Tag Archives: art

Build

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

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I got the very best birthday present this year: a passel of rusty old metal, courtesy of some dear friends and their 140-year old farm. There are nails and screws, washers and springs, hinges and handles, locks and keys: all lovingly hand-picked, colored by history in shades of deep orange and warm red. Who wants a pristine, shiny package when you can have a gift pulled from the clutches of spiders in the back of the barn? To some, all that rust may just seem like tetanus waiting to happen, but to me it is the sweetest kind of treasure.

Maybe I appreciate it all the more because I’m feeling a little bit vintage myself these days. I’m certainly showing some wear (I like to call it “patina”), but I still work hard and have some pretty good stories to tell. If there is beauty in being authentic, then all my creases and chipped edges make me positively radiant. :)

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It was that theme — the value in building a life with layers of wear and age — that inspired my most recent collage. I used my favorite hinge from my collection of vintage bits (yes, I have a favorite hinge) because its dusky blue reminded me of the sky in an old oil painting. I also picked out a few gears and some rusted nails to bundle in twine, then set to work assembling a multimedia landscape.

The background is a 5″x7″ watercolor illustration board painted to look like a piece of worn metal. This was the perfect opportunity to use Sophisticated Finishes, a liquid copper finish that can be custom-antiqued with a selection of blue and green patina solutions. It is little more than chemistry in action, but it gives me a thrill every time I watch a metallic surface fade and oxidize before my eyes.

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The paper pieces are from a 1952 travel magazine highlighting the charms of the midwestern United States, a great fit considering most of the vintage pieces I used hail from Kansas. I snipped and sanded a little balsa wood house, wallpapered with a page from an old hymnal, and set it against a fence made of sculpture wire. The final addition was a grove of stamped, embossed trees.

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There is such an obsession in our culture today with looking younger than we really are, smoothing out our wrinkles and blemishes until our faces have all the interest of a buffed wax floor. I am not sure how having the forehead of a 16-year-old became so important, but I think a society that values appearance above character has just hammered the perfect, shiny nails into its own coffin.

I value wisdom and experience, and that stuff usually comes with the price of aging. I would rather show and feel those years and know I really learned from them, than stay the unwrinkled, unknowing me I was a decade ago. I suppose that line of thinking also makes me sound increasingly vintage, but I don’t mind, because I’ve figured out how much promise that holds.

Waxing poetic

15 Sunday Apr 2012

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Okay, that’s the very last wax pun, I promise. :) I tried encaustics — the art of painting and collage with wax — for the first time a couple of months ago, and I was instantly hooked. I love the depth and texture added to paper and fabric by the waxy, slightly opaque layers of encaustic medium. As a collage enthusiast who owns at least two dozen types of adhesives ranging from hot glue to glaze, tacky tape to epoxy, I am also fascinated by the endless potential for embedding objects in and on beeswax.

March was a fruitful season of learning and growth for my family and I, but it wasn’t one that allowed for much time in the studio. I decided to celebrate my return with a second encaustic piece. As with my first, this one is on a 4″-square piece of watercolor paper mounted on masonite. I made the abstract pastoral background by applying wrinkled plastic wrap to still-wet watercolor washes to add texture and grain. I sketched and cut out a few small paper trees to give the scene a little more depth and detail, then added a bit of yellow patterned cardstock to the center of the sun.

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The final touch was tiny text that reads “keep growing,” snipped from the pages of a 1938 farming magazine. I painted on several coats of encaustic medium, warming the surface with a heat gun between each application to help fuse the layers. After applying the last, I floated a smattering of miniature resin daisies in the hot wax. I love how the liquid wax drifted up and around them, almost enveloping their delicate white petals.

I am already at work on a slightly larger scale encaustic piece, and this time I want to experiment more with achieving patterns in the wax. My studio smells musty and sweet, perfumed by watercolor and heated wax that seems faintly scented of honey. It is how I imagine the inside of a beehive must smell (don’t tell me otherwise — I like the romance), and it makes me feel inspired and busy. More to come!

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Gifts

15 Thursday Mar 2012

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Growing up is hard. (I know this because, at age thirty-mumble, I am still in the midst of the process myself.) My precious teenage son has been feeling those growing pains mightily the last few months. He is a head taller than he was a year ago, but his physical growth has easily been outpaced by the changes required of his spirit, heart, and character. There is much more involved in the transition from boy to young man than buying longer jeans and beginning to care about how your hair looks.

