Runaway Journal Project

Working on a new journal

2012-02-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

The green is two shades of pan pastel and sprayed with fix.

The dogwood flowers were painted with white Higgins ink. I loved the way white looked aged because it sunk into the brown paper. I added a bit of colored pencil around the edge. I sprayed fix over the pages in layers so I could work on the whole page without smearing the green pan pastel.

I started making a journal to work in at work on my lunch break and it was pushed aside a bit by life and working on other projects but I'm starting it up again. I still work much better when I bind the pages after I finish them. I have always been into story telling in the way of fairytale and myths so it creeps into my artwork in the way the pages are arranged. If I were to bind the book I would be forced to think a bit more about where I drew each picture. I'm not one of those people who gets over something that isn't working but at the same time I don't think everything has to be perfect. So for now it remains a folio until I get to the binding stage. The pink jacket is still a work in progress since it is way to bright and almost glows in the dark.

The Sketchbook Project.

2012-02-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

The theme was "Travel with me," and I decided to draw pictures of my dreams and a few meditations thrown in for good measure. I'm sure these themes will pop up in my next journal.

I finally invested in a new computer and some new photo editing software along with a new job that I finally feel settled in. The good news is I can get back into blogging and posting art quickly. The sketchbook project was a lot of fun despite that fact that I didn't actually get started until the first of January and it was due the 31st. I work better under pressure but my next project isn't due till August and I've already started it. I may use a few of these pictures for inspirations because it's kind of sad to send so many pictures away.

Playing Not my Family Tree

2011-08-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

So I bought this giant box of photos because I wanted a handful of photos from it and I spent a nice chunk of time on Monday playing family tree. It was actually kind of cool to see people grow up in a few pictures and figure out who was related to who. I was very lucky that the owner labeled almost every picture.

Same little girl at around 8 and 17 and her wedding photos are in the box as well.Wolfe family which turned into the Morrow family.

Father Morrow on the left and son on the right.

Overturf and a snapshot of them with the Morrows.

Hootman Family

Happy Birthday

2011-08-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

In case you need a cookie break.

I literally said why doesn't this place just make a giant chocolate chip cookie for desert. After dinner who I was totally stuffed my wish was granted and they brought me a giant chocolate chip cookie. I gave my boyfriend the ice cream and a small piece of cookie and wrapped it up for another day. It was amazing. Didn't Snoopy say something about happiness and cookies?

Dreams and meditations

2011-08-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Surround yourself with positive people and situations and avoid negativity-Doreen Virtue. When I'm exhausted at the beginning of a work day I do a little meditation of yellow globes of light filling me with energy. Surprisingly it works every time and I wanted to get it on paper. Even when I don't want to draw something serious making circles is always relaxing and counts towards making art every day.. I planned to draw a horse or unicorn but a giraffe kept popping in my head so I put that on the page along with some random shapes. The token says Northrop Aero Institute and it was taking up space in a drawer so I plopped it on. The string was used to tie a feather on an adjoin page so the coin may or may not be staying. I cut the orange and brown dots out of a tag that was a recycled piece of screen printed poster. The fish was from an old meditation that told me to lighten up. Proof that everything in meditation doesn't have to be serious. I want to make a visual dream journal but I need to get back in the habit of writing my dreams down and at the moment I'm focused on sleeping..
Happy Weekend.

Journal pages

2011-08-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

I've had a devil of a time posting the past week but I've been taking my journal to work. I started a new job a couple of weeks ago and I'm adjusting to the schedule. Still looking for the perfect shoes so I can manage the 5 miles plus I get in at work. I have an hour for lunch and it's a great time to journal.

Jornaling and cleaning

2011-07-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

So the fun fact about my new camera is that if I hold it sideways to take a long picture the picture comes out sideways when I upload it to my blog. I'm not the first person to complain about it and I do know how to fix it but editing a picture twice isn't the best way to spend my time. I just have to remember to keep the camera horizontal at all times and I can avoid this problem. Anyhoo I'm taking part in Traci Bunkers 30 Days of Get Your Art On, a little late but I'm zooming along in my journal. If I spend all day working in my journal I could finish a whole page but alas that isn't possible or fun so I'll stick to my lazy squeeze it in schedule. I'll post the finished pages at the end of the week. I originally snapped this photo to remember the layout once I closed the book. Picture or not it changes throughout the process.

I have to count up how many things I bought so I can throw out the same number of items when I put these away. We found so many great things at this one house and unfortunalty we ran into a little bit of memories determines price so I wasn't able to get everything I wanted. I settled for this old girl scout notebook,dish (from Denmark), Ledger with only a few pages filled out, embroidery thread, book binding supplies and these blocks You can't put a price on memories but I had to draw the line at $5 for grandmothers homework.

I think the blocks are my favorite thing because they are so quirky. The seller didn't know if his grandad made or bought them. They have a series of fastners on them so you simply push them to keep them together. I didn't know until today that the bag also had the wooden beads that I can wear as a necklace. These are the same beads that I see in current necklaces so I'm going through my ribbon collection tonight to see what I can put together.

Journaling and lunch with my sister

2011-07-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

I was taught not to read at the table but my sister is downloading books to her Kindle so I don't feel bad drawing in my journal while she is distracted. So happy to have my journal back home safe from Sommerset Studios so I'm making haste to finish the last 8 pages or so of this 42 page book. I'm eager to start on the next project.

Weekend fun

2011-07-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday drove up to Los Angles to attend the Renegade Craft Fair. This is the 3rd time it has been held in Los Angels but they take place in several different locations. It was a very sunny afternoon but we had a great time walking around and drinking everything in. I enjoyed talking to owners of the blog and online shops that I have only seen online. I have a big list of things I want to order and pleasantly surprised by the level of craftsmanship present. Unfortunately I had just eaten lunch so I wasn't able to visit any of the famous LA food trucks. http://www.renegadecraft.com/los-angeles

The fair was close to China town at a state park adjacent to a light industrial part of town. We ended up parking in the farthest point form the fair and were pleasantly a surprised by the number of things to take pictures of walking to the fair. This one is close to public transportation and plenty of free parking. The car above was some sort of garden project but it wasn't clearly labeled so I may do a bit of research to find out more about it. The giant planter box on the left is repurposed and across the street housed a nice open space with 20 or so boxes filled with flowers and edible plants.

I bought several lovely small pieces of felt from this vendor and I have no idea what I am going to make with them but I have a few ideas floating around all ready.

Oh Ma Felt

So many buttons so little time.

I was standing on this little bridge to nowhere and happy to be in a bit of shade and actually feel the wind running through my hair. So happy to have a nice set of UPPERCASE magazines safely under my arm. I have been looking at their website for a year but haven't bought the magazine because they are located in Canada and the shipping charges were too high one magazine. I did find out the one shop in San Diego that carries the magazine so I can stock up on future issues. I plan on keeping them forever so it's easy enough to justify the book like price. They were also discounted at the fair so I was a happy camper. I think a subscription will be my holiday gift to myself.

Pictures from the fair

2011-07-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

This is quite small (about a foot wide)but has so much detail packed into this bowl.

I could have moved right into this plant display for the summer. The plant display at the fair is just as good as the home and garden show for tips and ideas. I enjoyed talking to the woman who made the butterfly garden display. She told us how each plant attracts a different butterfly. Which was something I had not thought of before since I thought they were more like bees and were attracted to color.

The theme of the fair had to do with car races so this explains the appearance of Herbie the Love Bug .

4-H bunnies

Cocoa Roses

Tons of picture snapping for reference photos.
Turkey, Bunny, goat, lamb and cows we all in attendace looking perfectly regal.
A great painting of a cow may be in my future.

Busy Bee

2011-07-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

I try to cram all my errands in a certain neighborhood into one full day and these things can get a little bit hectic but most of the items on my to do list are fun so no complaints. I found this amazing yard with giant sunflowers and only a few bees to watch out for as I snapped my pictures .I have only been stung twice in my life and they were 20 years apart and I would like to keep it that way.

Between my walk from one appointment to the library I stop off for some dairy free soft serve. It's a family owned business so I try to go once a week to keep them in business (smile). They feature a vegan flavor every day and it's across the street from a great Popsicle shop but I'm a ice cream girl at heart.

Dinner with friends and I was very happy to receive a small piece of brown paper in the mail with a package and promptly turned it around and used it to wrap the flowers. The brown ribbon came off a giant box of candy that I ate long ago and I painted lovely with liquid acrylics on the paper.

I'm working on putting together a file of original collage materials and it is a long project but I have been thinking about it for a year and I am ready to put it into action.

<-----working on new lettering techniques with my dip pen. Not bad for the first pass but it has a way to go and something quick to do in the morning before getting out of the house..

House sitting

2011-07-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

I read this book in a day and a half and it was a great way to kick off the summer reading season. I gave myself the goal of reading 10 books by September 1st. I'm reading book 3 and 4 this week and enjoying every minute. I'm sure Summer reading is left over from being a kid but I tend to kick up my fiction reading during the summer and go back to the craft and design books during the rest of the year. I tend to take vacations in February or April so Summer vacation has become a thing of the past.

