Today I Choose Joy

I spent Saturday morning at Starbucks working on a canvas for a friend of mine. She likes “simple”, trees, and the colors blue and green, and we have recently been talking about choosing to live in joy and peace. This isn’t exactly a “simple” piece, but I’m hoping she’ll enjoy it anyway.

I followed the same basic process I typically use, and took pictures of it:  paint the background, use mod podge to adhere tissue paper in the shape of a tree (above); cut and adhere the grass shape (I also used some Staz-on to ink the edges), stencil images in the background (below).

I also painted the tree using my finger, trying to make some areas darker than others, and used stamps to create images on the grass and in the background (top below). Then I punched out leaf shapes and layered them onto the tree in four layers (bottom two below).

                                              

Once I was satisfied with the shape of the leaves I stamped the sentiment and used Thickers to emphasize the word “joy”. And there you have it, quick and easy.

Spread Your Wings

This week for Mixed Media Monday I want to share this canvas I made for my friend Grethe. Come August, she’s moving about six hours away from here, which has been her home her entire life; although she’ll have her husband and puppy, she will be, for the very first time, too far away from her parents to drive over and visit. She has a close relationship with her mom, not quite as fun as Gilmore Girls but one that I find fascinating nonetheless.

It was this new adventure that inspired the design for her canvas. I wanted her to have something fun and cheerful, but also encouraging and meaningful. I wanted it to be something she could look at when she was homesick and remember that all journeys begin with that first (and sometimes most difficult) step.

Somehow I doubt this small token of my appreciation of her and her friendship the past six months said anything quite so profound; but I really like how it turned out! I used a fun stamp I got at Paper Pals (the girl), cutting out each piece on different colors and patterns. Then I put her on a chipboard butterfly so she’d really be able to spread her wings. The background was just a simple patchwork of colors, and of course a few pieces of washi tape for interest.

I already miss Grethe, I miss our lunches together and having someone to throw things at when I was in a playful mood (I never did throw anything, but it was nice to have the option). And I miss how safe I felt with her, although “safe” isn’t exactly the right word….just, more myself than with most people I guess.

I know that God has a great plan for my friend, and I imagine one day we’ll reconnect and our kids can have a play date. At this rate her kids will probably be old enough to babysit mine [smile]. I’m excited for her new adventure and proud of her for being willing to try – to spread her wings and see how far she’ll fly.

Mixed Media Monday: Canvas Crazy

This week for my Mixed Media Monday post, I would like to share a photo and description of one of the eight canvases I made as end-of-year gifts. Amazingly, I made all eight of them in six days! I’m not sure where my Muse has been for the past several months but welcome back!



The first one I finished was for my new friend Margi (who happens to be my new friend Grethe’s mom!), a 2nd grade teacher at Jefferson. She collects pigs, and I wanted to make something with a pig as a fun way to say thank you for all the many ways she helped me with my transition to half days at a new school in April. She knew a little about me already, and was very understanding, allowing me to hang out in her classroom during my break time. We had some great chats and not only did she become a friend, her classroom became a “safe” place for me, something that is very important and sometimes hard to find.

The idea for this originally involved owls, and I still intend to make one with them,  but one night a few weeks ago when I couldn’t sleep, I realized it would work just as well with pigs! Aside from pigs, she also told me that she really liked black, white, and gray together, with a little red. So here’s what I did:

The canvas is 12 x 12, so I took a 12 x 12 piece of thin chipboard and cut out a 6 x 6 square on one side to use as a guide. I then placed it on the canvas and painted the black square on the top left, the white square (I painted a white canvas with white paint!) on the top right, and the gray square on the bottom left. The striped square on the bottom right is a piece of black, white, and gray patterned paper I had in my collection (which I obviously cut to 6 x 6).

Each square with a round pig is a special combination of each of the three main colors (black, white, and gray). The first pig I made was the bottom left; the colors are a black pig with white embellishment on a gray square. I used an old CD to make the body, a lid for the head, and cut the “B” for his nose and “S” for his tail out of a piece of patterned paper. The legs, ears, and eyes were also cut from patterned paper. The eyes were a bit of a happy accident – the scraps just happened to be black with a sliver of white so I cut circles freehand. The legs, tail, and eyes became a sort of pattern for the other pigs as well.

I used the same process for the top two pigs, the one on the left being a white pig with gray embellishment on a black square, and the one on the right being a gray pig with black embellishment on a white square. (Did you follow the color combos for those? I was very specific in my design).

Finally, for the fourth pig, I wanted him to be different to fit the quote I used that says, “I am who I am. No approval required.” Making him red and square were the obvious differences. I also gave him a straight tail, wings, a mouth, a tie, and a crown, and the eyes are gears and a button. (The tie was another happy accident with my scraps!) It took me a little longer to finish him but I think he turned out just right, and I was happy with the finished piece.

Of course I was hoping Margi would like it, but I never expected the reaction I got the day I gave it to her – she showed it to several other teachers, telling them all about it. That made me happy, not because she was sharing my art, or because I had made something awesome, but because it made her happy!

I would say that was a mission accomplished in more ways than one! I’ll try to write posts about the other seven canvases in the next few weeks so be watching for them. For now I will leave you with a little teaser. (I’m trying a new format for sharing several photos at once so let me know what you think!)

Canvases for Friends VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A Fond Farewell

The end of another school year came and went last Wednesday. Here in Pullman, we attend 180 days between August and June, which means (including weekends) I work for approximately 37 of the 52 weeks each year. That doesn’t seem like much when you say it that way.

