ART for the HEART by Jeanne Rhea

Two new paintings

2012-02-01T07:34:00.005-05:00

16x16"

12x12"

It has already been an exciting year!

2012-01-22T20:00:00.005-05:00

I have been sending a few of my ink paintings to Fresh Paint in California. In November I was asked to send paintings for a show in Australia. It was a short notice, but I had a few paintings in the works that could be sent with some that I had already shipped. I had thought the show was to be sometime after the first of the year. With all the holiday festivities, I did not think much about when and where it would be and thought I would call after the first of the year to get the info so I could blog about it.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that the exhibition had already taken place at the Star City Hotel and Casino in Sydney, Australia! The images above are of some the paintings that sold. This was my first show outside of the US that my work has been shown. I am looking forward to working with Fresh Paint on future shows.

Thank you Fresh Paint! Helene, Chloe, Josetta and Christina have been wonderful to work with.

New paintings from the studio and other news...

2011-11-21T17:59:00.005-05:00

These are the last two paintings out of my studio. They are 30x40" and can be hung in any direction.

A lot has happened since I made the last post. The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild participated in Art of the Carolinas that Jerry's Artarama sponsors every year. It is a four day event with lots of workshops, all kinds of art supply vendors and many demos. CMMAG does the support each year of preparing classrooms for the workshops and having a Make and Take activity for anyone who wants to make a small work of art. It is a lot of fun, but tiring! If you wish to read more about this event, you may wish to read Penny Arrowood's blog or Michelle Davis-Petelinz's blog.

Our guild is also selling calendars for the Arts for Life/ Durham nonprofit organization. These calendars are available at many locations around the area and can be purchased from the guild's web site. 100% of all proceeds will go directly to Arts for Life. I just delivered several calendars to the Carolina Artists' Colony in Sanford, NC. If you are in the area, please stop by and pick up a stocking stuffer for the new year! Allow some time to shop the Carolina artists' booths and spend some time enjoying the arts.

The silk kimono that I made to donate to the Scrap4Art's annual fundraiser won the Craftsmanship Award! (You can see and read about it here.) I was really surprised to get the notice, but to receive that award makes me very happy. I have always said that I had rather be known for fine workmanship than for any fancy idea that I come up with. So thank you Scrap4Art!

I will be posting about another exciting opportunity that I participating in soon. Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Meeting deadlines

2011-10-07T20:46:00.005-05:00

I had planned to submit work for VAE's The White Show, but I got really sick and was unable to deliver my pieces. So they will be exhibited at Carolina Artists' Colony in Sanford for their grand opening on Saturday, October 15 from 4:00 to 7:00. If you are in the area, please stop by!

Scrap4Art in Toledo Fundraiser Contribution

2011-10-07T19:48:00.004-05:00

It has been quite the juggling of projects to get back on a roll with my artwork and finishing those promised while my studio was being set up, HVAC and lights installed. I cannot believe that I committed to so many projects without knowing exactly when everything would be ready to be productive. With my studio ready for work, I completed my first three pieces in the past ten days (All while very sick!).

I made this garment for Scrap4Art of Toledo's annual fundraiser.

Roberta Morgan, one of the members of the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild, had given a demo on dyeing white silk with old 100% silk ties to make scarves. Well, I am not into scarves at all due to having learned at a tender young age of Isadora Duncan's cause of death. But I loved the technique that Roberta showed and I had done a similar technique of transferring the dye from silk ties onto eggs for Easter a few years ago.

I wanted to make the design subtle if possible so I decided to dye the white silk fabric first (just in case it took too much color or not enough color from the ties) with wide swaths of light colors so that there would be no white visible. In this technique it is almost impossible to know what the result will be.

I decided I was going to make it work in some manner regardless of how well the dyeing worked. If all else failed, I would make the dreaded scarves from any fabric that took the tie dye well. I learned that not all ties that are marked All Silk are 100% silk. I thought that three ties that were marked All Silk felt like polyester or something similar and they did not feel or look like all silk. Just as I suspected, they did not transfer any color to the silk. All the ties that were marked 100% silk transferred color beautifully. All of the ties that were really old and 100% silk worked the best with transferring color. I suspect that the older ties did not have as much sizing or finishes on the fabrics. Maybe the finishes on the old ties had worn off with time allowing the dyes to transfer easily.

So much for my first completed project! Tomorrow I will post my next two completed pieces.

I'm back with the creatives!

2011-09-26T17:23:00.012-05:00

I know you must be wondering what happened to my blogging. I used to read many blogs and would run across one every day with apologies for no new posts in months. At that time, I was wondering how the blogger could not find time to at least write a few sentences and post a photo or two---especially after having captured my attention with an interesting blog.

And here I am --- writing the same thing---but, I can assure you that I have been storing up inspiration for the next round of artwork.

I have painted an entire house and my studio (and part of a large workshop) in a neutral white color. So why wouldn't I crave those bright colors of the alcohol inks?

I separated my office from my studio. So now I shall not be distracted by Facebook and any of the other computer related chores that I allow to consume my time.

I have sold or given away many boxes of art supplies (Maybe not art supplies to some, but to mixed media artists---they are treasures!) and personal belongings. So now I have no reason to feel that I have too much stuff that I must dispose of and I have more space to use for the creative process. To be honest, I also have more in this area to work on, but I will work on that as time permits.

I have rebuilt and built dry laid stone walls for landscaping, added pine bark mulch to flower beds, planted herbs, flowers, bushes and trees. The stones, flowers, fruits, butterflies, birds, lizards and flavors are still providing me with textures, colors and images that I could have easily missed.

I have lifted concrete blocks and construction rubble left from original construction of house, huge rocks and boulders, learned to drive a tractor and done lots of exterior clean-up. Now I am ten pounds lighter and have a little more energy to create.

I now have heating and air conditioning for my studio. Since I work a lot with alcohol inks and the techniques that I try to achieve in some paintings are so sensitive to heat and humidity, this absence of heat and air really limited my ability to do large paintings. I can't even imagine being creative in 90+ degree temperatures. With the addition of new lighting, I am ready to roll!

And the best part---I love being in the country! It is so peaceful and quiet---except for those crickets!

It's about time...

2011-06-10T17:42:00.005-05:00

Here are some photos of my new studio. The first few are of the storage room behind the studio.

Storage room

More storage

Left wall entering studio

Entering from entry door

Left wall entering from entry door

Wall to right as entering front door

Right wall
Door in right of photo goes to the connected workshop

Main work area

I had written about being in the process of moving and am way behind with computer work and have not made a post here for months. But, I have finally got my studio almost ready to work. I am one of those people who cannot work in a mess. Things need to be in order for me to create.

My new studio is large with two storage areas. It will accomodate at least five large tables in the center of the room for working. I am still in the process of getting rid of some of my collected bits that I had saved for making assemblages and collages. I really could not use all the stuff that I have collected in twenty years. So every day for the past two weeks, I have donated at least one box of stuff to Habitat or Goodwill and some days my car was full of donations! I am going to try for one more week of paring down my extras. I just hope that some mixed media artists run across my finds and can put them to good use.

Then it is off to Alaska for almost three weeks! When I get back, we will install my new light fixtures and heat and air. And I will be ready to work and create. I have kept a notebook of ideas for the past seven months and so I cannot wait to tackle some of the ideas and see if they amount to anything worth pursuing.

Here are some photos of my studio that I took about two weeks ago. Things have changed slightly, but since I need to get more lighting before I can get good photos, these will have to do. Enjoy!

Fresh Paint Art Exhibition

2011-01-24T18:51:00.003-05:00

Some of my paintings at Fresh Paint

Filling in while I move...

2010-12-09T19:02:00.009-05:00

As of tomorrow, I will be without computer access for a few days, but I do have an iPhone. For the next couple of months, I will be so busy finishing our house, moving and organizing my studio that I probably will be limited with time to create. (Just writing this, makes my heart skip a beat and I get a little anxious as I have rarely been unable to create when I wanted for the past ten years. I am one of those who must create daily.)

So for the interim, I am going to feature one of my artist friends.

First up is Porro Sahlberg of Finland. (Facebook profile) (Web site with her artist friend, Petteri) Petteri and Porro's collaboration on artwork has earned them international recognition.

Porro and I met online on the rec.crafts.polymer-clay discussion group in about 1997. It has been such a rewarding experience. Besides our discussions on polymer clay and other crafts, we had lengthy emails on all kinds of political and social issues. She was young enough to be my daughter, but she came across as so mature and absolutely brilliant that I never believed she could be so young. Porro has visited me in the US a few times and for the past two years we have attended an artists' retreat for a week. It is a real treat when she visits and we are able to travel together and immerse ourselves in art.

One of Porro's best qualities is her sense of humor. She posted this link on Facebook to show Americans why she comes to the US to learn about crafting. I'm sure it was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as she is certainly able to laugh at herself---and others. (Oh, yes, she is a straight-forward, honest person.) Finland leads the world in many areas of education and technology and just yesterday Finnish students were rated fourth in the world in math, science and language. Language is of no surprise if you know anything about the Finnish language. As soon as I saw the video, I wanted to start a campaign to get Porro on Finnish TV. Finns would finally get the best in crafting and arts as Porro is a great communicator and she can do so many crafts---including knitting, crocheting, beading, spinning, polymer clay...

I am fortunate to have discovered polymer clay in 1989. It was a time when polymer clay was sold (at least in Alaska) mainly for kid's projects. A real interest in polymer clay as an art medium was just beginning. When the internet came along, the techniques and inspiration that were online were instrumental in propelling polymer clay into a serious art material. It was exciting to be able to experiment and I now credit polymer clay with opening my mind to possibilities with other art materials. My communication with Porro fueled my urge to try anything and everything with polymer clay. Although I work little in polymer clay these days, I still cannot manage to give it up and I am sure that there is so much I still could learn from both polymer clay ....and Porro!

Porro has always been able to take a complex technique and make it simple. I remember when she showed me how she made bicone beads with her hands and no piece of plastic as most clayers used---and hers were perfect. And she has her style. It is so easy for me to recognize her work.

So go take a look at her work and send her a note (Contact is on this page.) She knows English and I am sure she will reply.

Note added 2-5-2011 If you wish to know more about Finland, read this article.

Porro, you are a special friend!

The value of doing shows...

2010-12-06T10:34:00.008-05:00

Moonrise over Mars

My friend, Michelle Davis Petelinz of Kindred Spirits (web site) Artventuring (blog) and I had a one night show this past Friday night for Raleigh's First Friday event in The Blake Street Galleries. We each had a large room to display our work and shared a divider in the larger space. Michelle's work was so beautiful and our work looked great together due to the vibrancy of most of our colors.

We had a very short time to prepare for this show. I had to pull together whatever I had in stock and make do as we are in the process of moving our home and my studio. I was most concerned that I would be standing around twiddling my thumbs and there would not be too much interest in my work. (Mind you, I am not insecure about my work and I would never stop creating if no one showed interest, but I sure did not want to waste my time. If no one was interested, I would be using my time better in my studio doing what I love to do!) Usually, I try to avoid going to openings where my work is on display as I just don't enjoy walking around and schmoozing, but I thought that this would give me the opportunity to see if people were more drawn to my new satin finish or if they preferred the original gloss finish. I sell lots and lots of magnets and ACEOs at some of the same galleries that sell my paintings, but for such small dollar items, I cannot keep track of finishes.

So this is what I learned...

1) I learned that having a show with another artist made the work easier and even fun as we could share the burden of some of the expense and work. (Thank you, Michelle and Stan for your extra work!)

2) It is much easier to talk to people about my work if I see interest by saying, "May I answer any questions for you?"

3) The younger generations are very open to the use of unconventional materials that are often unacceptable to jurors.

4) Many of the younger people are drawn to abstracts.

5) Even in a casual gallery setting, having art at different price points is important.

6) I sold well, but the money is the very least of what I received from this event. This event is probably the best experience that I have ever had in regard to my artwork although the little boy who thought my Mother's Nest sculpture was so cool will always be special to me.

7) I have some real fans in Raleigh. One woman told me that she owns three of my paintings and one woman told me she looks for my art at every VAE show as she thought I only exhibited at VAE.

8) In magnet or ACEO size items, the gloss pieces sold the best. I sold nine gloss magnets to every one of the satin finish magnets. This was the first place I have offered satin finish on magnets. I need to make larger pieces with the satin finish especially if the colors are darker as there is less reflection and I had very positive reactions with the satin finish on the two smaller ink paintings that I displayed on the wall.

9) I would try to get some photos of the event. I took five photos, but my photos were not good due to the gloss on my paintings. Michelle's mirrors also gave too much reflection. Be sure to check her site for photos of her work.

10) The discussions that I had with several young people gave me a new perspective of my own art and enlightened me on what may be missing in digital art. (See more below on this subject.)

What I would do next time...

1) I would have had a drawing for one of my paintings.

2) I would have had a guest registry for future events. (I had forgotten to bring my book.)

3) If I were taking nice shoes to wear after the work of hanging my work and preparing for the show, I would remember to take matching socks and not have to wear my white socks that I wear with my tennis shoes! ;) Needless to say, I stood most of the night so my white socks did not peak out from under my dark pants.

I am sure there will be other things that I think of, but for now this is it.

Back to the discussions that I had with the patrons...

I probably gave a one minute description of how I work about a hundred plus times!

Many young people were fascinated by my process for the ink paintings. I could tell that many did not want to ask directly, "How do you do this?" Three young men in particular had almost identical responses to my work. Two of them are digital artists. One digital artist said that seeing my work and a description of how I work with the inks told him that he is missing a very important part of art. He does not get the feel of the materials in the same way with digital art. He does not do as much experimenting to see "what if?" He said he is often limited in his vision and the possibilities with digital art. Only by touching the paints to board would he see that the chemical and physical properties of the materials also contribute greatly to artwork like mine. It was a light bulb moment for at least two of these young men. I hope I see their artwork someday with paint to canvas.

