Re-org of the art studio

 It was that time again, time to clean up and organize my art studio. What a mess it was, no where to put anything. I was feeling kind of claustrophobic. Not a good thing.  Mike said he would help me clean it up and I took him up on his offer.  So this past weekend I spent some much needed time in the studio cleaning.

On Friday the boys and I hit a few second hand stores to see what we could find to help me organize. Second hand stores are a great place to find baskets and storage supplies very cheap.  We found a few things to use. A wire paper holder that could be hung, some baskets and this thing that I wasn't sure if it was a baking sheet holder or a file holder but it was something that I could make work.

Saturday morning came and I ended up running errands and my lovely husband proceeded to empty out my studio. When I got home he pretty much had everything emptied out on our deck and I will have to say that I was a little shocked!   I have a lot of stuff!

Caution: If you have your husband empty out your art studio and your husband doesn't know or realize how bad of an art supply junky you are,  he will know now for sure!  Be ready to answer why you need all of your stuff.  Lol.

To be honest I got a little overwhelmed seeing it all.   I had all these good intentions to clean up and organize this space but when I saw it all over the back deck I freaked!  I didn't know where to start. I had bought a mini 3 ring binder that I was going to use to catalog everything.  I wanted to catalog it all so in the future I knew where to find stuff and so I didn't buy any duplicates.  This happens to me quite often.

I realized that cataloging all of this wasn't going to happen over night or in a week for that matter and since it wasn't going according to my plan the panic started to set in.  Mike was his awesome self and helped me through my panic. He said, "Just start somewhere. Start with the papers and make piles. Make one pile for the throw away and one pile to keep." So I took a deep breath and I got started on the papers.  Once I got going it was pretty easy.  I knew I couldn't keep everything.  Making decisions on what stayed and what had to go was a little tough at times and in the end I still kept a lot of stuff but they now all have a place.   As I went through all my supplies, Mike hung the shelves, moved the tables and brought back in the heavy stuff for me since I still can't lift from shoulder surgery.

I'm sure many other artists and crafters can relate, you just never know when that piece of ribbon off a wrapped gift that you received would come in handy!  Sometimes it's hard not to want to put that little piece of ribbon into your stash.  I see possibilities in so many things and I am always coming up ideas that I want to try, I just can't help collecting for possible future use!  Just like the other day, I was on the beach with my boys and some good friends.  I was collecting shells.  I think the shells were mussels and they were not very pretty on the outside but oh,  the colors inside were beautiful.  Purples and creams with pearly accents, I knew I had to bring some home and try to make some sort of necklace out of them. Now outside my studio is a bag filled with shells!  They were too stinky to bring inside! I will get to them someday I promise.

 Loving mixed media like I do can make a girl collect a lot of art supplies too.  There is always something new coming out ( gelli plates etc.) or something I have never tried before that I must try now. If you take an online class and the teacher is using something cool you got to get it.  Who can resist all those fun art supplies! Ha.  Seriously though, I did promise Mike and myself that I would not buy any new supplies till the new year. I won't be suffering too much since I just filled up on some new paints and what not from Blick! Hmm, maybe I do have a little problem?  Starting now my new motto is that I need to use up what I have before I buy anything new. This what I am going to do!

So after working all day and into the evening I think I finished up around midnight.  This was kind of funny to Mike and I.  When I know I have a busy day ahead of me at work I always tell Mike I will see you at midnight.  It has become this little joke between us that we say when we know we have a ton of work to do.   " See you at midnight!" The studio re-org was a ton of work that did really take me till midnight to finish!  Too funny.

I am sad to say that I didn't get to chronicle all my supplies but they were all organized and put in their new place.  Boy, if I had done the cataloging I might have been there till midnight sometime in 2014!  I am hoping to continue to work on the catalog a little every week.

I swear someday I will remember but like always I didn't remember this time.  I forget the before photos!  Sorry, that you could not see my disaster before it was finished but below are photos of the after.  It's nothing fancy which suits me fine. I am such a messy artist that I couldn't imagine if I had some beautiful pristine place to create in, I could never make a thing in fear of ruining my pretty place.

So here it is, drum roll please..........

Second from the Sun Studio!

My studio is on the outside of the deck in my back yard. Just a few yards from the house.

Here is my table that has my jewelry making and polymer clay stuff. To the right of the table is my book shelf that holds, all kinds of things from books, inks, journals and stamps.  On the top right of the shelf is that thing I bought from the second hand store that I am not quite sure of what it is but it holds my paper packets well. 

