"Gris-Gris For The Itinerant Artist" (new art!)

"Gris-Gris For The Itinerant Artist" (c) 2011 A.M.H.Lockard

I have worked and worked on this piece.
It started with an anchovy tin I saved and stashed in the studio. It kept calling to me. Saying, work with me, make me into *something more*.
But an anchovy tin is small; I mean small. And I kept setting it aside, and it kept catching my eye.
Having finished one piece for my online class, I felt trying to get a second piece done, along with color washes, etc, was pushing it, but that danged little tin was there.....niggling at me. Thus, what you have here.
Small tin, lots of meaning, big name, big art.
Happy artist! ;-)

Texture abounds....

I added insult to injury by burning myself numerous times during the making of this little gem, and also caught a couple of the elements in it on fire.....I should not be allowed to OWN a heat gun of any sort. (and this was just with the embossing tool, not my commercial heat gun or torch....this is why DH insists I have a fire extinguisher in the studio...)

Crushed shell....the *gravel* of New Orleans.....

While small, it is rich with hidden meaning. 

Contents and wishes, offerings, gris-gris...

The third life of an old timer bell.....

I'm not sure I will write it all; there is a lot. But there is sentiment too, as the base is the bell section of an old timer my dad brought from the factory we worked at. It was broken, he fixed it, I used it for years before it gave up the ghost again and yet I saved it.
Now cannibalized for parts, it has another shot at a third life. And the gris-gris container has a place to stand. 

My trademark blue butterfly, with flame, representing inspiration and the soul.

Perfect.
Sometimes, the very small things speak volumes and the broken bits we save, in turn, save us.
I love this recycled art idea.
There is so much possible.......




Pax....

Fiber Moments~~or~~Yes, This Will Be A Church Hanging!

I worked in the studio yesterday until a thunderstorm from Monsoon Land blew through--and I do mean THROUGH! The water was coming through the ceiling, so I know what I will be doing on Saturday....crawling the roof with latex caulk.

But I digress.

As usual.

Below you see on the left the inside of a cleaned snack chip bag, on the right, the same bag after heat was applied and in the center, a piece with the first coat of acrylic color. That is what has been such a stinker about drying! Since the base is completely non-absorbent, it is taking forever to get these to dry. (the roof leak probably is not helping either.....grrrrrr....)

The pieces below are all different cuts or bags, and almost all of them have four coats of different colors, so that when I go to make the creek section on the hanging, I have this wonderful variety of *water texture* to put in atop painted areas and other fabrics, and lots of light reflection. I have also ordered some oddly shaped and colored pearls, which will be sewn into the creek bed as glowing, wet pebbles. Then the leaves I have whined incessantly about will be all along the edge of the creek, and maybe if it feels right/looks right/works right, I might *float* a leaf or two. I don't know. That's just me thinking out loud. (hear the grrrrrrrinding???)

The next thing I tackled was getting some small burn samples of the two felts I have purchased. I am still debating which to place on top as they melt under the heat gun completely differently and even the melt pattern is different. The pic below is strictly felt--colors reversed so I can think which is best for a bark texture.

Then I added one layer of felt over a selection of fabrics, did some stitching, and applied the heat gun to burn away parts of the felt. This is pretty light weight, and there is some merit to it for highlighted areas of bark, but there was a lot of curl as the felt shrunk, sooooo......

I moved to sample two, with the brown and black felt stacked over the woven fabric, and a piece of black felt on the back. This was quite substantial---in fact, I was not sure I could free-motion it through the machine, but it did okay.

On the far right, you can see just the stitching, then as you move left on the image, there are areas where the heat was applied for shorter and longer amounts of time. This is one of those things I wish I could  get a really good shot of for the *feel*. It is extremely textural.....which I like. I spent some time online researching walnut tree bark and found sufficient images that I should be able to get a decent stitch pattern in my head for the tree bark sections.

Sorry about this last photo but black thread on black felt does not show up AT ALL...

