Snow Storm

This isn't a great picture as the lighting was bad so the whites seem to be yellowish. This is a piece for an exchange with my Fiber art group, Fiber Art Fusion.it is done with gesso, tissue, fabric, and yarn.

Autumn leaf

This leaf was done with inktense again, but instead of using the pencil tips, I used the blocks if I had the color. I was able to get a much more intense color lot easier this way. I also used frisket to keep the light yellow lines while I did the washes.

Fall Leaf

This leaf was done with inktense pencils but I pulled the color off the pencil tip instead of drawing on the paper. The big difference between these and watercolor pencils is that once the inktense are dry they won't mix with the next layer which gies you a totally different effect when blending colors especially complimentaries like the fuchsia and green or the yellow and violet.

Butterfly

Here the emphasis was to creat a glow. I should really have spent more time defining the leaf too.

Still drawing

I realized that I hadn't added a single entry this month. I have continued to sketch, but not worry so much about finished drawings. On this one I was trying to get washes from the tip of my inktense pencils.

Clematis flower

This assignment was to to paint without any drawing first. I pulled the pigment from the pencil tip of the inktense pencils and when I was finished, I added the detail with a pigma pen. I still wanted a stronger image and then added heavier lines with my pentel aqua pen.

Poppy

Flower power

Flowers are such great subjects easy to draw and plenty of great color.

Dragonfly

This one was done with the inktense pencils again. But instead of drawing directly n the paper I mixed the colors on the pencil tip I also used the pentel brush pen which is awesome.. It comes in water soluble and non-water soluble..

More pencil practice

I did this one with inktense pencils. I am really having fun with this class. One of the reasons I signed up for this class was to get back into the practice of practicing. I think it is working as I am really enjoying the doing and not in the finished drawing.

Journal Cover

I made this journal at our Fiber Art group meeting this month.  Fiber Art Fusion met at Rubber Stamp Fantasy in October and the amazing artist (and shop owner) Debbie led us through creating these.  We got to play with Dylusion sprays which I have sooooooo been wanting to try.  The inner swirl piece was done with Claudia Helmouth (is that her name?) sticky canvas.  I love working with them.  I gave this journal to my neighbor in the mountains, Susan!  I hope she likes it.

My new happy place

I bought the cutest picnic table at the Ellijay flea market. I put it on the deck and have been going out and drawing and painting on it. You can see the leaves are starting to change. Is it any surprise that most of my recent work has Fall colors.

Ellijay Apple Festival

The Apple Festival started this weekend up in Ellijay, Georgia, where I have my cabin/art refuge. I came up this weekend to have time to work on an online class that I am taking on Joggles with Dion Fowler. It is on watercolor pencils which I am very out of practice but really I just love her use of color and wanted to learn more of her design process. This is just the first week. To honor Apple festival, I decided to draw an apple tree.

http://mountainridgegardenshop.com/1901.html

I made a scarecrow for the cabin. There is a great garden center in Ellijay on River Road. For $15 they will help you make your own scarecrow. I realize that I probably should have put more thought into it and brought cool clothes to do a fun one, but it was great fun considering that I have never made one before this. This is the same place that taught me to make a vertical garden.

Garden at the end of Summer

Picture turned upside down. It is still a little wet at this stage, so a bit darker than actual.

I was worried about the puckering which can be caused by not enough stabilizer or uneven stitch density. I was able to block most of it out. The uneven sides were intentional. Life doesn't fit into a neat box.

New piece started

I started this piece last week. I am working on some soluble with some wool roving. I am doing thread painting on top.

Onyx still looking for a home

Onyx is a two year old full bred husky. He has been with us for two months now and is still looking for a forever home. He is a special dog who needs special handling. He is very sweet and very smart, but needs an experienced dog owner who has the time to work with him. He can be fear aggressive and really needs someone who is willing to gain his trust as well as clearly be his pack leader. Although he was a handful when we first got him, he has now become an awesome dog who loves rough housing with our dog, Sunny.

Fiber Art Fusion Art Show

I have been a part of the Fiber Art Fusion group since it begin. This is my submission for our six annual show at The Art Place at Mountainview.

Meet Onyx - Needs a forever home!

This is Onyx.  He is a medium sized Purebred Siberian Husky.  He was an owner surrender from Columbus, Georgia.  I only picked him up yesterday, so I should have a lot more information about him over the next few days.  So far, he has shown himself to be a VERY sweet boy who gets along with both my other dogs.  If you are looking for a great new furry friend, please consider adopting Onxy.  Contact MUSH Rescue through Facebook.

FYI, Mojo was adopted by a wonderful family last week.  He is adjusting beautifully and is already a part of his new family. 

Drawing day one

It was actually hard to post this drawing. I am soooo out of practice. I am going to work at a drawing a day and this is day one. For so many years I really did art everyday, but over the past few, I have let work and other commitments get in the way, until now I can't seem to do a little sketch. To try and keep me focused, I signed up for the sketchbook project. I will post more about it in day's to come.

Vertical garden

Nasar and I took a class this weekend on making vertical gardens. I made two. They are so fun to make and I can't wait to hang them up. I will need to wait three weeks to hang them to allow the roots to take hold.

