I'm Back! Artiscape, Part One

Yes, I had a wonderful time! Yes, it was amazing! Yes, I learned so very much! Yes, I want to go back. (Even though Kate and I left VERY early!)

First of all, as those of you who have attended any retreat or event of any discipline know, being around like-minded people (especially creative ones!) is so energizing. To see so much creativity in one place is almost overwhelming at times!

One of the first places we headed was to the marketplace. Over the course of that and the subsequent artisans fair, I did rather buy a lot! (Not the least of which was Diane Maurer-Mathison's newest book; I had taken her paper marbeling class two years ago at Artiscape -- this book is on collage.



The venders were excellent, with very good and often unusual supplies. Things you either have to find at a show like this or online. I'll be posting many projects in the future!

Then off to the first of my two classes -- "raised and embossed surfaces." It was taught by Wanda Montgomery.


We got to play with different painting techniques, using gesso, targel, mediums, alcohol and lots of paint! Lots of demos, followed by practice.


We made two pieces. I'm rather fun of the "sun" piece, though it needs a bit more of a focal point.



The other doesn't do much for me, but when you crop it out, it turns out rather nicely!


(Do you see a tortured face in the upper left corner? Some do, some don't. It wasn't planned and is even a bit less now that I've messed with it some. I believe it was Freudian, based on my challenges with some of the paint!)

Even our "junk sheets" for wiping our texture scrapers off turned out respectably (at right). (Yes, it needs stuff -- like a focal point, but hey -- it was a palatte!)


Kate's was VERY cool -- I loved her colors -- she knows what to mix together to get the right look!

Making new friends is great, too! In my surfaces class, I met a woman named Sue who was from Kalamazoo. I asked if she knew Joanne from ad libitum, whom I knew was attending and I was eager to meet. She did indeed! We sat together at the banquet, along with another Kazoo artist, Dell [sp?], along with Nancy from Kentucky and several others on the other side of the table!

The dinner had a Casablanca theme and the movie was playing on large overhead screens!

The evening included a silent auction (I bought several things -- I'll post them, when I bring in the names of the women who made them so credit can be given!), a lovely dinner and the movie "Mark of the Maker," which was about how Twinrocker Handmade Papers revived the art of handmade papermaking in the U.S. Kathryn Clark of Twinrocker introduced the film. (I bought one of her papermaking contraptions which looks a bit like a self-cleaning litterbox, but will be much cleaner!)

(These are some of Kathryn's papers from the Marketplace.)

We also had a grand dessert buffet! We should have just had a piece of pie at the table. You can get into a lot of trouble with a dessert buffet.

After that was a "cookie exchange-like" trading session. Everyone put their trades out on a long table. If you brought 10, you picked 10. I brought a lot and got some great stuff! Beautiful cards, lovely embellishments, some jewelry, charms and buttons. I loved Kate's paper backgrounds, which included a packet of about 12 graphics one can use for ATC making!

Some of my items nabbed in the trades!

Next time I'll post on "Transparent Collage," and show you my silent auction high bids!
One other thing -- if you visit Beth's blog (Lasting Impressions From the HeART), stop by and send her good vibes for her mom, Lottie, who is in our ATC group. She's had some serious health issues this week.

Off to Artiscape!

I'm excited -- soon we'll be hitting the road for Artiscape!

Here's my collage for the silent auction. The theme is Casablanca (movie or area -- I picked the movie!)

It's 8x10 on canvas. Bottom surface was lumiere's (though most of that was covered!) I also used wallpaper and some scrap papers for the base.

Artiscape sent us a collection of collage elements we could use if we liked. They were all paper things -- script pages, photos, stamps, tags...

(Detail left side; I used rusted stars, added a tag to the hotel label, a metal frame and the roses.)

Here's detail of the right side. I had the terracotta piece and also added the flower and wire. The square is a bit of a polymer square from a previous project. The other square (barely visible, left corner) is a heavy paper, covered with modeling paste and then painted in lumieres. It's almost like a leather texture.)

These are tight shots of the stamps (I grubbed up everything a bit with a stippling of distress inks in "cordury" and "green shutters.") Then I used a large skeleton leaf to sort of connect the elements into a more cohesive whole. This page of script has the "We'll always have Paris" line.

So, that's it! Back next week -- boy, I'll have lots of blog visiting to do then, too!

Gypsy Rose Goes to the Vet

Today the Gypster has his two cents on the blog…

Yesterday my mummy came home from work early. She acted extra friendly and then she picked me up and put me in a red bag. Gyppy does not like the red bag.

