Always......

Here's my daughters tribute, poppies painted with her fingerprints and lots of sparkle!

Remembrance Day, November 11th.

Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a moment of silence to honour and remember the men and women who have served, and continue to serve Canada during times of war, conflict and peace. We remember the more than 1,500,000 Canadians who have served throughout our nation’s history and the more than 118,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice.  Thank you!

#bringbackourgirls Art Auction...starts today!

Hi everyone, the Art Auction is underway, already with an amazing amount of support!  Thank you to everyone for even just taking a look!  Also a big thank you to Jessica Sporn for organizing this...you are amazing!

Here's a little recap of whats happening today!

Here are some important links:

Girl Rising:  http://girlrising.com/nigeria-action/ 

(which is where the money raised from the auction will go) 

Art Auction: http://www.32auctions.com/bringbackourgirls to participate in the auction. 

A Call to Art Facebook Page

My Facebook Page

Here are the pieces I've donated to the auction:

'Friends' 7x13 Gallery Wrapped Mixed Media Canvas

This is a one of a kind mixed media 'she art' piece of artwork.  It is one of my favourite pieces, but couldn't help donate it for this important cause.  The saying "She knew she could count on a Friend" has been paper-pieced onto the canvas.  The girl was created using acrylic paint, gelatos, india inks, vintage papers, doilies & vintage book paper.  The background was created using gouache, acrylic paint, modeling paste, stencils, stamps, india inks, rub-ons, ephemera etc.  Sealed with a low-gloss finish.  Signed on bottom right.

Quote is a gentle reminder that even in the darkest times you know you can always count on a friend.

'She' Monoprint on 8.5x11 mixed media paper (80lb) using a Gelli Plate.

This one of a kind, 8.5x11 monoprint ready to be framed.  It was created using many many layers of acrylic paint & stencils.  I then added some painterly layers with more acrylic paint directly to the gelli plate to create an abstract image by building layers of brushstrokes and textures.  The sentiment 'She remained true to herself' is a Unity Stamp and reminds me to be confident and strong and to always do whats right in my heart!  You can never go wrong with that!  This piece will be signed before shipping.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Have a wonderful day!

Here is a list of all the amazing artist involved and a link to their websites:

Jessica Sporn   http://jessicasporn.blogspot.com

Linda Kittmer  http://lindakittmer.blogspot.ca

Ronda Palazzari  http://rondapalazzari.typepad.com

Marjie Kemper   http://www.marjiekemper.com

Judy Shea   http://thekeytomyart.wordpress.com

Glenda Hoagland   http://pilgrimsthoughts.blogspot.com

Astrid Maclean  http://astridsartisticefforts.blogspot.com

Lisa Pace   http://lisapace.com

Jackie Neal   http://creatingwithoutcrayons-jackiepneal.com

Claudine Criner   http://claudinesartcorner.blogspot.com

France Papillon   http://www.france-papillon.com

Kristin Van Valkenburgh  http://TwinkleTwinkleLikeAStar.blogspot.com

Marcia Beckett  http://marciabeckett.blogspot.com

Ruth Levy   http://lerusho.wordpress.com/

Sally Lynn MacDonald   http://www.SallyLynnMacDonald.com

Renee Zarate   http://renee-boltonhouse.blogspot.com

Natasha May   http://natashamay.blogspot.com/

Carmen Whitehead   http://www.serendipitystudiobycw.blogspot.com/

Seth Apter   http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

Marybeth Shaw   http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/

Amy Ingardia-Walker  http://creativelyquirkyathome.blogspot.com/

Kelly Warren  http://happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com

Julie Bernier http://juliebernierphotography.zenfolio.com/

Adrienne Hoban  http://www.allure-decor.com/

Krista van Tol   http://craftylittlepigtails.blogspot.com

Cheryl Grigsby http://cherylspaperartz.blogspot.com

Jill Meyer www.jillmeyer.com

Lisa Flaherty http://mypeaceofpaper.blogspot.com

Kerry C. Mitchell http://kerrycmitchell.com

Lizabeth Harrington http://www.craicarts.blogspot.com; www.facebook.com/craicarts.com

Barbara Lanza www.barbaralanza.com

Jamie Dougherty www.jamiedoughertydesigns.com

Doreen Kassel www.doreenkassel.com ; www.http://doreengay-kassel.blogspot.com/

Nancy Baumiller http://crowabout.blogspot.com

Valerie Roussel https://www.facebook.com/CreativeLaureline

Susan K. Weckesser http://mysweetearth.blogspot.ca/

Kay Wallace http://kaywallaceartjournaling.blogspot.com

A Call To Art....online art auction for #bringbackourgirls

Hi Everyone, please find information below on an important art auction I'm involved in starting tomorrow where I'll be raising some "artsy noise" in support of the rights of girls around the world to have an education without fear of violence.  May 15 is the one month anniversary of the kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian girls who were in school.

On May 15th, we're hosting an online auction at 32auctions.com/bringbackourgirls.  All of our proceeds will be donated to Girl Rising, to support the worldwide struggle for safe education for all girls and women.

My FACEBOOK LINK

to get involved see fb link below:

A CALL TO ART FACEBOOK PAGE

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope to see you tomorrow!

             

You've got a friend in me canvas...

