I finally got to drive my van again yesterday after it not running for better than a week. Dead battery, apparently. My brother, Sam, got it running for me early in the morning so I could go to the post office to mail some art to distant places. I tried to get him to mail that art off the day before but he was having none of that! He wanted me to get dressed and go to lunch with him and I could mail them then. I didn't want to get dressed and go have lunch (not just with him, but not with anyone!) So, they had to wait a day before they went postal. I'm hoping they all end up where they should end up.
I took the back road back from town and had to go over the low water bridge that you see in these pictures. That's the Solomon River just south of Stockton. There is still ice on the river. First picture is looking west, second is looking across the bridge to the east. I didn't get out of the van to take these pictures. The temp was in the low 30s still at about 9a.m. when I was out and about.
When summer is around, this scene is really pretty....all green. There's a good chance you will see deer drinking at the river by this bridge or in the field just to the south on the east side of the road. I spent a few happy afternoons years ago throwing rocks off this bridge with two little girls who grew up on me!
Alright on to ATCs for Wednesday.....
Sorrowful Mother13 January 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock
This is the one I'm counting for the 365 Project for Wednesday.
I drew this one with the Haitians in mind. They need all the prayers they can get right now. If you're inclined to pray, you might add your own brand of prayer to the rest of the prayers going out for the victims and survivors of the earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday.
I drew this one with the Haitians in mind. They need all the prayers they can get right now. If you're inclined to pray, you might add your own brand of prayer to the rest of the prayers going out for the victims and survivors of the earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday.
Joyful Swine(and what a happy little swine he is!)
13 January 2010
Markers on recycled cardstock.
I figured we had sorrow so we should have joy as well. Why a pig? Just 'cause. I don't know, sometimes pigs are rather funny creatures and there have been a few pigs in my life that have brought me joy. Two come to mind....Petunia the potbelly pig who was part of the menagerie of the petting zoo I used to work for and the other would be Arnold who was our pig when I was a young'un. I smoked my first cigarette at age 11 in Arnold's pen. That should have put me off smoking those nasty things forever, but it didn't. I've smoked consistently since I was 17 with a year off the nasty habit three different times since. I'm an old bird now....30 years plus I've had that habit. Arnold always kept our secrets too!
In The Banana Trees13 January 2010
Monkeys are fun to draw. Fun to watch. I think if reincarnation really happens, coming back as a monkey wouldn't be such a bad thing! Monkeys make a lot of people smile!
This isn't an ATC. It's a mixed media piece on a canvas 2 feet by 3 feet. It has yet to have a title. I've been talking about this canvas for about three weeks now. Well, it's finally done. Finished it about 2a.m. on Thursday. The bottom layer with the purple (down at the bottom) isn't quite dry in this picture. I looked and looked at it thinking it was missing something. But I gave up analyzing it and just decided it was indeed done. Materials used:
The fishes are chipboard from packaging with seqins, foil from chocolate candies and a googly eye.
Copper paint pen was used on the fishes for lines in their fins, tail and mouth.
The background consists of:
thick paint that produces texture similar to stucco mixed with metallic purple acrylic
fantasy snow tinted pink with Dr. Martin's Ink
spackling compound tinted green and purple with metallic acrylic paint
toilet paper and glue mixed with gray acrylic paint and red glitter
red netting from an onion bag
black nylon scarf material
glitter of various colors
round dot confetti in pink and blue
(I painted the pink ones purple cause the pink was way too glaring!)
gold glass seed beads
green twine
two different colors of eyelash yarn
and
a boat load of metallic acrylic paint in purple, green and silver
fuschia acrylic paint
I used E6000 adhesive, quick drying 3M glue and Aleen's tacky glue to adhere all that junk to the canvas.
There is a layer of medical dictionary pages under all that stuff that kinda got lost in the process. I guess it's there to reinforce the canvas cause you certainly can't see it! There was a change of plans after the dictionary pages had been glued down.