 This is the right side of the studio. I put two long 6ft folding tables on each wall and a square table in the middle. The middle table holds my speakers that I hook up my Iphone so I can listen to music while I create.

 This is my painting table. To the right Mike installed a peg board that has my heat gun, drill and my quilting iron on it. To the bottom right of the peg board I used sticky velcro to attach the outlet strip to the wall for easy plug in access.  To the left of the peg board is a wire rack that I purchased from a second hand store for $4. It's holding a bunch of card stock.   To the left of the rack is a wire basket that I got for a $1 and Mike attached it to the wall. It is holding my paint brushes in mason jars. I use mason jars for many things from water containers to holding buttons.  Getting this stuff up on the walls created so much free space on the table to paint.

 This is the dry table. To the right is my printer and where I work on the lap top.  The left side is where I draw and cut papers etc. The records on the right have been heated up with an iron and bent to form  little shelves. They can hold notes and little stuff not too functional but cute.

 Here is the shelf that is up above.   I think I tilted camera when I was taking the picture cause it looks a little crooked and it's not.  On top it holds glue's in the pink basket, scissors in the tan and the rest are pens,markers and oil pastels.  My friend had passed along to me a pin from pinterst a while back about using Mason jars under a shelf to hold buttons and other small items.  Sorry I don't remember who's idea or pin it was to give credit but it's a great idea and pretty simple to do.  You use screws to attach the lids to the bottom of the shelf and then fill your jars. Screw your jars back into the lids and there you go!

Hope you enjoyed a little peak into where I create.

Happy Creating!

Had a wonderful time this past weekend at Bellevue Festival of Arts-AMAZING!

This past Sunday Mike and I snuck away from the house for a little time to ourselves. (Thanks Devon for watching Grandma and the boys)   We headed for the Bellevue Festival of Arts.  It's a huge art festival that is held every year in Bellevue Washington, it takes up many streets around the mall and the Art Museum. It's one of my favorite places to go in the summer. Usually we take the boys but they start to get bored about an hour into it( kids can only look for so long).  This year Mike and I decided to go on our own so we could take it all in.  We spent over 3 hours walking around looking at all the booths. Let me tell you, there was colorful, beauty, inspiring, whimsy and even a little creepy everywhere you looked.  So many artist, so many booths!  There were, jewelry makers, oil painters, collage, metal works and the list goes on. Something for everyone.

It was so much fun looking at all the art with Mike. When we take the boys Mike is focused on trying to entertain them and rarely gets to looks at anything. This time he was along side of me walking through the crowds of people, entering into other worlds every time we stepped into an artists booth.
I even discovered a little something new about Mike and his taste in art. While I go for whimsy and maybe a little creepy, he usually goes for the more traditional type of art like landscapes etc's but this time he seemed to love the geometric shapes and bright pops of color.  I think it that 80's boy in him he loves pretty much everything about the 80's.   It was fun to have him show me something he liked, it's usually the other way around.  I especially loved having 100 percent of my husbands attention!
Talking about art, looking at art and just spending time with each other was just what I needed. I feel very blessed that I was lucky enough to marry someone who can enjoy something that I love even if he isn't into like I am and really engage in it.  I am lucky to have married my best friend!

Every year we go to the fair we let the boys pick out a new print to buy.   The boys made sure to remind us to bring them home a new print even if they were not going to be there to pick it out. Matthew has found a new interest in Hippo's (why? he say's they are funny looking and he likes their name) so when we saw the print called, "Hippopopulous" a water color creation by Enid Groves of Seattle we had to get it.  For Jackson, we found one of our favorite artist from the fair Noelle Dass.  www.noelledas.com  Noelle's art is whimsical, vibrant and fun.  A few years back we bought the boys tee-shirts from Noelle.  Jackson loves her piece called, "Must...Get..Ball!" He wears that tee-shirt all of the time.  So this year we decided to buy him the print.

In our journey around the fair I found an amazing and very friendly jewelry artist Lauri from spinglassbeads.com.  Her work was so beautiful that I had to have a necklace.  I love it and I am excited to wear an original piece from her. Lauri makes her art by spinning glass canes by hand over an oxygen-infused torch. Anything made with a torch is so cool I had to have one! Here is a picture of my necklace.

