The Blogland Tour!

Leann at The Old Parsonage recently invited me to participate in a blog tour where you answer several questions and encourage other bloggers to do the same.(Check out her replies HERE) I was delighted to join, partly because I so enjoy Leann's blog! She's a gifted stamping artist and often shows her cards and I love it when she shares her delicious recipes! She's a creative homemaker who loves her "Fireman and his Flame," "Flyboy" and Mr. OP. But she's also a busy public relations professional. I loved it when she was working on an exhibit related to Grace Kelly.

But one of the things that most delights me about Leann is her passion for Christmas. She starts her Christmas prep in July and recently wrote about starting to design her cards. She'll keep us on track every month from now on -- and while I don't always do as she is, I find later that I wish I had kept to her schedule!

Thanks for including me!

These are the questions Leann asked me to answer:

What am I working on: Creatively, I am currently I'm working on several mixed media projects, including some small canvases and cards to add to my inventory.

I sell some at a local shop and others at year-end shows, so I'm trying to get a head start. I'm also working on some gelli-printing and painted deli-pages to use in my work, along with some paper-clay embellishments. And, work has started on things for swaps with Karla at Karla's Cottage and Joanne Huffman at adlibitum. When this post goes live, I will be visiting friends in Ohio and working with the wonderful sixth-grade granddaughter on some fun creativity projects.

Outside of my art projects, I am trying to read as many books as I can this year (not surprisingly, many are mysteries or have a Paris or London focus to them!). I've been participating in the Paris In July blog event -- it's one of my favorite cities! And I'm trying bit by bit to get my house (namely the basement and all the purging required!) in order. That, and teaching my cat Lizzie how to walk on a leash, should occupy me for the better part of my life!

How does my work differ from others of this genre: Good question. The art first -- I tend to use lots of elements that others use when making cards or canvases -- vintage images and embellishments. But I try to put my own spin on them, often using ribbon or trims on the cards. I'm also using more of my own hand-created papers.

 

I collect vintage postcards and often use the art in my work. When it comes to painting I am a rank beginner and still trying to find my style. I think I will be trying for a very long time!

When it comes to writing my blog -- well, I just sit down and do it! My blog is a little bit of everything -- art, travel, wine tasting, family, musings. Sometimes the ideas are falling out of my head (I have about eight posts in draft form right now) and sometimes life gets in the way! Key events -- family occasions, like Kevin's June wedding or celebrations tend to find a spot on the Gypsy.

But so do vacations. It's been a good road trip year, with visits to Massachusetts, Niagara Falls, Indiana and the lake with more to come!

And of course you'll find periodic cooking and wine tasting posts on the Gypsy!

I tend to use a lot of photos in my posts with fewer words, but sometimes I get carried away by the topic and I do know how to go on a bit! I have a second book blog, Chopsticks and String, but it has been neglected for so long, I'm rethinking whether it should be there at all!

How do I write or create what I do? I'm a bit of all over the map. My mixed media preferences mirror themselves in my mixed media life -- a little bit of everything. With the gelli prints and handpainted papers, I tend to use deli paper, ever since Kari McKnight Holbrook and Jacqueline Sullivan introduced me to their methods. While I'll still use scrapbooking papers and others I salvage, I really enjoy incorporating more of my own into my work. 

I don't tend to work on a regular schedule. My life is too mixed media for that! I work best at my cottage in Northern Michigan when I can be on the porch -- a good spot for being messy! (Although this summer it has been a little too cold and/or windy to work well on the porch with small bits of cut paper!) At home I do the messy things in the kitchen; the rest is a bit more portable. 

As for writing, I tend to do that now at the computer, though I might make written notes, especially for the poetry. I write one poetry book a year for my partner Rick -- it's sort of a year book with poems focusing on key events we've experienced over the past 12 months.

I've recently started blogging on the Habitation e-zine site, several times a year. It's fun to share ideas and experience there, too -- like a living wreath-making adventure at a nearby farm/garden.

How does my writing/creating process work: Well, that's all over the map, too! Sometimes I just have to put the stuff in  front of me and off I go. Other times, there is a lot of thinking and "auditioning" materials with each other to see how they'll work. In an online Claudine Hellmuth class, she advised to leave your work set up and return to it later to see if you really liked where you placed things. Sometimes I'm certain enough I don't need to do that but other times, that's really saved my work from being OK to being "Wow!"

And I love taking classes -- I learn a lot and have such fun creating in community.

I tend to gather the things I think I'll need -- the right adhesives, papers, embellishments, canvas -- often working in a color scheme of some sort. Then I just start painting or cutting, moving things about. Sometimes the thinking takes the most time. I've tried to time certain processes -- how long does it take to do a card or a piece. I can get some reliable work-time estimates, but the thinking time is a little more difficult to nail. 

I tend to work best under pressure. I suspect this comes from more than 30 years in a deadline-driven publis relations and writing career. When I know I have to turn out a dozen Easter cards, they're there. If I'm not on a deadline, I can tend to overthink it!

Part of the Blogland Tour is to introduce you to several bloggers I enjoy, I would really love to do that and asked a number of people to join in and -- being summer, being busy, being on vacation -- well, I didn't get any takers and finally I gave up!

But I would love to extend the invitation to those who read The Marmelade Gypsy. And I would encourage you to check out the links to blogs on my sidebar. I was going to list who wrote fabulous travel or photography, inspiration or history -- or just plain great writing. But the fact is, I love all these blogs and a few I haven't added yet! So I hope you'll look into them for me.

Meanwhile, if you decide to do the questions (and I hope you do!) let me know!