New Blog

I have never been able to get my blog the way I wanted it to look so I finally gave up and have started a new one. If you're still out there please switch to follow my new blog www.natureinpaper.blogspot.com Not much new there yet (just getting the old back in still) but I have 4 new projects in the works including 2 that are completely out of my comfort zone! Stay tuned!

The lost post

In my ongoing frustrating experience trying to change the look of my blog I ended deleting a post of a gift box I recently created and bartered away for a soon to be received piece of jewellary. This paper mache box was created much the same way as my art pieces and went to a friend's mother-in-law who loves genealogy and family trees. The papers used were mulberry, mulberry tissue, indian batik, and a couple of unknowns.  I love the brown used for the tree trunk and bottom of the box, so verstatile and beautiful but can't find the receipt and don't remember what it is. The inside was lined with the same green mulberry as the ground on the lid.

Argh!

I thought it would be fun to play around with the look of my blog and boy am I regretting it now! Its all screwed up and the post before my last one is always weird. I ended up deleting a post to try and fix it and it just moved on to the next one. So I lost a post and didn't fix the problem :( And can't figure out why all the stuff that's supposed to show up on the side bare is way at the bottom or way off to the side when I view my whole blog AND I can't figure out how to link to my flickr account. So frustrating! Please bare with me!

I am so thrilled with the direction my paper art is taking after my long hiatus. I tried many different and new techniques this time and worked on improving the dimension of my pieces. I think this piece has paper that's torn, scrunched, cut, sliced, punched and whatever else worked in the process. This 11 x 14 piece includes my first attempt at water, dimensional leaves on the trees, reeds, bushes, etc. Had so much fun and did the bulk of the work on Saturday. In the end I just feel like I AM BACK! Learned a lot on this one and can't wait to start the next one and improve some more...what to do next??? I guess we'll see.

This piece includes, indian marble, indian batik, mulberry, regular cardstock, lotka and a couple of unknown papers.

Monday, June 29, 2009

A card for a friend

Just a new card idea because of this fabulous sunset like paper I found at the local paper store! Excited to use this one in many projects in the future. I don't usually make cards unless I have an occasion to give one out but think I will be adding these to the mix in the future.

So close I couldn't wait...updated :o)

So close I couldn't wait to post it...

I am just so thrilled to have a piece so close to completion after weeks of working on the same thing!

This is an 11" x 14" piece that I am really, really happy about. I spent a lot of time on the flowers and I think it was worth it. The branch is from a cool sort of sand textured/looking piece of scrapbook paper. I do not normally use scrapbook paper but I always look at the specialty stuff because it sometimes has interesting patterns or textures. I have used this paper in both of my recent branch pieces and won't be surprised if I use it again. I added a bit of shading to the branch with a medium brown acrylic paint but not much. I try to let the paper do most of the talking. I'm not sure exactly what kind of paper the yellow flowers are made of, I just happened to have a lot of it. I put tiny punched flower centers of orange indian batik and then added 3 white/clear beads in the center of each. All that's left to do at this point is the final coats of UV gloss.

I have played around with beads before as I have a lot of them around from many years ago. I've been trying to use stuff I already have and not buy anything new for a bit....so hard! I have a bit of a paper addiction ;o). But I do like playing around with all kinds of techniques and mediums because you never know what you're going to get. I brought some brown, krinkled up, packing paper home from work the other day because I want to try twisting it into branches and see what happens. I am excited to try more textural ideas and see what I come up with.

Oh...so little time for all these ideas in my head!!

Oh, Craft Time How I Miss Thee

Many events besides my new full time job are keeping me from both my art and my blog. Life has been a hectic, often stressful, and sometimes in need of a good blubbering pity party, table for 1. Things are thankfully getting back to normal.

