Vol. 2, No. 59, February 28, 2017

2059 - Tea Time Two.

There's nothing better than snuggling in for the night with a good book and a steaming cup of Sleepytime Tea! The box from my Sleepytime Tea was used to make the flowers and the tea was used to paint the picture in the background. Today I combined my tea projects from last week and did a photo shoot of a cup of tea for the Celestial Seasonings #CreateSomeMagicContest. I was very thankful to have a remote for my camera, as it made it possible to pour the tea and take the picture at the same time.

Vol. 2, No. 58, February 27, 2017

2058- Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Hotel Hospitality. 

Today was the end of my vacation. I had a 6 hour drive ahead of me and I knew I wouldn't want to do my project when I got home, so I did it at the hotel before I left. While this hotel didn't fold the toilet paper, I figured I would leave a happy surprise for the next guest, or at least for the housekeeper. Two rolls of toilet paper meant 2 different flowers. 

Vol. 2, No. 57, February 26, 2017

2057 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. News Worthy Bride.

At breakfast this morning I noticed the Sunday paper sitting in the hotel lobby and I decided it would be fun to use it for my project. Since this weekend was all about wedding planning, I decided to make a wedding dress. Rebecca agreed to let me dress her up as the bride, a practice run for the real thing.

We didn'the have any tape, so me made the dress by folding the newspaper amt tucking it into her swimsuit.

We had the dress done and she was pressuring me to hurry up and take the pictures. I made her wait so I could make flowers.

Vol. 2, No. 56, February 25, 2017

2056 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Tissue Bride.

I spent the majority of my day wedding dress shopping with my sister. When I got back to the hotel, the kleenex especially and toilet paper in the bathroom reminded me that I hadn't done my project yet. So I used the supplies on hand to sculpt some wedding dresses. Then I set them up in the bathroom to make a mini bridal boutique.
In case you were wondering, she did not say yes to a dress, so the search continues.

Vol. 2, No. 55, February 24, 2017

2055 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Clean Carving.

I am on vacation this weekend and I decided to go without my standard art supplies, which would force me to get creative. I didn't know what to make today, so I asked a friend. My friend suggested drawing on a mirror with a bar of soap. I considered it, but photographing art on mirrors is tricky, and cleaning it up sounded messy, so I switched it up. I decided to carve the bar of soap instead. Then, I made a print using some tea. The carving turned out a lot better than the last time I tried carving soap.

When I got done carving, I decided to make a print with a used teabag for ink.

Vol. 2, No. 54, February 23, 2017

2054 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Valentines.

At Art Club today, I found some paper from a previous project that needed a home, so I cut it into 4 small pieces and made Valentines. The drawings are inspired by Jim Dine's Hearts. I drew with oil pastels on paper textured with pasted tissue paper.

Vol. 2, No. 53, February 22, 2017

2053 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Tea Roses.

To continue with the #CreateSomeMagicContest, I used the box from a package of Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea, hot glue, and a scissors to make these miniature tea roses in a vase. I made them while substitute teaching in 4th grade. The students loved them and wanted to see more of my art work, so out came Instagram.

6" x 2" x 3"

Vol. 2, No. 52, February 21, 2017

2052 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Tea Time.

Celestial Seasonings is having an art contest, the topic 'how tea inspires your creativity'. Tea is something that makes me happy, so this week, I am exploring art inspired by my favorite teas. One favorite team is Roobios (red tea) today I brewed a short glass and painted a picture of a pouring teapot.  It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, so I will keep trying to find #CreateSomeMagic. 8"x10"

Vol. 2, No. 51, February 20, 2017

2051 - Happy Cooking. Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you happy.  

I had a plan for my project today, but after shopping, working on theater stuff, cleaning, and cooking supper, it was 8:30 and I no longer had time to make my original project. So, I will save that for tomorrow. As I wracked my brain for another project, inspared by something that makes me happy, it dawned on me, cooking makes me happy and I cooked dinner tonight from scratch, therefore, dinner = art. I pulled the leftovers out of the fridge and took a picture. 

Today's dinner was based off a recipe I saw on Facebook, Sausage Egg roll in a Bowl. Like many recipes on Facebook, there wasn't actually a recipe, so I guessed and substituted. I used hamburger, fresh garlic and ginger, onion, coleslaw, soy sauce, and a splash of oil. I served it on a bed of brown rice. Philip approved, and went back foend seconds, so I guess it was good. 

Vol. 2, No. 50, February 19, 2017

2050 - Birthday Bow.

