I love Goodreads.  It allows me to track the books I've read which is helpful since I read a lot of series.  Sometimes I have to wait quite awhile for the next book in a series to come out.  Goodreads lets me look at my list to see where I left off.  And I get some great ideas for new books and authors to read from this site.  Today I discovered that it also allows me to keep of list of my favorite quotes from books.  Some I'll use in making art journal pages.  Some are just good fodder for life.  Here's one I just saved today:

Diana’s quotes

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."— Anaïs Nin

Goodreads Quotes

And this is a doodle page I did a couple months ago.  Many thanks to good friend, Dianne Bishop Carey for showing me how she creates wonderful full page doodles using watercolors, acrylics and ink!

Clearprint Cross Country Art Project

I'm not usually a joiner, but something about this simple collaborative project piqued my interest a few months ago.  Hmmm - maybe the lure of a free vellum book if you contribute...... The coordinator at Chartpak (the mfgr. of Clearprint) added me to their waiting list and a traveling journal arrived about 3 weeks ago.  Right before Artiscape. So, I had to postpone my contribution until the following weekend.  I'm really glad now it worked that way because it allowed me to use some of the acrylic paint stenciling techniques I learned from Carolyn Dube in one of my classes.  (If you ever get a chance to take a class with her, do it!  Fun, upbeat, positive and very empowering plus a whole new look at how to use stencils.) 

The collaborative art project is done in a Clearprint Vellum book. Vellum was a new experience for me.  I knew from the start that I wanted to take advantage of the transparency of the paper and create something two-sided.  There was some really beautiful art in this book - a bit intimidating for an amateur like me - but I'm happy with my result.  Be sure to go to the Clearprint site to view all the project books.

FRONT                                                                                         

My take on the vellum?  It is a neat material to work on.  I like the transparency of it and can think of other fun things it would be good for.  I would love to have a nice small journal of it - maybe 3" x 5" or 5" x 7".  But the 1000H vellum in this collaborative project is very lightweight and probably not best suited to wet media (but it did hold up under about 5 coats of acrylic!). The books come perfect-bound, so the binding doesn't weather the handling by the 20+ artists and so the pages are mostly loose now.  I do love the material the book has for it's covers - much sturdier weight of vellum and still transparent.  Would like to see that weight throughout the book with maybe, a spiral binding.

  BACK

Good Memories and If....

I've been dreaming about my mom and dad a lot lately.  Maybe it means I'm finally beginning to accept that he is truly gone.  Or that I am more at peace about it anyway.  I recently tried my hand at sketching Dad from a photograph I have of him - just a snapshot really - but it is one of my favorites because he is so happy in it.  I wish I could capture him better, but it's a passable likeness.  Definitely from a time when he was a picture of health.  A good time to remember.

 

I also wanted to share the following "glance into me" that was Inspired by Lisa Jordan and her post today.  If I were, as I feel today.  Funny, as I post this here on my blog, I realize that each line starts with "If" - and that is the name of the poem which is my last answer too. Maybe a message to me today to remember that anything is possible, If only....

If you join in too, let me know in the comments please, so I can read all about your "ifs".....

 

 

 

 If I were a month I’d be October.

If I were a day I'd be Halloween!

If I were a time of day I'd be mornings.

If I were an animal I'd be baby bunny..

If I were a direction I'd be "You can do anything if you try!".

If I were a piece of furniture I'd be a feather bed..

If I were a liquid I'd be yellow green fluid acrylic.

If I were a gemstone I'd be an opal..

If I were a tree I'd be a Japanese Maple..

If I were a tool I'd be a watercolor brush.

If I were a flower I'd be lavender.

If I were an element of nature I'd be lightning.

If I were a musical instrument I'd be a flute..

If I were a color I'd be bright yellow-green.

If I were an emotion I'd be hopeful.

If I were a fruit I'd be a red raspberry.

If I were a sound I'd be the peepers on a summer night.

If I were an element I'd be cobalt.

If I were a car I'd be a white Sebring convertible..

If I were a food I'd be fresh asparagus.

If I were a place I'd be my Gramma's house.

If I were a material I'd be angora.

If I were a taste I'd be sweet.

If I were a scent I'd be bergamot.

If I were a body part I'd be a brain.

If I were a song I'd be "In the Tower of London" sung by my family.

If I were a bird I'd be a hummingbird.

If I were a gift I'd be a jackpot lottery ticket.

If I were a city I'd be a city where my sister lives closer to us.

If I were a door I'd be a set of French doors.

If I were a pair of shoes I'd be worn in Oz - ruby-colored of course!

If I were a poem I'd be "If" by Rudyard Kipling..

