Flying Along With One World One Heart!!!

A wonderful journey of bloggers.....click here for more

Welcome, welcome! I'm Anne M. Huskey-Lockard, and I am hopping on this delightful bird and taking wing to be part of One World One Heart, sponsored by the sweet Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian. 
I have managed to miss every other year of this wonderful event and am slipping in on birdie tailfeathers this year! WHEW! So first, a little picture of the mixed media piece I will be giving away~~just leave a comment on this post and that means you're in the draw!(plus I can visit YOU TOO!)  Remember, should you win, I'll need a way to get in touch.....

This is a 4" x 8" mixed media panel "Love Flowers Abundantly" and it would like very much to find a good home with one of YOU!
Well, I have to talk about *me* and my blog. I'd like to say I'm like the photo below all the time:

But in reality, when I am busy with art and photography, I am much more like this pic of DH and I taken at Halloween......yes, you've guessed I have a quirky sense of humor. (it's okay, laugh! p.s.......I'm the one in red....)

I am a mixed media artist, love photography and occasionally fill the blog with photos.......

  
But in between, I get art made, and that is when I am happiest.......

I do occasionally have to COOK for DH too, and sometimes photos of the kitchen experiments show up here....

Basically I am just a country girl at heart, with a warped Southern sense of humor, stuck in the hinterlands of northern Indiana and find joy in life and my studio, all the while pretending I am visiting New Orleans....

Just remember, the good brushes are always in the BioHazard container.....LOL!
 

WAIT! How did this slip in???? Oh well, it's what women really want.......ya know!
So.....enough about El Milagro and it's crazy blog mistress. Visit again, comment, laugh; for the most part, I try and keep it pretty light, even when we're learning something. Yes, I do occasionally put up tutorials; working on one at the moment, and yes, I forget I have pages that need construction....*Sigh* ........so much for a girl to remember!
Looking forward to new blogs and faces to meet!


Pax....

Slight Postponement.....Thanks A Lot Old Man Winter!!!

I had planned to start a short series on gel mediums and how you can imitate some of the more expensive ones with one jar of medium and other additions.
Here's the scoop; I just happened to check the weather, on a whim, and we--at this point--have a Winter Storm Warning on the plate. With the amounts of snow and ice they are talking about, I know exactly what I am going to be doing.
It sucks gas and is green and yellow......any guesses???
So, my friends, as soon as Mother Nature quits throwing this *fit-to-come* I will be back with some art to share.
Frankly, some of the samples I had made were not drying well, even with furnace and dehumidifier~~things warmed just enough to put a lot of moisture in the air from the current (and everlasting) snow pack.
I am crossing my fingers that this passes lightly or dissipates altogether, as drifts high enough to close roads are NOT my idea of a good time.
Until we chat here again......

Pax....

More Heart Art....And Assorted Sundry Items

Sorry folks...life has gone on a whirlwind again after my post that I would be right back with some aging I was doing on the heart and background. This is going to be a basic, no frills explanation of what I have done.

As you can see above, the heart was adhered to the substrate with heavy gel medium, which I smoothed under the edge of the heart and let dry overnight. Then I needed something to make it become more *one* with the backing.

 

I mixed in some coarse white decorators sand into one of my gel mediums and carefully applied it to fill the small void that was left between the heart and the back from the thick layer of heavy gel underneath. I like mixing textures into my gels and will do a post on that specifically.

As with ANY GEL, these must dry completely before attempting to put a coat of paint over the top. I usually use a blow dryer to get the process started and then have to wait for the rest to cure on it's own.

Once dry, I used some fluid Pthalo (blue shade I think...) and dry brushed the straight color on.

I want to emphasize DRY BRUSHED, as this is an extremely intense color that can get out of hand really fast. It provides the feel of a shadow while also adding a bit of glow. Black and some of the other colors I used would not produce the same effect. 

I gently work a tiny amount out over some of the background paint, allowing it to become a bit of a green aura at the top.