Not to disapoint, I do have a new piece in the works, I just never know these days how long something is going to take. A piece that I could have completed in days is now weeks. Its frustrating for someone like me who loves real, visual progress. That being said I am working on a new branch piece that I am getting excited about. It is another 11 x 14 blossoming branch but the flowers are quite a bit smaller and in more abundance. The leaves on this one will be much more prominant as well. I am also using yellow, largely because I am on a tight budget and I had it on hand and partly because I think it will be pretty. I am planning on this being quite an intricate piece, no skimping on the details and I am also going to make it as textural and 3D as I can.

Now, I know I haven't mentioned the art show. As you can probably guess, I did not get in. At first I was really upset and did indeed have myself a good blubbery pity party....I know, really, that initial reaction was just the plain old sting of rejection and who the heck likes to be rejected. On the positive side, I accomplished something; I can count on one hand how many times I stared my fear of rejection and failure in the face and did it anyways. I have to give myself a pat on the back and remind myself that I am definitely on the road to being the better me that I envision even if the road there is a little steeper now :o) And....I sold my first piece, the one with the mountains and the two cherry blossoms!!! I couldn't have sold it until November if I had got into the art show and we sure could use the extra money right now. Its weird, but I am having a bit of seperation anxiety, this is the first piece I am letting go that never was intended for any specific person. I think its good though, it means my heart was in the piece and the piece is in my heart.

Miss you all and I'm sorry for not responding to comments all of the time! Everything is so unbalanced right now and my correspondence and blogging time has gone out the window! Can't wait to have a new piece to post!!

Remember me?

Hello blogging world...remember me? Finally a new project complete! I am slowly adjusting to this whole schedule thing. Working full time sure changes things! I am about to move on from trees for a little bit but I snuck this one in. I know its off season but I have only ever done Fall trees with stormy skies so I wanted to do one for those beautiful, barely a cloud in the sky kind of days.

I am getting ready for a whole new genre for me. I have stuck solely to branches an trees at this point but am feeling the urge to try something different. I am working on a set of two pieces for my daughters room. I plan on doing two mermaids, one sitting on a rock and one swimming through the water. I am going to keep many of the papers the same for both to keep them looking like a set. Pretty excited and a little bit aprehensive to dive into something so different but it will be fun no matter what. I may have to do some actual drawing with the faces and that always makes me nervous.

I am guessing that I will have other new pieces pop up before I finish either of these mermaids. I will need some new punch shapes for this one unless I come up with some brilliant plan using the tools I already have. Purchasing anything new is on hold for a little while. I have a lot of papers to play around with for these ones and doubt I will have to buy anything new and that's a great bonus.

I miss working on my crafts daily and checking my favorite blogs, etc. but I am happy at my new job and I know it will all come into balance after I give myself some time.

Take care all and happy crafting!

Art Jury and New Pieces

The art jury itself was a little underwhelming...I don't know what I expected but it wasn't that. I showed up with the form already filled out and there was hardly anyone there yet. They asked if I could leave it all for an hour and then come back. I drove down to Fairhaven and window shopped for a bit and then headed back. A few compliments and a "We'll let you know in 7 to 10 days." and that was it. So we'll see.

The biggest thing about it though was that I DID IT! Another sign that perhaps all this soul searching for the past 2 years is really starting to pay off, I was never very good at finishing something I started, especially where rejection could be involved. I really didn't think I was going to make it, Thursday morning I busted my butt and got everything from Plan B done and then suddenly I found myself working on the blossom branch that I had given up on. Well, after working on it non-stop I finished it with only a half hour to spare! I couldn't believe it!

So here they are, the completed 18x24 I have been blogging about and my 11x14 spring branch. I probably would have kept working on the big one but I just ran out of time and blossoms!

And the branch...

That was one of the most exhausting weeks I've had in a long time! The job is going good, everyone is nice and they haven't thrown anything to scary at me yet. Just sooo not used to working at all anymore, nevermind full time! I miss my kids but I have to admit the time I do have with them is so much sweeter. I know its only normal that they'll a bit off with me...after all I have been present most of their lives and have never been gone for 8 hours a day...ever...but its still a bit hard. When my daughter wouldn't come to me the second day I have to admit I had to sneak away for a moment and shed a few tears. Its already getting better though and I had a really good time with them last night before bed...lots of giggles.

