Pulled in too many directions

Wow, there are so many things I want to do and so little time to do it. I bet you know the feeling. I am the proverbial jack of all trades, and master of none. I want to paint, do collage, draw, and, although I said I was "retired" from clay, I still have an urge to create sculptures. (I just may do some Halloween ones soon).

I don't know if it's my attention deficit that gets in my way, but here's an average day for me.

• sponge paint paper for collage
• scan different images
• draw images and scan
• manipulate images in photoshop
• look at other artist's work
• make posters
• market my art
• fine tune skills in Illustrator (that's something I just started, although I've taken classes this is a tough program for me to learn)
• bid on jobs at Elance and then get cold feet when someone starts acting interested
• twitter my art
• facebook my art
• renew work or add new art work to etsy
• make cards

This would all be great if I were set in my style of artwork, everything would mesh and look unified and cohesive.

But, here are some of the things I'm working on,,

• bubble houses
• retro images
• kids alphabet
• kids pictures with my granddaughter
• dark dreams imagery (posters and prints)
• manipulated images of my art dolls
• inspirational images for prints and posters
• rainbow, glittery peace signs and posters

I love doing it all, but you can't find ME in any of it. I want to become an artist with that "style" that you can see in all of their work. This is very difficult for me to attain. I think I have a "wait if" attitude,,for instance,,what if I do it this way but the other way is better. What if I work on primitive folkart style and no one likes it. What if I am on to something here but I better do the other stuff too. Get my drift?

To thine own self be true is something I believe in but I don't know how to do it. I plod along daily making art but it is off on so many levels and tangents that I just don't know how to find my style.

Here are a few artists whose style is distinct in every aspect of their work..

Art by Erin She creates mixed media and spiritual art. I love her style. It is apparent in each thing she does. She is true to herself. How did she get there? That's what I need to find out. I'm older than she is for sure, but still, I haven't found it.

Another artist who's style is distinct is Little Sonrisa Her characters all look related, her backgrounds and style is definitely her own. She has achieved what I'm trying to find.

As my brain continues to bounce around in pinball fashion, maybe someone out there can give me a word of advice. It's tiring to me to continue in this way. In order for me to achieve some kind of success in my art I want to find my style yet I'm wandering around in a maze of ideas.

The journey continues.

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Mixed Media Collage tutorial

Have you ever started a painting just to realize half way through that it isn't going in the direction that you wanted it to go. I think it happens to us all. Or have you ever found an old painting at a garage sale or in the basement where the subject matter isn't that great but the canvas is pretty nice?

Well, if that's the case, you will love this little tutorial on what to do to reuse those canvases and create an interesting collage.

You'll need an old paint brush, some decoupage, the canvas, and papers.

The first step is to cover the canvas in a generous amount of decoupage. Use your fingers or an old brush and cover it completely.
Next, tear up old newspapers, tissue papers, pages from books and recycled papers and start to arrange them on the canvas. I let this step dry and then I come back and cover the papers in another coat of decoupage. After both of those steps are thoroughly dry you can sand down some of the rougher spots. It's not necessary, just a choice as collage and mixed media need that texture.

Your canvas is ready to paint.
I use brushes and my fingers to apply an array of colors. If you wold like some of the papers underneath to show up, just put a light coat of paint around the edges, smear a little across. Have fun and don't worry about the outcome! I even added glitter to this collage. I always paint the sides of the canvas. Now it's ready to hang.

Spring Giveaway

I'm ready to have a spring giveaway, so let me get started.

• Click on the link for my etsy pages.
• ETSY PAGES
• Take a look at my prints and posters. Any poster or print for $10 or less.
  
• See which one you like
• Come back to my blog and leave a comment telling me which one you like (either by the title or leave a link
  
• On May 8th I will randomly pick a winner.
• This contest is open to anyone, anywhere.

If you can't leave a comment, then send me a note at garritygal@yahoo.com and I'll place the comment on my blog.

There are over 100 images to pick from and I'll be adding more. All of the 5 by 7s come with a mat. Anything larger than that does not. I am really trying to expose everyone to my work, so please let me know what you think! Have fun and let the contest begin!!

Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles

I've been having a great time adding bubbles, sparkles, stars and swirls to my images. These prints look dreamy now. This is great art to add to a child's room.

If you are interested you can go to my etsy account where I am having a 20% sale. The coupon code is G1234.

Here are some images you will find...

Flowers and bubbles!

Yes, these are happy little peeps.



Doesn't this house look sweet and dreamy?

Rest and Relaxation

I'm writing this post from up in Traverse City, where I'll be for a few more days with my sister.

We are staying in a beautiful new hotel called Cambria Suites. We've only been here two days and all ready we have gone to the casino, hiked,seen a coyote and an eagle, eaten in three different restaurants, shopped, eaten fudge and ice cream, played on the beach (going swimming tomorrow), found petosky stones, watched a couple sunsets, taken hundreds of pictures, had a picnic in the wilderness and worked out in the gym.

The cherry festival is a week away and visitors have started to roll into town, making the main drag a little crowded. But, my sister and I love the woods so much, that we left this morning at 10 am to go exploring and didn't get back into town till after 7 pm. It was perfect planning on her part to get out of town before the big festivities begin. I don't enjoy big crowds any more; wandering around the woods or beach combing is more interesting to me now.

Tomorrow we are going to mission point light house and are going to do some wine tasting. I'm hoping the weather will warm up a tad, so that I can go swimming. It was 62 degrees today and very windy.

I've wandered around a few stores and have gotten motivated by some of the artwork I've seen. This is a good reason to get away, I get rejuvenated! This area of Michigan is full of art galleries and my sister and I are planning to visit a few within the next few days.

When I get back to home and work, I'll be posting pictures of my trip, working on some new projects and picking the winner of my giveaway! Stay tuned.

