The Hills are Alive with the Sound of..... Mixed Media!

I am a huge fan of The Sound of Music!

And since I live in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains,

you might be able to hear me making a huge mess as I dabble in mixed media!

Now just in case you were worried...

after recently returning from the dead

followed by my temporary freezing to death, 

I am happy to report that I am very much alive!!!

Last year, starting about a month late, 

I joined the Documented Life Project (DLP)

in which I used a Moleskine weekly planner

to attempt as best as I could to furnish evidence or documents

(or just play with mixed media)

that I was indeed living!

(all year long!)

So.... 

in order to once again verify/substantiate/confirm

that I am indeed living (still!),

I am participating in the DLP 2015!

Most of the participants are using 

Dyan Reaveley's Dylusion Journal

and so am I!

This is the cover of my journal...

Inside the cover, 

I taped down two photos...

one of the display of pastels at an art store

and

one of my studio...

Our first challenge was to use book paper 

and our journal prompt was to be our own goal keeper...

  

I listed my goals under the tags.

My 2015 word is Breathe (that should help to sustain my life, right?)

 essentially.... to let go.

Our second challenge was gesso 

Who can live without it?!.... not I!
(Though not really essential to life!)

and our journal prompt was the quote below...

These pages used a variety of mixed media supplies 

including (but not limited to)

gesso, book pages, tissue paper, stencils, spray ink, markers galore, rubber stamps, stamp pad, watercolors, acrylic paints, pencils and washi tape.

The essentials of mixed media that seem to sustain my artful life these days!

Have a great weekend!

Coming up for air!!!

I keep thinking that I must blog!!! 

Clearly, thinking and doing are two very separate actions!!!!

I have been so busy lately

that I barely have time to breathe!!!

Where to start?!!!

Well, after I snow dyed some fabric, 

I decided to use this piece.... 

for the Mosaic Tiles Quilt Along...

(I think there is a shadow from the dried up remains of our hosta plants... but I didn't dare venture out further into the snow!)

I haven't made a pillow for sooooo long and like so many of my projects,

 it is not for me,

 but rather for a special friend. 

Then....I have also been working on Life Book 2014...

learning some wonderful drawing techniques 

and having so much fun!

(hmmmm... this one has a copyright on it! How did I do that?)

I also made a birthday post card for my mother's birthday

with machine applique/free motion stitching, stamping,

and a little photo editing printed on fabric...

But I am not always at home!!!

Nature Boy and I went to our local art museum

to see a wonderful exhibit...

Ansel Adams "Early Works"-

gorgeous photography!!!

There was also an exhibit of "Photo Secession"-

a technique used by photographers at the turn of the 20th century

to make their photographs look like paintings.

And...

I am knitting my second pair of socks...

(these are for Mr. U)

As for the rest of my waking hours....

well, Sugar Baby decided a week ago

to return to public school after 4 1/2  years of homeschooling...

So what have I been doing with my newly acquired 

free time (Nature Boy doesn't require too much of my time)???!!

Cleaning the house!!!! 

Seriously???!

(well it's either spring cleaning a lot late or a little early)

 My cousin thinks our house looks Brady Bunch like..

not surprising, since this is a 1970s kitchen that still looks like the 1970s!

I am still going to the gym before the sun rises...

and when I have a minute,

sitting in my clean kitchen

I  enjoy watching the birds share meals at the bird feeder...

(handmade by Nature Boy)

and finally, when Mother Nature dumps on us,

I have been known to pick up a shovel... 

So you see, I may not have blogged...

but I have managed fill my waking hours with enough stuff to make blogging worthwhile!!!

Now, I'll just take a deep breath and off I go....!

a quick how-to

I started off my journal spread by applying gesso to both pages with a paintbrush.

In order to avoid getting the gesso all over, 

I typically place waxed paper under both pages that I am applying the gesso (or paint for that matter) to

so I don't get too much on the other pages 

(life is messy!)

For this spread,

I used my Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble crayons

I colored the circles of varying size

and then added water with a water brush (you can find a brush at Joann etc) 

The background is also crayon with water.

I felt that the spread was a little too bright for my liking,

so I splatted on some paint (Golden Titan Buff) and 

rubbed it around with a brayer. 

I had the perfect collection of stamps ...

so I stamped a variety of circles and stars

but found some of the stamps didn't turn out too well 

(maybe my paint wasn't dry enough)

I added just a wee bit of texture on the side

(actually I also added a sticker but it wouldn't stay on 

so maybe the painted surface was not ink/sticker friendly?)

and of course,

I added my favorite.... text!

Ahhh......

Yes....

when living with three kids (ages 19, 16, and 13)..

there is bound to be drama!

I like to make my text bold and highlighted.

I also added some spray ink with a stencil

and a few shapes by dabbing ink over a stencil.

There you have a simple art journal spread.

I dabble

dab·ble

 [dab-uhl] Show IPA verb, -bled, -bling.

verb (used without object)

to work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner: to dabble in literature.

or say, in watercolor...

my first attempts...

this week...

yielded these dabs...

As my mother says,

a little dab will do you!