Category : Art

432 posts

T Tuesday: better late than never edition

I think the title says it all… this whole working outside the home is really cutting into my artsy time. Of course I knew it would but eventually I’ll find time for creativity again. I have so many ideas float through my head when I have a moment to pause my brain. Now I just need to execute said ideas.

My first week of school was good…exhausting…but good. This week we are starting to get into some routines which can only mean that things are about to change! The kids have had a busy week as well. Mini-me had a game 1.25 hours away on the first day of school and tonight is playing in our capital city of St. Paul. Crazy how far they travel to play teams not even in our conference.

This little guy is so confused as to why mom’s not home…he’s a little mopey about it.

Also since I’m not out in the yard all the time, the deer have decided it would be fun to jump over the garden gate and eat all the leaves from basically every living plant in our yard. Makes me wonder if we will have a really harsh winter or if they are just opportunity eaters,

I did manage to finish the mixed media piece I was working on last week. Anyone remember those I AM LOVED buttons? I want to say they were from the early 80s?? I happened to still have one floating around. Yep it’s a sickness…never get rid of fun stuff like that.

Over the weekend we roasted hotdogs for supper again in the chimenea. Some neighbors showed up and we had a impromptu party on the deck, capping off the night with a couple games of cribbage.  Thank goodness we got a light under the umbrella!

What did you do today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: cha cha changes edition

So many things happening around here. So many that I’ve been completely neglecting my blog and my art lately. Neither of which makes me happy…the neglect that is.

Let me give you a brief and incomplete list… Kids going back to school one week from today, Mini-me starting high school, packed sports schedule, college applications, jury duty and a few other items I’m not at liberty to discuss right now.  Don’t get me wrong, this list is exciting for sure but a definite shift in gears for us.

That being said…I did clean off my desk and start playing around with a mixed piece.

I also did a bit more canning…

4 pints of diced tomatoes and 7 pints of spicy beans.

Oh yeah and painted the front door…that turned out kind of crummy though so I’ll need to sand and touch it up. Basic white…fairly boring.

That’s it for today…other than my obligatory beverage photo.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: in progress edition

I had plans for today’s posts. It was going to be spectacular…tons of photos…a walk through of my latest project in process.

But then….my phone died. As in, it was no more.

I use my phone to take quick in process pictures instead of my DSLR.

Off to the store I went to have them look at it and buy a new one if need be. It wouldn’t turn on for them either so…I picked out a new one to replace my over 2.5 yr old phone which seems to be a senior citizen in the phone world. I switched from Apple to Android. This will take a little adjustment period.in progress

Here’s a little snippet of my project. More to come…

Today after my morning coffee (reused photo) and a bite to eat, its off to volleyball tryouts for the girl. Me… I’ll be measuring all the hard surface areas of our property to determine if we can extend the edge of our driveway a bit to make room for more parking.  Did I mention that I’ll be signing Mini-me up for the classroom portion of drivers ed very soon? AGH! They are growing up too fast!

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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A second look: Art Journal vs Altered book

This month for Second on the 2nd I wanted to reshare or perhaps rehash the debate over art journals vs altered books. Let me know your thoughts.

Take a look….

altered book vs art journal | Halle's Hobbies

Over the years there seems to have been a shift in the verbiage used to describe the process of taking a book of little or no use and making it into a piece of art. Or perhaps it could even be a book with great meaning to you and you want to express yourself within it. Either way…you are altering it from it’s original purpose. Hence the name altered book, right?!  But the line has been blurred as mixed media and collage entered the scrapbook and paper arts world. I’m not saying this is a bad thing…more products, techniques, blogs and tutorials out there. Mixed media entered the main stream. Along with that is where the shift happened from altered books to art journals.

I’ve always felt (and still do) that explaining to outsiders what an altered book was bordered on exhausting at times. I’d, all too often, get a blank stare from the person I was talking to about my new passion. Somehow changing the way I described what I was doing as art journaling made more sense to my audience. Oh, it’s just art in journal form. Sure, if that makes it easier for you to understand…I’m cool with that.

