Bread of Life!

mixed media collage~j N-L

The theme for this past week's creative play day was, "your favorite food".

Clearly this piece takes a bit of explaining!

So here goes....

One of the spiritual disciplines which I have begun practicing recently is that of fasting. I decided to try this discipline for a variety of reasons. The first and primary reason, is that I desire to grow closer to God. Over the years, and in many ways, food has replaced God in my life. I have reached a place in my life's journey where I deeply desire for God to be my center. I want to hunger for Him and Him alone!

At any rate, last week when I began my weekly fast, the scripture I meditated upon that morning was from John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son. Generous inside and out, true from start to finish." (The Message)

It was then that I decided to depict my favorite food, by drawing a neighborhood, that features a home where the Holy Bible is the door.

That house is my house, it symbolizes both my body and my place in the world.

Don't you see?

Like Christ, I want to be bread for the world. I want to nourish, and to affirm life within my neighborhood!

When I hunger, I want to hunger for Him! When others hunger, it is my prayer that I am able to feed them as Christ our Lord has fed me!

Does that make any sense at all?

Oh well, whether it makes sense or not, here's how I created the piece!

First I took a four inch by four inch piece of foam core board. I taped the four edges with aluminum repair tape. I used Crayola crayons to color the center. I then used gel medium to adhere two layers of a sheer, lacy white paper (it's so sheer, that it reminds me of gauze) onto the foam core board.

On a seperate piece of paper, I used the crayons to draw some little houses. I gave the houses a wash with yellow ochre watercolor. I cut them out and glued them on to the foam core board.

I adhered yet another layer of the sheer paper around the houses. (Oh man! I had a grand old time trying to cut that gauzy paper out around those little houses!) I used a little Lumiere paint to add dimension and sparkle to the background...

The edges were painted using crimson and bronze acrylic and then sealed with a clear fixative.

Voila!

The bread of life!

Another girl at play!

"The key to happiness is having dreams and the key to success is making them come true."

If you dream of financially supporting yourself through your art, let me just assure you that this is not only possible, but that it is possible for you!

Don't believe me?

Check out "Another Girl At Play"!

The women on this website are all successfully self employed with their business based on their artistic talents.

They did it!

...and so can you!

Tuesday's Play Day!

The theme for this week's artistic play day was "stars".

I wish I could have snapped a picture that captured the true colors of this project.

When you look at the picture above and the one below, think rich purple and bronzy reds, with gorgeous greens and topaz!



Ahhh well, this piece was done on a piece of 4 x 4 inch studio wrapped canvas. I painted the canvas with a mixture of crimsom and bronze acrylic, followed by a wash of purple Lumiere paint.

I then painted the watercolor background and the christmas tree on watercolor paper. The tree has been accented with gel medium mixed with Lumiere paint.

Thanks to my trusty ole heat gun, I was able to speed the drying process....

I used gel medium to attach the bone star to the top of my tree and proceeded to glue the hand torn tree onto a piece of gorgeous, royal, deep purple card stock.

The entire tree ensemble, was then collaged onto the canvas.

My final addition was the small antiqued copper tag that reads "Believe", which I placed underneath the watercolor tree.

It's a sweet little piece!

If only the pictures did my little "Tree Au Naturale" justice!

Tuesday's Play Day!

Beeswax collage on foam core board~j.n-l

I belong to a mixed media art group and we have decided to make every Tuesday an artistic play day.

Each week a new theme will be announced and each artist has the day to complete and upload an image of their work of art. The only "rules" are that each artist must incorporate the theme into a 4 inch by 4 inch art piece. This kind of piggy backs on the whole "art squared" concept that is very hot in the mixed media world right now.

The theme for this week was, "candle(s)".

Normally, I would do some "light of the world" kind of thing; but yesterday was my youngest son's birthday. Sooooo, I did a little birthday tribute for him instead!

This 4 X 4 collage was made with using foam core board (I covered the core board with a water color background), beeswax, recycled birthday candles, a metal rimmed slide mount and a photo of my son when he was younger. I printed the quote, "Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." on tissue paper and collaged it to the foam core board.

This little piece of art squared can sit in a small easel, or hang on the wall!

Ok, so the collage itself isn't all that fancy...but, it was fun to create and my son loves it!

In fact, he was so impressed that he is going to take it for "show and tell" at school this week.

You know you've hit a grand slam when your child wants to take your art to show and tell!

LOL!

Ahhhhh children! You just gotta love them, don't you?

Artists respond to the war

Those of you who know me, know that I am against violence in any form.

It shouldn't come as any surprise therefore, that I am supplying a link to several pages of anti-war art. Now some of the art featured there isn't anti-war exactly; but rather, much is pro-peace.

