Bird Box

I'm having too much fun with these simple collages on 8" birch boxes. And I used my excess paint for a page of fodder.

 

And Another New Year

December was a busy month for me. I scrambled to get ready for the holidays before flying to New York City to hang out with my friend Dan. I had a great time, as always but once home, I came down with Covid, canceling the rest of our holiday fun. And this was our first Christmas without my dad...all in all, a pretty low key holiday.

This was my first time actually skipping the Fodder School lessons.  I didn't even watch the instructional videos in December. And I was feeling pretty badly about it.

I was having trouble getting motivated for January. But I began to watch the Megan Quinlan videos and finally felt inspired (by Flaco). I painted backgrounds for two different sets of cards, chose my tins, cut cards, and today, I actually made progress on the cards themselves. But then, I ran out of owl eyes.

More Catching Up

 My Love Your Imperfect letters class has ended. The class sure delivered on it's promise...I am much more comfortable writing in an art journal. Here's the 30 Day Letters Challenge...complete:

I've also been keeping up with my 100 Days of Kindness Cards:

 

 

I did spend the afternoon today with my friend, Judy, making washi eggs . Tis the season!

More Wonky Birds

This time, they're from more colorful papers. I have no idea what I'm doing with these birds, but I cannot stop making them. 

Wonky Birds

The wonky bird lesson was right up my alley!

Day 42/100 and Finished Bird

Day 42/100....More grocery bag paper.

And, I finished my bird for Unruly Arts. I'm very pleased with my contribution to this fun community project!

Completed Bird

My commissioned bird is done and ready to be boxed up and gifted. I did manage to find a spot for a tiny pink ribbon...wanted to keep it bird-y and not cancer-y. 

 

Work on Bird

I'm working on the bird but had to drop back and make some dotted paper for the wings. Homemade is so much better than store-bought.  

November Project: Diorama

I really didn't plan on doing the diorama project.  Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the lesson and the sample...just did not interest me.

But, it's only the second month of the class and I didn't want to skip a lesson so early in the school, so I made one.

No planning, no measuring...I just jumped in and started. It's a bit wonky but in a good way. I was really pleased with what I did. I like the outside better than the inside...the interior got a little greeting card-y. But since I was able to incorporate bits of all of the techniques that I learned from this month's fodder lesson, I'm considering it a success.

And I've been commissioned to do a bird box, so I got started on that.

Bird Stamp and a Spicy Kani Salad

I'm working on a bird stamp. This rubber stuff sure cuts much more easily than my old battleship linoleum.

And because I was craving a spicy kani salad, and I had the ingredients,  I attempted to make one instead of trying to talk Bill into a sushi place. Although my knife skills are sorely lacking, it came out pretty tasty.

Finished Another Bird

 I finished another bird box. This was done mostly with my own collage fodder.I think it does make for a more satisfying project. 

 

Starting Another Bird Box

 Before I let myself sink into the couch for an hour of bad reality TV, I came upstairs to get a start on another bird box. At least I think it will be a bird. 

Bird Done

I finished my third bird. I hung them on the wall together and now I'm not sure I can part with them.

 

 

 

Collage Fodder and a Little Bird Work

After breakfast this morning, I hauled all of my supplies out to the garage to play with the GelliPlate and make some collage papers for an art day with some family. Time really got away from me, and it felt great. And little by little, I'm learning to work with the plate. I was finally getting the hang of it when it was time to clean up my mess. I still need to watch some instructional videos. 

 

 

Then I worked a little bit on the bird. 

Finished Bird and an Art Day

I finished Bird #2 and then set up for the art day with my friend and her niece.  We had a great time pasting and blabbing. I really should plan more days like this.

A Little Progress on Bird #2

I did a little work on the second bird box. I'm thinking of donating the series of three to Nature's Nursery for a fundraising auction this fall. I think the fundraiser has a bird theme. 

Work in Progress: Bird #2

I worked on Bird #2 today.  I also spent some time gathering materials and tools for Saturday when my friend and her niece come for their "art" day. I've never done anything like this...an art day. I've been invited to them and participated as a guest but I've never been the "teacher". This may prove interesting. 

 

One Bird Done...Another Started

 I finished the bird yesterday. I had to declare it done or I would have just kept gluing and gluing and gluing.... I'm very happy with it and I think I'll do a series of three.

 

These are done on 8" by 8" birch plywood art panels. They are great to work on but I am not going to be able to keep making and making....I am going to have to distribute at some point. 

But I'll think about that some other time. So I started Bird Box No. 2.

 

Work in Progress

 And the progress is slow! not sure why I'm timid about working on this...maybe the wood box surface seems to precious to waste on non-masterpieces. I'd better get over that. Anyway, here's my bird box so far. 

Haiku #3 and Zentangle #30

I wrote three different haiku today, and I'm actually really pleased with this one...

Yes, I made it into a picture.

Then, after shoveling snow from the entire driveway and deck, I Zentangled a bird. I'm pleased with this too.

Now, I'm heading out to the kitchen to rifle through the cabinets for more glasses to paint.