Surprise

So.....does this pass for surprise? That's me with my big brother, Jim. Maybe that's shock, or fright and not surprise? Posting an "echo" for Chrysti and Susan. Tell us what you think, or post your link to your "surprise".

The Merriest Christmas

The template was in a Stamper's Sampler magazine in early summer of 2008. A house shape. It would be published in the December/January 2009, I was sure a holiday house would be a hit. I was disappointed when it wasn't in the magazine. It seems the magazines feature fall/winter holidays in their October/November issue. But here it is in the Winter 2010 Somerset Studio Gallery. I am honored to have my work featured in Somerset Studio Publications.

The project features Daisy D paper scraps and Catslife Press and Mrs O'Leary's rubber stamps.

I have another item featured in the newest issue of Stamper's Sampler. Which will be the topic of my next blog post. This is indeed exciting. I have been trying to reorganize my life/activities/time/space, to make more time for art. I was feeling a bit discouraged, not so much that I wasn't having things published. You have to send "stuff" in to get published. I wasn't  making the time to do it. I was beginning to feel like it wasn't worth the effort to continue to try. These wonderful magazines showed up in the same week.

Abundance

Playing again. I have an abundance of photo apps for my iPhone. With the camera that came with the phone, I have 13. Also flickr and photobucket. Does that make 15.

I am reponding to Chrysti's and Susan's "echo" challenge with my photo "echo" of the word of the week, "Abundance". Abundance is well....abundant in my life. I have all that I need, lots of what I want. It's hard to complain. ( I still manage.)

The photo is a shot of campaign buttons that were on display at the JM Davis ARms and Historical Museum. We stumbled across this museum on Old Route 66, our way home from Galveston, Texas, last week. There was an abundance of campaign buttons in this photo.(I of course used my new photo app, that Chrysti turned me on to, Cinema FX, using the WWll setting.) However, the musuem has a collection of more than 20,000 fire arms. And that was just the beginning. Mr. Davis's collection was abundantly unique. There was a lovely display of Sunday School pins and certificates, and just around the corner you would find a striking display of hangman's nooses complete with black hood and a newspaper article about the convicted felon's atrocity. Around the corner from that you find a local high school exhibit and then in the next row a collection of weapons confiscated by the local police. 1,200 beer steins lined one row. Another display showed an extensive collection of vintage western movie posters and collectibles. ( I loved the Bonanza coloring book.) And more!!!!

It was unique, interesting, disturbing, thoughtful and amazing.

This week I received two free magazines from Somerset Studios....more abundance. I have a card in the new Stamper's Sampler, and a card in the new Somerset Studio Gallery. I dabble with art, and if you have read previous posts I am in the process of reogranizing priorities so that I can manage my time in a more productive manner. I was feeling a bit like it wasn't worth the effort, and voila, the magazines showed up with my work published in them. A little positive reinforcement is a big motivator.

More on my cards in the next post.

Decorate

Our church group took our annual mission trip to eastern Kentucky. We worked on various home improvment projects. But one family had the greatest lawn decorations. I love eclectic yard decorations.

You'll find this very cool vintage bike in my yard, boasting our street address. But I'm loving the plastic rocking horse that was wedged on this fence in Kentucky, amid a shrub of some sort. There were two horses. I had a horse like this as a child. Now I am searching for one, to wedge on the fence and grow shrubbery around it. My neighbors will no doubt freak.

So, "Echo" my attempt at decorate. Join Chrysti Hydeck and Susan Tuttle and company and play along.

Halloween 1956

Fairy Princess and Witched Witch get ready for Halloween 1956. This was taken at our house at 4143 Juniata in St. Louis. That's me and my big brother, Jim.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!

Emerge

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”
Helen Keller

Gazing into the mist.
Watching what emerges, 
Or, waiting, with faith,
to see what or who comes your way.
Imagining the "great cloud of witnesses" who came this way before
what did they see, what did they find,
what treasure did they carry home
to remember the day
they were emerging from the mist.
bonniebluedenim

Susan Tuttle and Chrysti Hydeck have started an exciting challenge on their blogs. Every couple of weeks they "echo" each other's photos which they have jointly posted on their blogs, and they have invited us all to play along. This week's echo is "Emerge" .  Here is my echo.

The person emerging from the mist on the beach at Assateague Island National Seashore is my husband Rick.

The wild horses were amazing. I was using my small pocket digital camera, and it was hard to zoom in and of course, sharpness was lost in editing. It was a beautiful misty day. Chilly, windy, I love those kinds of days. Great photo opportunities. And it sooo makes you appreciate the sunshine.

Shadows

Check out the Digital Photography School, each week they have a new assignment. It's free and fun, you just need to sign up. This week was "Shadows" I took this last March, I wanted to draw a 'simple ' shape of a scottie, what better way than to get an image from the shadow of the real thing. Your contest photo has to be taken during the week the contest is posted. Maybe next time, I'll get it right. This weekend's challenge is RED. We'll have to see what we can come up with for that one. (Actually taken this weekend.)
 http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/digital-photography-assignments/79027-assignment-shadows-sept-16-sept-30-a.html

Change can be difficult

A fun page for the "So you think you can scrap" challenge at " Sisiversary 2009" Participants were assigned one of three scrap styles. ( See below) I was assigned the Graphic Dance. Here is my interpretative graphic dance. Three large color sections, no printed paper, no flowers, all text is cut from magazines. iPhone photo, editied with Camera Bag and Art Camera apps.

