Suitcase Saturday

  Here's a very cool traveling suitcase that my wife Margot (of Sassy Feet) created -

 I'll let her tell you about  it -

 

I turned this plain white canvas satchel into a wonderful overnight bag by coloring it, embellishing it, and adding a lining with a handy pocket. I daubed the canvas with two shades of blue Dynaflow fabric paint and sponged the vinyl bottom of the bag with two metallic colors of Lumiere.

 The sides were embellished with iron-on transfers of retro travel stickers. Other words (also made with iron-on transfers) were applied to painted scraps of canvas and then riveted or wired on. I embellished the other side of the bag with stenciled eucalyptus leaves, transferred Kanji characters, old Chinese coins, and gold watch chain.

 

  The result? This bag makes a splash wherever I travel. 

Latte Anyone?

Mmmm... who doesn't love a latte?

 Warm, creamy, comfy, pretty pictures on top...

 Perfect for these cooler Autumnal mornings.

                                photo courtesy Camille Stupar

And sometimes you just want to go for the extra large!

Art Girlz Wrap-up

Even though it was foggy outside,
all was smiles and sunshine in the 

Altered by the Sea Studio for Art Girlz in Autumn.

We hosted a wonderful crowd,  they loved seeing all the art 

and getting to visit my studio.

Many sales were made and commissions arranged. 
We were all pleased with the amount of art and jewelry
 that went home with happy new owners.

A good turn-out , got to visit with friends, art aficionados, 

and new friends lured in with our publicity push.

All in all - a lovely way to spend a Sunday
 and to kick off the beginning of Autumn.

And already talk in the air of 

an Art Girlz in Spring show!

Life on the Coast

A friendly pelican perched on the Cayucos Pier. 
Enjoy your weekend!

From the Bookshelf

 This book is truly amazing - here's what Amazon has to say about it -

Tord Boontje incorporates a romantic, artisanal sensibility to contemporary industrial and product design, drawing from a rich graphic tradition to create objects of exceptional beauty and delicacy. One of the most original and innovative product and furniture designers working today, Boontje is an artist and a craftsman, and in designs for Swarovski, Artecnica, and Moroso, his lamps, chairs, fabric designs, paper products, and art installations have vaulted him into the top ranks of contemporary design culture. Featured in headline exhibitions at the Milan Furniture Fair, the Victoria and Albert Musem and Art Basel: Miami, the unique paper creations and furniture developed by Boontje have become global objects of desire, spawning a cult following among collectors and design consumers. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 sketches, concept renderings, and photographs, the book is a comprehensive visual document of the designer's work and an art object in itself, featuring a number of custom printing effects-stencils, perforated and die-cut pages, and textured and woven details-that capture the intricacy of Boontje's approach to pattern-making.

A delight for the eye and a wonderful volume to  delve into for inspiration and whenever you need a design-fix!

Art Girlz in Autumn!

This Sunday from 10-5 here at 

Altered by the Sea Studio in Morro Bay.

Sculptural Seed Bead Necklace - Debra Jurey

Join me and my fellow art girlz Debra Jurey and Destiny Carter.

Handmade Journals - Erin Perry

 Beautiful artisan jewelry, mixed media assemblage and collage,

 art journal kits, painted T-shirts and, as they say, "So much more!" 

Silly Tongued Frenchie (paper collage)
 Destiny Carter

On La Jolla between Hwy 41 and San Jacinto - 

follow the signs to Altered by the Sea.  

Hope to see you there!

Raven's Board

 Raven's Board   11.5x17

Take one used Ouija board - add a paper crow from a Martha Stewart Halloween garland, use the web stencil from Mary Beth Shaw's Stencil Girl, toss in some Liquitex Acrylics in Ivory Black and Unbleached Titanium and...

...you have a Halloween classic!

Suitcase Saturday

Everyone needs a black cat to inspect their vintage suitcases!

 A nice stack from Selvedge magazine,

And a canvas and leather grouping from Victoria  magazine.

Pages and Pages

A few more pages from my current daily journal.

