Found Object Art

What to do with all those little bits of trash we come across everyday? Make art with them of course! Zac Freeman creates intricate portraits with the flotsam and jetsam of our lives. Click on the portraits and then click again to see the details of the portraits. A lot of painstaking work has gone into these pictures.

Great Idea for a Bookcase

I love the idea of this bookcase. I didn't see it when I went to the Raw Edges website, but it looks easy enough to build on your own. Although I didn't see it, I did check out the rest of their handiwork. On the most part, very cool!

What Can You Do With A Toilet Paper Roll?

With a lot of practice and much trial and error...maybe, just maybe...I could do something like THIS...maybe.

Funeral Cars of Argentina

Amazing is all I can say. These are the most beautiful cars I have ever seen! Starting out as 1942 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60 Special four-door sedans, they are then transformed into works of funerary art. Here is the link to the article and more pictures of the cars. So far they have only these two cars. I hope there are more to be found in Argentina in the future.

Book Fort

Quoted from MAMbo, Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna

Throughout his career, Matej Krén, among the most important Slovakian contemporary artists, has focused mainly on the means of elaboration and transmission of knowledge, establishing suggestive links between their historical and ideological relativity and the experimentation with many forms of optical and perceptual illusion.

Chosen because of their nature as seat of knowledge, as symbols of intrinsically human free thought, books are here “used” as raw materials for an artistic process existing and communicating on many distinct levels.

Click on the link and see how big this thing is. Perhaps we will see something like this in iPads in the next 10 years. Hopefully we'll still have books by then.

A Different Kind of Artist

I tend towards the dark side of art at times and I recently found Greg Brotherton through Colossal. His sculptures are thought provoking, to say the least. They remind me a lot of Tim Burton and the various characters that he created for his films, with a little H R Giger thrown in.

One More Book Sculptor

What can I say? I love my books and if someone out there can make art from a book that would otherwise go to the landfill, I'm all for it. Guy Laramee's "The Great Wall" series is fascinating. You could almost walk around in these mountains.

Merry Christmas !

How Much Fun Is Math?

Yeah, I know. I don't think so either. Math was not, nor is it, one of my favorite subjects. Funny, because in my other life, I was a bookkeeper. I still need math to figure bead projects and designs, so it will always be with me. But...it can be made fun, interesting and artful when in the hands of Zachary Abel. How amazing are his sculptures? Look at what you can do with lollipop sticks and rubber bands and playing cards.

Friday Night Spotlight

I have three of the most fun sites you will ever get sucked into. I can waste so much time at any one of these places, so take it easy and set the timer. Don't ever say I didn't warn you.....

Pinterest. If you've seen my links to this place and haven't been there yet, what are you waiting for? Great ideas, funny stuff, eye poppin' pictures are what you will find here. Taken in moderation, is the only thing I can say.

Craftgawker will supply you with all the arty/crafty ideas for the rest of your life. I have ideas I want to work up based on some of these cool crafts.

Colossal is more on the artful scene and here is where you really want to be careful. You will be lost in the links for hours and hours. Beautiful, thoughtful, wonderful art from all over the world.

Enjoy your trip!

A Great Doggie Idea

I know it's too close to Christmas to get presents now, but think about this one later for your pup(s).

The Dog Peek would be great for the dog who can't see what's on the other side of the fence or maybe even the front door.

This made me laugh the first time I saw it, but then realized how cool would that be for your dog? Don't know whether it would slow down the barking or heat it up 'cause they can see. Either way, I think it'd make your pooch feel more in touch with the other side of the fence.

Happy Solstice!

Here is a picture I took this morning, at 10:15, of the sun through the alders that border our pasture. This time of year it is very low on the horizon and barely reaches the top of the trees. Today the light comes back and the cycle starts again.

Recycled Art

What can you do with a little wood, some beer cans and bits of wire? How about butterflies, birds, planes or words. Paul Vallinski has scoured the streets of New York for his materials to change, like a butterfly, into the beautiful.

Go on over to his website and take the time to browse through his galleries. The glove artwork is fascinating.

Have fun!

I Found Another Book Sculptor

"Nicholas Jones is a Melbourne based sculptor who uses books and printed paper to make works which question the manner in which books are ‘read’." I'd say so. His art is fabulous and worth the trip through the "pages". What better use than this for old books that would have been thrown away. I think I may have to go to my library book sale and see what I can find to fold, clip and tangle.

Sunday Quote

Friday Night Spotlight

The end is near. The end of the year that is and it's time to start thinking about how you're going to start 2012. Enough with the resolutions, they only last, at most, a couple months. Try something creative and productive. Take a class. Whatever it is that you've been wanting to do or try to do, learning is a life long practice. Since I'm interested in arty things, here is a selection of online classes that might interest you. I like the online classes because I don't have to travel all over the place and they are much less expensive than retreats and workshops. Another nice thing about these classes is you can relax and take your time. You can go back over each technique and feel like you're not missing anything.

Art Trader Magazine has two new Art of Collage classes coming up in January. Each class has three modules, Level I includes Module 1: An Introduction to Collage Art, Module 2: All About Backgrounds, Module 3: Telling a Story. Level II has Module 1: Material Manipulation, Module 2: Layers & Stamping, Module 3: Creating Your Own Style. Each class is $50. While at Art Trader Magazine, check out the free issues of their magazines. There is a lot of fun stuff to read about and see.

I just signed up for a visual journaling class taught by Traci Bautista at Strathmore Artist Studio. This class starts on January 1st. There are two more classes available in watercolor sketching with Cathy Johnson and Force drawing technique with Mike Mattesi. All classes are free and Traci's class runs for four weeks. Time to add colors and pictures to those drab journals.

If you would like to learn to knit or crochet, sew a dress, make jewelry or how to quilt, Craftsy has these and a number of other interesting classes to try. These can keep you busy for the rest of the year!

This is just the beginning for a new year of creativity. You never know where it might take you and the adventures you might have. But above all, have fun!

What Do You Do With Your Crayons?

I bet it's nothing like what artist Herb Williams does with his.

"Lubbock, TEXAS (September 2011) - The National Heritage Center (NRHC) is proud to announce its newest exhibit "Unwanted Visitor: Portrait of Wildfire" opening October 7. The outdoor art installation is the work of internationally-known sculptor Herb Williams of Nashville, TN. Williams will use Crayola crayons to create multiple freestanding, three-dimensional sculptures representing wildfires that are then meant to melt in the Texas weather conditions. "

Before you leave his site make very sure you look at his gallery. You will be amazed by the beautiful art he creates with Crayolas.

What to do with kitchen knobs

One usually does not think of cabinet hardware as jewelry. Well, it could be kitchen jewelry, but human jewelry? Here are a couple of necklaces I made from an idea I saw on Pinterest.

Holiday Eating Tips

This came from one of my friends at OnlineAuction. These are the perfect tips for eating for this time of year. If you haven't started by now, get ready, this is the weekend before Christmas!


Holiday Eating Tips
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Have A Happy Holiday Season! Don't Drink and Drive, I want to see you here next year.

The Mystery at the Library

No, it's not a Nancy Drew mystery or Agatha Christie brain twister. This is a true life mystery about an artist that was leaving beautiful works of art made from books at the libraries in Edinburgh this year. Read the story and check out the pictures of the pieces. You'll be amazed. It's still a mystery about who the artist is and there may be more "gifts" in the future.

I love a good mystery!