Singing into Spring

The pollen has finally blown away and things are looking so beautiful here in Atlanta. I want to move all my furniture outside and just live there for a few weeks. The mosquito season is right around the corner and I will soon need to bathe in deet and wear flea collars just to take my trash out. But for now... perfection.


In celebration of this beautiful spring, I decided to make some fun little birds. I got the instructions for these in an article by Renee Rogers in the May / June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. Renee attaches her birds to springy wire. I wanted my birds to hang, so I just adjusted the directions slightly and used some beading wire and crimping beads.

To begin, you use plaster gauze to fashion bird shapes.

Next, you can add strips of tissue, paint, and mod podge or other varnish.

You can't really tell from the photos, but I also added some cheerful phrases to my birds.
Sing for the beauty of this day...
Good morning beautiful life...
Each day is a new song...
Not sure what I'll do with these, but think they might make nice little gifties for some special people I know. They were so much fun to make and have inspired me to think of more (and bigger) creations that I'd like to try this summer. This is also a great project to do with your kids!

It Smells Like Art Again

As you may have noticed, I've been taking a small break from blogland. The school year is about to wrap up and it seems like every day I've got some sort of concert to attend, party to plan, play-off game to watch, or check to write. My brain has been taxed. The studio has been collecting dust.

But enough of that... I'm back down here, cracking the paints open, spraying inks, making messes. As my son said one day when he came down here, "it smells like art in here" again.

After an hour or so of painting this morning, I opened up my email and was so delighted to see a wonderful blog post by Cate Prato with Cloth Paper Scissors featuring one of my techniques and a plug for my second video workshop with Cloth Paper Scissors. This one is called Collage in the Round and features wire and rice-paper structure techniques.

I can't say enough good things about the wonderful folks over at Cloth Paper Scissors. From my first challenge entry until now, every contact has been so warm, friendly, and supportive. If you are interested in having your work published, give Cloth Paper Scissors a try. If you have questions or want advice, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment here. I'd love to share any of my experiences with you.

Now off to get artsy. Hope your day is filled with happy, colorful messes!

Journaling to Be Still

Although I'm not a dedicated art journaler, there are times when I feel the call of the blank pages. Usually I come back to my journal when I am feeling overwhelmed. And with recent events, well... I think we've all been pretty overwhelmed. Journaling gives me a chance to write and make art just for me. I'm not a big storyteller, but more of a note-taker, so journal pages often include snippets of thought, hidden in pockets and folds of paper.

This entry was created using papers from my scrap pile, paint, printed tapes, and deli paper. I stitched a few pieces together and wrote this message to myself.

So I begin this day with a prayer for peace.
Silence within my mind.
Quiet within my soul.
A look at my place here on earth as if seen from miles into space.
A mere fleck of energy swirling around other bits of energy.
And all is well.
There is time, there is goodness, there is love and patience and all that I need.
It's all here and planned in a way that I don't know nor will I ever really know. (I'm not supposed to know.)
And so I breathe,
And sit still.

Sometimes I feel like I'm standing on the shore of an ocean. The tides and the waves rush up. I become too busy. I'm flooded with ideas, projects, goals, and worries. I'm bombarded with the latest frightening news, trends, and social media. I can't finish anything. I become overwhelmed. I feel like I'm running out of room. There is no beach left. I am forced to return to the dock, safely anchored above the rushing waters. I sit down on the edge of the dock and look out to sea. I watch from a distance. I see the sun sparkling on the water, dolphins playing in the distance, and fish glittering beneath my toes. In time, the tide rolls back out. It's safe to go back to the beach.

Journaling forces me to sit still, to walk away from the roar of life and see things from a different perspective.

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If you've never tried art journaling or if you need some new ideas, you might want to check out this new e-mag from Cloth Paper Scissors, Art Journaling Exposed, Vol. 2.

It's filled with fun ideas and short instructional videos. The "Caught on Tape" article features Jen Cushman showing us how to use Ice Resin to create slick journal accents, Kristen Robinson showing us how to use cereal bags for journal pages, and yours truly demonstrating a sewn paper technique. I got to meet Jen and Kristen when we filmed our video workshops last fall. If you have a moment, stop by their blogs and check out their amazing work!