 

 

 

 IF
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!


Rudyard Kipling

Stamp Storage Idea

from:  http://papergoddess.typepad.com 

I'll have to adjust spacing to fit the Stampin' Up clear cases that I store all my unmounted stamps in currently, but I love the idea of using the crate and the dowel rods for shelves.

Stamps stored in clear acrylic photo frames (8.5" x 11"), that fit perfectly into the wooden crates sold at Michaels. Each stamp drawer labeled by theme. Drilled holes into crates & filled with two 1/4” dowels to make each “shelf”. Glued in. Sand off. Space 5" apart horizontally. 2” apart vertically. Can fit 7 rows of dowels in each crate – space for eight 8-1/2" x 11" drawers each crate. 

"Real" books - and their value

 It amazes me how differently people think on this subject.  Many people are shocked or incensed that artists are "altering" books that had a previous lives.  Lives that had ended for one reason or another.  I can see the value of all books.  I think the biggest difference for me is that I feel - and have seen it happen - that so many books don't have any value any longer to libraries or even individuals – usually because of wear, but sometimes because they were a text book or manual that now has been replaced by updated data in a later edition. I feel good though, that I can and have, saved old books from being discarded in a land fill.  And then I’ve used them in altered books and journals – giving them a new life – an extended life.  So why is this type of recycling a bad thing?   Hmmmm.  Not thinking it is. 

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a snob about books now.  Ever since I actually made some books myself, hand sewn and bound with leather utilizing a number of very old bookbinding methods.  Man has found new and better and faster and cheaper ways to print books in mass quantities with very little that is recognizable of the beauty of what I call a REAL book.  A book that feels and looks and smells just awesome.  One that is sewn together of full folios rather than individually cut pages that are simply glued on one edge.  In some of my handmade books, I’ve written quotes and brief thoughts .  Some I’ve used for sketches and little paintings.   

Not being a writer, my books will never have the same wide readership that a truly authored book has, but I think they are books just the same.  And completely made my own hands and heart .  And yes, I hope they last for many years to come – maybe my descendants will love them too.  But I also recognize that at some point my books will also fall apart and be relegated to a landfill.  But that is ok with me because I know, that means they will have been looked at and read and enjoyed and the hands that touched them were a part of the aging process. And their lives as a result were coming to an end.  But how much sadder if they had just sat on a bookshelf or in a case and never been enjoyed?!  And maybe, if I’m really lucky, some part of my book will still be useable and some kind soul will give it new life by adding to it or altering it so it can go on and have yet another useful life. A sort of book immortality! Ha-ha!
 

 

I love the written word and am a voracious reader.  I'm in awe of the great skill it takes to write a good story or poem.  And I admire how brave a person must be to share their innermost thoughts with the whole world when they write.  But why does it have to come down to an either or situation?  Why can't altered books, art books, and truly authored books co-exist?  For that matter, it seems to me that many who have said how they rue the advent of the e-book are also the same people who are, themselves using electronic media to share their written words and thoughts.  Blogs, Facebook, on-line publications, e-journals, etc.  I think there must be a place for it all and that eventually, hopefully, all the options will settle out into their own little niches and co-exist happily.  Each one contributing to the enjoyment and education of the people who choose them.  And then they lived happily ever after.  The End.  (oh yes, I'm also a romantic! - ha-ha!)

If you'd like to read my sister Carrie's thoughts on this subject (she's the true writer in the family and we're so proud of her - go here to see her blog and her post on this topic:   http://carrieryman.blogspot.com/2012/08/altering-path-of-dying-book.html

Found this on Pinterest - so true. I will always remember that my Dad DID kill spiders for me!
And also that he teased and tormented me about them first!  Yes....my family is a little sick like that....but way fun too!  Thanks Dad!

Needle Punching Inspiration

I bought a needlepunch tool about 3 yrs. ago and still have not used it.  One of those impulse purchases that I'm sometimes guilty of making.  Sigh.  Today I was cruising through some of my favorite artist blogs and found the little hearts shown here at Gollywobbles (even love the blog name!).  So now I am inspired to get out my tool and try my hand at this - finally!  Thank you to Sam (antha?) Johnson for the kick in the butt!

4 Generations

We in Ohio have been blessed with really good weather for a change.  We have not had much snow at all, other than a tiny dusting here and there - that is - until today.  Today I think we got nearly 10" and there is supposed to be a little more on the way.  It is January after all.  But somehow I had this irrational hope that it would hold off until, oh, say...about APRIL!  And then, be SPRING!  Ha-ha!

