the uglies

we all have 'em... in our Art Journals, that is! "let the inspiration flow" - guess it wasn't flowing MY way, that day, lol.

I've read both sides of the keep it or paint over it discussions, and truthfully, only you can make that call. For me, I got depressed every time I looked at it. About 5 weeks passed, I bought a few alphabet stencils in a Thrift Shop and had an "AHA" moment. Next, I simply pulled the tape off -used a little red acrylic paint and a spouncer to re-do the title. (luckily the old one was on masking tape!!) And... SCORE!

Earrings: August 2011

Thanks, Gaby, for the inspiration!! XO

Earrings: June 2011

Before I post a whole new batch of designs, I wanted to catch you up to date on a small sampling of the earrings I made for a local Art Show in early Summer. These eight pairs are currently on display in a retail location, and through a special arrangement with the owner, they are also available for sale in my Etsy shop, where I can create a custom listing if you spot something you like!

Convo me here or in my etsy shop!

Basic Stamp Carving

more stamping, a photo by cookievf on Flickr.

Why buy basic shapes when you can carve them yourself! A few months ago I managed my first attempt at basic carving with a Speedball lino cutting tool and a block of flexible, pink Speedy-Carve. Dick Blick carries a 9" x 11 3/4" sheet for $21.00. Erasers are great for carving too!. And don't forget to save your wine corks :D

I stamped this "sample set" with a brown pigment inkpad on a sheet of blank newspaper; a nice weight to use in collage. I also used it to make my painted background papers, shown in an earlier blog post and on flickr as well. View the carved stamps and the painted papers here.

Art Journal Page 18Jul11

painted a wash of green paint over a self-portrait,

"crackle" rubber stamp cube, in brown ink,

torn pieces of vintage wallpaper,

new fave color duct tape,

deco tape,

pink porfolio oil pastel,

applied molding paste with corrugated cardboard for texture.

Art Journal Page 13Jul11

Products/techniques used:
- Gesso is always my first layer.
TIP: I prep all of my pages with gesso first for several reasons. 1) Using a "chip brush" gives me added texture, 2) laying down a solid, opaque white base makes my colors POP, 3) gesso prevents the paint from soaking into the paper so, again, more pigment is visible.

- Several layers of acrylic paint were scraped on with a credit card.

TIP: If you don't want your colors to blend, sometimes creating a muddy appearance or (GASP!) turning brown, then use a blowdryer or heat gun drying each layer of paint completely. This will ensure that each color remains pure.

- Bubble wrap or sequin waste!

- I added the white drips across the top of the page using Speedball white calligraphy ink.
TIP: Blowing paint or ink drips with a straw helps to spread it out and pushes the liquid further down the page.

- The butterfly wings are torn vintage ledger paper and are colored with sharpie "metallic" and poster paint pens.

- Just above "take a leap" I applied several strips that I cut out of a magazine ad.
TIP: I always try to use collage for added texture and layers. If you adhere them with gel medium or mod podge, be sure to cover the top as well. After painting over collaged bits, this gives you the option of wiping some of it away allowing some of the image to show through. Clear gesso works also.

- I used a hand-carved petal stamp to make the flowers with black staz-on ink.

- The flower stems and grass are portfolio (water soluble) wax pastels.
TIP: For a softer look, you can paint over portfolios with a wet paintbrush. Or you can leave them AS IS, like I did, for more of a handmade, distressed, even childlike effect.

- The text around the butterfly was written using a silver metallic sharpie and outlined with a Pigma micron pen.

- Alphabet stamps for "take a leap of faith" are Sunny Lower Case by Hero Arts.
TIP: When stamping letters, to avoid running off of the right edge of a page, start at the edge and work backwards. To center text or a title, stamp the middle letter and work outwards.

Have fun and be sure to leave a comment if you try one of these tips!
Please feel free to share one of YOUR favorite tricks/tips?

Butchers, Mummers & Baseball

...are all part of my family's legacy in the greater Philadelphia/NJ area specifically referring to my grandmother, Julia Kelly Cook's father (she eventually marries into the Farquhar clan) and her three brothers, all pictured below.

A copy of a copy, and still legible, is this article from an unknown Gloucester, NJ periodical of an unknown date, yet it's clearly one of my favorite pieces of family ephemera. Not because it's about an entire town's gratitude for my (paternal great-grandfather's) family's contributions - though that's certainly, quite SPECIAL - but because it gives me a clear sense of

who they were,
what they did,
and what they loved
... all in 1900!

Charles Sr, center, with a hat, surrounded by his family!

Charles Sr is absent from this photo but his three sons are here along with his daughter & his wife. Harry is in the bottom row, next to his sister (my grandmother, Julia), Charles Jr. is in the back row on the right and Martin is next to him. My grandfather, Joseph Willis Farquhar, their brother-in-law, is next to martin. Just behind Julia is Charles Sr's wife, Anna, mother of those amazing children!

