2D Design Portfolio, part III

Split Complimentary Color Collage

     When we moved into the color portion of 2D Design, I had a blast with the collages we had to create. This is the first one, which is an exercise using split complimentary colors, textures and movement. My good camera would not pick up the correct "blue green" color, so I had to adjust it in Photoshop to show the most accurate color. I'm still not happy, so I obviously have more to learn with Photoshop, since you can do everything with that program! We were allowed to use any mediums in any combination to create these collages, so I used my visual journal supplies.This was my instructor's favorite piece and probably mine as well. I hope to adjust the color and repost this at a later date. I'll post another piece or two tomorrow from the color portfolio.
     And we have winter back in full force here, lots of snow falling and more on the way all week. It is beautiful, but honestly, I've had enough already. Wonder if Calgon still takes you away?

Merry Christmas!

     Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and new year full of art, joy, peace, love and good health! This was one of two Christmas cards I created this year using visual journal techniques. Water colors, neo-color II artist crayons, sharpies, gel pens and Pitt markers. The lettering took forever to get just the way I wanted it to look, but it was all a labor of love. I'll post the other card later this week. Cheers to you all!

Orange ATC Swap Part ll, End of Summer and School

     This is the ATC I sent for the Orange challenge this month. I created it using all the visual journal techniques I learned in Teesha Moore's class in July. Lots of layering of paint, collage, artist crayons, markers and gel pens. I had a ball making it too. As I said earlier, I was not a big fan of orange when I was younger, which is an understatement. But I love it now and love working with it in jewelry, beads, visual journal and now ATCs.
     Summer has been flying by, but I feel that way every year in August. It actually came early this year, started at the end of April, which is normally unheard of in these northern Michigan parts. I'm grateful for it, the winters are hard on me. I don't have arthritis or other physical health issues, but mentally, I seem to get somewhat depressed. And this is in direct correlation to the length of the winter season and lack of sunlight. Some years are worse than others. I've got my fingers crossed though. I'll be in school this winter, like last winter and that made a huge difference.
     And speaking of school, classes start today, I'm soooo excited, feel like an 18 years old college student again instead of a 44 year old. I always loved school and learning, that hasn't changed a bit. Today, I have and art class, "2D Design." Got the required art supplies, parking permit, bottled water and even a snack bar. I'm prepared and spinning like a top, mentally. So more about today later, time to hit the road and get my education on!

Feeling Better, Baking and Journaling

Orange Pecan Muffins

     So far so good. I keep feeling better each day and thanks to my Mom and family, I think I'll be in great shape by next weekend for my daughter's graduation party. The morning seems to be the roughest time for me, the incisions ache then, but after some motrin and moving around, they feel much better by noon. Since I have to spend time upright, but can't go far, I spent some time baking today. Orange Pecan Muffins and a "cherry" version of Carrot Raisin Bread, both recipes featured in the October 1998 issue of "Cooking Light" magazine. Although both recipes are low in fat, I think the Carrot Raisin Cherry bread came out much better than the muffins. I replaced the raisins in the bread with dried cherries from Benjamin Twiggs

Cherry Carrot Quick Bread

and used Eggbeaters in place of the one egg in both recipes. The bread tasted a lot like carrot cake, my hubby loved it! The muffins were just ok, kind of on the dry side and not very flavorful, maybe they needed the fat from that one yolk. Still, I made an orange glaze for the muffins and that did make them better. It tired me out though, I had to go lay down after all that baking!
     I pulled out my visual journal train case full of art supplies for a while today. I worked on some of my pages in the journal I created in Teesha Moore's class. It felt good to play again. I hope to start using it daily now that I'm feeling up to it. So many things I want to do, this surgery stuff is so very inconvenient! Also need to get ready for the Wine, Food and Art show on the 21st this month. Right after my daugher's party I'll be in jewerly fabrication mode. So short post today, off to work on the "Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken" with my mom...hope it tastes as good as it looks...

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jigg...

     Back from my adventures in Visual Journaling. Although it was a seven day expedition, it felt like a whirlwind escapade. Of course I squeezed in an overnight with one of my oldest and best friends Maggie, a four day stay at a lovely B&B on Lake Erie, a three day workshop with Teesha Moore and an overnight visit with my wonderful parents...I do seem to pack a lot of living into my days.

