Seven Day Challenge- Day 2

I started today with intention so different from yesterday. The body of this piece is a rectangle of copper the breasts are old pennies formed on a dapping block, I covered it with solder and used a chemical to put a dark patina over it. The wings are an old tin with bits of color still on the metal and loads of wonderful scratches.

I’m happy with this piece all the irregularities and there is a nice weight to it, all that copper. It’s put together with cold connections and has a pin on the back so it can be worn.

Two down five to go....

Seven Day Challenge- Day 1

I was working on some jewelry today making a pin or maybe a necklace, most of the time I just start without a plan. I start at the top or with the face. In this case it is an old picture of a long gone aunt. I got the face in the rim, copper top pieces and the wings on before I thought what the heck is this? I put the chain on because I just bought it and wanted to use it. At this point I heard the art muse humming and saw that this was the item you hang your readers on. OK cool, I want to make more so I’m going to challenge myself to make one every day for seven days and will post them each day. It will be fun to wear, last weekend I was hooking my glasses into a button hole on my shirt. This girl is my beloved and faithful dog Winnie and she just got into the garbage. That is why I'm thinking of her at the same time as I'm writing this post.

Congratulatios 50 Years!

I had the honor to be able to make an anniversary cake for my Aunt and Uncles 50th wedding anniversary party. It was their affection and caring for each other that I set a standard for my own marriage. Congratulations Aunt Talie and Uncle Eric!

Look at how cute they are after 50 years.

On Mother’s day I got to see Rigoletto with my mother we had a wonderful time and the best seats in the house 4th row center stage, I could see the buttons on their costumes .

I love looking at the sets and dreaming how fun it would be to build and design them. So many venues to see and appreciate the arts I think I will need to live 150 more years to get my fill.

Art Date

I went to my friend Melissa Kirks house, she shared her toys and I made these lovely little charms. I photographed them on the back of an art magazine.

Her studio is large with lots of windows and full of cool things to look at.

Melissa solders hand cut and ground glass that holds her unique and one of kind art work.

The flowers in this picture are to be worn as a necklace and have very cute little sayings on the petals. I didn't get the best picture of them they really are very nice.

Isn't there a commandment that says " You shall not covet your friends cool stuff "?

Rain Drops

A day of many rain drops, I looked outside and saw them rolling of the roof, down the car, dripping from the fir branches, bowing the heads of flowers. Then I saw them on the black pavement hitting hard enough to make a bubble, I thought of my friend Vay’s blog and that she took a photo of fishing floats in the rain. Hey grab the camera Vay said in my head, and out I went with umbrella up and head down. I took 20 shots the first time out, liked what I saw and took 40 more. If you would like to see Vay’s rain drop shot click here. She has just started her blog and is posting some nice thoughts and photos.
I down loaded them with Kodak easy share, went into the fix screen and just played around with the crop picture, contrast, hue, saturation, any part of it I could mess with just fooling around and having fun.
I have a small Canon point and shoot and I love it.
This one I took the picture to photo shop to type in the poem.
They do make fun back grounds. Go play in the rain.

Fairy Friends

Fairy Festival
Ethereal bliss surrounded green fields of flowers, children’s laughter and good friends at the Fairy Queens annual party. Melissa and I decided at the last minute to attend the party, and we are sure happy we did! Our minds were filled with visions of little girls dressed in every shade of the rainbow, wings on their backs and beautiful garden flowers in their hair. They ran and jumped giggled and made fairy items all day. These are memories I will think of often and I’m so glad Melissa was able to share it.

After a day with the fairies we went to a nearby book store where I found this fun book and can hardly wait to try out some of the projects. It has very good directions and many helpful tips, good step by step photos. The author was very generous, a trait I really enjoy as I feel I got my money’s worth.

Fiber Artist

This old gal posed for her photo shoot with pride. She was a quilter in her past, she sewed clothes for her children she made items for her home, but now as she matured she gave herself the freedom to experiment to take time to create beautifully fun art. She is holding her head up high proud of her journey.

This one was really hard to photograph, I think the contrast of face to body made it hard for the camera to get a light sensor. And the angle was off, because she is looking up and has a narrow hip it gave her an odd look. I can learn something new every day.

She stands on a sad iorn fabric in hand as a soldier would on a hill with a flag.

Art Date

I had an educational day following a friend around who happens to be a photographer and a good one at that. We started out at the state capitol to shoot a tree but the sun was to strong, at the information desk they told us about five Sequoia trees at Willamette University so off we went. Here are the five. The Giant Sequoia is the world’s largest tree and one of the most long lived. Willamette’s Star Trees are still young compared to many existing sequoias between 2,000 to 3,000 years old. These trees were planted just before Pearl Harbor.

