Mixed media

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Butterflies Real and Imagined

I’ve been crafting cards again with canceled postage stamps, this time an assortment of yellow postage from China, Germany, and Poland.

The blue barbell weights on the center stamp reminded me of “eye spots,” a common butterfly marking. Two theories behind these markings exist: one is that they look like the eye of a predator, as cited in this Natural History Museum article, and the other, according to LiveScience, posits that prey is scared off by patterns that mimic toxic substances.

The spots are stunning, nonetheless, and what luck to find a postage stamp that so perfectly imitates these markings.

I cut the solid shape from the postage using a two-part butterfly die set, forming a yellow butterfly. I cut the delicate layer from thin black paper.

Using a craft paper card base, I attached the butterfly to a scrap of yellow paper and stamped the greeting in black ink. Creating this imaginary butterfly was a treat.

Photographing real butterflies takes patience and sometimes dumb luck. The following image features dumb luck for the win.

Checkerspot butterfly

A Checkerspot butterfly rested briefly in the garden, with yours truly tiptoeing behind it, holding my breath as I took the picture. I managed three shots before the butterfly moved on, and I’m sharing the best of the three.

pbmGarden catalogs and shares stunning butterfly photos as they visit her Chapel Hill, North Carolina garden. If butterflies are your thing, take a look. You won’t be dissappointed.

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ScrapHappy June Cards

On the 15th of each month, Kate invites bloggers to join in the fun of creating something from scraps. Participants create with fabric, metal, paper, and sometimes all three. If you have something to share made from scraps, please join us. You can contact Kate, linked above, for details.

I’m sharing three cards this month: two made from a reflective folder once used for school papers and a collage card.

My friend Mary Ann, also a cardmaker, gave me the folder and challenged me to create with it. Her scrap became my scrap; now it’s a pair of cards.

I love this sort of challenge, though I’ll admit that the intense shine and reflection of the folder gave me pause. It worked out in the end, though, and I had fun.

The pink card is my beginner’s attempt at collage. I follow a fabulous collage artist in Canada, and she inspired me to give it a go. You can take a look at Wilma’s gorgeous work here.

For the background, I used scrapbooking paper passed on from my sister featuring dress-maker patterns. I inked similar paper before die-cutting it into flowers. The pink sewing machine comes from a leftover piece of gift wrap. I used a few odds and ends of rub-on decals to add a bit of green and light pink. I want to study this medium in more detail to continue making this card style. It’s fun.

The following bloggers enjoy taking part in ScrapHappy. Click on any of the links below to see what they’re creating.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa, 
Lynn, Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

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A Tale of Two Artists

Perhaps you’ve already met.

Just in case, allow me to introduce two of my favorite artists, Anne Lawson and Pauline King.

Sometimes you fall in love with an artist’s work, knowing little about the artist themselves. In this case I fell in love with the artists through blogging, then discovered their work.

Earlier this year, Anne shared one of her recent creations on Instagram: the gorgeous pumpkin you see below. It’s painted with watercolors, then over-stitched with a variety of threads. It’s stunning and it’s mine!  I framed the piece using a floating glass frame without a mat, so that I can enjoy the piece front and back.

Anne Lawson: Stitched pumpkin peduncle
Anne Lawson detail
Anne Lawson
Anne Lawson watercolor and thread
Anne Lawson: The stitched backing of the pumpkin

I connected with Anne’s blog many years ago. She’s a botanical artist living in Australia, a retired teacher and a wonderful soul. I’ve enjoyed watching Anne’s work evolve. She’s always trying new things. As a life-long lover of botanical art, I’ve really enjoyed learning about Anne’s process.

Anne describes herself as “a Melbourne based artist, who is inspired by the natural world. [Her] small art works are available in [her] Etsy shop.”

Anne blogs at Anne Lawson Art. She also publishes a fortnightly newsletter which you can subscribe to here.

Here’s a photo of it framed and hanging on my home office/craft room wall.

Anne Lawson Art: Mixed Media Pumpkin

Pauline King dabbles in a number of mediums. She’s a painter, a crafter and a mixed-media artist. Those who follow Pauline are familiar with her gorgeous light catchers, personalized to the receiver with colored beads, glass and charms. They’re bouncing light in homes across the globe. You can see more of Pauline’s work in The Contented Crafter’s shop.

The beautiful and ethereal piece you see below came from Pauline’s heart.

Pauline King: Mixed Media Art: The Wise Woman
Pauline King: The Wise Woman cat detail
Pauline King: The Wise Woman witch detail
Pauline King: The Wise Woman shimmering in the sun

She created it for my sister whom she’s never met, but of course has been hearing about for years. When Sharon received the piece, she exclaimed “it’s as if she knows me!”  Sharon loves Halloween, witches, cats and purple so you can imagine her delight when she opened it.

Since she was redoing her floors, Sharon asked me to hold this for safe keeping, and of course I happily obliged.  Today I picked it up from the frame shop and will return it to my sister this week.

Pauline King’s gift to my sister Sharon: The Wise Woman

Sharon originally wanted to frame it in black, but when she read Pauline’s blog and saw the piece on a white tray, she decided to frame it in white instead.