I've had a lot of little changes in my life this fall and have had to come to terms with some health issues, but overall, I'm a very lucky lady.  And I even found a little time to make some art before Christmas - most of which was gifted to others.  I did the little 8" x 8" painting here - done in acrylics and mixed media.  I gave it to my sister Carrie (who is a writer) and while it isn't an accurate snapshot of the women in our family, it is perhaps more "representational" of them.  I really love that primitive, flat-dimensioned look of the paintings done in the early 1800's so was going for that sort of look, but they were meant to depict, L-R, back row - my mom Patricia Louise Strachan Ryman, her mom, Mildred Elizabeth Irvin Strachan and HER mom, Carrie Minerva Mitchell Irvin.  The front row is, L-R - my sisters, Cynthia Lea Ryman Newsome and Carrie Ann Ryman and me, Diana Louise Ryman.  It was a lot of fun to work on and I think my sweet sis really liked it.

In 2012 I'm hoping to focus on more de-cluttering of my art stash, painting a room or two in the house and the more fun type of painting - on canvas.  I've always admired the looser, more "painterly" style some artists such as Mystele and Sharon Tomlinson, achieve.  So I plan to teach myself how to paint this way too.  I feel like my work is too up-tight and controlled.  One of my friends, Jean Field, recently suggested that I "use a larger brush" to help me achieve this look, so I'll start there.  Sounds so simple, doesn't it?  Ha! Wish me luck!

Enough is enough!

Have you ever had to have "the talk" with yourself?  No - not the S-E-X talk.  The S-T-U-F-F talk is what I mean.  That's when you have to tell yourself (sometimes repeatedly) that you have enough STUFF already and you don't need another pencil, pen, tube of paint, bit of ephemera, or whatever the stuff happens to be at the moment.  I've had this talk with myself over and over this year.  Expenses are higher, income is smaller (lost my PT income).  But the real breaking point for me is there is just no more space to put the stuff I keep bringing into this house!  And I live alone in a 3 BR house with a huge attic and full basement so there just is no excuse for this.  Also driving this new clarity for me is that I've been working all year, a little at a time, on cleaning out parts of my parents home in preparation for selling it.  I'm seeing the detritus of 50+ years in one home and while I'm tickled to find things my mom saved, like our letters to Santa, written 40 yrs or more ago, there are things that I'm wading through that just didn't have to be saved all these years.  Like every bill they ever paid.  Like every old DayTimer filler from 30 yrs. of business calendaring.  All this sorting through the bits of a lifetime is making me take a long hard look at my own home and the things I choose to save.  And, as  I discovered this afternoon, when I removed the cartoon-y band aid from the site of my flu shot, and I thought - "hmmm - I should use this in a journal layout - it would be cool to have this little bit of my DNA immortalized along with my thoughts for the day" - then I realized, ok kid, you definitely have gone OVER the edge if you are thinking about keeping a used band aid as fodder for artwork!  Yes, I know - EVERYTHING can be recycled or upcycled and everything is fair game for our artistic creations.  But enough is enough!  So tonight I am having "the talk" with myself, yet again.  Sigh.  I'd be interested in hearing how (or where) you draw the line on the "stuff" you choose to keep for your art.

Come join the fun! New Directory of Artists

Sadly, Artsee Bloggers, an innovative concept to gather art bloggers together in one place with links to all our various art blogs, is closing down tomorrow due to the need for the wonderful creator, Geri Centonze, to attend to family matters.  I know what that is like and how those things can pop up with little or no notice.  Seems like so many more of my friends are dealing with parent-related care needs every year.  It's the age we have reached, I suspect.  Which translates to a certain age of our parents. Anyway, a big thanks to Geri for coming up with this great idea and many good thoughts and prayers are sent her way!  The good news is that another artist, Marcia Beckett, has taken up the idea and begun another directory of the same nature.  It is called Artists in Blogland.  I haven't seen a "had matter" yet, but it's early days!  Tea party anyone?  Gosh I'm silly tonight!  If you'd like to list your art blog on the directory - or if you'd just like a cool place to scope out a bunch of amazing art blogs check it out!

Been Painting Again...

June 2011 - 8 x 8 canvas

I started this little canvas about 2 months ago and didn't get time to touch it again until this last weekend.  I really had a nice weekend and enjoyed the relaxation of no tv, no computer, just hours and hours of painting in a couple of sessions.  I was inspired by a painting I watched artist Sharon Tomlinson paint.  She does such a good job with faces and mine sure need some work.  I followed her method of applying text from a book as a base, then gluing down pics of flowers from gardening catalogs to surround the central area.  Then I sketched in the woman shown.  Everything, including the flowers are painted over with acrylic paints.  Not too sure my flowers look like they did originally, but having a picture to start with gives you a range of colors and some placement.  If you get time, go watch some of Sharon's YouTube videos on "Morning Art".  She has a gentle voice and does a great job of showing her process step by step.

