Pop Art

Well, I had fun with some Pop Art images this weekend. I made some fun ATC cards using Roy Lichtenstein prints. I like his prints better than Warhol....it's the whole romance thing, I think. I adore the rich color and added a lot of texture to them. On one of them I accidenteally poured too many of the tiny little beads onto the card and discovered that hey...it looks cool! Don't you just love it when accidents are not really accidents after all?!!


The "Singer ATC" almost had me undone. What a pain this one was! The picture in my head was supposed to be so simple...what the hell happened?! Oh well, I like the little curtains that you can close and open. It's actually kind of cool if you're the tactile type. (The picture is a little blurry isn't it?)
Anyway, I think I'm done with Pop Art for a little while. Now, I want to focus on my favorite holiday - Valentine's Day! I LOVE Valentine's Day...probably because it uses my favorite color - RED!!! So expect to see some serious red stuff coming real soon. Ciao for now...

Broadway

One of the artists, Marci Glenn, from a group I belong to, Art-E-Zine, created her blog the other day and posed a very interesting question for those in the 'art world'. She said that every artist has some type of 'signature' that always appears in their art and her goal for this year was to figure out what her signature is. Her blog is: http://marciglenn.wordpress.com/
What a great question! So, I'm trying to figure out what my signature is. And, looking at my blog from a visitor perspective, I would say my signature is "vintage showgirl". What do you think?

When I was a little girl and my family and I went to Six Flags...guess what my most favorite thing to do was at this huge amusement park? Well, I'll tell you, it wasn't the roller coasters, rides, food and shopping...no - none of that...it was the SHOWS!!!! I remember sitting in the audience in anticipation of the big show that was to come (and cooling off because that was the only place in the entire park that had A/C!). I was so excited and in awe of those beautiful ladies in their colorful sparkly costumes singing and dancing and smiling. And, some of you may remember this...in one act there were these fake dancer puppet showgirls that came down from the ceiling on swings! It was so cool!! Okay...that was kind of cheesy, but I was like ten!

My grandparents took me to a lot of live performances...different plays, concerts and dances. Have you heard of Johnny High's Musical Review? Every Saturday night...we would be there and see performances by different talent from around the world. Of course, this was all on a military budget, so I never really saw the fancy musicals and plays on Broadway or anything. Only later in life, I have had the luxury occassionally to see some expensive musicals and ballets. Being in dance most of my life and a dancer myself, I sometimes still think I could be one of those showgirls....hmmmm, I wonder? Anyhow, it's always good to have a dream no matter how old you get, right?! During my first trip to Las Vegas, I couldn't wait to see a real live Las Vegas show...forget the gambling! So, my husband and I purchased tickets to a show that has been in Vegas since it began I think and the tickets were not quite so expensive, we were just old enough to drink at the time. And, while I was sitting in the audience, it felt just a little bit different as I was sitting waiting for the show...I didn't know what it was. Well...when the curtains rose and the dancers came out...OMG...THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY TOPS ON!!! Holy cow...totally freaked me out!! LOL...I was (and still am) so naive. Me personally, I prefer the costumes that cover and add just a little hint of naughtiness, ya know. I love the froufrou...feathers, bustles, petticoats, swinging skirts, all that good stuff.

So, I know this post has nothing to do with my latest art creations...but it does have some insight as to my style, which I find somewhat comforting.

Little Package of Joy!!

After being sick all weekend and just surfacing this afternoon...guess what was in my mailbox?!! A wonderful little envelope of joy from Susan Sager Brown. We swapped ATC's...I sent her my "Crushed" ATC and she sent me her "Copper Wings". It is so beautiful in person...very shimmery and the butterfly is gorgeous! But...that's not all...she also sent me some cool picks from Artchixstudio.com, stamps and most special is a vintage Texas postage stamp from 1945. Very nice...thanks so much Susan...xxxooo. Check out her blog: www.broknheartart.blogspot.com

I did manage to make my friend Wendy a small monogram sign. It's very sparkly...hope she likes it :-) I also made a bouquet of flowers that had the wonderful poem about Gardening God's Way included in it for a friend's birthday a while back. Here's the poem:

Gardening God's Way
author unknown

Plant three rows of peas: Peace of mind Peace of heart Peace of soul

Plant four rows of squash: Squash gossip Squash indifference Squash grumbling Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce: Lettuce be faithful Lettuce be kind Lettuce be obedient Lettuce really love one another

No garden should be without turnips: Turnip for meetings Turnip for service Turnip to help one another

Water freely with patience and Cultivate with love. There is abundence in your garden.... Because you reap what you sow.

