Oreo art

Adriana is going to be an Oreo for Halloween. Her friend is going as milk, so they're milk and cookies. Kind of cute. Upon searching for Oreo images we came across an Oreo artist. And of course... just had to try!

I was telling Adriana, I opened the cookie and let the Oreo speak to me to tell me what to create. 'You let the Oreo speak to you?' my husband asked overhearing us, 'yes' I replied, 'it said it wanted to be a unicorn'. I think even after being with me for the better part of 20 years, he was still a bit horrified!
Adriana then wanted to try her hand at carving. She said she let the Oreo speak to her, but it told her it wanted to be a cauliflower, so she didn't listen to it!

At this point, you're either thinking you'd love to live at our house, or are thanking your lucky stars you don't!!!!

Adriana also thought this would be a good 365 days project. Think I'll have to pass... well... who knows?

#148 Home

Bear Bear was a favorite companion of childhood, he was even strapped into the passenger seat when I left for college... I found these b&w's I'd taken sometime 20+ years ago, and knew he needed to be immortalized. (& yes, I do have this song on my ipod).

#146 puffins

When we were in Acadia, I really wanted to see Puffins, but there simply wasn't enough time... darn... I'll just have to go back... or... I've heard there are Puffins in the Orkneys, one of the places on my long, long, list of places I've got to get to... maybe I'll just visit them there!!
In the meantime, I've a frame for an Acadia photo...

The frame, another from my wedding frames... this was table #3. Hope they had fun too!

a little shadow box

With some of my library kids, I made nichos, tiny shadow boxes inspired by the arts of Mexico.  We had a great time making them and I want to create more...little boxes all over the house; that's all I need!

#116 & 117 walking the dog

So this probably shouldn't have been a two day project, but life is busy, so there you go! Years ago I bought this for Lucy's leashes at the Ikea. I loved the way someone had put the dog's name on the sample, and came home and made my own. But I've always hated the colour I stamped it. It was this great brown ink that I loved on absolutely everything, but this. Not sure I like the green either... But the flowers are a cute addition!

#53 - Easter wreath

So I figured today being Earth Day, I'd create a recycled project... but I came home to our Easter wreath hung on the door, which I've hated for, well many years, and thought to myself, "I could either throw the darn thing out, or save it from the landfill by giving it a little love". (You missed the hanging by an old silver stretchy cord, that's way overstretched, and the lovely raffia bow...) So that's today. Of course, I loved it before I added the polka dots and stripes, so if you ever come visit at Easter, you may find it doesn't look quite the same! Nothing to do with photography, so I added my gorgeous niece Maddy & the Easter Bunny.

#44 - Adriana in chair

This was a Christmas series, I think Adriana was 3 (judging by her hair...) we sent out 4 different images on our cards (this wasn't one of them...) from very shy (my fave) to laughing out loud, to a nice little smile to hmmm can't remember... have them all somewhere... This looked like it needed to be 'antiqued'... so I tried. Thought she needed a hat of some sort, but I couldn't find one I liked, so you may see her again...

Adriana & I went to Soup Bowls for Hunger tonight, got to choose a gorgeous pottery bowl to have our delicious soup in... last year they raised $40K for the food pantry! Our Girl Scout troop helped decorate about 100 of the bags that were placemats and then used to take the empty bowls home... we loved looking for ones we made (yes, I helped finish up those last few!!) Can't wait to add to our collection next year!!

#33 - The Boats Day 2

On Day 20 I started to alter one of my image transfer diptychs, but once I took it all apart, the matted images just sat and sat and sat... I couldn't figure out what to do with it. Plus, although it wasn't hanging up anywhere, and I didn't really like it, I still didn't want to wreck it... Today I decided was the day, and whatever happened, did... I like the mat a lot actually, now I'm thinking the altered frame may need a little more altering... we'll see.

For today, I'm happy. And it's my anniversary next month, I could wrap it up and give it Ray... again.

#23 - for Japan two

Today I: photographed a pre-school for the second day, agreed with my husband that we should go to the doctor for the 3rd time for my daughter's un-relenting cough, went back to work, got the call that she was going to the hospital for a chest x-ray, went to the hospital and calmed her for that chest x-ray (which thank God was fine), went to soccer practice & walked the dog in the snow & sleet (I know...), gave daughter new medicine which didn't agree with her, stayed up with her while she was sick for almost an hour, spilled my gesso all over my pants, my slippers, the carpet... and my life is still way better than it is in parts of Japan today... doesn't even compare... and gosh, if I can find time to create today, what excuse can I possibly find not to?

I find these beautiful whelk shells on my beach, and they're very often not perfect. I always think that they need to be mended and this is my second healed shell... (the first was in a self portrait I created years ago). Like yesterdays project, again it's healing for Japan... has a map of Japan, an old 'dove of peace' Japanese stamp & the words separately, the word 'healing', a plum blossom, and lot's of gesso to fill the tiny holes... Photographed on a couple of photos of beach roses (rosa rugosa) which aren't beach plums as I'd like, but I couldn't find any photos I'd taken of those...

#22 - for Japan

I love haiku. I think it is such an excellent art form. In fact, when Marla & I first talked about this project I said I'd create haiku for one of my days... and I will... but not today...

Years ago, my family went up to Maine on vacation, on our way home, we stopped to visit Lenny the chocolate moose, why? Well, you know, the world's largest chocolate moose, how could you not? So anyway, as we're going in, I spot this guy, he was so beautiful, and the light hit him perfectly, but then you've got this image of a caterpillar, what the heck can you do with that? Flash forward to 365 days of 'oh no, what am I going to make today?' and out comes the caterpillar. Today I decide I need to create something for all of the people in Japan who are in the midst of such tragedy to share a little love & compassion, and decide I need to find haiku about a caterpillar. So I pull out my one of my haiku books (I'm sorry, you don't have any? hmmm...) and there in the midst of spring into summer, I find that Buson has created my haiku for me (Japanese Haiku ©1965).

There are haiku in this book I can't wait to create for, but you're going to have to wait for turnip season is all I'm saying...

(The frame has already been altered once, my dear sister and I spent hours painting all of these cheap frames silver for my wedding day, this was table #9, hope they enjoyed themselves, know I did... )

#20 The Boats, day 1

It's tax time, and sadly, I haven't finished my year end stuff yet, & it must come first... what a drag... so I'm going to be a little pathetic until I've got it together, hopefully within the next couple of days... should have been done weeks ago, but as always, I start off strong in January, and end up crazily trying to get it all done, usually until days before it's due...

I created this image transfer diptych for a show I did years ago, had it custom framed, and gave it to Ray as a gift. Spent a ton of money of the framing, and from day one, didn't love it. (Not completely sure I even liked it). It hung on our wall for years, and then we moved. Since we've been at our new house, new for only I think 7 years now, we've scarcely hung any of our artwork up while we've been remodeling. From time to time I can't stand it, and hang up something, but this, well it never really stood a chance. So I've decided to alter it.

The before image is one of the worst photos ever, even has my shadow across it... oops... too late to fix it now! So today is part one, I changed the colour of the frame by adding a bunch of layers of paint and dyes and distressed it... doesn't look anything like the photo!