Winding Down? NAHHH

2011 is on it's way out. I've bound my way through another crazy Christmas full of travel and custom orders and am finally home from Georgia for the second time in a month. So I can't for the life of me figure out why I am still in the weeds. I was pondering what has still yet to be done and the list is long, all of which are book orders that were not for Christmas so I was able to put them off until after the holidays. I also have a sewing project that I should have had done before I left but that too is unfinished (more on that in my next post when it finally IS done.)
I've decided that there will be no new years resolution but I DO want to start 2012 with clean work tables. I have one 8ft table, one 4ft table along with a drafting table and have a total of at best an 18"x24" clear space to work on - that's it. Rather pathetic really. No matter what, this will be done this week....at some point!

Some of my custom orders for Christmas. For the rocker   I cut a stencil of  The Who band logo  and spraypainted it over some Union Jack fabric - love the binding on it!

Then we have another stenciled cover. Yes, it's Davy Jones. I agreed to do this in spite of risking losing my rock n roller card ; )

 

The next is for an avid fisherman (also my pastor). This is the second year in a row his wife ordered one from me to give to him. She swiped one of his handmade fishing flys (sp?) and I put it under acetate window on the cover

The Dylan, Lennon and Waits stenciled books all sold so I think I'll replace them in my shops soon. I'll only make 3 per stencil before I retire each one, the background lyrics and bindings will all be different so technically they are/will be OOAK.

This one is for Tom, who 9 years ago on New Years Eve in Las Vegas became my husband.

Today and every day..................at the Shores

Happy December!

Where have I been you ask? Well, anyone who has ever read this blog knows I often go MIA. I just got back from Georgia, my family lives there and normally drive the 12 hours for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The weather was fantastic I must say, the first 2 days it was in the 80's then went down to the 70's - I miss the southern climate, I am so not a northern sort of gal...the hotter the better is my motto.

November was a fantastic month for business with 28 books sold. One of my customers (and dear friend) suggested that I add some books more guy friendly. I had to think hard just how I was going to do that and not lose "me" in the process. Fabric that is more masculine is somewhat boring I think so being the art and music fanatic that I am I decided to cut some stencils of some of my favorite artists and musicians and spraypaint them on the covers - I added song lyrics to the fabric background. I've finished two, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, I have a John Lennon waiting to be bound but has to be put on hold for some custom orders that have come in.

I am working on an order of 15 mini journals - I must say, they are just about as much work as the full size ones, they're really cute though. Quite a generous Santa I must say! I've got the covers done so far, my only stipulation was that I wasn't going to make 15 identical books, she was more than happy to let me have my way:

Another fun book I have done since my last post is for the cat lover, personally I am a dog lover but all the cool fabric seems to be geared toward the feline fan! It's a larger art journal:

"Meowsterpieces" can be found here

This is the tune I used as the background on the Tom Waits book

 And the early dawn cracks out a carpet of diamond.......at the Shores

Book Binding and San Marino Daydreams

Sadly, San Marino is the last in our World Tour swap series, there just wasn't enough interest. I, however loved it, I learned a lot about some of the lesser known countries. It was fun while it lasted. I did a piece if what I think is a TITANO ceramic (left) which stands for Monte Titano, the mountain San Marino was built on. A little tidbit for you:  San Marino is the world's oldest and smallest republic.
As a kid growing up in Germany I remember a smallish souvenir type bottle containing wine either at my grandparents house or ours, my memory is a little unclear as to ownership and it looked much like the picture on the right. No idea as to why I remember that bottle so clearly - the texture of it was fantastic to me! Silly huh?

I've been crazy busy binding books. Here are a few custom pieces I've done recently:

For my husband the lineman




For Joann





Teacher's Journal



Pirate Art Journal
I've got one more to bind then hopefully I can get some made for my Etsy shop as it's getting even more bare and a lot of good that will do me during the holiday season.

The following video has no relevance to this post but it makes me smile to watch Sugar Chile Robinson play...genius! 

