Halloween Etchings

When I was growing up my favorite classes for sure were my art classes.  And I think this craft idea came from one of the projects we did when I was in about the third grade.  Ever since then I’ve wanted to do it again.  No kidding.  Life gets so busy that we have to really make the time to do the little things we want to do.  Here’s a perfect example of that kind of thing.

Cut poster board it up into the sizes you want to use for your project. 

Use crayons to color the entire piece of each piece of poster board.  I like putting different colors in patches.  But it’s up to you.  You could use one color crayon if you like to cover the piece.  The important thing is to press down really hard when you are using the crayon so your waxy colored coverage is thick.

Once they are covered with crayon wax spray each piece with black flat spray paint. 

Take a tool that has a fairly sharp point.  Something even like a pencil or knitting needle could work.  But don’t use something so sharp that it will cut the paper.  I used a tool called a burnisher.  Jewelers typically use these to shine up metal jewelry.  With the tool draw the drawing you want to draw by carving out the black paint. 

Ta-Da.

Now, what can you do with your finished pieces?  You could either use them to make greeting cards or maybe place cards for a monster bash type of dinner party.  You could also use it for wall art.

Happy Crafting.

Marcia

Food For Thought:

Halloween Wreath Tutorial

If you like doing Halloween crafts I’ve got a really good one for you.  I’ve decided it’s one of the coolest crafts I’ve ever found on-line.  Well “hello”.  That’s because this lady burns paper to get the overall affect.  She’s totally speaking my language with that part right there.   We all know I have a total fascination with burning things with my torch to see the affect.  I love the randomness of burned edges on paper.

Wreath Tutorial

I did this craft with two friends and we had such a good time.

Here’s a few tips for you to keep in mind if you do decide to undertake making these paper flowers for something like a Halloween wreath.

• This craft takes a LONG time.  I can’t imagine how many days it took this lady to create the wreath with all those flowers shown on her blog.  My friends and I each created about 10 flowers in one day.

• Be sure to crinkle the plates before you soak them in the coffee bath.  I didn’t catch that part of the instructions and my paper plates were not nearly as cool as my “extreme-direction-following” friend’s plates were.  The crinkle makes all the difference in the world of the coolness of the flower once it’s all said and done.

• Also, we used seed beads instead of cookie sprinkles.  Because frankly, if I’m going to take this long to create a cool craft I want it to be something that can survive over the course of more than one spooky season. 

And last but not least, if you attempt this craft do be warned.  It is a very messy process once you start burning the paper.  Be sure to put something like a big sheet on the floor below yourself and the flames to catch the burned remnants that fall to the ground as the paper burns. Oh yeah, and…..if the burned paper lands on carpet, getting the ashes  up without further smearing black into your beloved flooring is quite hard to do.

Happy Crafting,
Marcia

Wishes, Hopes and Dreams

Who among us can’t relate to the notion?  While we’re embroiled in our currently bustling lives, many of us carry along with us a pocket full of wishes, hopes and dreams for our potential future.  If we work hard and stars align some of these aspirations may actually even come to fruition.  Some may get a little singed on the edges.  Many rest in the flame so long they merely turn to cinder, rather than turning into the thing we want most for them to become.

This collection is about the journey that our hopes take with us.  Its’ about the desires we actually realize.  It’s about the delicate fringes of the wishes that get a little crispy.  And it’s about the hearts of the dreams that simply turn to ash.

So often when I’m using my jewelers’ torch I think of these notions.  I say I like burning things and there’s a lot of reasons why.  I like the randomness of papers’ burned edges and I love the effect heat has on metal.  But mostly I like the trip my mind goes on whenever I’m working in the studio.  I think about all of my wishes, my hopes and my dreams and how so many of them are truly coming to fruition.  I also think about how charred some are on the edges.  You see, the road to get them where they are today has been a little toasty at times.  And what do I do with my dreams that that turned into embers?  I leave them alone and move on because somehow I really can understand and accept that they simply were not meant to be.

Come visit Amiro Art & Design.  There my Wishes, Hopes and Dreams collection will be featured during the months of October, November and December.  It’s not just jewelry.  I do other creative things too.  You just may not know that yet.

Thanks for reading!

Marcia

It’s Official: I’m OVERWHELMED!

 Louise, on the Other Hand, is TOTALLY RELAXED!

So this happens every now and then.  And it’s happening now.  I’m overwhelmed.  I have too many art obligations on the upcoming horizon to feel remotely comfortable. I have several fall shows lined up for my jewelry.  On top of trying to prepare for that I’ve been working on several other creative things.  I’m all over the place.  Can you relate?

Anyway, over my morning coffee this is what I do these days.  I look at my BIG calendar and wonder how can I squeeze more days into the month?  How can I squeeze more hours into the day and more minutes into the hour?

Recently I've been working hard trying to paint.  It takes so long for me to paint.  But I’m not complaining.  I love painting! 

