Welcome, Bienvenidos!

Fabric Postcard





I did this little fabric postcard for a show called Wish You Were Hear and have  discovered the 'World of Fabric Postcards'. I googled it to find out more on the subject and turns out there are all these quilting/fiber artist communities and shows on this media. Who could know?! A lot of galleries that have shows exclusively on hundreds of these minature works of art.  I loved these tiny 4" X 6" fabric  fine art!! 
Thought of doing mine by printing some of my images off my ink jet printer onto this pretreated fabric, then embellishing with embroidery, beads etc. Went to a quilt store that wanted 16.00 for a 7 sheet pak of 81/2 x11, said forget it and buzzed to Walmart where I got a few sheets for 5.00 to experiment.
It was really fun to get reacquainted with my sewing machine and I will definitely do a few more to send to friends. I got a link on a how to from a blog I really enjoyed  http://debrichardson.com/blog/?p=232
that was a how to and now I think I am hooked!  Other links:  http://www.art2mail.com/faq.php, 
This first one has bling on it because I like a bit of it in all my works and also to distract from the 5 th grade sewing due to technical struggles as I kept going "oh yeah, I forgot about that part" while figuring out the machine's quirks. I have a wonderful Vintage machine that I have used for a Very Long (no years here!) time, and it was my mom's before that. 
The next one will be embellished with paint and glitter and will take 1/2 the time. My Day of the Dead painting will do nicely!

Designing



Finished a design for a little Madonna of the Desert. She is accompanied by a Cardinal, Quail, 2 magical birds, roses and poppies. Silver metallic stars float overhead. She will be the center of a white cactus flower with glass gems and mirror.
I made a few of these medallion series of reverse glass paintings to use in mixed media mosaics and explore different materials.  After these I am ready to do more wildlife paintings and have already two designs in the sketch book. The wildlife series will use more stones. Can't wait to bring them to life!  All of the ideas/designs are coming fast and furious these last few weeks. Now all I need is buyers! 

Kitchen Kitty Mosaic- Finished








The little angel kitchen kitty on a Basil leaf is done! Materials used: stained glass, mirror, glass tile, polished stones & turquoise. Kitty center is done in Reverse glass painting technique. Before grouting,  little fishy and turquoise are taped. I used 2 colors of grout. Back  finished with 2 coats of dark paint and grout is sealed.

Here is a lovely quote I found on the side of a beer bottle (go figure!), Deschutes Brewery Twilight Ale -  I love beautiful words and this expressed exactly how I feel while walking my dog Risa.  

"EXTENDED SUMMER DAYS - CHASING TWILIGHT AFTER SUNSET.  There is something magical about the time of day that falls between light and dark.  The high desert summer day fading into a warm evening with brilliant skies. Take It All In."

Kitchen Kitty Mosaic


O.k.,  I went with the green because the red was too busy. Have started to glue it down, the tedious part where I listen to a book or something. Grout will be two colors - black cherry and mallard green. (picture the space in between with colors of brownish purple and soft green). I'll cut shape out with my trusty angle head Before grouting. 
Have started another little painting on love - the connection between people and pets :~).
Here is my 'Gatito' laid out! The leaf shape is a fat basil leaf.  Nature, wildlife, words all inspire my art.

Jewelry - Tiny Paintings to Wear







Today I saw a video on YouTube that motivated me to play with a totally different technique and direction. It was on making domed resin pendant. Previously I had toyed with the thought of the glass tiles, but after watching this I now have TWO ways to put my artwork on other media. Sure there's the notecards, bookmarks, book bags, prints etc. but I confess I have always loved to experiment with jewelry making, beading etc. Why Not?! 
My glass paintings tend to be jewel like in style and color and could translate well into pendants, brooches. With a little tweaking in PhotoShop.
So here's a link to the video (turns out there were many examples) and some reverse glass paintings that could fit well in a square, round rectangle or oval. It will be like wearing mini paintings! One inch rounds or squares.
Here's a tutorial on that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krb1a3OhsS0

4th July 2009



Started out with two disastrous events. Thank god for Risa and my Art. Worked on kitchen kitty first. Then turned evening into cool mini picnic of fireworks at the park with Risa, glow necklaces, and our favorite snacks. So I was surrounded by lots of fun, happy energy. Thrilled couple of kids with gifties of glow necklaces. What they didn't know was that their happy enthusiasm was a much bigger gift to me! **Look -  Risa is glowing!   So had super 4th and hope everyone else did too! :~)

Kitchen Kittys




Still into the mixed media mosaics. Currently playing with a little series of my  illustration graphic style that started about four years ago and is a nice detour from the representational side of my work. I do all of my saints, angels and love messages in this style. Very natural and fun to embellish and play with. Fantasy, folk tales and legends are themes I love to explore. 
Here is a layout of my Kool Kitties. This is a kitchen kitty - hurray for all of us who enjoy cooking! 
Mirror, stones and reverse glass painting used in most or all of my work. Grout color will be black cherry, red or dk. brown. I have a lot of hardi backer board, so I'll use that to work on or 1/2 inch easy board. 

Sueño del Mar


Ocean Dream or Dream of the Sea.
This is from a series of reverse glass paintings I am working on of the Sea of Cortez.  An experiment of balancing a little fantasy with reality. Sea Turtles are such charismatic, mysterious creatures and I do not get tired of exploring the undersea life in all it's colors and moods. Working on little 3 min flick of the technique but for now google wikipedia for an explanation of the technique of reverse glass painting. :~) It's featured in a lot of my work.        Click on the pic for larger viewing.
Stay tuned for another Sea of Cortez painting that includes una Sirena (mermaid).

Current books I liked

The following books  I liked and you might like too! I listen to books a  lot when I work on a piece or travel. Usually have 5 to 9 books going at any one time. Books are a big passion with me. So here's a few...

The Art Of Racing In the Rain  - audio book; bittersweet and really good.
Three Cups Of Tea - audio book; amazing story.
Blink, the Power of Thinking without Thinking  - audio book. How decisions are based/made.
Stop and Smell the Roses - favorite comics - Mutts, they make me laugh and think.
Artist to Artist: 23 major Illustrators talk to children about their Art - great read!
Breaking Dawn - yes, I am a Stephanie Myers fan and this audio book was good.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - children's audio. I love children's books and stories. 
Dead to the world by Charlaine Harris from her Southern Vampire series. Light, entertaining, funny.