michelle my belle

House Art

I did this mixed media 3 House series out of acrylic, label maker, inks, oil pastel, gel pens and a rubber stamp I cut myself. It may be hard to see but the rubber stamp is the frame part around the words stamped in brown. Finished off by making a print and sealing it onto 3/4" wood product and then applying two coats of clear coat. I chose the Love, Give and Laugh words cause these are some of the actions that I cherish in our home the most!

I hope and pray you have a lovely day today. Each day is a gift from above.

Small Painting

What do you give someone who has everything as a gift? Of course, ART! I wanted to do something special for Steve and Caprice for their hospitality in San Diego. They love their dog Buster so I asked her to email me some of her favorite pictures of him. Then I had Katy alter it a bit in photoshop and this is where I took over.

I took a small canvas, applied a couple coats of gesso to try to get a little smoother surface. Then I used Mod Podge and glued on the print. I painted all around the outside and also dry brushed paint around the edges of the print. I added a cape cause he's a super hero of course!

Added more and more paint and layers. Used a round sponge to add the dots. Did a combination of stamps and hand lettering to keep it interesting. I also used those Distress Ink Pads to distress the edges which was new for me. Something I learned in one of the Artfest Workshops!

Here is one of my yard favorites. This Clematis has so many blooms every year that go on and on for several weeks. And the best part is that I do nothing to it. Every few years I prune it back but that's it!

MT (marathon training)- Ran 10.7 on Sat. with a few friends that are also doing the Portland Marathon. My husband roped me into riding today 29 miles with a lot of hills! Not was I was expecting but I do admit I felt great and accomplished afterwards! I'm thinking of doing the Furman Training Plan for this marathon. This plan requires only 3 days of running a week-speed, tempo and a long run. Plus 2 days of cross training. hmmm. I have an email into my brother in law, Mark Allen, to see what his opinion on this is. He should know! : )

Art Journaling!

April and I both fell in love with the "art journaling" concept at Artfest. This is her on the ferry back to Seattle after the retreat was over. She did a great post today on some of the supplies she's using and some of her journal pages.

Here are a couple of my Artfest journal pages. What I'm loving about creating in this way is that I feel such a sense of freedom in it. I'm not creating it to "sell it", I'm creating it for pure enjoyment and experimentation!

I'm toying with the idea of doing a little faux workshop at my studio. Am I crazy?!

An Artfest Goal Accomplished!

I was so inspired by this gal's hand cut stamp (below in my journal), that I added it to my to do list. I probably shouldn't have taken the time right now since I have many more important things pressing... oops! And, to top it off I ended up having to carve two of them since the first one I carved I forgot to REVERSE THE IMAGE! erg!

We sold our first item on Etsy today! hip hooray! Thank you! Thank you!! : )

Esty Baby!

In case you hadn't noticed the little addition to our side bar, we are now Etsy-fied! All the items that we'll feature on Etsy are from our USA made line. This piece was always one of my favorites. Her name is "Yard Girl". She's actually been retired from our line for a few years now but we have a few left hanging around our studio so we thought we'd offer her and the others at a steal of a deal! Check out our Etsy site for more!

Artfest Workshop #3

At Artfest many people bring little things they've made to trade with each other. Here's my pile of loot! Some of the trades people brought were quite simple while others were much more involved. Fun, Fun!

My last workshop was Michael deMeng's Morpheus Box. He provided a simple wooden box with a rotating block inside that we were to use a combination of assemblage, collage and paint to alter it into our own creations. In this pic Michael is doing a critique at the end with everyone's finished pieces. As you will see below mine was a bit different than most of the others...

I utilized a bowling pin head, vintage bottle caps, ruler, some sort of package top for the tutu and other odds and ends. In the end I think this is my favorite piece I created.

One of the workshops that I really wanted was Anahata's Wallpaper People. I'm not sure who's pieces these are but I thought they were wonderful and so different from each other.

Some examples from Katherine England's workshops.

April, Catherine (our sweet, talented roommate taking the picture) and I finishing it all off with Elevated Ice Cream!

Bye, Bye Artfest. Thank you Tracy & Teesha Moore for your passionate service to artists!

Artfest Workshop #2

Not to worry, there are only 3 workshops total. Tomorrow will be the last Artfest post I promise!

I was so blessed to sit next to the wonderful, kind and talented Mary Stanley of Santa Barbara in Judy Wise's Waxy Layers workshop.

Judy and I go way back to the Saturday Market and art show days. About 12 years ago or so. (for me that's way back -grin-) She is one of the most encouraging people I know when it comes to art and creating. She really embraces all aspects of the process, including the mistakes, which I have really appreciated since I always want everything to be just so. If you're a "creative" check out her blog, in my humble opinion it's one of the best around.

I have been interested in encaustic for a long time so I was delighted to have the opportunity to learn from Judy who has been working in the medium for a while now. We explored fundamentals of wax, transfers, intaglio and more. Thank you Judy! You did a great job and I look forward to taking another class from you sometime!

Look at this piece made by Karen Obrien!

While I was in Waxy Layers April was taking this paperclay workshop. I can't remember the name but you can check out her site for more Artfest goodies. Aren't these darling!

1st Artfest Workshop

My first workshop was with the ultra talented Linda & Opie O'Brien! The pieces above are just a small sample I pulled from their website.

This is how it all began...

Here's my piece still in process. I have to say, I'm so excited to have taken this workshop. I feel like I learned several new skills that I will be able to continue applying to my own art in the future.

I also got to meet some other amazing artists like Tyn. Is her piece cute or what!

Here's my table mate Lauren with her fanTABULOUS creation!

I didn't get this gal's name. oops. I love the crazy head piece!

My finished dolly and Lauren's dolly already making friends.

And last but definitely not least! My FAVORITE Artfest pic! For me this picture just embodies everything that was felt at Artfest.

Our First Artfest

The weather was gorgeous the when we arrived at Fort Worden, thankfully we took advantage of that ONE day of sun! After checking in April and I ventured off to explore the area. At this point we're both quite apprehensive about how we feel about being here amongst all (i heard about 600) of these artist/creative types.

Sorry to do this.. but I gotta go to bed... I'll post the workshops and my creations tomorrow!

The Last Owl!

I promise this will be it for quite a while on the owl thing! I'm onto other creatures from here. But, while I'm at it...

I'm going to my first Artfest next week! My friend and fellow artisan April is flying in on Monday from Detroit so we can drive up to Port Townsend together. I'm really looking forward to learning some new techniques and being surrounded by creative people for four days. And, of course hanging with April who in and of herself is super inspiring.