Studio Pashnada

forgot one!

2012-01-21T16:08:00.001-06:00

this is a journal page I did 10/26/2011 and forgot to post

paint & gesso on Venus

a little old tissue paper from Starbucks

splatters of pearlescent inks

line drawing & coloring

poured out feelings written on top of each other

and more gesso to hide them further

what I've been doing

2012-01-16T17:57:00.000-06:00

busy, busy, busy
we are all so busy
when I looked at the blog last week I was shocked to see I hadn't been here since Thanksgiving
but as I thought about it I understood

you see I was working on a piece of art that really really stretched me.
why was I stretching?
mainly cuz it's YELLOW!!!
I know, I'm a little weird but yellow is just not a color I'm comfortable with - it's hard to keep it clean and, well, yellow, when doing as much layering as I do.

the other stretcher was that I actually wanted to paint an image that looked like its counterpart in the real world and I haven't tried to paint realistically in years

all-in-all, I'm very happy with the results

I struggled with a beeswax collage I was working with. I must have scraped this one down five different times. I really like the way it looks now except it's missing something. Any ideas?

I also went shopping with a new friend and she suggested I could do a line of pieces for some local stores and etsy that was a little less involved and less expensive. I loved that idea and wondered

why didn't I think of that before?

and my brain was off and running. I came up with a whole series of 6x6 whimsical collages which I finally finished today.

I desperately wanted to have these two pieces and the new series done and on here and on the website and on Etsy and everything linked to everything and and and . . .
You know how it goes, the more you need to do, the more things go wrong as you try to do them all! When my camera battery said "ENOUGH" today, I realized I needed to say it too and just post what I have so you all don't think I moved to Mars or something. Afterall, tomorrow I start tax season and the odds of me popping in regularly are pretty slim.

Thanks for sticking with me. Maybe I'll get that new series posted before the overtime crunch starts but maybe not. LOL In the meantime, I'll be stopping by your blogs and Facebook pages to see what you're doing amidst the crazy busy-ness of your world.

Feel free to visit/like my FB page as it's so much easier to post artsy tidbits and images there than here.
TTYL

what I'm thankful for

2011-11-24T09:50:00.002-06:00

I’m thankful for forgiveness, grace and mercy becuz I am in dire need of them all.

I pray that I will practice forgiveness, grace and mercy with others.

I'm thankful for my mistakes as they've made me who I am and I like who I am now.

I pray that others will learn to forgive themselves, live without regret, and, most of all, like themselves!

I’m thankful that I live in this time, in this country where women have the same freedoms as men to vote, to speak, to pursue their dreams.

I pray that this will continue here and that all people everywhere will be free from oppression & repression.

I’m thankful for the constitution that guarantees my right to practice my religion. Or not. Where I am guaranteed the right to speak my mind, to protest my government, to assemble.

I pray that we will remember the price paid for those freedoms and value them accordingly, that all people everywhere will have these same freedoms.

I’m thankful for my parents, Uni & Bill Ball, who not only taught me the rules but taught me to love without condition, to think for myself, to value the thoughts of others, to have compassion for those less fortunate, to appreciate the differences – not to mock them.

I pray that I might be a loving parent, spouse and friend as modeled by them; that I will value what makes people different from me and not try to force them into a mold.

I’m thankful for my husband, Patrick Schoenfeldt, who loves me, not inspite of all my weirdness but becuz of it, who tells me I’m beautiful so often that I believe him, who knows my dreams and works toward them with me, who inspires me to be loving, who understands that domesticity is not as important as passion. (If you want to know more you can read the blog posts about how he saved our marriage here)

I pray that I will love him as well as he loves me and that he will always be here with me.

I’m thankful for my children, Nathan Opdyke and Dani Turner, who give me so much joy, who actually like to spend time with me, who are affectionate and smart and kind and good friends to their friends; that I can see myself in them yet see how different they are from me and from each other (tho this took me some time to see).

I pray that they can learn from my mistakes, that they will know the love I’ve known, that they will have all they need and then some, that they KNOW they are loved beyond measure.

I’m thankful for my home that is a haven from the craziness of the world, that’s cooler than the summers and warmer than the winters, that is often filled with family & friends, fun & laughter.

I pray that people everywhere will have a safe haven, a place to weather storms; that they can too be surrounded by those they love.

I’m thankful for art – both in the big sense of the word and that I am pulled to do it; that I now have time & space to do it; that it’s brought me in contact with other creative people who contribute so much to my life on so many levels.

I pray that I will never cease to have new creative ideas and the time to try them. And that people will “get” it and be willing to pay for it. J

I’m thankful for work for both Patrick and myself; that Patrick loves architecture & gets to practice it at a firm that actually has work; that I’m good at accounting & that in these tough times I am able to pick-n-choose between assignments; that I don’t have to do it 60 hours a week any more (see the previous section).

I pray that we will always be able to do what we love and know that that is more valuable than money.

I’m thankful for friends, the ones in-person and the ones on-line who I’ve never met up close; for all they contribute to my life and my art; for the support they’ve given me and the times they’ve set me straight.

I pray that I will be a good friend, honest, loyal and giving.

I’m thankful for Facebook & Blogger where I’ve reconnected with old friends, met new art friends and been able to get to know two younger cousins. I’m also thankful that I can hide, unfriend, block or ‘mark as spam’ those who only contribute negativity.

I pray that I will be a positive contribution to the online world and appreciate the differences in our great, vast world.

I’m thankful for my mind.

I pray that I use it well and it lasts as long as my body – or longer.

I’m thankful for Diet Coke™, margaritas and dark chocolate (tho not margaritas with dark chocolate).

I pray that I can learn to exercise moderation.

I’m thankful for high heels.

nuff said J

I hope you have a wonderful day with family, friends and food

filled with laughter and memories

and that your grattitude is known by all

Happy Halloween

2011-10-28T11:43:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I was here ~

I'll blame it on work tho I haven't done any since the filing deadline on 10/17!

I've been teaching some beeswax classes yet
struggling with the pieces I've been working on.

Don't you just hate it when your great idea just won't become a great piece of art?

So I put the art aside and started playing with a few Halloween projects ~

I started this tag book 2 years ago (yes, I'm slow at doing a lot of things)

and I made a couple of charm bracelets ~

one for me and one to put on Etsy

and the last project I've been working on is altering this fabulous book
(you really have to check out this line of books ~ they're full of vintage images

and stories and are perfect for to use in lieu of scrapbooking.
I've used the Christmas one & the Love one. I have the boy & girl ones
for that day when I figure out how to quit being so slow at everything. LOL)

Have a happy Halloween
or a scary one ~ whichever you prefer

What was I thinking?

2011-09-17T14:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to start another blog and start teaching beeswax workshops. I was constantly behind before that! And now that the extended tax deadline is a month away, I find myself unable to breathe!!!

Apparently my life motto is
"to catch up on one thing you have to be willing to fall behind on another"

But no matter what I was thinking, I have discovered that I absolutely LOVE teaching.

I need to find somewhere to teach in Tulsa and Dallas becuz I can NOT get enough of it. I love the interaction with other creative types as well as all the things I get to learn from them. But mostly I love seeing someone's eyes light up as they discover that they're ARTISTS not "just" crafters, stampers, scrapbookers ("just" being an adjective they use about themselves).

Eventually, when I'm caught up, I'll have a workshop page on my website. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more about the classes, click here.

Well, writing this has caused me to fall behind on something else so I better get going. LOL

Repose

2011-08-24T13:41:00.000-05:00

Some of you might remember that in a post titled Risqué or Okay? I stressed about posting art online that contained nudity - not a problem with nudity in art but with putting it online. And how I got over it when I posted the piece Fire a few months ago.

Also in that first post I had some close-up shots of a piece that I was calling Oklhoma Hills at the time. I was never quite satisfied with that piece so it moved out of sight for awhile. When I pulled it out again, I realized the hills/sky were just too juvenile and the body was underemphasized so I scraped and collaged and colored and beeswaxed, and here we are.

She is not nearly as subtle as Fire, is she? I'd love to know your thoughts.

Repose is available on my website.

More beeswax workshops coming in September

2011-08-20T09:38:00.003-05:00

I've added two classes to the schedule at My Heart's Fancy in September:

the first on 9/10 is a repeat of
EXPERIMENTS IN BEESWAX COLLAGE

the second on 9/24 is a follow-up to the first
MORE FUN WITH BEESWAX
(if you'll click on the titles, you'll go to actual event pages).

class samples for More Fun with Beeswax workshop

made by Maura W. in Experiments in Beeswax Collage workshop

You can click here to check out some reviews.

Unfortunately, the retreat I was going to teach at in Texas has been cancelled due to health issues with one of the other teachers. So, if you know of a place in DFW that would like to host a few workshops, please let me know. I would love to go back to my old stomping grounds to meet up with friends, shop and share the wonders of Beeswax.

knowing when your art is done

2011-08-11T08:09:00.001-05:00

Rhythm (finished)

Awhile ago I posted some pictures of pieces I'd been working on asking how do you know when your work is done? At the time I was sure that the piece below wasn't finished but I had no idea what was needed. I finished it last week by making round impressions and coloring them with brown. It made such a huge difference.

before - not quite there

In that same post, I was sure that the other piece was finished. But I pulled it out last week and attacked it with the scraper and torch and ended up with this.

SST (finished)

These changes are much more subtle ~ so subtle, I have a hard time noticing them myself. Yet the refinements are just what was needed.

before - not quite there (tho I thought it was)

These pieces were relatively new so they might not really qualify as "re-dos" or "do-overs".

But I have some older pieces that I just don't like. Some because my style has just evolved. Some because the composition was always off.

A few of these are hanging on the walls but most have been added back to the substrate pile to become the base of some future piece. Some even have gone in the trash.

It's the ones on the walls that I just am not sure about. Should I rework them, adding more layers but allowing the original to show through? Or should they be relegated to the substrate pile or trash? Or should I keep them to remind me where I came from artistically (I do keep the photos)?

What do you do with the art you've made but no longer like?

SST is available for purchase on my website.

and the winner is . . .

2011-08-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Maura W!!!

She totally dominated the competition by entering three different ways!

Thanks for entering and

congratulations!

Storming (a new encaustic piece)

2011-07-27T18:01:00.001-05:00

encaustic, charcoal and hand-made paper (just barely peeking thru)

I started this piece in June at the encaustic workshop I took and just felt it needed a little more. I did some scraping to even out a few lines then added more charcoal around the edges. Then I hit it with my crème brûlée torch (again, buying tools and not using them as intended) to smooth out the marks from scraping and blend in the charcoal.

Now that I look at it, the differences are minute. But important. At least to me. ;-p

same piece before I finished it today - can you see any difference?

I feel a contest comin' on . . .

2011-07-26T11:45:00.000-05:00

I have been working feverishly on adding new pages to my website. Which for me means it makes me get a fever, not that I'm working super hard. HTML and CSS are still a stretch for me after all this time.

Anyway, I've added pages for selling the art that's available, for selling cards and, TA-DA, the newest page, selling double matted prints.

So to keep you interested despite my lack of art to share, I decided to have a little contest to
win an 8x10 print of your choice
(even if it's not on the print page yet - I'm sure I've forgotten something)
along with a small token of my affection.

There are several ways to enter:

comment here
tweet about it
share it on facebook mentioning
comment on the post on my facebook page

Deadline is Saturday, July 30th at midnight (CST) and I'll post the winner next Monday.
Thanks for playing. Hopefully now that I've finished these pages I can actually finish some art. Tho I do want to do a calendar page and one about my workshops so . . .

it sure is quiet here

2011-07-20T15:04:00.001-05:00

I've been a little quiet online for a few days. I'm trying to add some pages to the website and html is NOT my cup of tea! Thank goodness I'm not redoing the entire site again! That wore me out.

But I am finally adding a page of available art with links to individual pages for each piece that's for sale. Yikes!!

I also want to add a workshop page because I have discovered that

TEACHING IS SO MUCH FUN!!!

I know I'm not the first person to find that out but why didn't anyone ever tell me? I have such a great time learning with everybody! Click here if you'd like to see some pictures from the workshops.

Blue Heart

2011-07-13T13:22:00.000-05:00

I love the colors in this piece but I'm struggling with naming it - it's a blue heart but it's not sad in any way. It's really very calming and maybe even cheerful.

I started with three different blue CitraSolv papers that were torn and adhered to clayboard(the center one had been painted). Next came some sanding, stamping and coloring. Yes, coloring. With metallic crayons. Then I took the heat gun to everything ~ it's fun to watch the crayon melt, it looks a little like embossing powder. (Oh! Embossing powder ~ I wonder how that would work under beeswax. I see experiments in my near future!)

The next step was an image transfer. I used gel medium to adhere a striped heart ~ my goal was to have a very subtle image so at least half of the image was white. After it dried and I rubbed & rubbed & rubbed, all of the paper backing still didn't come off.

However, since I worked on this partly while I worked on the journal page I posted the other day, I knew that Twinkling H2Os would cover that up. I used a purply-pink and pearl in the heart as well as kiwi green outside. The watercolor didn't stick quite as well to the CitraSolv paper ~ I'm not sure if that's due to the CitraSolv or just cuz they're glossy magazine pages.

Next came a NEW beeswax! The local stamp store where I've been holding workshops, My Heart's Fancy, got in some pebbles of clear beeswax so I decided to try it on here. Since it's been a gazillion degrees outside, I didn't want to heat up the electric skillet so I just melted the wax with my iron directly onto the board. The wax seems to be much thinner than usual but that could be because it's perfectly clear - no yellowish tint.

