My Etsy Shop is now closed

I made a decision today to close my Etsy Shop.  I haven't had any sales for several months, and since I'm doing so well at Hart & Soul in Mt. Dora, it just makes sense to take everything from Etsy to there.

There may come a time when I decide to re-open Etsy, and that option is always there.  If you saw anything on Etsy that you would like to purchase, you can still purchase it directly from me (or Hart & Soul).

Mandala Class

I finally spent time today watching all of the videos of the free Mandala class (see info on right).  It was a lot of fun to do, and very Zen!

I did this first one on plain cardstock - so I was only able to use the Pitt pens that I have to color.  I've discovered that as I age, I have trouble coloring inside the lines!  Maybe that's why I've begun to like Abstracts!!

I think I will make another one - probably in my journal, and then I can use watercolor paints, pencils and crayons for the color.

You can't beat a Free Class!  Give it a shot!

It's Done!

Finally!  I finished the other side of the journal page for Ocala's Collaborative Art Journal!  Now, I can send it off and be done with it!!  I tell you, I'm not very good at doing art on a deadline.  I kept changing my mind about what to do, so I kept on doing nothing!!  This morning, I went into the studio, turned up the music, and just let it happen!

 

 

 

I also just returned from my annual Kansas City visit with my kids and grandkids.  This trip was very special - my daughter and I went to my Aunt Arline's 100th Birthday party in St. Louis!  What an experience!  My sister and brother were there, my only uncle (my father's brother), as well as all my 1st cousins, and all of their kids and grandkids!  We hadn't all been together for such a long time, I didn't even know half of the people there.  Now, if I just managed to get some of my Aunt Arline's genes -- such a gorgeous and gracious lady!

 

 

Ocala's Collaborative Art Journal

 

 

A couple of months ago, I was invited by an artist friend to join "Ocala's Collaborative Art Journal".  This will be a journal made up of pages by all kinds of artisits in this area.  I believe it is also a part of a larger, group of art journals.

 

Because I've been playing around with my own art journal, I thought this might be a fun exercise.  But, of course, it's taken me a very long time to finally get down to actually doing the piece!  And, I've only finished one side of it -- I still have the other side to do.  Lucky for me, it's not due until October 25th, and you can be sure that I'll probably not get it finished until that deadline!

 

It's one thing to make art for yourself, in a journal that only you (and a few close friends on my blog) will actually see.  But this is very intimidating for me, cause who knows who will eventually see this?

Oh well, the main thing is that I do it, and try to have fun with it!  I'll show you the other side when it gets done!

 

 

Thinking of Daddy

So this morning, I was reading this book that I borrowed from a friend - trying to figure out what to do with those 2 journal pages that I started.  I enjoyed the way the authors used personal pictures and texts. 

 

I was reminded of a photo that I have of me and my daddy that I keep in a heart shaped frame.  When I was little, he would come home from a hard day at work and Mother would mix him a drink, and give me a soda. I would take his shoes off, and we would sit and cuddle on the sofa while he read the newspaper.  Great memories!

 

I'm Worn Out!

 

 

 

I spent the better part of the month in August sewing coasters and bowls to take to Mount Dora.  So, I didn't have much time to work on my art!  I tried to go to Art Club on the 31st, but no one else showed up, so I went home (and continued to sew!).

 

So, last Friday I finally got to play with some paint!  Unfortunately, I got pulled away a lot, so I'm going to show you what I did.  Below, I got just a few shapes painted in my Flora Bowley abstract - I have a very loooong way to go with this canvas!

 

And, then, I managed to do 2 backgrounds in my journal - on the left, I tore some of the CitraSolv pages and glued them down (and, I have no idea what I will do next!).  On the right, I just painted some squares and rectangles - and I have no idea what I will do next!  Sound familiar?

So, I guess my goal this week is to do SOMETHING with these starts!  I spent the whole day today reading a book!  It felt so good to do nothing!  Hopefully soon I can show some progress!

CitraSolv Play

 

 

Since we're supposed to get rain for the next few days, curtesy of Isaac, I decided to play with the CitraSolv technique today.  This must be done either outdoors, or in a well ventilated place (I used my garage with the door up).  I've been researching this via YouTube - but you never know what you'll get till you try it!  I learned that it needs to be on longer than 20 minutes, and if you can't separate the pages - and leave them alone till the outsides are dry, you get another interesting effect on the middle pages -- it turns very pale with a lot of big white circles!  Anyway, here are a couple of before and afters for you:

Two page spread before

 

And, after

Beautiful and colorful before

And after - it still retains the color, just not quite so bright.

I also saw on YouTube that nothing else does it - you have to use CitraSolv.  If you live in a large city, you can probably find it in a health food store or Whole Foods - but if you're like me and live in a small town, you will have to send off for it through Amazon.

Fun Day!

 

 

 

Over the weekend, I received my new copy of Somerset Studio Magazine.  In it, I found a fab article about Kayann Ausherman - she contributed some collage pieces using Edgar Allan Poe as the muse.  In her collages, she used backgrounds made using CitraSolv on National Geographic magazine pages!  Maybe you have heard of this, but I hadn't!  So, of course, I sent off for some CitraSolv, and also went to her Etsy shop, and purchase some sheets from her.  I love the way they look!

 

If you look in the upper left/central part of this collage that I did today in Art Club, you can see how it looks.  I think it will be fun to make my own - can't wait for the CitraSolv to get here!

 

And while I was waiting for things to dry on the journal page, I started another canvas.  This one using Flora Bowley's techniques.  Right now, I've just thrown on color, and have outlined the shapes that I want to use -- next, I'll work in and around those shapes, and hopefully when I'm finished it will be beautiful!  We'll see.....

Blue Bird

After watching Donna Downey's video , I decided to give it a try!  So, here's the problem:  trying to use my fingers to paint on an 8" x 10" journal page is not as easy as doing it on a large canvas!  I finally just stopped, and declared it finished.  But, I did enjoy the process, so I 'm sure I will try again on a big canvas.

I am so amazed that Donna makes videos of a lot that she does, and most of them she shares with her blog audience.  What a gift!  I've even purchased some of her "Canvas Create" videos - it's worth every penny!

A New Perspective

I just spent the better part of an hour going backwards in my blog, reading each one - and finally discovered the first post that I made about learning to paint with acrylics.  It was early August, 2010.  I can't believe that I've been on this particular road for over 2 years!

And, before that, I was consumed with Watercolor for over 2 years, and Oils for another year!

The time has certainly flown by -- and I'm amazed at my growth.  Never in a million years did I believe that I had an ounce of creativity within me.

I told a friend yesterday, that he should start a blog (he's just getting started learning Watercolor) - that when I started painting, I started my blog and that it's the reason I just keep on learning!  Even if no one even reads it, I do - and I am so happy that I did it!

I spend a lot of time each day reading other's blogs, and I am so inspired by them.  So, if you're reading this, thank you for encouraging me to continue this amazing journey!