Mail Art - evelope

I joined a group to swap art journal pages, but the group is a Face book group, and I just cannot maneuver around there.  But, I had already signed on to swap some ephemera, so wanted to get that commitment out of the way before bailing out.      Here is the envelope I sent the goodies in.     Using up scraps and stuff from messy work table.      BTW - it's cleaned off again.   LOL   

Off it went and in return, aen envelope full of ephemera arrived to my delight.      

Playing art catch up.

Yesterday Frances, Trevor and I went downtown to pick up our work from the Mexican Heritage Center.    Here are some pics of the show in their gallery.

This was the Art Against Violence exhibit.    i was really impressed with the spaciousness, lighting, and the way the show was hung.   they did a great job.     

Our mixed media group has been meeting every week in January and will do the same in Feb.    It's a great way to stay energized as a group and individually.     One of our founding members was able to attend last week, and a new member is now on board.   Another newer member who claims she is not an artist, although she has won several ribbons for her collage work in juried shows - is getting used to us and I think will be a  good addition to our group.
I think we are enjoying the weekly format so much we might go on into March with it as well.

march is our group show at the gallery, and I spent all day today designing the post card announcements, and tying up loose ends with the members.      it's been a long day sitting down, don't ask why I'm back at the computer again.   LOL    

This week I mailed off two  sets of post cards for swaps.  I think it was 26  total.    One of them had to be hand carved, and both were winter themes, so I used the same image for both sets.      Here is the polar bear stamp I carved, stamped over vintage music pages from an old book of hymns.   









Here is the little owl rubber stamp I carved.   

Next I want to show you two post cards I recwieved this week.

The colorful one which was a RAK from my friend and mixed media group member Barbara is so bright and cheery.  Thanks Barbara, it made my day.     Ant it was one of those dreary foggy days! 













This next one is from Beth, one of the CA Art Girls who swapped Winter Themed post cards.   It's done with aluminum duct tape and gesso over shapes that give the texture. .   it's a very cool look.   In fact, it's downright chilly.    Thanks, Beth.

Autumn post card swap

It's that time, when the CA Art Girls swap post cards.   Seasonal.   Fall.     Which  this year sped into winter in a blink.    We didn't have nearly enough time to enjoy the beautiful leaves and the light coming in at such a beautiful angle making long shadows on the streets.        Here are a couple of the lovely post cards I received.

 The frist one is from Margaret who used the image of the fall leaves as inspiration.

 This was done by Terri with alcohol inks over an image she printed on a metallic paper.   











This is a Thanksgiving card from Phyllis, who cut out
leaf shapes from some painting experiments.  


 

 This one with dried leaves from a Japanese Maple is from Beth.    

 I should have posted this last month, it is a Halloween card from Nancy.
It's never too late to show a guy in a chicken costume.  





















Here are two I scanned together.   The upper one is a painting of leaves by Roberta with alight metallic glazed over them.


Paris in the Fall is from Debbie.    



Thanks gals, I love each card, and they way you all interpreted the season differently in your art.








This last picture is the ones I made to send out.  I used a
beautiful fabric that had gold artichokes and writing on it.  

First thing I did was to free style stitched leaves on each one then went back and painted the leaves with metallic paints.  Finally, I handstitched to the cards.   I had the fabric for several years and never found the right place to use it.     This seemed like a good time.

Playing catch up

Oh my, I'm way behind in posting much here and I glanced around and found some things I'd like to share here.    Some are things I made, some are people I know and places I've been.     

This first pic is my granddaughter and her creation.     she cut up a red t shirt and pinned in the red white and blue ties as straps.    My job was to stitch it for her.    She'd better wash it by hand, it will never hold up in washing machine, but the look is cute.   

 This pic was taken of friend Charlene who did a demo of transfer techniques for photographs at the Stockton Art Leage this month.  there was a good turnout as usual, and I was totally surprised by how many artists didn't know anything about transfers.     They were very interested and appreciative.    Mixed media gals use transfers all the time, but for watercolorists, oil painters and photographers, this was unexplored territory.    

 these next two pics are from a trip to visit Pat and Char at Pat's house in Folsom.  The little plants are lantanas.   The colors look so good together I had to take a snap.

 Here's just part of the group that got together to make altered vintage tags at Pat's house.    I didn't get my camera out in time to catch the rest before they drove off.     Thanks to Rosemary our chauffeur for hauling us around and all our stuff.    It was a good time to visit in the car.   We took a road I had not been on in decades, so that was fun too.      Foothills are so lovely regardless of the time of year.  Right now they are golden.

 the post cards I swapped out with the Carving Consortium were done on the opposite side of recycled cards.  I just thought I'd show the address side of one.   these were all from my aunt's stash of cards from friends.    My art is on the other side.  I showed them earlier.

 this is a stitched face on an old napkin.      It's large enough I'm using it as a cover for my sewing machine which is always set up.  And it usually has red thread in it.    LOL    My favorite color for stitching on paper or fabrics.   

 this is a picture of the shoulder/arm area of one of my favorite blouses.  I bought it years ago at the White Pines Flea Market.  I bought it because I loved the linen print.  Seems to be made of tea towels.  Everyone is wild about it when I wear it.      My friend Rosemary made  me another one from a vintage tablecloth, but I loaned it to Pat so she can make one for herself.    I particularly like the splash of yellow under the arms.      

the next pic is me modeling and  taking a "selfie" for Rosemary, who plans to teach her sewing group how to make these shirts.   it looks pretty cute over a turtle neck also, but this one has such sweet summery/springy colors I just slip into it.   Looks really good with white pants or white skirt.

