It's so exciting...

...to welcome a new baby into the family, and the arrival this past week of a grand niece was no exception.  Of course, it meant that her first piece of art needed to be created last minute (because that's just the way it goes, right?).

I started with a gessoed 16 x 16" panel, and loosely laid out cheesecloth and dried botanicals to ensure I had room for the photo I wanted to include.

I glued them (and my fingers, toes, armpits and walls) to the panel surface and sides before I put the first coat of gesso over it all.  I always love the look of the technique at this point - the ghostly shadows are so subtle.  Yes, I know that's not my style at all!

It was time for the first coat of colour; using thin washes of quinacridone gold, Van Dyke brown, burnt umber and sap green, I loved watching the paint seep into the crevices created by the cheesecloth and textural organics. 

Before deepening the colours, I added the photo and surrounded it with poppy seed heads, pods, and a variety of other natural dried items.

 Another layer of colour,

and more yet was added before I incorporated some polished stones (created by this sweetie's father when he was a child) to finish the piece.

 I'm so fascinated by the beautiful texture here.

Welcome, Esmae - we're just delighted to have you join our family!  xoxox

Retro?

You bet!  The Creston Museum hosted the most amazing opening for the Irwin & the Retro Girls exhibit this past Saturday, and in spite of working that day at Puffin, Bart kindly gave me a break so I could get over and see the shenanigans.

The artists - Sandy Kunze, Alison Masters (sorry, no close photo), Andrea Revoy, and Alison Bjorkman were all dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Andrea Revoy

 

Sandy Kunze

Alison Bjorkman

 With creative collaborations and unbelievable uses of clothing,

each display was unique.  Alison Masters' paintings were often coupled with dresses which she had also tarted up.

The first time I saw this mannequin, she was wearing a white fright wig.  I suspect that some attendee snaffled it in the 'donations only' sale.  I'm in love with that Masters painting behind her.

The shoe paintings thrilled me as well.  What woman doesn't have a secret hankering for more shoes in her life?

The all-dressed-to-go-out-and-party chairs by Alison Bjorkman just had me in stitches (pun intended) - retro indeed!

 Every corner I turned had something new and exciting to see.

The most amusing part of the afternoon was watching the attendees trying on (and buying!) all the retro clothing - there was more laughter and 'give me that!' than one could imagine.

Alison Masters - painter extraordinaire is second from the left

Do these photos take you back a bit, or a bit more?!  They certainly did for me.

It's a fabulous thing when a local boy hits and big time and the Irwin portion of the show certainly did during the fashionable 60's. His section was so popular and chatting with him was in such demand that getting pictures was a challenge.

Congratulations to these local artists - they have done a stellar job of creating a fun and interactive show.

I'm a scrapper...

...apparently, because I like to utilize everything.  I had a bag full of fun foam bits left over from my recent foray into the world of fun foam gears.  They were all shapes and sizes, and just begged to be used.

I chose a full sheet of fun foam and started placing them on top in an abstract design.  When I had one I liked, I adhered them with gel medium.

That looked a tad boring, so I started incising them with my handy-dandy double-ended incising tool. Does anyone have any idea what this thing is called?  I'm sure I must have known at one time, but it's now buried somewhere in the archives of my artist brain, unable to be recalled.

Some hours later I surfaced to a fun foam texture plate that was totally different.

Each bit of the raised surface was patterned like a tangle gone crazy.

Of course, I had to do a test run on the super-size 12 x 14 Gelli plate, and pulled this first print. It somehow reminds me of a souvenir map of Venice I had in my stash.  Can't you just imagine all those lovely canals filled with exotic gondolas and even more glamorous gondoliers?

After pulling a few prints (no way could I stop at one) I love how the mother colour on the fun foam plate pulls the look of the plate together, in spite of the variety of coloured foam bits.

I'd love to know how you use your scraps from projects...feel free to put a link to your posts on this matter in the comments below, since I'm sure my readers would as well!

Rarely...

...do I get a chance to play with other artists, so when I do, it's a treat.  A recent visitor to the studio was Lynne Mizera, who brought me this lovely ATC as a gift:

Thank you Lynne!

I'm a huge fan of Artist Trading Cards, and of course putting Lynne's gift in my book led me to looking, 

 and looking,

 and looking

at other cards in the book.

 What a feast for the eyes

are these miniature works of art.

 Like baseball cards,

 the 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" format is delightfully tiny,

yet can range from whimsical,

 to abstract

to profround.

Because I no longer live in a large centre where I can attend trading sessions, I'm looking to do so online.  Are you a fan?  Would you like to trade with me?  If so, please email me to let me know your snail mail address.  I'd be so happy to trade with you; I just love getting artwork in the mail (and mailing it out, too!).