Color Magic!

Greetings Friends!  The muse came for a short visit, so I thought I'd share what I was playing with.  Thanks to a post on Pam Holladay's blog (a fellow artist), I learned about a great project using oil pastels.  Check out her post from November 2, 2012.

Here's a picture of the first piece I did using the oil pastels in the technique that I'll explain....

This cool piece took amazingly little time.  Here's how I did it.   Using a piece of 6" square bristol board, I randomly colored the entire paper with vibrant colors using oil pastels.  When I had the paper covered, it looked like this:

The next step was VERY simple.....I used the black oil pastel to cover the entire page...

When I had the entire page covered, I place a stencil on top and clipped it in place...

I then used a pointed wooden tool to begin scraping the black oil pastel away, revealing the color beneath....it was like magic watching the colors appear!

And here's what the finished butterfly picture looks like...

Cool, huh???   This would be a great project to do with kids or with people who think they're not "artists".....anyone can make this color magic!

Have fun!

Deborah

I'm Busy at Work!!!

Hello dear friends....sorry for no posts this week....busy at work on some new pieces and trying to get the gourd finished that I previewed in a recent post.

I'll have new pictures for you to check out next week...

Stay tuned,

Deborah

Yet Another Goddess Emerges...

Yet Another Goddess Emerges…

Yes, I had so much fun working on the small goddess bust that I showed you in my last post, that I because bolder and bought the gigundo size goddess--about 14” tall!  She gave me plenty to work on!

I had purple on my mind, so I pulled out some wonderful soft, fibrous paper from my stash and covered the entire bust.  I did an overlay of some colored foil, which added a nice contrast.

I had been working on a wire creation that I thought might end up as a necklace.  It did…for the goddess, not for me!  Of course I used shades of purple wire, so it just seemed natural to adorn this goddess with the necklace.

Here’s what her necklace looks like…..

I decided that I wanted to give this goddess a “secret” space, too, so I cut a huge hold in her back and worked on the inside….

 And here’s a close up of what she has to say….

I wonder what’s next??

Deborah

Time for the Goddess

Some years ago I discovered wonderful papier mache women’s busts, covered with brown paper---just ready for embellishment.  Since I’d never worked with anything like that before, I cautiously bought a smaller-sized bust--about 9” tall.

Taking a walk on the wild side, I decided to cut her open (ouch!) so that I could also work on the inside---kind of like a secret compartment.  I covered the outside with different lovely papers from my stash and added some Lumiere paints to give a bit of a glow.

As always, I had to add wire and beads so that she would feel complete.  Here’s the finished product…

Here’s where she opens up.  The hook over her left breast is held in place by a metal and bead “key” that I made, to keep her closed.

And here’s a close up of the inside…..

What fun, huh??

Deborah

Technical Difficulties!!!

Yikes!  I seem to have insurmountable technical difficulties with my Internet connection and trying to put my posts up....hope you'll visit often, as I'm working to resolve the problems so that I can keep posting.

Lost in cyberspace,

Deborah

I'm on a Roll!

Well, after my first cardboard collage, I just had to make another one--especially since I’d been learning how to make interesting and colorful decorated papers to use in various art projects.

Once again, I pulled out an odd shaped piece of plain, brown cardboard and started gluing hand-dyed tissue onto it.  I dabbed on some paint to complete the first layer of the background.  I then cut up some stiff, decorated papers I’d made and created the flowers, stalks and leaves.  After gluing all the pieces onto the cardboard, I then had fun using both black and white pens to add subtle details.

Here’s the result….

 

I based this collage around one of my favorite quotes by author, Anais Nin…”And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”.

As always, I had to finish the collage off with some copper wire and beads.  Here’s a closeup of the finished product…

 

Give a collage a try…you’ll love it!

Ciao for now,

Deborah

 

 

Cardboard Collage

Sorry I've been gone for a while...I'm having a really hard time getting online at home---problem ISP, so getting my posts done has been a challenge, but here I am!!

I have made collages since I was in elementary school and always loved the "instant art" appeal that cutting and gluing magazine pictures had.  I forgot about this lovely artform until recent years when I began doing SoulCollage.  Making these small collage cards immediately rekindled my love for this freeform type of creating, and I began creating spontaneous collages.

After being given some pictures and fancy papers, I “threw” together a collage using these gifts and papers from my own stash.   I pulled out a piece of plain old brown cardboard one day and started gluing.  The collage was so much fun, it literally made itself!  Since I’m a copper wire and bead fanatic, I just had to trim the collage with these.

Here’s my collage called, “Be Naked More,” in honor of the central picture that a friend gave me.

 And here’s a closeup of the graphics, wire and beadwork.

 

 

What fun, huh??

Till next time,

Deborah