Artistic Renderings

NEW........ Dynasty Black Gold HAT TRICK brushes

When I first saw these brushes on the Dynasty blog site I thought "these sure look like they
would be fun". I went on line to where I normally purchase my FM brushes http://www.artistbrushstrokes.com on Amazon and they are so new they didn't have them listed yet....so I went back to the blog and commented questioning where they could be purchased and then got super busy and kinda forgot about them.

Today when I got the mail there was a manila envelope from FM and I thought "hmmmm, wonder what's inside". Imagine my surprise and delight when I opened the package and inside were the 3 different types.

Left: Sides and longer than middle.
Middle: All are equally level
Right: Sides are shorter than the middle

If you want to see what they "do" or what another artist has created with them go to the Dynasty Blog which is edited by Karyn Meyer-Berthel at www.dynastybrush.com. You will be glad you did.

The name.....well the Canadians will know. In hockey when there are 3 goals in one game by a player it is referred to as a "HAT TRICK" and was designed to pay homage to hockey in Canada. How "neat" is that?

I have been using FM Black Gold Dynasty brushes for more than 10 years ... and how I wish I would have found them sooner. Neither of the Tole Shops where I lived carried them so it wasn't until I went to a Vegas convention that I discovered them and a couple of more years until I found them online. I have no brush fatigue when I use them as the handles are just the perfect size....and when one talks about quality.......a picture is worth a thousand words.... I use several different lines I and even have my own landscape brush set available on my Etsy site. http://www.artisticrenderings.etsy.com

Does your brush hinder or help you? If it doesn't help or do what you want maybe you need to try.....

My favorite lines are:

IPC
Faux Squirrel
Dynasty Foliage Wave
Dynasty Dry Brushes
Eye of the Tiger
Black Gold Micro Detail brushes

It depends on my surface, design and if I use Liquitex, DecoArt or Matisse paints...which brush I settle on.

New Altered Art Beginning...

"This" is my next altered art project...(along with several other projects in other mediums) with a few things I have been picking up and putting on the bookshelf that might be feasible additions or....I might not use any at all but at least I "have started" and I am hoping that tomorrow I can spend at least 4 hours in prepping other elements that I am going to use... I am kinda hoping that this is going to be one of those really "fun" ones like Mother Nature was.

I'm afraid I am not the neatest of artists and have found that what works for me is to have things OUT,,,,not in a cupboard, or in a box, but OUT. (Sounds good doesn't it?)

Winter is coming so that means more inside than outside so I am hoping I can have a nice list of accomplishments and finished pieces from here till spring. I just never know about tomorrow so I need to be prepared with several different things at one time.

But anyway stay tuned.... I am wondering if this Beginning to End to with pictures is going to work so I can show the progression...especially if someone wants to follow and do their own piece.. But be prepared to "get hooked".....

Artistic License

I was delighted when my sister took me down Route 6 to see this barn....all repainted...fresh as the day it was probably first painted antique years ago.... I just wish he had matched the roof and paint a bit better.....buuuuuutttt with a little artistic license....I can make it the color I want.... How cool is that?

I took photos of barns, old churches, new churches, homes that WERE churches, older homes, landscapes, clouds, flowers, butterflys, ...

Micro / Craft Beer Easel with Periodic Updates

I don't think I need to copyright this as no one but me will probably like it....LOL...

Micro breweries and craft beer is BIG in Oregon especially here in Bend and Portland....big business. I have never liked beer, have tried some of the craft beers and they all just taste the same "to me" and I still don't like beer......but ANYWAY..... I am working on this picture easel to which I have securely glued local beer caps.....Right now each bottle cap is clamped in place....and I am pretty sure what I am going to do for the picture portion.... so I am excited to find the "piece" I need to finish this up...... Making it for a
beer drinker and now I need to find someones to save me the cardboard beer cartons....as my husband isn't a beer drinker either.... This is one of those times I wish we were....as I NEED beer related throw aways....LOL.....

