Monday, October 28, 2013

September Full Moon #9



Attached photo is September alter piece for Cyn,
 yes very late.  It is a fiber and bead abstract piece.
  September was a very, very busy month and also left me worn out from too many things on my plate.  Used are two pieces of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, one that I fused to make dimensional and beaded onto; the other piece quilted for the base.  Fall colors are in the the fabrics.  It is better looking in person!! 
 Sorry to be so late Cyn.   Hugs, Marilynn

October Full Moon #8

October Alter piece is for Lynn V and it was fun to make.  Used a dark silver gray paper to hold all together.  Onto the paper used silver leaf paper, fabric quilted pumpkin, scary cat out of leather, silk flowers, glass flower bead (one of mine) and wire.  I have almost covered all the bases!!  HaHa!!  Oh, I do have a Accuquilt Go Cutter, but discovered other die cutter with GREAT dies, a Big Shot, so invested in that also…yes I am a tool junk.Sorry to be so late Lynn V, still recovering from September and in a bit of a creative slump.  I think I might be out of itwith any luck!! 

 Hugs and Happy Halloween,   Marilynn

October Full Moon #7



My inspiration is for my favorite event Halloween! It's not just Halloween that I love...it's everything about Fall. The past few years we've been seeing relatively dry crisp days and nights. When the wind blows and the leaves fall it's magical. The dry leaves make a wonderful crackling sound when they fall en mass and when walked on. Cars send dry leaves spinning up and around only to settle back down onto the road again. It's a sight to behold.

 The jack-o-lantern is traditionally a major icon for All Hallows Eve so I decided to make one from wool felt with a cotton fabric background. I wanted to make the pumpkin look as if it were glowing in the night with the cotton fabric. I hope it worked!

Just another word about Halloween which you probably already know is that October 31, and the days before that date, is when the veil between parallel realities/other dimensions is the thinnest so don't be surprised if you see things you may have never seen before or hear things you've never heard before happen! This whole month is awesome, and filled with possibilities!




Lou's camera pasted away this month
may it RIP. Photos of her work coming soon..Peg

October Full Moon #6



My inspiration for Oct was the Beach - again - have I mentioned I love the beach? This project was an easy one because it was for myself. I decided to take my Beach Mosaic a little farther and add footprints in the sand. I went to my studio and found my boxes of small beach stones. I have lots and lots of beach stones, but nothing small enough to make footprints that would fit the space! I started playing around with the stones at random and I there was that little turtle again!  So Happily I added her to my space and she is swimming towards the beach.  What is next you ask? Road trip! To the Beach for more smaller beach stones and a few agates too. Any excuse to go to the beach.

Lynn H


Sunday, October 27, 2013

October Full Moon #5

October is my favorite month of the year. I love the fiery colors of the changing leaves and Halloween is my all time favorite holiday of the year.
Several years ago I spend many months exploring mold making and made mold of anything I could lay my hands on that would hold still for at least 5 minutes. I happened upon some old party picks that were used for the cupcakes of my childhood. A cat arched in perfect Halloween pose  against the full moon.
 I created 2 fine silver pieces and used different methods of attachments one adding a tab with a hole and the other embedding wire. I also added tiny ruby eyes to one. These pieces were used to demo different patina effects including nail polish. They were survivors of many different techniques in my many classes.
 As I was searching for inspiration for the October Full Moon I ran across them. My goal was to create a piece that could pose in its space in the printer’s drawer but then be unhooked and be worn.
I tried many, many, many different ideas to no avail until I decided I had to make 2 separate things.
 In all of the travels the cats had survived the wire embedded had snapped off at the point of insertion and I had tossed it into the scrap pile. The other began its journey as a spooky/sparkly Halloween necklace. I completed the necklace and discovered it would not behave and fit into the spot.
 I had created a background of ink washes on a silver metallic paper to resemble a moonlit night sky.
Then I wove a wee bare tree with 34 gauge wire and copper limbs. That was like weaving with hair strands(whew). I die cut a wrought iron fence and attached everything with gel medium. I rescued the second cat from the scrap pile and added the patina for the moon from my crazy color collection of nail varnishes, doing both cat pieces at once so they resembled each other.( Interesting to note there is a layer of bright poison green enhancing the golden moon)
All was attached with the gel medium and I added tiny stars of glitter to the sky. The necklace was created on two silk cords navy and deep green , one which I added 4 beads, 2 black and white and 2 green rhinestone with large holes. And of course you need to know why the cat was howling at the moon it was the singing caballeros with tiny bats circling above.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Peg



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

October Full Moon #4

I was inspired by a beaded and sequined 1920’s dress on Antiques Roadshow.  It was the second time I’d seen that episode, and I liked the dress as much or more than the first time.  I thought it would be fun to do a miniature dress on ____ (?) with some of my “extensive” sequin collection.  Stitching was the first considered approach, but the size of the sequins in relation to the size of our October space and therefore the dress, told me that would be overkill.  Too much structure, overworked.  Been there before….

