rabbit rabbit

Another answer to the challenge: (a) use only Impression Obsession stamps/dies and (b) work in a square. Limitation spurs the imagination. So here are two rabbit/bunny dies at work. The mini-bunnies and grass help give a sense of distance. The text is edited from a holiday sentiment. 

Use what you have. See where it takes you.

Celebration

Another super-hot day. I'm a shade plant.  I relish the return of cooler weather. So in response to  Impression Obsession's square card challenge, here's a bit of fall.

two favorite stamps

 Their Print Pear always looks elegant. Against its clarity I enjoy experimenting with loose painting and scattered dots.

 

less paint, more color

Their Joy stamp seems a bit grungy for Holiday cards, but I like it here: an invitation to celebrate, whatever the reason.

Color, cards, and a tip of the hat

After a hot, productive day, I decided to take on Papertrey Ink's invitation to play with color in the spirit of Andy Warhol.  

 Inspired by the current state of my work table,

My work table tonight

I picked out a stamp from a set about art supplies:

Part of the set - Anyone know the maker?

The Papertrey video explains the steps well enough for even a slapdash person like me to follow. More or less. 

Sticky notes, printed and trimmed, mask the stamps. Painter's tape masks the grounds, one at a time.

Getting started.

 When I slipped up doing the backgrounds, the result reminded me of a shadow. So I repeated the effect in the other quadrants. A soft pink frame and a Papertrey wish finished it off.

Finished

 Lots of fun. Might just do this again tomorrow.

Snow in July

Sometimes it's good to lean back. Imagine chilly winds, while hot sun streams through studio windows.

Papertrey Ink's newest demo prodded me to test watercolor effects with stamping. This was the best result, worked on smooth Bristol. Spritzing  the tree stamp before printing gave the image a kind of mystery glow. So I moved the scene to night, using silver embossed snowflake images as resist  for night sky watercolor layer. At the center,  JOY and the wee feather stamps, from Papertrey. The tree image is from Indigoblu. And of course, a deer, standing in the snow.

With love

Some out-of-favor polka dots, skimmed with crimson and gold. Then a black-and-white text paper, veiled with crimson. Finally, lots of related circles from all these and more, using a Papertrey die so  hoop and circles match.  Little messages from tiny Papertrey stamps. Nice break on a quiet afternoon.

Last week, we made Valentines in Assisted Living. Something about all that pink brings out the best in everyone.

 Residents made cards. Staff joined in.  

"This should go on all day," declared the director.

 Cards were made for spouses, children, grandchildren. I talked one woman into making cards for her granddaughters in college. High point of my day.

The week before, I led Heart-Felt Collage at the Arlington Center for the Arts. 

So much loving creativity.

 And lots of paint.

Big hearts, creative people.  A great afternoon.

Found poetry collage

The Arlington Center for the Arts collage class started last night making cards.

Barbara: blues and yellows this term

They each got a card, a page from an old children's mystery, and 30 minutes.

We talked briefly about the steps involved: how to get past the page to the words that moved you; how to step from there to a ground that supported your text.

My class sample

What felt odd quickly morphed into delight in their talented hands.

Nancy: complex found imagery

An assignment that felt odd quickly transformed to intriguing in their capable hands.

Caroline: wolves, dense surface, imbedded questions

 Each card reflected the personality its maker.

Judy: ocean colors, vistas

 The goal: relax, work fast, leap past the tired monkey brain to joy.

Beth: rich colors, warm heart

 I think it worked.

Deborah: direct and yet unexpected

 "Is this what the Valentine's workshop will like?" 

Yes, but with lots of pink and red, hearts and flowers.

Kathy: tiny window, rich view

 These folks are a joy. They support each other. They work hard.

Appreciating the results

Wonderful, creative women.  

So much talent, such different voices.

One more week together. The term has flown by.

Mother's Day Cards

two mother's day cards

Don't know about you, but I find that working with someone in mind

brings energy. These cards were made thinking of the women

in my life who knew me and my husband before

we knew anything but the sound of 

their voices.

two more

Mothering is hard work. No days off. 

"Every mother is a working mother."

I used to keep that bumper sticker on my car.

Here's to the mothers and the fathers, everywhere.

Fiber Art Cards for Spring

I've been working on new cards for spring.

Be Yourself Biker

 They will be for sale this Saturday, noon-5, at the Loading Dock Gallery and in Lowell Fiber Studio, #512 on the fifth floor.

Begin Anywhere birds

As always, each one is unique, made by hand, by  me.

a favorite quote from antiquity

If you haven't been to Open Studios for a while, you are in for a stunning day. There are so many new artists in the building. Paintings, stained glass, soap, upcycled furniture, knitting, weaving, quilts, clay, even model boats: you'll find it all at 122 Western Avenue.

For the graduate, perhaps

 Find something wonderful for mother's day, graduation, or just for you this Saturday.

My favorite for today

Western Avenue Open Studios

122 Western Avenue

Lowell, MA

Noon to 5

Collage and stitched cards

 Who doesn't like a card in the mail?

Valentine's Day: my favorite holiday.

It comes after the deluge of December, the recovery and clean up of January. 

A quieter time, when you have permission to hand out extra hugs.

Culling out books from our shelves, I found a paperback from college that was falling apart. So I spread the pages on my studio table and went to town with the tag-ends of various paints: pink, fushia, purple, and white.

When these dried, I cut out hearts and started to work. Some scraps of text worked their way back in. More and more materials came off the shelves to play.

Eventually transparencies of old photographs and machine stitching were involved.

And last scraps of hand-dyed and -printed fabric:

Every card is unique, ready to be mailed or framed.

You'll find my hand-made, one-of-a-kind Valentines at the Loading Dock Gallery.

Or visit me on February 2, from noon-5pm. I'll be in studio 512, Western Avenue Studios.

Pick up your "Gifts from the Heart" card as you enter the building, get it stamped from participating artists, and  you'll have a chance to win a gift certificate, good with any WASA artist.