Day 9: 28 Day Challenge

Well this is day 3 of spring break and I had the great honor of watching my son, Colin perform at a local library for a mess load of kids and their parents.  He rocked of course and so did all the other young performers.  I am so proud of them all.  So I need to rant before I get to my creative time...  My husband, Claire (Colin's twin and also a great dancer), and myself were sitting right in back of a bunch of young boys (and girls).  They were all of 4, maybe 5 years old.  Everyone seemed to be interested in the performances.  But here is what really gets me or gets to me.  So the young instructor who was the MC and director of this event,  had all the children stand to teach them a few ballet moves.  Nothing complicated or especially hard.  She wanted to show them that a simple jump in the air is really quite complicated if you are a ballet dancer.  She asked these young boys to join in but they turned their noses up and said, and I quote, "Dance is for girls."  How could such young children already be so jaded.  These boys had seen Colin dance, lifting the girls, doing big jumps, and they insisted on sitting out.  What was so sad was that one little boy really wanted to dance but the peer pressure was too much.  When the instructor came to the part where she taught them a little dance to the tune of "Take me out to the Ball Game,"  this one little boy turned to the other boys and said, "Well this is sort of boy like."  I can't believe what I heard.   Where the heck did they get these ideas?  My guess is that it can only be from adults.  Surely they did not exit the womb believing dance was for girls?  Oh that so makes my blood boil.   No wonder there are so few boys taking part in dance.  Our ballet studio does these programs to promote the art of dance for everyone, entertain the community, and give our dancers an opportunity to strut their stuff.  I think we have got to target the fathers of these young children and maybe the mothers too...  What is wrong with you people?  Ok  enough of a rant, for now anyway......

I did make it to the studio at 9 PM.  Actually worked about 1.5 hours on my air element.  Will scan my progress in the morning.  Right now the glazes I put on are drying and I can't scan the work until dried.  What is ticking me off is that some of the papers are buckling from all the moisture but I think I can fix it manana.  Here is to my friend Linda who started me on this challenge.  At least I am making some progress...
k

Day 8 : 28 day challenge.

Recuerdos -segundo

It seems that I am getting into my studio later and later.  Today is day 2 of spring break and I took my twins to various functions.  My oldest I only had to pick up later in the day.  Made lunches, dinner, walked dogs and worked out.  Then it was Idol time...  I love that show.  I finally got into the studio at 9 PM CST.  I worked about 30 minutes on my most recent landscape.  This is the one pictured below and I started it in my last class.  I needed to add a focal image, one that was springy in nature.  I added a focal image cactus, flowering of course,  and did some more shading.  Now I will let it sit for a day and then go back to it.  It is near finished, maybe totally finished but I usually have to let my work sit around for a while.  I scanned this work and the colors are a bit off.  Not sure why, usually they are right on.

k

Day 7- 28 Day Challenge

Air:  in progress

I am indeed insane for taking on this challenge...Today is day 1 of Spring break.  All three of my children are home and bored already.  I took my 17 and 15 year old shopping at a local lifestyle center (that is nothing more than a fancy strip mall with nice restaurants) and let them spend a little money.  Then I played taxi driver for my son.  I finally got down to my studio at 8 PM and boy was that sweet relief.  I spent an hour working on the class sample I started and the third in my elements series...air.  Here is the progress on Air.  Still a ways to go.

k

Day 6: 28 Day Challenge

I wish that I could say that I made it to my studio today, I did not. Sundays are hard... Family comes first. I did do a little research for an Art Journaling Class that I want to offer at the Studio... Slowly but surely I will get there. Oh and I did make some cute little bunnies for Easter. Check this out...I used wash clothes to make these! I plan on putting them in my teens Easter Baskets. At least that was something!

k

Day 5- 28 Day Challenge

Here are the pictures from my class last night. I definitely am the proud instructor of emerging mixed media and collage artists. And today I worked on my in class sample collage from last night. I still have a way to go. Need a focal image and more shading... I also spend time today wiring some finished works and framing a triglyph (my phases series). These pics are bad but they are proof of my work today. Although framing/wiring works isn't exactly enjoyable for me, it is all part of the part in parcel of getting ready for a show. If I am able to sneak in some time tomorrow, I definitely want to work more on my landscape and finish ASAP.

This one is mine.

