Evidence of an Artistic Life

Year of the Tiger

2010-01-31T19:23:00.002-06:00

My carving for a Year of the Tiger Exchange 2010

What are You Reading

2009-09-05T21:02:00.002-05:00

I just finished the Accidental Billionaire and passed that on to my daughter who actually understands Facebook. I was a great read!

My new read, I won! it is Social Lives by Wendy Walker. I won this book from a post by Tolly Mosely, Publicist on this blog: http://phenixpublicity.blogspot.com/ More books to come!

Loving the book so far! A Gossip-Girl for grown-ups! Easy read-fun to read so far!

Dog Days of August

2009-08-14T19:37:00.004-05:00

I asked my puppy to pose. Little did I know, he is influenced by his surroundings. Neil Diamond is singing on the Television behind him and Snickers is not impressed. In the other pose, I did ask him to be nice-and he stuck out his tongue. So, take my word for it-he is getting huge, and he is a nice puppy, generally. On the other hand, I think he is picking up on my personality. I am scared!!

OWOH Winners

2009-02-25T18:54:00.004-06:00

The winners of my items were all notified-Rockinrobin won the sheet of stamps containing images of my carvings. She has gotten in touch with me and the sheet of stamps has been mailed; other winners of collages and the hero arts set of stamps include Chawanakee; Tatting Chic, and a poster who wishes to remain anonymous because of some spam and virus problems. I am waiting for addresses from these posters so that I can mail their gifts!

Thank you all for entering!!!

Aileen's Musing Giveaway

2009-01-25T09:48:00.004-06:00

I won, I won!! Aileen at Aileen's Musing was offering a contest and I won. Check out her blog at http://aileensmusings.blogspot.com or at the link on the right!

Thanks Aileen!!!

One World-One Heart

2009-01-21T20:53:00.000-06:00

I am participating in the One World-One Heart event. If you click on the logo, you can find out more about the event. I am giving away four separate prizes: A sheet of rubberstamps featuring images I carved that were made into stamps, a brand new HeroArts Thanks Stamp set, and two collages. My giveaway is open to all. If you like this, then leave me a comment and your name will go into a drawing that ends on February 12, 2009. If you do not have a blog, make sure to leave your email address in the comment section. Only comments on this post are eligible to win. Good luck and thanks for stopping by.

One World One Heart Giveaway

2009-01-21T20:17:00.005-06:00

My Baby

2009-01-05T21:48:00.002-06:00

Just indulge-he is all consuming at the moment. Growing a ton-and just as playful and funny as can be.

Year of the Ox Carvings

2009-01-05T21:44:00.003-06:00

I carved both -the sketchy piece is the front, and the gray toned Ox is the back side of my page for the Year of the Ox swap.

Snickers

2008-12-22T19:05:00.003-06:00

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. This is Snickers. He is a 3 month old chocolate lab. He is housebroken (thank goodness). He is a very quiet pup so far-but I expect in a new home, he may keep me awake for a few days. Yikes!! Isn't he the cutest thing??

B D Wong

2008-10-20T20:01:00.002-05:00

I spent the morning with this guy at a diversity conference. I sat in the first row, so am positive I blinded him with the flash trying to get his picture! He palys Dr, George Huang on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Very interesting man-good story-between 2 sessions, I spent 3 hours with him-he used no notes, no cards-he spoke from the heart during not only a break-out session, but during the keynote address as well. Warm, funny, sincere-a good way to start a day!

ISU Parent's Day

2008-10-05T21:20:00.003-05:00

Alex and I went to Iowa State University's Parent's Day on Saturday. We chose not to go to the game, but instead walked around campus for a while-visited her new dorm room, and drove by her sorority. If you would like to see more pictures, they are on my Picasa album at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/goddess.di.arte/ISUParentSDayOctober42008#

Drop in Gas Prices

2008-10-03T18:18:00.001-05:00

On July 12, 2008 I paid $3.959 a gallon. Today, I paid $3.079. Now if we could squeak it down another 50 cents a gallon or so!! Today, life in Des Moines, Iowa is not so bad!

