Art Junk Girl~

:stories of childhood

:stories of childhood, originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

I've gotten a little nutty with collaging in my moleskine journal as of late, so the painting has been brushed aside a bit. I've been doing my "lesson" on paint mixing in between journal collaging. I've been workin' in my journal every night....it's a great way for me to relax and express myself. I'm always amazed at how the pages somehow come together and "say" what I want them to...what I'm feeling at the time, without the need of my own handwritten words. It's hard to "splain", but it's very therapeutic for me. I try to pull images and scraps that appeal to me, whilst working fast and not thinking too much about it. I've found some trends over time. I feel that these pages have helped me learn more about myself and what dwells in my heart. So, that being said, I will be back with more painting soon...I'm just enjoying the ride in my visual journal right now!! Hope you all are following your bliss and doing what makes you happy. After all, you are the only one that can tell "your story", whether it be by gluing scraps, crafting quilts, or whatever creative pursuit you enjoy...it's capturing a piece of you, and that is a worthy and joyful pursuit. Take care friends. xo Lia

ATC Giveaway!

, originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

UPdate!! Elizabeth's name was drawn out of the hat!! Congratulations, Elizabeth. Please send me your snail mail addy. Thank you everyone for entering. xo Lia

It's been a while since I've put up a chance for a giveaway. I really want to thank all of you for visiting and for all your encouragement with my new painting adventure. I really think I am going to continue with it this time, thanks to you all!! I love the advice and tips too!! I treasure your words and wisdom!! I don't always get around to each one to thank you but please know that I do appreciate it! Having said that, I am putting up this little token of appreciation. This collaged (ATC) is made on the front of a vintage playing card. It's painted and then collaged by me, signed on the back.
To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment here and I will randomly chose a name and announce it this coming Monday, January 28, 2008.
Wishing all of you a great and creative weekend!
xo Lia

Scary white females and other painting tales...

OK, so, I've been in class so much lately that I haven't had time to update and journal on my blog! I love my new painting class! So much so, that I don't even want to cut out. I haven't been marked "absent" one day. I even went on my first field trip! Yes, and guess what? I didn't organize my field trip. The "principal" of my school (aka Bruno) took me down to the NGA to see the Rauschenberg Exhibit! Wow, that was a very enjoyable and enlightening experience. It definitely changed the way I thought about my process. (more on that in a bit). On the way down to the exhibit, I wrote out a "loose" curriculum on what I will study for the next two "units". I had quite a few of you express interest in joining me. I'm scared for you. lol. No, really, you are more than welcome!! I will share what I am doing here and you can adjust it to your needs. I have much to share. I cannot do it all right now as I have to go, but I'm going to try to get the first main points down. Ready? Ok.

Here's what I've learned so far: ~I tried to make it enjoyable by working with my habits, preferences. Who says I have to paint on canvas or watercolor paper? I immediately felt more comfortable when I started painting in my old wallpaper book...it really took that "fear" factor out of it for me... The sketchbook is too "serious" for me right now...too "school like"...lol. I love working in the wallpaper book because it also has lots of colors and textures. Plus I have enough room to move and once more, it's like a coffee table on my lap, lol... ~I have learned (and I know I've been told) that just jumping in and doing it is where the learning begins. Yes, you must learn basics, you must have an understanding and respect for principles, but you need to "work it out" by actually touching materials and trying different things. This way, you can learn what you prefer and see where you want to go. I know I'm painting a lot of "scary white females" right now, but I'm learning alot from them....lol.

Here's what I want to learn:

Unit 1: The Color Wheel. (Learning to mix my own paints..no delving into hours of color theory, just basics).
~Learn about Primary, secondary, tone, hue, and complimentary colors.
~Experiment with mixing my own colors while painting (I usually use the cheapo stuff, but I'm really learning more by mixing my own, etc.)
Unit 2: Art History (Identify/Study the movements I like and learn more about my top 5 fave artists). This is an "ongoing" unit.

