More Background Pages

 Collaged with painted paper towel and styrofoam print on text.

 More styrofoam prints (black) and stencil of cherry blossoms and birds.

 Miss Walsh with collage added.

Painted and collaged with prints on top.

Paint and purchased papers.

This and That!

It seems to be getting harder to find time to blog! I have been teaching fibre art classes this fall and going to Open Studio at the home of my friend Sandra. She teaches Mixed Media classes a couple of times a week. It is such a joy to go to each week! So I have been busy and I am trying to catch up with this collection of photos. Above is a photo of my art work from the Studio tour in October.

My friend Amanda Gonsalves, a wonderful Mixed Media artist. She inspires me!

My inchies before they were sent in to trade. They are on a background of paper recycled from my Rose Journal. I added bits of lace, sequins, and beads with a buttonhole stitch around the outside edge. The trade was with members of Cloth Paper Studios Yahoo Group. Thanks Anne Marie for handling the trade.

These are some of my Keepsake Wallets I made for Studio Tour. I sold a few of them. I sent 6 of them to the Magazine, A Needle Pulling Thread. They will be published in their Spring Issue along with instructions on how to make them! I am very thrilled to be a published author!

Here is some fabric paper I made before my sewing machine got SICK. I just love my electronic PFAFF with its differential feed. But I did not use a Surge Protector and it was somehow damaged. I was also sewing a small box using the above paper! I thought maybe my Pfaff was just rebelling. I took it to Sewing Machines Etc. in Burlington, Ontario. Nick was able to take it to the Pfaff factory for me and managed to get it fixed under warranty!!!! Yes! I am so grateful to Nick. So please patronize his store if you live nearby. I highly recommend Sewing Machines Etc.

These are some Zentangles from a workshop I ran for the Fine Arts Society of Milton. Deb Kopeschny was our certified Zentangle teacher. Contact her at deb@kopeschny.ca if you wish to have her teach for you.

This is a partial photo of my very first collage on canvas in a class at Sandra's Open Studio with Sharon Chalmers. Sharon is a very talented Calligrapher and Collage Artist. I absolutely loved doing this. It is nearly completed and I wish to add a very little bit of stitch to it. I used decorated papers, tissue paper, National Geographic images, paint, collage bits and gesso.

Bookmarks sold at the Studio Tour. I sold quite a few items and loved being in Waldies Blacksmith shop with 6 other artists.

Lastly, my forgotten inspiration page spread for my Rose Journal. I need to get back to my journal and finish it! So busy, so little time. Its hard to believe I am RETIRED! But I am loving living an art-full life!

My Summer Obsession

Do you remember summer?
This is a photo of Port Burwell Beach on Lake Erie in late summer.
Gorgeous sky!

This summer I couldn't remember what I did. Oh yes, I went to Sandra's classes on Art Journaling at her Open Studio. I became possessed with this project which is still under construction. It is called 'The Rose Journal'. I was inspired with a doodle I did of roses and of course my mom's name is Rose ( sentimental meaning) . My favourite saying is: Take the time to smell the roses! This is the cover made of paper and fabric and machine quilted and hand embroidered. I added stitch to almost all the pages.

This is the back cover with only free motion stitch added.

Page 1
All of the edges of the pages are collaged and embellished.

I did a lot of collaging and painting on each page. Here I added a small stitchery on woven rug canvas.
Here I added a page of journaling, a drawing and a quote about roses on a paint chip.

One of our classes included a calligraphy lesson with Sharon Chalmers. R is for Roses.

Another stitchery from painted fabric. Every splash of paint became a stitched rose.

I love this painted and stamped page, the metallic paint just shimmers. I also added a painted and woven fabric stitchery. I embellished with embroidery of course.

Another rose embroidery and real rose petals collaged around the vintage photo. The painted and stamped page has small saying about roses in each frame. Do you like the button border?

This spread the one of the first I completely finished. It has vintage laces attached.

This page reminds me of 'Me!" I had blonde, curly hair when I was young. I now have that Passion for Art. The background is painted, collaged and painted again and again! The white paint pen is just the right touch.

This was the first page I worked on and it was totally frustrating. It has numerous layers of paint and collage. Sandra says that it must get ugly before it gets beautiful. Well, it was so ugly I almost painted black over the whole page until I stamped squares on it to integrate the images together. Integration is so important!

You can see the small elements in each of the windows.

This is a Close up of the back inside cover showing the freemotion stitching designs inspired by Leah Day's 365 days of Free motion quilting. So you can see how busy I was this summer and I still have a lot of details to add. Now I see I missed the centrefold page that has my inspiration doodle. I'll post it next time, hopefully all finished. Off to do Studio Tour for the next two days. I made 25 fabric collaged book marks and now my Pfaff is sick. She won't do zigzag for me. Next week the repair shop. Good thing I have my old Pfaff machine that still hums along nicely to finish all my bookmarks. Until next time, keep stitching!