Sail Away Collage

Come, let's sail away.

9x12 inch mixed media collage on watercolor paper that I did a couple of weeks ago.  I started by gluing down various papers as a background and painted over them so they wouldn't be too distracting, but would still add visual interest, texture, and depth.  Then I painted the water and the boat and drew the details with a water-soluable pencil.  Lastly I added the two bits of my hand-painted papers and voilà... a sweet lil' finished collage!

I've been painting and drawing boats more and more the past 7-8 months.  I think it has something to do with the freeing feeling of floating... and/or the thought sailing away to escape all the craziness that is life.  Or just the thought of peacefully floating in the middle of a still lake with just the sounds of nature and your own breath.  Or all of the above.  Yeah, that sounds about right.  Ahh...

For sale $55.  Leave a comment or email me at emakesart@gmail if interested

** Edit: SOLD!  Thank you!!

Where Do I Start?

Where do I start? 

How many times have you asked yourself this when you're faced with a daunting task at hand? Or many tasks?  Where do I start?  It's often enough to freeze us dead in our tracks.  We don't know where to begin... there's just too much to do.  Overwhelm happens and what often happens next?  Nothing.  We do nothing... and stay stuck.

Yup.  I know this well.  That's one of the many reasons that I disappeared from my blog for so long.  There was so much going on that I just didn't have the time or energy, and when I finally wanted to get back to it... I froze.  Where the heck do I start?  So what did I do?  I would piddle around for a bit, then would freeze up, overwhelmed.  Where do I start?  How do I explain my absence?  Then I finally did what I should've done months ago.  I brought out my art journal.




Now mind you, during most of this time I hadn't made any art either.  I felt rusty and out of practice, but I had to get back to it.  I told myself to just start.  So I shuffled through my art papers and my folder of collage bits, and I pulled out a few things that spoke to me and started gluing them down into the journal before I could over think it. 

He who hesitates is lost.

Proverb 

Then out came the paints... 

I had to get paint on my hands... and quick.  Oh how I missed you... paint covered hands (deja vu, I think I've said this before!).  Ahh... I could breath again.  I'm me again.  

The background was done, so now what?  OK, just journal about what's on my mind a lot lately... in many ways about many things.  "Where do I start?"  How do I write a blog post after disappearing for so long?  How do I get back to my art?  I don't even know where to begin.  So back to the art journal... the answers came easy while working in my journal.  Where do you start?  At the beginning of course! Or wherever you want, wherever you are.  Start right here, there, anywhere... JUST START.  Dive in, stop over thinking it, there's no wrong answer here.

The only wrong move is to not make one, and stay stuck (man, I need to pin that to my wall... or forehead).

Easier said than done, right?  But reminding ourselves of this really can help from time to time. 

 And for those of us who finally do get started (like I did on this post), but then get tripped up by perfectionism and get stuck again...tonight my husband reminded me to "Keep it simple".  Forget perfection, etc... just get it done!

Ok, I have a lot to share with you all, but to keep this from turning to the longest post ever (isn't it already?)... and to keep me from freezing up while trying to write this, again... I will give you a very short-hand version of what I've been up to lately and fill you in with PHOTOS and whatnot in upcoming posts.  Deal?

OK...

*Had an art show.  Yay!!

*Went camping up in Kern River 

*Went on a month long trip to South Australia to visit dearly missed family

*While we were over in Australia, my Mom wound up in the hospital over here for about a week and hasn't been the same since, so since we've been back I've been over there helping her out as much as I can.  I've also been researching non-stop... healing foods, recipes, etc..  This has been my main focus since getting back from our trip.  She is doing way better these past few weeks, but still has a long way to go.

Ok, so those are the main things that I've been up to.
Oh, and Pinterest.  Darn Pinterest sucks me in, but I love it for keeping all the wonderful recipes (and art) that I'm finding all in one place! Then there's Facebook... I have been updating my FB art page more often then my blog.  


So what did I NOT do this whole time?  Art, blogging, and yoga.  How did I feel?  Crappy.  

