Some call it art... I call it therapy!

Moving On

2008-01-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am combining both of my blogs and starting with a fresh new one - you can find more about me and my artistic endeavors at: Art Beckons

Magical Mysterious Dragons

2007-12-02T09:46:00.001-07:00

My sister Letha is hosting this Paper Traders swap on dragons. Here's my submission (I'm trying to always include an extra card for my niece Quincy who's not an official PT member but is participating with us from the sidelines.)

Guardian Angel

2007-12-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

For the second anniversary of Paper Traders, we're creating guardian angels... here's mine:

We'll be swapping them soon! I wonder whose I'll get...

Twisted Inch

2007-11-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

The point of this swap is the tiny little inchie on this card. The theme was "the twisted inch" so I used a little wire twist to make a flower:

Calendar

2007-10-28T15:55:00.000-06:00

Our Paper Traders group does a calendar every year and this is my submission for December:

I know that it's not very seasonal, but some of our members are in the southern hemisphere and so the calendar doesn't have any seasons to it.

RR Journal 2007 - part 1

2007-10-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

So here's the project that has been consuming all my time and mental energy... The Paper Traders Round Robin Art Journal!

My theme is Chinese Proverbs. Here is what I have for my book so far...

Front Cover

Inside Front Cover & Instruction Sheet

Inside Back Cover and Contributors Page

Sign In Tag for my pages (to be inserted in the red envelope shown above)

My first full spread

Half spread... facing the following page:

My final half spread (facing the page shown above)

I wanted to have more pages done before I sent the book on, but just didn't have the time (or muse) to get them done... I'm still thinking about things I want to add when my book returns next year, though.

The first person I pass to is Fred in Escondido. I am still waiting to hear from him because he lives near the area evacuated for the Witch Fire. The first journal I receive is my mom, Connie's (see link for Stampgram's Studio). Her theme is Ancient Cultures and I think I'm going to decorate a spread on the Mayans.

Any Theme Goes Dimensional ATC Swap

2007-10-28T09:21:00.000-06:00

These are for an upcoming Paper Traders swap where you needed to use a dimensional object:

I loved these carved stone creatures and have been saving them for something fun! My little "bubbles" dried kinda weird but, oh well...

October WTA Lottery

2007-10-28T09:17:00.000-06:00

Here's my submission for this month's Winner-Take-All lottery on Paper Traders:

It's a super simple card, but I like it because it's just so pretty!

Black, White, and a Smidgen of Color

2007-10-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

These are my ATC contributions for the Black, White, and a Smidgen of Color swap:

Bird Deco swap

2007-10-03T21:45:00.000-06:00

These are my pages for the upcoming Bird Deco swap. I tried to decorate these based on the seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer (shown respectively, below...)

Gothic Arch swap

2007-10-03T21:26:00.000-06:00

While on vacation last week, I finally managed to complete this overdue project...

I had to submit 6 pages and will get 6 different ones back from the other artists. Here is a scan of one of my pages - they were all the same but slightly different just because each one was hand done:

This will be a book once completed... here are my front and back covers (inside and out):

Something for Mary

2007-09-17T23:42:00.000-06:00

Mary is a lady in my Paper Traders group who always manages to find great extras to use in altered art and collage work. She has an eBay store but offered some extras to our group members and has asked for an ATC in exchange. This is the card I made for her:

It's hard to tell from the scan, but the dragonfly and the letters on the background have a violet interference powder on them. I used VersaMark to stamp the background and I used a glue pad to stamp the dragonfly and then applied the PearlEx powder over all. The scrolls are rub-ons that I got from Archivers and I think they are awesome!

Something Green

2007-09-16T12:41:00.000-06:00

Just another ATC... just for fun. I'm entering this one in the Paper Traders' September Winner-Take-All Lottery:

Haunted House Swap

2007-09-08T21:16:00.001-06:00

I am hosting my first swap for my Paper Traders group. It's a haunted house theme, just in time for Halloween! Below are the four cards I made for the swap. I transferred the images from color photocopies onto old text (from a book published in 1884) using gel medium.

