Kick Start Your Art Day 4

Well, look at me!

Participating and posting for FOUR days in a row!

I am really enjoying this process. I need the creative outlet in this form.

It is working for me.

Today's prompt is

GROWTH.

Now I am not much for deep internal reflection.

I tend to revel in my own self deprecation, as opposed to

growing from my own revelations.

And I wasn't feeling the whole organic, literal growing, either.

This was going to take a minute or sixty to figure out.

I do love words. And word play. Hmmm....

After creating the background using those trusty Dylusions inks,

I used a spiderweb stencil to get the creepy vibe going.

Then, I used some rub on letters from my stash to spell out the word

GROWTH. I doodled around each letter to help it stand out against the

background more, and added some "growths" on each letter.

Some have hairs growing out of them, too!

I chose a word that started with each of the letters of the lovely prompt word.

Ghastly, Repugnant, Oddity, ...  

Witchy, Toxic, and Heathen, to round it out.

And then the real fun began. 

I started picking out some of my favorite (and oh, so dusty) rubber stamps.

Mister Stripes from Stampotique, and the Frieze Hippo from Gorey Details. 

Lovely are the Sound from Stampotique.

And lastly, Fofe from Stampotique 

and The Doubtful Guest from Gorey Details.

I just highlighted everyone with a white gel pen, to help them show up 

better on the busy background. 

Ta-dah!

See you again, tomorrow!!

Kick Start Your Art Day 3

So far, so good! 

I'm back for day 3 of this fun art journal challenge,

organized by the cool chicks at Smeared and Smudged.

They give a daily prompt, and then you have 24 hours to complete a 

journal page and enter it to win daily prizes, and a killer rubber

grand prize at the end. Nice.

Today's prompt is

Easy Found Objects Background Technique.

Sounds easy enough, right?

I started my journal page using Dylusions Spray Inks.

I am loving how vivid the colors are, compared to my homemade stuff.

I never have a shortage of bubble wrap, so I figured it

was a good item to begin creating the background with.

Dylusions spray cap. Perfect for circles, bubbles, abstract dots.

I have a ton of these lying around. Most with paint on them. 

I can never seem to find the one with paint already on it, so I

grab another one.

I have also amassed a weird amount of air pillows used for shipping.

I rarely re-use them, but hate to throw them out, just in case....

So, I cut up one of the air pillows, smooshed it up,

dipped it into some Deco Art aqua glitter paint, and voila!

Instant art tool!

I pounced the smooshed plastic onto my page to create some

depth and added glittery goodness.

Lastly, I used a defunct credit card to smear some DA glittery orange paint

onto my page. 

 Once, the paint is dry, it gives a really nice, shiny sheen.

Oh, and some sparkle, too!  

I had this great digi image from Rick St. Dennis colored up to match.

I love these guys!

Added a witty sentiment from Ginger's House.

And some Orange Peel Stickles to match.

And here you have my journal page for Day 3!!

See ya tomorrow!

Kick Start Your Art Day 2

Well, I'm back!

I am really enjoying these random prompts from

Smeared and Smudged for this week long challenge.

I am two for two, as far as creating outside of my box using 

the prompts. Although, when I saw that today's prompt was,

HEARTS

I about choked, and considered skipping this one all together.

BUT, I didn't quit. I just let the idea percolate all day, until I came

up with something fitting my style and mental state.

Not an easy task on my best of days....

I began my page with some Dylusions Inks.

I've tried to make my own spray inks in the past, using TH Distress re-inkers,

but they were no match for the vibrancy and opacity of the

Dylusions sprays. Spend the money and buy the real deal.

Here are those hearts that the prompt called for. 

Not a fan, but they'll do pig. They'll do.

And here we have the dark and sinister side of me that I take

such pride in. I found the heart diagram on the interwebs, and added

the saying over the top of it using Gimp. I felt that the page also called

for a demon, so I added the laughing imp stamp, and some stitches around the heart. 

I have just enough pages left in my current art journal 

to complete this week's challenges.

Then I can begin working in a new one! How exciting!!

Kick Start Your Art challenge Day 1

I bit the bullet and stopped waffling.

I signed up for the week long Kick Start Your Art challenge at 

Smeared and Smudged.

They provide you with a daily prompt, and then you have 24 hours to

complete a journal page (or two) using the given prompt.

Today is day one of the challenge, and the prompt is

3 Primary Color Drips.

Now as I write this, I realize that maybe my page won't count, as it

has way more than three primary color drips going on.

"We live in a rainbow of chaos." 

- Paul Cezanne

My first dilemma was my innate uneasiness regarding primary colors.

Those three magical colors which breathe life into a multitude of shades and hues,

are probably my least favorite colors by themselves, and especially as a group.

