Tag: journal

Knitting

Whatcha Workin’ On? Wednesday 12/31/14

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ON MY NEEDLES

Red Bird Knits Tulips, after some cat vs. sock in progress drama, but, it’s coming right along.

BOOKLOVE

The Alienist, by Caleb Carr, a library book that I’m enjoying enough to renew.  There hasn’t been much reading going on the last week or so. Hopefully this will change for the better this week.  I miss reading, but I do have to sleep sometimes!  📚💤

MORE MIXED MEDIA

I started this yesterday.

So far, acrylic paint, stencils, stamps and hand drawn and colored flower.

I’m linking with Yarn Along, Frontier Dreams and Gracey’s Goodies today.

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.  Kahlil Gibran


Happy New Year!

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Knitting

Monochromatic Mixed Media Monday

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M x 4

Monochromatic Mixed Media Monday – I think all those M sounds are called alliteration.  See Mrs. Smith!  I’ve not forgotten ALL of what you taught me in high school English.  I think it sounds pretty neat.  OK, moving on.  This is what I’ve been working on these past few days –

 Fabric scraps, hand drawn flowers, feather, stencil, vintage blueprint, diecuts, playing card, handcarved stamps, purchased stamp, black acrylic paint, spray ink and assorted doodads

I like the vintagey, grungy look of this one – how ’bout you?

An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity.  A pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.  Winston Churchill

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Knitting

Perhaps Today, Fishies, Very Interesting

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MAYBE TODAY

I don’t have anything finished to post knitterlywise, but have high hopes that by the time the clock shows 12 midnight tonight, I will.  I made a crucial mistake this morning.  I stalked did some research on Zauerball Sock Yarn online and, well, we all know how this movie ends, don’t we?  I’ve been knitting gray for way too long. I NEED COLOR!!!!!  Thus the push for gray to be over and done with.

SOMETHING IS FISHY

I’ve been seeing fish everywhere these last few days, maybe due in part to the trip to PetSmart last week with Bigmommy, the Papoose and the Sprout to purchase some fishy stuff for their new aquarium, after winning a goldfish at the Stuttgart Carnival, which promptly went belly up.  All this leads up to this new mixed media project –

Acrylic background, handcarved stamps, ink, gel pen, painters tape and bookpaper

I had absolutely no plan when I started this one, other than “I wonder what mixing a bit of black and blue iridescent paint and pouncing it on would look like?”

I love the way it turned out!

As an aside, I’ve been told that I have an “intuitive style”.  Having no clue what that means, I googled it and this is what I learned:

 Intuitive painting is a creative practice that releases impulses usually corralled by the logical part of the brain to make a work of art. People who use this technique employ their intuition to paint automatically without stopping to plan for the outcome of the piece. Some practitioners like Chris Zydel, who leads workshops on intuitive painting, believe it is a spiritual experience that can help free the mind and heal the soul.

Interesting.  I’ve always called it flying by the seat of my pants. 🚀✈️🚁😋

We are all of us imaginative in some form or other, for images are the brood of desire.  George Elliot


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Knitting

Whatcha Workin’ On? Wednesday #3, Booklove 12/10/14, Two Weeks left

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ON MY NEEDLES

Christmas knitting continues, but slowly.  Next year, I’m starting holiday knitting in January! My  rule of one knitted gift per year will stand, I’m just trying to minimize the stress of “down to the wire” knitting.  We’ll see how it goes.  Once again, my WIP is this:

 

BOOKLOVE

I’m immersed in Ann Hood’s An Italian Wife, which I’m enjoying very much and have The Night Circus at the head of the queue when Wife is finished.  After that, who knows???

JUST TWO MORE!

I can hardly believe that the 2014 Documented Life Art Journal has just two more weeks, two more prompts and bang, 2014 shuffles off stage and the brand spanking new 2015 project will take its place.  Know what I’m most proud of?  I stuck with it, even with only the vaguest idea of what an art journal is, and learned more than I ever thought possible.  The most amazing thing I learned?  I’m an artist and I love art!  This is a huge take away for me, who has always had problems with “staying in the lines” and always “marched to the beat of a different drummer”.

I’m linking with Ginny’s Yarn Along and Frontier Dreams today.  Visit  and be inspired!

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.  Lao Tzu 


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It’s that day again!

Click below to add your link then link back here to share the love!

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Knitting

Mixed Media Monday 12/8/14

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MY OWN MIXED MEDIA (MOMM)

I’m so happy and excited to have started my new Dylusions art journal.  After using an spiral notebook with lined, not mixed media or watercolor paper, the mixed media paper is such a treat!  Not having to prep my pages with gesso before starting work is awesome – more spontaneous I suppose.  I love everything about this journal!  Here are the first two projects:

 

Stacked Birds

Book paper, Distress stains mustard seed and crushed olive, blue jean and barn door

 

Doodle–>ribbons–>tree

pitt pen, assorted gel pens

This particular journal is the smallest one, the pages measure 5×8 inches.  I have the larger one also, I plan to get started painting the cover sometime this week.  The first cover was just a warm-up! 🎨😺  Blank pages are sooooooo exciting!