Windows of Downtown Des Moines, Iowa

2008-09-29T20:27:00.002-05:00

Des Moines

2008-09-29T20:11:00.003-05:00

I went to the Farmer's Market the past couple of Saturdays. These are a few of the interesting buildings and windows in the area.

Banners

2008-09-29T19:33:00.002-05:00

Eight artists joined to make banners that would spell 'Artistic.' I am doing the "r." Each artist chose colors and we created around those choices. These are my offerings.

Collage Sheet Giveaway

2008-09-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

Kristin Hubick is having a contest on her blog for a collage sheet. Go enter!!
http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/09/digital-collage-sheet-giveaway.html

Enjoy her wonderful artwork, too!

Puzzle Pieces

2008-09-01T16:30:00.004-05:00

After a long delay due to a postal package gone astray and family issues, I finally worked on two more puzzles. I did two pieces each and finished Heather's (top), got Lisa's (middle) ready for Heather to finish and mine came back home finished!

A Summer of Change

2008-07-08T21:18:00.008-05:00

In April, my son got married-a week later, my parent's home was flooded. In May, my daughter, who finished high school in January, officially graduated. In June, my daughter, who started her college courses in January, made the President's list for getting a 4.00 GPA. On June 18, I turned 55-a milestone for many-I almost missed it because birthdays really are not on my radar. I still thing I am young, thin and cute. A healthy imagination is good for the soul!! On June 21, my father had an accident at home-on June 25 he died. Since he had been suffering from bone, kidney, bladder and whatever else cancer possible, this was a blessing as the pain is gone. Since then, I found a facility for my mom-she has Alzheimer's; I put the family home of 53 years up for sale and sold it within 24 hours; started boxing, gifting, selling and packing all of the homestead. I came back to my home on Sunday and will work through this week and weekend, and then head out on my annual vacation to the east coast. While I may not be doing art of my own for a bit until things get a bit settled-I look forward to seeing your art and will find comfort in it.

Love to all! And this photo is of a cake I fell in love with. A co-worker of mine was married on June 21 and I just thought this cake was too much fun! Enjoy!!

Finished my Pennants

2008-06-08T21:45:00.003-05:00

I still had one more to do-in the colors of Tuscany-it is mine. Additionally, I set some of these together in a circle just because-I like the effect! I wanted to get a photo after I added the "I" to each. These are ready to send on-I will get 10 back to add to mine to spell out "Inspiration." Can't wait to see how they all look together!

Five More Banners

2008-06-02T20:37:00.005-05:00

My photography skills are still lacking. More banners! colors of the sea; green and chocolate; no preference; red, black and cream; verdigris, green and pale pink

Fabric Banners 4 and 5 of 11

2008-06-01T09:13:00.005-05:00

The color themes requested for these were lime green and turquoise; and red, pink, orange, and aqua. My ability to use a camera is limited, but trust me-these are the colors of the fabrics! I need to learn to use a camera!!!

Banner Swap First 3 of 11

2008-05-27T21:52:00.001-05:00

Banners for a Swap

2008-05-27T21:38:00.003-05:00

My first three fabric banners for a swap-11 more to go! I still need to add the letter 'i' to each banner.

Alexandra's Graduation

2008-05-25T12:41:00.002-05:00

This is my baby, all grown up and officially done with high school. She started college in January, but did not walk in the graduation ceremony until last night. We are not supposed to take photos-so, this was done with a digital zoom and no flash. This is the best I can do until the school hired professional turns in his proof and we can see how expensive those were. Although this photo is bad, I got lucky-the guy next to me got a shot of his son's torso with someone's arm in front of his face.

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore"

2008-05-23T22:33:00.003-05:00

Friday, May 23, 2008. I should be finishing a report. Art is more fun! 5" by 7" canvas board.

Precious

2008-05-19T20:40:00.001-05:00

6 by 8" canvas with Mica over image (excuse the flash on the mica)

...to cherish...

2008-05-19T10:09:00.002-05:00

5"by 7" canvas, with altoid tin lid, buttons

Siblings

2008-05-19T10:04:00.001-05:00

5" by 7" canvas

Red, White and Blue ATC Swap

2008-05-17T22:55:00.002-05:00

Sisters

2008-05-15T19:09:00.000-05:00

A second mid-week piece!

