Day 21: 28 Day Challenge

Here is the beginning of my "water" piece.  This was as far as I had gotten on it as of yesterday.  Today I finished tacking down the rest of the papers!  Yea.  It is drying now so I will post tomorrow.  I would like like to accomplish one of the transfers tomorrow along with a couple of glazes.  Perhaps I will get further, it depends upon drying times.  So not much further to go on this final element.  I am doing the happy dance.  If I finish by Thursday, then I will spend Friday getting four or 5 of my works reading to hang.  I probably won't return to the piece that I was working on for a donation until next week.  Too much to do before the show.
k

Day 20: 28 Day Challenge

First I need to publicly thank my friends both here and on face book for their suggestions, comments, and critiques on the piece I am working on for a donation.  I can't tell you how much they mean to mean.  Laura...we think alike..I have shelved my piece for a day or two and will come back to her.  There is a lot I have to work through in my head first.  So today I went back to my "Water" piece.  And yea, I had just shy of two hours to in my little studio and made some real progress.  I will have to scan my beginning on this piece tomorrow as it has a coat of polymer medium on it right now.  Coating papers, selecting papers and ripping and tearing are all part of the process and so I would say 3/4 of my time in the studio was spent doing that.  I still am not sure of the images that I wish to transfer but at least I have a "small" idea of where the piece will go.  I am hoping to get more than 3/4 of the way done tomorrow.  I actually might get this finished before the show! 

k

Update, Day 19 - 28 Day Challenge

Here is my "work" from yesterday evening.  Boy I am not liking this after I got a good night sleep.  She is at the double ugly stage!  Not sure If I want the bird white, not sure if I like the background, and she needs a ton of work with artist crayons, Neocolors II.  Not sure if I like her hair.  Oh well, I have been doing these portraits long enough to know that if you stick with it through these ugly stages, you usually get a swan (from ugly duckling to swan is what I mean).  So today I am hoping to work a little on water.  That won't be until late at night again! 

k

Day 19: 28 Day Challenge

Just a quick post to say that I was running all day long.  I headed into my studio about 9 PM CST and lasted about 1.5 hours.  Working on my donation piece made me feel happy that she is well underway.  I will post a picture first thing in the AM.  She is still wet.  No progress on the 4th in my elements series and that is the one that has to get finished first.  Argggggg.

k

Day 18: 28 Day Challenge.

Zipping right along, I thought today that I was going to "fall of the wagon."  I came home with a colossal headache and tummy ache.  From about 1-3:30 PM I laid on the sofa.  I just hate when I get these headaches because all productivity flies out the window.  Regardless of the headache, I went down to my studio at about 3:30 and was able to work about hour.  I managed to finished sealing/varnishing "Air," so officially it is finished.  I moved onto the "Water" piece and laid down the dress pattern tissue and coated with polymer medium.  I also coated a few more papers for this piece.  Now I just have to decide what images I want to transfer and how many.  By deciding this I will then have a feeling for a basic layout of papers.  In between coating of materials, I then worked on my breast cancer donation.  Here she is so far and indeed in the ugly stage.  Geesh, as I finish this post, I still have a headache but realize that there are only 10 days left to this challenge and how perfect is that because on the 19th, my gallery show opens!  Time has flown and there is still much to do!  I would love to finish this breast cancer donation so that I could help Michelle's Pink Ribbon Angels sell raffle tickets for it!

K

Day 17: 28 Day Challenge

It was a good day today.  Kaitie, my 17 year old, was riding high on the first 24 hours of having her drivers license!  And I found myself OK with it...imagine that.  I had an efficient 1 1/2 hours in my studio doing the following:  putting the first coat of varnish on "air,"  priming the maisonite surface for "Water," coating  some papers with polymer medium for "water," and working more on the background for the breast cancer donation piece.  I also found a little blurb in our local newspaper announcing my gallery show..oh yea I am on a roll :))))  Here is where I am at on the breast cancer piece.  It is in the beginning of the really ugly stage.  I am sure it will get worse before better!

