This is my 8x10 sample piece for the "Let's Get Plastered" workshop that Kerri and I are offering (see previous post) for details.
I had some wood panels and decided to use the spackle on the wood and it's just heavenly to apply on the flat, wood panel. Hope you all are having a good weekend. We got socked with a lot of snow on Friday and had a little more overnight. Now; I've always said I would rather have snow but, now, at this point in time, it's getting on everyone's nerves! Tomorrow we're in for a beginning of freezing rain then all rain - the melting of all this snow will present many challenges.
Stay safe, warm and wishing you all a good week ahead.
Spring will come! Right?
Love much - Marilyn xxoo
My dear and talented friend Kerri and I are offering a local workshop at Captured Moments,
Sunday, March 13, 2011, from 10-3. The name of the workshop is "Let's Get Plastered" and the above canvasses are Kerri's awesome examples of what students will learn to make in class--an 8x10 mixed-media piece made with spackle, acrylic paint and collage.We are very excited about this offering and can't wait to share this technique as well as some more fun things to add to our mixed-media pieces!
Just a note: Kerri and I are putting our heads together on the how-to's of offering online workshops. We have much to think about and research but have begun the wheels turning towards this direction.
Kerri's Blog is highlighted above, so if you are interested in signing up for our latest workshop or want to be placed on an email list, for future offerings, please check out Kerri's Blog for more information.
More snow, sleet, and rain, here, this weekend! I am wishing you all a safe and happy weekend ahead!
Love much - Marilyn xxoo
Have you ever started out working on an art project having it already envisioned in your mind?
This 8x8 page started out with a layered background (the photo kind of muted the color) then a gel transfer of an image I had in my stash. It was just a face of a woman and I wish I saved it so I could show this before and after result. The transfer was not very successful except it started taking on a mind of its own if you know what I mean.
I began seeing a Geisha with the hair outline and decided to go with it. The butterfly that is on top of her head, here, was actually a huge bow on the original image and it just didn't come out very well when I tried to transfer the image.
I found some Asian text paper in my stash and collaged it as her Kimona and went from there. I painted in the crow, used a stencil, postage stamps and some other delicate papers for further collage.
Thanks so much for visiting and hope you are all having a good week!
Much love - Marilyn xxoo
This is an 8x8 journal page expressing one of my favorite quotes:
"Within your heart
keep one, still,
secret spot
where dreams
may go"..................Louise Driscoll
Thank you SO much for all of your lovely and supportive comments on my post, below, regarding the Somerset publication. I really appreciate your words and you've all inspired me in so many ways. Thank you for the wings! Without you, I couldn't do what I do!
Hope you are all having a nice weekend. It's been an extremely windy one for us, here, in the Northeast and tonight into tomorrow we are expecting more snow! We just got rid of some from the last storm. Oh well; this is life, here, and truth be known, I wouldn't want to live any other place.
I wish you all a good week ahead; be safe and stay well!
Love much - Marilyn xxoo
I received a lovely surprise in yesterday's mail; a copy of Somerset Studio's March/April 2011 issue with a cover letter stating that one of my art canvases is published in this issue! I've been published in Somerset Studio, a few times, but quite a long time ago. I haven't submitted anything, to them, in so long but they had a challenge that just caught my attention. The submission theme was Simple Pleasures and that is right up my alley.
The piece I submitted was based on a sketch I did of a teenager on a skate board who delivers newspapers in our area. I walk each and every day and he happened to be in the area of where I had taken a moment to sit down on a bench. I had a small sketchbook journal in my coat pocket and decided to start sketching this teen who had the healthiest, flowing hair I had ever seen. He wasn't even aware I was sketching him.
I decided, later, to use this sketch with a textured background I did that symbolized lots of movement and color, reminiscent of that day I encountered the active, teenager, on my walk, as walking is truly one of my simple pleasures in life.
Just had to share my good news day with all of you.
What is one of your simple pleasures?
Warm thoughts of all, of you, have a wonderful weekend, ahead, and today we are headed to a 50 degree temperature. Looks like another good day for that simple pleasure of mine :)
Love much.....................Marilyn xxoo
8 x 8 Journal Page
"My Dream"
This page reflects a question someone asked me recently as to what my dream trip is. I'm not much of a traveler but I've always known that I would love to go to Italy. Just seeing pictures in books and movie scenes; between the art, landscape and history........WOW! Someday perhaps?