I am officially in love with this wildflower display in a neighbors front yard. It is so neat and filled with so many different flowers. It is funny to say but when people plant wild flower mixes they don't look that wild but this family has this perfectly done and it comes up to your waist so I'm tempted to jump right in.

I am so tempted to knock on the door of this house and talk to the artist. This piece sits on a fence but I never see the dangerous dog this warns against. They have a studio in the garage and I never see anyone inside but I see lots of canvases and easels tempting me inside. Personally I'm sticking to watercolor but I am a sucker for childlike paintings on wood and canvas.

<-----My house sitting buddy. She likes to flop in front of the door to stay cool and listen for people walking on her sidewalk. So cute and she let me take her on lots of walks and cuddles with me while I read or watch a movie.

Random bits

2011-07-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

This week I am in love with green and gold.

The local art store got a face lift. I pass it every week on the way to the library for the 25 cent magazine sale. This art store (Visual Supply) is a small space but the prices are good and the owner features the work of local artists on the inside.

"The great planting is finished", she says waving her arms with a flourish. Since the plants were a little too short to fit into the box I filled each of the holes with a bit of burlap. The entire planting took about 2 hours and I ripped all the labels off the containers and put them in order in my book so I know what each of them are.

I left the two spaces by the handle free so that I can still use the handles to pick it up. I am going to look in the floral section of the craft store for some decorative moss to put inside and add a bit more green.

In case you were wondering you can buy a giant piece of 80x80 inches of burlap for under four dollars at your local hardware store. I also bought a small bag of succulent grade soil to fill in the holes and the rest will go towards replanting some sad little cactus for a friend. They have become the playground for some spiders so I'm trying to get the cobwebs out without impaling myself on the spikes.
I found the little bird at a craft show for under $5 and it came with the stake attached so I just cut it down a bit so it wouldn't tower over the big plant. I think I'm officially in every free rewards program around town so the big plant was free with my $5 coupon from the local hardware store. I thought about breaking it up into smaller units but it makes a fun focal point in the corner.

Updated Journal Bag

2011-07-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Before

After

I love my French Army Journal Bag but it was looking quite sun damaged and sad so I punched up the color a bit and added a bit of stitching. I simply put the bag in a bucket with a powder dye and left it to bake in the sun for a bit. Gave it a thorough rinsing and put it back outside to dry and finished it in the dryer. The back of the bag has a sewn in piece of press board so I didn't to encourage secret mold. People of all ages talk to me when I walk around with this so it's kind of fun. I have more than can fit on this bag so I rotate them.I can't wait to find more buttons.

Runaway...

Good News comes in the mail

2011-07-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

I found out last week by mail that a few of my journal pages made it into the galley section of Art Journaling Magazine. It's on the newsstands now and a nice motivation to get cracking on a new journal.

July

2011-07-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th in Julian, a sweet little town known for it's Apple pie. We caught the tail end of the town parade and had a nice lunch and went through a number of shops and saw an inspiring quilt show. The car was a bit north from our normal spot and I just had to walk up this winding stairway carved out of the hillside to see what was at the top.
It was a nice old cemetery with plenty of benches and old grave markers that were well worn with time. It was interesting to see how headstones have improved over the years. The sky is full of giant rain drops that are threatening to fall.

I would love to come back and spend the day drawing.

It rained for a bit as we took the curvy road back to San Diego.
I always fall asleep on long trips but I did make it down the mountain reading my summer book before drifting off.

Happy July.

Breakfast

2011-06-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

The last Wednesday of the month a bunch of volunteers go out to breakfast before volunteering. I was actually quite late to this one because I underestimated how far the restaurant was from apartment and didn't count on the traffic jam for the new library. I was walking and in San Diego eventually the construction on a block will affects the sidewalk. My personal favorite is when someone decided that they have to dig up all four corners of an intersection at the same time and they don't put up signs until you get close to the intersection. Luckily that has only happened twice this year and I have been able to walk in the street without back tracking a full block.

I ordered the pancakes and ate less than half of this so as not get a tummy ache. The restaurant is closer to the Baseball field and I'm sure I will make the trek again to try something completely different.

Planting - Where is my green thumb?

2011-06-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last year at the state fair they had this amazing display of succulents and I feel in love with this old soda box filled with succulents. They weren't for sale so I figured I would just have to make my own. I have no idea how to do this but I'll figure it out. My body did not include the green thumb model ( I break out in hives when I try to garden) but succulents are the perfect plant. Hard to kill and i've been collecting the materials for this project for about a month. I found all the plants in once place but I work with a budget so I split up the buying of the plants into two trips. Finding the box was the hardest part but I finally saw one a few weeks ago in this little antique shop that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for things. I saw a Pepsi-co box the week before but truth be told I'm a Coca-cola girl through and through, so I'm glad I didn't compromise. I sprayed the outside with a clear finish so that it will have a little protection from the elements.

I have to figure out how to prop the plants up and moss just crept into my brain but that would mean another trip to home depot so I'm making my brain pick something else out that I already have.

Red and White

2011-06-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

I spent $15 yesterday with the splurge on the place mats but they were $1 a piece and I'm looking for red and white fabric to finish off my homemade teepee / tent. It's a coincidence that everything ended up being red and white but they make a nice collection even though they are going to be split up. I also bought 3 pairs of scissors and some Superman bed sheets. I'm going to look at the way people display their collections because I think the scissors are my first official collection. I'm sure I top 20 pairs by now and I can't wait to sort them.

I love this series of books from the 70's because it's chock full of pictures and the styles you don't see any more. I'm working on my embroidery stitches this week and I can see that the basic stitches haven't changed.

ABC's of lettering by Carl Holmes...perfect for writing inspiration.

Sorting

2011-06-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

So I saw this one photo of a rail porter (circa 1912) that I wanted and then I thought hey why don't I ask this guy what he wants for the whole box. I won't tell you what I paid cause it will make you cry but cheers for being in the right place at the right time. I also bought a few old books and this coin purse in horrible shape was at the bottom of the box. I have been looking for these little coin purses and I took it as a sign that I should have the whole giant box of pictures and it was right.

It's strange but I rely on my instincts when buying from yard sales. I found several pictures last week at another sale but they gave me the creeps and I couldn't buy them. I later found out that the people who they belonged to were recently put in a nursing home and 95% of the items in were being sold because they weren't coming back to the house. Who knew shopping yard sales could be so emotional. We hit another sale where bought a few handkerchiefs. It was a yearly sale that the German league has to support their parade and it was a lot of fun digging through boxes as they were dropped off. I can't wait to sort everything in the coming week. I picked out a few pictures that will be perfect for the travel journal I am working on in my brain.

Sunday breathing spaces

2011-06-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

An enjoyable 3 mile walk in the mountains on a trail that lent itself to picture taking and fresh air. Several trees in the area were burned years ago but still stand tall with their burned bark and stark white/gray tree trunks. We ran into a few hikers and a small group walking their bikes up the hill. Not only was the main access road filled with rocks but it also went uphill and was not conducive to casual biking. Now at this particular stretch I was so focused on why the trail was wet when the river didn't run through this part that I totally missed this snake. Yikes.

lucky for you I'm running out of pages to work on

2011-06-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I found a red and white embroider duvet cover for $5 at a yard sale and it looked brand new. I'm building a tent for fun and these were the exact colors I wanted. The green in the corner reminded me of that. 1/3 of my friends are belly dancers so I had to cut this out in honor of them. I have no interest in belly dancing personally but it is fun to go to their shows and cheer them on. They have no interest in actually having flat bellies but I do have to say they have the most toned arms I've ever seen on a group.

I had a long debate about getting this dress in the fitting room at the gap and I went home and slept on it. I'm glad I waited because they had a super sale a week later and I got the last one for 40% off at another store. The store I normally shop at only got one in each size and that sucker sold fast and wasn't online. I wonder if it's a test piece? I'll be testing it out very soon.

I made a few copies of the collages at the exact size but on 11x14 paper for letter writing. I went back with my glitter and glitter pens and brightened them before sending. You can fold the paper into unequal thirds and then I'll put a round sticker on it to seal it and put it in an envelope. I was thinking about buying some vellum envelopes but I have big sheets of vellum that I got for free so hopefully I can make envelopes myself. The pencil was a gift at the baby shower last weekend and I felt like such a dope trading my friend for it but I really wanted the one with hot pink on the top and it turned out to be sheep instead of cows. I always have a pen and a pencil with me...and glue and scissors.

one track mind...in the middle of spring cleaning

2011-06-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Someone plastered one of the local neighborhoods with posters for the movie Begining which I saw a preview of when we went to see the Beaver (an amazing and disturbing movie) but I think we have a few weeks before it hits San Diego. We are lucky enough to have two small art house film movie theaters close by and it seems that one of the big box office theaters has added art films to the roster to help attract new customers.

