Class Sample..............................:)

I've been planning some classes at the Albany Art Room and these are pictures of one of my upcoming workshops. We haven't nailed down the exact date, yet, but are working on that now.

I was asked to do a collaged-wooden birdhouse. I like to think of it as celebrating spring! :)

We thought it would be fun to have an all-day project with a pot-luck lunch! I am going to add some wax to the roofs for a final touch but this should be a fun project that will involve some fun techniques including a "faux transfer" technique that I recently came across.

Students will have an opportunity to work on their own creations with what is presented. I love the design of this birdhouse; it looks a little like a "bird hotel" :)

Thank you for visiting; I always appreciate your support and lovely feedback.

May your day and upcoming week be safe, happy and artful!

Much love.............................Marilyn xxoo

"Pheasant Under Glass".......................

Mixed-Media/Acrylic, Pastels, Gold Leaf
11 x 14
Clayboard

Another sneak peek project for the 5 Rivers Nature show in May.

I'm wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead; have a safe and artful one!

Love to all...........................Marilyn xxoo

Another beautiful Aries tribute :)

I have and am receiving such beautiful tributes to Aries! This is the latest one I received from my dear friend Rosann Rogers.

Thank you, Rosann, I love it! The quote is perfect with this!

Have a great day everyone!

Love, Marilyn

Another fine Aries tribute :)

I just received another wonderful art tribute to Aries from Femmy!

Thank you so much; this is beautiful and the quote is amazing!

Check out Femmy's Blog for more of her inspirational artwork.

Woohoo! I think I just learned how to reference a Blog with a link! I decided to go to the help menu on Blogger and actually read it! :)

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Love to all - Marilyn

Tributes to Aries......................................

As promised, here are 4 of the submissions I received from some special friends who created their beautiful artwork in honor of Aries, the barred owl, whose story is in a previous post of mine. Starting from the top, the contributing artists are:

Patti Gramza

Elaine McAllister

Patti (Pattio) Sandham and

Laura McKeag-Krasinski


Thank you, my friends, for creating your beautiful art in Aries honor.

Love, Marilyn

Please note: I don't know what is going on with Blogger, but I was unable to get the artists' Blogs in that would align properly. Sorry. It may have been my lack of Blogger skills, too. :(

With the exception of my friend Elaine who doesn't have a Blog, all artists' Blogs are listed and linked to the left of my Blog. Please check out their beautiful offerings when you can.

And..................the winner is..............................:)

Kerri Posson!!!!!!! Congrats Kerri; you have won the book of quotes along with the background stamp from my recent blog giveaway (previous post).

Please contact me and I will arrange to get your prize to you!

Check out Kerri's Blog: adventures in art & life: http://kerriposson-artist.blogspot.com/

She is a very talented artist and offers a writing style that I feel is going to offer her a book signing one of these days :)

I will, soon, begin uploading some photos of art pieces that I've received (via email) of the artists honoring Aries the barred owl (previous post). I just love what these artists have done. Thank you all who have responded with your beautiful artwork.

Hope you're all having a good week, are safe and happy!

I'll be back soon.............................Love to all - Marilyn

Blog Giveaway/Challenge in honor of "Aries"........................

This nature show coming up in May (see previous posts) really has inspired me and touched my life in ways that I cannot express.

You will see two pictures here. One is of a stamp and a quote book which I will discuss further down this post. The second picture is of a Barred Owl.I fell in love with a barred owl that is housed at the 5 Rivers EEC Nature Preserve. It was love at first sight! His name is Aries. The painting I did (in previous post) was inspired by Aries and he is the focal point of that painting. Here is a short history of Aries: I am quoting from the brochure that I received at the nature center:

Is Aries a female?
Aries is probably a male owl. To discover if an owl is male or female, an internal examination must be done. However, there are other ways to guess. Females tend to be larger than males. Aries is a small owl, but he is full grown and will not get any bigger. Aries has been heard to hoot during mating season, as a male owl would do. The hoots he makes are in the rhythm of the phrase "Who cooks for you." (which leads me to believe he's a male - hahahaha)

How did Aries get here?
Aries was hit by a car on nearby Route 85 in Slingerlands. Aries' wing was crushed by the car, and had to be surgically removed by a vet. Due to his injury, he is not able to fly and obtain his own food. He also has some damage to his eyes.

How old is Aries?
Aries was found as a very young owl, much smaller than he is now. He was born (hatched, that is) approximately in March of 2002. Aries will remain at Five Rivers for the rest of his life.

Now doesn't this history make you fall in love with Aries? There is only one person, at the center, who handles Aries; she takes him out occasionally from where he stays at the center which is in the visitor's center in a rather large caged area where children and adults can come in and visit him. He doesn't like to be stared at and gets a bit nervous about having his picture taken.

Sorry; this post is so long but it all ties into my Blog giveaway............which is:

All you have to do is leave a comment here that you are interested in the giveaway. The suggested challenge being, you use the picture of this Barred Owl to create an Artist Trading Card (2 1/2 x 3 1/2) in Aries honor; and using a quote, can be your own quote you compose, a poem, a found quote or poem in your art that pertains to Aries only having one wing. Send me a picture of your art piece and I will share on my Blog.

You don't have to create the ATC to add your name to the giveaway. The challenge part is only a suggestion; kind of my way of honoring Aries. He just touched my heart. I'd love to share pictures of what you create with Aries. There would be no deadline on creating your ATC, it's whenever I received a picture, I will post with others that I would accumulate.

The giveaway part is a 5 x 3 1/2 wood-mounted rubber stamp. It is a Tin Can Mail, Inkadinkado Bird Eggs-Plate 12. I actually have two of these and this one is in excellent condition. It's never been used and makes for terrific backgrounds. Accompanying the stamp is a 5 x 10 inch book of Quotes. It's spiral bound and has quotes that are categorized by subject within the book. Again; this is a duplicate, here, and I am often referring to it with my artwork.

If you are unable to leave a comment on my Blog, you can email me and let me know your interest in the giveaway. (Artbeliever@gmail.com)

The deadline for submitting your comment/emails is: Sunday, March 22, 2009.

Monday, March 23, your name will go in a basket, here, and my husband will select a name. He's my "DS" (designated selector) :). I will announce the winner on Tuesday, March 24th.

I do hope you'll play and think about creating an ATC with thoughts of Aries. He'll get to your heart quickly :) Oh; if there are fabric artists, out there, you can create an ATC with fabric, too :)

Any questions, please do not hesitate to email me.

Hope you are all enjoying this weekend; spring is in the air, here, once again. I'm going to go out and enjoy it now.......................................Love and spring thoughts to all of you!

Marilyn