Already missing the warmth of summer.........at the Shores

I Read Banned Books

I just did an ATC in honor of banned books week which was last week. My friend Susan has a button that says "I read banned books" which was my inspiration for it. The idea for this particular swap was 7 different people indicated what the ATC had to include: 

1. 3 circles
2. something torn, ripped or shredded
3. something that moves, opens, spins or dangles
4. something metal or metallic
5. an element - earth, water, fire or air
6. something tactile

7. graffiti writing or marks

Here is what I came up with - it's not a great scan since the book lifted it from the scanner bed. The 3 circles are the metal eyelets up top, I used torn text for the background, the miniature book opens and closes, there is a piece of copper that tops the "firepit", I painted some fire, used "brick" fabric for the tactile part and "I read banned books" is my graffiti. 
I'm always amazed at the number of classics that have been challenged and or banned all together - I've read many and don't think I've turned out too bad! Pretty sad really, some of these works are pure genius. By the way - Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was banned for passages that were considered "sexually offensive," as well as for the tragic nature of the book, which some readers felt was a "real downer." Well, I for one will not bury my head in the sand and try to pretend such an awful time in this world's history never happened. As George Santayana once said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Stepping off my soapbox now....

I just purchased some new pencils, I got the Derwent Graphitints and the Inktense sets (24 in each set). I've been working on breaking away from my trusty acrylics and thought they'd help in my quest...plus I was in a swap where you had to just use colored pencils so of course I had to buy some, I mean after all, my huge set of Prismacolors just wouldn't do now would they?!? It's a simple design but kinda pretty, yes? It was done with the Graphitints, I love the subtle colors you get when you brush water over them.  

An Anne Frank video tribute, music by the Goo Goo Dolls

  

It's a shivering cold fall day...........at the Shores

Painting Completed My Life

This blog post title is a Frida Kahlo quote and it's pretty much how I feel, there is very little I'd rather be doing than paint, or at the very least creating - anything really. I've been working on some more books, my poor Etsy shop has been untouched for quite awhile. I feel guilty in a way but have always refused to "make" myself do something because I think I should (with the exception of going to the doctor or paying bills). So, I'm ready to get more books bound and for my first one I put an image of Frida Kahlo done with a handcut stencil I'd done and added the very quote I just spoke of. I was inspired by a piece of fabric someone sent to me, she knew I loved street art and Banksy in particular and thought it'd be perfect for me - she was right! It's Frida meets street art! I have a second sketchbook I am binding with the same stencil but on an VERY happy yellow floral. 

Yesterday I the weather was cool and I decided to hit the bike trail for a nice long ride. It was almost too long, I was a little concerned halfway through it if I hadn't bitten off more than I could chew. I rode 15 miles from home and the legs were beginning to ache and the lousy seat was starting to get verrrry uncomfortable. I'd though about calling home for Tom to come fetch me at one of the roads the bike path crosses but decided I went that far, I really needed to suck it up and get home on my own. Well, I did and I did. I woke up at 3am to some aching legs so with the help of some Tylenol PM I went back to sleep at about 4. I'm now 258.4 miles out on my virtual Trans American journey. Still not even halfway across the 737.7 miles across VA!

I hope you had a great holiday weekend, our warm days are numbered up here but I'll take as many as I can get. 

Now a sweet song I was reminded of when it came on my iPod while I was writing this. I had a secret crush on Joshua Kadison when his Painted Desert Serenade album came out in 1993! 

You got me talkin' to the moon you got me walkin' in the rain................at the Shores

A Repousse' Kinda Day

Well, I've finally gotten last months winner takes all ATC(s) done. The theme chosen was under the sea - not beachy, not cutsy...the sea. I've been pondering picking up the black matte metal and Prismacolor pencils to have another go of it (and perhaps walk away with more hair left on my head this time) so I went for it. The first one I did a fish w/seaweeds etc. but the only problem was the seaweed ended up looking like part of the fish I had camouflaged in the water, not too sure I liked the outcome so I tried again, this time a grumpy grouper type fish thing (can you tell I am not well versed in the fishes?) I like him better and will send them both.