Oh, and I know many of you are far beyond this point but I have 10 followers!! Thanks to everyone, I appreciate each of you so much! I might just have to do a little giveaway soon, I'm just too exhausted to think about it yet ;o) All last night though I kept feeling like I needed to get over to my work station out of habit.

Off to enjoy the sun with my little monkeys!

Today's the day

Have I mentioned how tired I am? Between the new job and the art show I am exhausted. My biggest hope for today's art jury is that I don't get emotional...its been a long week and stress and exhaustion have a habit of leaking out of my eyes if you know what I mean!

Getting burnt out with all the changes did not help my situation for the art show. Last night as I sat at my little workspace I had a moment of reality, I could work all night and I still wouldn't finish, I was feeling bummed and then at light went on. I had wanted to enter a fall piece with a stormy sky but time was not on my side. It occured to me that I did have an old piece that I wasn't totally thrilled with but could probably fix up. So I went back and did some work on it and its now my 5th entry. I am also using another old piece that needed a bit of fixing up. I just ran out of time. Its not quite what I had hoped to enter but I decided that I need to do this regardless. The jury starts at 4:00 today!

I was also disapointed to find out that the pieces I have juried are the ones for the show. I thought since the show was so far away (November) that I could do some new pieces and spend A LOT of time on them. It is what it is.

Anyway, just a note to all to say that I will be posting pictures soon its just been a mad, mad, mad week! So glad I asked for today off as part of my hiring as I was up until 3:00 last night, felt like I had drank a bottle of tequila when I woke up and had to do my final gloss coats this morning.

Miss my blogging!

Spring!

Have I mentioned how much I love Spring?! Well, If not, I LOVE SPRING! Went for a beautiful walk down to the neighbourhood park today. Surprising because we had a pretty crazy storm last night and were expecting rain this weekend. Well, we awoke to a beautiful day and decided to go for a walk. While I am not a photographer by any means I have begun to carry our camera with us whenever we are out, you never know when inspiration is going to strike! Just can't believe all of this is right out my door!

I am working like a madwoman in the rest of my time trying to get my pieces done for the show. I hope to have most of my 18x24 done by the end of the night and I have a bunch of the components for my 4th piece prepared and ready to go. I start my new job tomorrow so we'll see how we do. Happy creating everyone!

I got the job!

WOW! This beautiful May morning has brought me sunshine and a new job! I got it! Can't believe it.....finally we can breathe a bit easier in this crazy, scary economy! Only problem is I start on MONDAY...yes, this Monday! Talk about jumping in with both feet!

I was able to keep my Thursday open for the juried art show. I am freaking out a bit now about the time frame. I only have 2 fully completed, am working on the big 18x24 which I hope to have done by the end of the weekend. But then I need one or two more. Thankfully I had an epiphany moment yesterday and realized what I could do with a piece I gave up on awhile ago. Its 2/3's done! Yay! So I think I can have 4 pieces done but 5 might be a stretch...good thing they said 4 or 5!

Anyway I better get back! Lots to do in a very short period of time!

#2 For the Art Show Complete

I am so pleased to present to you this 12"x16" (30.4 cm x 40.6 cm) beautiful tree that I am so proud of. I love her! I had it in my mind that I had the perfect green (Indian batik jungle green) to compliment the beautiful paper I bought for the trees themselves. I wanted to do one piece where I really just made the tree my focus with no background to detract from it. I am contemplating the idea of putting a little bit of ground cover flowers like buttercups or tiny daisies but I may just leave well enough alone.

I am going to go back to finishing the big mountain/cherry blossom piece because the ideas for the next ones aren't fully formed yet.

