Ever Shrinking Art

Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things. -Vernor Vinge

On Saturday, I taught my "Ever Shrinking Art" class at Quilters Quest in Woodridge, to a great group of women. Joy left before I took this photo. I think they did great! We started by making postcards then moved to making ATCs and finally inchies.  I remember thinking that I could never make tiny pieces of art and now I just love it! And I love that I can now get other people to love it too. I hope that I gave my wonderfully creative students an avalanche of ideas and inspiration.

My small group that did trades has disband so I decided to join the Artistcellar ATC Facebook swap. I kept it simple. The only rule was that you had to use an Artistcellar stencil so I wanted to make sure that my stenciling was apparent. Lisa Cousineau, the owner, lives close--Wheaton, but we have never met. I do love her "Art is Not an Option" bag that I use all the time. Isn't that a great message.  I am trading 5 for 5 so obviously I made an extra. I'm keeping the "love" one because I tried using paint with the stencil and while I like the look, it does not look like the stencil. It will become a Valentine. Cannot wait to see what everyone else has done.

Tonight I am off to give my first clay presentation--"Gone to Pot: a Little History and a Few Technique" at the Lemont Artists Guild. I am bringing different kinds of clay for everyone to touch plus a whole bunch of pottery to show including shards that I dug up at an archaeological site (with permission) when I lived in Aruba. I feel it is important for me to continue to do things that push my comfort zone. What are you doing to get outside your comfort zone?

Small Art to the Rescue

I have been struggling with focus and the downward pull of our extremely bitter cold winter. I decided to go back to making small art each morning while my oat meal is cooking. That means I have less than 8 minutes to create something out of my box of scraps. I have chosen to use 3 x 5 inch cards this time.  First, I have to say how disappointed I am with the Oxford blank 3 x 5 cards that I purchased. They are not much thicker than a regular piece of paper making them just about useless for my purposes. I am pushing forward anyway. Creating the collage made me want to do something else. I've been thinking about Valentine's Day so I created two ATCs! I felt my creative mojo coming back. The ATCs came together quickly and I had fun making them. Relief!

The End of heARtist but Not the End of Small Art

The final trades of heARTist Trading Cards is complete. The trades were map ATCs and a flat Santa or Angel (taken from the Flat Stanley books of the 1960s). It is always sad to see the trades end especially since it was such a wonderful group of people. Life has changed for the people in the group so we are ending on a high note instead of fading away.

For my maps ATCs, the saying "wherever you go there you are" was my inspiration. I also wanted to play with a different kind of layering. So travel inspired tags were added with a brad holding everything together.

Since I had already done a flat Santa for a previous trade, I decided this time to do a flat Angel. I combined fiber and paper. I used Timtex (a stiff interfacing which is no longer on the market) and fabric for the wings. I added some dimensional paint dots for interest. Painted tissue paper was used for her halo and paper with colored pencils for her face and body. Dimensional paint was used for her necklace and I added glitter around he edge of her hair.

For the final component, I created cards with the Blue Angel, an amazing fresco from a church in Georgia. Artists painstakingly removed the paint that covered it during Soviet times. When I stood in the church, I was truly moved. I can also tell you that the monks from the region where the church is located are incredibly handsome- tall, dark curly hair and piercingly blue eyes. We all joked with the unmarried women and girls with us that it was too bad that they had given up women because even if they weren't great husbands at least it would be nice to look at them. I have such wonderful memories of my times in Georgia and miss my friends. Hopefully I will be returning next year when the 30th anniversary of the Georgian Textile Group will be celebrated.

So I am a little sad and happy to have this opportunity to share. While this is the end of trading with this group, it is not the end of creating small art. The wonderful thing about making art is that you can always make more. Happy creating!

Small Art Making

You can’t use up creativity. The more you 
use, the more you have.   - Maya Angelou

I am excited! On Monday, I will be giving a hands-on program on making small art for Village Quilters Quilt Guild in Wheaton, Illinois. This group has dedicated this year to increasing their creativity. How cool is that!

