Technique: Painted Paper Backgrounds

Why did I wait so long to try this!!? A few months ago, I purchased a pack of delicious paste paper scraps from Albie Smith and my interest was officially piqued. Some benefits of creating your own designs are:

Choose your own colors,

Patterns,

Paper Weight

Save money

Relaxing/Zen/Freeing

Experiment with new painting techniques for your "artist's toolbox"

Fun

I would have to say, the best part of creating my own papers for use in mixed media collage, is how free it feels to simply CHECK OUT and let your right brain take over... something we can all do more of. It can be the perfect exercise in LETTING GO and although I try to work intuitively in all mediums, it's so easy to just "give in to the process" while painting backgrounds!

Take the RIGHT BRAIN vs LEFT BRAIN creativity test.

Any type of paper will do. You can either make paste paper with Elmer’s Art Paste at Dick Blick's or whip up a home recipe of 6 cups boiling water, 1 cup of flour, strainer, as many covered (yogurt-etc) containers as paint colors desired. Begin by bringing 5 cups of water to a boil, mix flour with 1 remaining cup of water and add to (dedicated) saucepan. Turn off and stir to thicken. Add to containers along with acrylic paint. Stencil, layer, sgraffito, drip, spray, use mark-making tools (a fave).. the sky's the limit! Be sure to check out YouTube for more detailed information or my new friend Barb Owen's paste paper Vid on USTREAM!

My first 3 pages were made on blank newsprint sheets with cheap acrylic paint, a straw, a lid and a plastic gift card:

“If you hear a voice within you saying, ''You are not a painter,'' then by all means paint… and that voice will be silenced.” - Vincent van Gogh

Art Journal Page: 29Apr11

Recently having been bitten by the art journaling "bug," I took my book on our first trip to boston this year for a Red Sox game in april. The first pic shows this page in its RAW FORM having doodled in bed for two hours around 1 AM!! Later at home, I carefully taped over the writing with painter's (no-stick) tape and went crazy with my acrylic craft paints, using a homemade stamp around the border. The most fun? removing the tape!!

TEXT: "I trust my own perceptions. I receive your good willingly. This is my prayer. Believing in myslef and my abilities, finding strength internally, not depending on others for validation. I am worth taking the time and making the effort."

Camera Woes & Art To Share

I've been productive with LOTS of art to share but having some camera issues. Over the weekend I was unable to offload (351) photos from my finepix & will give it another try tonight... crossing my fingers. Worse-case I guess I can always take my photo card to Walmart!

Truthfully, I've known it was time and have done some shopping around. Looks like I may need need to start doing some serious research ~ as anyone that knows me, will agree ~ it's an appendage that I can't live without!

I'm looking in the $200-$300 range and haven't really landed on anything yet but would like an increase to my current 6.3 megapixel, 3x zoom with performance and reliability at the top of the list.

Journal Making Class GIVEAWAY

I'm excited to share the news. My talented friend, Teressa Thompson, is having a drawing on Monday for a FREE SCHOLARSHIP to her online Rustic Journal workshop! Just leave a comment on her post... here!

A Return to Cardmaking

January 2011 was catharctic for me. I made a plan to put my jewelry making on the backburner for a few months and take the winter off to focus on making ART AGAIN! The real change began in November when I reorganized my neglected studio space and that's when I couldn't ignore the "call to return" growing louder and louder, inside of me... (actually it was SCREAMING) so I listened.

A mother's day card that started with a new ATC, a quotation from a book on Roses and a pretty pink rose "popped" on top of a piece of foam tape and sprinkled with some german glass glitter. The final touch was a length of vintage handmade lace from one of my ancestors.. believed to be made by my great-grandmother, Laura Adella Murphy Farquhar (1859-1911) pictured below.

Experimenting with Small Format Again

Journal Page Technique: Citra Solv

Citra-solv! I love the "painterly" effects when you spritz this household cleaner onto photos in National Geographic. I don't know what makes it work, but someone/somewhere discovered that it reacts to the special inks that are used (thank you, someone). The New York Times Magazine was also mentioned in a post, which i have yet to try..

Lots and lots of resources all over the place for learning more. There's a facebook page, website with gallery and tutorial, tons of youtube fodder and be sure to check out another great resource at stampington for this video, as well as a gallery plus you can buy it from their online shop as well!

I follow the basic process of spraying the solvent onto the photograph, waiting a hot minute and wiping with a paper napkin or babywipe. As you can see, the solvent was applied right to the already assembled page.

Simple doodling with 3 Sharpie "Poster Paint" pens, journaled with same.. which turned out to give a really fab contrast to the black gesso.

...Now it's your turn TO GET DIRTY (my term for creating art!) and MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL!

artist date photos

artist date

no pics from tue/wed yet (just a web grab), but wanted to share how refreshing it was to hop in the car this week and drive 150 miles to visit my mom. It had been 8 weeks and a much overdue trip - so, good stuff all around!

the route i drive goes through miles and miles of wide open farmland, rolling hills, passing clouds, barns, silos, cows... so many of things that I love! Old cemeteries, vine covered buildings, dirt roads, I could go on!

i stopped frequently as the mood arose, camera ready-at-the-draw! one road definitely freaked me out a bit, though. All of the houses appeared to be crumbling and pretty desolate.. I watch too many movies like that...! so I drove about 2 miles and made a u-turn after crossing a creepy open-grate bridge with swirling rapids down below! lol

enjoyong the solitude and allowing nature to excite and inspire, was what my trip home was all about! I saw two separate flocks of wild turkeys and lots of males puffing or spreading out their tail feathers (just like peacocks) to attract females for mating.



I also listened to my Artist's Way cds and I appreciated the part about artists being VISUAL and how important the weekly artist date is ~ for the purpose of "filling the well." Which is exactly what i did. Pure bliss!

Full Circle Friendship

As I am usually the one seeking to re-connect with misplaced friendships along the way, I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me last month when I logged in to my flickr account! I had a new message, titled "Greetings From Philadelphia." And here's the kick... I moved two states away, 37 years ago! I'm smiling as I head off to bed tonight, after a long phone conversation filled with memories and laughter and thinking to myself, "What a treasure to be able to close a loop left open so many decades ago!" XO

19th century sisters: augusta, alice and edna

a photo bycookievf on Flickr.

...also known as "GUS, PETE and TED!" The nicknames were affectionately given to these three sisters by their father ~ who was hoping for boys! Happily, after Alice came Bruce, then Scott and finally Helen.. and my great grandfather was pleased and to some degree, relieved. He now had two sons to continue the family's business of manufacturing wood lacquers and stains, which they did. So successfully in fact, that the reins were eventually passed on to the 3rd and 4th generations, becoming world-renowned particulary in the music business (guitar lacquers, stains & finishes) at the very same Philadelphia location, where it continued until 2009, for 135 years!

Alice, my maternal grandmother, lived 99 years and 10 months and has been my SPECIAL guardian angel watching closely over me since 1995.

A new chapter has been added to this wonderful McFadden family tree. In my quest to research family genealogy, I have just located one of Edna's granddaughters and we're sharing photos, stories. documents and are now linked with another 2nd cousin on Facebook!

Approx 1915 ~ my great uncle, Scott McFadden, with a company truck

My "Soul Restoration" Story~Best $ Ever Spent

Looking back, I'm extremely grateful that I made the decision last November to gift myself with the "SOUL RESTORATION I" online workshop using the profits from my jewelry business. My life has been forever changed and enriched by the Brave Girl community where I've met so many brave and beautiful women. Thank you Melody Ross and to everyone involved for creating this ongoing online community where we can continue to support each other, share our stories, our inner journeys ~ it's made it alot less scary.

I took Soul Restoration I in January and have learned so much about myself and gained so many new tools for leading a more fulfilling life. A recurring theme, among those who take it, is that it came at the p-e-r-f-e-c-t time and that's how it felt to me. This course served to reinforce one of the biggest decisions I've made in my life... to quit my job 1.5 years ago for a better quality of life! Regardless of the financial strain, moments of insecurity and self-doubt, I no longer question that it was the right choice.

Unless you have taken the course, it would be hard to imagine the rich dialogue that takes place among BRAVE GIRL sisters! Taking part in the Soul Restoration discussion forums is how we lift each other up, offer support, share our struggles, lean on each other and can always find encouragement when needed. I have read hundreds of these amazing stories of transformation and lessons learned and it was in one of the forums where :: I :: learned how to finally get my mind around the concept of forgiveness and have been able to forgive the relative who molested me at the age of 5 (now deceased for 37 years), something I've been unable to do for two decades! I have also discovered new ways to protect my heart, my goals and my dreams so that I continue to remain true to myself. For these reasons and more, I am extremely dedicated to continuing the work on my Soul Restoration and plan to take SR II in June! I've even had more breakthroughs THIS WEEK!!

