Dia de los Muertos

My first ever image for Dia de los Muertos. I loved doing this! I had to use a picture from a magazine since I can't draw faces, but I love the way it turned out! I had so many ideas in my head that I could have made ten more images, until I realized how long I'd been playing with this one!

Lesley posted a great video tutorial she found on making images from pictures. I wish I had seen this before I made mine, but it makes me want to do another one!

Yeah, I like her...

Nanojoumo is coming!

It's been a year already since I followed Dawn DeVries Sokol's Nanojoumo prompts and she's gearing up to do it again. So I am as well! Click on the link and read all about it. It starts November 1st so you have time to gear up too!

NANOJOUMO

I used color wash and color inks on the background. Just sprayed them all over the page, along with some water, and slammed the book shut! The beautiful colors that emerge are sometimes stunning! Although this wasn't one of those times. :) I really didn't use anything new, it's all leftovers and old $1.00 stamps, except for my Stampendous flowers stamp that's been buried in the closet for far too long. The lady's head and even the flower pot came from old magazines, and the border is from old background pages.

I feel like I could have done more on this page but then I feel that way on most of my pages. There's always next time!

Have a great day!

More Collage

How I love collage! I just started playing around with the magazine pictures, some torn pieces of scrap paper, and a little paint. It only took about 8 hours! LOL! Not really, but things sure do change from what you think you're doing. I love the vintage pieces and the beautiful modern day model.

Have a lovely weekend!

A little collage

Lots of things going on in my mind these last few days. I've been watching Gulfspr1te's and Rhomany's vlogs lately (thoroughly enjoyable btw) and thinking about the type of journaling I've done most recently. More precisely, pages using cartoon type characters that really are not my style at all. Every time I see a fabulous page done by some brilliant art journaler, I ooh and aah and want my own, but they don't come out the same. As fun as they may be, they're just not me.

In one video, Gulfspr1te advises someone who's blocked to stop looking at other artist's work on the internet and just go and make art, make a mess! I immediately identified with that poster because I'm always watching videos and taking classes, and comparing myself to them. Ew. Yeah, I'm that person, the one everyone says I shouldn't be. *sigh*

Then this morning, another poster asked about finding her style as a beginner. I loved this answer! She was told to watch everyone, take all the classes, and I gave Christy a loud cheer and a round of applause! I'M a beginner. I will always be a beginner. How's that for justification? Good? Good!

All of this thinking boiled down to what I really enjoy doing and that's collage. So I made a very simple collage today and I like it. It's about my niece and her daughter, and the posts she makes on FB about her. I love that she loves her so much, and that the feeling is mutual. Yesterday would have been my sister's 75th birthday, hard to imagine her at that age, but I know she would love the little messages on FB as well. Happy Birthday, Joan.

Another page that was only partially done. The background was made with Dylusions Spray Ink, a fast and easy way to get some pages started! Unfortunately, it sat and sat and sat because I had no ideas, no pictures, no quotes, no words. These pages do seem to work themselves out at times.

Inspired by...Inkwell

If I were listing people that inspire me in order of importance, or impact, I would have to begin with Dede Willingham, otherwise known to those who love her as Inkwell. I've mentioned Dede before. She's a fabulous artist and teacher, and the most influential person in my artful life.

I met Dede online through Ustream where she programs her weekly shows. I wrote the following about a year ago after watching one of those shows...

September 2nd was a GOOD day! I woke up early and somehow managed to go online around 7:00 am. I couldn't have been luckier! Dede had been persuaded to go live on Ustream and she gave the BEST show ever! I think she was on for 2 hours, maybe 3, I'm not sure, but she sure did give us a ton of information! We should have paid for it...it was like attending a motivational seminar! The people, the place, the timing....it just all came together in cyberspace to make for a truly great morning for a bunch of art lovin' girls. Dede's such a fabulous artist, and she inspires so many others.

I'd been watching her shows for a while by then and everything had started to fall into place, I started to really understand what it was Dede was teaching. For the first time in my life, I began to "see" art for something other than a bunch of old paintings hanging in a museum. I don't think I'll ever be able to see what Dede sees in her paintings, but I know it isn't just a bunch of fortunate brush strokes. My fondest memories and most valuable time was spent watching Dede make magic before my eyes.

Inkwell's Blog
Inkwell on Ustream