The text speaks for itself. As for being flawless.....well....it's more about accepting who/what I am.

Artsy Fartsy Dance
You MUST include paint.
You can use Glimmer mist (you don't have to.)
You cannot use more than 1 piece of patterned Paper.
You CANNOT use letters (thickers etc.) You can however use them as a mask, or paint your own words, or write. Just no premade stickers.


Graphic Dance - In honor of Jen Geigley.
You MUST use 3 Big, bold, swatches of color.
You CANNOT use ANY flowers.
You cannot use ANY patterned Paper.
You can use plain colored cardstock (but you don't have to).
You MUST use some sort of advertising, tag, or page from a magazine, or something of the sort.


Frilly Folk Dance
You MUST use at LEAST 5 Flowers, the bigger the better.
You CANNOT use ANY bright colors, you must use pastels.
You CANNOT print, you MUST use script/cursive if you write.
You MUST use some sort of lace/ribbon.

Donna 4 Squared

I've been playing this weekend over on http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/ They are having an "sisiversay" celebration with fun tutorials, on-line classes and challenges. I found the photo scavenger hunt to fit it best with my current art pursuits. But all is fun there. You may need to sign in to get to the forums, but it's free.

http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/forums/39_33939_0.html this is the link to the scavenger hunt, there are lots of other challenges as well.!

My photo was taken with the iPhone and modified with the Art Camera Application, I then adjusted the color a bit to pull in some more orange. The challenge was to take a self-portrait and in your portrait incorporate each color of the rainbow...in any way you choose. I have a large star, each point is a different color. I thought it would probably show up in the Art Camera application, as assorted colors. It did!!!

More iPhone Fun

Marco Island Rainey Day, i Phone/photo app fun!

IPhone Photo Fun

I reloaded these photos in a larger format!

Fun Photos taken with my iphone and edited with assorted photo applications.

The President Talks to Students 9/08/09

You can watch the live stream, below, on Tuesday!
Civics Live!

Leap of Faith - Rock n Roll Craft Show

It's a leap of faith that I took this evening and submitted my application thru ZAPP for the Rock and Roll Craft Show, to be held in St. Louis the weekend following Thanksgiving. I may have lost my mind. But it's all about following a dream and living the life I imagine. I have been postponing too many things, and had/have convinced myself that I let others manage my life. I am the only one in charge. ( Well, except for that God stuff, that is.) Generally, the only person stopping me...is well....me.

Here's my artist statement. And the photos here are the photos I submitted of my work.

Now off to work.

Paper, textiles, fiber and STUFF, that’s what my ART is made of. I am inspired by vintage photos, and images, cast off quilts, linens and blue jeans. I enjoy making new and repurposed projects with paint, ink, paper, rubber stamps, repurposed fabric, embroidery and the quilted arts. As an emerging mixed media artist I continue to explore the conflict between decorative and useful; new and repurposed. Finished creations include cards, journals, collage, photos, totes, purses, ornaments, decorative and gift items for the home and holidays.

never surrender your dreams

Never surrender your dreams.

Jesse Jackson

enough is enough

Enough is enough. It is time to follow your dream and live the artful life you imagine.

I open every door

Not knowing when the dawn will come

I open every door.

Emily Dickinson

My flowers have souls.

A Quote from Lavender and Old Lace

"I always thought my flowers had souls."

August challenge on "Mind Wide Open"
http://mind-wideopen.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-challenge-contest.html

A Wonder Horse In Hand Worth Two In A Rose Bush?

Don't you think this would be a fun addition to your yard? I love it. When I was a kid I had a "Wonder Horse". I don't know what happened to it. We still had it when we sold my parent's house. We must have sold it at the estate sale. My family is holding their collective breath, worrying that this will be added to our yard. It would be fun in the middle of a climbing rose bush.



In search of a 1955 edition of the "Wonder Horse".




If you find one, don't tell my family.

Let your light shine!

Let your light shine!

Kingdom Come State Park, Kentucky

On the road again.

Heading out to Eolia, Kentucky with OHPC for a mission trip. Be back next week!

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Dogs Are Better Than Humans

Dogs are better than humans,
They know
but do not tell.

Emily Dickinson

Another piece that I think I will submitt to www.rocknrollcraftshow.com. The little girl and dog is from a collection of ATC papers I received as a gift. The circles are cut from Basic Grey scrapbooking paper. The sideways check marks on the left are from the background vintage ephemera that I used as the base layer of the collage. It 's a carbon copy page of an invoice from a dry goods story from the late 1890s. Also a scrap of vintage sheet music along the bottom. My new favorite paint colors Paynes Gray and Quinacridone Crimson, which make me thing of Raspberries and Blue Jeans. Also a graphite pencil used for high lighting and shading and fine point sharpie marker for lettering.


