Happy Halloween!

I'm not much for celebrating halloween...but with all the bombardment of halloween images, I was inspired when I caught sight of my stack of vintage cabinet cards lying on my studio table...there's just something about these century old portraits that lend themselves to telling a story...add in a snippet from an old novel...and a black crow...and the plot thickens...

Have yourself a spooky day!

The allure of patina

I'm a sucker for patina...especially metal patina...how it ages and tarnishes and oxidizes...

And then I love the patina of old paper...the yellowing, the mottling, the deterioration...

I thought I would combine these two obsessions into one collage...





The patterns on old pieces of silverware are so beautiful...intricate and detailed...
The recipes from old cookbooks are a glimpse into a simpler time...
I set out to tell a story...





A stray board from the basement was cut into sections and each section was covered with a collection of recipe pages from well-loved cookbooks...

To soften the type, I added a gray paint wash followed by a wash of cream paint...dabbed on with a rag to enhance the texture...

Next I added some interest with text...

At first I was disappointed when I removed the vinyl letters and discovered that parts of the underlying recipe were removed as well...but as the paint dried...and I added a final wash of coffee (yes, coffee...it gives an instant aged effect), I liked the layers that appeared...
After two coats of wax, I attached the silverware...and a few numbered tags that I had made...

Each of the three pieces are a little different...

All three of these collages...and much more...will be for sale at next weekend's artist studio sale...I'll be joining encaustic artist Leslie West and several other artists at Leslie's Mercer Island home. 
The sale starts Thursday evening, Nov.1 and continues until 12 noon on Saturday, Nov. 3.  Details, including location and directions, can be found here...

I'd love to see you...and its not too early to be thinking about holiday gift giving...this season, give something handmade...

Finding my Pulse...

A number of years ago....when I decided to get serious about my art, I stumbled upon a copy of the magazine, Somerset Studio...I was amazed and delighted to learn that there were others out there pursuing this medium...
that was not painting,
that was not drawing,
that was not photography,
that was not classic art of any definition...
it was mixed media...








A few more years go by...I stumble upon the blog, The Altered Page written by Seth Apter, a mixed media artist himself...I am once again amazed that there is a online forum, where artists participate and share their experiences and their art, all nurtured by Seth.  Earlier this year, Seth published a book, The Pulse of Mixed Media which essentially examines the range of mixed media in today's art landscape, using a bevvy of current artists as a barometer...

Wanting to be ever more inclusive, he devised/developed/encouraged/created a number of additional outlets for artists not included in the book to have their say...

As part of finding my own mixed media pulse, I am happy to be included in two of his projects...

1.
In a call for participation, artists were invited to submit 5"x5" collages in answer to questions posed in Seth's recent book...I submitted two collages...details can be found here.  Somerset Studio got wind of this project and decided to do an article that appears in the Nov/Dec 2012 issue...and one of my collages is included as part of the article...the magazine that propelled my effort to pursue mixed media, now is publishing one of my original collages...it has come full circle...

With 110 submissions, not everyone could be included in the article...but starting on November 4 and running every Sunday in November and December, Seth will post each submission on his blog...with a link to the artist's site...I will be glued to my computer every Sunday morning for this...I hope you will join me...












2.
A portion of Seth's book includes statistical responses to a number of questions that examined how artists work and  and their feelings/attitudes about their art.  To dig a little deeper, Seth invited a group of artists to share in-depth answers to selected questions...all part of an on-going series called "Pulse Points". 

My answers to these two questions -

Have you ever been jealous of another artists' skills?

Do you feel like you have found your niche art-wise or are you still searching?

are part of this series which can be found today over at CreateMixedMedia...
I encourage you to check it out...and to visit the sites of the other artists involved...because it is a thriving multi media community out there...one with a strong pulse of creative juice...

A change in season

Now that we are firmly in autumn's grasp...and barreling quickly toward winter, it was time to change up the living room...












As I posted here back in June, the room was lighted and brighten for summer's arrival...last week I layered on warmth and tone for the colder days head...

last June...

this October...

The dark base lamp, the iron side table and plenty of wool blankets return...

The artwork on the walls stay the same...but the vignette on the table swaps metal for glass, hefty tomes for slender volumes...with a touch of creamy ironstone and a few creamy waffle weave pillows so that its not too dark...

I had planned to make a burlap slipcover for the ottoman to replace the white matalase cover once autumn arrived...but never got around to that project...but in a eureka moment, I found the perfect solution...

Take one vintage wool plaid blanket...center it over the ottoman...make a center pleat to even up the sides. 

Scrounge around basement studio...find a collection of tooled belts and leather dog collars...buckle them end to end...encircle ottoman, pleat extra fabric at corners...

tighten buckles until blanket is secure...

And the ottoman is transformed for fall/winter...a handcrafted wood tray replaces the airy wire basket that I used in spring...and still keeps reading material and remotes at hand...

A pillow made from a vintage wool blanket scrap adds coziness and the iron legged table picks up the black accents in the room...

The front entry received a little makeover as well...

last June...

this October...

