28 March 2010

Old Art, Some Great News and A Trip To The Zoo


Hello Readers!
I went on a road trip yesterday with the intention of seeing my oldest son and taking them a few things they forgot the day before yesterday when they were at my house. The baby has a bad cold and doc has put her on a nebulizer. They forgot the nebulizer when they went home late in the afternoon on Thursday. We'll get to that visit in a bit.
Some of you know I have talked to Rosslyn at the Grassroots Art Center in Lucas, Kansas about getting some of my artwork in the gift shop there. My brother, Sam and I went on this roadtrip. My van would never make it to Nickerson, where my son lives, so I sweet talked brother into driving his truck. He needed to get out and get the stink blown off him anyway! And if truth be known, so did I.
We stopped in Lucas about 11 a.m. on Friday to have a chat with Rosslyn, who is the director of the Art Center. If I had been thinking before we left on this trip, I would have packed up the artwork and brought it along, but I wasn't thinking! It didn't dawn on me that we would be passing right through Lucas on our way to Nickerson till after we'd gone passed Paradise. By that time we were better than 60 miles from home! We stopped at the Art Center nonetheless though and I set up a time to bring in the art work so Rosslyn can choose what she wants in the gift shop. She already has a spot all picked out to display my things! I'm really stoked about this endeavor!
While there she told me about the new public restrooms that are in the making. I'll be headed to Lucas to help with that project when they have another 'play day' to work on the mosaics that will be in the bathrooms! That should be a great deal of fun!
My brother had never been to the Art Center before! He was fascinated by the old safe in the main building of the museum that houses the Art Center and spent quite some time discussing the features of that wonderful old safe with Rosslyn.
Thankfully it wasn't raining or too awfully cold yesterday morning. We went out behind the Art Center where the limestone courtyard is located to check out what all had been done out there since the last time I was at the Art Center. That was a couple of years ago!
The great news is the news about the gift shop!
Old art is the stones in the limestone courtyard that I carved back in 2000.
This is the cat stone that was delivered to the Art Center when the courtyard was still in the planning stages. This is the VERY FIRST limestone carving I ever did! It's actually carved out of chalk rock, not limestone, but the two are related somewhat and they included it in the walls of the courtyard.
The Squirrel Stone was carved about six months after the cat stone if memory serves me correctly. It sat in the office of the Art Center for awhile before the other carvings for the wall it is in were done. The squirrel stone is the second large carving I ever did! In the time between the carving of the cat stone and the squirrel stone, I did about 7, maybe 8, other stone carvings. None of them were larger than fist size, with the exception of another squirrel stone that is about 6x8 inches. I gave all the little carvings away to my sisters and friends. I've no pictures of any of them.
This is a picture of the walls of the courtyard where my stones are located. The courtyard itself is much more than just these two walls. My cat stone is in the center of the arch in the far wall, the squirrel stone to the upper right of the near wall beside the arch. I'm uncertain who carved the pillars, the lintels and the medallion stones in the archway wall. I think Larry Morril did those carvings, but I'm not 100% sure of that. I know he did do quite a few carvings for the courtyard walls.
It was really cool to see the squirells in the wall. They have some damage to them, probably because of the fact they are chalk rock, like the cat and chalk rock just isn't as hard as limestone and is easily damaged from the elements alone. I didn't know this though when I carved them. As I said, this is the first time I had seen them in the courtyard wall.

I was quite active in the Art Center back in the early 2000s. This shoe sculpture was an entry into a contest in connection with the Adam's Apple Festival held every September in Lucas. It is titled "A Day At The Beach With Jacques Cousteau" It is a mixed media piece with lots of different things on it. I don't have this piece anymore. It was lost in the house fire back in May of 2005. The swim fin is a child's swim fin so it wasn't terribly large. I remember what a devil of a time I had finding a swim fin at the end of August that year. I must of went to ten different stores and still didn't find what I was looking for. I forget who it was that presented me with a pair of swim fins for the project. I didn't win first place, or even any place but I did get the 'travel award' for this one, which was an honorable mention.
The stop in Lucas was very enlightening and I'm faunching at the bit to get my work out there and seen. Rosslyn has made this possible!

We drove over the dam at Wilson Lake as we made our way south and east to Nickerson.
A few pictures to show the beauty:


We explored the town of Wilson, which is a tiny little place filled with old stone buildings. Did I take any pictures in Wilson? Not a one! I was too busy oohing and aahhing over all the cool junk in Wilson.
After Wilson we headed down US Old 40 towards Ellsworth for some fried chicken. I was hungry! Sammy had other ideas when he saw the road sign telling us Hollyrood was 16 miles down the dirt road. Off to Hollyrood to visit our grandparents' graves. Would have been really nice to go to Hollyrood to see Grandpa and Grandma but they've both been gone for quite some time. Grandpa died in 1984 and Grandma died in 1990. Sam had never visited their graves.
We explored the town of Hollyrood as well. Again, a tiny little town (though it's much bigger than I remember it to be!) I hadn't been there in years! We drove by the old homestead on Pennslyvania Street just to see what it looked like these days. The windmill in the backyard is gone. Grandpa's shop building has been restored and looks nothing like it did when Grandpa would sit out there with his sons and BS the day away and holler at us kids to "Get your asses off that windmill before you break your necks!" No one lives in the house now adays. It is apparently used for storage of some sort. The shop building appears to be a repair shop for small engines as the yard is littered with lawnmowers and the like. And again, I forgot all about that camera in my pocket as we went down memory lane and not one picture was taken!
When our tour of Hollyrood was through we headed down 156 Highway to Ellsworth for that fried chicken...finally!
Ellsworth is an old cow town. I grew up there. We didn't explore the whole of Ellsworth. I showed Sam where the house is that I lived in from the time I was 7 until I was 14. Ellsworth doesn't hold a lot of good memories for me from the far past, but there are excellent memories there from the near past! We hit the Kwik Shop where that yummy chicken is made. The best fried chicken in the state! We got 8 pcs of chicken, a drink for the road and off we were towards Nickerson.
The boy was expecting us as I had called him from the Sterling Road stop sign to let him know we were very close! He showed us his finds of the morning....junk...cause the boy has junk in his blood just like his uncle and his mother~! He found an old metal toolbox that to me looked like it should have been thrown in the junk pile but he was tickled pink to have it in his possession and even more happy he'd found it on the side of the road in a pile of junk beside someone's trash bin! He also got himself a small metal ammo can from that heap.
We delivered the nebulizer so Annabel could commence with her treatments, yapped at the baby for a few and then we were on way again, headed to Hutchinson to visit Dad's grave and to go to the zoo. The zoo was really an after thought but we went anyway. I did take some pictures there!
Bald Eagle
bobcats
Little Monkeys
Not sure if these are tamarins or not. Cute little devils though!

llama in the petting zoo portion of the zoo. We didn't get to pet the llama though cause she refused to get up and come close enough so we could pet her!
Mexican Red Kneed Tarantula
This guy looks exactly like Sir Nine, the tarantula I had in when I was in high school. Sir Nine only had seven legs when I bought him for six dollars (in 1978) at the pet store in downtown Hutchinson. This spider has a leg span of about 6 inches. Sir Nine was as large, if not larger than this one.
Mule Deer in the foreground and a prong horn in the back.
White Tail Deer

mean ol' turkey
That's what the zoo attendant called this critter!
River Otter
There's a sheet of plexiglass between me and the otter in this picture. I did not use the zoom, we were that close together! He refused to wake up to get his picture taken. Not that I tried very hard to wake him.
Zebu or Brahma ....we had a zebu when I worked at the traveling zoo back in 1997 who looke a lot like this fella. Bully....he hooked me with his horn in my thigh one morning....didn't hurt me much, no open wounds but it did hurt like hell! I was beating on that critter's head with my fist trying to get him to back up and take that damn horn out of my thigh before he scewered me! he had me backed up against the fence of his pen. I still liked Bully an awful lot after that incident. He was really just a big baby that weighed about 1000 pounds!
And there's the little critter that prompted the impromptu roadtrip!
I took about a dozen pictures of Annabel while we were in Nickerson and not a one of them turned out clear! She's still a cute little thing though!
Go get some hugs folks!
Peace
831

