Illustration Friday - Eye Glasses

Part of a multi-layered journal spread. It reminds me of the sign across from the automotive shop featured in the film, "The Great Gatsby" - the eyes that seem to see everything.

Imagination

This page is in response to my art journaling group's challenge this month for "vintage." My scanner kind of squished the actual spread, but you get the gist of it. I was inspired by the assemblages of Greg Hanson, whose work I've seen on YouTube. In my own mosaic work, I'm fond of taking found objects and repurposing (re-imagining) them as something else. This page was awesome fun to create!

Retiring -- to Art!

Finally - after working for the past 50 years or so, my time belongs to me and I can now enjoy the rest of my life. It will be an adjustment for sure... I'm so used to going 100 mph with my hair on fire all the time. "Life balance" is not something I've known for a long time, and now I will. I'm free to pursue my undying love of art - creating it in my studio, teaching workshops, sharing time with other artists, the whole shebang. When I was much younger I dreaded the aging process, but now I embrace it because I know who I am and I'm comfortable in my own skin, wrinkled as it's getting. Life is good and I am blessed.

"Flying on Steampunk Time" - SOLD

This is the finished piece I showed a section of below. To get a detailed view, just click on the photo. This steampunk piece is probably the most fun I've ever had working on a long-term project. Finished size 1' x 4'.

Steampunk Scenario 1

I'm working on a commission for a steampunk piece that will include a clock. The finished work will be 1 ft x 4 ft.  This is the top square foot of the piece, and the clock is in the next section down.  I'm having a blast working on this as it evolves and becomes whatever it wants to - very liberating for an artist!  I'm getting to paint, construct boxes and frames, use vintage doodads, sculpt with clay, collage, add mosaics, etc. The color palate includes rust (of course), metals, golds, greens, and blues. After recovering from shoulder surgery, I'm finally getting my art rhythm and mojo back. Thank goodness.

Round Robin Journal Spread

I'm so happy to be part of an art journaling group that gets together once a month in the basement of a local art supply store, Artisan Santa Fe. For our May meetup, our "homework" was to start a journal page (or spread) with just one collage piece. Then at the meetup, our moderator set a timer for 5 minutes and each person (there were about 12 of us) had to add to a journal page during that short time. When time was up, we moved the journals along and repeated the 5 minute timed spurt until the journals had made it all the way around the table. Every single page or spread was completely different and reflected the creativity of all of us. BTW, the collage piece I started with was the white cat with the cut-out lime helmet. Wow - what a blast we had!

An art journal page for today... Wherever you are, you are not LOST if you are at peace.  Enjoy every chance you get to be in the moment. Each one is precious.

Or Not...

"Secrets" journal page

Boy, was I wrong in the previous post below. I'm absolutely non-plussed as to why it took me 9 whole months to revisit my blog. When I saw a light at the end of a tunnel, it was actually a train coming. The past 9 months have been some of the worst for things happening in my life: 6 bad falls (including one that required surgery to fix my torn up shoulder), a disastrous job change (couldn't have been more wrong about that one), my house getting robbed, and very little art. But after all of it, I'm somehow stronger emotionally. Maybe it took all those things to bring me out of la-la land and realize that I have strength that all those negative things can't touch. I'm glad for every day and ways in which things are starting to get better.  Onward and upward...

Change is Good!

After a long absence from art journaling—due to many positive changes going on in my life—I'm feeling my mojo again and the creative spark has returned. New knee, new job, new art series I'm working on, new local art journaling group — things are definitely looking up! Maybe you can tell from the bright colors and images of this journal spread.

Illustration Friday - Asleep

ASLEEP -- NOT!!!

The Princess and the Pea

A prince wanted to marry a princess, but she had to be a real princess. He traveled around the world looking for a wife but was always disappointed. One evening, a young woman claiming to be a real princess sought shelter from a storm at the prince's castle. The prince's mother decided to test the validity of the princess' claim by placing a pea in a stack of mattresses. There the young woman slept. In the morning she complained of having spent a sleepless night. The prince was thrilled! Only a real princess could feel a pea through all those mattresses. She became the prince's wife right away. And they slept just fine ever after.