A blog all about ART and the joys of CREATING!

Creative Necklace Hanger

2012-03-04T14:39:00.006-08:00

I saw a picture originally on pinterest then on reddit crafts but now when I want to give the person credit for giving me an idea I can't find it. Anyway- it was a painting on canvas with nails across the top part of the frame and necklaces hanging off of the nails. I decided I wanted to create something to hang my necklaces on. Using that concept I created the necklace holder you see posted here.

I reused a 12x12" canvas that already had an image on it. I took tissue paper and old music sheets and layered and layered and layered some more. I used a copper embossing powder and bird stamp (however this didn't work out as planned) so I used more tissue paper and more music sheets and layered some more leaving just a hint of the copper embossing showing. Then I became bored with the piece but my friends Leslie and Cindi encouraged me to keep going. Leslie played around with bottle caps, copper leaves and the giant metal spiral you see on the necklace holder. I was going to use them but something just seemed off.

I came up with the final touches while trying to go to bed last night. I took a blueish paint and with a watered down paper towel I added some blue to the canvas. Then I found an old children's book and ripped out a page about "time" and created the base for some birdies. I used parts of old knobs that I wasn't using and had laying around and epoxied them along the top and then put old nails in the middle to hang the necklaces. I used the spiral wire and screwed it on by the sides of the canvas into the wood frame. I'm really excited at the outcome. I don't have a ton of jewelry but thought if I needed to down the road I can add some more nails along the bottom or hooks from the bottom wood edge of the canvas.

Generous Gift of Art

2012-03-04T14:29:00.005-08:00

In Saturday afternoon art Leslie was cleaning out her studio. She had art work and supplies all over. I saw this piece of artwork that was in a corner that was pulled out and immediately fell in love with it. When I mentioned this Leslie automatically said " Do you want it?" and my response was "heck yeah!". It was the most exciting part of my day! My plan is to hang it in my kitchen where the walls are still bare and painted blue.

Inspirational Affirmation

2012-03-04T14:18:00.009-08:00

I created this mixed media piece the other day. I found a bunch of words in a magazine pile in the group art room and took the ones that resonated with me. I used a canvas board, layered tissue paper, followed by the words, used watercolor over top, sprinkled a dash of glitter and then rubbed in some dark acrylic brown as the final step. In between each layer modge podge was used. I enjoyed experimenting with this piece and felt the colors and materials turned out well together.

Wishes

2012-02-28T19:10:00.006-08:00

So, I've always had a thing about when I catch a glimpse of a clock where the time is all the same numbers, like 3:33 or 11:11 and I've always heard you should make a wish when you see the time is the same before it turns over to the next minute. I know...I know...whatever. Most recently I keep looking up and catching the time being the same numbers quite frequently. I've had a lot on my mind lately and I created this piece to represent not only all of those wishes I've attempted to make recently but my feelings behind the wishes.

The materials I used were water color paper, black fine tip permanent marker, colored pencils and water color over top followed by modge podge and a scattering of tea grains with a final coat of acrylic spray.

Collage Girl Up Close

2012-02-26T16:46:00.005-08:00

I decided to show some close up's of Collaged Girl because in the pics I showed in the original post it was hard for viewers to see the details and textures used. Enjoy!

Mother/Daughter Adventure in Enamel Pendant Making

2012-02-26T13:57:00.012-08:00

I decided to get creative for my mom's birthday present this year. She enjoys being creative but there's not a lot of opportunities to take classes in her small hometown area. So, I purchased through the Memorial Art Gallery's Creative Workshop program an enamel pendant making class for her for when she came up to visit and I we both took the class together to celebrate her birthday. http://mag.rochester.edu/creativeworkshop/ I should tell you that neither my mom nor I have had any experience with enameling with glass which is what this class was about.

We started our day with massages at Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage,http://www.ostm.edu/ and then headed to the afternoon pendant making class taught by Yvonne Cupolo. yvonnecupolo.com This is my second class with her (I made the Sterling Silver ring at her class last fall- see earlier blog for details). I like that the classes are small and the teacher has a lot of patience for all of us first timers. When you think you did something VERY wrong and ruined your piece she always found a way to fix it and make it better.

We even got to create more than one piece. My mom made herself a necklace and earring set and I made a necklace for me and one for my sister who lives out of state and couldn't join in the fun but I wanted her to be a part of this special day.

My mom and I loved the class. Designing your piece is so much fun and easy that we could have spent tons more time there creating and trying different techniques and designs. Would highly recommend this type of class to others.

Collaged Girl- An experimentation in extreme mixed media (well for me that is)

2012-02-19T13:11:00.001-08:00

This is one of the experiments I tried while at Saturday afternoon art with Cindi and Leslie. I want to get better at mixed media work. Someday's my efforts are better than others. This one ended up turning out particularly well compared to how it started out.

First I started out with an interesting size/shape sheet of watercolor paper. I then put all kinds of scrap paper designs on the paper. My goal was at this point was experimenting with getting more texture so I have tons of different textured paper on this project. Then I used water color crayons on the exposed water color paper (simply because I couldn't resist trying those materials for the first time). I then used acrylic paint in shades of blue, purple, green, brown and white and smeared them around randomly. (I used a blow dryer in between coats because patience is a virtue I'm always trying to work on but never quite get there.) Oh, I also used a textured clear paint that is basically like adding sand to your picture. I wanted to put an image on the picture but I tend to stay away from actual images of people because I tend to stink at them. Leslie showed me how she goes about making a face and this art work shows my attempt following her instructions. Way better than I usually do. I added vintage music paper strips for the hair and circles for the dress.

Overall I am pretty pleased with this experiment with art materials. I pushed myself to try new things and the outcome is pretty darn good. Things I learned; make sure to use permanent ink for stamping which I thought I was but turned out not to be when I attempted to mod podge over the finished product. Also I'm not 100% sure if I adore the flowers on the hair but I did this part at home and my materials were more limited. Any thoughts?

Mixed Media Attempt

2012-02-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Here's one of my more recent attempts at mixed media. I just went with it and basically experimented more with layering and stamping. It turned out okay. I give myself an A for effort.

For the Love of ART and Creating!

2012-02-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

My wonderful friend Cindi gets together with her good friend Leslie just about weekly to go wild and create art. Talk about an amazing art studio- Leslie's got it! They both graciously allowed me to tag along one Saturday afternoon and make a mess with them. Part of the wonderful experience was touring Leslie's home where every room is an opportunity to behold one of Leslie's amazing pieces of art. She takes random found objects and combines them with other materials to create eye catching masterpieces. Talk about jealous- she has more creativity in one hand than I have in my entire body. I could simply watch her create all day long. She has an innate style through experimentation and technique that leaves you wondering; "how the heck did she do that?". Her model is similar to Cindi's and mine; "there are no rules to using art materials- just use them". However; she has one additional model that I aspire to work towards; "keep going and no fear".

Anyway, here's the crazy part- she doesn't think people would purchase her artwork! She has loads of her work at her home but has never ventured out to sell any of it. She creates mixed media pieces, creative yarn dolls, yarn tapestries, felting images, most everything and anything. She is not a one dimensional artist that's for sure. So...I'm on a mission to get her to start selling her work so others can enjoy it! What do you think? Like her work? WOULD you buy it for yourself or someone you know?

