ArtiphyTheHeart

The Everyday Things

The page above is from one of my "Everyday" journals.

I keep several visual journals for different types of things.  A couple of them, like the pages I posted yesterday and the day before, are introspective and deal with thoughts and issues.  This page is more fun/utilitarian.  It's pretty much a chronology of what-happened-when, so it's on the lighter side.  Every once in a while a particularly heavy day will creep into the book and I'll let loose.  But for the most part, it's just a who, what, where, when, why.  

If you're interested, you can see the covers and the binding by clicking HERE.

Here's one more page from this book.  

A card in a magazine I was flipping through inspired my St. Lucy, so I had to draw her.  I was on an art date with my friend Rita and the only plain paper I had with me was a sketchbook that was not meant for water media, as you might be able to tell from the scratched up fibers in the background.  Once I figured this out, I decided to collage St. Lucy and outline her with my Rapidosketch.  This worked much better.  

All the pages in this book were pieced together from various papers and images before the signatures were sewn into the book.  The duck and cranberries (they're really jelly candies, but let's pretend they're cranberries...) on the page at the top were already there when the book was bound months ago.  So were the papers and the red bench in the second picture.  It happens so often that what's already on the page lends itself perfectly to the theme of the day.  It isn't planned.  It just happens that way.  

Koulourakia

Creativity isn't just about artwork.  Today it's about cookies.  For the Greeks, koulourakia is a traditional Easter cookie.  But being half Russian and half German, I make them all year round.  Especially at Christmas time.  Very yummy butter cookies with sesame seeds.  Not too sweet, and with a teaspoon of ground Mastiha, or Mastic from Chios.  It takes a while to grind the resin into a smooth, white powder, but it's worth the effort, and it smells wonderful!

Place Your Orders At The Coffee Bar

Exhausted, exhausted, exhausted...so I'm taking it easy today.  I decided to just draw what was in front of me, which happened to be my mug of tea and the insulated pot.  It needed silver, so I used the duller side of aluminum kitchen foil, cut it to size and shape, glued it in place, and photographed it with my phone since a scan wouldn't caputre the shine.

Day 11 of Tracy Bunkers 30 Days of Drawing.  Still having fun!

Day 2. Book 2. July 2.

I'm committed to Traci Bunkers 30 Days of Get Your Art On, and I spent the day working, having fun, and shooting crappy photos, as I worked through book two for FTB.  

Here's the book.  It's one of a gazillion that I've acquired *ten for a dollar* at local library discard sales.  This one obviously wasn't purchased for the condition of it's (boring) cover.  I wanted the images inside.  But at 9" X 11-5/8", the book is the right size and shape for a journal, so I decided to work with it.

And here's the story.  Since FTB is really all about turning vintage photo albums into art journals, everyone else in the class has acquired them. Gorgeous ones. Victorian celluloids, antique leather, silver and brass closures, velvet spines and backs, filled with cabinet card frames and sometimes the photos as well.  I looked for weeks. Really.  And found nothing suitable.  But I didn't go to Etsy or Ebay, I wanted to find mine locally, if possible.  Why?  Mostly because of mold.  There are serious allergies in this household, and I wanted to be certain there wasn't any.  

So I emailed Mary Ann and asked her what she would think if I made a knock-off.  A faux.  Not really a phony, more of a book pimped as a vintage album.  She thought it was a fine idea.  

Originally I was just going to jigsaw cut the cabinet card frames from mat board, using a Cricut expressions with a deep cut blade, .svg files, and SCAL 2 software.  I thought of using the red book you can see by clicking HERE and then scrolling down the page, since I have an entire set of them (also library discards), but today I realized it wouldn't do.  I needed to start from scratch.  Research time.

First stop:  Pinterest!  I pinned my way through the web, finding tons of examples of albums and innards all over the place.  Now I have a head full of stuff to pull from as I get ready to sit down and do this thing!  

Once my head is full of inspiration, my head communicates directly to my hands, and without thinking at all, I found myself asking my daughter for, of all things, used velvet?  She said, "Uh, yes!  A purple dress I wore when I was ten is in the Goodwill bin.  Do you want it?"  "That depends," I said.  "Is it nice and used looking?  Any bare spots? Flaws?"  Fortunately there were a few, which not only made it perfect for the project, but eased my guilt at cutting it up (although the chunk I removed could be replaced with a lace panel and the dress would be gorgeous again...).

So that was today.  If you're on Pinterest, you can take a look at my antique albums board, use your imagination, and maybe you'll know what it is I'll come up with before I do.  

But that's for tomorrow.  Now, it's cocktail time!  Instead of choosing one from the official list (yes, MAM has provided us with an official list of FTB cocktails), I've come up with one of my own concoctions to share with the group.  I'll let you know up front that I'm not a rum lover.  Mai Tais are wonderful, the rest is (ugh) rum.  But never say never.  Here's my variation of a side car -- stretching the original recipe so far that I'd probably have to call it a "beside the limo".  If you make it, let me know what you think.  I'm enjoying mine right now!

