I've been engaging in an art exchange and these photos are pages I did for a friend's Deco book. The pages are approx. 4 x 6.
One of the rules of the exchange was one of the pages had to include a Zentangle. My Zentangled S is the back page.
I hope you are all having a good start to your week. I always begin my week on Mondays and Tuesdays with spending those days with Sophia. What an absolute joy it is to be with her! She'll be ten months on the 6th of October - yikes! Where did that time go?
I will be catching up with Blogs, this week, and can't wait to see what you are all up to.
Peace and love ........................ Marilyn xxoo
The winner of my "Good Witch" blog giveaway is Corrine of DosfishesUsing my trusted random selector, aka my husband, he selected Corrine's name out of a basket filled with folded names accumulated from all of your lovely comments and emails that I received.
Corrine: please email me with your mailing information and I will get your "Good Witch" flying out to you by week's end.
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you all who joined in on the giveaway!!!!!
Much love to all - Marilyn
I thought it's time for another Blog giveaway!
I love the onset of Fall and created this piece with that in mind. I really didn't think I'd end up with a witch! It just kind of happened! Honestly; I am not much of a Halloween fan but I do love the colors of the event. I've always loved a burnt orange with black and tones of yellow and gold.
This piece is a mixed media, 6 x 12 cradled canvas. I call this "The Good Witch" (no spooky or mean witches for me) :)
I like to think, of her, casting good spells on people; offering good health, peace of mind and heart.
I made her outrageous hat out of Plaster Cloth (see earlier post, below, of a video I did with its use). So; this piece is very textural.
If you like my "Good Witch", and you want to enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment, here, and I will take names up until Sunday, September 26th. I will announce the winner on Monday evening, September 27th.
If you're unable to leave a comment, you can email me privately.
Good luck and thanks so much for stopping by. I love your visits, your supportive comments and friendships. Offering these giveaways, is my way of showing my appreciation to all of you.
And may all of your witches that you encounter be good ones :)
Much love - Marilyn xxoo
I spent part of my day, yesterday, carving some more stamps. This time I used linoleum blocks with my own hand-drawn images. I found the linoleum blocks to be more challenging particularly with the detail of faces.
My first attempt, my left and right sides of my brain were not in balance :) I was not thinking about a reverse image and the heart and words I AM, of course, are backwards. But; I ended up liking it in an artsy way but it definitely was a learning curve or "carve" as I like to say.
The other carving is my second attempt with the linoleum and my own image and I was more conscious of how the stamp was going to turn out. Carving around eyes and fine details - tough. I think the images come out a little "spooky" but I like the effect. These will be great for my journaling activities.
Stamping with them is a bit challenging. I actually mounted the stamps onto a mounting block with double-stick tape. I found Staz On ink works best for me. I definitely need a base "cushion" to stamp on and I used one of those foam/rubber garden helpers; the ones that are supposed to protect our knees when weeding. Well; you can tell the cushion is being used as an art supply here - my garden reflects it :)
As far as the paper to use for stamping, I would highly recommend using hot-press watercolor paper to stamp on or a fine, smooth cardstock - any textural surface does not bode well for these stamps. I actually tried one on vellum and it came out beautifully.
I am very aware of today's date; September 11th and have and am reflecting on the anniversary date of the attack on the twin towers. My prayers go out to victims' and their loved ones. While visiting Blogs, this morning, there are many beautiful and moving tributes out there. I can remember, so clearly, what I was doing the day of the attack. My husband and I were watching the Today Show and the breaking news occurred. I felt like I had an out-of-body experience watching it!
May your weekend be filled with peace, joy, moments of reflection and thank you all for being a very special presence in my life!
Love and peace - Marilyn xxoo
We are now carving our own stamps with the help of Pam Carriker's Journal 365 online workshop. She is leading me into so many areas that I've never ventured before.
These are pictures of a recent journal entry I did using my own carved stamps. I've separated the pages and then took a photo of the complete spread. All the stamps, you see, here, are ones I've carved except the small daisies. I find this activity another relaxing exercising - and I've always admired the look of a hand-carved stamp. I like the distressed look of it - those imperfections in them that offer a more natural look. The stamps are nice and thick and I can see they would be wonderful for stamping on fabric, too. I find when I stamp, with them, I need a "cushie" thing underneath to help with getting the best impression. I use a magazine underneath or a computer mouse is great, too.
I hope you've all had a good beginning to your week. Our weather, here, is cooling off nicely, I must add, and have enjoyed having every window open in our house the past couple of days. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Fresh air!
A new school year is upon us and I hope for those, of you, who have school-aged children that they have a good year ahead. Time is moving so quickly isn't it?
You are all in my thoughts and hope, for you and yours, a safe and happy upcoming weekend.
Thank you all for your supportive, loving comments, here, that you leave for me; maybe that's why I like birds so much as you all have given me wings! :) Much love - Marilyn xxoo
