Sketchbook Project 2012, Chapter 2

Well, I'm back, and as I said last week, I'm going to show you what I've been doing with my sketchbook. 

Remember, I said that the sketchbook that arrived from the Art House was filled with very thin drawing-type paper, so the first thing I wanted to do was change the paper. I used some nice heavy watercolor paper - this would allow me to do just about anything in my journal. I sewed it, not really knowing what I was doing. The "Sketchy Characters" from  The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild   held a rebinding workshop, lead by Penny Arrowood , but I wasn't able to attend, so I was forced to wing it on my own. 

Then I wanted to replace the cover. This is what I have right now, but I'm not finished with it - it's definitely a work in progress! As I work on the inside, I'm sure I'll add to the cover.

 After I covered it, I decided to paint the pages.  I was sure it would be easier to start working in my journal if I didn't have all those blank white pages staring at me! 

 

I've been working on a few pages, but it seems that I'm always tweaking! I think I'm done, have moved on, and I'm working on another page, and I come across something that would be just perfect on that last page! so I'm back on that last page for awhile. sigh.... that is the way with these art journals - they are never quite done, are they? 


Here are a couple of the more completed pages, and I'll be showing more along the journey. 

Sketchbook Project 2012, Chapter I

You may have noticed, if you have been visiting, that I have taken a rather long break from my blog. Sometimes this happens in blogland. I had a good reason when my break first started - I had surgery on my shoulder - twice. It was really hard to sit at the computer and hammer out a post. As time went on, it just got harder and harder to get back into the groove, even though I really liked blogging when I was doing it. 

Now, I don't want to make any promises, and I don't want anyone to wave this post in my face later, so what I'm about to say has a big fat TRY attached to it, ok???? Here goes: I am going to TRY to blog more regularly. Now that I have that out of the way, I'll tell you why I think I might be blogging more. 

Sketchbook Project Logo
customized for our group:   "The Sketchy Characters"
Thanks to Penny Arrowood for photo 

Because I'm sooooo excited about being a part of the Sketchbook Project 2012  ! 

There are 18 of us from The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild that decided to do sign up for this as a group.

You can read the details on the Art House site, but basically it's this - you sign up; they send you a sketchbook; you fill it up and send it back to them in January; the sketchbooks will live in the Brooklyn Library; and they go on a tour next year so everyone can look at them.

So, we signed up and we waited for our books. We talked about our chosen themes, and art journaling, and all the cool things we were going to do, and we waited... and we waited... and we waited... And finally, they arrived! and they looked like this:

Photo from the Art House

For those folks who are sketchers or writers only, this would have been fine. But we are MIXED media folks! Some of us were planning to use different types of paints, some were planning to use fibers and stitching, some wiring... The really THIN paper in this book just would NOT do!!!! There was no way that we could paint on it, sew it, rivet it.... We looked at these books and our faces fell. Then the questions started - can we change the paper? how big? how thick? We went to the website and found the answer - Yes, we can! So, yes, we did!

My next post will show photos of my rebound journal and some of my first pages.

One World One Heart Winner!!

If you visited my OWOH post in the last couple of days, you may have seen that I would be drawing my winner a day earlier than the rest of the players. I am leaving this morning to go to the Pocosin Cabin Fever Reliever, which I told you about here. I’ve been busy the last couple of days gathering things that I’m going to learn amazing ways to transform into gorgeous and wondermous pieces of jewelry! (I hope)

But, before I leave, I need to let you know WHO has won my drawing in the One World One Heart world-wide blogging open-house. But first, let me just say that I had a wonderful time visiting blogs and meeting new friends and visiting old ones.  I’ve always known that there are some very talented and creative people in this world, but I continue to be amazed by how many there are, and how diverse the creativity is! Don’t you think so? Just when I think I’ve seen everything, I come across someone doing something I’ve never seen before, or doing something in a completely different style. I added a lot of blogs to my blogroll so that I can visit regularly. I bookmarked the rest so that I can go back again when there is more time to visit at a leisurely pace. Never was I disappointed with a visit. Thank you everyone for a wonderful tour of the arts! and Thank you, Lisa for all that you do for organizing this! I know that a huge amount of work goes into this every year.

