Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Year's End Gelli Plate Play


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends! I did!

Now that things have slowed down a bit, I got out my 5"x7" gelli arts printing plate and several sheets of printmaking paper, plugged my mp3 player into my ears with my favorite music, and started rolling open acrylic paints onto the plate in various colors that I was drawn to today. I used some stencils, stamps, brush ends, my fingers, a candy baking cup, and whatever else was handy, without giving it much thought. I may go back and add more layers to some of them later, but for now they are what they are!

I could get four to a whole page, but some are upside down or sideways on the page, as I was turning the sheet around in a small space to print.

I think there are twenty-eight 5"x7" prints, plus two smaller ones, but here is what I did this morning while hubby was still sleeping.


Just playing: Three prints pulled from the same plate, plus a partial print, and a stamp...


The pink one left bottom is upside down...


These are all sideways and the top two are opposite the bottom two. I love the bottom left one!...


All sideways...


Four pulled from the same print...


Four of my faves from today!


I got this awesome desk cabinet from our niece and her family for Christmas, which has yet to be put together, but it will be great storage for my prints!


I also got this handmade "feed bag" from our niece. I love it! It had Sonic gift cards inside for the days when hubby and I go after cattle feed and also feed ourselves. So sweet! The Cracker Barrel gift card was from our nephew and family, one of my favorite places to eat!


And I got this awesome rolling sewing machine case from our brother-in-law. I'm trying to decide whether I want to use it for sewing or arting. Decisions! Decisions!

Aside from the presents and wonderful food, the love and togetherness we shared with family and friends, who we love very much, made it an awesome Christmas. I'm truly grateful that it was so good, because we never know which one of us will be missing when the next one rolls around.

This will be my last blog for 2014. It's been a good year. Hubby and I have been blessed in many ways, and I am thankful. Prayers that 2015 will be a good year for all of us, and may we be blessed with enough.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Murry Christmoose!

This next week will be really busy for me, as I'm sure it will be for all of you who celebrate Christmas, and I'm not sure if I'll have time to be online much, so I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all safe travels, an awesome holiday week with family and friends making new memories, and a bag full of goodies from Santa!


Merry Christmas to you and yours from Rabbit Hop!


First Christmas Gift

Look what I got from my Aunt Lela in with a Christmas card! My first gift this Christmas! I love it!


It's a handmade tea towel using drawn work, like my Granny used to do. I have a couple of scarves, and I had a set of pillow cases, which I completely wore out, that Granny made and gave me when I was young. I saved the drawn work off the pillow cases for a keepsake.


Here it is against a dark background, so you can see it better. I haven't learned to do this...yet, but I love it, and I will treasure it always.

My parents, aunts, and grandmothers were all talented at different things, and I have many beautiful handmade items from them that I treasure. Having them teach me different arts is also something that I will always treasure. I wish I  had children to leave them to, but maybe someone will get them after I'm gone that will treasure them as much as I do.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Christmas Cards and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

For many years I have made at least five cards, and for years that's all I mailed out. Now I'm up to 10 and sometimes 12, if time allows. Seven of them always go to the same loved ones, and the others vary from year to year. Each one has to be different in some way, because I get bored making them alike. This year I borrowed a couple of ideas from Pinterest for the figures, because I wanted to play with my new circle punch. Backgrounds are mine!


Those of you that get one every year may now know what they look like beforehand, BUT you don't know which one YOU'RE getting! lol


I played with my 5"x7" gelli arts printing plate and my star and circle punches, plus a couple of buttons, and some ribbon, torn prints, and bubble wrap.They also have words on the front in gold gelli pen, which isn't showing up much here. I forgot to photo the inside verse. In fact, I almost forgot to photo the cards before I put them in the envelopes.


This little guy, also in the top photo, asked for some snow before being sealed up, so I gave him some. I try to pay attention to what my characters want at all times! :)

Not the best job in the world, but a lot of fun to make, and I always think I'm going to start on them way early, but I'm kind of a last minute person. Drives hubby, mama, and my friends crazy! They are all type A personalities, and I, well, I'm not. lol

Now, if I can just get them in the mail box before Christmas!

