100 Illustrations!

100 Illustrations, 2011

"World on a String" & "Future Paleontologist"

It's heeeere! I'm thrilled to have a copy of the first annual 100 Illustrations in my hot little hands (ok, decorative book holder ;) . . . . and grateful for the chance to share my excitement with you here.

Thank you to the publisher (and brainchild of the operation) Diana Evans for sharing her passion for art and artists in this way; I'm honored to be a part of this wonderful book and thank you once again for the opportunity.

Kristin xo

Six!

"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons."

- Author Unknown

Happy Birthday Baby!

Mama xo

Because You Went Away

"Because You Went Away"

12 x 12 Mixed Media Collage

(Images from Retro Cafe Art)

I believe that art is magical. Magical because even when you don't intend (or are even aware) of what you may be creating, a story is being told. A story that only you can tell. And for me, when I get out of my own way and just allow the story to unfold, I find that there are many lessons to be learned.

Case in point: I've had a hard week. In moments of sadness, I went into my studio and tried to play. Play with paint, play with a new song book (found in the post below) and yesterday, I played with a background that I'd made a while back with Shiva Paintstiks. I sat down without knowing what to do and just cut and pasted. I played with the idea of using transparencies and and played with new collage sheets that I just received from Retro Cafe Art, but most of all, I just played without thinking.

When I looked up, I realized that I had created something that came from deep within. Even though I went into the studio to get away from it all, it all came back to me in the form of this collage. The text (which is actually a portion of a poem by Ella Darling Peed) reads, "With all these things / it's not a home / Because you went away." 

Without getting all sappy on you, I will say that this is about our family cat that we lost Monday. She was 17 years old. She was in a lot of pain, but in the moments just before she took her last breath, she started to purr. That made me feel better. . . 

Kristin xo

If You're Anything Like Me . . .

Vintage Book of Sheet Music, circa 1919

So I've started a new project. I think. You see, if you're anything like me, you're somewhat of a hoarder. Old pictures, vintage books, wallpaper, ledger pages, love notes, random broken pieces of well, anything that may be paramount to the success of some future art project . . . sound familiar? Well, if you're like me, then you also don't get around to actually using most of it. Fears of "ruining" something special often stops me from ever picking it up again once it makes it through the front door. . . 

Well, no longer. I. am. determined. to breathe new life into some of these things I have lying around and give them the attention they deserve. With that in mind, I've started altering a book of vintage sheet music just to see what happens. No preconceived notions, no calculated plan of completion, just fun. A place to go when I have nothing up my sleeves, but I wanna art. This is what I've done so far:

I separated the book into 10 sections. Yes, with staples (gasp!) 

But in my defense, at least I'm getting somewhere fast. . .

And this is where I left it. The beginnings of something. What, I'm not quite sure. 

But the first layer is down, ready and waiting for our next play date.

(Rocking Horse image from The Graphics Fairy)

Wish me luck. Fingers crossed, I will actually come back to it soon. I'll let you know what happens when I do . . .

Kristin xo

SPA: Pierrot

"Tears of a Clown"

4 x 6 Postcard

I've been wanting to experiment with "paintovers"for a while now and this week's theme - Pierrot - over at Sunday Postcard Art gave me the perfect opportunity to do so. My goal was to come up with a way to "paint" over an existing image from a magazine or catalogue in order to create a stylized version of the original. I also wanted to challenge myself to work fast and free - and hopefully become a little less cautious with my art in the process . . . Since this was new to me, I took pictures as I went. Wanna see? 

Original image from the new Macy's Fall catalogue

For a distressed look, I removed some of the ink with nail polish remover before sealing 

the image with clear Gesso. I then backed it onto watercolor paper for strength.

Now here's the tricky part: To challenge myself even further, 

I used only wax crayons (Manley) and my finger to blend them.

Final details include the use of pencil, charcoal and Hallmark's B & W sticky ribbons to complete the background.

Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out Sunday Postcard Art for more Pierrot pieces this week. I for one can not wait . . .

Kristin xo

Hello, Mojo!

"Mother is Out"

6 x 8 Altered Vintage Golden Book Cover

(Images from Lisa's Altered Art)

Hello, Mojo!

Thanks for coming back. Now, will you please stop hogging all the iced coffee?

Kristin xo

Dear Mojo . . .

(When we last met)

Dear Mojo,

I miss you. To be honest, I feel it rather unkind of you to have left without so much as an air kiss goodbye. No words, no warning, not even a note left under the pillow . . . Where did you go? One day we were playing with our favorite crayons together happily creating a color-blocked background for, well, something and the next . . . nothing, nada. Not one thing. Mojo, please come back. I promise to let you play with anything you want . . . and I'll even let you drink all my iced coffee . . . just come back to me. I'll be the one sitting in the studio with a clean apron . . . waiting . . ..

Kristin xo