Lately...

I've been making altered post cards, trying to find which substrate (base) that I like best, and trying out a few different media (paints, collage, stamping).

Late last summer, right before Ike hit, I started working on this 4x6-inch substrate size by making 4 APC's for a Post Secret swap ( **go here** to see them). The swap was with 4x6 Expressions yahoo group. As I was beginning to make cards for my second swap, Ike hit us.

Well, there went that. Six months later, I finally found time to get involved again. My old friend Diva, as it turned out, is the new owner and I answered a call for moderators. So now I do the topic of the week. I also joined several of the swaps because I only have to do one card per swap if I want. I won't risk my life on it by holding my breath, but I think I might can handle that. :-)))

I like this group's mix of members. There are representatives of various styles: magazine collage contempary, vintage scrapbook, drawing, painting, stamping, multi-media, and digital. We just had a trading frenzy on Sunday and I only got 2 cards made for it and could have traded twice if not triple that number. Our next one is in July and I vowed to be more prepared because it was fun!

"Sacred Spirit" is one of the ones I made to trade, and also my first one made after my long post-Ike hiatus. It began as a page torn out of an elementary curriculum textbook that I painted and stamped and glazed on to make background paper. I liked the illustration that went with the Indian folklore story about The Quillwork Girl, so I colored it with pencils, watercolors and dye inks, then I laminated it with my Xyron to protect it. The lamination's adhered right onto that background paper I cut so that the title of the story would be showing along the long edge. That's adhered to a piece of cereal box that I gesso'd to make stronger and then painted. It's a very well-made APC, and I was able to use a lot of the same techniques I use in making ATC's. :-))


In other news, my loverlicious friend Rose in the UK (also a 4x6 Expressions member) honored me on her blog last week and I am really touched! She's a sweetie and I love how resourceful and creative she is. I think I first connected with her fantastic journal pages and then she joined my Art Share and then I recruited her for the post card art group because she was making those, too. She has also tagged me and since that is a personal list I will do that on my Antics and Rantics blog the next time I post over there.
Thank you, Rose! xoxo

Now, I must pass this on to 8 bloggers who exemplify givers in my online community. I need more than 8! So, I will just go with my old-school long-time blog friends who I usually think of first, anyway:

1. Nancy
2. Linda
3. Lida
4. Sarah
5. Benita
6. Jill
7. Tina
8. Shirley

Until next time,

never give up...

Happy TGIF, dear readers! I'm deviating a bit and relaxing my usual hardline rules about what I post to this blog today. I do have some art to share further down, but I've added some personal 411, too.

I've been suffering from brain fog and neck/spine pain this week, so all of my available mental powers were spent either trying to remember what I was doing or actually doing a little creating. Didn't ever get a blog entry finished until now.

Wednesday evening Hubs asked me if I felt up to ordering him a pizza online, which I thought I could handle. But 20 minutes later when he asked for its ETA, it turns out I forgot to order it. I began the process, then wandered off to finish something I'd wandered off from earlier.

It marked the first time I've ever really noticed him get upset at my limitations and, even though he was probably more hungry than anything, I was so ashamed. The entire day had been just like that for me, though, so by then I was just taking it for granted. And as to why I agreed to order the pizza? I think it was because I forgot that I shouldn't. {{HUGE EYE ROLL}}

The important thing is remembering that tomorrow is another day and another chance to be less of an eff-up than yesterday...right? winkwink



Taking my cue from that little gem of wisdom, I used an actual fortune cookie fortune for the words to this artist trading card. It conveys similar advice. Call my crazy, but creating this made me feel better. Able to laugh at myself again.

In fact, I went back over my week and jotted down all of the dumb-ass things I'd done that were along the same lines, like leaving out the pool guys check on Tuesday when he wasn't supposed to come until next Tuesday. Or forgetting my Lean Cuisine in the microwave four different times before finally snapping that eating it would stop the merry-go-round. Or how every single day that I drove anywhere, I couldn't remember for a few seconds where I was headed while I was driving out of my neighborhood.