After buying the necklace we continued exploring the festival.  This year I also purchased a print from one of my favorite artist Juli Adams.   www.juliadams.com   Juli's art is whimsical colorful and intriguing.  I love her characters and how she brings them to life. Her medium is oil paint.  I really want to try it someday, I just love how vibrant the colors are.

While a lot of the artists are quiet and don't say a lot there were a few artist that their personalities stood out just as amazing as their art work.  Brian McGuffey was so nice to talk to. He told me all about his process with his art, how he gets it to look that way it does etc. It was amazing to listen to him describe how he creates such beautiful pieces. Someday I am going to buy something of his!  Check out his work at www.brianmcguffey.com.  It's amazing, so many layers! I couldn't stop looking at it.
Another stand out artist that we met was Paul Nzalamba. nzalamba-artworks.com. Paul is such a great story teller not only with words but in his art too.  Paul told us the stories behind some of his works and Mike and I were entranced.  Paul is one of East Africa's most respected batik masters. His work is amazing.  Someday I will own one of his prints too!
Both Brian and Paul were such a pleasure to talk to and their passion and amazing spirits shine so bright you can't help to want to take home something they have created.

Lisa Telling Kattenbraker another batik artist was there too. I didn't get to meet her but every year I love to go by her booth and look at her amazing art.  www.lisauntitled.com

A couple other artists that I want to mention is Justin Hillgrove of Imps and Monsters.  www.impsandmonsters.com.  Love, love, love his creatures! Another artists work that I love is Lee White.  www.leewhiteillustration.com Love Lee's whimisical illustrations.  Oh! and one more, these guys are a duo and their work was amazing. Stephen Stum and Jason Hallman of Stallman.  They use paint and canvas as sculpture. You have to check them out amazing stuff.  stallmanstudio.com.

So there you have a little taste of what I found and loved at this years festival.  It's such an amazing (yes, I used the word amazing again!I can't help it, it was truly amazing) experience to be able to walk around for hours looking at different artist, their passion and their creations.  I can't wait till next year.  Maybe instead of looking I will be selling? Hmm you never know.

Happy Creating!

Love Seattle Summer Nights!

What a beautiful sunny day it has been today. It was in the upper 80's yet again! I'm telling you there is no better place to be on a sunny day then the Pacific North West.  The sky is so blue.

Right now I am outside on my back deck doing what I love, sitting by the fire drawing with a glass of wine while listening to music. My sweet faithful dog Milo is right by my side.

Right now this girls journey is a pleasant one.  Life is good!!!  Happy Creating!

I have been having fun creating.

Lucky me! I got to spend over 6hrs straight in my studio creating last week. Time really does fly when you are doing what you love. I will say it didn't start out that way, I think I put aside and or through away at least 3 or 4 pieces until I got into my grove. A glass of wine and some Florence and the Machine always seems to help me enter my creative zone.

I have been really liking more simplified pieces lately. Pencil and a pop of color!  I have been inspired by an artist that I found on Etsy Joanna Haber http://www.etsy.com/shop/ABitofWhimsyArt. I just love her art!   I think I might explore pencil and a pop of color.  Knowing me next week I will be back to tons of layers!

The first piece is pencil only. The next I added a pop of red water color. The last one I call, "Kiss Kiss". This is my rendition of a picture I found in a fashion magazine. I used ink and water color.  I will be adding them to my Etsy shop for purchase. I think I will make some necklaces with these too!

Hope you like what you see!

Happy Creating!

Pencil



Pencil and water color

 Pencil, water color and ink

Summer fun project....Kid friendly Batik.

I wanted to share with you a fun project that is very kid friendly.

Kid friendly Batik, uses clear Elmer's glue instead of hot wax.  This sample I used is a canvas bag that I picked up at Michaels for under $5 but this can be done on tee-shirts, aprons, muslin,or any white or off white fabric. 

What is Batik?
Traditional Batik, a decorative art form from the island of Java, uses wax as a dye resist. The artisan draws a pattern directly on fabric with melted wax. The wax creates resist patterns where dye is not absorbed.

Items needed:

1. Some type of white canvas, bag, tee-shirt etc.
2. Clear Elmer's washable glue.
3. Fabric paint or you can use watered down acrylic paints.
4. Stencils or you can free hand draw with the glue.
5. Sink with running water to wash out the glue when finished.

1. Lay your canvas on a flat surface. (Note: If you are making a tee-shirt or something that you don't want the back side to get glue on it, put a piece of wax paper inside to protect the back side but will be easy to remover once the glue is dried.)  Once the glue is dried on the front turn it over and continue to make your design on the back.

