I've moved!

It has been quite a while since I've blogged on a regular basis.  Lots has happened over the years but I'm back at it!  You can find me blogging over at my new website!  It's the best place to find out what art projects I'm into, what products and classes I love, and peek into the life of an everyday mom/wife/artist. :)

Once you get there, feel free to follow me and sign up for my newsletter for the most up-to-date info on projects, video tutorials and, classes!  You can also find me on twitter, facebook, and instagram. I've got lots planned for 2017 and would love for you to join me!

More Collage Projects

I am really having a lot of fun with collage these days!  Still taking Daring Adventures in Collage with Mati Rose and it has been a blast!  This next week is the last week--can't believe it went by so fast. :(  But the good thing is that it has inspired me to make a lot of art on a semi-regular basis (which is why I like to take classes--it gives me just the push I need to make something!)

Each week, we are assigned a "Treasure Hunt" which has a particular theme.  Week 3's theme was "Rusty Things," so I went around the backyard taking close-up photos of anything that had that gorgeous, orange hue!

There was also an assignment to be on the lookout for "mini compositions" that caught our eye.  Above is a photo of one of the many "experiments" I find in the backyard left behind by my daughters.  I just really liked the bright colors and the weird textures.

 

Each week, we are also assigned a new collage challenge.  For week 4, we were challenged to collage on any kind of surface OTHER than a canvas.  So I went to the local craft store and found some fun, wooden letters to cover with paper and paint!  (It's going to spell "ART!") :)

This was just a mixed media painting/collage I made that was inspired by a photo one of my classmates had taken.  I was really drawn to the color scheme of plum, antique white, rust and chestnut.

And the latest collage was something I did in my small 3"x5" sketchbook.  Sometimes it is just fun and freeing to work "small."  It lets you do big, bold things that you might not try if you have a ginormous, blank canvas or page staring back at you.  And they're quick to make, which is also very satisfying (especially when you feel like you don't have a lot of time to create!)

Well, that's all the creativity going on these days!  I like being back in the studio.  I like just randomly visiting a canvas or journal page from time to time.  It feels good. :)

New Adventures in Art

I'm in the middle of taking another online course with the amazing artist, Mati Rose, called "Daring Adventures in Collage"  and so far, I like what we've done! :)  Above is the close up of a patchwork collage from week 2.  I love taking close-up photos of pieces because they always turn into their own work of art.

This is the whole thing.  Not quite finished--just getting started.  Not sure how to finish it, how to tie it all together.  Or maybe it's done?  ometimes you have to step away, as they say, and gain a new perspective.

Here's another close-up.  This one would make kind of a nice greeting card. :)

And this is just from another project/class all together.  So many paintings and sketches in my studio in so many varying stages.  It's kind of fun to go back to them after a while and add something or just decide they're done and end up hanging them on a wall in my house somewhere.

And this is mainly the reason I can't quite seem to find enough time to get into the studio to create.  :) Lots of little messes to clean up.  But when they're made in the art room, at least they're pretty!

Creative Girl: The Land of Light and Shadows

i am super excited for this art class to begin!  i'm taking an online art class with Danielle Donaldson called "Creative Girl: The Land of Light and Shadows."  It looks colorful, fun, whimsical and magical. It's not too late to join in on the fun.  I've taken a lot of online classes and it's sometimes hard to find something that seems new, fresh and fun.  This class looks like it is all of those things and more.   I can't wait!

it's been a long LONG while...

 

So it's been over a year since my last blog post.  Guess I've been a bit busy! :)  Our newest member, Kenai (pronounced KEEN-eye) is now a year old and walking around and playing with toys and driving us crazy with his screams and giving us lots of love, hugs and laughs!  It's tough being a mom to three and trying to find time to make art and homeschool and do housework and cook and clean (ok, cleaning pretty much falls off the list of priorities!) but now that the little one is a bit bigger, I've been finding more time to do the things that recharge my soul.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom and I LOVE my babies to the max, but it sure does feel good to paint uninterrupted and have complete thoughts that don't revolve around diapers, breaking up fights, and managing homework. :)

I've been painting lately.  Big, juicy backgrounds full of color.  Lots of experimenting.  Trying to find my voice.  Having a LOT of fun.  I like to take photos of the paintings in their various stages.  It's fun to see how they transform and evolve over time.  The above photo shows the first layer.  Below is what it looks like now after some more layers.

The color pallet was inspired by my daughter's outfit.  I loved the mix of purple, lavender, red violet, red and turquoise!

Proof that you can find inspiration just about anywhere! 

 Another painting in progress...This one started out kind of "ugly" and then it transformed into something I'm really liking.  Not sure where to go from here.  We will see what happens in time.  I'm really into the color combo of midnight blue, turquoise, red and neon pink!  I even started a pinterest board just for those colors alone.

Colors just make me super happy!  What can I say?  I am taking an e-course with Mati Rose right now called "Daring Adventures in Paint" and it has been the perfect thing to re-start my ART!  I find myself sneaking over to the studio throughout the day to add bits of paint or collage to the several canvases I have spread out on the floor.  The canvas above is completely different now.  I will have to post some before and after shots!