I do apologize for my long, unintentional blog break, but the thing is, I want my blog to be a place of inspiration, but to possibly be inspiring you have to be/feel inspired... and that's hard to do when your mind is on other things.  Its also hard to do when you're not doing the things that inspire you... like art, blogging, and yoga.  It's very much a catch 22!  So now I'm jumping in and getting started again, with all three of those.  I've been "warming up" my art by working in my art journal lately, but I can't wait for some time to work on my canvases again.  This is my 2nd blog post in the past 2 weeks... I could do better than that, but hey... it's a start!  And tomorrow I'm meeting with my amazing yoga instructor again to get me back to it... which to me is a huge inspiration in itself!  Yay!  Progress... and hopefully tons of inspiration to come!

Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.
Johann Gottfried Von Herder

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

Samuel Smiles

 Is there anything that you've been stuck with lately, and you don't know where to start?  Try to remind yourself that the only wrong move is to not make one, and stay stuck!  Now get started!  You'll feel so much better when you do!

You Are Strong And You Matter

 Hi there.

I wanted to share some photos of a few healing art journal pages I made recently.  There's been a lot going on around here, so I had to get some paint on my hands for a bit of therapy!   There have been many days when I needed a reminder like this, and I knew I wasn't alone, so I did the page above for many people I love who are going through hard times.  You are stronger than you think!

The above page was done in all acrylic paints, with my hands, then stencils and brushes.  I added a touch of charcoal to create shadows.

Here's another reminder for anyone who needs it, because yes, you really do matter!

This page was done with acrylics for the background.  I used my hands again to smear the paint (good therapy!) then I stamped on paint to create the swirls. I used oil pastels to draw out the lettering.

The page on the left isn't done yet.  Sometimes I like to leave pages in various stages, so when I have time I can jump in at whatever stage I want.. start a background, work on the middle stage, or finish a page.  So far it has acrylic paint, parts of a magazine page and the image is part of a plastic bag that pasta comes in from Trader Joes.  I love to use unusual things!  Hey, why not... it's my journal!

My mom has not been well for a while and it's been weighing on me heavily.  Then two weeks ago she wound up in the hospital.  They let her go home that night after tons of tests, but while I was waiting for news about her that night, I started this journal page below.  I drew the images with a charcoal pencil.  The page next to it says  "Do you ever feel like you are carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders.... and then some?"

I still have to finish it, but I really like it so far.  It's a bit different for me, but it's an image that I had to get out and on the page to help me feel better.  There's that art therapy again!

Things are looking up over here though.  My mom is finally getting better and now we KNOW she's going to be OK... even if it takes a while. 

So with that said, I have a lot to be thankful for!  And speaking of... yesterday was our anniversary!  My husband and I got married 12 years ago!!  That seems so crazy that it's been that long, but it has!  Happy Anniversary Honey!  One of my dear friends (Hi Manya!) watched our kiddo Sunday so we could get out for a bit.  We went out to Newport Beach and had such a nice time.  Thanks Manya, we love you!

So with that I'm signing off.  Just remember, you ARE stronger than you think!  

And so am I....

 I think.

New Year, New Art: Make it Count

Hi there.

It's already time for another Paint Party Friday!

Man... a week can go by very quickly!  Well, weird thing is it seemed to fly by, yet it took forever for Friday to get here.  Hmmm...  anybody know what I mean, or am I the only crazy one around here?  Wait.. what am I saying?  You're a bunch of artists too so enough said!  ;-)

I've had several art pieces done for a while, just waiting to be shared but I just haven't had the time post them.  I was going to explain all this in an Orloff household update, but decided to make that a separate post so as not to bore all you PPF peeps!  So today I'll just share this one painting and bore the rest of you later!

I started this piece on New Years Eve as inspiration for 2012.  Last year was an interesting one, so I'm rather happy for a fresh new year all full of possibilities.  

To start this piece, I printed out one of my photos and glued it down onto a 7"x9" mat board.  I added texture with heavy gel medium by Golden, and once dry I used a pen to draw over parts of the photo to pop some details out.  I then used Golden fluid acrylics to blend with the colors in the photo.