Girl by Chair

2008-05-14T20:49:00.002-05:00

I need to come up with some catchy titles-girl with chair-not very original! But, just think-I posted mid-week. That is a first. I never get to do art during the week. I am excited!!!!

My Baby Birds Leave Home

2008-05-14T20:28:00.003-05:00

The two photos of the babies in the nest are from Monday and the other two are from today. It happened so fast. Mama pushed them from the nest this morning. I was glad I was home from work today to see it unfold. She shoved them-some plopped to the ground-some flew a few feet. Eventually they all caught on and took flight whole Mama watched from the fence. I finally captured a photo of one resting from the flight on my deck. The nest is empty-and my daughter and I are sad. We stood at the tiny kitchen window and watched and listened to these babies for days. The little bald creatures who captured our hearts now look plump and seem to all be fine. Final count was five. We already miss them!

A Blog Giveaway!

2008-05-14T20:23:00.002-05:00

Maija Lepore is having a wonderful giveaway on her blog-Maigirlz Madness. If you are feeling lucky-go here:
http://maigirlz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/giveaway.html?cid=114674524#comments

Sunday Studio Time

2008-05-11T17:54:00.004-05:00

My daughter got called in to work, so I had some time to myself. Decided to grab the first image from a pile and used it to make a canvas.

ATC for May Swap

2008-05-11T17:50:00.002-05:00

The theme is Asian with a bit of pink. This is the front and back of my offering.

A New Mother

2008-05-11T17:26:00.003-05:00

These pictures are taken through my kitchen window to a corner of lattice less than 5 feet away. The first photo is Mama Robin sitting on her nest on May 4 and the last two photos were taken today.

Birds and Bonnets Swap

2008-05-03T21:29:00.002-05:00

These are the fronts and backs of my four swap pieces for a Birds and Bonnets swap.

Spring in Iowa????

2008-04-06T09:55:00.003-05:00

Wednesday it was in the 50s
Thursday it snowed
Friday was cool, in the higher 30s, and the snow melted
Saturday it was gorgeous-high 60s
Today is wet-snow predicted north of here
The rest of the week is supposed to be wet

My son gets married in less than two weeks. I am not ready for the onslaught of relatives!

The photo is a picture of my first blooms-crocus peeking out of the leaves that don't fall until late winter/early spring. I need to rake!

I am having withdrawal from art!

Happy St Patrick's Day

2008-03-16T18:35:00.001-05:00

Saturday Collage #2 Bingo

2008-03-16T09:27:00.002-05:00

On a canvas board

Some Free Time

2008-03-15T20:43:00.003-05:00

I started working on some fabric swap items today-and my machine decided not to cooperate with me. I cannot get it back for 3 to 4 weeks. Bummer! I found an unopened package of blank puzzles on my desk-5" by 7" so I decided to just play with one. I removed a couple of pieces of the puzzles and added birds to them, and realized the remaining puzzle would work as a base for a collage. It has been a long time since I just sat and played for a bit. I feel so rusty. I need to find a way to carve out more time to just create, doodle or play.

Nancy's Puzzle

2008-03-12T21:23:00.002-05:00

I used cemetery angels on the two pieces I completed for Nancy.

Christine's Puzzle

2008-03-08T20:54:00.004-06:00

Christine's puzzle is wonderful-polka dots! I did three pieces on this one. Fun puzzle!

Marilyn's Puzzle

2008-02-17T17:09:00.005-06:00

This is Marilyn's puzzle and a closeup of the two pieces I did.

ATCs Fairies and Flowers

2008-02-10T21:11:00.000-06:00

ATCs for a Fairy and Flowers swap-the Paper Arsty image on the front; Lost Coast on the back.

Empty Mailbox Postcard

2008-02-10T18:14:00.000-06:00

A blogger art friend has a post office box that has been empty for a very long time-she is having a little Empty Mailbox contest. This is my postcard offering.

A Puzzle Swap

2008-02-10T14:13:00.000-06:00

The cranberry puzzle belongs to Patti, and the green one is mine. There are six of us playing in this round robin and we each do two pieces of the every puzzle. These are the first tow pieces of mine and my pieces for Patti.