The canvas was picked up at a yard sale by one of my sisters from the FREE box. It originally had an unfinished painting of three women in white gowns hanging in mid-air from thick heavy ropes. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen! I'm sure, more than sure it wasn't a masterpiece I done ruined by putting fishes all over the top of it! Really the only thing that stood out prominently on the canvas were the women's faces, hands, feet and hair. Everything else was white. Sorry, no picture of it. I started on the fishes before I got my camera.
The canvas was picked up at a yard sale by one of my sisters from the FREE box. It originally had an unfinished painting of three women in white gowns hanging in mid-air from thick heavy ropes. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen! I'm sure, more than sure it wasn't a masterpiece I done ruined by putting fishes all over the top of it! Really the only thing that stood out prominently on the canvas were the women's faces, hands, feet and hair. Everything else was white. Sorry, no picture of it. I started on the fishes before I got my camera.
I am very pleased with the result. This is the biggest piece I have ever created. It's not the heaviest, but is the biggest. The heaviest pc of art I've ever done (not counting all the gravestones that have my art them) is the two limestone carvings I did for The Grassroots Art Center in Lucas, Kansas. Both of those are relief carvings done in chunks of limestone. One is a cat, the other a squirrel. I'll show them to you one of these days along with all the other carvings done in limestone that now constitute the limestone courtyard behind the Art Center.
I worked on another coptic stitched book early in the morning as well.
I worked on another coptic stitched book early in the morning as well.
14 January 2010Metallic Swirls Coptic Stitch Blank Book
It has 10 signatures with 5 sheets of paper in each signature. I used Orchard paper to fill this one. It is sewn with black hemp cording that I got in a supply trade over at AFA. (I forget what I traded for that cord...maybe orchard paper? I've traded some of it.) I snagged the metal tape from my brother. Well, actually I snagged it out of my garage. My garage, my tape? :) Brother was cool with it! The book is roughly 5 inches x 6 inches and the covers are made from an old encyclopedia cover. The swirls are cotton yarn glued to the encyclopedia cover.
I got two books out of that cover from the encyclopedia!
Orchard paper reminds me of parchment paper but it's much thinner and has a specfic use. I'm uncertain what that specific use is...I've been told it was originally used to wrap/separate metal parts from one another in shipping containers. It has a dated watermark on the back indicating it was made in St. Louis, MO in 1966. I thought it was for wrapping orchard fruit, hence its name. My oldest son dragged home about 400 sheets of it some time ago. I've used it in many little books and I've made a few ATCs with it as well.
There's Billy with the book's front cover. That darn cat still won't open his eyes when I take his picture.
An now he's totally bored with his photo shoot! Ma came and did my dishes for me while I took my sister to the Emergency Room. She has a herniated disk in her neck, among other maladies. She was in a great deal of pain. I was helping Ma with the dishes when Susan called to see if I would take her to Plainville. Ma had the dishes done when I got home. She went back to Pville to get Susan's hide. I came home before they were done with her cause I just couldn't keep my eyes open. They gave her a big ass bag of fluid by IV with some medicine in it for the nausea she was complaining about. That's the main reason she was sent to the ER by her doc up in Nebraska. She'd been puking her guts out for over 18 hours and she was miserable! I didn't think I could stay awake and drive her home once they were done with her. She can't drive at the moment because of her neck.
I haven't heard anything about what they decided was her problem, so no news, I am considering good news. Someone would have waked me if things had gone bad.
I got the laundry done last night, all except a couple loads. Ma finished those for me as well. She's a good mama! I love my mother dearly! Much more than mere words can convey!
I was asleep by 4 pm on Wednesday and back up again at 6:30pm. It is now 4:36 am on Thursday morning and I am fixing to head back to my bed for some more shut eye!
I've yapped enough for one day!
Remember:
Get your hugs, give some hugs and get some kisses if you can get away with it! ;)
I'll be back tomorrow with, at the very least, an ATC to share!
Peace
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2 comments:
I am blown away by what you can do with markers. I try and try, but it never comes out right. Such a talent you have ;)
You truly do have a talent with markers! Sorrowful Mother is a beautiful piece of art!
That underwater canvas is lovely too...SO many thing incorporated there. Isn't it funny how we just want to keep fussing with certain works? But eventually you have to call it done. And I say, WELL done!
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