Keys 4 Art 2014, Part II

Greetings from Keys4Art! (Oh, how I wish I really was still there. Especially after yesterday's deep freeze and snow. But don't get me started). Before I get to the art activities of the day, I want to share some of the gifts we all gave/received. First, Elena. What can I say about our hostess and founder? In addition to being a loyal friend, a fun companion, a devoted mom, and a whole bunch of other cool things, she is hands down, the most generous person I know. When we arrived at our rental house it was all set up for us, and at each seat, a whole bunch of incredible gifts. And the pile just kept getting larger as we all gifted one another and Elena added more as well. I truly am blessed to call these women my friends.

Because our two day workshop with DJ Pettitt would involve sewing, Elena thought we each should have a Janome mini to use (and then, to take home). 

Pretty fantastic, right? And this little, 5 pound machine works like a champ. If you've ever hesitated taking a workshop  because it involved schlepping a sewing machine with you, consider this. Easy to operate, and did I mention, only 5 pounds. Thank  you, Elena!

And then, there was the beach towel, pretty pink satchel, t-shirt, personalized apron, pencil case, tote bag.....

I bought this great NYC fabric at The City Quilter.

And used it to make everyone a tissue holder.

Every year Jen makes a great music mix and we each get a disc. This year, she did her research, and actually found at least one song for each of our names. And here I thought I was only memorialized in "C'mon Eileen," by that one hit wonder, Dexy's Midnight Runners. Nope, Jen found another Eileen classic. So, we each received the mix and the "say my name" compilation. Speaking of mixes, Jen is also a very excellent mixologist of another kind.

Many of the gifts were small hand crafted items, or things picked up in travel, and they made their way into my Keys2014 journal. Below, tags from Sue and Lill, a real porcupine quill from Sue (from her very recent Africa trip), a cupid from Pat, and a paper kimono from Carla. There were others, as well, including paper for our journals, journal inserts, and ...... I know I've left things out, but honestly, there was so much sharing and giving, I found things on my table with no clue where they came from. Thank you everyone!

Our first full day was mostly spent doing a beautiful canvas with Pat as our teacher and guide. She called it "Steampunk Dragonfly," and it is not only beautiful, but incorporated some techniques I know we'll be using again and again. 

This is not a licorice puree, but the result of Pat's recipe for homemade texture paste. Worked like a charm! Here is my canvas about midway through the process. You can see the black paste used to build up texture as well as act as an adhesive for many of the steampunky embellishments we used.

And the finished piece, which is even better in person, and which I love. And by the way, Pat provided virtually everything we needed for the project. Many thanks, Pat for a fun day. 

After dinner (Karen's gumbo, y'all) Daisy led us in a button bracelet class. I didn't think I'd like it, and it wound up being one of my favorite accessories. And all you really need is a strip of leather or suede, some velcro, a LOT of buttons and other do-dads, and some good glue. Here is a lineup of our bracelets. Mine is the one in the upper right.

Now, in addition to any other quirks I might have, I have a real "thing" about naked buttonholes. You know what I mean....buttonholes with no thread. Just don't care for that look. I started working on that problem at the retreat, and finished when I got home. 

That's what I'm talking about! Stamp out naked buttonholes! When thread is not an option, just add some bling. Daisy, you won me over. I wear this all the time. Thank you!

The next time I post the subject will be the wonderful, the talented, the beautiful DJ Pettitt, and the totally gorgeous books we made with her. Stay tuned!

Keys 4 Art 2014, Part 1

All winter long we think about, plan for, shop for, create keepsakes for, and look forward to Keys 4 Art, the annual Florida Keys retreat I have been attending for the past 5 years with my art sisters. Some, like Pat and Teri are friends here in NYC, but the rest come from all over the US and Canada. Which makes our yearly get together so special. And then, poof! It's over. One of the reasons I love to blog about our adventures is to relive them. So here goes, Part 1.

Pat, Teri and I met up at the airport, and found we'd been randomly selected for VIP status. That meant we were swept through security and didn't even have to take our shoes off! Good start. Our flight left on time, was uneventful (always a good thing), and we were able to have a leisurely lunch in Miami before meeting up with the rest of the gang. A van met us and took us to the fabulous house that Elena and Jacquie had found.

An early riser, every morning I woke up in time to enjoy the sunrise in solitude.

Our first full day belonged to Jacquie, who must have literally brought her entire studio along with her. Thankfully, she lives in Florida, so it all fit in her car. She could never have provided such great instruction for us if she had to think about packing for a plane trip. Her topic, encaustics. If you're a regular reader you know I had an unfortunate experience with an encaustics class a couple of years ago; too many students, not enough supplies, and very poor teaching. Jacquie made up for that big time. As you can see, we held this class outdoors, so toxic fumes were not an issue. Plus, being creative in such a great setting, with views of the pool and the ocean.....not too shabby.

Above,  just ONE of the tables of supplies and equipment Jacquie brought. We had many substrates to work on, and I finished these two 6x6" pieces. Any cloudiness has long since disappeared, and I love the way they turned out.

Here are a few of the wonderful pieces my friends did:

If you're unfamiliar with encaustics, I suggest Google for lots more information than I can provide. And if it intrigues you, take a class.....but do a little research, ask questions, and try to get a recommendation from someone whose opinion you trust. 

My next post will feature a fabulous canvas called "Steampunk Dragonfly" that Pat brought for us to do. Stay tuned!

