Boxed In

I've been taking Martha Lever's online class series of Lollapalooza journals.  This week, Lolla #3 started, the Grid Journal.  It took me the full week to do a two-page spread, but I really had fun, pulling out stamps, alphabets, tools, etc.  I really like working in boxes and grids, and I think I will be doing lots more of this.  Plus Martha is so full of ideas, and also had lots of downloads for us to use of her own artwork and calligraphy.  That helped to have something to put on the pages right away.  This is also my first time experimenting with pan pastels and I'm still getting the hang of that.

 I see some things I might like to re-do on these pages, but overall I'm happy with it.  See Martha's classes here.

It's Electrifying

This is why I didn't have electricity for three hours on Wednesday night.

I have never seen such constant lightning.  I could have gotten some better pictures if I had stepped out the doorway to see around the trees, but for one thing, it was raining.  For another thing, well, hello--it's lightning.  I didn't want to be a lightning rod!!!

Blue Monday

I have been playing around with my camera, trying to learn how to use the manual settings.

I think if I focus on one thing at a time, I might do okay.  But I get distracted easily, like when I found the setting for monochrome and then started taking everything in black and white.

My main purpose was to brush up on how to take some pictures of the supermoon. Never did figure that out.  Even with a tripod, my moon pictures are not suitable for publication.  The typewriter, on the other hand, was a captive audience!

Just Cardboard

But, oh, so lovely.

Isn't this awesome?  I just flat out stole this idea from Michelle Ward's blog (here).  Of course, I already have some of her stencils, so the minute I saw what she did, I had to try it.  Just regular cardboard, trace the stencil onto the cardboard, and use a craft knife to cut out the design.  Pull off the top layer of cardboard to leave the corrugated layer beneath. 

Not sure what I will do with this piece yet, but I'm sure it will have some friends soon!

Trashy Art

I don't know why I have trouble throwing things away sometimes, things that I think I might use in art.  For instance, I can never look at coffee grounds or tea bags without wanting to dye some paper.

Last week, it was tea bags.  I had made a pitcher of iced tea and had a bunch of tea bags headed to the trash.  Somehow, though, my feet took me over to a piece of art paper.  I spritzed the paper with water and plopped the tea bags on top of it.  I went about my day and checked back later.  I moved the bags to another part of the paper and spritzed with water again.  I did this a couple more times, moving the bags and checking to see what was happening on the paper.  I tried to reposition the bags differently each time--flat side down, bottom down, and also open side down, lightly opening the sides so they sat with a hole in the middle where the bag folded upon itself.

The paper was more "dyed" where I sprayed with water then put the bags on the wet paper.  I think I like it better where I put the bags on dry paper and spritzed around them.  I got more interesting shapes.  Speaking of shapes, this is what I saw when I looked at the final product:

In reality, this will most likely end up as a topical map of some kind...

FYI, when doing experiments, don't ever pick up some damp rose petals off the grass after a wedding, put them in a plastic bag in your purse, and forget about them for a week.  That is a whole different kind of experiment when you discover a bag of moldy rose petals in the bottom of your purse!  I make be able to make penicillin or something, but definitely not art. (No picture of the moldly rose petals.  You're welcome.)

Weekend Fun

This post is not about art at all, but I wanted to share anyway.  Maybe these pictures will put you in a peaceful mood to draw flowers or something!

I was at my niece's wedding over the weekend - beautiful peaceful lakeside ceremony on property owned by the groom's family for generations in Tennessee.  It was a country wedding with a slight flair.  You take a chance having an outdoor wedding in the south in June, but the day could not have been more perfect.

I don't like to post anyone's picture without their permission, but this was too cute.  When the bride and groom had their first dance, their flower girl and ring bearer (her daughter and his son) joined them.  It was just too adorable for words! (Yes, by then the ring bearer had already taken off his jacket and his shoes)

Have a good week, everyone.  Back to the working grind.

Don't Blink

Did you ever go to bed one night and it was May, then you woke up and all of a sudden it was June?  That recently happened to me!  Time flies when you are having fun.

So many things in progress right now.  I've played with my stamped and painted deli papers and have a collaged book cover and book I'm working on.  Hope to share  more of that later.

And I have not had nearly enough play time with my new stencils from Michelle Ward - I can't even tell you how much I love these stencils!!

Yes, I am obsessed.  Or possessed.  One of those...