I am completely open to using new technology for art, but I also see how one is limited if one only goes the digital route. My work relies greatly on the chemical and physical properties of the materials that I work with. Although I am mastering them to some extent, there is still much to learn and I will continue to evolve and explore new methods of working with these materials. To encourage the young people more, I gave them the names of other artists who work in a similar style in which the chosen materials play an important part in the work that is produced.

Such is my report. I loved being able to talk to people and see their reactions to my work. Maybe I am hooked on art openings!

A new day

New paintings and NEWS!

2010-11-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy getting ready to move to our new home and selling this one. So I will be posting only photos until more responsibilities/duties/chores fall into place or are completed. Here are three of my latest paintings. Enjoy!

Scrap4Art Fundraiser

2010-10-04T17:27:00.008-05:00

Homage to Mondrian

Reconstituted silver clay

Laminate (Formica & Wilsonart) Samples

with ink paintings and old found charms

Scrap watch parts, misc. beads, charms

in shadowbox frames

I collect way too much stuff. Time to get rid of some of the miscellaneous items. Scrap4Art is having a fundraiser and I decided to use some of my half made items and donate to the cause. I have done a lot of teaching or demo'ing and ended up with a lot of samples that need to be made into completed pieces of jewelry. So this was my chance to do just a little work and end up with some several pieces. Here are some photos. (Sorry they are not the best, but I did not have good lighting.) Most pieces are two sided and they incorporate many found objects or scrap pieces from my studio.

For the pieces with resin , I used Ecopoxy Resin. This is a new resin carried by Ornamentea in Raleigh. It is especially good for jewelry and has very few bubbles and cures clear.

End of the day paintings

2010-09-18T12:16:00.002-05:00

These are paintings that I made at the end of the day by mixing similar ink colors together. Since alcohol inks dry so quickly, I often try to mix the last bits into a bottle and then if enough left, I make a painting with them or if very little ink, I make magnets or ACEOs or ATCs. I decided to post these photos together so it is easy to see how the colors are not so bright or Disney as one friend of mine calls them. I have not added a finish to these paintings and am considering a satin finish instead of the normal gloss finish of the resin.

Wrapping up ink paintings for a few days

2010-09-17T16:44:00.006-05:00

I must spend some time on a couple of projects so I am putting up my inks for a few days.

I will be making five pieces of art for Lee Denim Days in support of Breast Cancer Awareness being held at Artist Alley in Southern Pines on October 8 from 5:00 to 9:00. All the pieces of donated art by the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild will sell for just $10 and a Denim Pocket can be had for a $5 donation.

I am also working on a donation for Scrap4Art's fundraiser. Using materials that are not really expensive free me up to get really creative. I am using recycled materials or found objects. Most of the materials have been collected from The Scrap Exchange in Durham. I will be posting photos when I am finished.

Ink Paintings

2010-09-14T19:34:00.004-05:00

If you wish to know about these effects, please read the previous post about artists who work wet on wet to achieve similar effects.

Getting Hooked on Painting

2010-08-30T18:59:00.012-05:00

I had always said that I would never be a painter. I felt that I saw everything as a sculptor and felt sculpting was natural for me. I also loved working with old or found salvaged materials and using them to tell a story. I avoided painting unless it was a dimensional piece that had to be painted. But over the past five years, I have become addicted to painting. The funny thing is---I had always discounted abstract painting and had little interest in abstracts. I liked art that told a story with recognizable images.

Well, how things change! Now I am drawn almost exclusively to the abstract and I paint almost exclusively.

What changed? I remember the day that I picked up some alcohol inks at a scrapbooking store that is now out of business. I purchased five 40ml bottles at over $12 each. There was a sample of the inks on cards with some metallic markers and I asked how the effect was achieved. The owner quickly showed me and I was hooked. I came home and proceeded to test them. I bought more alcohol inks and painted on all kinds of non-porous surfaces. Eventually, I noticed many effects that I could get based on the different types of alcohol inks and the substrates that I used. I esp. loved the brilliance of the inks and the almost impossibility of knowing the outcome of any particular combination of materials. I was just playing and I was hooked.

I then tried many other paints, dyes, powders and inks along with some glues and salts to get a variety of effects. Some of these similar effects have been achieved by watercolorists, fiber artists, painters and even potters over the years. I have noticed that the painters who work in a similar fashion as I do also are into the process as much as the end product. We love seeing the effects and capturing the effects at a particular stage in the evolution of the design.

Although different materials are being used, most of these painters are working wet on wet. (Not sure about Eric Miller) Capturing the primary layer at just the right moment in time to achieve a particular effect is often difficult due to the porosity of the substrate, the humidity, the temperature, the viscosity and chemical makeup of the inks, paints and glues.

One of the painters who has perfected his technique is William Loveless. In describing his technique, he wrote on a post on Facebook "Watercolor and ink dropped into a pool of wet glue, basically. Part of a larger grid of similar expansion events that are now frozen in time." He paints wet on wet. You may also enjoy seeing some videos that he makes showing some of his process. I am amazed at his technical skill!

John Dempsy works in a similar fashion to achieve similar effects. He explains in his artist statement, "Drops of paint systematically applied to a grid allow me to explore subtle modulations of shape, color, and pattern. Form follows process as the intrinsic character of the paint carves and shapes a distinct topography..."

Heidi Van Wieren works with inks on Elmer's glue. She builds layers of glue and ink to create depth.

Eric Miller's paintings seem to focus on an organic landscape using materials that he says will not fade or crack even when exposed to direct sunlight. I have seen his paintings in person and am not certain what materials he uses, but he states that the materials and techniques are similar to those used in the manufacture of some musical instruments. They could be paints or powder coatings that are heated and that look like an enamel finish. The finishes are a high gloss similar to a resin or clear coat finish. Some of the pieces appear to be a countertop veneer material over a wavey wood frame.

On the blog Artsyville, you can see alcohol inks on ceramic tiles. There is also a link to using a felt pad to apply the inks.

Here's a link to an alcohol ink painting of a peacock and one of a grapevine painting. Karen Walker has used the properties of the alcohol inks to get the effects that work so well with these particular subject matters. There are many artists (thousands) who paint or draw with alcohol inks, but she has managed to make the properties of the inks work for her in representational art.

Porro from Finland has experimented with several products to achieve effects that have been achieved by other artists using a variety of materials. Here is a sample of her work.

Here are my ink paintings. I have taken what I learned while working with inks and glues and applied that to my other types of paintings---dye paintings, powder paintings and salt paintings.

Hope you enjoy looking at these artists' works!

Updated Web Site

2010-08-25T13:30:00.003-05:00

I just updated my web site with some new images. I still have to check links and remove some old photos, but most of the difficult work is done. Hope you enjoy!

New Ink Paintings

2010-06-30T16:01:00.004-05:00

The Value of an Artist's Work

2010-06-20T10:57:00.006-05:00

This past week in the News and Observer, there was a letter to the editor regarding artists donating work for the proposed Lightner Center in Raleigh. I wrote a letter as a response, but the N&O claimed that they could not publish it due to the length and since it addressed a third party. I did edit it and resubmitted it to fit their guidelines, but have not seen it in print so I have decided to publish my original letter here. See below.

Regarding the proposed Lightner Center, Deborah Hamilton wrote, “The office luxuries are extreme and uncalled for. It’s a workplace, not a spa or a jungle gym. And let’s not forget the $780,000 for art work. Why can’t you get local artists to donate their work for display?”

May I offer a response?

Dear Deborah,
I am an artist and would truly love to donate artwork for the Lightner Center. That is, after you secure donated services for all of the other trades necessary to make this building a reality. Let’s start with the land. The current selected site just may need a little more land. I am sure that a major developer here in the Triangle would love to give up a few hundred acres. The architects and the engineers would love to donate their time and resources. The plumbers, the electricians, the painters, the carpenters, the brick and block masons, the glaziers and all the other trades workers could take so much pride knowing that they had given months of work for the center. Let’s not stop there. Home Depot and Lowes will donate all the materials as they realize that their companies receive such great benefits from being here. Oh, we cannot forget that all of our elected officials and government workers will be so happy to occupy their offices that they will beg to participate in the building of the center. And you, Deborah, should not miss an opportunity to donate your time to the building of the center so you can feel proud of your contribution to the cause and to our community.

Now do you get my point? It is high time that artists are no longer considered the main profession to donate their work for the good of mankind. Don’t get me wrong. We LOVE to donate our work. This past year alone, I donated over 20 paintings for fundraisers that I wish to support. But how am I to continue donating if everything I make, I give away?

Just because we donate artwork to a non-profit does not mean that we can deduct all of our time and materials for tax purposes. We can only deduct actual cost of materials even if we spent six months in the creation of a piece. So such would be the case of the Lightner Center artwork. The months and months of labor that an artist would contribute would be all of his time with no tax deduction for that. Only the materials would be deductible and he has lost his productive time to make art for sale by which he makes his living.

When do we begin to realize that art is part of the quality of life that is reflected in so many areas of our lives? Cities and towns that value the arts and have arts included in their plans for the future are usually the cities that have a better quality of life. Whether the arts came first or the quality of life came first does not seem to matter. In the end, an artsy, art-filled city is a desirable city that enhances the sense of community and encourages art in public spaces.

Jeanne Rhea

Tips on Preparing Your Home for Real Estate Listing Photographs

2010-06-16T19:26:00.011-05:00

We have viewed thousands of online photos of houses for sale. Having worked in the construction and building maintenance industry for many years, I am aware that many of the photos do not do a home justice. With a little effort, good online photos make a real difference in whether a home is chosen for a viewing. Good online photos also save the agent's time as well as your own. This post is especially for those who are preparing their home for photographs for the listing ad.

Tips on Preparing Your Home to Photograph for a Real Estate Ad

Today most potential home buyers view homes online prior to deciding if they wish to schedule an appointment. Photos that are viewed online can stop them from taking another look by not showing unique features or by showing a cluttered environment.

Most real estate listings have a twelve to twenty photo capacity. You want to make your photos count. For the photographer (usually the listing agent) to get the best photos, the homeowner needs to do some preparation.

Following these tips will show your home at its best.

First, walk through your home and open all blinds and drapes. Turn on lamps and other lighting. Lighting is probably the most important element in obtaining good photos. Now you are ready to begin.

Bathroom
1. Close the toilet seat! No one wants to see the toilet bowl.
2. Remove all personal care items such as toothbrush, shampoos, hand creams, soaps and make-up from the bathroom counter.
3. Straighten the shower curtain and towels. White towels work best most of the time. You are not selling your towels or shower curtain so don’t make them a focal point.
4. Unless the bathtub is a special design, do not use limited photo space to show a tub. We all know what an ordinary tub looks like. We want to see the lay-out of the bath or anything that is special about the bath.

Kitchen
1. Remove the collection of notes, coupons, refrigerator magnets and the children’s artwork from the refrigerator. If you must have a child’s artwork, limit it to one piece per child neatly arranged on the fridge.
2. Remove as many small appliances from the countertops as possible. Limit small appliances to a toaster or a coffee pot.
3. Remove all except the most essential of canisters and utensils from the counters.
4. If open shelving, the shelving should be neatly arranged and uncluttered.
5. If you have a small kitchen, consider removing small throw rugs at the kitchen sink for the photos. This is especially important if the throw rug does not blend with the flooring and it prevents one from seeing the kitchen as a whole.
6. If you have a hanging pots and pan rack, pare down the collection of pots. These racks will often block an entire view of the kitchen in a photograph.
7. The sink should be empty and all dishes stored in cabinets.
8. Remove pet feeding bowls, doggie beds and kitty litter boxes.

Living Room or Family Rooms
1. Streamline collections. Limit a collection to a cabinet and then only with a few pieces as if showing them in a gallery. This prevents a cluttered look.
2. Have a few large wall pictures. Small pictures on every wall will appear cluttered and make a room look smaller in a photograph.
3. If you have one red throw or one brilliantly colored throw pillow, you may wish to put it away. The viewer’s eye will focus on this spot and will not see the expansiveness of the room. Or worse, they may begin to refer to the house as “Oh, yes, we’ve seen that house a dozen times.” But in fact they had seen that red throw a dozen times and had never really seen the house!
4. Store stacks of magazines and discard old newspapers.

Bedrooms
1. A lower bed will make a room appear more spacious. A minimalist look is best for bed linens. Piles of pillows consume visual space.
2. Heavy and large print drapes will often make a room appear smaller and more cluttered.
3. A bed canopy may take a lot of visual space from your room. If your room is small, put the canopy in storage.
4. If taking a photo of a closet, organize the shelves and minimize contents so the viewer can see the space.

Exterior
1. Do not waste a photograph on an azalea or rose bush. They are nice, but if a house is being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, the $20 azalea or rose bush gives the impression that there is nothing more valuable to photograph.
2. Potential buyers want to see the yard as a whole.
3. If photos are being taken on trash pick-up day, do not capture the trash cans in the photo.
4. Unless the sports car is being offered in the house deal, do not include it in the photo.
5. Take a photo of the shop or garage. To many buyers, a good shop or garage may be a good selling point.
6. Do a drive by on your house. Does it have a box storing outdoor shoes on the front porch? Is the yard free of any clutter or trash? Try to see your home as a potential buyer will see it.
7. Trim overhanging branches or trees or shrubbery that makes the home look too confined.

Overall
1. Eliminate floral arrangements that appear as clutter in a photograph. If you must have floral arrangements or plants, choose live plants or a simple vase of flowers. Wall swags and wreaths in every room appear in photos as clutter.
2. Empty trash cans in all rooms. Overflowing trash cans are unsightly and do not photograph well.
3. Straighten all pictures, drapes, lampshades or other items that will show askew in a photo.
4. When taking the photographs, don’t bother taking a close-up photo of a corner of a room. People know what a corner looks like. Try to get the widest view possible.

5. If you have a digital camera, take your own photos and view them online. Analyze them to see if you are presenting your home for sale or if you appear to be selling your possessions. When you feel like you have good photos, then call your listing agent.

