I can't say that I've worked a whole lot more than my usual 40hrs, but each day has been busy from start to finish with trying to help stranded people on the west coast of Mexico after hurricane Odille hit about 10 days ago.  Busy days like that, leave me tired and want to stay away from the computer.  So I haven't blogged a whole lot.

I can't say that I've made a whole lot things either.  Two weeks ago an accidental encounter with a friend inspired me to make cards.  It was probably time to take out a pad of pretty paper I got on sale a year ago.  

And a letter that I received in the mail from another friend, inspired me to write and send a handful of my own.

I started adding the dress cards on Etsy.

Loteria

On my trip to Portland a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a sheet of Loteria table with great images.  Ghost, devils, skeletons...you know....the colorful Dia de Los Muertos images.  A few days ago, after a coat of paint over some matchboxes, the little images on the sheet I had were perfect fit to go over the little boxes.  

So I asked my dear friend and co-worker, who is from Mexico if the Hispanic grocery stores carry them.  And they do.  There are three Rancho Market stores within a mile from my house.  Yes!!  I will be looking for more Tablas de Loteria.

Dots

I dotted almost everything I made this week.  The process reminds me of handstitching.  I think that's why I like it so much, and used it so much.

Dot, dot, stitch, stitch.  

Moths

I am working a late shift this week, 430pm till 1am.  A shift familiar to me from my early days at Alaska Airlines.  But it's been years since I've worked that late.  And at the moment it's making me an insomniac.  I can't fall asleep in the middle of the night, and just about when I do, I have to wake up to get the kids off to school.  Then I can't sleep during the day, so my mind is very unfocused.  Thinking of million things at the same time.

Today, I drove an hour to the other side of town, looking forward to check an artist/mixed media/paper store, that I've been wanting to visit for some time.  It's called The Occasional Artist.  

And...out of all the times I've had time off to check it out, I had to pick a day when they are closed.  In fact, this whole week they are closed as they are participating in a big mixed media event that goes in Phoenix this time a year, Art Unraveled.

So I came home, made me lunch, tried to take a nap, and I all I could think of was moths.  I heard a story on NPR last Friday.  I didn't finish listening to it, but what stuck was this sentence: Moths are butterflies that come out at night.

And here...I used black board, lace, a part of a stamp, and created a moth.

Now off to pick up the kids from school, and then I have to go to work.

By the end of this week, I will be a mess if I don't get my body and mind to relax and go to sleep.

I stitched on paper yesterday, making cards.  Sometime I force myself to make something, anything, even if I am very tired and my brain is only thinking about sleeping and dreaming.  It's easy to fall into the 'tired' trap.  If I let it, I can use it for an excuse indefinitely.  And I don't let it.  And I make something every day, no matter how small or insignificant I may think it is.

In less than a month I will be in Macedonia.  I.....need to take a moment and think about how I feel about it all.  It's been so long, and it makes it unreal that it really is going to happen.

I

Soldering

I took a workshop that was mostly soldering, but it did have resin involved too (which was the reason I signed up for it).  This is the sample I made in class.

Week at a glance

I've been trying to be productive, finishing up old work, and making some new.  These are necklaces, they were sitting unfinished for a long time.

 

And although living in Arizona I can't say that I notice the arrival of spring, I am still inspired by it.  Especially now when the weather here allows for the windows to be open all day long, I can hear the chirping.  And that probably influenced me to play with some bird stamps and make these pins.

 

I recently took a three-session collage workshop, from a local artist, and these were my final project.  I need a lot of practice.

 

And back to fabric, when my mom visited a couple of weeks ago, we were making wrist pin-cushions.  These are the results.

I got some discarded matt boards, from old photographs.  And I thought I'd give it a try to make pseudo ATC.  They are not the right size, I just cut them to something small but inconsistent, 3"x3", or 3.25"x3"... This birdman stamp I got recently has intrigued me, so I played with it a little bit.

 

Then I am trying to finish up some projects, such as these bags I was making out of old button shirts and fabric remnants.  

 

In between all that, I hang out with my kids, or in this picture my daughter.  The two of us were waiting for my son during his weekend pottery class.

 

And then I also had a visitor, my Bulgarian friend Lora, and her newest addition to her family, her third daughter.  

 

And, I also got my eyes checked, and got new glasses.  So here I am....a 'selfie' for you.

Crescent moons

I made these as a practice exercise to stitch curvy lines.  The volunteer position to teach refugee women to sew was the reason behind it.  I heard that they are uneasy about sewing on paper.  The idea was to have them practice sewing curvy lines on paper because it's easier and also less costly (no destruction of fabric).  But, they are not comfortable with sewing on paper.  I can sort of understand, because my Eastern European family doesn't always quite get when I sew on paper.  I think it's because sewing is supposed to be a practical and useful skill.  Making garments, that's productive.  While sewing on paper is 'destructive'.  There is no purpose.  Except in art making. 
Anyway.....I though if I have them make greeting cards with crescent moons, which are cutouts from reject black and white paper, will go a bit easier.  I haven't introduced the idea to them yet.  So we'll see.

Tags

Colette Copeland is the master of tag art.  And today Maggie and I are trying to make some of our own.  I used stamps, Maggie.....she is the real artist here, she drew hers.

Solder, instead of resin

I've had a busy week at work on a early morning shift.  I haven't worked a morning shift in many years, so it's a bit of an adjustment to my daily routine.  It's not a permanent change, so I am trying not to get too used to it.

Here is something I did last week on my day off.  I drew and colored some zentangle designs.  I tried to keep a desert-in-bloom theme.  I would have liked to work with some resin, but I haven't had the time to devote to it to learn or mess with it.  Therefore I solder.  I used glass gems again, that are used usually for floral decorations.  They are great in that they distort the image somewhat, making it larger than it is.  The hard part for me has been that I've had to use two glass gems to sandwich my images in between so I can copper tape them together, then solder them.  This makes them a bit bulky.  But guess what, I found out that you can buy copper sheets.  This may work better, as I can tape my image on to the sheet, then leave extra edge to wrap/tape around the gem. 

Art Journaling

I took a workshop today, on art journaling.  I've been psyching myself up to fill in a blank page.  It's hard, because I overthink it.  But today I decided that thinking is not necessary, doing is a lot more productive.  Here are the results.

Feeling like Halloween

Using some Halloween themed stamps.  And you know...the usual, fabric, lace, shrinky dink plastic....
 

Zen-tags

I've been practicing zentanagle/zendoodles whenever I need to relax or focus my mind.  Yesterday I got a zentangle book at Joann's and made some zentangle tags.  I used spray inks as sort of watercolors.  I really wished watercolor was a technique that came naturally to me, but it is not.  And although I don't know what I am doing most of the time, it's the practice that refines any skill.  So I hope in time to be better.