Black and Silver Beaded Crochet Wire Bracelet

Black and Silver Bracelet

Click photos to embiggen.

Detail

This is the second crochet wire bracelet I've made. I learned how to secure the clasp better with this one. I may take the first one apart and do it over now that I've got the hang of it.  The first one doesn't wear as comfortable as the silver and black one. I learned, also, how to crochet in a tighter fashion during this one. It doesn't take much time to make one of these. I will make some more.  I wonder what else besides beads there is that one can crochet onto wire. Any suggestions?

Sun Infused Color

Remember this row of Mason Jars from yesterday filled with fabric and dye baking in the 100 sun?
Watch what happened! I can't believe the variety of color that came out of the mixes. 

The hot weather (100+) has been wiping us out around here but I've found a good use for it.  It's perfect for baking sun infused color into fabric with dye. Using the summer's heat was one of the things I learned at Judy Gula's  dye day and I placed my filled mason jars out in the sun for a day. I kept checking on them outside and loved the feeling of the hot glass with the promise of liquid color inside turning to gold like alchemy. Some of the results were quite surprising. Judy's method is from the book titled "Color by Accident" and there were many happy accidents. The distressed pieces are especially surprising and I am planning on a dye session mainly using cloths that will fray. Burlap and a particular type of cotton did this well.

These pieces  tangled up a lot in the wash, but they are worth it.
I carefully pulled and cut them apart. It was the best surprise of the lot
as I love the disintegrated effect they have. Of course, I had to
 save the tangled cut off pieces too because they were pretty too.

It was a fair amount of work rinsing out the dye and running the fabric through the wash twice, untangling the pieces and ironing them out. It gave me time to imagine what I might do with the fabric. Lot's of ideas are forming for collage work and I am toying with the idea of putting some of the pieces up for sale because I know I'll end up with more than I can use. For now, they hang on a rack, full of possibilities, reminding me of the feeling of this summer sun.

Which is your favorite? 

 

This is a piece of Jacquard Cotton that I printed numbers. I used an
inkjet printer and they held up surprisingly well. I thought for sure the
inkjet would run and muddy, but it didn't.

An old piece of lace.

I used many different textures.

The velveteen on the left is great but the purple/green floral piece
is not my favorite. I will definitely dye more white cotton velveteen.

The old chenille bedspread was found in a thrift store.

A purple/green combo that works better than the one above.
The blue cheesecloth on the right is heavenly.

Dye Day at Artistic Artifacts

Judy Gula, fabric artist and owner of Artitist Artifacts, occasionally holds a Dye Day workshop. I've wanted to go for a long time and saved up hoarded some great fabric to use. At the moment the fabric is waiting in jars in the sun for 24 hours.

We used Procion Dyes and dyed inside wide mouthed mason jars. The dyes are available online at Dharma Trading or Pro Chemical.

Some of them look muddy and some look awesome already. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what I've done.  It's a mystery.

Row of Mason Jars with Fabric and Dye

Looks like a nice purple.

Hot!

This might be my favorite in the jars. I wonder what it will look like when it's dry?
I'll show you soon.

Marie Antoinette and a Valentine

Frock in a Box

Frock in a Box

by theresa mARTin

Detail Frock

Frock in a Box is the name of a recent swap at paperwhimsy. Don't you love the name Frock in a Box? About 20 people participated and we didn't trade, but were assigned names so that everyone who made a Frock received a frock. These photos are the frock I made which was sent out to Carolyn H.

Julie's Dream - Mixed Media Assemblage

Julie's Dream

Detail

Detail

Detail

Here is another piece for the show in June at Glenview Mansion Gallery in Rockville MD. A friend named Julie gave me the horse to use, the wood is from an ex-birdhouse that my uncle built, and there is a tin type and a washer in the hanging magnifying glass. The chain reminds me of old swing set chain before they became heavy duty and 'safe'.

Five Dreams - Mixed Media Assemblage for Glenview Show June 5, 2011

Five Dreams

 In addition to the collages I've been posting here on the blog, I will be showing several mixed media assemblage pieces at the upcoming show. This piece is 5" x 11" and hangs independently on the wall.  The show opens June 5, 2011 at Glenview Mansion Gallery in Rockville, MD

Five Dreams Detail

Five Dreams Detail

Preview - Orange 8 Glenview Gallery June 2011

Full View 14" x 16" Mixed Media Collage

Detail

Detail

Detail 

Orange can be harsh or it can be happier than yellow. I started loving orange a few years ago. I think it evokes a visceral reaction - probably because it's such an all or nothing color and so close to the sun. One either loves it or hates it.  Do you have a new color in your palette or wardrobe that you are surprised to find you like?

Published in Somerset Apprentice Magazine

Inside the current issue of Somerset Apprentice are two articles by me - one about the art made for the Disintegration Project and the other about a mixed media piece. In the articles I explain how I made each piece. It's in the bookstores now.

Mixed Media Dollhouses by Tally Oliveau and Julie Molina

Coming soon to a bookstore near you!

Available now on Amazon 

Here is a sample of one of the rooms I worked on.

Here is a preview courtesy of Amazon of one of the dollhouses in the book. 

 

Tally Oliveau is a collage and mixed media artist and has been widely published in Somerset Studio, Belle Amoire, Somerset Memories, and Somerset Home. Tally is the president of Papier Studio, a greeting card company. Her artistic cards are sold in stores all over the country. She lives and teaches in Los Angeles, CA.

Julie Molina is a collage and mixed media artist. She has been published in several of Stampington’s publications including Somerset Studios Magazine and her work is included in 1000 Artist Journal Pages by Dawn DeVries Sokol. Julie lives in Los Angeles, CA.

 

I was fortunate to have been invited into a dollhouse group by Tally and Julie. They had the idea of getting a group of artists together to create several mixed media dollhouses. We chose themes such as an undersea house, and a castle among others. Each person was assigned one room of each house. We worked on this over the course of a year. Each month we finished our rooms and mailed them off to Julie. With hard work and determination Julie and Tally found a publisher - Quarry Books and it's about to be available in bookstores March 1. I can't wait to see it! Thanks Tally and Julie for including me in a project that was challenging and fun. 

Delivery Day Glenview Mansion Show

John and I are sharing this beautiful room. You can see his Trojan Horse, three of my tiny tin pieces over the fireplace, and his Samurai Warrior piece. The windows were open and the curtains were blowing inwards. Glenview is such a beautiful venue to show artwork!

Here's a glimpse of the grounds through an arch.

Another view of the peaceful grounds.

The Paris Stage piece that was on the cover of Somerset Studio Magazine is being exhibited for the first time.

Here's a good shot of John's Trojan Horse piece.

This is pretty cool - I salvaged some old rusty cages and three of the pieces are hung from one. The photo does not do it justice - you really have to see it up close and personal, but it gives you an idea of the installation.

The Stately Mansion!

Here's a shot of lots of my pieces on the floor after unpacking.
Thank you to Julie and Anne who were so enthusiastic and hung each piece with great care.