This is the back of the above fiber package, with some of the felt burned out, which allows the whole to lay a bit flatter. There is still a lot of *feel* to it but not the wobbles like the first piece. The other benefit of using the felt layer on the back is it makes excellent shaded area for the tree bark.

Now I am just waiting on the canvas to arrive (it was on back order--of course!) , the pearls, the fabric paint and I should be ready to get this puppy really in gear!

Of course, I have to get the roof fixed first, because the wall I work on is the one that had water running down it.

I just love multi-tasking.....don't you???  >:-[

LOL!!!

Now go get creative and make something wonderful! Or just have a wonderful day!

Pax....

Art Tomorrow!!!

Dear readers, I am bailing on you this morning.

Yesterday I had a day that, for the most part, was spent in making art. I, of course, did not photograph the process, simply because it felt so good to be doing it!!! I did not want to clean my hands or stop at any part to break the flow. This is not fancy canvas art; it is working with paper that would otherwise be disposed of, and it turned out lovely. It was playtime, experiment time, just chill to WWOZ and go with the jazz time!
I got some photos shot of the semi finished pieces and decided that today is going to be another art day too.
Yes, I am being a bit self centered, eh?  ;-)
Tomorrow, I fear, wil be a run-run-run day so I am just putting myself first on this one.
And last evening, while impatiently awaiting the season finale of "Sons Of Anarchy", I drew my first two ATCs. Now how far behind the real world am I??? They were so much fun! If my hands had held out, there would have been two or three more, but as most artists know---when the hands quit, YOU quit. How easy to make those and attach them in some manner to a greeting card.......or for a Christmas ornament......possibilities!
I did get an e-mail about the one commission I had been awaiting more info on and it will be a go--have to reply and see if my answers meet with their needs and then we're set! (and I can publish the working sketch on here! YAY!!!)
So while there are no pics today, I feel like this little blog-burp is a most significant one and hope it suffices for the moment.
I wish you all the joy of creativity, the time to pursue it and the freedom of a child with a new box of Crayolas (yes, the BIG box!) and a ream of paper!
Go make something!

Pax.

Fun With The On Line Studio Tour And Another Welcome!

Good morning everyone!
I was going to go without a photo today (posted last evening from DHs computer) but decided to share another of the sunrise pics...in fact, the sun is not even up here yet!
I had to mention how much fun the on line Open Studio Tour was, how I could have spent much, much more time at each blog or website and how I have noticed that it has connected more of us! I have a WELCOME this morning for another new follower, Janet Happy Girl! Like my header says, sometimes a miracle happens Janet, and I actually get to post some ART! LOL!!! Or I post pictures of my parakeets, and that's when I am desperate for blog fodder! (though I noticed you are a *birdy person* too!)
It has been fun seeing more of us connect, more people have their blogs visited, just more GOOD out there.
I wish I could say I had a favorite from the studio tour, but I liked different things for different reasons...I guess the one thing that was so encouraging was seeing how many artists are recycling furniture and other items to meet their creative needs, and putting their real efforts (and cash!) into their arts. I was struck by the good and inventive use of articles that normally would go into a landfill to serve as holders, storage, etc. I think, even if a lot of the country hasn't caught on, Artsy people know the value of reuse. We are, officially (because I say so!) trendsetters! We knew that, of course. ;-)
I had to give myself some down time yesterday and am still knitting the Noro socks, but they are soooooo close to done. That has been like knitting a rainbow. Plus it's feet up, off the hip, snooze on the couch, and it's a win-win situation though it gauls me that I'm not going at my usual 100 MPH pace.......grrrrrrrrr........oh well, sometimes one has to give in.
Anyway, congrats to all of you who put studios up on your blog and welcomed us in, and thanks to those of you who came to visit us; it really means a lot!
Now I'm off to see what mischief I can find for the day. Hope you all have a productive time and enjoy the new friends you have found!
I bid you.....

Pax.

