Merry Christmas everyone!

It's Christmas eve and I've been baking and decorating (and cleaning up the house a bit) in preparation. I hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday in their own way. I kinda wished for some snow but it has made it easier to get around for all my errands without it. I did better than usual this year getting things done on time, though a few people will get cards a little late. Wishing you all a New Year full of joy, happiness and love!

Busy being Santa's Elf....

Ok, no new posts lately... though I've been very busy making art... but I can't post any of it right now or it might spoil the surprise for the recipients who might peek on here. So maybe once I get through some of my Christmas making, I can create some other things that I'll be able to post. And also some of the things that I receive, too!

Here's a link to one that I can share...

http://sharonsahl.blogspot.com/

this was created by the company Blurb with software you download, then you upload it with your files/images and they make a book for you! From what my friend, Sharon, says, it turned out nicely. I'd heard positive and negative feedback on them, though mostly positive so I wanted to give it a try. Can't wait to do more.

Where in the World? Part2

This is some art I did last night incorporating the names of addresses and cities where I've lived. I like how it came out and it was neat trying to think of old addresses where I lived... some of the numbers weren't in the brain anymore, but I think I got all the streets! What fun to make art with that, it wouldn't have occurred to me if not for the Street Team challenge... it's such an inspiration.

Where in the World?

My entry (or first one) for the GPP Street Team Challenge 15... Where in the World? (I couldn't get the button to copy and work)here's the link if you want to play (it's so much fun!) http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/

These are details from around my house... built in 1914... which I have been thinking of doing something like this for a long time now... this gave me the push to go and do it! Even though it was a bit dark last night to get some of the shots I wanted, I think it turned out pretty neat. I will describe them in order top left to bottom right...
1. a cornice in the dining room (not original to the house, but I thought it was cool
2. an old typewriter we had at home when I was growing up... love this thing!
3. the original sink in the upstairs bath... the tiles are original too!
4. grate for the fireplace in a spare room upstairs (I have 5 fireplaces in this house!
5. tiles on the living room fireplace
6. fireplace grate detail in dining room
7. tapestry that my mom had that she got from her great aunt... it's really cool
8. Wood grain from the door to the attic/3rd floor
9. fireplace detail from dining room

I took enough of these I may be able to make a second one even. The house has some lovely and interesting details. I wish it could talk... all the things that people that lived there must've talked about from the sinking of the Titanic (the year it was built) to WWI and WWII and the Great Depression... the roaring 20s and the 50s...amazing things must've happened here.

This is in Columbus, Ohio where I live in case some of you are wondering... a lovely midwest town where I settled down after coming here to attend art school. Originally I am from a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, not much more than an hour from here, not so very far away. I was two years in Cincinnati, Ohio at school there before coming to Columbus. That's pretty much the only cities I've lived in, though I love to travel.
It's great seeing where every one else lives and has lived. The world is a much smaller place than it used to be I think.
More to come on this theme!

How To Keep An Art Journal by Suzi Blu: #1

This kooky girl is quite endearing and funny... get out there and get an art journal started!

Cool tiles at Mickey D's!

I saw these cool tiles while in line waiting for my Quarter Pounder the other day.... they remind me of one of my polymer clay samplers that I made into a brooch. Different colors and textures. It's kind of pretty. That is a neat McDonald's... they have leather chairs and a little fireplace (ok, it's gas, but still).

My New 'Do

Ok, it took two cuts to get what I liked... but I'm pleased with this haircut, finally! I got it cut a few days ago and didn't care much for it... I wanted more layers, a different look, though still kind of long... this is much better... I went to Rafiel's over in Clintonville, near work. It was more expensive than Aveda Institute... but if I like it I can keep going to the same girl, which is nice. The Institute was nice... for $17 you got a mini massage, a facial, shampoo, cut and style... but it was a student, and an instructor oversaw it... and if you liked it, the girl may or may not be there the next time 'cause they are always graduating and moving on. This was $35... and I did get a mini massage, which was nice. I may keep going though, I think I will like the cut... but once I try to style it myself, then we'll see... that's always the clincher. Anyone wants to tell me what they think and leave a comment, I'd be happy to hear what you think of it!

