Playing with marbling...

A couple of weeks ago I had a blast learning how to marbleize paper with my good friends Ann and Kevin in their studio/gallery. You have to preplan this process as the water used to float the paint has carrageenan (seaweed stuff) and has to sit overnight. You also have to put an additive in the paint to get the right consistency. Then it is all about colors and patterns. Oh and tools, both bought and homemade. 

Here is the setup and paint floating on the water solution. 

And here are some of the fun papers. Kevin had a ‘recipe’ book on how to comb through the paint for different patterns. 

This was a fun process and I haven’t decided yet how I’m going to use the papers. So many possibilities. 

Cold wax fun...

Since my cold wax class last year with Jodi Ohl I’ve been having fun with the medium. I’m also taking Jodi’s online class which I highly recommend. 

These four pieces were actually one sheet of oil paper so each one is about 5x7. I don’t usually work in yellows and greys but it’s good to step out of the safety zone. 

I am still working with the Gelli plate for monotypes and working on going larger. This is more of my favorite colors and is about 15x19. 

What I really like about both mediums is the layers peaking through. 

More to come after my next opportunity to play in the studio.

Crafty down time

Life and work has been very busy and stressful this year so this weekend I designated as lounging in sweats time and leisurely creative time. I have to say that I am very much in my happy place. 

First, I had bought this shelf from Hobby Lobby but wanted to make it more cheerful and add knobs for hanging jewelry from. Still need to hang it but here is before and after.  It is actually more turquoise than the pic shows. 

The other project I completed was a lamp makeover. I had seen some cool lampshades with the wire frame and various fabric strips tied on. The shade that came with the lamp didn’t have wire ribs so had to find an alternate. I bought a lampshade at a thrift store for $5 and stripped off the fabric and then raided my stash of fabric ribbons.   Here is the before and after and live the results. I may add a pom trim later. 

A fun weekend

Last weekend I went to Artworks Vass https://www.artworksvass.com/ to learn how to do powder coating with Jean Skipper. We had so much fun and did a bit of metal smithing and some loose wire wrapping techniques. I haven’t put the powder coated pieces to work yet but here are all the fun creations. 

And to top off all the fun, I now have more of my art at Artworks. 

So Excited!

I found out today that Netflix is buying two of my pieces, Stepping Stones I and II, that were on display at my friend Ann’s space down at Westside Market for the set of a show that is coming out next year. I don’t know if I can stand the wait to see how they place them. 

Studio coming along

Plugging along on the studio and almost everything has a home now. A few ads and ends to deal with and still need to hang some artwork. The tables have wheels and are right side up. They feel a wee bit taller than I anticipated but if it bugs me I can shorten the pipes the wheels are attached to. I’ve been debating on whether or not to stain the tops and I think I will but may wait until fall. My second rug is down and the colors are perfect with my other rug. Next weekend it is time to reclaim the dining room which has become a dumping ground for any leftovers. 

Art play date...

Saturday was an art play date with friends. Had a lively time and it was great getting to see one friend’s new home as she was the host this time. Our project was to try our hand at tie dye. Of course we were all watching video tutorials all week to prepare. It takes a lot of die. Here is the progression and I was pretty sloppy with my rubber band technique but pleased with the results.

Art studio update ...

Last weekend I put together a couple of Alex drawer units from IKEA. Instead of using the plastic casters I added some wooden mid century legs. I don’t know why it seems the rule these days but every project seems to need multiple trips to the hardware store. The legs have these things called hanger bolts that were too long since they were made for couches. Off to the hardware store for shorter 2” ones instead of the 4”ones. Settled in to get them all installed which swapping out screws is not as easy as it sounds. Anyway, down to the last two which were being even more difficult. Some of a gun!  I bought one set of bolts at 2.5” so I gave up since it was Sunday night. At least one was done.

I also managed to get one set of legs put together. Again, not as easy as it sounds. They went together pretty good but it is hard to get them all level since the threading isn’t exact. Also, since they don’t screw in all the way you find out they don’t match your placement of the boards you ere going to attach them to. Sigh!  Will require some squares of 1x2 added. 

The work continued this weekend. Friday night I was armed with two 2” hanger bolts to get the last two legs on, placed the units and added the wood top.

Today I finally got both sets of pipe legs attached and am now waiting for my wheels and adapters to arrive this week. I tried ordering wheels and adapters from different suppliers but the adapters never work even though the measurements are right. The two made for each other should work much better. Then the trick will be getting these puppies flipped over cause they are heavy as heck. 

An Art Retreat

The end of October I had an awesome vacation at an art retreat with ReMe Retreats.  It was a week of relaxation and creativity run by Jodi Ohl and Jean Skipper.  They tag team on on the projects for the week.  More on that below.

One of the things they do is send attendees a blank item to decorate and this time it was a wooden block shaped like a house.  One of the things I like is there is no pressure to finish it but it is always a fun project.  I decorated mine with gelli prints, some of which I doodle on.  It's hard to see but I had some wire tag frames from my scrapbooking days that I used to frame out the doors and windows.  Hammered them a bit to give them more texture.



For the retreat the first thing we worked on was what Jodi calls Zen painting.  We started with gesso board and played with a number of water soluble pencils to design shapes and lines. Then used paynes grey and nickle azo for shading along with some grey tones. Then more colors.  I still have more to do to add depth but it is a start.

Our next batch of projects revolved around copper etching.  So much fun and I may have to invest in some of the supplies to do this at home.  The etching is done using stamps, stazon ink, sharpies, and then etching acid. The acid eats away around the ink so where you stamped or drew is the raised portion.
This is another project using a box made from barn wood and hanging one of the finished necklaces in it.  Haven't figured out which wall this is going to hang on and I don't think I'm done with embellishing the box yet. One of the other things we did was a field trip to one of the local pottery shops.  They taught us how to use horse hair and coffee grounds to create patterns.  So much fun!

Here are some pics around the house we stayed at that Jodi and Jean so creatively embellished. Going back in February for a cold wax weekend retreat and can hardly wait.

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