To Cut or Not to Cut...

Well, I have to tell you I'm absolutely enthralled with restructured clothing. This is a GREAT site if you are interested or looking for inspiration in this area.

When we were away 2 weeks ago for Girl's Day Out, I fell in love with this beautiful little cream colored top which had a long flounce of red and white polka dotted sheer fabric along the bottom. Though it spoke to me it's price tag of $70 said "run!". I left it behind, but very sadly. My sister, Faith said it seemed easy enough to make. Above is my first attempt. My other sister, Celeste gave me a few old sweater tops she didn't want anymore. I used one of those, cut, sewed and viola! A pretty new spring top. Very easy project...I used a scarf cut into two sections so that it was already hemmed along the bottom. I like the raw edge look a lot, so I left the top raw and did a simple zig-zag stitch there.

I'm so excited~I want to try something else! Now, where can I find some more scarves???

Oh, What Fun...

I'm having such a blast in my 2-Dimensional Design class...and to think, I nearly wimped out! New things are cool but sometimes I get so scared/nervous/flightly ahead of time that I miss out. Other times I say "yes" to too much and then I feel like I miss out in a different way. It's hard to balance life sometimes, isn't it?

These are photos of a "Personal Map" that we did 2 weeks ago. Mine is on the Creative Process. We weren't supposed to use much text, and the images/symbols that we selected were supposed to mean something to us, not necessarily to anyone looking at the piece. I chose the eggs in the nest first, as my ideas tend to start with a little incubation period. Then I selected images of nature (the sun being the clock) because I need time/relaxation/quiet to reflect and really think things through. Next comes the bird, hatched and walking upright...then the birds are flying, but if you notice, one bird is still in a stationary position. This is because often an idea feels like it's nearly there, but not quite. There are moments of "uh-oh's" and "ooops's" throughout my creative process. The mostly all flying birds/butterfly goes through the final door (reality?) and into the creative magical place of color, fun and experimentation. I ripped up bits of my "pallette" (waxed paper) globbed with paint from where I dab off my brushes, game pieces, pinwheels, a girl's dress, pom-poms and anything else that caught my fancy and made me feel kid-like and fun. I love the shocking colorfulness of it.

My teacher is stupendous! She is so encouraging and inspiring and for being an incredible artist herself, is so down to earth, friendly and fun. I'm having a blast!

This week coming up is book making. I've got one small Chinese book complete (minus text/graphics) and two more that I will finish up this weekend. One is going to be based on a kids story I created about a little elfin girl named Rubanna Lee, the other???? Not sure yet...stay tuned and I'll post more later !

Artful Mail...

Have you heard of Mail Art? Here's a quick definition from wikipedia: "Mail art is art which uses the postal system as a medium. The term "mail art" can refer to an individual message, the medium through which it is sent, and an art movement. Mail artists typically exchange ephemera in the form of illustrated letters; zines; rubberstamped, decorated, or illustrated envelopes; artist trading cards; postcards; artistamps; faux postage; mail-interviews; naked mail; and three-dimensional objects."

Check out this wikipedia link for more information and cool examples.

Last week in my 2-Dimensional design class our teacher (who is extremely cool and very talented) gave us a handout on mail art. I have seen examples only in Somerset Studio and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines, but never in real life...though as I write that, I remember my sister Aimee and I decorating our envelopes to the hilt back before there was email...she did an incredible job with her envelopes...I wonder if I still have any? So, perhaps I was an unknowning mail artist, before the title was ever created (how exciting!).

I've just come across a Mail Art collection here in Vermont and now, of course, I'm anxious to participate. I'm also really excited that I can now make my own envelopes~thanks again to my teacher, who gave us a simple pattern last week. The envelope shown here is one I made out of a 1/2 of a manila folder at work today (it was a rather slow day).

Now I'm off to finish my homework before bed. Tomorrow is another full day and class tomorrow night...I think we are creating books and binding them (!)...which reminds me, I have to find a needle and some thread to bring...

A Lovely Day Out...

Last Sunday was Girl's Day Out, something my 3 sisters and I try to do every so often to stay in touch and spend some quality time together. We were trying to meet up monthly, but now we just try when we can.

This trip took us to Middlebury, Vermont where there are lots of cool little shops, artsy places, and yummy food options.

The doors above (which I LOVE!) are the entrance to Frog Hollow . I LOVE it there! There were lots of beautiful items, my favorite of which was probably this pottery which, I think, is absolutely fantastic. I LOVE all the color (of course!) and the way that it's just dripping with it. The maker is Eleanora Eden. Find her pottery online here. Gorgeous!

I should be in bed...

I should be in bed; it's past time for me. I just got back from an a local art forum meeting and as I'm coming to see, these art situations leave me full of inspiration and despair.

I think I've posted this photo before, but I'm too tired to go back and check. Please forgive me?

As I was saying these art events, while stimulating and interesting to observe, leave me feeling a bit...behind the 8-ball. First of all, when I introduce myself to someone I never know what to say. Artist? Aspiring artist? Creative person? Wanna be? I'm not sure so sometimes I just say my name. Then they ask me to repeat it (Perrino isn't very common in these parts). Plus, I have to tell you something. When I go to these events there are often "famous" artists present. Do you know all I can think of in these situations is how silly my art would seem to them? Then I feel horribly guilty for thinking mean thoughts about my "baby art". That is how it feels to me these days, like baby art. It's not fully grown. It's like the promise of good art...does that make any sense? But how can it be this great, breathtaking art I want it to be when I'm so impatient with it? When I feel embarassed that it's not like other people's?

Good grief~sorry for the rant. I've really been in quite a positive mood lately, not sure what happened tonight.

Regardless, here is the link to the gallery show that I'm part of. Mine is the itsy bitsy tiny piece to the very far right in the 2nd photo (I think!). There will be a reception held tomorrow night and I'm planning to stop by for a bit. Perhaps that's what all this is; nerves?

Night-night. XOXOXO

What You Think About...

Have you seen "The Secret" yet? Read the book? Watched the Oprah show(s) featuring it? An interesting concept to be sure..."What you think about, you bring about" as one of the experts says on the DVD. It's fascinating to me~based on the Law of Attraction which basically says that what we focus on and put our energy into multiplies. True? I'm doing a little test right now to see: Last week I focused on flowers. I wanted someone to give me flowers, or to find some flowers (not likely in our snow-covered state), send me a floral note card...something to do with flowers. I shared my item of concentration with my husband and instructed him to not buy me any flowers. I wanted to see where they would come from...

Today I found out we won second place in a photo contest and guess what one of the gift certificates is for? A flower shop. Are you surprised? I was, I will admit it. And thankful. It feels good to know that God cares about even the little things, like flowers.

This is an ATC I have been playing with. It's for someone special. Shhhh, I can't tell who! It's a secret...

Montreal Art Museums...

We had a great time traipsing around the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Modern Art Museum. Here are a few photos of some of our favorite pieces of artwork:

A Lovely Weekend...

Here is a photo from our B&B in Montreal, The Victorian Heritage. It was so lovely...don't you like the green paint? It's so cheerful and chic.

Some miscellaneous photos from around the city: