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!

Black, White, And Red

It's not all black and white is what the theme is this week at Mixed Media Monday--so keeping  with my colors from  my last post, I'm sticking with the red--

Did you ever have one of those pieces that you're working on , and just aren't satisfied with it, and you keep adding more stuff to it?   Well, this is one of those pieces, and luckily I documented the process with photos. So come along with me on my journey, and I'll show you.  So the first thing I did was take a gallery wrapped  8 x 10 canvas and collaged black and white papers on it, because that's the theme-right?

The sheet music is from a collage pack that I purchased from Ophelia--wonderful items in this pack, including some old ledger papers, which I love.  And she still has more available--just click on her name for the link.  It was perfect for what I wanted, because I knew that I was going to be putting roses on it, and the name of the song was  "Under the Rose Arbor"--perfect :D

After that,  I put a titan buff wash over it (I know, I know--it's not white, but I would say it's ivory--a member of the white family) and Golden's  crackle  paste on the edges and on the rose stencil.  I love this crackle paste, because that's just what it does when it dries-- it cracks.

So I added some script stamp in places and the ladies face--I love this stamp--I use her alot.

Okay, you see that house in the corner?  Well, that's an inkjet transfer, that I'm so proud that I can do now, but I was looking at it, and thought  "this is too dark, hmmm, I know, I'll outline it (it wraps around the side of the canvas too). So after I did that, I said "no, it's too dark--it's gotta go"

P.S. Notice the music title is just about gone, except for the word Arbor--well that will still work.

So let's move forward a little bit--I got rid of the house and added more sheet music there and in other places and at the top I added the word Dance from another song title, because as you can see "Under the Rose Arbor" is long gone.  I had these fabric flowers that I added for more texture, also.  At this point, I said (notice I'm not thinking anymore, I'm saying--in other words I'm talking to myself or arguing with Clara my muse--one or the other),  "okay, it's finished" and I varnished it  (gloss varnish), and this was my final photo for MMM.  Yesterday morning when I looked at it, I said, "I don't like it", so back to the drawing board--

So now...... I added more stamping (I stamped onto old sewing pattern tissue papers and collaged them into the heart and around different places) I dirtied up the flowers, because they were just too white.  Let me see, what else--just more stamping.  And I said  "okay, now it's finished" and this was the final photo for MMM.  A  few hours later I was looking at it, and I said "it needs something,  hmmm, how about a hanger?"

P.S. What happpened to the word Dance?   I can hardly see it!

And here is the finished piece....... I think.  If this was Mixed Media Tuesday, I'd probably be still adding stuff  to it.  I have to say that I like it better in person--everything shows up so flat on the computer screen--you lose the texture of the piece.   So, that's it,  I hope you enjoyed my "tutorial"?

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"

Enchanted

This is the theme at Mixed Media Monday this week, and here is my enchanted land where the sun ALWAYS shines : )

This is done on an 11 x 14 wrapped canvas, and I just had alot of fun using all different types of mediums.  First I just started putting down colors using my Golden acrylics.  I love these paints so much--I just don't understand why they have to be so expensive (I'm very protective of them).  And then I started collaging my different scrapbook papers for the mountains, trees, and birds.  After that, I used neocolor crayons and colored pens.  I loved making this piece.

And I have to give credit to the artist Lierre Foest for inspiring me.  I was looking around on the web after I saw the theme for this week, and that's when I discovered her.  I first found her on you tube.  At first, I thought all of her work was on large surfaces, but they're not.  The majority of them are on ACEO (2.5 x 3.5) cards and 4 x 6 pieces called OSWOA--I've never heard this term before.  Does anyone know what that one stands for? I can't stop looking at her work--all the details on such tiny surfaces--she also prefers 1 x1 surfaces too!

If you like this type of colorful, whimsical art, then you will love this video:

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.........

Mardi Gras

This is the theme this week at Mixed Media Monday--Mardi Gras, so I decided to make a Mardi Gras box.

