Encaustic Day

I have had a wonderful day attending an encaustic class with Serena Barton here in Olympia, WA. There is a new art studio here called Queen Bee Art Cottage--- it is a fabulous old farm house made into an art retreat destination! They prepared a lovely panini and fresh fruit lunch, which was much needed in a 7 hour day of painting. I met a lot of great ladies and ended up finishing 6 paintings. Here are a few of them. Some...well, they really don't need to displayed publically! ha!

The lettering is collaged on and edged with goldleaf.

The butterflies are photo transfers. We learned all kinds of techniques!

This one was made using a pretty Paris scene that was the packaging on a bar of soap. I'm still deciding if I love it. I think it has a feel of looking out a window onto the street.

Maybe I'll post a couple more in the future. And, I will definately be playing with my encaustic stuff more now. XO

Cuba: Darcy's Postcard Challenge

This week at Darcy's the country is Cuba! I hope to go there one day in my travels. When I think of Cuba, I think of the wonderful music, and vintage automobiles cruising the streets.

This week I did a gel medium photo transfer ( both images pulled from google) on a canvas panel and painted on layers, doodled, added some crackle, and played around until I liked it.

I decided I really want to send this one to a friend--- Is that bad I don't have more of my ladies' travels on the back? Hope you all don't mind. :0)

Mail Art, Safe Travels

Jo from fiddlesnips and I did a little mail art swap to see how our painted gems would fare between America and England. I am happy to report they both made it through perfectly...and look at my sweet little card that arrived today...both making it in under 7 days! I love it Jo! Thank you!

Shop News

Hello!

I finally finished this large felted bag and listed it in my shop.

It's a big- throw it over your shoulder- bag! It would hold sketchbooks and all kinds of things. I am still hoping for a sunny day to get a few better pictures. I love the colors and I have tried for weeks to really get it! Urgh! :0)  There are little dot details where it opens, and a couple little dots on the back, too. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Mail Art Swap

I participated in a fun mail art swap with Jill from Recycled Daze. I was lucky to receive these two wonderful cards from Jill. I don't think the photos do them justice- they have the most amazing texture and feel! They will be hung in the studio to enjoy!

I also received this lovely watercolor card from Maria! Isn't it beautiful! It feels like having a wonderful page of her sketchbook or art journal.

Thank you so much ladies. XO

Wales: Darcy's Postcard Challenge

This week over on Darcy's postcard challenge the country is Wales.

I had more time this week and decided to research a bit about it, and the people. Somehow, in the click clicking through the internet, I stumbled upon a section of Wales labeled "Snooker".

It reminded me of a time in my 20s where some friends and I went out to shoot pool ( and drink a few!) and all the tables were full. The bartender told us all he had left were snooker balls, and we naively thought we could hit those around like the billiards we knew.

Wrong.

Very wrong. Not the same.

We laughed at ourselves and took the snooker balls back to the bartender. And I have never seen snooker at a bar since in the States.

When I read about this gentlemen, Ray Reardon, I immediately loved him! How could you not?

Here's a bit of how Wikipedia summorizes him:

Born Oct. 8, 1932, retired Welsh snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s. His dark widow's peak and grin gave him the nickname Dracula.

At 14, he became a coal miner, but after a bit of scare, he got out of that line of work, and later became a police officer.

He really sounds like the coolest guy....if I can't sit and have a beer with him, the least I can do is make a postcard with his image.

It was transfered onto muslin and sewn into this 4x6 card.

Margaret continues her journey around the globe in search of new and exciting adventures. She's decided to mingle in the pubs of Wales and learn snooker.

Canvas board postcards

I have been playing with paint and ephemera and making 5x7 collages. I like doing these on the small canvas boards and just writing the address on the back and mailing them like postcards. The folks at my post office seem to like them too.

Welcome Home, Little Quilter

Many of you have seen the unfinished version of her in my profile picture, but I have never published the whole doll on my blog. About a year ago, I packed her up safe and sound, labeled her, and sent her off on an adventure to Art Doll Quarterly. Each month I hoped to see her on the pages, but alas, I will not.

I thought I would be a teeny bit sad if "the quilter" wasn't published, but surprisingly, I'm not at all. I was so overjoyed to see her again after all this time, and she was even more adorable than I remembered. She got a happy welcome home, photographed by me, and happily placed on the mantle to enjoy.

Maybe later she'll share stories of her journey to California with me.

So, here she is, my little girl, my quilter, my little love.

Her quilt measures 8 1/2 in x 5 1/2, with 3 inch star blocks

I am so excited to share her with all of you. xo

France: Darcy's Postcard Challenge

I am just starting up Darcy's Postcard Challenge. As a lover of mail art and postcards, how could I not participate? So, here I am. It's week 5 on the challenge, but my week 1. I'm jumping in with the great theme of France.

I made this mixed media card with all kinds of scraps of paper and fabric lying around my craft table. And, I happened to have some dried lavender to tuck in the felt heart pocket. My two characters are Antoinette and Margaret, who may be loosely based on my maternal grandma and paternal great grandmother, but I'm still working this out.

I punched a hole and added an eyelet so I can keep them all on ring.

I look forward to visiting all the blogs participating and having a new creative challenge.