6. Unless you have a real cottage home, a minimalist approach to decor is the best.

A special thanks to Ryan Ford of Prudential for being so patient with our search for a new home. If you are ever looking for a good agent, give him a call.

Unfettered Show Entry

2010-05-06T18:30:00.003-05:00

36x48"

This is my entry for the Visual Art Exchange's Unfettered show for the month of May. First Friday is tomorrow night. Hope to see you there!

Getting in the mood for making art...

2010-04-19T15:11:00.009-05:00

I seldom have enough time for all that I want to do, but sometimes I need a warm-up to really get into the creating mode for my artwork. When that happens---and it often does on Mondays, I fall back on making lampshades, renovating old dolls or making home decor items for Ozarks Americana. This is work that I have done almost all my life and I enjoy it and it is as easy for me as breathing.

To get in the creative mode today, I restored the above doll. She is 12"+ and made of thin celluloid. Her garment was originally stapled onto her body. The metal staples had rusted and her clothing was ruined from the rust. She was so filthy that I did not know if she was salvageable. She originally had some silk ribbon embroidery and crepe paper clothing. Her hat or crown was ribbonwork. I have never had one of these dolls as large as this one so it was esp. nice to see her come back to life. She is on her way to Ozarks along with some other goodies. If you are interested in her, give Ozarks a call and ask to see her first.

Sorry, I forgot to take before photos.

Artcraft Gallery

2010-04-05T14:05:00.009-05:00

Bryan Baldwin and son with his artwork at Artcraft Gallery

I have some paintings at Artcraft Gallery at 406 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh during the month of April. There are several other artists exhibiting their work including Mayshanna Pandora, Charlie Burkhead, Stephen Edgerton, Traci Bilbo, Mike Bradley or Bradley Metal Art and Bryan Baldwin.

Mayshanna has a web site, but I could not find a web site for the other artists. If I run across web sites, I will post later. If you are in the area, stop by and take a look.

Jeanne Rhea on The Arts Map

2010-03-30T18:23:00.000-05:00

Jeanne Rhea on The Arts Map

Our Lady of Palustrius Unveiling

2010-03-27T18:12:00.008-05:00

We had the opening of the M4-T challenge by the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild last night at Artist Alley in Southern Pines. It was so much fun to see all of the creations. We had 22 required items and three free items to use in our pieces. We could use as much of a particular item as we desired. We were to use anything and everything pine as the opening was taking place during the Palustrius Festival.

Originally, I wanted to make this sculpture into (1) a Madonna with her arms holding a baby. As soon as I saw that I could not make her arms (which were gourds) hold the baby, I abandoned the idea of Madonna.

Next was (2) a woodsy, earthy woman with the baby on her back like a papoose. But her face was too young, perfect, smooth without enough character.

Then she was going to be a (3)1930s-40s era woman with a train case and hat and dressed like she was traveling on a train. Southern Pines has a prominent train station and I was trying to make her fit the festival theme and area.

Then she was going to be (4) an all natural woman with long wild hair and sort of the sixties vibe or as a hippie.

Next I thought she could be (5) a bird woman with a bird head as a mask over her face. At that point I was debating whether to cover her in feathers and make her with all kinds of shiney things on her like the bowerbird that picks shiney things up and makes a nest---but I thought that was a male who decorated his area to attract a female so that would not work.

Right before I settled on the last idea I was doing everything that made her look like a (6) saint, but decided that might not fit the theme too well.

I got so frustrated that I threatened to take all of the cut off pieces of pine cone and glue them all over the body in a (7) scale type pattern and just have her face and hands showing and she would be some kiind of fantasy human like reptile. I would have made her headdress with all of the junk and put the rest in her hands. I constantly worked on the sculpture so that if something did not work out, I could fall back on another idea. Finally when I had no time left, I had to commit and so that is how Our Lady of Palustrius came into being the dominate possibility.

These were the seven incarnations from a Madonna to a reptilian anthropomorphic creature before becoming Our Lady of Palustrius. I wanted to use as much of the pine theme as possible in her creation. She has Norfolk Island Pine branches for part of her hair, Ponderosa pine cone petals for one side of her shawl and an immature Ponderosa pine cone for the end of her scepter. Cone petals from pines native to North Carolina were used for her shawl. Her shawl broach is made of pine needles. I used natural materials for most of the sculpture as all of the pine elements worked well with the moss, wood, paper clay, wicker and seven gourds.

These photos are not too good as I was unable to take good photos the day I finished her as it was raining outside. The glare in the windows at Artist Alley also did not allow for good photos. Good photos will be coming in the next few weeks.

Note for Kelly Borsheim: More applied breasts

It's time to make decisions...

2010-03-13T16:32:00.012-05:00

Clockworks III

24"x24"

For the past couple of weeks, I have worked on an art piece for the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild's M4-T challenge. We will be exhibiting them at Artist Alley for the Palustrius Festival from March 26 through April 24.

We were given a list of 22 loosely defined items that we needed to use in our piece and we also could use three extra freebies along with paints, inks, dyes, glitter, resin, and any connection device such as brads and wire. Mayshanna Pandora made a blog post about her entry. We cannot show our completed piece (only parts), but you can see that a lot of thought has gone into her creation. Nanette Zeller posted about her dilemma of making her M4-T challenge piece.

After the opening on March 26, I will post some photos of my completed piece and some showing it in the process. My studio was a total disaster during the entire creative process. I would dig out supplies, start an idea, discard it as it was not working well or would change in the middle so that it was becoming a completely different idea and piece than what I had started. I had to finish a couple of commission pieces and complete a few other projects in the middle of working on this challenge. So my studio did not have space to turn around. I knew that things had really gotten bad when I started putting paintings in the shower for the resin to cure as there was not a spot in my studio or the workshop to sit a painting for 24 hours. Here's a photo for you. (Luckily, we have a spare bathroom and this one is in my studio.) I need more space!

Note added: The above piece is not my entry to the M4-T challenge. It is just a piece that needed a place for the resin to cure while I was working on the M4-T challenge.

New Paintings

2010-02-27T17:48:00.008-05:00

The Dotted Line

I experimented a bit to come up with some paintings that use the line in order to enter the VAE's Drawing the Line juried show. It is easiest to get a good painting when allowing the inks to do what they wish to do with just a little bit of guidance rather than to make them make a line---esp. since I am using them as if they are paints and not as if they are inks in a pen or marker. I have no idea if they will get juried in, but at least they are painted and I can put them in a gallery if they do not make it into the show.

Z-line

I received good news when I stopped by to drop these paintings off. The painting that I submitted for the Imagine show had sold! It only takes my selling one painting and I will paint five more. It is time I found some more galleries as I am addicted to painting.

I did not submit the painting above as it did not turn out exactly as I had hoped for an organic line. But the next one I do using a similar method as this one will be called Neptune's Garden. I like this one, just not what I thought would fit the theme of the show.

NOTE: These paintings have a high gloss. Some of the white spots that appear on the darker ones are only on the photo and not the paintings.

See more paintings at jeannerhea.com

Interview on Whohub

2010-02-17T20:53:00.003-05:00

I just completed an interview on Whohub. It was an easy, fast and fun interview. I have had the link to fill out since June 5, 2009, but it seemed I could never get to it. Tonight I decided to clean out my inbox if at all possible. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Photos of my studio

2010-02-14T20:19:00.006-05:00

Kelly Borsheim came in October to speak to our Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild about her life as a street painter in Italy. While she was here, she took several photos of my studio. Since I never seem to get photos of my studio online, I am posting hers for you. These are from one corner.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T19:22:00.003-05:00

These are some of the ATCs and some ACEOs that I made for Valentine's Day.

Ink Painting

2010-02-09T12:19:00.006-05:00

I just finished the above ink painting and my ATCs for the Carolina Mixed Media Guild. The painting is 16"x20." I will post my ATCs in a couple of days.

A different kind of post for me...

2010-02-03T19:00:00.008-05:00

I've had a lot on my mind lately and decided to take a break today and post something a little different. I've worked on painting and sculpting all day so time to do something else.

Last night I had dinner with some friends and one mentioned garlic and how much she had eaten. I have had two cloves of garlic on my computer table for over a week and I have been watching them sprout. They are very small---less than 1" in length. I have been fascinated with the texture, the pearl like bulb and the tiny sprout and had even contemplated trying to make garlic bulb earrings out of polymer clay. I wish I could use them as they are and make earrings. I'm not a jewelry person, but I would love them! Guess the garlic smell though would not be too pleasant.

I won a door prize at our last Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild Meeting. It was Enliven Your Paintings with Light by Phil Metzger. It was a good book and I went through all of it pretty fast. I wondered if any of it would soak in or if I needed to really study it. I should not have been worried! Every time I turn around I am seeing the landscape, plants, a bowl of pears or something similar in a new light.

To illustrate, here are a couple of photos that I took. This is a living stones plant that is in my bathroom window. When the light shines on it in the morning, the top glows as if it is translucent and it is a minty green while the sides are a dark mossy green. When it is in normal light in a room, the top of it is dark green and very much the color of the sides. During the latter part of the day, the plant only shows as a black silhouette in the window as the light comes in behind it. All of the plants in my window go through this same process of changing colors through the day, but I chose this plant as it is the most striking in its differences---probably due to the thickness of the plant.

Maggi, this post is esp. for you. Thanks for donating the book for the door prize and thanks for telling us about the garlic last night!

It's about time...

2010-01-31T16:46:00.004-05:00

that I made a post to this blog.

I have been busy, busy, busy and will be posting some photos of what I am working on later in the week. I managed to do 10 ink paintings, but just took photos of a few. So here they are.

Christmas ornaments out of found objects

2009-12-16T17:13:00.008-05:00

I'm trying hard to use some found objects for Christmas ornaments as I am becoming buried in many of my collections. I just mailed a box of these beauties to Ozarks Americana in Anchorage, AK. It is the perfect shop for selling items made from vintage found objects or pieces of antiques or collectibles. I also made a lot of small ornaments from vintage gift cards from the 1920s and 1930s. I forgot to take a photo of them!

The first two ornaments were made from a pair of baby's bronzed booties or shoes from 1923. See photo above.

The second is a pair of vintage mini shoes made from some old brass. I added a hanger and French wired ribbon.

The two oval pieces are antique sterling silver with monogramming. I think they may have been made to go on the top of a box. Now they are fine ornaments.

Happy Holidays!

Art and Craft Books For Sale

2009-12-12T16:22:00.004-05:00

After reading an article in the newspaper on what bookshelves should look like, I know it is time for me to get rid of some books. The article says that bookshelves should have 1/3 books, 1/3 art or collectibles and 1/3 EMPTY SPACE! My bookshelves are filled with books. The tops have some objects or art, but there is not a spare inch anywhere else.

So if you are into collage and assemblage and using found objects and ephemera in your art, these books are some good ones. There are many techniques and lots of good instructions. All are in excellent condition. Although I always thought I would do "traditional" collage (if there is such a thing), I have found that I am drawn more to assemblage. Most of these books have never been read, but just thumbed through. Here is my Etsy link.

Meandering Scaffolding

2009-12-09T10:57:00.008-05:00

In the book, Master Disaster, Tregay lists about 15 design strategies to unify paintings. There are line drawings in black and white that one can use to determine where many of their paintings fall especially if painting abstracts.

As soon as I saw the category of Meandering Scaffolding, I knew that at least 75% of my abstracts fall in this category. According to the author, this strategy was the signature of Jackson Pollock and the strategy is an all over pattern that fills the page from top to bottom and from side to side. They usually have small points of interest and it is the interweaving lace and webbing that makes them work.

There is a reason that my ink paintings fall into this category. Where Jackson Pollock was a slinger, pourer or dribbler of paint, I am a dripper, slinger and pourer of alcohol inks. I am often asked how I am able to get particular patterns and how I can get some feathery effects. I work with the fluidity of the inks and the chemical reactions with different inks and resins. I only use eyedroppers, squirt bottles and I tip my board for flow. Except for the first layer of ink, I rarely use a paintbrush and even then, I often tip the board for the first layer. Ball styluses act as my paintbrushes, although they rarely touch the board. The alcohol inks have a distinct difference with many paints as alcohol inks dry almost instantly. Although alcohol or an extender can be used, this interferes with the various effects that one can get with the inks.

I cannot count the number of times people who have seen my paintings or have watched me paint have exclaimed that I paint like Jackson Pollock. Since I have never been drawn to his work, I never thought much about it. But when seeing the diagram of Meandering Scaffolding, I saw my painting style perfectly. I cannot even say that I was influenced by Jackson Pollock as I never got the connection until after I had been painting with alcohol inks for over a year. Now I will use some of the other design categories that Tregay mentioned to get a different unity in my paintings. The fast drying of the alcohol inks will prevent my using some of them, but I will still expand my design strategies.

You can read more about Pollock's painting methods here.

Serendipity and Reworking Paintings

2009-12-05T20:00:00.008-05:00

Jerry's Artarama gave the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild an evening of demos and refreshments this past Tuesday as a thank you for the guild's work at the Art of the Carolinas show this November.

I won one of the door prizes that included a book, Master Disaster, Five Ways to Rescue Desperate Watercolors by Susan Webb Tregay, a watercolor kit and boards. I think they were holding this specific door prize just for me! There were at least seven door prizes and I can't believe any other door prize would have been more suited for me.

I read the book the next day and tackled one of only four paintings that must be reworked or tossed. Although the book is written for watercolorists, most of the techniques to rescue paintings can be applied to other media. I sold the painting the following day!

Rarely do I totally give up on a painting. I usually chop paintings or add layers or do anything I can to make them work. Since I work mainly on Ampersand Deep Cradle Claybord and they are not cheap, I cannot afford to toss them. Occasionally, I have added 1/8" Claybord or painted on acrylic laminate (Formica or Wilsonart) and applied the laminate sheet over the Deep Cradle Claybord. I work with alcohol inks and once the inks stain or settle into the Claybord, there are few options to rework the painting on that particular surface with alcohol inks. On the countertop laminate materials, I can clean off with alcohol and start over and over until I get something that I like. There may be some staining, but with 91% alcohol, I can remove any color that would affect most of the paintings.