This view from the top better shows how the Pthalo, feathered out, gives some depth to a busy area. The eye can separate the pieces better now.
One coat generally is not enough on the sides, so I went back in and hit the gel with sand a second time; much darker and now is both separating and tying the heart to the back.
I have also added some black mica gel to the heart so that it is not so stark red. The flame area required a bit more also.....dirtying things up and making it have some character. (an aside.....Black Mica Gel also has tiny bits of clear mica in it too~~it's a *two-fer*~~you get age and sparkle)

 

The final step was adding some micacous iron oxide to the bottom red of the panel. It settled into the textural depth and made the color pop more.

And that is pretty much how this was finished up to make a couple of very bright, very diverse, visually competing parts work together well.

As I mentioned, I will do a short post on things to add to gels for different textures. Yes, you can buy textured gels, but you can do a lot of specialized small amount batches and save a lot of money.

There are some gels you can imitate a bit to see if you like them before buying and there are others that you can dream up with what you have on hand or can scrounge at wonderful places like Dollar Stores and Overage Stores.

Okay, I'm off to fight the grocery zombies.....if I don't resurface you'll know I was caught in their Rampage of Carts (and cell phones....grrrrrr.......)
Have fun~~make some art!

Pax....

26 Years Ago.......

......we exchanged vows, and time has passed by fast. 
We were married in a blizzard of such proportion that the State Police were shutting down the main roads, I had to be picked up in an old four wheel drive by one of Gary's office workers to make it to the Base, and then we had to find the Chaplain and drag the poor man out into the snow....all in the middle of the worst winter storm we'd seen in years.
I would insert a smart remark here but I think it was somehow appropriate!
Neither of our families could attend, it was just us, the office and a Methodist minister! (shades of denominations to come...)
The chapel where we were married is still standing but with the sale of most of the acreage when the Active Duty left, I am not sure if it is used or just languishing in disrepair.
26 years....
Too fast, it passes......
Happy Anniversary my dear hubby; I hope you can tolerate me another 26!!!


Love....

Art With Warm Colors In The Frigid Winter

Okay, I am whining. 

It is miserably cold here (I am sure other areas have it worse and to them I send condolences), to the point I cannot even get out without being socked with a migraine. For once in my life, I am glad I have no idea what the temp is!

So the few minutes I could be upright over the weekend, I managed a little art time, and with VERY WARM COLORS. Yes, it helps. A little.

I had been working on texturing backgrounds for my online class and finally everything dried--rain and snow have kept the dehumidifier busy and honestly, there is only so much it can do. The rest requires patience......wait.....wait....wait.

 

substrate with several paint washes and my fat finger (I love the colors!!!)

When the work was totally dry, I decided to start with the smallest substrate I had made, and while waiting I was working with paper clay for one of the elements to adhere. Which I just HAD to pick up the next morning and the flames broke off....oh well. That turned out to be good over all; I could deal with them separately before attaching them.

heart in hand, and flames too!

a better look at the details....that hole was a PIP to make and not bust everything....

Then it was a matter of trying to get the heart reamed with the Dremel to accept the tiny cocktail swords that had been aged to look, well, old and crusty.

Note here: CLAY SHRINKS

So the holes I had made before drying the piece did not fit afterward and  I had a LOT of quality time with the Dremel and retouching with matching paint. (don't try and do detailed art when your head is pounding out a Conga beat...you really need those grey cells!)

The swords required a lot of trimming and touch up before it was over, but finally submitted to my will, went into the paperclay and behaved. I really liked the transformation on the heart. Sorry about the photo burn out--all the lights in the studio are working now and I have so much light I don't know what to do with it!

Above is the heart with daggers in and the flames basecoated and set in place....

 

....An overhead view showing everything after the pieces are reattached with part of a pin and E-6000; a bit of the *aging* on the flames for some depth....

And from the front showing the addition of red acrylic and tar gel; a few convincing drips.

This still has further to go. Everything is nice and bright, but a bit too *nice and bright*~~I want a little more earthy feeling, and that is for another post. I'll leave you at this point and hopefully get further down the road with this project.

As an aside, I have discovered that I am clueless as to where I stored a goodly amount of photos in my computer and am going to have to spend a day (or two) retrieving things. I do not know how my mental filing system works.....it doesn't leave me clues. I have a few images I need for the large background this will be attached to, and I have no idea where they are.......