Mojo needs a home

I started being a foster Mom for Mush Rescue, a local husky rescue group. This is Mojo. He was found at the end of March near Noonday creek. So far no one has claimed this amazing dog so Mush rescue was called to take him. Hopefully he will find the perfect home soon.

Another fairy garden

This is another one that I made this weekend. The little house was purchased at an antique store in Ellijay. I made the bonsai tree myself.

Another fairy garden

This is another one that I made this weekend. The little house was purchased at an antique store in Ellijay. I made the bonsai tree myself.

Fairy Garden number Four

Here is Fairy garden number four. I want to Goodwill and got the wire container for $3. A trip next door to big lots for the coco liner for $2.50 came next. My friend Tammy had suggested that I try breaking a tile for the walkway as an alternative to the pebbles, so while at Goodwill I found a set of four white tiles for $2. I then went to Kelli Greens nursery. I spoke the wonderful gardener who works there and she told me bout some Elfin Thyme that she had growing in the back. I bought three of them for $3.75 each. It is on the left. I also used what I had left of the Irish moss. green's also sold the little fairy and the mushroom for $4.99 each. I added the small sand dollar and the small geode as well.

Bonsai miniature with elf

Today I took the spruce that I had started pruning the other day and did a little more. I also started wiring one of the branches. I haven't decided on its final shape yet, so I wasn't too aggressive with the pruning. Next I did a bit of the roots. I couldn't find the right size container, so I uses one that was a bit big. This is probably just temporary until it finds it's way into a larger garden scene, but it is cute now. I added a farmer elf that I found in an antique store last weekend in Ellijay. It was a set for $6 and these are only a few of the pieces.

Second Fairy Garden

So I stopped by Pike's on the way home from work to fill in plants for the first garden and they had smaller fairy garden kits ($33), and I couldn't resist. I also checked out other plants that I thought might be appropriate and came up with a few. The two big splurges was for a golden carpet juniper which I can start training as a bonsai and another angel vine which was already trained into a circle. I finished it off with more Irish moss, some moss from my front yard, and Georgia blue speedwell (the pretty little flower in front). I almost forgot the Powys castle artemisia. I pruned it to be tree like and it turned out really cute. I am addicted. I have more stuff now to make another. I just need containers.

Miniature Fairy Garden

I was visiting Blue Ridge this weekend with my sister. We passes a cute little garden/floral store called Penelope's. Besides having a collection of breathtaking orchids, they also sold miniature fairy gardens. I had never seen them before and fell in love. They are so precious. The one they had set up was over $200 so I bought the kit and decided to make it myself. I bought the lavender tree from them as I wanted the scale. I also bought the Irish moss there. I also bought the angel vine from them to wrap around the arbor. I bought more Irish moss from Pike's (same price double the plant).

Decolourant is fun!

I went to the Original Sewing Expo with my BFF Rebecca on Friday. We had so much fun looking at new products and watching them demoed by experts (most of the time). One of my favorite new purchases was deColourant and DeColourant plus. It is a discharge paste. I previously played with discharge paste which you have to mix up your self. It is safer and less toxic than bleach discharge. With traditional discharge paste you can add vat dyes (if I remember correctly) to discharge and add color back in one step. It was quite a process with mixing and a mess. What I loved about this is it was so easy to use. Since going back to work, my art time is precious and saving hours in mixing chemicals and clean up is important.
Here is my first try with it, I bought a purple batik fat quarter from Karen's shop, in Jasper, Quilting on Main. Using a stencil, I applied the decolourant. I now need to let it dry then heat it to remove the color. I will post the results.

Japanese Bead Embroidery, progress

I am still working on my phase four still. I have a month and a half to finish it. I still think it possible, but aim going to need to work a lot more than I did in February.

Japanese Bead Embroidery, Phase Four, Day Four

This is what I accomplished on Day three, our final day of class.  This is less than 1/4 complete as there is a lot more fabric to the left.  Luckily, this is a holiday weekend and I have two more complete days to work on it.  I have until mid-April to finish, so I am a little more comfortable that I will be able to do it.  Sitting next to me in class was Cindy who had driven up from Mississippi.  She was also working on Phase Four, but she was doing the Floral Melody Purse.  I have to admit that I had project envy - it was so beautiful. 

Japanese bead Embroidery, Phase Four, Day 2

This is what I accomplished after day two of my Phase Four bead embroidery at the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta. This is the Peacock Mat. For phase four there were two choices, this one and the floral melody purse. Both are amazing but I decided that I could get more use out of the mat. Now, I want to do the floral melody purse also. Phase four is a pre-requisite for Phase five, which is the highest level in Japanese bead embroidery. This is so much fun, but my back is screaming.

Bead Embroidery

Happy new year! I am really committing to not allow my job stop me from making art regularly. This is a piece that I actually finished this past summer but really wanted to share. It was a kit from Ann Benson's website. I really wanted to see if there were any cool techniques. The bead embroidery was not anything new, but she has you work on paper that is fused to the stabilizer. The pattern is printed on the paper. This, I thought, was a cool idea. It also has the directions to add the clasp type handle which I wanted to learn.