Changing Gears

WIP

I've decided I like my apartment enough to start actually living in it and not passing through... I've been reading Apartment Therapy over and over and while I'm not really doing the 8 step cure I am taking things from it and slowly getting the place together.

I've finally finished painting the studio and I love how it turned out.  I also love my new large desk and now I am waiting for the handyman to come and hang some shelves so I can put all of my art supplies in order. I've decided that if I wait for myself to do the work it will never get done...

Said handyman, who is extremely nice, was hereto finally remove the door post in the kitchen so I can put my fridge where it belongs and clear up the hallway for a proper "Landing Strip".

The place is already looking and feeling much better, and now I have a big mess and a fridge to clean up....

Art

A few weeks ago, I received a lovely original piece of at from the very talended and generous DJ Pettit.  I've been meaning to post it forever but the Alyn ride came and went and I got busy with other stuff and it took me a while to actually take a photo and upload it.   So it's long overdue but it's here and I can't wait until I finish the studio so I can hang it up on the wall and draw inspiration from it.

Thank you once again DJ, I love it!

Goodies!

Well, my break didn't turn out quite as I had hoped. I've had to keep close to home due to work. Someone told me, "you know, if you'd gone away they would have managed without you", which I know is true, but I guess I'm a bit of a workaholic and unfortunately, I have this thing where I often put other people's needs ahead of my own.  That said, I was planning on staying close to home and I've been getting a few things done, and mostly I'm getting rest which is something I needed.

and of course Ludwig can't leave any of my stuff alone...

Rappy came back form Toronto last Friday, with a big stash of goodies she and my mom got me.  They got me a whole bunch of papers and stickers. My mom got me a self healing cutting board, a ruler and a rotary cutter so I can get cracking on my potholder for Susan Sorrell's Fiber Collage course on Joggles.  I and I got some glues and gel mediums, which I had asked for. Give me art materials and I'm like a kid in a candy shop. I've been visiting quite a few "candy shops" recently (the problem with being on vacation is that you also have time to spend money...), getting lots of little things that I am sure I need...lol.

Yesterday I went to Nachlat Binyamin with Totem and Efrat. They just moved into a new apartment in Jaffa, they have a rooftop apartment with a huge balcony facing the Mediterranean and they are now starting to fix it up so it feels like home. So we went is search of fabrics so they could reupholster their couch. It was my chance to look for some fabrics for my course. I got three pieces from a remnant bin at one of my favorite stores, one is pink with embroidery on it, one is green and the last one on a blue-purple combination. 

With the house model

Without...

Totem and Efrat also found a few fabrics they liked for the cushions and then we started the hunt for upholstery fabric for the base of the couch.  There's a store in the Nachala, where this woman, Nitza, creates I guess what one would call functional recycled art. She sews very colourful tote bags, she decorates dishes with fabrics, she creates jewelery from fabric and other recycled materials. Most of her stuff I have to admit is not my cup of tea (I do like the totes, though I am more of a backpack kind of a girl due to the fact I mostly travel on two wheels and purses and totes are a little difficult to carry.)
Anyway her store is this long and narrow corridor and at the back is her workshop, which is filled with piles and piles of fabrics. Totem was wandering along as Efrat and I were looking at the totes, and as he walked into the studio, the lady freaked out...I can understand her attachment to her stash...lol. Then we struck up a conversation, she asked him what he does, she was quite shocked to discover he wasn't doing something artistic, because she could tell it was part of him. She told us she started at a rather late stage of her life, so we still had hope...

After this little conversation we got a little hungry so we went in search of a place to eat something before Efrat had to go to work. The place we wanted to go to was full so we decided to go to Kerem Hateimanim to one of the hummus joints. Most of the places were closed for the holiday and the neighborhood is being dug up by the city, but we did manage to find a place. These places they have a different character to them. The tables are Formica topped and usually a bit sticky, the chairs are plastic. The majority of the menu consists of Hummus varieties, though usually there are also soups and meat skewers. You get your own drink out of the fridge, the bottle opener is usually hanging from a rope somewhere in the vicinity... the food is homey and tasty and CHEAP! The only problem with eating hummus for lunch is the aftereffects... you are heavy and bloated and tired.