Trip to Texas - I'm Back!

I haven't posted since before I left to go on my Thanksgiving trip to Texas to see my dear friend Jane. I have photos to post (they are on my Facebook site if you can't wait) but don't have them here with me to post them now. It was fun, a lot of driving in the car everywhere... nothing seems to be close to anything else in Texas! I got to meet up with my crafing/internet friend, Barb from Austin as she and her husband kindly arranged their schedules to be down in Houston so we could do that. She and Jane introduced me to Chik-fil-a and we had a lovely time getting to visit, though it was all too short.

And we had a really fun Thanksgiving day with Jane, her son Jonathan and daughter Lori (and Buttercup the dog of course). We managed to cook a great big turkey and it came out great (neither Jane nor I had much experience in this type of thing) and I'm sure as big as it was they may still be eating leftovers this week yet! We had all the usual Thanksgiving trimmings, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, stuffing (for them, I'm not so keen on it), sweet potatoes (with marshmallows on top), mashed potatoes and gravy and pumpkin pie with Cool Whip for dessert... though I don't think we had dessert for quite a while after dinner. (had some pie for breakfast while the parades were on though).

And Friday evening we went for a ride on the Polar Express up in Palestine, TX. It was a bit chilly but we dressed warm and did fine. We got to have hot chocolate and see Santa at the end. Jonathan really loved it. I'm back now and into the routine of work (both my jobs) and getting back to all the usual things.

Christmas Cards (again)

Are you more dog or cat? Another fun quiz...

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

What type of artist are you?

You Should Be a Painter

You have the vision, patience, and skill to bring your unique visions to canvas. And you're even tempered enough not to cut your ear off in the process!

What Sort of Artist Should You Be?

Another Cute Quiz....

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

I'm not sure if I fit this or not, but the Cookie Monster was my favorite Sesame Street character when I was younger.

Who's My Muse: Installment 3

My third muse for the challenge is very near and dear to me: Books!
Books have nearly always been a part of my life and by extension, libraries. I was a library helper in 6th grade and again in junior high. Then in high school, before I even hit 16, I started my first job, working as a page shelving books at my local public library. After 4 years of that I went off to college and two years later got another job at a library while finishing off college... this changed from shelving books to being a student artist assistant. After graduation I was able to get on full time and was there for 25 years! A recent job change took me from one library to another and into the world of academia at Ohio State University Libraries... still doing art and design and still in the library and book world! I'm just happy as can be to combine two of my favorite passions, art and books.

I've snapped a short sampling of just a few of my favorite books or types of books to show how the book muse works for me.



Included here: Stamper's Sampler magazine, Celtic Art by George Bain, Medieval Calligraaphy by Marc Drogin, Polymer The Chameleon Clay by Victoria Hughes.
These show my interest in art and calligraphy and books are a great source of inspiration for ideas or techniques, it's a great place to go when I want to work on something but am not sure what direction I want to go.







Somerset Gallery (I have some artwork published in it!), The Joy of Peanuts Christmas (a gift from a friend), Timeless Places: Provence by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren (great example of a coffee table book with great images to inspire, this was also a gift), True Balance by Sonia Choquette (an example of a spiritual self-help type book... I love these, they help sometimes with journaling or just to help my frame of mind or to understand myself better)






Exploring Scotland - Fodors (I love travel books, especially England and Scotland), Edgar Cayce on the Millenium by Jess Stearn (I love Edgar Cayce and other paranormal, psychic type books - very interesting), The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (LOVE this book from my childhood... kind of nonsensical and Alice in Wonderland like... very fun read even for an adult... I re-read it from time to time still), If You Want to Write by Brenda Euland (absolutely fabulous book on being creative, not just writing... I highly recommend it, it's awesome)








The Tarot: Art, Mysticsm, Divination, Dictionary of Symbols by Carl G. Liungman (I was obsessed by pictoral symbols a few years back and they still fascinate me...this is an awesome book), The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (his work is so inspiring and wonderful...it's great to watch him in interviews on tv and video), Quotable Quotes (great inspiration and good to use in artworks), Elf Quest by Richard and Wendy Pini (a lovely graphic novel with awesome art and an amazing story as well), Creating With Paint by Sherrill Kahn (her work is lovely and quite inspiring - I love her use of color).








