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:

An Inspiring Day...

Wow~how beautiful is this place? Friday I was lucky enough to get to attend the Helen Day Art Center (as seen above) for a "Futures in Art" conference that my friend Suzanne told me about. She wasn't able to make the conference (waaah!) but I contacted the woman in charge and made my arrangements. What a day! I can't believe how wonderful it was to listen to other artists, some working in the field, some aspiring...I felt so connected and just this deep "thrum" of excitement.
























It was a gorgeous day and the sunlight was just perfect for taking some outdoor photos during lunch. Plus, (I'm embarrassed to admit it) I felt too shy to sit with the other conference attendees...even though it would have been a great time to network and learn even more. I had that "new kid at school" type feeling...would someone see me coming and put their books on the chair next to them? Cowardly, yes. But it was nice to get some fresh air and a little quiet time to process everything I had learned during the morning session.


























Here are a few of the most important things I learned (or was reminded of):

1) Organic Education is extremely important (i.e. one doesn't necessarily need formal art education to be a great artist, but they do need to be exposed to great art/artists).

2) Having a support system of other artists is very important.

3) You must become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

4) What you put out there will come back to you.

The statements above (loosely paraphrased) were from a professor and head of art at University of Vermont who also mentioned his core beliefs which I strongly agree with. They are:

a. People are happier doing what they like-this is possible for everyone if they choose
b. We have an obligation to make the world a better place
c. Talent may not make you a success. You will still have to deal with the clumby process of finding your own way.

I AGREE! Especially with "We have an obligation to make the world a better place." I think that is one way that I can feel justified and "useful" making art...sometimes I feel that it's too frivolous, or others infer that it's not a worthwhile use of time...I beg to differ!

Vintage Treasures...

I have been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and look at the lovely treasures I'm parting with! My loss is someone else's gain, right? Plus I am feeling lighter having de-cluttered a bit...check them out on my ebay site if you want to snap up an item or two...



We have put off our big anniversary trip until next weekend...so this weekend I'm dedicating to organizing and tidying and crossing things off the to-do list!

And the Winner Is...

Heidi~You're the winner! Luckily (because of the pretty posie I bought) I have your mailing address and will send this out tomorrow.

Thanks for participating everyone! I'm sure to be doing another giveaway in the future so stay tuned....

Snowy Weekend and a Pretty Posie...

What a snowy, snowy weekend! This is a photo I took at Jay Peak, a northernmost mountain located in the eastern part of Vermont. My husband went downhill skiing, I decided to snowshoe. Needless to say, after 20 minutes on an unbroken trail, I was a bit fatigued. I fell through the snow in many places. I don't know if you've ever been in snow so deep that when you fall through it comes completely up to your thigh but it is a bit alarming. A panicky voice in my head tried to tell me that I would be out there all night, as I seemed to be the only person on the trail, but I shushed it and dug my leg out with my frozen hands. Ahhh, winter...

Decidedly un-wintery is this lovely little felted posie I bought from Heidi. I LOVE it! It is much more beautiful in person than in my photo...and her bags? Scrumptious! Check out her etsy site and buy a little treat for yourself!

Now, I should give an update on the "big giveaway". I forgot all about a cutoff date, which we definitely need. I am going to draw the name on Wednesday evening and get the little package all ready to ship out on Thursday. IF by chance, I do not have your mailing address and you aren't able to get it to me by Thursday morning, I will probably not be able to ship until next Monday. We are away this weekend (romantic anniversary trip~yay!) so I won't be able to make it to the post office till then. Keep your fingers crossed ladies....are you holding your breath?!

A Chic Chick Giveaway...

"Our grand business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." ~Thomas Carlyle

Here it is blogettes, my very own Chic Chick anniversary giveaway. This is a piece I created using a 5x7 mat board and lots of acrylic paint. Unfortunately, the photos don't show the ribbons of silver paint throughout the piece that really make it beautiful...I added a metallic silver ribbon for hanging and covered the back in soft brown corduroy.

Now for the rules:

You must comment on this blog and you Must (with a capital "M"!) tell us what quote you find most inspiring.

I will put all the names of respondants into a pretty jar and draw the winner (no peeking, I promise!).

-Joy

PS This is not the quote I find MOST inspiring, but it is in the top 5...

And it Snowed, and Snowed, and Snowed....

Wow~what a storm! It felt like a scene from "Storm of the Century", that creepy Stephen King movie...

Brrr...not only did it snow, and snow and snow, but it blew too! The wind was whipping this morning as we tried to clear our car and truck out for work. I miss snowdays so much, but no shutdown at work for us!

I feel so sad thinking about all the animals having to be in these elements 24/7. I felt a little better after I brushed a ton of fluffy white snow from the bird feeders...just a few minutes about 30 birds descended to gobble up some sunflower seed breakfast.

I'm grateful tonight to be snuggled in with my sweetie and furry pets and a cozy fire...