The dream is over…  

I was the Dreamweaver

But now I’m reborn

I was the Walrus

But now I’m John.

             John Ono Lennon

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Knitting

Getting Close, Real Close

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GOTCHA COVERED

More Layers

(If you missed out on the beginning of this project, you can catch up here.)

 

14.  Hand drawn and painted flowers

15.  Grunge heart stamp – silver

16. Pink acrylic paint splatters

17.  Light teal acrylic paint splatters

18.  Stencils

19. First part of wonky frame done with white paint pen

20.  More pink acrylic paint splatter

I think this cover is very close to being finished.  I need to decide if it’s finished or not, I can always add a little more of “this or that.” Feel free to comment, do you think it’s finished???

 Nope, not finished yet.

21.  Wonky frame complete on front.

Finished (for now) I haven’t decided whether or not to wonky frame the back.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.  William James

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Knitting

Whatcha Workin’ On? Wednesday 12/3/14, Booklove, MOMM*

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ON MY NEEDLES

Christmas Knitting

 

*MOMM ART JOURNAL COVER

Remember Monday’s post about this journal cover?  If you don’t, you can refresh your memory here.  It’s made more than a little progress since then –

 I added more layers today.  Here’s a list, in order of appearance:

1.  Gesso

2. Light violet acrylic paint brushed on

3.  Anna’s Acrylic Craft Paint, Heather, sponged on

4.  Anna’s Acrylic Craft Paint, Royal Fuchsia, sponged on

5.  Black acrylic paint, randomly applied with my finger

6.  White acrylic paint, randomly applied with my finger

7.  Green acrylic paint, randomly applied with finger, which immediately turned into some totally disgusting urine yellow color

8.  Book paper torn into scraps and applied with matte medium to cover as much of the above mentioned yellow color as possible and allowed to dry

9.  Distress Ink in Dusty Concord, dabbed and blended

10.  Distress Ink in Seedless Preserves, dabbed and blended

11.  Stencils, iridescent white acrylic paint

12.  Stencils, iridescent pink acrylic paint

13.  Stencils, iridescent green paint

If not otherwise specified, all acrylic paint is Artist’s Touch, from Hobby Lobby.

Stay tuned – more layers to follow!

BOOKLOVE

I finished a great book yesterday, Family Pictures by Jane Green, good enough to keep me reading for most of two days.  No spoilers here, sorry.  Bigmommy loaned me one during our visit last week, Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller.  I don’t usually read her books, I don’t enjoy the kid with the disease of the week stories, even with happy endings, but this one has a Holocaust storyline, switching back and forth between past and present voices, more like historical fiction and I’m enjoying it very much.  Check these two out if they sound like they might be your cup of tea.

PLEASE, PLEASE MEME (sorry, overcome by Beatles lyrics for a second)

I’ve started a new Wednesday meme, Whatcha Workin’ On? Wednesday, open to all artists/crafters and I’d love for you to add your link below to spread the craftlove.  All I ask is that you link back here to further spread the sunshine.  Just one more thing – If Mr.Linky isn’t working, please let me know.  Thanks!

*My Own Mixed Media

Linking with Ginny’s Yarn Along and Frontier Dreams.

 It’s a funny thing about life.  If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.  William Somerset Maugham

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Knitting

Mixed Media Monday 12/1/14, Raku

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PREVIEW

Here’s a look at a new mixed media art journal cover I started working on today, after a false start with blue paint and stencils that I knew I hated, all the while painting and stenciling, convinced that “with just a little more paint, I’m going to fall in love with this project.”  NOT!  So, with trusty gesso and brush, i reduced the cover once again to the clean slate and started again, this time with different colors and without a fixed plan, decided to use the technique that has proven to work really well for me in the past – using colors I love and letting my intuition tell me what’s working and what’s not and then just going with it.  Want to know the best lesson art has taught me?  It’s taught me that what I create is mine, and being mine, i can do what I please with it.  So, like today, if something just isn’t working for me, i can cover it up and start fresh.  It’s totally up to me, to do as I please.  This is my mantra: If I like it, then it’s perfect.

Gessoed to cover what I did previously and then started sponging acrylic paint over cover then going back and adding black and white accents.  This one’s not even close to being finished.  I plan to do lots more with it – stamps, stencils, collage paper, stickers, handwriting.  By the time it’s finished, who knows how many layers will have been added!  Keep watching this blog, who knows what it’s going to look like when it’s done.  Gotta say I’m loving the grunge look.

DUH MOMENT YOU ASK?

This morning at 5:30, even before my feet hit the floor (I’m an early riser) I remembered that I somehow forgot to add the photos of a raku pot I mentioned in this post’s title. Duh. So here they are, better late than never, they say.

