Altered Book: A Sense of Place - Progress

All of my altered book spreads got finished Friday evening and Saturday, except the sign-in page. The cover, just masking taped to death, then coated with white gesso. This is just a base prep; I won't do the cover until after it comes back to me with the other 3 women's spreads. On the left is the tag that goes into the sewn triangular pocket. This one is my favorite layout. These are the back sides of 2 vintage envelopes, which I stamped then painted in. The tags inserted into the vintage envelopes. The backs of the tags -- I mean it when I say I'm trying to lighten up myself, be more fanciful! This one is Double BB's favorite layout.

RAK, Doodles, & Doodle-Inspired Art Piece

This is an Easter RAK I received from Jeri, who leads the An Affair With Art online group. Lovely, but fun, too! I am on a mission to lighten up my art, to step back occasionally from the literal kind of things I make. Saturday morning, I decided to take some sheets of bond paper and just -- scribble. Then I turned each sheet this way and that, to 'see what I could see' by way of shape & form -- whimsical, ethereal, suggested, fanciful. Lovely birds! That's all I was able to see in this sheet! Another of the 4 doodled base pages I did on Saturday morning. Voila! Some of the 'pieces' and/or 'forms' I saw in this doodled page. More doodle ideas. Notice, especially, the one in the bottom left-hand corner. This is Genevieve, who came to life in about 11 minutes -- but because she is such a lady, she still manages to look composed & elegant. I just had to see what I could make with one of the doodled shapes, & Genevieve arrived!

Altered Book: A Sense of Place

[front] My on-line group, An Affair with Art, is now holding an altered book round robin. This is my first official altered book, although I do some serious remodeling on/in all my journals! Hence, some nerves and general quakings. Here is the first page (front and back), complete. I'm to do four layouts, then move it along (four women in my group). My theme is A Sense of Place ... to be a journaled depiction of wherever it is that each woman becomes herself, in the deepest way, feels most secure, creative, powerful. [back]

Wings 4 You - Affirmation Visual/Board

Cards from Class, & More ATC's

These two are my favorites, and the closest to what I consider my personal 'style', just in colors and layouts. Same card, different message. I like the punch that looks like a rolodex edge, but the application I prefer is when you create the look of a film strip edge. Again, the same card layout, different message. I like the way the small flower punch kind of bent the shape, giving it some immediate dimension. Sweet, huh? Elephants are one of the few creatures I can always enjoy in 'cute' form. The ATC 'delirious', with the piece of underwear band & the PUGS tag? Double BB took one look, guffawed, & claimed it. Black socks, it was the black socks. I HATE when men wear dress black socks and shorts. Why do men do that? Instant libido killer. So of course in the name of marital harrassment & teasing, Double BB will very often peep around a corner to be sure I'm in the room, then strut out wearing some hideous combination of plaid golfing shorts, dress shoes, and the dreaded black socks! Eesh, blimey, & triple shite!!

RAK for Kevin, ATCs, & Canvas - continued

Kevin received this day before yesterday, from my AAWA friend, Barbara R. in Oregon! Inside -- in the small photo, she's holding a baby bear -- wow! ATC's from last night -- I need to cut more bases now, and dig through my bits & pieces drawer, so I can start a few more. Whew, these faces. I have NO idea how to blend paints, so I need to find a book about that. Can anyone recommend one? But still, I love her face. Now comes the background build-up, then embellishments.

ATCs, and Canvas Progress

Two more completed ATCs, going off in today's mail to recipients who shall remain unnamed! Here, I need to put my figure in now, because I want to build up the layering around her. Because presently I'm an Anonyrrie 'disciple', after I put the gold wash on this, I 'salted' it, to create texture. Looks very cool - I already brushed all the salt off. Am just patiently working my way through some layers on this, to see what happens as they build up. (I use the term 'patiently' very, very loosely.)

RAK, TAG, and ATC's

Here is a recently arrived RAK from Kathy W for Mr. Kevin! These are my awesome 'untags' from Cher, for the AAWA Tag Mingle! My leftovers/junk drawer is exploding, so Friday evening I cut a few ATC bases, then put each one in a ziplock baggie with some bits & pieces from the junk drawer. These are the first six completed ATC's, all of which are going out today to surprise several ladies in my art world!

Tag Book & New Backgrounds in Process

I've had this accordion tag book in my drawer for a year. Suddenly last night, it leaped out and got me in a stranglehold, a full nelson, I had to say UNCLE! UNCLE! twelve times and promise I'd get directly to work on it. True story, I swear! The violet medallion is embossing powder on Mica ... boy do I like how that looks! I also have a plan for taming that wild ribbon, just didn't get that far last night. The sad-faced girl is stamped with permanent ink on a piece of palm bark, then embossed. And that little urn will have flowers growing out of it, too, or possibly a topiary.

Also began two backgrounds on pieces of cardboard I had laying around. This is how I'm learning to circumvent the dreaded 'drying time' -- just have 25 things to work on at once, and rotate them in front of the fan. Love the subdued feeling of this. I used some glass texture paste around the edges (click on the pic to enlarge and then you can see it), trying to create the sense of looking through a window. I have an idea, now, what this might become. I don't even know where this is headed -- and that's the part I love!

And here is today's message from the Universe: "Thinking, Antonia, is life's only variable. Everything else was settled a long, long time ago. Sittin' pretty - The Universe"

Spring Blooms With Dreams

My on-line art group, An Affair with Art, recently posted this inspiration photo [a pillow from Pottery Barn] for our March Inspiration mingle. The idea is to use the piece in any inspired way -- color, shape, pattern, all of the above. Here is my response, entitled Spring Blooms With Dreams.

Note: I am spending 30 minutes per day practicing drawing hands. Bear with me & soon enough my lovely creations will have hands to match!!

Serena By Moonlight

This piece is for Kris H. with An Affair With Art -- my take on a 'tag mingle' -- a tag that could not be a tag shape. So mine is a starfish, reflecting a moonbathing beauty -- the title is a play on 'Serenade by Moonlight', which is the sheet music used on the background.

"Imagine"

My first "Anonyrrie-inspired" piece - completed.

Altered Book: A Sense of Place

The Yahoo group I belong to, An Affair with Art, will be having an altered book swap/exchange soon. I went book-hunting at Good Will and found 2 volumes I liked. My theme is from a song title I randomly read: A Sense of Place. Non-descript little cover, size is 5x7. And the backgrounds are starting to go in. So relaxing...


I have to say how surprised I am, though, that the 'sense of place' emerging from me is not an ocean/beach environment at all, but this garden of yellow roses, sienna & green & gold & yellow & ivory. I had no idea! that's what I would start creating.