I've really been enjoying working in this book 

I made using techniques from
 Mary Ann Moss's Full Tilt Boogie Class.

I know it's been said before -

 but it is always so much easier to start a page

  when there's some colour or pattern down already.

About 3/4's of the way through this one
and loving every minute of it!

Curious Cabinet

 Curious Cabinet  15x7.5"

I came across this wonderful set of drawers at our local swap meet several years ago.  I knew it would be perfect for something, someday. Someday is now and the something is a spooky Halloween piece called Curious Cabinet.

Loosely based on the Victorian cabinets of curiosities that housed flora and fauna from the world of nature, this one is full of skulls, vials, scrolls, old keys, twine, calla lilies, an amber broach and a frozen Charlotte.  Spanish moss and tea-dyed cheese cloth drape the sides and wax drips down, along with loops of a chain and bead necklace.

The vials and large central skull were coloured with Adirondack's Alcohol ink in terra cotta and all the pieces were affixed with heavy gel medium.

Not every one's cup of tea, but I know a few people 

who will just "die" when they see it!

 Available at the upcoming
Art Girlz in Autumn Studio Show on Sept. 23.

Life on the Coast

It's that time of year - vivid orange marigold fields

 along Los Osos Valley Road.

Enjoy your weekend!

From the Bookshelf

As in all of Barbara Hodgson's work this book is a combination of the real, the not quite real and the could be real.  The story revolves around an American woman searching for an estranged husband, so she can put a final end to their marriage. Along the way we are treated to a history of human anatomical study, a brilliant view of several European cities in times gone by and a mystery that grows and becomes more and more tangled as the pages flow by.  Lavishly illustrated with altered book elements of fold-outs and tabs, this is a book that may leave more questions than answers at the end.  Highly recommended - as is anything by Ms. Hodgson

Easy Pieces

For our up-coming show I've created some ephemera paks - sort of grab bags of paper and 3-D items for art journaling, altered books, collage and assemblage.

 This series, called Lost & Found, includes bingo numbers, scrabble tiles, and different bits of old jewelery or brass stampings, buttons, etc. - each one is slightly different.

25 Easy Pieces - delves into the game cupboard and has a selection from Monopoly, a Harry Potter game, dominoes, Trivial Pursuit, Mah Jong, Bingo and letter tiles.

And 45 Easy Pieces contains old maps, stamps, postal ephemera, foreign pages and newspapers, illustrations from vintage children's books, Life magazine ads from 1950, language flash cards and fabric samples.
 Pair these with one of the journals from this post and you're ready to start a visual art journal!
All available at  Art Girlz in Autumn on September 23 here at the Altered by the Sea Studio in Morro Bay.

Blog Meet-up

 Last week one evening after work I had the opportunity to meet up with Sharon Bennett of Creation Destination.  We've been following each other's blogs for several months now.  Sharon has a job that keeps her moving around the state and she comes to Morro Bay a few times a year.  So she suggested a get together.

 We each brought some of our journals to share and it was a real kick to get to see her work in person (these pages are from Sharon's journals.)  And as most of you know - it's always fun to talk to some one who "speaks the same language" or as Michelle Ward would say, some one who "gets it!"

And - she brought her tape bag and let me have samples! 

 How cool is that?!?

Suitcase Saturday

Journals - can we ever have enough?  Of course not.  I have a couple  of suitcases ( Ross repro and one from World Market)  filled with empty journals-all waiting for their turn in the spotlight - to be carried around everyday, becoming fatter and fatter as they are filled with writing, art and the ephemera of daily living.

But now that I've discovered (by taking Mary Ann Moss's Full Tilt Boogie Class) how much fun it is to make my own, I'm thinking I have many more of these store bought journals than I'll ever need.

So I've decided to let go of a stack of them (above), they'll be for sale - along with my ephemera packs (more on these later) at our Art Girlz in Autumn show at the end of the month.  Hoping to garner a bit of cash, help someone else get started journaling and I'll end up with an empty suitcase!