Down Time

I feel bad that I haven't been able to make any new art for the last month!  Where does the time go?  I was busy making things for Mt. Dora, reading books, and then 2 days ago I got sick!  My throat feels like there is a fire in there - and my head is kinda woozy.  Hopefully, after the weekend, I might be back to normal - and when I am, it's back to the studio for me!

Lazy River

 Today is the first day of "Art in the Park" at the Rainbow Springs State Park here in Dunnellon, FL.  Donna and I went to have a look around.  I used to show and sell my watercolors at this show, and it was always a great weekend!  Unfortunately, it has become a very small show, and the crowd is a lot smaller.  What a shame.  But, it is a beautiful day, so I snapped this photo of the folks in kayaks on the river.

In other news, I've been working on more bookmarks to send to Mout Dora.  My favorite way to make these is by painting my own tissue paper, then using it to glue onto the bookmarks!  Here are a couple of sheets that I painted yesterday:

And this is what the bookmarks look like:

 

Be Happy!

So, this is my second collage in the "Be" series.  I kinda like her!

Pan Pastels

I've been watching a lot of Donna Downey's videos, and was intrigued with the idea of Pan Pastels.  Of course, Donna's look so wonderful!  So, not knowing exactly what to order, I discovered that she offers two sets of pan pastels (I ordered mine from Blick Art Supplies) , and they each include a different video lesson!  Yay! 

This is my first attempt, and I can see a lot more practice in the future!  This was made using crumpled paper applied to the canvas, and modeling paste for the flowers.  I don't think that I've mastered the ability to enrich the scene with layers of colors like she does.  But, I did enjoy the process!

Be Yourself

I decided to try a different approach to my "Be" girls.  I really didn't like the way the first one turned out.  I'll sit with this one for awhile and see if I like this.  I am happy with more collage - less paint, though. 

Today, I received my Pan Pastels!  I watched a Donna Downey video that made me want to try them.  I'll let you know if they work for me.

Bowl Making Day

I've been having such good luck selling my fabric bowls, coasters and trivets at Under the Cherry Blossoms in Mount Dora!  I just sent a box of things down yesterday, and had to get busy and make some more to send next week!  My goal is to get my inventory up, and then make more and stock them, so that when they're needed, I'll have them on hand.  It's very stressful to have to make stuff on demand!

Be Bold!

Started working on some new 6" square collages for the Mount Dora shop.  Thinking of a series of "Being" collages, aimed at young girls and women.  We'll see how they work out.

Crazy Week!

First off, this is the only "art" I've been able to do during the last week!  More bookmarks made with deli paper and the Gelli printing plate.

We took a little day trip to Mount Dora on the 8th - and the girls from "Under the Cherry Blossoms" called me Sunday to let me know that they had sold quite a bit of my fabric bowls, etc. over the weekend.  Nice!  Then, on Monday, the VA Hospital called to let Bill know that he would be having cataract surgery on Friday, the 15th - and had to come to do pre-op on Wednesday, the 13th, so 2 of our days for last week were spent cooling our heels at the VA!

I had been trying to sew more bowls and things for Mount Dora - and they contacted me again on Saturday to let me know that a lot more things had been selling - and now it's critical that I send more stuff down! Oh, what a burden!  (Tongue in cheek!)  So, this weekend has been spent making things that are not art - but sewing.  I feel like a hamster in a wheel!  But, it's all good - hopefully, I can get caught up, and then I can get some new artwork done to send down there!  I'm scheduled to do a collage class there on March 2, but haven't gotten enough students signed up, so that may not be a go.  Back to the sewing machine I go!

The Other Sister

Meet Lynn - the other sister at "Under The Cherry Blossoms" in Mount Dora!  Bill and I took Barney today for a little trip, and to do some inventory work.  I tell you, these girls Rock!  I've had so much luck selling my things in their store - I just love their vibe!

To be fair, if it weren't for Brigett at Hart & Soul, I wouldn't even be selling in Mount Dora.  She did a tremendous job for me, and I'm sorry that her shop didn't work out.  I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful people!

A gelli print and some bookmarks

I was wondering what bookmarks would look like made out of my gelli prints.  So I made some, and I think they look great!  There is a layer of dictionary paper under neath the print - and since the prints are made with deli paper, you can see bits and pieces of it.

I've only been using 2 steps in my gelli printing so far.  The first layer is textured color, and then I put on masks and stencils for the 2nd layer.  I've been trying to keep it simple, so I could use smaller portions of the print for the bookmarks.  I really love the new print - it has a layer of coppery metalic on it.  I'm anxious to cut it up!