 From where I sit, these pics are huge!

Pot exterior glaze is Candy Luster

Pot interior glaze is Copper Luster

REMINDER

Don’t forget to drop by my blog Wednesday to add your link to Watcha Workin’ On.  Remember, it’s open all crafters/artists, whatever your medium.  Can’t to see everyones projects!

No matter how deep a study you make, what you really have to rely on is your own intuition and when it comes down to it, you really don’t know what is going to happen until you do it.  Konosuke Matsushita

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Knitting

Now I Get It

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NOT SO BLACK FRIDAY

I don’t go shopping the day after Thanksgiving.  Standing in line in the middle of the night, in the cold, in a crush of strangers doesn’t appeal to me, not even a little bit.  If they were giving stuff away I might think about it, but only for a second or two.  Is it the thrill of the hunt, like spending hours in a duck blind or a deer stand, to bring home a trophy or two?   Just curious.  I like to know what makes other people tick.  Turning it around, though, I bet people are totally flummoxed by my yarn/knitting obsession and the lengths I’m prepared to go for THE PERFECT FIBER.  Wait, on second thought, I totally get the Black Friday standing in line in the cold, in the dark to bag the perfect whatever your heart desires. Never mind.

THE DOCUMENTED LIFE

Just a few more weeks left for the 2014 The Documented Life Art Journal/Planner Project.  Here’s a look at the Week 48 challenge, Depict Gratitude in an Artful Way –

Hand drawn and colored flowers, fabric cutouts, Copic markers, watercolors, washi tape

SOMETHING NEW

I’m starting a new Wednesday meme called Whatcha Workin’ On Wednesday, a place for crafters/artists of all kinds to show off what they’re working on.  Stop by and add your link – I bet I’m not the only crafter to loves to see what others have going and always looking for inspiration!

I am a part of all that I have met.  Alfred Tennyson

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Knitting

Mixed Media Monday 11/23/14

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MY OWN MIXED MEDIA aka MOMM

I’ve become obsessed with Artist Trading Cards and the idea behind them.  Learn more about them here and here. I love their size, they lend themselves very well to all different types of media, watercolor, collage, stencil, stamps, you name it.  I love that their size being what it is, every element or space needs to “count”, with the attitude of more bang for your buck or large works in a small space and I love the idea of trading cards with other artists, though I feel very shy about this for some reason right now.  Here are a couple that I’ve completed recently.

ATC, Distress Stain, stamps, butterfly die cut, distressed edge

Corregated ATC, die cuts, key, word beads

Maybe today I’ll get more confident and sign up to trade.  Loyal readers, anyone into ATCs?

CREATIVE CHRISTMAS

Christmas projects continue on the knitting front and I’ve added some of my pottery to the mix.  Being Christmas gifts, your imagination will have to suffice, but I’m excited about gifting them and isn’t that what gifting is all about?

THE TABLE

What’s going to be on yours this Thanksgiving?  Ours will hold a turkey, the requested every year english peas, mashed potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole and corn casserole. My Thanksgiving offerings will mostly be of the sweet persuasion, a raisin pie, something chocolate, snickerdoodle bread, and an apple slab thingy that I saw on the King Arthur Flour website that looks and sounds delicious.  Ya know, we could cut to the chase and just cut out the turkey and broccoli but somehow, I don’t think that will happen.  Does it show that I’m not a broccoli fan??

Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments.  Talmud

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Knitting

Mixed Media Monday

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HAVE A TAB

Here is my take on week 45 of The Documented Life, Incorporate A Tab –

 

Spray inks, stamps, stickers, copic markers, hand drawn and colored flowers, washi tape

This is the first one in a while that I’ve really felt good about my end product.  The last few weeks have been difficult creatively.  I sort of struggled with the tab idea, starting and then discarding several different attempts before settling into this one, I’m glad I kept at it.  I love it!

Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.  German Proverb

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Mixed Media Art · The Documented Life Project

MOMM, The Documented Life Project

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TDL

My Documented Life art journaling has continued, though I’ve been wrapped up in a couple of huge knitting projects, not to mention awesome family things.  There have been a couple of TDL entries that didn’t melt my butter, but they were OK and I actually started getting into them as I worked.  This week was #36 and the prompt was black and white.  Here’s my take on it –image

This is one I really wasn’t “feeling” while I worked, but I ended up loving the vintage look and the sort of restrained style.

I used black and white gesso, wallpaper look tissue paper, butterfly stamped borders, a large handwriting stamp, white stamp ink and a picture of the Eiffel Tower.  It has a old fashioned travelogue vibe, don’t you think?

MY OWN MIXED MEDIA

I enjoyed the black and white so much, I did one on my own –

Indulge

Black Gesso

White Gelly Roll pen

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been.  You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you’ll discover will be wonderful.  What you’ll discover is yourself.  Alan Alda 

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