Karen's Muse and Musings

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.

The Chaffinch

Here's my latest fabric collage featuring one of my painted birds. This little guy is a chaffinch. Now this one will definitely not be showing up at my feeders because he is European. He's very common in Western Europe, and, according to Wikipedia, he's the second most common bird in the British Isles.

Baltimore Oriole Is Here!

Baltimore Orioles usually don't make it to our area, so I painted one. They are very handsome birds, aren't they?

Every Inchie Monday — Fancy

Fancy schmancy! That's the phrase that came to mind when I read the theme of this week at Every Inchie Monday. (Yes, I know it's Tuesday. I'm a day late — what can I say?) I chose this image from one of my vintage cabinet cards. This little girl was definitely dressed in some fancy finery. And it is only 1 inch square. I just didn't think you could see it at that size!

Fly, Little Bird!

Since I really need to start cooking dinner, I don't have the time to expound on this fabric piece I just finished. Hopefully, it speaks for itself. I will point out that the bird is a Lincoln Sparrow, painted by me.