Mouse House ART

A Dash of Calabash

2012-01-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

A dear friend of my late grandmother's is a children's writer/illustrator. The illustrations and story of one of his books, "The Calabash Cat" was inspired by a calabash engraved gourd he received during his travels. The book in turn has inspired hundreds of students--young and old--to try their hand at their own calabash inspired drawings.

The Calabash, or gourd engravings, originating in Chad are typically designs featuring animals with another animal inside them, embellished with "Zentangle" like designs within and around. In some drawings I found several animals within a larger animal, but I'm not sure if that is a regional thing, something directly related to a particular historical narration or story, or simply different artistic interpretations of calabash art. Either way, I love the style, it offers such visual stories, etchings combining animals that seem to have leaped right into another animal, blending two (or more) creature spirits into a lively illustrated story.

Inspired by the Calabash Cat, I was further

prompted by a paint chip I came across

named "CALABASH” in the hue of native

squash (gourd)!

I was inspired and eager to try my first "calabash" drawing. I chose an octopus because they’d been on my mind, and because it left room for error with so many flowing lines. Once drawn, and after a few mistakes, the bird nearly emerged on its own, so I followed through with a few extra details, keeping it crisp with contrast so as not to lose the image. Finally I filled in the surrounding “water” with a simple, repeating pattern in an effort to show movement.

How about a little creative doodling inspired by CALABASH style art? Even if you are not comfortable free-handing an animal, trace a simple silhouette or just go for your best attempt! You really cannot mess this one up. Grab your black ink pens, smooth drawing paper and start doodling. Fill mistakes with black ink, creating new designs and spaces (shhh…top secret art tip for covering up mistakes!). How many animals will speak through you?

See/hear “The Calabash Cat” by James Rumford here www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5cRVSvvASg
Calabash Octopus drawing:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82398995/original-drawing-calabash-octopus-matted

Creativity Walk: Partner Mandala Making

2011-12-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Participants writing poem notes

from exchanged word lists.

This past weekend I led creativity walk in the beautiful La Quinta cove. On this particular walk we were blessed by a little desert rain, a rare event perfect for quenching our creative thirst. We began with a word gathering walk, followed by poem notes writing. As the rain started to fall a little heavier, we worked our way back to a shelter where we finished off our partner mandalas.

Inspired by a cooperative time-filler found in Family Fun magazine, I have found partner mandalas to be a great exercise for building creative confidence no matter what your artistic ability.

Two pairs of partner mandalas.

Each artist gets one color marker and a square sheet of paper.

Partners begin by drawing a circle in the center of their paper, then they swap sheets and add an element to the design (a ring of dots, dashes, zigzag lines, or a more detailed element). Continue swapping and adding elements until your mandala is finished.

During our "hike" I encouraged participants to include natural elements in their mandala designs, drawn directly from our surroundings. Images of tracks, clouds, rain/water, palms, trees, flowers, rocks, lightning, snakes, bones, footprints, etc. emerged. The photos (to theleft and at the bottom of post) are of the partner mandalas created during the hike.

Try these alternatives!

Find a area with plenty of natural materials (rocks, leaves, twigs, petals, sand, etc.) and have each partner alternate turns adding a ring using these materials only.
Create a color page mandala. Use brown, grey, and/or black markers to create mandala designs you can transform yet again by coloring.
Create a family mandala during the holidays or a vacation. Leave a jar of colored pens or pencils along with the ongoing design out where family members can add their own ring related to their experience(s). You can assign each family member a color or let them choose as they go. *Try to keep colors alternating
Make a journal madala. During your next vacation, retreat, or as a personal journaling exercise, add a daily ring to your madala design to represent the emotion or experience(s) from each day.
Try this partner technique with your children, you might be amazed at what you both come up with, I enjoyed this process with my 5 year old son! We loved the designs we created together.

Partner mandala examples, nature inspired.

Don't Let Fear Get You

2011-12-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

The other night I began a video project, using my scanner. I was inspired to do so through an HGTV show where a design client was a scanner artist, scanning various items and tweaking images in some way. It looked fun and I had to try it...and I suggest you give it a try too!

I started scanning my hands and fingertips, getting some cool effects. Then I moved to my face. The images revealed slightly distorted versions of me that came off with a cool, kind of creepy feel. This in turn inspired me to make the video below, using a succession of my scanned self-portraits.

It is a way to encourage fellow creatives like you to recognize your fear demons--let them motivate you, but DO NOT let your fears take you down. We should not put so much energy into our fears that they manifest into big, terrorizing, creativity-bashing monsters keeping us from our creative growth.

This is something we should remember, no matter where our "fear demons" emerge as negative blocks in our lives, creatively or otherwise. Please watch the clip below (1 min:11 sec) and let me know what you think in the comments!

Chalking Off In The Canyons

2011-11-19T00:42:00.000-08:00

Entrance to Andreas Canyon.

A few weeks ago I spent the morning in Andreas Canyon, one of three incredibly beautiful, incredibly inspiring native oases carved from deep canyons at the base of San Jacinto Peak and the Santa Rosa mountains. The Indian Canyons, as they are collectively called (and managed) by the local Cahuilla tribe, are one of my favorite places to retreat to for a nature/wildlife fix to charge my spiritual, creative, and physical energy.

I was there for a MeetUp with my Let Nature Be YourMuse group. We were there to honor our creative time, simply gathering to make art in the canyons for the morning. I decided to try something new for me—a new medium, something I had never tried before yet have been wanting to for some time: soft pastels.

After exploring around for about 40 minutes, I found my spot. I dropped the chair, the backpack, the blanket, the camera, and water I’d been lugging around and settled in. I pulled out my sketch pad, my clipboard, tape, and my brand new box of pastels, and I set up.

I sat facing a year-round stream, with those yummy layered mountain outcroppings and dense palms framing a nice little scene. It was so lovely. And all of a sudden so complicated. Where do I start? Maybe I should I start out with something simpler? Then I remembered a couple of tips I came across, 1) start with your background first, and then another important tip, 2) make sure you start with dark colors first. Okay...?

I shared smiles with a couple hiking up the rocky steps to my right and they commented on the "beautiful setting I was going to paint." My inner-artist-ego fluttered. I just LOVE it when I happen upon an artist “in the wild” deep in the creative process, reinventing the landscape before them—their work always looks wonderful to me, and I always believe they must have been painting/drawing for years. I wonder if this duo thought that of me? Eh, probably not as my paper was blank. Glaringly blank. Hmm.

I pretty much sat there staring at the palms for a good solid 15 minutes. How do I do this, actually? More hikers. Hmm. Busy trail today. I noticed a nice round bobcat track next to my chair in the mud. Hmm, a freshy. I took a picture of it scaled with a AA battery. Then it happened. I made a deliberate mark on my paper. More hikers came by and now I had to look like I was doing something with it—my cue to just keep drawing! I thought to myself, don’t think Michelle, just experiment, be free loca. And I did. I kept drawing, rubbing, drawing and rubbing. Blowing clouds of chalk off my paper now and then.

My first attempt at soft pastels. Not only did I dis-

cover a new medium I think I'm going to love, at

this point I have a personal, artsy escape to a place

I love on those days I can’t get there.

It turns out I got into to the whole experience and really loved working with those pastels! By the time I had to leave, I was proudly sporting grimey, oily chalk hands and fingertips (maybe bring a towel next time).

I can't wait to continue working on this piece. I’d like to practice some techniques for defining elements on the trail off to the right, and balance out the palms with more palms, foreground too. Oh darn, I forgot to actually use the tape. I haven’t caught that dense oasis feeling yet—arghh! This critical yammering *gasp,* wonder if I overdo it?

Needless to say I am a little intimidated to make that first mark again. Fear creeping back. But I can do this—honestly overall it was just too fun. And next time my “FEAR” flag-waving inner critic can be my towel boy ;)

Onward toward second attempt!

Dia de los Muertos

2011-10-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I gathered with fellow creatives to spend the afternoon making mini-altars for Day of the Dead. Those of you who know me--even just a little--know that Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of my favorite "holidays" full of creative art and personal expression, passion, and celebration of life and loved ones.

In between taking plenty of pictures and eating yummy pan dulce, chips, guacamole I managed to make two nichos. I was inspired by everyone's personal altars honoring loved ones who have passed, even a beautiful pet altar was on display for a sweet reminder of all the beings in our lives that bring us love and happiness.

Day of the Dead occurs every Nov. 1 and 2. Traditionally, the first day celebrates children, now our "los angelitos" or little angels. The second honors adults who have passed. This is also when families will go to the cemetary and spend the night and day mourning, playing music, eating, celebrating with loved ones at their graves. Day of the Dead is not meant to scare people, it is simply and honestly a day of remembering our dead, it is their day to be honored and we honor them by celebrating their lives and life through altars, offerings of their favorite foods and items, smiling with their memories, and engaging their happiness through fiestas and love.