I’m not really sure how the end result finally came about.  I decided to do some This month, thankfully!, the trajectory from idea to end result was less wobbly.
testing, and the testing pretty much turned into the finished product.  I used a piece of water color paper that had been printed with the photograph I used in our February Little Altars spot (the Olympics from Ebey’s Landing).  I covered it with Glass Bead Gel (a new product for me) that I mixed with Iridescent Gold Acrylic.  (In making this, the end product always looked gold to me, but standing upright, it is definitely defined as much by the blue photo background as it is by the gold on top.) 

I decided that gluing the sequins on, randomly, would actually get me the effect I wanted.  I really like what happened, although, once again, my husband is a little dismayed, and questioned why he was finding sequins all around the house.  (They stick to you!!)

I thought that Cyn’s wee folk might want to party fancy once in a while, so this is a gossamer and transparent little party dress!  It’ll keep them up to mischief, even if a little chilly at this time of year!
Nancy 






October Full Moon #3

Hello Ladies,

This month has been CRAZY BUSY!  I took a few hours for myself and visited Peg at the Best Of The Northwest show and what a treat that was!!!  Relaxing and fun.  Her work, as always was beautiful and her booth warm and inviting.  It wasn’t difficult for me to find something beautiful for my mom’s birthday in March!

This month my spot is for Lou, who, if I remember correctly not only LOVES HALLOWEEN but has a birthday on October 13!!!!

Early in this art exchange several of you used Shrink Film aka Shrinky Dink so for many months I have been committed to trying it!!!!  THIS IS THE MONTH!  I also wanted to introduce some of you to Pebeo Vitrea 160 paints (since you are all so creative some of you may have used them in the past).  For those of you have not heard of them or had a chance to try these amazing paints I will provide a brief overview of the process.  These paints are meant for hand painting glass and dishes.  You paint it on.  Let it dry for 24 hours.  After it has dried completely you place it in the oven, turn it on to 300 degrees for 40 minutes.  When it’s done you turn off the oven, open the door, and let the piece air cool because it is glass and will crack if you cool it too quickly.  TADA!!!!

I decided to cut out a cute and adorable pumpkin in Brass.  I used the process of chasing and repousse to give it texture and volume.  I then hand mixed the colors that I wanted and created a deep pumpkin orange color with a touch of pearlescence.  You have probably figured out  like that little bit of pop in my pieces that it gives.  I wanted FLAMES for the background so you could see it through the HAPPY PUMPKIN’S eyes which would give it just a little bit of menace but not too much.  Last, but certainly not least,  I needed an adorable Halloween Witch flying past the moon on her broom!!!  This is where the Shrinky Dink came in.  I found my witch, printed her out, cut her out, then put her in the oven to shrink to size.  I hope the pictures help capture as much of the process as possible.  The pumpkin color was a little darker after it went in the oven but it is still a pumpkin!

It will be front heavy so I would suggest hot glue to hold it in if you like it and want to keep it.  It is glued to the background.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Halloween this year!             

Many blessings to everyone,
https://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif

Lynn Vernon











October Full Moon #2

The “October Moon” project travels to Beth tonight for her "I" box. My muse this month was my husband Karl.  He bought me this wonderful "Dia de los muertos" book about the Mexican holiday - Day of the dead.
 






I was inspired to create sugar skull molds and decorate them with color and pizzazz!  Added Meringue powder to the sugar & slowly added a little water so it never got muddy or lumpy; more like wet sand. They were harder than snot the next day; I was impressed.

A big batch of white frosting was in order.  My pastry chef niece tells me to start with an egg white and slowly beat in powdered sugar. Split my frosting into several ramekins and added different colors to each.  I then needed to figure out a small holder for piping onto the sugar molds
.
Okay, I used wax paper; my niece says "no, use parchment", folded into a cone with a small tip!  Hah! Not so easy my friend; spent most of my time trying to figure that part out.  I then collected several items to implant on my sugar molds.  Love; love the Cake Lady on Roosevelt St in Seattle - Maple Leaf District.  I got lots of goodies, including sugar flowers, sprinkles & ribbon.  Love the orange leaf design for fall!

Celebrate with me this October, of our loved ones and friends who have passed and moved onto the next phase of existence.

Next is to create an ofrendas for my trick or treaters to see!


Be safe and have a piece of candy!   
Kimberly  





October Full Moon #1

  Autumn, autumn glorious autumn! The crunch of fallen leaves, the scent of wood burning in the fireplace with a touch of cinnamon, cool crisp mornings spent sipping hot apple cider before heading out to tend his pumpkin patch. It's Hal's favorite time of the year. He especially enjoys growing and carving wee pumpkin cottages for his many squirrel, chipmunk and mouse friends. Hal and his famous delectable pumpkin baked goods are on everyone's guest list for fall and winter gatherings. Hal bakes daily, for the parties and treats for his feathered and furry forest friends. One thing you'll never see in Hal's pumpkin patch is a scarecrow, all are welcome.


     I have a lot in common with Hal, I love this time of year! Love to bake....would like some of Hal's... short for (hey no gnome jokes!) Halloween of course pumpkin recipes! Mmm pumpkin! Guess I'm a creature of habit...polymer clay again to create a slice of my imagination and the world as I see it! Hope you enjoy it Nancy!



