Coming to Life

I posted progress on this piece last week. It  started as a collage of sorts and is slowly Coming to Life.
Here is some of the progression but she still needs work.  A LOT of work.

Paint and Papers

A face beginning to take shape

More face plus a headdress of some type

The background is  filled in and some hair is starting to appear

Oops--she has more hair but it looks as if she is wearing a camo helmet!

Obviously, I have much more to do with her including.  I am always open to suggestions so do not hesitate to give me your thoughts.  Got any ideas of what I should name this piece?

New Canvases

I have an art studio.  Sort of.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I have an area I think of as my art studio. The area must share with my washer, dryer, water heater, dog feeding station, file cabinet, printer, the tool box, a sewing machine---you know regular stuff. To add to that problem, I never know what direction to take so I save everything plus my sister Caroline cleaned out her studio and gave me even more.

Here is my "studio" end of the room. The Hoosier Cabinet is stuffed full of supplies. You can see that the top is loaded and under it is the leftover paint from my house. Because my rooms are all different colors, there are many cans under there.

Here is my dining room.  It would be nice to be able to actually dine here; I hear that is how some people use their dining rooms.   Yep, things are getting a wee bit out of hand.

You can see lots of supplies so the question is what am I working on. At present, I have 2 projects started but they are still in the very early stages. Below are stages of the same piece. In the first one, I had not decided on the orientation of the painting. In the second piece, you should see a face emerging. Paint, paper, and stenciling.

Now more paint as a face is beginning to take shape.  The college elements will not be completely covered but fewer bits will show.

In this next piece, I still haven't decided which way it will go.  The top piece is the first layer with spots made from salt.  I really like how they look.  However, in the second layer, they are not as obvious. However, I like the direction the painting is taking.

If you are wondering why I don't do a better job of picture placement, it isn't for the lack of trying.  I get them side by side but they won't post that way.  If you know how I can move the pictures around better, please let me know.  

As always, I would love to hear from you,

Vicki

Yucca

I had plans for today.  I was going to show you pictures I had drawn.  However, that plan went awry so I hope to have drawings for next week.  I am certain you are very excited!! Today's story is about the yucca plant in my front yard.

It is getting ready to pop with blooms and is very tall.  I think more shoots are developing. Shoots is a perfect word for this plant as they sprout so fast, I can practically see them grow.

The real story for today is that I downloaded Photoshop and Lightroom this evening.  I should be able to use both of them proficiently...... in a few YEARS if I study daily and take some classes. Right now they are a mystery to me.  I tinkered with the picture of the yucca, and you can see the before and after pics.  Believe me, tinkered is exactly what I mean because I had no idea what I was doing.

                                Orginal                                                                      Altered

I have new respect all of you who know how to use these programs and if you have some tips on either of these programs, please let me know.

Making a Zine

I have been training to be a docent at the Hunter Museum of American Art which is in Chattanooga. Tomorrow is my "final exam."  I have to make the first stop on a tour for students and their studio project will be making Zines.  Zines are personally published magazines about something of great interest to the writer.  Considering that, I chose The Pullman by Hung Liu. This is such a powerful painting.  She was born in Communist China into an upper-class family but was sent to work in the country as part of the communist movement.  She made her way to the US in 1984 with $20 in her pocket and a wonderful talent.  Hers is a very interesting story.

The Pullman

Yesterday four friends and I went to Atlanta to purchase some Washi paper and peruse Sam Flax.  Using the GPS we ended up in a residential neighborhood rather than at the Washi store.  A phone call confirmed that the store has closed and was now an Internet business. However, a very nice Japanese man let us shop in his house.  What we saw of the house was beautifully decorated with Japanese baskets, paintings, sculptures, and woodblocks. There were 5 of us, and we were very good customers!

My Washi papers

On to Sam Flax where we also did damage--to our wallets!  Well, one of us, got about $250 worth of paint for about $35 because it was mismarked so I suppose that we also did damage to Sam Flax! Unfortunately, I didn't see that paint, and she bought all of it!

My haul from Sam Flax

I hope to have some work done with these new paints and papers to show you next week.  

I would love for you to subscribe to Bijou Notes by filling in your email addy in the upper right corner of the blog page.  It will not be used for any other purpose than to receive notification of the blog which is published once weekly on Tuesdays.  As always, I would love to hear from you!

Mouse Trap

For months, I have been talking about getting a new car. My car is 8 years old and is in good shape, but I want a few bells and whistles such as a backup camera and blind spot alert. Today I actually went to not one but two dealerships.  In fact, I test drove one to do a bunch of errands!  Cut to the chase, I didn't buy a car today, but I am seriously considering getting a Toyota Highlander.  I have also considered a Honda Pilot, but the dealer only had about two; one didn't fit the bill and the other was parked on some high display!  Let me know if you have any advice for me.

One errand was returning some samples to a flooring store.  My brother and I bought a house that we are hoping to flip.  The floors have been refinished and are beautiful,  the kitchen cabinets will be painted with new doors installed, old paneling has been covered with sheetrock, new doors and jambs are being installed. There are still things to be done but we are well on our way.   We will not make a huge amount of money on it, but it should look really nice when we finish, and it is in a great location.  Cross your fingers that it will sell quickly.

Yikes, I am doing a lot of writing without any pics!  The other day I went to Dollar Tree and bought a dozen mouse traps---yes it was a bit embarrassing to appear to have such a rodent problem.  Here is the process in pics.

As Purchased

Hardware Removed

Plain Board

Handpainted paper added

Chalk Paint on backs

A Bunch of Bits

Ready for use
(This one has different paper)

And that, my Friends, is how to Make a Better Mouse Trap!