After Efrat left the two of us continued on our quest for fabrics, once Totem found the fabric he wanted (to tell the truth he was already getting frustrated when we found this material, so it may have been a compromise...time will tell), we had pretty much had enough. Tuesday is the day artists sell their wears on the Nachala so it is pretty crowded as is, the holiday crowd was about tenfold what they usually are, and we are not great lovers of big crowds.
We decided it was time for coffee and walked over to Totem's favorite coffee shop. We sat there for a while and Totem's buddy Zachi came to say hi and after a while we were each ready to go our separate ways.  I went to the Home Centre at Dizingoff to get some paints for my studio (my one goal for this break that I don't think will get accomplished).  I got too much paint for this little room, but I think once can never have too much paint (I can always use the leftovers for craft projects, right?) and last but not least I went to the craft store again and purchased a few rolls of embroidery threads for my online class.

When I got home I sat down with the tools my mom got me, and cut out the fabrics for my sandwich square. When I took out the batting, I realized that it wasn't the sheet kind, but the filling kind, but somehow I managed to arrange a flat piece (flatter in some places more than others, I admit). I managed to sandwich the pieces and complete lesson one, which was basically making the base for the class project. Lesson 2 was posted on the net yesterday and it involves the design. I still haven't gotten there I am afraid.  I'm also not getting anywhere with the design book we are supposed to keep, but it's just the beginning of the week and since there are no real deadlines in this course, I am not too concerned.

Tools of the Trade

Misty of IMF asked about our favorite art supplies today.  Living in Israel, I am not nearly as exposed to the vast array of  art supplies that can be found in North America or Europe (Or maybe I just don't know where to find them).  I'm not really sure I have favorites.

I've only discovered gel medium lately and only in one brand and one consistency and  I wasn't too impressed with it when I tried it out.  When I was in Toronto last and went into the art store, I was so overwhelmed by the choices, I left, as I often do when I am overwhelmed, empty handed...

My collection of art supplies therefore consists of many things I have collected over the years (lets face it, I'm more of a arts supply junky than I am an artist).  I am really trying to resist investing in new supplies until my own stuff runs out.  I am proud to say that after about ten years of ownership my craft acrylic paints are almost emptied or dried out, which means I will soon be going out and getting new stuff... I don't know whether I'll stick with the cheap kind or moving on to something better.  Though they are cheap they've served me quite nicely over the years for various projects, maybe I shouldn't knock them. On the other hand, it would be lovely to have quality heavy body acrylic paints. 

I have a set of colored pencils that I inherited from Rappy and it serves me pretty well also.

I  recently also bought a set of 81 gel pens at Costco. I'm not sure about the quality and how long they will last, but so far they are holding up pretty well. 

When I was in 8th grade I was taking art classes.  We had this rotation every semester we took something else, one semester was ceramics the next was printing, then we had a fiber class and finally drawing.  It was the teacher's recommendation that out parents buy us a set of Caran Dache crayons, which at the time were expensive as hell (they still aren't cheap but as someone who is now earning a nice salary they are affordable).  My parents, couldn't justify or afford  such an expense and for the price of ten crayons I got a set of 40 coloured charcoals, as set which I still have and occasionally use today.  But the truth is that I crave these crayons  badly and I think I might just splurge on them sometime in the near future...I would also love to get a set of Twinkling H2O's. I don't know if they appeal to me because they are lovely paints or because they remind me of another passion...for eyeshaddows...lol.

My collection of papers is mostly recycled cardstock (from the backs of financial and other reports I get at work), scrapbooking papers I have purchased and pieces I have collected here and there.  I also have piles of magazines and cataloges I occasionally dip into. 

I also have more beads than I can ever use, but for some reason I cannot resist and keep finding myself in beadshops which I cannot leave empty handed...

