Hope & Purple Hearts

So I just finished an entry in my art journal. Here it is:

Sometimes all you can do is have hope, and take risks. You know? We don't always have all the answers. We don't always have everything all put together for us on a silver platter.
Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes we think someone else has it easy-maybe they have a great set of parents that are are retired, have a little money and a nice house in the suburbs.
Maybe their parents weren't abusive assholes that spent all their money, and have nothing to show for it. Maybe THEIR parents can be trusted around kids.
But they could have other issues. They could have other shit going on.
It reminds me of a song that my friend Alex wrote, with the line, "Everyone is broken...missing legs...everyone is broken...but they all think they're okay...."
It's true. We all are or have  been broken at one point in our life.
Sometimes, all you can do is have hope.
Hope, and take some risks.

A Lovely Girl in Progress

Since I have nothing new to share with you as of yet, I thought I'd show you something I'm in the process of working on:

This is the ballerina I recently worked on. I plan on filling her in with color, and then stuffing her into a stuffed toy.
I haven't had a whole lot of time for art these days, since my daughter is out of school. I have a piece that I'm working on, in my art journal but I haven't finished it, due to the aforementioned.
Anyway, this is the girl. Hopefully she will be finished today, if not this weekend.

Girl with a Gun

(sort of a part 2 to the previous one I wrote)

she held a gun to the sky

aimed at what they held sacred

all they taught was hatred

all they taught her was to cry

meanwhile the girl with a gun

now she enters the room

war paint on, and artilery ready

she's a tough girl

now

she held a gun to the sky

the little girl with a gun

"I'm a tough girl now" she said

she don't need

no one

tears and pain and bloodied heart

she just left them on the table

she left it there for the dogs

to lick the wounds once she left

"I'm a tough girl now" she said

said the girl with a gun

said the little girl left for lost

she wandered through the forest

she wandered through the earth

then one day, she met a wizard

a magik man indeed

with his magic lute in hand

he cast a spell

on her

and then now, she was smitten

"I don't have to be tough anymore..." she said

"it's safe here" said the wizard

so she kissed him with the kiss of true love

now they've birthed two little fairies

this wizard

and the girl with gun

The All Seeing Eye

It's the all seeing eye. This is a mixed media art journal page. I used a retired stampin up stamp with a redish ink by Clearsnap, then gessoed over it. After that, some turquoise blue paint went over that, and then I used Stabilo woody pencils and a black ink pen to create the swirlies and the eye above.
I have no idea what this page means. It was just me expressing myself as my little one lay sleeping and my eldest is in school.
Tomorrow is her last day of school. Poor me. I love my kids, but I will miss the time to make art.

My Moleskines, All Stacked Up

My stack of filled up Moleskines. I love them so much. I love them for being so portable, and easy to put in my purse or backpack. Yes, I said backpack. I now carry one, as I am a mom of two children. It's just easier that way. Oh don't get me wrong. I still love my purses. A LOT.

A Book for Teacher

I just finished making a set of three hand bound books. One of them is for my daughter's teacher, the other is for her aide, and the last one is for me.

I used beautiful vintage textiles for the cover of the book.

Inside, each signature had a lovely piece of scrapbook paper surrounding it. 

And of course, white paper for writing or drawing. 

Because I love owls, that's why

I love owls. Not because they are trendy but because they are awesome. Owls are my thing. Those of you who followed my old blog know that I have a tattoo of an owl on my arm. I love owls. Really.

For this piece, I used watercolors, oil pastels, and Shiva brand oil paint sticks. And marker for the eyes.

Lost & Found-Vintage Paper Dolls

So today, I thought we would do something different.
I cleaned out my art supply closet, and found some very lovely items indeed:

These are lovely little paper dolls that I purchased on ebay years ago. YEARS ago. I found them while I was reorganizing my closet. Cool, right?
I wonder what I shall make with them.......
Got any ideas? What should I do with all these lovely little vintage paper dolls?

