Tattered Saints

A Little Art...

Doing a little painting on wood.  It's not finished yet, but I like it so far.

Virtues And Faults...

One of my biggest faults, and I have many to choose from, is my lack of patience.  I have none.  I don't like to wait...for anything.  After the disaster that was my chalkware effort, I left everything to sit until I felt more like cleaning it up.  When I went back outside to clear away the mess, I found that the chalkware that I had left in the plaque molds had set up rather nicely.  Of course, I had messed it up by trying to pop it out of the molds too soon, so nothing was salvageable...the point being, if I had waited longer in the first place, it probably would've been okay...for some unknown reason, it just didn't set up as fast as it should have...could've been the weather, or the phase of the moon or the alignment of the planets...whatever...but if I had waited...yeah.  So I continue to live and learn.  One of my virtues is that I always admit when I'm wrong...and take responsibility for it.  I can always say "I SCREWED UP!!!"  with no problem.  So anyway, I've reconsidered and will probably make some chalkware again someday.  I still have the problem with my back hurting, which may have had something to do with my terrible impatience...what I really need is a table or bench of some kind that would enable me to stand up straight and mix and pour...I may have to see what I can do about that.  Making chalkware HAS to take place outside...you cannot do cleanup inside because you must never put chalkware down the drain or toilet...big no-no.  So...maybe a type of potting bench would be in order...extra tall of course, so I can stand up to it with no bending.  Hmmmmm.  Wish I knew a carpenter...or wish I WAS a carpenter.  But alas, I am not so...there you go. 

I continue to have a lot of fun designing fabric...can't wait until I can get some printed and use it to make pillows.  That's my plan...making pillows out of my own fabric designs.  The fun never stops.

Lesson Learned...

I've always said that this blog will be about my art triumphs and tragedies.  Not everything can be perfect all the time...if it is, then my feeling is that you're not taking enough chances or experimenting enough.  Sticking to the tried and true is not always best.  And so...I decided to jump back into making chalkware.  I had a new mold I wanted to try and hey...I've done it before, so no worries, eh?  Not so much...I mixed and I poured the new mold and two other molds...plaques that I've done before.  It was an unmitigated disaster.  Nothing set up properly and I waited longer than the required 25 to 30 minutes...finally, I tried to pop the chalkware out of the molds...it didn't work.  I don't know what went wrong.  I do know that the weather can have a big effect on this stuff...humidity and whatnot.  I've decided that my chalkware making days are over.  It's not an easy thing to do under the best of circumstances...I quickly found out that even though my back is somewhat better, bending over to work on this stuff is not a good idea.  My back got so stiff, I couldn't stand up straight for several minutes.  I guess I'll have to treasure the items I've made in the past and forget about making anything else.  It's too bad...I did enjoy the process when it worked properly.  I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the disaster and with some pictures of past creations...some TRULY one of a kind items now...

Similes...

Sleep...like a top

Slippery...as an eel

Slow...as a snail

Sly...as a fox

Snug...as a bug in a rug

Sober...as a judge

Soft...as silk;  as butter

Solid...as a rock

Sound...as a bell

Strong...as an ox

Thick...as thieves

Tight...as a drum

Warm...as toast

Weak...as a kitten

White...as a sheet

The preceeding has nothing to do with anything...just thought it was fun.  I'm going to list a few things on Etsy hopefully.  It's so time consuming.  But I guess I don't have anything better to do anyway.  I finished this piece this morning and I really like it.  It's a wooden plaque with four of the mini 2 inch canvases attached.  I decoupaged the crown and words on the canvases and then split them and attached them to the wood.  I like the vintage look of it.

The same technique could be done with almost any image and any size depending on how many of the mini canvas pieces you have.  I plan to do more of these.  It's a great use for those little teeny canvases.  Anyway...that's it for today. 

The Rain And The Pain...

It's raining and my back is giving me fits.  It hurts.  *sigh*  Anyway...I've managed to work on some art and not much else these days.  I wonder why I bother, when I should be cleaning or watching t.v. and eating bon-bons or something.  Alas, art consumes me.  Good thing my husband has a job, else I would be consuming my art.  This is the mixed media canvas I mentioned the other day.  It's titled "Eve Was Framed" and it speaks for all women, I hope.  I know you can't really tell from the picture (it IS raining here) but it's sealed with a sparkle sealer and the snake has a red Swarovski crystal for an eye.

