Somerset Studio Gallery!

Two of my collages are included in the Winter 2014 issue of Somerset Studio Gallery. I've always loved this magazine, so it's really fun to be included in it! 

This issue also has some wonderful images by Jessica Swift and many other great artists. Check it out if you have a chance!

Come Play - Lilla Rogers' Global Talent Search

I participated in Lilla Rogers' Global Talent Search. I love all her artists, so I thought it would be fun to be involved in this contest she sponsored. It was really fun!

The project was to create a journal cover based on the theme of old-fashioned playground equipment. This image was created from hundreds of tiny scraps of paper, snipped out and glued down.

It took forever to do all the details, but I loved doing it!

details from image

Work in Progress - Going Big

I'm trying to paint in a new size for me: BIG! 

This board is 18 x 24 inches, much bigger than I usually would use. This is in a very early stage, still playing around, but I can already tell it is going to be a very different experience. There's so much space and freedom.

Life in Bloom

Start with a simple collage...

 Add wax paints...

Another encaustic experiment. 

I really do like control in my art, so this has been challenging for me-- to let go and let things get messy and "ruined."

My usual collage technique is very meticulous and planned out, so this is really mixing things up for me. 

Make Time to Do What You Love

The hardest part of any hobby seems to be finding the time to do it! You really have to make it a top priority and squeeze into any free moments you have.

It seems that the more you spend time doing what you love, the more you want to do it...and then suddenly you realize you can't remember the last time you mopped the kitchen floor. ooops.

(I made this as a birthday present for a writer friend of mine. She is a dedicated and disciplined writer, and she always inspires me to find time to make art.)

Illustration Friday - Influence

She lives under the influence of beautiful things.

We are so influenced by what's around us that I try to surround myself with good, positive things. Many things in life are out of our control, but we can choose what we spend our free time on and what we fill our homes with.

One of the best decisions we ever made was to get rid of our TV about 5 years ago. I know there are supposed to be some great shows on TV... but we weren't watching them. We were watching garbage. Now we are more likely to spend our free time reading, doing art, or talking. This has been a huge improvement in our relationship and our moods!

Illustration Friday - Imperfect

she felt that she was so imperfect -- she was not

I think we all have times in our lives when we are very hard on ourselves and can only focus on our own faults. (And repeat them to ourselves over and over again...)

When you see others doing this you wish you could somehow convince them of how wonderful they really are. But it seems we each need to find our own way out of it. Hopefully, it doesn't take too long.

Illustration Friday - Obsession

Visit Bookland Often.

With this image, I wanted to pay homage to my main obsession: books!

I LOVE books-- real, ink-on-paper, books. I love everything about them! I get nervous when I hear talk of how digital books are going to replace real books. I can't imagine a world without bookshops and libraries, lined with shelves full of BOOKS! What a terrible thought!

I'm going to put this collage up in my son's room to remind him of all the adventures reading takes you on.


(Detail from image)

Illustration Friday - Perennial

The perennial chore: WASHING DISHES!

We recently moved into an apartment without a dishwasher. Wow-- that was a game-changer. Now I feel like I am always washing dishes! They seem to pop up out of nowhere, like mushrooms.

I think that if you have a dishwasher, after you press the start button, you should go off and do something fun for an hour. Because that is the time you save by having the dishwasher. One hour (that's what I usually spend at the sink each day) should be your free time. Go do something good with it!

(I'm going to hang this plaque by my sink because when I do dishes, I sing "Many Dishes to Wash" to the tune of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross")

Illustration Friday - Surrender

Surrender to the urge to escape it all! When the news of wars, floods, and unemployment becomes too much, this is where I like to escape to in my head-- it's Wonderland, Candyland, and Somewhere-Over-The-Rainbow. I know I can't escape forever, but sometimes it is nice to give in and visit a land of happy things.

(It's been a hard month, so I've spent a lot of time trying to find my "Happy Place!")

Illustration Friday - Phenomenon

The most wonderful phenomenon of all: MAGIC! Just ask any child (or Harry Potter fan) or watch a beautiful sunset. Magic is everywhere!

