KEEPING MYSELF ARTFULLY BUSY

I've been working on a few projects in my studio. I can only show glimpses at this time.......yeah sure. Some people hate that. Me? I think the small sections of work that people sometimes show are little GEMS in themselves.

I have also returned to my roots by going back to sketching. I can thank Barron Storey for that. I returned yet again to see his sketchbooks at the Society of Illustrators and spent a few more hours checking out the magic of his mark making.

Below you will find an "artsortment" of my"glimpses", PLUS my garden, that because of all of the rain we have been having, is looking better than it ever has. Also, when I was in NYC to see the Barron show again, I also went to The Met to see the incredible Medieval drawings. They will be on exhibit through the end of the summer.








Garden glimpses-






Hey Judy, check out the Prato Haggadah circa 1300. Have you guys read People of the Book? It's a wonderful story. Below images from The Metropolitan Medieval drawing exhibit.

A NEW YORK........."STOREY"

The above is a study for a project that is currently "all over my studio" . Just thought I'd let you know that I am still around, even though I haven't been visiting or posting much lately.

I spent a great day in New York yesterday. RUN.....do not walk, to the Barron Storey (he has both a blog and a website) show at the Society of Illustrators on 63rd, between Lexington and Park. It is a collection of his journals and sketchbooks that you can actually pick up , touch and feel, an amazing thing to be able to do in this day and age. It is there until the end of July and it's FREE. Be prepared to stay for awhile. I plan to go again.

"T" FOR THANK YOU AND THERAPY

"I found that I could say things with color and shape that I couldn't say another way- things I had no words for." -Georgia O'Keeffe

The "T" above, done with dye and leaves at a wonderfully zen workshop with LK Ludwig this past weekend, stands for a huge THANK YOU to all of you that sent your thoughts and loving wishes my way after the death of my mother. As the quote above states, I have no words that could possible express my gratitude.


The workshop was held at the beautiful studio of Bee Shay and I was surrounded with dear friends Jerri, Joy, Kathryn and Leslie.

LK taught us an array of her techniques including nature printing with dyes, mesh printing with patinas, painted pages, and her book binding techniques.

Below are some of my pages, an assortment of hands busy at work and my book cover (a VERY old school book cover) followed by some of my painted pages.















Thank you again!!

BUTTERFLY OF THE UNIVERSE

It is with great sadness that I tell you of the passing of my dear mother. She died on Wednesday night in the arms of myself, my husband and daughter. With peace and dignity.

"The caterpillar dies so the butterfly could be born and yet, the caterpillar lives in the butterfly and they are but one. So when I die, it will be that I have been transformed from the caterpillar of the earth to the butterfly of the universe."
-John Harricharan


Helen Dorner Shechtman
June 28, 1914 - May 20, 2009

HAIKU FESTIVAL

brick wall in spring
graffiti blooms -
the museum is open


Thank you, Elizabeth!

FRENCH FLEA MARKET FINDS

Flea market
The origin of this term, which first appeared in English in the 1920's, most probably lies in Paris, where Le Marche aux Puces (literally, 'market of the fleas') was a popular shopping venue. Le Marche aux Puces took its name from the semi-humorous (and probably at least partly accurate) popular perception that the market's ragtag goods were more than likely to be infested with fleas.


No fleas here.......and for those of you that have been here before.....it's not from Target!!!! I was in Paris three weeks ago.

The piece at the top of this post is my favorite. I believe it was a belt buckle of some sort. Maybe.




This lady is the top of an old lamp that had a fire of some sort, in it's electrics. I fell in love with the details on the top of her dress. Do you know what she is thinking? I can tell you. "What in the world is this blogger going to do, with all of these wonderful things?"

TIME IS A DRESSMAKER

"Time is a dressmaker that specializes in alterations."
-Faith Baldwin

Thank you Seth, for a jewel( better than Target) of a project.









Results-

*Ribbon stretched out, barely holding it up. The tree is helping.
*mold and dirt on paper......now the the lawn is being mowed add grass clippings
*rusted metal wire
*extreme paper warping paper was heavy grade water color paper
*enhanced patina on metals, copper and brass
*Target brooches............sigh, still intact.

Before-
After-

PARIS OR MY SHOULDER..

so yesterday i had my shoulder operated on to repair a torn labrum. i am typing with one hand, so please forgive my lack of caps.

i returned from an amazing trip to paris last week. i figured that it would be better to post some of my trip photos than my shoulder mri or xrays......ha, ha.




line for tickets to the top of the eiffel tower....it reminds me of an edward hopper painting


we went to the top of the eiffel tower at midnight......oooo la la

the opera

paris comes alive at night

an assemblage by picasso at the picasso museum

a special treat, the vanves flea market, escorted by tara bradford of paris parfait




the magnificent flying buttresses of notre dame


an amazing international graffiti exhibit at the grand palais



everyone wants to be french in paris.......duh.....the berets




bike sharing.......an excellent idea


beautiful day at luxembourg gardens



great friends to share it with

so i know i was there and it wasn't a dream

FOUND-IN THE YEAR 2109

" I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich as an expression of life as growth." - Henry Miller

Hey everyone, I am just giving a little update on my disintegration project, a la Seth over at Altered Page.

