Hey there, and Welcome to my world of Krazy! If you are visiting to check out my art journal pages, please let me know you've been here. If you've stumbled upon me by accident, you are welcome anyway! And if you are here to read about the ups and downs of my Krazy life, feel free to comment as well, there is safety in numbers and it's nice to know I'm not alone!
Hello out there! Big welcome if you are visiting from over at Artists in Blogland where they have been crazy enough to feature me during Technique Tuesday. Mwahahaha... If you haven't run across Artists In Blogland yet, I highly suggest you check out this amazing community of artists. It's a great networking site with a lot to offer. From Technique Tuesday, to Show and Tell Saturdays, and Color this Quote, there is oodles to keep you inspired and busy! Artists in Blogland also offers places to promote your blog, etsy shop, and any classes you might offer. How cool is that!
The technique I offered up for this Technique Tuesday is one that I use quite frequently in both my art classes, and in my art journals. It's simple, bright, colourful, and was used for the background of the page featured in this post. Using Spectra Bleeding Art tissue paper and a little water, you can beautifully dye your paper a rainbow of colours. Check it out, and let me know if you use it, I would love to see your results!
As always, linking with Artsyville, for Glue It Tuesday, as glue was used but not harmed in the making of this page. Better late then never i say! It's been two weeks! Two weeks since I've posted. My how time flies when the weather is good, and the energy is high. I must confess that I find it hard in the summer months to spend time at the computer, for a variety of reasons. My computer is in the basement where my studio is located It is dark in the basement... It's hard to be inside in the basement when it's nice out. You know what else basements have? Bugs... yes bugs.. I don't like bugs... in particularly centipedes, which when it's hot, love the cool darkness of my basement, and my basement in particular... I am convinced that the whole population of centipedes in my neck of the woods live and breed solely within the four walls of my basement. So therefore, in the coming summer months, you will likely see a decline in my posting, because I will be outside in the sun.... with the cute and cuddly bugs, and not in my dark basement, with the not so cute and definately not cuddly bugs.
I have been busy though! The beginning of June saw me host my very first art journal challenge over at Artjournaling.ning.com. Our fearless moderator, Comfortable Shoes, aka Leslie Herger, was brave enough to give me a shot, and for that I am thankful. So my challenge.... to use graffiti in an art journal page. I've been on a bit of a graffiti bender, admiring the lettering, bright colours and bold designs (not partaking, it's illegal and a no no!) So, if you aren't already on Artjournaling.ning.com, head on over and check it out! It's an amazing site, chock full of goodies. If you are so inclined you can check out my video here.
Next I took some time with my art students to do some Guerilla Gardening as part of my Random Art of Kindness project. You can read about it here. Such a fun little project. I will definately be doing this again.
Lots more going on this month but I shall save that for another day! Until then,
Sooooo, went out an bought a Gelli Plate.... yuppers! So excited, I've been happily slappity slap slapping paint on the plate, and going to town with a venegence. This page was an older unfinished one, that needed just a little "je ne sais quoi"... so I took one of my gazillions of spiffy prints, some u-hu, and biff, bam, boom, voila! Ahhhhh. A page I am happy with. Create Laughter in Life. I love to laugh, don't you? When was the last time you laughed? Not just a tee hee, but a full on, gut-busting, hyperventilating, hiccuping knee-slapper. You know, the kind where you laugh so hard that no sound comes out and tears stream down your face? I love those kind of laughs... where you fan your face in a vain attempt to send oxygen to your brain, and then you settle, only to snort and start the whole process over again. It's contagious, it's cathartic, and it's unfortunately few a far between. I cherish those moments of brief sanctioned bouts of insanity. So, I am determined to laugh more, more heartily, and more deeply because laughter is truly the best medicine.
Stay Safe and Love Yourself,
As always, linking with Artsyville and Glue it Tuesday. Go check out the new Washi Tape... Aimee is a washi tape queen... she is going to rule the world one roll of super hawt washi tape at time!
