Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

Instead of sketching a design, I’ll often cut out paper and play around with the pieces until I like the composition.

In keeping with my New Year’s resolution to rid my home of mass produced art, I made this simple wall art for my downstairs powder room.  The more I put original art in my home, the more I like it!

I started with a framed canvas, 24″ x 20″ .  I brushed some acrylic paint over it, keeping it darker toward the bottom third.

When the paint was dry I brushed a thick layer of fiber paste all over the canvas and then ‘sketched’ the stem and leaves with the handle of the paintbrush.

I used some butterfly rubber stamps and stamped them carefully, right into the wet paste.

After the paste was dry I took some acrylic paint and added color.

I sponged around the edges with watered-down paint (raw sienna).  FYI~ The fiber paste ruins the sponge!

And here’s my new piece of wall art for my powder room! I’m moving most of my home decor into a more neutral direction.

Thanks for stopping by to see my project, hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

These two butterfly canvases are available on my Etsy shop for medical research.  All proceeds from my shop are donated to research for Cockayne Syndrome.

My little boy, Knox, was diagnosed with this extremely rare disease when he was 8 months old.  He’ll be celebrating his 3rd birthday this July, but there is still no treatment available.  His life expectancy is 5-7 years.

I’ve put photos of Knox on this public site, as well as detailed info about CS in order to raise awareness.  I receive approximately 300 visits a month from people around the world searching for information about CS.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and thanks for stopping by!

I still play.  I create things that are totally unrealistic and completely impractical,  just for fun.

I was watching Dowton Abbey and  noticed a chatelaine, worn by the housekeeper, Mrs Hughes.

Chatelaines were a ‘useful’ form of jewellery, worn when women’s clothing had no pockets. They were dangled from the waist, their chains carrying small items. Chatelaines were common in the 18th century but enjoyed revivals at various times during the Victorian era.

I wondered:  What about a chatelaine for the artist? A romantic little tool kit of supplies to wear?

And that’s how I came to collect pieces of chain, jump rings, wires, and loose leaf rings to try and create an artist’s chatelaine, complete with all the necessities one would need to capture a scene at the very moment of inspiration.

A small tube of chalks and drawing papers…

A ‘view-finder’ to help with narrowing down the landscape until you find the perfect composition to draw…

A pencil…

And sharpener…

And a blending stump is always nice to have for the chalks…

And there it is. My very rough prototype of a chatelaine for the artist.

It could be spectacular with the right tools and equipment.

I can’t help but imagine how incredible this idea could become in the hands of a true jewelry and metal-work artist like Luthien Thye.  When I see her creations I’m always amazed at the range of her skill and variety of materials.  If you’ve never seen her work, it’s worth your time.

I appreciate you visiting my blog and always love to hear from you.

Have a lovely weekend!

I played with nail polish on paper.  It didn’t turn out like I expected, but the colors were pretty!

So I made a small collage with it…

I used a rubber stamp for the butterfly and cut it out…

Hope you’re having a great week! Thanks for stopping by!