Yard Sale

2011-06-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

The price of cherries is finally down and I can afford them again hooray. These were amazing and I had them over two days. My friends vintage colander was the perfect shade of light Tiffany blue. My mom had the same color Tupperware and you don't see if very often in contemporary design..

I have a mental list that I buy from when I go to yard sales and I hit the jackpot again this weekend. I tend to read more fiction in the summer so I figured I would stock up on some best sellers that are also movies. I can't read a book too close to seeing the movie because I tend to get mad at the changes but if a few months have passed my memory gets a bit fuzzy and it usually doesn't matter as much. The watch needs a new battery but that's worth it to feel like Indiana Jones minus the hat.. Total haul $14 only because the quilt was $10 and it is so soft and falling apart every which way. that I had to have it We drove for well over 30 minutes to an estate sale at a church and one table was piled high with quilts and of course I had to have the saddest one. I have already washed it but I'm not quite sure how I will repair it or simply preserve it to use. The back is off white with wonderful off white hand stitching. The woman who sold it to me asked if I was going to make it into a stuffed animal, I saw all the cuts I wold have to make in my head and almost gasped out loud. I have a problem cutting things up and I have a few pieces of clothes that I bought to alter but sit perfectly unaltered in my closet.

I think this type of quilt is called spider quilt and only one line of it is intact.

What a fantastic weekend and the weather wasn't as grim as first reported so I was able to take a lot of walks in between pet sitting my favorite dog. It threatened to rain most of the morning but ended up being a bit of misty dribble while the sun was shining. I am exhausted and plan to fall asleep as soon as the Tony awards are over.

Oh you guessed it...more collage

2011-06-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

I found a globe lamp at an auction a few weeks ago and the suspenders are inspiring me to do some more embroidery.

Off to play at the farmer's market.

Moleskin maddness

2011-06-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

This could be called all the things I am loving. Printed jackets,Heath ceramics, Bold Prints, books about dressing like a Parisian, Oxfords, websites to look up and ideas for making fantastic Pie and books I read at the library. Lust was my library book my sister picked out because it was a traveling journal. I found it to be kind of boring. The idea was for designers to write or draw about things they were passionate about totally my kind of topic but the contributions were very basic and granted I only flipped through it not very deep. Feel free to correct me on this if I need to take a second look.

If I find a review of a book I want to read I immediately cut out the review or picture for the book and keep an eye out for it. When I save pictures of clothes it's not always literal but just the idea of what I can put together from what I already own or something that I need to buy that will give me the same feeling. A few years ago I was looking though a date book and I saw a jacket that I cut out and I ended up buying it a year later on eBay totally forgetting about the picture. Pictures are fantastic memory jogs for me. If only the rememberall from Harry Potter were a true item. My memory leans towards pictures and how things are arranged.

My sister is working on some project that includes cutting on a zillion heads from magazines so I'm still working on my collages and I've figured out a way to transport them in my purse. One envelope for magazine cut outs and one for photographs. I could put this all in one envelope but the photographs are intended for another project and I don't want to mix them up. Then I only need a bottle of glue. Once the week rolls around I doodle on the page and add my notes. I've colored it in a bit more since this but you get the idea.

Moleskine adventures

2011-06-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

My sister really wants to make art this week and I don't but we are tied in the buddy motivation system so I started making simple collages again and it is quite addicting. Plus I can use it to save the small bits in magazines I love and get the rest in the recycle bin. I have switched glue several times. Yes paste works the best if you don't want wrinkles on the other side of your pages but glue all and bookbinding glue are usually what I have in my bag.

1st attempt. I'm not sold on the model but I really like this menswear mixed with rockabilly and I cut off her legs for another collage and I felt guilt about throwing away her top half. Although I cut out a bunch a heads to use on different bodies in the future.

Final

I liked the idea that she had an idea to inspire her in the classroom.

Baby Shower

2011-06-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

One of my friends is a little over a month away from having her baby girl complete with a very long name picked out that I will soon have to learn to spell (smile). Surprisingly I ended up being one of the few ladies who didn't buy anything pink as a gift. I knew I wanted to get overalls but I had to wait for those suckers to go on sale. I did a little freehand doodle stitching on some overalls that happen to match a pair I wear around the house so I already had a little practice. I also found a newborn shirt with a panda on it and cherry red shirt to match a chewbeads necklace for the mom to be. If you haven't heard of chew beads they are made of non-toxic material and they are okay to chew by the baby and the claps will open if 5lbs of weight is put on it.

The box was easy to make since I wasn't spending money on baby bag. Simply cover a box with wallpaper (I've had this paper for years but it is still being made). The design already had the squares on it and I made some black & white copies of vintage pictures and a red rose from my stash. Outline the pictures and paint gold liquid acyclic on the sides, then draw more boxes on the side. Cost 60 cents since I just had to pay for the copies but you could you cut pictures out of a magazine you already own.

Sunshine and wind

2011-06-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday Sunday Sunday...it was warm and sunny today so we took a little trip North to former Navy housing and officers buildings which have been converted to lovely shops, a gym, craft space, restaurants and meeting rooms. The best part is the large space outside where you can sit in the grass for hours or watch all the kids playing games or cooking out in one of the grills. It is in the path of the airport so you may have to stop mid sentence to talk because every 10 minutes or so you will be drowned out by the sound of plane engines.

I did a bit of writing in my 8x8 journal and worked on some collages in my date book. We sat down right by the water so messing around with paper became impossible and I quickly switched gears to working with my pens and just laying on the grass.

We saw no less than 10 little canoes and boats as soon as we arrived. A boat from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (Several years ago and in a different state I worked for the National Weather Service so I get excited when I see the symbol)
We finished everything off with dinner at a diner. I really wanted to get a picture of the guy making these amazing balloon sculptures (mermaids,penguins, dogs) and he didn't smile the whole time and he was doing it for free to promote his business. Lot's of kids on a Sunday and the waitstaff singing happy birthday, a song every hour with a old fashion dance and twisting straws into young ladies hair (and one gentleman got a straw crown taped to his head) for fun.

Inspiration

2011-05-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

I bought a ton of stuff at an auction on Saturday and I'm slowly sorting thought it. The awesome part of shopping at an auction is you can get so many random things for cheap but this is also the downside. I ended up with a box of casset tapes but In the same box a vintage globe light and a kids microscope. So now begins the sorting and picking out the pieces I want and donating or selling the rest to break even on what I bought. This time I bought a bunch of old games, children's books and photographs. Above are the lovely end pages from a children's book.

Lovely cabinet cards.

The peaches are all ripe and they taste amazing right from the tree.

House warming

2011-05-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

We went to two house warming parties this weekend and for the first one we broke with tradition and bought a gift card so we didn't have to worry about getting a duplicate gift. I made a flat card and a few days later I decided I didn't like it so I simply cut it up for parts. I simply cut a few slits in 5x7 paper and folded them to make the box shape. One was slightly smaller than the other so it would fit snugly inside. The holes in the side made me think of a viewfinder and I decided to make a mini diorama and added the trees to the top portion of the box. After I bought the gift card I used it for parts to create the dirt under the trees.The finishing touches of the house number,a poem in Latin, and a photograph.

Went for a little walk..... made a little mail art.

2011-05-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

Starbucking...hanging at Starbucks

2011-05-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Finishing off some pages in my 8x8 journal. More dip pen love. I was talking to a friend about fairy tales and I wanted to do something on Snow White and Rose Red with pictures I already had in my stash. The Instax pictures (Fuji's version of Polaroids) flip up to reveal a broom and a bear sleeping in a rose (artistic license). The bear is not glued down so you can take him out and play with him.

If you don't know the story...Rose Red and Snow White live in a cabin with their mother and one night a bear knocks on the door. He stays with them for months and they grow to love him but he has to return to the forest and guard a cave. The dwarf steals money from the cave and ends up getting his beard caught several times on his way home. The girls help him each time by cutting off a small piece of his beard. The dwarf is angry every time they cut his beard and the last time the bear shows up and give him a nice smack that leads to the dwarfs demise. As soon as the dwarf dies the bears skin falls away and he turns out to be a prince and he has a brother and you can guess what comes next...double wedding.

Dip pen drawing and photo collage. That weird yellow thing is the flash of my camera.

I thought it would be fun to make my own paisley patterns and it was a bit time consuming because I had to do it all in pencil first and then go back over it with ink. I plan on making copies and using it in other collages later on. A portrait of one of my friends , office worker by day and she's a belly dance teacher at night. In one of her dance troupes her partner is a scientist by day and yoga teacher/ international award winning belly dancer.

sashiko

2011-05-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

I rode the commuter train up the coast to a small quilt,craft and sewing convention just to see what the vendors are selling. I saw allot of amazing fabric and trim but the only thing I wanted were a few of the sashiko (Japanese embroidery) kits that were on sale. I happened to open a craft book the day before going to show with information about sashiko and I wanted to try it. Well the universe was working for me because one booth had the kits and the needlework society was there and they were giving tips to another person about it at the exact time I was walking buy. I 'm close to finishing my practice piece and I'm made a few mistakes because you have to be careful about pulling the cord too tight and puckering the fabric. The directions are all in Japanese but the directions have clear pictures so if you've done embroidery before you can figure it out. Since I'm almost finished I did a little google search and found this nice tutorial on Purl Bee . I know it takes longer but once in a while I like to figure things out for myself if I don't have a time line.

