Busy week...

I had a very busy creative week and it feels great!  Didn't make anything very different from what I usually make in crafts, but it feels good to be productive. These items can be purchased at Serenity Now in Palm Harbor.  I took just one picture of the lot.

Have a creative week, folks!  

Spirit Box

I think it's a "crime" to throw out tin boxes.  Well, you can recycle them today, but I have saved some Altoids boxes that I didn't know what to do with until I saw this article in the September/October issue of Cloth Paper Scissors on making spirit boxes using old tins.  The article is by Lyn Belisle and you can order the ceramic faces in her etsy shop.  Being a polymer clay "fiend" I made my own faces out of polymer clay and a mold, then painted them.  Here is my first attempt at a spirit box and it was so much fun.

The front which is embellished with various paper scraps, beads, fabric trim, copper wire, twig, and the painted polymer clay face.

I left the Altoids tin plain inside except for a sticker that says gratitude.

The back of the tin I collaged with paper and the white is gesso.  I painted the edges with acrylic paint and varnished them.

The back of the piece with the tin attached.   

The glue has to be tough so that the box can be opened without tearing off the art work.  E6000 jewelry glue is great. 

So, if you have a secret wish or prayer, write it down and put in the box and hang it on the wall!  The spirit will guard it and no one will know.  :)

I also got busy making more polymer clay mosaic tiles for my picture frames and boxes.  I took a long hiatus from that since it's pretty repetitive.  Here's a picture of some partially painted tiles.  It takes three coats and I usually use some Perfect Pearls metallics to swipe on at the end.  They give that magical shimmer to the paint, and add depth.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures for finished pieces soon.

Have a creative day and thanks for stopping by!  

Hearts....

It's been a long time since I last posted in this blog.  I miss it, just as I've missed my inspiration for art for a while now.  Anyway, got some art journaling done, and that felt really good.  I also finished this mixed media piece that has more layers than a double-decker cake!  In the end, the art work turned out very simple....  It felt like I went around the block five times to get there.

Inspiration, hope, faith, joy, truth, happiness all come from the heart...

I went on a recent trip to Sweden where flowers were in full bloom... here are some pictures.  

Uppsala cathedral built in the 14th-15th century

Uppsala castle from the 16th century 

Supreme baked goods and tea/coffee... yum

Rune stone

Birds and poppies....

Seems that I've been into birds and poppies lately.  They say you create your own symbols as you go along on the artistic path and birds are definitely one of my symbols.  They can mean many things but mainly I think of freedom and lightness when I see them flying.  You don't see many white birds in the wild, but I like to paint at least one white bird in the crowd.  Looking at the wonders of birds in general, it's easy to see the superiority of Mother Nature's creation.  A painting is only a small echo of the natural "glory," but at least I hope the delight for the subject shines through.

Poppies are deliciously elegant, and the long stems seem unable to hold up those glorious red heads, yet they are perfect in every way.  An abstract rendition is very easy to paint.  Most people will immediately see the resemblance but I did have someone ask if those were lips...  All in the eye of the beholder, right?

My art journaling has been addictive for quite a while, but I have to keep stocking up my etsy shop.  I'm planning to add more paintings soon.  This piece is available now in my shop, here.

                            6" panels with 1.5" deep edges, painted black.

A little of this, a little of that....

I've been doing a lot of art journaling in the last couple of months.  The style is all over the place, but as I try new techniques, I get inspiration for paintings.  Here are a few pictures:

The one above has a fold-out page, which adds more space for the subject

This spread inspired the acrylic painting below: "Golden Bird."