UPDATE: August 24, 2013

Thanks to a fellow Etsy vendor I found the front portion of the easel. She saved me time, I don't have to go store to store searching... it will simply arrive in my mail box...and I will have helped a fellow artist..or....... a "fellow" who helps an artist and makes some etra money... Supporting Etsy is a GOOD thing.

UPDATE: September 2, 2013

My ordered item is here....and today I got some basecoating done,,,, and now I have to decide just exactly what I want to do ... or think I want to do....I never seem to do what I think I am going to do so it is always a surprise....

Maybe tomorrow I will get downstairs again and can finish it up.

PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES II

In reading the Shapes book/DVD by Helen Breil I discovered a brand new product (at least for me) called PYMII (Preserve your Memories II) and was quite impressed with the demo videos and for the difference in this product vs other products on the market. Naturally ..... I placed my order for a can.

Go to: http://www.PYMii.com and see what you think about the products' versatility, quick drying,
advantages over other finishing sprays, etc. and if you are an artist of quality I am betting you will order a can also. Made here in the good ole' US of A.... It is a bit pricier than other finish sprays but it does more than a regular finish spray.

Browse the site..... It was manufactured in 2002 and in 2005 on QVC they sold out in a matter of minutes.

Helen Breil Shapes Book On DVD

I just finished viewing this book on DVD that I had pretty much convinced myself that I was NOT going to like......format wise as I am one of these women who likes to hold the book, magazine, etc. vs viewing. I guess maybe it is my "age".... everything else seems to get blamed on age so why not this?

When it comes to jewelry design, polymer clay, and rubber stamps I am pretty much a novice so I found the DVD very imformative. some really neat designs, the photos are great, and it was easy to navigate

around within the book format on screen which was also a pretty pleasant surprise.

SO.....all in all I would say it was a 8+ out of 10 based on my knowledge level. I understood what was being written, loved the close ups of the photos, etc. It is a great learning tool and a DVD I know I will refer back to again and again....(age, ya know) and takes less room to store that magazines.... hmmmmmm.

Be the first to get your copy at http://www.artisticrenderings.etsy.com

Creativity

It seems as if it just takes a minute or so for me to "know" that I need to purchase something...or causes
a creative nerve to twitch somewhere..... I never know quite how it will be used and many times differently than expected. Silly things are inspirational to me....sometimes it could even be the shape of something...something that makes an item different. I don't even worry about "broken" anymore...adds a bit of character that I like to see in art and I guess you could say these are my favorite artists who have unconciously taught me through their books, dvds, etc. and when you can't "see" how something is done, you kinda have no choice but to wing it on your own and do the best you can...which is where you begin to achieve your own style of doing things. If you can't find the brush size, or even type that the artist recommends pick from your brushes ones that you think might accomplish what the artist has done...or tweek it somehow to avoid doing that particular step. Something you don't like about a pattern or photo....change it or leave it out. Use a different surface than the artist or a different palette of colors more to your liking or use a color palette and create your own piece with the colors. There are so many twists and turns with art...and I have also learned to never say never ...

I really need to do the Friday night art walk in our town.... to have such a wonderful option and not utilize it is a shame... That's it I am going this Friday night.

A cigar box from a Smoke Shop here that sells the "empties". I loved the way this box opened so about once a month I make this a stop on my route into town. I love cigar boxes (maybe because my father was a cigar smoker, or that he too saved HIS boxes when he could afford a whole box at one time). So I use them for storage, mixed media/altered art, etc.

I also tlove the little metal cigar tins and used these in our spare bathroom as a row of tile over tile.....
I managed to find enough different with the same beginning and end....and I kinda like the results....Unique, quirky, colorful, neutral, etc.

Inspiration can be surprising....

My newest inspiration is a piece of work done by Susan Black called

Botanical Collage and it is in the July/August issue of Cloth Papper Sissors .... one of my favorite magazines. It is going to be fun to see what happens. Flat is hard for me so I already know that whatever I do will be a bit more dimensional based on me... I loved the coffee mottled background ... and the flowers so will use those from my garden to inspire me colorwise and design wise...