Nichos, retablos, altars....can be simple or extravagant. Traditionally, these expressions were made from old boxes, cigar boxes, cans or small tin boxes--anything put together or that could be used to create a niche for placing objects that honor someone you love, who has passed. It's a great way to incorporate recycled materals into your art!

Below are photos showing the found materials for my nichos, specifically a found car ashtray and a found metal scrap round, also I used a toy plastic scorpion which I "transformed" just by using fine black glitter. I attached a bone skull bead to a feather butterfly and added more black glitter to the body. Glitter, sequin, bright paints and color are simple and very effective Day of the Dead elements to make your nicho or altar sparkle with celebration :)

Grab a photo, jewelry, notes, a small box, paint or other artsy accents and create your own memory box (altar!) in honor of someone you miss and love. Bring it out once a year for Dia de los Muertos or keep it close to you in a special place. Express yourself in this way and you are are sure to feel the magic of those you love.

Would you like to see more of my Day of the Dead? Click my set on Flickr!

F.A.T. Release: "El burro sabe mas..." Palm Springs, CA

2011-10-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know I happily participate in an online community of artists who leave their works in public places for people to find. This particular group is known as Found Art Tuesday and was originally started by artist Rosa Murillo. I am inviting fellow creatives like YOU and friends in my art meetup group (Let Nature Be Your Muse) to start doing this locally--join the Flickr group if you wish to post your experiences and of course your work.

Meanwhile, it had been awhile since I've left something somewhere and I decided to get back to it by leaving this little piece called "a,e,i,o,u -- el burro sabe mas que tu" hanging from a light fixture by the restrooms and back entrance/exit in my favorite local Mexican restaurant. The little rush of excitement returned as I tried to hang it up there before I was spotted!

I wonder who will be the one to check it out and (hopefully) take it home with them?!

Land Art

2011-10-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Whitewater Preserve

A couple of weekends ago, my art MeetUp group gathered at the Whitewater Preserve for a morning of land art creations. It was the first time since I was a child, building stick houses around exposed tree roots, that I planned on creating something using only natural material and tools strictly from the surrounding environment. In the spirit of true land artists, we used no rope, glue, paper clips, etc. to bring our vision to life. I did bring gloves for moving around river rocks, but never used them.

Before arriving my intention was to create something using the plentiful rocks by the river. But once I got to the site, I saw lots of driftwood that inspired something completely different.

Excited to have a new idea, I began gathering. And gathering. Gathering armloads upon armloads of "just right" pieces of driftwood. I knew I would need alot, but quickly realized I would need much more than I expected!

During the 2 and 1/2 hours I tried my hand at land art, I'd gained a whole new appreciation and respect for land artists and what they see in the wilds around them, and especially for their patience, flexibility and the physical work involved with bringing about their masterpieces.

At the end of three hours, our small group reconvened for a short break and a light discussion sharing our experience in trying this, followed by an inspiring walking tour of each participant's work throughout the Preserve. It was a fantastic way to spend the morning out in nature and in such a creative way. I can't wait to try this again!

Check out my first land art creation in the photos below. Click the link at the end of this post for more images from the day, including the five other installations!

If I had more time, I would have kept going by adding

more rays to try and make more of a stylized

octopus-like design.

I was very proud of this ray!

After about three hours of working solo, we

gathered for our own land art "gallery" tour,

visiting each participant's works throughout

the different environments at the preserve.

For more images of the day, please visit this photo album full of fellow creative's land art creations!

Paint Chip Poetry

2011-09-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love playing and creating with paint chips. Lately, I’ve been making plenty of paint chip poems. I decided to go through my “pile” of paint chips that I’ve been collecting from my frequent stops at our home improvement stores. While going through and organizing them into certain themes and topics, nearly 20 poems emerged.

So I began cutting, arranging and placing a variety of paint names on canvas, quirky and intriguing names meant to inspire homeowners to transform a tired kitchen or new home office. So far, “Desert Native” is now in the Drawn From the Desert Art Benefit show (Tamma's Magic Mercantile, Yucca Valley, CA) for a local artist--check out the show if you can, it is ongoing until the end of October 2011. Two more poems are completed and heading for Etsy, they are “Summer Camp” and “Mermaid Water Dance.”

The poems (each line a paint chip color/name):

Desert Native
Spring bloom
petal
cottontail.

Nimbus cloud
gossamer wings
something in the air
Canyon echo.

"Desert Native" paint chip poetry

Summer Camp
Mountain trail
mirror lake
skipping stones

Canoe
wishful thinking
first kiss
How sweet it is.

"Summer Camp" paint chip poetry

Mermaid Water Dance
Beach
seaglass
bottle blue

Blue ocean
dolphin grey
glistening moonlight
mermaid water dance.

"Mermaid Water Dance" paint chip poetry

Think Pink

2011-08-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

Image credit: unknown source

I couldn't help myself. I love this image. Not long ago, I would have passed this right up--I mean, pink?! Ugh. Sparkly? Eh. I love hearts, bokeh, flowers, those colors. Coincidentally, so does my 5 year-old son (well he's not hip to bokeh effects, but he did notice those hearts)! Perhaps my draw to this wonderful image is because I knew my little one would love it too. My sources of inspiration and style continue to change and surprise even me. I only hope it shows in my creations as an evolving, growing process.

I initially interpret pink as a soft color, warm and fuzzy, romantic, content, cheerful, youthful. As for deep, dark, rich pinks--those power pinks like fuchsia or hot pink--I find myself with a completely different set of so-so descriptions. The desire to kick it up a notch is what inspired this exercise.

TRY THIS! When you first looked at the pink flower image above, you probably had an initial reaction to it. Did you like it, love it, hate it? Maybe you were unimpressed (I mean my gosh, how many heart-shaped bokeh/hearts in nature things can we see?). Maybe it was magical to you. Or too fairy tale. Perhaps it evoked a memory.

Now, what would be the OPPOSITE of your initial response? Imagine the image, the feeling, the words, the taste, the sound--mentally explore the opposite with each of your senses.

Use the image as a prompt to explore this territory that is opposite to your initial response, and devise a way to get that into a quick creative expression. Either jot it down as an idea to pursue later, or attack it right now. An example would be to create or write something that say, uses "pink" as the unexpected component in your piece. If you see pink as "soft" bring it back in as something edgy and unexpected, contrary.

What happens?

Pinkies

Soft, silky peach fuzz

New life, a tiny pink tail

Hangs by a forked tongue

Dia de los Muertos Inspiration

2011-08-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been on a Dia de los Muertos streak creating beads, altars, jewelry, and assemblage pieces. It's one of my favorite ways to express myself creatively while remembering those I've lost too soon.

Pet altar.

Whenever I am creating something in this style, I feel connected to this beautiful and festive celebration, and connected to my loved ones who I miss so very much. As I'm working on a Dia de los Muertos inspired piece, I can almost feel the chuckle or delight a particular family member I've lost might feel about that piece. Perhaps it was their idea I felt in the first place, inspiration whispered in my ear during the night only to wake with me the next morning and make itself known throughout the day :)

Here are a couple of finished projects that have emerged over the past two weeks:

Nature's Palette: Penguin

2011-08-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm beginning to merge my two creativity blogs into one (this one). You will notice a growing blend of creativity exercises, prompts, and resources--that will (hopefully) inspire you--intermixed with my own creative efforts and pieces.

A favorite feature is isolating the colors found directly in an image from nature for inspiration. Feel free to use these palettes as a jumping off point for your next painting, designing office space, as a meal inspiration, for color descriptions for writing, etc. Would love to hear/see how you used these palettes!

Photo by Laura Huff

These nature palettes are from photographs run through the Big Huge Labs color palette generator, so feel free to create your own for unique inspiration!

Creativity Evolving...changes coming!

2011-07-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

Tree spiral by Sylvain Meyer

You will notice a small, yet wonderful change coming soon to this blog. As some of you may or may not know already, I maintain and write three blogs and a website along with keeping myself busy utilizing other sources of social media and networking like Facebook, Twitter, and my MeetUp group (Let Nature Be Your Muse)--just a few of the sites I touch base with on a daily basis in order to maintain an online presence for the work I love to do.

But trying to juggle fresh posts, articles, my art, my precious almost-5-year-old-on-summer-break, workshops and the like,I found myself muddled down in a slow-spiraling whirlpool of transition. I have been wanting to streamline my efforts for a more focused presence. I want to create more time for keeping up with and pursuing important creative goals I've set for myself. In order to do this more productively, it's time I've combined my efforts and said good-bye to certain "hats."

Taking this step has been difficult for me. It was energy and time tempered with fear and insecurity-based procrastination. I kept feeling like I wasn't handling things or failing at my work. I took a long nap in limbo and overwhelm. But after about ohhhhh, say nearly a YEAR of letting this paralyze me from taking the leap, I'm ready. Let's face it, I get annoyed with inaction and now opportunities are presenting themselves.

Turns out it's not such a huge leap so much as a little hop now.

