Summer Breeze

"Summer Breeze" - 8x10 - Mixed Media Collage
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This third piece in the masking tape series actually keeps the under painting intact. It makes for a very busy composition. And the sweet little ceramic piece with the dragonfly I picked up in a gift shop in Lithopolis, Ohio. 

The lace paper used in this piece is spiral or uzumaki lace.

Single Poppy

"Single Poppy" - 4x12 - Mixed Media CollageListed on Etsy

Girlfriend Art

My dear friend, Deb, from Charleston, SC (ok, really Mt Pleasant) came to visit with me for a week on her way north to visit family. We always have the best time whenever we get together. One of the activities I planned during her visit was to spend a day in my studio creating what I call "girlfriend art" which served as fun, creative time together and gave us each a souvenir of our time together. 

Step one was to make traditional paper dolls. We used  pages from an old  book which I had purchased when we were antiquing together in Savannah, GA earlier this year.

As you can see, we each created our own patterns. Mine is the one above, hers is the one below. I wish it had occurred to me at the time to trade one of our dolls with each other, but alas, that idea didn't come to me until just now!

Next we colored our supports. We used 8x10 canvas boards and covered them with various colored tissue paper in warm tones that we ripped and glued with soft gel matte medium. This one is mine.

This support is Deb's. You can see that although we are each creating the same thing, they are  already very different from one another's.

In order to tame down the background a little, we applied light colored pieces of lace paper scraps over top of the tissue paper. This one is mine.

And this one is Deb's.

Next we glued on our paper dolls. I had wanted mine to hold hands, but accidentally placed them too far to one side. When I tried to move them, one moved easily, but the other one was too stuck in place and I couldn't easily move it without leaving a ton of newsprint behind. Therefore, I decided to have them jointly carry a basket between them.

Of course, you can see that Deb placed hers perfectly so there were no issues. She's really a much more patient creator than I am.

Then came the fun part. Fashion design! I got lucky with the asymmetric dress on the left. The paper had already been cut in the shape of an angel fish which I had decided not to use and it ended up back in the scrap box. I love the edgy dress design that it created. The dress on the right I designed by placing a piece of tracing paper over the doll and drawing a pattern to fit it. Then I used the pattern to cut out a piece of paper to make the final dress. I chose to make faces on my dolls, too, because I had rediscovered some "googly" eyes left over from a previous project and I couldn't resist using them. 

Deb chose to make these adorable retro styled clothing for her dolls. She decided to make their  hair from paper which needed to be applied at this stage and she also chose to go without faces, which I think is cool. After the medium was dry we sealed the pieces with one coat each of first gloss acrylic varnish and then acrylic varnish in matte. Lascaux, of course. You know I swear by it!

Then finally the finishing touches. I used fabric paint for the dolls' hair as well as to outline their bodies and some of their clothing and the basket. I used glitter glue to outline the rest.

Deb used the same materials for her finishing details plus a bead for a barrette for the doll on the left and a tiny little rhinestone for the pendant on the doll on the right. After we were finished, we sat back and examined our creations. Not only were they a lot of fun to make, we discovered that they were somewhat autobiographical as well. Our choices in making them told us something about ourselves and we had fun talking about that.

The girlfriends in real life. Me on the left and Deb on the right!

Butterfly Kisses

"Butterfly Kisses" - 8x8 - Mixed Media Collage
Not For Sale

Over the weekend I experimented with a different technique and I really like the way it turned out. I discovered that an even more textural look could be achieved by layering oil pastels over textured paper; in this case, ogura lace. (My fave!)

And I've become so smitten with this little girl that for the time being she'snot for sale. Pygmalion syndrome, I know, but what are you going to do?

Diamondback Terrapins

"Diamondback Terrapins" - 4x12 - Mixed Media CollageAvailable on Etsy

I've never seen a diamondback terrapin before, but I'm pretty certain this is what they look like. ;)

Now, I must address the comments left on my last post by my 8-year-old niece.

Yes, Georgia, I agree. The turtles look much cuter with eyes, and now they have some! :D

And that beautiful thing which you couldn't identify is actually the background for the turtles. Unfortunately, it didn't work they way I had intended so I had to paint over it. It doesn't look as beautiful, but the turtles were the most important thing here, so I had to make the background less beautiful in order to make the turtles more so.

And, no, I still haven't made any swans, yet. But thanks for reminding me. That gives me a great  idea!

Keep commenting, Georgia! I really appreciate it.

Georgia May
Photo by Melody Lynn Newman

Crabs

"Crabs" - 8x8 - Mixed Media Collage
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It was time for another crab image. After all...

The Paisley Bathtub

"The Paisley Bathtub" - 5x7 - Mixed Media Collage

I think this has to be my favorite "bathing beauty" to date. If I could have a paisley claw foot tub, don't you know, I absolutely would! And most definitely a head wrap to match.

Hydrangea Crabulata

"Hydrangea Crabulata" - 10x10 - Mixed Media Collage

I've done so many paintings of hydrangeas over time that I've run out of names. So, I decided to name my own variety. Of course my special hybrid has seed pearls growing in the flower centers.

February, 2nd Month

"February, 2nd Month" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage - $90 + $10 shipping

Available on Etsy 

Just in time for Valentine's Day! I was inspired. For some reason I had painted the canvas red without really thinking about it. Then, when I was shuffling through my papers for the right pieces, I found this page from the Farmer's Almanac that had already been treated with melted crayons and wouldn't you now, it was from the month of February. I'm not sure which year this was. I know, though, that it was from the first or second decade of the 20th century. 

Please be mine! <3

Planets Aligning At Sunset

"Planets Aligning At Sunset" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage

Seriously, if you could see this many planets that close up, you'd have a terrible time with the gravitational force. You wouldn't even notice the sunset. That's why the world needs artists; to create views you couldn't enjoy otherwise. (Lol!)

Left Side

Right Side

Sorbet

"Sorbet" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage

I just think the colors of this piece remind me of sherbert; that's all! (Even though sorbet and sherbert are two different things.)