She was featured in the Nov/Dec issue of Clothe, Paper, Scissor magazine. She was in the paper house/mixed media article!

Take a look at Leslie Werlin's mini art gallery below:

This is made from a piece of wood found laying around. Can you see it?

Mixed Media Journal Image

2012-02-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

Repurposed Plaque Awards

2012-02-18T14:35:00.000-08:00

I decided it was time to get rid of all of my HS and college awards and trophies. I decided that the plaques could be reused into necklace hooks or coatracks. I took off the award metal and then lightly sanded the wood. I painted them and then used various materials I had to create a certain look.

The two mosaic looking plaques were created out of a watercolor picture I created (that is in another post). I cute out the strips and mod podged them on. I did several coats of mod podge and then several coats of varnish. I had wooden knobs around and painted them and put them on as the hooks. On the larger plaque I used scrap booking paper for a layer and then vintage music paper.

Recycled Kisses

2012-01-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

I received another pile of used crayons from a co-worker and went to town having fun creating some more chunky recycled crayons. This time I used a silicone baking pan that I had used for Valentine's Day years ago- it is designed to make hershey kiss cupcakes. Here's a look at how they turned out.

The Stolen Eggs

2012-01-17T16:23:00.001-08:00

A friend and prior supervisor of mine sent me this link of a short animation her grandson made from a kit. He posted it on youtube and would like help in spreading the word so I mentioned posting it on my blog. It's pretty fun, interesting and impressive especially the stats it took him to create this short video. As far as I'm aware this is his first attempt at animation. Below is the information my friend sent me about the video.

He made the figures with clay. He then, to create movement, photographed them three times each time he moved them a small distance for the purpose of the story action. He took over 200 photographs to do this and then converted them to a video using special software. He posted it on youtube and so far about 60 people viewed his "masterpiece" entitled The Stolen Eggs. It takes just a moment to view and it is fun to watch. Quite amazing in fact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AcAae5BsIU&context=C32b74f3ADOEgsToPDskIgXQqghX2xvUNwO8k1aBSZ

Chunky Recycled Crayons

2012-01-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

Create your own fun crayons by recycling old broken worn down crayons. I saw this idea on pinterest; http://pinterest.com/pin/107171666102309043/ and it reminds me of the chunky block crayons I loved as a kid. You can have a lot of fun with this project by utilizing different shape pans and using different color patterns. This is also a great project to do with kids or really anyone of any age would enjoy this. I won't give a tutorial because here's a great link that leads to a blog from pinterest that does a perfect job providing a step by step tutorial; http://juliegallow-creatingart.blogspot.com/2011/11/homemade-crayons.html?showComment=1322113007540#c7182647551314310085.

I ended up finding the silicone mini brownie pan at Michael's Craft Store and paid $5 with a 50% off coupon. A co-worker gave me a sandwich bag of her daughter's old crayons. About 30 crayons made 24 recycled crayons. It took about 20-25 min. to melt the crayons. I'd like to keep making these and try different shaped pans.

They WORK!

Accessory Craze!

2012-01-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

I'm apparently into jewelry making lately. When visiting my sister in SC, I commented that she had acquired numerous neat pendant necklaces. She said she picked them up at Plato's Closet and of course we had to make a trip there. She found another awesome necklace that I missed in my scouring but I did find this 5 different stands of bead/chain necklace for $3. Prior to leaving for this shopping adventure my sister had given me these earrings that matched a pendant necklace she had. I decided to tear apart the 5 strand necklace and the earrings and reuse the necklace portions to create my own pendant necklace. So for $3 I was able to make two of the pendant necklaces and I still have 3 strands of beads/chain left over for future endeavors!

Vintage Fried Marble Necklace

2012-01-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

I kept seeing fried/oven baked marble necklaces on pinterest and thought it looked like a fun science experiment. While at my parents for the holidays I asked to confiscate some vintage marbles that were from my grandfather's collection and with some trepidation about blowing up glass marbles and harming myself I decided to give it a whirl. I couldn't find the oven baked marble recipe I had originally found on pinterest so I google searched and found a recipe for fried marbles. I would give the person credit but I lost the site.

The basic concept is to put marbles in a pan on the stove in between medium and high for about 10min. and continually roll them around with a wooden spoon. Have a container of water with ice in it ready to go and as soon as you are done frying the marbles dump them into the ice water. You will see them crackle immediately. I left the marbles in the water for about 1 min. to cool down.

To make the necklaces I went to a craft store and purchased "bead caps", put a wire loop through the bead cap, epoxied on the bead cap to the marble and then purchased a chain from the craft store. I made 3 necklaces for $10; one for my mom, one for my sister and one for me. Now we have wearable jewelry made from my grandfather's marble collection.

**This was a really neat science project. I have many left over crackled marbles waiting to be used. They look beautiful in the sun and are fairly durable for being cracked. I experimented by putting in a plastic bag and dropping it on my paved driveway. The marble didn't break until several very hard slams to the ground and then it did shatter.

All Toys have been delivered!

2012-01-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

Update: All of the toys I created for the toy society have been delivered! I delivered two toys for the Christmas drop. They have been posted on the Toy Society blog and are #'s 1729 and 1730. My 4 yr/old nephew helped me to deliver 3 out of the 4 left. He had a little difficulty understanding the concept and decided to keep the squid looking one for himself. The other three can be seen on Flickr under the The Toy Society group and will hopefully be added to the Toy Society blog soon!

Update: The two sock colored striped ones for my 2 little nieces were a hit. My sister-in- law really appreciated the homemade toy idea.

DIY Coasters

2011-12-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

I found this idea on pinterest.com. Here is the exact pin that Lindsay Schmitz posted with how- to instructions; http://pinterest.com/pin/41095415319262957/. This was so easy and fun that it can be addictive. I wanted to keep creating and creating. You could create so many different styles simply by using tiles that are different colors and sizes and scrapbook paper that has different patterns. For this I used the original tiles suggested from HD and yes, they were only .16 cents each! I had just purchased a brand new package of awesome color/pattern scrap booking paper at Craft Bits and Pieces (http://www.craftbitsandpieces.com/) for 2.50 and now I got to try some of it out. Then when I was at ReHouse Architectural Salvage (http://www.rehouseny.com/) store getting some old glass jars for another project (posted prior to this one) I found these great smaller tiles in the FREE section. Hooray for me! I wanted to take a ton of them but only took a couple of stacks. Below you will see the difference in tile size and the smaller tiles had a different overall shape and background color.

You could also carry this concept further and get even smaller tiles, use the same method and then put quotes or other images on top of the scrapbook paper and create magnets. Hmmm...I see another experiment coming on...

You can use a spray finish or since I had liquid varnish laying around I just used that.

I had some small felt stickers that I hot glued on or you can easily use regular felt and make circles for edges or place felt on the entire bottom.

Original size tiles suggested.

Smaller tiles.

So you can see the size difference.

Candle Light Party Decor

2011-12-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

I went to a Christmas Party last weekend and our friends house was decorated with tons of old glass jars on along their porch, inside on the mantel, and going up their wooden stairs. It looked so picturesque that I decided I wanted to try something like this. I had a few glass jars around, found one that was most likely 40 years old or more in my basement with turpentine or something toxic in it that I washed out and then I headed to one of old house part stores in our city called; ReHouse Architectural Salvage- http://www.rehouseny.com/. I found about 3 more unique old glass jars different shapes and sizes and a huge bonus was when I went to pay at the end it should have cost $5 but once the assistant found out what I was going to do with them he asked if I was looking for any more. Upon saying yes, he showed me a secret stash of glass jars but they were labeled as $10 each. I told him thank you but I wasn't looking to spend that much on this project and he gave them to me for 90% off or rather $1 each!