From The Scene Magazine, “The five saplings would grow stories tall and create a star shape where they met the sky. Decades of young lovers would stand under their boughs to share a first kiss, which put them on the path to lasting love according to campus lore. And each year in December students would carol and a child would light the trees as townspeople came from miles around to experience old fashioned awe. The Star Trees, planted in a time of worldwide destruction, now encircle visitors with fragrant peace.

I was babysitting a friend’s farm and we hung out photographing small very cute animals. What a fun day.

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Favorite Spot

Do you have a few favorite spots in your home or on your property, that kind of place that begs you to take a moment and enjoy. This is one of mine, its colors and warmth, the gentle light, art of friends and little lovely’s I have found. And now with summer and warm weather coming I will be able to spend time in a favorite outdoor room, ahhhh the little joys of life.

Journal Doll 2

I was thinking of all the little things that I love. She was modeled after the piece I bought from my friend Suzanne at our PAC show last year.

In one hand she is holding a red-winged blackbird who's song I adore in the other a marble that evokes old memories of little toys. At her base a small village,friends and community.

Journal Doll

She is all fabric and paint and stands about 10" tall.

She has some writing on her body.

I wanted to play with paint but did not want to use a canvas I also would love to keep a journal but can never quite get to that place. So I was thinking of some sort of sculpture that I can do both painting and writing. She is the first step. I have in mind some other ideas but think maybe my journal will have to be the object or pictures on the object. In this case the dolls colors tell a story for me, yesterday I was out with a friend and just before we went into a restaurant I saw a color palette that I really love, that rust on the bird was an old truck and the green and burgundy was a book store. It was all surrounded by white blossoming trees. I had to just sit in the car and soak up the colors for a second, on occasion people think artists are strange we just look at things with imaginative eyes.

April Showers

I think she has a nice friendly face much younger than I have been making, must be spring.

Her umbrella is very old text in fact it is a German version of Oliver Twist.

Darn dandelions but they look good with the croquet ball.

I have said many times “April showers bring May flowers”. I’m not sure but it probably comes from this Al Jolson song. I Googled his name with the song and listened to it on u-tube, funny old song but still nice to hear.

Life is not a highway strewn with flowers,
Still it holds a goodly share of bliss,
When the sun gives way to April showers,
Here is the point you should never miss.

Though April showers may come your way,
They bring the flowers that bloom in May.
So if it's raining, have no regrets,
Because it isn't raining rain, you know, (It's raining violets,)
And where you see clouds upon the hills,
You soon will see crowds of daffodils,
So keep on looking for a blue bird, And list'ning for his song,
Whenever April showers come along.

And where you see clouds upon the hills,
You soon will see crowds of daffodils,
So keep on looking for a blue bird, And list'ning for his song,
Whenever April showers come along.

Art Date

Vitruvian Man 1490

Studies for the Trivulzio monument 1508-1511

Studies of the flowers 1481-1483

Anatomical studies 1509/10

Da Vinci – The Genius
Did you ever wonder why The Mona Lisa has no eyelashes or eyebrows? Or what color the paint was way back then? Did anyone ever try to hurt her? All these questions are answered at the exhibit along with some cool models of Leonardo’s inventions. They show a few videos and have some books about him in the OMSI gift store. The exhibit is only here till May 3rd so if you have the time it makes for a great art date. OMSI (Oregon Museum 0f Science and Industry) 1945 S.E. Water Ave. Portland. WWW.OMSI.EDU

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.
Leonardo de Vinci

IT CAME !

Building a Blurb book is the easiest thing to accomplish, just a few steps and you are on your way to being an author. You download the book templates onto your own PC so you can take as much time as you want to build your book, they have made it so simple for you to copy/move your photos to a box that keeps track of the ones that you have used. You really don’t have to think of a thing, you just choose a page layout pictures w/text or just text or just pictures and that’s about it. Thinking of what to say is the problem. The books are very affordable starting at $12.95 for a soft cover 7”x7”. Mine is a hardcover image wrap for $24.95, 7” square and is just the right size to carry around. And that is the reason why I made the book. So many people ask me what kind of art I make and now I can pop out the little book to show them and it looks so professional.

If you would like to see more you can go to www.blurb.com and if you want to preview my book it is listed under the title name Copper Crow Studio.

A Quilt for Savannah

This was a fun project making the quilt and little jacket it's been a very long time from the last quilt I made. I forgot how nice it is in the cold winter to work with flannels on your lap. The back of the quilt is as much fun to look at as the front, all the stitch details.

Poor baby the little jacket looks good on her but did not protector her from the giant baby eating Easter Bunny.

She did make up with the bunny and we all had a lovely Easter.