k

Day 16: 28 day challenge.

patchwork background

Here are the two works from yesterday that I promised.  The patchwork background is in the vein of Kelly Rae Roberts.  I love this method of creating a quick and easy backdrop for the focal image soon to be drawn in.  Today I will add some paint to the background of this and do a quick and dirty sketch for the placement of my drawing.  The second work is my "Air" piece with the three transfers.  The windmill was a perfect symbol, at least to me, for air.  After all, air is something that the eye usually does not or can't visualize unless it is a very windy day and things are flying or windmills are turning :)  I am not finished...just need to cogitate on this piece for awhile.  So I am heading into my studio now and will work on the patchwork background.  If I get a chance and all is dry, I will scan later but life has be scheduled up the wazoo today....Taking Kaitie for her drivers license (if it does not pour), transporting kids to dance, sewing pain in the ass pointe shoes, and making dinner...

k

Day 15: 28 Day Challenge

OMG, I am more than half way through this challenge.  Never believing I could stick to it, I am so glad I decided to hop on board.  I have moved further ahead on my to do list than I ever dreamed!  Again, no pictures, but I promise I will have some tomorrow.  I was in the studio for about 2 hours today (not continuous) and accomplished a good deal.  I finished the secont coat of varnish on the landscape below and now all I have to do is sign it.  It is officially done.  I work more on third in my elements series, Air.  I managed to "fix" that third transfer to my liking and I put one or two more glazes on it along with some artist crayon work.  It is drying and so I did not want to risk scanning it just yet.  I think the work is through that "ugly" stage but I want to let it sit for a day.  I am thinking I want to actually take away some paint to brighten it in a few areas.  Moving right along, I put down a patch work background on a 8 by 10 inch canvas board.  This is in preparation for the sketch I completed the other day.  For tomorrow I am hoping to start the process of making/altering some papers for my final piece in the element series, Water.  The show is looming ever closer and pretty soon I will have to totally do the paper work to ready the labels /tags that describe the work with the title/cost/medium/etc... 

Pulling my hair out here in Illinois

k

Day 14: 28 Day Challenge

Kaitie, Colin, Claire

Last day of Spring break and we spent it at a beautiful outdoor shopping mall in Oak Brook Illinois.  My teens had never been there and my husband and I used to hang there many years ago.  It was a great day, in the 7o's, and bulbs were just showing their blooms.  We hit all of Claire's favorite stores and some new ones too.  Colin was happy because he spent it with Marc at the bookstore and then he got to go to his mecca, Best Buy.  We hit a sushi bar for dinner and arrived home not too long ago.  For my creative work today, I had about 15 minutes and I sealed the landscape that is below so no real pictures for today.  But I will leave you with my three children on Easter!

Day 13: 28 Day Challenge.

Quick sketch for donation

 

 

Happy Easter to all!  I had no intention of doing anything creative today,  however, last night I went to be with a "vision" in my head.  This is the time of year when I usually donate a piece of art to a good friend's breast cancer walking team.  Michelle likes my women, which are mainly in the fantasy realm.  I have been doing more abstracts as of late so I knew I had to get cracking.  Before I fell off to sleep, I was trying to figure out what I would do for this years mixed media and collage piece (I always donate the original).  I usually have birds in these works because they are a sign of hope, so I knew there would have to be a least one bird.  Then the Beatle lyrics "I get by with a little help from my friends" popped into my head and I was seeing a flock of birds!  And that is when I fell asleep. So today, between Mass and leaving for a family gathering, I had about an hour.  Sitting in front of the tele, I sketched out this rough idea for the work.  Mind you, it is very rough but this is the concept.  Now when I am actually going to do start the original is anyone's guess.  I still have to seal the landscape, finish "Air," and start and finish "Water," not to mention the paper work for the gallery show.... The donated piece must be done by the last week in April.  I guess I can now say, I  have started, sort of. 