That's where the exciting news comes in to play! I will be breathing life into the Mouse House ART blog by integrating all of those wonderful creativity exercises and insights inspired by nature that I share on my sister blog. I will eventually be phasing out that blog altogether. I find it quite appropriate to sprinkle in those resources here because these are ideas and expressions that inspire me and turn up in my own work that I share here already--and will continue to do so.

I will continue to keep things personal, definitely continue to share my art, along with creativity exercises to get each of our creative juices flowing. You'll also get a variety of prompts to add to your creative stash plus updates on my upcoming workshops along with the goodies that participants create--which is always fun! My goal is to make Mouse House ART more valuable to you as a creativity resource, with more interaction through these changes.

So...I hope you will embrace this change with me and enjoy what I share with you, and hopefully we will get to know each other a little better too :)

Now print out this long *ss post and create a black out poem!

Paranormal Inspiration

2011-07-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

I found these great velum tags in the $1 bin at JoAnn's Fabric & Craft store and liked them, so I bought them. At first I thought I'd use them as price tags, but soon did not like that idea. I thought they would make a neat addition to something else. But what it was, I wasn't sure. I liked the idea of painting an image on the backside to create a velum film, or placing it over images for a neat affect.

Fast forward to an evening catching up with my favorite ghost hunting and paranormal shows. Inspired by the shows I decided to experiment with using the tags as a window. I didn't want to pull out all the paints, so I grabbed my Micron ink pens to see if I could get something ghostly and distorted, something creepy to emerge in the spirit of the paranormal. This is what I ended up with:

I kinda like it, I wish I could do creepier but I like how it came out. I drew directly onto one velum tag, turned it over, then placed a second velum tag over that, bending the first tag (the one with the drawing underneath) just slightly to give a little space in between the two tags to blurr out the image to the degree I wanted. I wanted her fingertips to be against the window, so I enhanced them a little on the top tag, to match up with the hand underneath. I added the wire to hold them together and in place, but also to add a chaotic trapped feeling, I like how the wire shows through a tiny bit from the other side too.

Here's the backside:

Backside.

Front, with a little backlight.

Junk Drawer Art

2011-07-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was treated to a fantastic 2-day workshop called Junk Drawer Metalsmithing, taught by artist Stephanie Lee. It was a great experience to indulge in such creative play in the pines at the beautiful Idyllwild Arts Academy campus. I learned plenty of new techniques I've never tried before and instantly became hooked on more than a couple! I only wish the class was more than two days...

One of my favorite little pieces I made beginning with a brass

plate I cut & prepped then flooded with solder, followed by a

simple stamp while still molten. Eyelets added for a more finished

look.

The class was actually for creating jewelry, but I (along with a few other participants) had other applications in mind as well--like found art assemblage ;) The etching and solder-stamping techniques I learned will definitely show up in future art pieces of mine. I REALLY need to practice some of the other techniques she taught (like flooding solder for bevels, to hold resin pieces), but either way I will be exploring and tweaking metal, junk and resin in a whole new way for a while as I came home completely inspired to try several ideas, and to continue creating with the tricks Stephanie shared with us!

Below are a couple of pictures showing our starting materials (along with rubber stampls, etchant, patina solution, a mini-torch, soldering, hammering/filing and resin) and the little pieces I created. The junk-drawer items I ended up using were a small toy dinosaur (skeleton), a piece of ball chain, a glass pebble, an art coin, and a Sharpie:

Our starting metals and scrubbies for burnishing. The second

image shows my cut and shaped pieces along with my first

attempt at creating a piece for casting resin (I also patina'd).

The little dino-skull was made from creating a mold in Sculpey

clay & dripping solder into it, then removing.

My first piece with patina & now a resin pour,

the clay is there to protect my seam.

My haul! This is what I was able to complete during the two days. Half will end

up as jewelry pieces--particularly that etched rabbit! The rest will find homes

in assemblages. (Click photo to enlarge for better details)

A Little Creative Flight

2011-06-07T00:51:00.000-07:00

Recently I experimented with adding feathers to my pieces. I have added little found feathers every now and then, as an added detail to a piece or in a journal, but I had yet to use feathers as a focal point for a piece. That all changed one late night while I was cruising around on Etsy. I ended up buying some beautiful creamy white goose feathers I had come across that would be perfect for a mandala/found art piece (I am still working on that one). To me, they were the perfect addition that really gave this part of the piece a nice, dramatic statement.

My first three pairs.

Since then, more feathers have been dropping into my life. I take these things as a sign. Feathers are full of symbolic meaning and I have a few interpretations of my own :) Then one day recently, a fellow creative asked if I'd be interested in making some feather jewelry. I've never done that before, I thought. Sure, I'll give it a try (with all of these feathers coming into my life, it seemed the appropriate thing to take creative flight with). My friend was looking for a dramatic look. These were for an upcoming website that will sell unique, edgy items and art. Sounded right up my alley...although I've never thought of myself as "edgy." But that's exactly what intrigued me. I like edgy. I'm not edgy. I want my art to be edgy. It just seems like my work doesn't come out "edgy." I thought, this could be my chance to dip my toes in an ocean of edgy. An opportunity to experiment with something outside the box for me. I started with three pairs of earrings, using some of the feathers she provided for me to play with--I kept her request of something dramatic in mind and ended up with the three pairs above, ranging from about 4" to 8" long.

After some encouraging feedback, my friend asked if I would be willing to go "edgier" with designs for just one super-dramatic-feather-earring. Sure! Then I thought how about making them an asymetrical set with a matching "studdish" earring that would still make it a pair? An edgy uni-set. She liked that and so I got to play around with more feathers and tap into my inner edgy-drama queen and came up with these three "uni-sets" and a couple of matching pairs (click for larger image):

"MOON DANCERS"

"WHITE KAMA SUTRA"

This was an artistic challenge that really tapped into something inside me. I feel like I opened a door somewhere, for something new and different in my creative direction. Maybe not necessarily in jewelry, but definitely through some new expanded expression. I feel like I'm about to embark on a new twist in my creative journey, deeper wells :)

Signs of Spring ATCs

2011-05-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

I just participated in another online ATC swap (via CoachCreativeSpace), this swap's theme being Spring Celebration. The recipients have received my three ATC's (artist trading cards) so I can now share this latest batch :)

I was inspired by all the spring activity here in the desert, more specifically all the critter activity that signals spring has emerged here on the desert floor. At around the same time I came across a paint chip color named "Cottontail" which inspired the first card I made (second image) as cottontail and jackrabbit abound during this time of year with plenty of succulent plants to feed upon. Also, our desert tortoises come out of hibernation, a sure sign of spring in our household :) I wanted to celebrate these animals, they are three of my favorites. Hope you enjoy:

Brother Jackrabbit

Cottontail Maiden

Grandfather Tortoise

Squash Blossom Maiden

2011-04-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I participated in my first art show as an artist. It was such a great experience for my first time out, and I was very happy to share it with two other artists from my meetup group. The event was wonderful, the site was incredibly inspiring--a treasure of a nature preserve as part of the Wildlands Conservancy. This first annual Art Celebration Benefit was a fundraiser for this fantastic organization. It offered a great chance to get public, face-to-face feedback on my art and to meet fellow creatives. As part of the fundraising efforts, each artist was requested to provide a piece for the event's auction. I donated Squash Blossom Maiden to the preserve in hopes to help them raise money toward their goal.

If you're in the Whitewater/Palm Springs area, you can go see this large piece and bid on it while donating to a great cause--the Whitewater Preserve and the Wildlands Conservancy. A place that has forever made its way into my heart. Below are the dimensions and description of the found items I used to create one of my favorite pieces, now up for auction :)

SQUASH BLOSSOM MAIDEN

72” x 27"

Made with found materials: locker door, metal panel, wooden hanger, can lids, seatbelt buckle, light bar, wall lamp plate, metal gages, other scrap metal pieces

Other materials: green acrylic wash, glass beads, stone beads, bone beads, copper wire, baling wire, duck feathers (Etsy), wooden spool (swapped material)

Moon Maiden

2011-04-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

I’m in the process of creating 3 different “dolls.” One is a kachina, the other a Medicine Buddha (again, east meets west in our home!) and this one, Moon Maiden is the first to be completed. The inspiration for her was definitely the night sky during the last couple of full moon meetups with my Let Nature Be Your Muse group. I feel so peacefully at home sitting quietly under the silvery spell of a bright moon. I can (and have) spent hours gazing into the night sky. This is one way I wanted to celebrate this muse.

Moon Maiden is made from a 19th century organ key, painted a coppery purple and finished with hand drawn embellishments. Also a bone bead moon face, a can lid adorned with blue sequins (which I acquired from an artist’s recycle swap) and wrapped with glass beads, arms are bone and metal “twig” charm beads, and finally a raw quartz crystal point wire wrapped with glass beads.

