Paint Over Technique

An experiment with Lisa Bibi's paint over technique. Lisa taught at ArtFest this year and I read an article about her in Somerset magazine. This is my humble attempt at her style. It turned out pretty good and was fun. I think it needs something more in the upper left, don't you?

Tagged

Stephanie tagged me the other day. Once I figured out what was a "tag", I started to fret. How can I tag 7 other people, I don't really know 7 other people who blog (and Stephanie tagged the one other person I do know personally, LOL). Is it OK to tag strangers? I am so new to this whole blogging thing that I really don't know. I'm just going to take the plunge and hope that nobody minds being tagged by me.

Here are the rules:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on y our blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

7 Random Things About Me:

1. I race cars, autocross to be exact.

2. I went to 13 public schools in 6 states from K-12. And I don't consider it a bad thing.

3. I am a horrible golfer, even though I take lots of lessons and actually enjoy it. I think it's hopeless.







4. I own well over 100 pairs of shoes -- I don't think that's too many, do you?

5. I love SCUBA diving and have been to over 200' deep. Now that really is too deep. This is me in Fiji, yup those are sharks behind me, how cool is that!






6. I turn the wrong way out of elevators, stores and hotel rooms about 80% of the time. You'd think that I would at least have a 50/50 chance, wouldn't you? NOPE!

7. I've visited every Disney Park in the world. That is me in the blue shirt with my mother, sister and daughter at Hong Kong Disneyland.








I am tagging the following people:
Kristi, http://kristielarose.blogspot.com/, an ArtFest acquaintance
Dorit Elisha, http://lifeasafiveringcircus.blogspot.com/, a wonderful mixed media artist, author and teacher
Lisa, http://www.bloggingqueen.com/, a very cool girl I met at ArtFest - interesting blog
Julie, http://www.julbie.blogspot.com/, fellow ArtFester
Amy, http://amyrehnae.blogspot.com/, I know she has already been tagged but cut me a break, I don't have that many blogs to tag.
Mary Beth Shaw, http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/, fabulous artist and ArtFest teacher
Alecia Paulson, http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/, great photographer and blogger

My beautiful girl

Just a real quick post to show you my baby girl -- pretty much all grown up now. Last night was her senior prom and we couldn't believe how beautiful and adult she looked. Of course, she had some slack-jawed boy with her, but we'll just ignore him, LOL.

Pinhole Cameras

A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a glass lens. They can be made out of almost anything, instructions are available all over the web along with how to calculate the exposure time. Corbis has posted several extremely cool PRINTABLE pinhole cameras -- for free.

clipped from pro.corbis.com

Here is a lovely image shot with a pinhole camera. I would be proud of this image from any camera, its even more impressive when you consider the simplicity of the equipment. I am going to get going on this project and try it out.

Alessandra Lami, "In the park in a sunny day" Bologna, Italy "Mamya 645 6x4.5 camera fitted with homemade pinhole, diameter 0.35 mm, F 160, B&W negative Ilford FP4Plus 125 ISO, exposure time 3 sec, EV 14"

Paralysis

I think I spend more time cleaning and organizing my studio than actually working on art. In fact, I KNOW it! Is that a bad thing? I actually love touching and sorting out all my treasures. All those pristene sheets of paper, full tubes of paint and sparkly piles of beads. How can I mess them up? Maybe that's the root of the problem. If I actual use my treasures to create something, maybe it won't be any good, maybe my things are prettier or more valuable in their original state???? When I take classes, I am forced to sit down and DO something. In reality, it's almost always a good result. Why is it so scary to face that quiet studio, so full of potential? I actually found myself cleaning baseboards today when I could have been making art. Am I psycho or what?
This blog is my first baby steps toward putting myself out in the world as an artist, not as a stay-at-home mom who makes 'stuff'. Not that there is anything wrong with being a stay-at-home mom who makes 'stuff' but I have been hiding behind that label too long. I am hoping the tiny pressure of keeping up this blog with kick me into creating more regularly. If you have any good advice, feel free to offer it up.

Color

Color is very much about atmosphere and emotion and the feel of a place. - Alex Webb

My primary art form and creative outlet has been photography for the last few years. I have taken several classes from the Rocky Mountain School of Photography and have taken thousands of images. With all that, you'd think I would be a pro by now. Not so! I am still amazed at how hard it is to make a image with impact and how easy it is to completely mess it up. When I look at my favorite images, I see a few recurring themes. When I am shooting just for the sake of art (as opposed to documenting an event or place) I am attracted to abstract forms and color. These images are all about color and line, the actual item being photographed is not relevant to the final image. In reviewing these images, I am reminded of how much pleasure I got in making them. I really must spend more time with my camera. If you would like to see more of my macro photography, please visit my SmugMug page.

ArtFest

I attended a great art retreat last weekend in Port Townsend, Washington called ArtFest. It was my first time attending this particular retreat and it was amazing. We immersed ourselves in art, without having to worry about laundry, cooking, children and the 'real' world. I met so many fabulously interesting women who, like me, are in a stage of their lives where they are wondering exactly who to be now that the children are grown. As well as so many confident, great artists that generously shared their knowledge, skills and friendship with me.




I took three great classes and learned something from all of them. From Nina Bagley, I took a class called "Wee Book". We made a tiny book from copper, fabric and paper to hold small treasures. What fun! I'll post a picture of it soon.

Then I took "Nature Imprinted" from Dorit Elisha. We learned to make gelatin prints of natural materials. An easy, fun process that has great potential for me. Here is a quickie collage I made in class using the prints:

My final class was with Mary Beth Shaw "Exploring the Abstract". This class was my favorite. I really feel that I stretched out and moved beyond 'craft' into 'art'. Mary Beth was so encouraging and supportive. She demonstrated several, new to me, techniques that I love! I will be exploring this medium a lot more in the very near future. Stay tuned!

I finally gave in...

Everybody I know has a blog and I have finally caved to the pressure. I will try to post frequently. We will see how it goes...