Sailing Collage Art & Paint Party Friday

Below are the two pieces of art that I created for my daughter's apartment. I had wanted to try collage on a larger scale, so these two are 16x20 each, designed to hang side by side.

These are the final versions of the two pieces I made. Below I will show the intermediate steps. I used maps and music pages for the original collage, then added handmade paper, text pages and gesso.  Over top of all that, I painted with fluid acrylics. The sailboat and lighthouse were sketched and painted onto watercolor paper and then added with heavy gel medium.

It was a lot of fun and I will definitely do this sort of thing again. It was exciting to try a larger scale piece after working so long in books.

I am linking up with Paint Party Friday for the first time. I'm off to work today, but I'll be visiting the party later today. Stop over there and check out what everyone is up to.

Round Island Light House Altered Book Spread

I wanted to do a large canvas for my daughter's new apartment, so I decided to do a two-page spread in one of my altered books to get a feel for the techniques I wanted to use and how it would look. The following is my "mock-up" practice art for the larger art I ended up making for my daughter for Christmas.  I used collage, stamping, painting, and water color for this piece. The picture is modeled after the Round Island Light House at the entrance to Mackinac Island.

 Final Spread

First I prepped the pages with gesso and light sanding. Then I decopauged torn map pages and text pages onto the page.

Beginning to cover page with torn map pieces.

Completely covered pages

Page covered with gesso.

Painted with acrylics.

Final Pages

I decopauged handmade paper at the horizon to represent Mackinac Island and dotted a few buildings on the shore. The sailboat and lighthouse were sketched and painted separately on water color paper and applied to page using heavy gel medium. I then decopauged torn paper for the base of the lighthouse and stamped randomly on the picture with phrases that were meaningful to me.

I used this work as my guide for the larger canvases I made for my daughter. I'll be posting pictures of those soon.

I'm linking up with the Just Journals Link Party over at Marcia Beckett's blog, Dabblings.

Dabblings

Altered Book Round Robin - Vintage Gypsy

I have just finished participating in my first ever Altered Book Round Robin. I joined in with seven other participants from the Altering Without Limits (AWOL) Yahoo Group. My book theme was "Vintage Gypsy".  Each of us chose a theme and decorated our first page and the cover and sent them on their way. So this book is well-traveled over a time span of eight months and states from Arizona to Michigan. Below are photos of each page. I am so very excited and pleased with the final results.

Front cover

I textured the book cover with "Texture Magic", painted with Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic paint by Daler-Rowney, inked with brown ink to give a distressed, aged look, and then used rub-ons to embellish. I will go back and add more rub-ons and a title now that the book is back.

Front and Back Covers together

 Sign-in page on the front inside cover of the book. 

I collaged maps, painted with watered down gesso, and then stamped on the suitcases and lines. I like that each of our books had a place for each artist to sign in.

Instruction page

I used a tag inside an embellished pocket for my instructions.

This is my decorated page. 

I gessoed and decopauged a painted page, did some stamping and added an overlay on which I printed out a vintage picture of a gypsy. I then machine stitched the trim to the top of the page.

"Take Me With You" - Two-page spread by Sue Pierson.

This gorgeous spread was done by Sue Pierson. There is so much detail to this page. I don't know how well it shows up. She even has a tiny safety pin and charm on the bottom right page that says "Made with Love". Every detail is so amazing. The trim she added to the right side of the spread exactly matches the headband the little girl is wearing. If you click on the photo, maybe you can see more of the details.

"I See It In the Stars" two page spread by Linda Liabenow.

This is another wonderful page that is so colorful and intriguing. I love how she focused on the cards that gypsies use for fortune telling.

"Gypsy Life" by JoAnn Duplantis

I don't know if you can tell by the photo, but the background of these pages is a material that looks very much like riveted tin. So very cool. And I love how she added these two photos that look so very real. The one on the right is glossy and looks like a real photo. Notice the owl in the photo on the left! Awesome!

"Waiting For You" spread by Sandy Alsfasser
http://altered-artifacts.blogspot.com

This spread has beautiful layers, although I don't know how well the camera captures them. She has the rose leaves overhanging the book - I love that! She has wonderful dangly trim on the bottom that coordinates perfectly with my book cover. You can see the trim better in the photos of the Instruction page.

"A Gypsy Life" by Cynthia Chapman
Cynzplace

This wonderful spread has music sheets collaged on the background and three dimensional flowersl. It is so beautiful in real life. The photo does not do it justice. And I love, love the colors! The aged, sepia tones and the words collaged on the top.

"Raven's Call" by Wanda Smith

This is another gorgeous spread and I believe that the picture is torn from an old book. The poem she has added is perfect, along with the raven feather, the raven in the picture and the beautiful trim.