And here's a better view of the cover--

When I first saw what the theme was going to be, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do.  I wouldn't really call myself  a Mardi Gras type of girl.  If  I lived in New Orleans, I'd probably stay at home.  But then Lisa  from my Suzi Blu class (who I have a feeling would love to go to the Mardi Gras, or I may be wrong--which is it, Lisa? : ) said to me-- what is  Mardi Gras without a Suzi goddess, and she was right, so thanks Lisa for the spark!

I just started out with a boring unfinished wood box that you find at the craft store.  You might be seeing alot more of these boxes.  My first art fair is next month, and these are hot items there. Then I just made it colorful and glitzy with different papers, metallic paint, and "jewels", and then finished it off with a high gloss varnish, because it has to be shiny!!

I also think that this box would come in handy for a Suzi goddess--she would put all of her beads that she collected in it   : )  And you know who else would have appreciated this box for storing her beads--Clara of course. I think it's official--Clara is my muse--either that, or my alter-ego.  Or is that one in the same?

And I also wanted to show you the latest photo of my grandson, Bob. This is for my wallet : ) He just celebrated his 5th birthday, which happened to be on Friday--the same day as mine!!

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!!!!

Romance At MMM

Mixed Media Monday's theme this week is  romance and here is my romantic submission--

The title of  this piece is "Clara's New Beau"--oh yeah that's right, Clara's at it again.  This is her in her younger days with  her new boyfriend.  I don't know his name, and I'm sure she didn't remember it  either later on in her life, because she had many beaus in her time. She 's getting ready for her big date with him, which happens to be Valentine's Day. She's made up her face, used her best perfume (looks like she used it all up,too), and made sure to wear her pearls (that happened to be a gift from a former beau), and notice the roses--she received them for Valentine's Day......from someone else.  They both seem  to be very smitten with each other at the time this photo was taken:

I started out with an unfinished shadowbox, and turned it backwards--

I don't like to use things the way they're supposed to be used--probably why I reversed it. Then I collaged sheet music on the outside and inside. After that I  Mod Podged the images first and then the lace on the reverse side of the glass--so basically everything was under the glass instead of on  top:

And then I just used Clara's items, and completed my box. The image of Clara and her new suitor I found on Google--how she ended up there, I'll never know.  You know, all this talk about Clara--do you think that Clara could be my muse??

So there's two things happening next weekend--St. Valentine's Day and my Birthday!  I could do without one of them :  )   And I also wanted to direct you to Kelly's blog.  I met her in Suzi's class and she is having a giveaway, but a little bit different than most.  She makes beautiful jewelry, and her giveaway is any image of your art that she will put in a pendant for you--isn't that cool?  You have until Feb. 12 (which happens to be my birthday--that would be a great present, don't you think?)  Happy Valentine's day everyone!

"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.

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?!

That's what Mixed Media Monday  wants to know this week, and that's what all of these people want to know--

That's what they're saying to each other, BUT what they're  THINKING  is--there's something about her, with her fun and carefree spirit, and her self-condifence of expressing herself.   And oh yeah, I'd be one of those whispering ladies here, but secretly I'd  be envious of her knowing herself so well, and doing what makes her happy.  A couple of weeks ago I made an art piece that you can see here, and in it, I used an old postcard that I had.  And on the back was a message written from Clara to her friend Olga.  So after looking at  this piece--I think that the lady with the spiffy outfit must be Clara,

 and her friend Olga is in the bottom right-hand corner.

Olga doesn't seem too  pleased with Clara right now, does she?   So, I decided to name this piece "Clara".

Clara's outfit was designed by the house of Itkupilli, and all of the other gossiping, snickering, jealous people came from vintage magazines dating back to the  40's and 50's.  When I was looking through the magazines, I loved the different advertisements I ran across, like this one:

She has a strict budget of $25.00 a month for groceries--I think she can do it.  Or how about this one:

How about a brand new car for $645.00!  But my favorite one has to be this:

"Smoke a LUCKY to feel your LEVEL best"  Wow, it was a whole different world back then!  When I saw what the theme was for this week, I was a little stumped.  I almost didn't do it, but these are challenges, so I challenged myself to do it, and I'm glad that I did--I had fun!

