Month: October 2014

a pantyhose world…

Mary4 Comments

A week ago last Friday, I went to our local “friends of the library” book sale.  I wasn’t looking for books to read…I was cruising for collage material.  Since getting a Kindle…all my reading material is on it.  I love my Kindle!  I found some old books to use for altered books or reuse the covers for journal covers.  One of the books I bought was by Erma Bombeck: if life is a bowl of cherries-what am I doing in the pits? I’d forgotten how funny she was. One of the chapter headings in the book is “A Pair of White Socks in a Pantyhose World.”  If you are over 40, you probably know about Bombeck and pantyhose. Here’s a quote from the book:

“I worry about scientists discovering someday that lettuce has been fattening all along.  But mostly, I worry about surviving.  Keeping up with the times in the world that changes daily.  Knowing what to keep and what to discard.  What to accept and what to protest.”

The above quote is from the introduction….she says this book is about surviving…it’s still applicable today…funny stuff about some serious subjects 🙂

Here are my recent 4x4s:

These number 137-140:

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For this set, I used pages from the Bombeck book.  The first three were drawn with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and the last one is charcoal and pen.  These number 141-144:

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I’m not really satisfied with these 4x4s but time is running out…so, I will include them.  These number 145-148:

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until next time…be creative in all you do…

more 4×4’s…

Mary2 Comments

AUTUMN HUMOR:

Autumn is a season for big decisions — like whether or not it’s too late to start spring cleaning.

Autumn — time to drag out your winter clothes and see what kind of summer fun the moths had.

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I need some new potholders and I’ve been thinking of making some for myself and maybe some for Christmas gifts. The Stitching Scientist has these.  Who knew there are so many tutorials and videos about how to make potholders.  The Ribbon Retreat blog offers this tutorial.

And then, I was looking at some other craft projects and found this great idea for recycling those wooden leaf and bowls that you can easily find at most flea markets.  Jennifer calls them Boho Chic Jewelry Trays. I’m sure they could be used for other items, as well.

On to this weeks 4×4’s.  This first set started with a magazine cover.  I put gesso on both sides.  I used acrylic paints, markers, and oil pastels.  These number 129-132:

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I used watercolors, acrylic paints, and black acrylic ink and a dip pen on Bristol paper.  Before drawing the black lines…I brushed Liquitex Gold Interference paint over the entire surface.  This set numbers 133-136:

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until next week…going to go hold my dog’s paw…he’s freaking out because of a thunder storm…

don’t take anything personally…

Mary3 Comments

Don Miguel Ruiz’s “Four Agreements:

1.  Be impeccable with your word

2.  Don’t take anything personally

3.  Don’t make assumptions

4.  Always do your best

Good words to live by, but difficult to put into practice.  I need to reread the book.

I didn’t make any 4×4’s this week… but I have been sketching again.  I change from week to week.  This first one is me (from a photo).  I used graphite:

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This is myself and my daughter (from a photo)…it’s not a good likeness:

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This is a random drawing of no one in particular:

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This a sketch from a Golden Book illustration:

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I am taking another online class that began this week.  This is an excellent class so far.  The first master we are studying is Van Gogh.  It’s on Jeanne Oliver’s ning art site.  Check out the other masters coming up in the next few weeks.  I also like that she doesn’t charge a huge amount…it’s actually a bargain.  I have already gotten more than my money’s worth from the first lesson alone.  Here is my version of Van Gogh’s sketch in a letter to his brother, Theo, in January, 1882:

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I’m going to try this again…something about the body proportion is off 🙂

I also got my latest art book from Amazon this week:

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I like it…has lots of inspiration for making abstract art. The author makes this statement about the book:

“I want this book to be fun to read and easy to use without exhausting your attention span or your wallet.  I’ll keep the emphasis on making instead of thinking about making.”

…until next week