pamgarrison

wahooo!

          song: Feist, "1234"

I finally finished making my very first ever video...for me, that was HARD! A lot of learning about so many things. A lot of google how-to searches, tutorials, and how-do-you? emails. That's my disclaimer, hahaha, it's certainly imperfect, but I just had to move on! I mostly learned how much I have yet to learn; this tech stuff makes my brain mushy. {You might not want to watch it in full screen, it could be too blurry. I know, something I did in the filming, or import, or export, or uploading or blah blah blah...so many places to go wrong.} All said and done it was still more fun than frustrating though. No where to go but up as they say...

messing around

I was looking through some old artwork recently for design inspiration. When I came across the designs I had made for PapayaArt a few years ago,  I couldn't resist taking some paint to them.The papers seemed so flat to me. Here's what the paper above looked like originally: 

I  submitted the papers to Anahata and then she worked her graphic design magic and produced the final papers. Not having any luck finding a link to show you; I think they are all sold out (new collaborations are in the works).Here's another close up of the piece above after attacking it with ink:

Such a different feeling. Too bold for gift wrap, but it's coming alive now and will have a new purpose...not sure what yet. Not worried about that, just playing. Here's another original as it was submitted . They started as 22x30 watercolor papers. 

  And after playing on top with some ink:

Just an exercise in loosening up. That, and allowing myself to mess with something that I thought was finished before. It served it's purpose and now it's onto other things...

can you spot 2 things wrong with this picture?

I'll tell you, if you can't figure it out. It's that this is my kitchen floor and 1. I don't live alone and 2. I have a bad back and should not be painting on the floor. Both things considered, I still can't stop. Anyone have any easel suggestions (for and against, good ones and bad ones, what to consider blah blah blah)? Thanks. Here are some pieces in progress: 

I'm excited to tell you that I donated a painting to Haiti by Hand, sweet Rebecca Sower's relief project for her Haitian friends and it sold before I could even post about it. Thanks for that!  Stop by and see the other donations and art pieces available. I know she's got some really great items from artists you'll know constantly arriving.

 

 

still engaged in a love affair with paint

 
 

journal pages in various stages

misc.

Just had to show you what's been tickling my fancy these days. Lately, when I pick up my son, he gets off the bus carrying his latest creature made from things he finds at school.  I love that he's making stuff!  He was very proud to tell me that when a boy in his class saw them he called out to the teacher, "Mr. S., look! He's an artist." Those tall ones seem a little Tim Burton-esque to me.

I've been making a little journal for my friend to use. One made of non-precious items so she'll actually use it instead of being intimidated to use it or worry about messing it up. I used the method learned in Mary Ann's Remains of the Day Class that I took over the holidays. But this journal is actually just one of the inside signatures with a PapayaArt plastic card sleeve on the outside. The cool artwork, like the little guy below is from the recent issue of Hi Fructose magazine .

 

This page showing through the back plastic cover is from the Hi Fructose magazine and is by artist Andrew Brandou. 

Ok, off to continue working on sorting for a major destashing. I'm changing gears a bit with what I've been creating, and need to make room for new loves,  like paints!

more journaling

 

{Thought I was over over over birds, guess not.}

Making an effort to show you how pages progress. Here are a couple more spreads I'm still playing on. I liked the spread shown in the last post so much that I didn't want to work on it yet, so I skipped that page. Sometimes I'll leave a page that I like alone for a long time.

Also, someone asked what I do with ugly pages. I never cut pages out of a journal. I always have pages that I don't like. Truly, the point of my visual journals is to play. My other journals have other purposes, but for me, my visual journals, art journals, whatever you want to call them, are for PLAY. Experimentation, exploration, attempts, ideas both good and bad. Of course, I am critical of what I make. But other than saying, "yuk, that didn't end up going somewhere I care to go again", I don't think about it too much longer. Because it doesn't matter. Even though I don't like it, it served it's purpose, I learned something.  I don't care if other people look at them when paging through my journals, I figure people understand the purpose they serve for me and don't judge them. One example is the bottom spread on the last spread of the last post. (huh? it makes sense if you read it again) I don't care for it, but I just turn the page and play on. On the other hand, sometimes I keep working on them; I'll paint over them, collage over them, write over them and sometimes I do end up liking them after that.

The above photos are close ups of these journal spreads:

I'll keep showing you these pages as they progress, next time without so much blathering on about them. However, if you do want to hear me blather on about how I play on these type pages, you can sign up for the wishstudio's  wish*full virtual art retreat. I'll be going on and on about it there, and you can play along.