Isn’t it funny how one thing can lead to another…I’m supposed to be pulling together paperwork related to our flex spending health expenses but I decided to log on to check my email first, and since I was on the computer I checked in on Facebook to see what my friends were up to (I will admit that I’m mostly a lurker). That led me to check out a Vimeo video that was a public service announcement spoof done by a book publisher. So while I was on Vimeo I looked to see if there were any mixed media art videos and found a contributor called “The One Minute Muse”. The name alone would have been enough to interest me but add in the cute logo and I had to check it out. One of the videos was how to make a self-portrait. Since I loved it so much, I just had to share…ENJOY!

Art Journal Technique | Mirror Self Portrait from The One Minute Muse on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago I became aware that my blog feed was not operating properly ever since I switched my blog platform from Blogger to Wordpress. I finally got the problem fixed and everything should be working fine. If you are a subscriber and wondered why there was such a large gap between postings, it wasn’t because I was procrastinating (although I certainly have been known to do that). You can come back to the blog anytime and see any posts that you may have missed in the archive.

It may have been a month since I last posted, but I used some of the time to do an entry for Michelle Ward’s Green Pepper Press Crusade #27 (actually got it done over two weeks before the deadline…WooHoo!).
Don’t you just love Michelle’s title for this challenge…SHAPE UP! Although I have my own personal fitness resolution, I was glad to find out that her challenge was to pick a shape and study the various ways the shapes could be incorporated into our art and make some new tools to make our shape of choice.
I will admit that I thought about what shape I wanted to use for several days before finally decided to go with a chevron shape. What is a chevron, you may ask? It is that shape you see on the sleeves of military uniforms that indicate the rank…a “V” shape (although it is upside down on a uniform).
I started by cutting three different sizes of chevron as stencils from chipboard, being careful so that I could use the shape I removed as a mask. I also cut a small chevron out of craft foam that I could use as a stamp (I decided to put the “stamp” on some EZ Mount so that I could use the stamp with my acrylic blocks).
I played with my new tools on a journal page, using gesso to stencil some of the shapes and mask others. I created not only solid shapes but also outlines which I plan to explore more. But I think my favorite part was using the chevron stamp to make a herringbone pattern, which is on the right side of the page on the dark teal area. I see more “chevron play” in my future.

I know it has been over four months since I last posted anything but I am still here (you can see me as I photographed Lake Michigan at the end of June). Everyone’s life has their share of chaos and here are just a few of the chaotic happenings in my life since I last posted:

• My hard drive crashed (I just had it replace after Thanksgiving last year and at the time I didn’t remember that I had purchased the extended warranty) and it took 5 weeks before I received my computer back from the service center (because they had to send it in 3 times to get it operational…but hey, I now have a new motherboard and hard drive).
• Our basement flooded, dried out, had the carpet cleaned, flooded again, dried out, had the carpet cleaned AGAIN, FLOODED AGAIN, carpet and padding was ripped out where the water was seeping up in the center of the basement. The water table kept getting too high and even though the sump pump kept up with the perimeter, water seeped up through a couple of cracks in the foundation.
• The school year ended and my oldest son “graduated” from elementary school. He starts 6th grade at the middle school on Tuesday.
• baseball, Baseball, and more BASEBALL! Number one son played in the majors and number two son played coach pitch and I was team parent for both teams. Then our season was extended by five weeks with tournaments since number one son made the 11-year old all-star team.
• We celebrated my parents 60th wedding anniversary with a family weekend in Sheboygan (which is when I took the above picture).
• A very long house project that included new siding and paint removal from the brickwork in the front (and subsequent tuckpointing because a lot of mortar came out during the powerwashing).

Wow, I’m exhausted just reading about all that again. I am looking forward to school starting on Tuesday so that I can get back in my studio and find some time for my art (something that I have been in dire need of). So hopefully I will have some new artwork to post about soon.

Last week I received a note from the fabulous mixed media artist, Pam Carriker, that I had won a giveaway she was offering on her blog. It was a wonderful surprise on a day that had been grueling (as I was working on a house project that has been plaguing me for quite some time). The goodies she sent me arrived in my mailbox on Saturday and I couldn’t believe the treasure trove of artsy goodness that the envelope contained. I love Pam’s work and getting so many handmade items from her made my day. Each of the items are gorgeous but I think my favorite is the cat ATC. It fits my sense of humor and it was so incredibly timely because I have been talking with my son about idioms (he is just starting a project in his class on the subject) and here was a fun example to share with him. Pam, in case you are reading this, your artwork will be shared with his 5th grade class in the very near future (although first I need his teacher to assure me of its safety). Don’t you just love a GOOD MAIL DAY?