And I didn't get around to putting the drop cloth pillow together, but this is the front of it:

I'm off to look for some bon-bons.

Makin' Stuff...

I've been working on a few things, so thought I would share a picture or two...

I just love these flat-back marbles or whatever they're called and I've decoupaged these.  I've made pendants out of them in the past but these are just for decoration...put them in a bowl, in a jar, on a table, put magnets on the back and stick them on the 'fridge or on a metal tray or on a filing cabinet, or on your car (just kidding)...

I've been working on this wooden box for a while.  I attached a lid and then started gluing and painting.  I think it's finally done:

I'm also working on decorating a vintage bottle.  Pictures of that to follow whenever I get it finished.   Also in the works is a mixed media on canvas.  Stay tuned!

Nine Hundred Seventy...

 I somehow was lucky enough to come across this blog while browsing the other day and I immediately marked it as one of my favorites.  The lovely and talented LadyCherie posts lots of tutorials and other fun stuff.  I think I might have to get one of those "bind it all" thingies.  Looks like fun!

http://ladycherie1.blogspot.com/

Mental Block...

I love it when I look at something and a teeny light bulb goes off in my teeny...uh...in my brain and I figure out a new way to use an item that's been lying around the studio since the dawn of time.  I made pendants out of little wooden blocks...they've been painted, or in some cases, gold and silver leafed, and decorative papers added.  I put them on necklaces and here they are:

Oh, golly. The day just isn't long enough for all the fun and frolic.  I'm also working on the book of my digital collages.  I'm slow, but eventually everything gets done.  Well, except the laundry and the dusting...and perhaps the dishes...and the dog's ear medicine...dang, I shouldn't have forgotten that.  Uh, gotta run!

In The Thick Of Things...

 Okie dokie.  I feel somewhat better today, thkx so much for asking.  I never did get around to the books yesterday, no big surprise there...When I DO finally get to it, it will be a time consuming, dusty and annoying job.  So, I'm in no particular hurry.  I'm basically a slug at heart.  No, I really am!  Anyway...I did do some work in the studio yesterday and managed to start a new project as well.  I cleaned out one of my giant bins...my answer to the all consuming question "Where can I put this?".  Go buy a big old ugly plastic bin!!!!  Then when you get a dozen bins, you can stack 'em up in a corner!!  And...THEY LOOK LIKE HELL!!!!!  Yep.  I'm so creative with storage.  I should be a decorator.  No, really!!  Ahem...I started working on a reverse applique book cover and it's rockin' the socks so far:

I only hope it fits the book by the time I get it done.  And, there's the bonus of finding stuff I forgot I had when I cleaned out that bin:

My ATC stuff!!!!  Woo hoo!  Maybe I'll work on some later.  Or maybe I'll run away and join the circus.  Meh.  Oh, I think I forgot to mention the other day that my giant, super thick canvases arrived.  Check this baby out:

Whaddaya think of that?  I'm going to have to do some thinking about what I want to do on those canvases.  I know it will be collage...but it will have to be something neat to do justice to the size of this canvas.  Anyone have any ideas? 

Quotes of the day:

It seems that one has to be sick, depressed, weird or tortured to be thought of as an outstanding artist. *Leslie Ann Butler*

I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird. *Paul McCartney*

This above all; to thine own self be true. *William Shakespeare*

Paint like your hair's on fire. *Scott Lloyd Anderson*

Always follow your soul. *Carl Brenders*

 

Art, And The Smell Of Gasoline...

I just finished using the DR Trimmer Mower to clean up the edges of the yard.  The belt keeps slipping off and I have to stop everything and put it back on...not once, not twice, no not even THREE times but many times.  I wish I had a clue about how to fix it.  I need to take a shower as I smell a bit like gasoline or oil or something.  With the price of gas, the smell SHOULD be intoxicatingly wonderful, but it just gives me a headache.  Anyway...

Here are a few things I've worked on the last few days or so.  Yes, I'm still in collage mode and am still enjoying it.  The latest:

Two very different 5" x 5"

This one is 12" x 12"

And this is a small wooden plaque with a butterfly image in a frame and it hangs by a ribbon:

Oh, what fun.