Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue...

In my quest to find something to scratch my creative itches this year, that utilized much of the ephemera and mementos I've collected from flea markets over time, and that would bring more joy and lightheartedness into my daily making... I began creating these vintage-inspired mixed media collages. That's the something new.

This is where it all begins. Finally finding a landing place for all my papers, old photos, book pages, candy wrappers, scrapbook papers, antique ledgers, music books, tickets, maps and odd little scraps of stampings and such... well... That's the something old. Those things kind of set my soul on fire. If you saw my stash, you might laugh at the tiniest scraps of things that I am not able to part with. I'm not sure why, but the most miniscule piece of torn paper makes my heart beat just a little bit faster.

Being able to get into all the details and embellishing with paint, pencil, ribbons, buttons and other found objects... well... that just sets my brain on fire! I tweak and tweak and tweak and tweak each piece until it looks 'just right'. And what does that mean? When it has the perfect balance of color, visual weight, places for the eye to fall, and the story is clear... that's when I know I'm done.

When did my love affair of all thing collage-y begin? Probably back around the turn of the century! I first discovered a publication called Somerset Studio, that had within it's gorgeous, glossy pages, samples of artwork similar to what I wanted to create. They called it mixed media collage. And so my quest began. I traveled the country to gather and play with like-minded souls. I discovered new and exciting projects and techniques. I found talented and patient teachers and inspirational workshops. One of those masterful instructors was Lynn Whipple. Her whimsical and lighthearted approach to collage inspired me to keep going. And keep going I did!

Earlier this year, when my thoughts turned to adding more joy and lightheartedness into my daily creative practice, my thoughts returned to that special instructor of more than a decade ago. I found an online class she was teaching — aptly named The Joy of Collage — and signed up in a heartbeat, so I could brush up on my techniques and playfulness. And brush up (pun intended)... I did! That's the something borrowed.

I soon became obsessed with making mixed media magic. I could relax my brain and let my heart take over. It was a much needed break from the complex engineering of the sculpted art dolls I made throughout 2014. I started working on multiple collages at a time, all in different stages. I could play with paper, or paint, or stamping, or details, at my leisure with the freedom to choose whatever was calling me at the time. I started creating works in different themes and different colors (that's where the something blue comes in)... all while using Lynn's visual gauge of, "if it makes you laugh, then go with it".

Working in that way, I found that when I'm finished with a piece, I think, "Awww, I'm done already?" And so I'm on to the next one... to create more fun, more whimsy, more joy and more lightheartedness in my creative soul. Throughout this process the ideas keep coming, and I look forward to exploring these mixed media collages in 2015 and seeing where they take me!

Editors Note: Any time I take a class or workshop from a talented, established artist or instructor, I always ask their permission before I make any work utilizing their techniques public. It's good form and good karma.

Patch It Up...

Not too long ago, I got Lilla Rogers' book I Just Like To Make Things. In it, she had a few creativity exercises, and I fell in love with this patchwork looking one! She had us pick several of our favorite colors and then fill in the squares with them. I was so ecstatic with the results, I wanted to use the idea in a real painting.

So I divided a 16"x20" wood panel into 4"x4" squares and went to town. I wanted to keep the colors a bit more muted, so that whatever (or whoever) I painted over top would stand out.

I used the same techniques from my last painting... only this time I used my dominant hand (Spoiler Alert! I actually liked the left handed one better!) But the very dry brush strokes and multiple layers still came through and I love all the scritchy-scratchy detail that produces.

I decided to make her dress black so that it would pop over the pastel background. It worked!

And I ended up giving her a black mouse-eared hat just to balance things out. Of course once I made the hat, it felt like too much black.... and so I emblazoned it with my own little pink mouseketeer logo to create some visual distraction.

Typically when I think I'm done, I'll prop my painting up on the living room couch — opposite where I sit to watch TV. I'll glance over at it every once in awhile to see what I like and what I don't. So after staring at it for hours, I went back and added some shadows, and lightened some areas too. It was still a little scary as the Recovering Perfectionist in me didn't want to mess it up.

But the longer I stared at it, the more I saw things I wanted to change. So if it's a choice between leaving it as is (and not being happy), or trying something else to improve it (even if I don't like it)... why not just continue to improve it? And even though she's done... I still see things I'm going to change... and I'm not scared to do it!

Talk about patching things up!

Having a Blast (Off)!

So, I'm having a blast with the lastest online workshop I'm taking! Appropriately named Paint Happy, Micki Wilde's tutorials have helped me fine tune my girls' faces, as well as think up new story lines and fun things to paint.

I started an idea journal as suggested and I just loving having all my thoughts in one place. If you are anything like me, prior to this you may have had 3 or 4 different journals, notebooks and pads with innumerable ideas written in them... and located in random spots around the house and studio!

One of the very first ideas I came up with was a Rocket Girl who had just landed on the Moon. I wrote it in my journal, but that simply wasn't enough. She kept tugging at me to bring her to life. And so, in-between housework, cooking, and errands, she appeared practically out of nowhere! I was so obsessed that I didn't even take the time to photograph my progress! More like possessed!

And I was very pleased with the results! After months of going crazy with colors and mark-making for my backgrounds — and the exciting anticipation of not knowing how my girls would end up — it was nice to actually think out a story line and a color palette ahead of time. I love that I enjoy both methods, and know which one suits my ever-changing moods. For now, I'm going minimal. And loving it!

Rocket Girl... over and out... (for now).

I Believe I Can Fly...

I've been having a blast playing in my new mixed-media journal. In fact, I think I've been having some creative breakthroughs of sorts. Or maybe breakdowns? No... I don't need therapy! It's the walls that are breaking down!

You see... I'm absolutely loving the not knowing part of this journal play. I'm really learning to embrace the mark-making thing.... just for the sake of making marks... in the moment... whatever I feel like... with no end result in mind! In fact, I'm finding that I work better on pages where i create the background first, rather than a character. I like being able to be free with an entire page rather than trying to work around something.

Dots. Raindrops. Circles. Swirls. Paper stuff. Scribbles. Words. Paint. Sometimes I don't even look at the page as a whole, I just look at the very spot I'm working on. My mind changes as I work more... and it's all okay! Add this. Cover that. Paint between. Just play!

And then, KAPOW! The whole piece just takes its own direction, finds it's own theme, and has a story to tell. And the neat thing is... it always relates to me, and yet it always manages to surprise me. Each page requires patience and perseverence. There are lots of times when I do not like certain areas of the page. But I make tiny little tweaks in-between stepping back and noticing. Okay, sometimes I make bit giant tweeks and say, uh-oh... what have I done. But it's all good. Really!

I've become so attuned to knowing what I like, what I don't like, and most importantly... why!! And now that I seem to have found my groove... I can dance on clouds and fly over rainbows!

Taking Time to Play...

If we think about the last time we actually played with paint and pencils and crayons and stamps — with no expectations and no judgements about our work — it was probably like... when we were 7 or so? I know for myself... I can't even remember what it was like to not make an icky face at my first attempt at anything!

Which is why I felt it was so absolutely necessary to take Mindy Lacefield's Play Journal workshop at the Art & Soul Retreat recently. She teaches... nay... preaches... living from your authentic childlike self and her fun and whimsical attitude is contagious!

Her work is so playful and visually stimulating in a witty, lighthearted way... that I just needed to be a part of that type of creation face-to-face...

That's why even though I've taken her classes online for almost a year now, I still felt compelled to learn with her in-person in a 2-day workshop. And I am so very happy that I did!

We started off with some warm-up exercises... drawing on deli paper with our non-dominant hand (we'd use that later in our journals). Once we crafted our journals (it was easy peasy!), we jumped right in to putting paint on paper, which is still always exciting and scary for me each time I do it!

Painting. Stamping. Mark-making. Drawing. Gluing. Lettering. These are things that just bring pure joy when there is no end result in mind. And it was fun! I gave myself permission to let go.