Giving Hope

2008-01-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

Are you feeling lucky?

http://www.espritdart.blogspot.com/

A drawing to celebrate her 100th post! Great blog!

I am thinking I need to start planning for something for my 100th! What shall I do???

cp

Friends

2008-01-27T21:28:00.000-06:00

I keep seeing arches everywhere, so I ran over to Belinda Schneider's blog and grabbed the Gothic Arch template: http://belindaschneider.wordpress.com/templates/ . I noted this week there were several with pets, so I went with that theme. This was fun!

Sweetest Song

2008-01-27T21:21:00.000-06:00

I only get to work in my studio sporadically. Today, I cleaned a bit, grabbed a few images, and then just sat down with paper, paint, and stamps and just had a wonderful time. I need to try and bring home less work in the evenings and get in there and just keep creating.

Home ATC

2008-01-27T14:40:00.000-06:00

For a swap-house shaped with at least one face was required.

Tag for Heather's Book

2008-01-20T21:08:00.000-06:00

This is the last book I worked on and I will be sending it home, soon. The theme is school and I decided to focus on teachers. It was a very fun round-I had not worked on tags in such a long time!

Stand Out in the Crowd

2008-01-06T12:42:00.000-06:00

I went upstairs to clean-saw some images and paper and began to cut, paste, and stamp. Now, I really need to clean!

Saturday Collage

2008-01-05T22:47:00.000-06:00

If anyone can tell me who shared this image via her blog, I would be most appreciative! I wrote it down, and now I can not figure out where! Arghhh! Love the image-fun to use and thank you!

Iowa Caucus Night

2008-01-03T21:31:00.000-06:00

It was crowded! Our caucus had 66% of eligible registered voters show. That is a high % as I live next to a Drake University which has a law school. Although the University is closed, many students came back at their own expense to participate, so my precinct is a bit high on the number attending. These photos are to celebrate my daughter's first chance to participate. She will be old enough to vote in November, so that made her eligible to caucus. One of the photos is of my caucus-and the others are of my daughter and her friend in their off color shirts. One is a Democrat, and one is a Republican. They fought, argued, and just were downright self righteous about their choices. My daughter's candidate won, her boyfriend's finished in a not so good place.

My daughter and I will both be delegates to the County conventions, and have both been elected to serve on committees. I first started working for candidates when I was very young, and am so proud that she cares enough about our country to continue to work for candidates and her beliefs!

New Years Day Collage

2008-01-01T19:25:00.000-06:00

I miss collage. I miss doing art. My resolution this year is to do more. So I decided I should really start today. My friend Laura sent me the image today-loved her and decided to use her!

But about that losing weight resolution-I will start that tomorrow, or not!!!!

New Years Day

2008-01-01T15:57:00.000-06:00

We live in Iowa and Iowa Caucus Day (Thursday) is almost here. The political scene is heating up something fierce. Depending on which poll you trust, either Clinton, Obama, or Edwards is leading the pack for the Democrats; and either Huckabee or Romney for the Republicans. Today we went to see Obama as he was at my daughter's school, and it is close to home. These are just a few photos that Alex snapped as she was 5 feet from him in the front of the stage, while I was about five feet behind him (sitting rather than standing, as I am neither young, nor stupid).

Hoot

2007-12-31T21:26:00.000-06:00

Julie Van Oosten posted a contest for her newest chipboard offering, and I won. I received a package of three owls today, and here is the first one that I collaged and assembled. These are fun! Her website: http://members.westnet.com.au/collections/

Icicle Dolls

2007-12-30T21:39:00.000-06:00

My first adventure into the world of icicle dolls. I made a couple of sets-can't decide which ones I like and will swap, but fortunately, I have a while to think about it!

Eraser Carving-The Year of the Rat

2007-12-25T20:49:00.000-06:00

Every year I join a carving swap celebrating the Chinese New Year. The year 2008 is the Year of the Rat. Not my favorite Chinese New Year character!!! As always, I had a hard time deciding what to carve-so I carved two rats-one for the front and one for the back of the page. I have yet to decide what to do for a background, so what you see here are the naked carvings. LOL! I do love to carve. I hate to stamp afterwards, as it seems so final. But carving is just beyond description. You get in the groove and do not, cannot stop. Love it!

