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Cab-cage attempt 1

I also tried cm-handmade's cab cage with size 10 thread. Instructions here: The stone I used is a 3-inch brecciated red jasper donut.  I got it in a wonderful haul of second-hand beading supplies.



Have a wicked awesome day!
- Jo

Tatting of a Sunday

Tried my hand at Corina Meyfeldt's tatted flower, using mystery thread from my second-hand beading haul and some red beads, from same.





I love how it turned out, even if tatting with beads is still cumbersome. How do you keep those beads tucked a few turns back on the shuttle, out of the way, yet still within reach when you need them?!? I am slowly getting the hang of it...

Have a wicked awesome day!
- Jo

Tatted Earring #1

This from today's tatting design sesh...a large dangle earring, pattern by yours truly. It was the second attempt. I am learning tatting design by trial and error, which is not the easiest. I am happy Ieft some bare picots. I really love the look of the sparkly beads to either side and at the bottom! I think on this design, less is more when it comes to beading; this lets the lace really shine. :)


Should I make the second earring??? I am not a large earring person but I could see me wearing these!!! And since they're lace, they are feather-light! (No stretching of the earring holes!!)

Have a wicked awesome day!
- Jo

A Bunch of Tatting Projects!

I have been tatting up a storm ever since I joined the Facebook group called Beginner Tatters Chat Group. I have learned a gajillion things, but the most important are:

1. Buy self- threading needles to hide the ends. No, don't think that your needles and threaders can be bent to the task. Just do it. They cost next to nothing and they work like a charm!!!

2. Two rows of a doily can be worked together with a bit of planning. Say the round you are working on is followed by a round of individual motifs. STOP the round you're working on! Work the motif round first, connecting them, then resume the round you stopped, tatting the motif round on as you go! Oh the beautiful genius of this plan. Too bad I didn't know that a round sooner!


This is Doily 1 from Jan Stawasz' book, Tatted Treasures. Only 21 more stars left to go! :/

3. There is so much I don't know, it's going to take forever to master this craft! Front-side/back-side tatting, Lark's Head Joins (and when to do them!), split chains, the list goes on and on... At least now I have resources I can turn to for my endless questions! If you're new to tatting, please consider joining Beginner Tatters Chat Group on Facebook. You won't find a more supportive group of tatters!!! Well I am sure they are supportive in forums everywhere, but I have been made to feel so welcome, I just had to give a shout out! :)


Have a wicked awesome day!
- Jo

A New Work in Progress

A large canvas has been staring at me from the windowsill, where it has acted as a blind, for months now...and despite my trepidation at its size, I think it is time to let it sing!
It looks welcoming on my easel... Big. White. Blank. This marvelous canvie is 22 x 28 inches of pristine emptiness. I can't let it scare me. I have a plan for it, one that needs a super bold background. With the layers I plan on adding, I wanted the brightest colors that clamor to be used. Here is a taste of what has transpired so far!



Have a wicked awesome day!
- Jo

Tatting an edging

I started tatting an edging for this tablecloth this week. I have been messing around with hens and chicks patterns, ever since Carol (sunset) introduced me to it as a beginner pattern last week. I am so glad I got this thread in size 10!!! It's DMC Cebelia brand, and the color is simply stunning! The hanky/cloth is a large square, about eighteen inches wide. I can't take credit for the pattern. I got the stitch count for the rings (4-4-4-4, 4-4, and 4-3-2-2-3-4) from Tatman's free hens and chicks tatted cross pattern, which can be found if you search the web. I apologize, I couldn't find the link or I would post it here! Then I just experimented with the length of bare thread required until the motif would lay the way it should, with just the right tension. If you make the bare thread too short, it wants to fold over on itself; too loose and it sags. Here is a picture of the progress I have made so far:







With Carol's help I was able to design a corner motif that more or less goes with the rest of the pattern to be able to turn the corner on the tatted edging. The key pointers she gave me were
1. Keep the rings or stitch counts as consistent with the hens and chicks pattern
2. Add two tiny rings to help bridge the gap from the last hens and chicks motif to the corner motif, and from the corner motif to the first hens and chicks motif on the next edge
3. How much to leave for the bare thread gap will come instinctively. I didn't quite believe this at first, but sure enough, I found that I was able to intuit about how much thread I would need!