Misty Morning Sunrise Necklace

I fell in love with this Jasper cabuchon when I saw it at a garage sale. It just said misty morning sunrise to me. I love the illusion of trees and branches and the grey/pink of the sky with the suggestion of a cloud here and there. I used etched white handmade lampwork beads to give the suggestion of clouds, greys and whites for fog and mist. The pink beads as well as the grey and whites are also handmade lampwork spacer beads and the single focal lampwork bead matches the cabuchon almost perfectly. The grey glass beads are opaline and have dark and light greys/black. I have used Tierra Cast spacers and bead caps, grey seed beads and a hevy duty clasp. The beading is done assymetrically so each side of the necklace is different.

Polymer Clay Cuff Bracelets and Rubber Stamps

I added an opal bead on the blue levi bracelet as well as silver chain and a lobster claw clasp. With the other cuff I used brass chain and a heart clasp.

I buffed both bracelet faces with a soft tee shirt type materia....I love the shine (after 3 coats of Satin Finish) and the buffing. Don't skimp on the 3 coats of finish....each coat makes it look better.

I used 2 of the rubber stamps I sell to emboss the clay with design.

Glad Openings

These glads are the reddest I have seen....and were labeled as black glads. Since this is the first year for these bulbs I am betting that each year they will get darker....but they are just gorgeous. We have 4 of them planted and soon 2 more will be out in full bloom.... on the stem shown there will be at least 9-10 flowers....awesome.

Helen Breil Zentangle Rubber Stamps

The Helen Breil Zentangle Stamps have arrived and are listed on my Etsy site for sale.

This bracelet is "in process" but I wanted to show you how I chose to use the Tango Stamp in this partically finished cuff bracelet. I used Beige clay and DecoArt acrylic paint... Sometimes you don't know just what color you want something to be so using a neutral based clay kinda takes care of that problem. I wanted a blue jean cuff bracelet.

Hopefully over the weekend I will finish this bracelet, another, and a necklace with a pendant using black clay and a Patina wax to guild the stamped design.

Polymer Clay

It kinda looks as if I am going to have a round of "clay" projects..... This is a piece I did a couple of years ago and I really do enjoy the sculpting,,,, and prefer hand forming vs using the pasta machine but I do realized that it DOES have its advantages for quickness....

Since I have been selling the texture impression stamps on Etsy I thought it was time "I" played around with them a bit and I have to admit I am having fun. LOVE the stamps and the versatility of their use. Pushing down harder for more texture and not so hard to get a further away look creating some depth to the piece. This could also be the case using color....lighter towards the top of the piece and darker to the bottom. The application of other mediums' techniques etc. lends itself to this medium.

I am working on 2 cuff bracelets and a necklace/clay pendant. With one I used the Gilders Wax which comes in different beautiful colors....one I mixed two colors of clay together, and with the 3rd piece I used acrylic paints as I wanted it to wear with jeans. On each piece I used a different stamp and color technique and I am pleased with the results of each. Next is designing the actual jewelry piece using the clay components. I am hoping to have play time during the weekend.....

So come check back later and see "what's happening".

Out of the Ordinary

It seems as if I am ALWAYS looking for that which is unique, different, not the norm, out of the box,
and unusual for photographs and things that are different have a tendency to bring a smile, and make something "more mine". I lean towards the unconvential.... and have tried to approach all of my own art pieces in this manner. I do what works for me, use what works for me, and if I don't have exactly what I need I improvise as best I can. I love using items in a way that isn't how you normally see it used...if it works in either color, shape, size, theme, etc.

Individuality is fun and quirky.

Helen Breil Zentangle Rubber Stamps (Impression Texture)

Ms Briel resides in Canada and 11 of her 12 designs are her original hand drawn designs inspired by ZENTANGLES one of the newest art crazes which is the meditative, repetitive-pattern approach to drawing.

