Life is Art

I recently stepped down from my Design Team spot with the Stampendous Graphics/Catalog Team and from my teaching position at my local scrapbook store. Life is changing. The funny thing is I just can't stay away from my messy little studio and my art. I thought I could walk away but I can't.

So I thought I would try my hand at mixed media journaling. Funny, but I can't walk away from my beloved Stampendous stamps either. This wonderful Life is Art sentiment is a relatively new Stampendous stamp. You can find it here. This is the first inking of the Stampendous Dragonfly Vine, wish I had inked it before now. It's definitely going in my "keep close" pile. The tiny ticket is from the Stampendous Carousel Circus Perfectly Clear set.

Lots of other supplies were used: some leftover dyed cheesecloth from a Halloween card, a funky treble clef paperclip from Staples, washi tape, Tsukineko Goosebumps Texture Spray and way too much paint and ink. If you are new to mixed media, I buy all of my paints, inks, sprays and stencils at Ellen Hutson LLC. The service is amazing and even though my package has to travel across the country, I always get my goodies in a few days. The packing people at Ellen Hutson do an excellent job of wrapping and packing things so that your new product arrives in pristine shape at your front door.



Included on my page is one of my favorite photos, a picture of my mother and aunt, best guess, in high school. I've always wondered what piece they were playing and imagine it to be one of my grandfather's favorite melodies that he was always whistling. My mother went on to become a wonderful violinist and music teacher and my aunt, an extraordinary watercolor artist and teacher. Both of them were extremely instrumental in my love of the arts. I am grateful that I had such wonderful exposure to both music and the visual arts. There was always music in our house. Violinists came and went, there were orchestra concerts, and of course my music lessons. I'm thankful that my parents gave up so much to give me all of those years of piano and violin lessons, without it I would not be a piano teacher. I would not know the joy music can provide nor would I have the ability to lose myself in this form of expression. Even though I didn't see my aunt very often, her art was always present. Her paintings hung on our walls and her thrown pots lined our shelves. She frequently sent my sisters and I amazing presents like a hand painted brooch that I still have today to a tabletop loom, hand-formed and painted paper mache puppets she made in college, marionettes, rich waxy colored pencils... The thing I loved the most was this huge painted canvas that was propped in a corner of our basement. I wish I had that canvas to hang on my wall. It was so cool. As a child, I loved to look at its splatters of paint. I later came to learn there was something painted underneath that my aunt didn't like and she simply was covering it up with washes and layers.

Today, while adding layers of gesso and paint, I was reminded of that great canvas. Life is Art.

Thanks for visiting.