The copper and metals are aging very nicely, thank you. I DO love that copper. The patina of "life" just works so well.

The paper is curling and getting moldy......WOO HOO. Some of the wire has rusted.

If you look closely, you can even see some of the mold. What fun......


The "BLING"? Well that's another story. They are left overs from a time when I was making jewelry and adding brooches to necklaces. The brooches were purchased at Target!! I was hoping that they would rust.....that the stones would fall out........discolor, bend, fall off, break...ANYTHING!!!! I figure, when archeologists come to my neighborhood someday, 100 years from now, 1000 years from now, those damn Target brooches will still look as good as new.

Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

See you next week after I've been........here.

"SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY" -THOREAU

" The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."
-Hans Hofmann

She agrees.

Here's what happens sometimes and I am only mentioning this so I can look back on this post and try an remember what I told myself, since this blogging thing is a journal, of sorts. When you are into a "groove" with a particular technique, that doesn't mean you should just keep adding more and more to a particular piece. Does that make sense? Does it happen to you?

I enjoyed doing this piece and sometimes pieces like this have their place, but I feel that I am more successful using fewer objects and drawing more on the copper.






Perhaps if I eliminate the color?

Harley wants my friend somepinkflowers to know that she would love to come visit, anytime.

SCHOOL DAZE

"In the dime stores and bus stations, people talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations, draw conclusions on the wall. " -Bob Dylan

I'm into the second week of an online graffiti workshop with Alisa Burke. Still having fun, just don't have as much time as I did, when I was on vacation last week. Practicing my juggling....as in work AND play.



This week we did some exercises with stencils.

HERALDRY- emblem, symbol or insignia

" We may talk what we please of lilies and lions rampant and spread eagles, in fields of d'or or d'argent, but if heraldry were guided by reason, a plough in a field of arable would be the most noble and ancient of arms." -Abraham Cowley



I have been wrapped up in this wonderful world of copper, old jewelry parts, found objects, paint, etching and stitching. In trying to develop a name for this process, I came upon old coat of arms and heraldry. Items used for war initially and now symbolic of families and other things. And yes, each marking on heraldry has a particular meaning, even the color.

These things very much reminded me of the look that I am attempting to achieve. I am calling these pieces my Heraldry Series. They are peaceful symbols in every way.




I am planning to open an etsy soon. Keep your eyes open.

ALTITUDE WITH ATTITUDE

There I am, perched high above the town of Telluride Colorado, riding the wonderful free transit system gondola into town. Can you tell the view is spectacular. If you have a weak stomach or a super fear of heights, that first scene over the ridge can be a bit tricky.

While I am here, I decided to sign up for Alisa Burkes Graffiti Chic, on line class. It's a treat. I have a difficult time being "messy", she helps you get over that by using great videos and blog sample lessons, instant chats and other things to get you on your way.

Our first assignment was to photograph some things we found inspiring and use the photos as a jumping off point to dig into her techniques.

Below you will find a short sequence of photos showing a bit of what I did for the first two pieces, starting with the photo.


I used whatever paper I could find as a base.


It's all about layers....paint, text, stamping, scraping and so much more. I felt pretty "tight" on this first one. I admit I sort of liked the initial painting, so it was hard to move on.

Next photo and subsequent painting.



Have NO IDEA where the 66 came from, but I got rid of it fast.

I had more of a sense of freedom here. We'll see where the next exercise takes me.

Besides the spectacular mountain views, there are some typical Telluride sights.

Boards with tons of posted events.

The Free Box is a great place to get rid of what you don't need and pick up something else........yes, for free. I got a brand new journal the other day.

Then there is the white out snowstorm which can sneak up on you.

Mostly there are beautiful scenes like this.

IT'S A BLING DISINTEGRATION THING

Better late than never.

I've been itching to be a part of Seth's disintegration project (The Altered Page) and just managed to get it together in the past few days.

I decided that I would make use of some of the techniques I've been playing with lately. Heavy water color paper, heavy acrylic medium, copper, metal findings, stitching..........and just to see what will happen......some BLING. What do I hope will happen? It would be great if I end up with "vintage" bling. Perhaps some of the stones will fall out, rust will form, the finish will crack......a girl can only hope.

FLOWER SHOW-SHOW FLOWER

This piece began with the vintage ceramic flower in the center that I wired to a copper sheet and grew from there. I once again etched, drew, painted and stitched on the copper.



I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show on Monday during a snow storm. What a refreshing change from the winter weather, to step inside the convention center and see fresh flowers......everywhere.

A collage made entirely of flower and plant petals.

The theme this year was Bella Italia.

Fashion.

Another collage of real flower petals.

More incredible fashion statements with live plants.

A table I would LOVE to have in my house.