I was deciding what to do today, and wasn't coming up with anything great. It is my cousin Bianca's Birthday today, so I thought that would be a good theme, but the project just wasn't coming to me. At this point it was 5:30 and I was going to a 7:00 movie, so I had to get moving on whatever I was going to do. I saw an old 31 catalog on the table and decided to recycle it by cutting a page up to make a bow that could go on a present.

I got the bow finished just as my ride arrived for the movie, so I brought it with and photographed it on the snack counter at the theater.  Then, I left it at the theater for someone else to find.

P.S. We went to see Sing! It is a very cute movie.

Vol. 2, No. 49, February 18, 2017

2049 - A view of your city. Soaring Eagle. 

On Tuesday,  I stopped in Darwin on my way home from work. As I was leaving, I noticed a Bald Eagle soaring above town. Since my challenge this week was a view of your city, I knew I wanted to make something eagle related, so I took to Pinterest for ideas. One of the first projects I saw was a collage. I fell in love with the idea of making a torn paper collage using magazines. I didn't have time/motivation to make it until today.

It is a 4"x6" collage. I plan to make some more of different subjects, to create one larger artwork later.

Vol. 2, No. 48, February 17, 2017

2048 - A view of your city. Water House. 

It was a beautiful day today, 60 degrees in February! So rather than make art inside I went out and used the first thing that caught my attention, the puddles of melted snow. 

I walked through the puddles, then used my footprints to "paint" my house from memory. I included a Google maps picture of my house for comparison.

This was project was quick and easy, leaving me plenty of time to sit in my hammock swing and read my book.

Vol. 2, No. 47, February 16, 2017

2046 - Artist Inspiration.

Today was an art club day at the Winsted Arts Council, which meant that I got to teach 4 kids in grades 1-3 about Joan Miro. We made prints inspired by his work. I took my printed paper to play practice and made greeting cards. 

Vol. 2, No. 46, February 15, 2017

The original Photo

The Advertisement

2045 - A view of your city. Advertising Adventure.

Today, I had a grand plan on making a magazine collage of a bald eagle. However, I had to get some stuff ready for my Thirty-One BAGGO Party next week and work on my taxes. By time all of that was done, it was nearly 8 pm and I was too exhausted to do the collage. So the collage will be tabled until later in the week.

So now I'm back to today's project. Fortunately, one of the things I had to do for the party was create an advertisement for Facebook. I actually had fun getting it ready. The BAGGO theme is Spring and Banana Splits. To make the ad, I set up a "stage" with a catalog, bingo cards, and a new wallet. Then I went to DQ to get a banana split. They sort of made fun of me when I said that I NEEDED a banana split. Anyways, I got it home, placed it on the wallet, adjusted the lighting and took a picture. Then it was to the computer for editing. I brightened the picture, removed the background and added text, creating the final add. So, while this wasn't my original project plan, it is still creative and in my book it still counts.

I guess this can also count for the #64millionartists challenge, be cause DQ is something that I see around town.

Vol. 2, No. 45, February 14, 2017

2045 - A view of your city. The Heart of MN.

Continuing to use twine as part of my #64millionartists challenge, I did a project that has been on my art bucket list for a while: MN String Art. I found a scrap of wood at the theater, got a friend to cut off the bad edge and sand it. Then I spray painted it gold. I found and printed a map of Minnesota, taped it to the prepared board and started pounding in nails around the boarder and in a heart around Darwin. Then, I gave the nails a quick coat of gold.

When it was dry, I started winding twine. I quickly discovered that the twine was too thick and would not work for this project, so I adapted. I used string for the woven base, and the added a twine boarder and a twine Celtic heart knot.

10.5" x 12"

Vol. 2, No. 44, February 13, 2017

2044 - A view of your city. Twine-pressed Hearts.

This week, the #64millionartists challenge is to make something inspired by where you live/work. Today, I found twine at school and used it to represent Darwin, MN and the World's Largest Ball of Twine Made by One Man.

I wanted to play with clay, my original thought was to just make a large heart-shaped slab tray, with twine impressions. However, the heart was cracking and I wasn't happy with it, so I cut out a circle, impressed it with  a heart cookie cutter and made a small tray. Then I had lots of clay scraps that couldn't be recycled because of the twine scraps, so I cut out multiple hearts and make a mobile. Once the pieces are fired, I will glaze them, retie them with twine, and post an update.

Vol. 2, No. 43, February 12, 2017

2043 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Berry Heart on Ice.

Today, I picked little red berries off a plant in my yard, and then arranged them on a heart-shaped piece of ice. I placed the installation on the corner so that people driving, or more likely those walking by as it is only 5" x 4", could enjoy it. 

Vol. 2, No. 42, February 11, 2017

2042 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Snow Heart.