Ahh, so I am riduculously behind this week. I blame the gorgeous weather. I have been busy though, gluing, gluing, gluing. I have been inspired by Suzy over at Sunshine and Lollipops to create a journal using all my bits paper. I'm a bit of a paper h00r. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I love paper. Any, all, no matter the size, style or texture. I hoard paper the way a starving man might hoard a cookie crumb. It's a sickness really. So I took a small cheapo composition book that was freecycled to me, got out the trusty UHU, and went to town! What fun it was to gleefully glue down bits of paper willynilly. Just looking through my paper collection was have the fun, like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in a while. Good Times! Anyway, so my glue it tuesday submission for Artsyville is late, but it was more like a glue it week anyway! I hear the call of the glue stick, it's calling my name! Until next time,
It's Tuesday again, and that means one thing: Glue-it Tuesday with Aimee and the gang over at Artsyville. This week's page is a long time coming, about 9 years in fact. Just a brief history to explain the sentiment behind the page. Nine years ago, at the age of 27, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. I wish I had known about art journaling then. Fast forward to the future, here and now finds me cancer-free and healthy, the trials of cancer a notch in my belt, and a growing distant memory. The hardest part for me throughout all of this, wasn't the hair loss or the weight gain, the medication or the exhaustion but overcoming the mentality of being somehow less of a woman. The rediscovering of my sexuality and the understanding that my scars were not shameful, didn't make me less or ugly or undesirable has been a long time coming. I've learnt to love myself not in spite of the scars but because of them. So this page is a tribute to me, and to every woman out there who has looked in the mirror and wept. YOU are BEAUTIFUL, and that, is the honest to God truth.
Holy Bat Balls! It's been a busy week. I feel like I've forgotten to breathe. Not much time to sit down and write, and my motivation to get my art on, was low at best. My intentions were good, I would sit down and start working on something, but ultimately, I would become distracted or irritated, or tired....or hungry... or interrupted... a LOT! Killing two birds with one stone this week again. My entry for Glue it Tuesday and Artists In Blogland's monthly colour me quote. This months quote was brought to you by Judy Garland: "Always be a 1st rate version of yourself, instead of a 2nd rate version of somebody else." I like the quote, it's a good reminder to stay true to yourself. I hate this page though... it's a second rate page. I debated on even putting it up... but... I'm staying true to myself ;) Lettering is my nemesis! I hate lettering. I feel many of my pages are ruined by mediocre lettering. Grrrr. Do you like lettering???? Do you hate it too? What are some of your ideas and suggestions? I'd love to hear from you.... I would love some pointers and suggestions.
As always, linking up with Artsyville for Glue it Tuesday, and as an added bonus, I figured out the linky button too. Huzzah! As mentioned in my Sunday post, I've done a few Random Art of Kindness pieces on 5 by 7 canvas board. This is the second of the three I have completed. It's all set and ready to go, it just needs to be left somewhere. I just love the quote on this one, "It's never too late to be what you might have been" by George Eliot. The little picture in the bottom left corner comes from a card a young student of mine made for me, many, many years ago! She and her brother printed 6 handmade cards, and even made the box they came in as a thank you. She's older now, a young adult and I often wonder if she continued on with art. The one thing I love about teaching young children is that they come into class with eyes wide open, and the possibilities of many futures lay stretched out before them. As a teacher, I hope to be able to open just one of the many doors in their journey. Teaching adults, is always a little more difficult. As grown-ups we are more self-conscious and in many ways more insecure in our abilities after years of negative self-talk and doubt. I never used to enjoy teaching adults for this very reason. In my prejudice, I found adults to be narrow-minded, unenthusiastic, striving perfectionists... Hello Pot, this is Kettle! Now, I find that the opportunity to teach adult classes presents a chance for growth and change. A way to remind myself and others, that it's never too late to be, what we might have been.
Until next time,
Today was a very special day in the Krazy household. Middle Krazy celebrated her eleventh birthday! So in her honour we placed a Random Art of Kindness down the street from the restaurant where she was having her birthday lunch. She was very excited to discover after lunch that the piece had been picked up. It's a bit bigger than my normal RAK's. It's 5" by 7" canvas board. I really enjoyed working in this size and hope to make some more. I just loved this quote when I came across it: "Smile. Let everyone know that today you're a lot stronger than you were yesterday." How awesome is that! The author was unknown, but man, it's a great quote. I hope whoever picked it up smiled! Until next time,