Hopefully next time I post, this little tablecloth will be gracing my tatting vignette at Keep Me In Stitches here in McCall!!! More on that later.

Have a wicked awesome day!
~ Jo

Back in the studio! My mom helped me to get my studio organized and put together for the first time since we moved in (I know, it's taken forever!) and my creative side has been rejoicing!  Here is one of the canvases I've finished in the last few weeks:

He's a little lovebird isn't he???  I love the idea of painting birds that are not their true colors.  In this case, this little guy has a green chest instead of brown, which I think makes him look much more interesting, don't you?

I've been daring to paint girls lately, and here is the result:

I adore the colors of their dresses, which were done with Twinkling H2O's!!!  I'll have to figure out a way to paint skin tones a bit better--the acrylic paint wants to dry up just as soon as I have found the right mixture of colors!  Maybe I need to play with extending agents some more...

One more piece of eye candy to drool over!!!

This one was created to get through some serious healing that needs to happen.  It's pretty special to me for a lot of reasons.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Sing a Song of Sixpence

I love nursery rhymes, and if they are set to music, all the better!  My best friend from grade school is having her first baby this month and so I created this collage painting for her.  It is full of all the things that make life sweet--lace, music, and letters.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

Latest Commission

Wow, two and a half months have just flown by! I am excited to be nearing the end of my pharmacy residency and we're gearing up to move soon.  I am in the process of finishing two commissions, one of which I can show here.  (The other is too big to scan at 14x18 inches!)

This pair of birdies are #2 and #3 of 3 canvases that were inspired by a photograph of a desert sand wren that my friend, Marybeth Farrell took.  Marybeth is a photographer out of Joshua Tree, CA, and she graciously allowed me to reproduce her cute little birdie!  You can find her original photograph at  desertnanasdailyphotos (it's worth checking out, believe me!)  I find all of Marybeth's work so inspiring!!! Thank you, MB, for allowing me to springboard off your beautiful photography!!!

It's too bad the third piece, a birdhouse, was too big a canvas to scan on my little scanner.  It is an 8x16" canvas and not even part of it would scan nicely, so I just left it off.  Maybe someday I can buy a bigger scanner!  The trio of canvases were commissioned by a friend, for her friend, who is decorating a whimsical room.  The requirements for this piece were that it consist of a set of 2 6x6 canvases and one tall, thin canvas.  It had to have orange in it, and it had to compliment the blue wall opposite the wall these will hang on.  The blue wall had a white whimsical tree image on it as well.  The subject and composition were left entirely up to me, but I know my friend loves my collage style.  I took it and ran with it, and this trio, titled "Home Tweet Home," the end result! I LOVE the blended colors, the free-flowing scrolls and leaves, and the collaged birdies turned out so sweet!  I'll never forget the magic "re-appearing" orange Shimmering Mist--a layer that I never expected to see again, which magically bloomed 3 layers later, with the application of matte medium!  (You had to see it to believe it!) :-)

These two images (and several others) I will be sending in to a wonderful art studio/shop in McCall, where we are moving in a month, in the hopes that their jury will accept my work for sale in their shop.  Red6Red is owned by a gal named Megan Henderson, who designs and sells quirky-awesome mirrors from found objects.  Her shop is full of hand-crafted furniture, textiles, jewelry and wall art--and I think my artwork would be a great fit!  I will keep you posted on this new venture!

Teaching Tatting

I don't know if it is inspiration or sheer craziness, but I have decided to try and show a couple of tatting tutorials on my Ustream channel. I'd like to invite you to follow along, or even try your hand at tatting! Here are some of the tools you will need.

First of all there are two type of tatting: shuttle tatting and needle tatting. If you have arthritis or if you already know how to knit or crochet, needle tatting is the way to go. If however, you prefer to learn the more difficult, old-fashioned way, AND you have a LOT of patience, shuttle-tatting might be in your future. The difference? You can do much finer work with the shuttle than you can with the needle, because the needle does not pass through your knots; you can use much thinner thread. With the needle, you can use a lot of different fibers, not just thread. Below is an example of a few motifs I have tatted using #10 white crochet cotton and a shuttle.