And I ended it all with the addition of color. I absolutely LOVE adding more color at the end. I think it might be one of my favorite parts because I have only limited control.

ps ~ even after writing this and running errands, I haven't come up with a name for this blue heart ~ I'm open to suggestions ~ hint, hint.

bored bored bored bored & a little lonely

2011-07-10T23:50:00.007-05:00

Patrick has a huge deadline tomorrow with his biggest building yet so I don't see a lot of him these days. And while I love, love, love the art time, I do get a little bit bored & lonely all by myself.

Just how bored?

Well, I cleaned out the freezer, I tried to start a Tumblr art blog, I talked my daughter into gutting one of the guest rooms with me, I started a new non-art blog, I redid two pieces of art and started a few more, I've posted every day to at least one of my blogs, I started a new book (reading, not writing) and I went by myself to see this movie.
By myself.

And if thats not enough, I then made a journal page about it!!!!

I started with a CitraSolv paper in really pretty pastel shades with what I believe was at one time a hummingbird on it. When I started to journal on the page, I discovered that not every pen works on a CitraSolv page. I finally settled on Sharpies and PrismaColor.

Next I slapped on some scraps of handmade papers and my favorite tissue paper.

And then I decided to gel transfer the movie picture on top. I've never transferred onto paper before but I expected it to be fragile so I coated both sides with medium prior to attempting the transfer. Well, I was wrong, it wasn't fragile. It was super-fragile! As I started to scrub off the paper backing, the magazine page started to tear so I had to leave a lot of the white fuzz on there.

And that led to a nice discovery ~ the white fuzz absorbs watercolors (I used Twinkling H20s in the same colors of the original CitraSolv paper) beautifully. Since I'm working on another collage with a transfer at the same time, I'm going to use the watercolors on its white fuzzies too.

I bet all the world's best discoveries came becuz somebody somewhere was really bored one day. Okay. Maybe not ALL and maybe not THE BEST (after all, I know some people worked really diligently to get us medicines and electricity and other wonderful things) but certainly some really cool artsy discoveries were made this way!

Which Way?

2011-07-09T13:22:00.000-05:00

Which Way?

encaustic collage on wood

A few posts back I asked how you know when a piece is done? There are certain pieces that I know are done and others that I know need further development. Then there are the others ~ those pieces that don't tell me to stop or to keep going.

Today I decided to attack one of the pieces I knew was not quite right (I'm very happy with it now but I can't show you yet because I need my husband to cut the end off) and ended up reworking the one shown here.

Here's the thing: I thought this one was finished when I showed it to you earlier. But today I realized the wax was too thick and bland so I ironed off some wax and ironed on some color. What do you think? Was I right to listen today?

There are a couple more pieces that are speaking to me so hopefully I'll have more pictures soon.

In other news . . .
> as I mentioned in my last post, I started another blog this week. I also set up a Tumblr blog (not impressed with the format so don't know if I'll keep that up). And I'm contemplating Google+. I'm starting to think I should stop - how much is too much? I'm afraid that social media could take over ALL my time.
> I watched entirely too much Hoarders Monday while defrosting the freezer in the garage. Now everywhere I look I see a mess! So my daughter came over and helped me gut the guest room. It looks so good with the art on the walls.
> Speaking of art - where do you keep yours? I am getting quite a few pieces here so I decided I needed to hang more so I'm working up piles of what to hang in which rooms. My house is looking more like a gallery every day. And while I've sold a few pieces off the walls in my house, I don't really have tons of traffic traipsing thru.

I guess that means I need to start looking around for gallery representation. A few friends on facebook have given me some direction in that area so I have no excuse.

Afterall, I can always make more art to fill the unoccupied spaces on my walls ~ if I don't spend all my time online, that is.

jewelry time

2011-07-07T18:16:00.000-05:00

I don't make jewelry very often these days even tho I still love it.

Funny how different art-forms and/or media can take over your life ~

I guess "to everything there is a season" applies to art as well!

This domino bracelet was a custom order ~ I love the challenge of bringing

someone else's idea to fruition and the whole spirit of collaboration.

I hope she likes how it turned out!!

Getting Wiser

2011-07-06T11:58:00.000-05:00

I've started walking again ~ if you don't remember how much I love that, click here.

Anyway, when I walk in the morning, my brain likes to come up with new things to do (NOT becuz there's not enough to do already) and lately it's been dwelling a lot on things I've learned in life as well as things I wish I'd learned earlier.

So I decided to start a blog about that very thing: Getting Older . . . Getting Wiser?

I'd love to have lots of guest posts so
please contact me if you have some words of wit or wisdom to share
or if you have a good story about a lesson learned.

XXVIII

2011-06-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

lazer transfer on encaustic

Happy Birthday Nate!

Not my usual style, huh?

It's my son's birthday gift so I did something I think he'll enjoy.

I have been truly blessed in the kid department. Nathan and I have a great bond. You see, for awhile it was just the two of us - I was single when I had him. And I think that's why he never went thru that phase of acting like he didn't know me or not saying he loved me.

Sorry about the quality here - I had real camera issues Saturday
(maybe it was really operator error)

Like his mom & sister, he's brilliant (hehe). Math is just intuitive to him - he used to be my walking calculator (one time when he wasn't around, I asked Dani a math question and she indignantly replied, "I'm not Nate you know"!) and he picks up a lot of info by osmosis. He's creative, a hard-worker and a good friend, quite charming & good looking. And he is the most laid back person I have ever met! Yet when he was forced to sit still in the hospital last year he couldn't stand it.

In some ways he's a lot like me. So is my daughter. And yet they're nothing alike. Funny about that with kids. And I've made the mistake of thinking I know what's going on with them becuz they're so much like me. NOT!!

You give birth to these beautiful babies, you watch them grow and see their joys and struggles, you see yourself in them yet you see that they're totally their own persons, and you spend your life wondering at them, loving them, learning about them. They come from you and reflect you and yet they are not you. And they make you you.

Happy Birthday Nate. I love you.

More CitrSolv Experiments

2011-06-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

Everything I've ever read about CitraSolv and art said you could only use National Geographics. Since I don't believe everything I read, I tried a few others and got absolutely nothing (well, a color ad in the newspaper gave me a wierd floating text thing but it mainly looked dirty) so I played with National Geographics and made some lovely papers. You can read about it in this post.

Then I saw this video

on the ARTWAX blog and decided it might be my technique, not the magazine itself, that caused it not to work.

You see, with National Geographics I used the spray-n-squish technique and the lovely inks moved on their own. But with these fashion magazines, AJ first moved the CitraSolv, and therefore the ink, around with a brush. So I sorta gave it a try - except I used cotton balls cuz I didn't want to set up to do a lot of these. Here are the results with a black & white ad, sepia-toned ad and a color ad all from Vogue.

I think I need to do it exactly like she shows in the video - brush & cling wrap - since these still leave something to be desired. However, I noticed that the back of the ad above looks like when you use NevrDull over a texture. Hmmmm. More experiments to try.

Then I tried the photo transfer technique I'd read about so much. Again the experts aren't always right - they say only photocopies not inkjet or laser prints but I did these two with my Brother laser printer.

(I love,love,love this Conde Nast ad - I have to find another one and try again).

Again, the problem with the first was my technique - too much rubbing with too much CitraSolv causing the inks to smear. The second with just pressure looks pretty good.

And now for the beeswax & encaustic part of this post. Yes, all the CitraSolv papers work great in collage, with or without either type of wax. But that's not the experiment I want to tell you about.

You see, I work on a glass desk and just scrape it down with a razor blade when it gets too messy. Lately the wax build-up has really been clogging up my blade-holder-thingie. So I poured a little CitraSolv on my desk and let it soak a few minutes. And Voila! the wax came up so easily - as did the paint and glue.

Who knew? You can actually use this stuff for it's original purpose - to clean!! But don't tell Patrick I know that cuz then he might want me to try it in the rest of the house. hehe

Is it done?

2011-06-22T11:00:00.003-05:00

Above is another of the encaustics I "finished" at the encaustic workshop I took (you can read more about the workshop here). At the end of the day we had a critique session and it received favorable reviews. But I have the same issue with it as with other abstract work:

How do you know when it's done?

Now, with the piece below, I "know" it's not done - something in me is screaming that it needs some words added in somewhere (details are not being provided however- hehe).

So I get screams when an abstract piece IS NOT done but I don't always hear anything, feel anything, "know" anything when another piece IS done. Especially in pieces that start out as experiments I often just look & wonder. Ugh!

How do you know when a piece is finished?
Is it a feeling of satisfaction?
And if you don't get that feeling, do you keep going or put it aside for another day?

Help!!

Encaustic Workshop with Ellen Koment

2011-06-15T10:01:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, I took a two day workshop with Ellen Koment sponsored by the Oklahoma Art Guild. It was amazing. Ellen would bring everyone to the front and demo a technique and then we would go back and practice incorporating that into a piece. Later we would repeat with a new technique.

I had tried some of these techniques before with varying degrees of success so for me the very best part of the workshop was having an expert show me the right way to do everything.

The second best was the torch! There is so much more that can be done with one compared to an iron or heat gun. Fun, fun, fun. This is one of several pieces I did at the workshop. See the burned paper? Clearly I need to refine my torch skills!!

And the other great part was meeting some new local artists! A sculptor, a glass worker, some painters and some mixed-media artists - so exciting, so inspiring, so envigorating!

Turning Time

2011-06-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

I'm sure by now y'all know how much I love beeswax collage - the texture, the subtle color, the scent. I like it so much that sometimes I look at pieces I did earlier and think I should add some beeswax! Sometimes I use beeswax as a final layer, sometimes all the layers are adhered using beeswax (which is what I teach in my workshop). Glues work differently with various papers than the wax so each medium produces a different effect.

This particular piece, TURNING TIME, was a mixture of regular collage and then beeswax collage. I used several papers, glass bead gel medium, mica powders, colored pencil and some stamping. Unfortunately, this photo doesn't really show the way the glass beads and mica powders glisten. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and submitted it and SEEKER to the Small Works Art Show that starts this Friday. This show is put on by the Oklahoma Art Guild so stop by to see a variety of works from local artists.

Guinea Pigs

2011-05-26T10:22:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm going to be teaching some beeswax workshops. Since I haven't done this in any sort of official capacity, I invited the members of two local art groups to be my guinea pigs in a rehearsal class last night - I guess you could say that we experimented with Experiments in Beeswax Collage.

Lisa B, Katie, Kelley, Lisa W & Glynis with their class projects

I had a blast!!! I've always said that being around other artsy-fartsy people is one of my favorite things to do - it feeds my creativity and energizes me. And last night was no exception. We tested how the wax works over & with various "stuff". We played with texture and color. Everyone came home with some tags & a canvas (or 3 in Katie's case!). And while we all experimented, I learned some new things in that serendipitous way ideas are formed, exchanged & tested when a group gets together.

But shhhhhh! don't tell anyone that I'm learning too - I'm supposed to be the teacher. hehe

After class my friend Lisa B. suggested a name for the piece I did last week and I loved it

- so here he is again -

SEEKER

And I have more exciting news!

I've been invited to teach at a retreat in Salado Texas next October!!

I'll let you know the details as soon as they're available.

Now I'm off to use some of the creative energy I soaked in last night ~ Sherry

Experiments in Beeswax Collage - NEW DATE

2011-05-25T08:45:00.002-05:00

I'm holding my first workshop,

EXPERIMENTS IN BEESWAX COLLAGE

at My Heart's Fancy

the June 26th class is sold out
so now we've set up another class

July 17th 2-5

follow the link for more info
or contact me thru comments

Zentangled Sherry

2011-05-23T05:00:00.003-05:00

Wasn't feeling too well the other day so I sat on the sofa and ~~doodled~~ zentangled. As usual, I got tired of doing it long before it was finished. So many people find this relaxing but it is so structured that I feel pressured to be precise in a way I'm not when I actually doodle. Do you like zentangling?

Lonely Cages

2011-05-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Lonely the empty cage.

Happy the free bird.

(poem also by Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt)

This is the last of several projects I dabbled at off-n-on during tax season. In early February I started several pieces at the same time that I did tons of journal backgrounds (you can see all the beginnings in Great Weekend - this piece is sideways on the right in pics 2 & 3)

I started this by gluing a pretty monochromatic floral paper to canvas. Then, for ten minutes here and 15 minutes there, I would spray and glue on all of the projects at once until one by one they said "I'm done!" Surprisingly, I never glued anything else to this canvas! It's just layer upon layer of color - I wish the scans could show the depth. The second to last layer was a gel transfer that unfortunately removed some of the previous layers in a few spots. I'd planned to use beeswax as a final layer so I added some metallic crayon to cover up the bright white areas.

In addition to the last piece to be posted, this was the last one to be completed - I just kept thinking it needed more. Then as I stared at it the day before Easter, the little poem popped into my head and it felt complete. (I waited to post it until today because it was a project for my art group that I didn't give away til last nite.)

I feel so free when I'm creating - even if it's for just a little while here and there. So here's to more lonely cages and happy birds ~ Sherry

journal experiment

2011-05-15T17:01:00.000-05:00

I was just a doing a little scribbling and doodling on a pre-painted journal page when I decided to melt some beeswax onto the page just becuz it was there on the desk. After adding crayon, I wrote a little bit with a Sharpie Paint Pen.

But you could read that and the page was a little sticky so I took a scrap of white hand-made paper and lightly fused it to the page, resulting in a lovely, ethereal quality.

