Prepping for Springtime Tallahassee
The girls and I have been on Spring Break this week. It’s been a rainy one, so there’s been no beach trips, but we have made it to the zoo once between storms. I have a stack of papers to grade, but that urge just hasn’t hit me yet! This Saturday is my first major spring show, the Springtime Tallahassee Arts Jubilee, so in typical Kelly fashion, I’ve been doing my last minute creativity cram session. Since the weather’s been lousy, I’ve gotten tons of new jewelry created, but unfortunately, the weather hasn’t allowed me to mount any photos. I have to stain my boxes outside to escape the fumes! Hopefully tomorrow I might get one good day in before I have to pack up on Friday.
Since this show is in Tallahassee, the home of the Florida State Seminoles, I always create a few garnet and gold themed bracelets like this one (and yes, for the Gator fans, I even create some orange and blue themed bracelets, as much as it pains me :-). I really got on a bracelet run and realized today as I took stock of all I had done, I have 26 bling bracelets ready for this show! Yikes! I don’t think I’ve ever had 26 bling bracelets completed at once! They are my very favorite thing to make. They just make me happy with all their sparkly blinginess. How about you? What type of jewelry makes you happy?
Mermaids and Mamas Artful Adventure 2011
Registration is now open for Mermaids and Mamas Arful Adventure 2011! This mother/daughter art retreat is designed for elementary school aged (pre-K through 5th grade) girls and their Mamas (or Grandmamas!). Dates are Saturday-Sunday, May 14-15. Space is limited to 22 total participants so sign up soon as spaces go quickly! Hop on over to the Purple Cottage website for all the details. If you are interested in working with me on a retreat for older girls, just let me know!
Cherish the Good Life...
Sunday morning, I sat at the kitchen table and cried. I mean seriously cried. I was home by myself for the weekend—DH and the girls had gone camping—and I was watching CBS’s Sunday Morning. They were sharing a story on the Japan disaster, and the reporter was interviewing an elderly Japanese man. He was talking about how he had not been able to find his daughter and two grandchildren, and halfway through the interview he just broke down sobbing. In between sobs, he said that if they were killed that he hoped they at least all died together. That’s when I lost it. What an incredibly sad statement. It reminded me of this story. Just the thought of children being ripped from their parents' arms rips me to pieces.
I continue to be glued to stories of what the Japanese people are enduring right now, and so many things have struck me. My staff and I talked about this at our Monday morning staff meeting, and I guess what’s struck me the most are the reports that say Americans have not been as giving in this tragedy as we have in others. I’ve wondered why that is. One said maybe it’s because, unlike Haiti, Japan is far from being a third world country and doesn’t need the help that Haiti did, and still does. Certainly our current economic downturn has probably contributed to it. My DH has even wondered aloud if Pearl Harbor is on the minds of some. I’ve been surprised that my students have not risen up to this tragedy as I’ve seen them do for others, like Haiti, or right here at home, to the abduction and murder of a local seven year old. They did finally mention Japan to me yesterday and asked if they could put out a donation jar during Spring Fling.
I guess I don’t care how rich a country is. A tragedy is a tragedy, and this one has torn me up. The daily stories from survivors are heart wrenching, especially when they tell the stories of their loved ones who did not survive or have not even been found. I know that I am blessed and I am reminded of that every day. As I mentioned in this post, if you have the means and opportunity to sit down and read a blog, you, too, are blessed. I drove by the graffiti in this picture for weeks thinking I needed to remember to bring my camera to capture it fully. My Blackberry just wasn’t doing it justice. I’ll be printing this out and hanging it in my office and in my studio as a reminder. I do live the good life. And while those in Japan may have been living the good life up until March 11, they certainly aren’t now and won’t be for quite some time. This country will take many, many months and years to heal from this tragedy, both financially and emotionally. Please continue to keep them in your hearts and in your prayers. And never take your good life for granted.
Tuesday Treasury Shoutout: Team FEST!
Hope for Japan...
As we all watch the devastation in Japan continue to unfold, I know the question many of us are asking is what can we do to help. I believe what we can do to help is give. To that effort, I've just listed three new photos in my Etsy shop.
100% of the proceeds for these prints will go to the American Red Cross fund designated for Japan. You all helped me raise nearly $500 for Haiti. Let's do it again!
Hope for Japan No. 1, Hope for Japan No. 2 and Hope for Japan No. 3 are all blooms because, to me, blooms represent hope and growth. That's what the people of Japan need now and for the future. Tragedies like this remind us all how blessed we are at this very moment, and if you have the ability to read this, you are included in that "we." Cherish every moment.
An Artful Journey 2011: One Last Book
The Big Book! That’s really the only way to describe it! This was the biggest book I created, and it encompassed many of the techniques used in the smaller books. Here’s what we did…
This book is 8”x10”. The exterior covers, interior covers and signature covers are all paste paper pages trimmed to the size needed for the finished book, so I created all those papers first. Albie demonstrated the technique for covering the book board covers with our designated cover papers and then gluing in the book cloth spine. Then we measured and trimmed papers for our signature pages. Mine has three signatures and are sewn in with a pamphlet stitch (can you tell I’m a simple pamphlet stitch fan?) I used paste papers as covers for each of the signatures to add more color to the interior of the book. The paper itself is Stonehenge, so it’s good and strong for adding juicy water colors or acrylics.