Hope she likes at least one of them!

 

So, me being a glutton for punishment did yet another one, this time a skinny (3x5) for my friend Brenda who was gracious enough to order the black metal and sent some, much more than what was needed in fact, to everyone who participated in the swap, she wouldn't take payment so this will have to do.

That will be the last of my repousse' for awhile...it is not the easiest medium to work with, plus just the feel of the metal for some reason gives my the willies *shudder*, I try to wear surgical gloves as much as I can while working with it!
(PS the silver metallic Prismacolor pencil works fabulously on the metal)

And now for an old favorite of mine:

 

It's far beyond the star, It's near beyond the moon................at the Shores

Next Stop.....Belize!

This World Tour ATC series has been so educational for me, the research I do to find a subject to paint has been so enjoyable and informative! The latest was Belize so I picked Belizian art to do which also incorporates a little piece of life there with the women carrying baskets of goods on their heads and the beautiful blue waters of this country. I'm really happy with the end result, it was adapted from a local artists work, unfortunately I was unable to locate his or her name to credit it to since it wasn't listed.  Isn't it just some colorful fun!?!?  This was done with acrylics and I used some grass cloth paper scraps for the baskets.

The next country hasn't been announced yet but I'm anxiously waiting!

I've finally hit my 100+ (103.8 to be exact) mile milestone in my walk / ride, only about 600 miles to go to be out of Virginia! It would be quite a bit shorter if it were a straight shot across the state but the trail really zig zags all the way across! I'll bore you yet again with another map of my progress:  

I'll leave you with a little World Music. Bob Marley wasn't from Belize but I thought it still fit!

Gonna Stir it up............at the Shores

Poland

I just finished another swap - "Poland" for Tarsh in New Zealand. I decided to do some Polish folk art, the background is dk yellow mulberry paper and the rest is predominantly acrylics with touches of different pens. 
The next swap in the series is Belize :) 

I took yesterday off from my trek across the US but felt it was ok since I biked for 22 miles on our rail trail Saturday. I thought I just might not make it back home after I got out there, it was so hot and humid. Funny things start running through your mind when you take solitary trips like that. For instance I started thinking "Well, here you are, the only fool goofy enough to be pedaling away in this heat. Just how long would it take for someone to find me if I had a stroke and was laying there? Would the critters get me first? How long will it take before my husband starts to miss me?" Then I started thinking about the area, what was the underground railroad is all around where I was biking. I started thinking of the slaves that traveled these roads in their search for freedom - kind of blew me away, really. Here is a snapshot of one of the panels along the trail:

                                               This is my updated map (as of 7/24/2010)

I weighed myself this morning after a week of my new exercise program...nary a pound lost :( but I won't let that deter me, I sure hope something happens by the end of this week though because 2 weeks of no weight loss will be harder to get over.
I got a new pedometer that I am going to try out in an hour or so - thankfully it isn't as hot and humid as it has been!

Now for some sunny walkin' music by Katrina and the Waves done by the Soweto Gospel Choir - ya may as well get up and shake it because it doesn't get much livelier than this!
I'm walkin' on sunshine...........................at the Shores

Get the Skinny

I've been working with a new medium, it's a very thin matte black metal and Prismacolor pencils and nearly tore all my hair out along with the tearing of the metal for pushing too hard with the pencils but think I may have the hang of it now! This is my first attempt, it's another skinny...I have more material to do a couple more.
It's supposed to be a lighthouse on a rocky cliff but almost looks like a church! Straight lines are next to impossible since the embossing and debossing puckers the metal so much. You can see how dimensional it comes out in the picture below. 

I'll give it another go once my hair grows back in.



Get out your hankies, this is a beautifully done video by a student as a senior project, music by Nickel Creek.

