Recently Listed: Carnival Fun - Mixed Media Assemblages

I am excited to announce that I have completed all ten of the carnival-style assemblages I'd been working on before vacation and have listed a few of them on my Etsy shop. Each one has a personality all it's own and I have some monochromatic color schemes as well as the typical circus colors available. Each one is hand painted then distressed and features vintage and everyday bits and baubles. You can find them listed in my Carnival and Circus Fun section. Happy Shopping!

Quit Clowning Around... Actually... Don't!

Did you ever get one of those thoughts in your head that just won't go away? The kind where no matter how much you push it back and say, "not now, I can't" it keeps coming back with a vengeance? Yeah, me too. Ever since I made a carnival-inspired assemblage last fall, I've been wanting to create more.

Lately I had been making jewelry full-time. Now, making something that will be worn over and over (and over) means you had better make it last a long time without coming apart. Well—to tell you the truth—that kind of pressure hurts my brain a little. I needed to break freeeeeee! At least for a little while.

So I hired my handyman to build 10 boxes for me. And when he brought them over last Friday—all those pretty wooden blank canvasses—well, I just jumped right in! It was a veritable assembly line of fun! I couldn't stop myself.

I got out my vintage bulbs... and chose paint colors to match. I gessoed... and measured... and painted stripes of all colors. Then I collaged... and sanded... and aged with a wash of brown acrylic. Making messes and being un-perfect and scratching and scraping and covering up. Ahhh, sweet freedom!

Having grown up at the boardwalk and going to local carnivals and fairs... it has always been one of my favorite themes. It just brings back such happy memories. It's no wonder they keep coming back through my art. I'm looking forward to working more on these pieces to see where they evolve. I actually thought I knew exactly where they were going... but the objects I'm using seem to be making some of those decisions for me. Love it when that happens!

Things I'm Drawn To...

Artist extraordinaire Claudine Hellmuth once said... make a list of all the things you like. And so I did. That list grew into about 5 pages of "stuff" and is still growing today! I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite things with all of you...

I definitely have a thing for well-loved paintbrushes. I make sure to only clean the bristles, so that I can see the history of the fun projects I've worked on.

I love a good leather-bound journal with a decorative front. Makes it so inviting, doesn't it?

I absolutely adore stripes. I think it has to do with my fondness of carnivals and growing up around the boardwalk. The page shown here was one I originally didn't like. I pulled off some of the items, gessoed over some others,  then painted stripes over top. Now I love it! It's ready for a new story.

I encourage you to start noticing the things that seem to repeat themselves in your art... or your life! What things are you drawn to?

*Oh, and can you tell I love the color pink?