Altered Heart

Yes, it's been WAY too long since I've updated my blog. I've been taking some down time and doing a lot of reading: lots of poetry and some fiction. The poetry has really been calling to me, helping to feed my starving Muse.

I've discovered many new (to me) poets that have really spoken to me. Among my favorites right now are Matthew Zapruder, Alice Fulton and Andrew Hudgins. I've bought their latest books and have been poring over their words just breathing in the inspiration through their imagery. It's been wonderful! So,that's where I've been.

I put together this digital piece this morning while listening to some music. I love the idea of using ink blots as images. Tangie Baxter at Scrapbook Graphics had a really cool new digital kit out that did just that and I had to grab it up and play with it. I also had this verse of a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in my head called, "The World is a Beautiful Place" and thought I'd put it with this piece. Here's the complete verse:

"The world is a beautiful place

to be born into

if you don't mind happiness

not always being

so very much fun

if you don't mind a touch of hell

now and then

just when everything is fine

because even in heaven

they don't sing

all the time..."

And now that Fall is finally coming and the oppressive heat and humidity is starting to go away maybe I'll be a bit more motivated to make some more art! I do know that words and images are bombarding me and I'm excited about where the direction they are taking me. And hopefully I will be checking in here a little more regularly!

A Little Escape

It's been a while since I've posted! Many things are going on right now and I'm also taking advantage of some down time just to refill my artistic well. One way I do that is to read fiction. I used to read a LOT but in the last few years my art has taken over and I've all but quit. I have missed it, though.

Hubby surprised me one day and came home with a Nook. I never thought I would warm up to an electronic book reader. I'm one who loves to hold a book in my hand, feel the pages, etc. But I'm also one who has boxes of books that are still unpacked from the last move and sitting in the basement right now. There are no more book shelves to put them in. We both keep all of our books and have built up quite the stash. So storage has become a problem. And I hate to part with them so I pack my books in boxes.

So I gave the Nook a try. This way I can buy new books (plus get a lot of classics for free) and not have to worry about a place to put them. I'm hooked. I can't believe how much I love this little thing. The only drawback...it's too easy to hit the shop button and buy a book, download it and start reading. I must control myself....

And since I was escaping into the world of fiction, I decided to really escape and see what all the fuss was about with the Twilight madness. So the first ebook I bought was Twilight. Then I had to get all of the rest of them. Now I'm hopeless. Even before the current wave of vampire madness, I was a fan of Anne Rice and all of her novels. So that made me go hunting through the taped up boxes in the basement looking for those.

Needless to say, not much art is getting done. But I'm enjoying my little escape into fantasy, I'm filling my well, and I'm getting some ideas for some darker art. And it just so happens that my friend Kimmie decided to open a group for "dark art" at her Digital Whisper site. So, I'm feeling right at home there!

This was a digital piece I did for Kimmie's moon challenge. She supplied the moon and some clouds, we were to fill in the rest. I had the girl in my files. I didn't keep track of where she came from so I can't give the proper credit. The sinister eyes belong to...who do you think? The piece is called, "Darkness Beckons". Hmmm...I think I'd follow him anywhere. ;)

Taking Risks

I have a little bit of everything in here today. The top photo the pendant I talked about yesterday. I LOVE this! I placed it on a digital background so it would show up better. The scan alone was a little bare. You can click on each photo to get a better view. I'm definitely going to use this with an art doll. I think I found it at Michael's craft store. They have a great jewelry section.

I find this risk theme alot in my magazines and art publications that I follow. I'm wanting to take more risks with my art; try things out of my comfort zone. It's a good exercise to push your creativity to new limits. Some of the things I'm aiming for that are completely new to me: trying an assemblage or shrine, art dolls with more found objects, altering vintage book covers, sketching and painting, small journal quilts and incorporating beading into my work. Whew! That's an ambitious list to start with. I keep a small notebook of ideas that I jot down as I come across them and these are among the ones that really have my interest now.

Oh, I keep forgetting to mention... have you noticed my new blog banner? That was another small risk I took. I was not in love with the plain one we are given with the blog templates here. So, I figured I would try and create one for myself. I've noticed alot of my favorite blogs have their own banners. I figured why not try my hand at it. Working in Photoshop with the digital altered book gave me the push I needed to try and create my own banner. I'm pretty happy with it. Now that I figured out the size, I'll change it up now and then just to keep things fresh! I hope you like it. Hubby liked the new colors in the background and sidebars, too! :)

The second photo is my favorite page of my digital altered book. The original page that we were given before altering was the whole poem on a blank page. I took just the first verse of the poem and created everything else around that. I still have the final page and the back cover to finish; something I'm aiming to complete today.