    First photo is of me and Maggie at Anita's Kitchen in Ferndale. We had some excellent food here, Greek salad, hummus and a spinach and cheese pizza, can't wait to go back again after my ridiculous gall bladder is removed and I'm all healed up! We also stopped at Utrecht's, an art supply store where I finally found a bookbinders awl. The A/C was out and I wondered if any of the oil based art supplies would suffer any "melting" or "separation." Guess I'll never know. It was just wonderful to catch up. Maggie was my maid of honor when I got married and is also my oldest son's godmother. But all my kids call her Aunt Maggie and she doesn't forget any of their birthdays, she is amazing! She has two cats that

I really like, Joey, the grey tabby, who is very young and funny and Finnbar, black and white, who is twelve and quite tolerant of the "kitten." Joey launched himself at my bedroom door after I went to bed and actually got it almost open, even with a weight leaned against it! Maggie says he likes to bring toys to bed, lol, and I needed to get some sleep. Finnbar is very cool and laid back, and they both adore Maggie. My flash is still on the fritz, so the kitty photos are grainy, but you can still get a good look at them.

          So although there is more to my adventure, I'm going to switch gears and mention one of my all time favorite shows, "Pushing Daisies." I'm watching some old episodes on Netflix for the Wii and I have to say, I am soooo very sad they canceled this show. It is so clever, creative and just plain fabulous! Why oh why is it gone now? The sets were so colorful and surreal, I wish I could live in them. And the whole "Pie Hole" shop is just so yummy, makes me want to eat pie everyday. It is such a fun and absolutely delightful show, it never fails to inspire me and leave me feeling happy and joyful. And the colors, the scenes are drenched with it, bursting with outrageous and decadent color! If you get a chance to watch one of the episodes, you'll see exactly what I mean. A delicious immersion into a world of mystery and make-believe...like Alice in Wonderland in some ways...I think I'll go dive back into another one!

Teesha, Thunderstom and Page Updates

     Day three of Teesha Moore's class and we worked on lettering and actually writing in our journals. I was still wrapped up in "collage" mode and had a hard time switching to writing. I wanted to write on my pages after I got home, when it is harder to do collage but easy to write with the time and space I have. Teesha was very kind and gave me lots of positive feedback, so I feel like I am on the right track. She very tolerantly allowed me to have a photo taken, something she does not enjoy, lol, but I can be a pain in the patootie when I want something. The woman with us is Sue. We are both staying at the bed and breakfast and met there the first night. We have been sitting next to each other in class and working on our journals back at the B&B each evening. She has taken a bazillion classes in all sorts of collage and visual journal type

techniques. She knows all the teachers and has participated in ATC swaps for quite a while and has a big collection. I really enjoyed hearing about all her experiences. A very talented and generous person I'm very glad to have met!
     I'm posting a few more photos of journal pages that I further embellished. It was fun to add the pen and marker details, though I always feel like I am not "done."  I only wrote a few things on a couple pages, so they will still develop further after I get home. If you ever have the chance to take a class with Teesha, I highly recommend it. She is a little on the shy side and does not really socialize with students over lunch or dinner, but she is very generous with her gifts and talents and shares it all. What more could a student ask for?

     After we got back to the ranch, a storm blew in over Lake Erie. It was very cool, though I couldn't catch any of the lightening with my camera. The clouds were still very scary though.  I could see the sheets of rain falling over the lake in the distance, like curtains, it was very cool. The front that came though brought a big wind too, knocking over the lounge chairs that were empty next to us. But did we run inside? No way, didn't want to miss the show of course. After the storm moved on, there was a fabulous rainbow and a stunning sunset. There is something so magical about a colorful sunset. It is awe inspiring as well as creative soul food. I wanted to swim in the colors that appeared tonight, though that may sound silly, that is the thought that popped into my head at the time.

     Lastly tonight, I finished up my first ATC, artist trading card, for my first swap, which has to be mailed out tomorrow! Talk about cutting it close. I had fun with it and will post photos next week. I have to wait till the recipient receives it before I can share a photo. So all in all, a tremendous day full of art, fun and beauty...life it good.
   

     And a Happy Birthday to my brother Rick!

Class, China Gate and Early Pages

     Today's second class with Teesha Moore was spent adding collage to the painted pages of our journals. I had cut up lots of pages and images before I left home, so I was well prepared. We also spent time learning about using various markers, pencils and Panpastels. The Sharpie Poster Paint markers are Teesha's favorites and of course I had zero of those. However, she brought some for us to work with and after class I headed over to Michael's craft store and bought a couple to use. We had homework tonight. To add lots of details with markers, gel pens, sharpies and pencils. I worked on a couple pages, but felt so fried, I didn't get as far as I would have liked. More tomorrow though.

