what's UP in the studio- More Easter stuff and Works in Progress....

Here it is Thursday and I'm just now doing my "Whazzup" post.....ooops!  Bill and I have been working like crazy people in the garden and sadly, there just aren't enough hours in the day to do anything other than divide tasks and delegate levels of priority to them.  Since painting is REALLY important to me, it gets placed pretty high on the list.  However, I pretty much lost all last week to being sick and am now playing catch up- in the studio and in the garden, and in the house too, but really, is a clean house completely necessary?  Well I suppose it is when one is planning Easter dinner for 12 people the house should probably be clean or at least neat.....but I digress, and I'll get to the house in good time :) Right now, I need to finish my parrot tulip which has once again changed it's mind that it would rather be red than black......

And ever since Regi at Southern Ooaks  posted a tutorial on hand blown eggs decorated with German glass, I've been dying to do some.  I used to have a collection of eggs that my children had painted for me, and some that I'd done as well, but over the years they have been broken so it is now time to create some more!

Also, I ALMOST completed the weekly challenge at Inspiration Avenue last week, but just didn't make it in time....The theme was "opposites" and I was using complimentary colors to interpret it with.  I had actually meant this painting to be the insert for my new altered book, but while I like the colors of both book and art, I don't like them together........

So, I'll use the book base for this week's entry!  Since the Home Show is in three weeks, everything I do has to be something I can use in the show.  I've chosen to do one of my Joie de Vivre books using a print from one of my paintings- only the covers are done here- I still have to attach the print.  The theme this week is "I" and I haven't chosen a quote for the cover yet, but it will be something along the lines of "I believe I can fly" or Inspiration gives you wings......dunno yet, but it'll come to me I'm sure.  Actually, any ideas or suggestions would be hugely appreciated!

That's all for now- cheers!

Stephanie

what's UP in the studio- Easter Goodies.........

I have done almost NOTHING this week!  Monday started out great, I got one project finished and another well on it's way, but as the day progressed, I began to feel worse and worse.  And that night, I woke up with a fever and a sore throat like I've never had.....anyway, I spent the entire week being sick and sorry, and TRYING to get work done.  But for me, when I try to paint and I'm not feeling well, it's like I can't SEE properly or something, anyway, everything I tried to do had to be redone, and then redone again.  Finally today I woke after seven hours of sleep feeling relatively human.  I think I might even be able to manage a little work before the kids get up.....

For now, let me show you the one project I managed to get done this week- an Easter banner.  I've been wanting to make a banner for a while now, but just never got around to it.  Then a couple of weeks ago, my blog friend Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover posted a tutorial on how to make a banner with hand embellished papers.  Elizabeth is amazing- she always shares the most creative ways to make art and has lots of Altered Art goodies on her site; I always feel like I'm in the candy shop when I'm at her blog- never know what I'll find, but it's always a delicious treat. This tutorial was a five day challenge she had set for her Yahoo group and she shared images of their results. One of the participants, Linda Manning did an Easter banner which I loved, so much I wanted to make my own. Actually Linda's blog, The Art Sook is gorgeous too, a great find even without the banner.....

So with no more digression, here's MY take on the Easter banner:

For my papers, I veered from the project a bit in that I used antique music sheets which I painted with a thin layer of white acrylics and collaged scraps of doilies leftover from Valentine's Day.  I glued these to card stock for exra stability and color.  Then I just went to all the blogs with free vintage images until I found six that I liked, cropped them down and glued those suckers on.  The lettering started as a brassy gold to which I added a layer of white glitter to try for the look of that 1940's glitter, it looks a LOT better in real life- my camera just didn't capture the effect in this case!  Hey Elizabeth, does this count as bricolage  even though I used my printer?  Everything else was stuff I had readily on hand....

So there you have it, my Easter banner (which I LOVE) my one completed project of the week!  Go check out Elizabeth and Linda's blogs, I guarantee you'll enjoy the experience!

Oh just as a caveat for anyone who clicks on the image to see it better, ignore the view of our back garden which is a WIP progress at this time- we don't ordinarily decorate with garbage cans.....my husband cut down a Mulberry tree last week and is slooowly clearing the debris and then we also built a new raised bed for our veggies and cutting garden which is waiting to be filled with pretties.

Art that I Aspire to Admire.....

I have been finding lately that a lot of the art that is catching my attention falls into the category of "Steampunk"  But what IS steampunk you might ask- as I did not too long ago......Steampunk is "Various modern utilitarian objects which have been modded by enthusiasts into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical style.Example objects include computer keyboards and electric guitars. The goal of such redesigns is to employ appropriate materials (such as polished brass, iron, and wood) with design elements and craftsmanship consistent with the Victorian era." excerpt from Wikipedia defining Steampunk as an art genre

Whatever else it may be, I find it intriging.

