Free To Be ...Random Thoughts Tuesday

Aunt Sue stopped by today with some of my old records. Anybody remember Free To Be You & Me? I played it to death in the early 70s. All I really remember about the 70s was hideous fashion.

I'm the goofball with the Dorothy Hamill hair. One of my more coordinated outfits. I recall lots of mismatched neon & plaid

My 5 yr old saw the record & asked How do you get it in the CD player? Imagine, someday his kid'll ask What's a CD Player?

He also tells me he's working on the cheat-code to buy everything in the world without spending any of his own money.... Guess he's going into banking....

The ArtFreebies blog has some new Easter themed copyright-free images to play with here & here

Cafe Press has free shipping on orders over $50 til April 2 - get code & details here

If you're in Tampa on 4/2 there's free chocolate martinis & treats at City Street Sweets' new Lava Lounge

Feeling Lucky? Lisa Falon is giving away this cool piece on her blog - click here for rules

Last year I bought a wonderful drawing from her etsy shop Meluseena .

Portrait of a boy with eyes askance by Lisa Falon

Today my Uncle Jeff told me about his WW1 postcard collection. Passed down through the family & he's not sure what he wants to do with it. I tried not to drool. Thinking I should offer to inventory it. Scan the good ones for future collage projects....

If you have an interest in WW1 or just like reading blogs that are different from the norm, this is 1 of my favorites: WW1 Experiences of an English Soldier

Here's a couple of postcards from my collection. Both state Published by W.R. Thompson & CO. (Richmond , VA) and 1 is postmarked 1942. It's ok with me if you want to use them in a project. Be warned tho that with such a late date somebody probably has a copyright on them. I dunno.

Who knew inoculations could be so much fun?!

The fellow who sent this 1 wrote: Army Life isn't too bad. The gave me size 9E - I have to take 2 steps before my shoes move.


Just for kicks, here's a couple of receipt tickets from the empire state building for all you collage artists out there.

And if you need a little less structure today, pop over to see The Un Mom, fearless leader of the random pack

IF - Poise

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone - Audrey Hepburn

Poise ... another stimulating prompt from the folks at
Illustration Friday.

My 1st thought was to draw Audrey H., but I got distracted by some new ideas for the stagnant blue WIP canvas. I've got most of it sketched out now. Hope to have some time in April to bring it all together....

Due to the time-crunch, I've gone archive diving again. This lovely lady seems to fit. She is a life size drawing in lithocoal & chromacoal on thick etching paper.

By the way, I love D'uva Lithocoal products! Comes as stick, powder or liquid & is fully erasable until you heat set it. Then it is permanent without fixative. Not easy to find anymore though.....hmm...what is it with my favorite products going extinct?

I was sooo sad the day Polaroid announced they were eliminating film 669 (among others) It's my fave for transfers. Here are a couple more on marble tiles that are now available at ArtSnark.etsy.com . Click on the pic to go straight to the details :

Sorrow

These are both emulsion transfers of charcoal drawings

So Naive

On the plus side, I heard a rumor that Fuji has a film similar to 669 on the market. Has anybody heard anything? I'll have to get googling. The last of my film stash is expired & temperamental but still works okay most of the time. I'm down to 3 boxes tho...

The Butterfly Charmer & Faux Frescoes

Cleaning out some shelves & uncovered these wonderful teeny frames

Decided I needed to make a little something.

And I do mean little. The frames are 3"sq & almost 1.5" deep.
So made this tiny Butterfly Charmer

It feels good to create something...anything. Too many days without making stuff & I get cranky!

Hope to really dig my heels into something meaty soon.

Till then, I added 5 Polaroid Transfers to my etsy sale at ArtSnark.

These are emulsion transfers on marble tile.* Ready to hang
Fun to make The final look reminds me of old frescoes & ruined walls.Just click on any pic for details
* If you'd like to read more about the different steps for making emulsion vs. image Polaroid transfers click here. The photos I posted yesterday were image transfers. Friday's post featured an emulsion transfer

Giant Polaroid Transfer Sale

The studio cleaning continues! It's a tiny space but so cluttered I'm having trouble working.

