The Creative Musings of JBaskArts

Outside the box

This encaustic collage is the first in a new series.  The series will be called "outside the box - encaustic collage"  I have this thing for boxes of all sizes and I just so happen to have quite the collection of cigar boxes.  Using some of the distressing techniques I learned in Keith's class, I beat up the  cigar box, took off the lid  and decided that I wanted to work on the outside instead of the inside.  I guess it could be called an "altered"  encaustic cigar box collage, but I didn't want the focus on the box  and besides, do we need another thing that's altered?  So a new series is born.  This piece is titled - Three.  It would be great if you would leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  xo

The mood of the day...

It is Tuesday, Election day and my girl's are home!  Need I say more?!?  I don't remember having so many days off when I was a wee one! - I digress...  I thought it appropriate to post a picture of a piece I recently finished, which is also apropos...

 

 

That's it, that's all!!  How's that for being a smart butt  :)

xo

 

Stormville Flea Market

Oh the fun we had!!!  Yesterday Billie, Ann and I went to the Stormville Flea Market.  It was the last one for the year, so naturally we had to go - no matter what!  The weather started out promising, but towards the middle of the day the wind picked up and it was cold.  I was visibly shivering!!  Ugh!  Our partner in crime (Pam) couldn't be with us, so our other friend Ann stepped in to fill the void :)  We missed you Pam.

So here are some of my goodies, (must leave some things a surprise)... I know, I'm a stinka!

xo

Open Heart

It is wet and gloomy here in the Hudson Valley, much to my dismay, and I have been "under the weather" in one form or another for the past few weeks.  With that said, I have managed to make time at my work bench, playing with some of the new technique's I learned in Keith LoBue's class.  So here is my show and tell -  "Open Heart" - Assemblage Neck piece.  This piece was a challenge in the most positive way and I really like the way it came out.

Ps. Meet Doris my new dress form - she is so perfect in her stained glory!  I will share the story behind this wonderful find another time :)

xo

Down the rabbit hole

 

I am back from a wonderful artist retreat, Art-Is-You.  This years theme was Alice in Wonderland, which is apropos for how I am feeling since returning home.  The weekend was a dizzying amount of creativity, fun and connecting with old and new friends.  I didn't manage to take any pictures, but there are a boat load of them floating around facebook and blogland.
Speaking of blogland, you must pop over to bff's blog and read about our interesting dinner out and hilarious pictures.  Why is it that the things I hate the most (like people singing to me in restaurants) seem to always happen to me?  Did I mention that I really hate for people to sing Happy Birthday to me in restaurant's?  Joan, I owe you one. Lol

The highlight and dream for me was taking classes with Keith LoBue.  Keith is the most warm, engaging, funny (the list goes on) teacher I have ever had!  We learned so much, things that will really make my world of creating go to a different level!  I can't wait to get to work...

Keith will be teaching again next year at Art-Is.  If you haven't taken a class with him, you should make it your business to do so.  I will be there with bells on!  Rumor has it that Michael DeMeng will also be teaching next year.  FINALLY!  The east coast gets to share in some of the art wealth!

I'll be back to show you what I've been working on this past month.

xo

Bottle Cap Goodness

It's no secret that I have a thing for bottle caps.  Not sure what it is...but I like working with them.  A few weeks ago I was preparing for a show and making tons--I mean tons, of bottle cap charms for necklaces and pins.  My daughter asked if I would make her a special necklace for her birthday with the Wizard of Oz bottle cap charms I had just made.  It took me a while to get the necklace done for her, but here it is...
It's a fun piece and so suited for a teenage girl.  By the way, she loves it - Yay :)

A glimpse into my world

I finally have the courage to show you what my studio looks like...well not the whole studio, there is a whole other room that I am presently trying to organize-ugh!  This is my inner sanctum where the magic happens...
The work bench/desk/everything table
Bottles of baubles... My library card file cabinet in which I was trying to clean up and my husband so graciously moved to this spot and I managed to get that drawer stuck! UGH!
Bead storage...
View above my work bench...
The other work bench and more beads...
  vintage bottle collection and found object storage...
Display shelves...
Heart shaped shell my daughters brought home from the beach.

So there you have it...a glimpse into my world!
xo

ps. One of my girls suggested that I have the studio painted.  What a great idea! ,I exclaim--then the reality hit that the entire place would  have to be cleaned out--I think I can live with the yucky pink color for now!  :)

Toodles

New directions in metal

The muse has struck and I am very excited to be challenging myself again.  I can say without reservation, that working with metals is my true passion!!  The process of seeing a design come to life - all the steps that are involved give me such a feeling of satisfaction and awe, even trouble shooting and changing gears is satisfying.

I thought I would give you a look at some of the pendants that  are in the final stages of completion...
xo

Art Walk 2009

What a perfect day we had for the Pine Bush Art Tour!  Blue skies and gentle breezes sum up the weather...Perfection!  Canace aka bff, her daughter Bri and I all made sales and I must say, our displays looked fabulous...    Here are a few pictures...

Here is part of bff's display.  The assemblage in the center is called "Summer of" click on the photo to see more details.  She does amazing assemblages and this one is no exception!

 

Here is part of Bri's display.  Her beaded bracelets are to die for and her spider necklaces were all the rage!

 

Here is my set up... there was a great deal of interest in my bottle cap pins and necklaces.

 

My heart pins were kind of popular too...

 

We all got lots of good feedback and made great connections with other artist too.  Fun was had by all!

xo

Fun at the aquarium

We had such a fun day yesterday at the Maritime Aquarium.  Long drive but well worth the trip!  I took over fifty pictures, but I will only share a few of my favorites... Above is of one of the seals posing for the cameras during their feeding time.  So cute!

  The tanks with artifacts from Africa, caught my attention :)

There was a gallery with several tanks of frogs and they all looked so waxy and fake, but really cool.

 

 

 

The jelly fish are for you bff! :)  There were also African Penguins that were so adorable.  I didn't get a picture because we had to go outside to see them and we were in the middle of a monsoon!  Anybody else feel like mushrooms are going to start growing on you? Now there's a visual...eek!

Also not pictured was the simulated Dolphin ride.  There was a 4 minute movie with the Dolphin's swimming and talking, and our seats moved to the motion of them swimming and jumping. That was fun and I giggled a lot :)

So there you have it, fun was had by all and we were pleasantly exhausted after our day at the aquarium.

xo

PS. Next time I will share with you some of the new pieces of jewelry I have been working on -- pinky promise!