Word Love

A few weeks ago, Zinnia at Roses on my Table posted the journal prompt "Color" and of course I waited until the last minute because that's when  my muse works best. (Or is that an excuse for procrastinating? Hmmm...) Anyway, I was thinking "color" has such a wide interpretation when it hit me. Literally. This really trashy romance novel printed in LARGE print fell out of my shelf. I use it to cut out words for my art. I love words. Almost every piece of art has a word or two on it. So I was thinking how much I love words and especially colorful words. It took me about 3 minutes to find all these glorious and sublime words. But first I colored the background with layers and layers of color. I used a brayer, a paper towel, a paintbrush, my fingers. I used an empty cardboard tube left over from packaging tape to stamp the circles. Then it was time for those magnificent words. If you click on the picture it'll pop up bigger and you can read all those fabulous words.


Have a splendid weekend everyone!

On a roll...

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Well, I don't think two blog posts within a week is actually a roll yet... but baby steps, right? 


Today I wanted to feature some of the artwork I did when Tam at Willowing.ning so graciously offered a free course in Art, Heart, and Healing. What a fabulous turnout she had! And what a wonderful and informative and FUN course it was. Sure, she's a bit goofy (luv ya, Tam!) but the quality of videos she puts out are really excellent. It's very easy to follow along while watching. Week one was creating a front facing portrait. I really liked her style of using water soluble oil pastels and paint. I chose to reveal my sensitivity to words. Throughout my whole life I've let words hurt me. Here is my page: 

 Yep, that's me with blue hair. Just kidding.

The second week we worked on altering a board book. We were to make an image transfer of ourselves as a small child and tell our child what we wish for her as a grownup. 

 

Yeah, that's mini-me, all dressed up as a sheriff of the wild, wild west. I even played with guns. (Insert collective gasp!) I'm not a mushy gushy person and didn't think this exercise was a big deal, but when I saw myself as a small child and thought about what I wished for her... well, it was interesting to say the least. I found myself crying for what I didn't have and feeling sorry for mini-me because I haven't been able to giver her some of those things on my list.


Moving on... we learned how to make "Whimseys" those cute little big-headed characters. The page focused on healing childhood trauma. I don't remember a lot of my childhood, especially my elementary school days, before my best friend Carrie came into the picture in 3rd grade. I can remember wandering around the playground by myself because I had no one to play with. I also remember the older kids making fun of me because I had a big head in relation to my skinny body. (I suppose I looked like a Whimsey, hehe) My Whimseys show some girls reaching out to me and asking me if I want to play with them. (Carrie, do you recognize yourself in your fiery redheaded-ness? With Maria?)

We learned some really good background techniques. Like using a brayer. I had one but never used it with paint before. I love it now. As the layers of paint on my brayer show... I use it often and neglect to wash it before it dries :-)


The third week we made "Empathy Monsters".  I've made plenty of stuffies before so I had everything I needed. Except a zipper mouth of course, the key thing an Empathy Monster needs. The monster is our inner critic and we need to be able to zip its mouth when needed. Well, I figured I could use duct tape when needed. I named him Jude, after a character in a book who was a surfer-dude.

He has an eyebrow piercing, a hoop in his ear, a nice shell necklace, and endearingly crooked teeth.  Duuude. Best of all, he loves me unconditionally and tells me how wonderful I am. Of course I keep the duct tape nearby ;-) 

I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't finish the cover of my book or lesson four. I think life got in the way. But all the videos were downloadable so I can finish them whenever I am able.  I believe if you go to Willowing's site the free course is still up and the videos are still downloadable. It's worth it just to watch Tam work her magic. 


That's all for now. I'll be back in a few days, have a great week!

OHMYGOODNESS.

AAARRGGH. 
Hi, my name is Lisa and it's been over two months since my last post! I feel like I've been neglecting an old friend and I'm truly sorry. (Clap! Clap! Welcome Lisa! Start writing and get over it!)


Seriously. I can't believe I've let so much time slip. But things have been going on... very exciting things, I might add. Regarding Artistcellar.com, we hit the six month mark and had a good "think" about things. Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? The first six months have been an amazing learning experience (does it ever end?) Filled with ups and downs, excitement and frustration. All in a days work. Best part of it all is the amazing people we've met. But now what? Artistcellar has decided to expand its product line and offer some "most delicious" goodies in addition to paints and stencils and such. Sure, we could have bought other people's stuff wholesale and turned around to resell it, but that didn't feel right. We want control, bwaaahhaaa! So this is what we've been working on:

BEADS!! We made up some really awesome Bead Mixes in 10 different color schemes. And some really shiny little silver Heishi Beads and spacers. I'm working on finding a source for some great charms soon.

 

FIBERS!! I looked, I saw, I bought, cut, coordinated and packed. We found some cool recycled silk fibers (shown above). These guys are rough and nubby and twisted and skinny and fat, but mostly colorful! We also have smooth silk fibers that are super soft and well... silky. My daughter wove this out of the soft silk fibers:

Then we have my pride and joy, the fiber mixes. Oh boy did I have fun shopping for different fibers and putting them into coordinating groups. Smooth, furry, funky, twisty, knobby, hairy... What a job I have!

Our goal was to have the new items on the website by January first. My webmaster and husband worked through his winter school break redesigning the website to make room for the new goodies. I think he did an awesome job, and I'm not just saying that because I have to live with him. 

What else have I been working on? I have a lot of new work to share but I don't want to make this a super long post. (Baby steps, remember?) I've been working on Willowing's ArtHeartandHealing Class, Roses on my Table journal prompts, ATC swaps, and RAIL projects, Suzi Blu's Mermaid Class, The Sketchbook Challenge, Strathmore Visual Journaling with Pam Carriker, among other projects. I will leave you today with a journal page I did based on a prompt from Zinnia over at Roses On My Table. The prompt was "Favorite Instrument" I was stumped for a long time since I'm pretty much tone deaf, can't sing, and can't play an instrument. But then it hit me... the reason I pick the music I listen to is because of the VOICE and what it says. Enjoy.