Living in a Crayola World...

I am a grown woman.

Almost 63 years grown.

I still adore crayons.

One can never have too many crayons.

And what a happy girl I was when I discovered

all things Crayola.

Years ago I spotted this calculator at Macy's and I 

really, REALLY wanted it for Christmas.

So I told all my kids and my husband that this

was what I wanted.  It was only $7.98

Truly, I would have been happy with this!

Did I get it?  No.

I had to find it a few years later at

a flea market and paid over twice as much for it.

All my crayons have been packed away for a couple

of years and yesterday I took most of them

out and put them in my studio.

I keep the door closed at night because 

Mr. Kitty loves bling and tries to eat it all.

This morning I opened the door and it

smelled like a new box of crayons.

I was six again.

I really do live in a Crayola world.

Hugs,

Kathleen

Where Bloggers Create

Today is Where Bloggers Create day presented by

Karen Valentine at My Desert Cottage.

A couple of blog posts earlier I posted pictures of my studio and

I will share two of them here.  The one above

and this one:

These are actually two different rooms in my house.

In this post I will share some of my

favorite things.

Button Box contents:

Beads:

Beautiful trims:

Wooden Spools:

I'm very fortunate to have a very supportive husband who loves to

build all the little shelves and cubbies I could

possibly use. This unit wraps around three sides

of a work table:

So that I can do what I love best:

Have fun!

Hugs,

Kathleen

A Word About Art

Because I can't draw, I have never considered myself an artist.  Now before you start charging me a quarter for being negative, just hear me out.

As a six-year-old budding artist, I loved to draw and one day I drew a very rudimentary self-portrait, complete with oval body and nipples. (I had advanced from strictly stick figures, you see.)  Being quite pleased with myself, I showed it to my mom and my mom, being slightly appalled by it, struggled with her words.  They came out as "Well, I've seen better."  What I heard was, "you're not good enough."  My little six-year-old artistic soul was crushed.  Then came elementary school art class.  Even though I was deliriously happy playing with finger paints, crayons, paper, scissors and library paste (which I surreptitiously licked off my fingers), my projects were "graded."  I never quite measured up to my teacher's standards.  My grades reflected the fact that I wasn't "good enough."  By high school my six-year-old artistic soul was quashed for good.

I did not, however, give up buying art supplies.  I have crayons, watercolors, acrylics, oil pastels, watercolor crayons, oil sticks, brushes, inks, dyes, papers, etc., etc., etc.  My mother taught me to sew and embellish fabric with buttons and beads and to be creative with textiles.  As a result I have a fabulous collection of fabric, fibers, buttons and beads.

About 10 years ago I discovered collage and altered arts and I've been creating and using everything I've learned over the years and so grateful I have my collections of "stuff."  My six-year-old artistic soul came alive.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED.

I read a comment online made by an artist who was incensed that anyone who did not have a fine arts degree and had committed themselves to years of study would dare call themselves artists.

Now, you're probably thinking, "Uh-oh, she's retreated back to her devastated six-year-old artistic soul."  Wrong.  This time I was just angry so I said, "Shame. On. You."

I don't know what Webster's says, but my definition of art is a creative expression coming from our very heart and souls.  It can be dark, light, happy, sad, vulnerable, realistic, abstract, impressionistic, satirical and the list goes on and on.

The point being there are as many different ways of expressing art as there are artists.  Your techniques may be different than mine, but that doesn't make mine any less artistic.

Not once has it occurred to me to ask

an artist if they had a

fine arts degree before determining whether

their art spoke to me.

I listen only with my heart.

Hugs,

Kathleen

Big Day...

Today is a BIG day for us.

We're going to sign a lease for this building:

 It's an old building that is listed as an historical building in

Larimer County.

This will be the new home of Traditions, Ltd.,

Jerry's shop for doing what he loves best.

He'll be creating custom and one of a kind furniture,

built-ins, display and reproduction pieces, studio design and

whatever else his customers can dream up.  If it's made of wood he

can build it.  He's been without a workshop for over two years. 

He's so creative and passionate about what he does

that he deserves to be able to follow his dreams. 

 Especially since I've taken over

half the house.

aka the dining room:

spare bedroom:

 

He's been an integral part of my dreams for years and my daily

encouragement to pursue those dreams of being a mixed

media artist and if I needed something, he just built it.

 storage for my buttons:

And so a new adventure beings.

Hugs,

Kathleen

p.s.  A new website will be coming this summer.

       You can reach Jerry at 970-397-7859 if

       you have any woodworking dreams that 

       you need interpreted. 

Something Different...

Bottle of Truth

 I'm participating in an artful round robin swap through

Timeless Creations in Ft. Collins.

The rules are simple.  Each participating artist (there are

14 of us) was to create a box in her chosen theme and the boxes would then 

circulate, round robin style, and each artist would then

create a piece of art in her chosen medium that would reflect

the theme of the box.  The first box I received was created

by my friend Kelly with the theme being

"Aunt Tilly's Tinctures, Tonics and Tiny Things Tasty."

I used a very, very old bottle, decoupaged the outside with some

fabulous tissue, hand dyed and painted the lace bits.  Added some beads,

bling and velvet ribbon along with a vintage knob for the top.  

The little scroll holds the following poem that inspired me:

Truth will ever Soothe

Truth will never die

It is patiently waiting

to come out one day

to be seen by all of us.

It may now lose a deal,

but  it is calculating

to strike at the right time.

Its power, none can fathom.

When truth is spoken,

there Angels surround

and bless the soul

that fights for truth.

Truth will at last triumph.

It seems it has now lost,

but that is an illusion.

Truth will one day win.

So speak the truth always.

Uttering lie invites disgrace. 

Whenever truth is suppressed

it, at the right time, erupts.

Mailrangam Visvanathan Venkataraman

 A view of the back:

 It doesn't really look this bright in real life, but the morning sun

(yay morning sun!) brightened it right up for the photo.

I hope my little artful piece will inspire you to

"Speak the truth always."

Hugs,

Kathleen

Remembering...

 It was a tough weekend.

My youngest sister passed away a year ago

and 

I wanted to DO something, anything, that would honor

her.

I decided to create an art piece using a piece of her jewelry as a focal

point.

She loved all things vintage, especially art deco, so I started out with this:

 a piece of 3 3/4 x 5 inch plastic and a 5 x 7 canvas.

I transformed the plastic into this:

using alcohol inks, crackle medium and distress inks.

I then applied it to the canvas and built up the layers with

molding paste, acrylic paints, glaze and embellishments.  The 

flower was die cut from fabric paper I made using Beryl Taylor's

techniques.

I love how it turned out and she would have, too.

Hugs,

Kathleen

A new beginning

A New Year...

always means new beginnings to me.

A time to start fresh.

A fresh start for all those things unfinished and

all those things I've been 'meaning' to do.

Reviving my blog is the first step in that 'fresh start.'

This is my first little art piece for the new year.

I must take baby steps.

Hugs to you all...