     For lunch a few of us went to Mark Pi's China Gate, which was just a short walk from our class. The food was excellent, we all agreed. Very fresh and beautifully presented. I ordered Chicken and Snow Peas with some brown rice. The restaurant sign was really cool though. A light up mask that resembles a Mexican "luchador." My photos of the sign and food came out fuzzy, sorry about that, but my flash is not charging properly and the darker photos are not so crisp. Or I was moving when I took the photos, either way, they are fuzzy.

     I'm posting a few pages from the new journal before they have any shading, pen/marker details or words. So when you see them tomorrow, you'll see how much more was added to really bring them to life. I love this part, adding all the details and designs to modify the collage and really make it something more personal and vibrant. These should all be finished or almost finished by tomorrow night.
     A couple things about what we learned today. The Panpastels are cool, but expensive and some of the markers that Teesha likes do not write well on top of them. I have been using the Caran d'Arche Neocolor II Artist Crayons to add the shading to my pre-Teesha class journal pages with no problems adding any marker or pen details, so I think I am going to keep using what

works for me. I adore these crayons now that I have discovered then and hope to have the entire palette
someday, but they are pricey. I notice that a lot of the nicer art supplies are on the pricey side, but I really believe that for the most part, you get what you pay for.
     Teesha also talked about Derwent colorsoft pencils, which I also do not have, but will purchase tomorrow with my lucky 40% off coupon. She wasn't a huge fan of Prismacolors, although my son left his entire set at home that I could easily confiscate. Another point Teesha made was not to "overthink" the collage pieces. She works instinctively and because of that, she works fast! It was great to see how her mind was working as she created pieces as examples for the rest of us. You really have to let go of "shoulds" and "shouldn't," and just play, have fun and go crazy...

at least that is what I got out of it. This is a perfect activity for someone who doesn't like to do the same thing over and over. And there is so much potential in everything. Menus, cards, newspapers, magazines programs, you name it, you can cut if up and use it. Of course, you don't want to become a "hoarder!"
     Lastly, the rain came this evening. Lots of dark clouds rolled in and I could see the rain falling over Lake Erie in the distance, it was very cool. Then the lightening jumped in and lit up the sky. Lucky for us, no power loss or other weather related problems. Hope weather is all cleared up for my drive home on Monday...

Teesha, Thai and Sunsets

     So today's class with Teesha Moore  started with the process of bookbinding. I have never done this before and it was challenging for a newbie, a labor of love is what I'm calling it. I'm sure it will get easier each time I make one, though I don't know how many I'll make, I may just continue to create visual journal pages and bind them up at a later date in a different way, we'll see. This first photo is the front of my new journal and the second photo is the back. I don't know if you can tell, but it is very dimensional. Several of the images, though not all, were glued to foam, just plain black fun foam, and then cut out and glued to the surface. They look very cool in person, I love it!

There are several of my own lampwork glass beads dangling as charms on the side. So glad I could incorporate some of them. We also painted as many of the interior pages as we could get to in the time allotted. I got fourteen pages, front and back painted, but still have one more page left. And although I have taken these photos of the journal covers, they are not quite finished. I still have embellishing to do using some markers and gel pens. Dots, swirls and stripes...so I'll be updating these photos eventually.
     We had a little escape for lunch, headed over to a most excellent little Thai restaurant called Thai Chili. I had an order of fresh basil rolls, similar to 

Vietnamese spring rolls, but with lots of fresh basil and no red meat. With a side of rice and a glass of cool Jasmine ice tea, it was a perfect lunch. I met a very nice woman from Paw Paw, Michigan and we walked over to have lunch together with another group of women in the class. They haven't taken any time to introduce everyone, I wish they would. Although we have name tags, we don't know where everyone is from or anything about what they do, it would be nice.

     Finally, got back to the B & B, had my half sandwich from last night's dinner for dinner with a glass of Chianti and then watched the sun go down. What a gorgeous sunset!  The sun became the most intense shade of neon orange as it hit the horizon, a color I've never seen before in all the sunsets I've watched in Traverse City and Austin. It was absolutely surreal. Sue, another student staying at the B & B agreed, so it isn't just me. I hope I get to see another one tomorrow and maybe at least one sunrise? Though that probably happens on the other side of the house. We'll see if I can get my booty up out of bed at 5:30 a.m....can't wait for tomorrow's class!