Deep discounting a bunch of Polaroid Transfers from a few years ago.
Just click on any pic to see the detailsThey are all originals (no prints) and have been enhanced with watercolors & colored pencils. Most are framed & ready to hang. Please keep checking back at ArtSnark on etsy
I 'll add 3-4 new pieces every day,

including some emulsion transfers on marble tiles.

You Can't Escape .... Random Tuesday Thoughts

But this guy could
Happy Birthday Harry Houdini!

If you need a little escapist fun today let's get you started:

Harry's My Space page is "authorized by...the grand nephew..."
Houdini tribute If you're at work be sure to mute - the music's a bit of a giveaway that you're slacking off. Course if you're still at work you've already got this covered,yeah?

Den Mother of Random Tuesday, Keely The Un Mom, has rampant robots (+ a lovely Haiku) on her blog today. (C'mon....click thru, grab a button & play along....you know you want too....) So Keely, this pic I found last night on The Great Harry Houdini is for you


Had your dose of vitamin Z today? Check out this new zombie piece by digital artist Barbara Moustafa. She's having a bit o' fun with the latest image prompt from Art On The Darkside , one of my favorite challenge sites.

Mike over at The Mental Kavity features the seriously cool skateboard art of etsian alexxxcastaneda today. Had to nick the image & share....forgive me, Mike?Click the pic to visit alexxxcastaneda on etsy. If you like what you see, visit iamalexxx.com for some more fabulous work by this talented artist

If you are looking for a spellbinding tale check out The Hermitage blog by the wonderful wandering artist Rima. She shares her adventures in art, thought & the great wide world. Her house on wheels is extrememly photogenic too. If you enjoy her blog, be sure to check out Rima's etsy shop, also The Hermitage.

I want to take a minute to say thanks for all the kind comments that have been left by visitors. Although I suck at getting back to you, I do stop by & enjoy your posts. Been out of town & without internet but will be catching up this week, I hope. Seeing some amazing creativity out there! Keep it up

I could get lost blog-hopping today, but the day job awaits. If you can spare a minute, go grab a button & share your wonderful random thoughts with the world.....

IF- Subtract

Polaroid Emulsion Transfer of original sketch

Digging into the archives again to satisfy Illustration Friday's prompt, Subtract. The email came with a wonderful quote by Leon Batista Alberti: Beauty: the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole

Back in the early 90's I lived down the street from the Carnegie Museum of Art where I spent hours just wandering and absorbing all I could. Managed to squeeze a bit of sketching in too. The original drawing is a charcoal/pastel sketch of Antoine-Louis Bayre's bronze sculpture Tiger Attacking An Antelope

I love playing with Polaroid transfers, especially the emulsion transfers. Once the image has been heated & lifted from the substrate, it floats in the warm water bath like some kind of funky jellyfish. You can then stretch & fold it (carefully though as it easily tears) before removing & sticking to your choice of surface. In this case, I used canvas paper. While the emulsion was still wet I had fun tearing into the edges. I think the subtracted bits finish out the whole predator feel

Random Thoughts Tuesday Again !?!

Dang! Where has this month gone?

Any art in this post is created by others, so please click on the pics to visit their sites.
Feeling Linky? Lets go!

Found Thomas Serrano through Illustration Friday. Very very fun.
Check out his art blog waldowalkiria

Gave into the cravings this weekend & bought a couple of pieces for the wall-o-great-art Spring Blossoms by LGraceOriginals

Time by LGraceOriginals

Recently started following darke curiosity emporium blog. John Donald Carlucci has some very cool creations going on. His etsy shop is here

Mike over at The Mental Kavity reminds us that today is William Gibson's birthday. I remember reading Neuromancer a million years ago. Might have to pick it up again. Lately I've been rereading old favorites - some still pass the test of time. Others leave me wondering what the #$@% was I thinking.

Totally lusting after Dr Evil by Shelly at Paper Mischief.

No, not the old dude! The artwork ..... sheesh

TODAY ONLY sale at Cafe Press. Free shipping on orders over $50 with code. If I remember tonight, I think it is time to make some tiles or boxes & see how they do over at ArtSnark's on etsy.....whatcha think?

Zazzle has 50% off posters with code until the 21st

Brass Goggles, a must-bookmark for fans of all things Steamy, has some great links today

In honor of the day, go check out this fun vintage pic at La Donna Papercutting. Aahhh...life before photoshop....