I got them home, cleaned them up and put them on my mantel and bookcase. Here's some pictures. One was enhanced to show the picture more. My plan is to leave them up after the holidays and once in a while when having a party or just when I feel like it lighting them up. My one error was that I didn't light my fire place for the picture. Darn! It would have looked even better!

Flannel Rag Quilt

2011-12-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

I found an image of a flannel baby rag quilt on http://pinterest.com/ and found the original author with tutorial from the blog- Do It Yourself Divas, http://doityourselfdivas.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-baby-rag-quilt.html. I've been wanting to try it but flannel or material of any kind can be expensive to purchase especially if you want to use multiple colors/patterns. However; a wonderful co-worker hooked me up with a local unique shop call Craft Bits and Pieces, http://www.craftbitsandpieces.com/, which is a unique craft supply store. It takes donations from anyone of art and craft materials and resells the supplies for a very low cost. The proceeds go to a local community center for the elderly and the store is run by volunteers. I found some flannel there and purchased 4 different kinds almost 2 yards each for $1.50 each remnant. I figured with this kind of deal I could afford to try out this quilt project.

The instructions from the Do It Yourself Divas was fairly good, but here's some issues I found that I ran into. First of all I should tell you I'm a mediocre self taught quilter. One of the worst parts of this project was sitting on the floor and trying to accurately cut 3" and 6" strips of the flannel. It was physically painful and I'm in shape! This is why the next time I find some table pads on craigslist or at a yard sale I'm going to be all over purchasing them! The putting together of the quilt was easy, relaxing and fun. The binding was easy just time consuming. So, the second worst part of this project was all of the excess loose threads that come off from the time you cut the material, put it together and bind it. I had to sweep a lot! This was compounded when I took the suggestion from the tutorial to put it through the washer and dryer to help get rid of the excess thread and make it shaggier. However; this was problematic because my washer and dryer needed to be cleaned out afterwards AND the quilt still had a ton of lint/excess thread all over it and it took 20 min. with a lint roller to get most of it off. I'm sure this was because I didn't do something the correct way.

Other than those couple of problem areas this was a fun project and turned out really well. You could do a lot with this idea as far as making larger quilts or using cotton instead of flannel. Also lots of different pattern options. I have enough material to make an entire second quilt if I want to and all for the price of $6.00 total! Not bad!

Easy Peasy Flower Cuff Bracelet Tutorial

2011-12-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

I was meandering around Michaels Craft Store yesterday looking for a new exciting project to cheer me up when I found this metal cuff made by Bead Landing. I then had this idea to search for something to attach to it and found this pendent flower also made by Bead Landing. Using a 50% off coupon I was able to get both pieces of jewelry for $5.50. I found some multi-purpose epoxy and off I went on an experimental fun easy project. Check out the steps below!

**Two things I learned while making this project. Bend the cuff to fit first. My wrist is small and I didn't think to do this until after it was put together (which worked but was more difficult) and think about weight of pendant (the flower is awesome looking but a bit heavy so the bracelet tends to want to slide around).

Materials: Scissors, epoxy, scrap cardboard, popsicle stick or something similar, piece of fine sandpaper and your jewelry pieces.

First: Lightly sand your jewelry where you plan on adhering it together.

Put your two part epoxy on a corner of your cardboard.

Mix the epoxy.

Put plenty of epoxy on all parts of both pieces of jewelry that you will be adhering together.

Hold for 5 minutes or until dry. Hint: If you have an extra sent of hands have someone put a blow dryer over it to help it adhere faster so it will be less likely to move around while drying.

Wear and enjoy!

Watercolor Reflections

2011-12-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

I recently completed facilitating an Open Studio Art Therapy group. In the final group I asked members to reflect on their group experience and what it was like for them. I created along with the group and this was my piece I shared with them.

As my group members pointed out...there was a lot of "perfect accidents" that occurred through the haphazard mixing of watercolor, markers and stamping with watercolor. What a metaphor for life! Another perfect accident was the creation of a flower smiley face that I didn't see but a group member pointed out. Do you see it?

Right up here ^

Dr. Seuss Inspired End Table

2011-11-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

Original Table

I found this end table a few houses up from mine out for the trash. My wonderful boyfriend amused me by helping me to carry it back to my house as I had visions of "trash to treasure" when I laid eyes on it. It was pretty beat up and I didn't notice the hideous leather circle on top until we got it in the house under the light. The first thing I did was was take a pry bar and hammer and get the leather circle off. Then the table sat in my basement for a few weeks not only until I found time to work on it but mostly because I was clueless about how to salvage and refinish the table with the indented circle on top.

Eventually I just had to tell myself it was free so I should experiment all I wanted and the worse thing that would happen is that I put it out on the curb for garbage. So I went to town using materials I already had (the paint, sand paper, crackle finish, vaseline, etc...). I tried some techniques I found online and had wanted to try such as using vaseline to create a distressed look. This didn't look good but I found where the vaseline didn't get wiped away completely it helped to turn things yellowish and helped it to look aged. I ended up using many techniques, sanding worn areas, the vaseline distressed look and a crackle effect. It ended up looking pretty aged in the end.

The circle I of course let blank until it was the last thing to work on so I started by painting it a beige color. Then I took old sheets of music (which I'm sure someone out there would throw a fit about) and ripped them up and decoupaged them to the top. Then I took some images that I had printed out and traced the body of a bird on them, cut them out and placed them on the top. I used a permanent black marker to draw a telephone type of line on the top and to create the birds legs. I used permanent marker to write the Dr. Seuss quote around the birds. The quote reads "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

I took watered down acrylic brown paint and washed over the circle and then put a clear satin polyurethane over the entire piece. I did many coats on the top and finished it off by pouring a lot of polyurethane onto the edges of the circle were it was indented. The goal was to fill the indention up to create a flat surface and to help make sure the paper would be securely locked into place. A bonus was the edges of the circle became a darker brown than the rest of the circle where there was more polyurethane which helped to aid in the aged/weathered look.

Overall it turned out pretty good and was a positive challenge. By using almost all materials I had around the house I was able to complete the entire project for $5. Purchased materials were drawer knob on clearance and having to buy more crackle finish.

Finished Table

Turning Art Into Gifts!

2011-11-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

I'm running an Open Studio Art Therapy group at work this semester and it's going really well. Here's one of my own pieces I worked on during the semester. It's on a canvas board and started with old music sheets, watered down acrylic paints and some left over transfer images, stamps and the inside of a bag of tea.

I think it turned out pretty well and quite a few of the students in my group said that I should frame it and give it away for a holiday gift so I took their advice and found this frame at Hobby Lobby; http://www.hobbylobby.com/ for 50% off which met I created this entire project/gift for $15. Not bad!