I just love experimenting in beeswax!! I'm really looking forward to teaching a class in it too. I can't imagine anyone walking away from it NOT hooked to the medium! If for no other reason than the way it smells.

he needs a name (since named SEEKER)

2011-05-11T07:31:00.001-05:00

beeswax, scrapbook paper, CitraSolv paper, pattern tissue, crayon, pastel

Finally found the time, energy, inspiration and materials to do some art. Spent Monday digging in the garage for my CitraSolv papers only to discover them in the paper slot marked, wait for it, CitraSolv Papers. Yikes! I was just too organized for myself!!!

I found two papers late Monday that I thought looked good together so I decided to use them together as I worked thru ideas for an upcoming beeswax workshop I'll be teaching at My Heart's Fancy in OKC later next month (I'll let you know the date when it's decided - test run is 5/25). When I started playing with the papers yesterday morning I discovered the ghostly, melty face of a man in the CitraSolv paper and decided to play up the eye with a bit more color and the melty effect with dripping beeswax. Usually I do so many more layers than this but he just seems finished.

Except for the title.

In my last post I talked about having a title for a piece only to have the piece tell you later what its real name is. I have nothing for this one. Anyone have any suggestions?

Nekkid Again

2011-05-08T09:13:00.000-05:00

or maybe I should say I'm talking about nekkidness in art again.

Some of you might remember that in a post titled Risqué or Okay? I stressed about posting art online that contained nudity - not a problem with nudity in art but with putting it online.

After receiving a few comments and several emails, I decided to go for it.
So here's the scoop on the piece

FIRE

(formerly known as Fifty-One)*

This piece is large - 31 x 41 - and unless you're at least 15 feet away,

it just appears to be abstract.

It's made up of 51 of these 3x3 squares that are portions of a highly pixelated photo.

But when you stand back far enough

you can see the nekkid woman!!

Since online you see the entire piece at once,

you don't get to experience the sense of discovery -

which is why I'm hinting at it with lots of close up shots

(plus, with these detail shots you can see a lot of the layers and texture).

Anyway

here she is

Thanks for helping me to be more brave!!

* Do you ever work on a piece and have a title in mind only to change it after viewing it for awhile?

This piece was originally called Fifty-One because, well, it was started the year she turned 51 - thus the 51 squares. But it took me so long to finish her that she was no longer 51!! As I continued to view it, the canvas just looked like it was on fire with charred edges and the white flame in the center. So she got a new name.

Plus she's pretty hot for a 51 year old - hehehe (I said that just for my husband's benefit)

Distant Bridges

2011-04-28T05:00:00.001-05:00

Here's another one of my tax season art pieces.
It began with a lovely water scene - see it next to the lips?

Next came some pattern tissue with a dart.

I dabbled at this 10 or 15 minutes at a time,

sometimes before work, sometimes late at night.

Actually, it became a tester board for another piece I was working on.

The problem with that is that lots of the stuff I tested didn't work!

So I'd layer on some gesso and test something new.

Then, near the end of March I wrote a journal page and blog post about a vision I had about how I wanted my life to be. At the end I said I might write that on an art piece. Well, I did. I wrote it on here with charcoal pencil and immediately hated the way it looked.

So of course, I couldn't remove it which meant more gesso and spray colors and some modeling paste. Then somewhere along the line, the image was turned upside down (I think with the writing) making it look more like a bridge than the dock it originally was. And it all took on a yellow-green cast. Here it is right before the final layer of beeswax and encaustic.

It's very similar to the final product but the beeswax added so much more dimension and texture. And the encaustic helped balance the color at the bottom.

I have really been getting into beeswax more and more lately - I think every piece I've finished has had a topcoat of it. Not only do I love the texture and dimensin it adds visually, I love the soft smooth feel of it. I really like the look when I mix in colors from crayons or encaustics.

Speaking of encaustics, I'm taking an Encaustic Painting Workshop in June. I'm so excited. So far all I've done with encaustics is add color to collages - in this class I'll learn to use it as the primary medium in a piece. I can't imagine using only one medium in a piece - let alone for always - but I cannot wait to have an expert teach me how to handle the wax. Everyone I know who works with it can't get enough of it. I'm very excited about learning about it and about meeting other artists here.

Thanks for letting me share ~ Sherry

Easter

2011-04-24T08:09:00.000-05:00

This video is sooooooooo cool – you get to see the artist’s process of making this picture of Christ. And the picture itself says a lot about how Christ is for everyone.

It’s about 6 minutes long but it goes very quickly.
You may want to turn your volume down before you play it

"You are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. HE HAS RISEN!!!"

Sin has lost its victory; Death has lost it's sting.
Have a wonderful Easter

This changes everything

2011-04-22T13:45:00.001-05:00

Let it change me

I Then Shall Live
By Gloria Gaither & Jean Sibelius

I then shall live as one who's been forgiven
I'll walk with joy to know my debts are paid
I know my name is clear before my Father
I am His child and I am not afraid
So greatly pardoned, I'll forgive my brother
The law of love, I gladly will obey

I then shall live as one who's learned compassion
I've been so loved I'll risk loving, too
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges
I'll dare to see another's point of view
And when relationships demand commitment
Then I'll be there to care and follow through

Your Kingdom come around and through and in me
Your Power and Glory, let them shine through me
Your Hallowed Name, oh may I bear with honor
And may Your living Kingdom come in me
The Bread of Life, oh may I share with others
And may You feed a hungry world through me

This page was made from a cigarette ad that said "this changes everything". I gessoed and sprayed it awhile back with all the other journal pages I started. While looking for a page for today, these words jumped out at me. This did indeed change everything. Have a blessed Good Friday and a glorious Resurrection Sunday ~ Sherry

Vision

2011-03-23T08:40:00.001-05:00

This morning I was looking thru my old poetry to find something to write on a current collage when the vision of my life just crystallized perfectly AGAIN in my head.

As with so many of you, it is my dream and my ambition to be a full time artist. But is it what God wants for me? Did He open my eyes this morning or was I just wishing? To pursue the dream seems so very selfish (after all, this isn't as noble as MLK's dream!) yet I know I'm better to people when I'm following this path.

Here's what the above journal page says:

I saw again the vision
Of how my life should be
Of how the art flowed from me onto paper, canvas
Of words and paper
Of timeless, no, time-free immersion in my art
Of a life spent as I've spent only moments until now
Of being me all the time, unencumbered by financial constraints & concerns
Of me loving & living my best
Of being a temporary vessel allowing art & words
to flow thru me

hmmmm, maybe I'll go write that on this art piece

2 New Blogs

2011-03-09T20:29:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to share with you a couple of new blogs from my daughter and her friends.

TABLE FOR TWO

"more opinions than we know what to do with"

is a dining blog by my daughter, Dani, and one of her two besties, Katelyn.

(Katelyn is the one who took our wonderful anniversary photos as well as the photo I used in Dani's birthday art.)

I'm telling you, reading that blog is just like listening to them talk!!

Photo by Katelyn

BRITTANY RAEANN ART

is an art blog by my daughter's other bestie, Brittany

and her first post is about a piece she bought from me!!

These young women mean a lot to me - I've known them for so long, watching them grow from pre-teens to young adults discovering their own passions. Well, one of them I've known for a lot longer - hehe. Anyway, thanks for helping me support them in their cretive endeavors ~ Sherry

Blue

2011-03-09T10:02:00.001-06:00

I've noticed lately that nobody's reading my blog . . .

could it be cuz nobody's posting to it?

hehe

I have been so neglectful lately of everything -

including the things that matter most to me

family

friends

art

I am so sorry for not posting or reading your blogs regularly -

in six weeks I should be back to normal.

Which we all know isn't all that normal *WINK*

I made the piece above, BLUE, over a couple weeks

by dabbling a little every nite - and I mean a little.

Patrick dropped it off for

MONEY TALKS, ART WALKS

Maybe we'll see you there Saturday nite?

ps ~ since some have asked, I plan to get brave and post about the art I wrote about in my last post soon - how I did them, full size pictures, etc. And, they did not get into the OKLAHOMA FRIENDLY show. They had 785 pieces submitted and chose only 20%. Guess that makes the rejection easier to handle.

Risqué or Okay?

2011-02-24T13:11:00.001-06:00

In mid-December, I finished a piece that I'd worked at on-n-off for 2½ years.
It is my favorite piece by me.
Ever.
I absolutely love it.

So, I know you're over there saying,
"lemme see, lemme see"
but I'm afraid to post it cuz,
drumroll please,

there is, as we used to say in Houston, a NEKKID woman in it!!!!!
I have no problem with nekkidness and I don't think it's naughty to make or view nekkid art.
My question (Risqué or Okay?) isn't about the art but about putting them
on my blog, my Facebook page and/or my website.

I have a fear of being banned on Facebook or of getting an over-18 label on Blogspot.

Heck, can you tell by my cagey terminology, I'm afraid of
dun-dun-dun
web-crawlers

I don't know a lot about SEO or webcrawlers but I don't want to be
labeled as naughty because I use the real word for nekkidness.

Now I've completed another piece with this issue.

TOTALLY different from the first but nekkid just the same.

To make this even sillier, you can't see the body in the top one unless you're

standing 15 or more feet away. And a few people have even seen

the second piece up close and don't realize it's a body.

So what are your opinions - not on nekkid art but on the consequences of posting said art?

Do you know much about crawlers and labels and banning, etc?

Should I be worried or should I post away?

(It sure would be nice if someone from Google or Facebook would just call and tell me the scoop!)

By the way, the top three photos are from the piece

FIFTY-ONE also known as FIRE

and the lower three are from the new piece

OKLAHOMA HILLS.

Great Weekend

2011-02-15T08:02:00.006-06:00

I had the BEST kind of weekend - I got to spend it arting.

I'm trying to get a piece ready to submit to the OKLAHOMA FRIENDLY show

but I can never do just one thing!

So I did background prep on a LOT of journal pages (above)

and I worked on two pieces for my art group and two other canvases.
The piece for the show is the one on the bottom right.

This is how I left these yesterday morning when I went to work -
piles on the floor and incomplete pieces on the desk.

In addition to arting, Patrick and I went to a FUN party Saturday night -
I just LOVE to dress up in a costume!

AND
I sold a piece of art!
I'm telling you it was a GREAT weekend!!!

There was no art yesterday since it wasn't just Valentine's Day
but also our 20th anniversary of loving each other.
I can hardly believe how lucky I am to have him.

Hopefully I'll get to work some more on these tonight.

If not, I'll at least pick up that humongous pile of painted papers off the floor ~
last night I did move them from the hall to the studio at least!!!

I'll share more pictures of these as they get done.

Thanks for continuing to drop by ~ Sherry

Joyful 2011

2011-01-27T08:01:00.002-06:00

While we know so many have had setbacks and even loss the last few years,
our wish is that 2011 will bring you peace and joy, love and friendship,
laughter and great memories no matter what your circumstances.

We celebrated our fifteenth anniversary in December and had photos taken to commemorate. We both agree that while last year wasn't the easiest in some ways,

it was the best year of married life yet and we hope to top it this year!!

Photo by Katelyn Swanson

Our wish for you is that 2011 will bring you joy in whatever you endeavor to do ~

Sherry & Patrick

************************************

All the way back in early December when I made the heARTfelt gifts, I made this collage just so I could use it on my Christmas cards. HA!!! Then, when we decided to have some photos taken for our 15th anniversary, I decided I'd use both in New Years cards. Then sick. Then tax season. blah. blah. blah. You've heard it before. Well, I finally mailed the cards yesterday so I thought I'd share them with you as well.

I truly do wish the very best for all of you. Thank you for joining me on this art journey, even when I don't post regularly. I hope you know how much it means to me to have this community.

Thank you ~ and have a Joyful 2011 ~ Sherry

Dani

2011-01-23T18:45:00.053-06:00

a tree called life

tree image courtesy of Katelyn Swanson

(click here to see her photos on facebook or here to see her blog)

title courtesy of ee cummings

My baby girl, Dani, turned 23 last Friday. Lately she's been into trees and ee cummings so I made this collage for her using a photo taken by one of her closest friends (I did a gel transfer). I'm finally giving it to her tonite so I think it's safe to have this post publish while we're out to dinner.

Dani is extremely smart, kind, driven, fun, clever, hard-working, creative, a good friend, a loving daughter and beautiful - actually, exotic is probably a good word to describe her beauty. I am so proud to know her and constantly amazed that she actually came from me!!! In December, she graduated summa cum laude in humanities from the University of Central Oklahoma and she's going to continue growing into a wonderful woman and I can't wait to see everything that entails.

I love you Dani.

ps - the birthday dinner was great - here's a picture of Dani tonite wearing the charm bracelet/necklace I made

Bye-Bye 2010 - Hello 2011

2010-12-31T07:00:00.003-06:00

It's time to say good-bye to 2010 and hello to 2011;

time to reevaluate our goals and the steps we're taking to achieve them;

time to look back & analyze and to look forward & hope.

What are your goals?
Are you going to go a new direction?
Do you care if you sell or do you only create for yourself?

After moving at the end of 2009, I didn't enter many art shows
and didn't do a single craft show in 2010.
Yet as I look back, I realized I actually SOLD more art during 2010 than any other year
(thank you FaceBook!!)

I took an online class, went to a conference and read lots of articles

in order to learn more about how to do this art business.

Blog. FaceBook. Etsy. Twitter.

Some of these are easier for me to do than others;

some I haven't even tried yet.

What about you?