Old houses are inhabited by secrets of the past.

Old houses tell the stories of time and happenstance.

Old houses are not haunted by ghosts; but the spirit of those who once lived there still abides.

Old houses are not scary - the fear is only in you; have courage to discover its mystery.

more ATC's

2007-08-18T22:53:00.001-06:00

Yet another attempt at the peeled paint process... I think I am improving.

This was one I did just for fun:

More Peeled Paint

2007-08-14T07:09:00.000-06:00

Here's my second attempt at this peeled paint technique:

I think that my next try will be even better as I am learning how to layer the peeling colors.

Two New Techniques

2007-08-13T21:58:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I tried a couple of new techniques... this first one is peeled paint:

(The card is a little odd, but it was just for practice.)

This second card is one of my favorites! I love the way it turned out. This is a transfer ink method where I used a solution to transfer a printed image to my paper (the eyes in the background):

(The colors didn't scan quite right... this card is more lavender-ish.)

Post Secrets Swap

2007-08-12T11:02:00.000-06:00

This swap is based on the Post Secrets phenomenon: http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

(I love you, Amy, and I am so proud of your accomplishment!)

(disclaimer: the manager is a friend of mine and he lets me do this =)

Art Forms in Nature Swap

2007-08-11T13:31:00.000-06:00

Written in Early Spring

I heard a thousand blended notes
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What Man has made of Man.

Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower,
The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopp'd and play'd,
Their thoughts I cannot measure,—
But the least motion which they made
It seem'd a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature's holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What Man has made of Man?

William Wordsworth

(All the words and shading on the front of the cards are metallic silver... some just turned out black in the scanner.)

Through and Through

2007-07-22T13:18:00.001-06:00

I made this ATC for a friend in my Paper Traders group who has been so gracious in sharing his art with me:

New ATC Swaps

2007-07-21T08:35:00.001-06:00

I made this card for a swap called "Music Gladdens the Soul."

This card was for another swap called "In Remembrance" where we were to illustrate ways in which we honor our dead.

Music Speaks & Chinese Wisdom

2007-06-10T15:13:00.000-06:00

I made a couple ATC's today... just because =)

A Thornless Rose?

2007-06-05T21:34:00.000-06:00

I was organizing my craft room when I came across this little verse about a rose with few thorns... I remembered that I had these beautiful rose stickers so I decided to create a new ATC - just for the fun of it!

Mom-isms Swap

2007-05-27T15:00:00.000-06:00

These were my submissions for the recent "Mom-isms" swap I was in. The object was to create a card that depicted the funny things our moms used to say to us when we were kids:

Other cards I received in the swap were:
"I told you that junk would rot your teeth"
"It'll stunt your growth"
"Try it, you'll like it"
"Your face is going to get stuck like that"
"Clean your plate" (there are starving children in the world)

May ATC Lottery

2007-05-08T22:28:00.000-06:00

The artists group I recently joined has a monthly lottery where everyone creates an ATC and submits it in the drawing. Whomever is drawn as the monthly winner gets to keep all the submissions for that month. Here's my creation for May - I call it Safari Adventure.

“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” – Adlai Stevenson

2007-05-05T14:09:00.000-06:00

The patriotic ATC's were very fun to make and a subject that is quite dear to my heart - the love and pride I have for my country! On the back of each card, I included a patriotic quote that I felt was represented by the image on the front. I made all three sets for my (ex-) fiance' who was serving in Iraq at the time. I decorated an old Band-Aid can to match and shipped all the cards in the tin to him overseas. I have to say that I'm glad I took my mom's advice and scanned an image of them before I mailed them off because now they are gone with the man!

