Going Home- Part 4

Having been wiped out the last several days from this miserable cold, today I felt somewhat better so I did some art........ on the couch. I showed you this a few days ago where I have used my own original drawings from elementary school. I had torn them up and glued them down and added more papers to it. It dawned on me as I was playing some more with this and trying to give it some new life, that I went to see my old elementary school when I went home. Even as I was taking this picture from the car, I was flooded with memories. This old building was where I did these drawings. It was originally the High School and then as the town expanded it became the Willow Avenue Elementary School, which it was known to me. So, here are the piece once again with some new life to it. I like it better. I think it could make a cool children's card or poster. What do you think? Stay tuned for more of my trip home............... and thanks for stopping by.....................Jo

Going Home -Part 3

I have been wiped out from a cold I seem to have come down with as soon as I returned from N.Y. It has been all I could do to get through the work week this week. I have not had a cold in a couple of years so this one seems to have knocked me down pretty hard. It seems all I want to do is sleep,eat and blow my nose. I haven't made much art this week so I know I must not feel very well. So I don't loose the momentum or the incentive, I wanted to show you a few more pics of my trip. The area that Caffe Machiatto is in is undergoing some renewal and I was intrigued by some of the buildings, wrought iron, porticoes etc. And then I spied something dangling in the window - the right window. Where I treated myself to this. Sumi ink, bamboo brushes and pen. And had fun playing with them............ Thanks for stopping by..................................... More of the journey home to come................jo

Going Home - Part 2

I left you yesterday at the Caffe Machiatto in Newburgh, N.Y. I went to the restroom before leaving. I went in and immediately forgot what I was there for. I dug in my bag for my camera.. Look! Accordion books! NOthing like feeling very watched over and protected from the front and the "behind." On a completely different note, when I was on the train I was working out of a very small journal, given the confines of the seat so when I got home I felt the need to do nothing which required much effort, planning or thinking. Some time ago I found some original drawings and spelling tests of mine from elementary school. I had torn them up and glued them down in a larger journal thinking some day I might actually do something with them. I hadn't until yesterday. I found some more original torn paper and washi tape and a few stamps and had a ball. I'm not sure if I will add anything more to it but I rather like it. The flowers are from recycled painted baby wipes. I think this is perfect for week five of Aimee's glue it Tuesday once more. I love her site. I always feel like a little kid again visiting there and that makes me feel good. I think I will try to incorporate a bit more cutting and gluing simply for the relaxation it brings. Tomorrow I will continue with my journey home. Thanks for visiting. Please come again..................Jo

Going Home - Part One.

My trip home to New York was full of color, of emotion, a flood of memories. I will share some of that over the next several posts. I took the train so I was able to relax, read, and do some art, although the departing trip was brought to a halt as we neared the state of Delaware due to the train running over something on the tracks. My own recollection of this was hearing what sounded like the train running over something thick, like branches or wood and within a few seconds an unpleasant smell of something burning. To me it smelled like burning flesh, bones. It was very sad and a bit depressing when it was confirmed, announced, after the train slowed down and stopped, and sat on the tracks, that it had, in fact been, a body that had been run over, an apparent suicide, a woman. I cannot imagine what was going through the conductor's eyes or mind. The trip was delayed about two hours having to wait for the appropriate police and other authorities to show up and still more time waiting for another train where 300 of us had to make that transfer. Moving on.............. I grew up in the Hudson Valley area of New York State, specifically in Orange County and more specifically, in Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson. The pictures I am showing you throughout the next several blog posts are both in and around Cornwall. Our first stop is here where we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast/brunch. I did not see this on the internet until just now at this writing. You do have to check out the photos on their web site. Here are some of mine. And being more of aware of colors, designs and shapes.......... and having a sweet tooth.......... There was some awesome art work on the walls although I did not take any pictures. When I went to use the rest room before leaving I felt as if I was walking in to an art gallery. I forgot for a few moments what I was there for and whipped out my camera. You will need to check back with me tomorrow to see them..........................Thanks for spending a few minutes with me.......................xoxoxo Jo

Update

Aimee is hosting yet another week of glue it Tuesday. I have had a very busy, stressful week but have managed to at least fill one side of a file folder which is my contribution for this week. Again, these paper pieces are from my own art papers and I will probably do some more on top of what's there. Thank goodness for little snippets of time in the morning in the van. And speaking of the van, the van has been laid to rest somewhere else with a transmission that was eroding, corroding, with little metallic flakes dropping into the pan, not exactly reliable etc. you get the picture, which has led me to use much of the week to car hunt, which has left little time for creativity. I now have a more reliable large enough vehicle in which to continue my morning art projects. And with that, also comes a new car payment which I have not had in at least six years. Oh, well. Such is life. Interesting to learn that the salesperson who helped me find a car is also an artist, so you can imagine the conversation moving back and forth between art and cars. I also have enrolled in a workshop here I would like to say I have something to show for this participation but at this time I do not. It has tons of workshops that are on line 24/7 through January 1, 2014. I feel it is an exciting opportunity to learn from some wonderful artists at my own leisure. I hope to be showing you more projects from that in the future. Midweek I am taking a long overdue trip to N.Y and NYC to see some dear friends and family so I look forward to relaxing on the train and doing some art. I thank you for all your comments and support. Please do visit again................jo

Landscapes

Do you find that your art changes depending on what is going on inside of you? Do you tend to produce art that is happy, bright with smiling big-eyed girls and flowers because that's what we want to see, or are expected to present to the viewer? Perhaps a better question might be do you think your art reflects what is going on deep down inside you? I think we forget that we work through things with art, art saves us, art heals, and it's ok to show the dark, scary, angry serious or sad faces and colors. It's real and the stuff going on inside of us is real. I happened to come across a piece I had done in 2009. I didn't consider myself an artist then. I said to myself,"I'm just doodling." I wasn't into drawing faces (like i am now) but my gut and head were spilling over with a lot of "stuff." I wasn't thrilled with it at the time. It wasn't happy, gay or bright. But it was real and it said a helluvalot. And as I look at it today I am amazed at the power of it. Art and art journaling can be that way. Sometimes she felt large standing on the outside watching her on the inside(It's hard to see all the words.) Forward to now. The landscape within me is quite different. The face is still not a smiling face but different colors, a different place, a different time. I stumbled upon a place where there is a theme once a month for art journalers. This month's theme is The Landscape Within Me," which is what sparked this post. What does your landscape look like today? Thanks for stopping by....................................................jo

Too Strange

Seems very strange that 14 days ago when I was snug in my upstairs studio while this was happening outside. And today it was 90 degrees and everything is blooming. For lack of anything else to show you tonight I wanted to show you again what was on my art table a year ago today. I believe all of these became mail art. And I remember getting this sudden urge to plant color in the grass on a beautiful morning, so I set about strategically placing these around my back yard. I think I was playing around with resists-and texture with gesso and rubber cement on these pages. I remember combing the gesso with a wide toothed comb on the purple page. I should find all these pages and make them backgrounds for journal pages.......Duh! Like right now as I have this sudden urge to go find them. Thank you so much for all your comments regarding the previous post. I hope you've had an ok if not better than ok day..............please visit again........................................xoxo......... jo

New Faces

I wanted to share a few more of my 5am faces with Pan Pastels. I usually don't have any plan in mind. They just seem to come out of me. And I am needing to work on shading and shadows and stuff..I would hope that will come in time...... but I am having fun playing with these smooooth rich and creamy pastels. Stay tuned and thanks for popping in......................................................................Jo