Framed Phases

K

Day 4- 28 day challenge

Like Linda, today almost did not happen. I get a lot of headaches and today was no exception. After hiding over 400 plus Easter eggs for my pre-k class, I came home with a doosy and went right to bed. Luckily tonight I have a class to teach (she said with a sly grin). As I type this, the nap did little good..the headache is here to stay (at least for today). So here is what I started in my class last night. This is another landscape from my minds eye. It again is a memory of The Jemez mountains in New Mexico. Papers are all done by myself. I can't wait to see what it looks like today. I still want to add a focal point (spring themed), and glaze it. So those pictures will be up tomorrow. In the foreground of the photo you can see my stack of papers. I do have a few of the student's works, also in progress and those are below.

Day three- 28 day challenge

No pictures yet...those will come way later maybe early tomorrow. My creative afternoon is being spent packing for the Mixed Media and Collage class I am teaching this eveing and tomorrow evening. We are doing a landscape that must include 5 altered papers (different) and one focal image that says spring. And so in class I will start/demo the technique. That is two hours of creativity! Yea me. I love patting myself on the back because no one else does. I will take class pics on my iphone because it is convienent but the quality is pretty poor... Anyway, those will be coming!

Linda, I have Day 3 and 4 accounted for :))))
k

Day Two 28 day challenge

I almost quit today after only one day! I have such a lousy cold and came home from work with my head pounding and just filled up with gunk. I took a hour nap but really could not get comfortable and did not sleep. So I headed to my studio and what do you know? I actually worked for an hour ( a little under) before I had to quit (my head was spinning). And what did I accomplish...a second coat of varnish on my landscape sample (Awakening) plus I started the third in my series of 4, Elements series, Wind. Here is the finished work that I called Awakening and the beginning of Wind. I work intuitively without a plan and often in quadrants... Now I need to take my son down to his rehearsal for Swan Lake....

k

Insane Woman and the Challenge

Alright, so I have this friend who lives in the UK who was nuts enough to do this 28 day challenge: http://rediscovering-art.blogspot.com/, and she invited anyone else to join her. I gave some thought to challenge and decided to go for it, with my own set of rules of course. God forbid I should follow any one's rules but my own. The original rules state 1 hour per day for 28 days doing anything you want that is creative. Seems easy enough except I know my schedule is not conducive to a daily dose of creativity! I really need to get a few more 8 by 8 inch works done to complete a series before April 15 so the challenge may help me get there! N0w I figure if I can get into my studio daily, that will be a good start, if I can work on something or other for 15 minutes, that will be a good start, and if I can make it an hour, I just might have to celebrate with a glass of wine :)))). The weekends will be tough but I will give it a go. For today I managed about 25 minutes. I had to get some labels done for Easter presents for my Pre-K class and I had to seal with polymer varnish, my class example for this week. Photos below to prove I did something!

I hand stamped my labels, creative right? The labels will go onto jars of bubbles for my kids. The picture was taken with my iPhone and the quality of both are not that good. And varnishing the work had to be done before I can really justify starting anything else.

K

"Earth". second in the Elements series

Moving right along, here is "Earth." Using the same methods as below, Earth unfolded very quickly (for me that is) and all that is left is sealing it with golden varnish. The finished piece is 8 by 8 inches on maisonite (as is the first in the series). All the papers were altered for this specific look. I can't decide if I want to tackle wind or water next but I do have a board prepped and waiting for the first piece of altered paper to be affixed! With the show set for Cafe Luna in April, I really want this series of 4 done. Wanting and doing are two different things! I do want to give a plug here to Jackie over at alteredpages.com. The photo of the Earth came form one of her collage sheets with all the planets on it. I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate from her last year and this year too in the One World One Heart Event. She has something for everyone at Altered Pages. I have used her sheets in my collage classes and for my personal use. I can't tell you how excited I was to find those planets!

We are busy in the household. Swan Lake rehearsals for Colin and Claire start very soon and that will definitely eat up precious evening time everyday of the week, Saturday time, and soon enough, Sunday time as well. I spend an awful lot of time in the car and dance studio. TIme is fleeting...

k

Fire: first in elements series of 4

The first of 4 in my Elements series is finished. This is Fire.
The work was meant to be a sample for my mixed media and collage class this week but it was cancelled. Not enough enrollment this time around. I needed a break again so I am taking advantage of the time off. I have begun the next in the series so I will post as I get more into the process. Next week I want to spend some time finishing up some samples that I started in previous classes so I can include them in my next show. Hopefully I will have 6 new pieces done by mid April.