But the biggest thing I've learned is the thing I've always known -

the thing that's easiest for me to do cuz I get lost in it,

yet hardest for me to do consistently cuz I'm so easily distracted -

get in the studio and

CREATE

and then get the art in front of a lot of different people so the

right person can see it at the right time and make it theirs.

So, my goals for 2011?

GET IN THE STUDIO!!!

I want to continue to explore this abstract thing - I feel so free while I create -

and I want to take some encaustic classes - I think I'm in love with wax!

GET IN SHOWS!!!

That's why I've joined every local art association I could find and

I'm so excited about getting five pieces in the show next month.

PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE

(ok, I lied earlier - this is the hardest part!)

If you've already taken steps to change/grow next year, please let me know -

after all, we're all in this together.

As far as non-art decisions, I've decided to try to STOP eating when I get full.

If I accomplish that, I'll work on reducing my diet coke intake. Again.

ps ~ the pieces above are the ones that I sold last year

pps ~ I have a FaceBook page now if you'd like to come LIKE me

(remember: promote, promote, promote - hehe)

ART TIP OF THE DAY!!!!!

2010-12-27T13:04:00.001-06:00

I know this isn't a new tip, but

PLAN AHEAD!!!

Remember to take the appropriate sized vehicle

when buying oversized art supplies

have a great sense of humor

or both!!!!

See the PT Cruiser in the garage?

Wouldn't it have worked so much better for this large canvas than the Audi TT?

In all fairness to myself & Patrick, we didn't KNOW we were gonna

buy a canvas when we headed out to spend our gift cards this morning.

ps - thanks Jessica for the new canvas!

Happy Christmas

2010-12-25T09:11:00.002-06:00

I absolutely LOVE Christmas.

I do it up really BIG.

As I mentioned the other day, Patrick and I have been married 15 years.

But it's a wonder we even dated after that first Christmas becuz he walked in and asked

"Who barfed Christmas in here?"

I guess I decided he had a sense of humor!!

These days he does way more than half the holiday decorating here so I guess I'll keep him

*WINK*

I thought about walking around the house and counting how many Santas and Nativities

and Reindeer I have but the thought of all that work wore me out.

So instead I'll just share a few pictures of just a few decorations and

wish you the very best Christmas day ever.

15 Years

2010-12-23T09:01:00.002-06:00

Patrick and I are celebrating our

15th Anniversary!!!!

so far, year 15 has been the very best

but I think we're gonna try to top it next year.

I love you Patrick.

ps - not long after this photo was taken, the tablecloth caught on fire!!

the smART show at Paseo

2010-12-16T08:27:00.003-06:00

I received word yesterday that these five pieces
have been accepted for

the smART show

at the Paseo Arts District here in Oklahoma City

the point of this particular show is to offer
small (no larger than 14" any direction)
affordable (no more than $199 per piece)
works of art in order to encourage people to begin collecting art

Paseo Art Space

3022 Paseo

Oklahoma City, OK

Opening Night: Friday January 7th, 6-10pm

Exhibition Times: Wednesdays thru Saturdays,
January 8th - 29th,
noon to 4pm

I'll be there opening night and would love to see you.

But if you can't make it then, please drop by during the exhibit -
and grow your art collection!

Speaking of collectors...I have my first voluntary collector!!!
(Voluntary meaning she purchased two pieces of art,
as opposed to involuntary collectors who have been gifted
more than one piece ~ otherwise known as family members ~ hehe)

heARTfelt gift idea

2010-12-13T09:49:00.001-06:00

I'm sure you are all crazy busy right now so the last thing you need is another Christmas gift to make! That's exactly how I felt when this idea popped into my head when I should have been sleeping Friday night. I already had some gifts that HAVE to be finished THIS week (we're celebrating on the 19th at our house).

So what did I do Saturday morning? I started three new gifts! I was even diligent to take photos of the steps so you could see. Unfortunately I messed up with renaming the files and my computer ate them so you only get to see the finished product and hear about the steps.

The idea behind this is to give something very personal yet displayable (is that a word?); to share my thoughts and feelings with them in a way where neither of us would feel too exposed if others saw it; to give them art and feelings at once.

Those of you who do art journaling and collage might want to make these using your regular techniques but with the twist of a hidden personal note written just for that special person.

Here's how I did it (again, sorry there are no pictures):

adhere book pages to heavy paper -- I used watercolor canvas because I didn't like the watercolor paper in my stash
do the masking tape technique
hand-write a personal note to your friend -- I used pencil but you could use a pen as long as it's not water-soluble
paint with white gesso -- this will cover a lot of the writing but not all
adhere assorted papers on top -- I really like to use tissue papers and hand-made papers for this step
your message should be pretty much obscured - if you want to be sure nothing too personal shows, scan it and look at it on your computer screen - it's amazing what shows there!!!
add paints as desired
if anything is water-soluble, hit it with a coat of clear matte spray paint
think of one word for them for the coming year - your wish or prayer for them - and add it to the collage either with calligraphy or your printer -- guess which one I did?
present to your loved one by telling them what you wrote

Anyway, after making these and destroying my schedule even further this week, I've decided that in the future these would be perfect for birthday gifts - sort of a blessing and prayer for the coming year.

I also realize some people might not feel artsy-fartsy enough to make them and am trying to figure out how to make them for others - perhaps they write the feelings down and I put that as the first layer on a collage and end with the word of their choosing. Any ideas on that?

Okay. Better go. Still have those original gifts to finish in six days!

THE great debate

2010-11-25T13:02:00.000-06:00

Do you call it dressing or stuffing?

Do you put it in the bird or bake it in a pan?

And, most importantly, white bread or cornbread?

Yesterday I made three batches of sweet cornbread cooked in bacon grease.

Today I cut it up and mixed it with lots of melted butter, sauted red onions,

chopped jalepenos, chicken stock and spices. Right now it's baking in a covered pan -

later I'll remove the cover so the edges can get crispy.

It is easily my favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast.

My family is from Michigan and I was raised on white bread stuffing which I also love;

once when my son was young he called it white boy dressing.

My brother still makes it with the wonderful addition of sausage -

you can't go wrong with pork products if you ask me.

However you make it, and even if you don't (tho why wouldn't you? hehe)

enjoy your feast with your family and friends today.

And thank you for sharing part of your day with me ~ Sherry

Night Sky

2010-11-23T10:04:00.001-06:00

This is a piece that my son and I created together.

It's taken me a few weeks to do my part cuz life has been
crazy hectic for absolutely no known reason!

Does this ever happen to you? You're rushing around all day and exhausted at night.

Then you look at your to-do list and you can't cross anything off?

Well, that's where I've been for awhile now.

Anyway, here's how we created Night Sky:

Nate sprayed some of his paint onto water and dipped in a canvas

(don't you love how the heart just showed up?):

Then I sanded it to remove some loose paint globs and added gel pen:

Next came washes of various iridescent blues:

And I finished it off by adding some more depth to the outer edges with golden acrylics:

When Nate and I collaborate on a piece, we mark it Pashnada

on the front and then we both sign the back of the canvas.

Well, now I really do have stuff to do - I actually cook a lot for Thanksgiving (I know, don't die of shock). We moved into our new home the week before Thanksgiving last year so we didn't do much here during the holiday season. This year we're having a couple of functions so we have to start putting up the Christmas decorations immediately after Thanksgiving. And boy, do I have a LOT of Christmas decorations to put up.

So all of that is my way of saying I might not see you for a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, have a happy, relaxing time with your family and/or friends

and a blessed time remembering all the good that we enjoy even during hard times.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Gratitude

2010-11-08T08:21:00.000-06:00

Thirteen years ago, I read a book about getting what you wanted out of life thru the use of all sorts of visualization techniques in all sorts of journals. At the time I was working full time with two kids under 15 so I decided that if I did everything she suggested I wouldn't have time to pee let alone become a highly respected artist. But I did take one idea away from the book - keeping a gratitude journal.

And that gratitude journal changed my life. It sounds a little melodramatic, but it's true. It changed my relationships with my family because I was focusing on all the good instead of the day-to-day - and cuz I was no longer complaining about my job in every conversation. And it changed my relationship with God because I realized if I was thankful, I must have someone to thank.

I made up pretty little journals and gave them to friends. I gave simple little books to everyone in my family and to everyone in my women's group from church. I don't know if anyone ever used them or if using them changed their lives. I just know how important it was to me.

After reading a friend's blog this morning about things she's thankful for, I wondered where my gratitude journal was. It was right in front of me but the fact that I wondered let me know that it had been far too long since I'd written in it. Sure enough, two years.

Life is hard and times are tough for most of us much of the time yet I still have so much to be thankful for. It's human nature to talk negatively more than positively as anyone who deals with the public can tell you - or anyone who's turned on the TV prior to the elections. And I'm no different - when I don't spend enough time reflecting on the good, I lack a certain graciousness in my speech and actions.

So it's definitely time to write about all I'm grateful for:

my husband

my kids

my parents

my home

good friends

time to do my art

steady contract work the last two years

getting almost out of debt

the blogosphere

etc, etc, etc.....................

(the picture of my family is an oldie - it's hard to get everyone together at the same time these days)

Rest (completed)

2010-10-30T10:48:00.000-05:00

"Come to me, all of y'all who are worn out & run down, and I'll give you rest" ~ Jesus (Matthew 11:28, paraphrased by me)

Awhile ago I posted a picture of a citra-solv experiment.

I finally took that piece and created this collage.

It was a real stretch for me to work in blacks & whites.

Do you find that you get into a color rut?

For a long time I was into vintage photos so there were lots of ochres & sepias in my work.

Then there was a red kick started by calls for red pieces at a couple of different local shows.

Now I seem to be all over the place -

almost developing a new, more abstract style.

But even with all the changes and experimentation, these colors were difficult for me.

What about you - do you lean toward certain colors?

Is color one of the things that defines your style?

The Top Three Reasons I Hate to Exercise

2010-10-21T11:15:00.007-05:00

I don't like to exercise - what about you?
I'm sure that you know all the reasons why we should be exercising just like I do.
But doing it? That's a different story.

Here are the top three reasons I don't like exercise:

#3 - SWEAT

I know some folks who barely sweat.
I am NOT one of them. Not only do I sweat, my hands and feet swell and my face turns red. Basically, I look like a very plump, very ripe tomato that has just been washed.

A photo of me looking like does NOT accompany this paragraph.

#2 - PAIN

Whoever came up with the idea of "No pain, no gain" must have been a masochist. I mean, really, why does everything good for us have to be so painful? I wear some of those funny shaped walking shoes that are supposed to make your butt look better (mine are by Fila and I really do love them tho not nearly as much as I love my Christian Loubotin high heels - but I digress) so when I'm done walking, my calves, thighs and padunkadunk all hurt. While this means I might possibly be beginning to achieve my goals, I still don't like it.

#1 - TIME

This is the one thing I know we all agree on - there just is NOT enough TIME.
And exercise takes up a lot of it.
Nuf said.

Here are the top four reasons I do exercise (at least sporadically)

#4 - HEALTH

As I mentioned earlier, we all know WHY we should exercise. And this is it. Reduced risk of heart disease, alzheimers, cancer and even osteoporosis. And so much more. This should be enough of a motivating factor, especially now that I'm so old, but...NOT!!!

#3 - MIND-WANDERING

This is my favorite part about walking. My mind goes anywhere and everywhere. For instance today, I composed a whole blog post about how hard it is for me to exercise. (Now, this one does NOT work when I'm at the Y lifting weights. I have to count and all sorts of stuff that doesn't allow my mind to wander.)

#2 - TIGHTER

I will never be skinny again. Thank goodness! I mean really, check out these knobby knees. OMG!
but I do want to have fewer jiggles when I move and fewer rolls when I sit.

#1 - EATING

The number one reason I exercise when I do is cuz I LOVE TO EAT. Good food. Bad for you food. Fast food. (Unfortunately, I don't like veggies tho). When I exercise, I can eat more and not gain weight. ALRIGHT! This is more motivation to me than a longer life. I know. That is sooooo wrong, but I'm trying to be honest with you.

So there you have it. Why I usually don't exercise like I should. Why I do exercise when I do.

What about you? How do you stay motivated? Or do you?

Well, now that I've cooled off I can go get in the shower.

Then I can hop in the car, waste some fossil fuels by driving to the 7/Eleven and buy myself a Milky Way Midnight.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm - that was worth the walk!

Think Pink

2010-10-15T07:45:00.000-05:00

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month and my cousin-in-law is undergoing treatment right now so

I made a collage using lots of scraps of pink from my stash and a wonderful rub-on by daisyd's.

There are lots and lots of layers to this - papers, paint, glue, sanded & done again.

If you know me, you know this saying is appropriate.

Linked to Inspiration Avenue's Pink Challenge
and Theme Thursday's pink challenge

The Creative Connection Event #3

2010-10-11T08:14:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to share a few more pictures from TCCE. I can't believe I forgot to include this one with the pictures of all the fun goodies we received. This awesome fitted long-sleeve T is from Curly Girl Designs and was part of the package we got when we signed in. Don't you just love the saying?

These two pictures are of mosaic cupcakes I bought from Mosaic Cottage at the Handmade Market at TCCE.

Well, I think that's the last of TCCE posts.

Now, I'm going to finish a couple bracelets and then return to a collage I started several months ago (REST). Hopefully, I'll have a finished piece to show you soon.

My Artistic Conundrum

2010-10-08T10:24:00.004-05:00

I'm an artist.
I want to be a successful artist.
I take the Classes.
I read the Books.
I go to the Conventions.
I follow the steps.