"Where Should I Go" by Terry Glover

This is the last entry and a very haunting one. The text is from a poem in a book called "Bury Me Standing" The Gypsies and Their Journey. I love, love the background and how she complimented her background with the existing page background.

Inside of Back Cover "Mailing List" and "Book Belongs To:"

I included a list with the names and addresses of all the participants. I read about doing this on a "How to" post about Round Robins somewhere, and I thought it was a great idea.

This is the last of the book. This was a super fun project and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves altering books. The schedule keeps you "arting" and the anticipation of what your final book will look like is wonderful. I must say that I was not disappointed. All of the ladies did a fabulous job!

I am linking up with Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday. Pop over there and check out other wonderful pink posts. It is truly a great Meme and full of wonderful people.

How Sweet the Sound 

I am also linking up with Just Journals Link Party over at Marcia Beckett's blog, Dabblings.

Dabblings

First Watercolor

I did a project for a Christmas present for my daughter which involved a water color of a sailboat and a light house. So I needed to practice. This sailboat is my practice and I rather like how it turned out. I actually enjoyed the process of watercolor, so I think I will be doing more of it.  I used the Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, and I really like how they work out. It was a lot of fun.
I'll be posting the finished project that I did for my daughter soon.

Merry Christmas 2011

Tonight as we think of family and loved ones far and near, let us remember the true reason for the season and God's wonderful gift of love.

"Up North" Altered Book Page

This is one of my latest pages. I really like it.We purchased some property on a lake up North and this page reminds me of that spot. Just brings a smile to my face.

And here is a favorite ornament. I purchased this ornament through a missionary organization that helps to provide employment for women in Thailand so that they can provide for their families and stay out of prostitution. I love that it is a symbol for peace.

Priceless Possibilities - Altered Book Journal Page

This is a page I just made last week. Sometimes the page just seems to come together and that was what happened with this one.  The small quote within the circle says, "Every day we live is a priceless gift of God, loaded with possibilities to learn something new, to gain fresh insights."

I have had several things that have happened over the last little while that have brought home to me the idea that each day is a gift. A good friend of mine has been been battling breast cancer. She is on the upswing and I am continually praying that she has defeated this thing for good. Another friend and neighbor of ours who is only 49 has just been diagnosed with stage four sarcoma. He is just recovering from surgery and soon will be starting chemo. He has a young son who is only 6. Wow - praying hard for his complete healing, too.

Our church has just gone through a major upheaval. It is hard when people you love and care about are torn asunder by difficult things. Just one more thing to point out that we can take nothing for granted.

We can all use a reminder to treasure each day and its possibilities for the gift it is and thank God for it. I'm taking time this weekend to reflect on all of my blessings.

I'm linking up with Art Journal Every DayArt Journal Every Day  over at Balzer Designs with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Lots of yummy pages linked up there, so take some time to check it out.

A Smattering of Altered Book Pages & Pink Saturday

Today, in honor of Pink Saturday, I am posting a few altered book pages. I don't know whether they are actually complete - when do you know?

"Remember"

"Choose Gifts"

"The Birthday Fairy"

They are all pages that lend themselves to Christmas. Remember wonderful times with family is a very important part of Christmas for us. Choosing gifts is a special part of Christmas for us, too, because I think most of us show our love by giving gifts. It is really fun to try to find that perfect gift for someone that fits them and their personalities. Watching the smile on their faces when they open them is really awesome!

And last, but not least, is celebrating the reason for the season, Jesus' Birthday. It is often difficult to keep that in mind with all the hustle and bustle and the bombardment from media to buy! buy! buy! But this year, I am trying to focus more on the reason for the season.

I am linking up to Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday. Take time today to go over and visit Beverly and the wonderful bloggers who post to celebrate Pink!

"Live Your Life" Altered Book Page

Here is one of my most recent finished pages.  I started the background for this page a long time ago. Then I made the paper doll, actually while we were on our boat. I had taken a few supplies - just enough to get by with, and did a lot of playing. My family was quite patient with me taking up so much of the precious space available. I just recently felt this page coming together and I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I really like these bright happy colors.

The handwritten quote along the side of the page reads "Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.... Live, Laugh, Love" I really liked this quote. I am very thankful for the laughter and love in my life!

Last Rose of Summer - Pink Saturday

Below is a picture of our last little surviving rose from Summer. It is from my Fairy rose bush which often has the first blooms of summer and the last. She is a wonderful rose - requires almost no care and produces bountifully all season long.

Photograph by Jessie Leng - An Organized Madness Photography

Head over to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and visit the other wonderful pink posts today.

http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/