I made this!

Sweet & Gentle Child

Be always like the lamb so mild, A kind and sweet and gentle child.

I'm taking another leap of faith, I am going to apply to be in the http://www.rocknrollcraftshow.com/ . The deadline to apply is early September, and the show is the weekend after Thanksgiving. Now to compile some "stuff" to sell, submitt some photos, and write an artist statement. This is my first, officially completed. piece to have available for sale.

It's a collage/mixed media piece on 1/2 inch art fiber board, 4 by 4 inches. Lots of layers and soft gel medium. The image is Dover Clip Art, the words are from a school music book that had been my father's. The little circles are from Basic Grey scrapping paper. The stamped image is from Stampin' Up and I painted over the letters with titanium white Golden Fluid acrylics. Someone, probably, should have taken it away from me about an hour before I stopped messing around with it. A lot of the basic background images are covered by paint, there are torn pages from a dictionary, but I like it pretty well. We are all our own worst critics. I'll learn to stop. ( That's hard to say, about many things.)

I made this!

Twilight Chapter 2

Chapter 2 from Twilight. Hmmm....it set the stage for more action.Established Edward and Bella's uneasy early relationship. Bella's class schedule, school routine, and all about cell division. I used some stock photos from Microsoft Office Photos, you can get some simple clip art. There is an image here of a girl looking in a microscope, another of very enlarged cells, and a math equation written on a chalk board. I still can't escape the "green". Class was in building 4. This piece has the feel of a scrapbook page for me, which is ok. I wanted to establish the reason for the OPEN BOOK title for the chapter, Bella's mom's concern for her, and of course, Edward finding Bella "difficult" to read. Why is that? hmmmm... I wonder...

http://chelise.typepad.com/vita_crepusculare/

Oh, by the way, I am officially addicted to digital collage with PSE6.

Contentment - Mind Wide Open

Here is my first entry for the monthly challenge on Gail Schmidt's blog "Mind Wide Open". Each month you can visit her blog and see the image she has posted from her shop, Shabby Cottage Studio's. Your challenge is to use the image and word in your work, and stretch your artistic mind.





I am finding contentment with my digital collage skills. Outside of my comfort zone, Green!





This is the image that Gail provided

Also included is this photo of the coneflowers blooming in my yard.

and this collage element from Gail's shop, that was included in Pam Carriker's Art Journaling class at Creative Workshops.




I am still amazed by the magic you can make with digital collage.

18 years!

It's our 18th Anniversay!

Me 1963

That's me on the left, and my best pal Monica. 1963.
Happy 4th of July everybody!

Support Free and Fair Elections. Make your Fair Vote Obamicon here http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/entries/1254265-free-iran.html

Happy Father's Day!

Me, my Dad, and brother, Jim, 1957

I may have posted this photo before, it's soooo my dad. Hanging on to us for dear life, so we didn't fall in or fall off. Striped shirt, blue jeans and wrist watch, and probably a bandana in his back pocket.

Happy Father's Day to all the men in our lives, dads, brothers,husbands,nephews, uncles, friends, all the men who have touched our lives and helped us grow to be the people we are today.

Twilight Chaper 1

On the ZNE Network, we're reading "Twilight". Each month we will make an illustration for a chapter from the book series. Getting started, so we are doing ..tah-dah...Chapter 1. Bella moves to Forks, Washington from Phoenix, Arizona. She struggles with the differences of the two worlds. She really appears to be distressed by the whole wet, green scene. ( I've been to Forks, it wasn't raining when I was there...but I especially appreciate the vivid greens that glow in the rain....but that's me)

I was struck by the two colors mentioned...in all of the rest of the grey and fog....the red truck, her father bought her, and everything green. So here is my entry...yet another digital collage.

Marie Antoinette Digital Collage

I have seen all,

I have heard all,

I have forgotten all.
-Marie Antoinette

She is too fond of digital collage and it has turned her brain.

What possessed me to stay up til 2 am last night/this morning and then try to get up at 7:30 am and then work at http://www.brostl.org/ all day. My brain has been turned by this whole digital collage thing. I have been wanting to do it, and trying to make software not designed for it, try to do it. I bought the Photoshop Elements 6, for under $100, and had only managed to make it crop, adjust lighting and add a bit of text and do some of the weird effects. BUT NOW, I am armed and dangerous...with LAYERS! Gosh. I drove the cashier crazy at Borders. I was there with Rick and I found one of those Photoshop Creative magazine, and for the first time, ever, they make sense. The digital art mags from Somerset....I get it! So bear with me while I torment you with these photos. The above was a quickie, I had to make something, and kinda threw this together. The background is a book case from Dover clip art; the daisys are a part of a vintage Christmas card from Dover as well. The photo is a "found" photo I picked up a couple of weeks ago either at Gypsy Caravan on Memorial Day or at the Belleville Flea Market. I can't wait to try some digital scrap layouts of my great nieces and nephew. More tomorrow! Check back if you dare.

Another digital collage

Addicted To Digital Collage

Fairy image from Gail Schmidt's Shabby Cottage Studio over my close up of raindrops on clover.