I always knew there was a good reason….
February 19th, 2007This article made me chortle. Apparently, recent research shows that chocolate might be good for the brain - I always knew there was a good reason I was so drawn to it!
Who knew?
February 14th, 2007Who knew that creating some charms for a Monthly Challenge, could be so contentious and involve so many members of my family?
I decided to make some tiny glass charms, easy, one would have thought, but think again. I shan’t bore you with my trials, but suffice to say, I finally threw my hands in the air and surrendered to the fact that I would have to come up with a different plan.
Someone on Express Yourself! posted a very interesting comment this morning about only feeling her art was any ‘good’ if she had ‘worked’ to achieve it. I think that by this she means that if it came easily she didn’t feel it was ‘worthy’. Well, actually, I think that’s what I feel, but it was Sy’s post that made me think about it. Thanks Sy.
I think these charms are fine but I don’t feel they needed enough ‘work’ on my behalf, for me to consider them ‘good’. If I had succeeded in making the soldered charms that I first set out to make, I think I would have felt they were ‘good’ and worth all the extra effort it took to make them. I suppose this is the standard by which I judge the quality of my art, which may be related to my comment at the bottom of this post, about how I measure whether I am satisfied with my art. How ‘hard’ do I need to work? How much ‘pain’ needs to be involved in order for me to consider my art as ‘quality’? I suppose all this sweat and ‘anguish’ doesn’t mean anything to the people who receive my art, but then, the question arises, “Who do we make art for?”
Valentines ATCs
February 13th, 2007For this month’s ‘bit on the side’, I had to create 3 Valentine-themed ATCs featuring either a transparency or a transfer.
This first ATC is made from two pieces of card, one at the front and one at the back of the transparency, creating a frame, so the image is visible from both sides.
For the next ATC I wanted to use a gel transfer but to my dismay I discovered I had run out of gel medium of any description - shocking, I know. I ordered some more but it hadn’t arrived, so Miles lovingly sought out an art supply shop during his lunch break. Time was short so I made a transfer using an image I had bought ages ago from those cool vendors at Tuscan Rose.
I got the idea for the final ATC from Bernie Berlin’s excellent new book. Although it is an ATC workshop, I found the different background techniques really refreshing, and great fun.
The ATC itself is made from two pieces of mica cut to ATC-size, and coloured with alcohol inks. Sandwiched between the two pieces of mica is a transparency with transparent hearts attached to it.
and another one….
February 7th, 2007
I finally decided on a design for the kilt pin I was making for the swap on ANUK. You wouldn’t believe how many times I moved the charms from loop to loop, arranging them in almost every combination possible, ensuring it was balanced. I must have moved them so many times, I think the jump rings were getting tired - ha!ha!
As the pin was a Valentine gift I included 3 heart charms on it, a tiny red one, a pretty heavy-weight silver-toned one in the middle and a smaller open one on the left. I tried to keep the colours soft and romantic; shades of pink with accents of red. I think I succeeded in producing a pretty pin. I’ve decided that a good measure of whether I’m happy with my art, is how difficult I find it to send it on. I wonder if other people have the same problem?
