Studio Friday: May's Studio Treat

Treat yourself to something your heart desires, maybe some chocolate or flowers or new art supplies... a nice little something (no spending of a fortune involved). Celebrate yourself !!

I decided to treat myself to a subscription to Somerset Studio magazine. It's such an awesome combination of eye candy and tips that I still thumb through the one issue I have that I bought almost two years ago. It's a little expensive at $7.95 a pop (anyone remember when magazines were cheap?) but hey, I'm worth it! I got a better price by ordering online from Stampington. I missed the deadline for the July-August issue, so it will be a bit of delayed gratification and a wonderful surprise in the mailbox when I finally get my first issue.



I've been working on several home improve- ment projects which include such glamorous things as sheet rock repair, texturing walls, and removing old curtain brackets. One of the fun projects was making these curtains to hang over the kitchen sink. They're made from an old broomstick skirt that I bought at a thrift store several years ago simply because I couldn't resist colors in the fabric. It was really too small for me but I couldn't part with it. I didn't want to use the sewing machine on this fabric, as the loosely-woven cotton is a bit stretchy, so I stitched the curtains by hand while listening to "Grey's Anatomy" on tv last night. I hardly ever watch that show, but I know who the main characters are, so I could get what was going on, at least for the duration of the episode.

have a great weekend; after two or more inches of rain yesterday we're gearing up for yet another line of thunderstorms today.

altered postcard

ok, I have been lazy, sort of. Partly I have been uninspired. I felt like a slug last week. Maybe the hot muggy weather and a case of poison ivy had something to do with it. (Yes, I stumbled into that lovely venomous vine with three leaves. It's clearing up now and I'm sick of the subject.)

I perked up after a day in which it did not rain. Like the roses in my neighborhood I've been weighted down by too much moisture, and I'm just now getting my branches back up towards the sun.

I made this postcard for Michael's Let the Postcards Do the Walking project. I hope it makes it across the Atlantic to Chesire!

altered altoids

Here's my first mini assemblage made from the Altoids tin I "rusted" with bleach and vinegar. I left the pieces outside for several days, and the slimy goo that covered the metal dried nicely and stuck to the can. It got rained on, too, so some of it may have washed away. If I rubbed the surface the "rust" came off on my hands, so I covered it with a thin layer of gel medium to seal it.

This piece is my submission for Inspire Me Thursday. The theme this week is "Words" and how they fit into your creative process. Melanie poses some interesting ideas to think about: Do you begin a piece with a word or phrase in mind? Or do words emerge as you create? Do you often use words in your work? Are you more inspired by words or images?

I have a particular fondness for words (of course! why else would I be blogging?!). I use words or short phrases in many of my collages. I usually start with an image and that will bring a word to mind. If no words come, I may sort through my collection of clippings until I find something appropriate. I tend to like puns or odd juxtapositions of images to words. I shoot photographs of signs or words with this same attitude. In photography the words will usually inspire the juxtaposition, as I can't pick and choose them.

Here's how this piece came about: Since it was an experiment, I didn't really plan anything; I was more interested in how paint, gel, etc. would work with the surface. I found an old illustration of a peasant girl and glued it down. As I wondered what to do with it, the word "toil" came to me. The girl was "toiling", yet the illustration was remiscent of "toile" fabric. I added a piece of quasi-toile fabric and some buttons; finally a piece of grass representing the girl toiling in the wheat field. To me, it's ironic that luxury-minded folk would indulge themselves with "toil" fabric. I don't know how well my idea is conveyed to others.

recycled tags

Lately I've been using Artists' Journals & Sketch- books by Lynne Perrella as a reference tool. I study the pieces I really like and try to imitate what the artist has done. After all, many art students hone their painting skills by copying the works of the masters; why shouldn't I do the same kind of practice?

One of the things that caught my eye was the interesting use of shipping tags as attachments and embellishments and I wanted to experiment with them. Before spending money on new tags I decided to see if I had anything on hand that I could use first. I am above all, a recycler. I'm also cheap. I'm thrilled when I can get free art supplies by re-using old materials. I found a small assortment of price tags I had saved from purchased items. I had intended to use the words on the tags in collage but realized I could create some faux shipping tags by resurfacing them with gesso. You can see the results in this photo.

The tag with the attached string had an interesting technical drawing on one side and an ambiguous technical message on the other so I left it alone except for smearing it on an ink pad to add some "age". It had some nice crinkles that gave some depth to the ink. After laying down several coats of gesso on the other three tags I drew lines with a pencil on one, used a black permanent marker on one, and added pink squiggles from a pink brush/pen to the other. Then I put a light coat of acrylic medium yellow over all. I mixed a little burnt sienna with the yellow for the middle one.

Of the three tags I gessoed, the only one that didn't come out well was the one that was slick on two sides. The gesso didn't seem to add any body to the tag, and I think it may have become even flimsier than it already was. The tags with a matte surface worked much better.

altered matchbook & exodus according to lego

Here's a project idea I've been toying with. I acquired a bunch of old matchbox stickers a while back intending to use them for collage but many of them are so lovely I hate to cut them up. I got the idea to use them for their original purpose, as matchbox covers, only with some added embellishment to make the art really stand out. This was my first experiment. I painted an ordinary small matchbox, glued the sticker and some gold stars to it and smudged it with some ink from a stamp pad to "age" it a bit. I haven't been burning the candle at both ends lately, so I haven't got enough empty boxes to play with yet. When I do, things will get hot. I'll be on fire. ha.

Do you like LEGOs ? Do you love Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments" ? At last there is a website which combines the best qualities of this colorful toy and the epic movie that coincidentally were products of the same era (the movie was produced in 1956 and according to one source the toy was patented in 1958). The site is The Brick Testament. Here you can find stories of the Bible illustrated in exquisite detail by the Reverend Brendan Powell Smith, who by the way, doesn't appear to have any official religious credentials. I hope you enjoy his amazing creations as much as I did.

My mind links things in the oddest way. One year ago today there were nationwide demonstrations supporting the rights of the many immigrants from Mexico who live in the U.S. There is a similar demonstration planned for today. At the same time a local community, Farmers Branch, is attempting to prevent anyone who cannot demonstrate U.S. citizenship from being able to live within its city limits. The juxtaposition of today's demonstration with Palm Sunday and my discovery of The Brick Testament prompted me to edit some of the verses in Chapter 1 of Exodus, towit:

1:5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Lorenzo de Zavala [native Mexican & Texas statesman who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence & supported the rebellion against Mexico] were seventy souls: for de Zavala was in Texas already.
1:6 And de Zavala died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
1:7 And the children of Mexico were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
1:8 Now there arose up a new king (George Dubya Bush) over Texas & the U.S., which knew not de Zavala.
1:9 And he said unto his people, Behold the people of the children of Mexico are more and mightier than we:
1:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, wherein there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Dubya treasure cities, Los Angeles and Chicago.
1:12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Mexico.
1:13 And the Republicans made the children of Mexico to serve with rigour;
And they made their lives bitter with minimum wage, in construction, and in cleaning, and in all manner picking crops in the fields; all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with minimum wage.

Well, we all know how the first story ended for the Egyptians.


A brief history of LEGOS.