I had tried unsuccessfully to get a floating bubble look using alcohol inks. I had a painting that would have to be tossed unless I could make it work. Working on a failed painting gave me the freedom to experiment and I discovered a technique that gave me this floating bubble effect. Here are two other paintings that I played with while trying to discover how to make this happen.

I also had an ink painting on laminate that just was not too interesting, but I liked some parts about it. I had already applied a resin finish so I assumed that I had to toss it. Since it was going to be a loss anyway, I started to experiment. I removed the resin layer by peeling it off from the corners. I noticed that it was leaving a little of the ink behind, but was giving me a good sheet of transparent colors. After peeling it off, I applied gold, silver and copper leaf in selected areas and reapplied the resin skin on top. The painting is like jewelry for the walls.

It is difficult for me to start a new painting like one that I have already made as it never seems to be as fresh and I am not excited about it. Something always seems to be missing in one that is trying to be like the first. However, when I have reworked a painting, I seem to connect with it easily. Maybe I feel good that I have not wasted so much time and materials. Or maybe I just cannot stand the thought of a painting being worth nothing and relegated to the trash bin. Or maybe I just love a challenge.

More Paper Pulp

2009-11-19T12:49:00.004-05:00

After working on the World of Art challenge and making paper pulp, I decided to see what other effects I could get with different papers. I particularly like the finish on the heart hanging down on the twine on my entry and wanted to see if I could replicate that and try to determine if it was the paper pulp I had used or the watercolors mixed with the acrylics or the gold powdered pigments that gave me the look that I like.

I used some large sheets of a heavy textured paper that we were given at the end of the Art of the Carolinas show in 2008 for making paper pulp. Anything that I do not use in one year is up for experimentation other than its intended use. Since I am not a conventional painter making paper pulp seemed to be a good use---I just hope it was not expensive paper as cheap paper works for this application. I used the same Cold Porcelain and water to mix into the pulp mixture. I did not have the same brand of acrylic paints and had no more gold powdered pigment in stock. So I used Golden Fluid acrylics as close as I could get to the same color as the red that we were given in our kit. I used Golden fine gold acrylics instead of the powders. I did not get the same effect, but this is acceptable as it is just the base for the art.

World of Art Challenge

2009-11-12T14:13:00.013-05:00

These are the individual mini pieces on the right side of the painting.

This is a close-up of the head.

(I started posting this days ago, but just now realized it was still in draft as I never got the photos together for it. I have tried to put the photos in the proper spots with the text, but it doesn't seem to want to work. And I can't get them to enlarge so they can be easily seen. Sorry! This piece has taken enough of my time!)

Here are some photos of some individual pieces that I made with the supplies that we received for the World of Art Challenge. We could add two pieces, but we were to use part of every item that was provided. We could also use adhesives or items to attach the pieces and these did not count as additional items. (At least these are the rules as I understood them.) Since I did not see any other entry that had wire as a connector, I am hoping that I did not misunderstand the rules.

The kit had items such as rubberbands, wood pieces that were cut at odd angles, a cork, Liquid Pencil, magazine pages with text, watercolor paper, origami paper, several other types of papers, Claybord tiles, a piece of twine, some playing cards, a piece of torn canvas, a yellow ticket stub, three colors of watercolors, three colors of acrylic paints and a 16x20" stretched canvas. This all came in a Jerry's Artarama bag. I had planned on cutting up the bag for some text, but was told the bag was to return our completed piece so I passed on using it. But I could have sure used it! There may have been other pieces that I have not listed here, but I can't remember them now.

I first went through all of my papers and miscellaneous items and kept out anything that I thought I would need to make my piece. I saved any English text or text that I could combine to make into words that I might use. I saved all text from packaging of paints and canvas. I decided to put all of the Korean, Japanese or Chinese (I do not know which language they were.) text pages into my pulp as I could not tell whether I had them upside down as had I cut them up. I also did not know what they meant. I received some great fashion photos along with a few ads and a page that looked like it was part of a catalog or index pages.

After selecting anything that I thought I might use, I made paper pulp out of about 1/3 of the papers and used Cold Porcelain as my paste or glue to hold it altogether. The Cold Porcelain took so long to dry that I almost did not make the deadline. I put it into the oven several days at 175 degrees for hours at a time. Water had to be added to make the pulp as well and I just realized when writing this that I did not count it as an additional item. (Maybe everyone used water to thin their watercolors and to wash their brushes.) The water has all been removed by now as it has evaporated. I used over a quart of the Cold Porcelain as I wanted to be sure the paper pulp was strong and was adhered well to the canvas. When I realized 1/3 of the paper was only about half enough, I used the majority of my paper and mixed more pulp. I strained the pulp and used the coarse pulp for the face and on the canvas. I saved the pulp that had no clumps to sculpt the hands. I even made one sheet of paper! I had never done this before and I loved the way the watercolor paints mixed with the acrylic paints looked on it.

This is a list of how I used the different pieces in the kit.

1) I cut the wood into strips to use as armature for fingers. It was not enough, but at least enough for the thumb and one finger so they would have some support. I put the sawdust created from cutting into the paper pulp.

Left side of painting

2) I used the cork to carve a few designs to stamp on the circular and triangular pieces coming out of the head. Most did not turn out too well so I ended up drawing small designs instead. I threw the small shavings of cork into the paper pulp. This proved to be a problem later as they would drag when trying to sculpt and I think I must have picked most of them out in the end.

3) I used the rubberband to make round designs in the wet paper pulp on the canvas. Then I used the rubberband to wrap around the wires to hold them together in the head until the glues that I poured in set up.

4) I kept out two playing cards and made ATCs out of them and the rest were used in paper pulp. I used two of the fashion images on the playing cards. I used all except four other images in paper pulp and had one small image that I never used.

5) I used the origami papers to make a small Japanese lady similar to the ones that I made when I was a kid. Pulp was used for the head. I used the lining of the paint tubes for the hair ornament.

6) I twisted the twine in some curlicues and placed on a stack of newspapers. I wet a small piece of the watercolor paper---at least I assume it was watercolor paper---and placed it on the twine. I sprayed the paper with water and then set a block of marble on top of it so that it would take the impression of the twine. I used the paints, pencils, and Liquid Pencil etc to make the design pop much as I used to do when I was a kid and used a pencil to get the impression of a coin onto paper. After I was finished with the twine, I added Cold Porcelain to make it stiff. It would hold the heart also made from the paper pulp. Originally, I had planned on making the heart one-sided, but it would not hang properly so I made the other half so it was the same on both sides and it would not matter which side was showing.

7) I had some paper pulp that had dried into an interesting pattern so I used it as I had used the twine above to make a small painting.

8) I cut the rectangular Claybord tile into two pieces so they were about an inch square and used them for charms on the bracelet. I used a watercolor image that I painted with the watercolors in the kit and used two images on the sides of the other one inch tile. I carved the large Claybord tile with an image inspired by some tapestry in an image that I received from the magazine pages. I used to do crewel embroidery in this style so I was drawn to the image of this tapestry.

9) I cut out the words on the bottom of the yellow ticket stub. I can't remember the words (seems like it was something about art or paper), but I applied them to a bracelet charm. The remainder of the stub went into the pulp or is in the baggy of pieces I did not use on the back of my artwork.

10) I used the canvas as a charm and then shredded the remainder for the paper pulp.

11) I used words mainly from the packaging from the paints and the advertising insert and canvas. Some were cobbled together from text for the charm pieces.

12) The paintbrush was made from a rolled up piece of paper. The ferrule was made from the metal part of the empty tube of acrylic paint. Paper pulp was used for the bristles.

13) The miniature deep cradle canvas was made by layering paper on a dried layer of paper pulp. I then used the acrylic paints straight from the tube for the painting.

14) The last of the paper pulp was used to sculpt a bird (I love birds and try to use them whenever I can.) for the headdress and for the mini sculpted nude. I had about three tablespoons of paper pulp remaining.

15) Three types of pencils were included in the kit. I used them for writing on the circular and triangular pieces and then cut them up. I used the top ends of the pencils as charms on the bracelet.

16) I used almost all of the paint in the kit. I used gold/copper powder (One of my extra items) to change the colors to something that I could work with. I also used them in all of the sealers and added them to the sealer to write the words on a lot of the darker circular or triangular pieces on the headdress. I mixed any and all of the colors except for the rectangular deep cradle piece mentioned above.

I think that is pretty much it! It was a fun challenge. This is what I learned.

1) Cold Porcelain with water in paper pulp takes forever to dry out. I started on the paper pulp on September 1 and it was not hard and dried until November 1. The heart was still slightly damp even then, but it is probably 2" at its thickest point.

2) I have not figured out yet whether it is the watercolor mixed with the acrylic and the gold powdered pigments that I love or it is this combination on the paper that I made that I love. Mixing the watercolors with the acrylics and then adding the gold powder allows the powder to sort of float to the top and gives a shimmer that I did not get when adding the gold powder to the watercolors or acrylics separately.

3) I learned that making a specific type of paper pulp is very difficult when adding any and all kinds of paper. Some of the paper becomes very fluffy and other pieces might as well be small rocks. But I persevered and made my first sheet of paper. It is not a strong paper, but worked okay for now.

4) I learned that adding gold powdered pigments to a finish/sealer does not work well for writing. I am not good with a tiny paintbrush (I tried!). The gold powders kept separating from the sealer and I wasted a lot of powder as the sealer dried quickly and I would have to constantly discard the solution. I ended up using a Speedball calligraphy pen, but the solution would not flow well and it was more scratching than writing. Every line could take up to four dips in the solution to make the line bold enough to read. Luckily, the red and blue acrylic paints in the kit gave me a dark color to use for text on light colored pieces.

Added on 11/13/2009: The second free item that I added was a sheet of paper that had an image of music and some text. I used the musical notes and three of the words on the charm bracelet.

World of Art Challenge

2009-11-03T12:16:00.004-05:00

Hands, Head and Heart

This method of creating is different and more difficult than how I normally work. I usually approach my artwork with an idea and then find techniques and materials to capture the concept. For this challenge, I had the materials that I had to use, but no idea of the process or where I was headed. I decided to use a quote as the basis for my submission. I think it captures the work of artists all over the world.

A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.
Louis Nizer

I will post photos of some of the pieces in progress later. Related Posts 1 2

World of Art Challenge

2009-10-30T15:51:00.007-05:00

Here are some photos (I'll get better ones later.) of the World of Art Challenge. As I previously posted, the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild members accepted a bag of art supplies put together by Jerry's Artarama. We will be exhibiting our pieces at the Art of the Carolinas November 12 through the 15th.

We could add two items to the kit's contents. I have already used something out of everything in the kit. We were allowed to use any sealers, finishes, glues or items such as wire to attach the pieces to the canvas. I first looked through the magazine pages or other pages of text and images and picked out any words or images that I thought I may use in the artwork. I used half of each piece of the papers that I received with a cold porcelain paste as a glue to make paper pulp. I also cut up the wood pieces and added the sawdust into the pulp. As of right now, I have half a sheet of some Winsor and Newton heavy paper and a few other small pieces of paper. I have used almost all of my yellow paint and have used over half of all of the other paints. At this point, I have used duo gold/copper metallic powders mixed in to the paints and sealers and glues as my additional material. I may rearrange the headpiece when it is all completed. The pieces are on wire and will bend as needed to make each piece so it can be read.

In and around her left hand will be the completed small works of art. The right hand will have more pieces that have the words of art materials and supplies on them. I am thinking of making them into a bracelet instead of in the hand...but will just have to wait to see what I have materials to do.

This was a difficult challenge for me as I don't usually work with any of these materials. But I am almost finished. Good thing as I have to turn it in on November 3!

Alien Charms

2009-10-10T17:56:00.004-05:00

It has been a whirlwind since I returned from my trip to Alaska. As soon as I returned we headed out after a few days for a trip up the coast to Maine and travelled the back roads. It was fun, but since I had planned on having a couple of weeks between the trips, I ended up not finishing all of my art projects. I met the deadline on all of the projects except for one. I still have my World of Art Challenge piece to finish, but it is coming along. It is due November 3.

I was able to get the charms done for the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild swap. We had to make about 44 charms. I could not settle on anything and so did not get started until a few days before they were due. And when working with resin and all of the time required for curing, that was pushing it. In the photo above you will see my little alien charms. They have a shimmer paper on mat board. The little aliens are made of polymer clay. I applied glow-in-the-dark powders prior to adding the resin. See photo taken in the dark below. The backs have sayings about aliens and they are are 1" x 1/2".

We exchanged charms Thursday night and the charms were wonderful! I almost did not sign up for this swap. It would have been my loss if I had not!

Special Event in Raleigh: Presentation by Kelly Borsheim

2009-09-25T15:59:00.007-05:00

The Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild is hosting Kelly Borsheim, a sculptor from Austin, Texas, who has been living in Florence, Italy and working as a street painter. She will be giving a talk on her experiences in Italy. And if you want to know more about her, check her bio and this page on all the special teachers in her life.

When: Thursday, October 15 7:00pm

Where: Artspace, 201 East Davie Street, Raleigh, NC

Bring a friend, family member or anyone who is curious about the world and art. We hope to see you there!

I'm back and finally with the living...and way behind.

2009-09-02T15:57:00.013-05:00

I left Anchorage airport a week ago this past Friday at 4:30pm and then flew all night (or waited to fly or waited to board or waited to deplane or waited to change planes or waited to collect baggage). I returned to Raleigh this past Saturday, but did not get in until late afternoon. I don't think I will ever fly all night long again. This was a quickly scheduled trip and there were not many choices to get a round trip ticket so I took what I could get. I was beat. Felt like I had to flap my wings all night to get back. It was impossible to sleep as the plane was so crowded.

