This year...

is nearly over, and I thought I'd share some of my favourite creations from 2014, just in case you'd missed them.  With over 60 paintings, altered books, folded books, Wingdings and miscellany from which to choose, this is only representational of this particular moment.

'Recs & Circles:  Amother Colour'  Embellished Gelli print Mixed Media © Win Dinn

'Roadside Crosses:  She Inhaled it Much Too Quickly' Altered Book © Win Dinn

'Gratitude' Journal © Win Dinn (aka Gellitude)

'Stitching it Together' Mixed Media © Win Dinn

'Around in Circles II' Mixed Media  © Win Dinn

'The Gift of Love' Three Dimensional Mixed Media © Win Dinn

People who know my work say they can recognize it instantly because of the intensity of the colour - from this group I can see why.  Apparently subtlety is not my style.

If you'd like your own colour fix - why not join me in Kimberley, BC on January 17 & 18, 2015 for a Gelli it Up! playshop?  No experience is required, you can be as colourful as you like, you'll gain a ton of monoprinting skills, and head home with your own plate to continue the play.  What could be more fun?  

No gloves...

...but it is Boxing Day, so

The laughter highlight of my Christmas morning was seeing this in my kitchen, 

Superman, and presumably, Superdog

joined shortly thereafter by Superwoman.

There's nothing I like better than adults who know how to play, and apparently Barry (son) and Michelle are right into it!  And since I'm all about the play, I was delighted to unwrap presents from family and friends who know my addiction thereto...do you think I've done a happy dance to see new toys on my playtable?  Of course!

May your Christmas have been as much fun as ours, and 2015 even better.  

A gift...

...can be given in so many more ways than as a physical thing.  It can come in the form of heart-felt wishes, good deeds, and energy.

Because so many of my friends are online and physically far away, I thought I'd create this gift for you (much better than a video of me entertaining you with my tap-dancing!).

And since it's tutorial Tuesday (as much as I bow to those 'rules'), I'll give you a link to the Finnabair Creative Team video by Elena Morgun that inspired this bottle, because so many of you will want to make one for yourselves.  The roses are all hand-crafted from my painted papers (or you can check out my YouTube channel for a video tutorial). 

Here are some extra photos of the bottle in question just in case you'd like a closer look.  

'A Gift of Love' Altered Bottle  © Win Dinn

So in this last post before Christmas, I'm sending you thanks for joining me on this journey, and wishes for success in 2015 as you continue yours.  May you spend the holiday with family and friends, enjoying much play and laughter.

Christmas is getting closer...

...and while I don't normally create holiday-themed work, I do have a little greenery for you.

I've been working on another circle book (well, two really), and thought you might like a peek at one of them before they go on display at month end.

'Squaring the Circle II' mixed media book  © Win Dinn,  front  6" x 7",  front cover

'Squaring the Circle II' mixed media book  © Win Dinn,  front  6" x 7",  back cover

I do seem to be book-obsessed for the past month or so, from folding and altering to children's board books (Green in the Rainbow Series is in progress), and using my fabulous stash of Gelli prints to make them from scratch.

As Christmas draws ever closer, the play in the studio becomes faster and frenzied.  Here's to all your Christmas creativity projects coming to a successful completion in the next six days! 

What'cha doing?

I'll tell you, if you tell me.

I know the last 10 days before Christmas are totally nuts - for everybody.  I'll tell you what I'm up to, if you tell me the same.  In the comments, feel free to share links to your blog, Google+, Facebook page, and anything else that will let the world know what's happening for you.

This past week, I've posted a quick and easy background addition on my YouTube channel,

attended two choir rehearsals, sang in two concerts, reconciled 600+ ticket sales, and welcomed my daughter home for the holidays (not much holiday for her, as she works through it in order to go back to school in January).

I've received a wonderful tag in the mail from a tag exchange over on Google+ made by Becky Wentworth:

Becky Wentworth's tag - front

Becky Wentworth's tag - back

The one I sent to her arrived in her box as well:

'Love Red' tag, front

'Love Red' tag, back

You may have already guessed that the theme was 'red'.

I carved a couple more stamps for #CarveDecember because I'm so amazed at the fabulous stamps that are coming from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's iniative. 

Besides, there were two more oversized erasers at the local $ Store, and John (what a good man) picked them up.  I scored one and I'm going to steal the other when he's finished carving it (Did I really say that out loud?).  Stay posted.

So, I ask again, 'What'cha doing?'... leave a comment and let me know! 

I'm addled...

...today, what with all the crazies going on here, and that's not even counting the studio.

This weekend (tonight and Sunday afternoon) are the concerts we've been practicing so madly for, and the week has been one of practices, tech rehearsal and dress rehearsal. They will be amazing concerts, with choir, brass, videos, soloists, ensembles and so much more.  If you've not attended in the past and you're within driving distance get your tickets NOW.

