clothes and shoes are awesome, you even feel sympathy for the main character at the proper times. It may seem a bit formulaic to some, but hey, that's what makes it work. The stereotypes are purposefully extremely exaggerated, making it ok to laugh at the dork and bimbo jokes, as well as at the drooling boys and their jokes.

It's rated PG-13 (deservedly) for language and slight nudity, a few quick sexual references that may go past some of the younger viewers, and lots of "bouncy, bouncy". Hef and The Girls are in it and they all do just fine.

DH had a blast (for more than the obvious reasons) as he and I do so love to root for the underdog and always get a laugh when the bad guy gets it (as they always do in movies such as this). You won't be surprised by any of it, but I like that sometimes. I certainly give it a big thumbs up. 4-1/2 out of 5.

As you know, I stayed in the Art Cave all week and concentrated on learning and experimenting with some polymer clay techniques that I had put on the shelf, so to speak. The book that I got "Making Polymer Clay Beads, by Linda Peterson" is such a motivator. I have wanted to do several of the techniques she shows for years, but couldn't see how they could relate to beads, which is what I do. She really makes them work. If you are into making jewelry and have been thinking about making polymer clay beads, this is the book for you. If you are a beginner, this may not be the best to start with. I don't mean to sound like a commercial, but I am impressed overall with this publication.

Well, that's all for now. I will probably take pictures of my new pieces tomorrow and show them to you soon. Enjoy the rest of your night and take care.

Whew...

Man, Oh Man...I'm taking a break from vacuuming. It used to be that DH did most of the housework, since he worked from home and I went out to work. Now that I am home, I thought it was only fair to switch those duties. (DUH, you would think being a woman, I would have been smarter than that) Anyway, this is how it has gone so far:

1. Bring out the vacuum, a really nice Electrolux Epic, that I still don't know how to work
2. Plug it in, doesn't work. Oops, have to turn the light stitch on.
3. Start vacuuming, get hot.
4. Stop and close drapes.
5. Take off shirt
6. Set the A/C to 60 degrees and vacuum in what my Gram called my "foundation garment"
7. Vacuum shuts off by itself. A light has come on that has a little icon of a trash can. Fancy.
8. Find new bag, thankfully my hubby is very organized and I found the correct one.
9. Start thinking about how inconvenient it is for the Queen to have to push the vacuum.
10. Decide to stop and blog whilst I cool off and look and see if there is a riding vacuum online. Yes, there is, but I want one that is made like a Segway that I can stand up on.

Anyhoo, that's it for now. I've cooled off enough to put my top on and continue. Check back in later for my review of House Bunny. Until then, happy Saturday.

Back Yard Birdies

I was out on the deck yesterday and man, was it noisy!! Where are all those birds? They are in my neighbor's backyard. They have lovely flowers and have put out a bright blue bowl of water for the birdies to bathe in and lots of other goodies. This is what I was able to catch with the camera:

Click on pictures for a closer look...

Heard At Check In..

"...ahh isn't it lovely here at the spa...







Then heard during treatment

"... Maggie, I'm telling you, I HEAR SOMETHING!






"...oohh, Babs, do you feel like someone is watching us?, creepy"





Their voices rise in indignation...

"...I'm getting out of here, this place is supposed to be safe.. I'm asking for my money back!"


All is quiet in the yard.


No birdies were harmed during this scenario.

I don't need no stinkin' shield bug...

Hey all you crazy cats out there. I'm still having a blast doing clay beads. I worked on a faux marble finish yesterday and I think you will dig it. Just so you will know I am still around, I am posting this picture. If you don't want your privacy invaded, don't land on my sliding glass door.

DH calls them Stink Bugs, I always called them Shield Bugs. Either way here is some bug info:

PENTATOMIDAE: from the Greek "pente" (five) + "tomos" (a section); perhaps a reference to the 5-segmented antennae, or perhaps a reference to the body, which, when viewed from above, appears to be divided into 5 large sections: a pronotum, a scutellum, two basal leathery portions of hemelytra [one on each side of the scutellum], and two apical membranous portions of hemelytra that completely overlap and seem like a single "section".

STINK BUG: Pentatomids produce odors from thoracic glands for self-defense. I know of other species that do this same thing and it is quite effective. Can you name a few?

How about My Fair Lady?



and members of the "monarchy"...


Some cute fuzzy friends...

and some not so cute...

but funny....

