In Our Own Way

My sweet friend JACKIE (AKA MY HONEY) nominated me to participate in a little challenge, where you share pictures of some of your older art.

This has proven to be a little difficult for me, because I've only been sincerely arting it up for a few years...and shared 99.9% of my art here on the blog...so you've probably already seen it!

And then I wondered if I've ever shown the canvases I did in the past...and I think the answer is no, so here you go:

I copied this mermaid from something I saw on Pinterest...so long ago I have no idea who's work it was, so I apologize!  I was really pleased over how she turned out at the time...now I see all kinds of things I coulda/shoulda/woulda done differently.  I guess it just goes to show that I've gotten to be a better artist over time!

This girl is the same way...all the stuff I learned between then and now is calling my name!  I do still enjoy her hair (which is scrapbook paper!) and I still find her mouth to be saucy and happy-making!  Also, I just noticed that dry erase board underneath the canvas says November...I just looked over at it...it actually says November 2012...clearly I don't use that dry erase board as much as I once thought I would...

The background on this one was my favorite...and the sentiment is one that I stick by too!  I used alcohol inks to make the background on all these canvases and this one looked like plaid to me and made me very happy!

All three of these canvases are hanging on the wall in my studio...they remind me of how far I've come in my art!  Even my lettering skills have improved since then, despite the fact that I've not really practiced it like I claimed I would (and keep claiming!)...this must support my theory that any kind of art practice improves your art over all...so I may not have been practicing lettering, but I was fiendishly practicing other things and better lettering was a happy byproduct!

Before taking up art/art journaling, I was creative in other ways.

Like sewing:

Made for my nephew Michael, from a Simplicity pattern.

Made up my own pattern for her!

Made from a pattern from a book called Wee Wonderfuls, which is a FANTASTIC book on soft toy making!  

I also embroidered:

Elephant, from a pattern

From my imagination

Crocheted:

Actually, I crocheted A LOT...this was from a pattern from LUCY AT ATTIC24...at one point, crochet was like art journaling is for me now and I was quite the little busy hooker! (haha)

And I did dabble in painting as well...just not the journaling kind:

He's a magnet...he still makes me laugh every time I look at him!

And this is Stanley, my Mom's "gentleman caller"...also hilarious, in my opinion...

I was thinking about all my past arting and crafting as I worked on this week's JOURNAL 52 spread.  (The prompt is "Silhouettes".)

I decided to use some of my MANY stamps that I never use...

While I've not always been an art journaler, I have always been a creative person.  My sister and I used to joke that I was "a craft acquiring junkie"...if I saw it and liked it, I had to try it...HAD TO.

I love those little stamp gals...so cute!  I went over the stamp lines in black marker to darken them and to give them a more 'drawn' look...it's a great way to cheat if you're not good at drawing, plus tracing things will help your hand get the feel of drawing, which will help you be a better draw-er...it sounds crazy, but it's true!

Now I think I must have just been searching for the right thing for me.  Don't get me wrong,  I do tend to love all things creative...and there was a time that I thought making soft toys was my passion and that crochet was my one true talent...but when I started art journaling...OH BABY!  It's a whole different kettle of fish!

"We must all be beautiful in our own way."

But that doesn't mean those years spent on other creative endeavors were wasted...or that sewing or knitting or jewelry making or writing or any other creative act is any less artistic.  It only means that we can define art in many ways...and that they are equally valid and important.

When I look at my beginning art stuff, I cringe a little, because I can see so many flaws.  But, while I do see those glaring flaws in my work, I can say that those works are still beautiful in their own way. All those flaws led me to become better.  In a couple more years, I will look at my current work and hopefully be able to say that it too is flawed but led me to improve even further.  

Sometimes the beauty in our art is not in the outward appearance of it.  Sometimes the beauty comes from a hidden meaning only we know.  Sometimes it comes from the years of hard work it represents.  And sometimes it comes from the fact that we were brave enough to try something new.

So my spread today is meant to encourage myself (and hopefully you too!) to find the beauty in everything around me, especially when it's not readily evident.  

Wonky Stitchery

As soon as I saw this week's DOCUMENTED LIFE (DLP) prompt, "Incorporate Fabric Onto Your Page", I got that whole Cotton Council theme song stuck in my head...you know, "The touch, the feel of cotton, the fabric of our lives."  Yeah...it's been playing on repeat in my brain ever since Saturday morning.  I'm glad this was an interesting prompt, otherwise I would be severely annoyed right now...

