Inspire Me Thursday: Word Art

My word is O.

Painted paper collage.

Inspire Me Thursday

Studio Friday: Aged/Antique

This week's topic for Friday May 26th suggested by Jane Wynn: AGED/ANTIQUE.
" I love aged things- anything with Rust or Patina... is just too wonderful to me. I use metal paint on anything that is NOT metal (like Plastic, Glass, Wood or even Paper) to give it a faux metal surface and then I age it with liquid patina or sometimes just vinegar and ammonia... What I get in return is something that looks like it is over a hundred years old..."

I don't know that I've ever purposely aged things as Jane has; but I do love aged things. Old photos, antique furniture, bottles.........

What you see here is a portion of my collection of family photos, most of them mysterious strangers. I assume they are family because some of them bear my family name, but the exact connections remain a mystery to me. The clock I got at a local flea market, always giving the time as 6:23. AM or PM doesn't matter! And all of these placed in an antique suitcase found at another flea market, originally belonging to someone with the initials BAM.

I love these photos. They tell such interesting stories.

So here you have it, for Studio Friday: Aged/Antique!

Self Portrait Challenge: Introduce Yourself 3

I continue to think about who I am in response to this month's Self Portrait Challenge.

Although I am a 50 year old mother and grandmother, there is a child who lives within me. She is the free spirit discovering the beach for the first time. In spite of being frightened by the immensity and power of so much water, she splashed and played for as long as she was allowed to be there.

This child picks up rocks and sticks and feathers on walks around the block and hikes in the woods. These small items are filled with beauty and mystery; they are her treasures.

This child believes the wounded can be healed.

This child loves to laugh and play.

This child knows the pleasure of drumming and singing without regard to what others might think. This child has imagination. This child is my gift.

Studio Friday: Contrast

So this Friday it's all about CONTRAST. Thanks Laura for suggesting this great topic!

Well, I struggled a bit with this one! I have all manner of contrasting things in my studio but none of them really spoke to me. What did call out to me, however, was the photo documentation of a recent experience that left me feeling completely nuts.

I walked Bandit the Wonderdog around my neighborhood early Thursday morning, stopping to say hello to a neighbor or two. When it was time to change into my work clothes, I looked down as I went to slip off my shoes. Low and behold, this is what I had on my feet.

While I found it hysterically funny to think that I'd been out and about in two entirely different shoes, I was also rather disturbed. Am I so out of touch with my own body that I can no longer feel that my shoes are different? Have I gotten so distracted? Is this a "symptom" of a mindlessness that has taken over my life at times?

This is my offering for this week's Studio Friday.

Inspire Me Thursday: Journaling

This week's Inspire Me Thursday challenge is journaling. Not just sitting down with a blank piece of paper and writing, but using images, paint, colors, textures upon which to write. This is my first experience with art journaling. I've journaled for many years, and have done collage for at least as long. But I've not combined the two in this way before.

A recent experience, an incredibly uncomfortable one, was something I needed to process. I did so in several conversations, but wanted to do some writing about it as well. I wanted to cement the experience---and the processing of it---in my memory. I needed something tangible.

I felt it very important that my art reflect my topic in some way. I found a wonderful magazine cover from at least a decade ago that was the perfect thing. It was patchworked with another magazine page, creating blocks. Searching for just the right images, finding a way to piece them together, and preparing blocks within blocks for writing, were just as important in processing my bad experience as the writing was.

This was, by no means, a quick project. As a result of this challenge, though, I have begun to think about ways I might combine images and words to document more of my life than just the experiences that need to be worked through. Luckily I don't have too awfully many of those! To simply choose a word that suggests the mood, flavor, or experience of a given day might be enough. It will be interesting to play around with some of the ideas I've had, and to share them here.

Inspire Me Thursday 

Self Portrait Challenge: Introduce Yourself 2

I Am.........

Serious, silly, friendly, solitary, terrified and courageous. Smart, funny, kind, caring, mean and sarcastic. Bursting with self-confidence and filled with self-loathing. My own best friend and my very worst enemy. A free spirit who too often has forgotten how to fly, a seeker longing for adventure.

Studio Friday: Robot

This week's Studio Friday topic is "Robot."

Now a robot can be interpreted in many ways it could be a phone that is in your studio or your stereo,...? What robot can we find in your studio? And what does it do? Maybe you even have more than the one?

My studio robot is my 33 year old Singer sewing machine. It was how I was bribed into finishing high school. A pregnant 17 year old, newly wed, depressed and unmotivated........ Graduation was not even in my vocabulary. My robot was intended to be put to work sewing baby clothes and maternity clothes. It did the job well, and I lived up to my part of the bargain--I graduated and a week later my baby was born.

This robot has served me well over the years. I have never once given serious consideration to replacing it. My robot has been in semi-retirement, however, for a several years. In spite of years of hard use, and years of infrequent use, this robot performs as well now as 33 years ago.

SF: Robot

Five Things

I've been tagged by Denise............

Five Things
five minutes to yourself: daydream
five bucks to spend right now: a quad-venti non-fat with whip white mocha from Starbucks
five items in your house you could part with: the telephone, leftovers in the fridge, the microwave, any handy-dandy kitchen gadget, curling iron
five items you absolutely,positively could never part with in your house: Bandit-the-Wonderdog; my books, my bed, my bathtub, my comfy slippers
five words you love: awesome, peace, blessings, love, gratitude

I tag........anyone who reads this!

Inspire Me Thursday: Faraway Places

The places that are far away are the places I long to be.

Inspire Me Thursday

 

Studio Friday: Sounds

This week's topic for Friday May 7th suggested by Gabi: SOUNDS

"What are the sounds in your studio? Sit quietly and listen. I am sure you'll be surprised at what you hear!"

Most of the sounds I hear from my studio are the sounds of passing cars. The city bus passes by four times an hour, and an occasional truck. As I stood outside and snapped these pictures, I heard birds: a mourning dove, a cardinal, and a robin. The sound I hear in my studio is the steady hum of my computer.

The little house across the street is what has progressed from my recent SF View from my studio. If I were at home during the day I am sure I would hear the sounds of power tools and hammers as the workmen continue putting on the final touches.

Inspire Me Thursday--Going Digital

The challenge for this week's Inspire Me Thursday is to create digitally. Until I get Photoshop I content myself with playing around with Picasa.

Two sisters, two vacations, two of my favorite photos of us. Glacier National Park, 1998 & 2005.

Self-Portrait Challenge: Introduce Yourself 1

With the launching of the new Self-Portrait Challenge site comes the opportunity to introduce ourselves. I've been asking myself the question all week: "Who am I? Really....." This is one of those weeks when I don't know.......I'm still looking for answers.........