Playing with Backgrounds

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Good Morning!  its a fabulous start to the day!  Now I've got to go to work...  I thought I'd give you a sneak peak into what I got all fired up about this morning.  Yesterday I wrote a little bit about my Pen Pal Bonnie and today is small continuation of that.  Several months ago I made her the beginnings of a small art journal.  Once a month or so we exchange pages that are 4x4 for each others journals.  Though she laments that she's not quite cut out for it I believe that her pages are completely wonderful and gorgeous.  As part of her Christmas Surprise I'm working on several 4x4 pages for her journal.  I started out this morning with Mixed Media paper from Strathmore that I cut to 16x16.  I then just started playing with my favorite stencils and gesso.  Then I brought out Burnt Umber, Azure Blue, and Deep Rose gouche.  I applied it liberally with a brush and then spread it around with a baby wipe.  I'm totally in love with the results.  I was on a roll, but the reality of daily life, sigh....

My thoughts are that I'll come back with script stamps and my own lettering before I start cutting down it to mini journal size.

I'll be back, muse readers!!!  Enjoy the Season!

Traps, Treasures, and Secret Doors!

Pin It Now! Having watched the 2001 sequel to Secret Garden, The Return to the Secret Garden recently.  I've had floating around in the ole brain pan the thought that my current Journal, Secret Garden needs to have a secret door.  Also, being slightly addicted to Pinerest (first stage is denial, right?!) I've seen that there are a few cards being made now that use an embossing resist for the central design.  When I started this layout those two thoughts were forefront. I started out by stamping the branch and leaf pattern then embossing with clear powder.  I then took the same stamp and using Mowed Grass Distress Ink stamped again.  I used my heat tool to dry it a little bit and lightly wiped off the ink from the embossed surface. I then stamped the Lock and Key.  I had the butterflies floating on my desk so I transferred them using gel medium.  The embossed surface also resisted the transfer so the butterflies look like they are behind the branches.  Very cool!!!

That green really needed additional color and I've had these Prima flowers in my stash for quite a while so I starting gluing them down.  The larger flowers I used brads to secure and then glued to the page.  After all my elements were down I drew the framework of the door around them, which you can see in the photo below.

I took out my Prometheus Pen and Black Magic and inked in the door frame.  I couldn't help adding the tiny red bird to the foliage.  I'm currently debating on whether or not to paint the door a different color or leave it as is. hmm...

Oh My Goodness, Oh My Goodness, Oh My Goodness

Pin It Now! I've been MIA I know, but WOW what a couple of months!  Its been insanely busy.

I've been a little swamped the last two months with new car, the theater, art dates with my scrapbooking girls, inventory, inventory, inventory, and vacation. I have found time to finish my Moxie Art journal though, so here is a update as to what I've been doing.

Thanks for Watching, so long art fans...

Invasion of the Amateur Movie Crew

Pin It Now! Saturday, March 24th, 2012

The Bink's movie crew has picked my living room for a scene. It is utter chaos. I have escaped out the front door to Neverness'.  Totally derailed him from his Saturday afternoon pursuits. Mawahahahahaaha! If you want to know what he was doing check out his Blog at Neverness Hobby Chronicle.

B. U. T... I've managed to get him ARTING! We're currently plotting away on our 40K project.

So I'm getting a lesson in inking and then dyes.

My sketch 

My first lesson in inking

I really like how this came out, I've noticed some things in the drawing that could have been tweaked.  Practice, Play, and Practice some more.  I've progressed since I first started drawing and I'm happy.


Update:  He (Neverness) gave me homework before rushing off to the wilds of Indiana.
So I am now outfitted with Black Magic Ink, New liner brush, tracing paper, new sketch pad, and a couple of "text" books.

Now the plan is to add a second page to this here blog that will be center on our exploits in this Warhammer 40K Collaboration.

If Warhammer 40K is complete gibberish to you check out Games Workshop & Fantasy Flight Games for some clarification.

That's Just Me COOKIN'!!!

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I love to cook!  I LOVE to COOK!!!

