Sunday, April 10, 2011

The most interesting place...

My friend and I took a trip a couple of weeks ago to my most favorite city, Savannah.  We had a wonderful time doing the Savannah Schedule: walk, eat, shop, eat, talk, eat, sleep, eat...you get the picture. 

This was a little shop we saw on State Street and I couldn't resist going in to talk to the gregarious owner.  What a charming place!  Just like this city that I love so much. 

This was the first thing that drew us in...

T

 Then this...yes, that is a live plant crawling around among the stuff...


Who could resist poking their noses into this menagerie?


 Of course the name would be spelled out in keys!


Equally amazing on the inside...


And this kind lady was bursting with ideas for--what else--yummy places to eat!

If you have the chance to visit Savannah, you will never be the same.  As one gentleman put it, "It worms it's way into your soul and you will return every chance you get."  So true, sir.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Inspiration everywhere!


This is the beginning of my altered book art journal.  I found this very nice hard cover coffee table book at the library for $1. 

My first inspiration was  on ihanna's blog in the form of a wonderful tutorial.  I promptly joined her Postcard Swap 2011.  She is marvelously talented and fun.

My next inspiration came when I was on a rare shopping expedition and found gorgeous paper napkins at Marshall's for cheap, cheap.  Most of them were bird themed since that seems to be my spring sonata. 

Soon I was cutting and collaging and painting and drawing!  Too much fun!  The green diamond tape at the bottom is from Roben-Marie's Art Good Shop , although I don't think it is still available.  To get the pastel colors I mixed gesso with Golden Acrylic Paints.  I see that the napkin I used was designed by Kathryn White, and it is lovely. 

I hope you'll give this a try.  I'll post more pages soon, I hope.  Thank you, Luanne, for letting me know that someone is reading.  You are so kind!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

the lesson of the moth

I read this recently and completely loved it.  Consequently, my sweet daughter gave me a 1950 copy of "the lives and times of archy & mehitabel" for Christmas.  Archy is a cockroach who sneaks into the newsroom at night and jumps on the typewriter keys to write poetry.  Since he cannot shift, there are no caps or punctuation.  Mr Marquis had to remember to leave a sheet of paper in the typewriter each evening so archy could write.  

I hope you like it as much as I do.


the lesson of the moth
by Don Marquis, published in 1927

i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires

why do you fellows
pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional
thing for moths or why
if that had been an uncovered
candle instead of an electric
light bulb you would
now be a small unsightly cinder
have you no sense

plenty of it he answered
but at times we get tired
of using it
we get bored with the routine
and crave beauty
and excitement
fire is beautiful
and we know that if we get
too close it will kill us
but what does that matter
it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
so we wad all our life up
into one little roll
and then we shoot the roll
that is what life is for
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves

and before i could argue him
out of his philosophy
he went and immolated himself
on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity

but at the same time i wish
there was something i wanted
as badly as he wanted to fry himself
                                     archy




Monday, January 17, 2011

ROD journal cover round robin




I've finally finished my part of the Remains of the Day journal cover round robin!  Here is just a  peek at my work--my very first round robin.  It was fun to add to the parts that the other girls worked on. 

Monday, January 3, 2011

My Eternal Gratitude...

You have my eternal gratitude (you know who you are) for telling me that my artwork is good.   I can't even express how much I appreciate your constant encouragement.  May you reap what you have so generously sown, dear hearts.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Why do I use the same colors over and over??? Must change. Must change!

After scanning some really soft acrylic-painted backgrounds,  I added brushes in Photoshop Elements.  I love, love brushes!  Can't get enough of them!  Then I played with layer styles.  These two use both overlay and hard light styles on their own layers. 





Here I used several Rhonna Farrer Vintage Photo2 brushes and added more color to the heart.  I really liked this light blue, which I found accidentally while playing digital color and brushes