We all have our defense mechanisms, some are funnier than they are effective, but we must have them to survive. So whether your defense is a smile or frown...a scream or a stomp... it's OK, just go ahead and use it whenever you need to.




Take care and hang in there, Friday really is coming!

My latest beads...

As most of you know, in addition to drawing and other visual arts, I love to make beads. I have made paper beads, beaded beads, cloth beads...the list goes on and on. My favorite, and the one I always come back to is polymer clay. I mentioned in an earlier post of my new book by Linda Peterson. I finally got my studio cleaned up (which included sanding all the glues and gunk off of my table) and got everything clean and prepared to "go polymer". After several false starts, I got the hang of making a "bone" clay and proceeded with the following projects from the book.

This first one using the layered bone clay, has been rubber-stamped, baked and then painted with burnt umber acrylic. When paint is completely dry, you sand ( I always wet sand with automotive sand paper) to reveal the design from the stamp, which leaves the paint in the grooves. After using the same clay to make accent beads and using gloss varnish on all the elements, I put together this little piece.




Using the same bone clay, I made a large focal bead in the style of Karen (Klew) Lewis. This is a bead I have wanted to try for some time, but hadn't found a tutorial. Linda's is simple and easy to do. The embellishments consist of various canes that I already had made, and some metal eyelets pressed into the uncured clay (my contribution). After baking, once again I used the burnt umber and then wet sanded, the remaining paint makes it look more organic. I tried to show both sides of the bead here...




I'm sure this bead is bound to appear in many different variations on my work table. I have all kinds of ideas for drum beads. Hope you like them.

Sorry for the quality of these picture, my photo program has a mind of it's own. I hope I figure out the best way to photograph these beads, as that's probably really the issue. I noticed that my friend Michelle has a neat little set up to photograph her lampworked beads. Maybe I need to do something like that. I am sure you folks have all kinds of tricks about photographing your art. Please feel free to share, I'm all ears.

Well, that's all for now, I need to go take it easy for a while. I worked myself into a froth with the photo program, urggggh.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I am thinking about "hermitizing" myself this week and maybe getting some more beads done. Other than groceries, I have no need to leave the house...sounds like a good plan. Well, gang, have fun, create lots of art and hug the next person you see. (that's assuming you aren't at the library reading this).

Don't forget, I read your blogs all the time. I don't always make time to comment, but I'm out here supporting you all the way. Keep up the good work. Until then, take care.

Satuday Night Fever

I really couldn't think of a title for this post, as it is almost a "non-post". Sorry. Just a couple of quick pics to hold us over until something exciting happens.

Sashi mentioned inchies the other day and I decided that I would post a shot of mine. I put a coin on one of them to give you a perspective of size. I had a blast doing these and will most likely do more this winter. This is a hot tea and television kind of art. Maybe while watching it snow. I like the sound of that.

Hmm, I really thought the picture would look better than this, not sure what I did wrong, but you get the idea.

Several weeks back I got a very nice denim vest from C.J. Banks that was just begging to be embellished. I started with beige lace and am not sure where to go from there. Please suggest something. If you think it's done, as is, let me know.

The lace is actually not white, I should have done something about that in my photo program, rats, urgh. Anyway, the next shot shows the back and side view. It needs something, I just not sure what.


I'm thinking I want something vintage attached, maybe a...... As you can see, I am struggling with this one. Let me know what you think. Help me rock this vest, y'all.

Take care and have a good weekend.

Cherries and The Odd Man Out

Just a quick post (typed whilst wearing my new glasses...I can see!!!) to show you my latest art using Copic Markers. I have mentioned them before, when I got them for Christmas and I am often trying to find new ways to use them. This little piece, which I am calling " Odd Man Out" is based on lesson three in my watercolor book. I liked the image for that lesson, but wanted to see how it translated to markers.

I used this paper, shown below, which I got at our local art supply store. I had forgotten how cool an actual art supply store is. I appreciate having an excellent craft store near by, but wow, nothing compares to a real art supply store. I got some India ink markers and a red leafing pen, as well as the pad. This pad turned out to be pretty sturdy. I layered approximately 10-12 colors on the background of this piece. Hope you like the results.


Well, it's off to see Heather for my mani/pedi. I'm waaaaay overdue. Bad girl.

One last thing, I won't be able to make my Artist's meeting tomorrow. Haven't missed one for a while, but DH has a friend in the Journey tribute band Frontiers, and they are in town tomorrow night and not only will I take extra time to get ready, but we want to get there early, it will be packed. Hope all my arty friends have a great time and I'll see them soon.