I have a sewing machine I don't really know how to use... I have a pasta machine intended for polymer clay work that hasn't been used yet...neither has the polymer clay...  I have a projector that I've had several years now and I've only used once (and only recently), I have wire jewellery making tools I used only briefly... and the list goes on...

I think what I actually like about the mixed media art I am doing more of now is that I can actually combine a lot of the stuff I have and I can finally start using it up:)

The first order of business is to organize it in a way that will actually allow me access to most of it. At the moment a lot of my stuff is on my dining room table on the balcony where I am more comfortable working.  Whatever isn't, is stashed away in boxes or drawers, unseen.  I rented a two bedroom apartment so that I can use one as a studio, and so far, almost a year later, it isn't really used as one.

The game plan is to paint the room (aqua or green I think), better lighting, getting a new work surface, getting lots of those clear plastic storage units that one can see through.  I think that would make a good start, the rest will follow... hopefully I can actually accomplish at least these things over my break.

And now, I'm off to paint Rotem and Efrat's housewarming gift.

Crafty!

I've been on a creative roll lately.  I've gotten just positive responses to the paintings I've done lately that it just makes me want to do more.  I've also been visiting so many wonderful artist's blogs (one of these days I'll put up a list of links to them...) and it just makes me want to run and do more.

I've finished a few more bird collages, which I haven't had a chance to upload yet.  Whenever I sit at the computer at home to try to do some updating, Ludwig has to jump onto my desk and situates himself right on top of my keyboard.  I get frustrated trying to move him and it seems the only way to make him move is to just step away from the computer... If it weren't so hot in my apartment, I'd just shut him out for a half an hour, but that will be a very uncomfortable half hour for me.

I've started experimenting with other types of backgrounds for the collages.  I love the layering method Misty Mawn taught on Cloth, Paper, Scissors but I'd also like trying other methods, till I find what's best for me.  Last night I was reading Karyn Gartel's blog, The Altered Diva  and she gave a tutorial on how she makes her canvas backgrounds and I just had to try it out.  So I tried it out on one of my large canvases, and I had a few pieces of MDF one that had been gessoed the other actually had some sort of molding paste, remnants from an old course I took at Paint Magic a few years ago.  Then I had some diluted paints left over so I decided to paint some papers that I would be able to use for my collages... Before I knew it, it was 2am, which meant I would probably not be able to wake up at 6am to go to the gym (which I obviously didn't).  It's been a long time since I've felt this urge to sit down on a daily basis and make things, usually I get excited about doing a project but can't seem to carry it over to do the next one.  I'm really trying to use materials I have at home and not rush out to get new stuff, though I would love to go to the art store down the street and get me lots of small canvases (I'm begining to appreciate doing smaller pieces.)

 

Next month, my mom and I are starting a fibre collage online class at Joggles.com. I'm really excited about it.  I'm the type of artist that likes to get dirty while working, paints, glues, clays, but I'm loving the fabric art images I see online and would love to try them out as well.

More Birds

In my attempt to try to work on my art on a daily basis,  I made a few backgrounds on canvas a while ago.  I actually made them before I did the last set and I wasn't too happy about the way they turned out, but Rappy said they were cool and I figured if I already made them, I might as well paint something on them and as I wasn't too inspired to come up with anything too original and the birds worked for me last time, I figured I'd go with the same theme. So here are the results:

I'm still in the process of completeing two more  of these but I'll post them when they are done.

Last night I started another projec, it's progressing slowly but this is what it looks like so far

 

I plan on putting an image on each of the walls of the box, hopefully they it will all come together nicely.  I'm not quite sure what I want to do with it when it's done, leave it as it is, just a box (it's acutally a drawer) or maybe if I go with the window theme, make it into a house and add a roof.  I'll wait and see what will become of it.

I'm sitting in my sweats, pretending like I'm going out for a run at the gym. I might actually go...