A lot has happened in the last year since I've last blogged.  Our oldest daughter, Brielle, graduated high school and is now in the Army!  She just graduated boot camp this winter and is now in training.  We couldn't be more proud!  Our oldest son, Zach, is also in the Army and stationed in South Korea.  We haven't seen him in over a year.  He has yet to meet his youngest sibling in person.  It's hard having a member of your family in the military--especially a child!  But they are hardly "children" anymore--they are both growing into such beautiful and amazing adults!  Thank goodness for letters, phone calls and Skype!  I can't wait to hug both of them in person, though.  And Raul's dream (and mine) is to have all five kids together at once.  Some day! :)

So that's it for now.  Hoping to post at least a few times a week.  My goal is to get into some kind of regular art-making schedule.  And post the updates here on the blog.  

creative baby projects

well, it looks like another summer has come and gone and i feel like i barely have anything to show for it (creative-wise)!  but i have been busy in the past few weeks making and embellishing baby clothes and making a quilt all in preparation for baby #3!  it's a boy (you can tell by the blue-grey-red-brown theme below) and he's due december 30.

i was bitten by the sewing bug when i realized that i really really hate boy clothes.  as soon as i found out i was having a boy, i went to the mall and started browsing the very unfamiliar territory that is BOY clothing.  walking into each store, i immediately, out of habit, would veer to the bright, pink, colorful, frilly GIRL stuff that i am used to buying for my two girls.  it was weird venturing to the boy side of each store after all these years!  and what i found is that boy clothing is dominated by trucks, airplanes, cars, zoo animals, sports and cheesy "mommy's little rock star" type sayings splayed across the chest.

so i decided to take matters into my own hands and make some things that i thought were a little bit more my style.  when he's older, of course he'll be able to choose his own clothing.  but for now he'll be sporting a mix of randomness that appeals to my creative, artist eye.  so i searched on etsy for ideas and found some very cute applique patterns.  the VW bug above comes from kip & fig and they have the most awesome PDF patterns i have ever seen.  clean and crisp designs that have a very modern feel.  i'm not all that into "cutesy"  so it was nice to find some fun designs to spice up a few plain onesies!

i also rummaged through my collection of vintage baby/toddler sewing patterns and i found one from the 50s that included a cute kimono-style top.  for the fabric, i reused an old, flannel baby blanket and bought some bias tape from the fabric store.  the blue pjs are made from a pattern and fabric i found at the thrift store for $3 (total)!

the onesies have been fun to work with, too.  i received a bunch of 0-6 month sized clothes from a friend, but they were mostly short sleeved.  my baby is due in december, so i needed warmer attire.  instead of donating them, i took some of the sleeves off of the clothes that weren't quite my style and added them to the short sleeve onesies.  and i added fabric patches from the left-over fabric i had from his quilt.

the quilt was another fun adventure in sewing.  i chose mostly fabric from joel dewberry and a little bit from amy butler to make a navy-aqua-grey-black-and-yellow creation.

my boy style is definitely all over the map!  i really do love the sweet, baby blue hues with cute and simple animals.  above was a thrifted onesie embellished with a fabric patch made from a flannel baby blanket (the kind you find in 4-packs at target or baby stores.  i think they are called receiving blankets. you can also just use flannel fabric)

and here i jump to bright, primary colors!  the red top has sleeves added to it from fabric made from my daughter's leggings that she had outrgown.  the patch and star is from fabric i had on hand.  the panda and polka dots were found in my fabric scrap pile.  this is a great way to alter shirts with stains or that have images or words that you don't like.  (for me, it was probably a fire truck and "mommy loves me." not to say i don't love my baby, but i don't need a shirt to say it for me!)

another applique from kip & fig.  they range from complicated (like the VW bug) to very simple (like the rabbit above--if you couldn't tell.  i kind of sewed the outline a bit wonky.  i'm still learning!)

and this is just an owl applique that i drew myself.  the polka dot fabric is from a thirfted flannel baby blanket and the other pieces were scraps.  to get the applique really secure, i used the sewable kind of heat-and-bond that you can get at any fabric or craft store.  so once you trace your pattern onto the heat-and-bond, you iron it sticky side down to the back side of the fabric and then cut the pieces out, peel the paper backing and iron everything in place onto the shirt.  i sew around the edges to define the image and also to secure it in place.  they also make a non-sewable heat-and-bond for thicker fabrics or for when you don't want a sewn look (like the VW bug above).

so that's that!  i still have a few things baby things that i recently bought at the thrift store that i'd like to add to.  it's been nice to have these projects to connect to the arrival of my baby.  what things did you do (creative or otherwise) to prepare for a new baby?

fabric art journal and collage

i had a wonderful art-filled day on sunday at my monthly art sister meeting up in S.F.  my fellow art sister, vicki, led us in a super creative book making project based on pamela huntington's  gorgeous fabric journals as inspiration.

the inside pages are heavy watercolor paper edged with vintage trims, lace, ribbon and fabric.  it gives the journal such a floofy, girly feeling.  i love it.  i used bright colors because that reflects my tastes, though i tried to stick with a kind of vintage feel.

and this was the last canvas i did for the online class "pages and paint."we made an image transfer onto contact paper using a photo-copied vintage photo.  you can see parts of the collage pieces peeking through the transparant label.  it's not quite finished, needs a little more blending and maybe a few more layers, but i like it!

and then i was inspired to do just plain collage--no paint.  this was inspired by the style and techinques of randel plowman of "a collage a day."  i have admired his work for years and when i saw that he had written a book, i bought it right away.  it is wonderful!  it contains all kinds of fun techniques and tips for making amazing and simple collages.

and just for fun, here is the newest member of our family: vincent (as in the artist, of course)!  he is just a few months old and full of energy--just like my youngest daughter!  they have been running around all day together.  i think they are the perfect match, energy-wise!  we are happy to have another feline friend in the house again.  maybe he'll keep the little one busy while i can sneak away and make some more art! :)