Feminine

Undeniable
Luminous
Liberating

Moving
Omnipresent
Opalescent
Night

She is a Moon Maiden…

Nature Muse

2011-03-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

I love this rock my mom found while beach combing along the northern California coast. I’m lucky that she readily collects handfuls of these beautiful, holey rocks then lugs a heavy shopping bag full back for me to have my creative way with them. But this particular double heart rock needs no embellishment...not that any of the rocks do. I think I was just as excited when she showed it to me as she was to find it! But I do love making things with them like unique gift tags, simple necklaces, and adding them to assemblages. These rocks have been massaged and carved by water--by the sea—and so beautifully add a special, nature-as-art touch that I love to hold, feel, and wrap.

What is one of your favorite “muses” from nature?

"Super" Full Moon Mojo

2011-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am definitely a moon groupie. I love gazing at it, being outside under its inspiring light. I love sleeping under a bright moon, walking, journaling, sketching, comtemplating in its silvery cast...

As you may already know last Saturday's moon was one of the brightest and biggest, a rare event that seems to occur only about every 20 years or so. It's been dubbed the "super moon." It was a super "perigee moon" that was 14% bigger and 30% brighter than "lesser" moons. To celebrate this occasion--well honestly to celebrate the monthly full moon, this one being extra special due to perigee and the spring equinox--I headed out again with my Let Nature Be Your Muse meetup group and sat under her luminous spell, listening to and watching her beautiful story unfold during the night.

This time I sketched in pen and ink (a little easier to see than pencil). I liked using my Micron Brush pen, nice casual strokes, easy to see, and I like the constrast it presented. Once I saw them in the light, I couldn't wait to add a little color, which I did later using acrylics. I finished these 3 sketches off with a few more details using both my black pens and white pen, and a rubber stamp. My goal was to put my feeling and my senses that were engaged during this night into my images.

What I love most about these, is knowing that they were completely bathed in moon light the whole time I was sketching them out. It is a little thing that makes it so special to me as I look at them...I am reminded of the huge halo around the moon, silvery thin clouds, like gauze moving across the night sky, I feel the cool breeze, hear the owl in the distance and the breeze within the bushes next to me. I feel my cold fingertips and hear my shoes crunching upon the pebbly desert soil when I shift position.

I can't wait to see what's in store for next month's full moon :)

Jewelry Blossoms

2011-03-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

Spring has blossomed on the desert floor and I have already enjoyed a number of wildflower wanderings. Flowers are not only on my mind, they’ve permeated my senses with fragrances streaming around me in unexpected, gentle yet intoxicating wafts. Most recently some of my favorite blossoms have inspired me to make jewelry that celebrates our ephermeral desert palette! Here are a few examples of my latest creative outlet inspired by the colors and patterns of nature:

Love the sunset colors found in this flower (computer

wallpaper image)!

Striking aloe flower stalks inspired the

colors and style of these earrings.

Photo by Michelle Hedgecock.

Rose Mallow was my muse for this bracelet's

spring palette. Photo by Michelle Hedgecock.

Desert chicory stripes found their

way into a modern pair of earrings.

Photo by Robert Ballard.

Summer lavender fields inspired a cool, relaxing color

palette. Photo by Michelle Hedgecock.

Healing

2011-03-03T00:10:00.000-08:00

This is a follow up to an earlier post (All Wired Up). I've finally fnished this piece and it ended up being an unexpected journey for me. A seemingly simple piece, it forced me to work slowly because wrapping the telephone wire was at times tedious trying to keep the wire tight, with no spaces. There were moments when it felt like I was carefully bandaging the cracked and weathered wood as I worked, as if I were healing a wounded limb or wing. It took me another month to complete the finishing details after the wire wrapping was done--nothing was "working" before so it sat there incomplete.

During the time I started the piece, my grandma's health was failing and she had to go under hospice care at my aunt's house. Our family gathered daily and we embraced each other and shared stories about my grandma's vibrant life, spending time with her, trying to keep her "here" yet wanting release for her too. Only one month later, she passed away after battling a trio of significant health issues. It was a difficult time, with inner emotional cyclones that would come and go for me, creating a deeply personal, sad, tired path of loss and acceptance. I was so sad to lose her, but also very emotional and worried for my mom and aunt's loss of their mom.

Meanwhile, I would come home and grow more and more grateful for my beautiful son and my hubby, and I would grieve for my other tiny son, I would grieve for my dad and I would pray for the gift of a long and healthy life for everyone. I also kept to the garage for some creative energy. Something that was the opposite of dying. I worked on a few pieces, but this piece still sat there literally in my hands for a moment each night, wrapped like a bandage as I would scan my materials for that perfect something it needed. The wood is beautifully weathered, with marks and scars, and the wire is so smooth and colorful, I did not want to alter the contrast. I found the black, glass beads and made a jingle for the piece and then found another strand and really liked the look of it--like a line of demarcation between the vibrant wire and the exposed wood. That line we have to cross back to into the "living" after a loss, putting trust in our own strength.

As I completed it, the more I experienced it to be a powerfully symbolic process of healing by leaving much of the wood exposed, yet wrapping enough to begin healing—signified by bright, vibrant energy and the colors of life. The reflective, black beads mark the time and individual reflection one needs for deep healing. The signature can lid “jingle” at the bottom of this piece, detailed with a single black, glass bead echoes the power of healing and the lightness that follows.

A great reminder that creating is the journey, art heals ;)

23” x 7” inches

My Heart Belongs To You

2011-02-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, my mom MADE me make my own homemade Valentines for every student in my class—granted those were the days of maybe up to 20 in a class, not 40+ students. The day before we would go buy shades of red, pink, purple and white construction paper, glue, glitter, maybe those “be mine” candies, and yarn. We would set up for a night of cutting and pasting.

Yes, I was that girl who stuck the construction paper-doily-glittery card in your cubby. You could tell I was the “homemade” Valentine kid by following the trail of glitter back to my desk. I was embarrased at the time, because everyone else had discovered the cool new pre-made commercial Valentines. But my mom insisted. And, although I may never have admitted it at the time, I always ended up getting into creating those, especially making those special Valentine’s for “certain” crushes!

Fast forward to today, to a time where I love making a special homemade Valentine for my biggest crush, my hubby. Every year, since we started dating, I’ve made him a special “card” (I make a special Valentine for my son now too!). This year I was inspired by one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Bookity, who makes these amazing and most exquisite and whimsical paper creations.

I made my honey-hubby these festive hanging hearts, six for each year we’ve been married. I love the romance of Shakespeare’s text on Bookity’s hearts, but I wanted to use something more meaningful between me and my husband. Instead of Shakespeare, I used a copy of the love letter I wrote to my husband that he read on the eve of our wedding. I added a little glass bead to each heart and hung them from a weathered piece of wood, where I wrote a personal note to him <3

I don't think he minds that I shared this year's card with you!

The 2-in-1 post: The Love Show and Love Bites

2011-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!

I was invited to participate in "The Love Show" at one of my favorite Joshua Tree galleries! This is a great show with so many fantastic and fun pieces inspired by all aspects and manifestations of LOVE! The exhibit goes until March 5, 2011. Please check it out if you can (location/directions in the link above). You just might fall in looooove with a beautiful piece of art and want to take it home with you (ooh, I hope it's one of mine!).

I have three pieces in the show, see if you notice their common theme--totally accidental! Here's a sneak peek of one of mine, inspired by my love for B-horror movies:

He loved spiders. She loved him.
An obsession grew.

I loved working on this one! The tagline was the trickiest. Then came their names, who by the way came from spiders too (arachnid). "Stella Star" came from an actual spider species, A. stellata, the Starbellied orbweaver. Writing the premise was even more of a fun challenge--cheesy. Here's the rest of the of the text--cheese spread cheesy:

Gigantic mutant spiders in a tangled web of obsession. Who will survive?

* * * * *

Dr. R. Achnid is consumed by his life-long passion of spiders. When a lab accident affects his prized specimens, he will do anything to ensure their survival.

Stella Star is madly in love with her mentor, Dr. Achnid. She will do anything to gain his affection.

A horrifying tale of an obsession gone terribly wrong.

Wouldn't you LOVE to go see this movie?! LOL ;)

All Wired Up

2011-01-30T00:51:00.000-08:00

I love, love, LOVE this scrap telephone wire my mom found for me. You may recognize it from previous pieces, like my bugs. Now I'm nearing the end of my colorful supply (note to self, must scrounge up more!). Inspired by native bead work, I decided to do some wrapping with the wire. I've had this beautiful piece of wood that I've been wanting to do something special with, it's almost a piece in itself. I decided to do some wire wrapping on it, and I love the tribal feel that resulted! Here are some images, I have one or two finishing touches to add, but I really like the simplicity of the piece so far and do not want to lose that look...

Love this piece of driftwood.

I cannot wait to try this with some "hole-y" beach rocks, other unique pieces of wood and some metal pieces!

Found Faces

2011-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

When I'm not out junking for materials, I try to keep my creative muscles in shape--the only part of me in shape at the moment, ahahahah. One way I do this is to seek inspiration everywhere I go. I look for visual treats, overheard tidbits, and other sensory experiences I can draw from. One thing that constantly pops out at me are "found faces," hearts, letters and other symbols I encounter in nature or in man-made materials and structures. It's just fun for me.