Here are some examples of Steampunk as found on Etsy:

 "Reliquary Assemblage Necklace" created by Metal Corset

"Time Traveler's Bracelet" by Bellota26

"Dreams of Flight "by Galerie Deilluminata

"Indigo Sparrow" by Cerulean Gypsy

"The Metamorphosis" by Xirconnia

So, there you have it, a small sampling of art created in the genre of "Steampunk"  Hope you enjoyed it, I find it thrilling, myself.

Cheers,

Stephanie

Weekly Challenge at Inspiration Avenue- My Hometown- Decatur, Georgia

I had so much fun with this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue!  The theme was "My Hometown" and I wanted my focus to emphasize how lucky I am to live in a small town with charm and atmosphere with all the added benefits of being five miles from the city of Atlanta.  I'm a third generation Decaturite- my Dad and I went to the same elementary and high schools and each of my three children are currently attending the schools that we went to as well.  I LOVE the continuity of that- it's just so poetic to me.  Anyway, for my entry I wanted to do a mixed media piece (I REALLY wanted to include an art doll, but it just didn't happen this time:)) using a recycled canvas.  I cut the middle piece out to create a frame which I covered with various papers to give it texture. 

For the inside, I used two pictures of the Atlanta skyline that changed with flters and tore to make a layered background for my silhouette, 

For the inside of the silhouette I created a digital image using an antique map of Decatur overlayed with an image of my garden.  Since I couldn't find a quote that expressed what I wanted to say, I made my own up. Can you tell how much FUN I had with this one? 

Happy Sunday, I'm off to check out the other entries at IA

Cheers,

Stephanie

Hello Spring......

This time of year, I am hard pressed to stay inside.  Every day, there is something new popping up in my garden, sprouting new leaves where the day before there had been none, creating buds to become flowers someday soon.....it's my favorite time of year!
I thought I'd share some of my favorite flowers that will soon be making an appearance in my garden.....

This is an heirloom tulip; I *think* it's called Admiral Constanople and of course after looking at it, it's now calling out to be in it's own painting.  I did a painting last year of another view, but it was less focused down...

I am a FOOL for foxglloves, Sherrie at my garden center always reserves a flat of them for me in the Autumn because she knows I'll be coming to look for them.....

My Jackmanni clematis already has buds, I can't wait- maybe it's time to do another painting of one?

The rose is "Cinco de Mayo" and it always blooms by my birthday April 30th as a wee giftie :)

The side entrance path to my front garden- I LOVE my irises, have been wanting to do a painting of them all year......

This is what our back garden looked like last year, which was the end of a two year drought.  When we bought our house, we knew it was in the flood plain, but there hadn't been a major flood since 1963.  So, I thought I was safe planting in the back.   However, in the past year, every time it has rained, the garden has flooded and we have lost a LOT of plants.....much of the above no longer exists,

BUT we have almost finished putting in a dry creek and a pond to control and direct the water.  I'm so excited about it, you can be sure that I'll be posting pictures in the next couple of weeks.  As a gardener, you always have to have a plan! 

So happy first day of Spring, and for those of you who are gardeners, Happy Gardening!
Cheers,
Stephanie

My Parrot Tulip painting has been featured in a new treasury......

I guess I'm a bit addicted to tulips, no matter how many I've done, I find myself wanting more- I just can't get enough of them!  This was one of my first "serious" paintings from a couple of a years ago when I had just gotten back into painting as more than a hobby.  Because of this, it is especially near and dear to my heart.....

And, here's the treasury, created by Deb Gioia of Art and Old Lace.  It will be up until Sunday morning- please take a moment to check out all these talented artists from my VAST team Visual Artists Street Team)

Here's to hoping everyone has a great Friday!

Cheers,

Stephanie

what's UP in the studio?

Here's my update for all the projects I'm working on this week.  Once again, I've probably been too ambitious, but we'll see how it goes:)

For starters, I'm getting close to completing my new tulip that I started last week.  It began as a deep crimson parrot, but somewhere along the way decided that it wanted to be a black parrot when it grew up, so I've finished the highlights and just have to work on the purple-black tones the fade out from the center and the background....so not much longer, I hope!

Next up;  this weeks challenge for Inspiration Avenue is "My Town".  Since I've been dying to do an art doll and a shadow box from a canvas, that's how I'm going to address the challenge.  Here are some of the materials, I'm planning to use.....

And last but not least, my new altered book.  I've finished the prep work on the book, I'm just going to white wash over the exterior and then modge-podge the butterfly papers on.  Then I'll paint my Joie figure onto the canvas, and put the quote on the cover.  I *might" add some tags in, haven't really decided yet;)

There you have it, what's UP in the studio for this week, I'm crossing my fingers that work goes fast and well.

Happy creating- Cheers,

Stephanie