We go in the car (Gyppy does not like the car either) and end up at the vet. There are other cats there, including another orange cat that Mummy pets. I hope the orange cat doesn’t come to live with us. Gyppy likes being an only cat.

They put us in a room and I explore.

Mummy tries to entertain me, but mostly she’s just taking those dumb photos. When she gets tired of taking pictures of me, she takes pictures of the pictures on the wall. She should get a life.

So, I look out the sliding doors, trying to figure out how to escape. Gyppy cannot open the door because he has no thumbs.

The vet is very nice to Gyppy. He has big hands and snuggles with me. If he was a critter, he would either be a big setter dog or a Maine coon cat. He is very hairy, but very kind to Gyppy, even when he looks in my mouth. He says I have dental problems. Mummy takes pictures of dental things on the wall. (I did hear words called “teeth cleaning” discussed.)

He tells me I weight 14 and three-quarter pounds. I will stay on Fancy Least and diet crunchies for a very long time.

He takes me away and takes blood and gives me shots, and then gives Mummy little pills so I can ride to the lake in the car and not hurl. We leave. Mummy pays the $200 (really). Mummy does not leave with the other orange cat.

(Note from Mummy: My earlier dental appointment that day was about the same amount, but at least I had half-off insurance! And I’ll need another appointment too – for a crown. I would rather have a crown like Lisa OceanDreamer’s or some of Sandra Everston’s beautiful head wear!)

Public TV Pick of the Week

The public TV pick of the week has been notably absent (due to pledging). Well, it’s back – with one for my literary cohorts.

“American Masters” – which one can count on for fine profiles of American artists in all genres – is presenting Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun on Wednesday, April 9, at 9 p.m. (check local listings).
Writer. Cultural anthropologist. Chronicler of folk roots and ethnic traditions. Daughter of a former slave. The first black graduate of Barnard. Zora Neale Hurston attained unique success in many areas, but during her lifetime her words and conclusions were often surrounded by contention.

A flamboyant and gregarious woman, Hurston – a writer, cultural anthropolotist, chronicler of folk roots and ethnic traditions, and the first black graduate of Barnard – was called unpredictable, outrageous, bodacious. She collaborated with Langston Hughes, was criticized by Richard Wright and ultimately died a pauper’s death in total obscurity.

Resurrected by Alice Walker, who journeyed to Hurston’s gravesite in 1975 after reading a dog-eared copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston is now considered a lioness of African American literature. Her works Dust Tracks on a Road and Their Eyes Were Watching God are essential reading in American classrooms today.

Trained as an anthropologist, Hurston was prescient in anticipating the importance of black culture in shaping modern and popular American culture. Along with Alan Lomax during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935, she recorded folktales, narratives and music from coastal Georgia into Florida and, later, in the Caribbean and Central America. Jump at the Sun features original footage she filmed during these expeditions.

A bootstrap Republican and conservative, Hurston became increasingly out of step with contemporary black thought, moving to the right while most of black America moved into the Democratic party. Focusing only on what blacks accomplished without government assistance, she opposed welfare and forced integration, believing special treatment was demeaning.

The film includes rare footage of the rural South and interviews with Alice Walker, Dorothy West, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Maya Angelou and individuals who knew Hurston personally. The film also features dramatic re-enactments of Hurston’s 1943 radio interview by actress Kim Brockington, who portrays her in an acclaimed one-woman show, Zora.

Book Show Finds!

I think spring may really be here! The weekend certainly was gorgeous, and fun on top of that! Apart from filling in the final forms, I finished my taxes. A refund is coming – hooray! I’ll feel less guilty if I go overboard at the Artiscape marketplace next weekend!

I enjoyed a fabulous play called “Souvenir” at the BoarsHead Theatre – it was about Florence Foster Jenkins, who thought she could sing – and couldn’t carry a tune (but became famous nonetheless!). I think of American Idol’s William Huang – but she maintained the fame!

The other highlight was going to the Antiquarian Book and Paper Show. This event takes place twice a year and is one of my favorites. I did refrain from book buying, although I had my hand on a beautiful bound copy of “Sense and Sensibility” (and greatly enjoyed the PBS series that concluded last night. However, it was pricey and I did have two other versions, so I passed.


(Speaking of Jane Austen, here is my “Jane Austen Action Figure” from the PBS conference last year – she carries a quill and a laptop! I will miss my weekly dose of Jane on PBS!)