To add to the fun, there's a huge trailer parked in the long driveway, waiting to accept dead shingles from the roof that blew a fuse last week.  If the rain stops, the crew can actually peel and re-roof. It's a good thing I don't need to get out of the studio door right now.

I have managed a few moments in the studio as well, trying my hand at creating a stamp from an over-sized eraser in honour of Balzer Studio's  #CarveDecember challenge.  She's carving a stamp a day in her studio, and invited other artists to play along.  This is day one for me (on December 11th or so), and at the rate I'm going, it's likely to be the only one I'll manage - this year.

I managed to actually finish a piece that was started way back when in July.  On a pastel pink canvas, the alcohol inks started the process.

 Somewhere along the way I added some Inka Gold texture with an abstract stencil.

 I layered a clear gloss medium gel in all-over garden pattern, textured it and then let it dry.

 An addition of more Inka Gold in three different colours served as highlight for the raised flowers.

'Red Hot' 8" x 8" mixed media on canvas  © Win Dinn

It must be getting close to Christmas - the predominant colour in this post certainly says so.  What are you doing to get ready for it?  Have you got your Christmas creating done?  Started?  Mused about it?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments below, with links to what you're doing.  Happy creating.

Not just for drinking...

...alcohol is a fabulous resist.

You can find a written tutorial on it here, and if you prefer a video demo, there's a new one on my YouTube channel:

I love the way that the dropped alcohol (use a mask please!) looks over the spray-misted alcohol.

These backgrounds lend themselves easily to journal pages or paintings, as you can see in this progress photo.

It's a fun technique and I encourage you to give it a go!  Just remember to use full-strength (non-drinkable) alcohol, and keep it away from your mouth!

'Caught'...

by Harlan Coben, is the name of the book, damaged, that I found in a discard bin some time ago, although it now looks a whole lot differently than it did at that time.

Book folding is a big thing with me - I normally find the process meditative and relaxing.  I started by tearing off the cover (saved for another project of course), folding each page in half vertically and then dividing the book into eight segments, half of which I unfolded. Those of you who follow this blog know I'm wildly excited about folding and unfolding and folding and ....

I then folded the top sections of the segments that I'd left folded vertically, both top and bottom, towards the centre of the book.  Utilizing the centre section of the other unfolded segments, I tore them into six strips.

It's starting to look a little frazzled, no?  Here's where the fun begins... all of the six torn strips on each of the 35 pages in four segments need to be curled - did you do the math?  That's 840 curls around a little tiny wooden skewer.  Now you know why this project sat untouched on the dining room table for weeks.  I purposely avoided cooking so I wouldn't have to do it. Who am I kidding?  I purposely avoid cooking as much as possible - poor John!

However, I did tear, pun intended, into the project this week, and it's a done deed (I even managed to cook a meal or two), including the additional 140 folds and curls on the top edge.  With all these curls, she reminds me a bit of a poodle, hence the name.

'Poodle:  Caught in an Updraft', folded book  © Win Dinn

'Poodle:  Caught in an Updraft', folded book  © Win Dinn

'Poodle:  Caught in an Updraft', folded book, top view  © Win Dinn

Normally, the word used in paragraph two, does not necessarily apply in this case.  I'm pretty much done with curling paper around a wooden skewer for this year, with no plans for the immediate future. I'm thinking that this poodle needs some colour, though.  What do you think?

You already know...

...that I'm a paper addict.  Sometimes I'm so addicted to making paper (it's all that glorious colour!) that I completely forget my other projects as they sit in stacks on my work table, chairs and sill.  But in my defense, paper making is so much fun and you know I'm all about the play.  Whether gesso paper, painted papers or crystalline,

it's incredibly hard to stop.

In an on-going attempt to bring my tutorial page  up to date with videos, I've been paper-making like crazy.  This week it was a tutorial on crystalline paper, one of my favourites:

I love this paper so much because it is transparent or translucent (depending on how much paint one uses), so it varies according to what is underneath.  The same paper can result in different looks entirely.

Green tone crystalline paper over white bond

Green crystalline paper over pastel green bond

Burnt scarlet paper over bright yellow bond

Burnt scarlet paper over white bond

Blue/green paper over white bond

Blue/green paper over yellow bond

I've made cards, boxes,

That's actually a pretty bilious green, isn't it?

bags, flowers,

 and incorporated it into collages and paintings.  It looks happy everywhere.

And again, this technique is thanks to Nita Leland and Virginia Lee Williams from their book 'Creative Collage Techniques'.

If you've enjoyed the video, I'd appreciate it if you'd subscribe to my You Tube channel...it encourages me to make more of them, which gives me fodder for creating, which leads to more blog posts, which . . . well, you get the picture.  Thanks for your comments and support - you're the ones who help feed the flames.