(Cook is not only my father's mother's maiden name, of German origin & initially spelled K-O-C-H but also my married name, which is Romanian & spelled C-O-C-A.)

Pinching Myself ~ I Get To Live Here!

MY VALHALLA! The first three photos were taken in New Milford, CT around mid-day yesterday, on a "birthday road trip" with a very dear friend. The last shot was taken at an old favorite fishin hole at Hatch Pond in Kent, CT just before sundown on june 25th. All are less than 6 miles from home.

Proud to be an American circa 1858

During an annual visit to my favorite aunt (NJ sept 2009), I was able to photograph the document which granted American Citizenship to my great-great grandfather, Thomas Edward Farquhar.

The first few lines read, "BE REMEMBERED that at a Court of Common Pleas _ Camden, in and for the County of Camden, and State of New Jersey, in the United States of America, on the twenty eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fifty eight, Thomas Farquhar, a native of Ireland, exhibited a petition, praying to be admitted to become a citizen of the United States..."

Citizenship granted 28, Jan 1858

Laura Farquhar Reeve, self-portrait

This is how much I love her!

She has been the inspiration behind my passion for genealogy and, to date, I have 69 people in my family tree and a similar number of corresponding vintage family photos!

a message just for me!

a message just for me!, a photo by cookievf on Flickr.

Last week I took a short drive with my mother while visiting her in Vermont (following some garage sale signs, actually), came around the bend to a very special "spot" that I shared with my dad in the late 1990's and was greeted by this beautiful tree!

It's located at the base of a long, dirt driveway and at the top is a VERY old, stately home, usually vacant, with a wrap-around porch, orchards, fields of wildflowers, a 180 degree view... and sunsets that would take your BREATH AWAY.

...thanks, dad. xo

Art Journal page 10Jun11

From an earlier blog post about counting my blessings with 3 of my flower photos, I was inspired to write a little "poem" in my written journal. Next, a prompt from Tee Thompson of green isles crafts inspired me to re-create this on a page in my ART journal and it felt like a FULL CIRCLE moment to me! Maybe YOU'LL be inspired by a word or an image here so that I can "pay it forward."

Homemade Background Papers, 2nd Round

Lots of ideas are percolating... such as "end papers" in bookmaking and wrapping bookboards for journal covers, using them in my MM collage, backgrounds for journal pages & ATCs, trading and so much more! Can't wait to play.

little girl lost, sharing my story

I have always been an open book, never quite understanding what it really means. I realize now that being vulnerable is a gift... just like each and every part of us is a gift!

We are all unique right down to our freckles and, please believe me when I tell you, it is our JOB TO SHARE OUR GIFTS WITH THE WORLD. This is something I am so passionate about (note the caps) because it is my sincere belief that your gifts are what the universe is holding it's breath for; waiting for; praying for!

So please don't waste another moment to speak what's on your mind today or in your heart or on your easel and please put it out there. Let's all TOUCH another person's life today with our truth and with the essence of who we are because what's more precious than sharing a piece of ourself with another? The world will be richer for it.

As an artist and truly a teacher at heart, I LOVE showing a piece in progress as it unfolds and finds itself.

Like carving a sculpture from a piece of rock, this was one of those pages that gave me a feeling of relief, once completed.

Using acrylic paint, oil pastels, gel pens, handcarved stamps, masking tape and "ransom" style magazine letters on this one, each page becomes a purging of sorts. My goal for these journal pages is to make it PERSONAL so that by doing so, I can no longer take for granted what I'm discovering on this inner journey!

On the subject of my page, over the last few months I was finally able to get rid of an ache I've had in my heart for five decades and forgive my step-grandfather for molesting me at a very young age. Not excuse, not condone in ANY WAY, just accept that he was a victim of a victim just like I was. Closure. "I can forgive. I choose love."

refreshed & renewed

Sitting here today I had a growing feeling that I needed to take a moment to reflect on what's behind me and what's ahead of me.

Currently in the US our flowers are in bloom and the change of seasons seem to make me want to quietly count my blessings one-by-one and, almost like a stopwatch, hit the RESET button. If I don't stop for a few precious minutes to focus on all of the positives in my life, then I find it's all too easy to get caught up in all of the million little tasks at hand and ultimately, I begin to feel frustrated... believing there's ever ENOUGH!!

Time
Money
Projects Completed
Trips Taken
Goals Met
People Seen
Emails Sent
Phone calls Made

~ you fill in the blank.

And I was inspired to jot this down on a piece of paper..

"There is healing found in the cycles of the natural world and I'm certain it was here that God intended we discover the lesson of renewal. Ebb and Flow. Sunrise and Sunset. Wax and Wane. Summer's Warmth and Winter's Cold. Give and Take. Birth and Death. Tides, Sun, Moon, Seasons, Life. When we take the time to contemplate the mysteries that surround us… questions are answered. And we emerge refreshed... renewed."

Happy Spring into Summer!