My 5 Minute Scarf

2011-11-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

I saw this project/tutorial on Reddit Crafts; http://www.reddit.com/r/crafts/ and thought it looked easy and fun. I finally had a chance to create it today. It was sooooo easy and fun. I would definitely recommend this project to anyone. I went to the Goodwill yesterday and purchased this XL men's GAP shirt for 5 bucks (little pricey) but it was the only one I really liked. The material is very soft and light and the pattern was perfect (brown and white tiny stripes). I would provide the steps here but here is the original Reddit Craft post where the person already gives you step by step instructions;

http://harmonicmama.com/2011/10/super-simple-5-minute-no-sew-infinity-scarf/.

Below are pics of my starting shirt and views of the finished product. Can't wait to wear it!

Handmade Sterling Silver Ring

2011-11-13T09:41:00.001-08:00

In keeping with the intention of continuing to explore and create art, I decided to sign up and take a Sterling Silver Ring making class through a community art shop. This class was through the Memorial Art Gallery Creative Workshop;http://mag.rochester.edu/creativeworkshop/. This was my first time going to this community art center.

I've always wanted to create a ring myself out of metal; but for those people who know me my attempt to audit a graduate level jewelry and metalsmithing class turned out to be a big flop. I did complete a solder plate before dropping out (mainly because the class was completely over my head). This was a big disappointment to me because I just wanted to make a simple ring. So when I found this community class online where you make your own ring in a one day 3 hour class I signed up!

I found out that I had learned something from that graduate level class. I understood the language, general technique and wasn't afraid of the torch any longer. The actual material to make this ring was one piece of 16 gauge sterling silver wire for $5.50! The demonstration was about an hour so I made the ring in about 100 minutes from start to finish. Below is the final product. I was very pleased and really excited about the outcome. It looks and feels professional!

More Toys...

2011-11-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

I've continued making toys for The Toy Society; http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com/. Here are some of the new toys. the later (colorful stripped ones I'm actually giving to my two little nieces for Christmas. I practiced with different materials and stitches on these toys. The stripped ones I actually made from a pair of stripped socks. The material was really stretchy and a little challenging but turned out pretty good.

The Toy Society

2011-11-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

I found a conversation on reddit.com/r/crafts a few weeks ago about charities and using your talents to donate handmade goods to these charities. I found the following link for "The Toy Society"; http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com/ and decided this looked like fun so I joined.

The basic philosophy is to create toys that are child friendly, put them in a ziplock bag with a letter explaining about the Toy Society, take a picture of the toy and post it at the "drop box" on the Toy Society website and where you made the "drop". Then hopefully a child or really any person who finds it can log onto the Toy Society website and post a picture or comment about finding the toy. It's a way to hopefully brighten someone's day.

I decided my goal would be to first participate in the Christmas drop, so I've made two toys for that. Then I'd like to create a total of 4 more toys and when I visit with my 4 y/o nephew around New Year's I'm going to have him help me with finding some good drop zones (since he's a frequent flyer at many parks, the Y, and libraries). I think he'll think this is pretty neat.

So below are what I have created so far. I've handmade them using felt and patterned cloth as they are forgiving and I'm not an expert at sewing or creating toys. What do you think?

Oh, on Halloween as I left my driveway I noticed an orange decorative bag on my door step. It turned out to be a "You've Been BOO-ed" greeting. This is similar to the Toy Society drop and find philosophy. The bag had a card and closed store boughten chocolate chex mix in it. You can check this out at; www.BeenBooed.com.

Collage: Mail Art Continued

2011-11-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

I finished my community art class about 1 week ago. Below are some updates on other techniques I learned in the class. And things I have continued to make using these techniques.

This was my favorite photogram. It's hard to see but it goes with my bird schema I've been creating lately. It was just a flat paper image of a bird cut out and the background on the paper looked a little veiny. It looks perfect in person and I'm planning on framing it or doing something to showcase it in the future.

Darkroom day! These are already made postcards with the appropriate marks on the back side. You just lay objects down for about 4 seconds in full exposed light, process and there you have it. This was very easy and fun but requires darkroom access. This is called a photogram.

We learned to make decorative envelopes from scratch and how to jazz up a plain store bought envelope. You can find patterns for envelopes on the internet or create your own. *A key is to use glue tape! Works wonders and completely sticks together without wrinkles, having to wait for anything to dry, and totally not messy!

This is using watercolor paints and a sponge, plus stamping, embossing and transferring.

I decided to hand make all of my Christmas cards this year.

Not So Angry Birds...My Biggest Canvas Painting To Date

2011-10-23T10:59:00.001-07:00

I was hosting an art exhibit at work and got inspired by a couple of extremely large pieces of a transfer images of people on a flat bed sheet. I realized I've never worked large and decided I should use this opportunity as a self challenge. So off I went to Michaels with a 40% off coupon on a rainy Friday afternoon.

The canvas I purchased for $20 and then used existing acrylic paints. Just so you have an idea of the size... it was about 4.5 feet by 2.5 feet. The primary method I used was basically using acrylics like they were watercolors and various stamping techniques. I first took green and yellow shads of paint, watered them down and used up and down brush strokes throughout the entire canvas. This was my base coat. Because it was so watered down it created a resistant effect which looked pretty neat.

When the bottom layer had completely dried I then got 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper and cut them in half. I used fall colors (because that was my muse) and using those shades of color I put them one at a time on the half sheets of paper, watered them down then stamped it on the large canvas using my hand to burnish the paint on. I did this over the entire canvas and let it dry.

The third layer was of birds. I found three images online, enlarged them to about 8.5 x 11, printed several of each out and modified them as I cut them out to create simplified images. I took white indoor paint (because I ran out of acrylic white) and put a THICK coat on each image and stamped them on the painting. When the birds were partially dry I took some of the solid block prints and reapplied them over the birds just enough to add some color without covering the images.

And that was it! All done! I'm pretty pleased at the outcome and proud of myself for getting over my fear of large paintings. In hindsight I would have liked to try to add some various words mixed in the layers. I think that could have added an interesting look. Perhaps my next painting I'll give it a whirl!

Below are some of the steps but not all to this process. Sorry I forgot to take pictures each step of the way.

DIY Coat Rack

2011-10-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

I created this coat hanger from all recycled materials. I took a piece of 80 year old gumwood molding (it was a small piece of baseboard from my home that wasn't being used) and cut it to size. The edges were routered. This made it look pretty nice on it's own. Then I filled in any uneven surfaces with wood filler and sanded smooth when dry. I used acrylic paints to paint the background and chose asian symbols that had the meaning I was going for and applied with a black sharpie marker. I had a few left over hooks from a converted closet in my house (again they were goldish in color and 80 years old). I scrubbed the hooks down and applied three even coats of a flat black rustoleum spray paint. Drilled holes on the front for the hooks and then a couple of holes on the back for hanging purposes. Tada... you have the final product...a pretty good looking coat rack for free!

Homemade Cards

2011-10-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

I'm currently taking a 6 week community art class through Genesee Center for the Arts & Education. Check out their site: http://www.geneseearts.org/ The class I'm taking is

Collage: Mail Art. It's a blast! I'm learning new creative transfer techniques, get to explore with no grades or stress involved and I'm meeting new people. What could be better!

I received the tools I need to create transfers on my own for my birthday. This is all you need to do a pretty good transfer.

-tape

-scissors

-fresh black and white or colored images/words printed from a laser printer (not an

inkjet!) and (remember if you use anything with words you need to reverse the image before printing or your words will transfer backwards). **Best transfers are images printed within 1-2 days of when you will be using them.