And it was so cool to watch my pages as they progressed. I ended up disassembling my journal because I wanted to add elements to multiple pages and my 7 year old self couldn't wait for them to dry (who am I kidding, that's the impatient me today!). I was so overcome with excitement and the desire to add more and more (and more!) that I found myself shoving lunch into my mouth faster than I could chew it... just so I could get back to the classroom more quickly. Come on! Hurry up! So you can have more fun!!

We had a fabulous group dynamic in our class and we all fed off of each other's energy. We journaled and shared stories, got a little teary-eyed, laughed a lot, shared some more, got ideas from each other and evolved as a group. At the end of day two we had a little show-and-tell. Everyone did such a great job and each person's creations were uniquely their own. It was a blast!

And after I returned home, the party didn't stop! I was obsessed with mark-making and doodling and painting and finding just the right piece of epemera to complete an empty space. I was kind of cracking myself up over cracking up. Is my therapist on call, I wondered?

But I finally came down a bit, off of the major adrenaline high I was on, and just enjoyed the whole process. I found that after Mindy's workshop, I was more free to make marks, really letting go of the fact that they might get covered up. I had more confidence that I could make those marks again if need be, or take the technique and use it as a new tool in another way on another page. And yes, I will be making like a gazillion more of these journals!

In fact, this mermaid is the result of what I created over that background above. I covered up a lot of marks and painting and drawing and little bits of ephemera. But I love this page oh so much. And I made sure to document it before I covered it. So anything I had, I'll know exactly how to re-create it again for another page.

To be honest,  I wasn't sure how much I'd learn from an in-person class from a teacher I had studied with online. But to my surprise, the person that signed up for that workshop and the person who came home from it ... well, they're two different people. And it's hard to find words that express what a wonderous time I had, and how much my art has changed as a result of it. I am over-the-moon excited every day knowing that all I had to do to move forward, was move backwards... and revisit my childhood self.

I'm so happy I remembered how to play. Makes life (and art) a lot more fun. Wheeeeeee!

Braaaaain Freeeeeze!

There once was a girl who wandered through the ice cream forest... but all she came back with was brain freeze!

For my most recent jaunt into journaling... I sprayed inks, made marks, pasted ephemera, painted swatches of color, and stamped 'til my heart's content. The pink overpainted map and placement of the ice cream cone got me thinking.

I'll make that her nose and she can really be a brain freeze girl! Can't you just feel the ice cream headache? Owwwww.

The page and the girl evolved as I went along, evening out the color scheme and blending elements together, while adding new ones to the page as well.

I figured I'd give her some pistachio hair to match the ice cream.

And then I added some funky Brain Freeze text. Although, I must have had brain freeze when I wrote it... because I spelled it wrong!! Oh well. I'll just pretend I was doing what the quilters do and putting one mistake in my piece "on purpose". Hee-hee!

I had a lot of fun with this piece and instinctively knew when to stop messing with it. I also used a color palette that was out of my comfort zone and I'm actually happy with the way it turned out. On to the next project... hmmmmm, what's next?

How to Get Paint Off Your Clothes!

A couple weeks ago I realized I got paint on one of my favorite summer shirts... most likely because I have this habit of "drive-by painting". I like to paint on my kitchen table and subsequently leave the pieces there, in case I get inspired. That's a good thing... except when I neglect to grab my apron!

Then I remembered that my friend and fellow artist Claudine Hellmuth, had a fabulous tutorial on her blog a while back with step-by-step instructions on how to get dried paint out of your clothes! I gave it a try and sure enough... it worked! Whew. So I thought I would share it with you all, since I'm pretty sure you've had some of these mishaps yourselves!

I've Got The Blues...

Blue jeans that is! I made these funky altered pair over the weekend using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paints. The idea was nagging at me for quite some time and I just had to try it! I did a wash of paint in pink and then stamped the flourishes in white. I let that dry and then did another wash of pink over top to tone down the white. I'm very happy with the results!

© photo by Carol Bernard (mom!)