Flip Book for Alex

2007-12-25T10:21:00.000-06:00

My daughter is almost finished with High School-she begins community college right after the first of the year. Using copies of her photo proofs-I made her a 'high school is over' flip book. I have posted a few of the pages.

Flip Book for Alex

2007-12-25T10:11:00.000-06:00

Winter is Officially Here

2007-12-21T21:40:00.000-06:00

It is very foggy today and this evening. Dangerously foggy. This photo is of a small Japenese Maple less than 2 feet from where I stood. The two giant hundred plus year old Oak trees less than 2 feet behind it are not visible. The strange orbs are not moisture on the lens-that is the pea soup consistency of the fog. Bizarre to drive in-almost makes you dizzy and very hard to keep a sense of humor as folks pull out in front of you, and you know it was because they could not see you! Flights have canceled and interstates and roadways are closed cleaning up accidents. Idiots running into idiots who are following too close, driving too fast. The good news is that tomorrow's blizzard should bring us relief from the fog. Yikes!!!

A Card and some 4 by 4s

2007-12-16T17:46:00.000-06:00

Just a couple of things I made in the past week. 4 by 4s for a swap-needed some sunshine! And a card using Basic Grey paper and elements.

Winter Storm Today

2007-12-11T16:36:00.000-06:00

An ice and snow storm. We ended up with a 1/2" to 3/4" layer of ice, followed by about 5" of snow. This is my yard and a couple of shots of the ice on my car. I am not sure if you can see it -but way in the back behind and beside the garage-I have a whole lot of huge limbs down. It will take a ton of cleanup. The ice and the snow storm has stopped here. We are hoping that there will be no wind, or I could lose more trees. I hope that does not happen! There are a ton of so many in Iowa without power.

Tags for Marilyn's Book

2007-12-02T15:31:00.000-06:00

Marilyn's theme is Fall

Cards for the Fund Raiser

2007-12-02T15:21:00.000-06:00

This weekend's additions to my cards for the fund raiser.

More Cards for the Fundraiser

2007-11-26T21:45:00.001-06:00

And more, non-vintage cards. My friends at work keep telling me that not everyone likes the 'old' looking stuff. What is wrong with those people????? Anyway-trying to make a variety of things!

Vintage Again

2007-11-26T18:06:00.000-06:00

Yikes! I am an addict! I found one more image I had printed of this little cutie, so had to do one more vintage card for the fundraiser.

Changing the Style of Fundraiser Cards

2007-11-26T17:47:00.000-06:00

I made 8 of these. Quick and easy! Gift tags attached with eyelets.

More Cards for the Fundraiser

2007-11-23T12:58:00.000-06:00

Christmas Fundraiser Cards

2007-11-23T12:50:00.000-06:00

2007-11-23T12:43:00.001-06:00

More Christmas Cards for the Fundraiser

2007-11-23T12:31:00.000-06:00

Cards For Fundraiser

2007-11-18T19:07:00.000-06:00

My studio is a disaster area-snips of paper, collage images, mica, inks, and who knows what all over everywhere! But I am cranking out some art, so all is well in my world!

Cards For Fundraiser

2007-11-18T18:51:00.000-06:00

Mica Ornaments for Fundraiser

2007-11-18T18:24:00.000-06:00

These don't scan or photograph well, but you get the drift. A collage is sandwiched between two sheets of mica.

Ornaments for Fund Raiser

2007-11-18T18:13:00.000-06:00

These ornaments are made with blank glass shapes, transparencies, future floor polish and powdered pigments. Fun and messy!

A Carving for Irene

2007-11-12T12:40:00.000-06:00

A special request, and almost a year later-a carving for Irene. (Sorry it took so long, Irene!)And here is San Marco- in his early stages (orange)- and a final print (black) before I package him and send him to his new home.

My Baby is Graduating???

2007-11-11T18:44:00.001-06:00

What the heck happened?? I just gave birth to her. I just watched her take her first steps. How can she be old enough to leave the nest?

