Parts of Art

For those of you that want to be traveling artist gypsies like me, here is my show schedule for Fall and Winter 2011: October 15 & 16 Cocoa Village Craft Fair, Cocoa October 22 Winter Garden Farmers Market, Orlando October 23 Lake Eola Farmers Market, Orlando October 29 Riverside Arts Market, Jacksonville October 30 Lake Eola Farmers Market, Orlando November 5 $ 6 Halifax Art Festival, Daytona November 12 Great Day in the Country, Oveido November 19 & 20 Eau Gallie Art Festival, Melbourne November 26 & 27 100 Artists Show, St. Petersberg December 10 & 11 Anna Maria Island Winterfest When you go to any one of these markets, look for my colorful and funky booth. Believe me, it is one of a kind, just like the jewelry! And it is positively full of new stuff!! If you simply cannot make it to any of my shows, but still MUST have a Parts of Art jewelry piece, there's still a way!!...

She came into my booth at one of my art markets, and she and I both knew she was going to acquire a Parts of Art jewelry piece. When a woman enters my booth, she is not barraged with my complete inventory. I don't want it to look like a flea market. I have four display boards that have a selection of pieces in seasonal color combinations. I also have a few pieces on mannequins, so my clients can get an idea how the piece harmonizes with clothing. What I do is offer a short explanation of the jewelry- what its humble origins are, and how each piece is one of a kind. If she continues to show interest, I will ask her questions. "What colors do you like to wear? Do you like the dangle style earrings or something more conservative?" Once we engage in conversation, I can quickly find something in my inventory that I think she might like. Sometimes it is an immediate connection, and other times it becomes a treasure hunt. This woman and her dear husband were sure ...

I'm standing at the door of the senior painting studio, watching the student artists at their easals. It's 1977 and I am an Art Education major student who wants nothing more than to be in there painting just like them. I have never painted before, but I just know that once I'm in there with the collective wisdom of the professors and the infinite inspiration of God, that my talent will overflow and I will have found where I have always belonged. Fast forward another semester. I am in the senior painting studio, struggling with my inability and lack of knowledge, and mustering the confidence against all intimidation to find ways to put the damn paint on the canvas and make it look like I knew what I was doing. I longed for my teacher to sit down and impart to me the secrets of painting. There were other students who she favoured, upon whom she bestowed her attention and praise. But all I could get from her was "finish this one and start the next one". I h...

Olive green: Neutral brownish green, similar to unripe olives, the fruit of the olive tree, an evergreen with leathery leaves and small whitish flowers, a native of western Asia, cultivated since ancient times. If you were to mix this as a paint color, here's a recipe: 8 parts Zinc White 3 parts Cobalt Blue 2 parts Cadmium Yellow Medium 1 part Burnt Umber What makes it so special? Olive green is a muted green. As you can see from the recipe, it is made from white, blue yellow and brown. We know from the color wheel exercise that blue plus yellow makes green, and that if you add white it becomes a beautiful delightful tint of green. But to mute it, to make it more earthy and natural, and to truly earn the name of OLIVE, it needs more. It needs to reach across the color wheel and grab some red. The recipe calls for burnt umber, and if you are familiar with paint names you know that burnt umber has a reddish cast. Not as much as burnt sienna, but enough to mute down th...

My lovely sister Susan is one of my biggest fans when it comes to Parts of Art jewelry. Not only does she have an impressive collection of jewelry pieces I have made over the years, but she is really good at harmonizing them with her clothing. So here she is once again pulling together a one of a kind look from wardrobe treasures.

Those of you that know me know that my daughter has been dealing with a health issue that has been healing over a period of time. For the last ten days I have been in the hospital with her, staying by her side as she receives needed medical attention. This is the first time one of our family has required medical care of this nature and for this many days. It has been and continues to be a journey that has totally changed my perspective of life. Psalm 139:15,16 Amplified Bible My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret and intricately and curiously wrought (as if embroidered with various colors) in the depths of the earth (a region of darkness and mystery.) Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days (of my life) were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there were none of them. Our physical bodies are a masterpiece of harmonious blends. We are intricately embroidered together by our loving heavenly Father. When one par...