Would love to see your finds! Feel free to post them here to share!

"Enlightened Spiders" -- Recycle Those Old Christmas Lights!

2010-12-27T03:08:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy creating these colorful spiders from strands and strands of those "old school" x-mas lights. They are easy to make, and should you give it a try, you'll find they come to life as soon as you twist on their wire legs, and position them in place. Depending on my mood, I love them both plain and with designs added to their abdomens.

I've made these "Enlightened Spiders" for gifts, as anonymous releases for Found Art Tuesday (where artists leave their work in public places for people to find!), for sale on Etsy and possibly in the near future to appear in a local shop on the famed El Paseo, Palm Desert. They seem to make people smile, and that is the fun part.

If you have x-mas lights hanging around that will need to be replaced next year, why not give it a go and create some insects or spiders? Little lights make great insects, big bulbs make great spiders (in my opinion). But the best result will be from your own creative spin on what you create from discarded lights. I recommend wearing gloves while handling the light strands because of lead warnings. Sometimes art is a dangerous job...

I <3 enlightened spiders!

Images: M. Hedgecock

Got My Etsy On!

2010-12-01T01:56:00.000-08:00

I have finally opened my shop on Etsy! Now you can find me at MouseHouseART (or click the Etsy badge in the sidebar) to find one-of-a-kind found art assemblage and sculpture, along with unique digital mandala prints, original illustrations, and ATC/ACEO related digital images--all to inspire your creative spirit! Over the next two weeks I will be adding more pieces.

I hope you enjoy what you see there--like this, one of my favorite pieces, the "Tumbling E" Eye Chart shown here! This was such a fun piece to make. From the moment I first found those e-shaped metal pieces half buried in the desert I knew immediately what I wanted to create with them...all I needed was the white metal panel I had yet to find!

I hope you find time to visit and take a look around, I would love for my art to make you smile and feel creative :)

DEAD, Awaken

2010-10-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to be a part of this show, ongoing through November 2, 2010. Death, one of my favorite subjects, particularly Dia de los Muertos related, which this exhibit also honors quite beautifully. My piece is inspired by butterflies, believed spirit messengers between the living and the spirit world as related to Day of the Dead traditions dating back to ancient Central American beliefs.

If you live near the Joshua Tree, CA area, please stop by and visit this wonderful gallery. The works you will find here are so inspired; beautiful pieces--I want to buy at least 10 of them! 10 points to you if you recognize my piece. 1,000 points if you decide to take it home with you ;)

"Create..." Part II

2010-09-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I thought my submission for the 1st Annual Chain-link Art Exhibition and Competition could stand complete with the crystal spider in her large barbeque grill web, enhanced with the wired-web word "create." But, I wanted to make it special, add more whimsy. I decided to see what it would look like to add something going up the side to carry the message of "create..." a little further, and I loved the idea and opportunity for adding more of my bugs to the piece, some how in a more orderly fashion. "Ants" immediately came to mind and so 20 recycled ants were born of nuts, bolts, scrap wire, washers, and glass beads. Some individual close-ups are seen here.

Each one unique, I just loved the way they ended up rounding out the entire piece. I wanted people to discover the word "create" in the web to connect with the leading ant's flag that encourages us to create... "something" "love" "dreams" "peace" "laughter" "opportunity" "happiness" and the like. I thought if people missed the web word "create" they would at least see the ant's message and come up with their own fun interpretations.

I had so much fun participating in this 1st annual competition. It benefited a great cause (the Hi-Desert Cultural Center) and placing 2nd was icing on the cake!

Here are some shots of the final piece, a tricky one to photograph with the chain-link, but you'll get the idea...of course I think it's best appreciated in person ;)

Beginning the process, Part I: http://mousehouseart.blogspot.com/2010/09/create.html

"Create..."

2010-09-07T23:55:00.000-07:00

About 4 weeks ago I came across a contest I couldn't resist: a call for participants to give a piece of chain-link fencing new life. I had never worked with chain-linked fencing before and I was inspired by the challenge to alter the fencing into something that reflects me.

I started with a piece of old fencing from my father-in-law's shop yard, and after trying a couple of test cuts to make sure I could manage it, I decided to jump in and have a little fun with this opportunity!

From the beginning I went with a spider/web theme (originally tossing around a "spiderlings for peace" idea). I was going to hand weave a web, but wanted to incorporate more found "junk" into the piece, so using an old barbeque grill as the foundation for the web was the perfect start for marking my cuts. The cutting was the easy part. Bending chain-link wire is a whole other beast! Like I said, I'd never worked with it before, so had no idea what I was in for...including its desire to unravel once you "twist out" a couple of links. Good thing I was working on a 4' x 4' sized piece.

I really liked the way the crooked links looked pulled out--without straightening--it actually inspired a second idea that I will follow through with another chain link piece once I find the appropriate "accessories" I have envisioned to create a cool affect ;)

I hand work all my pieces which meant bending and straightening the chain link was difficult, but not impossible to muscle your way through. In fact I kind of got things down to a rhythm of 3 bends per link-bend in order to straightened each wire out. I earned a few blisters and soreness in the arms. Weaving it back through the fencing was the trickiest part and more time-consuming at first. I quickly found that any short cuts, like weaving the wire before straightening, only made things worse. So the steps involved cutting from the center of the "web," pulling back/unraveling a couple links, straightening the wire and then weaving back through the intact fencing to hold my barbeque web in place.

I could have made things alot easier by simply cutting the fence wire and short-wiring the barbeque in where it met the fencing, but I liked the design of keeping the wire arms woven back through. It was an important detail I wanted to keep.

Once this stage was completed I really had some fun creating 8 beautiful crystal-bodied spiders to place in and around the web/fence. My exaggerated spiderlings. I added webby strands of new wire and small tear drop crystals to the grill to enhance the web. I thought the contrast of the rusty fencing and found grill would look great with the chandelier spiders. Once I attached my spiderlings, I didn't like it...too cluttered. It looked like I just attached pretty crystals to the fence. Off they came, except for the center, clear spider. I liked her there, she stayed.

Once I removed the other spiders, the web popped. The center spider looked good too, but the added wire strands were competing with her legs, making her disappear, so I removed those as well. Now she popped right out too!

I felt like I was balancing between too much and too little. I really had to step away from the piece a couple of nights to keep an editing eye. At least to keep tuned in to my instincts about it, there were differing opinions in the house! LOL

Anything I added to the fence seemed to clutter things up for me. I wanted something that would be a little surprise for anyone who took time to check it out closely, by adding something to the web. "Dead insects" cluttered it up again, a peace sign seemed too comfortable (I do a lot of peace signs in other things). Then the flash of Charlotte's web "some pig" came to me and I went with "create" in my spider's web.

I felt it could stand alone at that point. But, I wanted to make it special. I decided to see what it would look like to add something along the side to carry the message of "create..." a little further...and I loved it!

I'll share those pictures with you, along with the final piece, in the next post ;)

Curiosity...What Extravagant Respite!

2010-08-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

Laguna Beach, CA. As you're walking downtown, there's a little path that takes off from the sidewalk, if you follow the sculpture and plants, you will discover this little deck and the endless ocean view with a beautifully crafted fence that reads: "In this fleeting moment what extravagant respite as booming surf speaks its mystical passage across the undreamed depths." Surrounding the quote, are bits of stained glass treats and the tiny print framing the quote is the word "sound" repeated along the top and bottom.

My friend and I came across this little offshoot after an already long day on our feet--which were killing us, my shoes were starting to rub uncomfortably too. We were both ready to sit the next couple of hours out on the beach (shoes off), and dive into the glorious depths of girl talk, while the end of day approached. But curiousity got the best of us and we wanted to see what was down this short path.

I'm happy we did, I loved this quote fence, it's shadow on the deck, and the sound of breaking--yes booming--surf below! We were there less than 10 minutes (the beach was calling), yet I was revitalized by our discovery and temporarily forgot about my sore feet. Respite indeed.

Yes! Pursue your curious side. Answer its call when it beckons you, no matter how tired you feel. Curiousity energizes. Curiosity is your escape from routine, it is the trail less traveled that invites you to explore.

Explored curiosity fuels our creativity.

On The Fence No More

2010-08-15T00:29:00.000-07:00

I've decided to submit a piece to a local Chain-Link Art Exhibit and Competition. I found out about it two days ago and the deadline is right around the corner but I decided to go for it, so it's going to be quite a push. I just loved the idea of altering chain-link fencing, I was completely inspired! I have two solid ideas in my head. The chain link fencing is now in my possession, along with leveraging(?) pliers/cutters and my "plan." Which direction this piece takes on depends entirely on how easy the fencing can be manipulated using the mongo pliers in bringing my idea to life.

Will keep you posted on my progress...

