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."

                   

Cramped roots...

I have a very tall tropical plant with three "trunks" and an umbrella of greenery at the top.  I got this plant from a woman's house where there had been no outdoor light, all curtains drawn at all times.  The plant was spindly and pale, and about two feet tall, with two anemic stems.  I just put it in a sunny window and before long, it started to stretch upward and out, turning a deep green again, and adding a third stem.  I so enjoyed watching the transformation of this humble plant.  Over the last eight years, I've re-potted it a couple of times.  I talk to it and stroke its leaves every so often, just to spread the good vibes. :)  It did not enjoy my last move to the next county, but it has started coming around.  I moved it to a shady spot away from the bright sunlight.

Lately, it has been in a too-small pot, and I had to tie the plant to a tree so that it would not fall over during windy days.  Roots were coming up out of the top.  I needed a very large pot and a friend gave me a dirty old plastic one that had been discarded in her yard.  I scrubbed this solid pot well, and drilled five holes in the bottom.

I told the plant my plan to re-pot it and asked it to prepare itself.  I firmly believe that plants have feelings, and I treat them with respect.  Got some nice soil and partly filled the pot.  Then I went to work on the tangled roots and pruned them severely.  I have to say there was barely any soil left in the pot (shame on me.)  I got the root ball into the fresh soil, and now the plant stands tall and proud.  I know there will be no trauma because it had time to prepare itself.  (I know it sounds crazy, but that's just the way it is.)  The tallest trunk of this plant is now at about eight feet tall.  I told it that the next time it gets replanted, it'll go into the ground.

In the old pot, I planted a grouping of pansies.  They are great winter flowers here in Florida since they can withstand cold snaps, and they don't like heat.  They will grow spectacular until June of next year...  I love pansies, especially the yellow ones.

I never thought to take pictures of this event.  Why am I telling you this story?  Sometimes our own pots grow too crowded and tight.  Have you ever heard a plant complain?  They make do even if they have to coil their roots in thick bundles at the bottom of the pot.  It's not natural or right, but they have a strong will to survive.  Humans are just like that too.  No matter how difficult the circumstances might be for growth, we find a way to make it happen.

I feel as if my creative wings are somewhat clipped, or buried deep into an airless pot, but I do keep after my art journal pages like a life line to the time when I can really spread my wings freely and take flight.

Actually, without any drama, all I really have to do is to take my big canvases outside and use the lawn as a table.  I don't have to worry too much about flinging paint around.  Lawns are very forgiving that way.  I like painting big.

So, the point is: make the best of every situation because life will prevail and there will always be someone kind to prune your roots and find the best sunny spot for a new life, new growth.  New expression, even if the canvas happens to be small.  I wake up every morning and pull in the feeling of gratitude.  Humility and gratitude go hand in hand.  Those two qualities might be the gifts from growing in a pot that is too small for your roots.

Some day soon there will be pansy pictures here... Until then, just picture them in your mind....  ;)

Happy creating!

Prayer flags...

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I decided to make some prayer flags for the holidays, stitching and printing each with mindfulness, and placing my intention for the future for myself and the whole world into these scraps of fabric.  I had a lot of fun putting them together, and I decided a red ribbon would be auspicious for sending the prayers out with great energy.  I strung them all on the ribbon and sewed a stitch or two to hold them in place.  It was a great pleasure to see them hanging in the old orange tree and waving in the wind.  I think the wind kicked up just for me... ;)   I wish for all of these following qualities to overrun the entire earth!