Of course in the grand scheme of life sometimes I don't.  I think I might even consider myself a foodie... That is if pressed.  There isn't just one thing that I enjoy. It makes me think of a line from City Slickers, where Billy Crystal is asking Jack Palance the meaning of life and Palance's response is its just one thing ..his index finger held up for emphasis... (If you haven't seen this movie, watch it at least once)  I'm going to disagree with Jack. *gasp* Its many things: the process, the ingredients, and ultimately the edible result.  I cannot deny that I like food and the more complicated it is the more I like it.  I cook cause it make me happy and I've been told recently that it makes others happy too.  That declaration makes me even more happy and giddy.  

I'm beginning to see my practice of art in the same manner.  There's not just one thing that I can point to and say that's it.  It isn't just stamps (totally obsessed), paint, pens/pencils, tape, paper, etc, etc, etc... its the whole kit and coboodle.  The Bink told me the other day that he's delighted to see that my OCD isn't affecting what I'm doing at the art table.  It was an AH HA moment for me, 'cause I have to constantly remind myself to let go and walk away if its too messy.  So, when he says this it means that I'm making some progress.  YEAH ME!!!  

I'm currently obsessed with a Mini Journal.  I even got the Bink to help me trim paper for it.  Its 4 inches by 4 inches and totally cute. I'm finding that there are days when I just can't art but a few minutes and my large journal was too much for such a short period of time.  I've got enough space in the mini to journal short and sweetly.  I like that I'm using those scraps that are forgotten in the bottom of my stash.  Because I used Binder Rings I can take pages out to work on them and reorder the pages as I like.  

I've been reading Life is a Verb by Patti Digh.  I have to admit that its my fall back book for when I finish a book and don't have something else to read to finish my workout.  So, I've been reading it spurts.  Days pass and I don't even think about it.  Don't get me wrong there are parts of it that I laugh at and nod my head to.  Sure, I've been there something similar has happen to me or to someone I know.  Patti tells a good yarn.  Today, though there was a passage in Chapter 6 - Intimacy: Love More (Give Free Hugs) that even though my elliptical machine had stopped I couldn't quit reading.  So, there I am standing on the machine reading about Juan Mann, his Free Hugs Sign, and Patti Digh's daughter.  I was riveted by the story and by the time I got to my car I had the Free Hugs Video up on my phone.  I cried, I laughed, and I cried some more. I found it again when I got home.  If you've never seen the Free Hug movement videos, follow the link above or search via YouTube.  I think its well worth it!

So Long ART fans where ever you are!!!

Rising from the Mud

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"I rose from marsh mud
algae, equisetum, willows,
sweet green, noisy
birds and frogs."
― Lorine Niedecker

You may remember that last week I was struggling in mire, just digging myself deeper and deeper into the ooze.  I love, love, love, the color brown, but I'm discovering that when on paper or canvas it helps to create mud very easily.   Earthenmagic sent me a message about last weeks post and her insight was extremely beneficial.  Walk away and refocus intent.  I set my BOD aside and worked on playing with beautiful faces and copic markers. If you are interested to seeing them, they are on Flickr.  On a side note, my flickr gadget key code, blah, blah, blah quit working so I had to take it down.  *grrr*

I pulled out my Vol. I BOD to finish up that final page spread with tip in.  For some strange reason I started thinking about centerfolds.  I started sketching while watching the movie Due Date, HILARIOUS by the way.  My centerfold is sketched and all I need to do now is add some color!  I was left with a prepped tip in and I moved it forward a page and continued the doodles I had there on to the tip in.  Why didn't I think of that before!?  Doodling fun.  


I finally pulled Vol. II back out and just started removing the images I had attached from the front of the cover.  I really like the images I had chosen, very turn of the century botanical garden-esque.  I then reached for the gesso and had at it.  I even removed the binding tape from the spine and started over with a new piece "dyed" with watercolor.  The left image is the new Book of Days 2012 VOL.II.  The two right images are of the original cover & journal sleeve.  What do you think? What are your thoughts on my journal sleeve? Creepy or cool?

