61/365: Layers & Textures

Today I made:

a mixed media mess...
Tonight, Jess and I got warmed up for this Sunday's mixed media art Meet-up. We made a brilliant mess of her dining table as we played with layering up a canvas and building textures. The piece I worked on was a crazy mix of background techniques. Love the way the watered down acrylic soaked into the wrinkles of the sewing pattern paper letting the text peek through in certain places. Had a ball stamping with found objects and realized that I really like the look of glossy paint on top of matte. Found images, torn book pages and brayer roller streaks add even more layers and textures. The piece is not quite finished, but I thought I'd get some "swatches" of parts of the canvas. In doing so, I'm seeing each little swatch as it's own mixed media piece. Each one is a little study in composition and color combinations. It's neat to see how each little piece contributes to the whole. Mixed media layering  is becoming a sure fire way for me to let go of the end result and enjoy the process, while I experiment with tools and techniques.

mixed media "swatches"

60/365: Picture Pages

Today I made:

August journal pages...
Personal photos make great journal pages. I choose photos from my day and print them in large dimensions onto regular printer paper. I attach the photos right onto the pages of my journal or scrapbook. They make great graphic backgrounds that I can write on top of. Photos with a bit of solid color block, like skies or grounds, work best so the text is easier to read. Here are some of my August pages ready for journaling.

59/365: Oh Baby

Today I made:

A new friend...

58/365: Polish Earth Capsules

On Saturday we finished the Polish earth capsules. Love how they turned out and I think their new owners appreciated the sentiment.

Travel made it hard to post, but the day was a creative success!

57/365: Memories from a Faraway Land

Today I made:

a memory capsule...

A couple summers ago I took a trip back to the mother land (my native Poland) with my mama. It had been sixteen years since I'd been back on that soil and I was completely in awe. I saw it with new (grown up) eyes and was really able to appreciate where I come from.

We visited the house where we lived with my beloved grandmother until I turned four, before my mom and I moved to the states. My heart welled up with memories of my past and understanding of my heritage. My personal history, that is beginning to work its way into my art, came to life for me. I was so overcome with this reunion with my roots that I did my best to pick up little pieces of Poland along the way: dozens of photographs of the landscapes and relics of old, and wild flowers to press between the pages of my journal, which was filled with my impressions of all I took in. I even brought home a handful of earth.

That little bag of my home land has been sitting unopened with the other mementos, until today. After making plans to see an old Polish friend who has never set foot on the land, I decided to share my wealth of, well, dirt.

Tonight, with the patient guidance of my dear friend, Erin, these little beaded memory capsules were born. The master and the apprentice- my first official lesson in beading and jewelry design. I love them! They hold some of the earth I used to make mud pies out of as a child. Now we can both carry a piece of Poland with us.

56/365: Mixed Media Obstacle Course

Today I co-created:

my very first art workshop!!!

Check us out on Meetup: en{COURAGE} creative San Diego: "Art Play Dates for Big Kids"

55/365: One Brave Soul

Today I made:

draft #1 of a logo design for our Meetup group