My Tag for Laura's Book

2007-11-11T18:36:00.000-06:00

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Okay, I admit it. I am a bit of a November scrooge right now-but working on Laura's tag book changed all that! I found some great images I have been saving forever, and some new Basic Grey Christmas paper. This was so much fun!

A Tag for Patti's Book

2007-11-11T18:24:00.000-06:00

This tag is for Patti's wonderful triangular shaped tag book. What a pleasure to work with this shape. The theme is friendship and birds. Background papers are Basic Grey-I love to hoard those papers! See Patti's blog: http://pattis-creations.blogspot.com/

November New Flower

2007-11-11T18:14:00.000-06:00

I raked today, and on the side of a hill, I found this little purple flower growing. Yes, it was among the weeds, but still-we have had a few below freezing temperature nights, and this is Iowa! Go figure!

My Tag Book

2007-10-07T18:56:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled to be joining a round robin with a few of my favorite artists. We are each making a tab book, and the other artists will be making tags for each of the books. It has been a while since I joined an exchange, so this will be fun! Here is the cover for my book.

Inside my Tag Book

2007-10-07T18:45:00.000-05:00

This is the inside of the tag book I made and also my first tag. This will be sent around to several other women who will add their wonderful art tags to my book. The book construction is a basic accordion book with two different sizes of library pocket holders to hold two different sizes of tags. The crow on the tag is one of my own carvings-it is always fun to find a way to incorporate those into my art. I am looking forward to this exchange!

Extreme Inchies

2007-09-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

Extreme inchies for an In This House group swap. (Yes, I know, I need to learn how to take photographs!!) These pieces are slightly larger than 1" by 2 1/2" and are made with miscellaneous images, mica, eyelets, spiral clips and copper wire. I made more than necessary-I got carried away!

Irene and Bobbe-This One is for You!!

2007-09-02T20:27:00.000-05:00

How else should one spend the eve of a Holiday? How about tearing apart a refrigerator-removing each shelf and drawer? My advice-do not go there. Buy a new one! Several science experiments and totally gross viewings later-a clean fridge. The South Beach Diet wraps belong to Alex. (I hate those things.) The Diet Dr. Pepper and the yogurt are all mine. I threw away all condiments-I was unable to determine the date I purchased them. My dd said she would die without ketchup. Based on the looks of what I tossed-she would have died from the ketchup. Yuck!

Saturday, September 1

2007-09-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Alex and I headed north to visit the folks. They love buffets, so we lunched at a buffet at a Casino. My sister and her niece were there. Here are a few photos:

In This House Swap

2007-08-19T22:40:00.000-05:00

These are my offerings for the InThisHouse Skylines and Skyscrapers swap. Very fun format-create buildings on a business card!

Rhode Island July 17-26, 2007

2007-07-29T17:47:00.000-05:00

I vacationed in Rhode Island with 13 friends from across the United States. Great food, great art, great memories.

More Wire Wrapping

2007-07-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

And I tried one more just for the practice!

Wire Wrapping Coins

2007-07-29T14:37:00.001-05:00

As a gift, Nancy presented us each with a wire wrapped coin from our home state. She had extra coins, so I made this for my daughter.

Wire Wrapping in Rhode Island

2007-07-29T14:31:00.000-05:00

Nancy taught us wire wrapping. This is the first piece I did

Dragons

2007-07-29T14:21:00.001-05:00

We made polymer clay dragons in Rhode Island. What fun!!!

The Road to the Presidency 2007-2008

2007-07-03T21:17:00.000-05:00

This week, starting with Hillary Clinton on Monday, there will be 11 candidates for the office of the President of the United States in Iowa. This includes a combination of Democrats and Republicans. The advantage of living in Iowa is getting up close and personal with all of the candidates-meeting them and speaking with them as part of spending quality time with them for up to 2 years before the General election. This event was held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds-it was hot and humid, but it was well attended and well received. This is the first official campaign trail event that Bill and Hillary attended together.