Oh & don't forget to see what kind of trouble Keely, The Un-Mom & RTT cult leader, is getting into today. And be sure to wish her a Happy Air-Kraken Day! Special thanks to nullalux at cephalopod tea party, as I'd forgotten just how very cool March 17 is

3......2......1.....It's Monday's Muse time!

3 New Listings.......2 In The Bush......aaannnd 1 W.I.P

The studio spring cleaning trickles on... And Inspires! I keep finding stuff I forgot I had - cool random things, nifty supplies & finished artwork... Over the next couple of months, I'll be adding some older pieces to Artsnark's Artifacts on etsy (in addition to my current creations). Many are Polaroid transfers that have been framed & are ready to hang.

For the curious: A water bath is used to separate the image from the Polaroid backing. The flexible image can be stretched or altered. It is then adhered to the paper (or other surface). I like to use a nice thick paper so I can embellish with watercolors & pencils. Once it dries, the final piece is then treated with a UV resistant finish.

Here is a pic of Red Bicycle in its shadowbox frame. For more info just click on any picture.Next up is the Apprentice Box. Just messing around. It's been sitting on a shelf since December. Figured what the heck, might as well list it. Lots of cool stuff on the outside: antique pocket watch parts, misc gears and metal bits, original drawing & photo, the words inspire, strength & discipline and a red feather. The inside is lined with a maroon felt-type material

The Saga of Little Red Continues.....

Finally finished & listed the WIP I posted 11 days ago: 2 In The Bush

And this saaaad & lonely canvas has been clogging up my easel for maybe a year now. I'm selfishly posting this crummy picture as incentive to finish it! Hoping that I won't be able to turn my back now that it's "out there". Love to complete it by the end of April, but in the words of the great Lyle Lovette:

It was a fact of life that no one cares to mention. She wasn't good but she had good intentions...

Speaking of good intentions, if you have a few minutes please pop over to Maternal Spark, the inspiration for all Monday's Muse posts. She's been taking care of a sick little one the last few days & I'm sure she could use some blog-love :D

IF - Legendary

Notorious? That's not flattering at all. They should have used another word.
-Bettie Page

Fabulous Prompt for Illustration Friday! Visions of knights, fairy tales & rock stars swim to the surface! Unfortunately I have no time today so going into "the archives" for this 1. Twas a toss up between a few lovely ladies but I settled on The Notorious Bettie Page.

Bettie is still available at ArtSnark on etsy. She comes with a Free Mat custom cut to your specs. Mention that you saw her here & I'll kick in FREE SHIPPING too!

If you get a chance pop over to Illustration Friday & see what other legendary figures can be found. Or - better yet - play along if you feel inspired!

More Houses for a good cause!

May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends.
~Author Unknown

Joy Mixed Media Wall Assemblage by Chrisy McConnell
Visit her blog and
See more of Chrisy's art atArtDecadence on etsy

3 More unique houses are available now in the OzBushFireAppeal etsy shop. The shop was created in response to the Australian wildfires. Over 900 items have been sold since Feb.8 with all proceeds going to the Australian Red Cross. That's over $15,ooo.oo (AU) so far. All sorts of items have been donated by generous Etsy Sellers. Several METSY Team members donated their time & talent to create these one of a kind houses for the cause.

Little Dutch House by Aimee Wheaton
Check out her blog.
See more of Aimee's art at MazerDesign on etsy

To visit a specific house listing, click on any photo on this page. Also, here is the link to all of the METSY Team Houses in the Oz shop. There are 11 so far. More may be listed before the shop closes it's doors on March 31st, so please check back. If you haven't visited the OzBushfireAppeal shop yet, please do. You might find just what you are looking for & donate to a worthy cause while you're at it!

We Are One by Stacey Merrill
Read about my little house here.
See more of my art at ArtSnark'sArtifacts on etsy

Many many thanks to everyone who has helped with this project. To see my posts about previously donated houses with links to the artists' blogs & shops click here & here . Special thanks to FeliciaFairy, VanillaPixie , & the Etsy DUST Team for creating & operating the shop. They have been just swamped and have done so much to help in such a short period of time. It really blows me away! Please visit these wonderful - generous - creative folks & show them some love!!

