Hi, my name is Marilyn and I'm an "artaholic"-lol! I've come to the conclusion that I am addicted to art! I cannot get enough and the learning process is just as addicting. As I have posted, previously, I signed up for Pam Carriker's Journal 365 Workshop through Creative Workshops. I am enjoying this class SO much that I decided to hop on her Pursuing Portraits, too! Pam's relaxing teaching style made me think that, perhaps, her approach to portraits might just help me, too. So; I started today really diving into her lessons.
The pictures, here, are a result of the first two lessons of the Pursuing Portraits. One is a "journaling self-portrait" exercise that I was really nervous, about, but her technique, for this, is brilliant and once I started, I didn't hold back at all. The portrait had to be from a photo of ourselves and this one is a photo, of me, from a few years back without glasses. There was NO way I was going to tackle glasses. The surrounding areas of this exercise, had to be with images, etc. that we find personally meaningful.
The other photo is what I created from a lesson sketching our portrait, beginning painting and then working on the background with acrylics, stamping, collage if we want - whatever we chose to do. There's much more to come on painting the portraits but I just am enjoying what we've learned so far!
I'm so happy I decided to join in on the Pursuing Portraits class, too. It really works, side-by-side with the Journal 365 class and I can feel myself, already, loosening up with sketching faces. Pam's approach is amazingly freeing!
I do not want a "12-step program" for my addiction. :) Art rules!
Art means many things, to me, and I discovered it rather late, in my life, but I like to look at it that it was waiting for me all along; to enter my life at just the right moment! I'm so thankful it did.
What does your art mean to you? I'd love to read your thoughts.
Have a great beginning to this week, be safe and may you get lots of artful time in for yourself.
Thank you for all of your feedback and support; the wings you've provided me are getting stronger and stronger - I'm staying up in the air a lot longer :)
Much love to all..........................Marilyn xxoo
A dear friend, of mine, Peggy, gave me the sweetest little book not too long ago. The title is "The Beauty of Motherhood". It has really neat pictures in it and wonderful poems. While going through the book, I came across, what I feel is a beautiful poem, that is so appropriate to celebrate women. I will share at the end of this post.
These are pictures of a 3-fold journal spread that I worked on today. The journal is from the one that Kerri and I just got through teaching so I wanted to work on completing mine. I still have the cover left but will get to that soon :)
I decided to create my art, for this spread, inspired by the found poem in my little book. It celebrates women! I even went with colors that I normally don't use and the "cone flowers" there are kind of a celebration of me being able to grow these flowers (which are other wise know as Echinacea) in my front "garden". I use the word "garden" kind of loosely; I've never had much luck with gardening but I love these flowers so much I bought some to plant a couple of years, ago, and so far, they've been doing beautifully. The person I bought them from called them "hardy" and "low maintenance", so I figured they might have a chance with my green thumb :)
The background for these pages is crumpled tissue paper and I really love the texture it offers especially with the flowers; I could draw in the stems from where some of the tissue paper crinkles were leading me.
I hope you all are having a safe and happy weekend. You are always in my thoughts throughout my day. I end this post with what I feel is a beautiful tribute to women..........enjoy! Celebrate YOU! Love, Marilyn
Woman Deeply Loved
To see and watch her is to know
That she is deeply loved. Her face
Reflects this. Love has left its traces
In her serenity, the glow
Of deep contentment in her eyes.
Her joyous laugh, the cheerful way
She goes about her work each day
Love haloes women, beautifies
The plainest face, for more than breath
To every woman is the knowing
She is cherished; keeps her glowing
With confidence, affection-fed:
Her happiness so much a part
Of love, enshrined within her heart.
.....Velma West Sykes
In between mowing the lawn, today, for the first time this Spring and fertilizing,running errands, I worked on this 12 x 12 mixed-media piece. It actually was an exercise, for me, in layering. There are probably 5 layers of stuff on this page. It includes layers of Gesso, acrylic paints, torn script paper, stamping, foils, stencils, image transfer (window) and my hand drawn and painted figure. I did collage the figure with script paper and added some adornments :) I picked up some Christine Adolph foil stickers and a foil kit awhile ago and thought I'd use them with this piece. I'm hooked! It's so much fun and very hard to stop!