Okay, WHO is the winner? Using the Random Number Generator, and counting the comments 3 times to be sure I did it right – I wish my blog automatically numbered the comments! I did determine that I had a winner!

Congratulations to Mallory ! She is the WINNER! of my copper PMC necklace. Look for a few other goodies in your package, too, Mallory! I’ll be in touch with you by email to work out the details. 

Isn’t this FUN??? I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did on this magic carpet ride through the blogosphere! Okay, I’m off to tell Mallory. Then I’m headed to the coast for some arty goodness!

Cabin Fever Reliever

Next week I’ll be heading to the Pocosin Cabin Fever Reliever. What is this, you ask? It’s a 4-day art retreat held in Columbia, NC, which is on the Inner Banks, next to the Outer Banks! – beautiful, even in the winter! 

This retreat is different from others I’ve attended because I’ll be taking ONE class with ONE instructor for the 4 days that I’m there - Jewelry as Personal Adornment taught by Bob Ebendorf.  I’m really excited about learning from this incredible instructor! AND, I’ll be going to places I've never been before with my jewelry making. I’m really excited, and I love that I have four days to practice the new techniques instead of the usual day, or two. Plus, this retreat has open studio time every evening, allowing us to work on our pieces after dinner, if we’re so inclined.  

Besides all this arty goodness, I’ll be there with 2 of my best friends! What could be better than four days of playing with new art - at the beach - while having a slumber party??? We’ve already been planning our drink menus. Did I mention there’s a BYOB happy hour every day? My kind of retreat!

This is where we'll be staying. Obviously, this photo was not taken in February! Even if we have time, don't think we'll be doing any sailing! I just checked the weather forecast and it's supposed to be in the 60's - woohoo! warmer days ahead! but still not warm enough for me to be doing any sailing in that freezing water! I say nay nay!! But it's a beautiful place, don't you think?

  

I hope to have a piece of jewelry worthy of posting when I return. Fingers crossed....

Take 25 – CMMAG’s Annual Challenge

It’s that time of year again! The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild (CMMAG) has challenged its members the last two years with the M4 (Mixed Media Madness Mission-Art Possible). This year we are doing it again - same challenge, but with a new name – “Take 25”.  The challenges have all had basically the same idea -  we all have to make something from 25 things. The first year, we were given a pizza box full of things – everyone’s box was identical. It was amazing to see what everyone did with these kits! No two were anything at all alike! Read about my piece here, and the others at the CMMAG blog here.

Last year, we were given a list of things that we had to find before we could start to assemble our piece. Again, no two were even close! My entry is here, and the others at the CMMAG blog here. 

This year, the participants were asked to send in 3 ideas to be included and a list was made from our ideas. We’ve just received our list of 25 items. Let the conniving creating begin!!

At this point, I can’t share the list with you. We’re waiting to see if there are any others who might want to play. But I can tell you that I’m allowed to use as much of the following as I want:

• ·         Inks, dyes, crayons, paints – if we can color with it, we can use it!
• ·         Glues, resin, and other adhesives – again, if we can use it to stick it down, we can use it!
• ·         Wire, brads, jump rings, buttons, nails, screws, and other connection devices – you get the picture!

We’ve been asked not to reveal our creation until opening night, which will be March 25, 2011, at Artist Alley in Southern Pines,NC. Once I have come up with an idea and started working on my creation, I plan on giving some peeks if it looks like I can do that without giving anything away. 

These challenges are fun and scary at the same time. I’ve been looking at this list since I got it and I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do!! I guess we’ll see, won’t we?