To conclude our garden, We must have thyme: Thyme for God Thyme for study Thyme for prayer. Pretty nice garden! And here is the bouquet:

It is very simple to make. I hot-glued seed packets (they are now in stores!) to wooden bamboo skewers, also hot glue paper and fabric glowers to skewers and put them all in a pretty container filled with navy beans or colored rocks. Try it and send me a pic!

Discovery

Now that school is out for holiday break...it's been so much fun surfing the web and checking everyone's latest artwork out! Wow...there is some good stuff out there!! Kime Buzzelli is an awesome artist whose watercolors are so pretty. I love the colors and the girls in the paintings seem like they are real models. I adore her paintings and I believe she does clothing too. You can check out more of her work on this link. (Once there, click on the title on the left side of the site to view each painting.
http://motelgallery.com/exhibitions/2007/kimebuzzelli/main.html

Moving on...I checked out some of my other faves...Anahata Katkin is one of my favorites. She seems like such a cool lady...I wish I could take one of her classes. Hmm...maybe I see a trip to an art class happening... Here's some of her pictures. She sells a lot of her work to do collages which I'm definitely going to invest in this year. Her site is under My Favorite Websites below. Her artwork is also very 'colorful' which I love. Very visual and fun art! I'm so glad we are not the only freaks out there!!!

My favorite blog and of course LOVE the artwork is Izabella's Blue. Once again...the color is so vivid. But, it's not just her artwork that gets me, it's also her poetry, songs and videos on her blog. Her work seems so mystical and fascinatingly haunting to me. It kind of draws you in and makes you think on a whole different level. Here are some of her beauties:

Aren't they gorgeous?!!! I wish I had that kind of talent. As for me, I'm continuing to work on my techniques. I have no idea what my style is! I wish it could be like Izabella's, but alas when I create, it never looks dark and cool like that. My work leans more towards the romantic and/or sarcastic, but usually frou-frou no matter how hard I try not to!!

Since I've had time, I created some stuff. I think right now I'm really into pop art and the Andy Warhol thing. The first ATC is titled "Crushed" and has translucent blue and green beads on the top and bottom that look really cool. Next is my fun retro pin-up ATC - these are so fun to make ;-) And of course, my token 'romantic' piece titled "Hidden Passion".

Well...it's time to go and make more of a mess in my craft room...cheers!!

FINALLY...

Well...cheer season is somewhat over, so I finally get to focus on other things besides cheers, competition, drama, games, snacks, water, etc. I learned so much from this experience in 3 months it's unbelievable. My squad worked so hard and did so good that they made 1st place at competition. They were incredibly proud of themselves and even if that was all they got out of it, that makes me the happiest. A feeling of accomplishment and something positive to add to their life's resume.

So now next up is time to focus on my home and myself! I need to dust off my art studio (which is a table and cabinet in a little corner of my house!)...but still it's "My Art Studio" and get to work on some projects. I recently made some art tags for my first art-e-zine swap. The theme was "My Grandmother's Knickers". When I closed my eyes and thought about this...I envisioned lace, feathers, buttons, black velvet. So here's a picture of my tags that I mailed to Scotland. (I hope they made it with the postage strike and all over there!)

The artists on art-e-zine are simply amazing. You should go by and check out their ATC's and other mixed media work....truly gorgeous and amazing. I wish I could see and feel all of this art in real life, but I'll settle for pictures!

Gotta go get busy...it's a beautiful day!!