I used paint to stamp out the words "A fresh start, shiny and new.  Make it count", and glued them to the canvas using the heavy gel medium.  I added a bit of the same colors around the words to blend them in a bit... and voila!  Done!

This piece came together rather easily for me.  I love when that happens!  I hope it inspires and reminds you (and me!) to really take advantage of this new year and "make it count"!

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone!  To join in with your own painted projects or see the list of links for who else is painting along, click here.

Puddles of Inspiration

Hi there.

I have a new journal page to show you.  

It rained here in Southern California all day on Sunday, which inspired me to paint the rain.

First I painted the clouds and added the rain and puddles with my white Sakura Souffle pen that I think I'm now re-addicted to!  I love the sheen of it against the matte background.  I wanted to add a quote about rain, but I couldn't find one that I liked, so as I was adding more rain and puddles I came up with this phrase...

"Fresh ideas

 Pour down like rain

Leaving behind 

Puddles of Inspiration"

But what good are puddles if you don't have galoshes? 

 Don't worry, I added some fun red ones that you can use!

So what are you waiting for?  Go ahead... put these on and jump on into your own "puddles of inspiration"!

Summer of Color : Blue Cards

Hello there.  I made not just one, but two cards for the first week of the Summer of Color.  This week's color is blue, so of course I had to go with my favorite turquoisy-blue.  

For the first card (more blue in person) I glued down several layers of paper, but wasn't quite liking it.  I ended up grabbing a stencil and heavy gel medium to create the raised stencil pattern and covered up the rest of the card with the medium also.  When it dried I painted it with many layers of blues, cream, and a touch of copper until I liked the effect. 

 I did learn an important lesson with this card.... open it first before slathering on the gel medium or you will glue the card closed.  Yup.  Lesson learned.  I had to cut it open, but it's all good now ;-)

The second card has a layer of hand-painted paper (which ended up mostly covered up by more paint!).   I glued down the center medallion (apparently I'm into medallions right now lol!), which was cut from a scrapbook paper by "Daisy D's" that I love, which then got some paint brushed over it to blend in.  Then I dumped some Distress embossing powder by Tim Holtz into the wet glue and used a heat gun to emboss it.  When that set up, I doodled with a black pen to add some details and used the end of a paint brush to add some cream dots.  And finally I stamped on a quote...

"...the artist is not there to be one with the world-

he is there to transform it"

        --Anias Nin

Yes. 

 Love that!

There's still time to join in with your own blue creations.  Just pop on over to Twinkle Twinkle for the details on the Summer of Color fun!

Stalled

"Whatever God's dream about man may be, it seems certain it cannot come true unless man cooperates."

                  --Stella Terrill Mann

Just a quick post today.  This is a photo of my beautiful, happily used water container that I use for painting.  I put a butterfly sticker on it months ago... I can't believe it's still hanging on!  In the background you can see a bit of a work in progress... a tree painting.  I need to finish it.  I love it but haven't had much time to work on it (and truthfully have been avoiding it lately).  I have worked on other things but this is the one that calls to me most...yet I avoid it.  I need to stop thinking and start doing.  I need to get back into the habit of creating everyday... it's the best way to fend off perfectionist fears.  

"Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot 

attain it in anything."

                    ---Eugene Delacroix

Charity Art Auction

If any of you out there want to own an original art piece made by me, AND donate to an amazing charity for autistic children, then now's your chance to do both!  It is the very same piece that I have as my blog header above.  I donated this crown collage to A. Skate Foundation a while back for this purpose.   If any of you are in the area, the silent art auction is this Saturday evening, April 2nd in Venice Beach, CA.  To find out more go check out Upper Class Label (the host of this wonderful event).

















Read about Crys Worley's story and why she started A. Skate in her  bio here.  She is one amazing and inspiring woman.

When I created this piece, I modeled it after my original crown collage with Proverbs shown here.   It reads "Wisdom will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor"  Proverbs 4:9  I can't remember the exact dimensions, but I think it's around 9x11inches on 1/4 inch plywood.  When I made this I used a lot of copper/bronze along with turquoise and sea foam green so it looks like metal which has that wonderful patina from aging.  I kind of wanted it to look like it has been sitting in the ocean for a while...maybe buried in a treasure chest...or something...

