Inauguration Day Art

Pam from IOCSA posted a swap for Inauguration art.  On Monday, I heard a saying about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Obama.  It stuck in my head and I decided to do an ATC.  Well, I soon found out that an ATC which is 2.5 x 3.5 inches was going to be way too small.  I have been trying to work a little larger than card size, so I thought, here we go.  This piece is 16x18.  

The quote (paraphrased by me):  

Rosa would sit

So Martin could walk

he walked

So Obama could run

he ran

So our children could fly

As I spent the whole day watching the inauguration and all the tv coverage, I worked on this piece.  I started with a piece of red rosin paper that I had sprayed with color wash sprays.  Then I added the stamped words and images with lumiere paints in gold, copper and rust.  Then I added some more paint swooshes and blobs (mostly to use up the paints on my brush).  Next, I added some swirls and swooshes with a maroon colored pencil.  Once I was satisfied with the background, I added the words sit, walk, run, fly.  I used a wordsworth stencil and black acrylic paint.

Next I added the photos with gel medium.  I got the photos from the internet and posterized them with photoshop elements.  Whooooo.  I am proud of myself because I have been flummoxed by photoshop and finally understood a bit about what I was trying.  Next, I stamped the other letters to form the phrases. That was an alphabet stamp. I found that inks were not dark enough, so I used black acrylic paint again.  

Next came some coloring in of the photos and then shadowing with charcoal pencil.  Finally, I added some rhinestones on some of the large letters and the Ranger's distress stickles for the bear's bow and Rosa's hair flower.

I tried to find a frame for this piece, but the size of the piece should really be considered before starting if you want a ready-made frame.  I couldn't find anything, but I had these rooster pictures that I purchased this summer.  I trimmed the pic and adhered it over the rooster picture, but left the decorated parts around the edges.  I m going to hang this in our eating space downstairs, hopefully near some other art that I create this year.

Christmas memories

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to wait until the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over; Shanda and I sit down with a cup of coffee spiked with eggnog or baileys, depending on the time of day, and READ all of the wonderful Holiday letters from friends.  Sometimes, the only contact I have had with these friends is through their holiday letters and pictures.  I cherish these so much and love rereading them.  I have a box of old correspondence from past Christmas letters.  

This year, I collected them from the big box, from drawers and files and anywhere else I could find.  I sorted them according to family and put them together in this binder.  I have some going back to 1986.  The pictures of the kids growing up are wonderful.  Now, do I have my own Christmas cards and letters?  NO!  

Anyway, I got this clipboard from the office supply store .  I covered it in decorative paper and have put the pictures onto scrapbook cardstock and punched holes in the letters.  Then, I decorated this top sheet and I can look through them anytime.  I'll probably do a little more work on the cover next year.  I keep telling myself to put this away, but then I go through the letters and pictures again and smile once more.  

RAK from Pat

Pat S. sent out cushy socks to several members of the IOCSA yahoo group.  Thanks to Pat, my tootsies are nice and warm during this sub zero weather we are having.  Plus, I can look festive when I have company.  Thanks, Pat.

Brrrr.  No barbeques this week.  It is freezing in Illinois.  The temperature should get up to 5 below zero this afternoon.  This morning it was 15 below and 45 below with windchill.  I am keeping nice and toasty by staying inside.  Even at this cold temperature, it is not as cold here as it is in Minnesota.  I am glad to be out of that state.  Their constant cold would be depressing.

Not quite a Grandma

Shanda's best buddy since kindergarten gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on New Year's Day.  We went to see him today and I am in love.  I am not ready to be a grandmother from my own kids because they aren't ready for that, so it's wonderful to hold a new baby and pretend to be a grandma for a couple of hours.

Dancing the Night Away

We had so much fun last week at Benny's birthday party.  Kim surprised us by hiring dance instructors.  We learned the foxtrot, swing, and mambo.  I took pictures, printed and framed them for all the couples.

My right foot

I started 2008 in a cast on my left foot and ended the year with foot surgery on my right foot.  This should be the end of a crazy health year.  My resolution for 2009:  No more surgery!

Creative month

I was thinking that I didn't make much art over the past few weeks, but I have been making stuff. Besides my Christmas cards, I made ornaments for all the couples when we went to the Dave Koz concert.  On the back, I die used rub on's to write Dave Koz concert.  The 2008 is also a rub on.  While waiting for our dinner to arrive the night of  the concert, I took pictures of all of the couples, printed and framed them right at the table.  It made the night very special.

For Christmas dinner, I made everyone a keepsake box with their picture on it and printed out some cards from Oprah.com.  Afterwards, everyone (almost everyone...ahem) wrote out a card telling each person what we love about him/her.  My box is so special and full of love.  It makes me full of joy when I read what each person wrote.

I also compiled all of the photos of friends and made a dvd slideshow set to music of the year in review.  I gave it to them at Christmas with enough copies for their family members and their parents.  I do this for my family at Thanksgiving, but because I had so many pictures of fun times with my friends, I made them one of their own.  They love seeing all of the things we've done together over the past year.

 I also made 100 photo holders for my girlfriend's mother's 75th birthday party.  At the party, I set up a photo corner and took pics of different families and printed the pictures and gave them to those who had time to wait.  My sister and niece had to help me pull it off, but we managed.  

So, I don't have a lot of art to show, but I have been busy.

Christmas cards mailed

I got my Christmas cards in the mail and most folks got them before Christmas.  The post office was really slow this year.  I used the die cut machine to add the texture and a corner punch on those fancy corners.  I debated about gluing the embellishment in place.  Lynn and I debated about them hanging off the package and swinging.  She thought that made the card more fun.  I glued some in place and decided it wasn't worth the effort.  But then, I saw the cards at some of the homes of my family and the darned embellishment was flipped up on the card or in some goofy spot based on how the card was lying.  I wasn't mortified, but wasn't happy, either.  Oh well, it's the thought that counts.