The long wait is over!

a small abstract I recently finished--see note below

Late Thursday evening, after several days of being on "e-mail watch", I received the long (in my eyes) awaited e-mail with the list of Mentor-Protegee pairings for the WARM Mentor Program. I opened the e-mail with anxious enthusiasm. I quickly scanned the list to find my name and the name of the mentor that I will work with for the next two years.

I am over the moon excited to be working with an artist whose work I have admired for several years (I've decided that I will clear it with her before I give you her name and website information, so you can check out her wonderful work). I will say that she is an amazing woman with much creative energy. She has a deep understanding of the creative process and how making art can be part of a healing process. I am looking forward to working with her. I can't wait to get started (the program doesn't officially start until January).

I feel as if I am at the beginning of a journey. I am not quite sure where this journey will lead me. The unknown is not really scaring me, but exciting me. I feel that this is a beginning filled with possibilities. Much will change, no doubt, but I am open to those changes. 

For now, I am writing my preliminary "work plan" for the program. Already it is interesting work, as I identify my goals and what helps me achieve those goals and on the flip side, what gets in my way.

I am also looking forward to meeting the other protegees and all the mentors. This will be a community of women artists that I will be very involved with in the next few years. I have a strong sense that friendships will be formed that will remain intact long past the two years of the program. At least, that is my hope.

So here we go, on this amazing adventure!



About the artwork above--This is a small abstract that I recently finished. I was trying some new techniques and created this piece on a 9x12 cradled artist board. 

My first step was to apply a layer of crackle paste on the board. This was the first time I had worked with the crackle paste and even though I thought I had applied a thick layer, it really wasn't quite thick enough to get the affect that I was aiming for. It's hard to see the affects of the crackle paste in this photo, because the cracks are on the fine side.  

After I applied the crackle paste, I had to allow it to dry 24 hours before I could start the painting process. The crackle paste creates an interesting surface to work on, as you can achieve different affects depending on how wet or dry you keep the surface. 

If you want to try crackle paste, I would recommend checking out Golden's website, which includes a video about the product. I think I will work with crackle paste again...perhaps on a larger surface next time. 

Now I am working on a piece using Golden's Glass Bead Gel. I'll let you know how that works out!

Melange mixed media challenge

 

I saw this week's challenge on the Melange Mixed Media website--Ice Cream--and had to participate! From time to time, I incorporate some mixed media in my work. This is a painting that I finished this summer. I call it "Ode to Izzy's". Izzy's is my favorite ice cream place in town...it is so good! They make all their own ice creams and make some pretty crazy flavors...but back to the artwork!

It was created on a 16x20 stretched canvas. I used acrylic paints, but also some oil pastel sticks for the face and hands. It's new for me to be painting more realistic people. Painting the ice cream was fun...I used lots of medium to create texture in the ice cream. Oh, that little strawberry dip on top...that's what they call an "izzy". I want a taste!

I used letters that I painted and attached to the canvas to spell out Izzy's. I also used ribbon on the dress and hat, along with a brad on the hat.

 

 

You can look at the other pieces completed for this challenge on the Melange site. You can find work by some very talented artists there. Check it out!

I'm thinking about listing this painting in my Etsy shop--probably after the Art Crawl...unless someone buys it at the Art Crawl first!

 

Happy Valentine's!

 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I decided to make something a little special for my valentine...

  

On an 18x24 board I created this very personal mixed media piece. I learned a lot doing it...and now I want to make a few more. Some of the special things I did include:  1) using a paper valentine doily to paint the design on the sides. I really liked how that turned out. 2) Using personal mementos from our life together (ticket stubs, pics...) to create the "patchwork" dress. You don't see much of it after I finished painting, but enough is there to make it a great keepsake...which got me thinking--these would be great pieces to create as custom works for anniversaries, weddings, valentines... 3) I added this special heart (see below) which could also be customized.

  

I'm sneaking away for a few days with my honey...to our favorite b&b. I will try to remember to pull the name of the giveaway winner, but if not, I will post on Wednesday!

Hope you all are enjoying a special Valentine's!

Savoring Summer

You know how when you're waiting for news, you keep checking your messages? Well, that was me today. In the back of my mind I was aware all day that the email should be sent out today about my submission into the AZ Gallery's exhibit titled "Savoring Summer".

