Brand Spankin' New Postcards - no. 18

I am having to go out of order because something is going on with the images on blogspot and no. 17 is missing.

24 Brand Spankin’ New Postcards - 16

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 16

I love the pattern on the woman’s kimono matching the floral pattern ion the background.  Again it has a  feel to it.  All of a sudden the bird is there, too.  Somehow I published this piece in June but I am doing it again today to keep the series in order.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 15

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 15

I particularly like the color choices in this piece.  The red with the blue-green works so well with the white and grey of the flower and the patterned background.  If you put your finger over the main focal point the piece still has an Asian feel to it.  Mission accomplished.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 14

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 14

This is another camouflage piece.  I had to wake up my eyes to discover the bird.  I love the background especially.  

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 13

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 13

Something is happening to me.  I do not seem to have any control over it either.  For most of my life I have not cared for yellow.  I never wear yellow.  I never wanted hello in my garden.  There was only one yellow flower I liked and that is the daffodil.  Now I am putting yellow in my garden and look I have a Japanese woman who is wearing yellow.  Oh, dear, was is next!

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 12

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 12

There seems to me to be a bit of camouflage in this piece.  The strength of the yellow holds my eye and then as I relax I continue in the depth of the piece and see the bird.  Do you study the piece first before reading the comments that I make or do you read the comments first?  I like the softness of the piece.  I am calmed by looking at it.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 11

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 11

This postcard might just be my favorite of the whole series.  Everything works for me.  I think I just might have to keep this one.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 10

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 10

I do not keep track of where each specific postcard goes.  Once it is released in the mail it is gone.  I do know who I have sent postcards to over time, just not which one.  I keep all of the postcards that I receive in clamshell boxes or in fabric journals that I have made.  My only record of the ones that I have made is on this blog.  What a nice way to archive them!

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 09

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 09

Elegant!  Are they off to dinner at an exclusive restaurant?  Whatever they are doing it a totally different era to now!

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 08

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 08

I have been asked the question on whether or not I have a vision of the final outcome of a piece of art that I create.  Mostly the answer is no.  I just start.  Starting is never difficult for me.  I understand that many people are intimidated by the blank or white page of the substrate.  I allow the process to just move forward and lead me.  As I go I audition the ephemera and get a satisfied feeling when I see something just right.  In the case of this series I completed many backgrounds first before working on the focal points.  I am getting better at knowing when a piece is complete.  That has taken many years.  Overdoing it and not being able to back off was a continuous problem that I have not felt for awhile now.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 07

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 07

Oh goodness, animals and not people!  What is happening?  I love that the bird and the elephant are more equal in size than in real life.  Isn’t art the best, you get to create it anyway you like! :-)

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 06

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 06

This collage makes me happy.  I love the colors, the focal point, the background.  It just makes me smile.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 05

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 05

When you look at the postcards that I have shared so far you definitely get a feel that they are a series.  There seems to be a pattern or script even though each was created separately.  Is that the definition of 

style?

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 04

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 04

I love the depth of layers in this piece. Sometimes I worry about a collage being flat.  This one is definitely not flat.  I like how the arms are placed and the rise of the skirt both help to show movement.  The darkness on the right also helps with depth.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 03

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 03

I loved creating this piece.  The guy with the turtleneck sweater screamed at me to use him in something creative.  I had to spend a lot of time with him in PhotoShop but I think he turned out just great.  My eyes are doing a lot of bouncing around looking at this postcard.  Works for me! :-)

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 02

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 02

As I have mentioned before I love the Japanese culture.  I have so many fond memories of my two years living there.  One of those incidents, however, was not fond but scared the living daylights out of me.  I was driving home from school and as you might know the Japanese drive on the left side of the road.  I liked going the back roads home and as I was going along a car was coming toward me.  I said out loud, “Why is he on my side of the road?”  He wasn’t, I was on the wrong side.  I was lost in thought and routine had me driving as if I was in America.  I quickly recovered and moved left.