Ornament Magazine, Morning Star by Nick Bantock (any book you can find by him is wonderful.... he is a great muse), The Write Brain Workbook (a gift from another art friend... great excercises in the book, loads of fun and very inspiring), The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff (a fun little book that is spiritual and serious without seeming to be)

More later...

If you want to participate in the GPP Street Team Challenge #14, Who's Your Muse or Imaginary Friends.... go to:
http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/
and play along with the rest of us!

More Christmas cards

Who's My Muse: Installment 2

For my next installment of Who's My Muse... it's my Mother... she was such an inspiration to me and was always encouraging me, especially in my art. She did crafty and arty things herself all the time... especially at Christmas. She also taught me to save EVERYTHING... you can use almost anything for a later craft project. Being raised during the depression herself, she hated to waste anything so was always finding ways to recycle and reuse items to give them a new life. She even took taperecorders and other electronic equipment apart and fixed them herself! I'd never try that, but she was amazing!

She loved candles but didn't like to burn them so she bought flicker light bulbs and bored a hole through her big candles and wired them up to the flicker lights so she had candles that never burned down but they looked amazingly like real candles! She was so inventive that way.

She always made sure I had enough drawing paper and markers or crayons or whatever it was I was into at the time. And she didn't balk when I wanted to go into art as a career, although my dad was pretty unsure... heck, the art college didn't even have a football team! But even though she's no longer here to cheer me on she still is inspiring me in countless ways, mostly by having been a wonderful example to me all those years growing up in a house filled with creativity and fun. Thanks, Mother!

If you want to participate in the GPP Street Team Challenge #14, Who's Your Muse or Imaginary Friends.... go to:
http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/
and play along with the rest of us!

ATCs from this weekend

I made these this last weekend from a luggage circular I got in the mail... addressed to the former homeowner! So much for junk mail... these are a little different style than I usually do and I found it fun. I kept them all in the same color family and made them like a set.

Who's My Muse: Crusade 14

The new Street Team challenge has been added... it's Who's Your Muse? This is my first entry as I try to answer that question... not as easy, at least for me, as one might think. I think it changes from time to time, but I think my inner child is with me more often than any other muse that might help me out from time to time. She tells me to play, to not be afraid, to try new things just because they are fun... she always sees "neat" things and points them out to me... she's a pretty neat kids who loves to explore and learn. She's not shy and she's nearly always happy, though sometimes quite impatient. As I think of more of my muses who are by my side I will add installments to this challenge, but I thought I better include this little beauty first of all since she's pretty special to me!

Street Team Crusade 14

Me enjoying Journal Revolution

This was actually a few weeks ago, I rushed out to get Journal Revolution at my local Barnes & Noble... and while checking it out (I couldn't wait!) I decided to snap a photo of myself and risk looking a bit odd, what the hey, right? Then I could journal about it! It's a super book, chock full of inspiration and ideas to get you going. I've been journaling more as a result (when I can find the time).

Starting on the Christmas...

A couple new ATCs, One for Halloween

Which Tarot Card Are You?

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

The first Christmas cards....

I finally got started last night on my Christmas cards... I have more tags made, just didn't get them all mounted onto cards. I have some new color combos I'm trying out. They were fun to start with. I like doing tags, they are small and not intimidating in any way. Sometimes I like to give just a tag or use it on a gift all on its own. But they are also a nice start for a card, too.