Psyching myself up for a visit with a dear sweet patient...................at the Shores

Bein' Trashy

I made my first "skinny" (3x5) for a That's Trash! swap. You were to make it from things found on the sidewalks, roads etc. This was super hard since I live in a very rural area and I have found it's pretty darn clean out here! Anyway, I did however manage to find a water bottle label, some sort of green wired tubing, a piece of newspaper from July 22, 2009, a parking ticket stub, a Dove chocolate wrapper, a small piece of black plastic and a piece of junk mail. The bottle cap and ribbon was from my stash - hopefully they were ok to use. My partner is into flowers and insects, I did a praying mantis. I cut up the tubing (opened part of it for the body and used the wire I pulled out of it for the legs) cut the plastic for the belly and collaged the rest. It was pretty funny really, I worked on this on the deck and it was the first time my husband actually watched me work from start to finish - he kept saying "let me see, let me hold it!" I handed it over once I was finished, he was pretty tickled....I think it turned out pretty good for what I had to work with!

This video stinks but the song suits my post!

Feelin' trashy..........at the Shores

Done Russian

Well, it's super late, or verrrry early depending on how you look at it (1:30am to be exact). I'm just not very tired which is unusual since I am normally in the sack by 11pm or so. So I figured I'll post about an ATC I finally finished up yesterday. I started it a couple weeks ago and never thought I'd finish it, I've had many large scale paintings that took less time. It was for a "Russia" swap so I did a detail of some of the onion domes of St. Basils in Moscow - all I got to say is it was a booger. Here again, the shiny gold trim on the domes cannot be seen on the scan.
 
I've got a super busy next couple of weeks. This weekend we are having the family+others over for our annual family BBQ, Tom's kids and families and the rest will be here, my mom and sister will be driving up from Georgia. There looks to be about 30 and thank goodness the forecast looks to be a perfect day. Lets hope it stays that way.
 
Then I'm taking a trip July 8-12 to Philly/NJ/NYC to meet up with some friends from high school, nearly 30 years since we've seen each other. Will post all the gory details once I get back.

This post got me thinking about that movie "National Lampoons Family Vacation" and the following song, if you've never seen it get out from under that rock you live under and check it out! And while we're in Chevy Chase mode...you ever see "Funny Farm"? That was hysterical to me, not too sure how many agree but it cracked me up!

I might be ready to sleep now.................at the Shores

It's Fontastic!

hew - it's been a bit since I've posted here. Just busy I suppose. 

I just finished up an ATC where your partner chooses a word and you are to use a nice font to write it out on the front. I chose to draw it using the Baveuse font on mine and I sure don't have to tell you what her word is. I hope she doesn't mind a bit of whimsey - I have been doing such serious stuff lately! I couldn't scan it because of the paper curl I have on the billboard and it's stormy outside so an indoor photo will have to do(you know what kind of crappy camera I have if you've ever been here before I complain all the time about it)

I also finished a
new book for my
shop I call it
"Daisy Dreams",
not the shop -
the book!
I used yellow lined
paper for the two
pads on the inside,
some may
want one with lines,
right??

I love this song - and such a sweet video - maybe you do too?
Dreaming........................at the Shores

Exit Through the Gift Shop

For anyone who pops by this blog might have seen me mention Banksy a time or two and tonight I was wondering when or if his new movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" would be playing around here - highly unlikely, but a girl can hope. I got turned on to him by Jeannie a person whom I've never met in person but have the great fortune to trade art and emails over the past year or so and consider her a friend. So, when I started doing ATC's I was also in an online class taught by Mary Ann Moss for "stencilry". I learned to cut my own stencils and started using them on my ATC's and Jeannie has gotten a couple even, I love cool stencils and love cutting them even more but love the surprise after spraypainting them and seeing just how they turned out the mostest (yeah, not really a word, but it's my blog and I'll use what I want). Anyway, Jeannie saw a Banksy link a while back and had to share it with me THANK YOU, JEANNIE!!

