Friday - Bits and Pieces

Bits and Pieces really does fit well as a title. Rounding out a week filled with: a lot of art, thoughts of art, looking back on art I've made. So ... art.

I gifted my Grandson his piece of art on Wednesday, his 18th birthday. He loved it. Even though this motorcycle didn't have a long life, it's being used to learn how to fix them mostly and he has a special place in his heart for this machine. And now has something else for his wall to add to the many handmade gifts I've given him over the years. As you can see in the photo of him opening it (I used painted papers to wrap it up in) he said "Cool!" as he saw it. Yay!🥳

In a previous post or two I've mentioned the painted paper sheets I glued together then cut down to use in my journals and on cards. I was looking at them and decided to lay them all down to have a look. The first photo they are on my table.

Some of these will go into journals but a few might get cut into strips (the longer ones especially) and used in some awesome way.

What's really nifty, to me anyway, is all of these pieces were once individual painted papers. Gluing them together and then cutting them down creates a new piece of art. The last batch I did, I didn't draw doodles or add paint to them like I had with the other sheets I made. I was tired when I put glued the sheet together and in the morning I'd cut it before remembering I wasn't really finished with it. After looking at the smaller pieces once they were cut out, I didn't like them as much. They were boring. I actually love the grungy look of a wild pencil or paintbrush or tons of squiggly lines within the art, stamps, ink, circles, stencils, etc. And so I learned something about how to approach these sheets and will take that with me when I make the next sheet. Possibly today. And I reminded myself to never underestimate the power of writing a note! If I had put a note near the large sheet I'd made, to draw doodles, etc on it, that would have saved me from looking at these pieces as "less than". However, they each can get doodles, paint and so on, on them and will become just as I like them.

Meanwhile, very little work has been done on the mosaics I have waiting patiently for me in the Purple Palace. I did a little bit on the piece sign yesterday. It's almost filled in with glass and ready to sit in the "to be grouted" pile.

This weekend we'll be celebrating my Grandson at a party and next week I have an eye exam to test for glaucoma. I'm fairly sure I have it (all of my family on my Mom's side has had it) and when I had the last eye exam recently, they suggested I go to a specialist for testing. Keep good vibes coming. I'm truly grateful for the eyesight that helps me see and create art. Hopefully I'll be able to continue for quite some time to come. 

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Wednesday - Art Table Madness!

It is madness here this week! My goodness there's so much going on ... many started projects in both the Purple Palace and at the art table. I'll keep it simple, though, and share just some of the completed or almost completed photos with explanations. No need to take you into the madness with me with the WIP's (work-in-progress). 

What fun to take an existing photo of myself and make it into an abstract. Honestly it was torture at first ... I just didn't want to do it because I didn't want to ruin it. Once I realized abstract is the best way to go and what happens, happens and to just be free thinking about it; don't take it too seriously, in other words, I was good to go with it. And go I did! Twice! I shared the other self-portrait here as well. Scroll down to find it. I did this one using acrylics, stamps, collage papers, Pasca paint markers in black and white and a white gel pen. I'm not in love with it, but I keep trying every so often to find my way around faces. Why not practice with my own?! Other than hearing myself say: "UGH" once in a while, I'm learning, it's okay to fuss once in a while. 

This is some paint textured with baking soda on deli paper. Fun process and feels like sandpaper. Lots of possibilities there with this technique. I am taking a favorite art print I recently did and gluing it on the paper which is on a wooden board and has a hanger ready to get placed somewhere in my room. 

This card just sort of evolved into pink things. I didn't used to like pink, but after using magenta for a while, I discovered it's a great color to use. This card is in an art journal created with an old greeting card, wrapping paper, collage paper, ribbon and stickers. 

Butterflies are making their way throughout my art these days too. Gotta love it, because I think of my Dad whenever I use one in my art. I feel he'd like that. This is the other side of the page in the same art journal shown above with a lot going on from my own art cut and glued, to a few pieces from a greeting card, a chamomile tea box, magazine cut outs, stamps, book pages, dots, stickers and painted papers. 