Since the class officially ended, I have kept the promise to continue writing in my journal and doing the "soul work." I will remain OPEN & TUNED IN to everything my heart, God and the universe are saying to me and have watched in amazement at how the creative ideas are flowing all over the place, in notebooks, notepads, loose paper, post-it notes ~ whatever's handy at the time. I am trying my best to organize the flow of inspiration, collecting them in a 9x12 zippered pocket and now carry ONE large notebook with me wherever I go.

I am learning to draw, sketching non-stop, painting, making new friends online (something I’ve missed since I left my job and started a small jewelry business) and starting to work on my plan to teach in 2011. This is as real as it gets and I hope you will ALL be able to take part in this life-changing course one day very soon! Learn more about it at Brave Girls Club

You can read more about my transformation here.

new addiction: tape

If I could point a finger (of thanks), it would be towards two lovely "art journalists" whom I've been excited about for several years: Juliana Coles and Kelly Kilmer! Lucky for us they are both Artist/Instructors so please check their websites for *tons* of inspiration and workshops.

Over the years, they've both shared their love of paper tape, masking tape also known as deco tape, washi tape and I recently found the idea QUITE impossible to resist... now that I've finally started art journaling myself AND ALL THAT THAT IMPLIES (more supplies, new techniques, learn, learn, LEARN!) I'm very excited about it and although my output is fairly low, I will share some of it very soon.

I also highly recommend the various NING communities as well for prompts, resonably priced classes, message boards, galleries and shared techniques.

• Creative Workshops


• Milliande Art Community For Women


• Art Journaling

Sources (S+H extra):

• carpet tape 2-sided, great for book covers & more! 36 yards for $8.93
• 3/rolls gaffer tape "Venice" 6 yds total $7.95
• red damask clear packing tape 2" x 27 yards $7.00
• japanese washi tape 3/4" x 16 yards $4.00
  

"Gettin Dirty" Again

...my CODE for having paint/ink/glue all over my hands... which is when I'm the happiest! I've taken about a year and half break from mixed media art while focusing on creating and selling my artisan OOAK jewelry in local shops, craft fairs and on Etsy.

I decided the timing was perfect, to take a mini-break this winter, when I heard that Melody Ross was bringing Brave Girls Camp online with a workshop called Soul Restoration in January. That was the turning point for me! I signed up in early december and considered it a christmas present to myself.. a chance to set aside time for some soul searching and what she calls "soul crafting." It didn't disappoint because it has lit an Art Fire within that just won't quit! I am making art and continuing to really "buckle down and do the work" in my journal by keeping in touch with my TRUTH and mapping all of the journeys that my dreams will take me. And I am rejoicing because I know that my art is here to stay!

Basically, the camp is a 5-day retreat held in Idaho offering life-changing fun for women that you can read more about here. Melody says, "do you need healing...do you need help getting back on track? Do you need help remembering exactly who you are and what your dreams are....come join us...this stuff works....xoxox" The online workshop is a fabulous addition due to the overwhelming popularity of BGC, as the first 2 years of the retreat (2010 & 2011) have quickly sold out! Incredibly, 818 women from all over the world, are currently taking the first session of Soul Restoration 1 along with me... which ends on March 31.
I highly recommend this 6-week course and it begins again in 2 weeks!! Info here.

• Soul Restoration 1 - "finding your truth" - April 5th - $99

Recently expanded!!

• Soul Restoration 2 - "living your truth" - June 7 - $99

Check the youtube video to hear several students share their experience!

My art journal cover, above, was the very first project I tackled in SR (on Jan 11, 2011) and the first time I re-connected with my first love, mixed media art. I honestly feel as if I've been "broken open!" Thank you Melody and your entire team for a beautiful course and a job well done - XO. See you in June!

Layers and Detail

best friends forever ATC a photo by cookievf on Flickr.

I came across the following description while glancing through some of my older pics on Flickr. Clearly, I document process & technique for sharing and for the fun i get out of looking back at something I created a few years ago.

"Truthfully, you don't realize how much work goes into these tiny treasures until you list ALL OF THE STEPS it took to create it!

13 Steps:
- patterned paper background,
- 2-3 colors distress ink
- taped to pre-printed "BACK" (name/date/email)
- stamped flower using clear ink,
- heat-embossed with copper - embossing powder,
- glued number transparency to background.
- matted printed photo onto torn vintage book page,
- distressed with ink
- cut square of blue mesh
- "popped" to card with foam tape.
- glued cardboard number
- edged with black sharpie
- glued purple microbeads to flower center

best friends forever ATC - created 0309"

folder journal BEGINNINGS

I thought it would be fun to share the first steps of how I made my
special VALENTINE and what the table looked like, with two people working on the same project!

Take a look at Part II here and Part III here.