25 March 2010

A few ATCs and A Boatload of Kids

Hello Readers!
Thanks for stopping by!
I would have had this post done hours ago but my son, his wife and the grand daughter showed up around 1a.m. I knew they were going to be here today sometime before the sun came up but didn't expect them quite that early. They came along so soon to avoid traffic on their 2.5 hour drive to get to my house. It is good to have them here. They've all gone back to sleep and beings I had a 7 hour nap earlier, I am still wide awake!
Not much in the ATC department to show you all today. I have 4 ATCs that are half done, they still need some color added to them. I did them yesterday at the cafe at dinner time. You'll see them as I get them completed. Only 4 ATCs to show you all today.
We will start off with Bottle Cap Kids cause I've a bunch of them to show you. I haven't yet decided which four of these little guys will be going to Wisconsin to head to the four corners of the earth for the Art Doll Swap I entered the other day. The Art Dolls aren't due till June, but I have mine ready so they'll head to Nanner's house till it's time for them to travel on when the swap is swapped out.

Pay no attention to the date on the photos. I'm not sure how it got to be 2115 but there it is~! And I've no idea how to change it back to 2010. I'll figure that out eventually.
Mr. Moots
BCK
25 March 2010
Mr. Moots is made from a metal beer bottle cap, silver colored wire salvaged from something a few years ago...I forget where it came from. His legs and arms are antique glass christmas baubles that were strung together as a garland and his head is a wooden bead. He's just over 5 inches tall and is designed to hang.

Boney Maroney
BCK
22 March 2010
Boney is made from a Coca Cola red plastic bottle cap, copper wire salvaged from a vaccuum sweeper, cotter pins swiped from my son's junk drawer in the workshop and plastic bones that someone was sure I could use in something! His head is a wooden bead and the stuff glued to his tummy includes: aluminum shavings my brother saved for me, irridescent plastic beads, an LED display from a wrist watch, gold plastic bead and that white plastic thing? I've no clue what the devil it is...came from something I junked out. Boney stands about six inches and is designed to be hung.
I really wish I had more of those plastic bones! I acquired only three of them so there may, in the future, be a BCK with only one bone leg. Or I may use it for a chunky page. Who knows? Surely not me!

Sargent Stubbs
BCK
22 March 2010
Sarge is made from a metal beer bottle cap, silver colored wire salvaged a few years ago from something or another...I forget just where it came from, his legs are two different screws and his hands are aluminum clips of some sort. His head is a wooden bead and he stands about six inches tall. Hang him somewhere, he hates to stand!

Carla Louise
BCK
23 March 2010
Carla is made from a burgandy colored plastic soda bottle cap, copper wire salvaged from a vacuum sweeper, two different washers for her feet, gold colored jewelry findings for her hands, a wooden bead for her head and gold plastic leaves and red metal earring glued to her tummy. She stands about 5 inches and is most happy to just hang out somewhere.

Lucien
BCK
23 March 2010
Lucien is made from a gold metal cap from a cheap bottle of wine, copper wire salvaged from a vaccuum sweeper, connectors of some sort make up his hands, his legs are matching wood screws and his head is a wooden bead. The stuff glued to his tummy includes: a couple of dead button batteries, some aluminum shavings my brother saved for me and some watch parts. Lucien stands about 5 inches and is designed to be hung.

Beulah Irene
BCK
23 March 2010
Buelah is made from a red plastic Coca Cola bottle cap, silver colored wire salvaged a few years ago, aluminum clips make up her feet and a brass doodad and a fancy nut make up her hands. Her head is a wooden bead. Glued to her tummy are real sea shells and gold microbeads. She stands just at 7 inches and is designed to be hung.

Rebecca Agnes
BCK
23 March 2010
Rebecca Agnes is made from a red plastic Coca Cola bottle cap, silver colored wire salvaged a few years ago, two different screws make up her feet, and her hands are some sort of connector from something junked, her head is a wooden bead and she has real sea shells and silver colored microbeads on her tummy. She stands about 5 inches and is designed to be hung.