A Giveaway (from me to you)...

Well, I don't know if anyone here knows but I just won a beautiful surprise from Deb! I know! I'm so excited I can hardly sit still...my mother would say I have "ants in my pants"...I think it's a little too cold for ants around here these days (is it above 0 yet?) but I am very excited and grateful to Deb for my nice surprise. Thank you again!

Did you know (I had to check back, I'd completely forgotten) that I'm celebrating my one year anniversary of blogging? I began this blog last year, on January 22nd. I had every intention of doing something special on the actual day (which is rather hard to do if one doesn't keep track of that special day isn't it?). It's not too late to do something now...Especially if that something has to do with a very special giveaway?

I'm working on a little something for one of you...my loyal blogettes. I hope, hope, hope that there are still some of you out there? Even after my many moves? If not a lot, I know at least 3 of you who will be entered into the drawing....or should it be a contest of sorts? Hmmmm, my tiny wheels are turning...

I'll keep you posted (no pun intended!) and will post "The Item" as soon as it's complete.

Metamorphosis...

This is the project I've just completed. I'm very pleased with the end result. It's called "Metamorphosis" Can you guess what it's about? :)

I have never used hardware cloth before, but have to say that I really love it. It's a bit tricky to work with (stiff and very sharp...use gloves if you want to incorporate it into one of your projects), but it provided just the look I wanted.

Close Up's Please...

A few close ups...

I did it!

I did it! I did it! I finished my take on "Nature Preserved" for the upcoming submission deadline at Somerset Studio! Whew~what a load off my mind...my shoulders seem to have raised 3 inches since I dropped my envelope in the mail this morning.

I debated for a long time on whether or not to try to ship the whole shebang to the studio, but in the end (after all the hours of work!) decided it wasn't worth the risk. I just couldn't think of a way to package everything so it wouldn't end up in a crunched up in shambles at the bottom of the packing box.

I am calling this "Bits of Heaven" because, being a true crunchy and avid nature-lover, that is what I feel when I'm out in nature...like nature here is just a bit of a preview of what heaven will be like.

My original thought when I sketched this project out was to have each box hanging horizontally on a branch (one of the two shown in the photo) but the boxes ended up a bit larger and more flexible than I thought and I don't think the end result would have been pretty. So, I left each of the boxes seperate, but displayed them using the branches instead. I'm pretty pleased with the results!

Oooh...look!

Pssst! Just to let you know I'm selling this marvelous lot of ephemera/mixed media/collage supplies on ebay. Room cleaning does have it's perks!

Follow Your Bliss...

"Bliss:
1. supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment: wedded bliss.
2. Theology. the joy of heaven.
3. heaven; paradise: the road to eternal bliss.
4. Archaic. a cause of great joy or happiness." (Dictionary.com)

When have you last felt bliss? Did you know bliss can also be a verb (blissed out)? I felt blissed out on Friday afternoon. I was home in the early afternoon, waiting for the furnace man to come and do the yearly cleaning. I had a nice roasted veggie sandwhich and then a hot cup of eggnog coffee for dessert (I realize that it's WAY past time to be drinking eggnog flavored coffee, but I love it too much to care).

I then spent some time running up and down the stairs between my creative room and my computer in the living room in my artistic endeavors. Scan. Run back upstairs. Cut and paste. Smooth out paper. Run back downstairs. Copy. Run back upstairs..."

I stopped and thought for a moment, as I sipped my hot coffee and looked out at the snow on the tree branches, "This is bliss. There is no where I would rather be right now, no one I'd rather be with than myself, nothing I would rather be doing than working on this creative project." I was filled to the brim with joy.

Even though I don't know where I'm going on this journey that is my life, I feel so, so grateful that I've added more creativity and passion into my life. There is still so much I want to do! So much I want to learn creatively, so many things I want to try, but I just feel so grateful and sure that I'm heading in the right direction. Not knowing where I will end up is unnerving...sometimes it's downright scary. But knowing that I'm going somewhere, that makes all the difference to me.

I want so much to make my living in a creative field, but I'm completely unsure which direction to go in. Graphic Design is very interesting to me; I like working with software and spending time alone working is quite pleasant most of the time. On the other hand, there is the helping side of me (the NF in my INFP/INFJ Myers-Briggs classification) that makes me feel like no work will be completely satisfying unless I can see that I'm helping a cause, doing something to make someone else's stay here a little better, be it a person or animal.

If I could have my dream job, what would it be? I'm still not sure, even after turning 30. But I know some things it would include: Creativity (obviously!), flexibility, problem solving, helping support a cause I believe in, fairly good income, the ability to work at home at least part-time, the ability to work alone most of the time, with positive interaction with others, autonomy, beauty all around, fun, work that I feel passionate about. Roll all those things up into a career and what do you have?

I'm not sure, but I'll let you know what I find out...