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy for me, as I'm sure they are for you, but I want to wish all of you who celebrate a very Merry CHRISTmas and the best of New Years! Safe travels and enjoy the holidays!

Also sharing on the Creative Every Day challenge, where you will find many wonderful creative artists and their work.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Sanguine Doodles

Doodling with a Sanguine Pitt pen in my 11"x 14" sketchbook while chatting with hubby and the brother-in-law on a Sunday morning. Seeing how many symbols I could come up with to use in paintings. Came up with a few and could have kept going...


Both pages-I did the right side first. The doodles got bigger on the left side...


Close up of the right side. I wish I had drawn them in a list view so I could have written what their meanings are to me. Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to do another page, or 3, of them! FUN!!! :D

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Gelli Arts Printing Play

I just bought the 5"x7" gelli arts printing plate and am playing with it. I started out trying to design Christmas cards for this year, but they were all turning out dark and depressing, so I'm going to have to practice some more. Anyway, this is what I did today with acrylics, a brush, a feather, and cut out shapes...




One thing I learned today is to let them dry between layers, especially with open acrylics, or they will make mush. I will add more layers to them at some point, I'm sure, but playing today was good for my soul. It had been a few days since I did anything creative and I was having withdrawals. Feeling better now! :)

More Practice Sketches

A couple more practice sketches in the Feather Altered Book Journal.


Another imaginary friend using a black charcoal pencil on a book page with a slight acrylic paint smear...


Mother and child on a book page smeared lightly with acrylic paint, using a photo and a black marks all pencil, done very quickly...

I'm not having much creative time right now to finish works in progress. Life comes first...

Friday, November 21, 2014

First Handmade Accordion Fold Journal

I'm kind of taking a break from painting and classes this week by doing other creative things. I have a bunch of projects that need to be finished, but this week I decided to try making an accordion fold journal. I learned what "not to do" on this one, but it's still usable!



I started by tearing a 12" x 18" sheet of mixed media paper in half longways and gluing the two ends together. I wasn't thinking, and I made the mistake of gluing the book covers (thin paste board) to the inside paper ends before covering them on both sides. Therefore I had to trim them to the size of the page with no overlap. I painted the edges red with a gelato crayon and glued an old piece of decorative silk thread paper to the outside covers.

I found a piece of scrapbooking paper with red hearts embellished with gold leaf, cut one out and glued it to the front using gel matte medium. Unfortunately, the matte medium also dulled the red color, making it not as vibrant. I'll have to fix that. It doesn't bring out the red silk threads in the paper now like it did before it was dulled. I will be adding some red paint to it!


Painted red acrylic on the heart and added more gold with a leafing pen. Like it much better!

I punched a tiny hole in the back cover, ran a long length of gold colored hemp cord through it (because that's what I had handy!) and tied a knot on the inside, added a glass bead to the other end, wrapped it around the journal 3-4x, and tucked it under to hold the journal together. I've never used an accordion fold journal before. I look forward to seeing what I can do with it, despite its flaws!

There are some wonderful versions of accordion folded journals online, and maybe I'll try some of those sometime, but, for now, this simple one will do for practice!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend! :)

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Gelli Print Journal

Played with my Gelli print plate today on a 12" x 18" sheet of mixed media paper, Azo Golden yellow, Quin Magenta, and Quin Violet open acrylics, and strips of ribbon and gauze. This is what it looked like as a whole sheet...


This is what it looked like after I folded it into a journal...


Front...Can you see the bird emerging?


Inside pages...


Back and Front...

This is a soft folded journal made with a Japanese fold which I have learned from several online sources. Today I found one that is made the same way, only with hard covers, and plain white papers were used. I may have to try that, and I also want to try a Japanese folded screen journal.

I can't wait to draw and write in this one and the one I shared yesterday! Fun!

Friday, November 14, 2014

On My Desk Right Now

I had so much trouble trying to view the videos from the Masters Portrait Class that I gave up for now. I think it's my internet service. Between now and the first of the year will be busy anyway, so I'm just going to do my own thing for a while and try again after Christmas. It's up for two years, so I have plenty of time and lots of inspiration from the awesome work the other students are doing.

So today I've worked some more on my 6" x 6" portrait in acrylics...



She's getting there!

