...not a burrito...keep readin'!
I have been making my art, but truth be told...I have been making a GIGANTIC mess around here. Folks, I am moving, and it ain't pretty. Deep breaths, I can totally do this. Maintain some sense of decorum? Maybe not...but the move will happen, it has to...first things first. For starters, I just have to get this off my chest. Mackie and Scooter are no help. Now, my good friend Jen said that she thought if they had opposible thumbs they would be helping. Maybe. Yeah, okay I would like to believe this. However, they could at least help cheer me on, keep me motivated, focused on the overwhelming task at hand. What do they do, or what don't they do? Here, you be the judge... Okay...before I get to my art, I just want to write one more thing about moving, because this has kind of taken over my life for the past 48 hours. We don't do the 'big' move until closer to the end of the month, but we are going to try and start moving some small stuff starting next week, some of those areas that are a pain and take time to set up, like the kitchen and our closets...and I am teaching art camp next week so that is why I am torturing myself right now, since I won't have as much time to pack next week. (also...in some kind of weird twist, as stressed as I am and physically exhausted..I actually kind of love throwing stuff out...and all this sorting and labeling appeals to my OCD tendencies and love for organization. Weird.) Back to that last thing about moving. I don't know if it is anywhere else on the interwebs, or Pinterest specifically, but I have a way that I move my jewelry that I have used for years and it's cheap, simple and WORKS...and I want to share it. It's aluminum foil, that's all. I buy cheap aluminum foil and roll my jewelry in in in sections, laid out, pressing the foil down on each section to keep the pieces from moving, and tangling. The reason this is such a big deal to me is I love jewelry. I mean...LOVE. It's kind of my thing. Not fancy jewelry, no m'am (or sir) ...just affordable (even super cheap) costume jewelry. But I love each piece, I usually pick up different accessories when I travel, so there are lot's of memories in those baubles. I am obsessive about keeping my collection organized, it is all sectioned by color...necklaces hanging on the wall (with a mirror in the middle so I can see how it looks!) Bracelets sorted, earrings in small bags color coded...seriously, it's kind of my happy place. I think I started doing this when I was still in college, especially after being frustrated when my necklaces would be all tangled when I moved. (and I have moved many, many times) I would have to sit and try to untangle them, adding to the frustration of the moving process and slowing me down. So I started wrapping the necklaces in aluminum foil, rolled like a burrito, then labeled by color to make it easy to set up my new 'necklace wall' in the new destination. So anyway, it works. If you are moving try it! Ummm....so....yeah, besides PACKING...I did make some art, of course! I completed my daily pieces, still working with the turban/sunglasses/gypsy/bohemian idea...using pencil, Sharpie Marker, watercolor...I think I might play with patterns and textures in future pieces...
Wait...gotta keep it simple...(talking some sense into myself) Okay, so I might not venture into too many materials, I am trying to keep it manageable since there is so much going on the rest of this month. Besides the daily pieces I also worked on two bridal shower invitations for my sister-in-law. I combined a few ideas I saw on-line to create two watercolors that I painted in each of the shower's theme colors, then scanned the images (thanks, Jess!) and put them into Word to add the words. Boy, I can't wait to get that new Mac laptop for my new job...I have a feeling that me and Photoshop are going to be BFFs. For real. Besides the daily pieces and the invitation art, I did take some time on #textiletuesday to start another small piece, another hand-dyed, fused fabric heart with wings. I managed to get the heart completely covered in red beads, each one sewn by hand. I love beading. It is very calming. I am glad that I am taking a little bit of time each week for textiles. For the weekend...I need to make some more fashion illustrations! Oh my, it has been too long! And I want to make at least a few more 'Crazy Cat Ladies' so I can pick out my three pieces for the upcoming show at the Green Room. But now..back to packing up my jewelry. I finished the cool colors, black, gray and browns...gotta tackle my warm colors, white/clear and multi-colored pieces next...well, after a run.
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I can say one thing...that the week has flown by, I have been busy with various art and art related happenings but I have still managed to make my daily nap club meetings with Mackie and Scooter, which I am probably most proud of. Hey, there is always time to nap. And make art. And sparkle. No excuses. Tuesday I initiated my first (self-imposed of course) #textiletuesday on Instagram. For the first TT (of what I hope to be a weekly commitment to do something textile/fiber related, hold me to that!) I invited my super talented friend, Giselle, over. She wanted to learn how to bead. Folks, she is a natural! Behold, the birth of another fiber-fanatic and beadin' babe! It certainly was not all fun and games...there were a few needles that came unthreaded, some fallen beads and, of course, the return of the dreaded #frockblockers...two cats that love to sleep on top of vintage fabrics and eat the lovely embellishments...sheesh. We survived it though...and I got to witness the 'spark' for fiber art in someone else, nothing beats that! After Giselle left I kept working on a project I had started...I was distracted... looking at my beads and random embellishments... all I could think was...(in my best Marty Huggins voice) So...five hours later, my beads, threads, random trims and embellishments, etc are all grouped by color and sorted into plastic bags, etc. I came out of what was almost like some kind of daze and was happy with what I saw. And then Wednesday morning I woke up and cleaned/organized my wee little art space in the kitchen...and that made me (and John!) happy...nice open space to create more work, everything put away. Yes, please. Wednesday it was off to Ink and Pistons to drop off my pieces for the show this weekend (Amanda and JR are so nice!, congrats on your one year!) and the head on over to Jessie's for randomness. Amanda gave me some postcards to distribute....but first...yep. Impromptu photo shoot out on the patio for Art Hive Magazine and Ink and Pistons promoting on social media. Yeah, I know, we are silly. So silly. What happened after the photo shoot goes as following...Jessie attempts to make cauliflower rice...I eat leftover spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs (amazing! more, please!)...Jessie gives up on her culinary endeavor and makes stir fry with regular rice...I post to Art Hive blog and FB about Ink and Pistons and then take a hour and a half nap...Jessie is a creeper and takes a picture of herself watching me sleep...don't ask...then we plot and plan to take over the world! (...not really, we started talking about sparkly stuff and then I went home) Awaiting me at home...a large box from my father-in-law. Inside- magic! Raffaele has been experimenting with transferring images onto wood...and now I know why. He made me a cool wood block based on an image from my website, it is sitting on my art desk as we speak, er...read...er..write. You get the point. Also in the package, a 'drawing box'. It looks like a big wooden book, but it actually opens up and has storage for my 11x14 drawings. I can close the box and use the top as a work surface. Its...kind...of...awesome. Inspired by the 'mail magic' I received...I packaged up some things that I have been wanting to make, spent time collaging and embellishing each package....I shipped those off Thursday morning. Which brings me to last night (Thursday) and this morning. I kind of have...ummm...alot going on. I feel a little overwhelmed, and excited. Not sure where to start.
I will make a list, cause I am weird like that.
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AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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