We are both new at this: he’s never been fifteen before, and I’ve never parented a fifteen-year-old. Sometimes I have the advantage of others’ wisdom, gained from friends who are decorated veterans of the teen years, and from books on every subject of teen parenting: loving them and being loved by them; exploring their gifts and learning the challenges that are part of those gifts; setting appropriate boundaries and knowing when to bend so we don’t break. But just as often, I am making it up as I go along. I am treading carefully and prayerfully, encouraged by the company and guidance of my sweet husband, but I am absolutely winging it.

Since my own imperfection has long been established, it is no surprise that there are days when I mess up; I over-correct and underestimate, I raise my voice and don’t spend enough time on my knees. But I am trying my best to be present, to be thoughtful, to be unconditionally loving, to make the most of the fact that I am alive and able to do this because I recognize that is no small victory. And it is important to me that in the midst of all this correction and guidance, my firstborn remembers how very gifted and treasured he is. He has a set of grace-given talents and qualities that give him incredible potential, and I wanted to create something concrete that would remind him of those. The pages in this little art journal are the size of playing cards, but they are meant to communicate a big message.

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The envelope in the front contains a personal note to my son, letting him know how special he is to me and how much I appreciate him. It seemed only logical to embrace the growth theme with this art journal, so I used a lot of earth tones and nature imagery. The pages themselves are untreated canvas that I dry-brushed with acrylic paint before layering on rectangles of paper printed with trees, branches, and leaves.

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If there is one thing this journey to adulthood is about, it is embracing and understanding your imperfection. I tried to honor that in my design choices for the journal. I stayed away from perfect corners, hand-cutting the small squares of paper I used as decoration. I also left the edges of the canvas raw so they could fray with handling. (This is not meant as a subtle reference to my nerves, I promise.) I finished the pages by aging them unevenly with tea-colored ink and a little bit of sanding with fine grit sandpaper.

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In the future, I hope this mini-journal reminds my adult son of how those teen years turned out pretty well in the end. For now, I hope it shows him that even on the hardest days, in the midst of all this compromise and growth, it is my great privilege to be his mom.

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Storms

25 Saturday Feb 2012

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Is anyone else having one of those days? Actually, I think I’m having one of those weeks, the “when it rains it pours” kind that make me want to yell in frustration or stomp my feet, quite possibly both at the same time. For my family and those dearest to us, there have been more challenges than usual lately — many of them the wail-prompting, tear-stirring variety. These are not training-wheels sorts of days, these are all about wobbling and swerving while we try to keep our balance.

I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about things like yummy cheesecake brownies and delicate origami flowers, caramels from scratch and handmade valentines, and I really love making all of it. Creating keeps me aware and joyful, and it nourishes my body and mind. But I just want to be sure I am clear that these things are not born of a frivolous, unhurried life. My bookshelf holds dozens of beautiful art books, but right now I’m reading Boundaries with Teens; my calendar holds the promise of lunch with friends this weekend, but it also has appointments with the dentist and pediatric cardiologist. For me, cooking and crafting are ways of celebrating both the plenty and the drought and the lessons I learn from both.

I made the watercolor sketch above because it says what my words cannot manage right now. The corner of it tore when I ripped it from my sketchbook, and I think that feels just right, too. No matter the frustration or obstacles today might bring, whether these hours feel overwhelmingly full or acutely empty, I am prayerfully hopeful for you and me. With that in mind, I have my next few posts planned about lovely things like almond granola parfaits and collages with cork and batik fabric. I am enjoying my time preparing them, and I am excited to share what I’m doing with you, even when times are not simple for either of us.

Origami Photo Cube

10 Friday Feb 2012

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cubemain

Remember the ubiquitous 1970s acrylic photo cube? It had a clear plastic outer layer and a spongy cube in the center, between which you could slide five of your favorite snapshots for fashionable, easy display. My grandparents had one in their living room, and I remember twirling it from one side to the next to look at the pictures over and over again, as if they might change on the next turn.

