Journal Collage Page

Just playing in my journal, pulling colors together. It's interesting, I started doing this page because I was struggling with feeling blue about certain things, and then the joy came from deep within. What a blessing!

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Mixed Media; I attached some pages from a vintage French magazine, and an illustration in my image drawer, then just started placing paint colors on the page. After that all dried, I inked it with rubber stamps, began looking for scraps to tie in with the colors (including postage stamps) and in the end, I found the JOY piece. It looks just right up there!

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Pink Birds Postcard

I have had really up and down days, but I wanted to be doing something so I tried something new with this postcard. The background is collaged dark green paper, then I put a wash over it. Next I used a stencil to put Bead Gel in the shape of birds. After that dried, I painted them, sketched in a few leaves and the outline of mountains. Mixed media with paper, acrylic paints, bead gel, Stabilo pencils, oil pastels.

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These birds live in the high mountains of an imaginary country, 

somewhere far, far away. 

And this postcard goes in the mail tomorrow.

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Better Day And More Art

Last night I finally had a good night's sleep and this morning I was primed to create art, plant flowers, go soaring! But being the realist that I am forced to be, I chose carefully from the preceding list. I went up to my studio, wrote postcards to Germany, Netherlands, Taiwan, England, Canada and Malaysia. I had started a collage with paint on it, and I worked on that as well. I wrote some letters, and I made and sent a postcard. Now, after I post this, I will lie down for a while!

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This is another postcard put together with scraps out of my scrap box and is in today's mail. 

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A page from my journal; it was not a good day, but I wanted to do something and so I just played around with this page.

SALVAGE

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This is also in my journal (8.5 x 12), but it's a more serious piece. It took a couple of days to do, as I had to let the matte gel dry. It is a mixed media piece, with paper underneath acrylic paint, then matte gel, then more paint and Stabilo pencils. I usually take a picture in natural light but this had to be scanned because it's a rainy day here.

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

One of Those Days

And the brain fog has thickened as the day went on. Sorry, I can't think clearly enough for a story. Nor can I type very well. So glad for correction as I go along! :) Hopefully I will be back soon.

Journal Journey

I have often seen art journals and just as often thought of doing one. They manifest themselves in all colors, shapes, and sizes, reflecting the owner's artful thoughts and feelings. It's always a work in progress, with one journal leading to another. But I have hesitated, because I don't like to commit to something when I am so unsure of what one day will be to the next.

But in reality, we all do not know what the next day will be. And if I am too fatigued and exhausted to lift a paint brush, or glue a scrap of paper, then I won't. When I can, I will. I like being able to express in color what I may be feeling, what I have experienced and all of it with the reality of God in the mix. So, I am sharing a couple of pages of what I hope will be a full book someday, and which will lead to others.

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This is mainly scraps from around my art table, including papers I had swished paint on when I was using up leftover paint. After adding the scraps, I added some matte gel, just playing with texture, and put a little more paint on there.

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And then last night, I had difficulty going to sleep (once again) so up I went to my studio with a glass of wine and played with some stencils and paint. Then I was able to go back to bed and fall asleep for the rest of the night.

So, this is my "expressionism" as opposed to finished art. It is a fun thing to do!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Asian Fish

Another collage, this time with shapes attached before painting, and then a few afterwards, for the Complex Collage workshop.

ASIAN FISH

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12 x 12 wrapped canvas; I found some fish images in a Dover book, drew one on deli wrap paper, attached with gel gloss, and painted; then attached a rectangular print out at the bottom. Mixed Media, with acrylics, Stabilo pencils, Micron pens, matte gel, stencils, oil pastels. 

Funny how when you are doing this, it takes a life of its own. When I am creating art, I forget about the illness and all of its limitations. Then I stare at it - wow, this came from my hands? Thank you, Lord!

Afterwards, though, I usually pay. But it's so worth it!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Collage: Ceori; and a Story: It's (Not) A Date!

I have one more big project to do in the Texture Workshop, but I took a break from it to do something else. This is for Complex Collage; in this class there are 3 different collages to be done: one with a universal background, one with designated shapes and one with a transfer. This is the universal background, 9 x 12:

CEORI

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Main image is from the front of a Dover catalog, window is a Dresden scrap piece, 3 D flower, parts of an old hankie, gaffer tape, stars tissue, torn pieces of handmade paper, old map image in window, stencil , acrylic paint and micron pen. Ceori is a medieval word meaning freeman, but not a nobleman. 

Boy, are there scraps all over the place after making this! Most of them are picked up now, but there were many things tried and discarded before I chose the elements which are on there. My world is made up largely of scraps!

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It's (Not) A Date!
50th in the Tuesday Story Series

I have mentioned in the past that my husband John and I met when he moved in next door to me. We did not start dating right away, we had the friendship thing going for a few months. I, however, was hoping that it would lead to more than friendship but he did not seem inclined to pursue that course. 

One day I was out in our small yard doing some maintenance on my motorcycle. He ambled over, helped me with the chain and we chatted. Towards the end of the conversation, he mentioned that Star Wars was playing at a theatre and he hadn't seen it yet. Then almost an afterthought he asked if I had seen it, which I had not. So his comment to that information was "Why don't you come with me to see it?"

I had to refrain from yelling "Yippee!" and instead nodded and said "Sure!" He gave me a time and walked back to his house. I quickly put the bike away and ran up the stairs to the top floor of the house I shared with my roommate, burst through the door, calling her name.

"Guess what? Guess what? He asked me out - we're going to a movie!" 

Knowing how much I had hoped this would happen, she was very excited for me. I quickly hopped in the shower, got dressed and was ready to go a good half hour before the agreed on time. Finally he knocked on the door and we were off!

When we arrived in the theatre parking lot, we were a few minutes late. John quickly got out of the car and I waited for him to come around to my door. And waited. And waited.

Finally, I looked back out of the rear window, and he was standing there looking at me sort of irritated and when he saw me looking, motioned with his arm to "get out of the car!" Taken aback, I slowly opened my own door and got out. Muttering something about being late, he hurried me toward the theatre. As I sat beside him watching the movie, I was a little nonplussed about the whole situation, but I had no illusions that he would try to hold my hand! And I remembered that when we had left home, I had to open my car door as well but for some reason that hadn't sunk in. John was one of the politest men I knew and so this was very confusing.

After the movie was over and we were on the way home, I broke the silence with "I'm not sure why you didn't open the door for me."

Silence again. Then, 

"But this isn't a date."

Oh. 

When I got home, I was very downhearted and told my roommate that it was beginning to look like this was going nowhere. However, it wasn't long before he did ask me out for a "real date" and as they say, the rest is history! He still opens my car door for me and we've been married over 30 years. I remember when we were on our honeymoon, and he came around to open my door in a parking lot, some guy who had noticed we were newlyweds, called out "THAT won't last!" How wrong he was!

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Old Piece of Metal

Well, actually, it's not! In this texture workshop, we have a limited palette we are using, which is why you are seeing the same colors in the last few projects. Done on 8 x 10 canvas board, the first layer is collage papers and other bits attached with matte gel medium, then layers of paint, oil pastels and Stabilo pencil. I was thinking this looks like an old piece of metal, such as pressed tin, which had been lying in a ditch for years, and had weedy roots adhered to it. What do you think?

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Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!