Home, Kindness and Packing up

     Home is one of my latest visual journal pages. I've been practicing using some of the supplies I bought for my class with Teesha Moore this weekend. I think I may do a darker color wash over the roof, it needs it, lol. I wish my house could fly around with me, like my parents motor home, I think it is just the coolest thing to travel with your home, like a snail. I am beyond excited about my upcoming roadtrip and class with Teesha. Ginny of Small Studio Productions is hosting this wonderful class, so major bowing down in her direction. I have packed up most of the art supplies for the class, now I just have to pack up my stuff, pj's, toothbrush and those sorts of things. I hope I don't forget anything.

     Kindess is another of my new journal pages, though I feel like I have a lot more to do with this page. Saving a lot of work for the class, where I can use some new techniques to finish some pages up. Going to burn some travel CD's tonight too. If you pass a woman singing her heart out in the car next to you, it is probably me, lol, I love to sing in the car.

Sweet Saturday

     I love Saturdays. Although we usually spend a good part of the day keeping house, it feels so good to get something accomplished and then we also make time to play. Today we worked on straightening out and purging items from the living/family room. It is a small space, so any real clutter is just not cool. I also set up a new visual journal work space in the same room right under the big picture window. I've been spreading out on the sofa for the last few weeks, so I needed to do something. And there is actually room after the room was decluttered! I'm just thrilled to have a little spot to play. We also spent some time weeding the flower garden in front of the house. It is looking so lovely, really filling in nicely with all the wonderful weather and extra rain we have had. The weeds have also been trying to get a foot hold, but we pulled a lot of them out today. I try to spend a few minutes each day pulling a few weeds to stay on top of it, but with all the rains, they are just going wild!  And I finished reading two books today, "Jane Austen in Scarsdale," and "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art." Both were excellent books. I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen, so the modernization of "Persuasion" was just for pleasure. "Creative Time and Space" was like a play date with other artists, learning about how they find the time and create space to work.
     I usually do some big cooking in the kitchen on Saturdays, but with my current fat free diet restriction, I am trying to stay out of the place. I'm really missing cheese, butter and good chocolate right now, but I know it is temporary and I most certainly do not want to have another gall bladder attack before my surgery. I think I'll pick up some fat free cottage cheese tomorrow and see if it will satisfy my cheese cravings.
     And then to wrap up the day we are watching "Paulie," such an adorable movie, I think it is one of my top five family movies, we just love it. Like I said, "Sweet Saturday!"

You've Got to be Kidding and Mermaid Wisdom

  
     A couple new visual journal pages. One about my ridiculous gall bladder called "You've Got to be Kidding." Might as well have fun with this right? And I had fun making a grand poobah type headress for this persona, and very prickly looking hair.  I also had fun with her shoes, love to make curly toed shoes for some reason, I don't own a single pair and wouldn't know where to buy them either. The jelly belly logo in her hands represents my own jelly like belly that probably got me into this mess as well as the irony that I can still have jelly belly products, since most are fat fee. The stand up collar is something I want to add to more figures as well, something regal yet silly about it with lots of potential I think. We'll see...

     The other is titled "Mermaid Wisdom." I am crazy about mermaids, among other things. They appeal to me artistically in a way that invades my thoughts pretty often. I find the idea of mermaids mysterious, sensuous, beautiful, serene and playful all at once.  I also love the water and maybe that has something to do with my feelings too. And then there is living so close to Lake Michigan, you can't help feeling inspired every time you drive by or jump in. I'd love to write a book, create a few sculptures and some dolls, all are already formed in my head, but I haven't done more than collect the items I need to start...just procrastinating at this point for some reason. Visual journal pages give me the opportunity to explore a little more with them in a more manageable way until I'm ready for the big stuff. At least that is what I'm telling myself, don't you love rationalizations?

Oil Spill and Graduation

Here are two more visual journal pages I've been working on lately. One about my daughter's high school graduation, full of happiness and celebration. I used her photo for the face too. She faced a lot of struggles over the last few years and overcame issues with depression and anxiety to finish high school, we are so proud of her.

The other page is about the horrendous oil gushing out into the Gulf of Mexico. It makes me ill to think about how much of the ocean's ecosystem is being destroyed by carelessness and the worship of the almighty dollar by a few in a position to make decisions that can affect all of us. I called this page "Yuck!"

Finally, we made our Strawberry Dessert Pizza last night. It was a team effort. My son made the sugar cookie dough from scratch(instead of using the refrigerated roll from the market), I spread it out into the cookie sheet and pressed it in well and baked it. My husband made the topping and also washed and sliced all the strawberries we had picked. Then my youngest daughter helped him to cover the whole thing nicely with the sliced up berries. It was absolutely delicious and everyone enjoyed it and had seconds!