Ahh, a blank canvas ;)

Creative Intentions (Making prayer flags in the pines)

2010-08-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

My mom treated me to an amazing prayer flag making workshop up at the Idyllwild Arts campus, taught by visiting artist Karen Michele. It was a beautiful July day of creating under the pines—a deer even stopped by for a visit (too bad I missed her)! There is something for working on a creative project in a conifer forest, at least for me anyway. I love the smell and there seems to always be a breeze, which I love the sound of the wind through the pines. I always feel like the trees and rocks, the streams, and the unseen creatures are encouraging me to open up and express myself in some way :) Very comforting.

The theme for this class was Tibetan inspired (perfect!) with the thought being that the wind will carry the intentions of the writings or imagery on the flags out into the world to benefit all living beings. In Tibetan culture, there are 5 flags, each with its own color and associated element. The word in parenthesis are my own wishes/intentions inspired by the element:

BLUE = SPACE (happiness)

WHITE = AIR (silliness)

RED = FIRE (transformation)

GREEN = WATER (compassion/peace)

YELLOW = EARTH (grounded/our roots)

I am a little attached to them right now (I know, I know…"bad" buddhist! LOL), but I have every intention of placing these outside when the weather cools off a little. I am in search of a special place, maybe our front door(!), to hang these so they can fulfill their true purpose! I think it would be fun to document their "lifespan" of prayer releasing :) I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

My whole strand is about 4 1/2 ft. long. Each panel is made from a recyled pair of jeans (flag panels) and acrylic. Each one is slightly smaller than 8” x 12”. They are embellished with: embroidery, can lids, glass beads, leaves, material, buttons, wire, scrap metal pieces, post cards, copper wire, metal tags, Sharpie...

Here are each of my flags, click its image if you’d like larger view:

RED = FIRE (transformation)

YELLOW = EARTH (grounded/our roots)

BLUE = SPACE (happiness) “There’s plenty of space for everyone’s happiness…”

WHITE = AIR (silliness); sometimes this element is referred to as wind or cloud.

GREEN = WATER (life) (compassion/peace) = compassion, peace. “Let compassion flow for all...” the script repeats, "compassion for all sentient beings"

While photographing, a breeze released a batch of my intentions for you! Maybe you felt it...

I'm Sure He'll Grow Up "Normal"

2010-07-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've figured out by now that my style of art is well...not the norm? I like humor, death, birth, the unexpected, whimsy, nature, critters...you know, life stuff. I like weird and mysterious. I think my son is starting to pick up on that...he is 3 weeks shy of 4 years old now, and a highly sensitive little one (to sound, overstimulation, people, lots of "unknowns" and the like)--but with an eye for the strange.

For example, I have a Dia de los Muertos piece where I shaped and painted skeletal dinosaurs--he digs them, "I really like your triceratops mommy, they're really good dinosaurs!" Most recently, I have a spider that I think will become part of a larger something or other, but in the meantime I've placed it in the car, on the dashboard--positioned so it would be looking right at my son when we drove to his swimming lesson. I wondered what his reaction would be to our macabre little hitchhiker:

His first reaction was, "Mommy, what is that?" Fifteen minutes down the road he was trying to get me to agree that he should have him. "I like that spider's face, mommy. He's funny." He named him Skele-Spider by the way, but he apparently goes by Spider Bones too.

My son quickly adopted Skele-Spider and insisted that his new friend wanted to learn how to play his video game and wishes to be added to his bed (stuffed) animals... "Mommy, I promise 'kay? I heard you, he's not a toy, I will be careful mommy, pleeeeease." I agreed that Skele-Spider would probably love to learn how to play MarioKart but I didn't think he should be with his toys. After much negotiating, Jeffery agreed show him the games then return Skele-Spider to the car to go on trips with us instead.

Jeffery can't really hang out with me too much while I'm working on pieces because, 1) I work with dangerous, sharp and crusty metal objects, 2) he's usually asleep anyway, and 3) there's just not a lot of room for him to do his own creative thing while I'm doing mine. One of my sooner-than-later dreams is to create a better space in our garage that is safe, with more room, and more inviting for both of us to be out there together. I want him to witness a variety of creative processes while freely developing his own.

I watched both of my parents creating wonderful pieces and projects while growing up, jointly and individually. I was always encourged to create my own things verbally of course, but equally important I remember that I always had plenty of space and materials to do so! I want to make sure I provide the same for my little one...surrounded by skull beads, fantasy bugs and creepy creatures made of found junk--complete with skeleton spider friends. You know, "normal."

"Skele-Spider" made with skull bead, scrap telephone wire, copper wire, medium x-mas light bulb. ~4 1/2" leg span.

My First ATC Swap: NATURE

2010-07-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I participated in my first artist trading card (ATC) swap. It was a great experience and I absolutely love the treasures I received in return! Participants were from around the globe including US, England, and Australia! Each artist was asked to choose one word as their individual theme. Mine was nature. I chose to go the APC route (altered playing cards), here are my contributions to the swap:

Nature Opens Doors To The Hidden Parts Of Ourselves

Quote on back of ATC: “Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves.” ~Pamela Heyda. Photo(s) are actually one and the same ATC.

Made with 5 cards total, from recylced cards and Bicycle Pink Deck.

3.5" x 2.5"

Nature Has The Ability To Connect Us To The Spiritual Realm

Quote on back of ATC reads (I think): “Patterns, cycles, rhythms... nature has the ability to humble, simplify and connect at a level that goes beyond the physical and into the spiritual realm.” ~ Judy Lalingo. I liked that quote because I liked the simplicity of this card and the idea that owls are spiritually significant for many.

Made with 5 of hearts from Bicyle Pink Deck of course, and punched/embossed owl, floating above card :)

3.5" x 2.5"

Life & Nature Are A Constant Stimulus For A Creative Mind

Quote on back of ATC reads: “Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.” ~ Hans Hofmann

Made with Jack of hearts from Bicycle Pink Deck, layered with two old postcards (flying scientist—from a movie perhaps(?)—and green trees). I just love the imagery; and I’ve always wanted to be able to fly like that :)

3.5" x 2.5"

...It Became A Butterfly

Quote on back: “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” ~Anonymous

Made with 3 of spades from Bicylce Pink Deck and left-over spades from another, recycled deck, also scrap wire, glass tear drop beads. Butterfly floats.

3.5" x 2.5"

Here are the treasures I received in trade--all a surprise until the moment I opened the package! Very fun! In image order from top to bottom: "Silly" by Lori Pilla, copper "Delight" by Mary Hicks, "Easy" mini-canvas by Jean Foley...

It Really Is That Hot...

2010-07-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Living in the southern California desert, we're pretty used to hot summers. Lately, it's been unseasonably hot with temperatures well into the 100-teens. We hit those temps every year, we're just getting it earlier than usual, along with some humidity we are normally blessed to be without.

Needless to say, the stifling desert heat is what inspired this dead bug. Made with a piece of scrap metal, wire, glass beads and a great skull bead (from my mom) that adds that extra touch of the macabre. Approx. 5" long.

CED Challenge: July theme "LIFE"

2010-07-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

Inspired once again by Leah Piken Kolidas' Creative Every Day Challenge, where this month's theme is LIFE. "LIFE" immediately awoke my inner doodler! Here are three doodles I had a chance to do over a weekend getaway with family.

"OCEAN" emerged as I doodled away, initially thinking of a star (star=sun=life). It quickly morphed into a more organic, fantasy sea star which, for me, gave this doodle a very marine feel--and an alternatively fitting expression for LIFE--oceans are teeming with life both known and yet to be discovered.

"OCEAN" doodle

"LIFE" was inspired by the curly lines rooted above in "OCEAN" doodle, I liked the idea of drawing prolific life germinating from a huge seed. It also reminds me of a microscopic peek into a pollen grain, something of which plays an important role of new life in itself! The tendrils grow out of its space, reaching out to nearby anchors for more growth. When I was almost finished, I quickly realized this looks more like a dozen sperm penetrating an egg. I went back and forth between "germination" "conception" and landed on "life" as both are represented, depending on what you see ;) I added a tiny leaf, symbolic of the germination of new ideas, and a message to protect new life now threatened in so many fragile environments. This led to me think about the BP oil disaster, and how these black circles could just as easily be oil drops suffocating the new life struggling to emerge.

"LIFE" doodle

From "LIFE, the black circles made me think of oil drops suffocating the struggle for new life depicted in the previous doodle, so naturally the "BP DISASTER" came about as I started to doodle a third page. It started to remind me of an APC I made a while ago, with contrasting pink and black/white flames and I began to think of the burning of the oil on the ocean, and the ongoing loss of marine life and beaches of which the dark ugly masses of oil are encroaching. I doodled a dead sand dollar in the inevitable path of oil about to engulf another pristine beach.

"BP DISASTER" doodle

If you have never doodled, or haven't in a long time like me, bring it back into your life! It requires no "talent" as that is the creative liberation doodling brings! No pressure, no expectations, no directions, no worries. You draw or write whatever your pen guides you to create. I have found it to be very much like a creative meditation (in fact meditative doodling is what Zentangle is all about!).

La Brea Glue Trap

2010-06-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

"La Brea glue Traps, Ready To Use! Just peel and place."