And wanted to show you this, in keeping with this week's theme.  WHAT WAS I THINKING when I made this VERY VERY fattening, high in cholesterol, delicious, 3 cheese macaroni and cheese dinner?

I was thinking, "I can't wait for dinner!"

Yep, I ate all that up, PLUS I had seconds!

And finally one more photo that I'd like to share with you.  This is me when I was in my 30's, and of course, there's that question again--

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!--with my big hair (that I was so proud of), and those high-wasted , balloon pleated  pants that accentuated my "tiny" hips so well--JUST LOVELY!!

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!

The Games People Play

That's the theme this week over at Mixed Media Monday.  So you've heard the familiar phrase "house of cards"--well for this art challenge, I created a kindgom of cards--

This is where the King and Queen of Hearts live--click on the photo for a closer view.

This is the King's place, and

here is the Queen's--that must be their son Prince Jack up on the second floor.  Also, you'll notice that what's growing there are Club, Heart, Spade, and Diamond flowers, and the trees are Spade trees.

Growing up, that was what my brothers and I did for entertainment--we played alot of cards.  When we were young, our favorite card game was War.  Does anyone remember that game?  It's basically a never ending game--we would play with a double deck and we'd play that same game for days.  And then as we got older, our favorite was Pinochle--we loved  that game.  As much as I love now and modern technology--I still like the "olden" days before Play Station 3 and computers.  I don't think my kids growing up ever even heard of the word Pinochle.

When I started out with this piece, I knew that I was going to make the houses out of the deck of cards that I had.  I loved the round playing deck that I used for the trees.  I like putting houses in my artwork,  but I didn't know how they would turn out.  I made the houses, and then my muse just took over and they came to life.  When I finished, I looked at it  and realized that it was the King and Queen's kingdom!

 And when I'm in my art room, I talk to myself ALOT.  What scares me though, is that I tend to have a conversation with myself.  But I had an "aha" moment.  I was at Sharon's site --All Norah's Art--the class doesn't start until Feb. 5, but the site is open now. Well anyway Sharon (she's a cool lady :) was telling us that she talks to herself  also, and sometimes things just come out of her, and she told us that it's her muse, Norah talking to her.  How cool is that?   Her muse has a name.  And then that's when I realized--there's nothing wrong with me--it's MY MUSE talking back to me!!  Thanks Sharon, for giving me that insight--I feel better now.  Sometimes my muse (I don't know her name....yet) can be a bit irritating, but I always listen to her, because she's usually right.

I also wanted to tell you that I went to our mall a couple of days ago to get some things, and of course I had to stop in at Michaels and Borders to treat myself to a latte (my drink of choice).    And when I was there, I picked up the latest issue of this--

I haven't had a chance to even open it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.  The main reason is that I am loving all of these beautiful journal pages that I'm finding on alot of your blogs.  I really want to start an art journal.  My first step was starting this blog, but I want to start a real life one.( well I actually kind of started one with my upside down Suzi faces)  I found Jo Reimer's blog One a Day, and on it she encourages everyone to keep a journal, whether it's art or just writing--just basically to record your life.  She tells of her mother and father being married during the Depression and the tough times that fell on them, and she wished that they would have kept  some kind of journal--anything just to know how they felt   during this time of their life.  And don't you wish that you could read things from your relatives that are no longer with you --even if it were just beautiful artwork in a beautiful journal. After I read her post, I felt guilty for not recording anything of what I do.

And also on her blog, she had a very  interesting  utube video of a man who discusses his journaling, and you guessed it--I'm putting up another VERY interesting video for you to enjoy (Thanks Jo)--I LOVED this video!!