365 Day 93

I'm not very fond of auto focus

One of the things I did today was to put another layer of color on the middle ghost in this painting.

I am trying to build up layers of color so that I can scratch through it.



before today's color layer










It is a wee bit frustrating to me that the camera will not focus on what I want it to focus on...that darn auto focus!





after today's layer of color








I wanted to show all of the wonderful colors and the sort of glow that is developing around the middle ghost. Oh well -- it is there -- I can see it in person.



hard to see in this photo, but the middle ghost is developing a really cool glow around it

365 Day 78

some days it seems like I am getting nowhere -- FAST!

I don't know where the day has gone today. It feels like I haven't done much -- probably because in this step of making the finger puppets I usually whip stitch the soft bottom edge at the same time as I do the side seam.

Instead today I did all of the side seams on the 29 Tookies that I am currently working on, and I still have to do the bottom edges. I will keep working on them until it feels like it is time to go to bed.

I love all the colors in these photos. And that is really how the colors look.














OH -- duh! I remember now what took so long today -- I was ordering business cards and monkeying with the images I was using. I am not at all handy with digital photographs and it takes me a long time. Ha -- so I didn't waste the day after all!

365 Day 62

preeetty colors!


Today the plaster cloth cat is still air drying so I am working on Tookies.










Before I went to bed last night/early this morning I did the soft edges of 25 of this batch of 100 Tookies finger puppets for Art-o-mat.

This afternoon I did another 25.

This is what I will be doing for the rest of the night so I thought I'd go ahead and post to the blog now.

Aren't those great colors?

365 Day 42

LOTS of progress today!














The day started off with picking up 55 magazines from my wonderful dentist's office -- wow! Denise was glad to weed out their magazines and I was thrilled to bring them home. I promise to recycle whatever I don't use.














When Juana and I were at Green's Art Supplies yesterday, we looked at a lot of their art paper. They had some of the same papers I have at home including two of my favorites.

Today I decided to use the paper I have instead of just looking at it.












I had another canvas that was set aside "for later". This one was once a sort of birthday card I received a long time ago and it had lots of beads and glitter and puff paints on a black background. It was an appreciated and thoughtful gift at the time, but it had outlived the greeting many times over so I decided to repurpose it.













I also got out one of the jars of matte medium that I have never used before. Ever. Had it forever, never tried it. I originally bought it for use in collage because I read you can use it in place of glue.













I think it is turning out pretty cool already. The canvas is textured with the paper itself and the remaining beads and puff paint under the paper. The orange stripes are not as visible anymore because of the black paint underneath, but it looks pretty darn cool. I have no idea where I am going to go with this yet, I am just happy to have finally tried the matte medium. I think I will let the paper tell me what to do.

The other paper -- my absolute favorite -- the green with black rectangles pattern -- is now a part of the ghost on the right. And it is also part of the mouth of the ghost on the left, the ghost who is made up of a bit of everything on the canvas.














I really enjoyed tearing the paper. I would normally have cut it with scissors in the shape of the ghost, but I am fighting my comfort zone(s) with this canvas.


















I really love all the layers of color that are developing.














I love how the paper is almost like a mask around his eyes.














And here is the mouth of the ghost on the left.



















AND -- I am very excited about this...my friend and I were able to coordinate some time for him to come by this evening and look at my plans for my submissions for the Come Play With Me show. He thinks that it will be a quick thing for him to put the wood parts together for me. He took some of the parts home and will get started on them and I will go and get some of the other parts tomorrow morning and we will meet up again tomorrow and get rolling! Now I have to get to work on the toy parts!!!

365 Day 41

another layer




























I added another layer of color to the 3 ghosts canvas last night. I need to post this now because I don't know what time I will get home from today's arty fun and I don't want to miss my deadline.
















I painted in the studio this time and the lighting is not the same as the dining room...the colors are slightly off in these photos, but you can get the idea of how colorful the canvas is becoming.



The ghost on the left is kind of looking like a beatnik with a goatee today...but that is just the way the lighting is in the CD closet.











I am trying to see if I can add lots of color layers to the ghost in the middle and then I will add a layer of dark color and try to scratch through it...kinda like sgraffito in claywork.



















































Which brings me around to our arty adventure today. My friend Juana and I will go make several art filled stops and go out to lunch and finally end up at my friend Brenda's house to play with clay! We haven't done this (played with clay together) in such a long time. I don't want to pre-write too much now, but look for the post late tonight or early tomorrow!

Day Twenty-Three

I like this finger puppet. It's another girly one and I like how simple it is. It took me close to four hours to make it (I kept changing things)...that, plus if I actually knew how to sew, it would probably go quicker. Sheesh.

And, there must be something odd in the atmosphere around here today. It has been a day of trying to get the colors of things I am trying to show you in photographs correct (or even close). This finger puppet is a deep teal, but it keeps looking very green.

My camera is just not seeing what I am seeing today. It's annoyingly close, but not really.

Bother! It is making me want to bite somebody.