I want to thank Artistcellar for the FANTASTICALLY AWESOME rose window stencils and the Stewart Gill Byzantia paint.  This is my first use of Stewart Gill and the color is so Intense, love it.  Also, the watercolor effect of the window was inspired by Earthenmagic's Magic Tree.

Caught in the Matrix...

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Time seems to be running oddly in my house this week.  Last week's blog was yesterday and forever ago, maybe I'm caught in the Matrix and need either a blue pill or the red pill... Anyhoo, I've got a little "time lapse" photography of some of the things I've been working on in this ultra - dimensional time sequence of a week.  

The following is my rendition of BOD's Week 1 spread.

Week 1 PROMPT: Looking Forward

This Week's CHALLENGE: Using a tag in your journal

This prompt and something my husband said recently greatly influenced the main image in this spread.  He asked me why I did not use my background in religion in my work.  I've been stewing on that for a while now.  Way back in the good old college days I studied the philosophy and history of various religions such as: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and so on...  I was fascinated and still am to a degree by the religion's use of divination.  They've all had at some point a method to discern what the divine was trying to relay to their followers.  Priests and laymen alike would 'read' something: some watched birds in flight, the way smoke wafted from incense, abnormal lumps on animal livers, but most looked to the stars.  We still do, I'll take a wild guess and say 85% if not more of the American population knows what astrological sign they are.  So, I did some digging and found some old research that I still had stashed away on a bookshelf and pulled some images out.  Looking forward is, in a manner, to me a method of divining the future and stepping out onto a path, whether or not we take the first fork that we come to on that path is unseen, but still a viable choice.

Astrological sign:  Libra

Brief Explanation:  The Inner ring is the Path the earth takes around the sun and where the Solstices fall in that path.  The 2nd ring is astrological signs and the 3rd and 4th rings are the months and days in relation to the path of the earth and seasonal solstices. 

Very short Disclaimer:

*I do not profess to be able to accurately read this chart as I am by no means an Astrologer, just a mere dabbler at this point in time.*

My best-est bud in the whole world told me about gouache.  I know what you're thinking, where is she going now, but bare with me.  Gouache is an opaque watercolor.  He convinced me that I should try them, so I got me a little set and its what I used for my background color.  I've been playing with them and I so prefer it and watercolor over the apple barrel paint I also have.  I can manipulate it with much more ease.  And the color comes out very intense with or without water.

Background and tag added to right side.

The image of the Key hole and key is very symbolic for me and just had to add it.  The added tag acts like a door and to look forward into the milky mists of 2012 you must unlock that door and open it.

Full background with tag open.

The central image is a map of the heavens so to speak, so it seemed natural to place map imagery on the tag as well.

Looking Forward 2012

I've been scanning in my journal pages as I can't seem to get the photographs to come out worth a darn.  I'm recruiting my hubby to help me, but I have to move our vacation pictures off of the camera's SD card first.  For some reason that seems like a chore.  *sigh*  BUTTTT... this particular picture was from the digital camera and I've included it because you can kinda see the texture on the right hand side of the page.  I love the way that tissue paper melts into the background when applied with Medium, matte or glossy.  I happened to be doing laundry and was throwing out the dryer sheet, when it occurred to me to use it like tissue and too my surprise it worked awesomely.  It gives some fantastic texture, which you can sort of see.

The following is my rendition of BOD's this week's spread.

Week 4 PROMPT: Surrender

This Week's CHALLENGE: Painted Text

Surrender - taken with my phone :(

I hated this as I was working on it.  I really surrendered to the mess.  I had tattered angels spray coated on my hands.  Wasn't happy, but kept at it.  I used a page torn from an old dictionary and to the left added graph paper on top of that.  *I love graph paper*  Then I added the painted text and thought WOW what an S and then wasn't happy with the rest of the word.  It really wasn't working for me.  I went to bed.  Got up Tuesday Morning, did yoga and finished it.  I love it!  Weird...

I Surrender ~ Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Its past my bed time, sees you later!!! Hope you enjoyed.  There are more pictures on Flickr, follow the link at the top of the page.

So long art fans, where ever you are

~redbirdmuse

Wednesday is Blog Day!!! Bazinga...