That's all for now, but I'll certainly keep you posted if anything happens.


btw... the lovely plum was an exercise in how to recover from a boo-boo, or should I say "happy little accident".

Movie Review (Lengthy post, sorry)

We went to see Tropic Thunder, first showing. Popcorn and sodas, plus tickets...$35.00

First off, it's our own fault. We know not to go to R rated movies. We don't like the things that usually give a movie a restricted rating. That's why we never go. If this is also your credo, please do not compromise your belief system. Stick to your guns! That being said...

I am telling you this as a reasonably intelligent person, a person that loves movies and has seen quite a few. This movie has to be the worst usage of talented actors that I have seen recently. I am a big fan of Robert Downey, Jr. I can't say that I have seen all of his movies, but I have kept up with his career and his very public personal problems over the years. I like this man. In addition to being intelligent and articulate, he is still quite the looker. His scenes are some of the only redeeming parts of this movie. This film is full of "stars" and actually has several talented actors in it. Their talents are wasted and I hope they are not horribly embarrassed to be associated with this flick.

The premise is great. The making of a movie that has gone very wrong. They could have done so much with it. A movie within a movie, is always a complex idea, and I am sure you can start naming off the great ones, so I won't do that. What I will do is tell you what I disliked about this one. I knew it was rated R for violence and language, and I really thought I was prepared for that. Wrong. The language, in more than several scenes, was absolutely vile. Several of the fake trailers at the beginning of the film are hideously vile and otherwise offensive. Combine that with the WORST offender being a pasty white, very fat, disgusting and unlikeable, Jack Black in his underwear...well, it was pretty awful. Jack is a funny guy. I usually like him. He is an excellent musician and when presented with a decent script, he is a good actor. Not here. Bad move on his part to appear in this flick.

Ben Stiller, while not my favorite actor, is most certainly liked and respected by yours truly. He comes from a wonderfully comedic family. My hubs has followed his career for years and has great respect for him as a talented performer in movies and television. It just makes you wince when someone you like is required to spew out the dialog that was apparently written for him. I hope none of it was ad-libbed. Please, Ben, stay with less offensive projects, you are so much better than this.

Matthew McConaughey is the eye candy. It doesn't matter what he is wearing, who he is acting with, what the plot is... why, it's not easy for me to remember if he even had any lines. All kidding aside, his part is a "save the day, by accident" type role and he probably follows Robert Downey, Jr. as doing the best with what they were given.

Nick Nolte was also pretty good, considering all of my previously mentioned observations. I guess it's better than not working.

Tom Cruise portrays a filthy talking agent and now I understand why he has acquired a "reputation". The one good thing regarding his performance, is he is so heavily made up that he is almost unrecognizable. Nuff said.

Lastly, the score of the movie. I liked the "real songs" that were included. The incidental music was pretty good and I really do understand that in a spoof type movie, you need to have some funny, off the wall songs. As the credits rolled, and DH and I walk slowly down the steps watching the screen...hoping beyond hope, for bloopers or outtakes, or something that might redeem this movie. Not to be, the score blasts from the speakers as the credits continue and the song that is being played is a very loud, repeating version of one of the most vile phrases in the entire movie. It's just so bad, that I get peeved thinking about all the unsuspecting movie goers that are going to be subjected to this.

I have a really good sense of humor and have even been known to make people laugh, on my own. I understand humor. I get comedy, I get jokes. I even get very dark comedy. I may even think that (sometimes) bathroom humor is quite a giggle. I understand satire. I get it, I get it... this is a spoof..but a spoof is supposed to be funny. A film shouldn't have to beg and plead for laughs at the expense of some very fine actors and performers.

Perhaps we should have waited until the actual reviews had come out and not based our desire to see this on the trailers. Bottom line being this, if you are not offended by foul language and ridiculous and offensive scenarios being included only for laughs, and with little value, comedic or otherwise, hey, maybe you will like it.

I hope I don't sound like an old stick in the mud. I'm reasonably open to new things and like to give all art forms a try. I thought this movie would deliver, for me it does not. I would usually say, "make your own decision", but I don't want you to have to do that.

Thumbs Down.

Until later, take care and stay happy and healthy.

New Book

Hey there y'all. I took advantage of another Jo Ann's coupon and got a new book to add to my collection. It is "How to Make Polymer Clay Beads", by the talented Linda Peterson. Check out her website here. I haven't really purchased any polymer clay books for about 3 years and I'm sure there are lots of new ones out there. I am looking forward to working on some of the projects.