The backgrounds for this first group was made by sanding down a set of patriotic playing cards I found in the clearance bin at Wal-Mart. I just added stickers to coordinate and then brushed a gel medium over the top of everything:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” - John F. Kennedy

“America” 1/5 Spirit of America series

“Territory is but the body of a nation. The people who inhabit its hills and valleys are its soul, its spirit, its life.” – James Garfield
“Proud” 2/5 Spirit of America series

“This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
“We Salute You” 3/5 Spirit of America series

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis
“Land of the Free” 4/5 Spirit of America series

“A great man, tender of heart, strong of nerve, boundless patience and broadest sympathy, with no motive apart from his country.” – Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln
“God Bless America” 5/5 Spirit of America series

These next two sets were all created together but then I separated them into two groups... one that was more fun, "Celebrate USA," and the other (below) that I called "Patriot Dream."

“Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood – the virtues that made America.” – Teddy Roosevelt
“USA” 1/8 Celebrate USA series

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” – Erma Bombeck
“Independence” 2/8 Celebrate USA series

“There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream.” – Archibald MacLeish
“Let Freedom Ring” 3/8 Celebrate USA series

“When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect.” – Adlai Stevenson
“Land That I Love” 4/8 Celebrate USA series

“The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.” – Woodrow Wilson
“Three Cheers” 5/8 Celebrate USA series

“A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.” – George William Curtis
“America the Beautiful” 6/8 Celebrate USA series

“Breathes there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land!” – Walter Scott
“Happy Birthday USA” 7/8 Celebrate USA series

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
“1776” 8/8 Celebrate USA series

“It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism.” – J. Horace McFarland
“United We Stand” 1/7 Patriot Dream series

“Off with your hat, as the flag goes by! And let the heart have its say; You're man enough for a tear in your eye that you will not wipe away.” – Henry Cuyler Bunner
“Precious” 2/7 Patriot Dream series

“I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for...”– Thornton Wilder
“Flyin’ High” 3/7 Patriot Dream series

“Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.” – Kahlil Gibran,“The Vision”
“Lady Liberty” 4/7 Patriot Dream series

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” – Thomas Paine
“I Serve” 5/7 Patriot Dream series

“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.”– Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Dedicated” 6/7 Patriot Dream series

“Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.”– Margaret Mead
“Freedom” 7/7 Patriot Dream series

Verbena Treasures

2007-05-05T14:03:00.000-06:00

These were my first ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) that I made. I call them "Verbena Treasures." Each one has a word on it and the papers are all color-coordinated. I made this little book to hold the entire set of 8 cards. I also made an extra card in this set, which I have contributed to a lottery (it's the "Appreciation" card shown below).

A couple more cards...

2007-05-05T13:59:00.000-06:00

This first card was made by tearing a piece of paper and then using it as a template to sponge the shadows behind the "hills." Pretty cool huh? (no pun intended!)

This was just a fun excuse to make a card with some wire & bead art on it.

Serendipitous

2007-05-05T13:55:00.000-06:00

This technique is called "Serendipity." You start out by stamping related images all over your paper, then you cut the paper into squares and position them on the card. The coppery pieces are metallic tissue added as a final touch.

Aren't "ewe" cute?

2007-05-05T13:52:00.000-06:00

This card was super simple to make but I think it is just too cute! Sometimes cute can be a good thing...
(the streak on the card was glare from the scanner, sorry!)

Love those layers

2007-05-05T13:48:00.000-06:00

Here are some basic layered cards I made... on the last one, I made the water lily paper by stamping the images in ink and then rubbing them into the paper before they dried:

Stamping with bleach

2007-05-05T13:44:00.000-06:00

The backgrounds are stamped with bleach water. The images are heat embossed and then "painted" with bleach water... pretty cool, huh?

Some call it art...

2007-05-05T13:21:00.000-06:00

...I just call it therapy =)

These are a couple of handmade books I made a few years ago:

Too many blogs

2007-02-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

I'm consolidating... read my weblog at: www.xanga.com/elysian68