For any of my friends reading this whom I could not spend time with in Anchorage, I am very sorry. This visit was mainly for my son and his girlfriend. They had a housewarming for their new house and it was lovely. The two top photos are coaster sets and the third is a painting that I gave them for their new home. So if I missed you, feel free to come to Raleigh to visit me! I know Alaska is a great place to live and you hate to leave, but believe me, North Carolina has a lot to see as well.

As always, I enjoyed my visit. Even though Anchorage has grown a lot in the past couple of years, I can easily find my way around any area or street. I took a lot of photos, but until I remove a bunch from my computer, I cannot add more.

It has taken me five days to begin to feel like I have enough energy to begin my work again. I am far, far behind. Only a year ago, I would have never allowed myself to get behind like this. Maybe I am taking on more than I should or maybe I am getting older and slower or maybe I am not focusing enough. But tomorrow that has to change---whatever the reason. I must start kicking out the work. So to help make myself accountable, I am going to post to my blog what I must do and what I must accomplish in the next week. I will be leaving to go on a trip again on the 11th for over two weeks and so every day, I must accomplish a lot.

So here is my list....

1) Finish the World of Art Challenge by Jerry's Artarama that the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild members are participating in for the Art of the Carolinas. Deadline is November 3.

2) Make one or two paintings to submit to Visual Art Exchange's juried show, Alchemy. Deadline is September 26.

3) Make an ATC for Kimberly's Mixed Media Art Challenge. Deadline is September 15.

4) Restock ink painting magnets and coasters for five of the galleries that carry my ink paintings. Should be done before I go on vacation on the 11th.

5) Make a couple of paintings for the North Carolina State Fair. Deadline is October 9-11.

6) Make some specialty jewelry using old found objects for Ozarks Americana in Anchorage, AK. I should complete these before going on vacation on the 11th.

7) And so many little projects that have nothing to do with what I love to do which is creating, painting, sculpting and arts and crafts. These are chores like sending out brochures to galleries, copying old photos to CDs, updating my web site and completing some small repairs to our motorhome before leaving on our trip. And in the middle of all of this, we have to go to look at any properties that we wish to see if they will work for us for our next move. Yesterday we checked out nine and none were to our liking. I know we are difficult to please, but there is no need to move if we can't find something better than what we have. If we could only pick up this property, home and studio and put it in the right location in the country, we would be happy. The Raleigh traffic is too much!

I'm sure there are many more things I must get done, but this is all I feel obligated to get done.

I started last night with the World of Art Challenge. We have to use a part of all of the items which came with our kit. We can also add two items of our choice, a finish and any glues or adhesives or wire to attach any part to our canvas. I have decided to take half of the scrap papers that came with this kit and cut them into bits. I will turn them into paper pulp as I can use glue as a binder for the pulp which is a free item. There are a few pieces of wood that I have cut into pieces and am using the sawdust in the pulp. The same with some string. I have also cut up a piece of canvas from the kit into squares and am using the scraps in the pulp. I have saved half of all of my materials in case I do not get an idea that I can use this paper pulp. This gives me two chances to get a piece to submit. And if my (unknown as of right now) idea seems to be working and I need more pulp, then I still have the same amount of supplies to make more pulp if needed to complete the challenge. Even though this challenge is the latest deadline listed, it is the hardest and I need to do something to feel like I am moving forward. I haven't the slightest idea what I am going to do. If it turns out poorly, I will apply to canvas and let dry and then use the paints to make it into some abstract dimensional painting. I will not be showing my completed piece here until after AOC, but may show additional steps that do not take away from the surprise. It's going to be a surprise to me, too so you will not be left out for long!

Monet inspired painting

2009-08-16T17:01:00.005-05:00

Summer Garden

I have been painting abstracts with inks and dyes. This past week, I painted a few paintings that were not quite so abstract. The one above is sort of a Monet look and not so abstract. Both are painted using inks and resin.

New work

2009-08-10T19:23:00.002-05:00

Illumination

24"x36"

I'm working hard to catch up before heading off to Alaska. So will just be posting photos until I leave. This is one of my latest pieces using wax, fabric dyes and resin. Photos are difficult as it has a high gloss to it, but maybe you can see the depth.

New work

2009-08-09T19:33:00.005-05:00

I have neglected my blog lately. In about a week, I will be going to Alaska to visit my son. So I had to start prioritizing. That means getting orders done for galleries and wrapping up special orders.

I have been making a lot of coasters the past couple of weeks. They are ink paintings that can be assembled as a puzzle to make a complete painting.

These galleries have several new sets: Galleria on the Lake in Clarksville, VA; MyleStone Gallery in Farmville, NC, Circa Gallery in Asheboro, NC and Artist Alley in Southern Pines, NC.

Small ink paintings

2009-07-10T19:24:00.003-05:00

Resin Imitating Encaustic

2009-07-10T19:19:00.005-05:00

I am working on several paintings that have an encaustic look, but are made with resin. Here's a sample. As soon as the others cure, I'll be posting more photos.

New paintings and a fun link

2009-06-29T19:37:00.008-05:00

Detail

It seems like there is never enough time in the day. So posting a few photos of paintings. All of these paintings are wired so they will hang in two different directions. The bottom painting is at MyleStone Gallery in Farmville, NC.

Hopefully, I will catch up soon. Here's a fun link for you until I get some time to write about something of interest.

Additional note added: I just received notice that I received an honorable mention in the Seeing Red juried show at the Visual Art Exchange. This is my first award at the VAE and I am so honored to be a part of such a wonderful group of artists. We will be out of town for the week-end, but I'll check the show out when we return.

Painting Nudes

2009-06-24T16:41:00.013-05:00

At the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild's workshop for Chroma Atelier Paint a couple of Sundays ago, I used the time to finish a nude painting that I had started some time ago. I usually paint only abstracts and have never painted with acrylics except for painting the wood around the deep cradle Claybord frames that I use. I decided to take some old paintings I had started and try to finish at least one in the workshop. The above painting was what I worked on.

While I am posting photos of nudes, I wanted to mention Kelly Borsheim's blog and a post about breasts in art. It reminded me of some photos that I took this past week when my niece was visiting. My niece wanted to visit small towns. These were just a few of the photos that I took. The mermaid definitely has "applied boobs." Starra is modeling a coconut bra that was for sale at an antique collectibles shop, Beggars and Choosers in Pittsboro, NC. This is a really neat shop with lots of great items to use in mixed media work. I found lots of Bakelite and plastic belt buckles from the thirties. And then we could not pass up a photo of her standing in front of the shapely mannequins in a store display shop, A & B Store Fixtures in Raleigh, NC.

Polymer Clay Tutorials

2009-06-10T19:26:00.004-05:00

I just posted a link to some tutorials that I used to sell. They are now free and online. I'm hoping that they are in the format that you can easily print out. These are large files and may take some time. Please let me know if you have problems.

You can find Transferring Images to Round or Curved Polymer Clay Surfaces, Transferring Images to Flat Polymer Clay Surfaces and Bead Bonanza on my old Heart of Clay web site. The FAQ for Transferring Images to Round or Curved Surfaces should also be printed out with the tutorial.

I have recently been using EnviroTex Lite to transfer images. It is so simple. It does require that the paper be soaked in water and then rubbed off, but it is easy to get a transfer without the image being disturbed.

Just for fun

Sperm & Egg Beads

Back from Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Retreat!

2009-06-10T18:23:00.005-05:00

My friend from Finland, Porro, came to visit and we attended the Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Retreat in Shepherdstown, WV. Shepherdstown is a very small town and the oldest town in West Virginia. But one should never expect this little town to be like most small towns. It has a character all its own. (Visit Lost Dog Coffee to understand this comment.)

Several incidents took place that made us realize just how very small the town/world is. Porro and I stayed in Martin Hall Room 204. As we were leaving the retreat, we decided to take an hour and check out some of the small shops. We saw polymer clay artwork from several artists and realized how very small the world is as we recognized the artist's names from being online for years. We went into a jewelry shop, Plum and spoke with the owner, Cari Aliveto Rosen. She asked where we were staying for the retreat. She said she went to college there and Martin Hall Room 204 was her dorm room--the same room we stayed for the retreat.

I enjoyed meeting all the attendees. It was the first year for this retreat and was well organized. I think there were about thirty participants. Demos went on all day. Even if one took no classes, one would get plenty of information just from the demos. I took all kinds of things planning to accomplish something in the week, but I ended up taking three classes and either demo'ing or watching demos almost continuously and came home with none of my planned work finished.

I am the worst for taking photos of people so have nothing to show. But these are a few photos that will give you an idea of the town. The library is in the middle of a street and has served many purposes since 1800. It is small, but the upper level has been turned over to children. It has a huge mural and I can just imagine the memories that children will have from their visits to this special place.

I plan on attending the retreat next year. Hope to see you there!

Lampshades on their way to Ozarks

2009-05-27T12:32:00.006-05:00

I have been busy trying to complete an order for Ozarks Americana. Now I am itching to paint, but alas, I must get ready to go to the Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Retreat in Shepherdsville, WV. Isn't it strange how one craves to do what one absolutely cannot do?

I sent these lampshades with lots of old framed mirrors and other misc. items for Ozarks Americana in Anchorage, AK. There is a wide range of styles in this group of shades and most are made with vintage fabrics and trims. Here's a sneak peak. I forgot to take a photo of all of them at the end, but there are several under the larger frames and a group that I forgot to photograph.

Tribute to Hubble Painting

2009-05-17T16:14:00.004-05:00

Tribute to Hubble

24"x18"

I painted the above while the repair was being done to the Hubble. It is one of my favorite to date. It is now at Mylestone Gallery in Farmville, NC. The gallery will be opening soon.

Detail

New work delivered to Mylestone Gallery

2009-05-17T15:43:00.006-05:00

Golden Bubbles

I delivered new work to Mylestone Gallery in Farmville, NC yesterday. It is a new gallery and the owner, Meredith Wright is working hard to get it open for business in a couple of weeks. She has some of my newest pieces. I wish her the best!

Silver Bubbles

Floating Bubbles on Mother's Day

2009-05-10T16:29:00.008-05:00

Floating Bubbles II

16"x8"

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers. For those who have younger children who cannot fully appreciate your efforts of raising them as well as you can and to all of you who have teenagers who know way more than you do, rest assured that someday your hard work will be appreciated. At the very least, you will learn a lot about your children and about life.

I received an email today with a link from my son. It is the best gift I have ever received and I have received a bunch in my lifetime. (Just for the record, my son gave me very few headaches when he was growing up and I was not the perfect mom.) I will treasure this gift for the rest of my life. Who says that one needs to spend money? Better to receive a thoughtful gift like this one. It will never wear out and does not occupy a lot of space.

The above painting is a new technique that I have discovered. I often saw the screen savers on computers at the stores and am always fascinated by the floating bubbles. I decided to take old paintings that were nothing special and experiment until I figured out how to get a dimensional effect with the bubbles. I wish you could see them up close as they are smashing! I got a little carried away with the one below as I could not stop making bubbles the first time around. Both are wired for hanging vertically or horizontally. I am now signing the back of some of my abstract paintings so that the signature does not interfere with the direction of the hanging.

Bubble Obsession

Calgon took me away

16"x20"

More ink paintings and redoing paintings

2009-05-06T09:24:00.008-05:00

Ring of Fire

I am attempting to make a painting every day. I don't want to have to go back and add or change these paintings, but want them to be something new that I have tried while using alcohol inks or dyes. Sort of expanding on what I have already been doing. Once I had applied the resin or finish to my paintings, I had always thought I could never alter them in anyway. If I looked at them for a few days and decided something needed to be changed, I felt I was stuck. In the last week, I have figured out three other techniques that I can use to "fix" a painting even after resin or my finish has been applied. I am really liking what I am seeing! A painting will be listed tomorrow that I have redone after a resin coating.

It is not good weather for taking photos so could not get a clear one. Will post a new one when lighting is better.

More Steampunk Influence!

2009-05-04T16:48:00.005-05:00

Clockworks

24x24"

I seem to be on a roll with the Steampunk influence in my paintings.

New Gallery for Ink and Dye Paintings

2009-05-03T15:36:00.007-05:00

Music of the Spheres

This week-end I delivered new artwork to Galleria on the Lake in Clarksville, VA. It is a small town on Kerr Lake. I enjoyed meeting Linda Davenport and seeing all of the artwork from other artists. If you are in the area, stop in and take a look.

Effervescence

Bubblicious

Paintings

2009-05-02T19:49:00.015-05:00

Topsy Turvy Diptych
Each panel is 12"x24."

I've been neglecting this blog, but have been painting and will have lots of posts to write in the next couple of days.

Our local Jerry's Artarama had a demo by Phil Garrett on Golden paints. I am partial to Golden Fluid Acrylics for my acrylic paints so I really wanted to see what he had to say. It was an informative demo and I learned a lot. It will be interesting to see how the new open acrylics work for what I do.

Clockworks Steampunk Paintings

2009-04-15T18:29:00.007-05:00

My family has been visiting for the past couple of days. Not a lot of time, but we spent some time going to Artist Alley, Scrap Exchange and Duke University to see the Lemur Center. The younger kids and I played with polymer clay. Now I can see why polymer clay is so connected to children and is often not seen as a professional material. Every time I give kids polymer clay, they are hooked!

I finished two paintings while my family was here. They are a new series that are Steampunk influenced and are of Clockworks.

New Paintings at Artist Alley

2009-04-05T20:03:00.007-05:00

I have delivered new paintings to Artist Alley. These were inspired by the Space Junk designs that I previously posted. If you are in the area, stop by the gallery and enjoy art from about 65 North Carolina artists.

New Paintings at Circa Gallery

2009-04-05T19:55:00.006-05:00

I have delivered ink paintings to a Circa Gallery in Asheboro. If you are in the area, be sure and check out the gallery.

Painting a Magazine Rack

2009-04-05T19:21:00.006-05:00

Article about the CMMAG and Artist Alley in The Pilot

It has been awhile since I posted. So the next few posts will be a few items that I have overlooked with all the excitement of getting work into new galleries.