CBS News + Etsy want handmade clothing

Etsy Admin just posted they are looking for handmade clothing for CBS news. Details here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6077384

Thought I'd share in case ....

It's that time again!

...or is it ?

Freakin' daylight savings time....grrr... Ben Franklin, yah should've stayed in bed, man! If you're really curious, here's a copy of his illuminating suggestion. I've gotta admit I love this part:

I went home, and to bed, three or four hours after midnight..... An accidental sudden noise waked me about six in the morning when I was surprised to find my room filled with light......Your readers, who with me have never seen any signs of sunshine before noon...will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his rising so early.....

Actually Ben was a pretty funny guy ...... but I still hate daylight savings

But I loooove Random Thoughts Tuesday! So, do you feel linky? Got a bunch for you today

Feeling Random? Try the luck of the draw:

Mike over at The Mental Kavity is giving away some original art - Hell On High Heels ACEO

Totus Mel's giving away some of her seriously cool Needle Tatting pieces.

Joy over at Joy to the blog is giving away scrapbook supplies and a gazillion rubber stamps

Over at Grosgrain they're giving away a gift certificate to Cinnamon Sticks - check it out. Not what you think. Thanks to Melissa at January Wish for sharing this 1 on her blog

All these creative folks have fun blogs & Fab etsy shops too. So... go check them out!!

Thanks to Nullalux for tweeting (or is it twittering?) about mykeamend.com and to Myke for mentioning this seriously cool site - steampunkwallpaper.com

Before I forget, A hearty congrats to fellow ZNE member & Uber talented artist Barbara Moustafa of RustyMermaid ! She was recently published in Somerset Digital Studio Magazine. There's a pic of the mag on her blog

Want to try your hand at getting published? Here's the guidelines for a gazillion different Stampington Magazines as well as Cloth Paper Scissors

Dang, Wednesday rolled in when I wasn't looking. (yes I type sloooowly) Don't forget to cast your vote over at this month's Mind Wide Open challenge. As always a fascinating mix of entries

And if you get the time, pay a call on the Queen Mother of all things Random :

Monday's Muse - What Did You Learn Today?

My Mum always said you should make a point of learning something new every day. I took this to heart as a kid & even went through a reading the dictionary phase (pretentious little runt). Somewhere along the way the gears have slipped and I've become quite bored with myself.

Some super creative people are into the make-a-piece-of-art-a-day movement. This is very cool but I know I won't find the time. Think I'll revive the old learn something each day. Today I've learned 2 things.

The 1st should have been a gimme I suppose :
don't leave the broiler unattended!

The grill ran out of gas 1/2 way through dinner so I turned on the broiler to finish. Got sidetracked & whoopsy - Giant flames shooting out of the oven! Nearly lost my eyebrows but I have to admit it was very exciting. Had a good laugh too when my husband looked at the black mess smoking in the trashcan & asked "What? We're not going to eat that?" He's a major omnivore & master of the poker face (he used to be a professional blackjack player). I actually thought he was serious for about 30 seconds.

collage by Nancy Lefko

Today's 2nd lesson is far more interesting. I've signed up for Nancy Lefko's Mixed Media/ Collage Backgrounds workshop. I am simply crazy for Nancy's art & very excited. Her online classes are just starting and really well priced. You can find out more at Creative Workshops. Or just enjoy her wonderful blog & etsy shop. OK, gotta go put on my smarty pants & learn somethin'. Catch you later

Sneak Peek- My little house

Someday is not a day of the week ~Author Unknown

I should tattoo this to my forehead - in reverse of course ;D

After a major attack of Duh, a couple of ugly blunders, 2 dying printers & an inordinate amount of procrastinating ....FINITO. Sheesh! To quote that learned sage Anonymous once more: If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done.

While fussing over partners for the Hot House Flower - I (thankfully) got a clue...hot house...wildfire charity...duhuhuha...my Freudian slip was showing (again). Really, I'm not tacky on purpose...I just let my subconscious take over more than I should. Thought I was channeling this whole Spicy Diva/Orchid kind of theme...nahhh

Ok. Searched thru the hundreds of unprinted images I've hidden in the computer & found a piece I made for ZNE Verses last year. I'd digitally collaged a charcoal drawing from 20+ yrs ago with a couple of my photos & a leaf skeleton to accompany a St Patrick's Day poem. Resized the piece to house specs and ...nothin....printers died. Back burner time.