Technicolor Farm

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the farm. My parents live on a farm and I grew up visiting my grandparents' farm every summer. So many happy memories and images rise to the surface of my brain when I think about those summers. I decided to make some farm-inspired art. I initially wanted to use a delicate, muted color palette, one that would evoke the worn-away, dreamy, wheat-colored landscape. But... well, I just couldn't do it. Those neon bright colors kept making their way into my hands. So, I gave up and created some technicolor farm life instead.

I used layers of water-soluble crayons, an oil paintstick, and gold acrylic paint. The textures were created by scratching through the layers with a pencil.

The gold acrylic paint looks a lot like gold leaf on top of the water-soluble pencil.

Notice... no drawing skills here... I decided not to focus on accurate depiction, just quick movements and lots of color!

How about you?  How does your personal history influence your art? What themes come up? How do you put your own spin on those images?

Digging Out

A few weeks ago, my family, friends, and I took off for a spring break in Asheville, North Carolina. We were set to rent a cabin, see a few sights, soak in the hot tub, and eat too much. We did those things, but midway through the week, we received some horrible news. We learned that Jamie, a boy from my son's lacrosse team, was tragically struck by a car and killed while on spring break with friends.

Upon returning, we had to say good-bye. The visitation and funeral truly honored our friend's life.


The boys played their first game since their teammate's death on Sunday. They played beautifully, almost magically and beat a team they were not expected to beat. It felt good to see them out there, moving through their sadness, digging out of their grief, honoring Jamie by joyfully playing what he loved to play. 

I've been a little slow to action over the last few weeks. Grief has pulled me down. I just haven't had the heart to create. But as I watched the boys play on Sunday, I knew what I had to do. Dig out. Work. Do my best. Keep on moving. Honor Jamie's life by joyfully living. And so it is with everything that is happening in the news right now. In time, we've got to dig ourselves out of the sadness. Work. Love. Live joyfully so that we honor those we lost.

Geliciously Happy!

Last night, I held my first Gelicious Printmaking workshop at the Art Coop at 425 Market Place Antiques. It was so much fun. I had seven students, including friends, their friends, and (drumroll please) my Delta Zeta sorority sister, Christy. We last saw each other in 1992 when we both graduated from the University of Illinois. She lives in New York, but was in town visiting her sister and she heard about my workshop through Facebook. (Even though FB drives me crazy at times, it does have its moments!)

Here we are doing our cheesiest sorority girl pose.

I couldn't have asked for a sweeter and more fun group of students. I only had to do a few quick demos on the Gelli printing plate and they were all grabbing paints, experimenting with pattern tools, and rolling those brayers like the wind.

What a great way to end the week, making art with friends. I feel so grateful. 

Next week is our Spring Break. I think I will do just that, take a break. My plans? Read, have a glass of wine (or two), and simply breathe in the people I love.  

How To: Rice Paper Flags

In a few days, I will be holding my first Gelli printmaking workshop. I'm calling it Gelicious because, as most of you know, Gelli printing is truly a delicious activity! One of our activities will be to make a fun little flag banner using rice paper. I've already sewn a little packet of flags for each student.

Here's the how-to if you'd like to give it a try at home. (Of course, I'd much rather show you in person!)

Supplies you'll need:

• Rice paper (you can buy it in rolls at Hobby Lobby)
• Sewing machine
• Gelli printing plate 
• Acrylic paints
• Stamps
• Ink
• Glue Stick
• Scissors
• Twine or other stiff ribbon

Step 1:  Cut a sheet of rice paper about a yard long (you can adjust this depending upon how many flags you'd like to make.)

Step 2:  Cut the long sheet in half lengthwise. Don't worry if it is not perfect. (As you can see from my cut, I'm an eye-baller, no ruler necessary!)

Step 3: Fold over about one inch along the long edge of the sheet.

Step 4:  Sew the flap down staying close to raw edge. You want to create a pocket about 1/2 inch deep.

Step 5:  Cut the long sheet into rectangles. Don't worry about cutting through the seams.

Step 6: Use your Gelli plate to create some beautiful prints. Then choose a phrase and stamp it out onto small strips of rice paper.

Step 7: Glue the message onto each flag with a glue stick.

Step 8: String it up!

Once I finished the flag banner, I decided to go back and trim the bottom edges to create fun accents.

My message to my students and to you, my bloggy friends:

How thankful I am we are here together!