This one was really fun to do. I love the paper I used for the vase. I have no idea how I made it and I'm fairly sure I'll never duplicate it. I recently got some flower stencils through Amazon and just pulled them out to use here. Wow I love them! And I used the baking soda and paint technique here as well on the flowers, along with a few collage papers and part of a sun doodle. Another art journal page.

These are the roll-off papers I use when I'm painting or using the Gelli plate. I'm in love with the second one shown here, using some of the new stencils and my favorite circle stencil. Neither of these are getting used for collage just yet. I want to keep them as they are for now. If I make enough pages like these, I'll glue them together into a large sheet and then cut them down to a nice size. Eventually, they will get used.

Here's the second attempt of a self-portrait in an art journal as well and one I like much better than the first. I used watercolor, stickers and cut outs from books and word sticker quotes. My favorite is: "darling, you are a work of art". In this case, it's true! I cut out around the glasses, hair and hat and glued it over the photo I printed of myself to use to trace the face onto paper. Part cartoon, part photo. Pretty cool. 

More collage flowers in an art journal. I love the wonky look of these two pages. I can tell as I'm making journals, I have many going at the same time, that I'm finding a style I enjoy more than others. That IS why I have been making these journals, to practice different techniques and styles and see what speaks to me.

"Creativity Takes Courage". The latest card using the cut up sheets of painted papers I made recently. I added a flower stencil in white and a strip of deli paper that looks like a film reel were added.

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

Friday - Bits and Pieces

There's a lot of little things from the week I'd like to share. I'll start with the mosaic peace sign. I've been working on a section at a time up til this week. I had a spurt of energy that lasted as long as the album Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and a few songs by the Doobie Brothers. Which equaled about 45 minutes, I am guessing. I finished three sections, leaving three sections left to do before grouting. Not bad!

 I did a collage on a small bottle (sweet and sour sauce maybe?) and added wonky looking twine and an awesome earring.

 I covered a piece of cardboard from a cereal box and cut out shapes for journaling. That was a lot of fun and easy!

 I also did a card, a windowed envelope, some ink stamping, and an awesome shaped piece that came from a box (I put the red flower on it).

 Over the weekend (Labor Day weekend many have a four day weekend - enjoy your play time if you get it!) I'd like to use a few of the collage papers (shown under the red flower - pile on the left ←) I made into a large sheet then cut down into nice pieces for my journals or I can cut them down more and glue them to cards. Maybe I'll do both. And maybe I'll make another big sheet! I really loved doing that with my scraps.

And I'm working on my website ... taking the collage art prints available on Fine Art America and adding them to the website under their own heading. I have 9 collage pieces on FAA at the moment. I'm taking screenshots of a few choices offered (canvas prints, framed prints and throw pillows), putting them together using the Pic Collage app on my computer, then getting it on the website with general info and a link to take you to my page to see sizes, prices, other items offered and to purchase. Each thing offers a great turnaround time but due to upcoming winter weather, the holidays (yes, they ARE coming whether we're ready or not!) I think giving extra time, between 7-10 days, is reasonable.

Doing the computer stuff ... I used to do it for a living but I'm retired now and I find it's a lot of work for my brain, but I can do a few each morning before it goes fuzzy. Right now, at this writing, I have 2 finished. Wow. I might have to kick it up a notch. LOL

The photo above shows the editing I'm doing on the computer. It is harder now, especially when I want to be getting messy with paint or grout.

Meanwhile, I purchased a new Lamb Chop for our dog this week. I thought I was getting the small version that she always gets (I think she's shredded 4 so far) but it turns out I got the BIG version. She loves it! You can see video of her playing with it right after we gave it to her through Instagram. Check it out.
 

Happy Hinata. 💓

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

If you'd like to support the artist go to BuyMeACoffee and buy me a cuppa. It's always greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. 👄💝 

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Friday - Painted Paper Fun

I watch a lot of crafters doing their thing on YouTube. I mean a whole LOT! They all inspire me to try new things and not be afraid to experiment and learn. I have the best teachers! I'm one lucky gal!!