Of the remaining 15, two are given to half days devoted to Parent/Teacher Conferences (so I’m actually still working full days those weeks we just let the kids go at noon), two are Winter Break (no longer called “Christmas Break” for those who don’t celebrate that holiday), and one week each is given to Thanksgiving and Spring Break. Mathematically speaking, that leaves nine weeks for Summer Break, but because of the starting and stopping mid-week and taking off a few days for New Year’s it’s actually 11 weeks of Summer. Both are odd numbers, but I can overlook that in this case because that’s a long vacation from kids!

Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, and I love teaching. I can't imagine not working in a school. What I don’t love, and most times can barely tolerate, is the politics involved in working for a Public School District, especially when it seems financial concerns take precedence over what’s best for certain children. Unfortunately, it’s part of the deal when working in Special Education, and if I continue down the path to being certified in this field I will have to learn more tolerance, as well as some creative ways to work around it.

Despite those issues (over which I have absolutely no control) I can honestly say this past year was the best so far here in Pullman. I started the year at Franklin Elementary, a switch from the past two years at Sunnyside, and I got to know some great teachers and amazing, interesting, and often hilarious kids!

I ended the year working mornings at Franklin and afternoons at Jefferson Elementary (due to the withdrawal of my main student during Spring Break) and met even more wonderful teachers and students. By the time Memorial weekend came around I was surprised to find that I still enjoyed my job (for the most part) and felt more relaxed and focused than I ever have at the end of a school year. This was due in part to my medication and the great steps forward I’ve taken on my wellness journey this past year (and continue to take), but it was also in part because of the many awesome people that have come into my life.

As a way to say thank you (and to selfishly practice my art), I made some canvases, and I’d like to share them with you for this week’s Mixed Media Monday post (which I’m going to write as soon as I finish this one). Each one was unique and meant to hold a special message for each of the recipients.

More than saying good-bye to another school year (and soon to a new friend who is moving to Boise), I was faced with the possibility of saying good-bye to this new group of students and Staff at Franklin that I have really come to love. Since my student transferred out of District, my position there has disappeared, and I’m not sure where I will be placed next year (it depends on numbers of students in Special Education and how many Paras the District is willing to pay for). I know I will have a place, and I would be happy to work at Jefferson full-time for a year, but I will greatly miss my Franklin family. For the first time ever, I felt like I belonged, like I was part of a team, that my ideas were being listened to and acted on. It was a great feeling and helped me grow in many ways. I really believe that this year I made a difference.

When I find out more about my job placement I will be sure to update you. I’ve asked the Principal at Franklin to do some research and find out what the process is in this situation – will I be placed somewhere, or have a choice? For now, I’m going to publish this and move on to sharing about my gifts.

Mixed Media Monday: The ABCs of ART

On Mondays I would like to focus on Mixed Media; this will include projects I've created, as well as techniques and projects I find in my adventures. (From now on, you can find posts in this particular series by clicking on the label at the bottom of my Home page or at the end of each individual post.)

This is a canvas I made for a Paper Pals Design Team Challenge:  Art Squares. You can read more about them by clicking on that link, and see some other projects created with them as well. For this project I used four of them on the bottom holding the title. It was my first experience working with Art Squares, and I enjoyed them.

Back to the process:  I tried to follow the steps that I learned last summer when I took my first (and so far only) mixed media canvas class at Paper Pals. It was called Home Is Where the Heart Is; it's now hanging in my art room. No matter the end result, the process is basically the same - it's all about the layers. This time, I started with a patterned paper collage background (I wish I had taken a picture of it!) I adhered the paper to the canvas using Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi-Medium (basically a better version of Mod Podge). I've found it works best for me if I put a thin layer on the canvas as well as the back of the paper.

Next, I painted the edges of the canvas with green acrylic paint, coming up over the sides and onto the paper to blend it all together. To add more depth and texture to the background, I used alphabet stamps with Archival ink and stencils with acrylic paints, both by Dyan Reaveley, randomly stamping and painting parts and pieces, most of which you can still see. I then took a spiral stencil and randomly painted a few swirls. I wasn't sure how much would be seen when I finished adding layers.

For the top layer, I added the Art Squares with the title (for a description see the Design Team post), stamped the list along the right side, and created the tag embellishment. For the list of ABCs I cut pieces of cream cardstock to 3/4" and use small alpha stamps and brown Archival ink. I then adhered them to some orange patterned paper with ATG and trimmed it down before adhering it to the canvas with more Multi-Medium. For the tag embellishment, I covered a manila colored large shipping tag with music paper, then tore a piece of patterned paper and adhered it to the right side (inking the edges of everything as I went). I then stamped some grid lines going off the edges in a few spots, and adhered the swirl (which I had fussy cut from a piece of patterened paper for a different project but hadn't used yet).

For the bird, I took a pre-cut and embossed chipboard bird and darkened it slightly with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, then stamped on it with a script stamp. I adhered it to a tiny clothespin using Glossy Accents, and adhered the clothespin to the tag. The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz stamp set, stamped in Archival ink, edges torn and distressed, and held in place by the clothespin. I also put a dimensional square under the bottom of it to help keep it in the right spot. I also used Glossy Accents to adhere the buttons, and finally, I took three charms and attached them to a special safety pin that has loops on the bottom, then put the safety pin through the tag itself. The tag is adhered to the canvas using more dimensional squares. I used a scrap of ribbon in the top, as well as behind the "t" in art.

Overall, I would say I'm pleased with the end result. I'm not happy with how much of the stamping/stenciling layer on top of the paper is still visible, so in the future I'll have to experiment with that a little. I'd also like to try making some more 3-D tags as embellishments and/or stand-alone projects. I had fun trying to find the right combination of materials to achieve the look I was going for (although I'm not entirely sure what that look actually was).

Next week I'd like to have some photos to share of my end-of-year gifts for a few coworkers, most of them being canvases, so be watching for them in the next installment of Mixed Media Monday! And be sure to comment with questions and/or photos of our own projects.