Sharon also decided to base this year’s Halloween costume on The Wise Woman. Stay tuned for pics.

Meanwhile, here is a lovely quote from George Sand:

The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart.

Agreed!

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Art and Serendipity

My word of the year is serendipity,

the act of finding something valuable or delightful when you are not looking for it.

So joyous is this word in both sound and deed, that I may choose it again for next year.

2014 is also turning into my year of art. In January I won (yes, won!) this gorgeous Butterfly Sprite. The mixed media piece, created by the generous and talented Pauline of The Contented Crafter.  I smile at this carefree sprite every day, and every day she smiles back. Butterfly Sprite lives among soothing greens and flowers and texture that lifts my spirit. Art does that.

butterfly sprite

Butterfly Sprite by artist Pauline King

Also in January, I took a mixed media art class at A Work of Heart in Willow Glen and dabbled in my own little art project. I thought about Pauline the whole time.

Remarkably, I won another beautiful piece of art, a Bavarian textile knee blanket lovingly crafted by Dani of Teddy and Tottie. I guess this sort of thing happens when you choose a word like Serendipity.

Bavarian Knee Rug by Dani

Bavarian Knee Rug by Dani

I discovered another blogger via Dani and Pauline, and because you can’t make this stuff up, Fran blogs at The Road to Serendipity.

Last week my friend Whitney shared an album of photos for her upcoming art show in Gilroy, California. Whitney is a creative arts graduate of San Jose State. We met on Facebook via mutual friends. As I virtually thumbed my way through her online album, this sunflower rainbow stopped me in my lurking tracks. The piece celebrates three of my loves: old windows, brilliant colors and sunflowers. Seren-dipity-do-da!!!

whitney with painting

Artist Whitney Pintello

I asked if it was still available, she said yes, and now it’s hanging in one of my garden seating areas.

Sunflower room

We like to sit here in the evening to escape the heat

sunflower window front and back

Window painting, front and back

Whitney creates and sells vintage window paintings at a couple of local festivals each year. From her website:

Painting old windows is Whitney’s favorite medium, and came from exploring how to reuse old architectural elements. The process involves reverse painting: starting with the details of the painting first, then the subject, then the background, all on the back of the glass. Patrons like the casual, rustic quality the paintings have and the “found art” reuse of the vintage windows.

Who knew there was magic in a carefully chosen word?

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And the winner is…

butterfly sprite

Butterfly Sprite
Mixed Media on Canvas by Pauline King of The Contented Crafter

Me!

Oh my gosh. I’ve been dutifully buying raffle tickets from school children, the scouts and pretty much anyone that asks for years.  I’ve  never won a thing.

Blogging completely changed my luck.

I won the drawing for an art print of my choosing at The Contented Crafter.  All I had to do was leave a comment on her blog (which is so delightful that I do that anyway.)  She drew names from a teacup (my favorite beverage, by the way), and I won. Serendipity!

Pauline is a mixed-media artist, photographer, and all around talent, blogging from New Zealand. She shares her art and artful process with her readers. We’re treated to the occasional  story about her charming cat, Orlando.

Pauline leaves fun and funny comments on various blogs and gems of wisdom along the way. I hope to meet her on future travels.

I picked out a print of the Butterfly Sprite. It arrived yesterday, along with a lovely note and one of her greeting cards. I’m feeling as cheerful as the lovely sprite.

Coincidentally (more serendipity) I’m working on a framing project for one of my clients, so I took my new print to the shop and had it framed just a day after receiving it the mail. I promise to share a picture when it’s framed and hanging on my wall. I’m currently scouting for the perfect spot. Stay tuned.

Thanks so much, Pauline for bringing art and cheer into our home.

The Contented Crafter sells her work on Etsy.  You can read more about her process on her blog or on Facebook

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Watercolor Hummer

lexi hummingbird

I signed up for a banner-making class a few weeks ago at locally owned A Work of Heart.  They’re a mixed-media art studio, with the wonderful tag line: Where everyone is an artist.

I went for the Christmas banner, but  left with so much more.  I met the wonderful,  Lexi Grenzer of The Shabby Calavera.  She led the class at A Work of Heart and teaches additional classes at  Scrapbook Island.  We connected on Facebook where I spotted this ethereal watercolor.

My dad was a painter and my mom a great sketch artist, but that level of talent didn’t trickle down. We had plenty of watercolor paint sets growing up, but I never got any good at it.  I have great admiration for Lexi’s skill.

Lexi Grenzer is a teacher, jewelry designer and animal advocate in the Bay Area. She has a great love of all things Shabby Chic and Day of the Dead, which lead to the creation of her blog and business, The Shabby Calavera. Lexi’s days are spent creating in the studio, teaching classes, snuggling with her four fur babies and doting on her son and adoring husband. She attributes her love of art and hand crafted beauties to her Grandmother’s amazing influence.

So in addition to appreciating her art, I really appreciate her heart, and her contributions to our local Humane Society.

And the banner…here’s what me made in class:

Joy Banner

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of articles featuring organizing around the holidays this week on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak.