Prompt 1

Prompt: A large cat made entirely out of cloud-like material

I chose a caracal. they're not big like a lion, but bigger and fiercer than your average housecat. ^_^ And I love their faces/ears/head shapes!

Mug Rug

Today I sat around with a bunch of weavers. I grabbed one of the cardboard looms we'd put together for the kids and a skein of yarn and made a mug rug! I like the goldenrod color next to the gray-blue.

My first go at making homemade postcards and farther exploring the use of mixed media and different elements to make up a whole. I made the first one and then realized that the prompt specified altered book birds, so I continued in that vein.

Z...

I had a couple of swaps...An art journal page "Z is for...." and a few more book art birds. :)

Doing this page, I learned how to do rub on letters--they're great fun! ^_^

I'm not as proud of these ATCs, but they are worth noting as the first I've used washi tape as part of their creation.

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Escapist

While Jeff and I were gone, his snake "got out" and was later found tangled in the antlers of Stanley McDeerface. The images was too vivid in my mind to pass up.  I would love to take a camera to really get a feel for how Nergal would rest herself. I think one I got a handle on that, this would make an awesome woodcut....

Smashbook pages

So I joined a smashbook page swap. I've never made any sort of smashbook. Though, one could argue that my wall of emphemera is it's own sort of smashwall.

Once I wrapped my head around the concept....I came up with the idea that empty smashbook pages are a lot like empty journal art pages. You set up the
theme and the person can add whatever.

The theme of the swap was "This is the time for...." and then we had to come up with four different words/themes for each of the pages. I think I did pretty well considering I'd never tried anything like this before.

These first four are back/front on two separate pages.

While these last four are done with one larger page folded in half to create a folio.

Funny. I accidentally put all the pictures of the interactive pages on the right.

Fallen Between the Cracks

Experimenting with color....

Here's some art I found while organizing my photos. I documented them, but they never made it to a post!

These were the valentines I made. I created a linocut and then
printed with wet chalk pastels. 

I asked my roommate for a drawing prompt-two words
She came back with "slimey balls." Oil pastel.

When I started Americorps, one of the projects during
orientation was to create and art piece that represented
your voice....

The Juggler--ATCs

Here are my two ATCs for a swap themed "Circus series--The Juggler". I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, but I think they turned out pretty fun. If I were to receive the one on the right, I would probably keep it in my collection!

Burn an ATC Round 2

                                                  The parameters were that
some part of the ATC had to be burned...I tried to be more creative than just burning the edges like I did last time.

Left: "Fireflower" It was beautiful with the live flames as petals.

Right: "Past" My idea was that there is no 'home' to go back to; you can never return to the same place twice. If it hasn't changed, you have.

Mail Art

So I had some unthemed mail art swaps to complete and not a whole lot of time. Here is what I ended up                                                       with.

                                                                   

Art Journal Pages-Bird

 So I attempted to create some art journal pages with the prompt "Bird or Birds".....

On the top left was my first attempt. I like the sentiment, but it's execution was too poor. I should not have wasted the colored stock paper.

I then turned to my favored standard for ATCs and took out a book page. This shape became the basis for my next three pages.

 The basic theme is the wide open possibilities granted by unfettered flight, as I've only just begun realizing that I do not have to tie myself to any one place, thing, or person.

Mail Art Theme-Brown

"Pick a color" was the theme for the swap. I chose brown, as that was my partner's favorite color. However, I think it may have actually turned out more bronze. Still working on putting together effective collages.

I'm not sure if the envelope was enhanced or reduced by the overzealous postal woman. I told her I wanted brown stamps and she proceeded to put three along the top and at least four across the bottom.....at least it will be interesting. xD

Disappointment, Success, and Cute

 
     So I've been attempting more of the art of the envelope. With the prompt of "flowers," I created this pretty but vaguely uncreative thing. I shall endeavor to be more creative in my next attempts. Though I have decided I do enjoy the combined look of the drawn-over picture. It adds a bit of the illustrator's style, perhaps. I have a few more mail-art prompts coming up. Birds, a colored theme, and one of my choosing.

     Perhaps for the freebies I should start what I once wished to do: pick an artist whose art I enjoy and copy either their style or subject matter. Of course, altering it so that it is my own creation and not merely a copy. This could be a good exercise, if remembered. On the bird theme, I could copy my past success. However, while the receiver may well enjoy it, where is the art in creating a stale copy? Hence a motive for this blog: to keep my art honest, and effort displayed to be judged alongside others of my work.

Fly

Escape

     And here are more ATCs. For this prompt, I had to have some part of the card brunt. I decided to burn the edges and remount it upon another backing.

     I went outside my normal style of things for a mixed media mash-up kind of look. I'm not sure I like what I've made, but I've always wished I 

could create such types of art and these two ATCs are the closest I feel I've gotten yet. 

Therefore, considered a success. :)

     And then, of course, I can't forget about my steampunked sea turtle. At first, I was excited by the prompt "steampunk sea creature." All sorts of ideas flitted around my head of creatures of the deep. However, when it came time to actually create, all ideas fled. Then I found this little guy. I immediately know he needed a monocle and top hat. though how to make him steampunk and not just Victorian....I decided he could be a little machine. Though how steam or smoke billows out underwater, I couldn't tell you. He is cute though, is he not?  ^_^

A Note....

I have changed the format of this blog and widened it a bit. Consequently, that affected the formatting of all my previous posts. As I have no desire to go through and attend to each one, I shall simply state here that they weren't so chaotic at the start. Oops and acknowledged.

Bird-Themed

 So I have been busy with lots of art-directed swaps! Here are my ATCs, most of them with a zentangle prompt. Notice how I am learning: I've begun to allow the patterns to be their own barriers and not add artificial border lines. Some are more successful than others.

 This ATC on the top is one I am very proud of. It has a title: "Fibonacci's Tangle." I was inspired by my boyfriend's newest tattoo idea. The rose compass ouroborus also began as another of his tattoo ideas. Though that one I took more liberties with. :) The swap specifications required the use of a gel pen, at which point I both remembered how fun they could be and realized that none of mine really worked anymore and the ones that did work, did so badly.














The ACT that is odd-tangled-out, as it were, is part of a series of bird-themed mail art that I created. The first envelope shown is merely supposed to be doodled while the rest are similarly bird-themed. I went on a supplies-buying spree yesterday and part of what I bought was this funky shopping-list style pad of paper. It has turned out to be most useful. And I cannot claim either of those types of bird images. Though I have taken them out of their original context and altered them somewhat, their original forms can be found while meandering about Google or Pinterest. The idea of the almost tribal/abstracted bird paired with ginko leaves is my own invention, and I still find it rather fascinating.

Keep a lookout for that motif repeating itself!