(This is painted and collaged on a wood panel. I put it on my Etsy site because it would be perfect for a girl's room - but I, alas, only have a little boy. I guess I need to make one for a boy's room too, because my son really loves magic.)

Moving...

We've been moving to a new home. What an enormous project-- both physically and emotionally.

Our homes become such a big part of who we are: they affect our daily routines and our moods. We often forget what a big impact they have on us, until we move and realize everything is suddenly so different.

(It's been so much work! But decorating and sewing curtains has been great fun.)

Illustration Friday - Stargazing

The Stargazer Lily- A flower like none other. While it is a nice flower to look at, it is its fragrance that really steals the show. It has a heavy, other-worldy scent. Close your eyes and it will take you to far away lands...

I have a co-worker who always brings in wonderful-smelling flowers from her garden. They completely transform the office. I love how such a small thing can make such a huge difference.

(I did a starry night scene for the Illustration Friday topic last week, so I wanted to do something different this week.)

Real, Paper Books!

Book Heaven = Kinokuniya Japanese Bookstore.

The Japanese must really love their books, because the Kinokuniya Bookstore is full of rows and rows of the most beautiful, wonderful books! They use nice paper, creative bindings, and tons of pretty images. The language barrier is a bit of an issue (I don't know a word of Japanese) but the images make up for it. They are dreamy, bubbling with joy, and childlike-- it's like they know that in the childlike is where the magic lives!

(Meanwhile, the New York Times is full of news about how paper books and real bookstores will disappear soon, replaced by e-books. Please, say it isn't so! Books are so much more than words on a screen. The thought of a world without real books keeps me up at night.)

Technology Fatigue

Sometimes I feel like technology is taking over everything. It used to be that when you wanted directions, you looked at a map; to do research, you went to the library; to look at pictures, you pulled out a photo album...now everything is done on the computer! I feel like I am always looking at that glowing screen. And I long for the days when the computer was just a tool I used at work.

Can we ever go back to a less computerized lifestyle? Would anyone even want to? Will our children be able to imagine a different way of living, or will they be completely dependent on their technology?

This weekend I was feeling the need to disconnect from it all, so I took my son and went to the woods. He played on the rocks while I drew in my sketchbook. The sun was warm on my face and there was a soft breeze. It was beautiful, peaceful, and there was not a computer in sight. Perfect!!!

Illustration Friday - Caged

Sometimes it feels like we are all caged inside our own homes-- separated from each other and the world around us.

I love it when I unexpectedly find myself outside at night, maybe taking out the garbage, and I look up and- BOOM! I'm struck by the incredible and infinite beauty of the night sky. "Wow...what a world we live in!"

I think there is something fundamentally important about looking at the night sky. Last night, my five-year-old son was in bed and said to me "Mom, can I go look out the window and make sure the stars are there?"

Summer's the perfect time to get free from the walls and roof, and gaze at the stars!

Time to Daydream

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. -John Lubbock

On Monday, there was an article in the New York Times called Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind. It said: "At long last, the doodling daydreamer is getting some respect." Good! At last!!!

Happy Summer! Go out and watch some clouds!

Illustration Friday - Paisley

Beware of the Paisley Palace of Doom!!!

(When I first read the topic was Paisley, I thought "Ugh. I hate paisley! I can't do this topic." Which then, of course, made me really want to do the topic...)

h a p p y

I'm getting ready to go to New York for Surtex and the National Stationary Show. I can't wait! Many of my favorite artists will be there and I'm sure it will be very inspiring to see everyone's work!

Escape from the Cocoon

What dreams do you have hidden away safe and sound in their cocoons? Is it time to set them free?

I have finally pulled my book project back out of its safe hiding spot in the back of my desk drawer, where it has been hibernating for, unfortunately, years.

A few months ago I went to a great workshop by Janet Goldstein called 'The New World of Publishing.' It motivated me to get restarted on this project and I have been working away on it ever since.

May all of our dreams finally get to see the light of day and fly!