I had my first job interview today! I was surprised at how well I kept my nerves in check. I just feel so rusty since I have been a stay at home mom for almost 2 years now and was only part time shortly before that. I wish I didn't have to go back, this wasn't part of the "plan" we but we have to do what we have to do these days don't we?! Last night I had to make a mad dash to the store as I realized while I did have pants to wear that I had no tops! Thankfully I was able to find something (and some nice new shoes on sale!) because I hate shopping for clothes...I'd much rather be buying craft supplies :o) I had a really good feeling about it and I think the interview went really well. I'll know something by Friday. Fingers crossed!

A little 9x12 and some news

Here's a newly completed little 9x12 (22.9 x 30.5 cm). I am once again bummed by the photo quality as the moon and the sky look sooooo much better in person. I created this piece by layering blue lace paper over a gaudy glitter paper, in person you can see a little bit of glitter and shimmer through the blue giving the illusion of stars. The moon has texture and looks a lot more natural than in the photo.

So in my little mini break from my big 18x24 I've been blogging the process about has presented me with an exciting opportunity. While perusing local news and events on Craigslist I discovered that there will be a juried art show in Bellingham (15 minutes away). I inquired and found out that they are actually jurying the art in 2 weeks even though the show is not until November!!! I AM ENTERING! So if I don't blog or leave comments for anyone in the next little while you know why!! I have exactly 12 days to get 4 or 5 pieces done!

I have no expectations, maybe some hopes but I am realistic. I have no idea what the calliber of artists are in the local area but I want the experience. If nothing else I will get a feel for how these juried shows work and get exposure to the other local artists in the area. The Art Director that I was emailing with was very intrigued and said they have never had a paper artist enter and this is their 40th show! This for me is a giant leap forward. I am a totally fear based person, I am not adventurous, I don't jump off cliffs without knowing there is a safety net. I'm more excited than nervous at this point but I know that will come closer to the day when I have too much to do and not enough time. Good thing I work well under pressure! Wish me luck!

Burnt out

So yesterday moved at a snails pace. My arm, shoulder and hand are sore from all the blossom work. I feel antsy and was not at all motivated to keep going. Break time.

Instead of doing nothing, I have begun planning out all my cards, gift boxes and smaller art pieces. Did a bit of sketching. After this big one, I think it will be time to work on some smaller pieces that are quicker to complete. I am getting ready to work on something other than trees and have been thinking a lot about art for kids rooms, etc. Getting excited by the ideas in my head. Slowly but surely an idea for a children's book has been brewing in my head but I am going to let that one progress naturely.

I also took some steps to ready myself for selling my stuff. I ordered boxes and envelopes for shipping my work from the post office and started figuring out my price points. This is a huge leap for me, its one thing to create its another to sell. I am a little bit terrified of how people will respond to my work or if anyone will bother to buy it. Its not why I make this stuff but what's the point of making it if its just going to sit in my closet and collect dust?! Thanks to all of you who follow and/or take the time to comment...it definitely helps.

Major Progress

Well, I did not think I would be posting anything regarding my latest project for awhile. I was going to work on all of the ground details, etc. but decided against that. Instead I thought it better to get the trees glued on and get the leaves and blossoms done first so as to not over do it and end up with a crazy, chaotic mess of things to look at. The process of putting on the leaves and/or blossoms is probably the single most time consuming thing I do and I have surprised myself at how much progress I made over the weekend.

First I punch out hundreds of tiny flowers (I got this punch out of the dollar bin at Michaels). Luckily I had already done a lot of this previously so I could get right to it once the trees were glued on and dry. Then I take each flower and make them 3 dimensional with a sheet of thin craft foam, an embossing tool and a circular motion (tired hands by the end of the day). I kind of go back and forth, I'll curl a bunch, then glue them on, curl some more, glue some more, etc. I go through once and place one flower on each branch tip, I call these the anchors.

Once the anchors are dry I go back and press 2 more flowers into them with that same embossing tool to create 3D bunches. I'll do this until I am happy with the result. The below picture is after I have gone through and made each anchor into bunches of 3's. I will go back and fill it in some more later.

I though I'd add a close up. Later I will go back and put a tiny bit of detail paint into the centers of each flower.

