Newspaper

The theme this week at The Three Muses is the newspaper.  Now I have to admit that I've never been a newspaper reader even before the internet, but when I was very young, and I mean very young (before my teen years), I loved the comics.

So I decided to make one of my altered boxes with the Sunday Comics.  They were my favorite, because they were in color.  I probably haven't read the comics since I was that young, so I looked through them  to see if some of my favorites were still there.  The only one that 's still being published is Blondie--that was on my top 10 along with Little Lulu, Nancy, Winnie Winkle, and Archie--boy am I dating myself!   And there's others that are still around like Peanuts, Beetle Bailey and Prince Valiant--who reads Prince Valiant anyway?!--well somebody obviously did and still does.

The newspaper unfortunately is probably on its way out too--I think it will be around for a while, because alot of people still enjoy their morning coffee and paper, like my husband.  But even he's gone over to the dark side--he has his morning coffee with the internet--let's face it, that's where we can find the most up-to-date news. 

I really enjoyed this theme--I would never have thought of making a box from the Sunday Comics--now that's what  I  call recycling!

Oh Man At The Three Muses!

Oh Man--yep, that's the theme this week over at The Three Muses, so here is my Mr. Man box--

I want to thank Annie Wilkes from the  Stephen King  book Misery for that expression--Mr. Man.  Did anyone see that movie?  That is one of my favorite movies--I just loved Kathy Bates as Annie.  But I am really digressing here--back to my art piece.

I started out with this wooden cigar box--

And then I started to look through all of my Mr. Man stuff that I have--

Now this only a little bit of what I have pretaining to men.  But everything I have, I  found in flea markets in Tennessee and Kentucky.  I live in Pennsylvania, so your probably wondering what was I doing there?  Well, I was at the Highway 127 sale   (yes, they have a website).  It's every August for four days, and it spans through 4 states--about 650 miles--from dawn to dusk.  It's all on this highway 127, and it's just one flea market after another, and you can find ANYTHING that you could possibly want or need and then some.  I've gone for 2 years now, and for some reason, I can find the best  man stuff  there.  So I went through my man stuff, and decided what I wanted to use, and then I lined the cigar box with pages from this 1925 Farmer's Almanac that I found in Kentucky.

This other lady and I were fighting over this book.  It's obvious who won that fight : )

So there you have it--my Mr. Man box--

And for those of you who have never seen the movie Misery, here's the scene where Annie uses one of my favorite phrases--"Mr. Man"

Sarah's Home

The theme this week at The Three Muses is architecture and here is Sarah's home:

This is a place that I regret not going to when I had a chance , when  I was in San Jose, California.  It's the Winchester House built by Sarah Winchester.  She was widow to William Winchester who was the son of the founder of the Winchester Arms Company.  Needless to say, she was a very wealthy woman.  She only had one daughter who died at infancy and her husband later died of tuberculosis.  Because of this, she felt that she was cursed and after visiting a psychic, she moved to San Jose.  The reason being, is because the psychic told her  that indeed she was cursed by all of the spirits that were killed from the Winchester rifle.  And she told Sarah  that she needed to build a home in the west for her and the spirits, and that if she ever stopped building, she would die

So that's what she did sometime in the 1880's,  for 38 years--24 hours a day--365 days a year

She really did build it--she was the architect who designed it, even though she had no formal training.  Some say that's why the house is so screwy, like the doors that open into walls, the staircases that lead to nowhere, or the windows that look into other walls.  But MOST believe that this was her intent--to confuse the ghosts. She very rarely would  stay more than 2 nights in the same bedroom for fear that the spirits would find her. The house was so complicated, that the servants used a map to find their way around.   To say that this lady was a tormented soul is putting it mildly.  There are other interesting facts about the house.  Sarah was fascinated with the number 13 (go figure), so there are 13 bathrooms, 13 chandeliers, all of the windows have 13 panes and so on and so on.

In 1920, it was opened to the public for tours. Now.... they say that there have been sightings of Sarah's ghost  roaming the grounds and also her home and you better believe that I believe it.

This is Sarah Winchester, or should I say her spirit watching over her home.  I love this kind of stuff--it just fascinates me.  I'm the one that watches all of those TV shows--  "most haunted places", and of course Halloween is my favorite time of year.

And I also wanted to show you the background of the collage--

I was inspired by KC Willis to make this fabric collage.  She makes the most beautiful fabric collages, and last year I joined  her Collage Camp  workshop, and she shows you how she makes these wonderful collages from start to finish.  In the one video, she gives you a tour of her studio, and you just drool over all of the treasures she has there.  You can see her art at Lipstick Ranch, and believe me, it's worth the trip!!

Nature and Spring

The theme this week at The Three Muses is nature, and I wanted to do something with flowers--

I call her my Norah girl  (as opposed to Suzi).  This week in our class, Sharon was showing us different ways to create a face.  Basically sketching on a background with a Stabilo pencil.   I started out with collaged papers and then sketched her face.  Well, she was kind of washed out looking, so I added just a little color.  And the roses are napkins, which Sharon had showed us in the first week.  I love the way they go on--very transparent and delicate looking.