For me, I feel as if the difference between an altered book and an art journal has a couple different facets. An altered book must first of all have been a written and published book. Secondly, for it to be an altered book, it has a theme.  Such as this Vintage Fashion altered book….which happens to be the first round robin altered book swap I ever participated in.  Too bad postage costs have skyrocketed since then.

vintage fashion altered book | Halle's Hobbies

 After completing a few themed altered books, I began creating pages randomly with no theme. Just a place to play and be creative. Somewhere along the line I started calling my “no theme” altered books, art journals. It seemed easier or perhaps more logical way to describe them once I heard more about art journals.

For me, I feel an art journal can be comprised of any substrate. Plain or scrapbook paper, card stock, bound journal, moleskin, cardboard. You name it…it’s likely been tried…as well as, you guessed it….published books. This causes the dreaded crossover…well, is it an art journal or an altered book? I feel as if I’m talking in circles.

I think what it comes down to is personal preference. It is art after all. You can call it whatever you want. We all define what we think is art in very different ways. You aren’t going to please everyone and you shouldn’t try. Art is an expression of yourself. There are no hard and fast rules…which is why I got interested in altered art 11 years ago.

So there you have it…my opinion on the difference between an altered book and an art journal. What is your take on this subject? Do you agree or have another ideas? I’d love to hear your opinions.

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Acrylic pouring

Ever heard of acrylic pours? I hadn’t until a couple months ago. I watched endless streams of YouTube videos on the process. It looked like something I could totally get into given time, space and willingness to get messy. Two out of three aren’t bad.

I did manage to eek out some space to at the very least make due so I could try this out.

My very first attempt I used red, orange, yellow and white with Golden polymer gloss medium. Some videos use silcone or WD-40 in the mix as well but I am not a fan of using any sort of aerosol in the house especially in my minimally ventilated basement. acrylic pour

I’m pouring onto a previously used canvas board that I coated with gesso. I put a bit of white paint around the edges to hopefully assist with the paint moving all the way out to the edges.

acrylic pour

I did what is called a dirty pour. You dump each of the premixed paints into the pour cup in alternating fashion. I really had no idea what I was doing so I just poured them as I felt like at the moment. I then turned the canvas board upside down over the cup and flipped the whole works over. Flip cup technique OR dirty flip cup technique as some have coined.

acrylic pour

I was amazed at what happened. The colors mixed and migrated. Color bubbled up from underneath.

acrylic pour

It was mesmerizing. Even the paint that flowed off the edge was beautiful.

acrylic pour

These colors made me think of agates…especially Lake Superior agates.

acrylic pour

When I moved the canvas to allow it to dry I ended up losing some of the magic. I fear the secondary location wasn’t completely level so more paint rolled over the edge than I had wanted.

acrylic pour

Here is the end result. A little more pink than I’d hoped but interesting none the less.

I’ve created several more and even took a video of part of the process on one attempt. I’m pretty sure its my favorite end result. It’s so darn fun. I’m experimenting with cheaper pouring medium. I’ve only had one big failure and guess what!?  I just did another pour straight over the top of it.

More to come…I promise.

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Remember the summer

I’m back from vacation! It was wonderful…mini-me and I had a great time. Now that I’m caught up on laundry and all the other not so fun stuff once you get back home, I wanted to get creative again.remember the summer

I dug into my scrap bucket for inspiration. The background paper started out lavender…some distress paints did the trick on toning that right down.

I’ve been very drawn to blue/orange combo lately. It’s bold and exciting. remember the summer

The tickets attached to the page are from a family road trip in the early 1980’s with my parents. Amazing that mom still had those little bits squirreled away in a box of memories for so many years. The colors fit perfectly and cemented the direction I was headed with this page.remember the summer

The tangible bits of ephemera brought the memories alive within my head. I knew I had to use them and remind myself to remember that summer.

Linking up with Art Journal Journey for Summertime Love

Art Journal Journey

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Fun this summer

After a long day of landscaping…more on that in another post….something fun was in order.

fun this summer

I started with a sheet of page protector paper…random colors and stamps included. Note the date and circle stamping in the upper left. I was thinking fun so sunny, bright colors came to mind. I used my favorite tools to add this much needed color…my fingers! If I’m creating, I’m seldom without paint on my hands.

fun this summer

I used watered down paints on scrapbook paper to give life to this ice cream cone, using foam tape to give the scoop some dimension. I wasn’t sure I even liked this page last night I figured I’d be changing things up this morning.

Nope…after a good nights sleep, I like it! All that was left was to add the sentiment this morning.

Linking up with Art Journal Journey for Summertime Love

Art Journal Journey

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