Today I completed the painting I started last week, 'Spirit of Serenity', 24"x24", mixed media--acrylic background rubbed on by hand which makes a VERY soft blended background, ink for text and pastel. The text is my favorite prayer by Mother Theresa:
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
(It is there for each and every one of us. Mother Theresa)
The last line is not in the painting. May this painting bring you the peace and possibilities, freedom and serenity that is born of faith.
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Spirit of Serenity' 24"x24" mixed media
I found out that the American Ceramic Society has chosen one of my articles published in the Ceramic Monthly Magazine last year to be included in the Ceramic Arts Handbook, an actual BOOK featuring articles by the best ceramic artists of our time and their tips and techniques! I am SO honored!!!! I received my complimentary copy of the book on January 6th, 2016 and would like to share the photos of the book and article. It is just too exciting for this little rural country girl! THANK YOU, American Ceramic Society!!!
This is the cover of the book.
This is the index page that has MY name and article listed.....page 105!
Page 105, first page of my article featuring MY low relief carved brick relief sculpture in the easel on the top HALF of the page! 4'x6' fired ebony brick, newly installed (November, 2015) in front of my studio in Downs, KS.
Middle two pages with illustrations on building an easel for carving brick, design by Carol Urban, one of my CCCC ceramic students.
4th and last page of the article with photos of the completed easels.
I was so fortunate to take an alcohol ink workshop from one of my old students, Theresa Gram. She gave us a great price for the workshop and then sent all the supplies HOME with us! It was a tremendous offer, workshop and so much fun to boot! We worked on black and white ceramic tiles using many techniques. I LOVED the MAGIC of this medium. I truly felt 5 years old when the wonder of art IS pure magic!
These are the beginning tiles I made at the workshop. The various techniques were (top left, down and then up to the right): 1. using water with the ink to give a more transparent background. 2. blowing/running wash. 3. (square) applied ink then spritzed with alcohol leaving a wonderful texture. 4. black tile using WHITE ink then dropping color into the white and blowing with a straw. 5. (larger rectangular tile) used finger tip to 'draw' the petals of the flower and then outlined detail with small brush.
These were all the supplies that Theresa gave us to take home! Left is samples of different papers that could be used with the alcohol inks; top center is the spray can of air and the blue, red, yellow inks and a blending solution, the sample tiles I made and the white tiles that I didn't get to (4); right is the storage box and 2 brushes ! JACKPOT! Thank you Theresa!
I wanted to complete the raven and buffalo series with a piece on the white buffalo. I chose to do this piece on the black paper with white ink and white pastel.
Spirit of the White Buffalo, 9"x12", white ink, white pastel on black paper.
I have been working on some new paintings in larger formats. These are still mixed media acrylic paintings, but on much larger canvases than my usual pieces. Hope you enjoy them.
24"x24" mixed media--background was applied with a VERY small (approximately 6-8") yarn MOP from Dollar General. The mop was dipped in acrylic paint and then pounced on the stretch canvas. Then I rolled the mop over the surface to soften the pounded marks. I used the aqua and orange for the background. The circular stroke was made with a (BRAND NEW) toilet brush that had a hollow handle so I pushed it on the opposite end of the mop. By laying the canvas on the floor and using the long handle of the mop, there was a freedom to the brush strokes that was fun and playful. I spritzed the bottom of the circular mark and let the paint run. I then added the details to create "Spirit of the Leap of Faith" .
"Spirit of the Mended Heart", 24"x36", Mixed media--scraped acrylic, acrylic, pastel, ink, embroidery thread. This canvas was ordered through the mail and when it arrived it had a knife cut in the middle of it. At first I thought I would paint, 'Spirit of the Broken Heart', but I decided I wanted it to be much more positive. So I chose the Mended Heart and was really excited when I found some of my Mother's embroidery thread. There is a quote I like that says something about God's light shining brightly through the cracks/broken parts of our heart.
Detail of the 'mended' part of the heart.
Spirit of Spring Bursting Forth, 11"x15"Mixed Media--scraped acrylic, acrylic, white ink on watercolor paper. I'm loving experimenting with the white ink on darker paint. And I love the texture of the scraped acrylic on the watercolor paper.
I have been having fun playing with some new techniques I've found on some u-tube videos. Most of them are playing with background techniques. Then I had to figure out how to add my style to these backgrounds to make the paintings my own. It has been interesting and lots of fun and I am finding that the process if freeing my spirit!
Most of the pieces are mixed media using acrylics, some pastels and inks on watercolor paper, 11"x15". The watercolor paper picks up some interesting textures. I am not sure if these are show quality, but some of them make me SO happy when I look at them. It will be interesting to see how these processes impact my later paintings. I hope you enjoy these.
(Well, I'm having trouble getting the photos to import into this site. I will work on this in a few days. Thanks for your patience.)
'Spirit of Serenity' 24"x24" mixed media