Plus I found a book in all of my stash here that was just all poems.  I didn't even realize that I had it. It's a High School library book published in 1965 called "The Golden Journey"--poems for young people--

There are so many really good poems in this book that I know I'll use--I don't remember getting this book at all!

I definitely wanted to do something flower-related.  I miss them, and I can't wait until I can see any type of green outside.  I'm sick of seeing this day after day.........

Postage Stamp Blossoms

The Three Muses wants us to create something with postage stamps this week--how about picking them and putting them in a vase--

It's nothing new for me to make a collaged vase with collaged flowers, but I have to say that I've never made postage stamp flowers, but why not?  I thinks all stamps are little pieces of art with all of their different color and variety-- just like flowers.  I put this on a piece of wood measuring 12 x 12 , so I knew I wanted them fairly large to make a vase and even a tablecloth--

So I went on google to search for stamps, and when I found them, I just enlarged them.  Sometimes when I'm making something, I want that one little thing for the finishing touch.  And I know I have it here--I just have to find it.  I'll search this  ENTIRE  house for the ENTIRE day, and never find it, and now I  think that I've been looking in the wrong place.  I should  look  in the Google house, because you can find anything there!

I really do believe that in the not to distant future, there will be no such thing as a postage stamp.  My son who is soon to be 23, (and doesn't live at home), I don't think has ever bought a stamp in his life, and not because I give them to him--it's because he has no need for them--everything he does that would require  a stamp, he will do electronically.  I think the post office is still making stamps probably more for the collectors and the mixed media artists.  They've always been collectible, but when they're no longer available, they'll be highly collectable.

Kind of like green stamps--remember those--you got them when you went grocery shopping, and when you filled up so many books of them, you could go to the green stamp store, and get what ever you had enough books for--and they had everything  there. I found a whole sheet of these and the unfilled book at a flea market a couple of years ago, and it was like I discovered gold.   How about the Raleigh coupons on the back of the Raleigh cigarettes--same idea--great marketing strategy on the part of this tobacco company--if you smoke more of these and faster, you can get your  "free"  item with your coupons--brilliant!!

Someday, I think it will be the same for these wonderful little pieces of art--I hope that I'm wrong.

Also, on a side note--are there any Survivor fans out there?--well I sure am.  I've been watching it since the very beginning (10 years ago).  It's starting this Thursday--Heroes vs. Villians, and I can't wait!!!!

"Birds Of A Feather"

The challenge this week at The Three Muses is birds of a feather, and my birds of a feather gather here:

In their bird house--these are the three elements that I like to use the most in my art (aside from my new obsession with faces), houses, hearts, and birds--so I loved this week's challenge.  To start out with, I used this old cupboard door I had that had  a glass insert--

I then  collaged  text from my favorite over-sized children's book that I have and scrapbook papers--

And then for the bird house I used my scrapbook papers  again--

I love making pictures with papers--kind of like putting a puzzle together.  It's very relaxing for me.

I also wanted to show you a WIP.  Tara doesn't like using that word, but I kind of do, although I've never used it before.  Remember my journal pages from last week?

Well, I started it--I know, I know, I'm a slow-poke, but I started it--

And I know, it's another face--I can't get away from them.  One of the ladies from my Suzi class, Kristen  had posted some of her faces with text on them, and I loved the way that they turned out, so thanks to her, this is what I decided to do.  I keep adding layers to her face, and when I want to preserve what I've done, I just add clear gesso to her, and then I can add more layers.  She kind of looks sad or mad--either way--it's probably because I WON'T LEAVE HER ALONE!!  So I'll leave her be for a while and continue on with these pages.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I'll let her tell me.

One Of My Favorite Quotes

The theme this week at The Three Muses is to use one of your favorite quotes in your art work and here is mine:

This was done on a gallery wrapped canvas, and it measures about 8 x 17, so I'll show you a couple close ups.  Here's  where I put the quote--

The quote is a Chinese  Proverb, and it's "A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song"

I love using birds, like alot of artists, in my artwork. To me, they represent freedom to go anywhere, and to just sing just for the sake of singing.  They also  represent a sign of renewal.  The first sign of Spring for us is to see a Robin. I love birds.  I'm not a bird expert or watcher--I just love birds.  Right now, it's so cold and  QUIET, but in the warmer seasons I just love waking up to the chirping of all the birds.

And this was one of those pieces where everything came into place.  I just sat back and listened to her (my muse--still don't know her name). I found this sheet music in a children's book I had which was perfect for what I  was looking for:

"The Birdies' Ball"--how cute!

Then I used this scrapbook paper for the border--

The flowers in it went so well with the birds, so I just cut some out and collaged them onto the canvas  to mix in.

I usually don't paint these colors--the baby blues and pinks, and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but when I was finished--I love it!

Love Is In The Air

What else could be in the air with Valentine's Day coming up.  That is  the theme this week at The Three Muses--Something in the Air, and as soon as I saw that, that's what came to mind. 