Pin It Now! I think I've been pretty productive since my last post.  I made several cards and got them in the mail.  Worked on my art space getting it a bit more organized and pretty.  I'm super excited as I've signed up for the Personal Geographies with Jill Berry Webinar tomorrow and an art class at the William King Art Museum in February.  I've been embracing my inner turtle and working my way through the prompts from Book of Days 2012.  I've completed my inside cover, calendar spread, and I'm almost done with my first two page Monday spread, take a look.  

I created my background with Tim Holtz distress inks and water.

I really love how the Ranger Archival Ink Sap really subtly pops on this envelope.

The Scrap & Stamp magazine has this wonderful section in the back called the Pen Pal Exchange.  I added my name to list a couple of months ago and I've gotten a tremendous response. I've gotten so many beautiful cards and treasures from them.  Here's a sample of some of my post I've sent out.  If you're interested in exchanging letters send me an email.

So long art fans, where ever you are

~redbirdmuse

Book of Days 2012

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   I have joined up with Effy Wild over at WildPreciousLife to develop my journaling practice. I found Miss Effy through chance as I following a bit of advice and was perusing the Art Journal groups over at Flickr.  I was hopping around click, click, clicking away and I found a journal page spread that I really liked (which I now can't find) and the description had a bit about Book of Days 2012 and a link.  I followed the path before me and I was hooked immediately!  I'm totally stoked by this project.  I'm embracing my inner turtle and going full speed ahead.  It's such a coincidence that my husband helped me with my new journal, a 5 X 7 version of Teesha Moore's Amazing Journal, just a couple of days before, synchronicity at its finest.  'Cause there was a blank freshly bound journal just waiting for color.  I spent most of Sunday, January 8th, 2012 working on the cover.  Monday and Tuesday evening I spent finishing the cover and starting on the inside cover.  Yesterday morning and this morning I worked on my first calendar spread page.  Its an ode to our trip on New Year's through the mountains and into North Carolina.  I'm hoping to finish it up tomorrow morning. *fingers crossed*  More pictures soon!!!

Book of Days 2012 ~ MOXIE

A Gauntleted Creative

Pin It Now!   The Gauntlet was thrown in the middle of the KaPow Art Gallery, go figure, in Asheville, NC. The dialogue went something like this...

"I really should sell some art." Neverness said with a sigh.

I replied, "I will if you will."

  Sometimes I can be a cheeky little sh*t and get myself in trouble, especially when there are rather giant-like smart butted witnesses around.  That said I was only trying to prod my best-est compatriot into actually doing some art instead of doing some talking about doing some art. 

  The first part of this Thrown Gauntlet was for me to create this blog and post pictures of my STUFF as a way of documenting my transition into the world of ART.  A chronicle to discover my style and to take myself seriously (maybe) and have accountability.  A learning tool in mastering techniques and finding my favorite mediums. *YIKES* 

  I was reading the article, Nests & Eggs by Michelle Ward in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Somerset Studio.  Michelle talks briefly about how making pretty things will give the maker the designation of being creative, but that in some circles Creative is used as a noun. That resonated with me, as I knew exactly what she meant. I am a CREATIVE! I've always dabbled in various things: cross-stitch, crochet, fiber arts, sewing, & miniature painting just to name a few.

  I began my very first Art Journal shortly after the beginning of 2011 and have been painting, bookbinding, stamping and creating ever since.  I've even started learning how to draw faces and sketch, which for me was something totally right brain and alien.  

  I have pulled on my gauntlets preparing for battle.  "So, Enough talk!" 

  Enjoy the following fruits of my early 2011 labors.

ENJOY!

Secret Dream

This was my fourth journal entry and the one that hooked me.  I wasn't expecting the results I got and was thrilled at its outcome.

Summer Solstice 2011

I completed this spread right after the Secret Dream Spread.  This was a successful watercolor tape transfer of the rose and butterfly.

Vintage Blue Rose

Vintage Rose was a further development of the Summer Solstice spread.  It is one of my favorites. 

So long art fans, where ever you are

~redbirdmuse