ICE ice ... baby!

I am so excited ... tomorrow morning's my Monday-with-Jane art class (it's not really called that, but I call it that; ok, so it's really called "Mixed Media with Paper & Cloth with Jane LaFazio", and it's offered by The La Jolla Athanaeum).

So here's the big deal:

http://www.iceresin.com/articles/using-ice-resin-on-paper/

That's what we're doing tomorrow in class!   Making our own resin papers :-).

As the pot roast is finishing off in the oven with the potatoes & carrots, I'm sitting here selecting images to print (inkjet), and ferreting out cool papers I'd like to try as resin paper.     I'm even going to take some of the monoprint papers we did last week in case that might work ... I wonder if the color would bleed?   We'll see.

Okay, so you want a sneak peak at one of the images I want to make into resin paper?   Here it is:



it's a magpie, of course !!!

 All that, and a post coming on the beautiful day that Ann and I spent at the home of Jenny Doh (Saturday), taking a class from Lisa Engelbrecht - I'm still grinning !!!   My big idea is that I can take some of the bits of resin paper that I make tomorrow and use a little of that when I put together my LE-style art quilt with the blocks I started yesterday.  :-)

~~  Princess Magpie

Creative Slump

so I've been in a creative slump lately.  if i were a writer, it'd be writer's block.  since i'm a "creative", i guess this is a creative's block.  hmmm.

but i have been diligent about going over the e-course FLYING LESSONS that Kelly Rae Roberts has going on. { http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/ }. yes, i have been making sure i have the info saved to a file (for my eyes only) ... and this way, in a binder, i can review it over and over again.  (yes, kelly rae gave us permission to do that, by the way - so long as we didn't share the info with others).

back to my creative's slump.   could be the weather - could be my migraines - could be plenty of things.  mostly, i think, it's GUILT over not being a good housekeeper, struggling to do more around the house, which then sets off all my joints -- bah humbug - this getting old(er) is for the birds.  (albeit NOT for the magpies - who never hurt!).

so i'm adding an "I Read Kelly Rae" button to my sidebar this morning.  it's about all i have, dear readers, to add to my blog today.

missing you - missing my creative spark - but hoping it will return soon.

xo
Davielle - your Princess Magpie


{at right, my 'beloved' mixed media art teacher, JANE LA FAZIO - I'm guessing she rarely, if ever, has a 'creative slump' ... i'm just saying ... i mean, JUST LOOK AT HER.  Such energy and such enthusiasm and such joy.  :-) !!}

Are you a Brave Girl?

Just before my 8-week series of workshops with the amazing Jane LaFazio ended -- back at the end of March -- Jane told me about a very wonderful experience that her friend just had.  Her friend had attended BRAVE GIRL CAMP, and because I am feeling brave these days, I ran home and looked it up.   Wow, did I like what I saw !!!

Someday {and it's looking like it will be in 2011, since all their Brave Girl Camp dates are SOLD OUT for 2010} I, too, will go to Brave Girl Camp.  

You should visit their website to check out what they're all about and what they have to offer.   Creative souls especially will find it nourishing.  http://www.bravegirlsclub.com/

For a little taster, here's a post that I found in my in-box just today:

Dear Super-Smart Girl,


Did you know there's a part of you that is even smarter than your brain? Did you know that the wisdom that comes from this part of you will get you through all of life's bumpy roads, and the smooth sailing roads, too?


Your gut...that deepest place of knowing that's nestled right next to your beautiful heart is the place where your most important thinking should be done. Your brain should be taking orders from your gut and your heart...not the other way around.


You know so much more than you think you know.

You ARE SO MUCH MORE than you think you are.


You are so much braver than you think you are.


You are so much smarter than you think you are.


You are so much more wonderful than you think you are.


So....start thinking with the smart parts of you ..... you can never go wrong.


xoxo - Melody and Kathy

Okay, so is it just me?  Or is that rather powerful?   I am in "writing a business plan" mode, for sure.  And I am itching to find and make time to JUST. BE. CREATIVE.   I have now organized my "projects in progress" {and whoa, do I have plenty of 'em!} into nice handy stackable plastic tote boxes.  I can see through the lids, and I just about drool each time I walk by.   And what the heck, who am I fooling?  I also have "yet to be completed" projects in ... my upstairs craft spot, our bedroom, and my office.  Oh, and let's not forget the dining room.   What can I say?  I like to see my options.  LOL.
 
Anyway - I'm rambling.  Visit BRAVE GIRLS' website and check 'em out.
 
Enjoy!
 
YOUR,
 
Princess Magpie

MAS progress continues

Friday morning, June 5; 9 am:

Okay, so MAS now has several meanings:

Messy Art Space

Messy Art Studio
MY Art Space / Studio

I like 'em all. Yet, I am leaning now towards the last one. MY ART SPACE.

"Messy" sounds like it's going to look like, well, like my home office. Or my closet. Or the chest next to my side of the bed. {you think I'm kidding? then you don't know me!}

What 'MESSY' was meant to denote was that THIS is where the messy art would happen - the stuff with glues and paints and water and such. {although we have no sink in the garage ... yet ... I remain hopeful! I am pretty sure that the capped pipe that leads off the base of our water heater is ... the plumbing to BRING IN A SINK some day.}

But now, it's just going to be MAS: My Art Space.