The last photo is another of my ATC's I created for the magic key ATC swap at Artella. If you look at yesterday's post, the cover (or door) is posted there. When you open the door (which is attached to the front of this card) you see this little guy.

So, back to work. I'm really motivated to wrap up the works in progress and begin with new projects. Plus, I made a trip to the flea market yesterday and came back with some absolute treasures! I'll post those tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Another Side of Inspiration

This is a different kind of post today. I picked up the newest copies of two of my favorite magazines, Art Doll Quarterly and Artful Blogging. They are both published by Stampington & Company, who bring us the most inspirational grouping of magazines I've ever seen. Check out their Somerset Studio, Somerset Memories, and Somerset Home magazines just to name a few.

What I found particularly interesting in this issue of Art Doll Quarterly is an article about the doll artist Beth Robinson. You can check out her dolls at http://www.strangedolls.net . She makes dolls that are more along the darker side. I would call them Gothic. I really like them; some people won't get it. She talks about her inspiration and also about some reaction to her dolls. I found it sad that she had to endure an onslaught of hate e-mail just because one narrow-minded person didn't like her art! This person evidently made it their mission to enlist others to bombard her with hateful messages.

Well, art isn't always going to be pretty. It isn't always a positive message. That just reflects life. Everyday isn't beautiful and fun and rosy. It takes great courage to create something that doesn't reflect a happy ending. I find that particularly true in writers. Right or wrong, writers often get the reputation for being heavy drinkers, depressed, etc. While this is true for alot of writers, it doesn't hold true for all of them.

I have said before that what often inspires me is poetry. I have many favorite poets. Among them is Anne Sexton. She was a very troubled soul who eventually committed suicide. But her poems really speak to me. They are not for everyone; nobody's art is. But, I'm glad she wrote them. I have the first stanza from the poem posted on my bulletin board in my studio. I really identify with this poem, I love this stanza. I'm including this page in my zine, as the last page; kind of the last word. You can click on the image to get a better view of the poem.

So while I love beautiful things, happy things and positive messages, I still find inspiration in the darker side of art. I like to keep an open mind and try to see where the artist is coming from. What is their message? It's something to think about.

Quote Me

Today it's all about quotes. I ran across the quote by Camus on another art blog this morning. I have a very large list of favorite art blogs that I skim every morning while having my coffee. This inevitably leads to adding more blogs to my Favorites, since those bloggers often list THEIR favorites and I have to check those out which just leads to a vicious circle... Anyway, I have always admired Camus. I have his notebooks and most of his novels. They are full of inspiration and insight.

What inspires you? I'm often inspired by other artists' work, by poetry, by music, by art challenge blogs and even by evening walks with hubby; it depends on what stimulus I'm surrounded by at the time. Today, it's quotes. The other quotes are what I found when I looked under "wings" in a quotation book; tons of quotes. I am including these particular ones in a "mini-zine" that will be incorporated into a page of my Wings Zine. The mini-zine is a small note card size 3" x 3" that I stapled these into.

The papers are digital papers from my collection. I found a cool font and voila! Art quotes. The Camus quote I cut out to a size of 2" x 1" and adhered to the same size of pressed wood rectangles. The rectangles will then be placed into an envelope I made from various scrapbook papers. Pretty cool. I'll adhere it to the page in my zine dedicated to collage finds. I plan on putting different ephemera onto the page for the folks to take and use for their own collages.

I'm making my zine to be a hands-on, goodies-packed affair. It's not typical of a zine, but since there will only be ten copies I have more freedom to spend more time on them. It will be one big Christmas in October package! They have to be mailed by Oct. 12.

Also, Artella is hosting another digital altered book contest. You KNOW how I love those. So, I'm trying to decide which book to use. If you're not familiar with them, check on the side listings under "My Digital Altered Books" and click on those. They are a lot of fun to make. Plus, they keep my Photoshop skills tuned up. Stay tuned for more on this...

Enough for now. One of my favorite bloggers at http://www.allnorahsart.blogspot.com/ Sharon Tomlinson often uses the word enough to signal the end of a blog post. I like that! Check out her blog. She is an amazing artist and has opened my eyes to using napkins (!) in her art. Awesome work she does. OK, this time I really mean it; ENOUGH!