Cafe au lait is a neutral tint of brown, resembling the color of equal parts of average strong coffee and hot milk. The color name is French for "coffee with milk". To mix this color with paint, here is the recipe: 170 parts Zinc White 8 parts Yellow Ochre 1 part Burnt Umber Recipes for paint colors can be found in Bustanoby's Color Manual, copyright 1939. For more about the earrings, visit my store at sandartparts.etsy.com and go to autumn.

When you are look at the color wheel, you see there are colors next to each other and there are colors across from each other. These colors across from each other are the ones I want to direct your attention to now. They are called complementary colors. For example, across from yellow is violet, and across from green is red. There is something very harmonious about complementary colors, and once you know this secret, I think it will help you put colors together, whether for your wardrobe, jewelry, interior design, or whatever you want to add color to. Remember back in the day when we got our colors analyzed? You sat with a "color consultant", paid them a fee for their expertise, and got draped with a sheet while she held various swatches of fabric up to your face. It was a fun and fascinating experience, unless you found out you were a Spring and all along you had thought you were a Summer and that you would now have to completely change your wardrobe! T...

Okay so we're going back to the color wheel for a moment. There is so much more I need to tell you about harmonious blends of color! So, pick a color, any color. Now, what happens to that color if you add white? That's right, you get a tint of that color. Red plus white makes pink. and the great thing about it is that a color plus its tint is a harmonious blend. Visually pleasing. Here is a necklace that shows several tints of red plus a splash of yellow. More on yellow later. For more info on the necklace visit sandyartparts.etsy.com.

Happy birthday to all of you celebrating your birthday this month, including my beautiful daughter Morgan, who turns 23 tomorrow! Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January and the gem designated for the 1st and 2nd wedding anniversaries. Most commonly, the garnet is associated with the color red, but also comes in a bouquet of colors including yellows, oranges, rosy pinks, lime greens and violets. The word garnet comes from the Latin word “granatum” meaning pomegranate, the red fruit with seeds. The gift of a garnet is a symbol of love and the wish for a loved one’s safe travel and speedy homecoming. Oh, and as far as harmonious blends, try this garnet colored wine with crusted parmesan bread and gruyere cheese. Enjoy!

Speaking of harmonious blends, what is your favorite combination of wine, cheese and bread? C'mon now, you know the possibilities are endless. After all, these are the most important food groups, despite what the experts all tell us. So do share with the class your favorite harmonious blend, and I will tell you mine.

Here is an example of harmonious color blends. They work together because they are colors found next to each other on the color wheel. (See my previous post for a quick lesson in color combining.) Green, yellow-green, and yellow, a pleasing combination. This piece I call Ode to Pollack because, after all, doesn't the pendant look like part of a Jackson Pollack painting? For more info on the necklace, feel free to visit my online store at sandyartparts.etsy.com and go to the Spring colors category.

"There are hidden harmonies or contrasts in colors which involuntarily combine to work together" Vincent Van Gogh The color wheel is one of the most important tools for the artist. Start with the three primary colors: yellow, blue and red. These are primary because they aren't made by combining other colors. On the color wheel they are placed equidistant from one another. If it was the face of a clock, yellow is 12, red is 4, and blue is 8 o'clock. Simple. So if you mix yellow and red you get beautiful luscious orange. Two o'clock on the old clock/color wheel. Mix red with blue and you get beautiful purple. 6 o'clock. What's left but mixing blue and yellow and making a gorgeous green, which is 10 o'clock. Okay let's go back up to yellow. Going to the right around the wheel we have yellow, then orange. So what happens when you mix yellow and orange? That's right, yellow-orange! What about when you mix the next two colors, orange and red?...

Visual art can express an inherent energy that flows from a harmonious balance of contrasts. Opposites push and pull, and an artist must learn to direct that push and pull. This contrast can apply to every element of art, from value to color to line to form. It can bridge the drawing to the painting; it can resolve the difference between the abstraction and representational. What is it that makes this photo of clouds dynamic? Is it not the push and pull, the contrast of the deep shadows of the cloud mass to the bright airy sunlit edge of the cloud? If you were to trace the dark outline of the cloud mass with your finger, and then do the same with the outline of the lighter cloud, the two lines would be very similar. Similar but different. Imagine if the two outlines were identical! Yuck! Our heavenly Father would never do something so monotonous in His visual artistry! Because the two lines are similar but different, they create a contrast, a visual push and pul...