Today is my mom’s birthday–Happy Birthday Mom!– and this is the card I made for her. I like how it turned out except I wish I hadn’t used the pen for shading and instead just used watercolor…it would have been softer. Next time.
Pink Veil
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Blue Veil
Here is veiled hat number two in the series you are making me do : ) It is a collage card I made for Debbie’s birthday which was yesterday. The blue netting is from a small produce bag. Magazine cut flower. What’s that saying?– Go BIG or GO HOME. Yeah, baby!
Veiled Hat
This little sketch is from a year or two ago. (Guess I DO need to write down dates!) I wanted to reuse some of the netting from citrus bags which reminds me of the veiled hats that used to be so popular. So I did the watercolor and then glued a piece of the red net to it. Voila. I think it really wants to be one of a series, don’t you? I’ll get right on that.
Speaking of hats, I recently bought a book called Advanced Style by Ari Seth Cohen which is a charming look at stylish older woman in NYC. Mr. Cohen has great admiration and respect for the unique and often exuberant styles of these women he sees and photographs (with their permission of course) on the streets of New York. Many of them are well over 70 and utterly vibrant and original. Some wear quirky, colorful outfits, others are exquisitely elegant. All have taken the time to select just the right accessories to suit their tastes. LOTS of accessories! I am SO inspired. The prospect of getting older seems more exciting now. What?? I know–quite an accomplishment for Mr. Cohen! Take a peek at it next time you are in a bookstore or check out his blog which is where it all started. http://www.AdvancedStyle.blogspot.com
Orange Pop
How about a little splash of orange! This kitschy Florida souvenir was given to me by my artist friend, Susan for my quirky, cool, ashtray collection. Thanks, Susan! It’s so cheerful–a bright pop of color on the porch table.
Bad Kitty Teapot
This little Chinese teapot only holds about a cup of water so why not just put the teabag right into the tea cup and save a step, right? On the other hand, it makes having a cup of tea feel like more of an occasion when you use something special. It’s the little things.
Sweet Ceramic
Bam! How’s that for staying on top of the blog! Rich said, “What is THAT?” That is a jaunty little clay bowl that some child made with great care and attention to detail and I found it at a thrift store. Which made me sad. How could anyone get rid of this? It’s so charmingly lumpy and imperfectly sweet. And the colors are wonderful. So I rescued it from oblivion.
Tribal Bowl
Oh right, I have a blog! Sheesh. Sorry for making you wait so long in between posts. Need to get cracking here. I guess I’m going to have to break down and make a schedule which I am loathe to do. But maybe having a set hour in the morning that is drawing time would be just the ticket. After the crossword. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Isn’t this an unusual piece? I love the burnished wood and pointy-chinned, carved faces on this bowl. Which I found at a thrift store, natch. It looks like it’s meant as an ashtray but I can’t imagine putting out a cigarette in there and marring the beautiful wood surface with burn marks. Not to mention the fire hazard.
This drawing would be better if I finished it! Sometimes I reach a point in a drawing and don’t know what else to do to it or I tire of it or the light changes, it gets smudgy…etc. Sometimes I just have to leave it and maybe go back to it later. Or start fresh. Or move on. Be like a rolling stone…except that I LOVE moss…
Anne’s Decoupage Tray
Here is another of my decoupage trays for you to look at while I decide what to sketch next. This one was built around a magazine photo of this portrait of Juliette Recamier by Jacques Louis David in 1800, which I loved. I wanted to create a room for her with one of those open air courtyard gardens so I could use the pillared archway I had cut out and I also wanted to include the interesting black chair (dang that flash glare). I think those were the three things I decided to start with. And of course lots of leafy plants! The tiled bit of floor and the Persian rug begged to be in it too once I saw them. Not very noticeable is the fluffy owl perched on the back of the chair and the tortoise on the tile floor. Just talking about the scene makes me want to start cutting and pasting! So much fun. WHY am I not doing that now, again? Oh right, the mess.
Side note–check this out. My friend Laurie saw the April 30 post of my vintage leather camel and it looked familiar–turns out she has one just like it except white leather with orange fringe instead of tan with cream. What are the odds of that? Hers looks brand new though. Mine has lost his red bead. And his youthful gloss. It’s OK.
Winecap Dinosaur
For years I’ve saved the lead wrapping on wine bottles because it’s so much fun to fold, tear, and make pictures with. Sometimes when you are limited to just a small bit of material to make something with, it’s easier to create and it’s fun and relaxing. Kind of like doodling.
There was a restaurant we used to go to that had a picture on the wall I really liked–just the flat image of a black dress made up of flattened pieces of wine bottle wraps. I loved that piece and always wanted to make one like it. But have I? Nope. Now MUST though, right? Thanks for motivating me! The challenge, of course, will be to find my stash of wine cap wrappings…somewhere in our scary attic.
Which reminds me–many, many years ago when our house was being painted, Scott, the painter, had to go into the attic to reach a window. When he came downstairs he said, “I have two words for you, Jodi: DUMP STER!
Arabian Style Drink Set
A friend of mine in Oregon sent me (back in early spring) this little ceramic set which she found at a thrift store and which made her think of me–sweet! Thanks Carole. She said she was actually looking for an ugly ashtray to send me for my collection but they were fresh out. We weren’t sure what this set is meant for but I’ve searched online and found similar ones especially made of metal described as Arabian wine pots or coffee/tea sets. This one has a brown glaze with white inside the cups. The pot is about 6 1/2 inches tall and the plate is 7 inches in diameter.
I finally sat down to try sketching it a few weeks ago and got as far as an outline of the tray and one cup and then realized it would take longer than a few minutes and be more complicated than I had time for right then—so yeah, screw that! How lazy is that? I’m terrible. So then a week ago I put it on the table to gear up for another try. Meanwhile my son Sam was home on Monday admiring it and I told him about my pathetic attempt so he sat down with his coffee and took a piece of paper and a pen and proceeded to do a lovely drawing of it in just a few minutes. I was so impressed. That’s how it’s done. So then I sheepishly set to work. Here is Sam’s sketch. Go Sam!
theTimidArtist 