I burn out.
I vegetate.
I watch way too much TV.
I read mysteries & magazines.
I ignore the studio.
I ignore my friends - artistic or not.

I wake up a little & look around.
I realize I haven't made art in awhile.

I enter the studio & see a mess.
I order paper trays & drool over storage bins.
I reorganize. Again.
I make a new list.
I read inspiring blogs.
I still make nothing.

I know I MUST create more art.

I must create it for my peace of mind.
I must create it because I need a large body of work to be successful
.........(whether for gallery representation or licensing).
I must create if I'm to bring in money doing what I love - and
I must bring in money.

So why don't I?
Am I lazy?
.........afraid of failure?
.........afraid of success?
.........afraid of not being enough?
Or am I just tired of trying for so long and still needing to keep on?
Has it become a job instead of a passion? And a low paying job at that?

Do I need to know?
Or just do? (channeling Yoda there)

I pour out my heart on the front & back of a pre-painted journal page.
I pour out my heart on a computer screen.
I paint over the page in broad strokes of multiple colors.
I rub black charcoal around the edges.
I scribble on top of it all with a good old number 2 pencil.

Time slips away.
I am making some art.

The Creative Connection Event #2

2010-10-06T16:27:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I returned from The Creative Connection Event and I haven't written anything. Well, everything was so much fun - I'll just give a very brief pictorial overview.

We got sooooooo many goodies - two bags full:

Isn't that Creative Connection bag AWESOME?
It's now the new home of my portable art journal kit.

Here's SOME of the stuff we got in the bags or at our tables or at the Pajama Party.

Of course, my favorite freebie was this necklace made for us by Lisa Leonard

I took two classes from Ruth Rae - one was a fabric photo journal (you can see a picture of me with my eyes shut here) and the other (below) was for wire wrapped jewelry. I did NOT complete my projects in either class - and I haven't touched them since I came home either.

At the Pajama Party, I sat at the Amaco table where Linda Peterson showed us some techniques with Friendly Plastic. Remember that stuff? I played with it some twenty years ago and hadn't seen it since. FUN!

Then came the cupcake farewell with a little bye-bye speech from the leaders,
Nancy Soriano & Jo Peckham

not to mention lots of yummy cupcakes

I forgot to take pictures of all the great panel discussions - the panelists were great.
In addition, I met so many fun people who make so many different things - I'm still checking out all their blogs. And that's about all I've done.

Do you ever have periods of your life where time just slips away from you? That's where I am right now. As a matter of fact, I tried to catch up with Roz earlier today and even tho I haven't talked to her much since we returned from Minneapolis, there was nothing to tell her. Or you. Apparently, I have become a vegetable!! No art, no journaling, no blogging. Just a little reading, TV and closet cleaning.

Woo-Hoo! I know you're jealous.

*WINK*

The Creative Connection Event #1

2010-09-18T19:53:00.001-05:00

I borrowed a laptop so I could do a quick little post about The Creative Connection Event now that it's over. IT WAS WONDERFUL. And I am exhausted. I will definitely be going again next year. I'll upload pictures and tell stories when I get home but I wanted everyone to know that it was great, I learned a lot, I met great artists and I had lots of fun. More in a few days ~ Sherry

Minneapolis, Here I Come

2010-09-14T07:43:00.002-05:00

I'm on my way to Minneapolis to attend The Creative Connection Event.

Driving up with my friend Roz, fabric, beads, packets of stuff about me & my biz, the new biz cards, lots of books & magazines. We plan to do some shopping and site-seeing after the conference.

I need a new-to-me small dresser so the back seats are out of the car which gives me plenty of room for all the Diet Coke I'm carrying with us.

I don't know how often I'll get online since the days at the conference are booked solid so see you in a week or so, if not sooner.

Charmed, I'm Sure

2010-09-11T11:24:00.007-05:00

As I may have mentioned once or twice (*wink*), I'm going to

The Creative Connection Event next week.

Since I absolutely HAD to have some new jewelry to wear,

I made this new Super-Sized Charm Bracelet

which I will be wearing as a fun, chunky "statement necklace" using the Bracelet Converter

If you want to meet up at the conference, just look for the necklace!!

From the comments I received while shopping yesterday,

I think it's safe to say it's noticeable!!!

Linked to Inspiration Avenue's Pink Challenge
and Theme Thursday's pink challenge

Woo-Hoo!!!!

2010-09-02T08:15:00.001-05:00

I "finished" the website yesterday and I have it interfaced with the blog. I love how you can go back and forth between them by clicking on the labels above or the links & pictures in the footer. I am REALLY excited about that part. Of course, "finished" is such a relative term as far as websites go!

Anyway, I wanted to let you know I've returned to the land of the living. In a couple of weeks I'll be at The Creative Connection Event so I won't be writing much then either. (Are any of y'all going to that? I'd love to meet up with you for a Diet Coke).

Please check out all the new tabs and the new goodies in the sidebar - and please let me know what you think.

Thanks for bearing with me on all this ~ Sherry

The Dream

2010-08-28T00:01:00.018-05:00

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’

...I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.’

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

…When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”

Martin Luther King Jr.

August 28, 1963

Click here to read the entire speech.

and the winner is . . .

2010-08-16T08:02:00.004-05:00

Brittany

1 kristen
2 joella
3 susan
4 sharon
5 carmen
6 brittany
7 brittany
8 brittany
9 nancy
10 linda
11 joella
12 diane
13 suzanne
14 creative beast
15 joella
16 tawny
17 carmen

Congrats Brittany!

I'll email you so you can make your selection.

Disclosure: Brittany happens to be my daughter's bestie.
Thank you to everyone who entered.
I hope you know how much I appreciate that you take the time to comment and follow.
I love the blogosphere!

100 POSTS!!!

2010-08-11T15:10:00.002-05:00

WOW!!!
100 posts?!?!?!?!

I just popped in to tell you I finally have my "about me" page done (click on the little piece of masking tape above) and I see that I'm at post 100!

Well, I am totally unprepared. Nothing amazingly clever to say. Nothing insiteful to discuss.

So I think I better run a little giveaway.

How about a domino bracelet? You'll choose from one of these styles:
Asain
Floral 1
Floral 2
Ladies
Now, cuz they're hand-made, what you get won't look exactly like these.

To enter, leave a comment.
To enter again, follow.
To enter again, use one of those little buttons below to tell others about my blog - just tell me you did in your comment.

Good luck - and thanks for reading.

OOPS! forgot to mention that I'll draw the winner Sunday at 9pm central

Busy, busy, busy

2010-08-03T08:26:00.001-05:00

Remember when we were kids and summers actually meant slowing down?
I just commented the other day to my husband that I thought one of the
hardest parts of becoming an adult was giving up summer vacation.

And so now we're all grown-ups and busy, busy, busy -
which is why I haven't been out in the blogosphere much lately.
I'm mainly working on the website (again. still.) and getting out my first wholesale order.

But I did take some time out to take a class from my friend Lisa at My Heart's Fancy
and I now have a beautiful purse to show for it:

These are prints of some of two of my collages, Hope and Turners.

I hope you get some time to slow down, rest and ART.

NEW LOOK!!!

2010-07-24T10:04:00.001-05:00

I'm partway there! This is the new look my aunt and I are working on for the blog and website. Hopefully soon there will be some tabs above here so you can move freely between the blog, the galleries and the shopping.

But the web pages take longer than the blog so I decided to at least show you some of our hard work. The background you see is the background I created for this piece of art I did a long time ago.

Please let me know what you think of the new look.
Now I'm off to play in HTML - yuck - wish me luck ~ Sherry

Fear

2010-07-21T21:17:00.007-05:00

On my last post, I talked about change and its best buddy, fear.

Now I just want to give you some encouragement if you're contemplating making a change and your stuck because of fear:

Don't wait until the fear goes away before you act -
act until the fear goes away.

Please don't think I'm being glib or unrealistic or foolish. I decided to go for it with my art but I didn't just quit my day job and risk raising my kids in a cardboard box. As a matter of fact, it was years before I could quit my full-time job, then awhile longer until I could transition my part-time jobs into contract work, and it could still be another 9 months or twelve years before I can stop doing accounting altogether.

So, what I am encouraging you to do is to think it through:

What is my fear? Name it.
- Are you afraid you'll be embarassed? Um. So? Okay, THAT was glib. But really, it's not like you're having a wardrobe malfunction onstage at the Super Bowl. If embarrassment is your fear, then just be very careful who you tell - or tell no one.
- Are you afraid you'll fail? You've heard about Thomas Edison and his 3000 attempts to find a filament. Failing often breeds better ideas.
Where did this fear come from?
- Is that just me hearing mean old so-n-so again? We often play these tapes over-and-over in our heads because some kid in third grade or a cruel teacher or, worst of all, a bad parent told us we weren't good enough or we were stupid or some other judgment based more in their problems than on anything we did. Do we really want to give him/her/them control over our current life?
- Or, maybe it's your gut telling you something isn't quite right. Then research it a little more (I'm a firm believer in listening to your natural instincts.).
Is it a valid fear? Could this actually happen?
- Am I really incompetent? Be honest. Shut off the tapes and evaluate the situation and your abilities, time availability, energy level, etc.
- What is the absolute worst thing that could happen and could I live with it? Don't exagerate either. Again, be honest. I think you'd be surprised how much easier it is to do without material goods (not basic food & shelter, obviously) when you're doing what you love. That's why they have to pay you more to work for jerks than to work for nice people.
Can I address/resolve any valid issues/concerns? Seriously, is there really a true possiblity that you cannot find a way thru or around this obstacle given enough time or effort? I am willing to bet you can find someone to help you in exchange for your help at something (quid pro quo makes the business world go around). Maybe your ideas dovetail with someone else's. Maybe your spouse is ready for you to finally be happy and will do anything to make your dreams come true (yay for my hubby who feels this way).
Make a plan. Man. This step alone is a biggie. Jessica Howard has a time management post and her step three fits here: Make a map and keep following it. I'll just advise that you think of everything you can and then be flexible. New things will be thrown at you. Good things. Bad things. Boring things. Adjust the plan.
And then, to throw one more quote at you - probably one you've heard the most:
"Just Do It!" - Nike™

The artwork today is by Sylvia Drown. I "met" Sylvia in Kelly Rae Roberts online class, FLYING LESSONS, where we talked a lot about facing our fears. I couldn't believe how perfectly the quote on here dovetailed with my post and I am very excited to now own this piece.

Change

2010-07-20T22:54:00.007-05:00

I think I may have mentioned that I'm currently making a lot of changes, in several areas of my life (my online presence, my art-business, my career - not to mention my youngest will graduate college soon so my empty nest will be even more empty).

Change itself doesn't scare me - as you can tell by the 83 gazillion hair-styles I have had (I'm having another birthday this week. However, I want to be sure that no one will ever be able to tell how old I am because I wear a hairstyle that screams which decade I went to high school or college!! hehe) or the number of times I rearrange the furniture.

But the ramifications of change can be paralyzing. Hair grows out. Furniture can be moved again. But quitting your day job to pursue your art?!?!? Are you nuts? What if you don't sell anything and you end up living in a cardboard box? What if you sell so much that you can't keep up with demand? Okay, that last one is not one I've actually had, but you get the idea:

the thought of change invokes fear.

A fellow artist-blogger wrote about this today. The fact that she was able to step out of her fear long enough to throw it out into the world says a lot about how much she really wants to make this change.

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the Triumph over it. The brave man is not one who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepset fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson

When I post next time, I'll write more about facing our fears.

Creativity Decline

2010-07-18T20:01:00.002-05:00

I've been devoting a lot of my time to learning how to grow my creative business. Then even more time to trying to put some of the things I've learned into practice. A new blog/website is in the works - same addresses all together with a new look that actually shows some of my art - HOPEFULLY!!!

And all that time and energy spent on the business of art means no time or energy left to be creative on anything but the blog layout. "Not Creative Sherry" can sometimes mean "Cranky Sherry" but so far I've avoided that thanks to a lot of support. (Well, maybe you should check with someone else to be sure I'm telling the truth about that - hehe!)

Then, the other day I found an article about the decline of creativity in America. YIKES! That's me. So I read it and discovered so much more than an article about keeping your art alive. This long but fascinating article discussed the science of how creativity works, how it’s not just art-related, the need for it to solve the world’s problems, and more.

Here’s a quote:

"Creativity has always been prized in American society, but it’s never really been understood. While our creativity scores decline unchecked, the current national strategy for creativity consists of little more than praying for a Greek muse to drop by our houses. The problems we face now, and in the future, simply demand that we do more than just hope for inspiration to strike. Fortunately, the science can help: we know the steps to lead that elusive muse right to our doors."

Like I said, fascinating - so click here to check it out and then let me know what you think.

All Emotions

2010-07-02T08:40:00.004-05:00

In our online class a lot of time has been devoted to facing all of the "negative" emotions that come with being a creative person and/or running a business:
* the fears (I'm not all that special.
Who do I think I am?)
* the overwhelm from wearing so many hats (this is my biggie)
* frustration when things don't go as planned
* the discouragement from lack of sales or rejection at a juried show
* and so on and so on (you know what they are - feel free to share yours)

So, what should we do with those fears?
* acknowledge them
* look closely at them
* deal with them (cry, discuss their validity, meet with a mentor, relax with loved ones)
* move on even if the fear is still there (fake it til you make it)

Now, I've always been pretty darn good at dealing with my emotions. Pretty self-analytical (one ex-husband said "You think too much" - and yes, that means I've had more than one - now THAT would be a long post!!!). Refute the negative tapes that play in my head as Dr Phil says. Do something different if I need to for awhile.