Ok, so I hope I have made some sense here today. I must go now, but I will be back with more lessons and painting tales. Let me know how you are doing and if you have started something! Don't forget about groups like Creative Everyday and vlogs like Suziblu who encourage your creativity. We are in this together! Let's go paint something. xoxo lia

The Art Junk Unschooling Program~

[4/365] learning to paint~speak to the hand.., originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

Ok, so, parents can homeschool or un-school their kids, right? So, why can't I develop my own curriculum and learn to paint this year? I say you are never too old...and hey, this is right up my alley being that I can't go to school while I have two kids in college. Try splaining that to big Bruno...Anyhow. Today, I started my own school. These are the materials I brought to class:

1. A paint wheel. (which I had to ask my 4th grader to splain to me...I usually don't understand things that can switch direction)..but that's another story....
2. A disregarded wallpaper book. Oh...this was my fave supply. I have several that were given to me by my local hardware store. Great to practice with, and on my budget...talk about art junk! woo.
3. My good paints. The one's I never use...that I got for Art and Soul last year. Yup. Need good paints to learn.
4. Brushes, a variety of hoarded one's sitting in my pencil holder...
5. Gesso. Lots of Gesso.

Lesson One: Learn the color wheel so you can mix your own paints.
~ I learned to mix paints and make the color violet all by myselves. It was super cool. Talk about being like a little kid...I found the whole color mixing thing to be fascinating...I can make a dozen versions of teal...lol...how cool is that (make mental note: need more white paint for mixing). I will probably spend a few weeks, maybe more on this portion of the curriculum.

Today I also discovered that Gesso is my BEST friend. Yes, gesso is paint's "eraser". I love Gesso. We are getting married tomorrow. Stay tuned for Lesson Two.
xo Lia

Painting, a lot...

So, I've been doing alot of painting as of late. I've decided I have a love/hate relationship with painting...that is painting, painting. Not painting journal pages and the like. I'm talking, painting a painting that is supposed to look like a painting. I say it's love/hate because I love to paint. I say hate because it frustrates me, I don't know how to, and I end up with alot of crap, and a huge mess to boot. But I digress.....because, after all , I can't do anything half way. I have to get obsessed about it....I yearn to learn so much. You think I could just pick up a brush and throw a few strokes on some paper? Noooooooo.....I have to start reading everything in the world on the subject, buy books that will show me how, and generally, start painting anything and everything around me that doesn't have a heartbeat.
I share this with you because I am trying to make sense of it myself. For those of you who have been following my art adventures (and messes), you know I've delved into the wild blue painting yonder before. But, each time, I get, well, scared. Why am I scared? Because I have to deal with doing something in my relaxing, down time that demands more of me. Scared because I like being in my comfort zone. Scared because I fear it will distract me from other things I "should" be doing. Scared, because I imagine myself becoming a recluse and being holed up in my basement, talking to myself and losing touch with reality. Scared because I may start thinking of taking painting classes, and that would be delving into new territory.... It seems much easier to collage. I mean. I love collage. It's SO forgiving, and I never feel scared or unhappy or annoyed when I'm doing it.
Well, let me tell you another thing....which I've only told one friend. When I started doing my art "thang" again, about 3 years ago, I made a painting on a large piece of wood. Well, one day, when I was particularly upset about my art junk all over, etc., I took it and broke it in half. I then threw it away. Ok, now, I'm sure you are thinking, "this lady...this art junk whoever is totally wacked.
Well, I can tell you that I am as normal as the next person....just a little cooky is all. Actually, people do mistake me for being 99.5 percent normal even when I tell them things like this.... but anyhooo.....I forgot my point..oh, yeah, my point is, that even with all these mixed feelings, I really want to learn to paint. I'm going to show you guys some of my crap pretty soon. really, I will. I am also trying to combine the collage with the painting (which will make it far more enjoyable for me). I am very, very inspired by the work of Kelly Rae Roberts and Leah Piken, now Leah Piken Kolidas..(.hey, that sounds greek...you greek?) I know they say that in order to learn, you must study great work. Their work is SO amazing...I want to eventually learn how to incorporate collage work into my paintings, but also learn to paint so I have something good to paint over the collage. Now, you think they would let me be their understudy for a few days? Hmmmm...maybe not after the breaking my painting in half story... lol. Actually, Leah is one of my greatest creative inspirations, yes, you are Leah! She continues to inspire artists of every level with her challenge to be Creative Everyday. Ok, so that's where I've been. Painting and thinking. thinking and painting. Wow, it feels good to get all that stuff off my chest...