Winner of the poster contest

Dawn, who posted "GG69
My niece would love, love, love it!! It was hard to choose!!" is my winner. I went to Random.org, put 1 through 21 into the generator and #4 came up. Dawn was the fourth person to post a comment. Email me Dawn at garritygal@yahoo.com so I can get the name you'd like on it and your address and ship it to you right away!

I've been working on some interesting art work and will have another contest soon. Till then I look forward to posting more interesting art work and links to interesting websites.

Kindred Art Spirits

Mary Ann and I

On Thursday I met my friend Mary Ann at her house, loaded up her car with paints and canvas, watched her hug her husband goodbye and the two of us headed up north to her cottage in the center of Michigan where we brainstormed, painted, read, ate, laughed and shopped. It was exactly what I needed to refresh myself before the busiest time of year starts for me.

I'll be going back to my before and after school program and classes will be starting soon. With fall comes more orders and more opportunities to sell. I returned from my trip with 25 painted canvases and a lot more ideas.

I have to admit I did not take any clay with me and there were times when I wished I would have, but I really wanted to do collage while I was away, so I left the clay behind. However, I'm planning on embellishing some of the canvases with clay pieces; I'm just not sure with what yet.

Here are some pictures of my trip..

This is the beginning stages of an altered collaged book

I will put clay on this

Brand new canvas waiting to be painted

Painted canvases dry on newspapers

Big kitchen table to work at

Even though this was a clear night

the weather was cool and rainy.

We drove through the countryside so I could take pictures

We found time to cook!


The beginning of a collage

After spending the weekend in a frenzied art-a-thon we vowed that we would get together more often during the year to inspire and motivate each other to paint and create. We really work well together, bouncing ideas off of each other, instructing one another in different techniques and challenging each other to explore art further than we ever have.

I admire Mary Ann's quiet determination as she puts together her art, patiently taking hours to complete one canvas. Each step she takes is deliberate and thought out. Mary Ann loves my free spirited approach to making a collage or painting a canvas. My brush flits and swirls across the canvas as I quickly fill the white spaces with rainbows of colors.

Mary Ann and I wish we could have a studio where we could meet each day, to paint and laugh, to listen to Enya and Coldplay and to drink hot tea in English tea cups. Until then though, I'm going to try hard to keep making art in my own little world, cause that's when I'm happiest and feel complete.

All About Crafts

In my ongoing attempt to be inspired, I've found some sites I love to visit.

The first site is called Sell Your Crafts. It has a lot of articles about craft shows, where to sell, how to price your crafts, trends, inspirational stories and projects.

Here's a link..

Another site I visit often is called Country Sampler. You may have read the magazine in the past. The site is full of decorating ideas, lots of great pictures and a community forum. When I was in Ohio and West Virginia I noticed a lot of country shops. I've always liked country, so I'm going to re-decorate my kitchen.

Country Sampler

Craft Test Dummies is a fun-packed blog full of tutorials, pictures and information with a wide variety of easy to advanced craft projects. I noticed they recently had a giveaway, so make sure to check it out.

I really like this blog called Art Dolls, A journey in Fiber. The artist's name is Judi Wellnitz and it's obvious she is a dedicated artist and blogger. She has wonderful altered art, trading cards, and collage. She also works with polymer clay. Once I was on her site, I found it hard to leave!
(If you visit her, make sure you don't forget about me!)

Finally, my role model of a blog is Polymeri Online. This blog is jam packed full of information on everything and anything that has to do with polymer clay. She has featured every polymer clay artist I've ever heard of (including a link to me!). The author of this blog is Iris Mishly. She creates colorful jewelry, barrettes, beads and decorations. Check out her flicker pages and be ready to be inspired.

Cake Toppers

Here is a cake topper I just mailed out. I have decided that I am going to stop making the toppers. I've been making them for 7 or 8 years and I'm tired of it. I have a few more to make for a couple of customers, but when I'm finished with them, I won't be making anymore.

I will have more time to be creative with my clay and painting and won't feel bogged down with the orders. I knew it was time to move on when I would rather wash dishes or mop the floor than make a cake topper.

I'm going to concentrate on primitive one of a kind dolls and just have fun creating different art work. I also have to build up inventory for the fall when my potential to make money is at it's greatest. I've been signing up for the best shows in the area and, hopefully, will be accepted.

In the past I've written about re-inventing myself and I feel that this is a good step for me to take. I have always admired artists who stop doing what they are good at and then start creating something totally different (and just as good.) It's good to know when to make that change.

Henry David Thoreau:

Things do not change, we change.

Day of Art

Along with making some clay toppers today, I had a creative episode all afternoon. I recently purchased 64 canvases from Dick Blick and have been anxious to start painting.

Here are a few things I finished today. They are simple and fun, something for a child's room, bathroom, or studio.

I also joined a very inspirational group on flickr called The Altered Art Appreciation Society.

Check it out if you like Artists Trading Cards, Altered art, collage, shrines, etc.

Here are some things I did today.


This little angel is inside a shadow box that can be opened..(above picture)..I really enjoyed making this. I got the box at the dollar store.




This is a paper mache book. When you open it, there is an angel inside.












Here is a little painting I did. I think it's 3" by 3". It's a cute, happy picture.





This heart picture is 3 by 5. I love hearts, and the colors pink and green. ( I bet you guessed that already!)




Here's one final picture. It's the beginning of a collage. So far, I've applied paint, tissue and paper. Don't know where it's going yet. But the process is fun.




Spent the day creating art and listening to The Cure, Tears for Fears, The Smiths, and other 80's bands. Now I'm off to meet my boyfriend for dinner at a Sushi Restaurant (I'll be ordering Chicken!) It's been a perfect day!