Chrysti's 29 Days of Giving

Chrysti is featuring a 29 Days of Giving on her blog

Check it out - still time to enter days 6 through 29!

Susan Tuttle's new book

Susan Tuttle has a new book and give-away contest on her blog. Stop by to check it out - you still have a couple of days!

Three Textured Abstracts

A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed to get out of my "not creating art" rut and came up with some painted chunky canvasses that will be a housewarming gift for Kyle and Jenny over in Lockport. They wanted some textured abstracts in green for the dining area, so I've begun with 4"x 4" x 1" pieces. Here's one of the three. I used Golden acrylics, molding paste, bubblewrap, and some stencils and stamps.


Then I grabbed a few 5" x 5" canvasses I found on sale for $1 a piece, and designed some mixed media pieces inspired by the phrases "leap fearlessly", "follow your bliss", and "surrounded by love". They have painted and stamped backgrounds with with wired floral ribbon and sewn fabric paper embellishments.

I saw this on Kristin's blog and thought it looked fun. You are supposed to bold the things you've done. Seems I have a bit of living to do yet! (Check out her website Retro Cafe Art Gallery. Kristin has some wonderful antique "frozen charlotte" or penny dolls for sale as well as great digital collage sheets.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Tote Give-Away

Check out Vintage Cate's give-away on her blog:
http://vintagecate.typepad.com/a_charmed_life/

I am Honored

Award Winners were nnounced for "I am Woman" Show on August 15, 2008 at The Next Picture Show Gallery in Dixon, IL

... and I was thrilled and surprised for my framed collage "Renewal" to be chosen for the third place award!

An artist from the Quad Cities, Raphael Iaccarino, judged the show. He is an internationally known artist whose vivid watercolors are inspired by the Costa Rican rain forests and jungles. Iaccarino prefaced the announcements with a comment that he was looking for images that compelled him to look, look again, and return to look yet again. He said that five of the six pieces had an air of mystery about them.

Iaccarino gave each of the award winners a written comment, which I found very encouraging. The comment on "Renewal" was, " Just when you know, it's time to let go."

Wordle allows you to create word clouds like this from your blog or other sections of text:

July Update

I plan to have my blog moved over to here in the next couple of weeks.

In the past few months I've been busy at work, preparing to teach a different grade, so I haven't devoted a lot of time to artwork. Here though, are some of the pieces I've worked lately for the juried show, I Am Woman, at The Next Picture Show Gallery in Dixon, IL.



"Rain on the Roof" is a 12” x 6” wrapped canvas collaged with textured acrylic paint, paper, sewn copper sheeting, vintage buttons, and found objects

"Some say dreaming of hearing rain on the roof is a sign of domestic peace and joy."

The second image is "Optimistic Birdsong: Herstory needs Voices". It's a wallhanging 40" x 28" done in the style of mixed media artist Lesley Riley. Lesley generously provided instructions in a past issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. I enjoyed making this piece because I was able to try some new processes: painting muslin, heat distressing painted Lutradur, and using gel medium to transfer an inkjet photo.

The next two pictures are of the embellished wooden chair, titled: "Silla Especial". The 8" x 4" x 4" wooden chair is painted with acrylics and embellished with beads, loteria cards, discarded jewelry, and Spanish text of the prayer "Hail Mary". "Silla Especial" was designed as part of a tablescape for a fiesta.

Venus Envy Reception

*From 5/3/08)
Last night was entertaining at the Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport, IA. I attended the Venus Envy artist reception, viewed the exhibit of the art (which includes 2 of my pieces mentioned in the last post), and wandered through some of the artist studio/galleries. There was a lovely assortment of appetizers (including chocolate dipped strawberries - yum!), a bar, and chair massages for the artists. A very nice surprise since last week I'd mentioned to my art group friends that nothing short of a chair massage would impress me after I read an email that said we'd be "pampered"!

Tonight I return the Bucktown Center for the actual event of music, dance, and theater performances.

Quad City Arts Exhibition Gallery

I submitted a CD of artwork to the Quad City Arts Gallery in Rock Island, IL, which is just across the Mississippi River from the Bucktown Center. It's a great gallery of work from artists within a 250 mile range. I won't find out if my work is accepted for a couple of months, so in the meantime, I'm going to keep exploring some ideas that have been percolating for awhile!

Anne Von Ehr Pastel Workshop

More catching up today... A couple of weeks ago I participated in a pastel workshop in Sycamore, IL sponsored by KVAL. It was the first time I'd really used soft pastels and I learned so much. Anne Von Ehr is truly a wonderful teacher and someone I actually worked with years ago near the start of both of our teaching careers in Oswego,IL. Imagine my delight to be able to catch up a bit with her after so many years!