Harvestman made from ceramic bead and scrap wire; Cricket, spider, and dead bug made from found nuts/bolts, scrap wire, ceramic and glass beads. "Glue trap" is a scrap section of wood flooring, painted with acrylic and wood glue.

Dimensions: glue trap 9"x3"; technically, this is still in progress as I'm looking for just the right scrap piece of cheesy vinyl flooring (~2'x2') to attach for full affect ;)

Kind and Creepy Doll

2010-05-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

This strange doll emerged as just a head for the longest time. I stuck two glass beads into random holes in the stone and it became a face. I didn't want to use adhesive to keep the "eyes" in, so wire came into play and before I knew it, she reminded me of the misshapened faces of the doctors and nurses in one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes "The Eye of the Beholder". Kinda creepy. But her entire form looks kind to me.

I'm not a doll person, but this odd creation grew on me as I fastened her together, and I've named her Janet Tyler, after the "ugly" character's name in the Twilight Zone episode.

Made with beach rocks, wire, glass beads.

~ 7" tall

Mini Altar - Dia De Los Muertos inspired Tortoise

2010-05-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

This was a birthday gift to my mom :) I suppose one could say this is not exactly a "traditional" type gift: a beady flower bouquet, mixed with found junk, sticks, and a "dead tortoise." Well, this is true, but my mom's happy, generous and loving spirit is not exactly traditional--thank goodness for me ;)! LOL My mom is one of my favorite junking parnters...the only person who will go with me on my desert junk--I mean TREASURE(!)--hunts this side of the Colorado! She also loves Day of the Dead...

When I first found this twisted car ashtray, I immediately thought, "oo, this would make a perfect mini-altar!" It sat around in my work space for a while until I made an extra Day of the Dead-inspired tortoise, from another project, and placed it in the ashtray. I love those new beads and I thought they were the perfect addition to the altar--representing the wildflowers that desert tortoises love in spring.

The desert tortoise is still a threatened species due to habitat loss, predation, and reckless OHV enthusiasts; and now climate change according to some scientists--the effects of which could surely accelerate desert tortoise disappearance in the wild.

Made from: found car ashtray, washer, also wire, sticks, glass beads, and acrylic.

6" h x ~3 1/2" w

Jean Luc Cornec’s Re-purposed Rotary Phone Sheep

2010-04-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ring-ring. I am in love with these sheep! Be sure to check out this installation piece from artist Jean Luc Cornec's Rotary Phone Sheep as seen in the Museum of Communications in Frankfurt.

From the site: Does our constant manipulation of these familiar and classic, yet obsolete, objects in art and design signify a desire for a more natural state of being? The exhibition presses visitors to recall more simplified times through a flock of free-roaming sheep sculpted from old, analog, rotary phones.

Fron the photos alone, I could almost hear them and see them move. I do appreciate the artistic re-use of rotary phones--very clever and wonderfully creative. Check out the site and come back to share what you think of this unique flock :)

Water Mandala

2010-03-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share something with you that is a wonderful tool for your creativity tool box! You may already know that I'm a nature-inspired/nature-lovin' creativity coach (shameless self-promoting links here http://www.thenaturecoach.net/, and here http://www.thenaturecoach.blogspot.com/).

I love connecting my art with nature and vice-versa, and I especially love to encourage others to do so as well. At my "Your Nature" blog in the link above, I ask visitors to create a water mandala: ...pour water (recycled pasta or plant water even better!) into a wide, shallow bowl or extra large plant saucer. Collect older flowers from your garden, along with a variety of leaves. Gently float petals and leaves in a pattern or arrangment that emerges from your inner nature. After a day or two, remove the petals and leaves and pour your mandala water over some plants.

As an example of how easy and calming this exercise can be, I created one today from an seriously shriveling bouquet of beautfiul roses that my honey surprised me with three weeks ago--like I said, they were seriously shriveling by now!

Here is the series of moods my mandala took on as I worked off some very nervous energy from a phone call I had made just prior--and yes, by the end of the mandala petal play, I felt like a new, calm and warmly creative person :) I loved feeling the silky texture of the petals and allowing spontaneous designs to emerge.

Do give it a try!

"Tortoise Medicine"

2010-03-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

The desert tortoise is one of 12 reptiles threatened by global warming, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. They were once as numerous as 1,000 torts per square mile in the Mojave Desert. Loss of habitat and raven predation are immediate threats but biologist believe global warming/climate change could add disease, fire, predation & new habitat threats.

This is my piece I submitted to the Climate Change and the California Desert art contest/show. My first time doing this, I am excited and nervous—the other submissions are incredibly wonderful, artistic, beautiful. But I’m very excited to be a part of something so environmentally important, as an artist! A big step for me.

The original piece I had planned on submitting exceded the size limit—it felt like the perfect fit, but once I received the details for entries I realized it was going to be too big, and scaling down wasn’t an option. I was crushed! After a loving pep talk from my hubby, I thought, maybe I’m supposed to submit something else? I decided to go for it again, and try to get another piece in on time—crazy!!! Forcing myself to take this opportunity under a deadline was a source of inspiration in itself, and the entire process evolved into “Tortoise Medicine” which was born exactly when it was meant to be, as my grandma told me. It was fun to create something in direct response to the guidelines, as far as the theme; as I worked on it, the concept morphed and soon evolved into many layers of climate change-related symbology for me. Such fun!

I am told our works will be on exhibit intermixed with the Hi-Desert Nature Museum’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle art exhibit. I can’t wait to visit it, the chance to see my art in a place I love and in the company of other found artists. Pretty cool experience already! (Despite the nerves LOL) I will be sure to update, “win or lose” although it’s already a win for me that I finally jumped in as a full-fledge artist :)

If you’re a Coachella Valley/High Desert local, go to this event! The show runs through April 24, 2010. It’s a lot of fun, very inspiring!

MATERIALS:

Found bike wheel; found auto parts/washers (embedded in hatchlings); found toaster oven knob; scrap wire; quartz crystal, can lids; stone beads; clay; acrylic

UPDATE: I am thrilled to report that I received an Honorable Mention! There were 21 amazing artists who participated, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cash awards, and 3 HM's! I also got to meet some wonderful new friends and can't wait to be a part of other events likes this!

String Spin--A New Spin On Doodling!

2010-02-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

A friend sent this to me, and then a few days later it separately appeared as a post in Sandy Ackers' blog Strangling My Muse...I figured the universe must be inviting me to a beach-inspired creative play date involving hot pink, spirals, and the Z-axis! ;)

Check out String Spin for one of those fun, quick--possibly addicting--creative breaks you deserve. Play around for an infinitely new spin on doodling...

Book Paintings

2010-02-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

Paint on canvas, paper, and why not on books? Check out these creatively cool book paintings/sculpture by artist Mike Stilkey (found via member post on Coach Creative Space)...

Beetle

2010-02-18T09:35:00.000-08:00

This beetle took on a life of its own the moment I saw the pliers(?) that make up its body--the handles screamed mandibles! Other materials used: wire, stone bead, metal beads.

~5" long

Happiness Is A New Set of Pliers

2010-02-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, I get that excited over pliers. But I know you can relate...

I'm really jonesin' for a desert junk outing--driving out to my favorite junk piles in the desert to do my part in removing the trash other people think is okay to trash our desert with, grrrrrr. And yes, I realize the irony of the fact that I get excited to find these dump piles as a source of "new" materials. But for now, a trip to Lowe's to replace a couple of new pliers I need for my art is just as fun. I came home with NINE new Kobalt pliers that my mom bought for me...wow, what a treat!!

Now I can get to those mini-mandalas I'm working on. You can see one in progress next to the plier layout; the can lids will be other mini-mandalas :)

So there it is...my material muses. Junk and pliers. And beads. Ooh, and crystals of course. Wire. Insulators. The really cool metal shavings a dear friend shared with me. Rocks with holes, glass....ah my art space calls!!!

So, I would love to know what materials get YOU in your creative space?

Free Tibet

2010-01-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

Made from a found (electrical?) panel door--bent and dented! Also, found washers, scrap wood piece, can lids, scrap wire, native Kumeyaay clay beads, turquoise-dyed stone beads, ceramic beads, images from a calendar and Dalai Lama photo image, acrylic.

~18"x 18 1/2"

Subject, I'm assuming it's self-explanatory :) Along with the message, this is a heartfelt gift made for my husband :)

Close up of woven image of "Maitreya" Buddha of Universal Love.

"His religion is kindness." Peace and compassion for Tibet :)

Creativity Everyday Challenge

2010-01-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

I just joined Leah Kolidas' Creativity Everyday Challenge! Won't you join me? Express your creative self...in anyway you choose :) It's a fun, low pressure way to commit yourself to your creative process and have fun. January's theme is: BODY

Cheers!

Gazing Jar

2010-01-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

Once completed, I found myself gazing into this jar, the flipped image reflected in the suspended glass ball draws me in. I thought it might make a great gazing/meditation jar for personal reflection or to just plain escape!