If you are interested in this piece, but are not in the area, let me know SOON and maybe your bid can be included in the silent auction.  Sadly something came up and I won't be able to go myself.  : (  But I hope if you are in the area you will go and support this cause and maybe even go home with a cool piece of art!

Potential Unleashed

Potential.  We all have TONS of it.  Yet how many of us truly live up to ours?  How do we tap into it... and unleash it?  What holds us back?

We do.  We hold ourselves back.  Oh yes... we have our excuses, but that's all that they are.  Excuses.

Hidden gems revealed

We all have these wonderful gems that we've been given...our true light... I say stop keeping it all locked up inside and let it all come exploding out for everyone to see!  Let your light pour out.  It's time!

I struggled with this painting, perhaps because I was struggling with coming to grips with my own potential.   I've been an artist my whole life.  It was never a secret to any who knew me, but I didn't think I was any good for the longest time...in fact most of the time.

I thought I had come to terms with it, but I still held myself back until something finally snapped in me a year or two ago.  I realized that God gave me this gift, and I thought I was using it, but deep down I knew better.  I finally realized all that I had, all that others saw, was kept in my tight grip.  I was so afraid of messing up and so wanted to please people.  What if they didn't like what I made?  What if I proved that I really wasn't any good...just like I thought all along?

But what I realized was in doubting myself I was doubting what God had given me.  I mentioned it before, but it must be said over and over until it sinks in for you too.  God doesn't make mistakes, so if you doubt your gifts and your potential, then you're doubting Him.

Our true selves and struggles are released onto the canvas...each one a self-portrait of sorts.

To sum this up way better than I could, here is one of my all time favorite quotes.  This is so darn powerful.  It gets me EVERY time I read it.  Copy it.  Paste it where you can read it everyday.  Let it sink in.  It will change you.  It will help you unleash.  Let it.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

--marianne williamson

Do YOUR Thing (Raven Piece)

OK, so here's the art piece I teased you with a few days ago.  I made this a few years ago for my husband, David, who likes crows and ravens.  I found a wood plank and painted and glazed over it until it had the look I wanted.  I collaged on torn bits of dictionary pages and other scraps, along with some cheesecloth, then lightly painted over them.

On a Home Depot trip I had bought a few metal brackets that I called "label holders".  My husband laughed and told me what they really were, but I forgot what their "real" name and purpose is...and I really don't care ; )  To me they are perfect to pound into wood, then slather with paint, to become a nice base for a pretty label with a handwritten message on it....don't you agree? (below)















My husband is a writer (and High School English teacher), so I wrote "Write that which ONLY YOU can write".  I also wrote "The Raven" lightly on the background above the label, because David loves that poem by Edgar Allen Poe, so I wanted him to think of it for inspiration...only Poe could write The Raven as he did.  I really believe that we are ALL unique and have a "special something" that only we can do, in our own little way.  We just need to find it and refine it, whether it be art, writing, dancing, teaching, etc..  Martha Graham said it wonderfully.......


"You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost." 
— Martha Graham

I drew out the bird onto black construction paper with a white charcoal pencil, and cut it out and glued it on.  The eye is a small rusty washer.  I drew swirls and other doodles all over the background with both white and black charcoal pencils then sprayed it with a sealer.

I found a small twig and I wrapped the ends with little strips of dictionary pages to create little "buds of inspiration", just waiting to bloom (and I thought the dictionary pages were perfect for this since David loves words ...and dictionaries).   I wrapped the base with a bit of cheesecloth and copper wire.

I pounded in three copper tacks and used the top on to hang the "quill", which is just a crow feather wrapped with a bit of cheesecloth and copper wire.

So just a reminder...don't forget to water YOUR inspiration buds, and watch them grow and bloom!

I'm a Winner!!

So I went out to my mailbox yesterday and this is what I got...a cute little box filled with happy goodness!  The hilarious and talented Rachel over at Two Dog Pond has to coolest thing going on over there.  Every Monday she posts a great photograph that will go on the front of a necklace. All week anyone can leave comments on that post, with possible captions to go on the back of the necklace.