Before you ask, my doctor has assured me that it is not Alzheimer's. It's actual brain fog, lol. The meds I take are slowly building back up good stuff on my nerve endings and around my joints, and this causes temporary fogginess of the old noggin, and this is also what causes me to mimic the ADHD symptoms.

Ok, so anyway, you can maybe imagine how long it has taken me to visit other blogs, and if you haven't heard from me, you don't give up, either, okay? Slowly but surely is my motto. Speaking of which, I was late to Paula's blog and discovered she had tagged me way back on March 10 -- Oops! I got right on it and this next photo is the result:



The rules of the tag say to find the seventh photo in the seventh folder of photos on my computer. This is it. Looks like the cover of a box of Bluebell Ice Cream bars, right? Why would I have that photo? Because the guy (or model) eating the ice cream is one of my Dad's drama students from the late 60's. He's the only one to have made a successful working actor career in Hollywood. He's done a few covers for Bluebell and my Dad collects them, like a proud teacher papa.

His name is Blue Deckert and if you are / were a fan of either "Friday Night Lights" or "Walker, Texas Ranger", you might be thinking he looks familiar. He plays Coach Macgill on "FNL".

Now I remember Blue a little differently because it was when I was around 10 or 12 and he was a college student that I knew him. I happen to think he's a pretty attractive middle-aged man, but back in the day he was a hunk of burnin' gorgeous! Tan, muscular body, fit and trim, a full head of blonde hair...a certifiable lady killer to be sure, and a smile that melted butter. You better believe I was crushin' hard at my tender age, but I doubt he even noticed me. {Sigh}

Here are the rules for this tag:

1. Go to the photo folder in your computer.
2. Go to the seventh folder of photos.
3. Go to the seventh picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog along with a description of it.
5. Invite seven friends to join the challenge.

So, who will I invite? How about....

1. Lida
2. Nancy
3. Theresa
4. Brenda
5. Elizabeth
6. Toni
7. Jill

What blasts from the past will you ladies unearth from your hard drives? Give these blogs a visit to see. These are all tres talented artistas, too, so there will be eye candy galore. I can't wait to see and hear some stories...

I will try really hard to post later with photos about my book altering class progress. Until then, I'll leave you a little photo taste tease:



Until next time,

Is it February already?

I probably shouldn't jump ahead like this, but since rules are made to be broken and it doesn't matter a bit in the big picture anyway, I've uploaded my latest collage. (Note to File:I need to find what folder I saved my *almost daily* pages to that I haven't shown yet!)

This is my first spread in a new composition book that I started to do gluebook pages in. When it's finished, I want it to be like a coffee table book of my favorite quotes and sayings, so for now it's titled Little Gluebook of Wisdom, Vol. 1. Believe it or not, setting this up - giving myself a purpose for the book and for my pages - appears to be the only way to get me to be relaxed and spontaneous enough to just glue. LMAO - some spontaneity, huh? Geebus, I think that proves I totally suck at spontaneity. LOL

Anyway, the quote for this page is from Disney's Pocahontas...from the lyrics to Colours of the Wind. I chose my words because when I was gel-penning and markering the sky on the magazine cutting, I thought of that movie.

And, the magazine cutting is the cover of the latest LL Bean catalog. It was so pretty, I had to rip it right off.

I am working on the lefthand side of the page now. It's another Native American theme and quotation, and it will be a spread, more or less.



I'm really enjoying my wet palette (shown with my Starbucks double-shot glass). I've had it probably 15 years, maybe 20. It has an airtight cover and disposable donut-shaped sheets. I fished it out to see if it still worked ok and it does.



While I painted on my gluebook page, I added the leftover paint to some atc bases. I also had enough left over to add to a couple of gessoed journal pages, too. I think I might be starting to get the hang of it. Always gotta be thinking about several projects' progressions when ya paint.



