Tag Archives: collage

WIP Beaded Journal Project

jan 2010 WIP Beaded Journal Project

The Beaded Journal Project has begun again. The third round of this amazing project begins with January 2010 and will end in December. The goal is to make a beaded work of art that is a visual journal representing that month. You can read more about the project at the website. This year there are hundreds of people participating. I am part of blog #3 along with 100 others.

So this is my January page in progress. Last year, I did alter style pages that were big (8″x 10″) and an odd size, which is making it difficult to finish them off in a professional looking manner. But it will be done, eventually! Meanwhile I move on. This year I thought about a doll shape either flat or 3-D. But I decided that would be pushing it again. Last year was really my first exposure to beading and it was a wonderful challenge. I decided on a small (4″x6″) size and a basic postcard shape. I learned quite a few things from Robin in her class, so these are not multiple layers with batting (like last year’s, which added to the complication of finishing.) Instead just a simple piece of paper backs the fabric.

I chose “Journey” for my guiding word for 2010, so these pages will hopefully be in tune with that word as well. But I have also been very interested in the tree as a symbol lately. I like the idea of growth, the protection of bark, the stability of roots, and even the element of annual life, death, hibernation and rebirth. This month’s page represents that symbol.

I still have quite a bit that I want to do on this page, but it is moving along smoothly.

 

bones~n~butterflies

Another digital mandala for ArtSoMoFo.

Do you ever make something that you don’t like, but still post or share it? I have many pieces that I don’t care for, but I always hope that someone else will see something that I don’t. What do you think of this one? What do you notice? Does it grab you or speak to you? I played with it changing it over and over again, but it is still not meeting my vision.

I haven’t been feeling good, a sinus infection has been dragging on for over a month. It is hard to feel the spark and energy to create when health issues add their toll to regular daily life. I had high expectations of making a new mandala every day for the month. I do love to work in a series with a theme, color or other commonalities.

Perhaps my art twin?

I apparently have found my art twin. Over the years when I was primarily working with collage on glass, and showing… I always wondered if someone else was doing the same type of thing. I had seen painting on glass… but never collage. So today this guy, Mike, from France posts a comment on my blog and it seems that around the SAME YEARS as me, he was also doing collage on glass.

Then as I look to his bio I see that he is born in a year and date very close to me. So we are both 40 something geminis (me: 05/25/67 him: 05/27/65) He also does performance and installation arts, both types that I admire and he writes quite a bit. He is very diverse in his creations as I have been… we just went off in different directions.

So anyways, for the time being I will think of him as my art twin… and I will continue to keep an eye on his work. You should check it out as well!

BJP prototype

BJP_prototype with pages side by side and open, originally uploaded by Charger’s Mommy. Check out my flickr for more views of this project.

This is what I whipped up today to be my prototype for my bead journal project. I was having a hard time trying to explain what I wanted to do. Plus I thought I better make one to see if it really worked the way I wanted it to.

So These are some fabric and paper collages that have been sewn and embellished with ribbons and beads. They are cut in an alter book type shape. They have a layer of cardstock on the inside for support. They have 2 old paint brushes that slide into the back to support the book so it can stand. (will have to come up with a slightly better way to get them into the pages, as I just cut a hole in the fabic and shoved them in. the Ribbons are sewn to the back in such a way as to allow the different ‘chapters’ to be tied to each other. Another set of ribbons hold the front doors closed. in the final pages these will be little metal bead clasp things I found that have the letter S on them.

Since these are prototypes the edges are unfinished. and the outsides are fairly plain.

These are made from scraps in my studio.

In other news… my favorite online fabric store is now selling fabric for my favorite TV show.

Inspiration: Just Get Into the Groove

2007oct_ATCwoman15

Seth calls it Getting In the Groove, another entry in the month long artist survey. Today, artists share the ways that they get mentally prepared to create their art. I shared with Seth that,

“I work best with deadlines and challenges. In many ways I am a very linear, organized, list-making type of artist. But usually if I just go up to my studio and sit down at my sewing center or collage desk I can start creating pretty quickly, getting TO the studio takes some inspiration. I will search the net, look at art books and doodle ideas in order to get myself into the head space for studio time.”

