Well I am splitting my creative time between making jewelry out of recycled tin and my art journal. I love working with the tin because it is kind of like collage in the way that you are taking interesting pieces of photos (on tin in this case) and piecing them together to make something new. I always thought I came by my love of collage from my work with quilting. I think it has always been a womanly thing to piece together beauty from bits and bobs. Whether it was taking bits of fabric and making a quilt or pulling together all the diverse things that it takes to turn a house into a home and a group of people into a loving family. Not that a man cannot do it, but I like and am honored that it was considered traditionally "women's work".

This is a book I have started using the October challenge on the yahoo group Altered books. The challenge is to use the bits of stuff you have laying around to create a collage. I choose to do an altered board book. I am using it to gently examine my faith. Just a nudge really. Sometimes I have to examine why I believe what I believe. I have to shake up my faith to see if it is still valid to the world outside and inside of me.
Anyhow...enjoy.

Thumb print trees

I started on a project for a friends daughters wedding. She wanted a thumbprint tree for her wedding guestbook. the idea is a bare tree and the guests will use the ink pads she sets out to make a thumb print leaf on the tree. I told her I would work on some designs but once I got into doing the trees I just could not stop.
There is something soothing about making these trees. I like the idea of the whole thing. Having a record of everyone who attended your wedding in such a personal way. And also as an artist the idea of being able to let go of a finished piece and give it up to be altered by others. That whole idea just intrigues me.
I of course have not been able to do a design like she requested though. She wants a "swirly tree"....... My hands refuse to draw a swirly tree. I can do a twisted tree and with some effort I actually was able to twist the branches into a heart but so far not a swirl one.
I never was able to do commissions. No matter how reasonable the request my brain always screamed "hell no" before I could even grasp what it was they were asking for. No matter what the medium from paintings, drawings to jewelry , pottery or lampwork beads and no matter how reasonable the request I resisted the commission.
Oh well.....
The two trees I have finished here are acrylic and ink on canvas board. I thought the board would hold up to the assault of 200 thumbs better than paper. I like the idea of original art for the base because I think everything in a wedding should be unique. Prints are nice but a little less personal.
I put these up on Etsy so that I can feel good about making more....Did I mention I love painting trees? Each one is so unique and yet fits into the forest nicely with all the others. The perfect symbol for the joining of two families.

Monsters pages

These are some of the pages that make up my book of childhood monsters.
I was hesitant to do a book like this and now I am so glad I did. The only good thing about a bad childhood is that it ends. If your lucky enough to live through it you can get through it.
I thought that at this point in my life I had dealt with it all and moved on. What doing this book made me realize is there were still bits and pieces that I needed to address.
Things that needed to be said, even if they were painted over once I wrote them, were put down in this journal and dealt with.
As I stated on the last page "It is SO over".

Cover Art for my Altered Books

I have been having an awful time finishing my altered books at least the hardback ones. I never quite know what to do with the covers.

This week I am determined to finish up all the ones I have started from cover to cover.
I love the way the monster book turned out and especially the cover.
So I am starting on a new book this week. I am planning on finishing up a few jewelry projects too.
More on the finished book tomorrow.

I finished this painting yesterday. I love this one the colors are very exciting.
This is one of the abstracts I am working on. I started with the theme of Mother nature gone wild..or maybe just ticked off. That got me thinking of other worlds where storms go on for years if not centuries. Sort of like when you feel bad because of all the bills you have got to pay but don't stop to think that at least you have the money to pay them. It could always be worse. although in the middle of Hurricane Ike you probably could not have got me to think of it that way. The painting is done on black a Gesso base with layers of paint and hand made papers for texture. It is very dark yet very vibrant at the same time...just like nature on the rampage.