Synchronicity

Rummaging through the basement studio...for something entirely different but came upon a canvas I had prepped years ago with tissue paper and glue...and then the inspiration stopped...and the canvas was stuffed into a corner...

I took it upstairs and laid it down with a few other ideas for projects I was working on...the colors immediately came to life with a copy of my "bloom" photograph nearby...I had my inspiration...

The rest of the collage came together quickly once inspiration struck...
a page from a vintage garden manual, a bit of gray paint, a few embellishments...




this snippet from a french page was part of the debris on the worktable from the french lamps I am working on...
it seemed destined to be...just waiting to be glued in place...

the patina of the old upholstery tacks gives an extra touch of texture...

And when it was finished, an antique wooden frame hanging from the rafters of my studio space finished it off nicely...everything came together at the right time...perfect synchronicity...

the last blooms of summer

This "love in the mist" bloom was thriving in a crack in my backyard patio...most of my summer garden is fading...but this one bloom was so bright...it called out to have its picture taken!

Linking up to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...edited my photo with her texture, partings, overlay at 30% capacity and second layer at soft light, 10% opacity; VTPortable Remington font.

I'm thinking this would be a great image for a new card design...what do you think?

friday night fun

Last night was my collage paperweight class at Faded Elegance...though the group was small, there was plenty of lively conversation, sparkly champagne and creative buzz...as well as lots of vintage pickings to fuel the inspiration...

Sorry I didn't get a photo of everyone's creations...I was having too much fun!

Thanks a million to Kimberly of Faded Elegance for being such a great hostess...and did you know she's hosting another party next Friday, September 28...its the Annual Anniversary Event...shopping, food, drink, friends, fabulous finds...what more could you ask for...get all the details here...

Wonderfully wired

I have an obsession with wire...it ranks right below my madness about metal...I'll pick up any random spool I spy at yard, garage, or estate sales... the more rusted, the better...

Lately I have focused on woven wire...or more specifically, hardware cloth...you know the stuff...comes in rolls, either 1/2" or 1/4" openings...very sturdy and rigid...with a lovely patina since it is usually zinc coated (and I don't know why its called hardware cloth...)

As case would have it, I had a partial roll in the basement...and after I used a bit of it for the flower frog mason jars I made (and thank you apartment therapy for highlighting them here), I was struck with the idea of making baskets...based on the idea of the charming french oyster baskets I found here.

I formulated a plan and first made a practice basket...
I had graph paper with 1/2" grid, so my pattern was drawn to size...

I cut out my pattern, using a tin snips and a needle nose pliers...you'll notice that on alternating edges, I snipped the wires close while on the opposite side, I left the wires long...my plan was to bend up each side and then hook the longer wires around the flush end...

My second basket demonstrates this technique...after I cut out my pattern, I bent each side of the basket upward, using a metal ruler to get an even line...



























and then I bent small hooks on one side of the upright wire that "looped" around the flush wire side...and once it was aligned, I squeezed the loop tight...

With the corners completed, I moved onto the top edge, bending over the snipped tops to form a loop that curled to the inside...for one of the baskets I made, I reversed the loop, and curled it to the outside.

Once the baskets were complete, I added the vintage tags I made to two of the baskets for extra embellishment...

And now they are perfect for organizing desk paraphernalia...

The small square basket is great for odds and ends...

The large "etc." basket is just the right size to hold file folders...

and the "junk" basket...well, holds junk!  its size is ideal for corralling jars...I threaded a length of linen twine through the loops on the top edge and attached the "junk" tag on the end...

There's a few things I learned in the process...wearing gloves might be advised...the cut edges of the wire are SHARP...
And don't get too carried away with making your loops perfect...bending the wire back and forth weakens it...and if you bend too far or too often, the wire breaks off...

Enticements

Since I just found out a week ago that I'm going to be a part of the Fall Ruffles & Rust Vintage Show, figured I'd better get organized.  The Southern Man has been visiting family and friends down in Florida...it was the perfect time to haul up what I had in the basement and make a big mess in the dining room...I'm still on my mission to clean out my basement...and I know that it seems like I have an unending supply of stuff down there, but it truly is looking a little empty in places!

I spent one day last week pulling together possibilities and a couple of days of cleaning up forgotten castaways...and then finally finishing other projects...I have more than plenty to fill my booth!  My theme is "remembering the old country" and I'll have a good mix of original art, my vintage art cards, multi-media collages and lots of great found objects.  To take advantage of the mess strewn all over the dining room (and before I priced everything and packed it back up for the show) I decided I would do a little photo shoot to tempt you...and entice you...to clear your calendars and head over to the Monroe Fairgrounds on October 12 & 13 for this fab event...

enought enticement?  and yes, the menage a trois table from my previous post will be there as well...
want more details...as well as the scoop on first choice shopping on Friday night?  head over to www.rufflesandrustsquare.com...

Menage a trois

It was a simple project...a gathering of three...

