How To Work Better

I am going to apply these rules to my art work. 

Saw this sign at my local neighborhood museum shop:

Let's Give Them Something To Talk About . . .

Movie Critique

4 stars!  

Five seemingly unconnected lifelines intersect in the San Fernando Valley: Detective Kathy Farber arrives at a crime scene to find that the corpse is that of her old friend Carmen; Elaine battle her mother and waits for a male colleague to call; Rebecca finds out that she is pregnant, Rose develops a comedic obsession with her new neighbor; and Kathy's sister, Carol, speculates on what might have driven Carmen to suicide.

Gilda Radner says "The Story of My (Her) Life.

I love this. 

I read it on a friend's Face Book post.

I decided to share it with y'all. (You. Lucky. Readers.)!

Story of my life!

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.

- Gilda Radner

Needle Felting - Zombie

Needle Felting 

My Latest Addiction

Now that I have completed a book cover to work on a book binding project, I decided it was time for something more challenging.  I want to do a doll . . .type . . . thingie . . .

My Zoombie!

Not finished

Head Shot #1

Head Shot #2

I did have a body on it, but was not satisfied with it so I pulled it apart!  Back to the creation table!

Go to Hobby Lobby and pick up your Needle Felting Supplies (see early post) and some styrofoam balls (for the shape of the head).

Start pulling the roving to fit around the head, punching/stabbing it into place.  Make sure there are no 'see thru' areas and that you are not stingy with the roving.  Then must pull your roving apart and shape into a nose, mouth and eyeballs.  I found that when i needed a rounded shape, I would slightly wet the palm of my hand and roll the roving in it.  The dampness made the roving form the round shape better.  

Go.  Have Fun!

Needle Felting - Book Cover

Needle Felting

My New Addiction (like I need one!).

Needle Felting is really quite easy after you watch a few You Tube videos explaining the supplies you will need and how to go about working the felt. 

I watched a couple of those videos - supply list in hand headed out to Hobby Lobby.   Totally surprised that they carried everything I needed.

Go to the yarn/cross stitch area.  You will see a bunch of Needle Felting Supplies.  To start you will need:

• Needles (extra because you will break them!) 
• finger protectors (because you will stab yourself!)
• a piece of wool
• styrofoam (lay your work piece on this when you are punching/stabbing)
• roving (you will see these in packages of different colors)

Note: Roving is wool that you can pull from the end to make as thick or thin as you want in order to create your design.  

So here are a few photos of my first book cover - or a piece of felt that I am going to use to cover a book I bind myself.  Not sure if I will use plain paper, lined paper, or naturally dyed paper.  But, atlas, the book cover is made.  

So here I am - fully concentrated being very careful not to stab myself since I did that right away.  Decided to put on one of those finger protectors I purchased at the last minute - and now so glad that I did.  (Ignore all the other supplies laying around). 

Here you see me stabbing or punching the felt into the felt square.  Important:  it is a 100% wool felt square, and the wool I am needling or pounding in is called roving. 

Note the very important finger protector. 

I am doing a random design. 

Working it . . . 

It is a lot of fun!

A different angle of working it . . . 

Have added more roving and making it a fuller design. 

The finished piece!  Yay!  So once you have added all the you want in your design - you flip it over and iron it with the setting of your iron on wool.  This helps in "setting" the punches.   I am really proud of this first piece and ready to tackle something a little more challenging!

I'm thinking I may run a zig zag stich around the outer edges for a more a finished look in one of the colors within the design.  

Yay!  Happy Day!

Muffin Tins for Artists

You Don't have to Bake to Love this Muffin Tin!

Support your local thrift store!

Way too cool!

Tools of My Trade - Sew Easy!

Sew Easy!

Sew Simple To Sew!

Take a well loved paint rag - fold up the botton to meet half way up.  Sew columns for each paint brush you want to hold. Sew easy, sew simple to sew!

Colors and Books . . .

Colors and Books 

Be Still my Heart!

(From Benjamin Moore Paint Store selection cards).  

Did you know . . .

Did you know 

that there are 5 elements in every painting?

1.  drawing

2.  value

3.  color

4.  composition (or design)

5.  edges

1. Drawing:  good drawing skills are fundamental.  This consists of patient observation, good training, & LOTS of practice!
2. Value:  is relative lightness or darkness of an object, 
3. Color:  hues and intensity, and of course, temperature,
4. Composition:  satisfy with good balance, enter from the left of the right, create an eye path, consider the form of composition such at 'thirds' or 'crucible', 
5. Edges:  these occur whenever shapes meet such as subject hair with the background. The eye fixes to sharp edges, but coasts gently over soft ones.  Place your hardest edges near the center of interst.  Also sharp edges that have strong value shifts works even better!

(Reference:  Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color and Light:  Chris Saper).