I have to say that throughout the fair, I kept thinking of Becca at Bookstack – I love visiting her blog and learning about all the great books she’s reading. She’s a wonderful writer, too – so if books are your thing, stop by Bookstack and check out Becca’s newest discoveries!

These are my purchases – don’t you love the cat photo? And the lovely baby photo?


Most of my purchases were old recipe booklets with great graphics. Two were from the Kellogg Company (in Battle Creek, Michigan) and one promotes wheat…



The other, bran. (It's called "The Sunny Side of Life Book"!)

The pix in this are great!


A third was for Calumet baking powder and had fun recipes and great graphics!

Plus, I really loved the posters – couldn’t help but take a few pix of the bolder ones!

So, all that – followed by watching a rehearsal for a jazz program our station is taping tonight, flawless weather and good times made for a grand weekend! There is the remote possibility that one of the happiest campers was Mr. Gyps, who is starting to have plenty of critters to check out.
Life is good.

Too Much to Do!

I'm so looking forward to the weekend -- lots to do (not the least of which is the taxes...)

First up, finishing up Artiscape projects. The ATCs are almost done -- 25 of them. (Well, what subject did you think I would pick?

And I just have a few details left on the collage before I can photograph it!

Then there's the yard. Look what popped up!

I don't know if these are the mini-irises I planted last year -- I think so, but they seem too early. No matter -- I'm thrilled to see color in the yard!

These fellows are getting bigger, too. About four inches up for the tallest -- some are shorter.

And my little stony fellow here is looking like he's ready to have those leaves swept away and a few plants put in. (I'll hold on that, though, till I know Jack Frost has moved on!)

And, when I tire of that, there's always the inside to work on -- not the least of which is "editing" my bulletin board.

Hope you all have lovely, fulfilling and busy weekends as well!

And the Winner Is...

Karla of Sugar Bear Designs!

Karla is the winner of "House of Grapes," a mini-birdhouse done for the Bling Your Birdhouse event!


Congratulations, Karla! It will be off to you as soon as I find the right-sized box!

Meanwhile, Mr. Gyps gets into wild spasms of ecstasy when he contemplates bird watching -- coming soon to a window near him!

Happy Day!

Of Special Cats

I'm sitting here at my little laptop at home, and the Marmelade Gypsy is right beside me on the desk, peering at the computer and my fingers like a vulture waiting to pounce -- which occasionally he does. He's rather captivated by the mouse -- or the cord of the mouse -- and whatever little trinket he has chased to a spot under the computer where it's stuck and he's trying desperately to paw it out. Good luck, my furry friend! Then he looks at me with those golden-green eyes, meows, and I know -- he's just waiting to hit me up for food.

Yes, the Marmelade Gypsy is on Kitty Weight Watchers. My scale may be off, but he clocked in at about 16 pounds. I think that may be high -- home scales and all (truth be told, my home scale is about seven pounds off.) Still, I think before we hit the vet, it's time to drop a few ounces. So, his precious Fancy Feast is cut back and the kitty crunchies are less rich than what they used to be. When he sits up for a treat, he just seems so desperate!

So, here we have a living, breathing, cuddling sweet boy. And on my bed, I have this.

Not so pretty, is he? (I'm quite sure he's a he.) But so very dear.

I never knew my mom's mother -- Minniewood we called her -- her first and maiden name, run together as though it is one word. "I wonder what Minniewood was like?" my cousins and I often ask.

She died several months before I was born -- I think she was only around 60 or so. All the women in my family except Iris, who's 90, died young. I don't like this statistic.

Anyway, until they were married, my mom and her younger sister Grace lived at home. Grace was grandma's primary caregiver, but they all chipped in with Minniewood, who had a failing heart. Mom used to say that her mother would ask her to have tea with her quite constantly. And, she was always making these cats.

I'm sure vintage cloth enthusiasts are aware of this fabric -- lots of kitty bodies -- fronts, backs and bottoms. Minniewood would sew up cat after cat and, Mom said, line them up on the window sill of the family home, which is still not too far from where I live. (I really should get out more.)

She gave this one to my pregnant mother for me, and it's a treasure. Stained around the eyes, to be sure. And quite firmly stuffed -- not so squishy and cuddly as the Marmelade Gypsy -- or, for that matter, a Gund. But it is precious, and around this time of year -- close to the time of my mom's death and not far from Minniewood's -- I treasure it all the more.

Cats, crafts and tea. She and I would have been grand friends.