SOON...... I will begin carrying her designs in my Etsy shop along with the Lisa Pavelka rubber stamps and stamps from an unknown artist I currently carry. I will also carry the Pixie stamps which are the work of Helens' husband Mike Breil and they will also be available soon .

The stamps are 4" x 5" with the textured area being 3 7/8" x 4 7/8".

The design is intricately cut as you can see and makes a wonderful impression when used on clay which is what I will be using it for. They are washable with mild soap and water and can be used with any soft clay, polymer, earthen, porcelian, paper and fabric, etc. etc. Some type of slip is recommended for the metal clays.

These stamps will run $14.00 plus shipping and available to US and International Buyers.

Coming Soon....around the 20th of August 2013 so check my site .....

http://www.artisiticrenderings.etsy.com .

Clay Pattern / Texture / Design Rubber Stamps

On my Etsy site I sell different designs, and sizes of rubber stamps. I have had a couple of people who have wanted to "see" what the designs looks like on clay so this is the picture I took using some FImo polymer clay in metallic copper and the "Spring Cleaning" small stamp and just molding the clay with my fingers vs putting through the clay roller to emboss the clay using the stamp..... I was excited to see how wonderfully crisp and clear the stamps emboss the clay...so I know that my customers have to be pleased ... ... I want to use some of the stamps and do a bracelet in off white and then use my acrylic paints to hit the high spots....

Mother Nature

My Mother Nature Mixed Media assemplage piece is done.... In the base of the lamp I was able to squeeze in a single candle/flame light bulb so this acts as a night light in a room.

She looks as I wanted her to look...

I "Thought" she was done....today (8-14) I found some water drops that I had to add like raindrops to the square glass portion.... which also has a dragonfly and Queen Annes Lace decals front and back.....

Another set of twins?

Another set of twins..... This might be the doe that had twins two years ago.... Some of our resident deer come back to show us family growth.. I have very little grass....so ours in this area must be sweet and tender.

Raven Crow Necklace

I have always loved ravens and crows. There are so many colors that can be seen in the sheen of their feathers. And the little top knot so many of them have....I love when edges are not clean .... I used some beads I had that arer blue, green, burgendy, black, etc.... because I felt it reflected well the colors of the bird.

There are several handmade lampwork beads in this piece, swarowski crystals to lure the raven with shiny, bright reflective colors and I have used a wood dominoe for the raven collage. The edges have been sanded and a protective coating applied but it DOES NOT make this piece waterproof.

There are several different designs I am going to work up or just sell as a pendant for those who would like to design and make their own piece. I also have some skeleton images done on wood dominos that I will be listing on Etsy shortly also.

I don't have any idea how many I will make....but each one will be different when worked into a piece of jewelry.

DEM BONES Skeleton Earrings

8-1 Copyright Diana Putnam

I have about 10 pairs of these skeleton earrings done and want to get as many bracelets, necklaces, etc. finished within this next week so that I can list on my Etsy site....'

They are long but not too long....and I love the dangliness of them.

Happy Halloween early....

Mother Nature Update

My husband brought this home to me from a local garage sale...he paid $2 for it. In-operable but I love old stoves and this half moon one was unique, special, and then all of a sudden I knew what it might just be the perfect base for....
my Mother Nature piece which has been progressing well....
and with a base that makes it getting close to "done".... The little stove is just perfect. I am going to clean it up just a little...
based on the rest of my piece. A light once over of an SOS pad is all it needs...

Next I think will be the Gallery Glass Paint.... I don't like being able to "see" the handle so have to think about what to do there.... and I want some sleeves of "something" for the branch arms....and who knows what else but I have to be real careful about over doing....from the glass block up with the exception of sleeves she is DONE.... it is from the glass block down that I need to concentrate on......