Maybe I'll sketch while I think.....

Maybe I'll just sketch.

Or not!

Pax....

A Quick Fiber Piece Jumping In.......

From the button on my sidebar, you can see I am involved in the "Art From The HeArt" project. Please check out the site for some of the work that has been submitted, as there are some excellent images.

While I am slowly working on my mixed media entry (with things just not cooperating!) I felt being one of the judges, I needed to get something contributed NOW also.

I remembered a piece I had done a while back, small (only eight by eight inches) called "Stones Upon My Heart". It seemed to fit the bill because it dealt with the power words have on a person, day after day, week after week.......year after year. Torment and teasing, words meant to cling like barbed wire.

I was not sure whether to share it; it was a personal piece and I had it put away in a closet. But when  I looked at it with a *greater good in the long run* attitude, I got photos and an artists statement together and sent them off.
The photos I will post here; the story behind it is on the website, which I encourage you to view.

Yes, this is a serious post, but sometimes life throws us a big dose of serious to be dealt with, and then we can return to the usual that you find at El Milagro--humor, joy, art. Life being savored. Or laughed off when necessary.
From my heart to yours....that you never have to deal with words that cut to the quick. Or make you question your self worth.
And that you always have the strength to pursue your own path and dreams, with words that encourage you and lift you up.
(due to time differences, this piece may not be online until later this morning on the AFTH website)

Pax....

DeMented, DeLightful Fun......!

Just in case anyone is wondering how much fun it is doing an online class with Michael deMeng???
Take a gander at this video and judge for yourself! As part of the class he makes little movie shorts that have to do with whatever the instructional videos may be about~~~it is a nonstop roller coaster ride! (although this is promoing his touring for in person classes this year)
If you can't do a class in person, check for online offerings at his blog:

Assemblog Of Michael deMeng 

Or just follow for some of the most humorous reading and great assemblage art to browse.
And now I'm off on my own adventures......cue the theme for "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" please.....(dashing off with Fedora on and whip in hand)


Pax....

Tag Me!

Sometimes I find that the harder I try and focus in one area, the more real life starts pulling me hither and yon.

Case in point, it should NOT have taken me so long to finish this current tag for the Sketchbook Challenge. But there were little things like trying to keep up with my online class and FIND things in the studio, distractions such as FOOD and COOKING and then having electricians in to redo all my studio lights.
The good part of that is now they are bright enough I only have to have half of them on. Of course the downside is I can see all the dirt and crud in nooks and crannies which remained well hidden in dim shadows. (there is something to be said for mood lighting.....ahem.....)

At any rate, for those who want a story, in New Orleans the tombs are quite ornate--not all but depending on your personal wealth you could commission someone to build a fine family tomb complete with caveau beneath to accept remains after it was time to push to the sides previous generations and newer caskets be laid to rest.

One of the common motifs is the inverted torch, symbolic of life being extinguished. I photographed several different versions of this while there, but the one depicted was by far the most beautiful. It was the difference between the stone mason and the sculptor.

The drawing started with the watercolor wash, was built up with hard drawing pencils, gesso, and Prismacolor pencils and finally received a bit of both black mica gel and pearl mica gel. With age and humidity, the stone the tombs are made of take on a patina both dark and dirty and tidbits of shiny highlights.

A good view of the under texture from gesso, then the addition of layers of colors and finally the mica gels.

This was a more difficult piece than I anticipated; I have used the image in so many works that finding the *new eye* to really see and interpret was hard. I found myself walking away in frustration several times.

Overall though, I am happy that this varies a fair amount from the photo and took on a life of it's own. It has it's own story to tell now.......

I think maybe the next thing I'll include in the tag book is a crawfish.

Because after photographing it, I can EAT IT!  ;-)

It's hard work drawing AND being witty, or so I think.....don't burst my bubble.

I have no *odd-thing-in-my hand* photo this time, not that I don't have an abundance of odd things within hands reach, but decided instead to leave you with a lovely and colorful Winter sky, as the sun had sunk below the tree line and everything was lusciously shell pink and blue.