So I plan on enlarging this image and then transferring it to an 8 by 10 canvas board using graphite paper.  From there I will modify the main image, maybe new hair, maybe not, maybe even larger eyes, maybe wings...you get the picture.  Not sure when I will get to her though...I usually get excited with new works so I am hoping I can move the other stuff along! 

k

Day 12: 28 Day Challenge

Two precious hours is what I had today in my studio... We basically kicked back and realxed today after running all week long.  I finished this landscape that I started in my March Mixed Media and collage class.  Using the artist crayons (Neocolors II), I added just a few more refinements and decided enough.  All I have to do now is seal it with the polymer varnish.  I also had some time to work on AIR.  I added two more transfers making it a total of three and now I am hating the work.  I am not sure how to fix the darn thing and basically I feel like chucking it in the garbage.  I should have used only one transferred image, I think...  So now I have a challenge in front of me, what do I do with it?  Right now it is drying.  If I get time tomorrow I will take a critical look at it.  However, I highly doubt I will have the time.  Easter Sunday in our house hold is about Mass, celebration, and spending time with our family (my children's Aunts, Uncles, Grandpa)... Of course, it is also about the food :)

May you all have a blessed Easter.

k

Day 11: 28 Day Challenge

No pictures for today...  I spent most of the day running my teens around.  It was prom dress shopping with m y 17 year old first.  We found the dress, shoes, and a garter.  Oh and I forgot, the "perfect" earrings too.  Then if was off to the movies to see "Clash of the Titans" which was OK.   I love Greek mythology but somehow the special effects in this movie were not up to today's standards, rather shoddy actually.  Then I had to take my 17 year old and my son (almost 15) to dress rehearsal for the passion play at our church.  I attended.  The affair started at 5:30 PM and I just now got home (:35 PM).  My kids and another wonderful young lady performed interpretive dance to "The Passion of the Christ."  Very moving and draining....

OK so what was creative for me today...well I did start to pull together the art data out of my database to make tags up for my show.  And I coated some images for transfers with polymer medium.  After several coats they will be ready to transfer onto the current work in progress "Air."  And that was it for today.  Sometimes I wish there were 30 hours to the day without the need for sleep!  Right now I am pretty drained emotionally.  The passion always does that to me.

k

Day 10- 28 Day Challenge

So here is where I am at on "Air."  I still have a way to go.  I wanted to lay down a transfer image, check, that is done.  I have two more images that I wish to transfer and then I think I need to change the glaze colors.  This is a similar palette to the Earth piece that I did in terms of glazing.  I don't think I will have a chance to get to this piece today because it is day 4 of Spring break and we are headed to "Chi Town," (Chicago).  Claire needs a new brand of pointe shoes and that requires trying on multiple styles/brand.  Her feet and arches are so strong now that the Current Bloch (Sonatas) are going in just a weeks time.  At $60.00 dollars a pop, well we need a shoe with a stronger shank!  We are going to Mr. Begley's store, Motion Unlimited.  Even my son wants to tag along because it is so seldom that we get to a good, really good, dance apparel store.  Here is the link if you want to peek: http://www.motionunlimiteddancewear.com/index.html. I also have a collage hanging in Mr. "B's" store so it will be nice to see the original again.  So as far as my creative time for today...it will be on the train.  I plan on continuing my write up for my Art Journaling class.  I really have to get that done.  Summer is to fast approaching!  I hope this counts!

k

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).

Nutcracker Season. 12-17-09

I wish I had more photos but my children have not had any time back stage to take pics. And parents are not allowed back there! But here are a few pics from the Christmas Parade in downtown Crystal Lake. Colin donned his Nutcracker costume and Claire was a Caroler (she is in the purple cape thing). I have seen 4 performances of this years Nutcracker and have 4 more to go this weekend. Both Colin and Claire were wonderful. But I think the show stealer was Colin. At 14, he is the youngest Nutcracker/Prince that this ballet school has ever had (at least in the last 15 years). I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of him. He has handled the stress well, although he was and is sick right now with a virus thingie. I am the popular Mom right now. So here is a link to Dan Swinsons website showing a beautiful "summary" photo of the show. This is the finale of Act II and shows Colin with Clara (Alexa) on his shoulder. I am speechless...He has achieved so much these past 4 months!