-bone folder or something to burnish with (like a coin)

-"blender pen"- this brand works the best- Chartpak Blender Marker P-O. Not found at craft stores. Here we have The Art Store and Hyatt Art Materials or you can find it on amazon but the shipping is expensive. About 4.50 for the marker itself.

I found these great packages of blank cards with envelopes; all different shapes, colors and sizes for $1 for a pack of 8! I've decided for Christmas gifts I'm going to use these for gifts and bundle each set with a pretty ribbon. Right now they are just the transfer image. I'm still taking the class and I'm going to be learning some stamping and other neat techniques that I may later add to the cards. Also, I'm still working on some of the images and might do some over laying of words or other images on some. Check out the beginning of my collection sets. :)

The Vintage Collection

The Landscape Collection

The Inspiration Collection

Accent Table Finished

2011-09-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the end result of the accent table I created for work. It looks great and is functional. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. It's taken from my phone. My camera is being borrowed at the moment so when I get it back I'll update with a better picture.

Oh, I was able to sand down and reuse the knobs that were existing instead of using new knobs.

Recycled Furniture

2011-09-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

I found the table for my work bathroom! It's all wood so no problems there. I found it on craigslist for $20 but got it for $15. My inspiration is going to be this picture from this site:

http://www.remodelaholic.com/2010/12/twin-end-tables-painted-green.html, but with my own spin.

My Inspiration

Again I'm going to try to recyle materials to keep the cost low. I'm thinking a black top with the rest being an "Alligator Green" (left over paint from my living/dining room walls) and then I have two wooden knobs left over from the arts and craft center project that I'm thinking of painting a solid black to accent the table top. I'm going to try the black glaze this time. I can't wait to get started! Here's the before picture of the end table.

Stay tuned for the finished product!

Distressed Accent Table

2011-09-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Before Image

I was looking on craigslist for a small table to refinish and put in the bathroom at work to spruce things up a bit. I found this one for $20 but got it for $10. It was apparently part of the Eddie Bauer Home Collection. Unfortunately it had a glass shelf which I was afraid would be a problem for work as it may be seen as a liability (I'm a therapist). I decided I could always not use the glass shelf and fill in the holes.

Since it was for work I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I just recycled supplies left over from other projects. Here's where I found my inspiration:

http://frenchcottageinteriors.com/furniture/tables/ and it is the piece titled, "Rustic Painted End Table".

The stand was all white with some paint chipping off. I used paint stripper and took off the top paint to find wood (I think it was a wood veneer on top of fake wood, but it was in excellent condition). I left some white paint on the sides of the top for a more distressed look. I used a "jaco bean" wood stain color on the top of the stand and the side edge and applied layer after layer with a rag until I reached my desired look. Actually at first I was upset because the stain started to interact weirdly with the wood not leaving an even finish, but then I liked it because it looked more old and worn so I kept applying more finish.

Then I used the same "laughing eyes" blue from my art center and same technique (watered down acrylic paint and a rag to create the antique finish look). I sanded between coats on everything and at the beginning and then sanded down parts to expose the wood and white paint below for a continued distressed look.

In the end I decided I liked the glass shelf so I put it back on. Then I took an old replica glass knob that I have had for a while from another project, drilled a hole and put it on the front of the stand. It looks like a drawer but it's just decoration. I sealed the entire project twice with a clear satin finish. I liked it so much and wanted to keep the glass shelf that I decided to keep the stand. I showed my sister on Facetime and she asked to keep it so that is where this piece will find it's new home. This was a fun project that took about a total of 6 hours over 3 days to complete and cost $10 due to using all recycled materials.

Alas, my search continues for the right end table/stand for the work bathroom. Stay tuned...

Super Simple- Super Cute

2011-08-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

I found the idea for this project at the following site;

http://bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com/2011/08/super-simple-diy-frame.html. I thought it looked pretty neat and while I don't have a space for it in my home I thought perhaps it would be a fun interactive project that could be placed in the waiting room of the counseling office where I work.

All of the materials for this project were recycled from things I already had around my home. I had a 12x12 frame with a picture in it that I wasn't using and decided to tear it apart to reuse the frame. I used cotton string, added a little of thin glitter yarn and then decided to use metal clips versus small clothes pins (I had both but liked the metal clip look better). I used an industrial hand staple gun to hold the cotton yarn on and hot glued the glitter yarn around the staples. This was all done on the back of the frame. Added clips, cut some decorative scrap paper in different patterns and colors with the purpose of using them to have people add inspirational/motivational quotes to the board (perhaps when they are waiting in the waiting room)! ;) Including prep time the entire project was created in about 45 minutes.

Scrap- Paper- Tree- Centerpiece

2011-08-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

I found this art project from a link on Reddit Crafts (http://www.reddit.com/r/craft) that inspired me to try my hand at creating something similar. Here's the official cite that gives the instructions:

http://www.everydaymomideas.com/2011/03/scrap-paper-tree-centerpiece-tutorial.html.

Hmmm... mine turned out mediocre. Difficulties were that it didn't say what are the best size branches to use nor what size to make the leaves or about how many per branch. I found that I ended up using to big of branches and not enough leaves or perhaps my leaves were also too big. The final look is okay and I think it might actually look even sharper if I had a solid black vase to put it in. However, finding an inexpensive decent black vase is proving to be difficult. Since I'm not sure how long I'll keep the piece I don't want to invest a lot in the vase. I've looked at Goodwill, Family Dollar and Craigslist with no luck. I'll keep looking and if I find something I'll edit this post to show the difference.

My Purchase's/ Art Center Room Decorations

2011-08-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

I purchased a piece of artwork from each 6x6 exhibit since it began in 2008. I found a great deal on frame's at Michael's (buy one get one free). Now they are hanging in my art center room and look wonderful.

It was very neat to purchase the artwork and see who created them. One is from a Geneseo College Student, another is an Illustrator, and the newest piece from the 2011 show turned out to a neighbors daughter. Isn't that crazy-out of 5,000 pieces I end up picking a neighbor's!

Artist Trading Cards Received

2011-08-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some artist trading cards I've received upon exchanging. The top two cards are from tomorrowboy and the bottom two are from Jennifer.Dickieson@live.ca

Decorative Cabinet Knobs

2011-07-31T20:11:00.001-07:00

Originally when trying to decide what kind of knobs to put on my arts and craft center my research showed that knobs/cabinet pulls are pretty darn expensive (especially when I needed 9 of them). So the most inexpensive way to have new hardware was going to be to purchase wooden knobs (found in most hardware stores- in this case HD) for a dollar each and paint them however I desired. After purchasing the wooden knobs, I ended up using a resourceful method which aided me in being able to purchase the old fashioned clear glass knobs that I had really wanted for the arts and crafts center. Thus, leaving with with lots of wooden knobs.

I still wanted to paint the knobs just not for the arts and craft center. I decided to create two sets of 4 decorative wooden cabinet knobs. I primed the knobs first, then used acrylic paints to create the desired designs and finished each knob with 4 coats of semi gloss varnish. The set with the multiple rings of circles on it was fun and fairly easy just took time and patience. The other set I was originally going to paint a fun bird on each and put glitter on the birds but opted for a different design which I thought would be easier but was NOT! That set was somewhat frustrating but turned out well in the end.