A Documented Life -- Mononchromania

Well, hello there. Long time, no post. I've been busy (all good), and one week of that busy-ness was the wonderful time I spent in the Florida Keys with my art sisters. I'm almost ready to start blogging about that, but in the mean time, here is my week 14 page for The Documented Life Project. The prompt: do a page that is monochromatic. Maybe it was that Florida sun, but I was immediately drawn to a very bright, tropical color.....orangey-reddish-pinkish. Maybe not technically monochromatic, but close enough for me.

I started with some gelli plate prints on deli wrap paper.

And then tore them randomly into strips of all sizes.

The strips were glued down, overlapping, and then the sun and skyline were added. When completely dry, some machine stitching finished it off.

Makes me wish I could be back in Florida, cocktail in hand, watching a beautiful Key Largo sunset.

Keys4Art 2014....two more sleeps!

I haven't been doing much, except for things like this:

Getting ready to see some of my BFFs in the Florida Keys at the week-long art fest known as:

The very talented Teri came up with a brand new logo.

And no, none of us actually have such waists. LOL! But we do plan to have paint brushes, palettes, and cocktails in hand very soon.

Once again we have pooled resources and rented a house. And what a house it is! Last year's was pretty fabulous, but this one.....I've been told the photos don't do it justice. Can't wait!

I don't know if I'll have time to keep in touch while I'm away, but I promise many photos when I return. And as if all this isn't enough, we have the one and only, the fabulous DJ Pettitt coming down to hold a private two day workshop for us. Right now I'm thinking life couldn't be any better.

A Documented Life -- Separated At Birth

I've often said that I generally begin a project with a rough plan, but how it ends up is a whole other story. This week's prompt in The Documented Life Project is to include a bird image on a page. All I knew at this point is that I wanted a metal bird and I also wanted one made of fabric.

I looked at these two guys and the phrase "fraternal twins" came to mind. And the piece wound up being light hearted.

The background is a collage of strips of three different gelli plate prints. Metal bird was cut from a piece of aluminum which I stained with brown ink and stamped with black (both permanent - I used Ranger's archivals). Holes were punched with an awl and the wing attached to the body with needle and thread. His eye is a metal brad with the look of a screw.

Fabric bird was machine stitched on muslin, following a very lightly drawn outline, then colored with highly diluted water colors. When dry, I cut it out close to the stitching, and adhered it to the page with Ailene's tacky glue.

The moral of the story: a chance encounter can be life changing, even for a bird.

A Documented Life - Who Am I?

The week 10 prompt in The Documented Life Project: What makes you, "you?" Or, if I'm talking to myself, which has been known to happen, what makes me, "me?" Apparently lots of things, and so many contradictions. That became the focus of my piece. And don't think for a moment I believe that makes me unique. I'm sure we all have many sides, which is why a usually kind person can also do something incredibly mean. Not talking about myself, of course. 

This is more journal than art, and that's OK with me. I find with these prompts, the page is just going to be what it wants to be. 

The building is something from a printmaking class I took a year or so ago. I adhered it to cardstock and then cut doors and windows with my craft knife. You'll see that in a moment. I started by simply writing whatever words I felt described or defined me, and started noticing that quite often I had what I thought of as a positive attribute, as well as it's exact opposite. I threw it all into the mix. When I got to some things that I wasn't sure I wanted to go public with, I decided to create some hidden spots for writing, hence the doors and windows.

I love this project! 

A Documented Life -- Recycled Art

This week's prompt in The Documented Life Project is to collage something you've recycled. I decided what better to do than recycle bits and pieces and leftovers from old art projects, including those I've done and some I've received.

I used a piece of an old magazine cover as my base. As I arranged the elements I tacked them down with Elmer's Extra Strength glue stick (it doesn't muck up the sewing machine needle). 

Some of the circles are fabric, others are paper. 

There are bits of old tags, circles punched from postage stamps and some cut from envelopes. See the piece on the top left with the ribbon? It is the top of a tag that had otherwise gotten damaged. Over on the top right, those animal heads were on postage stamps, I believe from Australia.

The brightly striped circles were cut from paper that was originally an envelope, handmade by a friend who sent me some "stuff." And I do believe that is Queen Elizabeth in the center of one of the circles. (Also from a postage stamp).

I'm sure I've said this before, but I love using things made/sent by my friends in my own art. Even just a scrap of paper or fabric, or a bit of ephemera handed to me at a workshop will make me think of that friend every time I look at the finished piece.

Getting My Tangle On

Several months ago, a discussion of Zentangling began in one of my groups (Blissfully Art Journaling). My friend (and group mom) Teri suggested that those who were interested follow along with the tangles in this book, because many of us already owned it:

I found a nice chunky notebook to work in.

I got into this because I'm a doodler, and just wanted to add some variety to my doodling. You know, something a little more interesting than my usual crosshatching. What I didn't expect, was how relaxed Zentangling made me feel.

Every day Most days Many days I'd practice the tangles, generally first thing in the morning .There are usually three presented each day, with extremely easy stroke by stroke directions. The culminating activity is to use the new tangles in a design, along with any others previously learned.

My first designs are very simple, since I didn't have a whole lot of tangles to work with...yet. I think the designs grew in interest and complexity, and I have found that a few minutes of Zentangling is a much better and more calming way to begin each day than my usual coffee and email. (Oh, those come later, I'm still me).

Here are a few, in chronological order. I'm about 2/3 through the book, by the way.

The chapter I'm working on now deals with adding color. In the first design, I used colored pencils, in the second, watercolors.