Birthdays and Cooler Temperatures

September is a great month for me; it's the month my first grandchild was born. He's now 19! He's survived graduating from high school and a motorcycle accident. Life is never dull for him. On his birthday this year, I made him a monogram for a shelf or his wall.

 

4 inch wood panel, hand painted papers and printed monogram, acrylic paint along the sides.

He loves it!

I made the wrapping paper and added a tag for him as well.

 It's also my birthday month and I'll be mentioning that again as it gets closer. Our cooler temperatures aren't really happening much yet but we're getting there. I am so ready for autumn!

Right now, I'm ready to share what I did last week at the work table and some organizing I managed. 

I finished the sweet vintage photo of the little girl and made her magical! This was a lot of fun to do and adding embellishments in ink and fabric really made me happy. I love her!

I sorted the large amount of papers I had piled on my little cart next to my work table and found I could easily figure out what goes where. That's something I've struggled with for a while but I'm slowly getting a hang for how I like things to be and how I want them sorted. I also put a ton of scrap papers into one zip bag and that's what I use to do my daily collage journal and all the cards and old store receipts.

Nothing was thrown away, all were easier to find after doing this and that was the goal. The box holds a lot of painted papers still needing to be sorted and placed by color into the box dedicated for that purpose. Maybe I'll get to that this week.

185-188 in the collage a day journal

Old receipts and cards plus some random pieces of paper are all getting scraps. The larger pieces will get additional embellishments and mark-making soon.

I never throw much away. There's a use for everything at least twice or in a different way. It can lead to clutter if you're not careful but I use everything I save to be used in some artful way. Including bandages too big that we never use but always save because they're perfectly fine but not really perfectly fine to use.

Now these bandages have scrap paper on them and will get put in a journal or used in some way on a card. Everything can be used for art in my life!

189-192 in the collage a day journal (a favorite grouping)

When I was attempting to draw flowers to put on top of the art boxes, I drew a lot of shapes to try to find the one in both size and look that I wanted to use on practice paper. Once I did the art box, I put the papers aside. These resurfaced when I did my sorting and I decided to pull out the acrylic pens and ink pens and have some fun.

I scanned these pages for future printouts. I might use them more than a few times.

A doodle I wasn't all that fond of got colored in as well but I didn't like the way that looked either. And so, I did my negative space technique on it. NOW I love it! 

This week I have some online classes to watch. I love when I find a group of talented individuals who do much of what I like to do but show maybe one or two things I haven't tried yet in their daily practice. Everything I watch has the potential to teach me new things or ways to expand on what I already do. This means I'm always learning! I can't wait!! It's going to be an awesome week!!

 

Enjoy your week!

Cindy,  EarthMotherMosaics - Mixed Media Art

Instagram: @artbyearthmothermosaics 

Stay Peaceful and Enjoy the Journey

 

Sometimes No Decision is the Best Decision

Funny thing happened on the way to set up an appointment to get gallbladder surgery. I discovered a few roadblocks, mostly due to doctors no longer in my network with my insurance, and so for now, I'm not doing anything. I'm not always in pain and when I am, pain relievers and a heating pad make it stop. I'm eating differently, again, many smaller meals which are less difficult to digest seem to help. Therefore, no decision has been made as to when.

Which leaves me to making no decision on my Facebook Art Page. I was going to deactivate it but I have a lot of people I follow using that page and am not sure I have the stamina to go through each one and follow them on my personal page. I don't like my personal page very much, really. I do like my art page but there's spam to deal with and ridiculous messages coming through asking me if the art is for sale when clearly it's not and if someone really read the caption or the description or even the blurb under my page that says I do not sell my art, I wouldn't get any messages at all. I'm okay with that. I just like to have a dedicated art page after so many years of doing it this way, I don't want to really change it anyway.

And so, no decision has been made about that either.

Now, let's look at what I DID make decisions on, at the art table, because it was a fun week. I even finished the mosaic vase! Whoohoo!!

 

Numbers 177-180 in the collage a day journal

This card is on my blue table at the moment. I love it's simplicity and it's message.

Look who is finished and resting, waiting for grout! Yay!! She's gorgeous, isn't she?

I had an entirely different plan for this awesome yellow butterfly but it wanted to go here. So be it.

The prompts were: a window, green, something blurry, a repeating shape. Taken from Seek, Gather, Create a free, twice-yearly mixed-media art scavenger hunt challenge hosted on Instagram, probably over a year ago maybe two years ago (and yes, I'm just getting to it!).

Using the scrap papers on old store receipts, I made birds with words. 

Nothing makes my heart sing more than a new package of paint brushes.

This long armed stapler has been on my wish list for a while. It will help me staple my handmade books together instead of only having the option of sewing the signatures in place (although I'll still do that as well).

The latest journal pages were done in black and while (and silver). They are not meant for the end of the year but for the September birthdays coming up in my family. I just happen to have a few black and white things that I thought would work on these pages.

I made a belly-band using the black and white sunflowers and the card in the middle is the only bit of color there is on these pages.

Here's to Health to all those that I love.

Using Emerson quotes I've got printed out by the hundreds, I took some of them and put them on my little scrap papers that are on receipts. I'll finish these up with ink and maybe using some decorative scissors to cut them, possibly paint the backs and then put them in journals when the mood strikes. I love having options to use for my journal page days.

This was so much fun. Taking embroidery floss and adding wonky things to old vintage photos is something I've seen on YouTube, done much better than what I managed here, but I have to say, I am going to make more without too much concern as to exactly how perfect they are. I'm more concerned with the fun I'm having as I'm creating things.

This little fairy will have a pink skirt attached to the bit of embroidered cloth I had in my stash. It fits well as a little apron here. Still considering what to change the suitcase into. Stay tuned!

Days 181-184 in the collage a day journal

Enjoy your week!

Cindy,  EarthMotherMosaics - Mixed Media Art

Instagram: @artbyearthmothermosaics 

Stay Peaceful and Enjoy the Journey

No Internet For A Day and Iron Man Movies

When our internet went out beyond our control over the weekend (technically only for a day) I was left with doing other things that didn't require scrolling or sharing on social media. What I did do was pull out the Iron Man movies (my favorite!) and watch them as I did some card making. Pretty much, business as usual for me, but without the constant stopping to scroll.

The week was a little less productive than normal. I did my three month checkup with my primary care doctor (diabetes is being managed well at the moment) and we discussed gallbladder surgery. I now have an appointment with a gastro doctor this upcoming week and will start the wheels in motion to get this surgery over with as soon as they can do it.

Meanwhile, here is what happened at the art table last week.

Taking old store receipts and covering them with scraps laying around is one fun way to "clean up the art table". 

I found an article written in 2016 about my peace signs, comparing them to mandalas. I love that! I'm sure I shared the link 10 years ago, but just in case, here it is again. MotD (thank you, The Mandala Lady!) I also found, by doing a search using this photo, info about who made them (ME!)

FYI: the website is no longer available and creating these pieces in the Purple Palace is wrong but look at that, my peace sign mosaics are different enough to be known they were made by me. Very cool.

Here is the photo I used to ask Google who made these peace signs, wondering if it would know I did. And the info under the photo is what I shared on social media. It was kinda neat to know that I was "well-known" after 25+ years of creating mosaics. 😁

 

Finally got the painted papers down on the cement board and decided to add crescent moons to it.

"Moon Shadows" - 12x12 inches, acrylics, painted papers, washi tape and doodles.

 

Days 173-176 - collage a day journal

 

Scrap papers on 4x4 inch wood panel, sides need painting and a signature is to be added.

These are the cards I made while the internet was out. I don't know which one is a favorite, but I do know using old magazines, prints and scraps makes for a very interesting card. Definitely a fun way to spend a day.

 

Enjoy your week!

Cindy,  EarthMotherMosaics - Mixed Media Art

Instagram: @artbyearthmothermosaics 

Stay Peaceful and Enjoy the Journey

 

 

So Many Art Journals ...

