guess what...?? yes, it's random photo time!

our latest mixed media group meeting was Wednesday night... ahem-- the CIA, I should say. (It's our new name, and I'm not used to it yet. CIA stands for "Collaborative of Inspired Artists" but it's more fun to say I'm a member of the CIA!!) Anyway. Josie Cirincione was our guest teacher (I totally didn't even think to take my copy of her first book to have her sign it); she taught us a project using metal foil tape. Such a fun project!! I've tried to use this material before, but had some problems with it-- she gave us plenty of tips and tricks, along with all the supplies and tools to make the finished project. Here's mine: I love the texture of the metal, and the aged/distressed look that rubbing it with black StazOn ink gives it. The picture below shows a closeup of the texture (I decided to cover the entire background with a dot pattern, which I really like the look of after I finally finished it, so it was definitely worth it...). The raised pattern was made by just using cereal box/thin chipboard underneath the metal tape- how cool is that?!?

And now for some journal pages... I hadn't done any journaling to speak of since way before Christmas, so I knew ArtFest would be a great opportunity to get my journaling mojo back. I took three of my journals with me (one of them by accident- it was small and in a box of paper- lol!), plus a boatload of supplies (you never know what you might want to work on or use, you know!) and it was a great opportunity-- my dorm building had a classroom in the first-floor common area, so people were always set up there in the evenings: working on class projects, working on their own projects, or just socializing and getting inspiration from everyone else. I was so inspired, I didn't want to go to bed till my body told me I absolutely had to: I stayed up till 11 pm the first night, 1 am the second, 1:30 am the third, and 11 pm the last night (only because I knew I had to get up to drive to the airport the next morning). I didn't always get much done (too much inspiration ---> not much energy for follow-through) but here are some pages I worked on both while I was there and since I've gotten home.

The right-hand page was leftover paint spread on with a credit card (well, technically a grocery store "saver" card- I keep all those random cards just for applying paint) during one of my classes- I didn't want to waste any of it, you know! I still need to look up that rubber stamping company Carmen's Veranda; I wrote it down just so I wouldn't forget the name! I also have the blog address of the woman who told me about it... must check out her blog, too... later, otherwise I'll never come back here to finish this post!

I had the backgrounds done on these two pages ages ago; I just used them to write on during/after class. The index card was from Roxanne Padgett's Lush Layered Canvas class, where she taught us a little about color theory and mixing. (I have never been able to mix a shade of orange that I actually like...it's a lot easier to buy it! ...although it doesn't look too bad from far away, here.)

Here, the left page was already collaged; I just added the words, and the pops of purple with one of my new Stabilo Woody watercolor crayons. I saw a set of 10 of them (the last one on the shelf) @ Akamai Art Supply in Port Townsend, and I snagged them (for a 10% off ArtFest discount, even!) before anyone else got them. Kelly had mentioned them before, and I knew if Kelly liked them, they must be good, because she only recommends art supplies she really likes- see the right sidebar of her blog for posts on her favorite materials. The Woodies (snicker!!) have a really nice, creamy quality to them, and I definitely want to pick up the rest of the colors. (I also used them in the fabric painting class I took on day 2 of ArtFest, which I will show you when I get those pics edited.) And I really love that lilac purple color, even though it's a lot more vivid than the colors I usually use.

So this pic is my newest tattoo: a memorial, close to my heart on my left shoulderblade. It's a permanent reminder of the beloved pets we no longer have in our lives. It's a bit of a departure from journaling, isn't it?!? Or, maybe it isn't, actually... for me, journaling is a visual/written meditation process, of a sort, that results in a page which gives me a reminder of what I was doing when I made the page, the reasons I chose the materials, colors, etc. The tattoo is a reminder to me as well, and since I designed it, maybe it's just a different kind of journaling. (I do need to go back for a bit of a touchup; he forgot to put the toenails on the dog paw, and the inner angel wing unfortunately needs a bit more shading. But it's definitely worth the discomfort to always have a visual reminder of Sedona, Pandora, Cleo and Phoebe with me.) FYI, both my tattoos were done by Tommy Gunn, at Subculture Tattoo in Glendale, AZ.

So, back to the "traditional" visual journaling, now, shall we? The page above has lots more gorgeous Stabilo woody crayons on it, over a light base coat of gesso. {As an aside, I gessoed on these latest pages a couple days ago before work... I had the urge, and needed to make the most of it at the time. Tom saw me in the garage (where my painting supplies are living at the moment), and asked "can't you do that later?" Well, yes, and no... technically, yes, there would be plenty of time after work to do it, but would I, is the question? probably not... so, I took advantage of the urge when it hit. I don't want to lose the ArtFest mojo to the grind of daily life; art vs. daily life is one of the hardest things for me to balance. I want to do more of the "5-15 minute" sort of creating, rather than feeling like I need an entire block of hours free in which to "do art."}

And now, to change it up with a couple cute pet pics! The photo above isn't the best quality, but I wanted to get a shot of Prescott cozying up to Bisbee while she's sacked out in the dog bed. they don't exactly cuddle or anything, but they do hang out together quite a lot. He's gotten bigger (he still seems a bit skinny; the fact that he still occasionally snacks on socks isn't helping that!), but his coat is starting to fill out, and that is making a huge difference in how he looks. That "puppy" phase went by so fast, it's kinda sad that it's gone already.

And here is Butters, relaxing against my gardening-book-ring-bound journal (?!?!? that can't be comfortable!!) It's because I laid out some fabric as a backdrop for the pictures I took; she loves laying on fabric for some reason, whether it's a bathtowel, dishtowel, shirt, or clean laundry. (!!!)

next time, I'll post more ArtFest pics... I promise!