Unfortunately "the back burner" is code for no man's land in this studio. Finally got it together, printed, cut, pasted, painted, drawn over & scribbled on.. Coated with UV resistant finish, felted bottom & .....hated it. Too clean. More scribbles, a couple small tears, sandpapered & grungy markers on edges and....blah...but so overdue I'm calling it done. Will photo sides in the sun tomorrow (note to self: get better lighting) and submit to the OzBushfireAppeal shop.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

My home is where I want to be and
it looks like all my dreams

- from The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater

Play House by Juli Waller
Read about her house on her blog.
See more of Juli's art at Grrraphics on etsy

3 more fabulous houses have been added to the OzBushFireAppeal etsy shop. Each unique house has been altered & generously donated by a different talented etsy artist. The OzBushfire shop was created by the owner of FeliciaFairy & the Etsy Dust Team in response to the recent fires in Australia. 100% of proceeds from the shop's sales goes to the Australian Red Cross. Since February 8th, 889 sales have brought in "about $15,000 "(AU) .

Choices by Yin Hoong Lai
See more of Yin's art (& popcorn)
at What's Eating Yin on etsy

Also Every Item Has Free Shipping! Now you can't beat that: help others in need, get cool stuff & free shipping - please take a few minutes & check out some of the 190 items still available. They might have just what you're looking for...Cottage House by Shiela Bradley

Read about her house on her blog.
See more of Juli's art at CreateItCottageArt on etsy

To visit all the available houses, click here. For a direct link to each house, click on a photo. If you get a chance, please visit the shops & blogs of these wonderful artists and tell them just how cool they really are! Also please check back before March 31 (when OzBushfireAppeal closes) to see more one of a kind houses.

Just a quickie & New WIP

Scheduled a few too many things today so I'll try to be brief....

1st I really want to thank all of you who have taken the time to stop by & leave your encouraging comments. I've been lax on responding & for that I apologize.

There are some great new houses on the OzBushfire Etsy shop. I will post pics & artist links soon, probably tomorrow. Went to do it yesterday but got distracted - after a challenging day, I really needed some "art therapy". Little Red was on the prowl last night so I let her stretch her legs on a new canvas.

WIP - 2 in the bush

I've never been a series kind of person, always flitted from 1 technique or idea to the next before getting all the ideas out. But Red's become an icon - figure I'll just let her hang out a while. Once she has her say, she'll move on.

Speaking of....gotta fly...if you time pop by papercutsbyjoe & check out this amazing piece - a merging of his wife's profile & tree branches. My newest fave!

4 to beam up - It's Random Tuesday!

If he were still around, it'd be James Doohan's birthday today. I was thinking that no one actually said "Beam me up, Scotty" on the old Star Trek series (yes, yes Once a nerd, always a nerd) & a trip down google-lane ended at TV Tropes. They have fun lists of phrases now stuck in our minds that were never actually said on film/tv. My dweeby anal-retentive nature aside, a toast too ya Mr Doohan!I nicked this pic off a post called StarTrek's Greatest Moments in Drinking, another google gem

The Un Mom is still encouraging the zombie-luv...no not that kind of....ewww... I'm talking icky fun illustrations by Jason Chan! If you lean toward the dark side, I recommend a look around his blog. He has a great Norman-Rockwell's-evil-twin thing going on *ach, poorly phrased but meant to be a compliment*

Some of his pieces (like this lovely lady)would fit perfectly with all the squiggly-goodness over at cephalopod tea party

Joe Bagley has a freaking awesome papercutting of his eye on his blog today!

A peek at JanuaryWish's blog today introduced me to Airborne Toxic Event- Somewhere Around Midnight - very very cool

This looks good too - no fee online self portrait competition, deadline May 31. I say go for it! Or check out the entries that have been posted thus far

Gotta run. Final bit of trivia today. Another birthday wish to the famous gent who once said Mr. Watson- come here- I want to see you