Pax....

An Award??? MOI???

Okay, I was channeling The Grinch there for a moment.......heehee! 
I was delighted to be presented this award by an exceptional illustrator, Amalia K at Translucent Blue
If you have not visited her blog or Etsy shop, you need to. I have plunked down some change there and when receiving the exquisite prints did a rather peculiar Happy Dance! (*I* was peculiar; the work is beyond description when held in your hot little hands! Photos just don't do justice to the actual piece....)
Thank you Amalia; this is special coming from you! :-)

As with any blog award, I now have to pass it on to others but first I have to disclose seven things about myself that no one knows. I did ask Amalia if she knew if I would get to blog from jail.....LOL!
Hmmmmmm.......


1. I originally busted my right knee while running from the cops in my teens, out doing naughty things on Halloween. I landed smack into a rock garden. It was never the same. (no, I didn't get caught)

2. I miss playing my bass and listening to the Ramones and Misfits at earsplitting levels more than I care to admit. Truly, truly.....I do.


3. I really have not grown up and don't intend to. It's over rated. And people get all MEAN when they think they're grown up.

4. I have had opportunities in the past that I did not take for fear of failure or rejection. (that's changed!)


5. Life after you turn 50 is like being let out of jail; you realize that there IS an expiration date, you're getting closer, and WHOOO-HOOO! You can still rock with the best of them. (you just have to be to bed by 11 p.m.)

6. Stockings trump pantyhose any day of the week, and I am sure pantyhose were an invention that crawled right out of the Arse of Satan!


7. I have been blessed with Spiritual Mentors through out life, at the right times, with the right level of high intelligence tempered with great humor. They keep me on the somewhat straight and narrow and know how far they can push before I totally walk off. For this, I cannot say thanks enough. It has kept me exceptionally alive. (I probably am the only person that would put that after the comment on pantyhose...oh well....)


Okay, that's the dirt; now for the hard part and fun~~passing this along. First, I had to adjust the color some to get it to show on my background; if you want the *Black Tux and White Tie* version, please visit Amalia's blog to snag it. Well, visit her blog anyway!

1. Silke at Metamorphosis 

2. Cathy at Artsy Butterfly


3. Corrine at dosfishes


4. Pam at Frippery


5. Mita at illustration poetry


6. Elena at My Quest


7. Audrey at The Magic, Miracles and Joy of an Artist

8. Deb at Midlife Poet

All these ladies are stylish and add a unique view to the blog world. It is a mix of blogs~~different content, but all one's I enjoy visiting. Some I have visited a long time, some are new, but every single one is a delightful read or look or both! 
Grab a cuppa, kick back, relax, and travel through the bloggosphere, finding more places to visit and be awed!


Pax....

Dirty Artist Secrets---or---Scribbles That Turn Into Art

Here is the lowdown; I will do a thumbnail sketch on anything. For a short period of time, when I had *safely put away* (read that, totally LOST!) the previously featured sketchbook, I just used the small lined notebook I was carrying with me. No pen for the most part (altho the first pages are the exception), just a pencil and cheap paper. I love those small notebooks with the gaudy-bright colors that I pick up at the dollar stores or Big Lots. Hey, the $$$ go further!

(c) AMHL 2010

I think this is college ruled paper, so that gives you an idea of the sizes......small, small, small........

(c) AMHL 2008

 Notes to self with a scribble. No idea where I was going! Script in Strata?? Clueless now! Was thinking about something......

(c) AMHL 2008

These are ROUGH, to the point of barely being recognizable. Yet, on the majority of the sketches/scribbles, they developed into finished pieces. Someday I should shoot the sketch, complete with size (tiny!) and then the remaining pieces of art I have. Images may repeat; the pages all looked alike as I was putting them into composite photos last evening after a LONG day....LOL!

