Snowed under

Well we have received snow over the month since I posted last but this also refers to me almost snowed under from taking 3 online art classes.  I am really being stretched  in different ways.  The first few spreads are from the Pathways and Wanderings class- this is really a book of the seasons.  I still have yet to do the two spreads for fall.

This is my second winter spread- there is a mini book attached on the lower right with quotes.

Some of the exercises include doing table top arranged collages meant to just be photographed.

This is my first  Spring spread. The bird is a block print I carved.

This is my second Spring spread.  I scanned a drawing of mine and cut it apart to use in this spread. The leaves are printed from a leaf shape block I carved and printed on green paper.  And in the lower left is another mini-book I attached.

This is my first Summer spread.  It's about memories of fishing with my father and grandmother when I was very young.  The background is  done with CitriSolv on a National Geographic spread.  The fish I cut from some wrapping paper.  I included the Mer-Man as I use to daydream about being one when I was very young.

This is the second Summer spread.  I use to chase and catch butterflies to mount- freaks me out now that I did that- I was in elementary school.

Class Work

I am enjoying my online classes- this will keep me on my toes- lots of assignments and they are good ones.  Taking classes not only has me doing things I wouldn't do on my own.  The Grit and Grace class with Katie Kendrick started Monday.  http://joyouslybecoming.typepad.com/This one is really amazing and I love the approach.  The first photo is the first assignment mark making with charcoal and graphite and gesso.  This is 17" x 23".  That's big for me.

 The next is a journal spread for the same class- I am going to journal in a book- many do this but I never have- paint and collage right over the pages. So here's the book and the spread.

 The last photograph here is the first spread in the journal I made for the Pathways and Wanderings class.  The assignment was about winter- and with the wind chill at 35 below this morning- we know all about winter here.

New Year New Classes

Well the holidays have come and gone- that time of year isn't the best for me.  But starting  a new year is always something exciting to me.  Well over achiever Terry is taking 3 online classes- one will last the whole year and the other two are for the month of January.  One class is Pathways and Wanderings.  This is a new online class being taught by Roxanne Evans Stout.  http://rivergardenstudio.typepad.com/   It's an artist book class and more- we started by binding our books- it's a book model that I had not done before.  It's very easy and is  not an exact kind of binding- the pages are not all the same size and there are several different kinds of papers in my book.  I finished the cover for it today- the rest of the class will be working in these pages.

Year End Spread

Well This spread i just completed in a very special journal that I haven't worked in for a while. With the new year approaching I sometimes try to look ahead-vision things that I want to work on both personally and in my art making. Things have seemed so chaotic- with the hate spewing in the political scene that I try to avoid but it is almost impossible and this is across the globe- and the weather extremes seem to be happening more and more. So I try to set intentions for how I want to grow and to help where I can help. Wishing all of you a New Year filled with Love good health and art.

Post Thanksgiving Studio Time

These are my finished pieces for lesson three in the monoprinting class I am taking. These are all 8 inches square.  The first two lessons dealt with different ways to print to get color variety and pattern.  So this assignment was printing some shapes right on the 8 x 8 paper and also then collaging with pieces of the prints from the first two lessons.  I tend to really work with photographic images and ephemera when I do my collage work - I have used monoprints for backgrounds before but these are compositions using the grid format per her instructions.  I am really enjoying this class- I end up trying things that I wouldn't have on my own.

Art of The Selfie Class

I shared my first project for this class and I will share the the other projects for it- I have one left to do. The second project was to do one of our past. Here is my take on the past one- Didn't exactly follow directions but did use maps and drew things. I grew up in Iowa- worked for a seed corn company - loved chasing butterflies-  and making things- I told my second grade teacher I was going to be an artist.

The next one was us looking out to the future- not so sure about this one. Well here is my take on Dreaming Forward.  I taught art for 36 years mostly in the public schools but my last 8 years I was at the university level- I retired have taught a couple of workshops in my home studio but I live in a remote area and there is not a lot of interest in art classes- our art center has tried as well. I taught a mixed media journaling class on Widbey Island off Seattle this summer and I realized how much I missed it. So the new chapter means maybe a move in the next couple of years.  I am in a few online art groups and have been doing collaborations with other artists from around the world and I want to continue that- continue to share my art and knowledge.  And I will forever be a life long learner. The color on my face isn't that yellowish on the actual piece.

The next on was to be
Outside World- What I choose to show about myself.I have strived to be what-you-see-is-who-I-am.  I was lucky in my teaching career that I didn't have to dress up-  so I didn't have work clothes and home clothes I just had my clothes. SO I chose to have the body be one of those old medical illustrations showing the inside including my heart.  I made the shirt out of a piece of yellow vellum and rubber stamped the small coffee cup all over for a pattern- I am a coffee  lover- I drink way too much but just love the flavor- a Minnesota based coffee company had this on their cups :Life is Short- Stay Awake for it". The pocket had to have some art tools- pencil brush and crayon.  Then I stamped coffee cups all over the background and then painted over them so they just peeked through.  I enjoyed this assignment

Here is the 5th assignment. We were to show what's inside of us that we don't often share.  Well Here is my inside selfie.  As is often the case I didn't follow directions. I used a stencil for the background grid- I am a Virgo and sometimes the urge to have tidiness wins out- so my grid isn't free form. The color in the squares was applied with my eBrush- a cool airbrush that uses art markers.  I did journal around the squares. So the objects inside- the ruler is for that fear that I won't measure up-it not really the internal critic- I do have to kick his butt frequently though.  I try to have no locked doors so there's the key in case I forget and lock one.  The car for the fear of not being able to go places.  For years I didn't partly because my husband hates to travel- so I started going to visit my art pals.  I also travel this past summer to Whidbey Island off Seattle to teach a mixed media journal class with my friends Brian and John.  The bird is there both because I love birds and use them in my art a lot and this blue bird of happiness is just to represent my needing to remember what it is that makes me happy.   The little magnifying glass is for my looking too closely sometimes and over thinking things.  I loved this assignment. I painted my portrait right on the plexi glass.

Catching Up

Finally getting caught up on an online class and started another one.  The one I just started is a monoprinting class with Jane Davies. http://janedaviesstudios.com/ I had taken a terrific class with her a couple of years ago so when I saw she was offering this online for the first time I signed up right away. Below is the first assignment.  we are making papers to collage with later on.

The other online class I am taking is The Art of the Selfie from Brian Miller. http://brianmillerart.com/  The first portrait was to be one of where we are right now.  The assignment was to paint four sheets of watercolor paper using an analogous scheme.  Then printed out  a black and white picture and cut the highlights from one paper the shadows from another and the base from another and with the last one  was used to cut out features like glasses and the sweater.