Check it out if you are so inclined.

The following link will take you to the page that explains this exhibit. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, there is a link in the right column that will take you to the pages to view all of the exhibit entries.

Some lovely and unique pieces are on display.

Velvet da Vinci

Michele has a sale!

Glass Sea Urchins!

Michele Goldstein's gorgeous new lampwork

Michele Goldstein's glass art rocks!

Check you her new boutique page!

Bellissimo!

Breast Casts!

Just because I'm not creating any art myself doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying the plethora of artistic eye candy that is available both locally and on the internet.

Since I'm such a kind and generous soul, why don't I share some of my latest eye candy booty with you?

Check out these gorgeous mammaries!
(Be sure to click one of the gallery links on the right side of the page...this will take you to lots of groovy images!)

Oh but I would love to cast and create a work of art around this theme and for this philanthropy!

Great art for a good cause!

Half piranha, half clown?

Happy Halloween!

Ok, so I haven't posted in this blog in how many months?

I suppose it's fair to say that I just haven't been very artistic lately.....

Don't give up on me though.

One of these days, my artsy fartsy flair for the phenomenal is bound to return!

So, keep checking back!

Eye candy for the soul

I've been away these past few days, feasting upon eye candy for the soul!

Check back, I should have photos of my studio door in the next day or two!

Until then, may you feast upon eye candy until your very soul overflows with beauty!

Hot glass objet d'art!

I will have photos of my finished studio door soon!

In the meantime, check out the slammin hot glass creations made by my gal pal Michele Goldstein!

I'm telling ya, Michele's work is extraordinary! Check out Michele's boutique! She has some glorious lampwork and objet d'art available for purchase!

Michele has also been a featured artist in the recent publication of the periodical, "Bead Unique".

Check out the article! It's a great read about an even greater artist and an all around fantastic person!


Michele Goldstein




Michele Goldstein

Peace to all who enter

portion of studio door panel~j. N-L

Well now, as you can see, I've been busy painting my studio door.

It's been quite a process too!

One of the things I've learned over the past few days, is that acrylic paint in and of itself, does not like to stick to aluminum doors. So here's a word from the newly wise, prime the door first!

Once I realized that the first few coats of paint weren't going to stick without some primer I had to do some peeling. Trust me, that wasn't fun.

This is just one of the six door panels that I'm painting. Check back! I'll post more photos as they become available!

Why not open the door to your own bliss?

When you follow your bliss...doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else.
~Joseph Campbell

When I create art, I am following my bliss.

Campbell seems to imply that following one's bliss is a journey that beckons one through endless doors...perhaps even magical doors. It's a powerful image for me.

Thus, I've taken on the task of "altering" the door to my studio! It's becoming a door to a door so to speak!

Yeah well, so much for my philosophical meandering!

Here's a photo of the door before. It's just a cheap, gray, garden variety aluminum door....



Oh, but just you wait! Beauty is beckoning and transformations are in the air!



Check back tomorrow to see the finished product!

Voila!

waxed fabric collage on wood~j. N-L

At long last, I have finished the "River of Life".

This whole project took me a little longer than I had expected because I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with the embellished muslin fabric piece. I toyed with the idea of attaching the fabric to a piece of gallery wrapped canvas. I even considered making a pillow or small art quilt.

In the end however, I decided to create a waxed fabric collage on wood. I am not entirely certain that this piece is completely finished; but wax is a wonderfully versatile medium, and I can easily add more embellishments, or color at a later date.

If you look below, you can see a portion of the collage up close and personal. It has such a beautiful depth and shine to the color...very rich and interesting!

Oddly enough, I'm not particularly taken with this piece. Don't get me wrong! It was a blast to create. After all, what's not to like about painting, embroidering, and playing with hot beeswax?

For some unidentified reason, this collage bugs me. It just doesn't "work".....

Right now, "The River of Life" is resting comfortably on a wrought iron stand in our living room. and for the time being, this is where it shall remain. Its future however, is questionable.

Poor, poor "River of Life"! I had such plans for you.

Oh well, not all art is good art, is it?

Gifts....

Check out this rocking raku torso!

My friend Annie blessed me with this sweetly sculpted vase last Friday.

No, it wasn't my birthday.

I'm just loved more than the average person.

Not that I'm super "special" or anything. I just have super special friends.

I am grateful to be loved so well.

Thank you for this gift Annie and thank you for the gift of your friendship.

Your gentle spirit and generous heart have truly blessed my life!

On vacation!

Hello one and all!

I've been entertaining relatives for the past week and won't be posting again until after the 18th!