I am thinking about getting rid of these books and replacing them with more current ones. Do you have any ideas on replacements? What is your favorite Polymer Clay book?


My hubs and I went to see Dark Knight yesterday. I really loved it. I hadn't been to keen on going, since there was so much personal drama attached to the movie. Don't wait until video for this film. It needs to be seen (and heard) on the big screen. It was fabulous. The special effects are superb and all the acting is award winning.

Yikes, Thursday I have a dentist appointment and then my sweetie and I have pedicure appointments for Friday. I haven't had a manicure since February when I did the post about my hands. Since I have made some new friends since then that may have missed it, I'll give you a quick peek. I hope you have time to check it out.

I do seem to have a free day tomorrow. Tropic Thunder comes out tomorrow. I'm not sure I can handle two movies in one week. If we don't do the movie, what else can I get into? Whatever it is, you can bet it will be fun. I will post pictures if anything artsy turns out fabulous.

Talk soon, take care, give kisses all around and go make art!!!

Watercolor Workshop #2

Greetings all. Hope everyone had a good weekend. Thanks for the suggestions regarding the hat. I still cannot decide. We'll see.

Here is the second lesson in my watercolor workshop book. I did this sitting on our good couch. It was supposed to be a study in wet-on-wet, but I didn't want to mess up anything, so after drawing in my images, I blocked in the colors with watercolor pencil and then spread them around with a wet brush.



You see, I have this quirk to my personality. For some reason, I never want to do exactly what the instructions say. I don't know why. You know how some folks, when trying to fix something-- do the same thing over and over again and expect different results??? It's kinda like that, except opposite. I do something different and expect to get the same results. I know I'm supposed to do what the professional instructs, but I have this mad scientist, rebellious type of mentality, that wonders, "Oh yeah, well what will it look like if I do this instead?"

I do this in other aspects of my life. I have learned that you have creative license when you cook, but not when you bake. You get in less trouble with hair color than you do with scissors. One thing I have learned, though is this...If it makes you sick, don't eat it.

One last thing that I learned from experimenting. Don't clip anything spring loaded to your eyebrows. Even though it gets a big laugh, it really hurts. (learned in early childhood, amusing myself while waiting for Grandmother in the hair salon).

Well, that's all for now. I hope to have some more art later this week. Till then, TA, TA.

Unusual Question...

First off, I want to say thank you for all the lovely anniversary greetings I received from you. We had a nice time. We went to IHOP and had fried banana caramel cheesecake. It was yummy.
Thanks again. Now, the reason for today's post...

Here is a custom designed hat that I created for a petite Society Lady to wear to a special holiday meeting for a "most creative hat" contest.



Unfortunately, she didn't get to go and therefore didn't take the hat. This is a really wild creation. It is obviously purple poinsettias with red holiday decorations made on a small red felt, very inexpensive, toy cowboy hat. The kicker is this...it has Christmas lights woven into the design. The battery operated workings of the lights are fixed so they go up against the inside of the hat, with the switch on the brim of the hat, hidden by flowers. We had planned on making a lining of sorts to contain the lighting system so she could comfortably wear the hat. That part was never completed. It could also be used as a door decoration.

This shows the wires to the lights. They are the kind you use to make a sweatshirt light up. They are very lightweight, as is the battery assembly.



Question is this...do you think I could sell this on eBay? Be honest, folks. It won't hurt my feelings if you say, " uhhh no, it's hideous", or if you think it might sell, at what price should I start it?

I, personally, have never sold on eBay, but I think I want to start putting up some art, etc. for sale. What do you think?

That's all for now. See you later.

The Best Day Ever

Please join me in celebrating the Best Day Ever...
August 8, 1988

I don't have an picture from the actual wedding, but here we are soon after.

The wedding was a spur of the moment thing. One of the girls I worked with convinced me to go ahead with the plans that my sweetie and I had sort of talked about. I said to her that morning, when I looked at our office calendar, "ahhh, I wanted to get married today". She said "Well, the boss is on vacation, so we have most of the day to plan it out. Call your sweetie, go get the license while I find a preacher". No more encouragement was needed. We did get a parking ticket while we were obtaining the license, but other than that everything went off without a hitch.