Yard Sale Saturday

2011-05-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yard Sales tend to be hit or miss and we found the best things at the last two sales that happened to be near the restaurant where we were eating breakfast. The owner of this rug just moved from a 3,000 sq foot house to 1,000 sq house but it had a really long back yard that would be amazing to have parties in or put a giant shed for extra storage or another room. They own a shop so they knew the history of their pieces and were offering fair prices. This rug came in two parts because it was made on a small loom used by children. I love how bright the colors are in this rug and it made my friend a very happy new owner.

I picked up a bunch of different fabrics that I want to turn into aprons. I spent a little bit more on these than I usually do but it was the only thing on my stop and my own buy so I was happy to fork over the 12 bucks. I'm the queen of the dollar sale. Battenberg lace and floral dreaminess.

goofing off

2011-05-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'm currently drawing pictures of aliens with my dip pen because I can. I painted watercolor over regular gesso and if you go back to fix any spots that don't have any color you get interesting layered results. Interesting as in your mistakes are really obvious. So I went back in with my pen and drew the pictures I saw emerging from the page. I took a class with the lovely Carla Sonheim a few years ago and she has a bunch of great techniques where you draw what you see in pen or paint splotches.

Reference photos

2011-05-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

I take a lot of reference photos or drawn notes to help inspire ideas. I rarely print them out but will look at them till I get an idea and delete them. I love the color combination in the rug below and I'm sure it will end up as something decorative in my journal very soon.

         I spent the afternoon in an art library called the Athenaeum , with my sister and mother, reading magazines and enjoying a sunny day by the water. The library has over 30 art and design magazines to look at while sitting in old fashioned chairs taking copious notes( my idea of heaven) and pouring over books that are not in the budget. I have to go back to really get into the books they have on hand and I pulled this Frida Kahlo so I could get a better look at the cover. I love how the book designer figured out a way to simulate the look of scalloped tin complete with hammer nail holes. I wasn't crazy about the way the book was written but it was nice to revisit the pieces. Frida is one of my favorite movies and I wish her pieces would come to life like they did in the film.
      We were lucky enough to see them setting up a new exhibit and hear the artists (college students) talk about their work and evaluate how their pieces looked in the space. The exhibits range from book arts, oil paintings and mixed media objects.
         The library is surrounded by great little shops and we had a great time window shopping and looking for ribbon. My mom fell in love with this one size fits most (I'm not kidding it was a size 4) sweater. Everything was from Korean designers which accounts for the size differences but they did have bigger sizes in other items while still retaining that one of a kind feeling throughout the store.

More mother's day fun

2011-05-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me a fortune telling deck with pictures for Susan Shie (she makes amazing quilter) a few months ago and I pulled out the pictures I liked and redrew them Susan Shie amazing quilter

Luckily for mother's day I had one piece of art paper left and a few picture scraps. My mother loves mudcloth fabric and I found an inexpensive mudcloth like jacket that fit her perfectly.

Roses are still blooming. This one right in front of one of the oldest and wildly painted homes in Little Italy. The yellow looks amazing behind roses and you can't see the large cherubs above the gate.

Using scraps

2011-05-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hooray for finally using up all these scraps. Dried roses that I glued to a piece of white paper (4 years ago), cut up sample cups (similar to cupcake baking cups) watercolor paper scraps cut into letters, tissue from a shopping trip, old photos,vellum paper, metal tape and tracing paper.

Sping Journal

2011-05-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

3 weeks ago it was Snowing in the Mountains

2011-05-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

It was 80 degrees and above all week. This is the magic of San Diego. My mom flies into San Diego in a few hours just in time for mothers day. Hopefully the sun is shining wherever you are.

The Sketchbook Project

2011-05-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

I signed up to work in a book for The Sketchbook Project for 2012. If you haven't heard of it you basically buy a book from the organizers, work in it and then send it back to the group organizers. Once your book is checked in they are all send on a 12 city tour for the public to view. I've known about this project for a few years and signed up for a book 2 years ago but it was near the end of the sign up right before the holidays and my sketching skills were not up a level I wanted to present to the world. Luckily I know about it in the beginning of the sign up phase so I can take my time and get it done. The best thing about a small book is that it is easy to carry around and I can't wait to start on it next week. The pages are made with 20lbs drawing paper which is comparable to copy paper and I'm debating gluing pages together or painting them with some sort of ground so I don't have to worry about bleed through. Daniel Smith makes a new watercolor ground that I wasn't sure how I could use but it's rather tempting for a project like this.

I like to re-use packaging so I decorated the envelope and covered it with tape and contact paper to use as a storage case for the book. Plus the tape keeps it a bit protected from the elements. If it's still in good shape when I finish the book I'll use it again to mail the book back. I love brown paper but it has a way of attracting dirt. You really have to wipe your hands before you touch it or you get greasy(sunblock, moisturizer or lotion) fingerprint stains that will never come out.

I picked up a set of atyouSpica pens (and yes that is the name of the pens) and I am in Love with them. I have been stalking them for six months at the art shop around the corner and I finally had a 40% off coupon to use them on because full price they run $30 (YIKES). The pens come in two color combinations and I chose set B. They are glitter pens and the ink has a transparent quality (4 of the colors are opaque) to it and work well over other media.You can see a little bit of the glitter in the shot below. Magical.

The Sketchbook Project Website

Book Reader Case

2011-05-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

I have bought a bunch of pillow tops at a yard sale in March having no idea what I was going to do with them but for a dollar how could I pass them up. I love the cursive and have a fondness for foxes and rabbits.. I immediately hung the red version on the wall but was still left with a blue and sage green.

Enter my sister's new book reader and the perfect item to make a case for. Perfect because I can barely sew and it is thick enough to offer a little protection and it was free. While I was sewing I noticed a left over piece of ribbon that I saved from a box of candy and matched the colors of the animals so well that I made it into a handle..

Vitamin D Journal

2011-05-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

I have a small bad habit of making a journal and not finishing the last pages. Last year I vowed to finish them off and I didn't get very far so I'm jumping back in. I've dove back into the Vitamin D journal and since I only like half of the work in it I'm trying new things.

I updated the front page with PanPastel artist pastels. I like rubbing the color on with my fingers but I don't like having to apply fixative so it's a trade off. My local art store carries all the colors now so I may buy a few more.The sets come with make up type applicators and I have a few of those that I got on sale a few years ago. You could simply make your own set with the $1 make up wedges and eye shadow applicators. I love how they made the containers so you can make your own stacks as each of the containers can be connected by simply discarding the lid.
http://www.panpastel.com/colors.html

Watercolors, Neocolor II,photos,color copy,and pens.

The last of the post cards

2011-05-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Care package

2011-05-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

My friends just had their first anniversary so I put a little paper filled themed box together for them. The letters were simply cut out of cotton fabric and glued to card stock. The flower was a photograph I took a few months back.

I wrapped everything in tracing paper complete with the lyrics of a song Josh Grobin sings on his latest record.

They had red velvet cupcakes at the ceremony so I thought the pancakes were a nice touch and I found cupcake mix to add as well along with other red themed candy to add a spicy love layer to the box. I'm betting the cupcakes are still in the box because I've learned neither one of them likes to do the dishes.

Spending the day with my mother

2011-05-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day

Journaling over lunch

2011-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yum Yum soup with tofu from the Thai Joint.

in progress

2011-04-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

My first attempt to draw a mandala and it turned out okay.I wanted it to be fun so I wasn't very ridget with the measurements and I couldn't find my compass so I traced around everyday items in my apartment. I still need to play with the colors a bit but it was a fun exercise. I didn't preplan the design I just knew that I wanted to use yellow and then orange and I changed my mind about the orange and went for brown, sage green then blue. I tend to work really light in the beginning and then I went back 3 or 4 times and recolored in sections to make it more vibrant.

I hit the jackpot this week with roses. Every yard has a giant blooming crop and our local garden in the park which is run entirely by volunteers is amazing. One of the volunteers was nice enough to give me a rose. I think you can see 155 different roses in this one spot on the outskirts of Balboa Park and so many of them smell amazing this time of year.

Enjoying the Rose Garden in full bloom.

