Halloween Puppet Parade!

 I completely forget to post photos of the finished puppets! We had a parade!

They are incredible! I was so lucky to have had the opportunity to work on these amazing creations. Mary Gaynier is a creative genius!

And I almost forgot...my 2024 Jack-o-lantern! I had to put a battery operated lantern inside to light it as it was crazy windy on Halloween.

 

 

 

Election Anxiety Projects

 I, like millions of others, can hardly wait for this election to be over. I am suffering from the worst election anxiety I've ever experienced.

I started rolling paper beads to deal with it. By Tuesday, I should have quite a stash. 

This morning, after rolling beads, I thought I'd try to replicate the scrappy scarf I bought last year at an art fair but with my own scraps of black, white, and cream fabrics. I'm pretty pleased with it!

Voila! Medals!

I'm thinking that if medals were awarded for chaos, clutter, poor planning, and general untidiness, these would be those medals.

I loved the Jack Ravi medals challenge. Can't wait for his November lessons.

 

October Fodder School 4

After some initial confusion, I realized October Fodder School is a series of "fodder challenges". The Polaroids were one of those. 

After the Polaroids,  I chose to try Amanda Trought's leaf painting challenge. The sewing portion of the lesson went a bit astray when I ran across the sequins and seed beads I'd forgotten I had.

 

After leaf painting, I tried  the Stephanie Lee texture lessons. I have some beautiful boards to use as book covers or bases for more collage work.

Then, I moved on to Carrie Smith and her sacred hearts, inspired by Mexican folk art. Once again, the sequins and beads made an appearance, along with (gasp!) glitter...I do love glitter. So, my sacred hearts are VERY sparkly! 

 

I wish I'd started all of this earlier in the month as there are 11 different challenges and I'm running out of time. In my defense, I've been spending a a lot of time working on the big puppets. They are incredible!  I think I'll try the Jack Ravi medals next.

Fodder School 4

Fodder School 4 has started with a series of mini lessons...FS Challenges. I chose to start with Rebecca Chapman and her "Polaroids". I passed on the florals and used old photos that I didn't want to throw away...you know the kind of photos...awkward, off center, heads cut off, over/underexposed, doubles from the days of the bonus double photos offers. I love them now, as Polaroids!

More Block Printing on Fabric (Late to Publish...Sorry!)

I'm heading in a different direction than most of my fellow FS classmates. I'm envious of the beautiful and precise patterns that everyone is creating,  but I kind of like my loose scribble stamps too. 

Busy Few Days

 I never feel busy but I'm creating. I finished the little memorials for my mom and dad.

 They are beautiful, if I'm allowed to say that about my own work. 

I've also stumbled across a group in my own community making big papier mache puppets. So I reminded myself of my very limited comfort zone, and then drove over to the Friendship Park Community Center to help. I've been back three times and am now hoping making big papier mache heads goes on forever.

And, of course, there's September Fodder School. I have yet to watch any of the lessons from Yetunde Rodriguez, but I jumped into the stamp making this morning. I promised myself that I would watch the lessons before I went any further.