Unexpected Landing

Sometimes in the summer we are graced with the appearance of hot air balloons. This one appeared amongst the neighborhood houses on a rapid and must have been untimely descent.

It came down in a cornfield behind our neighborhood. We walked up, and others in the neighborhood drove to the nearest dead end street out of curiousity. The corn was too high to see more than the balloon, but nothing seemed to be happening.. just an unexpected landing. Within a few minutes a pickup truck with the company's logo drove up. We didn't stay to see what would happen, as the mosquitos were out in droves.

Iris Folding

My first attempts at iris-folding cards for graduating seniors and a birthday. The papers I used for the last two were thin glossy paper from a book of Japanese print giftwrap papers. The top one was origami paper. The addition of a thin gold line at the edges of the folds helped to define the pattern of the iris. I cut the frame shapes on the Craft Robo, though that would have been pretty easy with an x-acto. But these fancy gadgets have to earn their keep somehow...

the sight of stars

A card done for an IOSCA exchange (Images of Color Stamp Art yahoo group). The Somali Woman stamp is from Stamp Francisco, and the star background is Stampscapes. The text stamp is from Penny Black, the bottom portion is cut off. The whole quote is "i know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream" (Van Gogh).

Catrina

For a Letterheads paperdoll swap, I made a Catrina (Day of the Dead) paper doll. This is her traveling case. The saying on the front of the case translates as "When we live with hope, we die happy". The ribbon closures tie at the side, and a pair of eye milagros adorn the front of the case. That's an Acey Deucey stamp - the one with the guitar.








On the side of the case, the words translate roughly as
"There is more time than life".

When the case is opened, there is a top layer with a coffin-shaped piece tied on with string and a heart milagro. Marigolds, flowers of the dead, were constructed of dyed paper flowers and glued to the case and the coffin piece. The hand milagro lifts out the portion of the case that covers the paper doll's clothing.


















The skeleton body was manipulated in Photoshop from clip art and printed on cardstock. Her articulated limbs were attached with the tiniest of eyelets. It was a little tricky making the eyelets tight enough so they weren't floppy, but loose enough so she could be posed. Her makeup was done with Prismacolor color pencils.


















Before she went off to her next round robin destination, I made two outfits for her. They were attached at the back with little bendable copper strips. Her dresses were primarily constructed of decorative paper glued to a paper base, with various trims attached. The trim on her ruffled dress is a lace-stamped tissue paper, her boa is also made of tissue paper. Her bridal veil is fabric trim, along with the pearls accenting the gown, and she carries a simple bouquet of calla lilies.


















Doesn't she make a beautiful bride? She's off on a round robin. I'll post her new duds and bibelots on her return.

UPDATE:

Cris P. added THE most inventive and beautiful items to Catrina's wardrobe!

All manner of tissue paper Dias de los Muertos miniatures, including a little booklet with a sugar skull recipe and the tiniest papel picado banner...

















Queen of the Rodeo...


















The traditional Catrina hat...


















An envelope of faces...













And more! Thanks again, Cris!

Armando Reverón

I don't read all the arts news that comes into the inbox, but this one from an article in the New York Times caught my eye. Armando Reverón was an Venezuelan artist, and he made these life-sized dolls to use as models in his paintings. However, they eventually became a kind of extended family; he gave them names, made them clothes and musical instruments and pets, even constructed a cafe for them to hang out in. The writer descibes them as "tattered mummies, a macabre sight", but I found it touching, at least on the surface, that he peopled his life with these dolls.

Spider Bling

These are spider ring bling. We did these at a Halloween party the other day. The idea came from the beadyeyedbrat Halloween pages online. First painted with acrylic paint, and then sprinkled or dipped in glitter. (A spritz of sealer after the paint dries will keep down "glitter dust".) Jewels, sequins, beads were added with a tacky glue dot ~ (it helps to have a tweezer and a steady hand for the smallest ones).
These are some big spiders that came in the plastic assortment; they're about 3-4 inches from tip to tip though they look smaller in this picture than the rings. Tiny dots of color and decoration can be added with a 3D paint like Scribbles. One could also apply the baubles with one of those fancy tools that heat already-applied adhesive on the back of the jewels. Could also use glitter glue, and I might try a bit of gold-leafing today!

Owl Post

Take an plush owl. This one happens to be an Audobon Great Horned Owl. About 5 inches tall. (It also has a recorded "hoot" that plays when you press its abdomen...) Write a note, roll it up and enclose it, along with some glow-in-the-dark stars, in a "baby soda bottle" (a 2 liter bottle before it is blown up). Tie it securely to the owl's leg, attach a label and postage, and mail it to your kid at camp!

Altered Surplus Library Books - Main College of Art

Susan Winn - "Field of Greens"

A Maine College of Art collaboration with the Portland Public Library produced a collection of altered books created from library castoffs. Most of the books are available for checkout at the library and through interlibrary loan.

View a gallery of images of Altered Books

The books are listed in the library catalog with descriptions and are available for checkout!

International Night Table Decorations

Students are coloring the multicultural designs with Sharpie markers (a happy discovery was that the Sharpies did not dissolve the toner on the transparencies), gluing them with a glue stick onto the metallic paper, and then gluing tissue paper scraps to the back. I glued them back-to-back with a piece of cardstock to keep them stiff, and hotglued the skewer into the sandwich. Then hotglue the skewer into a paper-covered tube (3 juice can lids glued to the bottom keep it from rolling) with a model magic bead that has been pressed into a texture sheet and painted gold to keep it steady.


The first one is done. Nine more to go...

Another 60 Books Project Page

This was a really BIG book, maybe 15 inches tall. A bit intimidating because there was so much to fill. The other entries (3 others) were done on 8.5x11 paper and then glued into the book. Decided to paint this time...


I began with whatever acrylic paint that wasn't completely dried up in the jar... found a dark blue and purple lumiere and added a stainless steel color. After painting the whole page I stamped into the wet paint with a foam design stamp over the whole page. Unsure about what to do next, but sure that I wanted to get it done that afternoon since the book was already 4 days overdue and time is money...


After the paint dried, got out this new set of Souffle pens that are supposed to dry slightly embossed and opaque. I just decided to play around with symbols (thinking about Paul Klee, science fiction, runes, petroglyphs and heiroglyphs ...) and filled the whole page with mostly made-up symbols. Fun, even though the paper wasn't the sort that would make the pen marks 3D.

From the Archives: Peacock Painting

I can't remember if there was a book associated with this project, but I do remember that I brought in some peacock feathers and showed them lots of pictures. It might have been before or after a unit about Indian shadow puppets. I think this is grades one and two.
Marshmallows, regular and miniature, were used for the printing of the eyes of the feathers.

Painting the birds took one art session, and then the feather eyes and glitter the next week.

Paul Klee Inspired Planet Symbols

This lesson plan is from SchoolArts magazine. After learning about the art of Paul Klee (we used the Mike Venezia book) and talking about some of the important elements... use of color, symbols, abstractions... students made a mixed-media (black paint, oil pastels or watercolor) work using scientific planet symbols as an inspiration. After a review of color theory, students chose a monochromatic, analogous, or complementary (or a combination) color scheme.