Yes, my sweet friends, twenty years ago today, we said "I Do" and promised to love, cherish and obey. We meant it then and we mean it now. We got married in a little wedding chapel. I wore my favorite denim skirt and top and pinned Baby's Breath in my hair and carried some fresh wildflowers. (Sandy thought of everything). When we went to pick up Denise, to go along as our attendant/witness, she was wearing a yellow terrycloth tank top with matching short shorts and flip flops (she was the singer in the band Sweetie was in) and had already gotten a wedding cake for us that had little gold rings on it (there is still a piece in our freezer, we have taken it whenever we have moved). I carried my sister's Bible and wore my Mom's long forgotten wedding band. I have no recollection of what he wore, but we went to the Sizzler afterwards and had dinner. I am a little sad to admit that we didn't think to tell either of our families until it was over. We were more impulsive in those days.

I have to let you all know, I am crying as I write this. I am so blessed and fortunate to have him in my life. We have been through tough times just like anyone else, but we made it this far and we will make it through anything that comes our way. He is the love of my life and I will never stop thanking God for allowing me to spend my life with him. He and I aren't big party people, and we still haven't decided how we will celebrate. It doesn't matter what we do, as long as we are together.

I can't think of a better way to share my joy with all my friends, than through this little blog. That is why I am posting this happy, grainy picture from so many years ago. Hope you like it.

To help us celebrate, please kiss that special someone and say "this one's for Susan and her Hubby".

New Hair Cut

No, that's not Posh Spice...




"Grab the camera, Honey, who knows how long this look will last?" Misty and I always have fun with my hair. The look of asymmetry is an illusion. I started to have her leave it really long on one side, but I decided not to, so we went with this. I can style it to look longer on one side, but it actually isn't. Just wait until I get my new magenta wire rims, woo hoo!

Hope you like it. Later, Y'all.

ATC's

Here are a few of the ATC's that I have made. I really do try to learn about all kinds of art. I usually go back to making jewelry and sewing, but I do love to dabble with new techniques. That's one of the things I like about being in an artist's group. I made these after our ATC session at the library in Feb. 2007. I usually work much larger than this, so I really had to put on my thinking cap for these little works of art. While I am used to setting up a designated area on my paper or canvas for my painting or drawing, I feel somewhat confined by this smaller area. If I box myself in too much with sizes, I get anxious and decide before hand that I just know that I won't like this. Maybe it's just the rebellious child that still resides in me. You know, the one that says "that's not fair, what if I want it bigger than 3-1/2 x 2-1/2?". Do you have one of those smart aleck kids still there? I'm sure you don't.


Here is a shot using clothes pins as a size indicator. I get confused sometimes when looking at art, as to what size it really is. This gives a visual indicator that they really are ATC's.

Since what I really love to do is draw, my first ones were a series of pen and ink "sprites" that have eyes peeping out at you from various hiding places.



These ATC's gave me a chance to branch out into using various techniques. On these, I used magazine pictures that were gesso covered and embellished.


This next batch was my first step into the world of collage. This truly was a first for me and I still sometimes add words and journaling to some of my art. I wish I was better at that.


This last one is just so not me. I like the way it turned out, though. I really like studying the romantic images collaged and combined with ribbons and lace that other artist's do so well. I thought I would try my hand at it.



While I am happy with the way it turned out, it's just not my personal style. I like colorful and bold, almost commercial-like images for my art. This may be why I liked working in commercial printing so much.

If I were given a choice of a Victorian style costume, versus something like, maybe a Flapper's costume...you'd better make way for some serious bead swinging and heel kicking, because there is definitely a flapper waiting in the wings of my swirly brain. I'd rather do the Charleston than the Virginia Reel, any day.

What would be your favorite time period to have experienced? I love fashions and customs and cultures of bygone days. Let's have a virtual costume party. Maybe someone will throw one. Is anyone out there game? Let me know and I'll be there with bells on, (more likely beads, but that goes without saying).

Well, that's all for now. Keep doing your own special art, and keep loving yourself and your family and friends. Talk soon, TA, TA.

But is it really art????

My hubs and I went to the local cultural center last night for a concert. This event was billed as a rock opera and we were familiar with several of the musicians taking part. The first band, "The Bastards of Fate" are a rocking, off the wall, alternative band with some performance art thrown in and they were just great. High energy, weirdness and humor in just the right amounts. In my opinion, they were better than the main event.... "Space Monkey Odyssey. "

The Odyssey was alright, I suppose. The musicians were accomplished and well-rehearsed and the drummer was really good. There were flashing lights and the President and Mrs. Lincoln were in the reserved box seats (yes, you read that correctly). There were cute dancers and of course, the main character,The Space Monkey. The music was all original and had somewhat of a space vibe and there was a movie screen with monkeys and space shots and such. It was all "entertaining", yet for some reason...I'm just not sure that I got it.