(c) AMHL 2008

(c) AMHL 2008

Basically, these were the closest thing to sketchbooks I kept for a long time, interspersed with *to-do* notes, phone numbers, things I can't make head nor tail of....in fact I had several scribbles that I am assuming was a sketch at one time but it sure is not now.
Some morphed into pieces where the core idea remained but the finished product was incredibly different from the beginning scribble. (the two directly above, Frida and Jack Kerouac, took on lives of their own)
And now back to the sketching at hand:

I like this as a photo, just because. One of the things I am constantly reminded of is how sketching with colored pencils requires a different eye for reproducing colors. It is the matter of separating in the mind the color you are looking at and then rebuilding it with shades that just seem unlikely. It is fun.
A close up:

Another thing I discovered quickly is my eyesight is really going down the tubes and most of the work was done with glasses OFF as I could see better. (scary!) Which naturally produced an unhealthy amount of eyestrain which transformed into headache.
I continued working this tag last evening, and while I will add a bit more color, it is for the most part done. I worked in a little fine black mica gel for dirt on the background and will use artistic license to leave the inverted torch lighter than photographed.

 

The mica shows a little better in the close up.

I ended up with a fair amount of texture from the gesso, and while the background wash was darker than what I wanted, serendipity again walked in and put wash lines in the right places! Sometimes, things just WORK. It roughened the fine pencil lines more than I would have liked but you play the hand you're dealt.

Art is an adventure!

I am off for a non-artistic day of shopping, etc and will be thinking about the next tag and maybe photographing one of my collage sketchbooks.

Okay.

I guess I really *do* keep sketchbooks.

They just are not like what everyone else does. That's okay.

I tend to waddle along to my own little drumbeat.

It's a good road I walk on!  ;-)

Pax....

Distracted, Delayed, deMenged! -or- Where The Sketching Posts Went

Yesterday's winter storm in progress....cold....snow....more snow.

I should know my world in January in Indiana well enough to know that trying to do one thing is impossible. I mean, just one thing. Like sketch. Or get a blog post up in a timely manner. I took all the photos of my old *thumbnail/scratchy* sketchbook and shoved them into the computer. This morning I got them into groups so that this post would not roll on forever.

A little background; I started this sketchbook probably 15 years ago. There are some sketches that turned into fiber art. I have no idea if I have photo reference of those pieces. Well....SOMEWHERE.....but I don't know where. So off we go!

 

I still favor the size of this book for rough sketches; it is a mere 3 1/2" x 4 3/4" and is perfect.

PERFECT.

No intimidation.....it's tiny. If you screw up, it's just a little bit of paper. I always have used a Sharpie for work like this, though I go back in with ballpoint or pencil for fine notes. The ink runs too much for me to read later.

You can see the odd assortment of things sketched~~some with a visual guide like the Ampeg  sticker (no, I never got an Ampeg amp....that sticker was as close as I got to one of those *to-lust-after* bass beauties....) and some things I just scribbled. The last photo is significant because those sketches turned into art quilts and were the start of my shrine series that did so well. I never did sketches once the series was started; it was enough to get the general idea down and run with it. One fed the next.

Other oddities; leaves from my Japanese Maple under a piece of contact paper, pictures from quilt catalogs glued over the bleed-thru, and my original *Anne-tangles*. For those of you who might not have believed I was surprised when these became all the rage.....this is why. Been there, tangled that.

Anyway, the CURRENT sketching project had a slight delay due to a SNOWSTORM that decided to deposit itself in our State, thus, quality time with the John Deere (waaaaay too much) and the beginning of my Michael deMeng class which I highly recommend to everyone with a desire to learn new art technique and for those with a sense of humor because the man is a riot!

First, I will show that I actually got the gesso on the previous tag....whoooo-hooooo!!!!! (insert sarcasm)

And then the books everyone needs, whether you're taking Michael's class or not because they are delightful and fun reading, plus amazing artwork.....

 

Somehow I don't think he would mind that I had a little fun with the photo....

Okay, there is no odd thing in my hand photo today because yesterday That plow was the odd thing in my hand all day, and I am doing good to type this morning.

But I do have e-mail Spam humor. As I live and breathe, this was the header:

Jamaica Awaits Me!

And I it.

Not happening......I can barely get to the mailbox.

And now it's off to studio land, to try and accomplish something while I sit and look out at the gloom and grey of the continuing snowfall.

No more plowing.

Jamaica awaits me, ya know!

Pax....