Creation.....

Above: my workspace. Just one great big 'ol mess but the juices really flow in this space. It's in the garage in the basement. Very basic, simple--nothing fancy down here. I can be messy. I can spread out. It's all mine. My space. Nobody bothers me here. It's sacred.

Below: some of the current work....

A pair of shoes picked up at thrift store. Michelle shared with me a website where some gifted craftswoman had done this and I just copied it. Seems I do nothing original!

Below--an ordinary glass made very special....


Same glass, another view.

And finally, a soap dispenser using some of Miss O's art. I photographed her piece, uploaded it electronically, printed it on tissue paper and wahlah......I love this piece just because it's her work.

Coasters

My latest art project are these coasters. I use stone tiles bought from Lowe's and using gel medium attach the images printed on white tissue paper to the tile. Then I seal it (though the gel medium probably seals it sufficiently) using a spray sealer.

All of these images I acquired from two huge and heavy volumes by Taschen. The botanicals from The Book of Plants and the insects from Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. They're so large and heavy it is challenging to hold them on the scanning bed without them shifting while it scans! They are fabulous books! The detail is so fine and that makes for superior scanning.

Remember: click on an image to see it in another window much larger.





I got these fairies images from a free image site online...can't remember which one. The French print in the background is from a stamp I have. I just stamped on a piece of card stock and then I make copies of it over and over, printing on the tissue paper. Sounds confusing--but it's really not.

The butterfly puzzle series...

Another butterfly series. Love bugs and insects. They're so beautifully perfect!

Botanicals...

And more bugs...

I like the more natural looking stone tiles like these bugs are on best. The edges are rough and uneven.

Michelle has what wasn't sold at Hillsville (which I sold a whooping two whole sets) at the store. I sell them for $10 a set of four. They make great and affordable gifts...holler if you want any....

Butterfly/Dragonfly Frames

Click on the image to see it larger.

This is a photo of the project I made for my friend Sandy Hayes' daughter Casey. Sandy held a celebration recently in honor or Casey's 21st birthday and I made this for her. It's a canvas type frame or mat--the kind that you slide your photo or whatever into the opening. I stained cardstock using Adironack Color Wash (it's a fabulous dye for paper, fabric--whatever and am just teaching myself how to use it!) using greens and browns. The dye is so intense that it's easy to over do it. I stamped and embossed the words and sayings after dyeing the paper. I cut the cardstock to fit the mat and glued it using soft gel medium. The black background is cardstock sprayed with spray paint from Lowes called "Hammered"--which resulted in a great mottled effect on the paper. The butterfly and dragon are stamps and I stamped/embossed the same image over and over--about 12 times using Powder Keg embossing powders--using several different blends of powder. As the embossed image starts to "build up"--it's just so beautiful how the colors start to blend. I cut the image out using exacto knife and attached to another piece of cardstock. And attached that to a "pile" of cardstock cut the same size to give "depth" to the image. Just adds something. Cut the four holes in the corners using this fabulous hole puncher I paid $40 for and have never regretted this purchase!! I can even cut holes in my clay pieces with it! Then put the brads on the images in the four corners. Glued to the black card stock. Put a couple of coats of soft gel medium--think I mixed matte and gloss. And it was done!!

Michelle liked what I did for Casey, so thought I try something a little different to sell at the store. Same technique as above but I had a "happy accident"!! I had a dozen or so pieces of cardstock spread out on my work table and was spraying water to dilute some dye when some of the spray splattered on some of the already dyed cardstock and I thought, uh-oh! About a minute later, I saw how very lovely the effect that water had! The dye ran and blended and created beautiful streaks and new colors!!!! It was fabulous! Doesn't matter whether the paper is dry or not, it'll blend and streak. I was spraying water on all the paper I'd already colored and loving the results. So these three examples are the result of this happy accident!

Olivia and I were talking about one of the things a "creator" needs to have: bravery, no fear about making mistakes!! Just go for it! If it turns out to be a mess, no matter, you learned something, but if it turns out to be beautiful--YAY!! I'm finding being fearless to greatly inhance what I can produce!

Made a set of three--don't know if they'll sell as a set, so Michelle said she'd price them individually.

Just another example of what I made for Casey. Olivia has taught me to make at least two of anything I produce so I won't be reluctant to give away or sell the original! It's so hard, as a beginner, to part with my work!! They're like my babies!! And I'm afraid I'll forget how I did it!

Christmas 2007 Prayer Book

April 7, 2008: These are photos of the "Prayer Books" I created as Christmas gifts this year. Unlike most of my other work, this project was entirely my creation! Sometimes I can be original! It was a huge project because it evolved into my making so many--I think I did 16. The bulk of the "book" is just simply ivory cardstock with tissue paper attached using gel medium. It made the paper extra stiff and sturdy. The text was formatted in Word and printed out using a font close to the same gold color. The image of the woman's face is a stamp that I stamped onto polymer clay.

Also--Olivia helped me tremendously with this project. We spread all our supplies out on the large dining room table and were "at it" for a good week. I so enjoyed having this special quality time with her! She "meditated" about the person the book was intended for also.