Except for one emotion. FRUSTRATION. And yesterday was one of those days.

So what happened in my creative life that led to this frustration?
Nothing!
I was frustrated becuz of a class at the YMCA.

You see, in addition to taking a class from Kelly Rae Roberts, signing up for The Creative Connection and reorganizing the studio supplies, I have also reduced my diet coke intake, improved my eating habits - not PERFECTED, but improved - and started exercising - including joining the Y with my husband. (Yes, I have been dealing with overwhelm as well.)

Being the self-analytical person that I am, I KNOW that I do not do well with routine so I like to mix it up. That plan is going fine except for the Body Sculpting class. Yes it's hurts like heck but I expect that so it doesn't bug me. So what's the frustrating part?

I HAVE NO BALANCE AND I AM TOTALLY UNCOORDINATED.

I have no idea why this is shocking to me. I grew about 83 inches in 7th grade and it seems I never did learn how to deal with these long arms & legs (otherwise, these are NOT a curse, mind you).

My normal way of dealing with frustration is to give up. Which I decided to do - not just give up the class but everything else. Where's a Popeye's? I need some seriously fried chicken, biscuits, red beans & rice.

Instead,

* I looked at it. I need to do this class and of course I'll be a klutz. So what? Maybe I'll get better (this was only my second ever class in my life). Maybe I'll never be able to move my leg left and my arm right and pulse into a squat at the same time but I will definitely be using previously unknown muscles and getting a great cardio workout.

* I dealt with it - I called Patrick while near the Popeyes. I cried. I stood in a hot shower. I journaled about it.

* And I'll fake it - next Thursday, I will enter the torture chamber again. (I think they Sculpt us with chain saws! Rusty dull old chain saws.)

N OW, about this journal page. Finally found some Sharpie oil-based paint pens - new display at Michaels - and bought a silver fine point to experiment. I'd been reading that art journalers love them cuz they write on everything and

I LOVE IT!

I doodled on an existing background and journaled out my frustration on the back. As usual, the metallic doesn't show up on screen that well.

Oh, and the last thing I did to deal was to come to my community for support - the biggest way to deal with all these emotions is YOU. Feel free to share your struggles in return. Believe me, I can relate.

~ Sherry

See Me

2010-06-24T08:39:00.002-05:00

The Three Muses Challenge this week (#56) is EYES and it reminded me of an ongoing theme in my work:

SEE ME

so I wanted to share these pieces I've done in that theme.

I blogged about this in a post titled Transparency back in December.

How can anyone love me if they don't see me?

And how can they see me if I don't show the real me?

~ Sherry

Dream Big

2010-06-22T07:39:00.001-05:00

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I'm taking Kelly Rae Roberts' online class FLYING LESSONS. Well, between that, reorganizing the studio and ongoing new-house projects, I am OVERWHELMED!!! It takes so much time just to do the reading, let alone the implementing!

But the class is full of great tips on growing an art business. And that really is my goal. To make a living with my art - maybe thru licensing, maybe just selling originals, teaching some classes, maybe having a book. So yesterday I did a journal page reflecting those big dreams. (We've been talking about copyright in class so I have to say I have no idea what magazine I got this image from - it was already torn up - and I don't think I've altered it very much. I hope since it's for my art journal I'm in the clear but...)

Also, I'm going to attend THE CREATIVE CONNECTION EVENT in September. Are any of you going? I sure would like to meet up with someone I "know" ~ Sherry

In the Mail Last Week

2010-06-15T17:13:00.001-05:00

I received some great goodies in the mail last week and wanted to share them with you. Please check out these two artists' blogs and leave them a comment - their generosity deserves a pat on the back!

From Liz-Anna in BC, I received these gorgeous handmade papers that I won in a giveaway. After receiving them and reading all the work that goes into them on this post, I decided to order two cards from her Etsy store.

ingredients from left to right: Moose Poo, Swamp Grass & Recycled Paper, Cattail & Recycled Paper,
Stinging Nettle & Recycled Paper, Iris Leaf & Recycled Paper, Pure Corn Husk

Yes, your read that right - Moose Poo Paper. It wasn't included in the original giveaway but I was so fascinated by the concept (read about it here) that she threw a piece in for me. I cannot tell y'all how beautiful and richly textured these papers are.

I also received a hand-bound journal from Martha Lever in a swap. Naturally, I have misplaced her note telling me what type of paper she used but it feels like it will be perfect for sketching & painting. She stamped, spray painted and stitched the cover.

Aren't those ribbons & fabric strips adorable? However, as with most beautiful journals I have, I haven't been able to bring myself to mess up the pages yet!

In exchange for the journal I sent Martha one of my INSPIRING WORDS charm bracelets. I had never done one quite so big & colorful before. She was so sweet she made a little video of it here. If you want to see more of the bracelets I make to order, they're here on my website. I hope to write a post about the different charms that went on this bracelet soon.

Thank you again Liz Anna & Martha ~ Sherry

Beeswax & Encaustic Play Date

2010-06-07T20:12:00.019-05:00

Today two of my friends came over so we could play with beeswax and encaustic. Lisa Bruno runs the stamp section at My Heart's Fancy and Roz Grage is a stamper and my BFF (yes, I'm in the 4th grade!!).

I usually collage the old-fashioned way, with lots of glue or gel medium, then add a layer of beeswax, sometimes with color, sometimes not.

This time NO GLUE. Yikes!

We all started with a base coat of paint so we could dispel that blank-canvas-syndrome. We followed this with some modeling paste applied thru stencils.

Then we ate lunch while the modeling paste dried. I love this time of year with all the delicious fruit so lunch included a great fruit salad mainly made up of berries. Lisa brought chocolate bundt cake with chocolate chips. mmmmmmmmm. (Later we discovered how delicious and how much more healthy it was to eat the cake with a pile of berries on top!!)

After lunch we applied a layer of beeswax with chip brushes and melted them in (and off in some cases) using our heat guns.

Next we added some sheer papers melted in with our irons.

Then the fun (and scary) part: using only our irons, we added color with encaustics and crayons.

We had soooooooooo much fun. Not much is better than friends talking, eating and making art together.

Here are the final products.
What do you think of our little experiments?
What do you suggest for names?

Thanks ~ Sherry

linked to the week 22 challenge at LOTS TO DO

Courage

2010-06-03T10:55:00.010-05:00

Since I shared a piece of art about it taking courage to create yesterday, I thought I'd share a couple of things related to courage with you today.

The first is that I'm taking an online class. I've never done it before becuz I know my learning style is "group discussion" as opposed to "lecture" or "reading". Not that I don't learn from those things, it's that I don't learn as well those ways (I personally LOVE to read).

But I decided to take this class because, well, I'm getting honest here, I want to grow my art business. My accounting career is at a point where I'm very flexible right now, but, honestly, I would like to not have to do it at all. In order to get to the point where we don't need my income from that we have downsized our house and almost entirely eliminated the debt monster. So now it's time to grow the business. YIKES! That's scary!!

I don't know how to market myself (fear of rejection?) or otherwise promote my business so I'm taking a class from a successful artist who has done that very thing, Kelly Rae Roberts. I do believe it's going to be a full-time job attending this class but I think it will be useful. Hmmm. Today's lesson is about blogging - maybe I should have read it before writing this long-winded post?

The second thing I want to share is an amazing video. This is something I've never done before but I feel like I have to spread this message. It's not about art or business or marriage but you can relate it to those things. She doesn't give a HOW-TO BE HAPPY speech (she'll tell you why) but talks about the things that get in the way of joy. It touches on what seems like everything - courage, shame, joy, perfectionism, self-worth, authenticity, vulnerability, more.

You should watch it when you aren't rushed - not just cuz it's lengthy but becuz it's so thought provoking

You can read more at Brene's blog, ORDINARY COURAGE.
Thanks for stopping by ~ Sherry

Courage to Create

2010-06-02T08:34:00.011-05:00

CREATIVITY TAKES COURAGE ~ Matisse

So with a little courage I'm declaring this "done" and showing it to you.

Though, quite frankly, I'm really still not sure it IS done. I just struggle with making art that has no images drawn or glued on. For some reason, in my head it's still just a background. Because this is how I do most of my backgrounds: layer, layer, layer.

I started out with a book page and two images from a fashion magazine altered with acetone. Then paints, tissues, modeling paste - not necessarily in that order.

Ink, more paint, more texture, the quote written in sharpie, a copper charm I made but never used. Oh. And apparently very different lighting!!!

Charcoal around the edges, a little more paint, a thin layer of beeswax and still different lighting.

Green crayon and gold encaustic.

What do you think? Is it really done?
Do you always include images in your work?
Thanks for the help ~ Sherry

linked to the week 24 challenge at Lots To Do and
the color green challenge at Thursday Challenge

Another OOPS!!

2010-05-20T08:30:00.014-05:00

I found a beautiful image at The Sum of All Crafts (always very cool photos there) and, as I mentioned in my rambling post yesterday, decided I was going to try transfering it to beeswax.

Well, it didn't work (guess I could go pull out some of my art books and verify the instructions) but I ended up with this beautiful image. This is the back-side of the paper; after melting the wax, the picture printed on the other side came thru.

When I saw this beautiful, ethereal image I decided to do an art journal page, the first in a long time, about how in art and in life our mistakes lead to interesting discoveries, happiness and great achievements.

Using photographers' black-out tape and tiny staples, I attached her to the page. Then I painted around her with some metallic acrylic paint I was using in another project, added dots and words with Sharpies Poster Pens (they write on wax easily - actually they write on just about anything) and applied a little PanPastel to the edges. Finished off by writing OOPS! at the top with some of that glitter fabric paint that comes in a tiny squeeze bottle.

Here's to us all having great results whether they're the results we expect or not.
In our art.
In our lives.

linked to the beeswax challenge at LOTS TO DO

Collected Thread

2010-05-19T08:37:00.015-05:00

I think this could end up being a very rambling post - but please bare with me (or should that be, bear with me?) So here goes:

You may remember how much I love my hair guy, Sean, so I make sure I go to visit him on a regular basis. The Velvet Monkey where he works is in a part of Oklahoma City called the Plaza District in what used to be an ice house. Most of Plaza District is still pretty rough but there is a real move to revitalize it. (We thought about moving there but I just don't have enough pioneer spirit in my old age - maybe half a lifetime ago...)

Last time I had a hair appointment I was early so I stopped into a store called Collected Thread next door. COOL!! They had handmade clothing fashion accessories as well as some vintage and a few new items related to making clothing & fashion accessories. I found this awesome sketch book for fashion design. Now I don't usually draw clothes anymore but it is how I started my art "career" back when I was about four so I HAD to buy it! When you copy your sketched fashion design, the pre-printed body isn't supposed to show up!! (I think that's what made this hard to photograph - that or the fact that photography is not one of my artistic skills!) To tell you the truth, when I bought it, I didn't really think I'd be designing clothing - I thought I'd probably use some of the cool pages in my collage.

I also found some beautiful vintage patterns and, again, HAD to buy this one for the sewing section of my studio. The sizes were different back then but I think this MIGHT actually fit me - if I were to sew it. I gave up on sewing any clothes that involved zippers, set-in sleeves or buttons a long time ago. In other words, everything but elastic waist skirts which, as you know if you watch What Not to Wear, are NO-NOs!!! But my new machine might improve my skills. Tho I couldn't bring myself to cut up the pattern anyway!

So that's my really rambling post. If you're in OKC, check out Collected Thread. Or Sean at Velvet Monkey (tell him I sent you)! I'm gonna get off this PC now and get to work on an initial bracelet that was ordered. Then to work-work. Then I think I want to try a transfer to beeswax on a piece that I thought I finished last week. Hmmm. Now I'm done with my rambling post!!

a few have asked for more info regarding ordering the initial bracelets - click here

Hope

2010-05-12T11:28:00.020-05:00

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

~ Emily Dickinson

I apparently can only come up with one word names for my art these days:

Hope, Rest, Peace.

I have another work in process that I almost named CREATE but decided to give it a longer name in order to break the habit. I'll show you that one in a few days.

Anyway, back to this piece, HOPE. Before I show you some of the various steps, I have to say I like this piece now - but at least twice in the process I messed something up and had to change direction entirely.

So, do you remember the boards I made in my Obscured Text Background How-To? Well this piece started with the music covered board in the upper left:

Then I added a CitraSolv page, gold paint and some lavender hand-made paper:

Next, some more paint:

Then I tried a photo transfer and it didn't work (at this point, I decided NOT to turn it in to the CitraSolv contest becuz I wouldn't finish in time & when I did, it wouldn't show any of the CitraSolv page):

More paint. Then I tried another image transfer - the bird and it worked. Next I added some spray paint (I did NOT get the look I was going for, probably becuz I'm too used to using spray paint on furniture, going for solid coverage):

I used colored pencil on the bird, added pattern tissue and wrote the first verse of the poem in pencil:

Then beeswax, pearl ex and melted crayon and here it is again completed:

It is so great to be creating again. Thank you for continuing to visit even tho I wasn't around much. I love blogland ~ Sherry

linked to the week 23 challenge at Lots To Do,
challenge #94 at Everybody Art-Challenge and
the June challenge at Alter It Monthly

I get to play with beeswax - YEA!!!