Beside the Limo (Drink two or three and the name automatically changes to under the limo...)

Put into a shaker with ice:

2 measures golden rum

1 measure triple sec

1/2 measure simple syrup

3/4 measure fresh lemon juice

Strain into cocktail glasses (chilled, with sugared rims is best...)

Add a generous splash of soda and stir

Enjoy!

Don't add the soda to the shaker unless you like liquid explosions.  And if you'd prefer something equally wonderful and refreshing but non-alcoholic, click HERE, and scroll down through the post to Amy's mint lemonade with lime!

Mango Tango Lemonade

I'm exhausted.  Tired to the bone and beyond.  It was 109̊ yesterday.  Maybe that has something to do with it.  Maybe it's because I have a post-it-note on my computer with so many projects listed that it's continued on the back.  Or maybe it's because I got lost in the book I was reading last night and rediscovered myself just as the sun was coming up.  A big, bright, orange sun.  Ripe as a mango.

I've had my orange on for a while now.  Orange is the color of creativity, so I guess it fits.  This is another page from my J.O.Y. journal.   I think it might not be finished, but I added it anyway.

I belong to an artist's group that's listing a different Crayola crayon color each week for inspiration. This is mango tango week.  Most of the color on this page was created with four separate colors of overlapping and layered transparent tape.  The phrenology head was modified in PhotoShop, then printed.  The tone pattern was added with a mango colored marker, and the black blocks were lettered with a mango colored Sakura Souffle pen.  I let the "Spirit of California Past" poke through.  It was the title on the page I covered with collage.  "Proud Heritage" is peeking through also.  

The yellow which pops up here and there reminds me of lemons.  Amy has been making the best fresh squeezed lemonade I've ever had.  We've got a kitchen full of lemons, limes and fresh mint, and she can't make it fast enough.  Hold on a minute while I ask her if I may share the recipe...

... She said "Yes."  She got it from Bust magazine's June/July 2011 issue, but I know she's tweaked it a bit...she's going to type it here:

Mint/Lime Lemonade

 Ingredients:

1-1/2 Cups lemon/lime juice (6-8 lemons depending on size and two small limes)

1 cup superfine baker's sugar

6 cups water (use a good, filtered water for this)

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint, plus extra mint leaves for garnish

How To:

Simple Syrup: Heat the sugar and 1 cup water in saucepan until sugar is completely dissolved. Take off heat and set aside to cool.

Juice the lemons/limes. I did it by hand over a strainer into a measuring cup, but you can use a juicer, or do it without a strainer and pick out the seeds with a spoon if you like your lemonade extra pulpy. Make sure you've squeezed enough to make 1 -1/2 cups of juice. You may need more/fewer lemons depending on how big they are. Don't forget to add those two limes!

Chop the mint and add to the simple syrup.

Pour the remaining 5 cups of water into a pitcher, add the lemon/lime juice, and the simple syrup with mint, stir well. Put in the fridge until chilled.

Once the lemonade is cold, pour it over ice, add a mint leaf to garnish, and enjoy!

 You're going to want to make sure you have extra lemons, limes and mint on hand.   Once you taste this, you'll be making more, and you'll kick yourself if you run out of ingredients.  Amy served ours in frosty glasses that had been chilled in the freezer.  You'll never drink lemonade from a bottle or a mix ever again!  Guaranteed!

A Bit Random, With A Touch Of Randananity

In this post: Part One: Random   Part Two: Randan + a coctail recipe  Part three: A Radom tutorial

These wild beauties were found randomly scattered throughout the lawn.  They now live in a glass cigarette holder which formerly held paintbrushes.

 

 

Randan - Riotous or disorderly behaviour; a spree.  On the randan - "On the spree" --OED

I mixed up this word like a cocktail, along with a couple of suffixes from an online suffix and prefix dictionary

Randananity - Randan+an+ity:   -an: Relating to, native of, like.  -ity: Quality, state

Used in context, this means that I am craving a trip to Peru...or perhaps it's lust to be tripping on Pisco sours.

My friend and neighbor Cecile is Peruvian.  She introduced me to authentic Pisco sours.  Not just some American bartender's rendition, but the real deal.  The overall experience was less like inebriation and closer to being drugged.  You (usually) wake up the next day.  Feeling awful, no matter how little you drank.  (punctuation is everything, don't you think?)  But on balance, that's not such a bad thing...
                                  

Machine-cut dies are not random.  Sometimes you want precision, sometimes you don't.  

  

If you're interested in a quick and easy method for making nested scalloped circles and structured uniformity is not what you're after, then you'll want to click HERE for my tutorial.  No machines.  No dies. Just scissors, card stock and a pencil.   

