29 Faces and some Soul Food Pimpage!

Greetings and salutations, money-maker-shakers!

I'm trying really hard to do 29 Faces this year.  I'm trying really hard to finish the 50 Canvases project that I left hanging last year.  I'm trying really hard to manage to stay at the art table for more than 5 minutes at a time, too, so we'll see how it goes.

All of that aside, here's my first face and first catch-up canvas:

I'm doing a series of Zodiac paintings, and this is The Water Bearer (aka Aquarius).  I decided to start all of the canvases the same way by gluing down some random papers then stenciling a heart with modeling paste.  I've been putting some extra modeling paste down for some awesome texture, too...

Since texture makes me so happy...

I will be teaching something like this for Soul Food, something with modeling paste and texture and crazy color.  Yay!

Speaking of Soul Food, it started yesterday!  I'm so excited about the opportunity to teach with such an amazing lineup of people, like Ayala, the innovator behind 29 Faces.  Her work is full of color and texture, and she offers mixed media workshops on her site.  Give her a click, you know you wanna.

Since I started the Recordings project (it's music-based art journaling), I've really started to acknowledge the effect that music has on me while I'm painting.  For example, I found myself painting along to the beat earlier today, and I'll catch myself zoning out during a part of a song that I really resonate with.  It's no wonder I don't get anything done. ;)

This is today's theme song:

Happy New Year (three weeks late)

Greetings, lovely lovelies!

I hope the first three weeks of your year have been wonderful and fantastic and joyful and not at all plagued by locusts.

I am still having a hell of a time with the making of the arts, so I've been watching a lot of Desperate Housewives and drinking a lot of tea.  Hey, at least the tea is aesthetically pleasing.

The Manflesh (the psycho from the previous post) has grand plans for my clutter corner, including countertops and cabinets and all sorts of crazy awesomeness (as soon as the money fairies decide to visit), and I'm excited but sad about losing all of those layers of paint.  I can go into the garage and fondle them, though, so all is not lost.

Since the last three months of 2014 were horrid ugly assholes, I never finished the 50 canvases project.  Boo.  I am going to try and finish them in the next couple of months, though - it's time to kick myself out of this funk and work through it.  I miss inky fingers and paint-splattered glasses.  I wish I was kidding.  I'm messy.

In the meantime, I've started a new project!  A music-oriented art journal project in a journal made from an old vinyl album.  I like beating the hell out of a dead horse, apparently.

Anyway, sneakpeek!

.OH MY CIRCLES.  Circles make me happy.  A circle-shaped journal makes me EXTRA HAPPY.

I mean.. look at those curves.  Dangerous.

The blue under the Gelli print is the record sleeve from an old Tubes album that I liked a lot.  I destroyed the album trying to figure out how to properly chop them in half.  oops.  Clumsy me.

Speaking of clumsy me, I started this project by impaling myself on the blade of my circle cutter.

It's been christened in blood.

There will be video by the end of the day that I'll post on wonderstrange tomorrow!  Wootwoot!

Onward!

We Have a Winner!!!

HUGE congratulations and confetti-flinging goes out to Kate K who won a free spot on Soul Food thanks to the Gods of Randomosity at random.org!  A tweet took it!

Thank you to everyone who participated and commented and filled my inbox with joy and loveliness this week!  You all rock my stripey socks off.

NOW.  Back to Super Secret Projects and Thera-Flu.  Happy Holidays, sweet things!

If I sent Christmas cards, this is the picture I would use.  My husband the psychopath. <3

Soul Food Giveaway!

I am honored and amazed to be part of the awesomeness that is Soul Food 2015, and it's my turn for an interview and giveaway!  YAY!!  *cue music and flailing*

If you're not savvy to the Soul Food, it's an awesome three-month-long course that starts in February!  Here are the pertinents:

• 3 Head Chefs: Mystele Kirkeeng, Heather Santos and Jeanette House
• 17 Sous-Chefs
• 2 video instruction mixed media lessons per week for 3 months
• Each artist’s favourite comfort food cooking recipe
• All downloadable videos
• Classroom access through Dec 31, 2015
• Registration will open on January 1, 2015

You can register at Community Thrive (it's free!) where there are a ton of freebies, challenges, and paid workshops to tide you over until February by clicking here!

