Thursday, July 31, 2014

Good Omens!

 Stew's Milk Mart

As most of you know I've been going down to USC Medical Center once a week for chemo since the end of March. We go down the night before, stay in a nice little motel in Alhambra and then get to the hospital early in the morning.
 Pet Pet Dog Wash

On the drive between the motel and the clinic we pass three things that became "Good Omens" for me.
 Each trip I would make sure to catch a glance of each of these places and then
 I'd know the day would go well.

 Beautifully maintained palms at the entrance to USC 

The reason?  Well, how can you not love a teeny-tiny store called Stew's Milk Mart?  And Pet Pet Dog Wash - I mean really!  And the palms?  I love palm trees, yet so often they are not kept up.  But when they are and look this good - that's gotta be a good sign!



Here's a page in my current daily journal where I paid tribute to my "Good Omens"  And hey it's working - the chemo is going very well and I'm doing great!


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Playing with Pictures




Had some fun the other day playing with old photos. 
 Printed them out on glossy photo paper,


 then used ink, markers and stamps to
give them a vintage-y feel.
This one is yours truly in 3rd grade.


These are a couple of suave sweater vest guys


who also now have the vintage look!


Sunday, July 27, 2014

Life on the Coast


Early morning egret at Estero Bay in Baywood Park.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Last of the Tags


Perfect Splatter Distress

 And here are the last of the tags from
Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry  classes.


 Perfect Distress

I've been using many of the techniques in my daily journal,


 Perfect Distress Mist

and it's been a lot of fun to try them out
 on different paper and surfaces.

Rock Candy Distress Stickles

Thanks for "tagging along" through all these posts!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A Few More Tags, Part 2

 Crackle Paint Resist

This one has a great texture, love the way the stains
go into the cracks in the paint.

Shattered Stains Technique

Hard to see in the photo, but the chipboard crowns
actually came out looking like shattered glass.



You can get a better idea from this close-up.

Nostalgic Batik Technique

Another resist using embossing powder and  Distress inks.


Monday, July 21, 2014

A Few More Tags

Distress Embossing Powder Resist

Working my way through the last several 

Rusted Enamel Technique

With my sometimes now limited energy I've found 
tags the perfect small "canvas" to work on.

Distress Paint Resist Technique

And, I'll have all these cool technique under
 my belt to use on bigger projects in the future!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

From 18th Century Elegance to La Calavera!


We've all heard the one about when the universe hands you lemons - make lemonade.  Well. when a favourite figurine gets broken - add a skull!!



I picked up the ceramic 18th century lady over 40 years in a small thrift store outside of Yucca Valley.  A week ago she fell off her shelf and decapitated herself (ala Marie Antoinette).


I had the ceramic sugar skull for a few years, it had broken off a dish that my younger daughter gave me.
And the colours of skull and lady were an absolute perfect match.


She makes a fantastic addition to my Mexicolor bathroom!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

All the Way from Japan


A dear friend spent the last month cruising around Japan, and brought back this very special gift for me.


It has my name in kangi  and also says "Good Health".


 I'm quite touched by her thoughtfulness and have displayed this by a window in my bedroom where I'll see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Super Moon - Super Low Tide


Last Sunday morning we got up very early
 and went up to Cayucos to see the lowest tide of the year.
Caused by the Super Moon - -7.3!!


 We saw areas of the beach that have always been under water.  


Margot captured these cool trails though the damp sand,


 and these really large sea anemones, using her iPhone.


Interestingly enough the beach was almost pristine, other than seaweed and a few jelly fish, very little to see and/or gather - I did pick up enough for this small vignette of beach life.


Sunday, July 13, 2014

Life on the Coast


Every time on our way down to LA we pass this tree full of cormorants, just south of Montecito.  Traffic was slow last week and I was able to grab this shot as we drove by.


Friday, July 11, 2014

From the Bookshelf

T


For all of us that loved Diehn's The Decorated Page, this second volume is a must have as well.
The first book is what got me started art journaling ten years ago this summer, and I've never looked back.  If you're not familiar with these books, get copies now - you won't be disappointed!  Highly, highly recommended. Great techniques, great ideas, and eye candy to the max.

From Amazon website - This follow-up to the highly popular Decorated Page offers even more great ideas for beautifying a journal, more breathtaking photos to inspire, and more smart (and simple) ways to endow even the artistically timid with confidence. It simply brims with suggestions and instructions. Find out about the wealth of contemporary supplies, from papers and adhesives to paints, pens, and pastels. See how to create the actual journal from scratch, including a quick-to-complete Three Minute Pamphlet. Use the tips for customizing a store-bought book that could use a little flair. Build layered pages, take advantage of the creative potential of transparencies, and more.


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Bathroom Decor!


My friend Destiny asked if I could make a couple of  stenciled spray paint panels to go in her bathroom.
She wanted rays (from Stencil Girl),  punchinella chevrons and blues and yellows.


Here's what I came up with and she was pleased!

Monday, July 7, 2014

Museum Monday - Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena




We drove home from LA on the 4th of July and were able to stop off at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. As a special treat the museum offered free admission for the holiday. Neither of us had been there before and we were enchanted by the museum layout, the lovely grounds and the wonderful collection. They allowed non-flash photography and I was able to get some snaps of a few favourites.  The angles are a bit strange on some as I was avoiding reflection off the glass. We will definitely return to see more, a wonderful museum experience!


 Van Gogh - Portrait of the Artist's Mother




 Van Gogh -  The Mulberry Tree



 Van Gogh - Portrait of a Peasant  


Renoir - Young Woman in Black


 Rivera - The Flower Vendor


Wallace Berman -  Untitled

From the museum's website - The Norton Simon Museum is known around the world as one of the most remarkable private art collections ever assembled. Over a thirty-year period 20th-century industrialist Norton Simon (1907–1993) amassed an astonishing collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century and a stellar collection of South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years. Among the most celebrated works he collected are Branchini Madonna, 1427, by Giovanni di Paolo; Madonna and Child with Book, c. 1502-03, by Raphael; Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose, 1633, by Francisco de Zurbarán; Portrait of a Boy, c. 1655-60, by Rembrandt van Rijn; Mulberry Tree, 1889, by Vincent van Gogh; Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, 1878-81, by Edgar Degas; and Woman with a Book, 1932, by Pablo Picasso. Highlights from the Asian collection include the bronze sculptures Buddha Shakyamuni, c. 550, India: Bihar, Gupta period, and Shiva as King of Dance, c. 1000, India: Tamil Nadu; and the gilt bronze Indra, 13th century, Nepal.
In 1974, Norton Simon and a reorganized Board of Trustees assumed control of the Pasadena Art Museum, taking up management of its building and incorporating its important collection of 20th-century European and American art with the outstanding collections of the Norton Simon foundations. Highlights from the PAM collection include the Galka Scheyer Blue Four Collection, a body of works by artists Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, Alexei Jawlensky, Vasily Kandinsky and others assembled by art dealer, scholar and muse Galka Scheyer; post-war American art, particularly from Southern California-based artists including John Altoon, Larry Bell, Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner, Richard Diebenkorn, Llyn Foulkes, Sam Francis, George Herms, Robert Irwin, and Ed Ruscha; and a photography collection comprised of works by Ansel Adams, Lewis Baltz, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Imogen Cunningham, Frederick Sommer, Edward Weston, and Minor White, among others.
Approximately 1,000 works from the permanent collection of 12,000 objects are on view in the Norton Simon Museum’s galleries and sculpture garden throughout the year. There are two temporary exhibition spaces within the Museum; the curatorial department mounts three to five exhibitions centered on the collection, and one special masterpiece loan, per year.