What does one do with a truck load of creative energy after returning home from CHA?  Make a canvas!  I made this piece shortly after I got home.  The amazing inspiration walking around there was so overwhelming (in a good way) I was bursting at the seams with ideas.  I had so much creativity buzzing around inside my head I just had to let it out and this was the result.  

I took a blank canvas and a piece of patterned designer paper and adhered it to the entire surface using gel medium.  After it was good and dry, I took some alphabet 'thickers' and placed them on the canvas as a 'mask', making the saying "you've got a friend in me"...(gotta love Toy Story) - oh I removed some of the 'sticky back' by pressing the stickers on my pants so they wouldn't tear the paper off when I removed them.    I added some whipped spackle around the edges to give it some texture and 'grunge'.  Then I went to work with some heavy body acrylic paint in Pink mixed with a bit of white paint and water and covered the entire canvas being careful not to saturate around the alphabet stickers too much.  Once that was completely dry I carefully removed the alphabet stickers revealing the pretty flowered background.  Then to finish it off I added some shading and dimension to the letters using gelatos and pitt pens!  

Here's a close up of how to use the pens and gelatos to add more dimension to your work!  They blend so nicely over dried paint!  

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little project, I know it found a good home!  Thanks Jo  ;)

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great weekend!

Supplies used:  Canvas, Designer paper, gel medium, gesso, acrylic paints, alphabet stickers, whipped spackle or modelling paste, gelatos, pitt pens.

Mixed Media, little birdie with a big heart...

Here's my latest.  Mixed media on canvas.  My mom has been here since Friday and we decided to get messy and this is what I came up with.  Its totally not my usual style and definately not what I thought the end result would be but I went in with 'no plan' (which was hard because I always have a plan).  I just rolled with it.  My mom's is still a work-in-progress, its gorgeous and can't wait til its finished!

My fav lss The Paper Pickle has a ton of awesome art supplies from paint & stencils to rubons and brushes for mixed media art!  I've been collecting quite a stash and have to put them to use!  Here are the supplies I used:  Magenta Acrylic Paints, Claudine Helmuth Paints, Liquitex acrylic inks, Faber Castel India Inks, stayz-on ink pads, Kaiser Craft Rub-ons, Crafters Companion stencils, Basic Grey dp, doily, bubble wrap, punchinella, mesh, foam stamps, clear and rubber stamps, old book paper, music sheets, oh the list can go on and on....Just wanted to give you an idea on how you can create your own piece of art!  So much fun!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Mixed media canvases.....part 1...

So I'm trying to tie up some loose ends today...organizing my office, cleaning up my computer etc...I've been meaning to post my mixed media canvases for MONTHS and since its the last day of the year, now is as good a time as ever!

So waaaaay back in the spring I took an on-line course by Christy Tomlinson called The She Art Workshop! It was alot of fun and FULL of amazing inspiration and was nice because I could go at my own pace. The fun part about mixed media is you can use just about anything to create your masterpiece! Some supplies I have used for my canvases are: paint, ink, sprays, pastes, stensils, stamps, rub-ons, glitter, designer paper, rhinestones, gouache, bubble wrap, mesh, doilies, man oh man the list goes on and on...

Below are first three canvases I did:

I made this sweet little canvas for a friends 8th birthday. The size is 2x2 (roughly the size of a standard post-it note). I also left little inspirational messages around each side of the canvas and presented it on a little easel for display.

This was my 2nd canvas:

My first attempt:

I will be posting the rest in a bit. Just wanted to share the fun of mixed media art. ANYONE can do it, even my 4 year old daughter has a finished canvas sitting in her room!

Stay tuned for more!

No card today but how 'bout a canvas....or two...

Hello everyone! I just couldn't resist posting this today. Yesterday my daughter wanted to have a girly girl day. So I suggested colouring or painting or shopping and she chose to paint!!! I was super excited as the night before I attended Linda's mixed media class at The Paper Pickle, so my mojo was still in full gear! I just started doing mixed media back in April/May (I started with Christy Tomlinson's She Art on-line course) and I have to tell you it is F-U-N!!! Not to mention the pure gratification of looking at your art once its done. I've done about 4 canvases, I'll have to post them for you to see. They make great gifts and they're rediculously addictive to make! Anyway, luckily my paints were easy to grab since our basement flooded and all my craft stuff is packed away until we get new carpet! Boooo! But a quick trip to the dollar store and a few new paint brushes and canvases later we were ready to roll!

I started with a plan, because my daughter (who's almost 4) needs some sort of structure at least to start out with or else there would have been paint on the walls....lol! She was a very good student. The only thing I did for her was cut the shapes for the house and the grass, stamp a few things and applied the rub-ons she chose and the rest was all her!

The minute she was done, she asked me for the 'hanger stand thingy' and marched right up to her room and found the perfect spot for her masterpiece. I must say it looks adorable in her room!

My favorite part was when she stopped (mid march) for a minute to ooogle her work. It was sooo cute I had to get a snapshot of it.

Here's her finished canvas. I have to say she looooves those Faber Castell Gelatos! You can see she went to work with the pink and red on her house! Here's my finihsed canvas I will proudly be displaying in my new office!

It was a great day and now we both have something to remind us of our special 'Girly Girl' day!

Thanks for stopping by!