Here are the names of some of my favorites people on YouTube (in no particular order):

Jackie Bernardi @PaintedPaperStudio, Catherine Rains (the one who taught me all about painted papers in January 2025 and opened up a whole new world) @catrains.artist, and Laurie Richardson Haley @BlackbearyForest.

 

I'm fairly sure they probably won't see this but I want to thank you, ladies, for teaching me such inspirational artful things with painted papers and collage. You are all rock stars in my life! 🌟 😘

In case you hadn't noticed, my focus right now is painted papers. I like to see how others approach the blank page with acrylics i.e.: art journals. Many use that blank page as the "first" layer, slowly adding paint, designs, drawings, stickers, pencils, doodles, etc. onto the paint once it's dry. Sometimes on paper, sometimes in journals. This is an exciting thing to learn because it really is limited only by the imagination.

I've learned the more I practice, the more I want to practice. The more pages I paint, the more I want to paint. And I LOVE the layered look. Putting at least 3 layers of painted papers over each other might seem like a waste but it really isn't. It's all part of a technique I've gotten quite fond of and use often. The photo below is a good example of a finished piece done on 4 inch wood (coaster size). I discovered this technique through Jackie Bernardi.

Embrace the glorious mess that you are.

I've only been making collage fodder since January of this year. It hasn't slowed down, I haven't lost interest and I haven't been distracted by much other than the normal distractions of other art that I do and it's now August. Pretty sure it's something I'm going to continue to do.

Here's some examples of studio life these days: 

Sorting painted papers during the beginning of the year while taking Catherine Rains' online class. How cool are they?!

Gluing pieces down in an art journal. Scraps never go to waste!

And here it is, the photo above, finished. I might add something else at some point.

Cutting out circles and gluing them together for an art journal or collage. I've been making shapes, mostly circles since I started making painted papers.

SO much to do here ... a full day of fun! Dot painting the black things on the top right, gel pen fun in the center right, cutting out shapes at the lower right, the envelopes on the left hold all the shapes I cut out for journals and collage pieces of art.

A page in my collage practice book using purchased printed papers found online. Kinda love the flower theme on this page.

When I have too much paint on the roller, I use a piece of paper, old magazine pages or book pages. At this point, adding designs, doodles and more paint from brushes and my fingers are added slowly (a few days usually) until it becomes an awesome piece of collage fodder. This is what I learned from Laurie Richardson Haley. Pretty cool, huh.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For some reason the photos I've placed here want to stay on the left side of the page. If I read HTML I'm sure I could figure it out ... but I do not ... so my thought was at least you can see them. And that's that!

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

Friday and Fine Art America

I'm going to be taking a short break next week but before I do, I thought I'd share some nifty art from my FineArtAmerica site.

 Here's a favorite art collage called Sweet Sleep. You can find it using the link above.

 

I'll be away from Monday, July 28th until August 11th.

Please feel free to contact me; I'll still be checking my messages regularly.

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

Friday - Weekly Wrap Up

Wrapping up the week with mostly business-oriented things while the moon is full. This is a time for completion before the waning moon arrives and introspection begins again.

I mentioned working on my website and that is still happening but I DO have 25 mosaics listed and that's progress for me! I have more to add and will be doing that throughout the next few days, I hope.

I took a screenshot a few days ago of 20 out of 25 mosaics. I love how they look all together. Aren't they pretty?!

 

You can find them in the "Mixed Media" tab. So far, of course, there's only mosaics but more and different kinds of art will be added as the summer continues. There's a link to the website next to this blog post. Check it out or click here!

I've started creating some paper mosaics and these will get listed as well on my site. I used the layered technique that I love so much. Here's an example of one of them.

4 x 4 inches paper mosaic on wood

Slowly I’ll be switching over blog posts too on my website. Everything will be in one place; easier for us all!

Meanwhile, the weather here has been a bit rough; HOT and lots of storms. We used to love the storms but now that our dog has decided loud bangs and booms after the 4th of July fireworks near us continued for a few days aren't so much fun and shakes a lot when they're happening, we dread them. Hopefully we'll only have another week before they head on out. Cross your fingers for the pup's sake.