Steven Steaz
BCK
25 March 2010
Steven is made from a metal soda bottle cap, copper wire salvaged from a vaccuum sweeper, two different screws for his legs, an eye hook and a fishing lure part for his hands and a wooden bead for his head. Steve is a short little guy...he's only a little over 4 inches tall. He's terrible at standing and doesn't do real well at sitting either...better hang him up if you want him at attention!

Yolanda Renee
BCK
23 March 2010
Yolanda is made from a yellow plastic soda bottle cap...(pineapple soda--yummy stuff!), copper wire salvaged from a vaccuum sweeper (she's the last kid made with the vaccuum sweeper copper wire), two little metal washers make up her hands, her feet are connectors of some sort and her head is a wooden bead. Glued to her tummy are a bunch of plastic beads. She stands about 5 inches and like all the bottle cap kids, she prefers to hang.
 
Pinky Malone
BCK
23 March 2010
Pinky is made with a red plastic Coca Cola bottle cap, silver colored wire salvaged a few years ago, two different screws make up her hands, her feet are two metal hoops from something that was junked and her head is a wooden bead. The flat disc attached to her tummy is made of rubber. Not sure what it came from, my sister sent it to me in a box of goodies. Pinky stands about 6 inches and is designed to hang.

The dates on the Bottle Cap Kids might not be spot on...but close enough! I always wait till I have a few of them made to take their picture and post them so I forget which day they were all made. These guy's birthdates are pretty close...within a day or two of when they were actually made anyway.

There will be more BCKs in the future. There are two awaiting embellishments for their tummies. And the kitchen table is still covered with Kid making supplies so it's a very good bet there will be more!
Stay tuned! ;)

Now, on to the ATCs. Nothing spectacular to show you but that doesn't matter, you all get to see the best with the worst!
Visa Gold Cat
ATC
21 March 2010
365 Project #82
Collage--Background is herringbone technique done in yellow pages from the phone book then painted with green glitter paint. The cat is an actual Visa Gold card cut free hand into the cat shape. His whiskers are wires from an old christmas ornament, his nose is a triangle cut from a postage stamp and he has those cute little googly eyes so he can see! Base of the card is recycled cardstock.

Freckled Star Sticks
ATC
24 March 2010
365 Project #83
Markers on recycled cardstock.
I really thought the purple pen was a black pen when I grabbed it on my way out the door to go to lunch the day it was made but it wasn't a black pen, it was purple! Still works out fine if you ask me though. The title of this one is thanks to my silly brother who gave me a line about freckled starfish when I was drawing this one. The color was added a few hours after the drawing was made.

Another Fuzzy Wuzzy
ATC
21 March 2010
Collage--Background is recycled chipboard. Not sure what it came from, it's clean on both sides. I painted it with green glitter paint and then applied the mushroom which is made from a yellow paint sample card and eyelash yarn. I really like the first fuzzy wuzzy mushroom much better than this one but not all experiments turn out the same way twice. Art is like that as well.

Asian Text Mushroom
ATC
21 March 2010
Collage--Background is security envelope inside painted with green glitter paint. Mushroom cap is asian text page painted with walnut ink. The stem is a yellow paint sample card finger painted with walnut ink. All is attached to a recycled piece of chipboard from a snack cake box.


And that concludes our art tour for the day!
You all go out and get your hugs! I got a couple already today and the sun hasn't even come up yet! That doesn't happen often! Hugs before the sun comes up!!!!
Be good to one another! It matters!
Peace
831

21 March 2010

ATCs and Postcards and a bit of rambling from yours truly


hello Readers!
Not much of anything happening in my world. I'm a bit on the downside of the weather...not feeling well these past few days. All I want to do is sleep and when I'm not asleep all I want to do is art. I guess I shouldn't complain. There are those who would kill to live my life...no work, no obligations..just sleep and do art....well, let me tell you it is not all it's cracked up to be! It would be fabulous if I felt well all the time, but I don't feel well all the time. Making art takes little out of me physically, that's part of the reason I'm so prolific at it.
There is a Collage-a-thon going on over at AFA (the link's up there on the sidebar to the upper left). I've made a few cards and traded a few.
I got a kick about mushrooms and you'll see a few of those here today.
Next post you'll see more Bottle Cap Kids as I have joined an ART DOLL SWAP and will be making new kids for that.
Guess it's on to the art:
Enjoy!