8-13 Copyright Diana Putnam

Weathering

Althought these are July storm clouds in PA... we had just plain ole' grey, overcast skies with thunder, lightening, some hard rain and a little hail. With as dry as evrything is here....it is a well welcomed rain and I wouldn't mind more of the same all night long..... Our Pru doesn't like the thumder,,, as I guess most dogs shun so she has shakes and fretting until one of us can calm her down.

Loved these storm clouds...different from the ones we get here in the High Desert of Oregon and what I remember of storm clouds in the High Desert of California...... I have always said the clouds are different in different areas of the country based on horizon, tree levels or flatness of land, time of day, etc... so we have a tendency to paint what we see. I love the yellow(s) I see in this cloud with also a tinge of mauve and the darkness of the trees to frame the photo out.

PaintWorks October 2013 Issue

In the current issue of PaintWorks (October 213) one of my favorite artists' has a phenominal design/painting of a red Gerbera Daisy done on black...... and it is just gorgeous.... There is a definate want to paint this design (and several of her other ones) but I don't "do" oil so I am going to have to convert her colors to Liquitex and see if there is any way I can get a similar/different finished piece rather than not be able to do it at all.

And then there is the Beatrix Meouwser by Kim Christmas.....OMG but this is just so neat... and I think I want to paint this for my granddaugher...and I LOVE the colored pumpkins.... and then we have the Sunflower-y scarecrow---Sunflower Smiles by Deb Antonick Inspired by Terrye French.... then I went to JB Wood Products and purchased 2 Sue Boerman pattern packets (Halloween Designs).... For some reason this year I am "IN" to Halloween..... Crazy......

SO......I guess I will be busy.....painting. It is "IT'S" turn... and tomorrow just may be day #1.

This is a really great issue.....Hats off to the staff and artists....
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AUGUST 4. 2013
This weekend I started work on this design.....I have my preliminary painting nearly done and will modify for the 2nd one, a little more sky, a bit more blue. I don't really like the highlighting on the trees in my photo so I need to fool around with colors a bit more... and I think I might want to paint the
final one lengthwise instead of vertically..... Artistic license...love it. Maybe some white lilacs??

Dominoe Necklaces / Halloween

Over the weekend my husband purchased a 10 - 12 drawer cart type "thing-y) at a garage sale for $5.00 so I have decided to use it to store my special papers, I am REALLY trying to become more organized but seems I am just "spreading out"....

When I was going through a couple of "piles" I found the skeleton and raven domino collages so I brought them out to do along with the rest of the Halloween Jewelry I have been working on.

Right before Christmas when I was in either Ross or Marshals I purchased a box of really nice wood dominoes that were on clearance so I used these for the skeleton pieces and for the Raven Crows I will use the off white dominoes I pick up whenever I find them at garage sales, thrift stores, etc.

SO........I have a good 20 ready for the next step which is to sand and attach a bale.... then the final step of applying 2-3 coates of a finish to help preserve. I got 4 completed tonight as I can hardly wait to see how they are going to look......and I am really pleased with my visions of completed pieces. I will also make one for myself in each of the 2 different themes and will be pulling out some additional collage designs to work with too.

I really enjoy being able to flip flop with different arts.....and lately I have gone back to doing some writing also.... something I enjoyed years ago when I was in high school and for about 10 years after high school and haven't even thought about.....

Hovering the Futuristic Dragonfly

This little guy came out of thin air....literally. LOL...

For the alterd art/mixed media group that I participate in we have an upcoming exchange to alter a spoon..... In the past I have painted one, and did one altered art using Simplicity pattern paper so I didn't want to do either of these....I wanted to do something different.

Last night I went down to my work area and selected a vintage teaspoon that someone had flattened. (The actual spoon portion only) When I painted the landscape on one I used a large tablespoon which game me "area" to paint that also had been flattened.