PineStraw is an arts and living magazine for the Sandhills in North Carolina. I agreed to paint an old newspaper rack for the magazine. Roberta Morgan, a member of the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild, helped me out by painting one side and the front of the rack. It was bright orange and quite a job to get it primed so the paint would stick. Her side is the woman reading the PineStraw magazine. I painted a pine tree on the other side with the moon and stars in glow-in-the-dark paints. The entire rack is coated in resin.

Thank you, Roberta for your help. You did a fantastic job!

On a roll....back to painting on polymer clay

2009-03-15T16:59:00.014-05:00

Just finished getting taxes ready for the CPA and so now I have the weight of the world off my shoulders. I guess that is the reason I have been having some strange dreams about flying (under my own power) and getting pulled back to earth as soon as I get above the tree tops. Maybe now I will grow wings.

These paintings are on polymer clay. Please ignore the directions they show up. I don't have time to futz with them tonight.

Space Junk Trivia

2009-03-12T18:23:00.008-05:00

Space Junk II

Study for Space Junk

Several have written and asked that I post the info that I collected about Space Junk and displayed with the Space Junk painting. Here it is.

Space debris denotes manmade objects in orbit around Earth that no longer serve any useful purpose but which endanger operational satellites, primarily manned spacecraft.

There are approximately 19,000 pieces of orbital debris of which a thousand are larger than four inches.

This debris silently zooms around the globe at speeds of up to 25,000 miles per hour with altitudes ranging from hundreds to thousands of miles. NASA frequently replaces windows on the space shuttle that have been damaged by objects as small as a flake of paint.

Aficionados of satellites know that #33442 is a tool bag that was lost in space in November, 2008.

Other items lost in space are wrenches, toothbrush, pliers, solid rocket motors and satellite debris.

Forty million fragments of space debris weighing several thousand metric tons circle Earth and are the result of explosions or collisions in space.

There are currently 900 working satellites in space.

The first communications satellites were launched in 1963.

The oldest piece of space junk is the Vanguard I satellite. It was launched by the United States in 1958 and is still in orbit.

On the first American space walk in 1965, Astronaut Edward Higgins White lost a glove.

In 1966, Michael Collins lost a Hasselblad camera while meeting another spacecraft in orbit.

In 1979 America’s Skylab space station came down raining debris over the Australian Outback.

Only one person has ever been recorded hit by manmade space debris. In 1997 an Oklahoma woman named Lottie Williams was hit in the shoulder by a 10 x 13 cm piece of blackened, woven metallic material. It was confirmed to be part of the fuel tank of a Delta II rocket which had launched a U.S. Air Force satellite in 1996.

The 2009 satellite collision was the first major collision between two intact satellites in Earth orbit. The collision occurred on February 10, 2009, at 490 miles above Northern Siberia when Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collided. The satellites collided at a speed of 26,170 mph.

China used a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy one of its defunct weather satellites. That satellite will stay in orbit for another 80 or 90 years.

There is no international treaty mandating the behavior of the control of space debris.

Note: The above painting was made while making the first Space Junk painting. This one was a study for the previously published Space Junk painting. It is painted on paper. It also glows in the dark.

Additional info added: Today two astronauts and one cosmonaut were evacuated from the International Space Station to the attached Russian Soyuz module due to space junk coming close to the space station. The space debris was a five inch chunk of metal moving at a speed of 20,000 mph.

M4 Challenge

2009-03-10T19:47:00.007-05:00

Space Junk

normal lighting

Space Junk
dark with black light

This past week-end was our Mixed Media Madness Mission Art-Possible Challenge exhibit at Artist Alley in Southern Pines. It was the most exciting and enjoyable activity that our guild has done. I cannot even explain all of the good vibes and the fun that we had. You just had to be there to know. The show will be going on for the remainder of the month at Artist Alley.

Joe DiGiulio from the Triangle Art Review wrote a little about the event. I'll let you go there to read the details. You can see details of the contents of the M4 Challenge kit that we used to make our works of art here or here. We could use any glues, inks, dyes, paints, resins and similar items in unlimited quantities, but could leave out only two items from the kit and could add only two items such as a substrate. You can also check some of the blogs on the sidebar of this page and read posts about the challenge on other guild member's blogs.

I had worked on some pieces on paper shown in two previous posts. I submitted them for the VAE Pulp exhibit and they were juried in. They were experiments and I used some of these techniques as a basis for my M4 challenge.

My submission for the M4 Challenge was Space Junk (above) and is 36"x24" on deep cradle Claybord. The Claybord was my one free item. I used everything in my kit by either stamping, cutting, painting, gluing, smashing or in some way altering it to fit my concept. I used some glow-in-the-dark paints. I posted a page of Space Junk trivia for the viewers to see the impact of the space debris on spacecraft and operational satellites. I think I will be making more pieces along these lines.

Photos are by Frank Pierce

M4 Mixed Media Madness Art-Possible Challenge

2009-02-28T19:04:00.003-05:00

I have my Mixed Media Art Challenge almost completed. Was this ever hard! I had many good ideas, but just could not settle on one. I wrote about my first reaction to the challenge in another post. As it turned out, all of my ideas would not come to life as I was on a roll with my last few paintings and wanted to explore techniques in that direction. I used something out of everything in my kit and only added the substrate for my piece.

These are ideas that I thought I might do...
1) Sculpt a bag lady with polymer clay and use the items as textures/stamps and to fill her cart full of her treasures---This would have been tooooo easy for me.
2) Sculpt an old woman kneeling on the ground with her head in her hands and the weight of the world on her shoulders due to the burden of having to use all of these baubles and bits in the piece. Her burden would be a bag full of these items. This would have been too easy as well.
3) As a separate piece or in conjunction with #2, sculpt a young woman rising and use all of these baubles and bits like a banner that she is waving. This would have been harder as young females are harder to sculpt than older women for me.
4) Sculpt a panorama doll---the kind of figure that has the big skirt with opening and create a miniature scene using the pieces of the kit. I already have a panorama doll that would have worked so I decided this would be too easy as well.
5) Paint my version of The Scream by Munch and use the pieces in the painting. I like this idea as it is a double entendre on the meaning of the piece---but I am just not into taking another famous piece and trying to make it work.

As it turned out, I did not use any of these ideas for my challenge piece. I am not certain how well it will turn out, but I have discovered three new techniques for me and so it was worth doing. It has been labor intensive though and I am sure glad it is almost done so I can try some of the techniques on some other pieces of artwork that are for sale.

Another Painting--Space Junk

2009-02-21T19:20:00.005-05:00

I decided to paint another painting using similar techniques as the last one posted. I wanted to experiment a little with a different masking solution. I had seen an article and photos of all the space debris or space junk that is orbiting the earth and this was my inspiration for these pieces. I hope you can see the texture in the painting.

Close-up

New Painting

2009-02-16T20:57:00.005-05:00

I just made a large painting on paper that was inspired by Amy's Intuitive Journaling Demo at Jerry's Artarama this past Saturday. And I love it! Usually I paint on non-porous surfaces, but since VAE is having an exhibit, Pulp, for works on paper, I decided I would practice on paper to submit to the show.

Close-up

This is a completely different process than I had previously used with my other ink paintings, but I think I will be doing more works on paper.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T20:50:00.003-05:00

At the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild's meeting last night we exchanged ATCs with a Valentine theme. I had a hard time thinking of something that was "Valentiney. So I did the next best thing and made ATCs with the theme of Make Art, Not War with a heart around the word ART.

I received so many wonderful ATCs in exchange for mine and I will treasure them all!

Aspergillus Niger

2009-02-13T20:00:00.005-05:00

Aspergillus Niger

Warning: For those with a weak stomach, you may wish to bypass this post.

For several years, I have had an ear infection that would come and go. Last fall, it resurfaced again and this time with a vengeance. I had always used Tobradex that had been prescribed by an ENT doctor and it would usually knock it out for a bit.

After running out of the medicine, I had to make a trip to a general practitioner as I could not get into see an ENT doctor. She looked in my ear and exclaimed, "I don't know exactly what it is, but it looks nasty." Then she proceeded to have several others look in my ear. She gave me a prescription for Tobradex again and I was told to get an appointment with an ENT doctor. The right side of my face was swollen terribly bad. I could not hear out of my right ear and my ear drained a black stringy liquid. I thought it looked like the legs of an insect so I looked at it under the microscope. The above image shows what I saw.

I was able to get an appointment with ENT doctor for a month away. After several days and no relief, I returned to the general practitioner and was given Levaquin. It did not help at all, but the worst part was that I was allergic to Levaquin. It is in the same family as Cipro and I am allergic to Cipro. She also gave me a different drop to go in my ear.

After days of no relief, I had had enough and called the ENT doctor and begged for an appointment. Finally, I got in. He looked in my ear and told me that I had a fungal infection! I told him that I had looked at it under a microscope and knew what it looked like. So all the medicines that I had been using had killed off the good bacteria and allowed the fungus to take over or made it worse. He used some kind of suction device and extracted all the "stuff" in my ear. I received another prescription to use daily. I went home. Within a few days, it was back the same as before. I could not hear and my ear hurt so bad I could not think.

I returned a few more times to have the fungus extracted and by this time, I was wondering if I would have to return to the doctor every few days for the rest of my life. When I got home, I decided that I was going to try to figure out something to kill the fungus. I thought of lemon juice, apple cider and vinegar as I had used or heard that these worked for yeast infections. I finally settled on vinegar as I thought there should be less complications and I could weaken it more consistently.

The first day, I mixed three parts vinegar with one part water and I put drops in my ear with a glass eyedropper. Then I extracted it along with any fungus that would come at the same time. I performed this procedure three times a day for the first three days. I felt it was working. Then I went to half vinegar and half water two times a day. Then for two weeks, I used the half and half solution at least once a day.

This fungus was one tough fungus. The first night after using the eye dropper, I rinsed it with alcohol, but thought I would wait and sterilize it before using the next day. When I went to use it the next morning, there was a web growing from one side to the other. Needless to say, I knew then that I had better kill every thing that came out of my ear or I would never get well.

After a few weeks, I felt like my ear was much better, but I decided to check with the doctor to be certain that some fungus was not living where I could not get the solution to it. The doctor said my ear looked really good! He then told me that this was Aspergillus Niger and showed me a picture in a medical book. The photo was not as close-up as I could get with my microscope, but I knew it was probably the same thing. I came home and looked up Aspergillus Niger online and sure enough, it was close to what I had painted.

So all of this to let you know that if you have an ear infection, don't rush for antibiotics until you know what kind of infection it is. Fungal infections in the ear may be rarer, but I can assure you that they are no less painful or serious.

Art Birds

2009-01-31T19:36:00.005-05:00

Kerin and Charlie Slaughter have a post on their blog about Art Birds. One of my birds is featured along with others of interest to those who love birds. Go check it out.

This week the Visual Art Exchange is having an exhibit called Punchlines. I had planned to draw a cartoon, but never got it completed so did not make my goal of attempting to submit something to every call for art that they have this year. I am just into ink painting so much that I hate it when I get distracted. Well, I guess I did not get distracted..... Maybe this is good.

I just ran across this cartoon that I drew in '89 and thought I would post it here for a photo. If I was good at drawing, I would have loved to have been a political cartoonist.

Art for the Heart

2009-01-22T20:14:00.006-05:00

Home is where my heart lives.

by Jane Mayhook

About sixteen years ago, I attended an opening of Jane Mayhook's art at the Stonington Gallery in Anchorage, Alaska. The show was on The Seven Deadly Sins and included works that were powerful and colorful. Although I liked the paintings, they were not paintings that I would buy for my home. I think it was a sold out show.

Later that year, Jane had another show titled Home. Since this was such a different show, I decided to see how she could go from The Seven Deadly Sins to Home. I thought that it would be boring compared to the first show.

I walked into the gallery and saw a simple but huge painting that looked so familiar. Hearts along the bottom as if a picket fence, a little yellow dog in the front yard, bright sun, blue sky, large tree and a pretty little red house made for quite the impact. And it was large.

My youngest son (image not in this link) at the age of five had drawn an almost identical picture that I kept in my purse and had named it Home is where my heart lives. This painting had the same title.

I removed my son’s drawing from my purse and it was as if this painting had been done from my son’s drawing. Several art patrons noticed and made comments as to the similarities. My son had died the previous year on that day. I bought the painting, but then was told that it needed to remain there until the show was over. This was fine with me as I needed to make payments as it was over $2,000.

When I returned to pick up the painting, the gallery staff told me that the artist felt she needed to tell me that this was not just her work. She felt she needed to disclose this since it might affect whether I wanted it. One of her young children had painted on the canvas, but it was decided that it should go into the show anyway due to time constraints. I showed the staff the drawing that I carried in my purse. She was amazed that the composition and colors were so exact. She instantly knew why I had bought the painting.

So whenever anyone tells me why she likes one painting more than another or that a piece of art is special to her, I know what she is talking about. Maybe to one person a painting is nothing, or even boring or trendy, but to someone else it means everything.

This post is written especially for Jodi.

Featured Member Artist of the Month

2009-01-21T15:23:00.007-05:00

I am the featured member artist for the month of January on the Carolina Mixed Media Artists Guild blog. We were asked to sign up for a month and since my birthday is in January I decided to sign up first.

Thanks, Michelle for the questions and picking photos to post! It was a fun interview to do.

Ink painting side view

Criticism of our art and dealing with it...

2009-01-11T19:42:00.008-05:00

A friend just made a post about hearing someone calling her little house paintings "trendy." It was criticism or maybe just a comment that struck a nerve.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I have heard comments about my art on display and most of the time, it has been amusing more than anything else.

I had Woman's Nest on display at a gallery. The gallery was packed with patrons. A man and woman were looking at my exhibit and the man said to his wife, "What the f&*@ is that?" I was standing right beside them, but was so shocked that I did not approach him to see if I could answer questions. This same piece has had opposite reactions and people have loved it. If you follow the links from the page, you will see other comments.