My weekend is shaping up to be busy. Colin and Claire just got their parts for Swan Lake and they are excited to start rehearsals. We have many errands to do. Geesh I hope to get into my studio!

k

Step 3, class sample 2-17-10

Here is the next step in this abstract that I am working on for class next week. My papers were chosen with a mood that evoked warmth and fire. Next the papers were coated with Golden Polymer Medium, several coats, on both sides and allowed to dry. Finally they were fused to the substrate using a tacking iron. This is essentially Jonathan Talbot's method. In my class, however, we use soft gel matte medium to adhere our papers and this works quite fine. We get messy, but that is OK. I have a good working relationship with Jonathan's method. I often revert to it because I am a stickler for getting my papers to lay perfectly flat for certain works. I have, on occasion used both the Polymer media and the soft gel matte and this of course depends on what I am doing. The one thing that keeps me from spreading the message of Talbot's methodology is the cost. If one is a serious collage artist then the expense is not as bad as one might think. But regardless, when students are first exploring mixed media and collage, soft gel matte media and a cheap sturdy brush is the way to go. OK so back to my work. I want to add a couple of glazes to the work to unify it a bit and then I must add a focal image. The piece is the fire element so there will be a flame involved :) Aren't the papers neat? I love the texture of some and this is so my color palette!

k

OWOH Winners 2-15-10

Wondrous strange designs, it is your luck day! The print is yours. Here is what you said! I have sent you an email.


Lovely,lovely! I would love to be entered to win your wonderful gift!
http://wondrousstrangedesigns.blogspot.com/


My second winner is: Terri Kahrs. She wrote:


Ohhh, I see that I'm one of the first magic carpet riders to arrive! I'm so glad it dropped me off at your site, and I adore your giveaway! Hugs, Terri

http://pringlehill-terri.blogspot.com/


Terri has won some stuff right off my art table and trust me, I have stuff! I have emailed Terri to let her know that she won.


The One World One Heart event may be over but the new blogs I have visited will last quite some time. I would encourage anyone who loves to meet new people or even just delight in all the eye candy, to participate in this event. And to Lisa...your Rock! Thank you for your time and effort!
If you get a chance, I have included the links to these lovely blog. Go pay em a visit.

k

New abstract

Here are the first two steps in a new work I am doing for a class I am teaching at the end of February (25th and 26th) at the Studio in McHenry. We are going to do an 8 by 8 inch work on maisonite. It will be guided by me with the focal image being one of the 4 elements (from Greek philosophy), fire, water, air or earth (terra firma). These elements can be interpretted any way at all except that they must be collaged to the work, not hand drawn (simply because I want it that way :))) ).

I have a long way to go yet. This piece will be the fire element eventually. I have decided to use Talbot's method of adhering the papers (all altered by yours truly) because I much prefer his method. The same result can be achieved with good ol soft gel matte medium (at least if one is careful with gluing down papers). Often times I will cover my substrate with dress pattern paper just to lay some "paint" down and make the substrate my own. It is a psychological thing, I know, but it works for me. That way I am not staring at a blank surface. And who knows what may show through when finished. I just love a good surprise. It is hard to see in this scan but some of the pattern shows through the transparent paper in the upper right hand corner. I may or may not leave it that way. As it is for many artists, my process is intuitive and I keep working the piece until it tells me "enough." And it will eventually :) Hopefully this will be one of the works to go into my next gallery show. I will also depict the other three elements in due time.

k

One wORLD oNE hEART eVENT.

Well I did it. I managed to visit all 1088 entries in this years event.! My print is till on the block until midnight tonight. I will select a winner and post on my blog first thing tomorrow AM. Then I will attempt to contact the winner. Please remember to leave a link for either your blog or email so I can contact you! Oh an welcome new followers. OWOH brought you to this blog and I am gateful for the following. I love to share my process and I hope it gives you some insight into my work. I also love to brag about my family, especially my dancers!



Now for some exciting news. I have been invited to do a gallery show at Cafe Luna in Crystal Lake. This is no ordinary show though. I want to invite any of the Studio's mixed media and collage students to join me! If this is your first gallery show, this will be non threatening and a very fun experience. Please consider framing at least two or three or four of your pieces. Lynn Carlson, a curator of sorts, for the Cafe Luna, will hang the works and basically take care of the rest. Details to follow but please let me know if your are interested. We want to shoot for a mid April date (which my be negotiable). Gosh this will be so much fun. Lynn said we would have an opening reception and everything! Little did you guys know how full service my classes are!