Aside from having the cotton song in my head, the other thing that happened right away was that I knew I was going to embroider the fabric that I would add to the page.  Here's what I ended up with:

Muslin on the right, Martha Stewart Acrylic Paint in Putty (Satin finish)...the muslin and the paint actually match pretty well...or at least close enough to work for me!

So I started out with two pieces of muslin in an embroidery hoop (because the muslin I have is very thin and the floss colors would show through otherwise...).  And in between the two layers of muslin, I added a piece of paper with some journaling I did about some stuff I wanted to get out, but didn't need to ever look at again.  I do believe that's a new take on hidden journaling...at least for me.

At any rate, I kind of made a reverse Mandala, starting at the outer edge and working my way to the middle with different stitches and various colors of floss.  On a side note, I learned to do embroidery when I was a kid, and I used to have such perfect, even, little stitches...I don't know what happened to that skill, because my stitches are SO not perfect, even, or little anymore...but I did remember how to do a French Knot without having to look it up and the last time I did a French Knot was probably 15 or 20 years ago, so I feel pretty positive about that...

The good thing about this is the floss colors, because they distract from the uneven everything else...

After I finished my embroidery piece to my relative satisfaction, I started putting down paint on my spread.  For some reason, I chose brown, turquoise, and silver...even though they didn't seem to match my fabric piece IN ANY WAY...  

Once I started looking at the embroidery and the background together, though, it started to remind me of something Native American.

I was going to use a quote from a fantastic poem called "Story From Bear Country" by Leslie Marmon Silko (which you can read HERE...the poem starts after the third sentence...I don't know why they have it laid out like that...), but I couldn't decide which part to use.  I played around with the thought of just copying down the whole poem, but decided against it.

"Though at times you'll be at your knees, it's better than just running blind.  I'll push you straight into the deep.  I'll challenge you, boy, every time." -John Butler Trio

Instead, I ended up using lyrics from this song, "Ragged Mile", by John Butler Trio:

I love this song and it's got that awesome tribal beat to it.

The lyrics actually go a long way in putting a positive spin on the journaling/frustrations I had written and then locked away forever in between my two layers of muslin...

Close-up of wonky stitchery...which is hiding even wonkier feelings underneath...stupid wonky feelings...

I think I like this spread...at least (or maybe I should say especially) the embroidery part of it.  I don't seem to find Zentangles very zen and I don't get that meditative vibe from fussy cutting like other people do, but, for me, there is something to be said for picking up a needle and thread and just letting what happens happen.  I think I may have to make sure to do a bit more of the flossy fun in the near future...if for no other reason than to get my stitching skills back in good order...

Charlie...Face 21 of 29

Face 21 of 29 is a useful one:

Hi!  I'm Charlie the Change Purse.

The wallet I have used forever finally died, and, since I'm...thrifty, I am using a day planner as a replacement.  The problem is that the day planner has room for everything except for change.  And I need change for the snack machine at work.  I've been carrying it in my pockets, which is fine I suppose, but if you can make an adorable change purse, why would you not? 

Please ignore my actual man hands...  I only had a black zipper, so I made it so that the zipper wouldn't show if you were looking at her head on.

I used some fabulous wool felt that I've had for a long time to make her.  The difference between wool felt and acrylic craft felt is HUGE.  Wool felt has a great texture, both visually and to touch...I don't know if anybody can use this info, but if you sew and use felt, try wool felt at least, because there really is a big difference...unless you're allergic to wool...then probably don't use wool felt.  I wouldn't want you getting hives because of me!

As you can see, Charlie is a pretty good sized change purse...I use the snack machine at work A LOT!

I made Charlie without a pattern, and she's entirely hand sewn (because I was too lazy to move the junk from in front of my sewing machine).  I haven't done any hand sewing/embroidery for a good while, and if you sew/embroider, you can tell...look at my sloppy stitches...for shame!  I used to have perfectly even tiny little stitches.  I like to sew and do needlework, and clearly, I need to take it up again, because I am sorely out of practice!  On the positive side, look at those French Knot freckles!  That used to be my favorite stitch when I was a little kid, and I practiced those quite a bit growing up!

I'd seen something very similar to Charlie online so long ago that I am pretty sure I didn't even pin the link (there was a time before Pinterest?!?)...I just printed the picture off.  So if somebody recognizes this, and can tell me the site for the original, that would be wonderful!  The inspiration for her is even cuter than Charlie is, and I remember that the person made actual dolls too (among other things) and that the dolls were even cuter than the little purses.  I'd love to be able to give the person who inspired Charlie credit for the inspiration.

I'm off for today, to go fill Charlie with change in preparation for work on Monday...see you tomorrow! <3