Legends abound about the mysterious powers of gazing balls for example, staring into a globe may create an experience of "oneness" with the universe. In addition to bringing about happiness, good luck, and prosperity, gazing globes were thought to ward off evil in many forms, from spirits and witches, to illness and misfortune. Perhaps these were symbolic in nature--if you find yourself staring into the globe, you can see anyone/anything coming, nothing can sneak up on you!

Made with a thrift store jar, found glass ball, wire, glass beads, Sharpie embellishments.

Enlightened Spiders

2009-12-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

Inspired by this great video clip of Lama Zopa Rinpoche liberating spiders.

Made with discarded x-mas bulbs and scrap telephone wire. Spiders range from 2" - 3" body with 3" - 6" leg span.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche liberating spiders - http://shar.es/a9qVa

Dinosaur Garden of Dreams - Dia De Los Muertos

2009-12-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

"Sleep well in the garden of your dreams..."

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a two day Mexican holiday for participants to celebrate, honor and communicate with friends and family who have died. In most regions, November 1 is set aside for remembering infants and children, or angelitos (little angels). Those who have died as adults are honored November 2.

Day of the Dead 'figurines' and mini altars often represent the activities of loved one's when they were happiest while alive.

Made with a found drawer, can lids, clay, chandelier crystals, glass beads, sticks, scrap metal and wire, natural objects.

Whole piece: 13"x11"
(10" high with tallest crystal arm)See the whole piece here.

Dig this-->I'm honored to be found via Flickr by "ArtEvolved," and added by admin to their cool paleoart site. Be sure to check out this fun blog, and scroll it to see which image of mine they used (hint: it is NOT pictured here)!

Each Grain of Sand a Tiny Work of Art | Earth Science | DISCOVER Magazine

2009-12-01T20:57:00.001-08:00

Amazing photographs. A beautiful example of the limitless inspiration to be found in nature :)

Each Grain of Sand a Tiny Work of Art | Earth Science | DISCOVER Magazine

Posted using ShareThis

Rock and Shell Pendants

2009-11-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

I just love beachcombing and rockhounding...here are some finds adorned with scrap wire, glass and ceramic beads. Wearable pendants, unique gift tags, decor pendulums, the list goes on! So fun to create out of your favorite nature treasures! Try it, you'll love it!

Message In A Bottle

2009-10-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

This my version of a message in a bottle. When you raise the orange bead, you unscroll a message! In this case: the peace sign. This was a lot of fun to make work. I look forward to making more--I have plenty of bottles and jars!

~3" peace bottle
~5 1/2" heart bottle

PEACE bottle RELEASED Feb. 7, 2009, Starbucks in Barnes & Noble, Palm Desert, CA

HEART/PEACE (clear bottle) RELEASED March 28, 2009 Avalon, CA (Catalina Island)

This one (below) made from found and junk store bottles, found key, scrap wire, plastic and glass beads, thrift store material scraps.

Outside bottle has quote: "Peace is our gift to each other." ~ Elie Wiesel
Pull up KEY to "unlock"/unscroll message: peace symbol with wave pattern (both sides)

Ooops, kinda cheating with this one, "released" March 28, 2009, in my aunt's hotel room, Avalon, CA (Catalina Island)...

Another made from found and junk store bottles, found key, scrap wire, plastic and glass beads, thrift store material scraps.

Pull up ORANGE BEAD to unscroll quote: "Whenever there is a sentient being there is a chance for kindness." ~Seneca 4 BC -- 65 AD (although I took liberties and replaced "human" with "sentient" :) One side has human footprints drawn with message, the other side has paw prints with same quote.

RELEASED Saturday, March 28, 2009 Avalon, CA (Catalina Island), at a candy shop window; corner of Sumner and Crescent Ave.'s

Buddhist-inspired APC's

2009-10-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Made with cards from "canceled" decks from local casinos (note drill holes), other thrift store decks and/or pink Bicycle deck. Some have been released for Found Art Tuesday during the Dalai Lama teachings in Long Beach, Sept. 2009.

For more APC's please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34241256@N07/

Butterflies

2009-09-18T00:08:00.000-07:00

Now mounted on my "Butterfly Screen" piece, these are some of the found art butterflies made from old frozen hinges, and a variety of glass and stone beads, quartz crystal, thrift store chandelier crystals, scrap wire...

The Space Bar construction site...

2009-08-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

"...cheap beer for broke writers"

The was just so much fun to make. Originally inspired by an old typewriter my mom and aunt found at a yard sale, I immediately deconstructed it with a different concept in mind. But, as the creative process flowed, so did my imagination and this is the scene I ended up with, following a writer's block moment ;)

Made of a variety of found, scrap metal pieces and materials. Construction bugs made with all found things: washer, bolts, metal springs, telephone wire, scrap wire, glass beads, fuses, kitchen utensils, etc.

Soon to be--and, only in my imagination, mind you--a bar with outdoor seating/gathering. The Space Bar is targeted to writers and other creative buggers. "Opening soon" sign reads, "Let our service be your muse, join us for Freelance Fridays and get 2-for-1 lunch!"

Patio heaters made with found auto fuses, metal washers, and faucet knobs. Sign reads, "Larvae, instars, and newly molted NOT ALLOWED after 9 p.m."

Construction bug hauling material to the salvage dumpster...

Every construction site has a port-a-potty. Made with a piece of scrap steel and a can lid, and a small metal screen (out of shot) for the all important port-a-potty vent. Yes, I guess I'm showing you strange things, but I get into the details of things like this :)

One of the construction bugs adding to the salvage pile. Dumpster is a car door ashtray filled a bottle cap, wire and various debris ;)

I just like this shot. This is the menu in progress with homage to three of my favorite authors: Christopher Moore, Clive Cussler and the bottom one says, "Twain it, if you're hungering for an American classic"

29"H x 36" L x 20" W; 47" at highest point (crane)
More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34241256@N07/

FunkyArtGirl cruisin' Water Woman Festival!

2009-08-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

I am truly excited to participate in the upcoming Water Woman Festival as an artist (and presenter). This amazing eco-centered festival will be held in Joshua Tree, CA, Oct. 1 thru Oct. 4, 2009. Look for my "Family Totem" on grounds (previous blogpost)...and definitely some F.A.T. goodies throughout the 4-day festival!

Please check out the festival site here, or the link above. For detailed photos of "Family Totem" visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34241256@N07/

Dragonfly

2009-08-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

Made with thrift store chandelier crystal, scrap wire, and found metal washers, bullet shell, and metal spring. This was my first "release" for F.A.T, a dragonfly left at The Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA.

~3"

Bird Nest - F.A.T. project

2009-08-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

Originally inspired by an artist at our local street fair about a year ago (him/her nests were much more refined and held wonderful and special treasures in them!), and much more recently, by the little nest with baby birds that have made their home at my friend, Diane's new home.

Made with LOTS of scrap wire, embellished with found blue jay feathers, and 3 African beads. Released for Found Art Tuesday by my partner in crime (my mom!), Aug. 15, 2009 at the Sofitel Maeva Resort in Papeete, Tahiti.

4" diameter

...superhero by night

2009-08-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

Face made with found scrap metal misc. including bottle opener, old TV channel plate, frozen/rusted chain, scrap wire. Mounted on two scrap wood panels from an explosives crate.

~8"x10"

Kachina

2009-08-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

This was one of my first large pieces. When I first layed it out, it reminded me of a kachina. It is made from various found metal rings and scrap, a hub cap, saw blade, metal and glass beads, scrap wire; along with three antique/junk store finds--a metal trivet and two bread (5-loaf) baking pans.

~6 1/2 ft. tall

Family Totem

2009-08-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

Photo collage of "Family Totem" with faces that represent my moods, my family story (~akin to Northwest totems), and affectionate exaggerations of certain personalities.

FACES are made from various found materials like cans, metal lids, nuts/bolts, metal springs, scrap wire, beads, etc.

TOTEM POLE includes: --scrap 2x4's--found car speaker embellished with Kumeyaay clay beads, scrap wire and rolled can lids--found bicycle rim embellished with bamboo beads surrounding a found aluminum hub--scrap metal sheet embellished by curling and attaching can lid, quartz crystal, found metal washer, scrap wire; also rolled can lid w/clay bead--found metal ring--acrylic paint/embellishment

7 1/2 ft. tall

More of Family Totem: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34241256@N07/

Faces (collage)

2009-08-01T00:53:00.001-07:00

Some of my earliest faces--several of which are now part of my "Family Totem" piece, a 7 ft. tall totem pole. Many of these faces were born out of the trashed treasures I collected from one of my first serious junking expeditions ;) Often, they just create themselves...like the smashed soda can that screamed 'grumpy' face, or the curled lid for the 'worried-about-to-cry' face, and the mangled/punctured lid that became the 'ick-I'm-sick' face (with a fuse for the thermometer).

All pieces here made entirely of found scrap wire, junked and rusted metal objects: lids, utensils, auto parts, cans, hinges, saw blades, springs, nuts/bolts etc., with glass or ceramic beads for embellishment.