 So little time...*

This is the finished page I made dedicated to my Dad. It took a long time to realize writing something here just wasn't going to happen and so I allowed Maya Angelou to do it for me.

Just a bunch of grungy painted papers ... my favorite!

I discovered I can add water to charcoal and get a wonderful smeary look. Paint, charcoal and ink too all on one piece of paper is so satisfying to do. I can grab anything and just go!

The week was a blur of activity and messes in the best possible way, in my life, anyway. When the "what if I tried this" thought happens, it becomes a big blur and that's okay by me.

Taking junk mail envelopes and creating pockets for journals is a great way to do something while streaming something in the evenings. Especially when I have tired eyes. I really have a lot of junk mail saved, so it was past time to cut it up and start using it.

The most fun I have is grabbing scraps of either painted papers or papers I've used from books and use them for these pockets. For me, the thought that all papers will work on these things, either when I make the cards for inside the pockets or a journal page, is very freeing. I have no restrictions and if something doesn't quite work and I don't quite love it, I'm actually okay with that and move on. Sometimes if I really get bothered, I'll cover it up or cut it up but I never throw anything away. I have learned it's all a lesson of some sort and so I try to see what I've learned before moving onto the next.

 

This is a great example of taking pieces and putting them altogether. I ended up fussy cutting the bird on the branch and putting it in the center of the envelope. I'll share that below (see photo under the doodle).

Numbers 165-168 in the collage a day journal. This book is almost full!

A small handmade journal page. Still practicing making butterflies.

Watercolor attempt #2 of the same photo came out better and has made it into the watercolor practice book. I really love making clouds and have learned THAT is why I did this photo more than once. Now that I am confident with how to make clouds and water reflections, I can use it in future watercolor paintings I attempt.

Having some fun with AI ... I wanted to share with a few family members how long my hair was and then saw this background and color combo taking it from my comforter on my bed, it seems. I'm okay with that and really love it.

I took one of the cement boards and decided to start painting. Right now it looks like the game "Twister" but it won't look that way once I'm finished adding collage to it and maybe gluing some stuff and things to it as well. Time will tell.

Filling in pages of the art journals with the envelopes and cards I've made is actually very satisfying and takes very little time. The hard part was creating the envelopes and painted the papers and truly ... that wasn't hard at all.

Cutting out these little tabs was something I saw a YouTuber do. It's part of an envelope that was left over after cutting out the part with the window. I grabbed some printed papers and added it to the thing and use it to keep my place in the book as I'm working. I'm sure I'll make more of these because they are very useful!

As a diabetic, I have nostalgic times when I think I could just inhale all of these donuts and not feel like I'm going to throw up or have my blood sugar raise to a scary number. Since that's a possibility, instead, I grab the next best thing: a photo in a magazine and then add a little bit of another photo of a pink one with sprinkles and collage together and come out with a fun art page. No raised blood sugar happens but the satisfaction of creating an interesting page in my journal does.

I put some painted papers on a folder that didn't have a protective plastic cover on it and so the papers stuck to the cardboard in an interesting way. Normally I use them until they fall apart and actually add plastic wrap to them so I can continue to use them but this one was kind of neat looking and so, I made it into a journal cover and will probably paint on it a little more to give it a new look. I put two signatures inside and it's ready whenever I am to add things to them.

Doodling still happens but it's a bit slower at the moment because my eyes aren't always willing to work late into the night. I mostly like to just rest them after working at the art table for long chunks of time. However, this guy is in a 9 x 12 inch pad and because I decided to practice some doodles, it's become valuable. Once it's finished it's possible I will take it out and cut it up into cool looking shapes for collage. 
 

The finished envelope with the fussy cut bird within a journal page. 

 

Numbers 169-172 in the collage a day journal.

 

 *NOTE: The blog today as I write this isn't liking it when I try to add text to the photos and so there's an explanation under each. It might look a little different but I get the info out and that's really all I wanted to do.

 

 

Enjoy your week!

Cindy,  EarthMotherMosaics - Mixed Media Art

Instagram: @artbyearthmothermosaics 

Stay Peaceful and Enjoy the Journey