The one with miscellaneous projects

Good morning and happy Sunday!

It’s a beautiful day outside which means I’m trying to decide how much time to dedicate to working on art inside and working outside in the garden. But first, let me share what I’ve been working on over the last week or so.

I put together another sample layout for my Art Journal Workshop next week (at the Turnip Green Creative Reuse). Our focus will be Gratitude. I was really pleased with this one!

Seats are still available so if you’re in Nashville and you want to come out and play with paint and paper, follow this link to register.

I started a new granola box canvas piece that will be going to Atmalogy soon. I’m really pleased that I’ve been selling some pieces there and Heather always encourages me to bring in new items.

I’ll share the finished project soon.

And finally,  I was fortunate to see a lecture and exhibit by Maggie Taylor  (and husband, Jerry Uelsmann) a while back out at MTSU. I fell in love with her work! It’s so whimsical and playful. This layout is 100 percent inspired by her work (or I guess when it’s finished I can say that). I will share this one when it’s complete as well.

I think the warm weather has won out. I’m going to go play in the garden.

Till next week,
Cheers,
Michelle

The one where I announce my workshop series

Happy Sunday!

I don’t know about you, but March sure did come in like a lion in my house. I got sick (9 days) and since we share in our house, gave it to my hubs. I even missed the monthly Nashville Collage Collective event at the Turnip Green! I guess that’s way it feels like this month is flying by. Does anyone else feel that way?

Today I’m happy to report that I am (finally) feeling better; I can even breath through my nose again! And I am super excited to announce that I am officially teaching an Art Journal workshop series at the Turnip Green beginning next Saturday!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

In this four part series  we will be making our own art journal using up-cycled posters (thank you VU Divinity School!). I’ll show the group how to do a simple saddle stitch to bind the journals out of the posters. We’ll go from this:

to this:

After we finish binding the journals, we’ll decorate the covers using (more) recycled papers and acrylic paints. Here are a few samples:

and my most recent cover

We’ll meet again in April to create our next layout. In session two, we’ll work on a gratitude page. In May we will use magazine pages and acrylic paints to collage our layout. And finally, in June I will share how I use everyday items to create interesting backgrounds for my layouts.

Here is the schedule (all session are at the Turnip Green):

March 29 from 1 – 3 pm   Create journal and decorate covers
April 26 1 – 3 pm Gratitude layout
May 24 1 – 3 pm Collage layout
June 28 1 – 3 pm Creating interesting backgrounds

If you’re in Nashville and you’d like to join us, reserve your spot by emailing Kelly info@turnipgreencreativereuse.org

I hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Michelle

The one with the Turnip Green Creative Reuse

Happy Sunday,

I took this photo after working on some valentines cards with one of my nephews. I introduced him to mono-printing (using my Gelli Plate) and stamping last night. We had a blast!I am pleased to say that I checked off a major goal this week by visiting the Turnip Green Creative Reuse yesterday. The TGCR is an amazing organization that is a common place for local artists to meet and have a shared space to create. They have retail space, a gallery, host workshops and collect materials for artists to reuse in their art. The energy in this space is inspiring.

A few friends and I went to a collage event yesterday they hosted for the Nashville Collage Collective. We had so much fun!

If you haven’t been to the Turnip Green, I highly recommend you do so. I had a chance to chat with Jake and Kelly, two generous, kind and creative souls, who made us feel right at home. They showed us around the wonderful space:

and introduced us to the folks from the Nashville Collage Collective (Lisa, Eva and Robert). Lisa shared with me that they hope to host the collage event at TGCR monthly so follow them on Facebook for the next date.

We were able to choose materials from the shop to use in our own collage pieces (what a treat!). Here’s our table:

I brought one of my art journals with me and here’s my finished(?) layout.

I had a chance to share my idea for teaching art journaling with Jake and Kelly (and they loved it) so hopefully, I’ll have some good news to share with you in the not too distant future!

It was a fantastic afternoon. I enjoyed exploring and searching for materials, chatting with my friends as we created collages, meeting new people, finding inspiration in their work and meeting the folks who volunteer their time for two great organizations here in town. I can’t wait to go back!

Till next week,
Cheers,
Michelle

The one that disappeared

Well, this has never happened to me before. I had half this post typed up, saved it and now it’s gone. I was working in Chrome, because it’s my preferred browser, but I forget it has a few quirks. One being the weird way it doesn’t scroll feature works when I’m on WordPress. And  every time I start a post, I start in Chrome, cause, well, it’s my favorite. Anyhow, I saved, closed out and re-opened it in Safari so I could scroll and darn it, the post is gone. The pictures I uploaded are still in the library, but the post is gone…….Maybe Chrome is mad at me for cheating on it.

Ok, take two (right after I save this one). So, I’ve been working on the next steps in my creative life but unfortunately, none of that includes finished pieces to share with you. I hope to be share some of my news soon but for now, I will share a few things I’m working on.

I made these tags to go with my those art pieces I finished recently (my last post here). I thought they were kinda cute. The background is watercolor, the heart is acrylic and  (it’s a hand cut stencil I made).

I started 5 new granola bar box canvases. I’ve got the backgrounds complete on most of them and the focal points are beginning to take shape.

I wish I could remember whose blog I was on when I saw this idea so I could give proper credit, but her name alludes me. Anyhow, I had hubs bring me some plastic washers home from the hard ware store and glued them to cardboard. Super easy and they work really well. I’m using them in a few projects already.

And finally, we use a lot of posters to advertise events in our school. As a school, we do a great job of recycling, but I have started up-cycling and using a lot of them in my art. This is the start of a new set of greeting cards. I have a cool idea; I hope it comes to life the way I picture it in my head.

Hopefully, I’ll have some good news to report next week.

Till then, take care.
Cheers,
Michelle