The Nomad Journal

2011-04-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

I saw this fabric (fake leather) as a swatch and fell in love with this soft polyester. I was lucky enough to find it by the yard at our local upholstery fabric store. The inside feels like black fleece which would have been fine but fleece tends to pick up dog hair and string so I placed a lining fabric inside. I used pellon to make it less floppy but I would switch to interfacing to bind the lining fabric in the future. It's really tough to seal down all the edges even with careful gluing. The gluing of the lining made the outside fabric wrinkle a bit but I'm pretending it adds character. All of the charms were from a drawer I needed to clean out. A old watch, cell phone charm (lazy panda) and a trade charm with the number 2. All and all it is nice and lightweight and inexpensive to make because I only bought the outside fabric.

Everything in this journal will be related to some sort of travel. I've seen so many painted suitcases lately that I knew they would play well in this journal. I'm also having a circus and rose moment so these themes will pop up as well.

The mask is 3-D and fits perfectly over the face but I decided I really liked the eye and made it cover the rest of the face. Materials- old dictionary pages, pen, pencil, waxed linen, watercolors and paper.

Spring round Robin Journal

2011-04-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

Round Robin

2011-04-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

My round robin journal made it's way back a few weeks ago and it had quite a few pages that needed to be filled so I started filling it in. My theme was Spring so I was happy that it came back in the Spring so I would feel inspired to create in the moment.

San Diego has had the rare treat of rain on and off all week and I was excited to see a full sunny day today. Since I wanted to spend time outside we drove to the mountains for a hike where we found snow. it is a short 35 minute ride outside of downtown San Diego to a state park with high enough elevations to get snow. I was a warm day with a bit of wind and plenty of little kids riding sleds down the mountainside.We had one doggy with soggy feet and were lucky to find an access road that was clear of snow and running water. I think we are due for some sun this week.

Day 3

2011-03-12T20:39:00.001-08:00

Day 2 of post card maddness

2011-03-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

This also had way more glitter. Glitter takes an hour to dry so I put the glitter on right before bed. I often forget that I put glitter on something 30 mins in and then touch it and have to go back and fix it so I started glittering at night or putting the piece as far away from me as possible.

Post cards and side trips

2011-03-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

I went to an art meetup this week and started this one but now I am on a roll and want to make a bunch more. The chip board is recycled from packaging and I have a giant stack of it. These will all be covered in clear packing tape when they are ready to go in the mail. I added a bit more glitter to this and dash of color on the left so your eye would travel across the post card. You can also cover them in semi gloss or matte medium but I think that gets expensive if you are making many of them. Enjoy.

Pressed flowers

2011-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a house with dried flowers and I taught myself different methods to press flowers when I was an adult. I don't pick flowers but it is easy enough to find great looking flower heads on the ground in San Diego. Once this was pressed I sealed it to the page with a bit of liquid gloss medium.
The trick is to press the flowers right away so they retain their color. If you are in a hurry you can use the oven on the lowest setting. I plan on pressing some of the lovely clover that is popping up all over the city. With all the rain they are triple the size this year. No luck finding a giant 4 leaf clover.

Journal bits

2011-02-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

I had a scrap piece of fabric that I ran though the printer for another project and didn't want to throw the piece out so I dyed it with watercolors. I only used one color but varied the way I applied it and created a nice ombre effect. I have used a few hearts but I am still waiting for the right page to use them on. I tend to stick all these little bits down in my purse and they get mixed up with my rings.

To the country

2011-02-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

It always rains this week in February so you would think that I would be use it by now but no I forget about it every year. We were lucky today because the rains started at 6:30 am and petered out by 10:00am. We drove about 25 miles north of San Diego to check out the house a friend is buying. Hopefully all goes well with the final inspection and she'll be able to move in soon. It's a great house and she's lucky have a view of a pasture that will hopefully stay clear for a few years.

Down the street a bit we stopped at a Farmers market and picked up a few goodies and saw the vast fields of the San Diego Ostrich farm.

In case you are wondering they feel like regular eggs.

Blueberries and the closest I will get to organic gardening.

2011-02-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

Step 1 Buy blueberries and stare at them. Then draw simple circles. I used the middle out of a CD but you could draw them freehand or with a compass.

Step 2. Choose at least 3 colors to work with because if gives your pictures more dept. Build color light to dark. Once the first color is laid down erase the hard outside lines to get the 3-D effect. Build color. For me it's easier to fill when I work in a circular motion.

Step 4 Fill in the negative space to help your drawing pop. Add color lightly until you get the desired effect.

I love all the new posters popping up that emphasise fresh food so I did my own take on this theme. I wanted to pick something a little different for the title and went with It's Alive a nod to Frankenstein.

A few years ago I went in to weed a garden and learned that I am allergic to it. I could do it if I kept my sleeves down and gloves on but I am addicted to rolling up my sleeves. I'm not sure what I'm allergic to but I have to stick to container gardening if I ever what to make it as a farmer.

lockets and knick knacks

2011-02-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

The spine of my latest journal. I worked on most of the pages first and then bound the book. I loved working like this because I could change the order of the pages. I found I could tell different stories depending on the order. Everything in the book is true but the pages aren't created in liner order. Which is how my brain works so it only seems fitting.

The book is made from scraps of fabric and art paper that I already had in my stash. My friend gave me a bunch of random scraps and I figured out I could sew them together and use them for spines. I used duct tape underneath to keep the fabric stiff which I'm not sure I would do again. It is cheaper than linen tape but it has a self healing quality to it so it's a bit hard to sew though. You really have to punch a hole in the fabric and I have a lazy way of bookbinding. I usually poke the holes in the spine as I go not in the beginning.

Giant button and locket from my art stash. The left side of the locket says the heart sees (1/2 a quote from a yogi brand tea bag) and the right is a water colored heart with an eye drawn on it. I used Elmer's glue on both side and made a little bath of glue and let it dry for a few hours.

Paper Milagros

2011-02-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

My friend has a book on Milagros and I did a little bit of reading on the meaning of the symbols and decided to make my own altar in my journal. First I cut out the shapes and then played around with the layout on this bench. I wanted to do something Spring oriented and i keep seeing giant patches of clover so I added the 4 clover design which looks a little bit like a clover/iris mix.

The second step was painting each piece with twinkling H2O watercolors. I love being able to buy individual colors. I have a traditional set of watercolors but I don't use it much. If you get these write the name of the color on the bottom with permanent marker. They are each labeled but when you get them wet the name rubs off after awhile and it will be hard to replace. I love getting the hobby set of brushes that come 4 or 5 to a pack. Never get the white horse hair looking brushes because the bristles fall out and you just have to throw them away. These were nice because they have a little grip and they were under $10. I also paint pieces of paper first and cut the shapes out second but this project was a learn as you go experience.

The third step was to layer and glue the pieces. I have Elmer's glue all with me at all times. I like glue sticks but anything I glued a few years ago can easily be pulled apart which is a good and a bad trait. I also like book binders acid free glue but Elmer's washes out of your clothes and I now have quite a few pants with random rough patches. I don't have art clothes and I forget to wear my apron often. I used the Faber-Caster Pitt artist pen to add a bit of the hand hammered effect on the Milagros. This is pen number 273. I'm always looking for pens that look like pencil lead.

The background is tape and I have mixed feelings about using it. I love tape washi tape but it's really for decoration. I prefer to use artist tape because it stays and doesn't lose it's stick. I don't know if masking tape is made any differently than it was 15 years ago but it does disintegrate over time and leaves ghost marks on the page. I could always redo the background with paint in the future.

If only I was handy.

2011-01-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

I was dieing to take these stacks of logs away and make one of those fairy tale beds you see online. Alas my fairytale does not include the room for a four poster bed but it does include some very nice pillows.

growing roots.

Journaling on the go

2011-01-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

A short trip up a hill at the Torrey Pines Annex and we had great views and the perfect place to journal. We found the spot where the bench would have been but we had many mini cliffs to hang our feet over and draw. I had a run in with a cactus but it was my own fault and I have little tiny punctures to prove it. Thankfully we didn't see any rattle snakes. I thoroughly investigated every sound in every bush and spotted several birds and a few small lizards non of which can hurt you. Looking forward to the week and swimming along in my journal. The weekend activities put a little cramp in my journaling but I'm ready to dive back in.

My journal bag is a copy of a french army bag that I bought on eBay many years ago and my button collection from several different years. I still like wearing buttons on my t-shirts or a jacket instead of jewelry. Buttons are a great inexpensive way to collect art at a mini price.

You do learn things by watching tv

2011-01-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago the queen of all media did a great show about health and wellness. Most of the things I have heard before but one item struck a cord and I'm hoping it will stick. It was the idea that you base all your decision about your life about living your dreams. If you have a choice choose the thing that will get you to where you want to go you will get there. I do have a plan in place but it seems easier to manage if I just ask myself the simple question is this keeping me on the path or off the path.

At the moment eating bread is keeping me off the path so I cut it out. I didn't think it was possible and it's not forever but I think it was the thing making me a crazy hungry person. I was a person who would get super grumpy when I didn't eat and couldn't function. Now I can function and just make a meal. If you ever see me on the street I do have a snack in my purse. Plus I'm working on a whole bunch of things that are keeping me on target to my goal.

