January, of this year, I was faced with a significant birthday; ya know one of those numbers that I had to come to terms with. Sixty! Yikes! I had to think rather quickly how I wanted to bring in this new number as I knew my family would be planning one of those surprise parties for me which, frankly, I'm not terribly comfortable with. It led me to stop and think how I really wanted to see in this number 60! This is what I requested:
I shared my actual birth date with my immediate family taking me out to my favorite restaurant for dinner - yummy and great company :) Nice and quiet and no surprises!
My other request was to share an artful evening with 19 of my dearest friends, here, in an artful and interactive way. I got a huge canvas and sectioned it off so each participant could work on a space of approx. 6" x 8". What a result! We held the party at the Albany Art Room where I have the privilege of teaching. It's my happy place and felt it was the perfect place to have my birthday bash. We had so much fun working on the collaborative canvas, and now it is hanging, with honor on one of the walls at the Art Room. :)
I decided, at one point, to submit this to Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and they were very interested in including it in their Muse section in the July/August 2009 issue. It appears on page 14 of the magazine.
You will see pictures, here, of the magazine pages as well as the picture of the actual canvas that we all worked on. Please be sure to click on the picture of the collaborative canvas to get a closer look :) The blocks of collages and paintings appear in different directions and that is because we were working on both sides of the table the canvas was on. I didn't think that part out very clearly :) But; it is a fantastic work of art and I'd like to share, on my Blog, the names of my dear friends and talented artists who contributed to this collaborative:
Top Row - starting at left
Pam Small
Melanie Phillips
James Summa
Patti Gramza
Oona Edmands
Ruth Setzer
GinnieChagnon/Kristen Hessler
Mid Row - starting at left
Mel Galvin
Claire Maziarczyk
Marilyn Rock
Claire Maziarczyk
Karen Nicholason
Karen Schupack
Roberta Partridge
Kristen Hessler
Bottom Row - starting at left
Susan Rivers
Karen Nicholson
Peggy Beck
Nancee Walker
Janet Tanguay
Kerri Posson
Kerri Posson
Linda Martuscello
I want to thank Karen Schupack (proprietor of the Albany Art Room) for opening up her space for me to share my dream come true birthday bash! I also want to thank all of my dear friends who contributed to this wonderful and meaningful collaborative canvas! Some contributed who could not actually attend the party but sent me their art to adhere to the canvas. We had a blast and turning 60 ended up being one of the most memorable celebrations of my life.
Gee; what will I do when I turn 70? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm; I'm already thinking :)
Love to all and wishing you a safe, joyous, and artful weekend. You all inspire me SO much! Marilyn xxoo
Visiting Blogs, this morning, as I usually do with my first cup 'o joe, I discovered I've been nominated for this Kreativ Blogger award by Laura Haviland.
Please stop by Laura's Blog for a visit! She is very creative and you will really love her artwork and her art dolls! She brings them to life with her touches and creative style. Thank you SO much, Laura, for this lovely award. I am quite moved by this! The rules indicate that I must list 7 things about myself that might be of interest to everyone. So, here goes:
. I love to create art when its raining outside (as long as my basement doesn't flood) :)
. I do not like hot and humid weather
. Fall is my favorite season
. I dont enjoy television except for two: Big Bang Theory and reruns of King of Queens
. Pasta is absolutely my favorite food
. I love anchovies! I know - ick right?
. Blogging rocks because it's led me to all of you!
Now; another rule is I'm supposed to pass this award on to 7 other Bloggers. This is where it's hard for me to comply. I honestly feel that every Blog, that I have linked here and follow, is because I feel they all inspire me. I cannot narrow the field down to just 7.
So; I award all the Blogs, linked and followed here, with this Kreativ Blogging award.
Laura; thank you, again, for the nomination. I accept it with a smile and am so very moved by your gesture. You're terrific!
Much love to all of you; wishing you a safe, happy and artful day! xxoo Marilyn
.
Congratulations Deb! Your name was drawn, this morning, from a basket by my husband! He's my "technical support" :)
You have won my altered book cover from previous post. Congratulations!
Please contact me and I will arrange to mail during this upcoming week!
Thanks SO much, everyone, for participating and I'll have another giveaway in near future.
When you have time, please check out Deb's Blog!
I always enjoy her beautiful artwork, posts and she has the coolest Blog headers!
I wish you all a happy and artful weekend!
Much love - Marilyn xxoo
I won! This is a picture of my very first Blog giveaway win! Elizabeth Woodford offered some very beautiful giveaways, on her Blog, that she made!
This is one of the beautiful pieces that I won and it arrived, at my door, yesterday! I love it! The internet pictures are great but there's nothing like seeing works of art in person.
The fabric/paper bird is just stunning! The colors are so vibrant and her choice of fibers - luscious with this.
Thank you SO much Elizabeth for a wonderful offering.
Please check out Elizabeth's Blog (highlighted above) for inspiration. She's not only a very talented and creative artist but also a fantastic gardener!
I hope you are all having a joyous day! Be safe.............Love, Marilyn
I took some time, yesterday, to work in my art journal. I really enjoy, this time, as it's so relaxing with no deadlines, no pressure and it really helps me to be more spontaneous; I sometimes feel it's the real me ya know? Hmmmmmmmmm. That's a heavy thought.
Anyway; with this spread, I've combined stencils, stencils w/ molding paste, gel transfers (images from old photos), embossed aluminum foil for frame and corner embellishments, acrylic paints, and more.
If you haven't already left a comment to my previous post, please feel free to enter my Blog giveaway. Deadline is Friday, June 19th :)
I hope your weekend is joyous!
Much love - Marilyn xxoo
I think it's time for a Blog giveaway don't you?
I came across this image at a really neat flea market shop out in the country. I just thought this little girl was the sweetest! I decided to sit down at my art table, today, and create something using this image. She's on a really old greeting card and the card, itself, was in pretty bad shape. But; I still had to have her. :) I printed the image out in grayscale and overpainted it with heavy body acrylics. I used some embossed wallpaper for around the edges, printed out the saying on tissue paper and added a sticker that I felt was appropriate.
So.............................I am offering this piece which is created on a 5 x 7 book cover. All you have to do is leave a comment, here, with one word that comes to your mind when you think of a simple pleasure that you enjoy.
If you are unable to leave a comment on my Blog, you can email me at Artbeliever@gmail.com with your interest in the giveaway along with your one word.
The deadline for commenting is: Friday, June 19th. I will announce the winner on the Sunday of that weekend. :)
Good luck and hope you're all having a good week. Be safe! Love, Marilyn