Each unique and having admirable attributes...

a distressed metal lamp base...residing in my basement for the last 8 years...

a wooden spindle...or perhaps a table leg...I bought a set of three many years ago...
I figured that if I used one, I still have a pair for another project (whatever that might be...)

a wooden top...most likely from a lazy susan I took apart...

I began my assembly...first I painted the wooden top a lovely gray color...both sides and the edges...three coats.  Then I painted a large flexible washer that I had which fit perfectly over the center in the metal lamp base, leaving just the hole exposed..

After the table top was dry, I needed to attach the spindle to the top...for a preliminary attachment, I used a hanger bolt...one end screwed into the center of the tabletop and the other end screwed into the center of the spindle...I added a dab of Liquid Nails adhesive...never hurts to have extra protection...

The hanger bolt helped to align the center of the tabletop to the center of the spindle but was not sufficiently strong to hold the top in place...I used four chair supports as a brace on each side of the spindle...since the original metal color was a little bright, I sprayed each with a coat of gray primer to knock down the shine...always remember to drill pilot holes when screwing into wood...makes it so much easier...and straight!

To attach the metal lamp base, all I did was thread a lag bolt up through the hole in the base and screw it into the wooden spindle...again, remembering to drill a pilot hole in the spindle so the bolt went in straight and secure.

Once I had it all together...the gray top looked a little bland...a piece of toile pattern tissue paper and my collage mixture of Elmer's glue and water helped to liven up the top...once it was dry, I sanded it s-m-o-o-t-h and buffed it with three coats of wax...





















And then it was complete...a very French threesome...married into one charming side table...

A fine example of synergy...each part unique in its own right...
but when combined together, something better is created...

Linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special...where synergy abounds...

paper + glue = inspiration

In the midst of cleaning up my studio space, I uncovered a supply of lead crystal paperweight blanks...
and immediately contacted Kimberly at Faded Elegance to concoct another creative workshop...

Here's the details...I'll be offering a collage paperweight class at Faded Elegance in Snohomish on Friday, Sept 21 from 6-9pm.  Cost for the class is $36 and includes not only the lead crystal blank to design your own custom paperweight, but plenty of old french book pages, snippets of maps, vintage wallpaper, feathers, buttons, glitter, postage stamps, dictionary pages, sheet music, leaves, ribbon, etc, etc, etc to make it all fabulous...with everything you need to complete your lovely project, including a fanciful gift container...

and no workshop at Faded Elegance would be complete without a little bubbly and treats to make the creative process flow...

Contact Faded Elegance at 360-568-5333 to sign up; space is limited...

And an added bonus...I will be having a trunk sale of my vintage art cards during the workshop...dozens of designs...all cards are packaged in sets of 4 with envelopes...with the holidays approaching, its the perfect
hostess gift or stocking stuffer...

Hope to see you there...

Playing favorites

As part of my continuing participation in Seth Apter's The Pulse (an ongoing discussion of 130 artists about multi-media art), my work is featured in today's ongoing chapter, Playing Favorites.  Participating artists were asked to share a favorite piece of their work and explain why its a favorite...no hints here...you'll have to jump over to Seth's blog, The Altered Page, to read about it...

My thanks again to Seth for his continuing support, appreciation and glorification of the multi-media artist community!

Quid pro quo

It's great when you have such camaraderie among artists in a community...you know the strengths and the styles of each...so when the Queen of Junk, Shelley Holm let me know that she had some goodies for me, I quickly made a pile of goodies for her...

what I took to her...metal pieces remaining from the scales I took apart (only to find that the numbered discs were plastic and not metal!), a very rusted heating grate and a large propeller/fan of some sort...

what I got in return...a wooden box with partitions (mmm...do I seem focused on boxes lately with my original collages...as seen here and here...) and two metal gaskets (possible funky picture frames...)

And this lovely bird cage...I have an assemblage piece in mind...

Can't wait to get started...nothing like fresh materials to get the enthusiasm fired up!

What have you been working on lately...anything to share?

The bounty of summer

Though there is the hint of fall in the air, summer still has some life left in her...and this was evident at the weekend farmers market...there is a bounty of fruits and veggies, overflowing with colors, textures,
tastes and smells...

Since the Southern Man and I were going to a BBQ on Labor Day, the market was ideal to pick up just about everything I needed to make salsa...vine ripe tomatoes, yellow peppers, sweet onions and cilantro...

It was easy to whip up a big bowl of salsa fresca...using a recipe of Mark Bittman's, I put everything in the food processor, gave it a short whirl, added lime juice, sea salt and a dash of ground pepper and it was done...

By the way...as opposed to the Southern Man's collection of over 300 cookbooks, I have just a few that I refer to now and again...How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman is one of them...He also has written a few others...and the recipe for Salsa Fresca came from The Best Recipes in the World.  Simple, uncomplicated recipes...for novice to experienced chef...I always find what I am looking for in one of his books...

The salsa was a hit at the BBQ...it was a wonderful evening to sit outside with friends and enjoy the remnants of summer sun...