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 01

24 Brand Spankin' New Postcards - 01

Here we go with a new series of postcards.  I have used this figure previously.  She reminds me of Lucille Ball.  I use to watch I Love Lucy when I was a kid.  I loved that show.  One can still watch it today as it is a classic.

May 2020 ATC

May 2020 ATC

I was scrolling through blog entries just waiting to be published and I came across this one.  The theme was text.  Above are four of the seven or eight that I made.

Winged Journals

I got an email from a friend linking me to the process of making this journal.  Thanks Michele.  It was totally fun to make.  Here is the link: https://vimeo.com/417371680?ref=em-share

...

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 10, 11, 12. 13

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 10, 11, 12. 13

This is the last of the August APCs.  I usually only post one of a series but since each figure was different I decided to do them all.  The recipients should have them by now.  It was a fun quick series to do.  Sometimes I spend days rather than hours making them.  I had all the “models” cut out some time ago so construction went really quickly.

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 07, 08, 09

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 07, 08, 09

The circular mica pieces that I purchased on Etsy are rather thick.  However, they have many layers and split fairly easily.  When I first started using mica I glued it down.  that works but I found that there was a cloudiness to the glued area.  Then I got the idea of using rivets.  The rivet just adds another bit of interest to the composition.

Someone from Portland sent me an APC in the mail yesterday.  It was a mystery person who said that he or she just wanted to give something to others and not receive.  Nice idea!  Thank you Mystery Person.

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 04, 05, 06

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 04, 05, 06

On each of the playing cards I adhered a round piece of mica.  I also used Japanese ledger papers which I had painted to the background.  I had enough of the same Japanese stamp for each card, too.

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 01, 02, 03

August 2020 Artist Playing Cards - 01, 02, 03

I found some vintage men’s clothing ads from Galleries Lafayette in Paris and had to use them for this month’s Artist Playing Cards.  I took a break from making APCs and have not done them for three or four months.  I am not sure that I will do them every month but when I have an idea I go with it.  There will be a couple more days of the others that I made.

TEN 10

TEN 10

Again I really like the color choices in this collage.  Also the circular parts of the cancellations in the stamps and the Boulder cancellation tie the piece together.  This is the last of the TEN series.  However, I got an email from the Puget Sound Book Arts Guild about the deadline.  Well, I missed one thing important in the instructions.  It is a book exchange.  So this book is suppose to go to someone else.  I do not want to give it up.  So I have decided I need to make a second book for the exchange.  Stay tuned ten more stamp collages coming in the near future.

TEN 09

TEN 09

Since the collages in this book has a theme of TEN,  I particularly like the cancellations with 10.  They add a bit of boldness and line quality.  My eye seems to focus on the black first and then relaxes into the rest of the piece. 

TEN 08

TEN 08

For me, this collage is all about the colors.  I love this blue or turquoise with the brown.  It is so warming to me.

TEN 07

TEN 07

This piece is a nod to the men and women who are firefighters.  They put their lives on the line each and everyday to protect us.  Practically everyday I hear sirens indicating someone in trouble either a medical concern or indicating a fire somewhere nearby.  This is a thank you to your service.

TEN 06

TEN 06

The monkey just seemed to jump out of my ephemera stash.  Kind of playful don’t you think?

Here is a video of a book that my husband and I collaborated on.....  I rusted the muslin and did the collage.  Tim did the embroidery.   Enjoy!

TEN 05

TEN 05

I am going to have to find a new source for photographs.  My tiny ones are running out but I do love creating tiny collages like the one in the center of the larger collage.  It just all works for me.

TEN 04

TEN 04

Maybe the subconscious takes part in selecting what we work on and we do not know it until we have completed a piece.  I think that may be the case here with the statue image.  I have no idea who the statue is suppose to honor but with all the tearing down of statues lately I must have been thinking about them and the negativity that many statues exemplify.  The taking down of statues has played important roles in historical events.  I am not surprised that it has been happening again.

TEN 03

TEN 03

My favorite part of this collage is how the circular cancellation marks and the circles under the word “honey” go so well together.  I also like the cancellation PHONE.  It all just works for me. :-)