http://www.danswinson.com/Photography/JSSB-Nutcracker-2009/Dress-Rehearsal-Cast-AI/IMG8574/743109414_4LAhb-L.jpg

Finally, my finished sample! 11-22-09

It is definitely Nutcracker Season. I am in the throws of major rehearsals, school shows (my son is participating in) and all around craziness. But that is a different story. Needless to say I am very preoccupied and have not been able to keep up with Facebook, Twitter, my online shop nor my blog for some time now. Guess I know what my New Year resolution will be! OK so I am done with teaching classes for this year. Friday night was my last. I will miss the gals but hopefully will see some of them in January when I repeat an earlier class that I taught back in the summer. More details to follow once I am sure of the dates. This work is a sample that I did in the October class with papers we made. I finally added my details and presented it to Lucy at the Studio for future/prospective new students. As a side note, we are working with soft gel matte medium to adhere the papers. The students are totally new to collage and as much as I would love to teach Jonathan's method, I don't think it is economically feasible for new students to have to buy those supplies along with all the other basics that one has to accumulate. I do think that all the work that was produced in that class was wonderful. So we will continue in this vein. This scene was made up as I did it in front of the students. I actually added the details myself. I think the foliage turned out OK for someone who can't draw :)

Later I will up load finished student works from this last class. They are abstracts and wow... I still have to finish the demo piece I did but hopefully I will get it done soon!

k

Part 2 of my Mixed Media and Collage Class.

I have to say that doing a class like this is so rewarding. The students were so pumped up. I had the feeling that after I rather quickly demoed how to make a landscape collage out of our hand altered papers, they were empowered. So many commented that the process was addictive and fun. And I think there were some who actually understood why I seldom throw anything out...You just never know when you will need a Dove foil wrapper from a delectable chocolate!
Enjoy the little slide show. I will have to upload a better shot of my landscape plus I have a landscape that I demoed in class that needs a few more details on it before it is finished. These have been so much fun!

k

Final Thoughts on the Art of the Land Gallery Show (9-26-09)

Since the Art of the Land show, I have been so busy. During the week after the show, we had Grandpa over (the children's grandpa that is) for the entire week, my husband caught some kind of crud, and then this entire week I have been laid low with evidently the same crud. No art time, no class prep (for next week), no life. I am not feeling sorry for myself although it sure sounds like it :) I have used this down time somewhat productively, art productively that is, in giving some thought to this gallery show/fundraiser. So, I realized that I really enjoyed the entire gallery experience. It was shortly after doing an outdoor fine art show that I knew this type of venue was not for me. The gallery opportunities in McHenry County are few and far between and when I was invited to participate in this fundraiser, well I went for it and I am so glad I did. Although I have had several gallery shows, including one with the Raue Center for the Performing Arts, none compared to the dazzling evening at the Starline.

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County had a connection with the Starline Gallery and so that was the beginning of this collaboration. For one night, about 20 artists were treated to a beautiful show, glamorous people, great appetizers and wine, and fabulous music. The Land Conservancy made about $3000.00 which for the first time doing this kind of event, was great. Artists contributed a portion of all their proceeds to help. I have to say that my personal "Meet the Artist," openings have not even come close to this extravaganza. I was sort of like a doe caught in a headlights glare and I must have really looked like that because I was told to close my mouth on several occasions. It was almost overwhelming. My husband and I had an exciting "date" night, I got to meet some very talented artists, and learn a little about the good work the Land Conservancy is doing. There was a considerable amount of work to view and unfortunately, I could not get close enough to all the pieces to really "dissect" them. The gallery is really fabulous but there were so many people that there were often more than 5 people deep at any given work. And that is a really good thing because we know a lot of folks viewed the work. The "bad" thing is that it is often hard to make a decision on purchasing a piece in just one viewing. So, I am told via email that the Land Conservancy group loved this evening, the idea, the art and want to make this an annual event. YIPEE. To be a part of this, is not only very gratifying but it gets my creative muse off her duff! I have a head full of ideas that are competing right now with my head full of crud! Can't wait to start creating again. I want to do another abstract landscape of my Santa Fe vistas that never seem to leave my spirit. The colors, the patterns, the smells, Santa Fe will be in my blood forever. Hopefully I will have a small body of work prepared for next years show and I hope it will grow into something as beautiful as what the Land Conservancy is trying to preserve.