2010-05-11T10:15:00.010-05:00

I finally finished picking up the pile in the studio and my "must-do" sewing (and can I say, the sewing area of my studio is great) so today and tomorrow I get to work in my studio.

I've already pulled out the beeswax tub and I'm ready to get going on the two collages I've been working on since the beginning of tax season. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow I'll have some completed pieces to show you.

I also will be writing a post about a great little store I found here in OKC.

Oh, and it's my wonderful husband's birthday so I have a few errands to run. I love birthdays.

The kids celebrated Patrick's birthday and Mothers' Day with us Sunday by taking us to a movie and making dinner for us and my parents. It was one of the best Mothers' Days ever. Actually, it was a great weekend - relaxing & productive at the same time.

Guess I'm kinda rambling - I better go get to "work" ~ Sherry

(this is an ATC I made a long time ago - I don't like to do a post without a picture!!)

Organizational Help Needed

2010-05-04T08:53:00.008-05:00

I really need your help fellow paper artists and collage artists:

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR PAPERS & IMAGES

SO THEY'RE ACCESSIBLE BUT NOT ALL OVER EVERYTHING?

I did file mine in a 3 drawer lateral file cabinet but found that new stuff just piled up. Now I have two huge tubs of paper to be filed!!! AND I realized that I haven't really been pulling from the drawers enough.

I guess I should add that the file cabinet is full. I have TONS of paper. I thought about buying shelving or drawers from the craft supply store but I would have to buy soooooooooooo many. I have more paper than anyone I know - and some of them have a LOT!

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you ~ Sherry

A New Day

2010-04-30T07:35:00.009-05:00

First, our son Nate is home from the hospital.
Many, many thanks to everyone who commented, emailed, prayed and just helped.
I don't think there's anything more scary and emotionally draining than when your child goes thru something like this - even when he's an adult.

I praise God for this good outcome and for all our good friends.

Next, still haven't finished any art projects. Okay, I admit it, I haven't done one thing on my TO-DO list tax season ended except read. And that has been a lot of fun.

Hopefully I'll get the pile cleaned up in my studio today and maybe I'll even finish the two pieces I've dabbled at off-n-on this tax season.
Or maybe not. No promises.
I think I'm going to go read a bunch of art blogs before I start working in here. That's bound to give me lots of ideas.

Thanks for continuing to check in - I hope I'm back to "normal" soon ~ Sherry

These are the photos I intended to post Monday before the phone call came - just did a little planting on the back porch of our new house. I think I'm going to leave the chair on the right rusty looking but I definitely have to clean up the rocker on the left.

There is still so much to do since the move! Does it ever end?

Our Son, Nate

2010-04-27T20:18:00.005-05:00

After a week of recovering from tax season, I was determined to get up yesterday, blog, clean the pile in the studio, and work on some book art & partially completed collages. That all changed with a phone call from our son Nate around 10:30 a.m.

About 3:30 yesterday morning, Nate woke up in severe pain. Around 6 a.m. he went to the hospital near his house and around 10:30 he was transferred to OU Medical Center becuz in addition to the pain, they found some dark spots in an ultra-sound.

Because he had no swelling and the pain hadn’t been ongoing, late yesterday at OU they determined that in all liklihood Nate has two different things going on – the infection that caused the pain that brought him to the hospital (which they’re treating with mega-doses of antibiotics) and the dark spots in his sonogram & c.t.

Becuz of the anomalies they did a lot of research regarding the dark spots as they might be related his Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and are now fairly certain it is NOT cancer and MAY be treatable with an adjustment of the prednisone he takes for his CAH. They haven’t ruled out doing a biopsy but may send him home as early as tomorrow with antibiotics & adjusted regular meds, then perform serial scans to see if the dark spots are reducing in size. Obviously, we’re hoping for the second! The antibiotics have worked enough that he hasn’t had any pain meds since 6 a.m. and is griping that the IV stint hurts more than the other!

I know several of y’all are already praying about this and I just want to thank you. I’ll let you all know when I know more ~ Sherry

CitraSolv Tests

2010-03-23T06:00:00.007-05:00

After reading about CitraSolv Concentrate and National Geographics on Pam T's Art Loft and on Approachable Art, I went to the CitraSolv website and just KNEW that I absolutely HAD to try this. So I hunted CitraSolv down at a health food store here in Oklahoma City. Then I bought 20 National Geographics at a local thrift store for $2.

Somewhere I had read not to use pages that had lots of black ink so for my first test, I pulled out all the pictures with too much black. And I don't think I used enough CitraSolv. All my results were rather muted, with the exception of a few amazing pages that kept a lot of the original photo (I used one of these in Rest). Anyway, for the most part, my pages looked a lot like this one (click to enlarge - feel free to copy the enlargement for use as a background):

Not bad but not what I was expecting. So Saturday, I left in darker images and squirted on a lot more CitraSolv. And my results are much more dramatic. Here's a sample (click to enlarge - feel free to copy the enlargement for use as a background):
Both times, I kept the pages in a stack in a plastic tub in the garage (PLEASE don't do this in the house, the very strong orange aroma will make your eyes water tho it won't hurt you) for about an hour then pulled them apart and laid them out to dry. I've noticed a few things:

you can't find this stuff just anywhere - Whole Foods, Akins & other health food stores carry it - their website lists several online stores as well as a zipcode/locator tool (which I couldn't make work for me)
you need more CitraSolv on the top pages and less on the bottom because it runs down to the bottom
pulling the pages apart or wiggling them together causes the smears you see most places on the web
but sometimes you can get an image transfer onto text or another image if you have just the perfect amount of CitraSolv (the times this worked, I had sprayed it on), press it together and leave it alone
as others have said, this doesn't work with fashion magazines
however, I laid my images on top of my recycled paper to dry and guess what, it dissolved the inks on the JCPenney little catalog- the look is very different tho, soft with puddles of gray/black dots that used to be the type
you get ink on your hands but the CitraSolv cleans it right up - we've actually started using it on our kitchen counters in less concentrated form

Hope this helps you all with your own experiments. Please share with me what you learn. Next I want to try getting more controlled results - perhaps leaving a part of the image as is and smearing what's around it. And I'm also going to look for something that will work on fashion magazines - I'm gonna try NevrDull and a few other stinky liquids sitting in the cabinets.

I'll let you know what happens ~ Sherry

added 4/26 - I just found out I received an honorable mention in CitraSolv's contest for my piece REST (you'll have to go almost to the end of the page)

Saturday

2010-03-21T16:32:00.009-05:00

Yesterday it snowed here. Normally I would complain about this but since I got to stay home from work and play in the studio, I loved OKC's first day of spring.

I did some experimenting with CitraSolv which I'll write about in a couple days. And I used one of the pages to create the journal page you see here. Nothing elaborate, just an interesting background followed up with some irridescent orange paint, clear gesso, journaling and finished off with a generous spray of pewter Shimmering Mist.

Here's what the National Geographic page looked like after the CitraSolv, covering up some text with white gesso and pouncing on some gold acrylic paint (click to enlarge - feel free to copy the enlargement for use as a background):

And here it is with some irridescent orange paint and the journaling:

I also worked on a couple of other pieces - experimenting, gluing, painting and more. I'll post pictures when they're done.

I've had a great weekend - hope you did too ~ Sherry

I'm still here

2010-03-10T08:51:00.007-06:00

I've been squeezing in some play time here & there and actually found time to journal & scribble this morning.

When I was experimenting with CitraSolv the other day, I thru some book pages into the inky puddle that had collected. That's what made the blue/purple coloring on this old journal page. Then I decided to use my white Sharpie Paint Pen becuz it writes on anything and CitraSolv paper has an interesting hand. Anyway, the paint pen worked but in a kinda faded way. Next I sketched a quick little face with pencil and added some Memento ink direct-to-paper - the greenish colors.

OH! I just realized these colors look like a bruise. ICK!! Oh well, that's not a comment on how I'm feeling - just what was nearby!

I will write more later about all my CitraSolv experiments - probably after tax season. In the meantime, I wanted to let y'all know that I am at least getting a few moments here & there in the studio ~ Sherry

ps - anyone know how to put the trademark symbol in here? I really feel like I should have them after all these name brands I listed.

Rest

2010-03-07T09:27:00.005-06:00

photo from National Geographic altered with Citra Solv, charcoal pencil, white paint pen

I'll write more later but wanted to share at least the visual of this little experiment ~ Sherry

added 4/26 - I just found out I received an honorable mention in CitraSolv's contest for this piece (you'll have to go almost to the end of the page)

Patience

2010-02-26T07:35:00.017-06:00

Patience.
If you know me, you know that I don't really have lots of this.
But, hey, that's an improvement - when I was younger I had none!

But that's not the real point of this post. (Well, after reading the end of what I wrote, maybe it is.) It really has to do with this particular piece of art and selling art in general.

I'll start with the selling art part first: I make art because I NEED to - I've written about that before. But I also intend to sell most of my art. Some pieces sell right away like the two I just sold. But others end up hanging on the walls of my house for quite awhile waiting for a new home. I don't mind looking at them one bit - well, if I do, I pull them down and add them to the pile of substrates in my garage - but I want to be able to spend all my time "arting" and selling is what's gonna get me to that point. Lots of selling.

So this piece that I call PICKET FENCE is hanging in our bedroom. And I've been looking at it. Look how patiently that cat is waiting for that bird. Cats are like that - they take their time, wait patiently and then quickly seize an opportunity. Of course, they don't have to go to work every day - I mean NOBODY could consider napping and preening WORK!!

Anyway, I realized this morning that I have given this piece the wrong name. It should be called PATIENCE - not just cuz of the subject matter but because it hasn't sold for 4 years.

But not just that. Because it hasn't sold so that it can hang in our bedroom and remind me:

WAIT.
WAIT PATIENTLY.
WATCH CAREFULLY.
BE READY TO SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11

I already know His ultimate plan, my final destination. Until then, the journey really is the important part. So I'm waiting. And while I wait, I create. While I wait and create, I learn.

And hopefully, while I wait, create and learn, I'll also be growing. As an artist. But more importantly, as the person He wants me to be. I hope. Guess I'll have to wait & see (hehe)~ Sherry

Another Shortie

2010-02-24T07:23:00.007-06:00

No new art to post. I'm beginning to think I won't have time in the studio until April 16th.

But I did want to share some news again:

A friend from high school bought KEY TO MY HEART as a wedding gift for her daughter and future son-in-law. I feel so honored! It's so exciting to sell something - and two pieces in a week - WOW!!! Now if I could keep doing that perhaps I could avoid next tax season!

I received the beads I won at Numinosity Beads. Boy does she ever do beautiful lampwork.

In my last post, I mentioned that my friend Ellen showed us lots of journal pages when our art group met last week. I didn't give a link cuz she hadn't been posting for awhile. Well, now she's posting photos of her work daily and her talent is growing. Please check her out at Completely Collaged.

Thanks again for stopping by ~ Sherry
OMG - just realized this is post number 75!!! I can't believe it!

A Quickie

2010-02-18T06:24:00.010-06:00

Tax time is taking it's toll on my time and energy so I have no new art to share - not even a doodle. Well, not one that I want anyone to see - and probably not for the reasons that immediately pop in your head.

But I don't want to ignore y'all. I get so excited when I get a comment or a new follower and I want you all to know how much I appreciate you. So, since there's no sharable art, I'll share some good news and a few links if you don't mind.

First, my friend Maura who owns My Heart's Fancy bought Risk Blossoming. There really is nothing more exciting than having someone contact you and say I HAVE TO HAVE THAT. Of course, when I delivered it to her, I turned around and spent the money on Tim Holz stamps, etc. Thank you Maura.

And I finally put a piece of jewelry in my Etsy store.. I made this piece a few weeks before we moved and it's been staring at me from my mannequin this whole time!

Nancy received her prize necklace and blogged about it . I was so happy to find out she liked it. And her post brought some new readers and followers. Thank you Nancy.

Then I won a prize at Numinosity Beads. I can't wait to get these beautiful beads. Thank you Kimberly.

Boy, I love blogland!

The last thing to share in this rather haphazard post is that my art group, The Ephemerites, met last night. I love getting together with these friends and seeing all of the goodies they are making. It is always inspiring and my tax induced funk was lifted. My friend Ellen had so many journal pages and sketches - I'd show you but she's been too busy arting to blog. Roz showed us a piece of a soda can she embossed in her Cuttlebug - I'll definitely steal that idea. Lynda & Jackie had made lots of gorgeous tags. Their styles are so different and I loved each piece. Thank you all.

Well, hope you have fun visiting these other sites. And THANK YOU for stopping by, following and commenting ~ Sherry

19 Years

2010-02-13T22:41:00.004-06:00

I love you Patrick.

Needing Spring

2010-02-11T05:30:00.003-06:00

This has been the worst winter I can remember. Now that's not saying a lot cuz I've got that middle-aged-memory problem going on. But really, there has been way too much snow and ice. Not to mention the ugly gray skies. We humans require SUNLIGHT and it has been in short supply lately.

As a matter of fact, Tuesday when I got up and stumbled to the kitchen for a Diet Coke, I saw this purpley-pink line across the window and it actually took me awhile to realize it was the SUNRISE.

I hope it does a repeat performance today!