My favorite photo in the cube was of my grandpa and I: he resplendent in a silvery blue leisure suit, I perched on his lap in my favorite Snoopy shirt. He was a gentle, charming man with brilliant white hair and thick-rimmed glasses, and I was a preschooler with blonde ringlets and a ready, crooked smile. He loved to tell cheesy jokes, and I loved to hear them… we were a good match.

Twenty years later, at his passing, I found the same photo cube sitting on the side table. The colors in the picture were faded to shades of green and umber, but he was still there, with the same smiling, twinkling eyes. I wish I had kept that photo cube; I wish I had known things like that would matter so much more some day.

I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic when I saw a photo cube project in Trash Origami. Unlike the original, this one is made entirely of paper, but it is the same concept. In the origami version, the inner structure of the cube is formed from six photo-size pieces of thick paper — I opted for cardstock scraps, but you could easily use old postcards. A few simple folds layer them together without any adhesive.

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The cube’s outer layer is made from folded photographs which serve to lock the structure in place. I used 4″x6″ prints from our visit to a San Diego botanical garden this fall. I thought it would make for a welcome bright spot in the midst of my husband’s thoroughly taupe cubicle. I love the variety of textures and colors the plants provide, but the cube could just as easily display snapshots of a new baby, honeymoon pics of the newlyweds, or photos of you and your sweetheart for a custom valentine.

Best of all, it could even preserve a moment of laughter shared between grandfather and granddaughter. And although some day soon the clothes in the pictures and the technology used to capture them will again be obsolete, the memories never will. These jokes are for you, Daddy R.E. :)

Two atoms are walking along when one suddenly says to the other, “I’ve just lost one of my electrons!”
“Are you sure?” asks his buddy.
“Yes,” replies the first atom. “I’m positive.”

How do you make a Venetian blind?
Poke him in the eye.

What do you call a fish without eyes?
A fsh.

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Trash to Treasure

25 Wednesday Jan 2012

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The amount of daily junkmail that finds its way to our mailbox is unfathomable to me, and whether I toss it in the trash or recycling bin, I still always feel a twinge of regret. Paper is one of my favorite things, and it seems so wrong to have pages and pages of the stuff pass through my hands for mere moments before being relegated to the incinerator. It’s not the trees’ fault that coupons for carpet cleaning and sports bars landed at the home of someone with laminate floors and food allergies.

Enter my recycling bin’s new best friend, Trash Origami: 25 Paper Folding Projects Reusing Everyday Materials by Michael G. LaFosse. I love this book because it gives me a creative, fun way to make use of life’s flotsam, and it was clearly written by someone who cares that his reader succeeds. The instructions are clear and well-diagrammed, and unlike many origami books, there are full-color pictures of every project so you know exactly what you’re working toward. Even better, the book includes a DVD that shows an artist folding all of the projects, so you are virtually guaranteed to be able to finish what you start.

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There is a great deal of flexibility in terms of materials, although some projects ask for a specific type of paper recyclable, i.e. candy wrappers, potato chip bags, or magazine subscription cards. Paper and nimble fingers are really all that’s required, although a ruler and sharp cutting tool are handy for trimming paper as needed. I also use a bone folder, a tool used to press down and get good, strong creases. (And, yes, it is actually made of bone. You can handle that three ways: revel in holding a tool originally conceived thousands of years ago; celebrate the macabre, gothic nature of crafting art with a bone; or just ignore it and pretend it’s plastic. ;)

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As a book-lover, I am ashamed to admit that the first thing I usually do after purchasing a hardcover book is toss the dust jacket. (At least for books in the studio — my cookbooks need all the protection they can get. :) In the spirit of Trash Origami, I decided to make my first project out of the book’s dust jacket instead of throwing it away; in a further boost to the existentialist symmetry of the thing, I chose the craft pictured on the cover, a Curler Ball.

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After cutting the dust jacket into a dozen 4″-squares, I folded and curled each according to the directions. Each of those twelve units was then linked by the curls to make four larger units, then those four were linked again to make the finished curled paper sphere. The final assembly step gave me pause, but with the help of the book’s illustrations and a little experimentation, I got it. I am utterly fascinated by how such a detailed structure can be formed without any cutting or adhesive.