This guy is fascinating in my opinion - I dig good street art, always have but this guy beats all, his guerrilla art and cleverness floors me and nobody knows who he is! He's left his trail of spraypaint all over the world and last week his mark was left in Detroit....whoda thunk it?!  The images here are from that Motor City drive-by, just look how he used the chain that was already hanging    there pre rat attack. Photos (I believe) and article is by Travis Wright @ Metro Times Article about Banksy's Detroit visit   

Dreaming of spraypaint and brick walls.............at the Shores






From Pysical Graffiti

Face It

I was asked once how long it takes me on the average to do an ATC, I said 3-4 hours........I LIED! It takes me a bit longer. The booger I worked on tonight took me forever for one reason - I don't paint faces...people faces. I was in a swap where your partner chooses a favorite artist, mine chose Renoir, I gave her a hard time about putting the pressure on and she ended up giving me a couple alternates but this particular group I'm in is really for getting you to step out of your comfort zone and trying new things so I figured in all fairness I should send her what she really wanted, so after checking out a gazillion (yah, gazillion - the same amount as the national debt) I found one I thought I could do. I picked his portrait of actress Jeanne Samary circa 1877.
Edited to add: This is my finished product:

On an entirely different note, my mom came up for her annual come-to-the-tundra-for-fun trip. We had a blast as always. We had plenty of snow, as a matter of fact it snowed every day she was here practically so here's what we did on a couple days we were somewhat active:

This is where we ended up after running up and down the hill with our sleds...ON the snow flat on our backs - as I posted these pictures I realized my husband is right, I am my mother's "mini me", we are scooting down the hill below in the same fashion : }
 

Then in honor of the 2010 Olympics we went to the front yard for some fun:

Our downhill skier - of course took the gold

 

And we had the Roaming Shores Bobsled team also taking top honors:

The front yard now looks like a pitiful Olympian graveyard (or morgue) due to the sun this past weekend...we won't even go into the snow we have gotten since, we cannot even leave the house through the front door, the drifts are too high! So now we have a snow covered headless skier and shrunken bobsled team.

Thanks mom - winter would never be the same without you XOX.  Missing my mom...........................................at the Shores

Happy New Year!

Dumped the verification word to leave a comment - in the words of Dr Phil...it just wasn't workin' for me!
Ok, so I'm about a week late, but would anyone expect less from this sprodaic blogger?? The hubs and I did very little on New Years Eve (or the rest of the weekend for that matter), which was our anniversary to boot - we married in Las Vegas on New Years Eve in Las Vegas, which was nothing short of a comedy anyway. We were going to meet both of my soon to be husbands kids a day or two after the new year and thought it would be a great time to get married. Well it got to be about 9pm in the casino and Tom (the hubs) said why don't we just do it now? You know, the tax deduction would be great......sooooooo off to the Hitchin' Post (yes, really) we went, at 9:45pm we were married and in doing so I was his little deduction for the entire year in spite of being married for only 2 hours and 15 minutes :o} 
I couldn't really complain about doing nothing since Tom drove Miss Daisy (me) to Georgia and back TWICE in a month aaaaaaaaaaand got me the most amazing coat and snow boots for Christmas - he rocks!

So on my artsy fartsy end of life, I've finished my second set of Artist Trading Cards for the second in the Opera series - it was Mozart this time:

Both were taken from Polish opera posters, done by the same artist - Don Giovanni has been received by my swap partner and I think he really liked it the second, Marriage of Figaro had a long way to go, it went to South Korea...hope she likes it as well!

Then I had another swap where the image was to be veiled in some way - my partner likes signs of peace, such as the symbol, doves etc and the ocean so here are my ATC's to her:

The image above left is when it is "veiled" and the right is when it the vellum was opened. The dove was done on clear overlay, I outlined the design with black acrylic paint then used alcohol inks to fill in the color, turned out with a nice stained glass look.

I didn't draw the picture on top, it was from and old book but the bottom is what you see when you open it and that was done with acrylics...no surprise there since acrylics are sort of my left hand (yep I'm left-handed)

Ok, enough for one night - I have a patient to visit in the morning and need to work on another swap......creatin'........at the Shores

Sooo Sari....