The first thing I did was bend the spoon a few times and then set it on the table in front of me to look at and see if I could see anything....You ask how anyone can see anything in a bent, flattened spoon? LOL... I tried several different positions and finally decided the best was to use the flattened portion as the base and to do some sort of a structural piece maybe. I went back down and came up with a package of medium size and strength wire and began to twist and turn, wrap and cut..... The next things to go on were... A sew through button, etched sea glass, flat crystals in various sizes, a magnet and I "THINK" that my little futuristic dragonfly is done.... It will be with me for a week or so until I get my partners name and send so there may....or may not....be future additions and/or changes. Maybe I need color....we will see.

Oh, The blue and white sea glass and the crystals are meant to give the impression of running water such as a stream...with the dragonfly hovering over like a wee helicopter which is where and how I normally see dragonflys.... Last year I got some AWESOME photos of a dragonfly in my dry, dusty, driveway of all places.

So...this is one of my favorite pieces and he is going to be hard to say "goodbye" to.

Ye' Yellow Posies

Such beautiful yellow flowers that were in a pot but hanging from a shephards hook. The vine of this plant is intertwined around the shepards hook and looks so natural and gorgeous not to mention the flowers thmselves. The buds nearly look like roses and I love the lights and darks in this photo. Thanks Theresa for letting me snap.....

LilDawgs Etsy Shop

For all of you pet lovers out there with little dogs, or cats; check out the new Etsy site my sister Cindy has opened. She is the family seamstress, lover of material, especially vintage pieces, and enjoys a little extra money.

In todays mail I rec'd 2 of the coats for Pru and they are just as precious as can be on my little Girl and when I was back in PA she made a Tie coat for a 4 month old Yorkie belonging to my Step Son and daughter in law.... although Steve says NO CLOTHES for the dawg.

So check out her store at: http://www.lildawgs.etsy.com

Our Male Model is Taz a 4 month old Yorkie who is full of piss and vinegar.

His coat is made from mens neckties.....a neat way to recycle ... I have some gorgeous ties that I purchased at Goodwill so I might just have to have her make a coat for Pru using these ties..... I have had them for ages and it is time for "recycle".....

Garage Sale

This was my husbands' find for me this past weekend as he went out garage saleing on Saturday. I am going to leave them just as they are for right now. It is a "should I leave them along, or should I repaint and then distress?" They kinda just "blend in" and I would love to make them "pop" with a bright rust with some orange and gold highlights...

HEAVY DUTY pieces so they have to be older...nothing is made this sturdy anymore....lol..... I thin that he paid $10.00 for all 3 pieces.

I have some alternative lighting coming ..... 3 lanterns that hang and are solar.....and some butterfly lights that are also solar....

Coming up.....some fun with cigar tins....

Have a good week everyone.

Floral Opening

Copyright 7/13 Diana Putnam

I love having my own flowers growing so that I can go out and play with my camera.

It is a backup camera as my Panasonic is "on the blink" so just as with
everything....it is a learning process and the more I use it the better my
photography will be. I like this Nikon as it has great detail and color quality but I don't
have the ability to get as close as I would like. I enjoy the super closeups with the
blurred backgrounds that I can achieve on the Panasonic.....but I had
good photogenic subjects for this shot. Different colors, degree of flowering, texture in
the bark and the flower centers....a lot is actually "going on".

The Triplets

I wish I could blow this photo up just a bit and turn it....but I don't know how as this is a phone photo..but it is worth turning your computer for... A set up triplets that are in "socks"; all boys...and just beautiful little guys. Jennifer and her new husband now have a total of 10 children (another set of twins...both boys) Seth and Sam who are my daughter and son in laws nephews.. HOW PRECIOUS is this......????

Altered Art (GLASS) (Transfusion) to be Named and Musing

This altered "jar" is done and it is called "Transfusion".
The skeleton head was purchased in a Smoke and News Store here in Bend, OR. The jar body for him is an oil jar and the other bottle I picked up at a garage sale....based on its' shape. (who knows when or what I paid but I know it wasn't much).

If you note the skeleton bones are visible through the glass bottle which are bones from a plastic skeleton I took a picture of and then copied on to some Crayola clear pieces of some kind I purchased at Goodwill on one of my visits.

