Karen's Muse and Musings

Coming out of the funk

So, have you missed me? I know at least a few blog followers out there have noticed my absence because they have contacted me. Sometime in August, I totally lost any interest in art or blogging. It could have been the heat (which thankfully is now a thing of the past — soon I'll wish it would warm up!) or perhaps just a burnout. I don't know. I'm not sure I'm really out of the funk yet, but I have created a few things this week.

I painted three trees this week. The first two are spooky. As my friend Trinka said, "Yikes! They're creepy."

These ghostly collage/paintings are for Lisa on my OhMyGothic yahoo group as part of our 4"x4" fatbook page swap. I had so much fun painting these trees — imagine that! actually having fun doing art — that I decided to paint another tree, not spooky this time, for Trinka's 4x4 page.

If you follow my blog, you may remember that way back in August I wrote that my next post would be my 400th and I would offer a giveaway to celebrate the occasion. My math was off (that's not surprising) and this is actually my 399th post. So stay tuned. Next post I will offer a piece of my art to one commenter. I will do my best not to wait another two whole months before my next post!

Lovely Day

So, I've had the loveliest day completing a course for my real estate license CE requirements. The course was Construction Details and Trends, and it was absolutely fascinating. Can you say sarcasm? I knew you could.

Now that's behind me, and it's on to more fun endeavors. I am joining a knit along sponsored by Joyce of Elliebelly. It's called the Elliebelly Knit-n-Telly. (I don't care how look at it, that's a much better name than Construction Details and Trends!) Click here for more info on the knit along. Here is the gorgeous Elliebelly yarn I'm using.

I am going to knit some soakers for my sweet grandson Patrick, almost 5 months old now. I don't usually post much about my knitting, but I will post photos as I go along. Here is a beautiful photo of Patrick and his mommy, Dana, taken recently at the beach.

This is my 399th post! In my next post, I will celebrate reaching 400 posts by giving something away. Come back!

Every Inchie Monday — Nest

Nest is today's theme at Every Inchie Monday. My art time has become so limited since I babysit my two grandsons 2-1/2 days a week that Every Inchie Monday has become Every Now and Then Inchie Monday. For this one, I cut a 1" square from a textured background I made a while ago. I sculpted a nest with lokta paper twine and glue, then I made tiny eggs from polymer clay. I used a mixture of turquoise and pearl, then dabbed a bit of brown paint on them. I made the photo here larger so you could see it better, but it's all pretty tiny.

Another 4x4

My second page for the 4x4 fatbook swap is for Leslie Anderson whose theme is "Wings". Naturally I was very happy when I saw her theme — another chance to use one of the birds I recently painted. I wanted to add a special touch so I created little egg "buttons" out of polymer clay.

Whew!

This is my third week of keeping TWO grandchildren two and a half days a week. Bobby will be 3 in September, and Patrick (or Butterbean as I affectionately call him) is almost 4 months old. I definitely know why God's plan is for young women to have the babies. It is hard work, but I am getting into the swing of it now. I am not as wiped out tonight as I have been on other nights after they have gone home. I am preciously guarding the days they are not here, hoping to use them for art and sewing. Fortunately, I am participating in a fairly easy project that came together pretty quickly. It is for my Painted Page group, and the assignment is to create 2 journal pages — the backgrounds, that is. Andi will take everyone's pages and assemble them into a book. When we receive our books, we can then journal on the pages. Here are my backgrounds.

I confess that I am not much of a journaler. I have started art and writing journals before, only to abandon them shortly thereafter. I'm hoping that having all these pretty backgrounds prepared by my friends will inspire me.

From Skinny to Fat

If you follow my blog, you know about my Oh My Gothic group. We formed about 3 years ago to do a collaborative art swap each year. First year we made gothic arch-shaped pages, and the second year we made house-shaped pages. Last year we did skinny book pages, 4" wide by 8" tall. Now we are creating fat book pages, a 4" square. We are wising up in that we are now only seriously arting up one side. Still, I managed to be late. The page above is my June page, and it's for the very creative Lenna. It's a fabric collage stitched onto watercolor paper. You may recognize the bird. It's a scan of the Lincoln sparrow I painted a few weeks ago. The words (oh, by the way, Lenna's theme is quotes) are from Emily Dickinson.

Hope is the thing with feathers   
That perches in the soul,   
And sings the tune without the words,   
And never stops at all,   
 
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm   
That could abash the little bird   
That kept so many warm.   
 
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,   
And on the strangest sea;        
Yet, never, in extremity,   
It asked a crumb of me.

Lenna puts together the most amazing swaps. You should check out her swap blog here if you love to create and swap art.

Father's Day Spread

Yes, I know Father's Day was last weekend, but I just finished this spread for the Holidays Altered Book round robin. This month I have Jo Ann Grissom's book, and I asked her if she had any vintage photos of her father I could use to make it more personal for her. The timing was perfect because she had just come across some old photos she had never seen before.

It was fun to work with a masculine theme for a change, and it gave me a chance to use some of those Tim Holtz supplies I've been hoarding, like the filmstrip ribbon below.

For some reason these layouts and colors remind me of my grandfather. He was a mechanic and an avid photographer. I remember going into his darkroom when I was little; everything in there was in these colors. I have an old camera that he actually built, and I'm thinking of taking it to the Antiques Roadshow. (Warren and I have tickets in August.) I know it won't be of any great value except to me and the rest of my family, but I'm always seeing a lot of interest in American handmade items on the show, so it might be interesting to see what they have to say about it.

A Cute Birdie with a Funny Name

This is my latest fabric collage featuring my painting of a little British bird, the long-tailed tit. I made a slight mistake when painting him by making his eye a bit too large, but it had the effect of making him quite cute, at least in my opinion. I have been wanting to mix in some paper into these collages, so the postmark and stamp are from an old envelope, dated 1906.

 

Sing Little Bird

Here's my little Carolina Wren all set up in his new home. This is the sixth bird fabric collage I've put together in the last week and a half, but this one is smaller, about 5" x 6". I love this small size. Also, this one does not have the original painting, but a scan of my original painting printed on fabric. The wren is standing on a "branch" of wired ribbon that I ruffled. Now, unfortunately, I have to take a break from these because I have a couple of art swap commitments to fulfill.

A Bit of Whimsy

This is my whimsical rufous-sided towhee also called the eastern towhee. I was happy to find a use for those pretty orange buttons because they are pretty special, being vintage bakelite. I have decided not to put a twig at the top of this one, but I am not sure yet how I will hang it. I will think of something. The quote is from Emily Dickinson (who else?), and here is her complete poem.

A bird came down the walk:   
He did not know I saw;   
He bit an angle-worm in halves   
And ate the fellow, raw.   
 
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,   
And then hopped sidewise to the wall   
To let a beetle pass.   
 
He glanced with rapid eyes   
That hurried all abroad,—   
They looked like frightened beads, I thought   
He stirred his velvet head   
 
Like one in danger; cautious,   
I offered him a crumb,   
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home   
 
Than oars divide the ocean,   
Too silver for a seam,   
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,   
Leap, plashless, as they swim.

Soon I will be selling these bird fabric collages or quilties in my Etsy shop, but if you are interested in purchasing one, contact me.