If you are in the area, come join the fun- Blanchard Alliance Church, 1766 S, Blanchard St., Wheaton, IL 60189 at 7 p.m. We will be making ATCs and inchies. This is a small guild of 45 members and one of the friendliest I have visited in a while. This is my second time sharing with them (did a program in September) and I cannot wait.

Do you create small art? Do you like to trade?

Prayers to the Moon

"Follow your bliss. Allow it to usher you into the orchard of fulfillment. Here the moon shines fully illuminating dreams come true."

For everyone who emailed concerns because I have not been posting, thank you for your kindness. First, I badly sprained my right wrist which made writing a painful challenge. Then I caught a nasty virus which laid me out for more than week. Thankfully I am now injury free and healthy again. Rejoice!

It was good to have a creative must do waiting in the wings for me. This month's ATC theme for heARTist Trading Cards is "Prayers to the Moon" (one of my suggested themes which always seems to bring a little pressure). I had stumbled upon some 2.5" x 3.5" canvases so I decided to try my hand at painting them for this month's theme. This was tougher than I thought and an interesting experience.

The creative juices are flowing once again!

Butterfly Joy

The other day I was out in my yard when suddenly I was surrounded by about forty tiny white butterflies. I believe they were cabbage whites (pieris rapae). These not glamorous butterflies, but still nice to have around especially when they landed on my head and arms. I was afraid to breathe for fear they would leave. It was one of those rare experiences in life that touched me deeply. It also inspired me to tackle next month's ATC theme, butterflies, with heARTist Trading Cards.

My original plan was to use a photograph I took of a swallowtail on my buddleja and the quote, "For a long time she flew only when she thought no one was watching." I just couldn't get it a place where I was happy. I have learned to let go and move. Rejoice! Wish I had learned that lesson sooner.

When I came across the butterfly stamps from Hungary (They even have the names of the butterflies on them and I had just enough!), they helped me move in a new direction. I used Tattered Angels' Glimmer Mist which doesn't show up in the photo but it adds subtle effect when you look closely. The butterflies additional butterflies are rub-on transfers from 7 Gypsies. I am a sucker for stickers and rub-ons. They are instant gratification.  I did use the photograph on the back.  I still cannot get over how much I am learning and loving the journey of creating small art. Do you like making small art?

Just Like Potato Chips

Inchies (1" x 1" art) are just too much fun. What use to cause panic at the thought is now a joy. These were made for heARTist Trading Cards small art side trade for June. I wish more people had signed up and understand the craziness summer can bring. We won't be doing another inchies trade for quite a while so I may have to seek out others who would want to trade because once I start making them I don't want to stop. What fear have you overcome lately?

"if i only knew"- 6" by 6" Challenge

When I read that (in the July/August issue) Cloth, Paper, Scissor magazine had put out a reader's challenge, "Mixed-Media Stitched Square," I thought it would make a perfect challenge for heARTist Trading Cards. I kept it simple for our group. Anyone taking up the challenge only needs to create a 6" x 6" mixed media piece that includes stitching. Well in my book, the person issuing the challenge does not sit back and watch everyone create so I jumped in.

I decided to create in a way that I had not tried. I started with duck cloth, cut into three pieces and sewn back together. I covered the entire piece with matte medium and white paint. After it dried, I added Golden fluid acrylics. Once it dried, I added a vintage piece of black and white fabric which I also painted. The photograph is of my father's legal guardian's wife, Rachel, from 1919, which I discovered years after she died. While Rachel shared many things about her past, she never shared this period which is why I titled the piece "if i only knew." I wonder what parts of my past will be "discovered" after I am gone.  The photograph was a toner copy applied using matte medium then a glaze added. It was much too harsh as a black and white image. The postage stamp is from an envelop addressed to her husband, Robert, and bearing the cancellation date of "1929." It seemed fitting to include it. I also added a piece of vintage ribbon and black beads. I also used a piece of sequin waste, a make up sponge and a stamp pad to add some additional texture to the background. Sticking a fork in it and calling it done!   I'm happy! Never having worked in this size, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and the process.  I plan to make several 6" by 6" pieces. Not sure if one will be entered in the challenge, but I do love exploring small art and sharing it with the wonderful group of artists that make up heARTist Trading Cards.

