Sketchbook Challenge January 2011

The first challenge for the Sketchbook Challenge was "Highly Prized". It was harded than it sounded. Because I'm used to sketching objects and things around me not concepts and emotions. So here's what I came up with! Enjoy!

Images from the top left are-

Love-Enlightment-Color/Rainbows

Time-Music-Favorite Books/Reading

Flowers-Coffee&Sunshine-Blue Sky/Birds

Dreams-Home-Nature

Ocean of the Mind-Hands&Eyes-Peace

FAMM January Challenge

Well here's my 2 entries to FAMM for Jan. Challenge. The first one in my hand dyed fabric with fabric leaves and foil candy wrappers bonded to the background. Then I machine stitched a chiffon fabric over the top and then burned holes through the chiffon.



My second offering for this month is a piece of cotton batting that I used to absorb fabric dyes and paints for another project. I thought it looked pretty good so I used a Thermofax screen I had made and screenprinted on top of the batting. I thought it turnout pretty good.



I'm Back!!!

Hello and Happy New Years Day!
Well its been awhile and I realize just how much I missed doing this blog! About a year and half ago(seems like so long ago) time became very precious to me and I had to make some decisions on just how I was going to get things done that really needed to be taken care of. So the amount of time that I spend online and on the computer was huge so I gave up blogging and other activities that were just eating up a lot of time. That being said I now feel I have some time to devote to my blog and other online projects and classes. First on the list is going to my participation with the Sketchbook Challenge.So I'll be posting here and on Flickr my sketches for the monthly challenges.
That's it for now!

All you need is Love-BJP-Feb.09

Here's my Feb. piece for the BJP. Not much beading its a short month and I got behind beading due to that terrible cold that was going around! Plus I decided that I love this fabric and I wanted it to show more than I have done in previous pieces.
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Women Dreaming-Jan.09 BJP

Here's my BJP piece to kick off the New Year! The background fabric is from Australia and the print it based on Aboriginal drawings called "Women Dreaming". For me January is a time to de-stress, relax the holidays are over-lets renew our creative selves and see what happens this year.

Big Stick Art w/ NanC

In January I had the pleasure of getting to make Art with one of my favorite people-NanC Meinhardt! Her latest spin is to have us pick a stick or branch that appeals to us artistically, then fix it up and bead it till it says "Were Done"! We got to play with all kinds of tools-Dremels with all of their attachments (that I had to have but never got out of the box! Well its out now!),Foredom Flex-Shafts (Very awesome tool to have!), all kinds of paints, wood carving tools, air drying clays, wires and fibers and more! By the end of first day we were cover in fine sawdust but the room smelled great with all the wood being worked by 12 very busy artists! So I have to admit that I haven't touched it since that weekend but thats going to change starting next Sunday. I'll have a whole week to work on nothing else so I'll keep you posted!

Personal Symbols an Online Classes w/ Susan Sorrell

I've taken online classes before but this is the first one that really lit my creative fire! It combined everything I love beads, paper, fiber, paint, sewing machines, rubber stamps and etc. Everything I've been collecting for years all of sudden made sense and I found a way to use all the stuff I've saving-greeting cards, calendars, all the odd bits and bobs!
When I was involved with Master Class a few years back it gave me the courage to think outside the bead box and see the possibilities that were possible with all mediums and then combine the best of everything and make something you love!
Susan Sorrell is a wonderful teacher and great supporter of the arts-her online class is up there with Christi Friesen whose online classes I have taken. The directions are great, lots of photos, attention to detail and lots of contact with the teacher including calling her and leaving a voicemail!
Thank you Susan for a wonderful experience which I am still working on (Lesson #3) and I'll be posting the remaining lessons as I get them done. Wait until you see what I did for Lesson #3!
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