Now what will I do with these knobs...hmm..... not quite sure. I started researching opening a shop on Esty.com and trying to sell the knobs and the mixed media paintings along with whatever else I create in the future. Stay tuned to see what I decide...

Mixed Media Paintings: Birds, birds and more birds

2011-07-31T19:55:00.001-07:00

Last week I felt like putting all other duties aside and painting. There was nothing in particular I needed as far as creating for a space. I went to Michaels with a 40% of coupon and ended up finding a package of four 6x6 canvas's and decided to purchase them. By the time I got home I decided the paintings I would create would have a theme to them and I would use them for the faculty/staff art exhibit (of course this isn't until Feb. 2012) but it gave me some purpose and vision moving forward. It also worked out that the sizes are 6x6 so that I will be able to donate the artwork to the 6x6x2012 fundraising exhibit at ROCO.

I've been on a bird kick lately and enjoy quotes, so this became my theme I used. Also, for the past year and a half I've been into using mixed media when I paint. I tried out a couple of techniques on these paintings and like most things in life...it took a couple of tries before I found an outcome I liked. I used a lot of layers, beginning with music sheets or decorative collage paper, then tended to rip some of it off and put a watered down acrylic wash over everything (sometimes so much so that you can't even see what kind of paper was used), then painted the birds on with acrylic paints, and used cut up words to create a quote which I then scotch taped on the canvas, and finally finished with a couple coats of decoupage or varnish.

What do you think?

Arts and Craft Center Finally Finished!

2011-07-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

I worked for about 4 hours a day over a 5 day period but managed to get my art center completed. This was the largest piece of furniture I've worked on and as most things it had it's learning challenges. I worked on both pieces separately and never put them together until it was finished. This made it kind of dicey on how it would all come together. I decided to use the same color choice on both pieces which after finishing the second coat all I saw was smurfs or "boy, people are going to thing I'm having a baby boy". The blue grey looked a little more blue when everything was that color. The online instructions from different sources on how to create a distressed look tended to be very short and not completely clear directives, therefore there ended up being a lot of experimentation going on. I ended up sanding down corners and wear spots and then used acrylic craft paint raw sienna with a drop of black really watered down and brushed it on each piece and quickly wiped off with a white rag to the desired color/effect. I had no idea what I was doing at first and put a light coat on then wiped off almost everything I had put on. By the time I was more daring I was midway through the second furniture piece and had to pretty much go back over the entire first piece and part of the second. I loved the effect of the acrylic wash when it was finished! It ended up really dulling the blue paint and making the furniture look older (duh...that was it's purpose). The acrylic paint (hint: always wipe with the grain) fell into the crevices and scuff marks darkening them. Almost of a tea stain effect. I liked the look of using flat paint but when it came to the finishing coat of polyurethane I discovered that there is no flat version so I had to use a clear satin which turned out okay, but did make it slightly shiny.

Oh, my other advise when doing a project similar to this...stay away from detailed pieces when your first starting out. The dresser was no problem and I would redo 100 of them; the hutch however was a bear. It was extremely detailed and took a lot of time and patience.

Overall the piece was a success! I love the style, color and hardware! It is pretty full to capacity already and joyfully being used.

Other Half of Art Center

2011-07-11T18:52:00.001-07:00

Below is a picture of the hutch that I found for $20 and will work great as the other half of my art center/bookshelf. I've researched how to create a distressed look finish at

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/2008/09/cabinet-is-painted.html and I purchased the main color which will be "Laughing Eyes". It's a grey-blue. I also purchased clear glass octagon knobs brush nickel finish which will go on the bottom craft center drawers and cupboard. Stay tuned...

Arts and Craft Center

2011-06-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

I've decided to condensing my large bookcase and small arts and craft cupboard into one big hutch. This way my goal is to have ALL of my art materials in one location instead of 3 different floors of my house. Talk about a pain when you get the urge to create.

I've been scouring around and finally found the perfect art base for the hutch. It's all wood and ready to be redecorated! Below is a picture of it now and then I'll post a picture when it is completed.

I'm still on the look out for a top piece that is a bookshelf or storage cubby cubes which ever I find first. Stay tuned...

Artistic Business Cards

2011-06-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm heading to the annual National Art Therapy Conference next week and realized I'm almost out of my work business cards. I don't want to stop in the office to pick up more and thought hmmm.... what better than creating some homemade business cards to bring with me to a creative arts venue.

The concept (birds) for the cards came from an artist I found online. (Don't worry I'm not selling my cards their just for fun). I used acrylic paper as my card stock and cut them to the size of regular business cards. Then I took some vintage music sheets and hand cut them to fit the card size. I used permanent markers to draw the images and edged each card with black ink. I put my info on the back of each card and of course decoupaged the front of the cards for staying power.

What do you think?

Updates

2011-06-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

I found out a couple of weeks ago that the painting I created and donated to the Esty based fundraiser for Kenji's Light of Hope SOLD!

The ROCO 6x6 2011 Art Exhibit kicked off and my main art piece that I donated SOLD right away. Still available is the piece I created at the Art and Mimosa event and donated to the exhibit. You can check out that art piece and purchase if you dare at: http://www.roco6x6.org/6x6x2011.php?artwork_id=1326

Artist Trading Cards

2011-06-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

A good place to check out other artist/crafters is www.reddit.com/r/crafts. Almost 2 months ago I found a thread on this subsection of Reddit that piqued my interest:

http://www.reddit.com/r/mailart/

I vowed to make some artist trading cards not really knowing anything about them. It sounded fun to create some pieces and also really neat to trade with others and collect some cards from artists all over.

I've been traveling for the past 4.5 out of 6 weeks and brought some simple materials with me (all sorts of paper, scissors, black permanent marker, pencil and glue stick) and collected things from my travels. I began creating some cards while traveling and now that I'm home I created some more and finished the others. You should be able to tell the theme: traveling! I think they turned out pretty well, but later while reading another subreddit I discovered I didn't make them the OFFICIAL size 2.5 x 3.5. Mine are a little larger (3.5 x 5). oops...oh well.

Anyone interested in trading an artist card please leave a comment under this blog on which you'd like (I'll title them all), how to obtain your mailing information and how to check out your cards. Once a card is traded I'll mark it as such.

"simple life"

"the adventures of travel"

"the beauty within us"

"It's all about the food" - Traded

"Emotions"

"Dare to travel" - TRADED

"Oh, the places you'll go!"- Traded

"Today is the day"

"Traveling with optimism"

"Treat yourself with flowers"

One Step Up From Garbage Picking

2011-05-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

One step up from garbage scavenging is to shop garage/yard sales. If you have some vision then this may be another way to utilize your creative juices. I've found that this is another inexpensive way to find pieces to create art.

My sister was getting rid of two end tables in her garage sale and I was looking for end tables, so I confiscated them (free in exchange for my labor) and using a wood burner and some different size glass canister rims I etched shapes into the wood after putting on a primary paint color all over the surface. Then I painted inside the etched circles a different color and sealed the entire table with a clear varnish.

However, I decided I wanted a piece of glass to go over top of the tables for extra protection. I looked online and in stores for the correct size and shape of glass- which turned out to be very expensive therefore not an option. It turned out I didn't even need to be that patient- I searched craigslist as another option and within a day found the same end table with glass for $5 so I purchased it and then within in a week found another one for $8. The only problem was that I now had four tables and only needed two. To solve the problem I ended up using the same technique but different colors and used the two spare tables in my work office space which didn't really need extra glass protection.