That being said, here is a picture to give you an idea. All in all, we had a nice time. We sat with a couple that has a movie review and we had fun talking with them. Hubby and I stopped and got treats before going home, so a good time was had by all.

Got up early and went to the flea market. Got a sparklie necklace to repurpose and also had a t-shirt made . It has two hearts on it and both our names in little fuzzy velvet letters, so that was pretty cool.

I have been so inspired by the lovely Susan Carlin and her artwork. Susan does beautiful artwork in oils, but I decided to try my hand at watercolor, just to get back in the groove. I am not very accomplished with a paintbrush, so I checked out the book Watercolor Workshop from the library. It has step by step instructions and lots of information, so I thought I'd dig out the watercolor supplies.....


and do just what it says, take it step by step. I did get a bit warm out on the deck, but it just seems so "arty" to paint outside. I got myself excited several times, thinking I was making mistakes, but I regrouped and reminded myself that this is just practice and no one is going to grade me on it. After that realization, I enjoyed myself more and finally came up with this....


Sorry, this is not the best photo in the world, but you can see that I sort of got the colors and perspective correct. I am fairly happy with it. Thanks, Susan for all your inspiration. I hope to one day tackle oil paint. I don't know why I am so scared to paint. I can draw like a mad woman. I think maybe, painting feels like it gives me less wiggle room than I'm used to. ..but that's ok. Perhaps it time to climb outside that box for a while.

Later this week I'm going to post some of my ATC's and probably a picture of a NEW HAIRCUT!
Yes, I'm going to get a trim this Wednesday and you never know what will happen when Misty and I get together at the salon.

Lastly, thanks so much for all your fabulous input regarding glasses. I did need a slight change in my prescription and the doc said that I would probably be happiest with two pairs of glasses. One for close up and one for distance. I don't think I want to have to do that, so he suggested trying a lined bifocal and if I don't like that, I'll go back with the progressives.

Well, our smoke alarm is beeping, I hope the battery is low because, YIKES, what a scary sound. I used to set the smoke alarm off all the time when we used the fireplace, but I know it's not that. Urggh... That darn thing wont stop chirping, better go see what's up. Till then, keep doing art and have a great rest of the weekend.


later
......now that was funny. DH and I have just spent the past 15 minutes walking around trying to find what was beeping. He had taken the battery out of the smoke alarm and we heard the beep again. We checked the cell phones, wait for the beep...check the bedrooms, wait for the beep...check the kitchen, wait for the beep...( we are shutting doors as we check, so we can hear better) check the bathroom, wait for the beep...the last door that is open is the linen closest in the hall. Hubbs is flattened up in the closet like a cartoon super hero and wait, wait,...there's the beep!!! We look up and lo and behold, there is another smoke alarm in the hall, that we both have forgotten about. We are still laughing. We are crazy old coots. If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

Feel free to join in the giggling. On that "beep" (excuse me, note) I am outta here! Love y'all bunches.

The happiest girl in the world just got rude...

OK, maybe it's because I had to deal with my eyes being so out of whack yesterday, from all those drops, and maybe it's because we didn't get to see all of the movie we went to yesterday because of rude and loud goof-balls, and maybe it's because I'm just plain mean....

Our telephone just rang and I jumped on it because by dear hubs is taking a well deserved catnap and I didn't want to wake him. I said hello and someone very sarcastically say "hello?" I then said, "yes, I said hello", they then said, still using that same tone of voice, "why do you say Hello, is this not Advance?". Well, I was a professional "telephone greeter" for years (customer service, receptionist, catalog order taker, etc.) so I firmly replied, "no Sir, if this was Advance, I would have answered "Advance" and since it is not and you obviously have reached a wrong number, I answered hello". The caller replied, "I am sorry, please excuse the sarcasm". As I was hanging up, I realized my professional skills are really rusty, because I just called a rather deep voiced FEMALE, "sir". That will teach her to be rude to folks, especially those working on Saturday. In a way I feel like I just took up for someone that couldn't speak for themself. So try to keep in mind, next time you are thinking of being rude to someone on the phone, you might have reached me by mistake!

Well, I'm off to take a few pictures and post them and maybe read a little. I just needed to vent and rant and I chose this for my forum. Oh, wasn't this your lucky day?

Love ya, and I'll be back soon and in a better mood, I'm sure.