Ice Cream Days

Spring is here and it's time for a cone.  

Ornamental oranges remain on the tree a little longer than the edible varieties, but they will be gone soon. Buds which haven't yet burst into blossoms are already fragrant.  

 

 
 At the bottom right you can see the new buds.  Soon the oranges will shrivel and harden and fall from the tree.  Ice cream days have arrived.

For a great cone, first go to Cave Creek, Arizona.  You'll know you're in the right place when you see this guy in the parking lot on the corner.

 

He's the Bad Donkey.  Don't worry.  He belongs to the pizza side.  He won't eat your frozen stuff.

 

Just inside the door, follow the Dinky Donkey on the right.  That's where the ice cream is.  The hunt is over;  You've found the treasure cone.

 

 

 Here's a little map I whipped up earlier this week for the Crowabout Group. 

 

  I don't know if it leads to ice cream treasure, but it's worth a look.

"That Fourth Of July...

...When I Was Learning Chinese..."

I think you'll probably be able to read this page if you click it to enlarge.  The point of all this is that it took place over a period of time that included my 7th Fourth Of July.  And while the model in the photo does not look a bit like my mother, the scenario fits.  There is no question whatsoever that my mother could have given a fish a drink from a faucet while flying a plane on a mission in white kid gloves!  She was equal parts deadly-serious and fun-loving, which makes this piece a perfect fit for this week's One Powerful Hour challenge.

My parents were unique, having already lived their lives and careers before I was three years old and retiring--well, only "kind of" retiring--but that's another story.  

Roll the Credits...

Credits to Kohler for the ad, Tim Holtz and Ranger Industries for the stamps, Staz-On (Tsukineko) for the ink, and Sakura and Pitt (Faber-Castel) for the pens, Basic Grey for the paper, and K & Co. for the fish.  An extra BIG thank you to Sakura of America, who will be suppling me with a set of metallic pens as an RAK from the Creative Catalyst team.  

And a Note To My Facebook Friends, and Others Who Are Reading This In Syndicated Formats...

You can always read my notes in their original format, and view all archived posts and artwork, by clicking the link on my profile page to visit my typepad blog.  Questions?  Email me!

Right now I'm

Arranging a portfolio

Hoping to spend more time in paint and glue before the day is done

Feeling guilty for indulging my fast-food cravings...

..."Only one?, right!"...and no, I didn't eat both of them!

...And now that it has "cooled-down" to a mere 104 degrees at 8PM in Phoenix, we're on our way to watch the fireworks display from our back yard patio

Have a happy and safe 4th Of July, Everyone!

Mistletoe and Wine

 

This Thursday It's All About. . .Mistletoe and Wine!

Now that all the holiday movies are starting to make their way into the theaters and each one is vying for its share of the box office profits, when I ran across some old movie posters, I just had to spice them up for the holidays!  Bette Davis and Paul Muni's characters from "Borderline" (above) make up what is probably one of the more unlikely couples to be found under the mistletoe, but with the right attitude, and a little bit of wine.....who knows?  LOL! 

   

Bogie and Bacall are a little more believable for a holiday romance! 

I digitally altered both posters, removing all of the words except the titles, and re-arranging the colors a bit.  The mistletoe is a .png file from a collection of mine, and I'm not quite sure of the source.  Both are printed onto matte photo paper, cut and arranged on the cards.  The wine bottle and glasses are cut from a holiday catalog,  and everything is mounted onto cream colored card, and tied up for Christmas with red satin ribbon and gold lame.  The black dots were punched from cardstock scrap and glued into place.

The Christmas Pig was found in the same catalog as the wine and the glasses.  I carefully clipped him out, placed him onto the card and accented him with some green dots.  I couldn't resist that expression on his face, and with the addition of a little mistletoe, he really looks to me as if he's on his way to present his lady with a nice Cabernet...that wistful, hopeful look in his eye makes me think he's hoping for an evening of amore!  There's just something about him, even with the beret and the necktie, that makes him seem more Italian than French, so the red, white, and green are more than just the colors of the season, they are also the colors of Italy.

The background is done with several layers of acrylic paint.  All of the elements for the tag, with the exception of Signore de Maiale (Mr. Pig), are off-cuts and leftovers from other projects.  Even the tag itself is a recycled price tag that was on a sweater I purchased a year or so ago, so truly this tag is "green" in more ways than one!  Therefore, it will go into the Arty Girlz Recycling Challenge, as well!

The mistletoe is another print of the same clipart I used above, this time carefully cut and glued into place instead of digitally layered and blended.

There's a wonderful prize at the This Thursday blog that you won't want to miss out on, so hurry on over and take a peek!   Susie has donated a great collection of clear stamps, so be sure to get in on the draw, and good luck!!

Have a great day, Everyone!