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

Monday - Some News About My Art

There's always changes happening here with me and my art. I love to "go with the flow" and see where it takes me.

At the moment, I've put my Etsy shop on vacation. I may end up closing it for good or going back to it next year, but right now, the only place you'll eventually find my art for sale will be on my website.

I waffle around and around with this; making a decision to ONLY sell one place, then switch it around and around again. My decision to leave Etsy is due to not having any sales for quite some time and low visibility as well.

Once I get some art up on my website, I'll be sure to give those of you who follow and read my blog posts a heads up. I'll also do a lot of social media visits to remind folks when a new item has been added to my website (both mosaic and collage art).

 

There is an Update on my website under the section Bits of This and That. On the "splash" page of my website you will see:

THIS SITE'S ART SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I'm working on adding my art to this site, so bear with me, it will take some time. If you don't see something you've liked in the past, please, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Thank you!

And that about does it for today.

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

It's That Time Again ...

Once a month, since January 2025, I block out a chunk of time away from social media forums and deliberately live without sharing my art and general life with animals and family.

This month, I am taking two weeks, starting today May 19th until June 2nd.

Before I share about that, I'd like to mention that I have a new Facebook Page:

Earthmothermosaics - Mixed Media Art

Please feel free to check it out and follow along if you'd like! Thank you. 💜

I'm planning a few things while I'm away from the social world of course but mostly, enjoying my home and heart within, getting and staying centered, and maybe trying a few new things relating to art journaling and collage.

The dish piece gathering to get spruced up and packed for selling is on-going. Not much has been done because I'm waiting for some colanders to help move the process along a little quicker. You can read that post here.

Now that my 100 day collage challenge is over (filled the 2nd book with day 108!), click here if you're interested, and the mind-blowing two weeks I had with the Mastering Mixed Media EXPO 2025 is done, I'm allowing the muse to guide me to the next adventure. Here's the post I made about that: MMMEXPO2025

I tried one more thing although it didn't work out exactly but it was a learning experience. I'm not comfortable painting faces on a page. I do make mosaic faces but drawing or painting isn't yet something I enjoy. I believe I'll have to keep trying but getting this one done was important and I did it! A few folks have asked if these art pieces I'm sharing are for sale. Bless their hearts. No, none are for sale but maybe at some point they might be. Here is my best rendition of a sweet hippie girl.

I have to admit I do think she's cute. But I'm not ready to try again just yet. This is glued into my current art journal and I've already added a few things to her since this photo. That's how it is with these journals, I have learned. Many of us go back and add a little "this and that".

At the moment, I'm feeling a lot like I need to just allow it all to settle but of course I need to be artful every day as well because that is a habit I formed this year and try to adhere to. So right now I'm doing prep work.

This is what I learned after watching some MMM videos; bits and pieces of what they shared and am adding it to my art journals eventually in my own style. I'm cutting out shapes using old hankies I've painted and added an embroidered back stitch, and pieces of collage fodder that are getting cut into flowers and other cool designs like vases, plus I'm using scraps of collage papers to decorate empty bottles (one is a gift and won't be shared until it's been delivered) and a really cool piece I recently did on a piece of wood.

 

Old hankies being used for art. The top area is an embroidered table runner that had so many holes in it when I started to cut these embroidered pieces out, it basically disintegrated. In the center of this photo some hankies were painted yellow and copper, some with red flower petals and another green leaves not yet back stitched.

All of the above will be added to art journals as I create the pages. Kinda cool, huh.

I did one this week using coffee as my theme.

I love adding elements to the pages in an old, discarded book. It brings me great joy and the muse is happy!

This is the wood piece using collage paper, acrylic pens and a quote "Discover Hidden Talents". That's a message for me to keep pushing beyond the comfort zone and watch some amazing things happen.

I'll be back on June 2nd and write a blog sharing all I've done or what I've learned. Until then, stay safe as you possibly can. Remember to be creative every day! You're soul will thank you for it.

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com