I'm hoping your week is going well; we're already at the mid point. Good thoughts for all of you. We're experiencing a little melting here; very hopeful!
What would your dream trip be? I'd love to read in your comments!
"ciao" Love, Marilyn xxoo
This 8 x 8 journal page was just fun! It was supposed to be a self-portrait exercise but, frankly, working with my self-portrait does not inspire me to create :)
I decided to work the exercise with one of my own sketched and painted images and go from there.
The real inspiration, for this piece, was from a newspaper ad I found in our local newspaper. I loved the header quote; it instantly got my attention and led me to thinking. Admittedly, I inserted the quote, in this piece, with Photoshop as I was working with a brand-new Japanese ink pen I just got and, well; things went amuck so I had to take it out. I will definitely need some practice with the ink pen :)
This quote got me to thinking about my own life-saving devices and I narrowed it down to four things: 1. family, 2. good health 3. friends, 4. art
We are all human and there are times when we must tap into our life-saving devices. I am thankful for all of mine.
I'd love to read some of your life-saving devices when you leave a comment.
Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.
Loving thoughts to all for Valentine's Day!
Peace and joy.........................Marilyn xxoo
I worked on this 8 x 8, this morning, and must have re-worked the background, at least, 5 times so there are many layers here. I had transferred some calligraphy from an ink jet printout to begin with but it's now hidden under the many layers :) The trees are transferred from a photo I have here in my stash.
I'm beginning to become more comfortable with gel transfers since I've been using the soft gel-matte medium instead of the heavy gel. That may have been my problem from the beginning of my art journey :) But; it's all about discovery, learning, re-doing, letting go of the inner critic. Journaling has really allowed me to take leaps that I probably wouldn't have taken before. After all; journaling is just for us! We can create without judgments, deadlines and in our own time. There is much to be said for this.
I call this piece Threads of Life because I really love trees and particularly the bare ones. I find the shapes of the branches, very artistic, reaching out, to us, and some of their tiny branches are thread-like to me. Trees are reminders of life and they offer us protection in many ways. One of my memories of childhood was sitting under a big, huge willow tree sipping a soda with my friend in the hot summers. We didn't have a thing called air conditioning and the trees offered us some cooling off time.
Thank you all for your supportive comments on my 8 x 8 pages. My journal is getting thicker and I made a cover for it a couple of weeks ago which I'll share soon.
Hope you all are having a good beginning to your week. I began my week with Monday and Tuesday time with Sophia! She is so, very close to walking now; standing up on her own when she's not even realizing it and I love the expression on her face when she realizes she balancing up all by herself; a proud smile comes over her! And - Grandma, too :)
Warm thoughts for all of you........................Love much, Marilyn xxoo
This 8 x 8 page was an exercise in some background work scraping acrylic paints around the paper, using stencils, building up layers, adding one of our own images.
Once I complete a background, I love moving the page around to look for things that I might see before adding my image.
I actually saw a body shape forming next to the wing there (that is a stencil). Misty taught us some really cool ways to use stencils! I reduced one of my face images and this all turned out to be an angel of sorts. After I painted the face, her "ghostly" expression made me think she was wondering if she really earned her wings? Hmmmmmm.
Someone suggested this would make a funky, non-traditional Valentine card. Well now; I'll have to give that some thought :)
I am wishing everyone a good weekend and hope your weather has quieted down. We've actually had a couple of really nice days after the latest storm.
Warm thoughts of all, be safe and have a great weekend!
Peace and love.......................Marilyn xxoo
Here is another 8 x 8 journal page. This was a practice in gel transfers, collage, using one of our own images with our painted background, etc. Thank you for your lovely feedback you have been leaving for these journal pages. I'm so enjoying Misty's class and we have one more week to go.
I'm hoping all who are effected by this latest winter storm are safe and warm. On the news, this morning, they said the span of the storm covers 2,000 miles! Crazy!
We're okay, here; we have a wonderful next-door neighbor who takes good care of us in the winter. I'm just hoping we don't get lots of ice on top of what's already fallen; that is my nemesis in winter - ice storms! We were through a terrible one a couple of years ago where we were without power for 8 days! Just about everything is closed, today, and everyone is being advised to stay off the roads if possible.
Anyway; warm and safe thoughts are with all!
Love much.....................Marilyn xxoo