My Off the Wall Friday participation.

Listening to the Creative Habit

Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.
       -  The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

Today I was asked how I am able to accomplish so much. The reality is while I do get a lot done, there is always things that don't get done. Lately it has been blogging. It is all about choice.  Having commitments help. Having something new to get the creative juices flowing also helps. The side trades with heARTist Trading Cards certainly keeps my creative juices flowing, stretches me as I try new things, and being part of the caring community of artists is a blessing. I find that when I do not do something creative even if it is just making small art, I feel out of balance- as if something is missing. And while this has probably been the case my entire life, I feel it more acutely lately.  I think it has to do with getting older and valuing my time more.  I am loving every minute I create. How about you?

So Many Directions- Which to Choose?

I am loving the side trades with heARTist Trading Cards. This month we are trading tags. I have never done a tag trade. You would think by the number of tags I have that I make and trade them all the time. In my stash, I found four tags that were quite large 2.5" w x 5.25" h. I had tea dyed two of them already and have no idea why. For the other two I used Walnut stain and to all I added ink from a straw colored Vivid! ink pad.

The last time I was at Stamp Thyme (a local stamp store in Lockport, Illinois), I picked up a Dreamweaver stencil by Lynell Harlow called Raven Vane. (By the way, Stamp Thyme will gladly ship anywhere and they are great people too. Not connected just a happy customer.) I am a sucker for anything with a crow/raven. I'm not sure I would have thought to use it if it had not been sitting out on the table I use to do paper. After spending some time being frustrated with a lack of progress, I saw the stencil and everything came together. Now I am worried that they are too simple. They will all get fiber. Trying hard not to over think and go with the less is more school of thought. How often do you over think things? Do you think they need more?

Zetti ATC- Putting Stretch Marks on My Confront Zone

This month's ATC theme for heARTist Trading Cards is Zetti which caused me some anxiety. However, I know that the things that scare me the most are the things I need to do. After a little research, I finally came to the conclusion that Zetti was really just about creating whimsy which helped me to relax and enjoy the ride. I readily admit that my attempt is definitely one of a beginner but still one that I am not embarrassed to share.

The photograph is of my grandmother (adopted as she was my father's legal guardian's wife but those kinds of connections don't matter if you are a kid, when we are young we just love the people who love us), Rachel Kuntz Field, dancing on the lawn in 1919. I knew her as a Baptist woman who loved teaching children music via the piano. It was not until after her death when I retrieved photos out of the trash that I learned more about her past which is why I titled these pieces "if only i knew." I truly wish she had shared more about this time in her life with me. Who do you wish was around for you to find out more?

Life Can Change Quickly

I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbably beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.
-excerpt from "Starlings in Winter" by Mary Oliver

Late this afternoon I got word that my mother-in-law is dying. She has had Alzheimer's for more than 15 years and has not known any of her loved ones for more than 10. She is in hospice, in a coma and cannot swallow. Hopefully her passing will happen quickly. She is dying the death she most feared- the death of her mother.  I decided that I needed to concentrate on something so I decided to make my collage postcards for Postmark'd Art. When I finished, I realized that the cards reflected my mood (grey, yet hopeful) and that art does save. Make sure you hug someone you love tomorrow.

Lovin' Every Inch!

I realize that I am probably the last person in the world to make inchies (1-inch x 1-inch pieces of art). All I can say is, "What took me so long!" Inchies are fun. I have the heARTist Trading Cards group to thank. We will be trading them. This time there is no theme which in some ways made it easier and in other ways more difficult. However, once I got going, it was nearly impossible to stop. Something like the potato chips I ate last night. I can once again share that trading art is a great way to explore and have fun. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to creating more. Have you made inchies? What do you like about them--making? trading?