Outcome: 4 usable unique end tables for a total of $13 and a few hours of labor!

Salvaged Art

2011-05-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

I orignally began creating this piece for an art exhibit for staff and faculty to show case their artwork at the local college I work at. This is an annual art exhibit and the first one I've participated in. Talk about interesting- there was artwork that was amazing from many different professions and a myriad of art materials.

I wanted to create something from a piece of salvaged art and photographs I've taken from trips over my life time. It just so happened that I've been looking for a piece of artwork to hang over my bed for 2 years now and that is where this piece ended up finding a home after the exhibit.

We have a couple of unique salvage shops in our city and I while I usually enjoy a good garbage picking find, it was winter here and that's not a fun garbage picking time, therefore I ended up perusing the shops.

Historic House Parts: www.historichouseparts.com
ReHouse Architectural Salvage: www.ReHouse.com

I found this cabinet door with all all hardware on it for under twenty dollars. It was painted a horrible peachy color when I found it but I liked the 4 seperate glass panels all being framed in. An idea began to form of putting photographs in each panel. I love black and white prints and went through photoshopping pictures from trips. I sent them to http://www.scottsphoto.com/ which I love because they do great work! I painted the frame black then did a weathering glaze followed by a coat of off white paint. I took the hinges off and spray painted them black. The tricky part that took hours of experimenting was how to adhere the photographs. I ended up using scrap-booking photo corners on each photo and then very carefully and patiently putting a dab of super glue on each corner of the scrap-booking edges (not the actual photo). I measured first and then placed thick books on top of the back of each photo to help them adhere. I was planning to hang the artwork from the hinges but this didn't work out so I purchased frame hooks and hammered them into the back. I then went to a local craft store and purchased etching scripts (the words in black on each panel). I carefully cut the scripts, placed them on the front and using an etching stick adhered them onto the glass.

The outcome turned out lovely and fits in my room perfectly. The art exhibit went well and I received many compliments. My goal is to participate in it next year to help me to keep creating!

Etsy-based Fundraiser to Support Japan and the Igari Music Therapy Research Center

2011-05-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in an Etsy-based fundraiser which started April 25, to benefit the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund and Igari Music Therapy Research Center in Miyagi Prefecture which provides music therapy and music education services to individuals with developmental disabilities and the elderly.

This is a cause I definitely want to take part in for multiple reasons. One being that my significant others brother, wife, and three children just recently moved from Japan (where they had been living for the past 10 years) to Houston, TX. And when I mean recently I mean February 2011- just missing the earthquake and tsunami. They have family who continues to reside in Japan and many friends who are affected by this tragedy.

My boyfriend and I have donated to the Red Cross already but this is something else that I can to help out. Especially as this cause is for music therapy services and I'm a Creative Arts Therapist. As time moves forward the services of Music Therapist and other Creative Arts Therapist will be valuable in the healing process.

Below is the link to the Etsy fundraiser store.

http://kenjislightofhope.etsy.com

You can also email Yoshiko @

beaudrillard@earthlink.net or maladynelson@yahoo.com

to find out further information on donating art related creations.

Here's the art piece I'm donating.

Art and History

2011-05-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

I never knew my grandfathers. They passed away before my parents were married. I've seen pictures of them and heard stories through the years. My maternal grandmother while not a diagnosable hoarder was more of a pack rat. When she was moved to an assisted living home and her house sold my mother was the one sibling stuck cleaning out my grandmother's house (I helped a little.). While a sad task it was also like finding lost treasure. We found a huge pile of old random film not developed (which I later found a special print shop and had the lot of them printed, put in albums, and gave to my mother for Christmas one year- she hadn't even seen some of the pictures before), a collection of paper coffee cups from McDonald's (which I'm sure we shouldn't have thrown away because they were probably vintage or something), lots of tupperware containers with no lids (which I'm also sure were quite valuable) and a box full of old postcards from my grandfather dating back to 1910 and through World War II.

I'm memesmorized by most things old...buildings, clippings, pictures, magazines, furniture, etc... When home visiting my parents one weekend I took out the plastic bag full of postcards, read through them and looked at the images on the front. Later that week while taking a walk I found an old badly in need of repair table with fold down sides that was put out for the garbage. My boyfriend loved it when I begged him to help me carry it all the way home and store yet another piece of furniture in our apartment until I decided what to do with it.

What I ended up doing was painting the table top and edges in gold, using a layer of crackle glaze, then a top layer of black paint. The legs were repaired and spray painted a solid black. I then went to a copy center and made color copies on card stock paper of the front and back of many of the postcards, arranging them on the table, and then decopaging them in place. I put a couple of coats of clear satin on the top of the entire table to help adhere everything in place and protect it.

This process of creating this table was therapeutic for me in many unexpected ways. I was able to create art but also able to explore and find out a little bit more about my grandfather and his life. It might be silly to say, but I felt a little closer to him after making the piece.

Family Art Therapy

2011-05-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

I paid 10 dollars for this table in a yard sale and had it hanging out in our foyer. Can't remember how the idea came about but decided to involve my close family and friends in this art project. By the time it was finished it ended up being a pretty amazing process and I discovered many neat things about my family and friends along the way. It was really interesting for a myraid of reasons. First being my brother-in-law got more into the project then my sister and my father who dispises painting still created a piece. My nephew was only 1.5 years old but had a fun time contributing.

While it was excellent to watch everyone create or hear about their experiences perhaps one of the most profound parts of entire process was both of my grandmothers contributions. My maternal grandmother has Alzheimer's and was in an assisted living home when this was created. She was a very artsy crafty woman. My paternal grandmother is a very anxious wonderful woman and had never painted before in her life. (Though she did embroider and create blankets with the help of my aunt for many years but did not consider this art). While at home visiting one weekend I made a picnic basket lunch, picked up my paternal grandmother and we went to the nursing home to visit with my maternal grandmother. We all had lunch outside on a beautiful summer day. Following the lunch I pulled out the paints and tiles and asked them both to simply create. My anxious grandmother was of course anxious because this was a very new experience for her but she did amazingly well (the sunflower tile- note: sunflowers are her signature flower) and my other grandmother struggled. It was difficult for me to watch her because she had been such an artistic woman and she struggled with painting and what to paint, but I was very proud of her to for creating a piece. I also believe this was an enjoyable highlight to all of our lives.

In the end, this project was like family art therapy. I now have a unique piece of furniture that continues to catch my eye and help me remember those I love and the experience of creating this piece with them. Overall my mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, grandmothers, two close girlfriends, my loving boyfriend, and myself created a piece. Below are some pics and a description of how it was made.

My boyfriend helped me to frame in the table top with some simple inexpensive wood trim from HD (Home Depot) to create upraised walls boxing in the top. Then I purchased 12 white tiles from HD for about a dollar each. I purchased glass paint kits from a local craft store and took turns passing the paint kits around after giving everyone a tile. I purchased a finishing top coat and applied it to each tile twice, used tile adhesive to place them on the table top. Crushed a blue tile that I purchased and placed it in the center, then grouted, cleaned off the excess grout and applied another top coat for extra protection (can't have enough of that).

