Tired eyes and a second look.....

As you can see in this photo of steampunk jewelry, I was careless with the liquid nails, the adhesive for this project in Brenda Mattson's class at Art and Soul.  I had no idea I had slopped the glue until I looked at this photo. Once I had a magnified, close-up view, I was able to clean up the mess.

I wonder how many details in our lives pass by us unnoticed. Do we really look closely at the things that fill our space? Are we really aware, really here?  Or do we run fast, blissfully ignoring the little details that could, if cleared up,  make our lives better?

What things in our lives could be improved, made more likeable, more appreciated if we took the time to look for the little things that clog up the gears?

Looking at the big picture is a good thing, but I hope to take a look into the nooks and crannies of my surroundings to see what can be improved.  I hope. Slow down. Become aware.

Bracelet made in another steampunk jewelry class with Brenda, Art and Soul, 2011

A trip to the mountains and rambling thoughts

It was such a lovely Sunday afternoon that The Donald suggested we go to the park up in the Thompson Canyon.  Our city owns the land and has preserved it for us to have a lovely place to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and river.  We almost never go there, so I was surprised and delighted.  Packed the cooler and the camera and off we went!

The leaves were starting to change and many bushes had berries. The bees were enjoying the last of the flowers...... and our food!  The sound of the river rushing by was so relaxing. We read and rested all afternoon.

The iPAD app Frame Magic was the app used to create the montage above. There were so many neat things to photograph that I had a super time wandering along the paths....and sometimes off the paths. (Don't tell the ranger.)

A portion of the park has the remnants of the old machinery that used to be used to generate electricity for the city.  Most of this was wiped away in the Big Thompson Flood back in the 70's.  The rusty remains are a reminder of lives and homes lost that night as the water rushed down the canyon in the dark. Many regular people became heroes that night.

Speaking of heroes, do you remember the videos shown on tv a few weeks ago showing people lifting a car to save a motorcyclist from burning to death? Amazing what people can do when they have to. I wonder how many everyday heroes we never hear about. Hats off to them!

As the sun went down behind the mountains we headed back to the city to re-enter our regular lives. It was a nice way to spend the day.....and now I have many more photos to play with!

Chain Maille, Art for the Left Brained Person

I find myself falling back into the left-brained world. It is not as much creative as linear, but one can make some beautiful items that bring joy to people.

Those who create variations of the ancient patterns amaze me.  I am happy to follow their directions to get to the finished product.  The process can be relaxing unless too many of the small jump rings fly across the room. We did learn to not go barefoot after a chain making session.

Scott David Plumlee teaches chain maille at various venues in the art and jewelry world. He is always well organized, patient, and has wonderful designs that he has created himself.  The above is one of his designs that I made in one of his classes.

Dale Wigley shows her creations at the vendor shows at Art Unraveled and Art and Soul. She even makes her own jump rings before making the chains. One amazing lady....you will see her in Destination Creativity, Ricë Zachary-Freeman's new book on art retreats.

Beauty can be done one step at a time when the creativity muse is asleep.

I think it is time to go to paint a page!

Fabric and Photos

One of my books was made in a class with the Huskamp ladies at Art Unraveled.  We took the pages out of a Reader's Digest Condensed Book and covered the covers with fabric using iron-on adhesive.  Watercolor paper was also covered with fabric and fabric hinges were used to make an accordion book from all the pages.  Then collages were placed onto the pages using fabric, stamped fabric, quotations printed on fabric, and photos printed on fabric.

Some of the collages have been stitched on the sewing machine before being place on the pages. Some had items added with adhesives. Writing can be added.  Looking through the pages and feeling all the textures is wonderful.  There were so many variations displayed by the students in the class. It was truly wonderful to see the results of all those imaginations at work....or was it play?

The things you find......

As you know, I am continually cleaning the art space.  One of these days it all of the things will be in their place ready for me to find and use them.  At least, that is the premise of all this work.  Maybe I am just delaying doing art, however, I usually find myself delaying the cleaning while a page just has to be painted.

One aspect of the purging is finding things I had lost track of over time.  This page is from a journal started at Art Unraveled in 2008; Jane LaFazio was sure we could all sketch and add watercolors to our work.  I am still not sure how right she was, but I guess some practice would be helpful.  I cannot just put the journal on the shelf and think that I will really learn how to produce a sketch journal.

I wonder sometimes why I think I should be able to do something right away, without practice, without learning, studying.  I encourage others and give them time to grow.  I need to give myself that same opportunity.  Take time to practice that which you wish to learn; you may surprise yourself one day.