P.s. while I had the paints out, I painted a bunch of pages in my moleskine journal. I figure that while I have the paint out, I may as well do something useful. Talk to you all soon. Hope you are inspired to pick up something you like, even if you are afraid...and don't break anything...capish? xo Lia

Square roundup~

Dear Friends,
I know I promised to share some of my reflections on my 1000 square project from last year. Here is a summary of what I learned~
1. Having a goal and a project to work on kept me focussed during my "art time". I am sure to come up with a new project for myself this year so I can stay focussed.

2. Having a project in which I loved and was passionate about made me a happier person!

3. Having a project made my kids more appreciative of what I was doing and kept them interested and keeping tabs on my work. I really loved getting their feedback, hearing their enthusiasm and overall support.

4. Having a project got me organized in my art area because I had to have the things I needed ready to go when I started a square making session.
5. Having a project helped me meet alot of fascinating people. I didn't expect that posting a project would generate so much enthusiasm and support. I met some of the kindest people, some of which sent me supplies and their own work as a way of contributing to my goal.

So, as you can see, it was a great experience, one in which I am still involved in. I now have a body of work in which I will incorporate into projects for this year.
Thank you all for your kind support and enthusiasm this past year. I appreciate it all, and that is why I share my art and words with all of you. xo Lia

paper scrap quilts...with squares, of course..

Dear Friends~
As I mentioned before, I've been thinking about all the things I want to try this year and making lots of lists...like I ever will get to half of them. One thing I've learned for sure is that I'm on a journey. It's hard to move on to something when one thing can fascinate you for hours..Speaking of squares, one of the things I've been doing with leftovers fro my square project is taking the square punched backgrounds and making them into postcard quilts. Here are a few I did the other night. This is a very relaxing activity for me when I sit and watch movies at night with my hub, or if he's watching "the game, any game" and I'm sittin' with him. I love using up these bits to make these.

These are super fun and easy to make. First you just punch out squares from whatever scraps you have leftover as well as your fave catalogs or junk mail. It's fun to randomly stick them together and see what emerges! As I've said before, if you are interested in collage, it's good to keep a shoebox to put things in that appeal to you as you come across them. Then when you are ready to sit down, you have collage fodder you like, all in one place. Now, I gotta tell you, when you are a paper-a-holic, it's major league difficult to throw away paper...at least for me it is, but I will tell you some of my favorite things to save.
~Catalogs with vibrant colors.
~photocopied poetry (sometimes papers from my kids homework)
~maps from brochures while travelling
~older copies of my fave magazines
~vintage magazine covers (these are usually vibrant in color and a bit sturdier that the pages)
~movie tickets (yes, I've used these for square backgrounds and in regular collages)

So, as you can see, nothing is really off-limits, but it is good to access the sturdiness factor when working on small pieces.


I decided to experiment with ink on one of these (the lower right one). I really love using ink, but it takes some getting used to...but it does have a way of spicing up the ordinary. Well, off I go to work on those lists...be back soon! Hope you'll try making some square postcard quilts. xo lia

Let's Create in 2008...

I've been runnin' around like crazy lately.....trying to do this and that, checking things off "the list", you know the deal! Anyhow, I have so much I want to share on my blog....new art cards I've made and journal pages, but have not had a chance to settle down calmly and get back into my routines.

I am SO jazzed about having a whole new beginning this year, in living creatively (everyday) and looking at life with new possibility. I have been doin' lots of thinking of where I've been, where I'm going and what I want to do this year~and how I can infuse creativity into everything I do. Everything I see and do has a potential to make it's way into my art. I work intuitively. I love to just let go and create. I need to create or I get really, really cranky! I pull all my special boxes of ephemera and pens close to me at night and start to cut and paste. It's like my own little comfort zone. A place to go to unwind, dream, and relax. When I made this card, I was thinking about how Art and creativity gives us the ability and opportunity to look at life anew and in some ways, create miracles.
One of my resolutions, (which I will post soon), is to simply embrace my creativity every day. Sounds easy, right? well, it isn't always easy. I sometimes struggle with the freedom and youthful playfulness that being creative lends itself too...like I need to be more "serious" and adult like, etc. etc. (I've spoken of this before). Well, I've decided this year is a year that I will step out and embrace my creative self, all parts of myself. I don't know if I'm making sense here, but this is where I am at right now, ready to take a leap, ready to be myself, ready to show my true colors, ready to get my ART on! Hope you'll join me....xo Lia