MERMAID IN A BOX

As you already know if you visit my blog on a regular basis, the Paper Whimsy Art Group is among my very favorites as they always seem to tempt me with unusual projects that challenge me to stretch myself as an artist, to learn and grow. This weekend I finished my latest of their projects on which I worked for days and days and days. The participants are each creating a Mermaid In A Box, and we are to create a story to explain her form and the elements we used in her shadowbox.

My Mermaid is named Pasha, and I imagine her as the infant daughter of the Greek God of the Seas, Posiodon. I started with a 5 x 7 shadowbox which caught my eye because the glass is at the back of the frame instead of the front which is the usual form of shadowboxes. This gave me the option of suspending my mermaid in front of her glass protected background so that she moves and looks like she is swimming through the waves. I used one of my favorite Paper Whimsy images of an adorable little girl for Pasha's upper body. Her tail I fashioned from clay onto which I stamped a spiral pattern and then colored with Pearl Ex Powder. Her wild hair is felt curliques, and tucked under her arm is her tiny mermaid doll (a charm). Gold seashells and starfish lie below her on the ocean floor as she swims toward her father who has his magical trident in hand.

I fell in love with her during the creative process and will be a little sad to send her to her new Paper Whimsy owner, when the partners are announced. Of course, that sadness will be completely offset by the joy of receiving from another Paper Whimsy participant their Mermaid in a Box. The artists in the group are truly an amazingly talented group, so I have no doubt I will love the one I will receive.

May's 8 x8 Tip In Pages

My partner for this month's tip in pages with the AlteredArts Group is Gina Wise, who is a dear and cherished art friend of mine, so, of course, creating her pages was a double pleasure for me. Her theme is Bible Stories or Verses, and I chose one of my favorite Old Testatment stories. . . Joseph and his coat of many colors.
Working on white cardstock, I stamped layers and layers in shades of brown, dark green and black to coordinate with nubby black paper and green toned images of Joseph's story. I created a multicolored coat from cardstock and impressed an Egyptian image into air dryed clay colored with PearlEx Powder.
Gina has received the pages and assures me she likes them, so I am a happy girl.

Springtime Gothic Arch in Fabric

Near the top of the list of reasons why I love being a member of the Paper Whimsey Artists Group is their unusually creative swap/mingle challenges. These prompt me to work in forms and with materials which I might not otherwise explore. That was cetainly true with the Fairy Slippers Project, which I recently featured here on the blog and which got me to use fabric and beads. I carried that a step further by completing another fabric challenge this week: a Springtime Gothic Arch and Charm. Guidelines were to use fabric as the background for a springtime theme and hand make a charm to attach to the arch. The fabric jumped right off the store shelf and into my arms because I loved the vivid, vivid colors and images on black. While I know that black is not a color usually associated with spring, it works for me because it represents the departure of the darkness of winter and the arrival of the vivid light of spring. My charm is a minature version of the clay love buds with which I've been having so much fun of late.

The Fairy Slippers Project

The Paper Whimsy Group hosts so many fantastic projects, all of which challenge me to try new techniques and continue to grow as an artist. That has certainly been the case with their Fairy Slippers Project hosted by Carol Stocker. Because I'm not as comfortable working with fabric as I am with paper, sewing the tiny 3 inch long slippers pushed me a bit, but after a few bungled tries I managed to stitch my black velvet slippers successfully. I then added shiny red and gold beads, so close together that little of the velvet is left exposed. To say I was crosseyed for days from all that intricate beading is absolutely accurate.
The next stage of the project was to create a display box, etc. to house the little wonders. I worked with a wooden frame which I painted black and to which I attached a minature treasure chest I had created. I stamped and embossed in gold a ship's wheel and anchor, and hidden in my supply stash I found an old cabinet card of a young boy to which I added wings and a pirate's hat.
My slippers are for Moni the Pirate Fairy, a mischevious little guy who lives in the billowing sails of a pirate ship and has become fabulously wealthy from his share of the pirates' treasures.

Six Word Memoir

Can you tell your life story in 6 words? That is the challenge posed to me by the fabulous Carol Stocker, and quite a challenge it turned out to be. Carol had been challenged by the equally fabulous Theresa Martin, and this thought provoking little exercise is appearing on a number of the blogs which I visit frequently, so many in fact that I'm not able to pass the challenge on, as suggested, because all my blog buddies have already been challenged and have posted their six word life stories. After MUCH thought, here's mine.

EVERY DAY I LEARNED SOMETHING NEW.

Those words encapsulate "why" I think we're all here on planet earth and "what" we are supposed to be doing throughout our lives. The words also reflect my greatest joy.

I chose the spiral as my visual representation of the words as that ancient form symbolizes to me the unending cycle of learning and self growth.

Love Pods

One of my favorite things as a child was playing with clay. If no clay was available, mud worked pretty well. Evidently whatever hooked me on that creative medium years ago is still alive and well because I've had great fun working with Sculpty recently. I'm creating Love Pods, minature faces enfolded in the petals of a flower pod. I love the feel of the Sculpty in my hands, being able to shape and fashion it, applying pearly powders, popping it in the toaster oven and, viola, a cute little pod is born.

White Quilties and White Bradford Pear Trees

Joy! Joy! Springtime has FINALLY returned to the Bluegrass State. Outside my art room window the row of Bradford Pear tress which line the road up the hill to my home are in full and glorious bloom. Oh my goodness! A beautiful sight for tired by winter eyes.

The trees remind me of the fabric art pieces I created for Lenna Andrews' White Quilties Swap. If you're interested you can check out all the entries at www.creativeswaps.blogspot.com. Fabric in not a medium in which I frequently work, but these quilties were great fun to create, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.