Saturday Play

Here is my second card for "Project 365", titled "a spontaneous tree."  Mixed media, made with painted paper towel background, collage images cut from clothing catalog page, paint pen, gel pens.
If you want to follow along with all of the cards being made for the project, just click button in the sidebar to go to the Naked Heart Art page.

Other "artsy" activities today have included some organization around swaps I am hosting on ATCsforALL, creating the header for this blog, and playing with the formatting.  I'm sure I'll still make more changes!

Wishing you JOY!
Cheryl

Art At Last

Well, today has been a busy day, but I am topping it off with a little bit of art in the form of this lighthearted little ATC featuring a vintage photo, scrap papers, pastels and markers. Those impish kiddos looked like "good eggs" to me. :)

**This card was submitted as my first card for the 2010 Project 365**

And now I'm off to dreamland!
Cheryl

Art Play Journal!

Wanted to pop in and post images of my creative endeavors from Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I started an Art Play Journal and these are the first couple of entries.




Very fun, free, relaxing format. Inspired by Teesha Moore after watching some of her journaling videos, but making it my own with different colors and changes in mediums...no watercolor washes or chalks...I'm enjoying it! And if I get tired of it, I'll just try something else in my play journal.

What are YOU doing just for fun?

Hugs!
Cheryl

Previous 2010 posts transferred from other website

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Bit By Bit
Bit by bit is the way I have been creating this week. Sunday's "art" consisted of applying watercolor washes to some journal pages and loose watercolor sheets. Completed one postcard in a "Zetti" style on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday I started work in a new journal which I am really having fun with! I'll try to get some pictures up this weekend.

Here's the Zetti style postcard...buggy girl. :)

I hope you are getting to do at least a bit of something you enjoy each day!

Cheryl

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Small and Silly Art
Today was a nice quiet day! There never seem to be enough of those to suit me. AND I managed to make 4 ATCs for katilady's "In the Style of Teesha Moore" swap over on atcsforall.com

Here's a peek:

They were fun to make, but it felt like I was trying to squish a lot of art into a tiny space. I am planning to try some larger pieces, using Teeha Moore's techniques with images that are more my own style.If you're not familiar with her, I'd encourage you to look her up on YouTube. She has some great videos and is very generous in sharing her art and processes! **Thanks Teesha!!**

Hugs & Happiness,

Cheryl

Friday, January 1, 2010Happy 2010!
Happy New Year! There's something so exciting about a new year. All those blank calendar squares waiting to be filled up with LIFE. I don't make "resolutions" as such because I believe we can only make significant changes when we come under conviction that the risk of changing is less than the risk of remaining the same. Anias Nin says it well in this quotation, "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Those times in our life aren't determined by the calendar, rather they are part of our individual journey through life.That said, I do sometimes issue myself "challenges." Such as my new EVERYday Art Challenge! I am challenging myself to do SOMEthing creative every day this year. Nothing specific, just SOMEthing. This because I recognize that results require action, and I would really like to expand and develop my artistic skills. I will try to document the progress of the challenge here on my blog. (Yeah, that's the other challenge...becoming a dependable blogger!)For today, I made a set of a dozen ATC backgrounds. The bases are made from a "repurposed" watercolor practice painting. I added borders of random paper bits...now they are ready for some collaged images to be added on top!

Hopefully this finds you entering the new year feeling creative too! All the best for the days to come!

Feel the Love: Texture in Art

Hello! I'm working on some 4x6 (postcard size) pieces for the TEXTURE themed swap I am hosting on atcsforall.com. This one involves various papers, paints, stamping, buttons, a vintage photo, glitter, microbeads and beeswax. I adore beeswax! So versatile and smells divine! But the more I look at this the more I think it still needs something... I'm thinking perhaps some stitching with twine/rough string? Not necessarily a border, but some "here and there" stitching to tie it all together a bit more... Whatcha think?

I love this one, as it feels very feminine and romantic to me. And it's composed of many materials and layers, with lovely bits of shimmer and sparkle. It starts with a base of handmade paper adhered to a bristol board base, covered liberally with gesso, with additional paper and beads added while the gesso was wet. Then I used shimmery purple and gold paints, and sealed with a thick layer of diamond glaze, sprinkling with fine glitter....and finally laced the edges with organza ribbon. Such fun!

Hope you are creating (playing!) too!

Sweet Summertime

Summer sure is flying by! Hard to believe the end of August is almost here, along with the hustle bustle of families preparing for back to school. I want to slow down a little to enjoy the fleeting moments... to appreciate the long summer evenings, fresh from the garden produce, and the feeling of being warm all the way through to the middle of your bones like only the summer sun can cause. To find time to notice the tiny little joys like the swirling flurry of tiny beautiful moths lighting briefly in the grass before dancing away...gone in a twinkle but leaving a smile in their wake. Time to appreciate the changing colors of the sky as the sun sinks away and gives over to the night...a painting that changes by the minute. To make time for family and friends, BBQ's and ice cream cones, and laughing until your sides hurt, and sleeping in on Saturday morning. Waking up to the sunshine instead of an alarm clock. Time to simply enjoy.

What's your favorite little summer moment? Catch it while you can, and savor it.

Whew!

BABY IT'S HOT OUTSIDE!

This little doll I call "Tamale" agrees - in fact, it's a little TOO HOT, with 100+ temps for several days in a row. Perfect weather to take shelter in the air conditioned studio and create some fun.

You can see Tamale's funky little friends on my flickr page.... They were tons of fun to make using altered original photos of random everyday objects. (An idea inspired by Corrie04 and her "Mad Scientist" chunky page swap over on atcsforall.com)

Lots of projects in the works right now...art dolls, buttons(yep, the kind for clothes - it's a commission job), ATCs, journals and chunky pages and birds... WOOT! Fun stuff everywhere I turn!

Along with the fun of creating, we've been enjoying the bounty from my Dad's garden...fresh tomatoes, zucchini, corn, onions peppers, and lettuce...YUM! So good! The taste of summer. I need to take a trip down the valley to check out the delightful items available at the local fruit stands - there's abundance in variety and flavor to be discovered.

Hope everyone is having a super summer!! Hugs and Happiness to all!