Thread: Lizbeth thread has been highly recommended to me, but really you should be able to make do with any cotton crochet thread. If you can find some that states specifically for tatting, all the better. Size 10 for beginners, and graduate to the higher (finer) sizes as you get better!

Shuttle: I would recommend a bobbin shuttle for the beginner, otherwise you'll forever be winding and unwinding thread, plus fighting the tension if you're not properly unwinding. This is a picture of the shuttle I use and can be found at lacis.com:

There are lots of cons to trying to learn to tat using the shuttle, but I keep returning to the shuttle because of the fine work that you can do. (Or because I like to torture myself).

Tatting needles: If you want to use size 10 or 20 cotton thread, I would recommend you get a size #5-0 needle. Sometimes you can find the single size needle by itself but I've only ever found it in a set (mine has #3-0, #5-0, #7 fine and #8 Ex. fine). Try Amazon, Overstock.com, and lacis.com, unless you have a specialty yarn/fibers store in your town!

Interested in finer work using super-thin threads? I would hold off until you get the main techniques down, then use your size #7 fine needle for size 20, 30, 40 or 50 cotton, and your size 8 needle for size 50 and higher threads. (Remember, the higher the number, the finer the thread).

If you already know how to knit or crochet, it will take you no time at all to pick up needle-tatting. It's just another form of needle-work! There are really only a few different techniques, whether you are using the needle or the shuttle.

Anyway, I'll put in my order for some needles, give everyone some time to order their supplies, and I'll stream a couple tutorials as soon as they arrive.

The best part about this hobby? Even if you get the supplies to try both needle and shuttle tatting, you'll only have to shell out about 20 dollars, max! I hope you'll join me on my stream, even if just to see tatting in action. :)

Like tree-branches, birds and birdhouses? Why yes I do!

The muse has been smiling on me this week. What started as an experiment for my sister has exploded into a mini-series of related canvi. I have to give credit for the thought to my mom, who has been encouraging my art and my sister's quilting. I took a piece of fabric designed by Tina Givens and ran with the inspiration to create related art. I'll run these by my sister and see how she feels about them as complementary pieces for a room with a quilt by her.

Tina Givens Fabric that was the inspiration for the series

The scanner didn't really capture the brilliance of the canvas, or how very nearly the colors are matched (probably the texture has something to do with it too). But anyway, below you can see one of the pieces that were based on the fabric above.

"Crooked Birdhouse"

I love the curved birdhouse, with its little peg and 3-dimensional roof. I'm not sure why the color came out so fuzzy. Might have to try reloading another picture. This next image I really love because the birds look so friendly. The branches work well too, framing the subject with grace and just a touch of whimsy.

"Friendly Songbirds"

One of my online art friends suggested that I try different types of birds and different backgrounds, so I did, and the next canvas was the result. Unfortunately, I had the wrong setting chosen while streaming this, and that stream has gone down in history as the crazy twilight-zone stream, in which my friend Jean came to my rescue on Skype. The stream lagged a good half hour behind the chat, so no one could see what I was doing until much later! It was created using cream and blue acrylic, paper moth images (I just couldn't bring myself to call it Ranza's title), and walnut ink (for the cursive in the background and other spots).

"Butterflies through Alice's Looking Glass"

Thanks again, Jean, for all your wonderful help and conversation. I really owe you one ;) Finally this last piece was my take on a mountain bluebird, Idaho's state bird. I really hope I have captured the spirit of this beautiful creature! I was inspired to continue with the same branches theme, with the only difference being the bird is handpainted with acrylics. Thank you for stopping by my blog! Have a lovely day!

"Mountain Bluebird"

It's not often that it takes me two days to make a canvas. I am so excited I took the time on this one, though. I'm happy to say that Kim won it on my stream the other day, so she will be receiving this as soon as I make my way to the post office. The colors are inspired by Deb's postcard that I did the other day, which were greens and browns. However, when I got around to the hearts, I really though they needed some red, and then it struck me that a splash of white would be nice. I love the dark green--it seems to just jump right off the canvas!