My latest Lab Experiment: some of my most-used paintbrush handles are starting to peel paint, so I decided to paint Diamond Glaze on them and see if that stops it. I probably wouldn't mind, except I cannot stand when the paint comes off in the shotglass, on my fingers, on my project, etc. That's gotta stop. Plus, there is nothing wrong with the brushes. Anyway, here they are drying. I'll let you know if this stops the peeling and or otherwise helps anything.

I have been awarded for the first time for this blog, and twice in one week!

Thank you, Linda, for choosing Paper Paisleys as a Rockin' Blog:


And, Thank you, Sarah, for choosing this blog as Fabulous:

For this award, I need to share with you 5 addictions of mine and then pass the award to 5 blogs.
5 addictions I can think of right now (I have a lot more, LOL) are:
1. cigarettes
2. coffee
3. diet cokes
4. internet shopping when possible instead of physical shopping
5. my hair straightening iron

I want to pass both of these awards along to these 5 Rockin' and Fabulous Blogs and their owners:
1. Pearl
2. Charlie
3. Vickie
4. Kim
5. Rozette


Until Next Time,

I must be Texas-tagalicious...

Before I get started, let me pass on some email info I received this morning. Duncan Crafts (home of Aleene, Crafty Chica and Tulip brands) has launched a new website. It's called ilovetocreate. Check it out...only a little bit of it is cutesy/childish. I saw a few things that interested me. I'd like to try the Tulip Glitter Spray, myself. :-)))

(Alright...I hear you snickering. Glitter is not cutesy...it's vintage!)

And, here's a sketch I did in my newly-started sketch journal:

I am very rusty, as you can see. My shading sucks so bad that I don't think I will do it anymore in sketch pencil, only with color. Even my color shading is bad, but what u gonna do, ya know? P-r-a-c-t-i-c-e.

I actually sketched someone real, a woman named Elaine with whom I used to work 30 years ago. We had cubicles next to each other, and I'd see that look a lot when I'd lean over to ask a question, etc. She always had a "let me think" look that was mixed in with a pleasant and polite and interested look. Another coworker who thought he was Oscar Wilde or somesuch always joked that if you asked Elaine to jump off a cliff, she'd consider it and sure get to it if she had time. I thought he was cruel, but he was funny. So...that kind of look was what I was going for.

Okay, back on track...
I was tagged by my lovely friend and fellow Texana, Charlie. (I wish I had 1/100th of her sketching talent!)

I did this same tag last week on my other blog when I was tagged by my lovely friend and fellow Texana Rozette. (I wish I had 1/10th of her digi-talent.)

Hm... Anyone else notice a possible pattern here? Am I now officially Texas-tagalicious? At least I am getting tagged by talented Texanas...

winkwink

Now, I had told Rozette I'd reply on my Antics blog since I try to keep Paper Paisleys just for art-related schtick. And I could tell Charlie the same thing.

But now, I give up. LOL No, just kidding. I've got one of my ideas...watch out...so I decided that this time around with the tag, I will make my replies art-related. It's interesting to learn how other artists and hobbyists look at their art and go about things...right? Maybe I can provide one or two interesting tidbits for you.

So, here are 6 art-related things about me:
1. I'm not technically or totally self-taught. I had some traditional art courses in college, but it was so long ago that I'd be a liar if I took credit for retaining most of the knowledge. It was over 30 years ago and it's not like getting back on a bicycle, OK? I can still sketch certain things, but as I said, I'm tres rusty. And my painting was all in oils, which I'm not ever going back to. Plus, I cannot remember the strokes I learned. So, basically and for all intents and purposes, I'm self-taught.

2. Now, I do remember quite a bit that I learned in college about art theory. You know, design elements, color theory, art genres, basic art history. And, I think sometimes it dupes me into having a false sense of courage that "I can do that" when I have absolutely no beeswax doing it. Knowledge, for me, is power AND a double-edged sword.

3. I have a big appreciation for collagists and mixed media artists. My biggest challenge *slash* brick wall is seeing the process order of layering spatially. Say, WHAT? Well, the layers of color and texture in a collage or mixed media piece were usually done in the opposite order of what you think you see. I would love to give all the artists of those genres truth serum and then have them answer if they have difficulty with this also or does it just come naturally. I would love to know the results. Those to whom it truly comes naturally are blessed with an amazing talent, in my opine. (And those who struggle but do get it done are pretty amazing, too.)

