Category Archives: Pastimes

Collage Unleashed

So yesterday Shawn wanted to trade in his car for a new sporty one… (perhaps a mid-life crisis thing?) Anyhow, I had to go along since my name is on the loans, but I knew it would be HOURS of boring sitting and number crunching. So I brought a stack of books to read and view to entertain myself. I actually READ through the entire Collage Unleashed by Traci Bautista. I have been planning to do some projects out of this book for a while, perhaps even ALL of them like Eliza is doing, and I already did do one for Jen’s challengeÂ last week. Lots of great ideas in there. BUT I really need to organize my studio so that I can get going on some of them. Luckily theÂ two go hand in hand as Jen’s Challenge this week is Mono-printing and that is also in Traci’s book. So if I could only convince myself to clean off my desk!

While reading and waiting I also made it mostly through The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery by Karen Michel and Free-Style Quilts by Susan Carlson.

I think I was MOST inspired by the Free-Style Quilts since fabric is really what I want to be doing… part of me wants to just purge ALL my paper stuff… and make more room for fabric stuff. But I still do like to create with paper sometimes and it hurts to thinking of getting rid of so much stuff. I know I could just take it all to school and therefore still have access to it, while letting the kids use it. But even that sounds like a huge chore.

I am working on a “hand” series right now… though it is mostly in development phase right now. While looking through Free-Style Quilts, I realized this picture would make a great fabric or paper collage…. so next will be sketchs and patterns to turn this into some arty goodness…

stay tuned!

Charger clay sculpture drying in progress

Charger clay sculpture drying in progress, originally uploaded by Charger’s Mommy.

One of the things I love about my job is the ability to create and explore art while working with the kids. I opened up the clay center for my 7th grade classes and they wanted to make some creatures…dogs and flamingos specifically. So to demonstrate and teach I ~HAD~ to make a Charger sculpture! hmmm… does the love of my dog influence my art? or what? So it is going well and I brought it home this 3-day weekend to fiddle with it some more. Check out more pics on my Flickr. Don’t worry I will post more when it is done!

WIP: Medusa Doll and Peacock

4315 This is a doll I started…. let’s see right after I made my freak show doll, so that would be August-September 2005. The body all went according to plan but then I got stuck with the head. I wanted to have some really detailed and movable snakes for her hair and I bought all kinds of different thicknesses of wire to try and make it work….

I am pretty sure my intention was to enter it into the Classic Mythology ShowÂ Depending on the prospectus, I might take a new direction with the head/hair and finish her in time enter her in the Creation Myths: An EBSQ Juried Artists Exhibit later this year.

4330

This one was started 02/2007 for the Wild Birds Show But I didn’t get very far before life, work and other projects became more important. I really have a fantastic vision for what I want this to become, I have all the proper fabrics collected, I even have many of the pieces cut-out. Each peacock feather eye is a 5 layer circle of different fabrics cut, ironed on and then sewn together. I had all these laying on my ironing board and an early Spring had me opening the windows. In a brisk breeze, all my small little circles (not yet attached to each other) blew all over the studio. This quickly discouraged anymore progress!

I have entered these both into the EBSQ WIP show… and also plan to put them at the top of my “want to finish” pile.

WIPs or RIPs

This month EBSQ is hosting a “Work in Progress” themed show. The idea is to actually enter and ‘show-off’ your dusty, old, and abandoned projects that have lost favor in the studio. In fact they must be sitting stagnant for a minimum of six months.

While contemplating which ones I might dig up for this show, I ran across Sharon B’s blog “In a Minute”. She had just reorganized her studio in a take-everything-out-and-put-it-back-in-while-dumping-stuff technique when I found her blog. But apparently she has been documenting her WIPs for quite sometime now. She divides up her projects into a couple of categories, some of which I had heard before and others that were new to me.

WIP (Works IN Progress) This is a project that is CURRENT, being worked on in the here and now.
UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) This describes those projects you started with good intentions but that have been pushed to the bottom of the pile in favor of other things…. They may never see the light of day again, and if we were really honest with ourselves we would get rid of them!
WISPs (Works in Slow Progress) Different from UFOs in that they may have been worked on now and again, with continued but slow progress either due to the complexity or other projects that have more important deadlines.
PIGS (Projects In Grocery Sacks) I think this was on her blog, but might have come from some long line of followed links… but I LOVE this one. I admit I have some of these! YIKES! A bunch of supplies, stuffed into a bag that will probably be forgotten and become a UFO. My PIGS tend to be projects I take from a class or event and then it goes back and forth from event to studio with intentions of finishing, or even working on while travelling.
RIPs (Rest in Pieces)I am suggesting that perhaps there needs to be a new category. I have several of these and I don’t even think they can count as a WISP. The pattern that was cut out… and then NOTHING else has happened! It is just resting there in a box in pieces! But this might also be the category that I assign to things that just need to be buried and gone. Forget about trying to finish this, physically get rid of it and move on.