Some Time Ago....

Prompt - Shine

Prompt - Portals

Prompt - Fairies

Prompt - Haiku

Prompt - Hearts

....my Ohio art group "Art Gang Ohio" decided to do a project.  This was for 2010.  We decided we'd each create a piece of art based upon a word prompt for that month.  There were supposed to be 10 in all and I think I made it through about 5 of them before LIFE interfered.  We had also decided that we'd try to get our group project published, so toward that end, we agreed not to post any of our pieces until the project was complete since the magazines, etc. don't like for your work to have been seen online or anywhere else before they publish it themselves.  One of our awesome members, Lou McCulloch did indeed get us published  - a group picture of a number of our creations in an issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors!  This was a fun project and I'm sorry I didn't finish all the months of it.  But it did remind me that I don't do my best work when I have to produce on a schedule or along someone else's themes.  I have enough structure in my life otherwise  and find I really love the freedom that I have in making art - in just starting out with perhaps a color or a piece of something or other that inspires me. And then letting the work take me where it will.    Anyway - I've wanted to get my completed projects posted here to my own blog. Hope you see something that maybe inspires you too!

CPS - Muse Flash - Art Gang Ohio Projects

March Journal Spread

Yea!  This is the last spread in this journal.  It only took me 3 years and 2 months to finish!  I do jump around a lot - trying a little of this and a little of that, so I get to experience different types and formats of art along the way, but it is hell when it comes to actually FINISHING things!  So other than doing the covers for this journal, which I like to leave for last - this book is done.

This is another "a la Teesha" spread.  Lots of fun to do and all the pen work is very relaxing.
I am not a very laid back artist - guess I'm wound too tightly for that - but I admire the fun and freedom that comes through in Teesha's work.  Check her out here.

February Journal Pages

It's been quite a while since I've posted.  Much going on with my father and he has just recently moved into an assisted living facility.  Lots of changes but he is doing very well with it all and accepting everything with a lot of grace. Thankfully.

I have squeezed in a little bit of art - much of it a few minutes at a time on my lunch hours - sitting in the car - listening to a book on tape.

I started this little journal in January 2008 and this set of pages is the next to last ones in the book.  As you can see, I'm enamored of the Teesha Moore style of journaling right now so just had to try my hand at some pages.  I love the bright, funky colors and the sort of humorous and edgy way of depicting things, but most of all I love the use of pens for writing, lettering, drawing and doodling.  

Art at KSU

 I just had to share this. KSU has a brand new performing arts theatre that will have it's grand opening later in October. In the lobby of the theatre is currently being installed, a commissioned work from Cleveland artist, Olga Ziemska.  I think I read that the funding came from an Ohio arts grant.  You just have to look at her blog - Olga Ziemska - and see the pictures - most from her studio - of this work in progress this summer.  Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page because there are some "other" posts in the middle. This artist worked with dance & theatre students here at Kent State to pose for the outlines of the figures. She is using some gorgeous pictures of Northern Lights as her inspiration for movement and color. Each figure is cut from a sheet of clear acrylic. She evidently raided our KSU photo archive for the pictures our photographers have taken over the years of students, plays, dance performances, events around the campus, and anything else she found that was colorful and depicted life and art at the university. Ziemska is using five sizes of clear acrylic cabochons and adhering pieces of the photographs to the flat sides of each cab. Then the acrylic figures are filled with waves of the colorful cabachons to complete each piece. The figures will be laid out along a wall in the lobby of the theatre. It's hard to tell from the photos, but I suspect she is going to use some sort of suspension system and maybe, I hope, back lighting. It will be interesting to see how this artist completes this installation.  I can't believe that those figures would just be screwed to the yellow wall, but that's just me.   I may go over to the theatre on my lunch hour Monday to see the progress of the installation. Our dept. photographers are taking pictures of the process too. For some reason, this work is just speaking to me and  I can't wait to see it finished. Of course, all those luscious blues and greens and purples are right up my alley! Enjoy!

A little Journaling

Wow - it's been quite a while since I posted anything.  Busy, busy.  Plus any art I've had time to do has pretty much been for an art group project we have going this year that is sort of secret for now.  More on that in a few months....