The Owl and a Dance in flight

Dance in Flight

from the ashes a

bird forms

takes flight

leave behind the

soot and

dance in flight

from the ashes

rise and dance in flight

De la cenisa, y sangre derramada (from the ashes and blood, spilled)

de el llanto (from the tears)

the owl dances in flight

enraptured by bliss, she

learns what it is to

truly

love

lechuza sagrada (sacred owl)

baila (dance)

baila en vuelo (dance in flight)

Lechuza (owl),

I ask her:

who taught you to fly so well?

and she told me:

nothing but the blood and ashes from which I rose

nothing but the tears

and the hurt

and the pain

the ashes and soot from which I rose

taught me what it is to truly love

for what is love

but a dance in flight?

A Sketchbook with Pizzaz!

I named this project such because it seems like a snazzy dressed up sketchbook, don't you think?
Well, maybe you'll agree after seeing some pics:

I used a couple different mediums for this book.
First, I used watercolors, and then sprinkled some coarse sea salt over it, while still wet. The sea salt absorbs some of the color, giving it some cool "splotches" of color here and there. It's really cool.

After the paint is dry, then you can take the salt off the page. On the other side, I used french dictionary paper. I would hate to have just blank white paper against a cool watercolored page, so I decided to get creative, and add dictionary paper on the other side. I ran out of glue a long time ago, so I just use gel medium.

To add a little extra "pizzaz" I added some Prima flowers on the top corner of the front cover. 

No, the colors don't match but I rather like it that way. Actually, I did it on purpose this time. I like the contrast in colors a lot. The cover just says, "Arte Y Poemas" which means art and poems. I was drawing this weekend, and thought of how cool it would be do simple drawings against a background like this. So that's why I made this book. The book is hand bound, using a japanese stab binding, and then I had leftover ribbon, so I figured I'd make a pretty bow. But then I realized: I suck at tying bows. So instead there's a simple not, and the ribbon hangs nicely. The paper wasn't cut it was torn. 

Also, I punched out the holes using my Binditall machine. 

The edges are inked up with Pigment ink stamps by Clearsnap. Inking the edges gives the whole page a real finished look. You don't have to make this into a sketchbook. You could probably turn it into a scrapbook. 

Crafty Lady

This is a crafty lady. She doesn't go out shopping for clothing, she makes her own. She doesn't need to buy organic soaps, scarves, hats, or jewelry, she makes it.
She'd rather make stuff than buy stuff already made.
She is the crafty lady.

Father's Day-A Poem

You
make me proud
you make me proud to call you
the
father
of my children
you
you make me proud
to have had children with you
to have laughed with you
and loved with you
you
are a real
father, a
king
among peons and cockroaches
you
make me proud
to call you
the father of my children, and secretly
I wish I had a father
like the man you are to our children
and secretly
I wish my dad had given me the kisses and hugs and love
that you give our daughters
secretly
i admire you
though I haven't the nerve to tell you
the
walks in the park
the ice cream cones
the tickle attacks
the trips to the beach and the
late night snacks
the drawing lessons
the day trips to overcrowded city streets that you so detest, you
are
what a father
is supposed to be.
Happy Father's Day
to the father of my children.

Monoprinting Without a Press

Recently, I discovered a new form of printmaking: monoprinting. Now, the handy thing about printmaking is that in general, you are usually able to many prints of one work of art.
With mono printing, you make just one.
Anyway, I did take some photos of the process.
I used:
 a fiberglass plate
Golden fluid acrylics
a chopstick
paper that was already printed on (with some old crappy poems I wrote years ago)
stuff for making print patterns (old sequins thingies and bubble wrap are a couple ideas)

anyway, the pics:

(in truth I used the fiberglass/plastic thingie from my letterpress kit)

That thing is made by Clearsnap. They make it so you can give texture to your polymer clay in a pasta roller thing, but since I don't use polymer clay, I decided to use it to make prints.

You can also draw some swirls with a chopstick.

