Aftermath of the nor'easter...

A beautiful, sunny Sunday...here's what Mother Nature did...these are shots of my neighbor's yard.....I was more fortunate.  And the 2nd photo from the top shows a tree that broke in half by our mailboxes on the road.  These are just a small glimpse of the havoc that Mother Nature wrought, knocking out power to 830,000 homes in the state, most left without power for a week....the clean-up will go on for weeks...definitely a major inconvenience, but it could be worse....always have to keep things in perspective.  So...no art the last couple of weeks....

A "Trick" from Mother Nature

The pictures say it all....the snow is really coming down....the trees are sagging under the weight.  Boomer was just groomed this morning...there was no snow when I dropped him off!  It was white knuckle driving when I went to pick him up.  I never expected the storm to be as bad as it is this early in the day.  My lights have flickered once, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed....this is really an early "trick" from Mother Nature on this Halloween weekend....

Here Comes The Groom....

Home & Garden Journal

Mirabeau Bonaparte & Virginia Swanson

c. 1920

When I was looking for things for my "pear" pages, I came across the wedding photo of my maternal grandparents.  And it is so lovely, I had to journal it.  I never knew my grandmother... as she had passed before I arrived on the planet.  I don't know the wedding date either...still searching for that, but I've left room under their photo to add it.  And I don't know what I want to put inside the metal heart either....I do love that I found the music "Behold, the Bridegroom Cometh!"   The lace is from an old mantilla from my Catholic days... And on the opposite page, I found the wonderful drawing of the man...it was part of an old advertisement...but he's dressed just like my grandfather....serendipity.  So I just embellished him a bit with a little white paint on his bow tie and flower and I painted the candlesticks silver and I "upholstered" the chair....I just altered the page a bit here and there. The clocks on the left of the groom...just to indicate the passage of time....once upon a time....

"In The Pursuit of Happiness"

Rhinebeck, NY

My friend, Jan and I, took a beautiful day yesterday to visit the town of Rhinebeck, NY in the Hudson River Valley area...a little over an hour from our homes.  We wandered the streets, visited the local shops and had lunch at a very old inn, catching up on our daily lives which we have so little time to share...Now...you may be wondering what is the story behind the above photos...as always, sorry the quality isn't better...but Rhinebeck has some really beautiful architecture which we were admiring on our stroll.  We stopped in front of a building that had a very interesting front door, and a young woman came out and asked if we'd like to see the inside....of course we would!!!  As it turns out, it's a restaurant that has just barely opened it's doors...I felt like I was walking back in time as I stepped into the dining room with all of the American flags, the red banquettes, the pewter ware on the rustic, old tables.   It felt like the kind of place you might celebrate after an important treaty was signed... I could imagine soldiers here catching a brew and sharing a hot meal; the room on the opposite side of the entrance is the bar.  I didn't take a photo of it...but it is indescribable, the attention to details that make this room so amazing...you would just have to visit.  AND...of course I loved the whole place because of the use of our American flag....so if you ever get to Rhinebeck, you'll have to stop at this place, aptly named, "In The Pursuit of Happiness."

The Little Book of Pears

These are the next two pages in my Home & Garden altered book.  I painted, used napkins, stamps, different papers and created a pocket for the "Little Pears" book.  There are 16 pears in the accordion book, each one is different.  I even painted one to look like a nun from my youth...and named her... Sr. Poire!

The Colors of Autumn

This is how Autumn looks in my Red, White & Blue Journal.....

WITCHY WOMAN-altered book, Femme

 

Having an altered book to work on that is all about females....is so much fun.  It's October, Halloween, etc. etc.  So I had to have a "Witchy Woman", Eagles lyrics on left side.  Her face is from a Vogue magazine....

 "Raven hair and ruby lips ...sparks fly from her finger tips...echoed voices in the night....she's a restless spirit on an endless flight...wooo hooo witchy woman....".   We've all got a little bit of "witchy woman" in us....

Red, White & Blue Journal

On Labor Day....I Labor

I know it's still summer on the calendar, but not being at work today, I can get things done at home...so I changed my kitchen cabinet into Fall mode...it is my favorite season.  Pretty soon I won't have time to do the indoor "stuff" because the outdoor chores will be calling....the leaves, small painting jobs and odds and ends.  I'm into closets and getting rid of all of those manuals for appliances I no longer own, found lots of batteries...they would have come in handy last week had I known....and I have more of those outlet strips....I'll probably never need to buy another one.  I found my First Communion prayer book!  I'll add that to my mini book collection.  I can't dawdle here...there's more to do!