Later
K

One World One Heart

Its that time.....If you want to get into the mood, click the YouTube video for some Magic Carpet music :)))) Let's once again get to know our fellow artists around the world through their blogs. This wonderful event was begun in 2007 by Lisa Swifka, an incredibly talented artist, as a way to bring bloggers around the world together. If you click on the event in the sidebar, you can read all about it and perhaps you would like to participate! Scroll down below for what I am giving away! This is a archival quality print, first time printed, of a mixed media collage that I did as a sample for a mixed media and collage class that I just recently taught. The original hangs in The Studio School of Art. The title of the piece is "Give and Take" and it speaks to the need to give of ourselves and we will receive much more (or take if you will) than we ever imagined. Depending upon how many comment here, I may just include a second giveaway of collage papers and dodats that I have in my studio.


OK now for the few rules.



1. This giveaway is open to bloggers.

2. If you would like to win this giveaway, leave a brief comment on this post only,along with some way to contact you (email) or link if you win.

3. The cut off time to enter or leave your comment will be 11:59 PM February 14th.

4. I will choose a winner February 15th using a random number generator and contact the winner later in the day.

5. After I receive your mailing address, I will mail the print out.



That is it, simple really. I hope you enjoy my blog and I can't wait to visit yours!

k

UPDATE: 2-7-10

I am simply blown away by the 600 plus blogs that I have visited. Actually I am blurry eyed right now! I am trying to average 50 blogs a day bbut at this rate, I won't make it to all the magical places on the ride :( I am definately adding that second prize of odds and ends from my studio. These will be papers and such that are on my table right now.

Mixed Media and Collage Class: Patchwork (quilted) Portraits.

In the vein of the famous backgrounds that Kelly Rae Roberts does, are almost finished works from my last class (1/14 and 1/15). Great job by everyone! This was the second time that I taught this class and I had several who had taken the class the first time and several first timers. There were several students who had not even had an introduction to collage so you guys did great. This type of class is not so intuitive. A focal image that is partially drawn and partially collaged can be daunting but I think everyone did a good job. I am not a great portrait artist so I did not want to teach the "art of the face," so to speak. Instead we used magazine images and this seems to be a little less intimidating. Anyway you can judge for yourselves.... I managed to miss one portrait (sorry Dawn) but trust me when I say, it was reallllllly good. Oh and if you hold the mouse over a slide you will see some fun comments that I made on the work.

I am in the midst of planning February's class which will be a guided abstract on massonite board. The class will be Feb 25th and 26th at the Studio. I need to get a sample done along with all the incomplete works that I started and somehow managed to lay aside. Enjoy my little slide show :)

K

Colins Attitude Dance 11-09

Have I mentioned lately how proud I am of my son. Here is an original dance he choreographed and performed for a group of younger dancers at the ballet school where he dances. His level had to choreograph a dance using as many attitude positions as possible. This was sort of a final exam. Thank you to MRs Svalander for all her support and instruction. And thank you to all of Colins teachers. He could not have come this far without you!

k

One World One Heart GIve Away: Its Coming

Just a quick little blurb to let you know that this wonderful event is coming soon. Check my Blog on the 25th of this month for the kick off and to see what I will be giving away. I simply can't wait to revisit former participants and make some new blogging friends.

k

2010, Reality sets in

The Nutcracker is over, Christmas has come and gone, and New Years Eve is now in the past. 2010 has arrived and I have finally surfaced from my December hiatus. Just as December of 2008, I basically floated through the month. I honestly don't know how I managed to make it through. I am not a super woman, that is for sure. I broke down more than once, in tears, some angry, others joyous and to be so fully absorbed in holiday activities always comes at a price for me. I basically put my art on hold, abandon my Internet connections, and stop all the little things that I do to keep my sanity. In some respect, I feel a little down. I love to watch my children grow as dancers and this Nutcracker season was the best yet (I say that every year). I will miss watching Colin lift his Clara's with the ease of a seasoned professional (even though this was his first go around as the Prince). The merriment of Christmas morn and the grand feast of the day was over with so quickly. Ah well, it is time to start organizing my life once again starting with my art class this month!

The patchwork portrait class will be repeated at The Studio in McHenry. This time we are going to go over two evenings (Jan 14-15) from 7 to 9. I started a portrait in the last class way back in the summer! Guess what, it is still sitting on my table in my studio along with two other works that I started in classes in the fall. My goal is to finish at least one of those works before this next class! The Studio now has a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/McHenry-IL/The-Studio-School-of-Art/171666296748?ref=ts. Check it out!

Finally, I just could not resist a Nutcracker picture that I snapped with my iPhone. It is grainy (the camera is only 2 megapixels) but I had to share anyway. This is my son, the Prince with one of his Clara's (Alexa).