The weather has been in the high 30's this weekend, making it great weather to get outside. It is also making the snow melt, which is softening it up, making it great for snow sculptures. I made a standing snow heart and finished it off with a spray of red food coloring.

It rained after the heart was finished making it loose its color, but the heart itself is still sanding at
13.5" x 11" x 6".

Vol. 2, No. 41, February 10, 2017

2041 - Play-Doh Hearts.

I was babysitting today and B wanted to play Play-Doh, So, I decided to do my project at the same time. Working on a Valentines Day themed mat, I rolled some coils and then started to braid them to make the top right heart. B saw my braid and told me she loved my Rapunzel hair and wanted to make one too. So I helped her roll coils and braid her own heart (bottom left).  Very quick, pretty easy, and when we were done taking the picture, we smashed them back up into the container.

Vol. 2, No. 40, February 9, 2017

2040 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Fruit Heart.

I had fruit for snack today, before I ate it, I arranged it to make a quick heart. Then I ate it and it was as delicious as it looked.

Vol. 2, No. 39, February 8, 2017

2039 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Pine Heart.

Today would have been Granny's 77th Birthday. So, even though it was really cold today, I decided to go to the cemetery and make art with her.  I gathered pine cones and fallen branches from around the cemetery and created this small heart installation at her grave.

Vol. 2, No. 38, February 7, 2017

2038 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Heart in the Snow. 

February is heart month, and February 7-14 is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. My sister Margo has CHD. So this week, in addition to #64MillionArtists' nature, I am creating hearts for Margo. 

It snowed today, just a light dusting, so I was able to actually draw in the snow! It is fairly small, about 2.5 ft sq, and was made using only a stick and the snow. 

Vol. 2, No. 37, February 6, 2017

2037 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Footprints in the Snow.

#64MillionArtists is sending out a weekly challenge every Monday. My goal is to make at least one project based on their challenge each week. This week is Nature. It's really unfortunate that it is cold this week. I guess that means I will just have to work fast when I go outside.

I was hoping for a light dusting of snow so I could actually draw in the Snow, but since that didn't happen, I settled for walking in the snow. It turned out to be a lot more difficult that it sounded. The snow had a hard top layer from all the melting that has been happening, so walking was a lot more like stomping. I added some color to make the design more defined and then photographed it from above. The drawing is about 10 feet tall.

Vol. 2, No. 36, February 5, 2017

2036 - Football Food. My family hosted a Super Bowl party. The main course was a taco bar. I prepared the refried beans, sculpting them into a football, creating the laces with string cheese.

Vol. 2, No. 35, February 4, 2017

2035 - Make a Wish. In honor of World Cancer Day, I decided to make a Relay for Life Luminary.  I didn't have a blank bag, so I drew on tracing paper that I can attach to a bag later.

Vol. 2, No. 34, February 3, 2017

2034 - Jewelry Repair/Design. I had some fewelry that was in need of repair, so for today's project, that's what I did. The Time Turner Necklace and the rosary just need jump rings replaced (that was easy). The bracelet on the other hand, need a complete redesign. It had broken and half the beads were missing.  So, I found new string, beads, and some chain and redesigned  the whole thing.

Vol. 2, No. 33, February 2, 2017

2033 - Quilted Colors. Today's project is an example for my art club. I used watercolors to paint a large piece of paper, incorporating 6 different painting techniques. I used Epsom salt, table salt, wax-resist, rubbing alcohol drops, water drops, and blotting with a paper towel. Each technique created a different design on my paper. When it was dry, I cut the paper into triangles and rearranged them in a quilt like pattern on black paper. I loved how it turned out and I hope that the art club collages will be just as great, I know that their painted papers are awesome.

Vol. 2, No. 32, February 1, 2017

Yesterday was a great transition into February. This month, I am going to create my own challenges. Today's challenge: Make a time-lapse photo-collage. On January 1, 2017, I began taking a picture of a tree in my yard. I took a picture from approximately the same spot every day. Today, I took all of those pictures and combined the in Photoshop to create my collage. This sounds relatively easy, but due to slightly different camera angles, things didn't quite line up. So, I would not call this a success, but it is finished, and I will try again next month. Maybe by the end of the year, I will have this mastered.

Vol. 2, No 31, January 31, 2017

Day 31 - Go your own way. Create your own challenge for someone else. We had auditions for the Litchfield Community Youth Theatre show, Lion King Jr. I challenged myself, and the others who were at the registration table, to create miniature models of fruit using polymer clay. I had two friends take me up on the challenge. Erin made a strawberry, kiwi, watermelon and grapes; Julia made a banana; and I made cantaloupe. When I find time, I will be turn the fruit into wine glass charms.