"Debonnaire"

This is my friend Vicki's postcard, which I did today on my stream with some wonderful coaching from ArteDar. Thank you so much, Dar! I don't think I could have managed without your help! Vicki actually took the time to meet me down in New Orleans while we were there in December, and it was fabulous to actually get to meet her in person!!! I was so thrilled to be able to make her postcard today.

Today on my stream I did a wonderful study in texture, which my nephew Shane says looks like a storm, so I think that name will stick. I also did a drawing for this lovely green 4x4 canvas, which was inspired by Deb's postcard the other evening!

"Storm"

I think it really needs something in the center of the canvas, and I think it will be reworked a bit before it gets sent to the lucky Kim (Bups bups bups)! This canvie couldn't go to a better gal. :)

(a work in progress)

Have a great day!

xoxo

Jo

Good Enough

"Good Enough"

Now and then I really struggle with feelings of ineptitude. I think all of us go through this same quagmire of doubt at some point in our art lives and I find myself encouraged by the words of an artist I highly admire, whose timely advice is: "listen to your heart for validation." (Thanks, Dar!) This piece serves to remind us that we are indeed good enough, and to keep on creating. Create for yourself, from the deepest part of yourself, and the rest will fall into place.

"Roots"

"Stars"

I've been working on a trio of canvases inspired by recent wonderful events in my life. After nearly a decade of hard work, I have landed my dream job! Now my husband and I are feverishly working toward a new life in the mountains. We're getting our house ready to rent out, getting pre-approved for a mortgage, and simply put, we're dreaming big! I hope these canvases capture my pure excitement. :) I am cherishing these days and realize they will pass all too quickly. This last canvas is called "Garden of Dreams."

Catching up and starting afresh!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." --Shakespeare.

This is the first of many new pieces I have been working on recently. You might recognize this little 4x4 from one of my recent streams. If you haven't been by my streams, I would like to personally invite you to check out my mixed media arting adventure, live on Monday evenings, 5:00 pm Mountain time! (give or take a half hour.) Here is the link to my channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jo946 Feel free to login (you must register first) and chat!

"Brilliance," a 6x6, is one of my absolute favorites. This piece was done with acrylic, music, dictionary text, a white paint pen, and red/sparkly embossing powders. VERY sweet, and simple brilliance. I love the transparency of the flower and the texture of the embossing powder!

At the beginning of December, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit New Orleans, LA, for the American Society for Health-Systems Pharmacists midyear clinical meeting. It was a fabulous time, full of great food, awesome music, and tons of fleur de lis! I was inspired to do some art integrating my impressions of the city and this lovely, warm and vibrant canvas was the result.

Stress Relief

New canvases. I am so stinkin' excited about the dragonfly!!! How very nicely it turned out. I made another because the first one was so much fun. The Beach Babe canvas was a great way to make the best out of a very long day. I honestly think her swimsuit still needs some twinkling H20's!!! The orange one...hmm it's different.

Vintage 3x5's

I am posting the ATC (top) that I made for Marie in Quebec. I hope she likes it! It was inspired by her love for steampunk. The word, "ego," is a tribute to my favorite novella of all time, "Anthem," by Ayn Rand. If you haven't read it yet, grab it and settle down for a nice read. It's less than 150 pages and well worth the time! :)

Making these little 3x5 canvas boards totally gave me a sense of accomplishment! The text and music backgrounds are just the ticket for someone who doesn't have a lot of stamps. This project was an attempt to create my own style and get away from sheer mimicry. Thank you, RachO113 for the inspiration! It was also the perfect springboard for a productive Sunday! I will be finalizing my poster for the Sun Valley, Idaho pharmacy conference--no time for art today!

August Art

I spent the last month watching several Ustream artists and I think you can see how their colors and techniques have inspired my work. I have been trying to make my canvases mimic the color wash effect and I have been trying different techniques, such as the lace stamp shown here.

The lace stamp was re-purposed as a three-dimensional element for this piece, which isn't quite finished, I think. I hope to stream the final piece on Monday. It too is a teeny weeny 4x4, a format also inspired by my online friends. I love the blue and lime colors. If only I could get past the feeling that it has to be "perfect!" This is the most restrictive emotion in the world and never fails to freeze me in my tracks.