Time to do some journaling.

Smell the roses?

2011-01-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

A while ago I read this article about the lack of scent that came off of certain strains of roses. Well it turns out that the focus has been put on making great robust colorful roses and not the fragrance. This may not be helping the bee population but as I remember science class a number of factors go into the whole bee pollination thing like color and shape. Well enter the recent problem with the bee population and scientist are trying to put the scent back in roses. Now that smell like a rewarding job (sorry I couldn't help it).

I love fresh cut flowers and am waiting for my favorites to come back in season. I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of two great farmers markets. One is seasonal and the other is every Saturday rain or shine. This week the farmers market was bustling because of the amazing weather and the lines were longest at the food stands where delightful food is cooked to order. I am currently on a fresh foods only eating kick so I skipped the stands and went straight to the fresh vendors. I hit the jackpot with 2 sweet potatoes, garlic, bok choi, ginger for $2.30. I did splurge for the blueberries and they were worth every penny I paid. I still shop at the super market and i have been very lucky with cherries the past couple of weeks. The local grocery store was remodeled and they put most of the fruits and veggies on sale which was music to my pocketbook.

For Sunday dinner I made a take on gluten free lasagna. Fresh eggplant instead of noodles, lean ground beef mixed with onion,garlic shallots and a spicy Arrabiata (angry) sauce cooked for 35 mins covered at 400 degrees. I can't have cheese but feel free to add your favorite. I love getting two servings of vegetables in one sitting without having to make anything extra. I'm looking forward to having my left over piece for lunch today.

Explore where you live ...artist unkown

2011-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

I've taken a few night classes at a local college just for fun and I found out that they have 3 miles worth of art scattered around the campus. Even armed with my poorly printed map (someone needs to invest in a color cartridge) we found quite a few things that were official and a bunch of things that were not ...like this

Themes...Of rain and roses

2011-01-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

While working in my new journal I noticed a theme emerging by accident and decided to use it as a jumping off point. Initially I created a number of pictures about the rain and then started painting and taking pictures of roses so it came about naturally. It doesn't mean that all of the work has to be about the theme but it's the glue that holds everything together. I need a lot of glue to stay on course.

When I'm old and grey I would love to put a graphic novel or comic together but that's a long way off but my work is leading me to that. The story of my life in pictures. I am very lucky to have kept all my journals and slam (the notebooks you pass back and forth with your friends) books from high school and it would be fun to mess around with the old me in some artist way. I wouldn't say I'm a much different person just less dramatic. I thought the world was ending way to many times over nothing (smile).

Ganesha-he removes obstacles so its only fitting that he would be on the first few pages.

wishing

2011-01-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

I was back on this path to a lovely English garden in a small town where everyone dresses in period costume and treats you like family.

Forward bound no looking back

2011-01-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

This bear represents all the things I need to get done but I'm trying to take it once piece at a time. I jumped right into my new journal at the beginning of the year with the goal of getting it done by February 10th. I work so much better with a deadline so I had to make one or the pages will just sit around blank until I get to them.

I still have 3 unfinished journals but I will get back to them when the mood hits me. The are all a little different one for sketching, one for collage, one is a mix and I love them all but I'm buckling down in my watercolor and drawing journal to really get the ball rolling. I have been working at the break neck spread of a journal page every two days and have actually kept up for the most part. I am jealous of people who can work really fast but I can only draw so fast but I have seen improvement these last couple of months and luckily I'm only comparing my work to my own work.

The last couple of years I was held back by the lack of ideas but I think I jumped over that hurdle.    I am very lucky to not suffer from an inner critic (mainly because I'm doing all the work for me) but some days the idea fairy flies away before dropping that fairy dust on my head. Things are crazy but I'm using my pages to work though allot of junk so I can get to my next goal. My current journal is filled with things that happened last year and the current year all with the idea that these things will push me forward.

We are having the most amazing weather here in San Diego and I'm taking advantage of it with cameras in tow.

Dream Big

New year

2010-12-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

I'm back into my Moleskin date book for 2011 and I decided to decorate the cover this year. If I could figure out a cheap way to do it I would love to make my own datebook but the Moleskin is the perfect size to keep me organized and a great place to make art that I can carry around..

To make cut watercolor paper to size. I used 140lbs because this calender is has a soft cover. Glue with any white glue to tack it down and then cover with crystal clear tape or clear book-cover paper or clear drawer liner (like Contact paper).

Working on my visual journal to cap up the end of the year.

Sewing pages

2010-11-23T23:50:00.000-08:00

Trying to take pictures in my apartment at night leads to yellow photos. I really have to find the book for my camera and read the directions YIKES. I'm working on a journal for one of my friends. The cover is plain brown paper and I did some artwork on it and I sealed it with a clear acrylic so that it won't get stained and he can still doodle on it. This is the last page and I took another stab at a portrait of him and added a quote that I thought was fitting.

Day Trip Joshua Tree

2010-11-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

My best friend had a conference right outside of Palm springs so I drove up for a few days of fun. The drive is perfect as the surrounding areas have almost no traffic so it was a quick trip. We spent last Thursday at Joshua Tree climbing on rocks. looking at birds and avoiding the spurs of Teddy Bear Cactus.

Susie's journal.

2010-11-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

The next book in the round robin is ready to go and we are all on a little break to get caught up. The holiday season and extra projects have a way of getting stuck. This is Susie's book and she wrote a lovely intro into her book and putting together little things to get to the big picture. I made this self portrait a year ago but I went back and improved it and am much happier with how it turned out. I found out that black Gesso is much easier to control vs. liquid acrylic paint when you have to paint a larger area. The photograph/ illustration turns into a flip out where I made notes for my day. Tuesday was my usual day off when I worked in retail and it has morphed into my health day where I go to the acupuncture and chiropractic and walk to the next neighborhood and get lots of exercise. It was raining on and off that week so things were a bit wacky. People in San Diego can't handle the rain. The roads flood and the number of accidents on the road triple for the day.

The second photo was of a rose I took after the rain and then I layered tracing paper over it and worked on a paper cut overlay. It's been a while since I have cut anything this intricate but I have a new knife and it works like a dream. It's a ceramic knife from Slice and you can hold it close to tip without hurting your finger. Magical.

The most wonderful place on earth

2010-10-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

       A few years ago I got an e-mail about a class with Sabrina Ward Harrison and I jumped at the chance to visit Carol Parks studio in North Hollywood, California and spend the weekend playing. A year earlier Carol had written me a note about adding me to her mailing list because she got one of my mail art packets. I said sure and later ordered a few of her zines and wear her similarly title button Artfreak on my art bag. Everything about the trip was wonderful because it was the perfect group of people in the perfect place.
       Carol's studio was mind blowing as art filled every corner and sprung from the ceilings and every nook and cranny. She allowed all of us to take pictures of her house in pieces and laughed at me as I touched almost everything in her house. I still have a little kid in me that likes to experience things though touch. I was also raised going to museums every weekend when I was 5 or younger so I know what not to touch as well. I had the pleasure of going to Carol's studio eight months later for another class and another great weekend. I rode in Carol's car to the supermarket for lunch and she gave us sound advice about not drinking diet coke and the wonder of making art and the magic of being uncomfortable, broken down and creating art. I have take some of my favorite pictures here and look at them every day. She has a small and wonderful garden that looked magical on film.
       Carol stopped holding classes so she could focus on her book and her own art promising to return to us as soon as possible. I found out today that she passed away on Sunday. I hope she finished her book as selfishly I was looking forward to having her words forever in my home but they will stay alive in my memory. She will stay in a special place in my heart and I am heartbroken and send only the best to children and close friends who were left behind.

Elena's Journal

2010-10-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

Tracing paper, marker, color copy of photograph, colored pencils

Colored pencils, pen, art tape and colored paper

My first love was paper -Hand drawn paper roses, rice paper, vellum envelope, ribbon, color copies of rose petal

Colored pencil and color copy of photograph

Elena is new to art journaling and asked us to share ideas and our favorite techniques. I love working with paper and figuring out new ways to use traditional items like tracing paper. The roses drawn on tracing paper applied with matte medium to paper and hand colored with marker. The roses have a bumpy quality to them to add a bit of texture. Most of the photographs I take are of flowers so I used a close up of a rose to drawn them on paper that has a tooth grain surface. Color copies of rose petals and a hidden message can be read on the bag. The last page is colored pencil with a color copy of my photograph take at one of the local flower fields. I use Derwent-coloursoft pencils that blend nicely when more than one color is used but I used an erase to blend on a slightly raised surface.

Fabric Journal- off to a new home

2010-10-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

More fun on the road

2010-10-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

If you are lucky enough to get a seat by yourself on the plane than you can do lots of crafts without bothering your seat mate. I made a new doll by the light placed conveniently overhead.I pre-cut the paper to size and pack kiddie scissors in my bag.