 I bought this sparkly crow and tiny pumpkins that fill this cupcake holder and... I picked up a mini book at our library book fair this weekend...The Raven and Three Tales of Horror by Edgar Allen Poe.  This isn't about Halloween...I just think crows are interesting...

SWITCHING GEARS...

I made a couple of wreaths to go on the front doors of our church.  Time to switch to Fall!

 These are grapevine wreaths and I used a lot of eucalyptus...that holds up well.  And some other funky things that Mother Nature provides...and Michael's craft store!

Mother Nature Got Creative This Week

...by way of Hurricane Irene.  Posting a couple of photos from the neighborhood....multiply these by the hundreds and you get an idea of what it's like here. Once we were finally able to step out of our homes, we were driving under power lines that sagged under the weight of trees.  There are still many "sketchy" trees still standing and some that have huge limbs hanging high up, not yet ready to come down....
This was taken right around the corner from my home....on a deadend street.  The power lines are down and the houses on the other side of this....can't get out....this is a street where I walk my dog.

 This photo goes with the one above it...it fell down across the road.

ART - Just Do What You Like!

I really like having different altered books to work in at the same time, because if I'm not in the mood for one subject... I can just pick up another book and work on ...that subject.

 HOME & GARDEN

Here is what I did this weekend.  I love my art supply cabinet, which I have photographed on earlier entries on this blog, but I decided to do a drawing of it and put it in this book....well, it had to be there, because I love this cabinet and isn't "home" all about putting things in it that you love?

The Gift

I received a gift in my email yesterday....a belated birthday present and a great one!  My friend and artist, Morna, created a new banner for my blog...something I've wanted to change for quite awhile, but technology doesn't come easily to me...so I love it and it's more special because it came from her.
Her blog is http://www.mornacrites-moore.blogspot.com/ 

 My Altered Book Class

Yesterday I had my altered book class and we learned a new technique...encaustic...working with wax.  We worked on special boards designed for encaustic work, adding our collage elements and then putting the coating of wax over these materials.  Suffice to say, that this is a technique that takes practice and sometimes the wax doesn't "take" the way you think it should....which happened on my collage.  The background paper resisted in several places.  Not being a patient person, I don't think encaustic work is for me.  You could create a beautiful collage and then not have the wax work well....and there goes your piece.

When I got home, I decided to do the theme I intended for the class in my altered book since I already had the background pages prepared and I really love the result, love the colors.

ATC Card

done with napkin using the encaustic technique

Backgrounds

I have my monthly altered book class next weekend and we're going to learn how to do an encaustic technique.  We're supposed to bring our own collage materials for this particular class and I was struggling to come up with a theme....and then I decided it's going to be Sunflowers.  I don't know if you can actually do this technique in  an altered book, so I also prepared a background on a stretched canvas.  
The two pictures above have the identical colors, but you can see that in spreading the paint out....the canvas took the paint differently than the paper.  I spread the paints with an old credit card.  The colors are Night Sky, Basil Green and Quinacridone Azo Gold, with a little bit of matte medium mixed in.  I've been gathering "sunflower" themes/colors..a packet of sunflower seeds, a yellow felt button, some dried leaves, a poem called Bring Me The Sunflower by Eugenio Montale,  nature stamps...bee, butterfly, dragonfly...somewhere in my art room I have some tiny sunflowers on floral wire but I'll be darned if I can find them....

Special Things...

You see a lot of things on my blog about my son being a US Marine and how I love the American flag and that I have a Red, White & Blue art journal....well, yesterday was a great day.  

I have a colleague who was in the military once upon a time and he still does great things for our soldiers stationed in the Middle East....but today, I was the recipient of a special gift from him...because I am now a Blue Star Mother...a mother of a son on active duty in the Middle East.  So he gave me a blue star pin that I will treasure and wear every day as well as a window cling and a small banner with the blue star that I will hang.  People who don't have a relative or close friend in the military....have no idea what it's all about...  My son is the only one in his high school class who was interested in the military...or at least the only one who has pursued it.  I would never overrule my son's calling in life....after all, it is his journey.  So, above is a picture of the small pin that I will proudly wear.  Also in the picture...is a Red, White & Blue bracelet...I went on ETSY in search of one...and it arrived yesterday in my mailbox with a handwritten note from the artist..."Please thank your son for protecting our freedom."  It doesn't get any better than that...so that's my week. 