On Friday she announces the caption she chose and the winner gets a FREE necklace with that photo on the front and their caption on the back.  Isn't that the best?  So last week I played for the first time.... after seeing this photo (above) I couldn't concentrate on anything else.  I kept on thinking about these girls and why they were up there, or wondering what they might say. Or if it was a picture in the newspaper, what would the caption be, and the story to go with it.  I just kept on wracking my brain, trying to come up with fun answers!  I didn't get anything else done on Monday, but I had a blast!

And I won!!  WooooHooo!!  I feel so special!  : )  She picked my quote, "The HOW is not important...it's the WHY you should be concerned with..." Yup.  And I've got this cool necklace to show for it!

Even if you don't  play along, it's so much fun to drop by and read everyone else's comments...there are some funny people out there!  To check out Two Dog Pond, click on the name.  And check out her other jewelry, she has some cool stuff...there's a bracelet that I'm drooling over right now...

I just wanted to share some of my other entries that I wrote for this photo...

• They were hung out to dry.

• A game of leap frog goes horribly wrong...

• "OK, on the count of 3 you jump, then tell me if it's a good idea or not"

• And that's why you never jump from a moving train!

• Soon after this incident, trampolines were banned from these parts.

• "Well MY spit pile looks like the Mona Lisa"

• "Oh no, he's coming! Quick, play dead!"

• Their little "dirt piranha" prank comes back to bite 'em        

• "His ego looks much smaller from here"

Yup, I went a little crazy with my comments!  And as you can see, I have a strange sense of humor, probably fueled by my past love for "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy, " The Far Side " comics by Gary Larson, my friend Elizabeth, and maybe even the comedian Steven Wright.  I wanted to think of absurd things..some that not everyone might get.  Someone asked what "dirt piranha" were ...umm... made them up...cause it's funny...well...at least to me.....  ; )

Flowers and a Quote

"Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities."  William Bridges

Just wanted to share a great quote with you, and let you know I finished a painting a couple of days ago.  Finally got to take picts of it today, and can't wait to share it with you...soon....

Art Journal Page: Loving Word

I started this journal page while I was vacationing in Kern.  Before we left I had bought these cool water-soluable graphite pencils that work like watercolor pencils...you draw/write with them, then you can wet them with a brush to blend and smear them.  I wanted to see how they worked, so I drew a branch of leaves and then used a wet brush to soften the lines and shade the leaves.  I love how it worked!  I should've taken a pict of how it looked because now it's mostly covered up.

A few days ago I decided to work on the page again.  I squeezed a few paint colors (aqua and teal) straight onto the page and smeared them around with a brush.  When it dried I got a few water-soluable crayons out and loosely colored the leaves.  I then used a wet brush to blend and smear the colors together.  


I used the same graphite pencil to write out a great quote that I just found  by Frank Herbert Sweet, "If you have a tender message, Or a loving word to say, Do not wait till you forget it, But whisper it today."  I colored in the block letters the same way as the leaves , then splashed water all over the page to make the pencil and crayons run and drip here and there.  The final touches were a few more doodles, then I ran a very wet brush over the orange crayon to pick up some of the color and flicked it onto the page. 

This evening I was reminded of ONE OF MANY REASONS WHY I NEED TO WORK IN MY ART JOURNAL MORE,  to practice techniques.  I've been a little stuck on a painting I started fairly recently, not sure what to do next.  After finishing this journal page today, I grabbed the unfinished painting and started doodling on it with a water-soluable crayon, and then flicked on the same color and sprayed it with water here and there to make it run and smear, just like in my journal.  I'm not sure if I would've thought to do this on this painting if I hadn't just done it in my journal, so yay for art journaling!  Oh, and a great thing about using these products is, if you mess up or don't like the color, you can just wet it and wipe it off!!  Just remember if you are using these water-soluable products, you need to spray them with a sealer/fixative after so they don't keep running if it gets wet again.  And also remember to have fun and enjoy the process.