Altered Sisters Round Robin - Surprise Me

The Altered Sisters met at my house this month for a holiday brunch, show and tells and the unveiling of another month of work in various altered books.  The brunch goodies were quite yummy, the conversation flowed and we've all agreed that this Round Robin has lasted quite long enough!  Two of the books are finished but most of the books still have another month or two to go before they go into the finished pile.

I worked in Susan's book this month.  The theme was "Surprise Me".  Well, that's an easy theme!  It means anything goes.  I've been playing with scans of my textured and painted handmade paper and decided to use this, in the form of a color copy, as a background.  There is some paint and pastels involved with this as well to bring up some of the colors and to soften the edges.  You may remember that I promised I would use a hand altered photo in every book I worked in.  I kept to that promise at first but this photo is being used just as I took it..  It was taken in Port Townsend, WA in April 2008 when I was lucky enough to attend ArtFest.

I can't help but wonder if these handmade paper scans have the possibility of a commercial life?  I'll show you more when the holiday rush settles down a bit.  I think I missed an opportunity when the whole scrapbook paper craze was still going strong.

Back to the topic of the Altered Sisters.  We gather once a month to share our artistic adventures.  If you don't have art buddies to share some time with, I strong encourage you to find some!  Art is usually a solitary venture.  But, it's so good to have positive people, who understand the ups and downs of an artist, that can be helpful, be supportive and be good friends.  I know there is the whole cyber world out there now, which is a huge helpful community and I'm so happy to be a part of it.  But warm, live bodies are even better.

Lorrie

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I like the pretty, twinkly little white lights, especially when they are dusted with snow or highlight the simple beauty of a wreath.  However, my favorite lights are the big, chunky, old fashioned lights in mutilple colors.  Gee, there's the bright colorful thing again!  :)  At least I'm consistent.

Lorrie

George Bailey Connection

Many (most?) of us will watch It's a Wonderful Life at least once during the holiday season.  Not only is it a classic but something seems to be missing from the season if you don't sit down to watch it.  George Bailey continues to make friends and influence people long after the movie was made and Jimmy Stewart went to that big rabbit hutch in the sky (reference to Harvey). I guess that was one of the points of the movie, wasn't it?

In a recent post I mentioned how I had named my handmade paper, plaster and acrylic piece Bailey Park.

Due to the wonders of technology, a singer and songwriter named Carolyn Sills contacted me with the following comment:

Hi Lorrie - I really love your Bailey Park piece. I'm always searching the internet for pieces written on George Bailey... it's nice to see some artwork as well. I'm a big fan of his and the movie, and I recently wrote a song called 'George Bailey.' I would love for you to take a listen... you can do so off of itunes or my website. Have a good night!   http://www.carolynsills.com/

How cool is that? Her song can be heard at http://www.carolynsills.com/Original_Music.html.

Lorrie

Handmade Paper Notecard Gift Packages

At this point in the holiday season I finally know, for the most part, what I'm getting everyone for Christmas.  But I still have to actually go get many of those things on my list.  If you have a few "holes" on your list and need something unique for a work collegue, a drop in guest, or even for dear Aunt Martha, these handmade paper notecard  gift packs might be just the thing...

                               

Each package has four handmade paper cards, made by yours truly.  The sheets of paper are accented with some type of inclusion (natural garden "pretties", glitter, bits of ribbon, etc.).  Each card measures 4 1/4" x 6" and is lined with white paper on the inside for easier writing.  You can wrap the gift pack or just give it as is with the pretty ribbon already tied.  The gift package is about 7" x 9" and envelopes are included in the pack.

If you'd like a package or two, tell me the colors you'd like, send me $10.00 for each (I have Paypal now!), and let me know your address. I'll have in the mail to you within a day and the USPostal service will do the rest. 

Happy Shopping.

Lorrie

Family Portraits

I know this is a blog about my artistic life, but not today...

In honor of my parents' 50th anniversary this past summer, when the whole family was "up north", we had family portraits taken.  It's been almost 6 months already and if I don't get those portraits printed and hung soon, the kids will have already changed again.  It's no fun hanging "old" pictures, no matter how great they are.  For the adults its not so critical.  At this point, it's basically a couple more pounds on the frame each year. 

The gal that helped us out is Scarlett Piedmonte.  You can find her at Photography by Scarlett.  She helped us rather non-photogenic people relax.  She took hundreds pictures, in various configurations, of the whole crowd of 16, plus a dog.  I highly recommend her for those living in the Traverse City, MI area. 

So, without further delay, here are a few of the pictures she took of just my family.  (And for those that haven't noticed, I have a new Profile photo on my blog and Facebook, that is much improved from the old one!)

This last one is of all the cousins.  What fun!  I had it enlarged to 11" x 14" and am cropping/matting it just below the sand and just above their heads.  It will be displayed in a very horizonal frame .  To get this back on track to art today, I will suggest that photos and artwork often look better when cropped differently or rather severely.  Try it on your own artwork.

On the first snowy day of the season, these warm summer pictures look very inviting!

Lorrie