Home & Garden Altered Book

I have several altered books I'm working on at the moment...one on Females, my Red, White & Blue, the Word Journal and this one....Home & Garden.  So I painted this little stone house and cut a door out and added a piece of screen to make the screen door.  I painted a picture of my dog, Boomer, and he is the greeter at the door.  I added a bead for the doorknob and a lantern at the peak of the house from the Pottery Barn catalog.  The most fun was making a real, screen door.

Altered Book Class - Couture

Last Saturday I had my monthly altered book class.  Last month the subject was Steampunk Divas and this time....Couture.  This goes nicely in my book about females.  Dress pattern paper is the background with paint spread on with an old credit card.  Some rubber stamping, bubble wrap, collage, and ephemera. 

My Red English Racer

The house next door to me recently went up for sale...a house with 2 young daughters and a puppy.  It got me to thinking of my own childhood...when I was their age....it was the best part of my childhood.
We lived in a super neighborhood with lots of kids.  The Christmas I got my red, English Racer was the best.   We didn't have all of the fears that parents raising their children today have....we rode our bikes all over the place and we could go out on Halloween without fear.  Those were the days.  So...I went on the internet today in search of my old neighborhood and found a map which I used on the right side of the page.  My sister, Dianne, got a bicycle that Christmas as well...hers was a black English Racer.   Our bicycles were much more fun than a doll could ever be in my book! So...this is the latest entry in my Red, White & Blue journal.

Fireworks - It IS a Celebration!

FIREWORKS!

 I get into two different frames of mind on the 4th of July....one is about how lucky we are to be where we are and enjoy the freedom we have .... I can listen to any patriotic hymn/march and burst into tears....and I can also enjoy the celebration...the fireworks, etc.  After all, what is the 4th of July without the fireworks!  So...believe it or not, I started to do these pages thinking the page on the left was going to be things we enjoy on the 4th like ...ice cream and popsicles...and it turned into an explosion of ....fireworks.  So....Happy Birthday, America.  And Tom....for you and ALL of  your buddies serving this great country....God Bless You!!!

 

A Day at the Beach

Nothing Like A Good "Read" at the Beach

And so the holiday weekend begins....

I was searching the internet for a photo to post since I don't have any new art at the moment... this is what I think of when I think of the July 4 weekend...the beginning of summer...but how many Americans are actually enjoying a scene like this this summer?

Women Rule!

This is my tribute to Sharon Tomlinson...she's amazing at painting faces and these faces are hers.  I won a contest on her blog and she sent me some sheets of her art which I have cut up and used above.    

When I started on these two pages...I didn't like what I had done and considered glueing the two pages together and moving on....

OK...THAT'S WHEN YOU HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH IT AND SEE IF YOU CAN SALVAGE WHAT YOU'VE DONE....don't give up.

So...I kept playing with it today and I am now happy with the result.  Sharon is a fan of Gustav Klimt as am I so in her honor...I included a small picture of one of his paintings.  Her blog is my top favorite to follow....she's very talented.  Her blog is www.allnorahsart.blogspot.com.
This is the 2nd series of pages in my FEMALE - Altered Book.  Yesterday's Steampunk Divas inspired me....

ALTERED BOOK CLASS

STEAMPUNK DIVAS

I went to my monthly altered book class today and the subject was Steampunk Divas....we did gel transfers, transfer on fabric, a transfer on a domino, ephemera, collage elements.  Fun subject.

HOME and GARDEN

The start of a new altered book....love the subject, home and garden.  These pages have stamping, a napkin, paint, collage, charcoal.

"I Arise Today".....

Red, White & Blue Journal

 
The late John O'Donohue is the inspiration for these pages.  If you don't know who he is, you should Google him....

I arise today

through the strength of heaven,

light of sun,

radiance of moon,

splendor of fire,

speed of lightning,

swiftness of wind,

depth of sea,

stability of earth,

firmness of rock.

 ***