To get your print, you place the paper carefully over the painted/textured surface, and press carefully (think of how you work a rubber stamp). Lift up the paper, and voila! You get:

Pretty cool, eh? I'm in a "twinchies" book swap, so these pages are going to be made into little books.

Paper Bags get a Makeover

Welcome to the Clearsnap and Trinity Paper Arts Blog Hop!! Our Design Teams have "teamed up" to share layouts, projects, and more featuring Trinity Paper Arts' paper collections and Clearsnap's distinctive inks and accessories. From sports to summer and everything in between, kick your sandals off, grab a cold lemonade and enjoy the inspiration.   Hop along to each blog listed below and leave a comment.

http://clearsnap.blogspot.com
http://trinitypaper.blogspot.com
http://tamisanders.com/
http://taylordconcepts.blogspot.com/
http://thoughtsoftraveling.blogspot.com/
http://stitchcutcreate.blogspot.com/
http://www.arteypoemas.com/
http://www.kitsnbits.blogspot.com/
http://inmyblueroom.blogspot.com/
http://www.rukristin.blogspot.com/
http://sabrinaalery.blogspot.com/
http://www.jaxbeanstalks.blogspot.com/
http://www.hydrangeahippo.com/
http://scrapbookingischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/
http://whatsinalousyananut.blogspot.com/
http://blueyecicle.blogspot.com/
http://www.twotearsinmybucket.blogspot.com/
http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com/

Each comment is an entry into a drawing to win the entire Trinity Paper Arts' "Surf N Swim" Collection!

PLUS, a second winner will receive Smooch Spritz in Gingersnap, Designer Foils in Blue, and Design Adhesives!

For extra entries, post about this blog hop to Facebook, Twitter or your blog! Just leave a comment on either company blog telling us what you did and each comment will count as your extra entry. And now, let's heat up the summer!!



Recently I became a member of the Clearsnap design team. Those of you who follow my old blog should know that.
One of the great privileges of being on their design team (besides the boatload of art supplies, woot!) is something called a blog hop. I guess it's sort of like a bar hop, only virtually, and sober.

Anyway, here's the project that I created for the blog hop!

This is a beautifully hand bound paper bag book, using Trinity Papers as the lovely decorative papers, along with Clearsnap Emboss Gloss, Blue Embossing powder and smooch spritzes in just about every shade imaginable.

And that's that.

Want to Learn Art Journaling?

Right before I had my daughter I had gone into a sort of teaching retirement-in that I wasn't teaching due to the pending baby.
Now that the baby is here and she's 6 months old, I feel like I have time now, to dedicate a bit more time to my art, and to teach.
So when Aurora asked me if I wanted to teach at La Casa Azul Bookstore in Harlem, I jumped at the chance!
Now normally I just teach 2 or 3 hour workshops, but this will be a 6 week course-once a week for 6 weeks. Each week, you'll learn different aspects of art journaling.
I'm really excited because this workshop will teach you EVERYTHING about art journaling. You'll learn basic drawing and doodling, surface design techniques, collage and mixed media, bookbinding, and so much more!
You'll learn so many tips and tricks and techniques from yours truly. At the end, you'll come out with a small book filled with pages of art that you've made yourself.
You don't need to be an artist or even a writer to take this class. You just need to feel adventurous!
Free the artist within!
Click HERE to sign up for the workshop!

There's no Heaven in this Place

I wrote this piece about New York City, my home sweet home. I love it and hate it, all at the same time.

There's no heaven in this place
no
sun that shines
no smiling face
there's no
shining road
only black top
tar pits
taxi cabs and the smell of tobacco
always in the air
the mockingbirds sing the songs of car alarms
even old ladies steal
here

There's no heaven in this place
no
ladies first
no
have my seat
there's no
how can I help you
please or
thank you
only rude voices
only pushing
only taking
only sadness
broken hearts


there's no heaven in this place
this place of lonely hearts
there's no love in this place
this, the
Mecca of competition and thoughts that say,
"I'm better than you" and
"I can do that too"

There's no heaven here
no sun
only rain
and mud
the birds have flown away
now
only grey skies appear
only dark clouds form
no more fairies

there is
no heaven here

An Altered Toffee Tin

Here's a fun crafty project for you.