I did an exhibit at a library of some altered and sculpted torsos. I have always considered myself a sculptor, but due to the limited time, I had to make all of these pieces in less than six weeks and sculpting that many in six weeks was impossible. This was my first ever painting as a main element of my art. I chose to paint on the torsos as it felt more like sculpture and was not as intimidating to me as a flat canvas.

I left a book so people could make comments as I felt this would be a nice way to remember the event. The very first day I went back to see what had been written and the above comment was the fifth comment. I left the book as I wondered if many others felt the same. This is just a small sample of some of the other comments. So even though the one really bad comment made me wonder if I should have accepted this challenge, I can say that I learned a lot from the experience and I grew thicker skin.

I will be making a post especially for Jodi and her "pretty little houses." I am sure that what one person finds as ordinary or trendy, may be exactly what someone else loves.

Although I am often critical of my own work, in other's work I am most interested in what place in the artist that it came from and why. Even if it is not something I would buy or it is not my taste, I can appreciate the effort that it takes to make something that is truly from within. Really, really, if an artist likes one of his own creations, there is someone else in the world (and maybe many) who will love it as well. It's a matter of connecting.

Colors of Your Rainbow

2009-01-11T19:26:00.002-05:00

I found this quiz on Artventuring and had to take the quiz. Here are my results. I think it is extremely accurate.

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

Oh, what a night!

2009-01-09T20:44:00.007-05:00

I went to the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild meeting last night at Jerry's Artarama. Our guild has grown so fast and has the best group of members one could ever hope for.

Jean Skipper, owner of Artist Alley in Southern Pines, created kits for 22 members who wished to participate in our first kit challenge of the year. The kit includes 33 different pieces and every kit has almost identical pieces. We can add two pieces and we can leave out any two pieces when creating a piece of art. Jean, along with a little help from our president, put these kits together and it came with lists, rules, name (Mixed Media Madness Mission Art-Possible or Code Name M-4) and it was so well put together. (I am not taking a photo of contents as I want it to be a big surprise.)

As soon as I saw the contents, my first reaction was that the only thing I could do with this disconnected bunch of items would be to make a piece similar to Keri Smith's idea of her book, Wreck this Journal. I could just take the whole box and run over it with my car and crunch it up and then reassemble in some method to make it work. At least it would be in pieces so that any particular item did not look so much like its original self and influence what it could be in my art. It just might release some inner beauty.

But this is not my nature and I will do this only as a last resort!

I went to bed and I did not sleep a wink all night. Ideas were racing through my head. I could not even begin to sleep. 12:00 came. 1:00 a.m. came and went. At 4:00, I decided to sneak a pen and paper and try to write by the light from my watch. At 6:00, I was still awake. For those who know me, this is not like me. I love my sleep and even though I can create all night, I am rarely kept awake by it. Usually, I wake with an idea and then return to sleep until I waken in the morning to write it down or start on it. At 7:00 after my husband went to work, I decided to try to catch one hour of sleep. What did I do? Went straight to sleep and at 9:00 I awoke in a panic! I dreamed I had forgotten the due date for my creation and all of the work and lack of sleep was for nothing. And yes, I saw my creation completely finished in my dream. Now what do I do with the dozens of other ideas that I had?

So Jean, this is for you....I blame you for my lack of sleep and my zombie status all day! Next time, don't give me a challenge except early in the morning.

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

Blogging - Blog Envy Definition

2009-01-06T19:46:00.008-05:00

BlogOh!Pedia is the blogger's Wikipedia with puns galore. So now it is time for me to contribute to the list.

Blog envy - in contemporary culture, the term is used symbolically or metaphorically to refer to the idea that one wishes to have a blog, is jealous of others' blogs, or refers to anxieties between bloggers and the size and the quality of their blogs.

Image changed 1/7/2009.

It's a new year!

2008-12-31T20:26:00.014-05:00

ATCs made for the Art of the Carolina Show

Ink Paintings on Strathmore Illustration Board

I am so happy that it's a new year. This new year seemed like Christmas when I was a child. I thought it would never get here. It is better than spring. It truly is like a new beginning or a chance to once again wipe our slates clean and start anew.

I started the first of December trying to get in the rhythm of doing some activities that I need to follow through for the new year. But I also think a lot about what I want to accomplish for the new year. Here are my thoughts---not really resolutions---more like intentions--- but things I want to be mindful of through the new year.

1) Exercise at least every other day and eat well. (This one always tops my list and is the most boring---but I put it here as it is important.)

2) Contact at least one gallery or shop a week about carrying my artwork and do the business of art even though I had much rather just create.

3) Submit works to juried shows not just to be juried in, but to stay focused on my art rather than making merchandise (that does not push me creatively) to sell to shops. I used to participate in lots of online swaps with themes or special techniques and they pushed me creatively. I find that juried shows do the same thing and with less time than making ten or twenty items of the same thing.

4) Do not be overly concerned if I do not get into juried shows. I can look at it as I chose the wrong show to submit my work rather than my work was not good enough for the juror. I'm not suggesting that I overlook what I can improve on---but after seeing lots of juried shows and seeing some of the works not accepted, I see how it is so subjective that one should never take these rejections personally. I have a friend who keeps a record of rejections and until she has received 1,000 rejections, she feels she has not worked hard enough to prove herself as an artist.

5) Limit my time of reading blogs to thirty minutes a day. This will be the hardest of all of my intentions.

6) Spend a maximum of thirty minutes a day reading the News & Observer. This may be the easiest as it keeps getting smaller and smaller. Limit reading the Anchorage Daily News to only the most important articles. After all, there is not much that affects me in Alaska. I just can't seem to break the habit of wanting to know everything that happens there. My son who lives in Anchorage does not have to tell me anything about it as I already know almost everything before he does.

7) Renew subscriptions to only the magazines that I really want to read---National Geographic, Smithsonian, Popular Science, Sun, Ornament, FiberArts, Quilting Arts, Art Doll, American Style...

8) Concentrate on painting for the new year as I have sold more paintings than any of my other work this year---and it is new to me and I love it! I can't believe that I used to say that I would NEVER be a painter. But I do love challenges and this has been a fun one.

9) Take time for doing nothing. (A hard one for me!)

I will finish this list tomorrow as I must help celebrate the new year. So expect to see more added to this in a day or so.

Happy New Year to everyone!

I am adding to this post rather than starting a new one.

10) Once a week, watch an old movie that I have never seen. Tonight I watched Paint Your Wagon. When I was growing up we did not have a TV and once I left home, I did not have time to watch movies. My husband has seen every movie---or so it seems---and I need to catch up. I still will do other things while watching TV as I cannot just sit and watch a movie. I usually work with polymer clay, scan magazines, iron, sew or do other tasks while watching movies.

11) Write letters to the newspaper, congressmen and any other government official who should hear our voices.

12) Be grateful that I have a wonderful family (even if not perfect), roof over my head (even if I don't live in a mansion), lower utility bills due to a smaller home (saves on resources), all the food I can eat (even too much), good neighbors (who have taught me a lot about growing older), friends (esp. my artists friends who share their trials and successes---and laughs), good health, employees in the service industries (Those who work in jobs that may not be the most rewarding, but who still do their jobs with a smile and with pride.) and especially the ability to look at others and see that we are all different, but in many ways so much the same.

Reworking Paintings

2008-12-26T18:34:00.008-05:00

Rainy Nights & City Lights

I have been painting for less than two years. I am still learning---a lot. Every time I go on a painting binge, I can immediately see where I have improved and where I need to improve. I have been taking old paintings and completely redoing them to see if I can make them into something that I like or someone else will like. They are all abstract so there are some possibilties---but not so much as one would expect as I use a resin coating on the surface. Once that is done, that limits what can be changed.

The above painting was okay, but nothing that grabbed me. I peeled off the resin coating and applied layers of gold, silver and copper leaf on the substrate and then reapplied the resin coating attempting to trap bubbles between the layers. I wanted to see if I could make it to look like lights on a rainy night. Sorry, the photo is not the best, but maybe you can see what I have done. The painting looks like bright lights on a rainy night especially to one who has astigmatism or poor night vision. This is the way I saw city lights on a rainy night until I got glasses when I was in the second grade. I will never forget the night I realized that city lights were not all huge balls of light or stars or blurs.

This painting had a spot in the center that I did not like. Although it is still not perfect, the bird covers the spot that bothered me. I have come to realize that bad abstract paintings can make good backgrounds for other types of paintings. I will experiment a bit more with this.

A special thank you for all the readers of my blog over the past year. I wish you the best for the coming year!

Seven things you may not know about me...

2008-11-29T18:09:00.009-05:00

Ink Painting

I was tagged by my friend Lisa to list seven things that you may not know about me and I was also tagged by Carrie at Lola Enchanted. I am pretty much an open book and there is little I can come up with that you don't already know. But here goes and hope it is at least a little entertaining.

1) I like musings. They come to me before I wake completely every morning. Today's musing is...

The reason that women live much longer than men is because women need the extra time that they wasted/lost while styling and drying their hair, putting on make-up and all those things that men don't do every day. The only way that women can make up for that lost time is to live longer. ;)

2) I like discussing concepts and ideas that some people are uncomfortable discussing. I see politics, sex, religion and all those things that people shy away from discussing as the most important things that make us human and affect us socially. So why do we avoid them? I have a blog with some of my thoughts on these subjects. I am opinionated, but I respect others' opinions and viewpoints.

3) So along those lines, I feel same sex couples should have the same right to marry as heterosexual couples have. I think religious organizations can make their own decisions on whether to conduct these marriages, but the government should give equal opportunity to all couples to be married. I believe it is not an issue that should be determined by states or individuals, but should be granted as an equal right based on rights that every person should have. (If individuals should vote to determine what is a right, then mixed racial couples would still be unable to marry according to statistics that I have read.) I am a strong supporter of equal rights for all.

4) If I lost my ability to make my art due to a physical ailment, I would become a writer.

5) I am fascinated by many different types of professions and wish I could be an anthropologist, archaeologist, architect, geologist, biologist, top advisor to our president (Obama) and travel writer. Of course, I would need to live until I was 300. Even with those professions, I would still need my time to be creative as I MUST create something every day or I feel out of sorts. I have always had the feeling that if I had gone into the field of medical research that I would discover a cure for a disease.

6) I believe that we as humans could solve the majority of the world's problems by limiting the number of children that we have. Overpopulation is at the root of most of humanity's problems.

7) If I were wealthy, I would surround myself with art that I love and if I were young and wealthy, I would adopt twelve children. (Today I went to the Carolina Designer Craftsmen show. Victoria Sexton had some pieces that would be so perfect for me. I may have to call her and order a piece. She has no web site and I only found one item online at a gallery for sale.)

So here are the seven blogs I am tagging. I read their blogs regularly. I am suppose to put Marie Antoinette's photo here, but could not seem to make it work. Sorry. All you need to do is to list seven things that we may not know about you and then list seven blogs on your blog.

Ann Flaherty

Michelle Davis Petelinz

Jodi

Ophelia

Debbie

Amy (I'm putting you here as you have not posted on your blog for a long time and I keep checking in....)

Carrie (I'm putting you here even though you gave me an award but this is a different award. You need to list seven things that we may not know about you. and link back to this blog.)

polymer clay

Thinking about art on Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-27T13:58:00.006-05:00

I just ran across a really cute video over on Paris Parfait. If you are an artist and wonder about whether anyone cares about what you do, you can surely relate to this one. It is beautiful and especially for my friends at the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild.

For more cuteness...

These little Pudgies were made by Shackman years ago. I bought several to add some old embellishments to make Christmas ornaments out of them for Ozarks Americana. I love old crepe paper and silk ribbon and decided to use that on the ones above. The two silver ones are embellished with old jewelry pieces.

Men in Film, Women in Film and Women in Art Videos

2008-11-19T09:29:00.006-05:00

Ink Painting

I have not been posting much about anything except what I have been up to as it is time to pump out the final Christmas stock. So here are some links to entertain you.

A friend sent me this link to a video, Men in Film. Similar to the video that shows Women in Film. My favorite of these morphing videos is Women in Art.

Continuation of yesterday's post...

2008-11-17T09:43:00.008-05:00

I don't know why I am unable to get larger photos to show up here. The first usually will show an enlargement, but the remainder in the post do not. If anyone has an idea and can give me a hint, let me know. I'm wondering if one must pay for more or larger photos, but I don't remember seeing anything about that when I started this blog. But that was over three years ago! How did that much time pass? A photo is added in this post of the piece I made in Cultural Cloth workshop so it will display a close-up.

WOW! What a week-end!

2008-11-16T20:18:00.010-05:00

This week-end our Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild worked the Art of the Carolinas show that Jerry's Artarama sponsored. It was hard work, but was so worth it for us as a guild. It is my favorite activity that we have done as a guild. We sort of volunteered (Actually, Penny our secretary got us into this---and thank you, Penny!) hoping that if we did a good job helping to prepare rooms for the painting workshops and keeping them stocked, then Jerry's would be happy to let us use their classroom at the store for our guild's meeting. Well, it worked! But with the huge response we had from the table that we had for the guild, we may have already outgrown their classroom. We will just have to squeeze in there for awhile!

For the past year we have bounced from one location to another due to our growth. The growth has been due to the enthusiasm that our members have and the activities that we have for our meetings. And most of all, due to the genuine support that we have for each other. Our members are being published, winning awards, showing and selling their work, taking workshops, teaching and pushing the envelope with their art. I would have never believed that so many women (or men if we had any) could be so much fun, be so supportive with no jealousy and be there to share their friendships and their successes. We don't talk about failures as we are all on a journey. Maybe there are a few bumps in the road, a few detours since we don't settle quickly on mediums or techniques and a few disappointments, but we don't see our efforts as failures. We are on our way to success.

Strathmore provided ATC substrates and we all made many ATCs to swap. We had a 'Make and Take' ATC table manned by guild members. It was very successful and lots of ATCs were traded.