Safely placed on my art bag with my favorite paper-doll Molly. The new doll was wearing the clothes I wore on my trip to the east coast.

I packed a yummy lunch for the plane ride. I love Southwest but if I have to eat cheese flavored crackers I'll be ill. Homemade chicken salad with toast, two nectarines and lots of pumpkin bread. Plenty to cover the 6 hour plus trip.

It was raining on and off all week in Maryland and DC but it was pretty clear on the way to the airport. I missed getting a shot of the trees by the side of the road. In California you see concrete or grass as far as the next building so I was presently surprised to see tall trees that were thick and unfortunately still green. I'm a sucker for changing leaves and barely one to be seen at the beginning of October.

Packing your bag

2010-10-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Before I take a trip I draw what I'm going to pack so I don't forget anything. I like to pick a color scheme (black, white, gray, blue) and mix thing up (textures and shapes) so it doesn't look like I'm wearing the same thing every day. I went back east to help my mom unpack but we also went to a financial worship (I know all these secrets about your FICO score now) and had a meeting so I had to dress up a bit one day.

My datebook is thick but palm size (4x6ish) and has the cutest dog illustrations in it. If I don't have anything written on the pages I use them for notes, doodles or mini collages. The back of the book has 40 or so blank lined pages that I use for writing and I have ripped out quite a few to leave notes for people and plenty of the pages are left. The girl with the red hair is one of my bookmarks.

The weather went from hot and raining to cool and sunny so I didn't end up wearing my skort or short skirt but they pack well so I didn't care. I fold everything with a board to make them super flat and roll the skirts and workout pants. I board fold my t-shirts at home because I have an old fashioned dresser with shallow drawers and you can get so many more stacks in t-shirts inside of it. I have an actual folding board but you can easily use the cardboard that comes with 81/2 x 11 packs of paper.

I have all of my clothing memorized (makes shopping so much easier) so I make my list while I'm out then I just come back and make sure nothing is in the laundry. When you stick to the same colors you can usually stick everything in the same load of laundry (the purple dress I use as a night shirt). I always wear jeans more than once and pack extra underwear in case I workout that day and need a fresh change of clothes for the evening. Wear your heaviest shoes on the plane and in my case those are clogs that give great foot support and easily pass for dressy.

Altered Book Class

2010-10-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

I only gave myself one day off to have jet lag and feel weird so today it's back to blogging, making art and walking around town getting back into the grove of things.

The weekend before I left town I had the pleasure of taking an altered book class from Orly Avineri http://oneartistjournal.wordpress.com/ . The title was lost and found and the the books were about loss. The funny part was I just wanted to take a class with Orly so I didn't care what the class was about and when I got to the class I was a bit worried that it would be an emotionally heavy class and I wasn't sure I was up to that. Well the whole day was about the process of altering the book and letting your ideas coalesce and I had the best time meeting everyone and I got to look at Orly's journals and nosh on a lovely lunch.

Somewhere in hour 4 I started to have a mini melt down. This has happened a few times in art classes it's like my brain gets full and I can't think any more. If I'm lucky the class is almost over and I can fake it trough till the end but when I was with Orly I had a couple of hours left and she saw me pushing my paper around and told me to do something else. 20 minutes later I was back in my brain and ready to work on the back cover. I have a 50 /50 chance of throwing out anything I make in a class. Sometimes I'm just trying to follow the directions and I'm not really tapping into my own thoughts so what I actually make doesn't fit into my style but this little book did. The cover was a process of layers and I went back and reworked a few items that I wasn't married to and I love it.

We lost one of our dogs and the dog pictured, Kino, is the one that is left. This is the first time Kino has been the only dog and this is his second home as his owner had a heart attack, 3 years ago and my boyfriend couldn't let Kino go to the pound. I didn't think the dogs would get along but they worked it out eventually. 11lb dog and 80lb dogs can find a way to get along. I'm a bit worried about him but I think that as long as he can be inside as much as possible and laying on the couch he is a happy camper. My boyfriend misses having a big dog but hopefully I can give him some tips on how to relate to a little dog. I grew up with a little dog so it's easy for me.

sail away

2010-09-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm setting sail for a little vacation, if you can call helping my mother move a vacation. Funny she doesn't sound excited about unpacking the past 36 years in another house but luckily southwest ran a special and I saved 70 bucks on the ticket so I am one happy camper. I'm not telling her I'm coming until right before I get there. I love fall on the east coast and hopefully I can squeeze some time in with friends and some sight seeing at my favorite haunts. Plus six hours of art on a plane when I'm not catching up on my sleep sounds divine..

Journal pages

2010-09-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Journal pages which include any idea that pops into my head. A good warm up for my next journal that will have an actual theme. I've had a few funny dreams lately that may work themselves my journal pages.

Round Robin -Ann's Journal

2010-09-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

The theme was love and trust me I had to put this down for a few weeks for fear that I would draw hearts everywhere. The hearts were an after thought when I finally started in this journal. I had some intense conversations with a friend this week and he's going though a growth period so I wanted to draw a man with a tree growing from his head. It morphed a bit into the tree branches with red tips and the heart formation.

The companion page was from another conversation I had with different friend about going to an event. In essence we were both talking about ending a friendship because of a mutual friends actions. The problem indirectly affected me and hurt a number of my friends. We both used the word heartbreaking to describe the situation.

Round Robin -Ann's Journal

2010-09-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

I spent 20 minutes trying to make this horizontal to no avail but I still wanted to post the second spread I made in Ann's journal for our traveling Round Robin. I think this is one of those exercises where you turn your head sideways and see the world in a whole new way.

Lotta Jansdotter linen fabric scrap, colored pencils, sharpie marker, gold pen (uniball). I just uploaded a new picture ta da.

painting?

2010-09-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm this style of painting has a fancy name like vignettes or pieces but I keep seeing them lately and I wanted to try my hand at this style. I pulled out the canvas I that was present two years ago (yikes) and started drawing my favorite pictures from one of my journals. I think painted over the pencil marks with black paint and will fill each block with coordinating colors. I left this at my friends house so I have something to do when we goof off on the weekend. The last time I took a formal painting class I was 12 and it was in oils and I painted the side of a recreation center.

Updates on the way.

Brown bag journal

2010-09-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

I love looking at the back to school supplies and I bought these cast off book covers that are a great weight for book binding. I used them to wrap around the covers and left them untreated so the owner can decorate them as she wishes. I'll be interested to see how they turn out in the future. The inside papers are 140lbs water color paper, brown, ledger and a few post cards thrown in. This was the second time I used pamphlet stitch and it's a great stitch to use if you are in a hurry. I put a book together on the bus a few weeks ago on my way to a drawing class.

The splatter is strawberry juice and I don't think I will ever be able to replicate the results but I love the way it turned out.. I would love to say it was on purpose bit it was a complete happy accident that I'm very happy didn't end up on my light green carpet.

Happy Accidents abound.

Off hours

2010-09-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

I volunteer at a Children's Museum and it's just as much fun when it's closed and everything is silent. It reminds me of working on the sets for plays in high school. It takes a lot of work to keep the hundreds of kids that come through the doors happy. All the windows help to make this the greenest building in downtown San Diego.

sunset

2010-08-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Work in progress

2010-08-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

At the moment I'm not sure what this is but I'm having fun working on it. I would love to make one that stands up but this one is destined to go in a book. Each of the items lifts up or beds forward so you can write on the backside. I'm adding more elements so that it looks like it is a story about the woods.

Last week I took a grueling travel journal class and I am so glad I got a chance to go to a mini sketching boot camp. The teacher was very direct which was very good for the side of my brain that can't follow directions. The teacher told us that we will remember places more once we sketch them and anything that helps my memory is awesome. The third day of class I was terribly late because I missed the bus and the next bus was early so I missed the connection. It was a grand mess but everyone ended up being late because of the traffic into our travel location. The most challenging part was drawing fast when the sun went down. I enjoyed the process and can't wait to get back to drawing every day. Draw something everyday.

Adventures in the woods

2010-08-26T02:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my camera just stopped working. I knew it was going to happen because I dropped it a few weeks ago and I noticed my pictures were not as crisp as they had been and I had to fix most of the pictures in post. Fast forward to a trip to the electronics store and an actual helpful sales person and I have a new Canon SD1300 IS Elph. It is half the weight of my old camera and it takes awesome pictures. I need to find my old camera case or make a new one for it so it stays fresh and new.

Sunday we drove up to the woods and took out our sketch pads and drew into the evening. It was a wonderful evening and we were sorry that we didn't bring anything to put on the grill because the family in ear shot of us was having the best hot dogs and buttered buns. We went into town and hit one of the local restaurants. The last time I ate here I had amazing (insert fireworks) French toast and since it was dinner we had the special of the night. .

Happy Thursday

2010-08-12T00:54:00.000-07:00

Round Robin -Emily's Journal

2010-08-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

The theme for Emily's http://www.emily-perry.com/ book is OPEN. I was looking for a certain poet whose name I ultimately couldn't remember and stumbled upon this E. E. Cummings poem. I am debating adding a bird but I'm not sure I can draw a tiny tiny bird.