I also let my inner child out to play with abandon on a sheet of 12" x 18" mixed media paper,


then used a Japanese folding technique that I learned from Jane Davenport to turn the sheet into a journal, which is now ready to decorate, paint, and write in. It has six pages besides the front and back!


Front



Inside

My pages have backgrounds that pretty much all look the same, because of the way I painted the sheet of paper. I was more interested in learning the folds and cuts to make the journal than the backgrounds for the pages on this one, but it can be painted in ways that every page is different, but still harmonious. These pages will not look the same when I actually work on them, once I figure out what I want to use the journal for. It was fun to make, and I will be making more!

And this is what's on my work table for today!

Monday, November 10, 2014

More Very Quick Sketches in Charcoal

More VERY quick sketches in the Feather Journal with a black charcoal pencil on a gessoed book page. I think I'm beginning to make friends with charcoal...


I used an old photo of my great-grandmother taken in the late 1800s, I think, but didn't even try for a likeness. Maybe one day!


A second QUICK sketch of me when I was little (I wasn't really this ugly). Again, didn't try for a likeness! Just practice trying get the upper hand on the charcoal! Black charcoal pencil on a clear gessoed page.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Very Quick Figure Sketch

I  have a picture of my paternal grandmother and me that I love, and I attempted a very quick sketch (which is better than no sketch) of my grandmother with a Stablio marks all pencil over a white gessoed altered book page in my Feather Journal.



I seem to have a habit of not leaving room for the feet in most of my figure studies. I suppose if I started with the feet, they wouldn't have heads...

The gesso brush strokes gave it a rough texture too. Next time I'll try a roller!

It looks nothing like her, but it was fun and good practice. I will try it again when I have more time and focus!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Sketch Study of Photo

A quick study sketch of an old photo of my maternal Grandmother in the Feather Journal. I used a Conte' Carbone pencil on a book page that painted over with white gesso. I wanted the page words to show through a little.


It doesn't look like her much, but I find it kind of charming. I love the photo, as I loved her and miss her, and I'm, for once, doing some sketches before I actually try to paint her.

Kind of taking a break from classes for a few days. I got overwhelmed with so much information so fast. :o Sometimes I just have to take a break from all the learning from others and just create by myself! :)

Happy Creating!

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Self Portrait Attempt-charcoal and gesso

More practice for the Studying With the Masters Portrait class, Van Gogh!


This is a study of a Van Gogh sketch in my class sketchbook with a charcoal pencil. The practice was supposed to combine charcoal and white gesso, but I like the sketch and couldn't bear to add the gesso. So, for now, it remains as is!


Practice, using black charcoal pencil and white gesso together and an old photo of me. It stayed like this until this morning, due to life happening and a creative slump. Took a little courage to add gesso, but once I started, I liked it! 


So, after several days in the above state, this morning I sat down at my nest desk, plugged my favorite music in to my ears, opened the white gesso, picked up my charcoal pencil, and went to work. It felt sooooooo good!

Looks nothing like me, except for the wonkiness!, but I learned a lot and had fun. She is what she is!

Charcoal and I have never gotten along, but I'm determined not to let it get the best of me! :)

Don't be afraid to try! The journey is more fun than the destination! (It took me  years to learn that!)

Charcoal Face Practice

Some of the charcoal portrait faces on gessoed pages I've practiced in my "Feather Journal" altered book (the cover is still a wip).

I don't get along with charcoal real well, but I'm determined not to let it beat me!



From an old photo of my great-grandmother, vine charcoal...


From my imagination and a charcoal pencil...


Imagination and black Stablio marks all pencil and water...


Imagination and vine charcoal, I think...


My attempts at magazine images to practice different angles/expressions, not easy, charcoal pencil...


Magazine image with charcoal and gesso...


Magazine image with charcoal...


Magazine image with charcoal...


Imagination with charcoal and gesso...

None of these resemble the actual models in the magazine, but that wasn't really what I was going for anyway. Just practicing quick sketches with charcoal. And I need a LOT more practice! What fun! :)

Practice for a project in Studying With the Masters Portrait class with Jeanne Oliver, I've been in a creative slump, so thank goodness it's up for two years!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have a creative week! :)