Surreal Uber Awesome

I had the honor and pleasure of taking an art class with the talented and F'in awesome Traci Bunkers at Art and Soul on October 1st. The class was titled Surreal Uber Painting, and it was everything it claimed to be. The techniques she taught for this type of painting really mesh with my mixed media style. Plus, I love the word Uber....meaning BIG. No teeny weenies for me (the pun is either intentional or not, depending on if you laughed).

I didn't take any pictures of the process because I was so engrossed in creating the piece, and absorbing Traci's awesome energy, that I didn't take a pause to shoot some pics. Know this: I will be utilizing this technique again very soon....thoughts of some collaborative work with my talented friends have been swirling vigorously! And of course, I will keep you all posted.

Traci graciously let me take her picture at the end of class. These are her Surreal Uber creations; the one on our left is in progress, the right is a completed piece.

Traci from another angle. Once I hauled out my camera, some of my fellow classmates started snapping pictures too.

The class was really fun, and you should check out Traci's work using the link at the beginning of this post. She sells some really great things like vibrantly-colored dread ponytails and great stamps, journals etc. Probably the coolest chick I've met from Kansas!

Rockin' Magnets

I made these little babies for a 'swap' or 'trade' (not sure on the lingo!) that was going on at Art and Soul earlier this month. So 'swap' in a few words: People involved in the swap make a lot of a little something, then they bring their little somethings to the swap site (in this case the Art and Soul Retreat) and they trade with each other! Pretty simple, right? And fun....I got to talk to a lot of new people, AND I came home with some really great stuff (this could be its' own post!). Check out my friend Dayna's blogpost for more information about the swap. Okay....so on to the Rockin' Magnets, and how they came about...
First I started with a 2" x 2" Bazzil Chip...kind of a card boardy type thing.

Then I covered one side of the chip with a fun-patterned paper using gel matte medium...I really liked paisley patterns for this project.


Then I painted the back and sides of the chip in a coordinating color.

On the back of each chip I wrote my identifying information and my blogspot address...BTW, if you received a magnet at Art and Soul, and are reading this post, comment me. I would LOVE to hear from you!

On the front of each chip I placed an image of a Rock legend. I picked out artists that I really love and enjoy: Elvis, Jim Morrison, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix. Then I randomly cut out phrases from a bible and placed them on as well. A few doo-dads from Dayna's impressive collection, and voila: some Rockin' Magnets...oh yeah, I finished everything off by gluing a magnet on the back with E6000. Okay now voila: some Rockin' Magnets!

This was one of my favorites; Jim Morrison with the phrase "be a transgressor" on it. It is now in the hands of Traci Bunkers who taught the class that I took at Art and Soul. More on that to come....

Customer Appreciation at Life Source

Last weekend, Champ and I happened on a great event when we went to Life Source Natural Foods for our grocery shopping. October 10th was the store's Customer Appreciation Day, and it was a fun gathering of vegetarian food, organic wine and beer, music and people.

This was the BBQ...all veggies and fruit. Ever had grilled fresh pineapple? How about a pear? Delicious. All were marinated in balsamic vinegar, safron oil and herbes de provance (my spelling is off on that one).
Also some Tofurky sausage for the more traditional bbq flavor :0).

Of course I only got pictures of the food, but the best part of the gathering was the people. Generous, warm and interesting to say the least. If you haven't been to Life Source, check it out. Shopping for groceries can become an event and not just a chore.

Lonesome Wanderer

This photo was taken by Shelby Koning, my very talented photographer friend. When the Launchpad Gallery posted an open call for artists for a show called "The Family Show," Shelby and I decided to work together on a collaborative project for the show. Shelby came up with the vision, I put my fears of clowns aside, and we settled in for coffee and a photo shoot. We then separately took the finished photos and made our own mixed media version of the vision.

This is the finished piece. The title Lonesome Wanderer came about when I was stuck for a title. Funny huh? I was trying to find a name for this piece, and nothing was coming to mind. I asked Dayna (click the link to see her piece Never Enough Time), my art friend, mentor and studio neighbor (among other labels!) for advice. She suggested that I open a book of poetry and see what jumps out at me. So I randomly pulled a poetry book from her shelf and randomly opened a page. Out jumped a line from a poem "left wandering lonesome" and I knew I had it. I apologize for not having the exact poem here, but I will post it at some time in the future. At Dayna's suggestion, I glued the poem to the back of my piece.

Some details of the piece, including bits of an old clock that I wired onto the canvas. I was amazed, as this piece progressed, at how personal it was becoming. The idea of family typically evokes happiness and joy for me. This piece drew on the loss I feel from my childhood. The fact that I am now a "grown up" and will no longer be able to feel those innocent feelings; I can't un-know the world.

This is Shelby's piece, All That Remains. It's amazing what creative people can do with some great photos and art supplies!

The two pieces together.

Art on a ....Bra?

That's right, I said bra. As in brazier, over the shoulder boulder holder etc etc. The challenge was given to me by my good friend Dayna, who heard about the project at Mary Lou Zeek's gallery in Salem aptly named, Bra Ball. This is all done in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Dayna gave me this fabulous bra (a DD no less!) to get started on...what to do, what to do????



When in doubt, I usually start with gesso. Okay, my girls are primed and ready...but for what?



How about....
Gold circles???
Yep, shiny gold paint is always a plus.

Next, a coating of sky blue...still wondering where this is going? So am I at this point....

So why not some dark blue for contours....hand painted of course!


And the final touch for day 1...some star stamps. Yikes. This sure is a challenging one.
So I enlist the help of my two favorite creatives, Olivia and Deven.

They are both so full of ideas for the bra, they can't wait to get started...oh the possibilities!


More paint, in green and brown!
I hate to be a party pooper....but this is where our bra is stuck. Great bluish mounds with gold tops, rounded by stars with green sides. Any ideas my friends? Anyone?

Coming Soon

I will be receiving a tutorial on the amazing possibilities of the blogging world soon. Stay tuned for what's new!

Patience Grasshoppa....

Big Time Blog Slackin'

Hi to my faithful five followers ha ha. Really there hasn't been much to follow! Just wanted to say that I'm going to make more of an effort to not only chronicle my goings on with my trusty digital camera (which I do)...but to actually upload the pictures off of my camera and onto my computer. I make this promise to you, my favorite five. Just give me a few days to get it all together!