The ivy is rooting in the left hand jar and I simply wound it around the skeleton. In the top part of the skeleton (where I assume a candle would go) I have added an air plant....

This is another piece which just transpired from the two jars which were done separately and then put together as one.

COPYRIGHT BOTH DESIGNS 7-13 Diana Putnam

This is another piece I am currently working on.....it is NOT done....there is still a lot to do until I can consider her completed. What is done; and what you see here is permanent....it is all glued down so now it is about
adding components ..... accessories.......jewelry......adornment.... and will be a One of A Kind artistically unique Altered Art Glass Assemblage. I have no idea at this point in time what it will be titled....

I am finding that I really enjoy the assemblage area of altered art....for some reason I just can't get in to "flat"...but I have learned to never say never... my next piece could be flat as a pancake....a woman artists' perogative... Mind Changing. So maybe this is what I should call it...

There is a new consignment store here in the area which consists of antiques and handmade so I think maybe this coming week or when both pieces are done I will take them down and see about "consigning".... These can't be sent back to the store in PA...so I need an outlet close where I can "drive" my pieces "to sale"....

Next I am going to be doing some Halloween jewelry pieces which will be limited to one of a kinds....and mostly done in brass. I think that they will be fun, pretty, and fashionably "in taste" for the holiday. These I will be putting on my Etsy site for sale sometime in August.

And painting....of course. I bought an item "somewhere" when I was back in PA and I have no idea what the piece
actually is but I am going to do a Terry French design on it....a bit differently than norm. I believe it is her latest free design listed on her website. I LOVE Uniquely Different.

So I am working on many different things at the same time.....and yes, I am also knitting a scarf out of alpaca yarn for a Christmas gift. Soft but nice and warm.?

Prus Ramp

This is my husbands work of art for this week....A ramp up into the bed for Pru..... today I went back and purchased one more piece of the blue adhesive backed heavy felt squares and I covered the additional 3 wooden rungs. She goes up and down....simple as a piece of cake.... thinks she's pretty special; as she well is. Still left to do is make a beginning stabalizer ... for right now it sets atop a vintage suitcase....

Who knows I may need to use it also...........

Decorating or Free Standing Altered Art ...... THAT is the question.

Antique Fun

There are several vintage, antique, unique pieces that I purchased when I was back in PA.... We went to auctions, swap meets, garage sales, estate sales, antique stores, for a wonderful month of fun....but exhausting.... I purchase what I like with nothing special in mind as to what I will exactly do with something..... But anyway to those of you who helped me pack these goodies to come home....Wayne, Theresa, Steve, and of course WHO could forget TAZ .... ( Larry had to build a ramp for her to get up and down from bed.....LOL.....and I will post photo later this week..... but we have to remember she is getting "older" also and needs some "helps"..... lol.)

I will use the wire that is on 2 winding spools towards the top of the wall..... A neat wooden carving that is attached with suede and is made out of Yew.

Below and to the right are gold scales with the little paddles, and even a drawer beneat them...very intricate and beautiful. which my husband brought me for our 38th anniversary.... A cast iron small rooster that my husband purchased along with about 30 other ceramic roosters...(I have roosters in my kitchen but not a chicken coop) just to get this little one.... a minature sad iron and stand, another small set of scales,

and the neatest pair of horned rimmed glasses....(I would LOVE to

have my lenses put in them....would be so "fun"...)

SPECIFIC.....
Then there is the Buddah type dimensional piece.... I had to replace the leather but other than that a perfect piece. Beneath the piece was this bit of information taped to the base: "This ichi-i Wood (named yew=tree in English which has been used as a bow) gets darker in colour with passing of the days and gets bright and shiny. This wood is hard to crack even if it is under the highest dried condition. This has an unrwalled beautiful natural grain that has been used practically ingenuously by provincial arts.

Ichi-i carving which has affluent elegance has been set at a high value at the temple or shrine since three hundred years ago".