So I started looking through my 'stuff' for an image, and I just wasn't satisfied.  And in the meantime, I've been cleaning out my art room (it's getting painted this weekend!), and I found this vintage postcard that I don't even remember getting.

I love these old postcards--I have them everywhere--I really need to get more organized.  What I like even better is when they have writing on the back, which this one did:

Do you see the postmark on there--it's dated Nov., 1911--that's almost 99 years old!  Do you believe that--I just get so excited when I'm holding  something that old.  Someone purchased this postcard 99 years ago, bought their 1 cent stamp, and mailed it off.  In this case, it was Clara sending it to her friend Olga.  She starts out the message by saying   "Dear Friend"--isn't that so cute--"Dear Friend"?  Nowadays, you're greeting will be Hi or Hey, or sometimes we don't even put a greeting in and just start writing our message, or should I say typing.  This is why I loved that era--they were just so ......proper? refined?--I don't know what the word is, but they were just SO....

And I think that Clara would be tickled pink if she knew that we were discussing her postcard and message on the internet, and better yet I was using it for a piece of art.  But first we'd have to explain what the word internet meant, and then I'm sure she would be very excited.

I started out with a plain wood shadowbox (50 cents at a garage sale), and collaged copies of handwritten letters on it, and then over that I collaged scrapbook paper with hearts punched out.  I forgot about taking a picture until midway, but you'll get the idea--

And then I made 5 copies of the postcard, and cut them into pieces, so I could layer them on top of each other to get a dimensional look--

And then I just finished embellishing.  The dimensional look of the piece doesn't show up very well in the photo, but it's pretty cool looking in person.  I like this time of year, when nothing much is going on, and I can fool around like this--it's alot easier just to put the one image down, and be done.  But starting in Spring, I start with the art fairs, and I don't have as much time.  Yes I really do go out and talk to real people, and I enjoy it, but I also like all of you computer people too!  So, until later, dear friends : )

Water

This week over at The Three Muses the theme is water.  As soon as I saw that this was the challenge, the first thing that came to mind was of course summer and the beach--one of our favorite places to go to when our kids were small.  So last week I was thinking Spring--now I'm thinking Summer--can you tell that I'm getting cabin fever!  Here's what I came up with this week--

I started out with this craft box

I love taking these plain wood craft boxes, or any old box like cigar, jewelry, recipe ,and so on, and altering them. One of my favorite boxes that I made last year was this one--

For the top of this one, I started out with plain glass 1" tiles, and then I collaged papers onto them, and then I  applied Crystal Laquer to them.  Crystal Laquer is like resin--when it dries, it gives a 3D effect, and it's very glossy--so the tiles on the box ended up looking like glass tiles. The photo doesn't show it very well, but in person, it was very cool looking.  Crystal Laquer is like Diamond Glaze, but I like it a little better, because you don't get the tiny bubbles like you do when you use the Diamond Glaze.

 Usually when I'm faced with a blank canvas or any blank surface, I myself turn blank, and I struggle with it.  But not with the boxes--for some reason, I like these "blank canvases".  I'll never know how they will turn out, but they always seem to come together very easily for me.  On the beach box, I used digital images from Luna Girl.  Don't you just love modern technology--with a couple clicks of your mouse, the images are right there at your fingertips.  The  mouse I knew about 20 years ago was the kind that made me scream.

After I collaged the images, I just added the knobs for feet, and then the shells and beads on top. I had fun making this box, and I'm thinking I'm going to have to make some more now : ) 

Angels

This week The Three Muses challenge is angels.  I love  angels in artwork.  I especially love the folk art  and handpainted ones.  And of course angels are always around, no matter where or what you're doing. That's why I decided to make a garden angel.

Even though we still have 3 good months of winter here (Spring doesn't begin until April around here), I'm thinking Spring with blooming flowers and butterflies, and starting your garden.

For the background of this, I used another vintage favorite book of mine--

I found this a couple of years ago at a yard sale.  Look at that price--what a find!  And I know that book was headed for the trash if I hadn't of rescued it.  I've used it on countless numbers of artwork.  It's probably about 15" tall and the pages are aged perfectly. I also collaged again this time with scrapbook papers, and the butterflies are Dover images.

Something Old, Something New

So this week The Three Muses challenge is Something Old, Something New, and here's my entry--

My something old was the background pieces and the birds  that I collaged onto the canvas--

I found this vintage book at a flea market with a few others.  At the time, I didn't really look through it, but it's one of my favorites now.  It's called The Junior Instructor for the parent and child, and it was published in 1918.  It covers every topic relating to school with many illustrations, colored photos, sheet music, and even a full page of the alphabet, and it's oversized (about 12" tall)--I love it.

And for the something new, I used one of my Christmas presents--

This set of Winsor & Newton Galeria acrylic paints.  I've never painted with them before--I really like them.  The colors are very vibrant, and there is a good selection here so that you can mix them to get many more shades, plus a little goes a long way.

Now that Christmas is over, and things are getting a little back to normal, it was fun just to take my time and just paint as long or as little as I wanted to without worrying about anything else. I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!!