I am very excited about how this project is coming along. I hope that the details I add to the ground along with the fence will help add dimension to the overall piece but I am thrilled with the progression of my work in each new project. Stay tuned, I may get finished much sooner than I had anticipated!

Note to self!

I am reminded today about how important it is for me not to get ahead of myself. Today I decided that before I put on any of the details that I am going to put the trees on and get the blossoms done (a very long, tedious process) before anything else. A little voice started nagging at me just before I started the process of gluing the trees on the canvas board and I remembered that I had not tested the tree paper beforehand. GOOD THING!!! This paper is hand painted, as soon as I touched the UV gloss to the paper I could tell the colour was running. No biggie - just have to UV gloss the trees carefully and let them dry BEFORE I glue them on so when I go to do the final coats of gloss they don't bleed onto the background! Phew!

Thankful for small nagging voices in my head today that's for sure!

Phase 4 continued - Background Complete!

Background complete. YEAH! Very excited about how this turned out and can't wait to start putting in all the details. Shrubs, groundcover flowers, etc.

I seem to be moving very fast on this piece but I am VERY excited about the progress I've made so far. Had a bit of creative adrenaline today and am now frustrated that I have to stop and wait until tonight or tomorrow to continue. This baby needs some good solid drying time (lots of glue!!!!).

Lots of questions and second guessing going through my head right now. Are the trees too big? Should I cut new, smaller ones (I'd hate to but....)? Where am I going to put the fence? What colour should my groundcover flowers be? How many shrubs should I put on it? Am I going to run out of glue? Blah, blah, blah.....its comes along ;o) Really having a hard time deciding about the trees though. I love these trees but they just might be too big and they'll fill in once I put all the cherry blossoms on. MMmmmmmm......I guess we'll see.

Happy creating everyone!

Phase 4 - Glue, glue and more glue

Okay, this morning I made some progress and took some photos even though the glue is still wet. Yesterday I applied the snowcaps to the mountain cutouts. Very messy and tedious trying to get it all lined up right. The I glued them onto the canvas board once they were dry. This morning I added the road and started gluing on the grass. I did not glue the top grass panel all the way on in case I need to add more background and want to tuck it behind the panel. The trees are still not attached (just there for effect). I will be working on the background trees and foliage and the fence next. Oh, and adding details and shading to the two main trees will be in there somewhere before I glue them on. I haven't decided if I want the fence in front of the trees or behind yet but I am leaning more towards having it in the front. We'll see.

If you haven't noticed I did not curve the road like in the sketch. I realized that I am still not totally comfortable with proportion, etc. and didn't want to deal with the added stress of trying to figure out the different dimensions of the fence boards, etc. to make things appear bigger as the got closer. I figured since mountains, roads and fences are all new elements for me I would reign it in a bit until I study drawing more and feel more comfortable. Baby steps.

Once I get to the end of this project I will post close ups as well. The paper I used for the roads is actually cork paper and looks like tiny pebbles. The photographs don't do my pieces justice, you just can't see the texture and details. I choose papers to use based on colour, pattern and texture...texture being a HUGE part of it!

Mountains, etc.

So the pieces are starting to come together although nothing is attached at this point. I just thought a picture of it with only the bare bones components would be helpful to see. I cut the mountains out of blue and gray papers to add depth. My next step is to add the snowcaps on the mountains before I attach to them to the canvas board so if any of them don't turn out right I can do it again. I plan on doing that tonight.

I may add some puffy white clouds in the sky but haven't made up my mind yet. If I do, I'll apply them to the sky before I glue on anything else. Then its messy time ;o) I will glue on the completed mountains, the dirt road and the grass next.

Once that's done it will be magic time and my favorite part...all the details! There will be another layer of foliage and background stuff between the mountains and the trees, the fence needs to go on, ground cover flowers in spotted areas, etc. Then the trees and ALLLLLLLL the blossoms and leaves on the trees. There are some details to figure out still but they will be based on how its looking as it comes along.

As they projects come together I seem to get more done in a shorter period of time, excitement = adrenaline = more productivity!