4.My favorite art journaling book is The Decorated Page by Gwen Diehn. Written in 2002, it is one of the oldest of the contemporary books on art journals, but Gwen's a master. She's the chair of the art dept at Warren Wilson College and calls what we do visual-verbal art. Among the many contributors are 2 well-respected and talented artists I know of: Nina Bagley and Karen Michel. Gwen takes the art journaling process step by step, giving the reader what seems like infinite ways to create. She also covers using altered books and scrapbook albums. I remember learning for the first time what a "tip-in" was in this book. The eye candy inspiration is stunning still...I'll keep this book forever.

5.
My favorite altered books book is Altered Books Workshop by Bev Brazelton. Written in 2004, Bev's book is still a timely supply list reference for altering books to use as art pieces or any other kind of self-expression. I love the way she's laid it out, in sections for the beginner, the intermediate, and the advanced alterer. In the advanced section she calls "Creative Techniques", you'll find illustrated instructions for image transfers, cut-outs, pop-ups, insert boxes and drawers, all done in a non-cutesy artistic style. The biggest reason I love and keep this book is Bev's unfraid, jump-in attitude. She's done all her own art work, and that attitude is on every page and in every technique she teaches.

6.
My favorite book about paint is Altered Surfaces by Chris Cozen. This is a skinny little 50-page Design Originals book that has the amount of information that a 500-page book might have. Every square inch of every page is loaded with instructions and photos. Chris is a Working Artist for Golden Paint, and if you are a Golden painter, you needed this book yesterday. I found my copy at Memory Villa. The book's official sub-title is "Using Acrylic Paints with Gels, Mediums, Grounds & Pastes for Paper, Canvas, Board and Plastic". WOW! Yeah, and it's all covered, believe me: mixing, glazing, resist, encaustic, tar gel, molding, even weaving acrylic skin strips, which was something I first learned about here. If you paint with Goldens or any brand of acrylics, you should have this book, unless you already know enough to write one yourself.

Please note that I also managed to blog about those books that have been inspiring me lately. Two birds, meet one stone.

Now, who to tag? I did not tag anyone in particular the first time I did the tag because my fingers hurt so badly I was having trouble thinking. So, this time I'm doing it for both of my taggers. No, I'm not tagging 12 peeps, but I just wanted Rozette to know I was thinking about her. xoxo

So that I can find 6 peeps who haven't done this before or in a while, I'm gonna change up their tags a bit. If your name is listed here, please answer the tag on your blog, choose 6 peeps to tag and ask them whatever you want to, and then go tell them in comments on their blogs.

Hide and watch:

1. Sarah C. : Having a baby is like creating art. In fact, it's your biggest masterpiece! So, tell us 6 baby names that made your semi-finalist list, whether or not Trent liked them, LOL.

2. Tina Z :
You like to keep lists, so tell us the next 6 creative projects you will be doing. These can be for your DT or home or gifts for others.

3. Jill C. : You are incredibly effectively goal-oriented, and those goals are like pieces of art to you. You are the only person I know who actually accomplished 99.9% of your goals in 2008 (and if I'm not mistaken, that one unmet goal was something to do with backing up your photos, and you did accomplish that when you changed computers...one month into the next year. Sheesh! That's 100% in my book!) So, Jill, let's go longterm. Tell us 6 goals / dreams that are not 2009 goals that you want to accomplish before you kick the big one...6 Bucket-List things.

4. Linda D. : You tease about how big your scrapping wishlist is and you are a prodigious paper-user. So, what if you could only scrap with 6 brands of paper...tell us what those 6 paper brands would be.

5. Benita C. : Your Prima collection rivals Primas'. If you had the space and the moola, tell us 6 additional collections you would have.

6. Roberta W. : To you, cooking is more than a cuisine, it's an artform. So, what 6 dishes have you never made and very much want to make?

Until next time, xoxo.