Coming to you straight from my vacation dockside are these zoo tags.
First there is the Pretty in Pink flamingo nestled within his cage. The` second tag features Mr. Tiger.
In addition to using the amazing GSL chipboard, both of them feature some of my newest digital image releases–At the Zoo #1 and In the Garden – Bird Cages.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s statement, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,” is so powerful in my life right now that it inspired me to make this mixed media piece.
While mixed media in its strictest definition is not one of my strongest skill sets, I am always trying to learn more and improve little by little.
I am pleased to say Gyspy Soul Laser Cuts was kind enough to feature this work on their blog.
Have you ever felt something similar to a panic attack? Writing Part 2 of the Tutorial for the Never Ending Book certainly brought it on for me. First, I misplaced my notes. This book is ginormous, so if I did not have my notes, there would be no way I could recall how to make the pages.
After searching through my my messy office and then my even messier studio, I finally remembered I had written Part 1 of the Tutorial while sitting in a hospital waiting room. I looked in my book bag and found my notes. Phew!
Look who is pretty in pink. More importantly, look who is strong in pink. Canvas Corp is featuring my Girl Power tag and tutorial on their blog today.
Only the Mermaid knows what timeless treasures and crusty old bones hide deep beneath the Sea. Nuggets of gold, silver platters, ancient relics…the fierce Mermaid and her scaly steed guard this watery tomb.
So many adorable pictures of my kids sit unseen in boxes. Now that “my babies” are teens, I am trying to make more time to showcase some of those special snapshots in time.
Here is a mixed media tiled frame I made to showcase one especially colorful picture of my daughter on a visit to Disney World. While I used a different technique, I was first inspired by the work of the talented Lora Mahaffey. You can see my tutorial featured at the ColourArte blog
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Great Stuff
Prince was our hometown hero.
Most of us took a quiet pride in him in a typically reserved Minnesotan way. Writer James Lileks summed it up perfectly when he described his early encounter with Prince in this Star Tribune article. “Everyone knew it was Prince. Here’s the Minnesota thing: Everyone left him alone. There just seemed to be an understanding that you were not cool enough to go bother him. It wasn’t personal. It was just a fact. There’s Prince over here on the cool spectrum, and then there’s you, waaaay over there, and somewhere in the middle is Don Knotts.”
I can’t help thinking how even though he was of the world’s greatest musicians and a revered rock star, Prince died all alone. I hope he knew–in spite of our reticent ways–just how much his hometown loved him.
I designed a stencil and subsequent altered tag as a small remembrance of him. I hope you check out my tutorial featured on the ColourArte Blog
Great Stuff
It is almost magical: a warm spring evening, a light breeze and a starry sky. These celestial mixed media pinwheels remind me of this special time.
Here is where you can see my tutorial on how to make pinwheels.
These pinwheels kind of makes me want to skip out on all my work, make up some lemonade and go sit on my porch swing right now. Ah, but I have a lengthy blog post to write. Of course, I could just send you over to my tutorial…
…and then…
…I could just…
…play hooky…
For moms of young kids, Mother’s Day can be difficult. I bitched for years about not being able to enjoy the “holiday” because it meant racing around trying to honor my mom, step-mom as well as my mother-in-law before she passed away. At least my husband would help my kids give me a gift–I know single moms have it harder. .
Losing my Dad and nearly losing my mom this year gave me an attitude adjustment. Immensely grateful my mom is still with us, I am determined to relish this day. Read the rest of this entry
For 18 or so years we keep our children safe–all the while strengthening their wings and slowly teaching them to fly. Finally the day draws near when they are ready to leave our nests and fly away on their own.
Suddenly, in the beat of a wing, the core focus of our lives is taken away from us. It is terribly tempting to tightly lock the door to the birdcage, keeping our vulnerable fledglings safe under within our care.
Yet, a caged bird will not sing. We know we must let them fly away. There’s the saying that “if you love something, let it go free. If it loves you, it will come back.” Usually, our children come back. Yet we know deep that things will never really be the same. Our nests are forever changed.
I created this art, featured at Alpha Stamps, as testimony to the experience so many of my friends are going through–the bittersweet experience of seeing children leave for college or another adventure. The cage, which I made from paper mache, is lined with “bird advice” a mother might say to her children. Read the rest of this entry