The glue will be used as a resistance where ever you put the glue the paint will not show. 

Here I used the glue with peace stencils. I also drew flowers and dots free hand. You can make any design you like, just remember that where ever the glue is will be white or the color of the canvas when you have finished this project. 

You don't need to use a lot of glue, just enough to cover. If your child put globs of glue on it that's ok it will just take a little longer to dry and a little more washing/rubbing to get the glue off.

2. Once the glue is dried you can spray paint like I did with fabric paints. If you don't have fabric paints you can use watered down acrylic paints in a spray bottle or just paint straight on the canvas with a paint brush.

Cover your canvas with the paints and let dry. This is were you can get very detailed if you like. With most batik fabrics there are many colored used.  For kids a keeping it simple with only a few works.

 

3. When the paint is dry take the canvas to the sink and rinse. Use your fingers to rub off the glue. You will be able to see and feel the glue. I will be shiny and tacky.

 

4. Let dry and TA DA! You have a Batik style canvas that was simple, safe and fun for the kids.

If you try this, please post pictures I would love to see them. Enjoy your summer!

Happy Creating!

 

Re-do ......Turned an over 25 year old Ludwig drum into a coffee table for my Daughters 26th birthday

It's finished and I am loving it!  I am so happy how this coffee table turned out. 

As your children get older sometimes it gets harder to find that perfect birthday present for them.  My oldest daughter Crystal turned 26 this past March and had recently moved in with her partner. I was asking Crys what she wanted for her birthday and she was saying how they were going to re-do their condo and would love stuff for that. At that point I remembered my mother-in-law telling me she had this old Ludwig drum under her house in storage that she always wanted to turn into a coffee table.  I told Crystal about it and she loved the idea.

I sent my husband off to retrieve it and when he brought it home I was a little worried about it. It was old and rusty but still in good shape. I had the girls come over to check it out and see if they would really like this as their new coffee table.  They saw the potential in it like I did.

They are big music fans.  Megan has saved a bunch of concert tickets and autographed photos that she had from their past concerts. I took those along with a old newspaper clipping from the UK that was an advertisement of a  Bob Marley album. I also included a picture of Crystal's dad and uncles band from back in the 80's (Cherry Blonde).  I arranged them on the top of the drum pad so they would be displayed underneath the glass top. I found the glass table top on Craiglist and it rests perfect on top of the tuning keys. The glass top is thick and heavy perfect for the top.

The girls decided that it would look best if I just cleaned it up and didn't re paint it or anything. I was thrilled that they saw the beauty in this old beast!  Every scuff and scratch that is left on it makes it even more unique! 

If you are curious to know how I got this old drum cleaned up I will tell you.  With a lot of elbow grease from my boys and I!   Plus a paste that I created from vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice.  I used the paste to soak off the rust on this bad boy and it cleaned up very well!  I was amazed how well that paste did in removing the rust!

Here is the dirty drum up close with the paste soaking up the rust.

Here is the side view of the drum. It is a grey/blue with a pearl white stripe in the middle. There is this strip at top that is sparkly but it is old and worn so it's not too shiny which I like.

Here is the top view of the table. You can see all the concert tickets that the girls have saved. Yes, that's a picture of Adele in there! Very cool.





I was a busy girl this weekend

OK, so this is round two of trying to write this blog post. I bumped the plug on the computer when I was trying to unplug Matthew's DS charger and plug back in my printer and the power to the computer went off! UGH. I was almost finished. So here I am again getting ready to write about my busy but always fun weekend with art.

So in my last post that got deleted I stated that it was 9:30 the kids were in bed and I had a glass of wine so I thought I would post. Flash forward and it's now 10 and I am on my second glass on wine and starting over to write my post! Don't judge me it's only two glasses! Ha ha  just kidding.

