Parts of Art

       Here’s a  couple pages from my current illustrated journal, entitled Autumn to Winter 2019.        Both pages pretty much tell the story of life in the studio.          I am full tilt in production mode in the studio. I have three shows- yes, three- in November; one in Indiana and two in Florida. Here’s my schedule . I am happy to have shows on my calendar because it keeps me in production mode. I’m also thrilled to be heading to Florida because I am going to meet my first grandchild!! And visit family and friends and do two art shows.   My workday in the studio starts with a page of the journal. I add color, then (if my cat doesn’t walk through it) come back the next day and add to it. Eventually the journal gets filled and it’s time to start another one. The collection of journals is growing, and each one is full of ideas for future paintings and mixed media pieces. It wi...

      It’s just that simple when painting with watercolor.  This is how I start my day in the studio. Open to a new page, fill a brush with sparkling clean water, and fill the page or pages. Then, add watercolor paint and let it do its thing.              The daily studio routine is this:  clock in at 9 and paint that page in my journal.       I realize that the painting on this page could become a beautiful fabric design, a batiked collage, or an amazing painted wall hanging. But my POINT is that I start my studio day with water on a page and go from there.           As far as the illustrated journal, yes it’s true. Any thing done on these hallowed pages could become some great masterpiece someday. But that’s clearly not the intent. The journal is the place to play, to experiment, to express,  to answer the question “what if ?” It’s about the...

       In this festive holiday workshop we will focus on designing and producing the components of mixed media collage. By the end of the session, guests will be able to take home pieces of wearable or frameable art that can be given as gifts.   Materials will include handmade textured paper, acrylic paint skins, canvas remnants, polymer clay beads, paper beads, and various painted and textured surfaces. All tools and materials will be provided to guests. Holiday snacks, coffee and cold drinks will also be available.  Santa’s Mixed Media Workshop takes place on  Saturday, December 1 Schedule for the workshop:  10 AM introduction and demonstration  10:15-11 design and build parts of parts of art 11 coffee & snack extravaganza 11:15-12 put all the parts of art together The workshop will take place in my inspiring and peaceful country studio outside Alexandria Indiana. Once your registration is completed...

   In my art I use a lot of stuff, and by stuff I mean paper, beads, canvas, leather, wood, clay, and of course the requisite dried slices of acrylic paint. I have a wonderful work area devoted to  jewelry making, and as soon as I sit down at my work table I can  dive right in to the work of making new pieces. In the artistic process  there tends to be much shuffling of stuff. It is easy to  get so involved in this process that the work area  becomes a chaotic mess of stuff.      There comes a time in my work process that I simply need to  stop, put everything back in order,  and start up again.  Curiously, I  find that this brief time of  setting things back in order is also the time when I get my best ideas and  inspiration. It’s like getting a breath of fresh air. Once that occurs, I am eager to dive in and start the  work all over again.      I know artis...

     Start with an oval of blue violet paint that has dried on the artists palette. Adhere it to artist canvas that has been painted some lovely color.    Add two smaller ovals, one on each side. Similar shape and color tend to give a design visual harmony.    Add two small squares to make a pattern. Same colors but different shapes; we are seeking the balance between monotony (boring!)  and discord (Yuk!)    Switch the squares and ovals around. Either way works. It's up to you. Don't worry. Really. The design police are not out to get you.     Start adding beads. Oops, I forgot to tell you you would need some beads. And some silver wire and a couple other tools. Hey this is not a tutorial, its a demonstration of artistic harmony.    So what we're after is the right blend of same but different. Similar color and texture, different sizes and shapes. At every step...

Nothing more harmonious in the morning than cinnamon and sugar on toast......      One morning at the breakfast table, when I was 7 or 8, my mom was fixing me some cinnamon toast. She was doing a great job of it, wonderful mom that she was, but for some reason it really irked me when she put the cinnamon on before the sugar.        I must have started in with some kind of tantrum (which I have effectively blocked from my adult memory), and my dad saw the need to get involved. He assessed the situation, as only dads can do while drinking coffee and reading the morning paper. Then he said "I know a guy at the office who always puts the cinnamon on before the sugar, and he likes it just fine."      Wow. That simple (totally made up, I realize now) impromptu statement diffused my whole case. Took the wind out of my sails. I had nothing left of the anger that had started to build. I ate my cinnamon toast in peace and ...

      So what do you do when you are an artist and you find yourself away from your work, your home, your husband, your cats and your art studio for several weeks because you are called upon to care for a loved one who is recovering from surgery? When you are not making money or going to work, but being a caregiver for someone you dearly love, someone who is not in a dire life and death state, but who needs you all the same. 5 things to do while care - giving 1. Be the best caregiver you can be. Everything else can and will wait. Being the best means getting enough calories, sleep, and exercise so you can give of yourself. And lots of coffee.  2. Re-discover blogging. Need ideas?  Here's enough to keep you blogging til the cows come home: http://thecolorist.blogspot.com/2011/09/101-artists-blog-topics.html 3. Spend time drawing every day. Drawing could be doodling while on the phone, doing quick sketches for that collage you've always wanted t...

Welcome to Sandyartparts!  You are now in my living room. Let's have coffee! I am a huge fan of coffee. Coffee of all kinds. It can be the good old Maxwell House or Jamaican Blue Mountain. As long as it has caffeine I'm happy! Coffee has been my constant companion ever since I decided to be an artist. I think they go hand in hand, coffee and art, art and coffee. I would love for you to have  coffee with me. Then we can see my studio. Talk about stuff. Drink more coffee. Try on jewelry, which is what Parts of Art is all about. But more on that later. Let's talk about you now.