Tomorrow morning Ludwig goes to the vet for surgery on his male parts.  Hopefully when he returns home he will have the same special energies but will bite and pee a little less...

Recycling

Rappy told me her friend was very pleased with my paintings.  I'm glad.  I know I totally underestimate my work, but I actually thought these were really good. I wonder if I can sell them.

Tonight I'm going to my friend Ran's wedding.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Many of my friends are going to be there and it should be a great party.  As usual, I'm going to be handing them a cheque, but I really wanted to make a card on my own this time.  Of course I procrastinated and procrastinated and didn't make anything.  This morning at work, I figured I might as well take on of my previous works and recycle it.  I had some really nice card stock at the office.  I took the central panel of the trio, cropped the photo so only the birds appeared and printed it out on the card stock. With the texture of the paper and the texture of the painting itself, it turned out really nice.  When I get home I think I will add a  few embelishments and a quote  with the gel pens.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out, I think I will do the same for our office Rosh Hashana greetings.  The company usually buys cards but this year, the year I need them, for some reason none were purchased, which means we have to creat our own.  I don't mind bringing my creativity to work... I wonder if I could charge extra for it.

I have to start thinking of my next project.  Since I'm giving Rappy the large painting, I feel like making a similar one for myself.  The colours really light up the house.

In other news my mom and I are going to take an online Fiber Collage course at joggles in October.  I'm looking forward to it, just to do something a little different, buy fabrics and threads and use up some of my beads.

Trio

 

So it started out like this.  I used the method I learned from the fabulously talented Misty Mawn in her publication in Cloth Paper Scissors.

Then I started drawing and painting based on an image provided by Violette on the CPS callenge.     

I then started adding collage pieces onto the painting, as well as little small details with gel pens.

And Voilla....my photographing skillz are not doing them justice, but this is the finished product.

More Art

I had a great post composed the other night.  With pictures of my latest art project.  The computer ate it and I didn't have the enrgy to rewrite.

Also having a digital camera is cool, but I'm not quite down with the whole downloading process and photo editing and stuff yet.  It will take me  a while.  Maybe this weekend.

After my last project,  I've been trying to do something creative every day, now that the heat has subsided (but only marginally) it's a little easier to sit on the balcony in the evening and work.

At Rappy's request I made some art for her friend's housewarming party on Saturday, I hope it is liked.  So far the reviews have been good.  It's a series of three small canvases, and the birds from the last project are the main theme. I have a few finishing touches to do tonight and I'll give them to her tomorrow.  Then it's on to the next project.  I'm not sure what it will be yet, but I have a whole bunch of backgrounds painted and ready to go.   It will probably be another collage series, I haven't quite decided what the theme will be though.

I love making the backgrounds for these, the whole process of layering paints, removing them, stamping and texturing provides hours and hours of fun. Last night I finally put my canvases away and went to bed at 1am.  I really hope I can maintain this spurt of creativity.  I'm going to try to sit down and make something at least every other night.

Anyway, photos, hopefully, later tonight.

Getting Crafty

Since I'm a bit out of commission today and I'd rather do anything but clean, I decided today would be a day to get crafty.

I have really been enjoying Misty Mawn's work since I found her Inspire Me Thursday Blog and her presonal blog and when I read that she had published her technique in Cloth Paper Scissors, I had to get my hands on the magazine.  I sent my dad to Chapter's where he found it, promptly scanned the relevant pages for me and emailed them to me.  I can't wait until the end of the month when I get the actual magazine.  In the meantime, I also gifted myself a subscription to it.

I love the layering effect, though I need more practice for sure.  I am also lacking in collage materials and I really need to get my hands of some of those transfer gel mediums, but I sort of swore I wasn't buying new craft materials so I am using what I have.   I had two papier mache round boxes, I think I bought them because I wanted to cover them with napkins years ago and I just never got around to it.  I used the layering technique to paint them them and then I started the collage images.  I like how it turned out so far but they need some more stuff I need to work on it... another one of my many works in progress.  In my book it's better to have several works in progress than none at all...