It seems like there are many artists that struggle with getting to that creative space. Because I teach Middle School Art (yikes, school starts in 4 days!) I see so many of my kids struggle to get started. Of course, many of them are completely new to the artistic process and even to handling the media provided. On top of that, they struggle with the whole belonging issue that is so heightened in the early teen years. Part of me always wants to PUSH them, “come on, we only have 30 minutes until the bell rings!” But I know few artists can be forced to create on demand. So I encourage them to use many of the strategies that these PULSE artists employ. Listening to music (like Kim Logan), watching films about the work and lives of other artists (like James Michael Starr), or just sitting down to the supply center and finding some color or pattern that draws them into the creation. I tell them to think about and use their dreams (like Angela Cartwright and Roben-Marie Smith) or to look at the many art related books that I have in the classroom (like Dawn Sokol) All these things also help me. But of all the ideas presented in the survey, I think my favorite answer was from Linda Woods, who said, “I just open my eyes!”  If only that worked for me.

My Mask Keeps Changing

My Mask Keeps Changing, originally uploaded by stilettoheights.

I have to say, and in only 3 days, Seth’s newest edition to the PULSE is going to change my life. I am discovering some new wonderful artists. Yet, I have barely read through half the list of artists. WOW!

Jennifer is my new favorite artist! I discovered her on Seth’s PULSE. This entire set is to die for! I love her style and her sense of sophistication is stunning. I thought they were digital at first, but after reading descriptions at etsy, it looks like they are all paper and paint. She is self publishing several books of these collages, some with poetry.

Here is what she said about her style:

Um….I am pretty wordy so this is hard for me, but here goes. My work is mixed media collage based, heavily influenced by emotion and a sense of longing. Pieces are shrouded in metaphor and color to create visual poems.(not sure if that makes any sense to anyone but me)

She has a great etsy shop and has self published some books that I think I HAVE to buy!

If you haven’t checked out Seth’s Blog yet… get over there right now!

Style File 2

 lust

I love how Seth names these entries in The Pulse. Here is my entry from today’s segment.

“Cynthia Gaub I would say that my fine art work always delves into the questions of being a woman. It has been called “Abstract Figurative”, it has also been seen as feminist, is that a style? I like the female form, but on the whole I am not necessarily trying to make a feminist statement. Overall, when you include my collage, fiber work, dolls and mixed media sculpture, I would consider my style Eclectic Gemini.”

Now, Go see what other artists are saying about their artistic style.

Playing Favorites: fields of dreams

Creating a gallery of my favorites has been quite fun. Looking through my own work over the years and fitting these themes has really shown me the diversity of my own work. Next up is Playing Favorites: fields of dreams, which I think can be translated to work that shows nature or landscapes of some type. Of course when he put together this series of posts, I think he gathered a lot of art from a lot of different people then put them into these catagories. I don’t think he expected to have an individual artist find art to fit each theme. But I like the challenge, so I plug along here.

Earthfin Rip July 2006

Media:  Fabric Collage Dimensions:  14″ x 14″ Date of Work:  07/2006

Night Sky Wanderer is a RIP for the EBSQ 2006 Ripped Off Show. It is inspired by a pyrography called Workin’ On Wings to Fly by Lisa J. Rough. I was really drawn to the powerful woman and the birch trees. It has a sense of strength and peace. I tried to capture that same feeling in my version of it. This piece is all fabric collage using applique’ and quilting techniques. It is embellished with buttons, ribbon, trim, beads and handmade yarn.

Jesus Christ Pose

Jesus Christ Pose, originally uploaded by Charger’s Mommy.

Media:  fabric collage
Dimensions:  22″x22″
Date of Work:  07/2008

This is created for the EBSQ Annual Ripped Show 2008. I have been doing a lot of mandala-like art recently, so I was drawn to Tina’s “Dali and the Eye of God” piece. I translated it into fabric applique. It is quilted and embellished with lace, ribbon and a variety of fabrics including silk, cotton, and rayon. I named it after a soundgarden song that kept going though my head whenever I would work on it. Starting August 1st you can vote for your favorites at EBSQ. 

christlikeposeWIP
Here is a little Work in Progress Step-by-step snapshot. I still need to finish a bit of quilting and make the hanging tabs…but my machine decided to go AWOL on me, so I will be running it into the shop tomorrow.

This piece did double challenge duty. In addition to being for the EBSQ ripped show it is one of my 5 mandalas for Jen’s July Challenge. This one will be for the Aether/void/spirit/heavens catagory, since it is spirtual in nature.