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The Curler Ball is one of the most complex projects in the book and took about an hour start-to-finish, but others are accomplished in a few minutes, so it’s all about what items and time you have available. Trash Origami is accessible for any age, although very young children will obviously need a helping hand. Paper folding is a great trick to have up your sleeve for any unexpected wait (with or without kids), whether it’s in a restaurant reception area or the doctor’s office. Add to that the ability to work with the lunch receipt from your pocket or the month-old grocery list at the bottom of your purse, and you’ve got a real winner.

I am a complete documentary geek, so I cannot write about origami without mentioning the film Between the Folds, especially since one of the movie’s featured artists also contributed projects to Trash Origami. My family and I were as riveted by the film’s amazing creations and the art and science behind them as we were by the interviews with the offbeat, genius paper-folders who made them. Beyond the Folds is available to rent and stream on Netflix, and after seeing the potential that paper holds, it’s impossible not to want to dive in yourself. You can find out more and see excerpts at the film’s web site.

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Creativity

15 Sunday Jan 2012

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You will never hear a child say, “I’m just not creative.” That declaration is reserved entirely for adults. Why? I don’t think we really mean we are incapable of imagining or making something new. But sometimes it is hard to separate being creative from how others will perceive our creations. The older we get, the more we feel the pressure of measuring up, and the weight of such expectation can stop us in our tracks.

I am certainly not immune — if anything, it might be the opposite. I have always been the artsy type, but I still have to make a deliberate decision to be creative. It gives me pause every time I am about to hit the “publish” button on this blog or show someone my most recent painting. I can do it only when I remember that, for me, the value of creativity is found in processing, sharing, and encouraging, of putting joy above judgement. (If I had named this blog “created for success,” it would probably be empty. :)

And I still have so much to learn… the little tree pictured above is proof of that. It is made out of humble materials — a toilet paper tube, copy paper, a bit of recycled gift wrap and some glitter glue — but it is such a mighty statement about the power of creativity. It was made by an inmate named Shannon at the Tennessee Prison for Women. It encourages me so much to know she found a way to be creative with limited resources, in the midst of circumstances that could easily foster only anger and despair.

Shannon believes passionately in the hope and possibility that come from creativity, and she pursues that passion and encourages others in it, despite where she is. What a beautiful reminder that being creative is not about showing off, it’s about showing up. Shannon’s art proves that imagination and inspiration exist outside of our imperfection, and I am so grateful for that.

Clockwork Cthulhu

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

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cthuluhumain

I made all the holiday gifts I gave to grown-ups this year, and these three polymer clay miniatures were without doubt the most fun to construct. I made one each for my husband and two close friends, all of whom like Steampunk and the work of H.P. Lovecraft. For those of you not on that particular bandwagon, be warned: you may feel yourself growing geekier as I explain. ;)

Lovecraft was a prolific horror fiction author from New England who lived in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Cthulhu is one of his monsters of the deep, a sort of winged cephalopod with a few human cousins somewhere on the family tree. Cthulhu is one of Lovecraft’s most beloved creations and has gone on to inspire a whole range of modern fiction and film. (I personally attribute his popularity to those charming tentacles.) Of course little did Lovecraft know, he wasn’t even scratching the surface — have you seen the stuff that actually lives in the deepest parts of the ocean? (Don’t get me started on that episode of Blue Planet with the anglerfish…)

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On to our second geeky definition: Steampunk is a science fiction sub-genre based on a sort of anachronistic alternate future, modeled after Victorian England’s technology. Just picture our society as a Victorian might have imagined it — steam-powered, clockwork-driven, and founded on the principle that everyone wears hats and gloves at all times. Jules Verne wearing goggles + metal gears + computers = Steampunk.

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I love working with vintage materials and I appreciate a vivid literary imagination, so these projects were a good fit. I decided to blend the two genres and create captured, clockwork Cthulhus, so I emptied out my jar of pocketwatch parts, grabbed a pack of glow-in-the-dark Fimo, and got to work. I really enjoyed crafting the tiny clay miniatures, brushing them with mica powder, and posing them in their new habitats.

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I am such a sucker for anything luminescent, and I spent as much time sitting in the dark watching these glow as I did actually sculpting. :) The smallest Chtulhu is about an inch high and spends his life inside a pocketwatch case. The other two measure about 2″ and 4″ across and make their homes in vintage mainspring advertising tins. I used tiny old screws, cogs, and rivets to add a little extra Steampunk flair.