Wide open spaces kept running through my mind. Photo from Big Bear enhanced with copic marker.


Dream sequence.

The great outdoors

2010-08-04T23:58:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I drove with my boyfriend up to Big Bear in California. Big Bear is known for its skiing but is also awesome in the summer with the big lake and friendly people. We met a great couple who volunteered at a local art gallery from San Diego who had just moved to Big Bear the winter before (worst winter in years) and told us all the good places to eat.

Our hotel was a cabin and they were all themed rooms. The owner of the cabin came to pick us up because we were a bit lost, It's funny when you print up the directions and the second to last turn of the directions is off and you can't find a detailed map in town. We were only a block or two away but the owner drove over to get us. My boyfriend booked a craft cottage but the manager gave us a good deal on a room with a spa tub so we took that. We ended up with the crystal cave cabin and it was wonderfully cheesy. It was dark inside so you had to turn the lights on to see everything and the bed was the only furniture. The fireplace had real bones on it and stalactite were coming down from the ceiling. and the icing on the cake was the cave shower was huge. We both giggled about the room the entire trip.

I made paper dolls during the down time, we also swam in the lake (where we were attacked by seaweed), took the ski lift up the mountain and we went hiking.

Paper dolls- Happy August

2010-08-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

I've made paper dolls before but I hit the jackpot formula this week and once I did one it was much easier to do the rest. Basically I took a random full lengh photograph and cut that out for the proportions. In the photo the person was wearing billowy clothes so I'm not exactly sure why this worked out so well.

The second step is to make a rough cut on watercolor paper and then draw in the features. I just drew and erased until I got the feeling that I wanted from the doll. The red headed girl is the daughter of a friend and she is going off to college in Iowa in a few weeks so I made her a few paper friends for her to hang around with. It actually looks like her and I didn't have to draw it a million times but when I went to draw her sister I didn't quite get her face right. I do need to work on mixing the watercolors so I can acheive more consistant results.

I use twinkling H2O and the browns are rather strange as most of them have a green base to them and do not do well for flesh tones. I figured out that copper works well as a wash for light tones and piled on for deeper tones.

They fit nicely in the pocket of my overalls so I can carry them around when I am running errands.

Paper dolls

2010-07-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

I drew the mailbox a year ago and just let it sit on the page until this week when I pulled out my newest copic marker and colored it in. I was happy that the blue B95 (Light Grayish Cobalt) actually looked like the color of a mailbox because as you may or may not know copic markers cost a mint so I buy them slowly. In 2 years I have built my collection to 25 markers and it's a rather limited pallet. I originally bought a few to write on photographs but when I tried it I hated the results. When using copic markers on photos you have to work fast and avoid covering your own marks because it will puddle and make harsh lines.

The second step was to add the stamped words and I have a love hate relationship with stamps too. I end up pressing too hard and getting stray marks where I don't want them but they are much faster than bubble writing so I may attempt it again. The last step was colored pencils and I love Dewent Colorsoft and Drawing pencils. I bought a 12 pencil set 3 years ago but lucked out this January when a large set of 36 that normally sells for $50 was on sale for $14 because it was a gift set. I did figure out that you can blend them with copic markers or add a bit of water and get a nice smudge.

Paper envelopes lined with mini photographs and hearts that were cut from labels. I wanted something to seal the plain envelopes and kept adding the hearts.

The mailbox does have a story. Last year when I went home to send some mail I realized they took out the mailbox that had been in our neighborhood for 50 years. The Washington Post had a cover story about it the next day and mailboxes that aren't being used enough are being pulled to save money. Of course it had a heart breaking story about an old couple who went to the mailbox every day for 20 years until the box was removed.

The opposite page is made with a scrap of linen , removable paper doll on water color paper, cloud is made from acrylic paint that I slid off a shiny surface (it comes out like a skin) and flowers (color copied).

Found Jornal

2010-07-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have spent a lot of time cleaning the past two weeks and found quite a few journals that I made in classes but never finished. The good news is I am going to finish them and then I will have a few more things to show when someone wants to see what I do. I have a habit of giving things away and not taking pictures and I am trying to break that habit.

I forget the name of the class but it was taught by Pam Garrison http://pamgarrison.typepad.com/pamgarrison/ in 2008 at Artfest. We decorated the covers and built the books in class. She works amazingly fast and can easily turn around the ugly parts of art into something awesome. Once I have an idea I can work pretty fast but getting one is the hard part.

The first page can be rather daunting so I started simple. I am a vitamin D lover and am currently unhappy with the fact that San Diego has been overcast for the past two months. It is a bummer (the lack of sun not this page) but the rest of the pages in this book are shaping up nicely and I'm using up some of the scraps that I have been sticking in drawers for ages.

Dream big-Round Robin

2010-07-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

This months book belongs to Lisa Miller and her theme is based on a quote about dreams. I glued fabric to two pages and decided to stick with black and white with a few shades of grey thrown in. Several years ago I did a workshop on dreams for a few friends and it was a fun experience. Several thoughts were swirling around in my head. I have been having nightmares lately about going back to work. Making art is a great way to avoid sending out more resumes. When you are really good and qualified for one thing and then you look for something new it is a little bit daunting.

I volunteer at the New Children's Museum and a bunch of us got to go in yesterday and restock the supplies. One of the exhibits was involved in an accident (I know this sounds strange but you can only guess what can go wrong with kids in an open space. Gross.)

I was building these white cardboard boxes and was given the task of draw animals on four sides of the boxes. I have spent the last six months drawing animals and felt comfortable drawing in marker. I create less rules for myself when I am working on something where the audience will be children. If it looks weird just try to make the animal smile and it's all good. I can't wait to see what the kids create on the rest of the boxes.

When I came home I looked at my reference photos for sheep and the rest just came up. It's a little bit interactive since the small sheep has a movable head. If I can't sleep I meditate or make up stories till I drop off. Counting sheep would be a meditation but I need a little more to focus on to shut my brain off. The envelope on the 2nd page has a message to the universe. All the small photographs are of roads. The 3rd page is the Poe quote to close the piece.

Ohh the bees

2010-07-06T20:52:00.001-07:00

The last panel is linen with cotton thread embroidery. A few years ago I was stung by a bee that flew off an elephant but it has dual meaning for the story. Friendship has prickly points. In the end it's hard to be a good friend but I am so grateful for the friends I do have.

This went off in the mail on the 2nd and the new book arrived on Saturday. I had a good time interpreting the theme tribes for Kathy's book. I am very lucky that our public library has a large collection of Lynda Barry books so I have been devouring those as of late. I love the way she is able to mix real concepts with graphic images. Quite a few of her stories have made me tear up because they are so heartbreaking. I would love to expand the story but it seems like a giant process that I can't take on at the moment. I'm lucky that I still have several years of journals to draw from if I need story ideas.

On the farm or at the fair

2010-07-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday afternoon at the fair. I ate a hearty breakfast(oatmeal and fruit) and was ready to chow down by the time I got off the train in Del Mar, California. Due to some accident I rode the Amatrack train up the coast and I had forgotten how amazing the views were. I always liked riding on the side of a mountain. When I was in college I would take the train from central New York to Maryland. It was a long ride and not that much cheaper than a plane but I enjoyed reading and making things on the ride. I am now tempted to take a longer trip.

Anywhoo at the fair I had a great time walking around and I was able to take a ton of pictures that I can use as reference for drawings . The 4-H booths and the garden center are my favorites.

I had a run in with a giant pretzel so my dreams of eating through the fair were dashed quite quickly.

11,192 steps late I was exhausted and ready to ride the train back home and stop off for a hot tea. I even made dinner and ended up walking 7 miles. June is our overcast month and it is spreading into July. The sun came out at $:30 right when U was leaving but it was bright enough to be enjoyable. Journal pictures later.

Round Robin- in progress

2010-06-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

This will be a 3 page spread but I'm a bit stumped about the 3rd page so I am putting it down for a day or two and then I'll dive back in. I know I'll go back in and work on the bee sting page but it's a nice start. Now if the middle page would pop into my head I would be all set. This is Kathy's journal and the theme is tribes. I didn't want to do anything literal so I brought up the themes of friendship and the hive.

Happy Solstice

2010-06-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make something fun with a summer theme and fresh fruit popped in my head since I eat a ton of it. You almost have to force feed me vegetables but fruit I will gladly eat all day long.

I started putting things together a couple of months ago letting the perfect things fall into my lap so no pressure. I mixed the fruit with a picnic theme (small journal, marshmallows, chocolate, tea, animal crackers, candy, napkin, tea strainer, book, fold up bag and lip balm). I figured that they were all perfect for one of my friends and her birthday is next week so I packed it up and shipped it off to the east coast.

Happy Summer. When is the sun going down? I want to go to bed (smile).