altered can and ATCs- lesson

my student and i started on our found object art....i choose a found old film can, and my student choose a wooden glove box. the other piece that i thought would be fun would be to make ATCs for our boxes.

 i managed to find my circle playing cards i purchased at a rummage sale which fit perfectly into my tin. we painted on yupo paper to make our ATCs. i wanted her to experience painting on yupo paper. it has the least amount of control for painting surfaces when compared to canvas or a wooden cradle, but, i felt it was important for her to understand what type of surface may work better for certain projects.

 my student agreed, that the yupo paper was definitely different to paint on due to the lack of control and unexpected reactions. on canvas you can remove paint to find the layer underneath, but, on yupo- you may wipe everything away and be back down to white.....but, in spite of this- my student has done an excellent job of adapting and produced wonderful ATCs for her box. these below are from Cora, my student.

wired up armature

my student and i have played hard over the long weekend to make some armature.....we had talked about the project and what needed to be accomplished and she choose to make a sea turtle. she used 16 gauge for the outer frame and followed up with 20 gauge to support her paper shell. she used watercolor to tint her tissue paper. once all the paper was on her frame, she used glimmer mist to tint the top of the turtle and then, followed up with the shell. for her shell, she used acrylic paint on thin brown paper and then, torn it into small pieces to attach to her turtle. check out her finished sea turtle below....

 i couldn't just stand by and watch....i needed to keep my fingers busy while we talked armature....so, i am working on a "doll" of sorts- or maybe a better word....a princess. my armature is her skirt and body. and then covered with watercolored tissue paper as well. i have not made up my mind on her arms yet....so for now, this princess has very underdeveloped arms.....

 i flattened an old tablespoon and had stamped this precious face onto tissue paper and then, attached to the spoon. i attached the spoon with wire to the body and then, finished the body up to the neck. her crown in on overpainted paper that i stamped with a crown stamp, and then, cut around. if you think the top portion of the crown seems shinier- it is....i used iridescent embossing powder on the top of the crown- cutting both a front and a back and then, finishing with jewels. her necklace is made from scraps of paper wrapped around wire and dipped in UTEE.

our next project that we have started is a found object box with ATCs on yupo paper....stay tuned.

student and teacher

meet the high school student- Cora.... a very talented young lady. who will be spending time with me for the next week and a half studying mixed media and collage. we set a fairly aggressive schedule of tasks we wanted to accomplish within our short time studying together; and i was a little worried after our first day. i forgot how long it takes for me to talk through something and demonstrate/ work at the same time- but, worried for nothing- as Cora picks up on things quickly- and has her own good art sense and personality.

 she has done a great job of making brave color choices- which i feel is paying off..... she has done some layering of paint and texture; and has a great start on this painting. i was glad to hear that she felt that this was not finished either....it has such great potential! i cannot wait to see what she ends up with!

 we spend our time discussing paint, ink, glues, and texture... layering paint, and how to move it or take it off. she has been an intent listener and taken notes that i hope will help her along her art journey later.

let class begin

my "class" began yesterday...we started in a must-have art journal and she had never done any sort of book binding- so we also made small notebooks. it is so amazing to me how quickly an hour and a half can go.....especially when you are having fun.

 this statement above really summed up our day yesterday.....

 we cut our paper to size- something easy to slip into a bag or a purse, folded the paper, and then, glued the paper folded edges together. our next step was to choose our "cover" paper. i was so glad to hear that she knew how to sew; however, she had never sewn on paper. so glad i could enlighten her to blend those two- paper and sewing! we used some wonderful scraps of paper from my studio, and of course, some stamping....with my favorite stamps. if you don't have your set....you need to add these to your studio.

once our cover was collaged, we took the first and last page and glued those down to the cover; folding the edge over onto the those pages. we will finish the inside off by gluing a cover sheet in to hide our edge. my student's notebook is the second photo and mine is this last one. i cannot wait to see what we create this next time.....

artist to instructor

beginning tomorrow for the next two weeks, i will be teacher/ instructor. there is a high school student who has taken all the art classes at school and wanted to work with a local artist. and bless her heart.....she asked me because she likes my work.

so this artist will be teaching what i know....all those hours spent reading, experimenting, playing, painting.... i will now have to reach to the next level- not just for me to draw upon, but, for me to teach and express to someone else. to share some of the tips and knowledge and some of the insight into how i work, and why.

 part of the instruction will be to also show some vulnerabilities. i don't think there is an artist out there who would say that they were always 100% sure of exactly what they were doing, or how their art was going to be. we all have doubt about something; or question a piece of work; or wonder is that the right whatever....but, that is part of being an artist. it is answering those questions and pressing on. it is OUR expression based on the artist; OUR view of life and experience, and as long as we, as artists are happy with what is created- then life is good. at least my life is good....because i am happy.