Also if you look closely you will see a pink flamingo. It has legs that are rods, he stands on one foot and the base is wood. To the bottom of this item was attached (each in a tiny little dried out piece of thin plastic). another information piece on the artist. More about that later this week.

Since taking this photo I have added the photo of the "woman of life" to the right of my lamp and a big something I don't know what it is length wise on the wall adjacent to the wired spools.

The table everything is setting on was my grandmothers and it was in her seamstress shop... It was purchased by Larry's aunt Phyllis Connors and she gave it to me the last time we were down there.
It has a very "unique" patina.

AWESOME

This photo is just one of several that I bid on at an auction in PA....and is just Awesome. Makes you wonder what her life was like, where she lived, how long she lived. etc. This just HAS to be a photo I paint, use Liquid Graphite in Sepia, or
SOMETHING.... and hopefully I can do a pattern packet ... she needs to be "shared" and loved by "many"..... and a story to go along with her.

I just have the photo stuck in a frame I picked up at a garage sale in PA .... I want to find a special frame and cut a mat ... or have one done uptown. We have a great store where they do a beautiful job with mat and frames....

This woman reminds me of my grandmother who immigrated to the USA from Germany. The facial expression is priceless as well as the shawl over the head and the simpicity of dress.... Just a price less photo from "yesterday".....

Milk Weed

This is a weed......and I don't remember it ever blooming like this when I lived in PA but I am enjoying it this year and have taken numerous photos .... It was neat to catch this butterfly and since downloading it appears I have also captured (in photo) some type of a silver bug/spider, unknown to me. The flowers are very fragrant and I love the round pods before they pop open to flowers...and the double look of the flower with a front and back. I wish I could fly home for a week this fall and take photos of this plant when it pods out and is filled with hundreds of thin, silky, irridescent white spines with a seed at one end.... I DO remember popping them open in the fall and scattering the seeds everywhere....

Soaking feet Musing

Some of the pictures I take ... are just taken "because"as these steps were that lead up from the Seneca Creek/River onto the roadway. My sister took me down into this area so I could take some pictures....

What does soaking feet have to do with the picture? Right now I would absolutely LOVE to be sitting in a comfy chair, with the cold water washing over my hot, aching, overly sensitive, swollen, feet....so my alternative is a roasting pan of ice cubes and water here in my living room 3000 miles away from "the scene" (Westline, Pennsylvania) where I give them a "dunk every few minutes to kinda numb them.... The cold packs melt in less than a 1/2 hour so are only useful when I go to bed at night...... RSD is NO fun.... so I must learn how to utilize down time to my best advantage until this flare up is over with. Who would have ever dreampt that a carpet, a plain ordinary soft but nubby carpet could hurt your feet?

I call it trigimeninal neuralgia of the feet as one just doesn't know what will trigger some kind of pain, itch, twitch....LOL.... or when, how bad, and the length of time till you will be able to walk again with some semblance of normaility.

Out in the kitchen I am working on a glass scupture for somewhere....maybe in my garden...or maybe I will sell it... The entire sculpture is different shaped and designed clear glass pieces of different sizes and shapes and I am just "letting it happen" as it wants... When I do get up to walk to the kitchen I can take advantage of a view, some thoughts, check out the unused pieces I have
laying beside the item....and what I might use.... These glass items will be painted with Folk Art
Gallery Glass.....it is my favorite brand of Glass paint. After it is done I am going to use an Outdoor Sealer to help preserve and will treat it like the art that it will be and bring inside for the winter months.... I feel very fortunate to enjoy so many hobbies...Knitting, crocheting, painting, jewelry design, reading, music, clay, encaustics, photography. mixed media, etc..... many of which help me to divert the pain, or break that chain of pain .... so art is for me is really a non chemically induced pain reliever...

I know that I owe some emails/convos, etc. so please if this pertains to you....I am thinking of everyone and I will eventually get back into my normal groove....the ole' grey mares she ain't what they used to be...... A vacation past has become a day to day "rest period".

I LOVE FREEZIN' FOG DAYS