Drippy Grunginess...

I was dying to make something incorporating some of the little mummified old lead watercolor tubes I got recently.  But of course when it came right down to it I almost couldn't get myself to do it - they're so precious in their little metal case, it took sheer willpower to use any at all...  The French card I found inside a French book I had bought the same day, I just love it, and the back is wonderful too. I used the original, but I'm proud to say I at least remembered to copy the front and back before rushing to permanently glue it down!

I also used a page from my old pharmacy book (that any regular reader of my blog is quite familiar with by now!), an old paint brush, old measuring tape and what appears to be some kind of old drawer pull...Plus there's a layer of wax...

I also finally used my other old hinge I'd found to make another diptypch butterfly. Same idea, different butterfly...

Only a couple more weeks until my show, so much more I want to make and so little time, especially since I won't be home this weekend. Oh, well, I can only do what I can do!! 

The Absent, Unforgotten - Concluded

A while back I made a piece I really love, partly because of the page from my wonderful old hymn book - the title of the hymn is "The Absent, Unforgotten".  I just love it, and like a dummy I ripped it out of the book and used it without even making a copy of it first.  Here's that piece I made -

So I was looking through the hymn book the other day, and found a page that must have been right behind the original that I hadn't noticed (again, what a dummy) titled "The Absent, Unforgotten - Concluded". I was so excited!  I immediately made a copy of it, then decided I needed to make a sister piece to the original with it.  I used a different plaster material, and a different way of transferring the balloon, and it's so interesting to see how differently it came out.  I thought I used the same blue color for instance, but they turned out so different I'm not sure now.

I can't decide which I like better, but it was a fun experiment!

Dead Astaire and Mes Amis....

Meet Dead Astaire... I wish I could take credit for that name, but I must confess it goes to my always witty significant other ...  I've been having some fun putting together little digital collages then printing them directly on old pages... I love the look of the page showing through...

Then I was trying to figure out how to use a head from a beheaded Frozen Charlotte, and I became irrationally excited when it occurred to me that I could put it in a tiny watercolor tin from one of my new old sets - it had a bit of crusty old watercolor in it that just fell out, so I painted the inside black, partially filled it with Diamond Glaze, and put the head in. I was going for a specimen, creepy vibe - I have to admit, I love me some creepy... These are the silly things that can absolutely thrill me....

My Mom was in town, and Saturday she and I and my friend Val went to Mes Amis, a wonderful Vintage Antiques fair held here locally in Roseville twice a year. I hadn't been before, and we really enjoyed it.

 Two of the vendors had little tiny campers that they'd redone - they were absolutely darling inside, made me want to re-do one myself!



One of the things I was most impressed by were these big pot things at a man's booth. At first I thought they were clay or something, then when I got close I realized they're inside out wheels/tires - sheer genius!



The way they take the paint they look like old metal or clay...

Birdman, and My Antiques Haul....

Over the summer we were enjoying a nest in our big climbing rosebush.  It's now deserted so we retrieved the nest, and ever since I've been trying to figure out how to use it in a piece of art.  Then my friend Val gave me this birdcage looking thing as part of a birthday present (sorry Val - I can't promise I won't take apart and just generally beat the shit out of gifts these days!) and I had the beginnings of what I needed. I wanted a head, and I finally resorted to sculpting one...

Bird nests fascinate me, the work involved in this thing!  The little bits of ribbon and things woven in...amazing....  I put chicken wire underneath to secure it....

And yesterday was 2nd Sunday, which in Sacramento means the Antiques Fair.  And I had a banner day, I must say - it's always pretty hit and miss, but my antiquing mojo was on....And since I love it when other people do this, I took a few pictures of some of what I bought...

I think the most exciting was a box of old watercolor stuff, a wonderful black metal box full of mummified little watercolor tubes, and 4 tins of little watercolor sets and old brushes - I got a great deal, depending on your perspective of course.... And the little baby with the blue dunce cap on, just cracks me up. He's got the most startling little, ummm, pee pee going on...

I have plans for this old brownie camera... and almost hidden behind the camera is a kitchen utensil, some kind of beater, that Karen from I am Rushmore uses to great effect for background texture.  I'm stealing your idea Karen, I'm confessing right now!

Balancing Act

It was a holiday weekend here in the States - I love sleeping in on a Monday!  So I got lots of good art time in - working on my own, plus going to the Sausalito Art Festival on Sunday.

First my own art - I started quite a few things, but only finished a couple of them  This one I call Balancing Act, for obvious reasons.. Something we've all gotten very experienced at, I think...

Layers of old papers, stencil and wax, and a little lace, plus this cool old metal piece from the inside of an old sifter that I disemboweled... Not often you see the words "lace" and "disemboweled" in the same sentence, huh??

This piece of wood I got at a really cool place in San Francisco where companies donate excess materials, samples, supplies etc., then the money from their sale goes to a charity. I was determined to do something with it, but kept coming up blank.  It was tricky because of the slats, and I finally decided on a chandelier for some reason. I spent too much time working on it really, trying to get the shading and highlights right. This picture came out terrible, but I still don't love it.  Ah well, probably not a bad thing to have something to offer that's lighter and girlier than my usual!

 The Sausalito Art Festival - was wonderful, my head was spinning with sensory overload by the time we left. I didn't take pictures, but I decided to list the links of a few of my favorites that I saw this year, in case anyone is interested in seeing some new art...there were some great mixed media ones I hadn't seen before...

Cathy Rose  She is why I started going to this festival - her art blows me away. It's heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time, she's amazing.

Sandy Young - Beautiful mixed media incorporating glass, I've never seen anything like it before.

Irena Siwek - Unbelievable drawings

Betsy Youngquist - Mind-boggling creations that her husband carves then she covers with beads. For the faces she uses broken old doll faces.  The Octopus which you can see on her website took her 3 months.