graduation season

hard to believe that it is already the end of april....especially with the wintery month that we have had. seems like it is still like february, but, this weekend proved that spring is here, or at the very least close. saturday was prom, and very busy- our daughter went. and just for the record- there is a HUGE difference between having a son go to prom, and having a daughter go to prom- wow!; but, today, was my day....a day in the studio. and i put it do good use making graduation cards and other things (to be shared later....)

rolodex file card art, more...

i am obsessed with making art on these cards....i can hardly wait until i have done all of them....if you are wondering what i used on this....black gesso, acrylic paint, book paper-words, washi tape, and of course my mixed media essential stamp with white craft ink! (remember these stamps go on sale next week- May 1.....)

i received good news last night....i had agreed to "teach" a high school art student who was looking to expand her horizons outside of the classes found at school. she had applied for a grant to work with an artist and cover the costs of materials- and she got it!! (truth is,....i was willing to do it without covering the cost of materials...i was honored just being asked)

we had sat down and talked about what she was hoping to achieve and learn. i promptly went home and came up with 6 main topics with objectives for her after our discussion. when i got done writing this i was looking it over, and thought- "wow, i want to take this class..." i hope that i meet her expectations and that she not only has a good time, but, learns something along our way.....
we are going to work on the following:

1. art journal
2. armature/ sculpture
3. found object assemblage
4. acrylic painting
5. collage
6. encaustic

weekend collage fun

this weekend i got some much needed studio time....and i felt like i was kinda on a roll....

 loved my bird collage....i had gotten new papers (the gold polka dot) and a new roll of washi tape (the pink...), some stitching, acrylic paint, and of course my new stamps from Paperbag Studios- the mixed media essentials (these are available starting may 1). i was so lucky to be asked to be a part of the design team- check this out....

 for this one below i used yupo paper....it is a plastic type paper and does not behave like anything else...the background piece and the heart are yupo. i also used inks, acrylic paint, stitching and stamping....

 one of my goals this year was to re-open my etsy shop...so, this weekend i decided to give etsy one more whirl and posting some of my new pieces there.

sad that the weekend is over.....

studio time=magic with acrylic paint

i got to play in the studio yesterday and found my color rhythm with acrylic paint, and book pages.... and some special words to pull the whole thing together.

magic is what this girl thinks she found....

many layers of acrylic colors, a small chunky layer of book paper- rubbed back off (that is in the circle portion- texture), ink, and stamping- (the circles are the stamp: mixed media essentials from Paperbag Studio, which will be available on may 1)

need the weekend....

with work being very hectic especially with our winter weather and ice storm that we are just recovering from and another winter weather warning bearing down today with blizzard like conditions....i just want the weekend to come and to hibernate in my studio.

there are no track meets- those got cancelled because our lovely winter weather, and volleyball is done, and at this point, my house has been fine to this point, so it will be fine a few days longer. those dust bunnies are not going to eat much!

i have to deliver my new stuff to the gallery for the May show- which i am excited about! she is featuring 5 artists- all of us have our own niche so it should be a great show. and i am just itching to make more....

sympathy card

i had a dear friend lose her father this past week- (we are too young to have to start this and she is much younger than i am....). i made a card to give to her at the visitation.

the cool thing about this card, is not only did i get to use my new stamps, but, i found the best paper with the perfect message. i the past few weeks, i have been creating with my new stamps from Paperbag studio and had been doing different things, and apparently had started this for something and set this paper aside and had not used it.

so when i starting making this card, i had gotten the paint down and stamped on it, and was trying to decide what i was going to do next, when this paper with the perfect message stood out, begging to be used on this card.

friday fill-ins

And...here we go!
1. Right now I'm super excited to be on the design team for Paperbag Studio with the mixed media essential rubber stamps- i used some of the stamps in the pic above.
2. being a little different with what i wear is my well known quirk. (i often hear, that my outfit is interesting, or only you could pull that off....)
3. Are you an artist, blogger, or a doodler? are you on instragram, or have a blog or flickr account? let me know so i can visit!
4. gesso first, then paint!
5. That's why because i said so. (if you are a parent- i KNOW you have said that before...)
6. the big bang theory is one of my favorite tv shows ever!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some studio time, tomorrow my plans include hopefully a cancelled track meet (MN ice/ snow storm in april?!) and Sunday, I want to watch the last volleyball tournament this spring season!

rolodex file card art- one more

i got new rubber stamps recently, and have been creating up a storm.....

 

i painted the file card with black gesso first. i added the washi tape and folder tab to the top. i used my new rubber stamps- (mixed media essentials from Paperbag Studio; release soon!) with a white craft ink and finished with red acrylic paint dots and a little sewing.

oh- and i found the perfect statement about my file card art in a book- "satisfactory work." done....

friday fill-ins

and...here we go!

1. I used mixed media essentials from Paperbagstudios. (they are rubber stamps and if you are a mixed media artist- you are gonna want these! they are available soon)
2. sixteen candles is one of my favorite movies.
3. It's track time!
4. studio time please!
5. I said "oooh, my art order came today", and then he said "a second order this week honey?"
6. hot coffee with a little splenda is what I'm craving right now!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some time in my studio, tomorrow my plans include going to a track meet and Sunday, I want to will be going to a volleyball tournament (although i really do enjoy watching)!

worn, distressed background

i had originally started on these canvases a long time ago.....these have actually seen many colors already. then, they reached that ugly phase, which was really exceptionally ugly this time, and i could not get past it, and put the canvas aside. when my studio got wet a few weeks back, it is amazing how many things i "found." those so-ugly canvases were amongst that stuff....i am thinking that i may have pulled this canvas at least back to the realm of something that i like again.

on friday, i posted that i had gotten mail.....- as i worked with those new stamps (which are the best!! and will be available very soon at Paperbag Studio), i was putzing on the canvas above as well.