Dance my Angel

Thanks to Karen O'Brien and her classes, this is another altered photograph. I added a black background to the photo and sewed on a few rows of fiber to add a little interest. After stamping on the letters of the poem, I added a little gold thread around the edges...I am pleased with the outcome.

Forever in our Hearts

My partner recently lost her grandma, she was an adopted grandma for the past 40 years. We got a chance to visit her this past July and this was the last picture taken of the two of them. Miss Virginia was one the most real, kind, straight forward and loving women you will ever know. She passed away on her terms and in her sleep at the age of 83. She will be missed.

I hope she would be pleased with the page in my journal book that is just dedicated to her....love you little lady.

Fly any where...

Just finished this page this week and wanted to share it with you. Back in 2004, a few weeks after my divorce, I woke up with the sounds of Canadian Geese flying overhead. With my faithful dog, Sophie, by my side I started to cry, I knew from that day forward, without a shadow of a doubt, I would be fine. I could now start my life as I wanted to, as I saw fit, I could now reinvent myself. I love the spring and fall when the geese fly by my house honking. They remind me that life is short so love, laugh and be happy.

Smudge Pot

This was a find! Mom and I were on our way home when we saw smudge pots for sale, only $5.00...ok, we had to stop and see what they looked like. When we drove up to the orchard, there must have been 40 of those pots just sitting there. Some very burnt and sad, some were good enough to bring home. So we picked up a couple and sent them to be sand blasted. They looked so much better after the sand blasting. Now the question is what do we paint on it? We saw some of these pots painted a while ago at the Rogue Valley International Airport . Some were painted with a pear orchard theme. (Which is where these came out of) Thought I would go to the Internet and see how other people painted their pots. You know, I could only find just a few, just a hand full....ok, you know what this means....HELP! ;o) Guess I will have to figure out something fun. If you have any ideas, I will listen....

First of Many Pages

Since I have finished painting the inside of my journal, thought I would share with you what I have added to the inside of the book. I found some older photos that I thought would be great for an art piece. This picture was of my sister in 1997 before her gastric bypass. As I stared at the photo, I couldn't help but ask, "what was she thinking about?" Knowing I wanted to do something special with it, I reflected back to class I took with Karen O'Brien and how we altered photos. I thought this would be a good photo to try some of the techniques we learned. I am very pleased the way this project turned out. Thank you sister for the inspiration.

My Painted Journal

This is the first time I have painted in a journal. What an experience! Last February, Mom bought me a class for my birthday. She didn't tell me a thing about the class, let it be a surprise, just said she hoped that I would enjoy it. And I did! This was our first (and defiantly NOT last) class we took from Karen O'Brien. We took a book and tore out pages, glued on images and other paper. Whatever you want, glue it....then we painted the pages with acrylic paints. Moving the paint around on the page with an old credit card, disinfectant wipes and paper towels. Let them dry, then added a little more color with oil pastels, watercolor, stamps, gel pens and more paint if needed. This gives a great place to start journaling....I have stayed away from journaling most of me life because, I am not a writer and I get hand cramps! But in looking at others artists work, you don't have to just write like we did when we were in junior high. It is all about art, color, texture, some writing, movement and exploring your world around you. Next, for me comes the "art it up" part of the journey. I now have unique pages to lay my art work.

Rebound Books

Mom's Rebound Books.... recently I bought a book called "Rebound", it has all sorts of books that you can make with objects you have around the house. As mom and I were chatting the other day in her kitchen she was telling that she was going to use the box for art fodder. Remembering the Rebound Book, I suggested that she try the idea in the book. Well, the woman went crazy! I am so proud of her. The Wasabi Book and the Bouquet Garni Book were both that cardboard grey color on the inside, so she painted both and dazzled up the Wasabi. She used oversized envelopes that she received from her art teacher a few years ago. On the Bouquet Garni book, she added some letters to make "soup" to each of the signatures. A simple long stitch to hold the signatures in place. Great job Mom!