Thanksgiving

Here is a new page from my journal….not sure how it connects to Thanksgiving, but it is.  I am thankful for so many things–family, friends, health, feeling loved, having a dog in my life, work that I am proud of–but this image feels to be about the struggle to be connected.  The Elephant in the Room….we all have one, maybe more.  Does it get addressed, introduced, do we ignore it and hope it goes away?  This one I decided to dress up and make FABULOUS, too fabulous to ignore.

She reminds me of some wonderful great-aunt who can speak her mind and still greet everyone with open arms and open heart.  I will be gone for the next week, visiting family, so I wish you all a wonderful happy Thanksgiving!

Created By Hand Challenge-I’m Blue

Today’s CBH challenge was “I’m Blue” and just in time for it to be true…Today I learned my latest submission for a juried show was rejected.  I was honestly not surprised.  The pieces I sent in were probably not a good choice for the particular show.  I should have known it but I got this idea stuck in my head and listened to nothing else.  Anyway…so I’m a bit blue.  I posted this page from my journal recently, feeling I didn’t know where to go with it.  Well today I used it to journal about my rejection:

TGIF–Faces of a Femme Fatale

This week’s theme for TGIF challenge is Faces of a Femme Fatale.  I recently watched all the Teesha Moore (www.teeshascircus.blogspot.com/) videos on her journaling technique and just completed (?) my first try at her approach.

I’m not sure where “Grey Ladies” came from, but my associations are to all the wonderful women I have known, known of, or just met in passing who embrace who they are to the fullest.  I always connect the attitude with women who keep their grey hair.  Neither of my ladies here seem to have greys yet, but I’d like to think they will.  My grandmother, a teacher I never had and one I did, a neighbor….all kept their grey hair and wear it like a badge of honor.  I hope to be able to do so myself as I age.  So far, at 43, I have kept all that I have with pride.

The techniques of Teesha Moore’s were wonderful to play with.  I love a heavily layered and full surface, however I struggle with hesitating.  I tend to stop short.  Her approach has helped me to push past.  I still need to work at it and I am not 100% sure these ladies are completely done, but for now they are.  As I am, perhaps, they are evolving, always evolving…..Thanks for looking!

Visual Journal Pieces

I just did this piece in my sketchbook.  Well, just completed it.  I’ve been starting and adding things to several pages slowly over time.  It is odd how some pages I easily go back to and keep at and others just don’t call to me. This one went very quickly, but still spread out over about 10 days.

One of the “orphans,” a page I just can’t connect with right now is:

It’s weird because I was very excited when I first glued down the papers and tag and soon went back to add the paint.  And then, I just stopped.  Each day I would look at it and pass it by.  It is certainly “cooler” than the one above, but that doesn’t seem to be the whole answer.  Not that I need one; I’m just curious about the different things and times I am inspired.

Things I’ve been working on

So during my hiatus I have been doing some small bits of artwork here and there. I have an altered catalog I’ve had in the works for months and did some work on it…

Here is one page I’m quite satisfied with…I was playing with extending forms that were already on the page and suddenly this figure appeared.  She makes me think of a marionette, though while she looks like a puppet she also looks like she is puppeteering.  Who’s in control here? Always a good question, and rarely has a real answer.

Another piece I’m still trying to make something of is the shrine I started way back for my dog Mimsey.  Here are 2 recent shots:

Things obviously got darker on the second go-round.  I am so stuck on how to add in what is missing…nothing seems to fit right.  I feel like I want things, 3-d, but nothing seems to be right.  I know not to push too hard and am just letting it rest right now.  Of course, it’s always great to hear other’s views!

It’s Good to be Back

Things have slowed down and I am back on line!  The Small World of Inchies seemed to be such a manageable way to reenter challenges and art in general.  The theme is faces and I found it to be such a wonderfully simple and soothing start….

All were done with pastel pencils, gelly pens, and graphite pencil.  I loved how the expressions changed with subtle line and color variations.

I’ve been itching to get back to work…just wanting to play in paint, use color, glue stuff, tear, layer…these were a small way in and since I did these yesterday I’ve been working on backgrounds and adding layers, paint, collage papers to randomly started pieces.  Nothing is done but these little faces.  I have sheets and open books littered around drying and waiting for their next layers, but these inchie faces are complete!

In this busy time keeping me from art I did have time to think about the art and the blog.  I am torn.  I noticed I spent a lot of my time and blog space on the challenges.  I enjoy them and find they get me started when I’m not sure where to start.  But I wonder if I relied on them too much.  I was not moving past them and doing the work I’d intended to do when I began this on-line journey.  Admittedly, I must also recognize that with the challenges I received feedback on my work.  That did not happen as much with my non-challenge postings.  At this point, I am looking to find a balance: use the challenges to warm up and motivate me AND work on my self-generated pieces.  Balance, always the goal and forever illusive…..