Here's my awkward interview video (ah, vimeo, could you have picked a more attractive facial expression to use as the thumbnail?  I think not!):




SO now the fun part! The contest! You have four ways to enter, so get to clickin'!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wearing Out my Gelli Plate

Okay, I'm not really wearing it out, but it would be smoking if it could!

Since Roni died, I've found myself lacking in the artistic mojo department - I'd like nothing better than to sit and art journal or something, but it's just not happening.  I've crocheted a bit and have updated my Etsy (with only about a quarter of my stuff, but, hey, progress), but, every time I've tried to do something creative, I've floundered.  Big time.

This seemed like the perfect time to do some Gelli prints!

I'm doing this out of order, but that's okay. ;)  I dug through my pile of cast-off prints and found these three:

They are not pretty prints.  They're mostly ghost prints and cleaning of the brayer or the stencils, but I figured it would be a good challenge to make them into something that I might actually use.

Several pulls, adjustments, and layers later, I have these:

Holy cow so much better!!  I absolutely love the one in the middle with the leaves, although I generally like the whole "cover most of it with paint" thing, so that's not much of a surprise.

After two days of pulling print after print after print, I feel a little more like my mojo is starting to come back, which is a relief.  I'm feeling a little artistically constipated.

Have some Gelli Print eye candy!

With every print I pulled, I cleaned off my brayer on a page in my art journal, and I am absolutely IN LOVE with how it looked by the end of it.

SO MUCH YUM.

Now I need to decide what to do with this enormous stack of prints..

Adventures and Sorrow

Hello!

October is historically my favorite month, but this year I swear it tried to kill me.  It started out so innocently and fun with a trip to Stamford, Connecticut for vending at Art-is-You.  It was awesome to reconnect with some of my favorite people and make dollies do drunken things.

Ah poor drunken dollies.

I came home from Stamford and then immediately loaded the kids and the dog into The Manflesh's truck, and we drove to North Dakota, a 1600-mile drive.  Along the way I officiated over my brother's wedding, which was awesome.  I make goofy faces even in an official capacity.

I spent two days with my favorite cousin, which was amazing, and picked up a Harley.  I also made some skulls for her kitchen since I can't seem to leave anyone's house without leaving art behind.

On the way home, I entertained myself by listening to Welcome to Nightvale, too much Sirius Octane radio (developing an unhealthy obsession with the song Moth by Hellyeah in the process), and a twerking T-rex..

Three days and many miles later, we finally crawled our way back into the homestead, unloaded the Harley, returned the trailer, and passed out.  

My 17-year-old and his Harley.  Yikes. 

The next morning, we got a surprise houseguest, my adopted daughter Jenny.  Even the dog was happy to see her, and he hadn't even met her yet. 

This was two weeks of utter bananas crazy business followed by the gut-punch from the Universe, the shocking passing of my very best friend and soul-sister, Roni.  I've eulogized her, mourned her, consumed too much wine, rum, vodka, and Kahlua in honor of her, and I can't even begin to explain the mad ache in my heart without her.

I'd say rest in peace, but neither of us wants that.  Tear shit up, you crazy bitch.  <3 <3 <3

Artistcellar Stencil WINNER! Plus zombies.

Greetings, lovelies!!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

From the loving hands of random.org to the loving hands of our winner...

NANNER!!  WOO!! *confetti* 

Congratulations, dollface!  I'll ship your info to the Lovely Lisa of Artistcellar, and you'll be making skeletons do lewd things with Mr. T in no time flat!!

In other news, welcome to October!!  It's my favorite month of the year.  There is nothing quite like sitting on my porch at 2 in the morning with a cup of something hot (tea? coffee? coffee spiked with Pumpkin Spice Liqueur?  maybe all of the above) in the quiet and the fog with the leaves falling loudly enough to make my pulse pound.  I think there's a possum living under my porch which makes it even creepier. ;)  This was the view yesterday behind my house... picturesque as hell, right?

In honor of October, I'm going to be doing spooky/creepy-themed paintings for my 50 Canvases videos all month.  WOO.  The first challenge is to paint a zombie...

I'm doing a series of Sideshow Zombies for a gallery show I'm participating in this month.  I'm super excited about the show (it's my first!) and nervous.. and stressing out.

LOOK MY NAME IS ON THERE OMG

Since I'm going to be participating in the Art Trunk at Art is You in Stamford, CT, I won't be able to go to the opening, which is a super bummer.  BUT I'LL SURVIVE.  Maybe. ;)

Okay these sculptures won't sculpt themselves.  Onward!