Cheers,
Cyn






October Full Moon

Welcome to my favorite time of the year,
The Full Moon of October was magnificent and we actually got to see her for a day or two then FOG.

What an October this has been, the foggiest I ever remember. But my garden is full of brilliant reds, oranges and deep scarlet leaves. The spiders have been spinning their brains out filling ever nook and cranny with webs so large I fear for my cat.
A bonus of the fog is the beautiful beaded effect the webs take on when the fog hovers overnight. it is breathtaking. And also serves as a warning so you don't run face first into one!
This has been a crazy busy month with all kinds of things happening and requiring immediate attention leaving little time to create just for the hell of it. But I am declaring a day off and hiding with my art supplies to just play.
From the Little Altar submissions it appears you all have had the same sort of autumn, running on a treadmill as fast as you can to just keep up with daily life. Please enjoy the October additions and leave a comment or  two at each entry it really livens up this project.
 We only have a few more Little Altars left. We will be taking December off and doing our final installation in January. What an ride it has been for me following the moon cycle seemed to make the year speed by but also make me savor each day knowing how quickly time passes.

Bright Moon Blessings M'dears and take some time to sneak off and play
 Cheers
Peg

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Ready for the Show

I'll see you at Best of The NorthWest 
Oct 18/19&20. Come buy and say Hello

The time has come
Said the hands to the head
To put away the jewels & tools
And sell your wares instead. 

Needles secure, pliers down
Beads back in tubes
Kiln cycled down
Tumbler at rest

Gleaming finished pieces
Checked polished & priced
Displays packed up
Lists checked twice

Now trading hats
From mole in the workshop
To ringmaster of the selling circus. 
Thanks for your support in my life as an artist!!
Peg Gyldenege 10/16/13

Monday, October 07, 2013

September Moon #9 - Kimberly Kostal

Hello Little Alters Artists,


With the September moon upon us, I hadn't finished my project. No matter what I think I want to do, sometimes my muse isn't working. Or you could say "My Mojo was way off! Enough said about my 3-D skeletons! Help me Mr. Wizard!


Thinking about Gwen and her love for her animals, I thought a kitty would be purrrrrrfect! And her love for fiber pointed the way: so I decided to felt a Kitty for space H!


My thought was of a cat stretching low with high quarters up, looking up at a butterfly. I took 18 gauge wire to create the shape of the kitty. I love the neutral wool colors with black & gray wool fibers and soon Kitty began to take shape. Wire pieces were used for the whiskers; seed beads for the eyes; ( I sewed white lines around the beads ) and red seed beads for the little pink tongue.


I took construction cloth, painted it black and added a copper wire of loops to frame a section of the space. Next I added stemmed - top coiled pieces to give height . I wrapped a variety of seed beads on both sides of the Butterfly & attached it to the coiled piece. A Red textured paper filled the background and completed the piece. Kitty pops in under the wire shaped butterfly.


Lesson learned: not be so hard on myself. Sometimes we just need to refocus and move on.


I like Butterfly & Kitty and hope Gwen does too!.


Happy Fall,
Kimberly Kostal
Lazy K








Tuesday, October 01, 2013

September Full Moon #8 - Gwen Gyldenege's Dried Up Paint Bits

This month, I send to Nancy. I hope you like these wee little guys!

In my last 2 posts, What Can You Do with a Zip Fizz Tube? and Creating Art from Acryllic Paint that Dried in Your Pallet, you know that I poured out a bunch of fresh and expensive paint, then promptly forgot it and wasted all that colored goodness. In an effort to recover what was lost, I created art for the September Full Moon alter space for the Little Alters exchange project

I started with the dried up bits in the pallet you see below and went to my sketch book.  As I was pouring over a lovely strawberry balsalmic martini, I worked with opposites {Dried:Fluid, Useless:Purposeful, etc.} as a way to show that what was deemed trash could actually be discovered to be fun and playful.  

My vision (sketched below) is that out from the pallet where you see the paint actually stuck to the plastic, there's this Mary Poppins Carpet Bag like space where something pops out of nothing.  The paint boys would pop up wearing the dried up paint as hats or even as bum covers if they fell into the paint and got stuck there until the Artist left the studio. 
  
Images copyright (c) 2013 Gwen Gyldenege. All Rights Reserved.
 

I sculpted the guys in 2-part epoxy, then decided to cover the shortened zip fizz tubes with a thin layer of epoxy too so I could paint them.  Then, I attached their dried-up paint hats exactly as I found the paint.  Last, I covered these guys in more than 10 layers of paint, mostly Michael deMeng style but totally focused on matching the paint color of their hat. While they are all a bit redder than I'd choose, their hats were the best dried up bits that resembled a hat. 
 
Images copyright (c) 2013 Gwen Gyldenege. All Rights Reserved.
 
Paint boys, Left Over, Forgotten, and Dried Up, I love you guys!

Images copyright (c) 2013 Gwen Gyldenege. All Rights Reserved.
More of Gwen Gyldenege's work may be found at  http://www.calmundertension.com and http://shesethegoldenegg.com