Birds on a Fence
ATC
18 March 2010
Collage--Background is green paper tape painted with glitter paint, birds are metal foil tape cut out with an exacto knife. Wire came from somewhere or another, not rightly sure just where it came from and the sticks are craft sticks (they were green when i bought them) cut to size. it's all attached to a UPS envelope backing. This one is headed to Michigan when I make it to the post office.

Cheers and Applesauce
ATC
18 March 2010
Collage--Background is done in the herringbone technique with a map from a fishing magazine. Images come from various sources including a children's reading text book, a note from an ATC trade, and junk mail. The text comes from junk mail and/or magazines. It's all attached to recycled chipboard backing from a snack cake box.
Sitting Green
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage--Various images from various sources including a children's reading text book, fishing magazine, scrap recycling magazine, gardening catalog and a medical institute newsletter. The mushroom is a pc of red velvet ribbon and white cardstock with white acrylic paint for the dots. (I just realized this picture does not have the mushroom on it!) And there's a calendar sticker that came in junk mail. It's all attached to a recycled chipboard backing from food packaging of some sort...maybe a cake mix?

Red Cat
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage-- Background and backing are two different kinds of paper and staples holding the strips to the background. I got it as an extra goodie in an ATC trade some time back. The cat is a plastic Netflix card cut free hand. He has wire whiskers that came from an old christmas ornament, googly eyes and a plastic triangel cut from a large sequin for his nose. The stone on his chest is a polished cabachon. Not sure what kind of stone it is. The quote came from a magazine interview with Cesear Milan (? The dog fella). As usual, I was impatient for the glue to dry and scanned it with white glue spots still showing. The glue has since dried clear! This guy has been traded.
Amanita muscaria CAT
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage-- Background is insides of a security envelope (from my telephone provider), and green crepe paper. The mushroom cap is red velvet, glittery Christmas bow ribbon dotted with gesso. The stem is drywall repair tape. the strip across the bottom is wallpaper with the words written in black sharpie. It is all attached to recycled chipboard from food packaging.

The Lonely Elf
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage--Background is security envelope inside (again from my telephone provider), mushroom is asian text sent to me in an ATC trade as an extra goodie colored with markers, theres a bit of palm tree bark and two different colors of yellow paint samples. The elf is hand drawn on sketch paper, colored with markers. It is all attached to recycled chipboard from packaging of some sort. The lonely elf is headed to Washington State when I get to the post office.

Red French Mushroom
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage--Background is a yellow paint sample card painted with green glitter paint and attached to recycled chipboard from a snack cake box. The mushroom is constructed from red velvet Christmas ribbon, red postage stamps from France, Spain and Britian cut into tiny triangles with an exacto knife and glued to the ribbon. The ribs of the mushroom are the white strips from the sides of the stamps. The stem is a piece of thick chipboard from a game box that I was using as a glue pot for putting on the stamp triangles. It's a rather hefty ATC, but still thin enough to fit in a 9 pocket page protector. This one is headed to London when I make it to the post office.
Walnut Mushroom
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage-- Background is security envelope insides (again from my telephone provider), magazine image and green crepe paper. The security envelope inside was dusted with pink glitter before the next layers went on. The mushroom is text from a nature encyclopedia finger painted with walnut ink. It's all attached to recycled chipboard from the back of a sketchpad.

Red French Fish
ATC
19 March 2010
Collage-- Background is a recycled UPS envelope painted with glitter paint, then dusted with gold dust (used in resin molding). The fish is a piece of chipboard covered with red velvet glittery Christmas ribbon with pieces of red French postage stamps glued on for scales and a googly eye. There is eyelash yarn and  red string from a large bag of dog food on there as well and the little silver thingies are microbeads. It is all attached to recycled chipboard from the back of a sketch pad. This one is headed to Finland when I make it to the post office.