Welcome to My Studio

2007-07-01T16:53:00.000-05:00

My studio is above the main living portion of my home in a steep angled dormer in an old early 1900 Craftsman style home. We originally added walls and floors to make a room first for my son, and then my daughter. I finally moved my daughter to a smaller room on the main floor and moved my studio upstairs. As you duck and enter the studio, you see the world's ugliest couch which I intend to slipcover someday with a couple of baskets nearby. The baskets hold books that I have made or things that folks have made for me-I love browsing through them. Next to the couch is my t.v.-it is set up more for watching from my art table than the couch, although my daughter alters that view if she is lounging while I am making art!

Behind the t.v. is a rack that I made out of boards and dowels to hold my full sheets of wonderful papers. I found I was collecting papers but not using them when I had them stored. Now that I see them, I grab them and use them. They often inspire a book or project. Like a total dork, I originally put the paper rack in front of the one window in the main part of the studio. Then I had to cover the window so it did not fade the papers. I finally took the rack apart and moved it-it sits out in the room, but I use the are behind the rack for long term storage of boxed items.

Moving around the room you will see shelves of my treasured magazines and books, and the cigar boxes that friends and my father found for me. I just wanted a few and I ended up with more than I can use in a lifetime. I plan on sorting through the vintage books that I collected for altered books and giving those away or selling them, as I don't do a whole lot of altered books anymore. I have more than enough images and ephemera so I don't need to keep the books for that; and frankly, I can use the space! The screen hides a real closet where I store my off season clothing. I have really worked hard to eliminate the clothing I do not wear so no more no more excess there. My clothing now hangs nicely and without being crammed in and getting wrinkled. I keep lots of lavender in the closets to eliminate moths, and the fragrance drifts throughout my art space.

My Studio Part Two

2007-07-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

My stdio is an L shape. In this part of the L are my Iris Carts. I use the mini carts stacked two high-perfect fit under the slanted part of the walls. The first four rows you see are all wood mounted stamps-the rows after that are unmounted. My stamps are primarily sorted by manufacturer. The remaining stamps that don't fit that sort are sorted by theme: western, nature, Asian, holiday, alphabets, sentiments, and so forth.

On the opposite side, the iris carts hold secret treasures: my carving materials and carved and uncarved blocks; wonderful ephemera; vintage photos; cabinet cards; collage papers; trims and slides; frames and labels and just about anything else you can think of!

Around the corner you will find paper stackers which hold my card stock and the text weight paper I use in books. Also my pads of watercolor, tracing paper, vellum, old report cards, miscellaneous papers and paper products. Next to the stackers are some bigger and deeper Iris carts. Two of the drawers are filled with wonderful 12 by 12 scrapbook papers; a third drawer holds large paper scraps and the top drawer is filled to the brim with dye ink pads. On top of that stack of drawers are all of my reinkers for my dye ink pads and my label markers.

And finally, my primary desk. This is where I make art, carve, cut fabric, and do just about everything. The main part of the desk is generally clean-I like lots of space. I have a tendency to trash the floor around me, so I use empty plastic shoe boxes to catch scraps and supplies that need to be put away.

My Studio Part Three

2007-07-01T15:57:00.000-05:00

The book case next to my table holds charms, findings, and several sorters of metal, plastic, and paper alphabets sorted by letter. The charms are sorted by manufacturer. On top are my paint brushes, scissors, and rulers.

The big chest of drawers contains all of my beads and bead making supplies and tools. In the far left hand corner, that chest top holds all of my in process projects. Too many to count!! Stored in boxes and baggies so I can grab a box or bag and take it downstairs to the living room, to my art table, or to the couch.

The final picture is an extra table. I use it for cutting paper, for drying prints, or for guests. I try not to stack too much on it so it is always ready, but since it is the first empty space inside the room-that is a lost cause.

Wild Idea Exchange

2007-05-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

It is Sylvia's fault! Sylvia, Patti S, and I decided to do a prayer wand exchange-that expanded to a prayer wand, amulet bag, spirit stick or bag, or something to that effect. I had several false starts. I thought I had great ideas, but my spirit told me I was wrong. I finally decided on two pieces for Patti S-a bag from leather with some treasures tucked inside, and a star shaman.

May the spirit guide you when the muse goes on holiday!