So like Sharon, I plan to start this new year with reclaiming, domcumentingÂ and cleaning up the WISPs, PIGS and UFOS! Luckily EBSQ also inspired this with the current show! AND I really need to be on a craft/paper/fabric DIET for a while till my studio is more manageable!

Making Window Collages

So a few people have asked about how I make my window collages. A few years ago, I taught a workshop on how to do this technique on a smaller scale, some of the images shown here are from this workshop and NOT my artwork, but they show the process.Â I shared these stepsÂ in an online lecture at EBSQ. You can read moreÂ from that 2004 workshop at EBSQ.

The windows are a long PROCESS. And admittedly I haven’t taken on the task since I moved my studio to the attic some 3 years ago. I only have a little pull-down ladder access to my studio so hauling up big heavy windows from the basement hasn’t been a priority. I have been adapting this technique to fabric instead. But if they start selling at the gallery I will need to get back in gear with this style of collage. I still have several windows waiting for their transformation and even sketches from the hand series that I began. My paper collection has not dwindled by any means… but could use some reorganization. So this gallery opening has in fact been an inspiration and motivation to get back with it.

So here is how I create my window collages….

Continue reading →

Fiber Favorites

Sewing: I like to sew, I love fabric and make quilts, dolls and other fiber art. Here are some links for buying and using fabric.

http://www.threadbared.com/ A fun site that shows old patterns and all things weird re: clothing

Fabric: quilts, dolls, fabric books

AADA Artist Doll Gallery The Academy of American Doll Artist Foundation, Inc. Continue reading →

Videos

Videos and Animations: Hosted on Teacher Tube and YouTube

Charger Loves Karma

July 2007

June 2006

Making a Tile Part One
Making a Tile Part Two
Making a Tile Part Three

My Favorite Sites of 2006

art propensity Chosen for TOP TEN, not only because she is really coming into her own style with her dolls, but also because her web site is really top notch. Patricia Anders, Â claiming my propensity for art on this spec of the world wide web where I weave my work into galleries of:Â figurative sculpture, art dolls, “Diva Dollie” jewelry sets, and flat art

DJ Pettitt Chosen for TOP TEN, because I LOVE and WANT one of her fantastic purses. Creating artwork using original photographs and drawings, vintage ephemera, found objects, newly painted papers, and recycled papers. Substrates include stretched and unstretched canvas, Stonehenge and watercolor paper, recycled book covers, and fabric, all treated with a variety of polymer mediums, acrylic paint, glazes, and colored pencil. Original images are created using a combination of digital and traditional collage methods.

Keith lobue Mixed media, Chosen for TOP TEN, not only for his artwork, but also for his amazing web site! Keith E. Lo Bue’s work with found objects gave rise in October of 1989 to his first solo exhibition, entitled Oddments. In the ensuing years his work has evolved into minute constructed environments, oftentimes viewed through lenses, that have been called “diminutive museums, reliquaries of dreams.” (Raymond Smith) His art has been recognized and selected for awards by Senior Curators at the Museum Of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the American Craft Museum. Solo exhibitions have occurred in New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, Westport, CT and several other cities.

Kirsten Francis Printmaker Chosen for TOP TEN, because I have LOVED this artist since I saw her work at the Bellevue Fair YEARS ago. Here method of printmaking is inspiring and her subjects are deep and filled with symbolism. Woodblock Print Creation Process I use the color reduction printmaking technique, whereas only one woodblock is used to print successive layers or runs of color. I begin by drawing directly onto the plywood block with pencil and fixing the image with a spray varnish.
Each run ofÂ color is then made by repeatedly carving out additional areas of the wood block,Â rolling the block up with an oil-based ink, and then printing it on to paperÂ using an etching press in my home studio. I build up the image, layer uponÂ layer, starting with the lightest colored inks and progressing to the darkest. IÂ usually print 8 runs using between 8 and 13 different colors.

Off the Hook Studios, Art by Jami Moffett what can I say I just love this site.