The progress continues, slow but sure. Before he left town Friday morning, Mark helped hang a hook for aprons;

voila !!!

a re-used dog kennel-crate door (it's not only magnetic, but I can use clothespins to clip inspiration to it right where I work);

the dangling tag says "she's a good girl; crazy about Elvis. loves horses, and her boyfriend too" -- one of my favorite song lines, a la Tom Petty.

and a cookbook holder, mounted to the wall, so I can open up a book to the instructions and SEE IT, yet keep it clean while I work from it.

Lined up to use it first:

Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts {the artist and her book, who started me on this amazing artful journey over a year ago ... she SO insires me}

the books I have by Claudine Hellmuth ...

this is one of Claudine's books, in the rack !!

and of course, the two books by Golden artist CHRIS COZEN ...

those are Chris' books on display - the larger art piece just beneath is by CHRIS - I bought that from her during her recent 2-day workshop here in town, hosted by San Diego Book Arts. the two smaller pieces are ones I did in a Chris workshop back in March, at Stamping Details in Poway. Funny, when I bought her work, I didn't realize I was again drawn to those colors. I have a long way to go, but still, I think I'm on the right path, learning from the best artists I can take classes from.

and my book by friend LINDA BLINN ... about creating family memory books.

I'm just waiting now for a book on Mixed Media with Paper and Cloth - by -- drum roll - Jane LaFazio !!!

I can hardly wait to get creating in my space !!!

my drafting table, with an assortment of work I created during Chris Cozen workshops, 2009

-- Princess Magpie

BSM: Best Shot Monday - May 11, 2009

This photo was taken in April (2009) and it's my "Best Shot Monday" for this week. I don't know if you can see the very delicate cobweb from the beak to the chest, but it's what makes this one special to me. :-)

That, and the fact that this duck belonged to my mother and I've been able to drag it move-after-move for decades now. I think it's here to stay !!!

Happy Monday, everyone.

-- Princess Magpie

Mixed Media with Jane LaFazio in the morning; so posting on Sunday night !!

musings on my Mixed Media Art Class

Well, Monday came & went {Jan 26, 2009} and I'm finally posting my musings about the long-awaited MIXED MEDIA art class with Jane LaFazio. For more about Jane, visit her blog at: http://www.janeville.blogspot.com/

this is Jane ... outdoors, watercolor journaling no doubt, wearing her fave color shoes: RED !! {photo borrowed from her site}

Twenty of us {19 women, 1 man} enrolled, and just one was absent at our 1st class session. The students come from all walks of life -- the corporate world, the artistic world, a blend of both -- and they come to class with varied experience with art, and with taking art classes. I was thrilled to hear that one student is a former editor for a creative publication company that I am just crazy about: Somerset. All ages, all levels of artistic ability, and from all over the county -- one gal even drives down from San Clemente for class!

Jane is a remarkable artist, and a remarkable teacher. It's one thing to be good at something; it's another to explain to others "a process". Especially when it comes to being creative!

speaking of "being creative", this is some of us, doing just that

I sat next to a sweet gal, Jean, and spent the break walking across the street for coffee with a dear lady named Noel. And come to find out, a childhood friend of my husband's is taking the class. She does longarm quilting, and so the learning experience at JUST ONE CLASS went above and beyond "mixed media". How many of you know what longarm quilting is?!

Below: this was our work table; these are my 2 pieces ...

they're very much "works in progress", quite literally, as we bring them back to the next 2 class sessions to continue creating

So there's a few photos taken at class on 1/26 ... we have a substitute teacher on 2/2 ... another fabulous local artist, Helen Shafer Garcia ... and I'll take photos each week for posting here.

and this is Benny the Bedlington ... this is the 1 man in my class; he's taking it with his wife -- and I'm so envious -- they're about to move all their art supplies into a proper STUDIO down at Liberty Station ... wow!

Questions, anybody?

your ...

Princess Magpie

I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself ...

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that a favorite mixed media artist of mine, Jane LaFazio, is going to teach a six-week {ie, six classes} MIXED MEDIA class down at the San Diego location of the La Jolla Athenaeum, beginning late January.

I read all the details, I printed it all out, and I thought about it for several days. Jane and I exchanged a couple e-mail messages, and I was convinced that THIS is the class for me.

So ... as an early 50th birthday present TO ME, I signed up for Jane's class.

To find out more about Jane, visit her website at www.plainjanestudio.com ...

To see what Jane's up to on a regular basis, you can visit her fabulous blog at www.janeville.blogspot.com ...

And to learn about the class I've signed up for, visit this site: http://ljathenaeum.org/school.html

AND just in case there's still room this coming weekend in her Watercolor Journal workshop, which I took a little over a year ago with my friend Cynthia, please visit Jane's website and scroll down until you see her December 6 workshop details. Held in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA, it is an amazing experience. You'll be SOOOO glad you took it, should you sign up.

-- Princess Magpie, aka DAH