So I let the wonder of water blend the three into a dripping rainbow of sorts.

Which played nicely with my quote from Mister Cezanne.   

I used "Friend" from Stampotique, along with some antlers 

that I heat embossed with red glitter. 

I used various stencils on the Dylusions background, too.  

This is one of my favorite rubber stamps ever! 

His name is "Zombie", and he's from the

Doodle Factory/Starving Artists Stamps.

I sat him atop some washi tape after stamping the date on the bottom.

I framed the entire piece using a black Sakura gel pen, which worked

remarkably well on the Dylusion inks.

Fun prompt. Made me think outside of my usual, dented box.   

Hope it qualifies, but then again, it is MY personal journal page, right?

There is no wrong or right way to do this.

See ya tomorrow!

Fresh frustrations....

I have been having issues with my mojo lately, so I was having a hard

time coming up with something cool for our first challenge of the year
over at the Haunted Design House.

Finally, late Sunday night I realized I was trying too hard and thinking too  

literally, so I had an epiphany. I'll try a new color for my zombie makeovers!

I grabbed a cute little Buddha statue I have had for a while and went to work.

I decided to go with a nice shade of blue green/aqua for the skin tone.

Just trying something new. I'm still partial to the green skin, 

but I was trying something 'fresh'.

Almost done, now to add the black wash. 

It's something I always do over my kitchen sink.

And I will keep doing it over my sink, even though 

I DROPPED IT AND BROKE IT!

I have painted statues and black washed them over my sink 

probably 50 times or more. I have NEVER dropped a piece 

and broke it before. I was crushed to say the least.

A good couple of hours of painting, down the drain (sorry, couldn't resist).

So after some choice words, and some more manic brainstorming, 

this is what I came up with.

It's the toxic tooth of a Bridge Troll, also known as a "Raglefant".

I am of Norwegian descent, and I am quite fond of our Troll lore.

And I secretly love the film "Troll Hunter" from 2010.

I located a blank specimen tag on the interwebs, and then I antiqued it

quite a bit with distress inks and frustration. Still peeved over my Buddha.

I fashioned a tooth out of polymer clay, mixed up some

"fresh blood", and stuck it all in a little jar.  

I added a little TH vial label, and used a TH rub on for the word, "toxic". 

I also added some hemp twine and a distressed fanged charm.

And there you have it. 

New "blood" for my apothecary display.

There is still plenty of time to create something for our new challenge.

Enter your new, unpublished, makes here.    

As a side note, I have some plans for the Buddha.
You haven't seen the last of him. 

   

Adios 2013! Don't let the door hit ya...

It has been exactly one month since my last post.

I apologize to anyone who actually reads my blog.

Hope you didn't think I had cashed in my chips and moved on

to another casino. This year has been a real bitch for me.

I was hopeful , as I am every January first, that this would be the year

that everything falls into place, I get my act together and I can

finally make a living (off the corporate grid) doing what I love.

I was off to good start, but in February my dear Ceci died rather suddenly, 

and not in a peaceful manner. I was a bit devastated, to say the least, 

but I managed to plod on and get back to my master plan. 

Then, a month to the day of my cat's death, my Mother died, also very unexpectedly.

As an only child, who has been estranged from my family for the past

five years, with only minimal contact with my Mother, you can say that

there was a lot of unfinished business between us. The one thing that I said my

father would never get to say to me was that my Mother had passed.

The first time I hear my Dad's voice in five years, and he tells me she's

in the hospital, in ICU for her COPD. A few days later, he calls to tell me she's gone.

Really?! WTF do I do with that info now? To top it all off, there was no

funeral or service to honor her life or bring closure to this gaping wound I have in my chest.

My Mother didn't have a lot friends who aren't on four legs, and she was

ridiculously vain, so I can see how a funeral wasn't in the cards, but I

still have a huge hole in my chest begging for closure.

Needless to say, this year has been rough. I haven't found my way back

onto the path I had so much hope for only moments (months?) before.

I can't focus, I can't care about much of anything for very long, and I really

don't even find pleasure in things I once cherished.

I didn't even care about (gasp!) Hallowe'en this year. Didn't decorate,

or do anything besides hand out some candy. Boo.

With Christmas being my Mother's favorite time of year, I wasn't

in the mood to enjoy the parades, watch the stop motion shows, and the baking,

that we once had so much fun doing together in the past. 

She always went out of her way to make Christmas so special for me.

I think I finally know the real definition of depression. 

It's a mighty deep hole, but I think I am ready to climb out now.

Here's hoping that 2014 provides a more positive and creative outlook for me.

I have come up with some ways that I'd like to honor my Mother's memory

 this year, and for years to come. 

I'm ready to get back in the game. Deal me in!