Stayin' Dry

As I write this, Irene has been downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm.  Hey, a rose by any other name.....she is still doing a good job of kicking ass.  I couldn't resist opening a window and snapping a few pix.   The raw wood you see on the trees is where large limbs and branches used to be:

Behind the trees in the next shot is a usually well traveled parkway.  Only official vehicles on it today.

Any blurriness is not due to the photographer's shaky hands....just a basic point and shoot camera trying to capture trees bending crazily in the wind.

One last shot....you can barely make out the Hudson River through the rain and fog.

Many folks have mentioned that this weather makes it so convenient to stay home and make some art.  I don't know about anyone else, but I can't focus on a thing besides this storm.  The news has been on non-stop and every time I try to do something creative I get distracted....checking windows for leaks, watching the poor reporters getting blown to bits in Long Beach and Coney Island....I tried to work on a book binding project and just kept screwing up the stitches, so I gave up.

And now a shameless plug.  Please check out Seth Apter's blog, The Altered Page.  It's a wonderful blog any day of the week, but on Sundays he has a feature called The Pulse, which posts photos and answers to questions by an assortment of mixed media artists.  Someone you might know (insert big smile) is in today's issue.

East Coast buddies.....stay safe!







We Interrupt this Interruption......

......I am home for a few days before family business takes me away again, and as the name of my blog attests, doing art is an absolute necessity, no matter what other drama is going on.  Before I left last week I started work on pages in my friend Lill's Artistic Evolution journal, and finished them yesterday.  This morning I went to the post office and the book is on its way to the next contributor.  Yes, I just love being a part of these collaborative projects.

Lill's only request was that the color turquoise be part of our work, and most of the artists who did pages before me had an aquatic theme.  I continued that, but with a bit of a twist.  Here they are:

There are lots of layers under the blue that wound up being covered, which happens a lot.  But even if you can't see the text, the music sheets, etc., they do add lots of texture.  As for my version of koi fish, I did a rough sketch with pencil and filled that in with.....are you ready?.......scraps of that black and white patterned paper you find on the insides of security envelopes.  They're pretty much covered up in the largest fish on page 1, but you can still see some of the pattern on the second page fish.  I can't even tell you all that went on top of the paper.  I know there I used a blue glaze, wild honey distress stain, gold paint, orange glaze.....until I got a look I was happy with.  

I was most excited though, about the quote I found. 

Speaking of collaborations (I was, wasn't I?), if you're not already a follower of Seth Apter's blog (The Altered Page), you ought to visit.  Seth is a NYC artist who has been widely published, and has been involved in many collaborative projects, some lasting years!  Seth is very dedicated to fostering an online community for all us mixed media peeps, and one way he does this is through something he calls The Pulse, which appears on his blog.  He sent out a list of questions for a variety of artists to answer and the results will be published beginning this weekend.  There will be posts Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and then every Sunday thereafter.  Questions like, what is your go-to technique?  what art supply can't you live without?  if you could take a class with any artist living or dead, who would it be?  And other equally interesting things to ponder.  I've always enjoyed reading the responses of other artists, and this year, my responses will be part of The Pulse.  So please do check it out.









Buried Treasure

Seth at The Altered Page has organized his second year of Buried Treasure. Here's the deal:   Starting Thursday July 15 all participating bloggers will re-post one (or more) of their favorite posts that ever appeared on their blog.
You know which is mine?  Any of the ones I posted after my Key Largo retreat, but especially the one where I shared some of what I learned of Lynne Perrella's techniques.  I think that's because it was a perfect combination of teaching, sharing, collaboration, and friendship, not to mention the art of others.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Keys 4 Art - Day 3, Part 1

The whole morning, and part of the afternoon was spent finishing the Lynne Perrella inspired project.  I was happy to share what I could with everyone, and even happier with how much they seemed to enjoy it.  We added color with paint, ink, paper.  I showed some of the techniques I'd learned for using the Portfolio water soluble oil pastels....awesome product!  I also shared some of Lynne's tips for making the images you find on the internet your own, through altering and coloring.  
The picture above shows all 12 of us holding our completed creations.  I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but this is the only picture I have of everyone....from left to right, artist and home base (I hope; the picture is small and my eyes, well, they're 62 like the rest of me):   Jacquie, Florida; Sue, Illinois; Marita, Oregon; Linda, Florida; Juliet, W. Virginia (or maybe just Virginia); me!, New York; Jen, California; Patty, Florida; Val, Michigan; Elena, Florida; Gina, Oregon, and Lillian, Canada.
First, some shots of artists at work, and works in progress:

 

 

I love the way each and every piece came out.  Some turned theirs into books, and some left them as is, planning on having them framed for display.  Who could blame anyone?  Look how gorgeous:

We went outside and posed for closeups with our creations, in a suitably beautiful setting, by a hibiscus (bush? tree?).

Juliet

Jacquie

Sue

 

Me

 

Linda

 

Marita

 

Patty

 

Gina

 

Lillian

 

Val

 

Jen

 

And last, but surely not least, our wonderful host, Elena

Well, this was a long and full day, so even though it isn't over, I'll end now, and pick up in the afternoon of Day 3 for my next post.