Gold Mushroom
ATC
20 March 2010
Collage--The background is a woven rattan placemat with cork crumbles and glitter glue along the side. I made this background over two years ago and just now figured out what to do with it!  The mushroom cap is a piece of sandpaper heavily dusted with gold dust (used in resin molding), the stem is a piece of drywall repair tape (very much like canvas) dusted with gold dust and the little strings are yellow rubber strings from a toy. The whole thing is glued to a chipboard backing, probably a cake mix box. This one is headed to London with the other mushroom when I make it to the post office.

I also did a couple of postcards over the weekend.
Fish Postcard
18 March 2010
Collage--The background is part of a greeting card recieved with an ATC trade. Fish are also from a greeting card recieved with an ATC trade, freehand cut and the white is acrylic paint pen, black is sharpie pen. The star is orchard paper. The backside of this postcard is a postcard with a red shoe in the center of it surrounded by a patterned yellow border. Plenty of room for a message and an address. I found the quote at quoteland. com by entering the search term 'fish'. It is 4 x 6 1/4 inches.

Strive Postcard
20 March 2010
Collage--There's a lot of stuff on this postcard! The base is a part of a greeting card recieved with an ATC trade. The backside is security envelope insides, a yellow marbled envelope and a couple of yellow stripes that are stickers. I left the saying on the greeting card to show. It says "happy day every day". Images come from various sources including a children's reading text book, a magazine subscription envelope, my isp provider's junk mail, catalog of home gifts, coffee junk mail, eyes from a magazine, grocery reciept, book club mail, purple crown came from an ATC trade as extra goodies. The man at the bottom was on an envelope from an ATC trade...T.Beagler drew it. The letters all came from magazines. It's 4 x 6 inches.


I have two more ATCs drying right now but you aren't going to see them till next post! There will more than likely be much more art than these two ATCs and a few art dolls. I'm going to make more postcards as well.
You all go get some hugs today! I missed out on hugs cause it's kinda hard to go get any hugs when you're snuggled into the blankets all day!
Peace
831

17 March 2010

There's Some Green Going On

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When I got dressed this morning, I totally didn't remember it was THE day to wear green. The only reason I didn't get pinched a lot today is because of my emerald earrings. I never take off my emeralds!
I've been to the lake with my brother, out to supper with my sister, visited my friends in town and visited my other friend at the edge of town. I have been socializing.
Lake Day was on Tuesday. We hit three bodies of water and I didn't take a single picture! Ran off and left the camera at home. Perhaps next time! There's a trip planned for tomorrow so we'll see if I get any good pictures to show!
I've been a bit busy with art since the last time I posted.
(I really need to get busy with some housework!) 
Enjoy!

Pixie's Rodeo
ATC
12 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
365 Project #73

Orange Horse
ATC
13 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.

The All Seeing
ATC
13 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
365 Project # 74

Fire Blossoms
ATC
14 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.

Pink Explosion
ATC
14 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.

When the muse is unsure where to go...
I take her to the gardens
where imaginary flowers grow.

Boozing Pink Poodle
ATC
15 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock. Extra fine sparkly pink glitter over the poodle only and then sealed with acrylic varnish.
This pink poodle was holding a drink in the old ad I found her in. She was pink as well. It reminded me of the drink recipe book I have on my kitchen shelf that is called The Pink Elephant Book. I can't rationally explain the correlation between the two, but that is how the muse works. Sometimes things are subtly  connected the explaination is too dense. I'm not sure even THAT made sense....but Pink Poodle Boozing it up is what we got!
365 Project # 75

Go check out Naked Heart Art and take a look at what this Project is all about! Day 75 is a milestone!
There are about 30 artists participating actively. You'll see some awesome art there! Leave a comment there if you go to visit! We love comments! (Leave one here as well, if you're so inclined!)

Hiding In The Garden
ATC
15 March 2010
Collage--Background is blue and green glitter paint on a recycled UPS envelope, magazine images in shades of green, fabric flower, eyelash yarn, a googly eye painted yellow with acrylic paint, fabric leaves cut into grass shape, knubby yarn, a plastic frog from last year's St. Patrick Day cupcakes that my sister handed to me early in the day on the 15th when this card was made. And there's a boatload of glue to hold it all together!
 I backed the whole shebang with a pc of chipboard from a graham cracker box to give it some strength. UPS envelopes are made of thin chipboard. Because of that the card buckled.
It's a shame the UPS envies aren't great for collages cause I have a boatload of them! Somewhere around 300 of them...I generally cut them up into indes cards to keep track of trades but sometimes I cut them into Twinchies, which they work wonderfully for. Some of them end up being completely white on one side when they're cut into twinchies.