Books I have and Books I want!

     I'm talking about visual journal books, ATC (artist trading cards) and the like. Here is what I have and what I'm using to play lately...

1.  Kaleidoscope by Suzanne Simanaitis has a lot of focus on collage with a myriad of techniques and lots of fun projects to really get your creative wheels spinning...I love this book. My favorite projects include Susan Tuttle's "Exploring the Landscape Within, a self portrait," and Jill Jones' "Set Your Brain On Fire," among so many. Other contributors you might recognize include: Traci Bunkers, Christine Cox, Juliana Coles, Kate Lyon and Pilar Isabel Pollack. It is a great book to sit and read through to get inspired or just pick a random article to read and technique to try. It is a fabulous book all the way around and I highly recommend it.


2.  Alphabetica by Lynne Perrella is another book I have and love. Full of techniques and inspiration through and through. My favorite part of this book are the Artists Workshops with the Masters. There are 14 "workshops," each just two pages, with great examples on one page, and the directions on the second page, along with a list of each artists' "Studio Essentials" and "Influences." The workshops includes "Composition" with Claudine Hellmuth, "Layering" with Lynne Perrella, "Building Outward" with Lisa Hoffman, "Using Vintage Photos" with Judi Riesch, "Attachments" with Lesley Jacobs, "Transparencies" with Sarah Fishburn, "Using Great Quotes" with Linn C. Jacobs, "Faux and Ancient Surfaces" with Lisa Renner, "Working with Fabric" with Lesley Riley, "Building a Surface with Patterning" with Shirley Ende-Saxe, "Metal Tape and Altered Images" with Karen Michel, "Creating with Recycled Papers" with Monica Riffe, "Constructions" with Michelle Ward and "Working Intuitively" with Teesha Moore. The entire book is bursting with inspiration and techniques to try, but the Workshops make it work every penny and then some! Again, I highly recommend this particular book, one of my top five.

3.  Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino is the first book I purchased when I wanted to learn how to create a visual journal. It is full of good basic techniques to get you started and offers answers to any excuses that would keep someone from trying to create a visual journal experience for themselves. The chapters are called "Fear Busters," and each offers several ways to expel that particular fear or excuse. Some of the chapters include: "I have no time," "I can't write," "I'm just not artistic," "I can't draw" and "Nothing happens in my life." I have fallen victim to several of these excuses, so this book was a wonderful starting point for me personally. So if you have never done anything with a visual journal, I highly recommend this book.



More tomorrow...

Orthodontia and Rainbows

    The weather was as strange as the range between my daughter's orthodontia appt. and the brilliant partial rainbow over my neighborhood this evening. It was overcast on and off, rainy and sunny at the same time, muggy at times and then cool and breezy at others...such a crazy day.

     Tweaked some of my visual journal pages this morning, but won't get more done until tonight. Also going to attempt to make some "cupcake" bath bombs tonight...it takes two days, one day for the base and the next for the "frosting." They are just the cutest things and I love good bathtime treats, I'm well overdue for a good soak in the tub. Spent the day perusing bath bomb recipes along with problems and solutions others posted on various blogs, really helpful. Then I spent the afternoon looking for all the ingredients...citric acid is not so easy to find! It is one of those things I will have to order by mail in the future to get the best price, and that is if, IF, they turn out on this first go through. I will post photos at the end of the day tomorrow or the day after of the final product.

     I'm posting my "Sister Mary Sunshine" visual journal page. This one was created with one of my own photos of me, lol, because I do look at life on the bright side for the most part, I'm an optimist, always have been and always will be. I don't like the alternative...and life is just too short!


     And lastly, a few photos of the train case I am upcycling to use for my visual journal art supplies. You can see the original steel blue color in the photo where the case is tilted up since I have not painted the bottom yet. The lovely blue is the new base color. I will be adding more layers of color and fun down the line. And then you can see all the supplies I can fit nicely into the case in the last photo.

More Visual Journal and Studio Cleaning...

So I went out to my glass and jewelry studio to work on cleaning and organizing it further today, but only got about 45 minutes under my belt. Those little wispy spiders are everywhere, and although my shop vac is perfect for sucking them up along with all the dust and cobwebs, it still took a lot out of me mentally. I know, being such a wimp about it, thought I had really conquered my fear of 8 legged things. And I'm not so much afraid as I am edgy. When I come across one and it just zooms out, it startles me, and that is what freaks me out. I don't run screaming from the room or call out to my DH to come and "save" me, but I can only come across so many before it gets to me. I was hoping to have my studio all ready in 3 days, but it is looking like this may take me at least a week...sigh.