We also had a guild table with art from our members and information about our guild. It is difficult to take such a wide range of art and display well, but we managed to do it. We had so many people stop by to look that two people had to help out at the table the majority of the show. At first, I was concerned that most of the people were from Virginia, West Virginia or Georgia and we would not have many from the Carolinas. But, we managed to give out all of our brochures to those who might be interested in meeting with us. We displayed art from about fifteen members.

Just a few weeks ago, several of us took a Cultural Cloth workshop with Ann Flaherty. We decided to display these pieces at the Art of the Carolinas show together. I highly recommend this workshop as it is easy to do one's own thing to make a personal piece. Each piece was different and was wonderfully done. Almost every little thing was completed in the workshop. We could use glues, iron-on adhesives or we could sew. I chose to sew all of mine and had beading, embroidering and a little quilting so it took me a little longer. Still at least 80% of mine was finished in class. I was happy with it. I rarely am happy with what I make in a workshop as I am one to work independently. This is the type of workshop that allows one to work within some guidelines (mainly size), but still do her own thing. I had made some of the embellishments in polymer clay prior to the class. I used tinted liquid clay to make a glaze so they look like kiln fired clay. As soon as I found out about this class, I knew I wanted to go and use these pieces that I had made years ago.

A special thank you to Nanette for her work on helping Penny keep us all in our rotating posts for the show.

Okay, must end this post. Could write a book on this week-end. It was just fabulous.

A big hello to Darlene and Carol from Virginia. Wish you lived in our area! We would love to have you in our guild.

Before, During and After a Production Blitz

2008-11-09T18:49:00.013-05:00

I promised some friends that I would post some photos of my studio. I cannot work in a messy studio, but I cannot work on some projects and keep everything neat as I work. It is especially difficult to maintain a clean studio when I work with fabrics and sewing. So I have a habit of working like a mad woman once I get started on any one type of project and then I often spend a few hours cleaning up before starting the next project.

I think I got hooked on polymer clay as it is so easy for me to keep things neat and clean when working with it. Air dried clays and other sculpting compounds are messy! Fabrics are messy---lint, tiny clippings and threads. My studio is just not large enough to do a lot of large sewing projects. I must have the studio nearly dust free to do the ink paintings.

In the first three photos, I am in the process of making lampshades for Ozarks Americana in Anchorage, Alaska. I make a maximum of two identical shades for larger lamps and five identical shades for chandeliers. I often use vintage fabrics and trims. So these shades are not exactly what one would find in the average store. I made over 30 lampshades during this sewing blitz.

The last photos were made after I had packaged the shades for shipping and two hours cleaning up the mess. I realized after taking these photos that I need to seriously get rid of a lot of accumulation. I need to make more space for creating. I find that every time I get rid of stuff, it frees my mind to be more creative!

Hope you enjoy looking at the photos!

Attending to the Business Side of Art

2008-10-24T19:08:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a busy day for me! I found out that my Bird in Hands sculpture sold at the Visual Art Exchange.

Susan Lumoto at Daily Art Muse blog made a post about my ink paintings.

My art showed up on the Premium Art Listings of the Painters Keys.

So I received dozens of emails and two phone calls yesterday and today about my work for gallery representation. I had not expected that and now must analyze how far I wish to ship artwork and check the galleries guidelines and to see how I think my art will fit.

I spent almost two weeks trying to make my new web site in my spare time. And it has paid off. It is amazing how one can know what needs to be done, but then allow the desire to just create take over and miss opportunities. Maybe I have learned a lesson!

New Web Site---Finally Finished

2008-10-19T17:39:00.005-05:00

I have finally finished my Jeanne Rhea web site---at least until I have a chance to check it with fresh eyes. It took time, but I am finally happy with it. I would love to know what you think and if you have suggestions.

My old Heart of Clay web site will be up for awhile. I made a simple home page with links to pages that I thought may still be of interest. I have a few tutorials for polymer clay up so if you work in polymer clay, you may wish to look to see if there is anything of interest there. I think that I will be removing this site for the new year.

The Dreaded CV and a New Web Site

2008-10-02T20:28:00.007-05:00

I have been working on putting up a new web site. I have worked in mixed media, polymer clay, textiles and all kinds of crafts in my life. I have made a living with my artwork. Now I am painting and feel that I have found my niche. Maybe it is the excitement of learning something new and finally allowing myself to pick up a paintbrush. Oh, I have painted---lots of houses, lots of pieces of artwork,---but the painting was something that had to be done to complete the piece and not the focus.

I wrote a curriculum vitae for my new web site and asked a friend to read it. I value her opinions on marketing and art so I asked what she thought of the following. She told me that she would not post this on my web site so I am posting it here---just to get the thoughts out of my head.

I know what I am suppose to list on a CV. I see some art sites with pages and pages of exhibitions, publications and ‘pats on the back.’ For now, this will have to do for mine.

I have been creating since the age of two when I first embroidered some flowers on a hankie (Yeah, what was my mother thinking to allow me to use a needle?). At the tender age of four, I won a talent show singing, Where is that Doggie in the Window? The $25 Savings Bond was not enough to tempt me to return to the stage to receive my award. My stage fright resulted in my crying for two days. Thus began my quest to be creative without having to be on stage.

At the age of ten I was Kentucky State Muffin Baking Champion and continued with many awards for the next eight years. My youth was spent participating in 4-H exhibits and competitions in county, state and regional fairs. My room was filled with ribbons and trophies, but I longed for the time that I would be free to make anything I wanted with no guidelines and no worry as to what others would think or how they would judge me.

During the years that I worked to support myself and two children I sold my art, but never thought about documenting my creations or exhibitions. Oh, I can look back and see some of the ones that stand out in my mind—winning the People’s Choice at the Fly-by-Night Club at a Grand Poetry Slam (Yes, I finally got over my stage fright.) and winning the Best of Show at Fur Rendezvous. But, alas, I can’t really write much more than that although I know I have won dozens of awards since.

Recently when trying to sort through old documents to find a record of my juried submissions, I realized that it will require too much time to get an accurate record---I could be creating instead! I have finally realized that I am not one to live in the past. It is not so important to me what I have created as what I have in my head to eventually create.

So that's it. Now I will try to collect my info to do a proper CV!

The above piece was juried into the Visual Art Exchange's Bird's Eye View show. Now if we had only had blogs 35 years ago, I would not have to worry about keeping a record of what I have created.

Article about Alan Vernall

2008-10-02T09:17:00.005-05:00

Alan's Fire Bowl

To all of you polyclayers, you may wish to read the article in the McClesfield Express about Alan Vernall. Polymer clay gave him many, many hours of entertainment as well as it allowed him to contribute much to the polymer clay community.

The article is a very nice tribute to Alan and polymer clay. It is a wonderful job of portraying his love of polymer clay and the refuge/comfort that it gave him. Here's to many more stories to the triumph of the human spirit over adversity!

If you would like Mary's email address, please email me.

Bird in Hand Mixed Media Sculpture

2008-09-18T18:26:00.006-05:00

I am working on the sculpture that you see above. It has been on my work table for a month already, but I just could not seem to get it to the point that I was happy with it. I made the bird with earth clay and it is fired in a kiln. The hands are made with Activa Rigid Wrap and Apoxie Sculpt. The nest is made with Apoxie Sculpt. I made some flowers and leaves from polymer clay, but have not attached them.

Now I need your help. My dilemma is that I cannot decide whether to paint the entire sculpture an off white. I had originally planned on painting each part and it would be more realistic, but after getting to this point, I started to like the off white as the bird and hands are more stylistic. The flowers and leaves are still their original polymer clay colors, but they are not attached. Looking at the sculpture below with the flowers scattered on the nest, do you think the sculpture works better as all off white or do you think I should leave the flowers and leaves their natural polymer clay colors? I have not attached them. I like the extra bit that the flowers add to the sculpture, but hesitate to leave them colorful if the remainder of the sculpture is off white.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Resins as Dimensional Glazes, Finishes, Sealers and Casting Materials

2008-09-16T08:23:00.010-05:00

I use a lot of the two part epoxy resins. I like to experiment and test different products to determine the best one for my applications.

I purchased a new product this past week called ICE Resin. A member of our Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild had asked me how it compared to other resins that I use.

The Ice Resin was $24 for four ounces of resin and four ounces of hardener. It came with wooden sticks for stirring and eight measuring cups. It was marketed as being crystal clear, freestanding, non-toxic and jeweler's grade and would stay clear for fifty years. In the above link you can also see that it is supposedly a new product. I question how one would know a product would last fifty years if in fact it is a new product.

With my now extensive experience in using these products, I must say I was skeptical about all these claims and although it was much more expensive than my favorite resin (Colores from Rio Grande is $19.50 for eight ounces of hardener and eight ouces of resin plus the cost of shipping.), I decided to purchase it anyway. These are my results from my testing. I am not associated with any of the manufacturers and I am not a scientist. These results are from using them in my art applications.

The ICE Resin is as similar to Colores Resin (Doming System) Rio Grande as any two products can be. The amount of the bubbles is the same. The ease of bursting the bubbles is the same. The odor is so similar that I cannot tell the difference in a blind test. The ability to dome on an object is the same. My suspicions from my testing were that this is the same product or at the very least has the same active ingredients and just in a different package.

I have also used a lot of EnviroTex Lite another brand of epoxy resin. EnviroTex Lite has a stronger odor. If it is fresh it has few bubbles, but if it is old it has a lot of bubbles. They are slightly harder to burst than the Colores or Ice Resin bubbles. EnviroTex Lite is available at Michaels and A. C. Moore and one can always use the 40% off coupon and save a lot of money.

I have also used a product called Castin' Craft. It is a polyester resin so cannot be compared equally to the other three products. It has a very strong odor and is used more often for casting small items rather than using as a finish or coating. I have used it and would never use it again as I am very sensitive to it. I suggest that anyone who plans to use this product to read the MSDS carefully and take every precaution to avoid exposure to it.

Since I use a large amount of the resins for my large ink paintings, I am mostly concerned with safety. I work in my outdoor workshop and open the doors and I wear rubber gloves when using these products. If doing a large piece, I also wear a mask or respirator.

After much experimenting and sending the results to my friend, I decided to do an online research of Colores and ICE Resin in order to determine if I could get more info that would help me determine if I was imagining the identical results. I was happy to find the Material Safety Data Sheets on all of these products online. I am not certain one can find the Colores MSDS if one does not have an account number with Rio Grande.

The Colores and ICE Resin MSDS' are so identical that the only difference in the description and text is in the product names. Even 98% of the documents for both the hardener and the resin is the same word for word. The hazardous ingredients are the same. I highly suspect that they are manufactured by the same company and not only that, they have the same amounts of the hazardous ingredients and they have the same amount of bubbles. One of them may have a chemical added to change the odor, but even that I could not smell any difference. The MSDS' do not have to give the actual percentage of a hazardous ingredient as this is optional---maybe to protect the manuafacturer's formulas. However, these show the same amounts. My conclusion is that I would not pay more for the ICE as there is no indication whatsoever that it is safer than Colores, that it will last longer/clearer than Colores and that it has a better doming ability than Colores.

According to the MSDS for EnviroTex Lite, the hazardous components has one component that is in the Colores and ICE Resin and one that is in neither of these last two products. I think this could be the difference that I see in how the EnviroTex Lite works compared to Colores and the ICE Resin.

There is one advantage to using ICE. In order to purchase from Rio Grande (which is the only distributor of Colores that I have found), one must have an account and pay shipping costs. ICE Resin is showing up at independent craft stores and one can purchase directly and not pay shipping costs. ICE Resin is also available online. If only using small amounts of resin, I would purchase ICE locally and save on shipping as resins do have a shelf life of about six months. I have used some older resins and it is often not worth the effort as bubbles are hard to burst.

My only real disappointment in ICE Resin is that there is no real difference in the toxicity level and it is no safer to use than Colores. (I suspect it is only slightly safer than EnviroTex Lite which lists its resin as hazardous and the hardener as extremely dangerous on its MSDS.) Although I do not know the scientific level that a product has to be to be declared non-toxic, I suspect that these are borderline if not toxic. I am still waiting for the product that is developed that is non-hazardous and completely safe and has the properties that I love in both Ice Resin and Colores.

Resins work so well on items that are thoroughly dry, natural fibers, papers, polymer clay, non-porous surfaces and many others. They can be used in all kinds of arts and crafts, but so far I have found no product in the one part dimensional glazes that work as well as the two part resins. The one part glazes either have to be layered in many thin layers to dry completely transparent or they may never be completely clear.

My last word of caution. Before using any of the resins, please read the MSDS carefully. You can't be too careful.

Alan Vernall May You Rest in Peace

2008-09-13T08:05:00.010-05:00

I just received news from Alan Vernall's wife that he died a few days ago. She asked that I pass this information on to the polymer clay guilds and forums. Unfortunately, I have not been reading many of the discussion groups as I am now painting and doing little polymer clay. If you would like to send condolences and need an email or snail mail address, please email me and I will send it to you.

This is so sad as Alan was so generous in sharing his love of polymer clay with others.
You can see some of his experiments and work here.

This is the email she sent to me. I snipped some personal information.

Dear Jeanne,
Thank you for the magazines which you so kindly sent Alan. Unfortunately, he will not be able to enjoy them as he died a few days ago. I wish I could have contacted you earlier, but we have had problems with the computer. I would be very grateful if you would pass the word round in the claying fraternity.

Anyway, he died very peacefully while I was out on Tuesday morning. Your parcel came while we were waiting for the undertaker. It made me very emotional. That is why out of the long list of email addresses on his machine I decided to turn to you for help, I felt you really cared about him.
Take care and thank you.
Mary

Alan Rest in Peace. You gave so much to the polymer clay community and you will be missed and never forgotten.

One more Ink Painting

2008-08-15T19:21:00.002-05:00

Here's a photo of my last ink painting. It is titled Other Worlds.