Taking the etsy plunge July 22, 2007

So I have been madly creating masterpieces (okay, so not masterpieces, but art nonetheless) and now they have to go somewhere.  And with my newly diagnosed heart condition (so that’s why I get so tired!)  keeping me off the arts and craft show circuit, I need to sell some stuff.  So I have set up my Esty shop – www.beautifullystrange.etsy.com.  My shrink plastic/Sterling silver charm bracelets are there along with my mixed-media hardcover journals, memory/collage pendants and a few original pieces of art.  Hopefully, this will bring a little business my way so that I can buy more art supplies and make more stuff!  (Wow, this sounds like an addiction.  Hello my name is Kathleen and I am an art-o-holic.)

 The piece shown above is one of the pieces I am offering for sale on Etsy.  As always, I welcome your comments and look forward to hearing from you.

Kathleen

I just flew in from Cleveland and boy are my wings tired. July 18, 2007

My bird house is done.  How do I know it is done?  Because I am out of ideas as to how to make it better.  Simple as that.  This bird house was made for a swap on the Embellished Circus yahoo group.  I highly recommend this group to any aspiring mixed-media artist out there.  They are an incredibly talented group  – I was very flattered to be allowed to join. 

Now for more about the bird house.  This is a miniature non-functional bird house decorated with paint, paper, markers and watercolors.  I chose a vintage Paris map and added the sentiment “I just flew in from Cleveland and boy are my wings tired”  in french. Okay, so it didn’t translate exactly, but the general idea is there.

 Oh no! I just thought of something to add!  Better send it off quickly!

 Enjoy and, as always, let me know your thoughts.

Kathleen

Is it soup yet? July 17, 2007

Lately I find myself wishing that making art was more like cooking.  Meat has to get to a certain temperature before you know it is done.  Or the cheese has to bubble.  Or the crust has to brown.  Why can’t art work that way?  How do you know it is done?  My last two pieces I have worked and worked the piece yet failed to realize when it is done.  I find myself wishing I could go back a step or two and leave it alone.  The piece pictured here”Stop and smell the roses” is one of those pieces.  I still have a step or two left.  Mainly, adding some nails and a hanger.  Maybe a little fiber or ribbon. 

I would love to hear your thoughts. 

Kathleen

*** Update – the finished project is on the right and for sale on my Esty site http://www.beautifullystrange.etsy.com

Skinny book page – fancy ladies July 13, 2007

Here it is, the second installment of my skinny book pages for Chrysti Hydeck’s exchange. (For more info, click on Chrysti’s link at right.)  I call these my “Fancy Ladies” which is nicer than saying vintage sluts.  (and thank the gods for them!  I just love these images.)  Anyway, I wanted to immortalize them in my own way, so here they are . 

It is funny how these pages come together.  Some of them just flow and naturally come together, others are a real struggle.  Just like in the funerary pages, some of them I love, some leave me a little flat.  I just hope the recipients are pleased. 

Kathleen

Skinny book pages – funerary art July 5, 2007

I just signed up for Chrysti Hydeck’s skinny book exchange (as featured in the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors) so I am starting to work on my pages.  There are a few different swaps but the requirements for mine are 26 all original pages sized 4×8.  Since I get three pages out of a piece of watercolor paper, I am doing them in sets of three with a different theme for each set.  I am using this as a way to experiment with all these techniques and styles I am reading about lately. 

Above are the first three pages I made for the swap.

To learn more about the swap, follow the Art by Chrysti link to the right. 

Birdy, birdy July 5, 2007

My latest work, made for a swap at the Embellished Circus group.  I just heard from the recipient and she seems happy with it.  I thought I would post it here for all to see.  The requirements were for a 6 inch by 6 inch canvas.  Having seen canvases just that size at my local store, I couldn’t wait to sign up.  However, once I went back to the store (and other stores after that) I found no such canvas.  What’s a girl to do?  So I bought a 5X5, asked permission from the receiver to stray from the formula and off I went.  Turns out, my swap receiver was in a similar predicament!  Anyway, here it is, in all it’s tiny glory.

Katheen

Art is everywhere July 3, 2007

I just signed up for a skinny book swap with Chrysti Hydeck ( http://www.alteredabbey.com/shop/) a member of one of my altered art groups.  Not sure why, but this sent me on a creative journey using funerary art. 

When I first moved to DC, I would drive up Rock Creek parkway every day and catch a glimpse of the back of a very old cemetery.  Years later, I happened to find the entrance only to discover that they do not allow photographs.  The monuments are spectacular and the paths wind through tree covered lanes past the most amazing statues and markers you have ever seen.  I was sorely tempted, but I couldn’t bring myself to violate their rules.  Later on, I found out that Eleanor Roosevelt, during her husband’s presidency, loved to sit on a certain bench in this cemetery and contemplate her deepest thoughts. 

So, a few weeks ago, I was wandering around DC trying to find Congressional Cemetery when I stumbled upon another beautiful graveyard full of amazing statues and lovely markers.  I took photos until my camera batteries died and can’t wait to go back and get more.  I have used these photos for the above art journal as well as some of my skinny book pages which are not quite finished.  Hope you enjoy.

Kathleen