The past couple of weeks I decided to try my hand in sculpting, doll making to be specific.  I decided that since I have a love for all second hand and junky finds, some of them could make really cool doll sculptures.  So I set off trying to learn this new skill. I thought to myself, "like how hard could it be"? I know how to draw faces so it would just take a little adjustment. Well let me tell you the past two weeks have been fun, frustrating and slow going.  I have been using the method that is taught on this amazing website that I found. She offers tons of free lessons on how to sculpt, hair, bodies and even how to start doll making as a business. It's all FREE! Here's the link if you are interested. http://www.dollmakersdream.com/

Being a collector of odd finds I was recently given some stuff from my husbands grandma. Nora, aka Great Nannie, loved to craft as much as I do.  She was always so appreciative of all the hand made gifts the boys and I had made for  her over the years. She just loved the Mariners blanket we made her one year and it was just a cut and tie fleece blanket, but she loved it. Recently she was put into a senior home. She is 93 and just this past year she started to loose her memory and what not.   I was given all of her craft supplies and let me tell you it was like Christmas for me!  As I weeded through the stuff I found this interesting thing. It had a wooden base and the top was made out of chicken wire to resemble a tree. Wow, I thought this could make a great doll base. I thought, " ohhh, I could make an angel on top and inside the tree could be a little baby Jesus! So I set out sculpting the face for my angel.

I have been spending so much time sculpting doll faces and turning my house into a horror show according to my husband and boys,(I guess all the doll faces and body parts laying around the house is creeping them out) Jackson asked me" Hey mom, can we take the doll heads out from the toaster oven they are creeping us out!" Ha. It does look a little creepy around here. With all this doll creating I have not spent much time drawing or working on life book lessons. Yesterday I decided I would work on Mitsi B lesson this week on life book. If you have never heard of Mitsi B you have to check her out. She is so talented and funny too!  Here is the link to her site
http://mitsib.com/. 

Saturday I set out to do her lesson in between doing laundry and what not.  It was so much fun! Let me tell you, being able to let go and paint, make a mess and not give a crap was so what I needed! After fussing with sculpting faces for the past couple of weeks and feeling like I really sucked, Mitsi's lesson came at a  perfect time.The lesson was about embracing the bad side of you. I think the lesson was called, ' The good the bad and the ugly" and that is what I set out to do. The front of the page had the  lil monster inside my head that loves to tell me that I, my work or anything I do for that matter isn't good enough. I wrote down all of the horrible shit she likes to say to me and then I painted over it with madness! On the inside I wrote all the good things that I need to say to myself. The the front says" She tried to tell me so" and the inside said, " but I didn't listen" Something I am working on everyday! So here are my pics of this little journal page

Look what a big mouth my lil monster has! This process was so fun and stress relieving.  I showed my boys my journal page and the next morning I had them both with me in the studio creating their own pages. It was amazing to get to do this with the boys. To see what their insecurities are and more importantly to see what they thought about themselves. I am happy to say, they had a way easier time thinking of the good things about themselves as to the bad. Here are their pictures. Matthew's are first then Jackson's.

Note, Jackson has a picture of a wolf. That kid loves his wolves!

Today was an awesome, creative day.

We went to church and Pastor Katy had a great sermon that I so related to. In short is was about" love your enemy" It was so fitting for me. My enemy is that lil monster inside my head. Understanding that she only comes out because of fear. She says those things to stop me from taking risks, showing my work or even writing this blog. She doesn't want me to fail or worse have someone think I am a loser!  Even though Pastor Katy was speaking of that person as your neighbor or real person who just pisses you off, I so related to it because this lil monster inside my head is really starting to piss me off!  It was just so perfect to go with Mitsi B's lesson

After church we came home, I did a little laundry and then went into the studio to do some more creating.

My angels head was finished, check. Arms and body sanded and finished check. Now it was time to put on the hair.  The hair was chosen for it's color but the texture was like barbie doll hair, yuck! After many times fussing with it I decided to put a scarf on it to keep it maintained. After that I started to create the dress. There, the dress and hair was finished but it didn't look like an angel to me at all.  I started to make a cape for it but it didn't look right with all that bushy hair. So it became her skirt. I dug around in my stash of dollar store finds and found these butterflies. I took the wings off of one and decided that she would look great with a pair of these wings. I then took some moss and more butterflies and put them inside the cage. I broke up some costume jewelry that I had and used the pearls for her arms and accents on the cage. Ta da she is finished!  I kept her face and body white because I wanted that statue like feeling to her. The color is in her skirt and the butterflies.  I am happy with her. She is my first doll sculpture made out of polymer clay and paper clay. I look forward to the next doll I make. Wait to you see what kind of structure she will be sitting a top of! Here is my pictures of my butterfly girl. What should I name her? Suggestions please!

Not only was this weekend filled with learning how to make a doll sculpture/assemblage it was filled with reminders where all my fears comes from and a pleasant reminder that I don't have to listen to her!