BTW it took ages for me to crop around this pic - the background was such a mess I didn't want it to distract.    I need to get out the pad and pen for doing this work instead of using the cursor to move the photoshop elements tools around.       I have not tried them with  my  new computer set up.       

summer post card swaps

One of my personal pleasures is checking the mail to see if something fun has come from Amazon, from Ebay, or even better, Mail Art.    The California Art Girls are still sending summer swap cards.    Here are a few of the new ones that came in recently.

This first one, the athletes are from Terri.    

 Near the sea is from Margaret.









Splash is from Maria.

Our Summer home is from Terrie.





Have a happy mail day at your house.    BTW I did order the larger size gelli plate from Amazon.    I am going to break it in soon.     

post cards coming and going

here are some of the delightful post cards I've received lately.     

The beach scene done in watercolor is by Debbie for the California Art Girl summer swap.     it's delicate and precious with the tiny little footprints behind the people.






This charming bicycle post card was stamped over a map and then hand colored by Beth.   The addition of the stamps makes it pop.  

 You may recognize this next one from Roberta, who painted the face over a piece of something recycled.  some paint, some scribbles with pencils and crayons, and here it is.     i suspect it is on a grocery shopping bag.     Good for you, girl.  

The armadillo is from Suzanne Denker from the Carving Consortium summer swap.    The only parameter is to use a hand carved rubber stamp.     I love her little armadillo.   Using it in a repeat pattern makes such a good design. 

These next two are ones I've done to send for the Carving consortium summer swap, and the second one is for the Mail Me Some Art monoprint swap.    We were asked to use the gelli plate if we have one, or any other printing surface.    I have the 6 x 6 inch gelli plate which works well for post cards.     I pressed my chicken stamp into the paint on the surface of the gelli plate and then pressed it onto a recycled post card.     On the right side, I used a stencil and three colors of paint on the gelli plate.    Printed several layers.




Here is the last one using only stencil and paints on another recycled card.   The gelli plate is fun to play with, cleans up easily and is a big favorite tool now with many artists.   There are all kinds of you tube demos and web sites which show videos of how to use them.  I only used craft paints and a little gesso .  I'll send them with mail labels on the other side with the postage and return address label.     soon as I get to the post office for more stamps.     

if you want to play with a gelli plate and don't want to invest in a commercial one, there are a number of good videos on you tube with recipes and demos of how to make your own.    A few of my friends tried them and had varying degrees of success.    For me, I like the commercial plate with it's container to hold it safely.    I've had it for several years.   It has not deteriorated in any way.   Some of my friends have the larger sizes which are awesome, but also quite expensive.   The small size fits my studio and the type of work I do with it.   But some day I may find I need the larger one..... you never know.          

Post cards k- incoming

My mail box has been delightful lately with post cards from art friends.      Here are some of my favorites.

This first artsy one is from Beth, made on the back of a vintage Bingo card. Beth is one of the CA ARTGIRLS.

This one is from Jennie Hinchcliff.     I'ts always a delight to see what she sends.

 This stylish spring card is from CA ARTGIRL Margaret.

 This cutie came from my friend Norma in Florida.

 This came from CAARTGIRL Peggy.   Remember these sweet little girls?

 This collaged card came from Punwit in New Hampshire, using a recycled box for base..

 This one came back to me with changes from Susanne in Sacrament.    The bird was not there when I sent it to her earlier.    

This card is from CA ARTGIRL Terrie.  On the back is a  photo of her beautiful, loving dog Jack who just passed away.      I'm so sorry to hear that because he was just a gentle soul and a fine animal friend.

This is another Spring card from Beth. She is the one who kickstarts our post card swaps in the CA ARTGIRL group.      

This last one is from Roberta.     She has been painting in styles of different artists so it's fun to see how she adapts some of their styles into her own.  Visit her blog by clicking on her name, and even pop over to her Etsy shop to see more of her work.  



You can see why I look forward to mail time here.   It's not all bills and political things, or requests for donations.   LOL    Sometimes it's ART.


Thanks for the mail art, my friends.

Simple post cards

I wanted to send a little thinking of you post card to a friend, and so made three.   LOL     Today I'm going to paint  more along this line as it was relaxing and fun, and I have more people I want to send them to.        Here's the group of three and the one I sent off today.

What's in the mail box today?

You never know.    i've recently been in a swap for a winter post card.   Here are a few I received from that, and some from other friends.

Cock Robin is a printed post card from a collage by Fast Eyes.

 Make your Mark is from Carroll Woods, using Gocco a printing set.

 Baby, it's cold outside! is from Roberta Schmidt, showing herself and hubby enjoying the cold weather.

 This winter scene is from Punwit.   Iguess this is pretty much the kind of winter they have been having in New Hampshire.

 The sun climbs higher is from one of the California Art Girls, Maria Mosch.     

 This post card is from Beth, another California Art Girl.   Unfortunately you have to get the light from just the right angle to see little subtle techniques.   

 Retirement is from Susanne Ventura, all the way from Florida.

This  last winter card is from Debbie.  I'm not sure if you can see the textured effect using a stencil and heavy compound.










Thanks all for the fun cards.     I'm making a new set that will soon be sent out.          

OOps.  one more came today with an owl on it.  This one is from Margaret from the CA Art Girls group.