k

Art Class, altered papers

Well as usual, I am behind. Last Thurs/Friday, I taught the first of three classes in collage and mixed media. We explored a variety of papers and then set to altering them. Below are just a few pictures. I think we are off to a good start and our next class meets in mid October. The ladies will put together an "abstract" landscape (6 by 12 inches in size) and we will go from there. The word is spreading, collage is here to stay.

I am alive 9-23-09

Oh my, no art for sharing...I have been really busy with the start of the school year. My pre-k class is wonderful. Those little minds are just like sponges...always wanting to learn. We have listened to Back, Boyce, Telemann, Mozart and now Vivaldi...guess what, my class now requests their favorites. I love it when the arts are soaked up. I want to show them experts of ballets and concerts )Chicago Symphony.... Oh and yes, they are learning their site words! So I have been really busy in the afternoons and evenings. Currently, I am packing for dropping off 4 paintings to the Starline Gallery (link below) today. The Art of the Land show is Saturday. I have done breast cancer benefits before but have never done one like this where all the art is for sale and a good portion of the proceeds go the the land conservancy. I am so looking forward to this date night. I do have some ideas for more work (collages), but when I will get a block of time now is anyone's guess!

K

PS. Stop by Lorrie Grainger Abdo's blog for a really neat look into some new art she is doing. I really love it! http://lorrieabdo.blogspot.com/

The Studio hosts a Chamber Mixer on Sept. 1st

The Studio Art School in McHenry, IL held a lovely mixer for all the Chamber business members this past Tuesday. Lucy called and invited me and also asked me if I wanted to hang some of my art on her lovely walls. Right after dealing with my first day of pre-K, I went and hung art with Lucy. The mixer was lovely and I received plenty of nice comments on my work including that it was nicely priced. Nothing sold, but it was nicely priced :) My latest work, the three little abstracts also received plenty of good comments. I arranged them in a pre-cut mat and framed them and they looked wonderful. What was really wonderful though was that Cheryl Perrone from the Land Conservancy of McHenry County, came over and introduced herself. She asked if I wanted to be part of a multi artist show at the Starline Gallery in Harvard Illinois. The show is called, ART OF THE LAND and is a benefit for the Conservancy. OMG, I have wanted to find an excuse to get up to Harvard to see this new gallery. It is in an old factory and is supposed to be really cool. Here is the link to the gallery and blog although neither site is that up to date.

http://www.gabrielshorn.org/gallery_frameset.html http://starlinestudiogallery.blogspot.com/

As for the conservancy, Here is a link to their site and the announcement of the show at the Star line: https://www.conservemc.org/

https://www.conservemc.org/htdocs/artoftheland.html

The good work that this group does is largely behind the scenes. I would wager that the average resident living in McHenry County does not even know that there is a very active group fighting to preserve our prairie areas, fens, bogs, oak and Hickory grove (what little is left of them) and so much more. I do hope this fund raiser brings much needed dollars to continue their good work. I am so thrilled to be able to take part in this (just have to fill out the paper work). I am going to donate a print of my Fairy of the Woodland Gables for their silent auction and probably submit three-4 pieces. One is below, the abstract landscape, and that piece I still need to seal and mat. The benefit is slated for September 26, starting at 7. I think tickets are 15.00 pre -purchased. The details can be found at the announcement link above. If you are free and live in the area, do stop by for a really worthy cause.

k