A Lesson on Recycled Chipboard
Chipboard from food packaging, toy packaging, used up spiral notebooks, notepads and a long long list of sources is perfect for recycled chipboard use in your art. It is a free source of fodder. I get everyone I can to save their food packaging for me. When a kid's birthday comes around, take a really good look at the packages! Toy trucks come in some really cool thin cardboard. I don't know much about little girl toys yet, but I suspect they're pretty much like boys toys are....have so much cardboard on them it is ridiculous! Don't throw that stuff out though! It's useful to you if you've a way to cut it to size. I am fortunate to own the guillotine cutter!  My box of chipboard needing cut includes boxes from the following sources:
ready made and powdered pudding
graham crackers
cheese boxes from Hickory Farms
cake and brownie mixes
shirt boxes that held Christmas presents
beer
butter
snack cakes
honey buns
cereal
Velveeta
tea
bath products
marker packages

Examine everything that comes into your house that is packaged in chipboard containers! Some are excellent for ATC backs only but others are good for many applications. Twinchies. Inchies. 4 x 4s and other sized collage pieces. The thicker the chipboard the better it is for the larger pieces.
The boxes from the Hickory Farms cheese came from my family! Nice find! My sister gave everyone...that's six people...this cheese for Christmas! WIthin a week, I had four of these boxes and the chipboard covers that held the boxes closed! A goldmine of great recycled chipboard for 4 x 4s. Christmas yielded a lot of art fodder! Train your people to keep extraordinary things for you!
Everyone has a set of certain things they like to work with. For some of you it is paper, some like doodads, some like containers, some like strings and ribbons! I like it all! lol And I have trained a few folks to save their stuff for me. This way I get things I wouldn't ordinarily get on my own. I don't eat snack cakes, but my brother does! I don't drink beer, but my sister's boyfriend does! I don't eat Velveeta but my oldest son does! (Velveeta boxes make stellar containers for your ATC blanks!) You get the idea!

Feeling A Bit Green
ATC
16 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.

Lucky Green
ATC
16 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
365 Project #76

I had intended to do a zentangle with little shamrocks running rampant across the image but I screwed up one of the shamrocks and it turned into the bird's head instead. Art sometimes happens that way: things don't go according to plan so you have to form a new plan!
No! I Won't!
ATC
16 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
Once again I have made a 'suggestive' card without meaning to.
Not sure where my mind is sometimes!

Fargo
ATC
17 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
I dedicate this one to Fargo! They're flooding up there again! I wish the people of Fargo a smooth sail through the messes. This community has rallied together to save their town from the water that is sure to come when the river reaches its crest. Keep them in your prayers that the efforts put out by the people of this community keep them safe.

Green Zen
ATC
17 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
I drew this one at the cafe this evening while waiting on my order. I had company for supper at the cafe; Sammy, Susan and Evelyn. I pretty much ignored them while waiting for our orders. I added the greens after I got home from seeing my youngest son, who cooked our food at the cafe. It was short, sweet visit with RW.
Eye of Tokay Gecko
ATC
17 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
This is my favorite of all the art posted today! I was cruising Google Images and came across this macro photo of a gecko's eye and this is my rendition of said photograph. Fellow of the name Alan M. took the picture. I know nothing more about him. I found it over at wired.com . 
Pink Tulips
ATC
17 March 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
The Need To Know
ATC
17 March 2010
Collage- Background is the herringbone technique made with a map from a fishing magazine. Images from junkmail and magazines. Text from book pages, magazines and junk mail. I'm not sure what I was trying to say here so if any of you think you've figured it out, let me know, OK?

In the coming days I will be working on ATCs and a Guest Book for my oldest son's wedding on the 24th of April. I'll be back in the next few days to show you all what I've been up to.
Go get your hugs!
Peace
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