I sit here and look at this pile of books I created in three days, and I wonder when I slept! (Okay, so I didn’t sleep much…) But what a wonderful learning experience it was. There are so many ways I can put all this to use that my brain is just overflowing with ideas. I’m even working on simplifying some of these books to use as projects for Mermaids and Mamas Artful Adventure 2011 (scheduled May 14-15 this year, more details to come soon! Click here to read about last year's Adventure) The last thing I’ll have to share with you in my next Artful Journey 2011 post are beautiful pictures I took around the retreat center.
Happy St. Patrick's Day from this Irish girl to you!
An Artful Journal 2011: Little Treasures
Treasure Books, spines |
Treasure Book 1, Front Cover |
Treasure Book 1, Top |
Treasure Book 1 |
Treasure Book 2, Front Cover |
Treasure Book 2, Back Cover |
Treasure Book 2, Interior |
Treasure Book 2, Spine |
Time for March Free Bling!
Time for Free Bling Friday! Random.org picked comment number five as the winner of February's Free Bling, so congratulations to Diana from Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada!
For March, how about a pretty little breath of spring? This is my "Simply Sweet" photo on a 1" glass tile. It comes complete with a silvertone ball chain cut to the length of your choice. To be eligible to win, simply visit either of my Etsy shops (here for jewelry and here for photography) and leave a comment in the comment box below with the link to your favorite piece along with a way to reach you and where you’re from by midnight Thursday, April 7. Want more entries? Tweet, blog or Facebook this giveaway and leave another comment with the link. The next winner will be drawn via random.org Friday, April 8. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Click here to sign up for free weekly email updates or subscribe in the reader of your choice over there in the right column. And be sure to join my Facebook Fan page for Fan specials. Thanks for stopping in!
An Artful Journey 2011: Gessoed and Painted Book
Gessoed and painted book, Front |
I started with a sheet of Stonehenge paper and covered it completely, front and back, with a thick gesso. We used this. There were several things we could do with this as we were gessoing the paper. We could use stencils to get some textured designs (more on that in my next book form), use stamps or mastic spreaders to stamp into the gesso, or we could simply swipe the gesso over the paper using an old credit card or used gift card. For this one, I went the third route and left it a bit messy in spots to give it a little bit more texture. I gessoed one side of the paper and then completely let that dry before I did the other. I actually used a full 22” x 30” sheet of Stonehenge in this process, but you can trim down your paper to your desired size before you gesso, which is what I’ll be doing when I create these at home.
Gessoed and painted book, Back |
Gessoed and painted book, Top |
Gessoed and painted book, Inside Cover showing pocket |
An Artful Journey 2011: Noble Stitch Binding
Noble Stitch Book 1, Front |
Noble Stitch Book 1, Back |
Noble Stitch Book 2, Front |
Noble Stitch Book 2, Back |
Noble Stitch Book 2, Stitch Detail (Click to enlarge on all) |
Noble Stitch Book 2, Detail |
An Artful Journey 2011: Do-Si-Do!
I never realized there were so many different book forms until I attended this retreat. And I also never realized that some of the simpler forms were just that: very simple, but still very fun. This little gal is called a Do-Si-Do. Any time any of us needed Albie’s help and she couldn’t get to us right then, she said, “Have you made a Do-Si-Do yet?” Meaning, go make yourself a simple little Do-Si-Do while you’re waiting. And given that my most favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Do-Si-Do, well, you know I had to make one!
These required no instructions, just a quick study of Ablie’s Do-Si-Do sample. This again started with one 12” x 18” sheet of painted paste paper, and from there it was really simple. I folded the paper in half longways, making it 6” x 18”, and then used a glue stick to glue the two 6” sides together. I then folded that down to 6” x 9” and then folded each side again, down to an accordian like shape with 6” x 4.5” sections. From there it was just measuring and cutting the signatures and sewing them in with a simple pamphlet stitch. Viola! A cute little Do-Si-Do! I can see making these as fun little gifts; once the paste paper is painted, they are super duper easy to put together and seem to be a good way to use up scraps of good paper. Up next, my Noble stitch books!
Tuesday Treasury Shoutout: FoxyGirlBoutique and PedroNogueira
We interrupt this An Artful Journey 2011 report for a Tuesday Treasury Shout Out! These two I received yesterday were just too yummy not to share. Thanks to FoxyGirlBoutique for including Miss Violet (first row first spot) in the first treasury; view it in all its glory with clickable links here. Those sheep are calling my name. I'm such a sucker for animal paintings and photographs.
And thanks to PedroNogueira for including Miss Jasmine (first row fourth spot) in this second treasury. Great oranges! And I really love that "I intend to live forever" button. View it with clickable links here.
And thanks to PedroNogueira for including Miss Jasmine (first row fourth spot) in this second treasury. Great oranges! And I really love that "I intend to live forever" button. View it with clickable links here.
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