I’m painting for two reasons. I’ve been asked to provide artwork to be used for the Arts in the Park 2017 art show poster.  I’m really excited about this opportunity.  And the other reason I’m painting is that my work is going to be featured in Amiro Art and Design through the months of October, November and December.  I’ll be in there with new book necklaces, paintings and assemblages that I’ve been working on lately.

I’m also working hard at trying to get lots of jewelry made for my fall jewelry Show Schedule.

Louise, on the other hand, is totally relaxed.  She loves hanging either with me in the studio or just outside the door, whenever I'm working in there.  I think if the truth were to be told, she's an artsy girl on the inside (like me), even though she's a little bulldog on the outside (not like me at all).

Thanks for reading!

Marcia

Thrift Store Junkie: A Blouse Becomes Art

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Well, hallelujah!

I completed my project and I’m feeling pretty darn good about it.  Check it out. Here’s what became of my last big thrift store find, a blouse.   I knew I loved the fabric, but the cut of the shirt was kind of lame, in my opinion.  It just didn’t look like something I would wear.  Though, this is probably a classic case of me finding fault in something that I might love if I saw someone else wearing it.  But, it just didn’t have a lot of hangar appeal to me.  Aside from that I knew I loved the fabric.  That’s a given.  So, what did I do you ask?  I cut it up!!  And then I got to work.

I found a 2’x2’ board of plywood in the garage.  You know, we’ve talked about this.  I’m a bit of a hoarder.  But, as a result, there’s always something lying around the house somewhere, just waiting to be turned into a great piece of artwork. 

The sheer material of the shirt had sort of an ombre effect on it.  It was purple on the bottom that subtly turned into a yellow on the top.  So, I played with paint and created my own kind of ombre-esk background. I actually played with chalk paint, a new thing for me.  I like it a lot.  It doesn’t render the somewhat plastic look that acrylic paint often does.

Once the chalk paint part was completed I attached the torn pieces of fabric on top using acrylic gel medium, one of my all time favorite craft supplies.  And once the fabric was on the board I started painting.  I added depth to the leaves and loved how it turned out.  But I soon realized I needed more leaves.  So, I got out my black fine-tip sharpie and drew in lots more leaves and vines.  Then I painted inside all of them.   I was so into this project that I completed it all in one day.  This is very rare for me.  Going this fast is just not something I usually do, especially when I’m painting.  But I was enjoying the process so much I didn’t want to stop.  I guess you could say I got into the zone.

I get into the zone a lot when I’m making jewelry.  But an artsy girl needs more than just one medium.  Honestly, I think doing all the other creative things I like to do really adds to my jewelry making ability.  I get a little re-inspired every time I do something new.  This was another one of those cases because this was new to me indeed.

Anyway, I love the painting so much that I hung my new piece over our fireplace.  It’s perfect.  Out with the old piece of artwork and in with the new.  Our house is forever changing. 

Can’t wait to get back out there and make another big thrift store find so I can do something like this again.  And don’t worry.  I won’t leave you behind.  You know when I do this again you’ll be informed. 

Thanks for reading.

Marcia

My Art “Box” Chronicles

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One of my favorite things to do in my studio is sort through my scraps.  This is something I do about once or twice a year, depending on what’s been going on in there.  It’s a result of months of working hard at jewelry making.  I often work on several pieces at a time.  And it’s not uncommon for me to abandon one assemblage during its construction.  My brain may be focused on one thing for the moment.  But then suddenly a new idea pops up in my head.  I spin on my heels and move on to the new idea.  Or I may become somewhat bored or uninspired while working on a piece.  Or maybe the piece just isn’t turning out the way I had planned when I originally started.  So, I simply move it to the side.  Eventually, usually when I clean up my work area, it may get dropped into one of my “boxes”.  Several months later, when I start sorting through my boxes I may run across a piece like this and become re-inspired.  Its exciting because it then becomes me (a different me because it’s a new me).

It’s kind of like the book, “The Art Doll Chronicles”. If you haven’t ever read the book you should.  I mean if you love art dolls, as I do, you would really love the book.  It tells the story of several artists’ shared projects.  Each artist started a doll construction and then mailed it to another artist, who then picked up where the prior artist left off.  After she added her personal touches she then passed it on to the next artist and waited to receive her next doll.  I love this collaborative project idea.  If I were to find a group who was willing to undertake this sort of project together I just know that every time I new partially made doll came into my studio I’d be totally re-inspired and excited to begin working.

So long story short, that’s why I like working out of my “Art Boxes”.  I’m a different person and artist every day.  So picking up where I left off months ago, sometimes even years ago feels like I’m practicing the notion of “The Art Doll Chronicles”.  I mean, in a way of course.

It’s also great practice for days when I’m in a slower starting mode.  It can get me going in a heartbeat even on the most sluggish of mornings in my art studio.

Gonna’ go snoop around in my boxes right now actually, and see what I can start cooking up in my studio.  My fall show schedule is currently developing and it’s starting to look a little crazy.  Need to get a head start on production for sure.

Thanks for reading and as always, thanks so much for your support!

Marcia