This is a piece I finished (?) late last month. I started this last summer (when there was LOTS of sunshine) with several different floral photos cut and adhered to a piece of MDF along with some tissue paper. I did a little bit of painting then packed it away looking like this: When I pulled it out last month it seemed just too flat and bright. The flowers were all so in focus that it didn't have any depth. So I added a wash of gray-blue paint over the background images. Next came some gold dots applied with tiny bubble wrap. Then some color on the edges and a great quote.Next came a print of a photo I took of gerber daisies and some pattern tissue that I applied with beeswax. OOPS!! That made the quote disappear and that just wouldn't do. So I incised it in the wax with the intention of rubbing color into the incisions. Well, I tried two different ways of trying that but it didn't work very well (I think my wax may not have been thick enough). And when I tried to remove the color, the piece got quite a bit darker. Guess I got rid of that "too bright" problem, huh? I'm looking for new ideas to get the quote to show up because it's a great one:

"and the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

Oh, I'm also looking for ideas on the title. Right now I'm calling it RISK BLOSSOMING from the quote but...

Thanks for stopping by - feel free to give me some ideas to make that quote more prominent ~ Sherry

linked to the beeswax challenge at LOTS TO DO

Nancy's Prize

2010-02-10T10:31:00.015-06:00

I finally finished the prize for my first giveaway.

Major apologies to Nancy for this taking so incredibly long.
There were MANY challenges with this (all fork related). And I've learned a few lessons (more on that later).

This is a sterling fork charm pendant on a velvet ribbon. Nancy can wear it short or long on the ribbon or put it on a chain.

Here are some details of the individual charms:

The center large charm is a Rumikub game piece. The other two charms were stamped on shrink plastic.

I think this is the first jewelry I've posted here on the blog. Click here if you'd like to see more.

Things I learned or was reminded of:

Make the prize BEFORE running the contest OR
Don't make something I've never made before!
Forks are difficult to bend, cut & drill
My husband is VERY helpful
I need a smaller tip for my new solder iron (Weller 100 - boy does it work GREAT!)
I need to practice, practice, practice with my soldering
I love my dremel
I need to bring my vise inside

Hope you like it ~ especially Nancy ~ Sherry

linked to the week 24 challenge at Lots To Do and
the color green challenge at Thursday Challenge

Obscured Book Page Technique

2010-02-02T07:21:00.039-06:00

aka - the masking tape thing

Perhaps you want to have some text as a background on your project (collage, card, scrapbook page, tag, etc) and the easiest way is to adhere a page torn from a book. Or perhaps you're actually working in an altered book. But you don't really want someone READING the book page - it's supposed to be the background. I mean, how many times have you put down a page from a book and then found something on it that was totally distracting? Or, worse yet, naughty?

This technique is great for obscuring the text - it still looks like a book page but it's not as legible. Kinda like you sanded it a lot but not as messy. Not sure who came up with this, but I learned it in a class taught by Beverly Seymour (B-Line Designs) several years ago and then forgot about it until I saw it on Tim Holz' 12 Days of Christmas 2009.

So I'm going to try to do my first HOW-TO here - since there are so many photos, I've made them smaller - but you can click on them to see them larger if you like. Here goes:

Supplies needed:

adhesive (decoupage medium, soft gel medium, even watered down white glue)
applicator (brush, sponge brush, your fingers)
substrate (art journal, scrapbook page, card, canvas, canvas board, something you messed up before, wood, metal, whatever you prefer - you could even do this in an altered book)
pages of text (from dictionaries, foreign books, engineering books, even phone books - I understand it works best with papers that don't have a shiny finish but I have no proof of that)
old fashioned masking tape

Steps:

slap a little adhesive on your substrate
place your page on top of the adhesive (see, told you this was easy)
burnish in place - anything not adhered well will may up completely
let dry (hum-de-dum-de-dum - that's me watching paint/glue dry - hehe)
cover all or part of the page with masking tape ** if you want to make sure something shows when you're done, don't put masking tape on it **

DISCOVERY: after I started covering these three pieces for the photos, I realized I needed wider masking tape but, alas & woe, didn't have any, so later I tried packing tape and it worked almost as well as the masking tape (and it's pretty cool looking so I saved it to possibly use later in another piece)
peel back the masking tape, starting inside the piece and peeling toward the outside

Now you have a beautiful, obscured text background that is HIGHLY ABSORBANT. It's perfect for receiving color now but if you want to protect it, just coat it with your adhesive.

Art with Obscured Text Backgrounds:

close up of KEY TO MY HEART.............close up of PEACE.............tag made at Ephemerites

So that's it for my first HOW-TO. What do you think? Would you like to see more?
Thanks for stopping by ~ Sherry

linked to the Something Old Challenge at Mixed Media Monday and
the torn paper challenge at Theme Thursday

Peace

2010-01-30T21:59:00.006-06:00

When peace, like a river,
attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou has taught me to say,
It is well,
it is well,
with my soul.

- Horatio G. Spafford

A friend of mine is going thru something right now that is incredibly emotionally draining. I want her to experience the "peace that passes all understanding" and I really don't feel like I have the words to inspire that. So instead, I'm hoping this canvas will remind her that she's loved - not just by her family and friends, but by her savior.

I started by covering the canvas board in a dictionary page (the old dictionary was given to me by her). I removed part of the page with masking tape, a technique I learned from Beverly Seymour several years ago. Then I glued down a print of the heart from the piece I posted a few days ago. Other ingredients include

pattern tissue,

white gesso & clear gesso,

swirl stamps w/ brilliance ink,

portfolio oil pastel (water soluable),

pan pastel,

graphite pencil & prismacolor,

glass bead gel,

my favorite part (haha) -

an image transfer of the word peace BACKWARDS

(see the note on yesterday's page about checking the print BEFORE using it)

and of course, a polished coat of beeswax on top of it all.

I'm Iced In!! What Fun!!

2010-01-29T15:41:00.006-06:00

I'm iced in today so I get an extra day to play. YAY!! I'm working on the pendant for Nancy and a collage for my friend. Both of these have involved lots of experimenting. And I've learned a couple of things so of course I had to make a journal page about it!! The generousity of other artists never ceases to amaze me. Specifically today I want to thank

Silke gave some instructions on image transfers on her blog and I decided to try again.
Dankartistry on Etsy was kind enough to answer a question I had.

Thanks to everyone so willing to share. And thanks to all of y'all for stopping by ~ Sherry

Drawing Faces

2010-01-26T22:13:00.008-06:00

I have been seeing lots of faces on lots of blogs lately and it made me want to try my hand at them again.

Not bad. Kinda long/skinny. This is done with pencil and sharpie.

Now I need to learn how to do the pretty coloring that so many others do. I've tried oil painting faces before and, quite frankly, not so good.

I noticed Martha Lever has been trying color pencils. EEEEEEK!!!! I really am not good at using those all by themselves - I don't know how to do all the blending necessary to get depth/dimension. When I have some time, maybe I'll find an online tutorial.

Someone else did some beautiful, realistic faces with acrylic paint in her journal - I'll have to hunt that one down again.

Anyway, just a little sketching while relaxing in front of the television after a day of taxes. (I also do Sudoku while watching TV but that's not all that interesting to talk about! lol)

I'll be back as soon as I can - I have another piece I finished last week that I need to photograph again and post.

Thanks for stopping by ~ Sherry

Taxes

2010-01-25T07:45:00.000-06:00

Well today is the day. Today I return to Woody & Associates to begin tax season. I'll be working full-time thru April 15th and I'm sure in three or so weeks I'll be working Saturdays too.

I really like working there each tax season. But tax-time severely limits my creative time. And when my creative time is limited, the actual MAKING THINGS takes preference over blogging about making things!!

Which is all to say that I'll post as much as possible but if I don't chat with you for long periods of time, don't think I've QUIT. I'll be back regularly after April 15th.

Thank you again for visiting ~ Sherry

The rest of my Studio

2010-01-24T17:51:00.011-06:00

I finally finished cleaning up the south side of my studio so here are a few more photos. Here's the view from the entry-way: Looking into the room you can see my desk:and what we call "the Art Bar" where I keep out all those tools I need regularly but that are too big to keep right next to me at my desk:Here's the not-as-pretty backside of the art bar:and another shot of my desk:
(Nancy, if you're reading, that's your "prize" I'm working on -
it's taking me awhile to get the idea in my head to crystallize!)

So the studio is done except for labeling all those pink & turquoise bins so I don't pull out three or four of them every time I'm looking for something and organizing the inside of that armoire (YIKES!!!). In case you missed the previous post, click here.

Now the garage art supplies are another story altogether.............
~ Sherry

Completed Art Journal

2010-01-24T09:39:00.008-06:00

I finally bound my journal for 2009. I know a lot of you work inside a pre-made journal, but I work on loose pages and bind them with my Zutter Bind-It-All at the end.

Why loose pages instead of a pre-made book? Mainly becuz my journal is more than just my art pages - I include other things that I don't necessarily want to glue down:

I like the freedom to use any paper I want when I'm art journaling. Sometimes I feel like using big paper. Sometimes I feel like using ledger pages. Sometimes I use prepainted papers. Sometimes I close my eyes and grab.
I tend to write things down whenever they occur - which isn't always when my art journaling supplies are with me. Sometimes I sketch. Sometimes I make notes about an idea that's popped into my head. Sometimes I journal my feelings about a particular situation. I want all these in my book.
I print out my blog entries. Most people probably don't do that but my posts are records of how I did a particular piece and/or what I was thinking about at a given time and therefore journal entries in my opinion.
I photograph or scan everything I make* so I can put it on the website or blog or Etsy or all the above. So I print out those for my journal too. Then I can see where I was on my art journey at a given time.

After I have enough pages, I put them all in order and bind them. My friend Roz has given me a bunch of old World Book Encyclopedias so I gut the pages, gesso, Modpodge, stamp, paint, write on the covers and glue the last page of my bound "signature" to the inside of the back cover.

I love the way the journals look like books from the outside but all the pages are different and "messy" on the inside. Hmmmm, kinda like me?

So, what do you think? ~ Sherry

* I also photograph or scan my art at various stages - especially while working on the backgrounds. I can use these later as backgrounds for journal pages or other pieces of art - and hopefully as parts when I finally learn to do digital collage.

Key to My Heart

2010-01-20T10:30:00.009-06:00

I started this piece by laying down a torn piece of scrapbook paper and my favorite scrolly tissue paper. Then I set it aside for months. Sorry no picture.

In the fall I did a collage workshop at a local high school and took this piece to show them how various materials interacted. During the workshop I dyed some handmade paper and slapped it on. Then I scraped on some modeling paste. And again, after the workshop, I set it aside for months. I pulled the board out this week and started playing around with it, wondering if I could actually turn it into something. I added some watercolor and acrylic glaze Then I added vintage German text and painted gold dots and the piece started screaming "I'm a heart" so I drew a heart in charcoal and added some acrylic paint around that. Then I found the key (an old Christmas ornament), added some beeswax and, voila, KEY TO MY HEART.
And, on top of all that, I actually put it in my Etsy shop - it's my first Etsy listing.
So what do you think? ~ Sherry
I linked this to Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs

Playing with some new toys

2010-01-18T10:54:00.008-06:00

This is a little journal page I made today while playing with some new Golden acrylics and my new color laser printer-scanner-copier in my new studio.

FUN!!!

I also worked on two collages (still not done with either) and more journal backgrounds.

Now it's off to a tax-season kick-off lunch and when I get home I'm going to work on the PRIZE for Nancy for winning my first giveaway.

Sounds like it will be an INCREDIBLE day ~ Sherry

Winner of my first Giveaway

2010-01-15T17:16:00.008-06:00

AND THE WINNER IS

(drumroll please)

..........................................

..........................................

..........................................

..........................................

NANCY LEFKO!!!

Congratulations Nancy!! I'll contact you tonite so you can let me know what theme you want for your charms and mailing info, etc.

Better luck next time everyone else - I can't thank you enough for commenting and following. I'll post a picture of the "prize" when it's complete.

Thanks again ~ Sherry

Studio Pashnada

forgot one!

what I've been doing

what I'm thankful for

Happy Halloween

What was I thinking?

Repose

More beeswax workshops coming in September

knowing when your art is done

and the winner is . . .

Storming (a new encaustic piece)

I feel a contest comin' on . . .

it sure is quiet here

Blue Heart

bored bored bored bored & a little lonely

Which Way?

jewelry time

Getting Wiser

XXVIII

More CitrSolv Experiments

Is it done?

Encaustic Workshop with Ellen Koment

Turning Time

Guinea Pigs

Experiments in Beeswax Collage - NEW DATE

Zentangled Sherry

Lonely Cages

journal experiment

he needs a name (since named SEEKER)

Nekkid Again

Distant Bridges

Easter

This changes everything

Vision

2 New Blogs

Blue

﻿Risqué or Okay?

Great Weekend

Joyful 2011

Dani

Bye-Bye 2010 - Hello 2011

ART TIP OF THE DAY!!!!!

Happy Christmas

15 Years

the smART show at Paseo

heARTfelt gift idea

THE great debate

Night Sky

Gratitude

Rest (completed)

The Top Three Reasons I Hate to Exercise

Think Pink

The Creative Connection Event #3

My Artistic Conundrum

The Creative Connection Event #2

The Creative Connection Event #1

Minneapolis, Here I Come

Charmed, I'm Sure

Woo-Hoo!!!!

The Dream

and the winner is . . .

100 POSTS!!!

Busy, busy, busy

NEW LOOK!!!

Fear

Change

Creativity Decline

All Emotions

See Me

Dream Big

In the Mail Last Week

Beeswax & Encaustic Play Date

Courage

Courage to Create

Another OOPS!!

Collected Thread

Hope

I get to play with beeswax - YEA!!!

Organizational Help Needed

A New Day

Risqué or Okay?