The Top of the Box cont...

It's 11:30 pm again, and I've been working on this piece all day. I get an idea in my head and I can't let it go. I'm also under a time crunch because I start class on Tuesday and I have no idea how much homework I'll have. I won't be able to get this grouted before class starts, but grouting is the easy part. It's also a lot of fun!













Grouting is less thinking and more like playing in mud. It's like when you were a kid at the beach making sand castles. You get to mush your hands around in the grittiness and smear it all over working it down between the pieces of glass. It feels good, and it's also the moment of truth. It's when you know if your piece actually works or not.













The color you choose for the grout is extremely important! It can make or break your piece. You also have to make sure you mix enough grout if you mix a custom color. I use plain grout, un-tinted, and mix it with acrylic paint. I'm new at all of this, and what I know I've learned from my Californian friend - hopefully he won't be upset that I am giving away trade secrets...

Broken Compass

Now that I've started this new journey back into the world of making art, I find myself not knowing what project to begin next. I've always been a bit eclectic in my work - I like too many different kinds of art. Photography, drawing, painting, collage, now mosaic and jewelry making. I've done needle crafts such as quilting, cross stitching, needlepoint, and embroidery. You name it and I've probably tried it, and most likely mastered it to an acceptable skill level.

Acceptable. Yes, that's what I said. Acceptable. It has always seemed to me that I should probably pick something and stick to it in order to go beyond acceptable and possibly become an expert. The idea scares me. Maybe it's like the groom fretting over the idea of having to sleep with only one partner for the rest of his life. Do I have a problem with commitment?

I'm usually the one that jumps in with both feet. I'm the one that always says, "Let's make a decision and go with it." Why is it that I can't pick one medium, one art form, and stick with it until it's perfect?

I've always been jealous of artists who have a style. You look at their work and you know. You simply know whose work it is without seeing the signature. I've always wanted that...

Pretty Sneaky...

I have always loved a good scare. I love scaring people, and I love it when someone is actually able to scare me. Especially since I don't scare easily. However, this new found addiction I have - Etsy - has lead me to discover a new way of sneaking up on someone! It's called the "Sneak Attack" and it's so darn cool I can't stand it!

Here's how it works. There is a guy, Michael Phipps, who got a bunch of other Etsy sellers together one day and they all bought a bunch of stuff from another Etsy seller who wasn't expecting it! In other words, one day this seller had lots of stuff for sale but had barely sold anything, and the next day they checked their email and all of a sudden BAM! their inbox was full of sales! How cool is that??? Now they hold Sneak Attacks on a regular basis. I'm going to go broke because I feel I need to purchase something during each one! I can't keep doing that.

If you want to join the fun, go to: http://www.handmademovement.com/

Mini Art!

I've discovered something amazing! ATC - or Artist Trading Cards! Also called ACEO, or Art Cards, Editions, and Originals. I think they are the coolest thing since Panera Bread with free Wi Fi.

ATCs are 2.5" x 3.5" size pieces of original artwork for trading. Most of them are quite inexpensive, under $10, which means anyone can buy and collect pieces of fine art. That's right!! Even YOU can have a mini art gallery in your own home! Some of them are amazing! Truly.

As you know, I have just begun my journey back into making art. I've just finished my first three ATCs and they are okay... they don't live up to some of the others I've seen, but they are a start. I had a great time creating them, and since I believe with all of my heart that art is about the process, not the finished product, they are a success!

I've purchased my first two ATCs from other artists on Etsy, and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival! I can't wait to have my own little art gallery in my studio! Especially since I have, for the first time ever, a room in my house that is my own art studio (also a guestroom w/futon but what the heck).

Tick Tock

This is a pretty unusual piece. My 15-year-old daughter hates it. My 19-year-old daughter thinks it’s cool. It was fun to make! I took apart an old broken clock… well, I don’t think you can even call it a clock; it was the guts of a clock that was my uncle’s. He’s now in a nursing home and rambles about the Canadian Government (we live in the USA) and the nurses that work for the CIA. He seems happy in his world of secrecy and espionage… he gave me permission to take his clock before his stroke.

When I was pulling apart the old clock, trying to get all of the gears out, and looking for interesting parts I could use in my art, there was an old spring wound up tight. My mom was sitting there looking on. She said, “be careful that doesn’t spring and hit you.” It wasn’t two minutes later and that thing made a shrill “shriinggg” sound and sprung! It didn’t hit me, in fact it didn’t come all the way unsprung (if that’s a word), but it threw dust everywhere! The old clock was dusty, greasy, and covered with many year’s worth of time keeping collected in all its parts. A good soaking in WD40 cleaned everything up nicely.

I have two more clocks – one that was still ticking when my cousins brought it down from my uncle’s room even after he’s been in the nursing home for over a year – and another that is broken. I plan to use the parts for more jewelry, mosaics, and other artwork. I don’t know why my uncle had all of those clocks. My mom says my grandfather would be happy I’m using them. He used to repair clocks. I never met my grandfather, but I’ve always had a fascination for clocks and clock parts… I wonder if it’s genetic?

My Little Bumpy Journey

Okay, final exam aside (literally), I finished my problem piece (pictured above). It may be a little weird to critique my own artwork… which I am selling… which I have a link to this blog on my store site… but maybe not. I mean, that’s actually the point of this blog – to map out my journey into the art world, or back into the art world. I used to be an art student. First all kinds of art in high school, then interior design and architectural drawing in college until I gave up on that idea because those people are too cutthroat for me. I then moved on to the idea of becoming a high school art teacher, but met my ex-husband and got married and had kids instead. Notice the “ex” in front of the word husband. He wasn’t into art at all… or anything I was into for that matter. After the divorce, I went back to school and ended up with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, and now I am half way to my Masters in Public Administration… if I finish my final exam that is.

I digress. The question at hand is, how weird is the band of cobalt blue mirror and grout at the bottom of this jar? I thought I liked it until I grouted it. I thought it was the grout color I didn’t like, but I’ve decided the color is fine. The lid of the jar is quite nice actually. I’m rather proud of the beadwork. It’s that darn band around the bottom that has me troubled. However, I have posted it “For Sale” on Etsy. Someone might just find it quite interesting and pluck it off my site.