if you were instructing (or do instruct....), what is the one thing you would want to make sure and share with a student?

birthday wishes

yesterday was my husband's birthday and no one (in this household anyway....) can have a birthday without a homemade card. or more a postcard- i used circle scraps, and i had used the diamond stencil and laid it onto another paper, and allowed to dry. using the book paper is somewhat flimsy- so, i glued it onto a piece of black cardstock for support and then, sewed the whole thing...love sewing circles and the little zig-zag off the page. top off with a stamp (mixed media essentials found at Paperbag Studio), and some washi tape.

 and what present doesn't want homemade wrapping paper?!....well, this one did! so, i painted up some newspaper with acrylic paint, stencils and again- some stamping. birthday done!

throwing paint with my mom/ mother's day

to celebrate mother's day yesterday, my mom came over to paint and have supper. we each had a larger project that we were working on, but, on the side painted on smaller pieces- which is what i have included today.

i love my mom's collage.....but, she always says i have the best scraps in the world in my studio :) her collage is on a strip of watercolor paper with scraps and paint found in my studio. we put a frame around it to see- ooooh, la, la!! stunning in a frame.....

 mine here is acrylic paint on yupo. i had already painted what i thought was the background, and when i started to paint over the top- my first idea was not panning out, so, option two emerged, and i went with it to create the princess below.

artist's reception

tonight there is a reception for a small group of artists that participated in a fall show last year- which i was fortunate enough to be a part of. i stopped down to drop off a few more small paintings that i had made and while i was there a young lady bought one of my pieces. so my best friend, and shop owner introduced us.

there is something special about having a piece of work that you have created loved by someone enough that they need to buy it on the spot. but, you know that feeling....seeing something that you just know you have to have; to add to your collection and hang on the wall- and then, walk by and love each day. so cool....

one of the local newspapers also did a nice article about the show tonight here....

creative houses

 i had been inspired by a recent purchase to paint some houses......they are whimsical to me. my initial plan was to do them in black and white....but, as you can see- that is not the path that my fingers and heart took....

 i used acrylic paint and stencils for the circles and doors and trim were made with my favorite stamps from paperbag studios.

 i also used pencil and glimmer mists.....have i inspired you? leave me a comment so i can come and visit you!

positive influence

painting yesterday lead to quite a few things.....including this trio of paintings with a message that will hopefully speak to someone- certainly had spoke to me yesterday...

 these are on 4x4 deep dish canvas- these are a nice size to warm up on, and if people like your art, but, cannot afford a larger piece- these should definitely be within almost everyone's budget....acrylic paint, overpainted scraps, ink, stamps (have you gotten your set yet?! i seriously love these stamps.....), and some happy words.

 i will be so sad when the book i am using is finally so used i cannot use it any more....but, i have to say, it has been a wealth of inspiration and delicious words on many things for me! happy monday!

i have a winner....

i was so excited to see the wonderful comments left for the paperbag studio/ mixed media essentials give away!! and my winner is.......April Cole!! Congratulations April!

I used the randompicker to draw for the give away.



thank you so much to everyone that left such nice comments- it was greatly appreciated and i hope i inspired you to purchase your own set of these wonderful stamps and to stop back and see what else i have been up to!

mixed media essentials blog hop

 i was fortunate enough to have been selected to the Mixed Media Essentials- Paperbag Studio design team....we are doing a blog hop to help showcase some of the possibilities these stamps can be used for....check out the other team members in the blog hop participants.

the designer is Roben-Marie! 

if you are looking for easy to use stamps that can be used for backgrounds or as a main focal point- these stamps have got to be in your studio's arsenal of creating tools! you can purchase your own set of stamps here at Paperbag Studio.

i loved all of the stamps and their versatility! i made journal pages, cards, tags, and collages....i stamped them in colors, or simply in black-and could still add some color accents.

Blog Hop Participants:

April Cole:  http://aprilmariecole.blogspot.com/

Carissa Paige:  http://carissapaige.blogspot.com/

Cynthia Shaffer: http://cynthiashaffer.typepad.com/

Danielle Donaldson:  http://danielledonaldson.com/

Jen Osborn:  http://identityseven.typepad.com/themessynest/

Kristin Peterson: http://alteredstatesstudio.blogspot.com

Lorraine Bell: http://serendipitystudios.squarespace.com/

Roben-Marie Smith: http://www.robenmarie.com

Sandi Keene: http://sandi-keene.squarespace.com/

to help celebrate the launch of these stamps, i am doing a give-away  of my original bird collage below. if you are interested please leave a comment on this post with an email address so i can contact the winner. you have until  5pm, CST on friday, may 3 to enter this give-away. i will then draw for a winner and contact one lucky person. thanks for visiting- hope you will stop back some time, and good luck!