Please check back again then!

Hopefully, I'll have all kinds of new things to share!

Humble beginnings

humble beginnings of an altered tin

Today, I've begun an altered tin.

I have decided to use a round altoid tin for this little shrine. This particular tin has a "press and pop" top. I rather like this top because it frees me from messing with the hinges that are found on the rectangular and heart shaped altoid tins.

So far, I've primed and painted the metal areas where I desire there to be color. I chose to use a pewter Lumiere paint and it looks nice contrasted against the silver of the tin.

Hopefully, I'll be able to follow this project through to the finish. I really don't want to chuck this little tin into the same UFO (UnFinished Object) drawer that currently houses "The River of Life"

My creative journey has been fraught with weird artistic meanderings like "The River of Life". Consequently, I have more than one UFO drawer. This isn't a bad thing really. My UFO drawers aren't shameful, discarded WIP's (Work's In Progress), they are the treasure troves of my own half-baked genius.

That's what I tell myself anyway!

Bee Happy

bottle cap art~j.N-L

Today I made this little bottle cap with hand painted muslin, fabric pens and copper acrylic paint.

Don't ask me what I was thinking when I made my bee cap.

I guess I just wanted a quick project that would allow me to swirl shades of copper and magenta together. I still need to fill the cap with some diamond glaze; but other than that, it is pretty much ready to wear. All that remains is to attach a jumpring and slide the pendant/cap over a length of ball chain!

I think that my four year old has decreed this bee is for her.

You know, everyday I strive to bee all that I can bee.

How about you?

PS~I'm putting the "River of Life" away for a few days....it really is a pretty little swatch of fabric, but it's frustrating me right now. Better for me to set it aside, than to rip it to shreds!

The "River of Life" meets Mr. Death?

I'm loving the beaded skull!

I'm loving it so much, that I'm not so sure I want to put it on my crappy assed "River of Life" creation.

Maybe I'll turn this into a beaded bracelet of some kind....a glorious homage to "Day of the Dead".

Decisions, decisions...

Well, for those of you who might be interested, this skull measures 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch. It was hand sculpted with sculpey clay and I applied a light dusting of copper mica powder before I baked the darn thing. (The colors are much more vibrant in real life!)

Once the skull was baked, I took a fine brush and dabbed some Lumiere blue/green paint into the eye sockets, and other depressed areas. Then I grabbed my oh so versatile Golden's Gel medium and applied a glossy finish to the entire piece with a glob or two extra to secure the flatback Austrian crystals in the eye sockets.

I used Czech 11/0 matte brown iris beads and some vintage Czech sapphire blue 16/0's to bead around the skull.

Voila!

Now I have one beaded skull motif!

The only question that remains, is what the heck am I going to do with the darn thing?

Purple swirls blend with copper thread

The River of Life is beginning to take shape!

Check out the closeups below!



And....



I have some funky ideas for further embellishing this piece.

Over the weekend, I made a cool little skull face that I hope to bead embellish and attach later on today. I plan to give Ms. Skull a crown of flowering glory for her hair. Hard to imagine?

Oh, just check back tomorrow!

I should have some more pictures then!

You know, this piece isn't the best in terms of artistic design; but dang it all, it's kind of fun to make!

Later!

The River of Life~a work in progress!

hand painted muslin~j. N-L

Today I had so little time to play; but I did manage to hand paint a piece of muslin with some Lumiere Paints.

I'm calling this, "The River of Life", and once I have heat set the colors, I plan to embellish the fabric with vintage beads and flower sequins.

I'm toying with the idea of mounting the fabric onto a studio wrapped canvas and further embellishing with paint, found objects and the odd assortment of doodads.

Then again, maybe I'll just make a fertility doll.....

Stay tuned! The results will be forthcoming soon enough!

Mud Dauber Dance

pencil and watercolor--j. N-L

Once again I have found myself watching children swim under the relentless blue of a 98 degree sky.

As I do so, I notice mud dauber wasps swooping in to collect the moist dark earth that has been muddied by the splashing pool water.

Before my very eyes, the mud daubers dance and buzz in a frenzy of mud collecting industry.

The sketch above was penciled on a piece of garden variety sketch book paper. I used watercolor paint to add splashes of color and a few streaks of sparkly gel pen ink for added pizzaz!

I rather like the effect!

Pissing in the pool

doodle by j N-L

It's 97 degrees outside.

The children are swimming in their super-D-dooper Intex pool, while I sit doodling nearby.

The doodle above is crudely entitled "Pissing in the pool", and was drawn on handmade recycled paper using gel pens.

I make no apologies for the title; after all, everyone does it at some time or other, don't they?