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Showing posts from September, 2016

When Life Gives You Lemons... UM, I don't like Lemonade!

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Have you ever heard the chirpy little saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". I've always found that saying to be rather annoying... perhaps it's because I happen to strongly dislike lemonade!    Plus it the saying makes it sound like it's just sooo easy to just turn your lemons into lemonade.  Well I don't have the right tools, I don't like drinking lemonade (even with tea or fruit flavors in it!), and I think the whole saying downplays the real-life drama and frustrations that come with receiving lemons instead of whatever you thought you were supposed to receive! SO I've decided that when life gives you lemons, you need to take a few moments (if possible) and re-imagine what those lemons could actually be! When I am stuck, I've found it best to let my mind think about the possibilities, and then augment my mind's processes with some good, old-fashioned research.  I'll look at Pinterest, my favorite blogs, my favorite F

How Do You Get Focused To Create Your Art?

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I don't know about you, but there are MANY times when I struggle to create art. Not because I lack inspiration, but because I am usually very limited on time. And when I do sneak a few minutes to create art, I find myself swept away by business needs (updating my blog, Facebook, Instagram etc, or doing taxes and other office work), or I find a million other things in my studio that keep me busy but also keep me from actually creating art (like cleaning up the messes that I have previously left, or playing with new art supplies).   But then I visited a friend's house  and she has a lovely ceremony she does when she starts art or any endeavor that is creative - she creates an art alter (complete with candles and incense) and invites her muse to join her.  I LOVE that idea!!  (thank you Jacquie Calladine , for providing such wonderful inspiration!)     So I created my own little art alter.  Mine has bits of nature found on walks, bits of the art I've worked on, and bits

Working On New Resin Sculptures

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I have to admit, I'm rather liking the resin and silk sculptures!!    Unfortunately, since I have a small studio, that means that I'm not getting much painting done (sigh).   But my sculptures are coming along nicely. I have one that is twice reclaimed (and it's name will probably reflect that).  I've been experimenting with how to create interesting curves with it.  It started off as reclaimed silk which I then painted a partial flower upon using the Serti method.  I decided I didn't like it and I removed it from the canvas (which took some doing since it was adhered with matte medium), and now it's becoming a flower sculpture!  I have a transparent one with pink and blue streaks, that started off as a large, sculptural bowl.... but it's larger size combined with a hot car ride to a local show - caused it too droop (something it wasn't supposed to be able to do, according to the manufacturers of the resin!).  I've been adding additional resin

Update To Testing Jacquard's New Water-based Resist

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Jacquard's Water- based resist I was very excited to test out Jacquard's new Water-based Resist for silk painting.  I've used a variety of resists and each has their pluses and minuses... and this new resist is no different. On the plus side: It's premixed and already at a good consistency for applying with an applicator bottle.  It drys fairly rapidly It repels dye very well Dye painted on top of the line doesn't soak through Once dried it can't be scrubbed away It is relatively inexpensive and easy to get a hold of (Dharma Trading carries it - as does at least one local store) Dye can be added to it to tint the resist But there are some issues that I am having some challenges with!  So to be fair, on the negative side: It doesn't always flow out of the applicator nicely and I often get bigger globs (meaning I have a hard time getting nice, crisp edges on my lines!) Along with coming out of the applicator unevenly, it also tends to