Empty Cavity

I'll call this grief art. Not grunge, grief.

My beginnings of a self-portrait art doll.
Here I am building the armature, the structural
framework for what will come next.

My posture is contemplative. I am staring down
into an empty cavity.

Where is my heart?
It looks like a black blob.
This is how I feel. Empty, hollow.

This armature will be covered with
paper mache in the coming days.

Hopefully my head will stay in place.

I really like the eerieness of the armature at
this stage with the shadows that the light has
cast, as though I have multiple arms and my
body like that of an xray. I can see through
myself, not for long.

"There are as many nights as days, and one
is just as long as the other in a years course.
A happy life cannot be without a measure of
darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose it's
meaning if not balanced by 'sadness'. -Carl Jung

Looking for balance and harmony.

Thank you for your visits and kind words.
~ Andrea

My other blog "The Way I See It"

Disintegration Collaboration- The Reveal

Back in January, Seth of "The Altered Page" had a
project in mind, he called it "Disintegration
Collaboration".

He wondered what would happen if he created an
art bundle, left it outside, and called on mother
nature to be his collaborator.

Little did he know he would inspire so many more
to join him in this endeavor. Today there are 120+
artists who are playing along. There are art
bundles everywhere- across state lines and
international borders.

On May 1st, we were to reveal our art
bundles to see how they have changed over the
course of several months.

You can see more 'befores' posted on the side
bar of Seth's blog and then visit the individual
artist's blogs to see their 'after' reveals.

Next up... Part II is to use some part
or all of the original (now somewhat disintegrated)
bundles to create a new work of art. No rules.

The next reveal will be August 1st.

The "before" in the wind...

the rain...

and the frost.


The "After" May 1st.

The copper has patina'd and lifted, some papers
have curled or fallen over.

I think the reflective copper tape and hanging
canvas have kept the birds from perching.

Overall the piece has stayed pretty much in tact.
Last week it was 104. So it had a chance to
bake in the sun.



Stay tuned for what comes next.

Thank-you Seth for encouraging us along
with this fun project!

Something to think about:

"Insight into change teaches us to embrace our
experiences without clinging to them -- to get
the most out of them in the present moment
by fully appreciating their intensity, in full
knowledge that we will soon have to let them
go to embrace whatever comes next.

Insight into change teaches us hope. Because
change is built into the nature of things,
nothing is inherently fixed, not even our own
identity. No matter how bad the situation,
anything is possible. We can do whatever we
want to do, create whatever world we want to
live in, and become whatever we want to be."

Listening

18 x 14 mixed media canvas consisting of:
image transfers, permanent india ink, acrylic paints,
asst. collage fodder, rub-ons, beeswax.

"I am listening but pretending that I'm not,
like I'm living exclusively in my own private world."

What might it feel like to live in our own private world?
Would we invite friends?
What does private mean anyway?

My private world is noisy,
full of thoughts clamoring to be heard
I'm in charge,
free to acknowledge or ignore
sometimes distracting
here alone,
with my thoughts-listening.

Thinking of all you my sweet friends .
My best to you, wherever you are as the seasons
change and we start anew.
Thank- you for your visits and kind words.

My other locale: "The Way I See It"

Immaculate Heart of Mary

12 x 12 gallery wrapped canvas, paper clay, acrylic paint
vintage mass card

Niche
–noun
1. an ornamental recess in a wall or the like, usually
semicircular in plan and arched, as for a statue or other
decorative object.

I have always had a great interest in ornate and
decorative, religious art. I started this canvas a few
months ago painted with a black gesso base. I knew
I wanted to create a 'niche' and heavily texture, age
and patina the canvas. I created the canvas texture
with molding paste, acrylic paint and rubber stamps.
I had struggled with the texture and color for some time.
I wanted the niche to be made from Paperclay. Finding
the right consistency for the paperclay to adhere to the
canvas was no easy feat.

I am not a quitter, and I won't go down easy. I fought
with the paperclay and gel medium until I found the
right consistency to create the 'niche' I envisioned.
I wanted it to be ornate and look like metal.

The image of Immaculate Heart of Mary is a vintage
mass card I had collected which I enlarged on the printer
and used as an image transfer onto the canvas.

This painting was an experiment. I am happy with
what I have learned.

Now I'm off to Lake Tahoe, CA Heavenly for some
much needed R & R and a romp in the snow.

Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts.

See you soon. My other blog "The Way I See It"

Polymer Mosaic Mirror

I've been working on a myriad of fun projects. This one in
particular is a polymer mosaic hanging mirror. It was made
as a gift. The persons' names are actually on two of the
tiles but have been blurred out for this post to not spoil the
surprise should they visit. You can click to enlarge.



The finished piece measures 14" in diameter. The finished
clay pieces were adhered with Weldbond glue.
Most of the clay pieces have been painted with PearlEx
powdered pigments. I have also incorporated bits of
ephemera, glass beads and assorted commercial glass and
ceramic tile.


Here are some close-ups. Your embellishments should
be able to take the heat. Glass and metal are good.


Small glass seed beads in Diamond glaze are used to fill
space left over.

You can attach smaller Polymer elements with liquid Polymer
prior to baking. Here you can see the commercial tile
incorporated and also the brighter handpainted while
tiles.

I also wanted you to see this piece its beginning stage (below)
so you could see the polymer tiles before they were
embellished and baked.

Working in the round was a real challenge. I first had this
idea for a sun/mandala and then decided to incorporate a
mirror. I decided to use a vinyl record album as the base.
First I textured the album with AcrylPro tile adhesive so I
could insure the tiles would have an acceptable surface. I
then spray painted both sides with a matte silver spray paint.

The few colored tiles you see were hand painted on baked
white polymer clay. Your hand painted color will always be
more lively on the white clay than on a colored or metallic
clay. You can click on picture to enlarge.

At this stage, the clay has been rolled to about 1/8" thickness,
stamped or textured and I'm cutting pieces and trying to
decide their placement until all spots are filled. Once I have
the design in place I remove all the tile pieces and then begin
the process of painting and embellishing. The tiles are then
baked following the recommended time on the clay package.
I've used Premo and SculpeyII for this project. I also use a
thermometer in my toaster oven to determine the real
temperature. I have found that temperatures are not as true
as the dial. (I don't use my toaster oven for food once I've
used it for clay)

If you haven't seen my first polymer mosaic you can see
it posted here and here.

Thank-you for your visits and kind words!

Thought for today:
"Take care that the face that looks out from the mirror in the
morning is a pleasant face. You may not see it again during
the day, but others will"

My other blogspot: "The Way I See It"