I created the how to on THIS BLOG. This of course, is a toffee tin, that I sacrificially ate all the toffee, just for this project.
I hope you enjoy the how-to.

The Little Alien Girl

Little alien girl. She has her hands behind her back, and is feeling quite shy. Won't you be her friend?
This little girl is going to be painted. I just need canvas, dammit!

Remember

Remember when I met you? 

It was....about 13 years ago, I 

saw you

at that cafe in New Jersey, I

thought you were 
"one of those" musicians....

I

remember...

and I remember, Kenneth, the waiter 

telling me to stay and listen to folk music, I 

told him:

I'm more a punk rock girl

but I stayed

and years later when my friend Joel Ealy almost took me in, he

told me to introduce myself 

saying, "alex is a great guy", (I

trusted Joel 

quite a bit

so i did
introduce)

one day alex told me, 

"I'd like you to meet my friend, who wants to meet you, maybe you'll like him..."

I met him, and

didn't.

i met you that same day, and 

it 

was 

kismet

I 

fell for you

from the moment I met you, I 

KNEW 

you were meant 

to be mine

at that club called the Lion's Den, 

with your amish inspired glasses, and your

white shirt on, your 

beautiful dark brown "good hair" 

cut short...

your smile

and your 

charm

my dear, our 

love story is one 

of fairy tales, one that is

written about in books that our daughter loves to read, that

love 

at first sight, 

you

put a spell on me,

my dear

I called you

a few days later

after a shitty date with 

some random dude

we

went out 

to a vegetarian restaurant and

you brought me flowers

white roses with 

pink tips.

I knew when I saw you

at bleeker street books

that you 

were going to be 

my husband, the

father of the children I dreamed about

We spent the day together, you

took the PATH train with me

to make sure I got to car safely-

(always such a gentleman)

I loved you even then

and when i cried for the first time

after telling you about the dark shadows of my life

I loved you then too

We walked around the village 

that day of our 

first date, that

day of presidents

years later, we

marched in protests, we

saw Jessie Jackson speak

twice
we
marched down streets with picket signs and protested, shouting,
"No blood for oil!"

remember, my love?

washington, DC

philadelphia

New York

the

weekend trips away

the morning yard sales

the Russian dinner in alphabet city

you 

became

my best friend, my

partner in crime

my love

and when my abuela 

the only thing close to a real mother that I ever had

passed away

you

where there

holding my hand

crying with me

when we saw her breathe her last breathe, as she sang her favorite hymn,

"No hay Dios tan grande como tu...no lo hay...no lo hay..."

do you, my love

remember? 

The 

vows we shared, the

silver rings we exchanged

the

vintage dress I wore,

the suit your friend wore 

he said it resembled a 

prison uniform

remember, my love?

Remember the times we shared

my love?

and each time I wake, 

although sometimes you drive me insane, 

sometimes

I drive you insane, and we 

together

as soul mates

glide down the path

to forever

hand 

in hand

The Coffee Dino

Yesterday, I couldn't make my morning coffee, due to my sleeping late. I woke up just in time to take my eldest to school, and get a coffee at Dunkin' Donuts.

This of course, left me feeling quite ill, since I do like making a good cup of strong coffee. And like a FB buddy of mine said this morning, there is nothing like the ritual of making that first cup of coffee. So, here I am with my second cup of coffee today. Life is good. 

Mixed media postcards

This morning I finished up a set of 10 mixed media postcards for a swap.
I'm not sure if I an done with them:

A Makeover for a New Journal

Recently I bought a dollar store journal and gave it a bit of a makeover.

I posted a how-to on Dollar Store Crafts, so stay tuned on my facebook "like" page for that.

That's that for today. Going to work on some mixed media postcards for a swap that I'm in.