One World One Heart - UPDATED

Welcome to my blog. I'm a mixed media artist living in Hillsborough, NC. I enjoy playing around with a lot of different types of art, but right now, I am really into making jewelry. I love working with Precious Metal Clay (PMC), wire, and Chain Maille. But I'm happy any time I'm playing in the studio, making anything - ATC's, collages, quilling....

I didn't participate in One World One Heart last year since I wasn't blogging or doing much art, so I'm excited to be taking part it in again. It's an exciting chance to meet other bloggers from around the world. AND it's fun to see what other people are creating, to exchange ideas, not to mention, maybe win some really cool prizes!

This year, I'll be giving away a copper necklace. I made the pendant from copper PMC and finished it with a light enamel. And I hammered the clasp from heavy copper wire.

Anyone with a blog can win. Just leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog, and your email address so that I can contact you if you win. 

I'll be choosing a winner on February 17 (see UPDATE below), when One World One Heart is officially over. I'll announce the winner in a post here on my blog, and I'll also send the winner an email. 

Have fun everyone! If you haven't done this before, it really is a great opportunity to visit new blogs all over the world. During this couple of weeks, I try to set aside a little while every day for One World One Heart - it is so worth it! And, rumor has it - this is the last year, so take advantage while you can!

UPDATE: I'll be leaving for the Pocosin Cabin Fever Reliever art retreat, (see my post here),  on Wednesday, February 16, and I have received information that we may not have internet or even cell phone connection where we'll be staying. Therefore, I will need to have my drawing a day early. My drawing will be done at 7 am on February 16. I'll have the necklace ready to mail on Monday, February 20, providing I have the winner's info. Sorry for this and I hope this doesn't cause anyone to be excluded... I've let Lisa know and she has approved this change. Edited 2/11/11 to note change of date of Drawing.

What's Shakin'?

 

Last week a group of us from the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild ran off to Sanford for a fun time. First, we attended the Mixed Media Fiber and Quilt Extravaganza, sponsored by the Quilters Gallery, where we saw some of the most unbelievable quilts! And fabric! OMG! fabric, fabric everywhere! I bought so much fabric! and I don't even sew!! I couldn't help it! it was just too hard to pass it up. I saw fabric I knew I would never see again, and I might need it one day. You KNOW what I mean, don't you?? 

Of course, there were other vendors there, too, so I bought a little stuff from the lovelies, Jane and Louise, over at Random Arts, because their booth is full of stuff that I can't live without and I know that when I get home I will kick myself, and say, "Damn! why didn't I buy that pack of holey paper? It's just what I need for this!" So I loaded up on all sorts of ephemera because it may be awhile before I get a chance to replenish my supply. 

That evening we had 2 classes with the Random Arts ladies. Louise McClure started our night with "Floral Fragments". We painted and heated our way to create some lovely floral pins. Wouldn't you be proud to wear these? Maybe not the one I made... I want to try another one, now that I have an idea of what I'm supposed to be doing.

Photo courtesy of D. Sloma

  

Lady Jane Powell then presented her class, "Tattered Bird Collage". This was a lot of fun, no stress. We tore up magazines and created mosaic masterpieces of birds, all kinds of birds! We had some really fun birds, baby birds, even a meat bird! My citrus bird is at the top of this post. We tore paper, we glued it down, we talked, but mostly - we laughed!! It was FUN! Thank you, Jane and Louise, and everyone who attended! 

Does Your Blog Need a Makeover?

The giveaway over at Visual Serendipity Blog Designs is exactly what this blog needs. I'm trying to fix it up, but what it really needs is a complete makeover! I've even considered just starting over, but I hate to lose the old posts. So, I'm crossing all my fingers and all my toes (it's hard to walk and hold my coffee cup - but you gotta do what you gotta do...), hoping that I win because I really NEED this giveaway. Anyone reading this blog NEEDS for me to win this giveaway!!