The word Possibilities is a very strong word, to me, and also comforting at the same time. It really offers me hope in terms of my creating art. Facing that blank canvas can be intimidating, to me, but once I get going, I think of the "P" word and it keeps me motivated. I can't say it always works but I think Gesso, in itself, helps me, too. That's one of the reasons I love it so much. I know if I feel I messed up, with something, start over! Gesso over it and I've created another Possibility :)
I hope I've offered you some comfort in the "P" word. Each new day we get offers another possibility for us.
Wishing you all the best life has to offer!
Love to all...........................Marilyn xxoo
I put the finishing touches on my mixed-media work on my old Victorian chair in preparation for an upcoming art show at the Albany Art Room this coming May (see previous post).
I added a flock of crows to the actual work on the seat with some gold-leaf trim around the edging.
The chair, as you can see, in the photo is very ornate with lots of open spaces. It's a beautiful chair, I think and when I got it, it didn't have a seat at all; there was an open hole. My husband, so cleverly, gave it a seat and this is what led me to work on it for the show as the theme is Alternative Substrates.
I decided to add the silk rose arrangement to the corner. I originally had an old straw hat, there, but it took too much away from the detail on the top part of the chair.
Thought you'd like to see and I had a ball working on this piece. On to the next alternative substrate which is an old kitchen cabinet door :)
Hope you are all having a good weekend and I wish you a safe and happy beginning to the upcoming week.
Much love and warm thoughts of all! Marilyn xxoo
This piece isn't finished, yet, I'm waiting for things to settle a bit. I have an upcoming art exhibit that I'm involved in at the Albany Art Room. Our art will be up for two months beginning in May.
This is a sneak peek of one of the pieces I'm working on for the show. I have the privilege of being in the show with my two very talented friends Kerri Posson and Carole Fults! I can't wait to see what they are coming up with. We had a fun trip to a salvage warehouse, not too long ago, and I'm sure they are doing some very creative work with their purchases :).
The theme of the show is "Alternative Substrates" and we are to create our art on rather unusual surfaces other than a typical canvas.
The photo, here, is of a mixed-media piece I am working on with an old Victorian chair that I've had at my home for a long time. I will share more, of the whole chair, at future time. This is the seat and I am calling the piece "Somewhere in Time". I sketched and painted the Victorian woman from an old postcard that I have and I wanted her expression to reveal her thinking back, perhaps, to her home and life she had as a child. The "smoky" effect, here, on the piece is from an overlay of some very delicate Unryu paper. I wanted a dreamy effect here with this.
I am wishing you all a safe and happy weekend. Kerri and I are teaching Part III of our journal workshop today so I'm going to get going to get my stuff loaded up in the car.
I feel a little sad that the class will be ending, today, but I'm thinking on the possibility of a journal club in future where we can meet, once in a while, and journal together; ya know - very informal. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Hope you get some art time in today!
Thinking of all of you! Love, Marilyn xxoo
I am a huge fan of Creative WorkshopsI have really enjoyed my experiences with the online class offerings. One of my goals is to offer one, myself, in future. I hope to take some time later in summer to begin planning.
Recently I signed up for Pam Carriker's
online journaling workshop through Creative Workshops. Pam's class is called Journal 365 and at the beginning of each month, for a year, we get a lesson with new techniques.
I am sharing photos, here, of the cover of the handmade journal I created with Pam's guidance. The cover of the journal is fabric/paper that I made and thought it made a wonderfully soft and collagey cover. There are also photos, here, are of my first spread from our first lesson. I have separated the spread into two photos. The one with the door is my first page. I love doorways and thought this would bode well for my first page. The last photo is a shot of the journal lying down so you can see the signatures. I can't express how much I've enjoyed our beginning in this workshop and already can't wait for May 1st to learn more and play.
At first I was reluctant to commit to a whole year but I feel it will really help me focus on how to organize my time to sit down and create in my journal.
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend! I'm thinking of all, of you, and know how much I appreciate your friendships, inspiration, and continued support!
Thanks for the wings! Love to all! Marilyn xxoo
Hi, my name is Marilyn and I'm an "artaholic"-lol! I've come to the conclusion that I am addicted to art! I cannot get enough and the learning process is just as addicting. As I have posted, previously, I signed up for Pam Carriker's Journal 365 Workshop through Creative Workshops. I am enjoying this class SO much that I decided to hop on her Pursuing Portraits, too! Pam's relaxing teaching style made me think that, perhaps, her approach to portraits might just help me, too. So; I started today really diving into her lessons.
