A Stellar Day

I am a winner!

Deryn Mentock, of the awesome blog "Something Sublime", posted a giveaway there a few days ago.

I left a comment on her blog and my number was one of the winners.

How awesome is that?!

I can't wait to get the goody bag that she will be mailing out.

What a great day this has been!

I completed the paper work for the retreat classes that I am teaching in Colorado Springs (Textile Evolution) next year, completed another hand bound book and wrote up class notes for both.

My son (away at art school) called to just say "hello".

My handsome husband fixed a wonderful dinner for the both of us.

Top that off with winning the cool goodies from Deryn and my day has be Stellar.

This week in My Life

I belong to a great group of women artists - the Art Diva's.
It's an online group of like minded creative souls.
Full of awesome artists...my (new) buddy Joanne has organized and hosted an art banner swap that I jumped at the chance to be a part of. I met Joanne and a lot of the Diva's in Birmingham when I took DJ & Deryn's classes this summer. They had done a banner swap before the classes and when I saw them I really wish I had of participated...so, here was my chance to get in on the goodies.
I designed my banner around two of my favorite things - rust media and painted faces.
It's titled "She Was An Art Diva" but I told the ladies that I should have named it "How To Make an Art Banner The Hard Way" since that is exactly what I did- make it the hard way. I didn't have the final design in mind and was just piddling along, working in an intuitive manner..which is fine if you're not in a time crunch.
Was I in a time crunch?
Hahahahahahahah hahahhha (cough, sputter)
(clear throat) hahahahahhahahahaha...
A little bit of one - they are due to be in Michigan day after tomorrow...I started on them day before yesterday.
Needless to say I'm either sending them to each individual person or over nighting them to Joanne....we'll see what it cost to do both. I'll send them the cheapest way - unless the most expensive is only a small bit more (since placing 18 banners in one envelope is a LOT easier than placing 18 banners in 18 envelopes...and then writing the addresses...
you get the picture.
I suppose this is where Mr. Wonderful would say "round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows..."

Here are a couple of pictures that I took along the way.Piles of yummy rust media to pick from...want some?
Go here and shop to your heart's content!

Sewing the strips onto a long roll of canvas with the banner shape drawn on the back side.
No color ink in my printer...I had to print the faces out in black & white onto fabric, then paint them individually...yes- 20 tiny faces by hand...

I printed the verbiage and then painted that also. I ironed Misty Fuse on the backs of everything to make adhering it all quicker and easier. I added a couple of layers of matt medium over it all to seal it.
All the girls - waiting for their first coat of matt medium to dry...

And here is "The Hard Way", um, I mean "She Was An Art Diva" banner.

Like McDonald's -

I'm lovin' it!

I may have a couple of extras - if I do email me and we can do a teeny tiny little private banner swap...or I might put them in my Etsy shop.

I'd rather swap!

This and That

Some people call ticket stubs ephemera...
I call these ticket stubs "Pure Jazz"...
Friday night my husband and I went to see Diana Krall in concert at The Peace Center in Greenville SC. We only live about 20 minutes from the Peace Center, so it was an easy drive.
What an awesome concert! I had forgotten to do a blog post about it this weekend and was reminded this morning when my husband sent me a review on it.
I'll include it below the pictures of my newest ephemera (pronounced f-in-mera).

Greenville Online Review

July 11, 2009
Review: Diana Krall heats up Peace Concert Hall
By Ann Hicks Arts writer
Sultry jazz singer/pianist Diana Krall's much-anticipated Peace Center concert — sold out some time ago — had her wall-to-wall aficionados swooning Friday night.
During her 90-plus-minute concert, the audience was treated to some superb jazz playing. The Grammy-winning Krall's solid jazz pianism, Grammy-nominated guitarist Anthony Wilson's masterful chord work, Jeff Hamilton's dynamic drumming and Robert Hurst's bass improvisations were the real stuff of this concert.
The standing ovation and the loud cheers that greeted the singer as she walked on stage, wearing a black dress, said it all. Her audience was there to hear Krall's liquid-smoke alto. She didn't disappoint with such standards as Harold Arlen's “Let's Fall in Love,” Harry Warren's “I'll String Along with You,” Nat King Cole's cover of Jerome Kern's “Pick Yourself Up” and Tom Waits' “Jockey Full of Bourbon.”
While Krall's vocal range is limited, her raspy, sexy approach makes each song work. Yet it is her at times feathery, at times robust and complex keyboard work that nails her delivery of each song. In fact, some of the night's biggest applause came with the powerful instrumental solos in Irving Berlin's “Dancing Cheek to Cheek” and Fats Waller's “Keepin' Out of Mischief.”
Krall is a highly personable entertainer. She paused from time to time to chat about traveling by bus with her 2½-year-old twin boys, missing husband Elvis Costello, shopping for toys at Greenville 's Mast General Store, hanging out with the kids at Cleveland Park and surprising her waiter by ordering fried green tomatoes for breakfast.
Gracious in thanking her enthusiastic audience, she encored with Carlos Jobim's “Quiet Nights” and “The Boy from Ipanema.”
Arts writer Ann Hicks can be reached at 864-298-4004.

Yep, that says it all. Diana really put on a great concert! My husband and I agreed that there wasn't a key on that piano that wasn't played that night...

Yesterday TR and I started another batch of rust media! This time I added more lace from my mom and grandmother's fabric stash. My mom used to make her own sheer curtains so she had plenty of lace panels in her stash. I decided to use them instead of packing them away to look at once or twice a year.
My friend, DJ Pettitt did a blog post yesterday about how she uses the rust media that my husband and I create.

Wow, what awesome work! I love DJ's mixed media books. I am still working on mine and have ideas for another, more focused one.

Anyway - go to my Etsy shop. Look around at the yummy rust media packs and fabric that DJ is in love with.

Look here at what Deryn Mentock did with a rusted yoyo that was in her pack.

I'll bet that you will fall in love too!

Wire Wrapped Link- In Rust

I did a post a few days ago about a Bird's Nest that I made...I think I even made the comment that I really didn't need to learn another art form at this point...

Didn't I say that?

Well, I suppose that I am just not that strong...

I've stumbled upon this little thing called
"wire wrapping"
that totally has me in its grip...

I've fallen and fallen hard my friends -
I'd like to blame it on this lady, oh and her too...
But, hey, I was in therapy for years so I can be totally honest here and claim my own weaknesses (claim the blame...sorry, couldn't help it!)...
It is my fault.
I knew that I should have never touched that second piece of wire...
I should have just left that torn strip of rusty fabric on the table...
And definitely left the teeny tiny seed beads in their drawer...

But - I didn't.
And here is what has become of all of it...
in one nice little package...

Oh, the possibilities that I see...

Bird Nest

One of the four day classes that I recently took in Alabama was with

Deryn Mentock - jewelry/wire artist extraordinaire.

We had painted a portrait on a canvas the day before (with DJ) and then she taught us some really cool techniques to make a wire wrap for it.
I have never worked with wire before (unless you count stringing a fence for horses...) so it was all new to me.
Deryn is a really good teacher - she is so patient. It really shows that she wants the students to understand and take new skills home with them.
I'd love to take another class with her - just what I need, huh?
Another hobby, another craft...
Anyway - here is my Bird Nest that I made last night!
Deryn gave us a tutorial on making the nest (go here - get yours).
It is so clear and easy to understand that even I could follow the directions by myself at home!
I added 3 little pearl-like beads that she gave us ( I also bought some of the same color from her) in our classroom kit.
I haven't completely finished my beaded wire framework but I will soon. It's THIS close...