A lovely surprise arrived via email the other day - two of my acrylic/mixed media pieces have been accepted in the Venus Envy show at the Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport, IA.

The May 3rd event is billed as "VENUS ENVY All Women's Art Extravaganza in the Bucktown District". Forty-six visual artists will be showcased along with musical performances, dance, installation performances and theater on Saturday, May 3rd, from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport , Iowa . Some of the events will also take place along Pershing Street, adjacent to Bucktown. The artwork will hang until May 30th.


The two pieces selected for the juried show are "Mardi Gras" and "Renewal"

I'm waiting to hear if any of these paintings will be accepted in the Venus Envy show to be held at the Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport, IA during May 2008. I sent off a CD of the work along with my artist statement a few days ago. Now it's time to wait for the response!


This is "Ayla's Cave", a highly textured 16" x 20" acrylic painting. I used etched deep lines into molding paste and added layers of trasparent fluid acrylics to build up a depth of color. I also used Golden's Garnet Gel tinted with Burnt Orange to add a gritty, rusty texture. The center area is painted and distressed brown paper with sketched charcoal images suggesting the cave drawings found in southern France.



The black, red, and gold framed piece is a 14" x 18" collage of paper, acrylic paint, and fabric. I used hot glue to provide the texture of curved, raised lines. The center image is a figure from Chinese





These last two painting, "Mardi Gras" and "Oceanids" have been described in early posts.

I've finished a series of four textured acrylic abstracts that I've entered into the juried exhibition "Regional Art Survey 4" at The Next Picture Show Gallery. The series is based on the 5 elements of Feng Shui - earth, wind, fire, water, and metal. I'm still working on the "Wind" piece, which will hang in another venue.




This is "Earth", the Knowledge element. The original has more yellow hues than the orange that is here. It's 16" x 20" on gallery wrapped canvas. I used a variety of textures including molding paste, handmade paper, and tissue paper.







The second painting is a grouping of four 6" x 6" canvasses textured with tissue paper, stamps in molding paste, and cheesecloth. It's called, "Fire", the most powerful of the 5 Feng Shui elements, fire represents passion and energy. This mixed media piece incorporates the fire colors of red, orange, purple, pink, and strong yellow.







"Metal" is the prosperity element in the study of feng shui.
Original is 16” x 20” on gallery wrapped canvas. I used Luminere metallic paints to get the glow.

The last of the series is "Water", which is considered the Career Element in the study of Feng Shui. I’ve incorporated the color blue and a variety of textures in this acrylic painting. The original is also 16” x 20” on gallery wrapped canvas.

I've been working on some paintings for submission to a juried exhibition at The Next Picture Show in Dixon. I have 3 of the 4 near completion that are a series interpreting Feng Shui elements in the style of Jacqueline Sullivan's DVD. I've become enamored with her techniques of using transparent acrylic paints and mediums along with the additions of textures of molding paste, cheesecloth, tissue paper, etc. Pictures will follow later this week when I have the work dry and ready to photo!



In the meantime, here is one that uses torn wallpaper, acrylics, stamping, and handmade paper that I made a few months ago. I named it Oceanids, after the Greek sea nymphs. The original is 16" x 12" on canvas board. The enlarged view really shows the textures.

Happy New Year to all! 2008 promises to be another wonderful year of art opportunities!

My plans include doing art everyday - being more productive by using the vast array of materials I already have rather than being seduced into buying more! I set a goal to enter 4 shows at the Next Picture Show gallery - the call for entries has Regional Art Survey 4 (any media and subject); Sculpture, Clay, and Fiber (fabric, fiber, paper???); the Nuts about Art outdoor show in July; and then the I am Woman show in August. That's about 16 different pieces. I need to get moving!

I kept busy during winter break with some painting and mixed media art - photos should follow by the weekend. My printer/scanner decided to die, so I haven't been able to do all that I wanted with digital media, but that should change by the weekend. Just bought an Epson printer/copier/scanner today at CompUSA as the Rockford store is closing by the end of the month. It was a decent deal, so maybe by tomorrow evening I'll have it set up and ready to go.

Last week on yet another trip to Rockford, I discovered a rather new contemporary art gallery
on State Street between downtown and Alpine: Golan Lieberman Gallery. I met the artist co-owner, Roni Golan, who was there working on his computer and practicing his flute. His work is simply amazing and he is a delight to talk to.

Friday brings another exhibition opening at The Next Picture Show Gallery . I don't have any work there this time, but friends do, so I'll be there to celebrate along with them!

Vacation has ended! Time to sleep! I am looking forward to seeing the preschoolers tomorrow (and keeping my fingers crossed that everyone's now an independent user of the toilet!)