On a brighter note, I worked on some more visual journal pages and another project. I am revamping a vintage train case or make up case from the 50's or 60's. It was from JC Penney's and was a really dark steely blue with silver toned metal trim. It is a perfect size for taking my visual journal art supplies on the road. I have almost finished the first layer, two coats of a lovely sleeping beauty turquise blue. I still have to paint the bottom and then use a small brush to get into the smaller spaces so it is completely covered. It already looks so pretty and cheerful, much better than the original. I'll take a picture soon of the paint job when that layer is finished. I am posting photos of two new visual journal pages that I'm working on as well. So having fun making art in between cleaning out the studio and running away from spiders...it's all good!

Art Attack

Where do I begin? I grew up feeling like I had no artistic talent because I could not stay in the lines when coloring, lol, which I've since learned is something that has plagued a lot of other people. I dabbled with crafts of all sorts, cross stitch, sewing, quilting, collage and more, always moving on after a while, falling in love with some new craft or medium. About 14 years ago I discovered beads and beading. And then I started making jewelry using beach glass and stained glass equipment. My friends called me an artist before I could call myself one. But eventually, I embraced it and love being an artist. I learned to make glass beads, lampworking, about 9 or 10 years ago and incorporated my beads into my jewelry designs. I started buying more "artsy" clothing to wear to art shows and buying art and fun things that appealed to the artist in me for my home. I even played with some pieces of furniture. And then a few years ago, I stopped decorating my house with "artsy" finds or things that I embellished. My house became less creative and more traditional. And I've lived with it like that for the last several years. Until this week. I spent some time watching a few Teesha Moore videos on Youtube. I thought it would be fun to get a little prepared for my upcoming workshop with her...but I got more out of it than I had imagined. I loved the how-to videos and began to use some of the new art supplies I purchased just for the class to create some visual journal pages. The process of painting, collage, pen, pencil, crayon and writing has gripped me and my consciousness like nothing else! I've been immersed in creating my own pages for the last couple days, going so far as to create a travel case of supplies so I can work on the go. So far I've worked in the Dr.'s office, at my daughter's piano lesson and during intermission at my other daughter's high school play. My head is filled with so many things, I feel like it will spin right off! And now I want to start adding color and layers to my house!!! To bring pleasure to me and my family without worrying what anyone else with think. I feel like some chains of convention have just been broken and discarded...I feel so liberated!!!!!!! Can't wait to start working as soon as I get up and whenever I can find even a few minutes. Can you hear me purring?

Waste and Badges

This is a visual journal page I'm working on. I have a few issues that I deal with more often than others and waste and guilt are two of them. I created this in Photoshop, but I would like to add more to it later. I also created a virtual birthday card for my friend Janet yesterday and the beginning of a series of personal "badges" called "Night Owl." The badges start off in Illustrator but then move on to Photoshop for editing, filters and effects. Today will be a day of soccer, homekeeping and cooking, plus it is a little soggy outside, which all the new flowers I planted desperately need...should be a very good day!

Ready, Set, Blog!

I am drawn to art both as a consumer of art and as an artist. Jewelry, glass, collage, mixed media and cooking are my favorite mediums, but I dabble in fiber(sewing)and other mediums that happen to get too close! Although my favorite color is white, I love lots of color, especially shades of turquoise, purples, oranges, pinks and greens. And even though I am a lampworker, capable of melting glass to create my own beads, I still have quite a collection of beads from all over the world and from other lampwork artists. I am especially passionate about pearls, bali silver and turquoise(of course!) My favorite design inspirations include Rachel Ashwell's "Shabby Chic," Frida Kahlo, Teesha Moore, Char Bickel, The Real Nancy Drew and Julie Pearson. Currently, I am also pursuing a Web Developer career, taking classes at the local community college. I hope to keep track of my work from here on out, whether with beads, jewelry, visual journalling, cooking and other mediums. And...I have a weakness for the following: chocolate, footwear, Van Gogh, tools, sparkly anything, bunnies, mermaids, maps, pedicures, vintage wall mirrors, Jane Austin, Greece(though I've never been), autographed cookbooks, vintage ephemera, block optic depression glass and vintage pansy dinnerware...among others.

So a big welcome to you, please comment, share your own works or inspirations, including cooking and food, I love company!