And I have thus far only shared the technique with one person--Sandy Hayes. I've offered it to all those that expressed interest. Guess it's just our very busy lives that prevent having the time to teach others. The day Sandy and I worked, we were at it for 8 hours! The time just flew by. Sandy is so open and daring with experimenting! She's very creative! She made her book for her daughter Casey. I bet Casey loves it!

My Prayer Books ---(this is from my journal, 12-23-2007)

I think they really liked their little prayer books. I’m proud of them. As I put theirs together yesterday morning (and two more) I put the piece in the back with whoever’s name on it first and then as I assembled the rest of the book, I prayed for and thought of the person. I think it makes it more powerful, makes the book have great meaning. Not that I’m some shaman or something but I so strongly believe that what we think has great impact. It creates energy that effects us. My hope is that the people I give them to will use them and thereby create more positive energy. I’ve also considered that I could possibly sell them or something like them. But I won’t. I think I’ll only make them for my loved ones or someone that asks for one. Then by knowing the person and making it with them in mind, I continue the positive energy. I can’t do that if I’m making it for some stranger and it won’t have any power and making profit from them would certainly defeat that! It kinda feels like a calling. And I’m sure they will improve and evolve as I continue to make them. I need a good bit more supplies to make many more than I’ve got planned for the holidays. I have to have gel medium first and most importantly. I will try and get some online today. Also need a lot more white polymer clay. And tissue paper! Lord!




Journal entry from 12-26-07:

My Books

I’m so insecure about them! I think they’re beautiful but what the hell do I know? Will the folks I’m giving them to appreciate them? Will they understand how powerful they are to me? I need stroking from folks about this or I’ll just not make anymore. Suzy called last night and said that before I got there (at Pug’s) yesterday Lisa was passing hers around and that everyone was saying how talented I am and how beautiful they are but no one said one word to me about it. Not one word. Why? Were they saying the compliments for Suzy’s benefit and don’t really mean it? Do they not want to encourage me to make them? Hmmmm…..perhaps. Perhaps they think I’ve gone off the deep end and just want this to go away. Jug said that maybe they were wanting one too and I hadn’t made them one. I said my little inserted card said I’d make anyone that asked me to one. I just don’t know. Perhaps I have gone off the deep end. I need to not think about this right now. God, I’m such an insecure baby. Makes me sick.

This is what I wrote up to insert as a seperate "card" into the book. It explains what I had in mind with the "prayer books".

A word or two or three about these little prayer books:

They were inspired as a result of some frustration I was experiencing regarding my prayer life. After a discussion with a good friend about this and her giving me the three prayers after the first one from Julia Cameron’s Heart Steps and I made a little card with the four prayers and set out to faithfully pray and meditate every day. Within a few days I was inspired to make a more elaborate “book” and share it with loved ones. Michelle and I had just spent an afternoon making Christmas cards for her to send to special customers and we used scanned images of the beautiful angel tissue paper as inspiration for them. I loved the tissue paper so much and knowing that Michelle had used the tissue paper and decoupaged it onto other objects and Olivia telling me that tissue paper was interesting to decoupage with, I thought why not decoupage it onto card stock? It worked beautifully and the book was born.

I put the last card in a book first with my loved one’s name and then assembled the remainder of the book and with each additional embellishment I pray and think about this person. I might conjure up memories of the person and just generally think about what they mean to me. I believe this creates powerful and positive energy that is magical, mystical and certainly worthy of its creation. Then as you, my loved and cherished one, use the card in your prayers, more positive energy is created and shared. It’s a powerful thing!

The angels aren’t just for the Christmas season but to put you in mind of the celestial as with the subtle female image on the second page. I find the gold theme very calming and hope you do too.

These “books” are not for sale or for profit. I’ll make one for anyone that asks me to and would be thrilled to share the techniques so you can make some too! I eagerly anticipate the evolution of the “book” as I learn better inspired techniques! And finally, those who assist in the making of them add their own prayers and blessings. How awesome is that?

Blessings,
Kim
December 2007

Distressed Furniture Refinishing

I refinished this piece last summer (07) and Michelle sold it at the store. I enjoy doing this but ONLY during the warm months. I've had a dresser to do for my cousin Lynne since last fall and it's a thorn in my side because I feel so bad not getting it done but didn't realize how much I would be disinclined to work on it when its cold! Most refinishing I can't do inside because of the fumes and the mess of sanding. And sure don't want to be outside working when it's cold. Weather's warming finally so I should get Lynne's piece done very soon.......

This piece sold like the day I brought it in! That's another thing about furniture refinishing--it's very time-consuming and it's very difficult to get compensated for all your time.

Mother's Day Card 2008

Since becoming so immersed in "paper" art in the last half year or more, I've been teaching little classes at Michelle's store, The Vintage Home, (http://www.the-vintage-home.blogspot.com/ and am thinking I'll post some of the examples of my work here. This is the Mother's Day Card. I didn't exactly create it...creating is THE hardest part of art! It really stumps me! It's rare that I come up with something entirely on my own. I'll find inspiration from others work and go from there. This particular card, at least the front cover (which is the photo on top), came from an example at Enchanted Cottage (it's a wonderful stamp/craft store in Lewisville--about 45 minutes from here) and I took photos of it and just recreated what they'd done. The inside is all mine though. These photos are of the one I made. Lots of embossing on this card.