I love the muted tones of weathered pewter and galvanized steel...my collection of wood darners picks up on the natural/wood tones in the living room...and the vintage leather suitcase adds a little more weight to the corner...and can store gloves and scarves in the winter months.

Not one new item was purchased for this changeover...all I did was look around at what I had and how it could be used in new combinations...

And now I'm going to sit down and enjoy my cozy living room...and check out the other fall-inspired rooms over at Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special...and at the DIY Showcase

Ahead of the curve

I know, I know...it seems too early for Christmas...but, I've got to stay ahead of the curve...
so you are the first to see my 2012 Holiday card...available now in my etsy shop...

I always figure that if I get my cards early then I'll have plenty of time to write a small note and get them in the mail before December 25...yes, I am a firm believer of sending "real" cards...not those online ones with singing santas...or those behemoth updates that chronicle the entire year...but a simple card that lets faraway friends & family know that I am thinking of them...

And just for you, my faithful blog readers...I'm offering free shipping...not only on my holiday cards, but on your entire order...those card sets make great stocking stuffers or hostess gifts.  Just make sure you enter PREHOLIDAY 2012 when you place your order... it will ask if you have any coupon codes...

If you have any questions or special requests, feel free to email me!

Ruffles & Rust recap

It was a whirlwind of activity...and when all was done, it was a vintage oasis...I had a small corner booth...perfect to highlight my collages and vintage art cards...

In between all of the hubbub, I managed to get in a few pics...what caught my eye...

Thanks to all who stopped by my booth - great to see familiar faces and meet a few new ones...thanks to Timi and her crew for a great show...thanks to my assistants Liz and Sue...and thanks to the Southern Man...
now onto the next event...

Another sneak peek...

Thought I'd give you another preview of what you can find in my booth at this weekend's Ruffles & Rust Vintage Show...

There were a couple of teasers of these lamps in progress on my four corners design facebook page (click here to jump over and "like"...that way you'll be in the know on all that's happening in my studio...)
Here are the completed lamps...burnished gold metal bases topped with custom shades created with vintage french book pages...

the inside of each shade was finished with a length of Cavalinni numbers tape...and the outside of the shade was buffed to a waxen sheen...

I transferred a few of my photo images onto canvas and stretched them over a frame...

love the numbers on this old scale...

I'll also have plenty of old books and vintage ironstone...and other fun finds...

For the rest of the week, I'll be busy setting up and then I'll be at the show...so I'll be back next week with pictures...but if you want to see it all in person...stop on over...Friday night or all day Saturday...I'd love to see you!

Perfectly imperfect

Monday's assignment for my Beyond Layers class focused on the Celebration of Growth...to look at where one started in January and to gauge progress now that it is October...to review the creative journey each of us has undertaken...







For some reason, this thought resonated with me...I have learned a lot from this class...
...I am no longer intimidated by Photoshop...and though I am far from proficient, I feel comfortable with basic editing...the repetition of excercises from week to week reinforced my confidence
...I am developing my own photographic style which I feel is a true representation of my artistic spirit
...I have met some incredible artists, all living with different life struggles, in different parts of the world, but using their camera to help tell their story
...A large whiteboard is the perfect backdrop when shooting a still life to block out the background and bounce light into the picture
...Taking the camera off of Autofocus can be a good thing

Probably the most interesting thing I have learned is how texture can help tell a story...for years I had admired Kim Klassen's work with texture editing of photographs but never felt that it was my style.  With this class, I understood how the variations of light/color/opacity/layers can enhance a photo and tell a story more complete and complex than just an untouched shot...its not that I use texture on every photo I take, but sometimes it can convey a special meaning...

kk texture autumnBurst, one layer darken at 12%, one layer overlay at 40%, bondoni font




I created this vignette to express my celebration of growth...not just in this class...but in my own creative journey...I have a birthday next week and I'm rounding out the backside of 50...and though I have my share of worn edges and aged exterior, it is texture in the form of experience, layered through the years that enhance my life story...it makes me more complete and complex...perfectly imperfect...and eager to learn what lies ahead...


linking up to Kim's Texture Tuesday...

Change for the better

Sometimes things are not as they seem...

On my recent trip to Yakima, I spied these whitewashed wooden buckets...I thought they looked great - wonderful patina, well-worn look, metal strapping...but when I looked closer...the strapping was plastic!  But I had a eureka moment...change for the better...

The bucket on the left shows the original condition...with a set of pliers, it was easy to rip off the plastic strapping...

My plan was to remove the plastic strapping and in its place to wrap around a length of jute twine...the indentation encircling the bucket would keep the twine in place.  I gathered a few vintage metal numbers since numbers on buckets seem to be in vogue...the small nails that held the original strapping in place were saved...I'll re-use them to attach the numbers to the buckets...with supplies at hand, I began...

After wrapping the twine around the bucket, I finished it off with a square knot...to this day, I always silently repeat my Girl Scout mantra "right over left and left over right makes a knot neat, tidy and tight" whenever I tie a square knot...












After hammering in two nails to hold each number in place, I was done...

I think they look much better...more natural with that hideous plastic removed...
and a perfect addition to my french-inspired booth that will be at Ruffles & Rust next weekend...

and linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special...because its always great to see the inspiration out there...