It was a long day at work...and not because I was waiting for this email. I came home frustrated from work and feeling a bit discouraged. Then I logged on and there in my "inbox" was the email. I hesitated before opening it...I really dreaded getting any other bad news on an already dreary day. Instead...

I GOT IN!!!

My painting, Ode to Izzy's, was accepted into the show. AZ Gallery is located in the Northern Warehouse Building at 308 Prince Street in St. Paul between Black Dog Cafe and Tanpopo Noodle Shop--it's a small, intimate gallery located just a block from our place. They frequently feature works of member artists, but also produce exhibits with various themes. Since they are nearby, I've been checking out their exhibits as they change each month and keeping an eye out for an opportunity to submit. I was also working up the courage to do so.

When the call for submissions went out, I thought about it...but sort of put it on the back burner. I didn't have a piece ready that necessarily fit the theme. But frankly, I was getting a little tired of letting those opportunities sit on "the back burner" until the deadline had passed. I decided it was time to at least make a valient effort.

As you have read here, I went to work on a few new paintings with the deadline for submissions looming. I got this piece done with no time to spare, but was still not certain. And then I decided that it was better to try and not get in then to have never submitted and wonder "what if".

I'm awfully glad I tried.


The exhibit will open on Friday, September 4th with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. A closing ceremony will be held on Friday, September 25th from 6-9 p.m. Normal gallery hours are Fridays 5-8 and Saturdays & Sundays from 10-2 p.m. (come and check out the Farmer's Market a block away). I hope you can come check it out sometime during the month of September!

Melange Team challenge

Here are the pieces of the "puzzle"/challenge

This is my finished piece

I completed my piece for my first Melange Team mixed media challenge just under the wire. I completed the piece on Thursday and the photos were due on Friday! Of course, I received the challenge materials about a month ago!

To backdrack...this was the first challenge put together by the Mixed Media etsy team that I recently joined. The team is comprised of some very talented mixed media artists--all with more experience in mixed media than myself. When the challenge was announced, I joined on a whim. Afterwards, I got a little nervous.

For this challenge we all received the same pieces to work with. Our directions were to use all the pieces, save 2, in completing our own piece. (I have to admit, I omitted more than 2) We could add one item of our own, use whatever substrate we chose, use our own paint and other medium...

The goal was to challenge ourselves, stretch a bit...try something new. And the pressure was that everyone else in the group was working with the same stuff...I certainly didn't want to come up with something awful.

It was an interesting experience...somthing I haven't done before. It was definitely something very different than I've done before. Life got more hectic than I anticipated these past few weeks...so putting this project off wasn't necessarily a good plan. But then again, I wanted to be more spontaneous with this project...think less and see what I could throw together.

So here it is. I wanted it to feel fun. I used half of a vintage box as my base. I took the tissue paper and had some fun with modpodge to create the background. I just couldn't cut up that bingo card, so I left it intact and I added some dice to complete the piece.

The fun part came in the reveal...everyone shared pics of the works they created. If you visit the Melange team blog here, I believe you will be able to see some of the pics of the other finished pieces soon.

Beginning mixed-media work

I wanted to share these "works in progress". I am working with photos of WWI soldiers. I think these are "portraits" that were taken before these soldiers were sent overseas.

To me, these portraits speak volumes. They feel so powerful and when I "rescued" them (along with a huge box of vintage photos taken from my mother's house...they once belonged to a great aunt) I knew they were an art project in the making. Finally, I am starting to work with these photos.

First off, these photos of my work aren't the best pictures--I'm no photographer...and then after I snapped a few, my camera battery died...I'll take more as the work progresses...and these are works in their beginning stages. I am working on small canvases--6x8, 8x8, & 8x10.

My daughter just saw these photos and didn't like the red...looked too much like blood to her. I think that's just the affect of the photo, especially the close-up shots. Also there was another layer of the blue-grey color paint applied after these photos were taken, so the red has already been toned down. I was using the peeling paint technique and liked how it turned out.

I'm now at the point of applying finishing touches...I will be adding words definitely (but not exactly sure what words) and other artifacts?

I would welcome any comments/feedback. And by the way, I've been thrilled with all the recent comments. It's exciting to share my work with others. Thanks!