The hubs, dog and I just got back from another road trip to Georgia - that drive just beats the snot outta me even though all I do is sit in the passenger seat (I'd love to have a turn at driving but noooOOOooo, that just wouldn't do for hubby). It was really nice at any rate once we got there - mom was really with it this Christmas, she was bound and determined that most of the food and ALL of the gifts would be prepared and wrapped and what a fine job she did! It is always so awesome to be with the family at Christmas. My trips are never long enough though, it would have been nice to pop in on a friend or two or maybe see an old friend that was playing at the Foxes Lair but alas..just couldn't squeeze it in, maybe next time.

So I got home to find a bag full of amazing color in my mailbox - I'd ordered some sari silk scraps from India off Etsy, they are just eyepopping, the colors, embroidery and embellishments are really amazing..do take a look (yes, crappy pic taken from the Blackberry again):

Yummmmmm! No idea what I will do with them yet but whatever it is it will be good to be sure!

Another first for me was I painted a goat. I've never painted a critter before but I was in a WTA (winner takes all) and the winner picks the theme of the ATC, it was:

~GOATS~

Well, I was a bit horrified at the thought - I mean animals are just not what I paint but after finding a photo I liked I set to work, I blasted Christmas music (the fun kind like Elvis, Aretha and the like) I sang and smiled through the whole process and here you see my sweet goat:

IS THIS THE CUTEST EVER?!?!?!

It was another one of those pieces that I was heartbroken to part with and the only reason I did was because the person who won would appreciate it and take care of my lil guy without a doubt.

So now I am missing my goat.........................at the Shores

Shalom

Wooohooo! I shopped online for all my Christmas stuff on Sunday, here it is Wednesday and almost everything has been delivered already....truly amazing - everything had free shipping to boot (I SO hate shopping, unless I am in an art supply store book store or Home Depot - I was born without "the shopping gene")

Ok - I am getting sooooooo close to completing all my swaps for December WOOT! Starting in January I am going to be a little pickier about what I do (not to mention I have a TON of things to get done renovationwise around the house still). So anyway, I did a painting where my partner likes "Indie", yellow and likes the Hebrew alphabet so here's what I came up with:

"Shalom (Peace)"

Like it? I'm happy with it - it'd make nice notecards maybe, I'll think on that one. No more for today, tuckered out...............at the Shores

Mentoring

I finally got the backdrops for the childrens Christmas program finished and delivered to church today...they were waay huge to paint - 4 king size sheets, tough to find a place that's big enough to work on them and painting on fabric is not exactly easy. The kids were great - I miss going to things like this since my kids have up and grown on me :o/

I am in a swap with a young 16 year old that wanted to learn to make ATC's, her mother asked if I would since her daughter saw some of mine and wanted to learn more about them and I really believe that mentoring is something everyone should do at some point or another in their livesif the opportunity arises. After reading a little about what she likes I decided to do these for her - I did not want to send first to inhibit or make her nervous so we were to send them out the same day:

She likes grunge music and since the only one I was familiar with was Kurt Cobain that is what I did. I used photo paper and alcohol inks for the background then cut a stencil of Cobain and used flat black spraypaint. The quote I found was perfect for this...and for her - she'd mentioned that she'd never be as good as me and I was hoping to encourage her to be herself, not to worry about what others do.

The second one is from a photo of Kerouac Alley in San Francisco near Chinatown, Jack Kerouac used to hang around here back in the day - the reason I picked this for her was in reading about her she said she reads Kerouac. I was completely surprised, really, I mean how many 16 year olds even know who Jack Kerouac IS?!? I hope she likes them and can be inspired to go on and do her thing...I look forward to seeing what she has for me.

Welp...this old girl is off to bed, got a busy day tomorrow trying to get my 2nd tree decorated and work on a painting that needs to go out Tuesday........making some ZZzzzzzzzzz's.........at the Shores