Artistic, Cheap and Functional

2011-04-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

I wanted to create a base to hold two individual coat hooks for my office and went googling shopping for cool designs. I found this awesome group called "The Crosbie" on Esty. It originated with 3 graphic designers who use a piece of wood, neat looking coat hooks and screen printing to make these awesome fun yet functional coat racks. They also make many other cool products; key hooks, necklace holders, etc...

I don't know how to screen print and was very tempted to head to the art store to buy the supplies necessary to screen print, but fought the urge and utilized my own skills to create my version. I still have to screw down the coat hooks but I like the outcome. It was easy and fun, but I'd still like to try screen printing another time.

Tick Tock what a clock

2011-04-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

I created this clock as a sample for an art therapy exercise I used with HIV affected children/teens quite a few years ago. It was a group of all males who loved creating and making things. The premise was that they each built a clock from scratch and what they painted on the clock had to do with representing their culture/family of origin. Mine was a based on a melting melt.

This clock then got placed in various spaces over the year. An office, our kitchen and then sitting on top of a book shelf for a couple of years since I moved. I've been searching for a decent clock for my work office for about a year now. The one that came with my office even with a new battery had a life of it's own and jumped the time continuum daily. Then I attempted to order one from Office Services department and they thought they were being helpful by giving me one that was given to them for storage...it's a huge classroom size clock and for lack of something better I've been using it, but it sticks out like a sore thumb. So, I've taken matters into my own hands and decided that while my clock from years ago is pretty neat looking it doesn't really look professional enough for work.

Below is my effort to give the clock a face lift. It was an interesting process where nothing worked out according to plan. First I painted over existing image with a solid metallic burnish red color, then I put a coat of crackle clear paint on, and then a coat of black paint topped with a satin varnish. Let's just leave it as the mixing of all of these elements made an interesting end product.

Before

After

I was ROBBED!

2011-04-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it... I waited for half a day yesterday before they posted the winner of the Mary Lou Panter Scholarship and I checked my phone and had a long distance message and....I was robbed! The long distance message was from Rite Aid and the winner when finally posted was for a Gail from NYC. Totally NOT ME! What a bummer!

Creativity and Madness

2011-04-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

I entered to WIN an all expense paid trip to the Creativity and Madness Conference in Santa Fe, NM this August. This foundation is pretty darn neat! They have conferences that you can go to all over the world and the idea is always around the concept of creativity and madness. Is there a connection between being artistic and being mentally ill? hmmmm...what do you think?

Check out their link: http://www.creativityandmadness.com/

By the way, I got my essay in way early and had two double proof reads and so I'm pretty optimistic that of all of the essays mine will be picked as the WINNER!

Oh the things I can think UP

2011-04-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

When I purchased our new living set (of off craigslist of course), it came with an ottoman. I replaced our traditional coffee table with the ottoman but then had to think of a way to have a place to put stuff on like drinks, plates, etc... So this is what I came up.

I found a shadow box about 16x16 at Michael's Craft store and took some old fashion tiles (left over from our bathroom renovations) to make this impromptu tray. I painted the tray first then used tile adhesive to adhere the tiles down and when dry I grouted. Looks good, it's useful and the entire project using left over materials cost about 10 bucks.

**super secret shopping tip for thrifty shoppers: go to www.acmoore.com and print out a coupon (every week you can print a new one for 40% one item). You can use this coupon not only at AC Moore but Michael's Craft Store. They kind of give you a dirty look when you use it but they have to accept it. Great way to save money on the more expensive items.

Art Creating and Mimosas

2011-04-10T10:31:00.001-07:00

I did end up going to the art therapy get together. It was a bunch of people enjoying art and creating 6x6 art pieces to enter in the 6x6x2011 art exhibit. It was held at Arbor Arts a studio/counseling center. The atmosphere is pretty neat and kudos for the founders in daring to open the center.

http://www.arborarttherapy.com/

I had a good time with lots of new fun art materials provided. Plus it helped that they had an awesome array of breakfast food and mimosa's present!

Here is my second piece that I created.

2011-04-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

For many years I've enjoyed re-working salvaged furniture. I hate throwing away anything that is made of real wood. Here is a piece I found down my street on the night before garbage pick up. I didn't take any before pictures but believe me...it was hideous.

Check out this link to see find some neat ideas on reusing salvaged furniture to decorate/use:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

6x6x2011 Community Art Project

2011-04-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery began this fund raising initiative about 4 years ago.

Check out the link on this awesome art idea which began with the Rochester Community but has spread global.

http://www.roco6x6.org/

Here's my contribution this year. Plus I'm forcing myself to go to an art therapy collective gathering this weekend to create some more submissions. I think this will be a good opportunity for me to create and socialize with other art therapist. I struggled at first with making the commitment to go since I had already completed a piece, but then someone mentioned having mimosa's present! YUMMY!

#3 in a series of 3

2011-04-04T19:11:00.001-07:00

#2 in a series of 3

2011-04-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

#1 in a series of 3

2011-04-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Back to the Basics

2011-04-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a stressful work year. Lots of changes, transitions and adjustments- get the drift.

Even though I'm an art therapist, finding time to create has always been a struggle. Instead of feeling the urge to create like some therapist do after a long day of listening to others, I'm just lucky to get some exercising in, clean up after dinner, shower, and relax reading a good book or watching the entire 5 seasons of Angel. You could say my motivation to create artwork has been stilted by a total lack of energy and creative juices, yet I know that if I forced myself to create I'd really enjoy myself and feel rejuvenated.

Over spring recess and inspired my friend and fellow art therapist who get's together 1x a week with another art therapist to simply test out new art materials and create, I embarked on an adventure to create. I'm also making it my mission to put forth the effort even when I don't feel like it to create.

I will post my creation outcomes in order of creations. I will state from the beginning that I don't consider myself as an artist at all. For me my relationship with art as moved beyond technical to learning to simply enjoy just experimenting and creating- therefore Back to the Basics.

2011-04-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you are tired of a car that has been a lemon, you have spring fever, works been a struggle and you finally have money in your savings?

You randomly choose to sell "lemon" car and spend your savings on a hot new yet used car. or at least that's what I did. And all in one week. Pretty impressive!

Check out my 2008 Toyota Yaris. please, please let it be a good car not a money pit. fingers crossed.

Resolutions

2010-01-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Does anyone do New Year's Resolutions anymore? I never understood New Year resolutions. It's not like anyone actually follows through with them. I believe the problem with them is that the resolutions tend to be to huge and overwhelming, so a person might get started but then quickly loses motivation. Such as the obvious resolutions, losing 20lbs, exercising more, finally finding meaning to their life etc... I tend to believe in taking small steps towards my goals and working on it year round not just making a resolution one time a year. Tends to work better this way and I find that the goals I accomplish are more long standing instead of a brief glimpse.

Winter Wonders

2010-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

So I tend to have random curious thoughts regarding the way things are created. Such as, why are the road stripes (the dotted lines or solid lines separating road lanes) painted white? Now I do realize maybe when roads were first paved and completed white may have been one of the only colors of paint available to use; however with modern advanced technology why can't they now use fluorescent green or orange. I mean come on- have you ever driven in snow and tried to find/stay in your own lane! It's almost impossible with the road lines being white. Try driving in a region that has snow 6 months out of the year. It stinks! It seems to me some smart person would realize this and start grandfathering in a new more vibrant color on the roads that you would be able to see when it snows. Hey, it's not like the roads in these regions don't need to be fixed yearly!