"THE LOVERS" Mixed Media Salvage (or why I love this art form!)

As much as I hate to admit it, I make things occasionally that just DO NOT turn out. You know, the things you want to shove under a pile of papers when you hear someone approaching or give to the dog to chew on (or in my case, put in the bottom of the Budgie's cage.......)
At any rate, I'd had a collage I had done on a *no brain* day, just tearing and gluing paper, adding a bit of paint and why I kept it around, I don't know. I had it pinned up on the wall, irritating me each time I saw it.
During the current sorting and throwing binge, I yanked it off the wall and as I did the light showed the texture as opposed to what was supposed to be seen. Hmmmmmm.......so instead of the garbage bag, it went to the studio table. It was somewhat vaguely oriental themed and I had glued three fake Chinese coins on it. Those went. Then I pulled some stamps, some tracing paper and let it sit.
I started with some oriental characters on the tracing paper, covered most of the background, then kept pushing. Some ink around the edges, some stamping in black, the paperclay to make the individual words......but what next?
More washes, more tinkering----I needed an image that was bright to offset the dark toned background. So I began digging as I recalled having some oriental images a friend had given me. I was thinking Geisha at first and then found this, "The Lovers" from a tarot deck page she gave me. (Thanks Val!) It was perfect. Everything began pulling together, setting the card and the paperclay pieces in heavy gel medium and using fine black glass glitter to cover the edges of the gel.
I added more ink around the edges and some interference paint here and there. A bit of glitter paint. I stood back and looked at it.
It just couldn't be the same piece.
And I was delighted!
Sometimes we keep things we don't need. But often, we keep things that need finishing, fixing, a different approach. We save things that can be taken apart and reused. We cleave to things that need refining---we are able to see past what is actually there to what could be. It's a wonderful way to learn to look at work, especially the things you just plain want to dump. It's a pretty interesting way to look at life too.
I learned a long time ago from art magazine articles that if something really turned me off but I kept returning to it, there was something important there for me to learn. It is a lesson that has paid off in the long run!
Please click on the photo so you can get a good look at the details, particularly where I have used the clay. The size of the piece is a mere 5"x7" canvas panel but there is a lot in that little package.
I wish you a day of pleasant surprises, things to recycle, and above all else, an artist's eye and creativity.
Pax.

Things I teach.....occasionally!

(Photo by Anne M Huskey-Lockard, copyright 2009, all rights reserved)

Last Summer, in the midst of the usual Summer mayhem we all live with, I did a demo for our Community Artists Co-Op on making Collage Papers from left overs, odd papers, scraps of artist papers, etc. From the demo, came a class, which turned out to be a pretty good time and some fun work done. Above are samples made for the class, and of course I had to go into excruciating detail on the instructions (probably would be an adequate cure for insomnia....) which made it read a lot harder than it was. Truly, they are easy to do. If you don't collage, they can be used for a card front or just frame one and enjoy.
I found these fun to do because of all the paper I could recycle into them. Foil candy wrappers, safety envelopes tinted with fluid acrylics, cheap coarse glitter from the dollar stores---regular stamping and embossing supplies. I did use some Golden Mediums, my splurge, but they go a long way. Really, the only thing that might have been hard to find was the Demco Gesso, which is a must. If you've never tried it, go to a Hobby Lobby store, get a small jar of the ARTISTS GRADE----do not buy the STUDENT GRADE. No. NO. A thousand times NO!!!!!
The quality is fantastic and it can be used as a base coat or as an in-between, tone down coat or as a texturing coat before applying color.
Now, if the gods of Blogger are with me today, the above photo is *clickable* so you can see the detail, of which there is plenty. Peek around, see what you can discover, and don't hesitate to ask questions.
I might just be able to remember how I made them! ;)
Seriously, it is a good way to use scraps and be involved in a creative activity on a basically non-creative day (which we all get now and then....).
That's it! Go have fun!
Or go look at yesterday's monkey picture.......