I did take some time recently to work on the last two pages in a little art journal - altered book that I'd started two years ago and never quite finished.  I really enjoy the style of journaling that Teesha Moore teaches so thought I'd give that a try on these pages. It really is a relaxing way of working - no planning ahead of time.  Just brushing on some acrylic paint for the background and when that's dry, adding some strips cut from various magazine pages to make the border.  Add a little shading with some of the newish Pan Pastels and a focal figure - made up of several different pictures from magazines.  I added a saying I'm fond of and a lot of doodling with my milky pens to add the finishing touches.  I really like the result and think I'll try another page or two or three...what do you think?

Assemblage gift

 My first try at some assemblage.  I'd had this in mind as a gift for a special friend for some time - and had laid out the various pieces on my desk in the basement studio, but just never got around to completeing it.  My friend Gina's 30th birthday this month was the prod I needed to get it done.  And my fledgling experience recently with making cold connection rivets with copper wire helped me assemble it.  You need to know about some of the components - the antique brass stencil G, the metal stamped "IRON" and the 20 and 15 that are part of the ruler "arms" are a nod to Gina's blog IronG 2015.  Gina is a triathalete and is in training for the 2015 Ironman.  Whoa!  Pretty big goal - and I have no doubt that she will make it!  Back to the assemblage - see her crown?  It is supposed to be a cupcake.  Yeah - hard to believe that a hardcore athlete like Gina has a cupcake addiction, but she does!  But she is really good and after eating the cupcakes (unlike me) SHE goes out and runs it off!  The little legs are from a computer board scavenged for me by a friend at work and cut on my bandsaw.  I'm betting Craftsman never thought their saw would be used for some of the whacky things that I cut with it!  Anyway, it was lots of fun to make and Gina got a kick out of it so I'm a happy camper.  Hmmm....I have a bunch of those brass stencils......

What a nice way to start the New Year!

My friend Dawn (from Art Girl Designs) and I played with some metalsmithing on New Year's Day and we each finished one pendant.  What a fun time to be able to relax, visit, experiment and learn from one another as we worked on this new medium.  We'd both been collecting tools, sheets of metal and all the other bits and bobs needed.  We'd each invested in a good DVD to get us started and took our time watching and reviewing before getting started.  I'll let Dawn show you her beautiful pendant on her blog.

 

The sort of oval pendant in the photo here, that has the vintage picture, was my first piece.  I learned some things I wanted to try:  making rivets with a piece of copper wire, texturing the metal, and cutting a frame using the jeweler's saw.  The most valuable lesson though was the one hardest earned - if you want to add a chemical patina, that should probably be done before you start to rivet the layers together!  Duh!  It makes it tough to do once a photograph is in place, but I did manage to add a bit of liver of sulfer using a Q-tip.  

The second, more rectangular necklace is one I did a day later, on my own, but still using some of the same techniques.  On Dawn's advice I bought some hardware cloth - the one used was the 1/8" grid - and by pounding, was able to create a nice gridded texture on the copper.  I played with the metal letter stamps I've had for years and never used once (adhering nicely to my New Year's resolution to begin using stuff I already own!) to create the word "LIVE" on the little brass piece.  Then held the copper and brass layers together with copper wire rivets.  I decided I wanted to add some more brass, so drilled holes and inserted the tiny little brass hardware I had bought from Volcano Arts some time ago.  I can't wait to play some more!

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I know. I'm a couple days late. Oh well, better late than never, I say. I started this little painting two weeks before the holiday with the intent of making it into a print for cards for family and friends. But circumstances changed and I invited the whole family to my place for Trick or Treating. It suddenly hit me that that meant I'd best get my butt in gear and CLEAN my house - not to mention finishing some projects outside before the cold weather sets in. So my little paint got set aside and wasn't finished until Nov. 1 after all the festivities were but a memory. It was a sketch first, then I washed the background with watercolor and finished all the details with acrylic paints. Every one of these little paintings teaches me a thing or two about how the paint works, and about how to control it better. Also I still need to learn a lot more about shading. But I'm getting better each time, I think. Guess I'll be ready for Halloween next year! It was fun to do it and am now thinking of images I can draw and paint for a little Christmas scene.

Doodle Bug Squirrel

Yes, I'm still squirrely! Kent State University's 100 year anniversary will be kicked off at homecoming on October 10 this year. For anyone who's been around the Kent, Ohio campus, you'll know that black squirrels are a beloved icon there. So we've mounted a squirrel decorating contest to help celebrate. There are two sizes of squirrels - 30" and 8". My contribution - "doodlebug squirrel" is one of the smaller size. It was doodled using a fine point enamel paint pen. I just had to get my ladybugs in there somehow. Can't wait to see the other entries! If you're in the area, be sure to stop by Tailgate Alley at the Dix Stadium from 1 pm - 5 pm on October 10 and vote for your favorite designs in each category!