Altered Antiquity

Home Sweet Home

Other than birds and nature, the house appears to be the next most popular element to use in mixed media work.  There have been numerous swaps and projects revolving around the popular house shape; thus, I was thrilled when I was invited to participate in a Row House Art Swap.

   

Each of these little houses were made on matboard and range in size from 3" to 5" wide x 4" to 7.5" tall.  I had so much fun digging into my embellishments and using items that have long been yearning for use on a project.  My favorite find was the use of old dollhouse door portals on 2 of the houses.    These were so much fun to make and I hope that the rest of the "carpenters" will enjoy the new homes for their neighborhoods.

"Garden Gate" Paper Doll Shadowbox

I couldn't resist signing up for a Paper Doll Shadowbox swap with Paperwhimsy.  I love dolls, and I love the Paperwhimsy images, so putting the two together just had to be a winner.  This is the Shadowbox that I created for my "secret sister" with her favorite color of purple and a nature theme.  The head is from Paperwhimsy, and the arms and body were drawn onto cardstock, cut out, then covered with batting and fabric.  The fabric skirt was gathered on the sewing machine and then fitted to the bodice.  Accents of moss, eucalyptus, baby's breath, Prima flowers, and a rusty fence were added for accents.

 

PocketFULL RR

It's wonderful to sit down and get some artwork done again.  Although most of the things that I have been doing lately are for swaps or special projects, it does give me the incentive to sit down and create.  I completed 2 more pages for the PocketFULL RR.  The left one is for Joyce Vance, and the right one is for Robin O.  I only pictured the front of the pages, not the backs  or the "goodies" that were enclosed in the pockets.

 

"You Make My Day"

I have been honored with the "You Make My Day" blog award from 2 wonderful friends and blog readers....Greta of Oz in the Fast Lane and Linda Findley of The Art Sook.   The rules for the award are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land.

I have to admit that I've been very remiss in keeping up with my blog readings and postings, lately.  Although I value each and every reader and link that I have on my blog, I am limiting my choices to one blog that inspires me both in its artwork and its posts.

JUDY WILKENFELD of Red Velvet is a genius.  I am not only enamored with Judy's wonderful  style, but each and every piece that she creates has a genuine and absolute purpose in its creation.  Judy dedicates her artwork to the Holocaust victims and their families, and the research and symbolization that she adds to every piece is phenomenal.  Reading Judy's blog is like reading the pages of a history book, only with a fairy-tale ending.  I know that you, too, will be mesmerized by her talent.

A Fan of Paperwhimsy

I love working with images of children, and Paperwhimsy offers a wonderful selection of quality collage sheets.  This fan was made for a swap using Paperwhimsy images and was designed around the theme of vintage music using sepia colors.

As much as I loved the way that all of the blades coordinated together, 5 of the blades were swapped with other members of the group to create a new themed and coordinated vintage fan.  I still need to add the "tail" of ribbons and fibers, but I love the finished look!  The finished fan blades, from left to right, were created by me, Sally Smith, Susan Goodell, Heather Robinson, and Dawn Gold.

 

One World One Heart Winner!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

The past weeks journey aboard the Love Train has been an amazing one.  I have enjoyed the stops at each of my destinations, and I've met so many wonderful people in my travels.   The train has now reached it's final destination, and it's time to announce the winner of this exciting journey.

CONGRATULATIONS

to

LAURA YOUNGREN

....the winner of my altered puzzle giveaway!!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog and left such heartwarming comments.  It's been a pleasure meeting you all and I hope that this journey is only the beginning of many lifelong friendships.

One World, One Heart

It's February, and love is in the air!  With Valentine's Day around the corner, I am pleased to participate in the "One World, One Heart" giveaway being sponsored by Lisa Oceandreamer as a way to bring bloggers together from around the world who may not have ordinarily met.  It's a wonderful way to close the gap in the blogging community, interact and discover new & wonderful people, and possibly win a few prizes along the way.  Complete details can be found at this website, along with the names of all of the other wonderful and talented participating artists.

For this event, I am offering a vintage-themed altered puzzle that I made several years ago as a class sample for a teaching event.  If you would like to participate in this drawing, please comment below and be sure to provide your email address when you sign-in to comment. 

The drawing will take place on February 14th and the winner will be announced then.

Good Luck....and don't forget to check out all of the other great giveaways at "One World, One Heart"!

"Two's Company"

I recently participated in an online challenge to create a piece of artwork using a provided image of a little girl.  Since I love working with vintage images of children, I couldn't resist making this small collage with all of the things that I like best...flowers, lace, ribbons, and the colors of pink, purple and green. I titled the piece, "Two's Company", based on the quotation that was added to the imagery.  I thought the name was fitting since the same imagery was used for both the large and small girls. 

Challenges such as these keep me motivated and allow me the time to buckle down and get creative.  I seem to work the best when given a topic and a deadline to meet.  How about you?

From My House to Yours

Ahhh....it's great to be creating again!  When the Muse hits, one must go with it. 

I completed the very last of my pages for the COLOUR PLAY Round Robin through my Art-ed-Anima Yahoo group.  This round robin may have taken 2 years, but the concept, and the artwork. was definitely worth waiting for!  This page was done for Lou McCulloch using the technique of wax rubbings.  I created the background with this technique by rubbing a large crayon across a piece of paper that was mounted on top of a plastic template.

   

I'll really miss this Round Robin as the techniques and colors that were requested each month created a fun challenge for all of the participants.  Not only did we all learn something new, but we received a beautiful collection of artwork to boot!

Art & Soul Hampton

These fish are going to Art & Soul Hampton, are you?

                                         Once again, I will have the pleasure of teaching 2 classes at Art & Soul Hampton in Virginia this May.  The first class, TIN SOULS, is one of my favorites and was very popular with the attendees last year.  This class is a lot of fun and I love seeing the awesome variations that everyone puts into their creation. 

The 2nd class, CLEARLY VISIBLE JOURNAL, introduces a powerhouse of   techniques using assorted clear items.  This class was also another favorite that  was taught last year. 

More information can be found at the  Art & Soul website - http://www.artandsoulretreat.com/VA2008-workshops.php