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While studio time is often both cathartic and challenging for me, the hours spent on these were just plain old, inventive fun. They were also a great exercise in using what I already had on hand to create what I had in mind. I vow not to stop here, and there are definitely more tiny clay creatures in my future. I’m thinking a tiny jar of miniature, glow-in-the-dark, mechanical fireflies…

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If you’re interested in making your own Steampunk creations, you might check out Steampunkery: Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Projects by Christi Friesen. Her design sense is a bit different from mine but wholly inspiring nonetheless, and she has a fantastic sense of humor. It’s a great starting point, especially if you’re new to the world of polymer clay. Happy Steampunking!

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Truth Rocks

18 Sunday Dec 2011

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Art represents both communication and restoration for me. It helps me revel in the joy of every beautiful, blessed breath I take today. It also allows me to explore and share the hardest parts of yesterday, so that I can grieve my losses and discover the goodness that will undoubtedly come from them.

To me, art is also about relationships, about voicing the feelings and truths that might otherwise go unexpressed. I love that both my children are artistically inclined in their own ways, and I treasure the artwork they share with me; every piece is like a little window into how they feel, what they think, and who they are. Kids are complicated, always changing and questioning and becoming, and I value the glimpses of clarity their art provides.

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A few months ago I wandered on to an art site called Brave Girls Club, and the name alone was enough to win me over. It is run by a pair of sisters whose main focus is art classes that give girls and women opportunity for creative fun while encouraging some real soul-searching, honest reflection. When I saw they were hosting a three-week on-line art retreat for mothers and daughters, I knew it was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. My daughter was equally excited about the prospect of making art and memories together, so we signed up and gathered our supplies.

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Each week there are new projects with how-to videos, detailed directions, and pdf’s to print out. Last week, we made Truth Rocks. Brave Girls Club provided gorgeous little inspirational phrases, which we printed and cut out, then decoupaged on to the backs of large glass pebbles. The last step was to cover each one with polymer clay; I also stamped mine for texture and brushed on metallic mica dust to give them a little shine.

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I love the sentiments the Truth Rocks express, and there is something so special about reading them, about holding a small piece of something real and beautiful in your hand. It has been touching and more than a little revealing to discover how my daughter perceives me, what needs she senses and what strengths she values.

I appreciate this kind of focused quality time with her, and it also gives me a bit of peace to know she is carrying away something concrete to show her how I feel. An 11-year-old girl’s memory might get hazy with time, and I won’t always be around to tell her how greatly she is valued and loved; but I know the art projects we’ve made in the last few weeks will keep on echoing those important truths.

Mobile Art

13 Sunday Nov 2011

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I am a lifelong, card-carrying member of the Cut-and-Paste Club (Platinum Kindergartner level — and, yes, I made the card myself). I was sold from the moment the five-year-old me unfolded a little wedge of paper and discovered that all those pleats and snips had created a big, beautiful snowflake.

So you can imagine my excitement at discovering Mobile Art: Papers, Designs, and Instructions for Twenty Stunning Mobiles. So far I’ve made a charming Matryoshka doll mobile (picture above from the book), and it was surprisingly quick and simple. If you’ve got twenty minutes, a pair of sharp scissors, glue, and twine, then you’ve got a piece of art. Some of the mobiles are whimsical, some seasonally-themed, and some distinctly Calder in design. Simple shapes and colors reign, but the subjects range from cupcakes, to abstract mod shapes, to peas in a pod.

As a paper-crafting geek, I actually have opinions about adhesives and cutting tools. (Just smile and nod.) For the projects in this book, I love EKTools Honey Bee Scissors: they’re small, sharp, and have non-stick coated blades so you can cut tape and stickers with impunity. My adhesive of choice for these mobiles is Weldbond, a thick, white glue that will stick anything to anything — and believe me, I’ve tried. Mosaic tiles to the top of a dishwasher, floral napkins to desk shelves, glass beads to a Gibson guitar, wire limbs to a tree made from books… sticking twine to paper is a gimme for this stuff.

I’d love to see a link to your favorite cut-and-paste project in the comments section. Next on my list is a mobile shaped like a tree limb, with birds and leaves suspended from it. I think it will look great brightening up a corner of our homeschool classroom. :)