So, what is it they're giving away?  They are giving away a complete blog design  – including all elements in their Designer Deluxe package for either Blogger or WordPress worth $250!! I would just LOVE to have someone that really knows what they're doing help me fix this blog up!!

They give you several easy ways to enter:

• Like them on Facebook - there's a link on their blog (and I gave you one, too)
• If you have a blog – write about their giveaway and link back to them
• Leave a comment on their blog 
• Read their blog for other ways...

Run on over and check it out -  Blog Design Giveaway  Do it now! and don't forget to mention my name! Because this blog really needs a makeover!!

Resurrection of the Blog

As you can see, it has been many moons since I last posted. Rather than going into all the whys and wherefores, let's just go forth into a new year, shall we? As before, I plan to use this blog to show you some of the things that I'm making. I'll also be chatting about this and that, and sharing some photos of stuff, probably still joining in with other bloggers, doing "word day" or "photo day". In other words, pretty much doing the same thing I was doing before. 

I'll be spending some time cleaning up the place because I've really neglected this blog. I need to make sure the links still work, and add my new favorite blogs, things like that. So bear with me as I get the place spruced up. 

The photo above was taken from the deck of a house in Tennessee where 5 of the Sofa Kings gathered for a week of creativity, friends and play. More to come about that fun week!

M4 Again 2010

It's been many, many months since my last post which was about the M4 Challenge held by the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild (CMMAG) last year. I thought it seemed appropriate to that my reappearance to the blogging world should be about this year's M4 Challenge, which is currently on display at Artist Alley in Southern Pines.

Last year, the participants were provided with a kit - a pizza box of parts with which we were to assemble our pieces of art. This year, we were given a list of items, so the challenge started with gathering the supplies - a scavenger hunt of sorts. Here is the list we were given:

Pine - Pine Needles - A Pine Cone - Anything and Everything “Pine”  
Something that Starts with The Letter *P*
Light Bulb(s)
Metal Washer(s)
Fabric
Something made of Wood
Twine, String, Fiber or Thread
Bead(s) (As many as you’d like, and as many different kinds as you’d like.)
Key(s)
Something Blue
Coin(s) or Token(s) (As many as you’d like, and as many different kinds as you’d like.)
Something Made of Glass
Treasure(s) From The Great Outdoors
Part or All of a Book
Ribbon(s)
Something from the Kitchen
Foil
Wool
Tissue Paper(s)
Thing-a-Ma-Jig (Optional)
Doo-Hickie (Optional)
Gee-Gaw (Optional)

Like last year, we had rules to follow - aren't there always rules?  We had to use everything on the list, but we could choose to exclude 2 items. If we wanted to add something, well that was where the Thing-a-Ma-Jig, Doo-Hickie and GeeGaw came in. And, of course, we could use all the paint, glue, wire, inks, and glitter that we wished - we ARE artists, after all! We don't know how to create unless we use an abundance of at least one of these in every project!

There were 25 of us who participated this year. I continue to be amazed by my fellow Guild members. The pieces created for this challenge are incredible! And, when you look at the pieces, you wouldn't believe that we all have the same list of supplies -  our interpretation of that list is so different.
 
To see the first set of photos of these amazing challenge creations, go here: Carolina Mixed Media Guild blog, and check back to see the rest as the site is updated.

I started the gathering of supplies as soon as I had my list. The floor of my studio was covered with pieces of paper, labeled with the items on the list. As I would find things, I'd put them on the corresponding piece of paper. Eventually, I had stacks of things, but no ideas of what to do with them. As the deadline was drawing nearer and nearer, it became clear that I needed to just start making something!

I spent several days perusing every thrift store and antique store within 30 miles of here, trying to find a platform or at least an idea. Several stores and a few ideas later, I eventually ended up with an idea. This isn't the best photo with all the photos on the walls behind it, but maybe you can get an idea. I call it "Strained Art".