Day Trip Joshua Tree

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.

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

       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

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

More fun on the road

 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

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.