Northdixie Designs

Tales from the Molasses Swamp

2012-01-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

Leslie from Happily at Home
graciously let me post this image.
Check out her archived sale here
for more images of this game.

Did you play Candyland as a child?

My first memory of this game was playing it at a cousin's house back in the 60's. It might have been a version very like this one, made in 1962. I'm not sure what brought that memory to mind, but I was driving around town and could picture myself sitting in my aunt's living room on the floor of the shag carpet playing the game with my cousin.

I was thinking how life is a lot like Candyland. You can be hopping right along through the Gumdrop Mountain Pass and BAM a few turns later you find yourself stuck in the Molasses Swamp, hanging out until you draw a blue card. Sometimes all you can do is wait for that darn card! In real life, I've been waiting for a few blue cards. Nothing catastrophic, but stuff that slows me down none the less.

Sometimes when we're waiting in the Molasses Swamp, we can choose to do something other than focus on the fact that we're stuck. That's what the creator of Candyland did. The Hasbro site states:

Once upon a time, in San Diego California, a woman named Eleanor Abbot created a game. Ms. Abbot, a recovering Polio patient, decided to create an activity that would entertain children affected with the disease. So she submitted her board game to MILTON BRADLEY, who enthusiastically accepted it for production.

And generations of kids have played this game, all from the mind of a woman who used her Molasses Swamp time effectively. Soooooooooo....I guess it's time to follow Ms. Abbot's lead....

I wish you all BLUE CARDS. ;-)

But in the meantime, use your swamp time well.

Best,

Dixie

Happy Birthday Teen Face!

2012-01-27T05:33:00.000-05:00

One of my kids hits a milestone today.

He is a great and fun young man.

Happy Birthday, J-boy.

Spring Will Come

2012-01-25T06:29:00.001-05:00

Befores & Afters Take Time

Studio Treasures YOU Uncovered

2012-01-23T11:53:00.000-05:00

OK - my last two posts were about treasures I uncovered. There are more to come. What did you uncover in your studio? Click the blue words to enter. Here are directions, if you need them. This link list will be open through the end of the month. :-)

I Can't Keep Every Treasure

2012-01-22T07:15:00.003-05:00

I discovered I am a collector of Little Red Riding Hood books. I knew I had a couple, but didn't realize I had five. I'll keep the little 1880's one, and then will sell others to send them on the next stage of their journey. I want to whittle down my collections so that I can enjoy what I keep.

I'll be making a box of things to sell, so if you are interested in antique children's books and other antique/primitive resources, keep your eye out. I keep a lot, but am getting to the point where I can't wedge any more onto the shelves in my house. These are wonderful printed pieces that deserve to enrich another person's life.

Antique Little Red Riding Hood Book by W. Gunston; Illustrated by M. E. Edwards

2012-01-21T17:54:00.004-05:00

In my sorting, I found this 19th century Little Red Riding Hood book by W. Gunston and illustrated by M. E. Edwards. I know quite a few doll makers who love Little Red, so I thought I'd share about this book here. I intend on using this book as an inspiration for a new antique inspired doll for the Maida Dolls Group Storybook Dolls Challenge. The group is open to anyone genuinely interested in making antique inspired dolls. It is moderated, but is free to join.

This book was was printed by Th. Dupuy & Fils Printers of Paris & London. Thos. Nelson & Sons, New York, is the publisher, listed on the front. The book measures 3 and 3/4 inches wide by 5 inches tall. I've only seen one of these little gems online, and apparently it was part of a series of books by W. Gunston called "Nursery Gems."

There is no publication date on the book, but there is an inscription in the book which says Margaret Dodge, 1885, Uncle Joshua. This link to an 1881 Publisher's weekly lists that Thos. Nelson had published two titles in the Nursery Gems series - Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood. The inscription was interesting to me, because my family tree goes back to the Dodge name. In fact, there is a Joshua Dodge who is my direct ancestor (although the date of this inscription wouldn't match to that ancestor).

The illustrations in this book are rich and tender. I believe they are lithographed, but I'm not sure of the process. I suspect it was multiple plates. I wanted to share this book with people, as I couldn't find any images of it online (yet). The book is fragile, and I couldn't scan it, so had to make do with taking pictures of the pages. I'm sharing a few images here of this book here.

You can enjoy the entire book at this link You'll notice I have duplicates of some of the images and some closeups of others. Please don't use the images themselves for any commercial works but feel free to use them for your personal enjoyment and inspiration. Enjoy!

Enjoy the entire book at this link

SORT Is My Word of the Year

2012-01-17T12:55:00.002-05:00

I'm going to sort through things this year. And maybe not just things. I will sort through goals and dreams. I will sort through how to spend my time for each day. I will help my kids sort through their challenges. I will decide what sort of person I want to be in the coming years. I turn 50 this year. Can you tell that's priming the pump of these thoughts? I chose bright colors because I want this to be a freeing and fun process.

A Skeptic Reviews Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

2012-01-16T10:37:00.002-05:00

A while ago I wrote a post called A Skeptic Asks: Is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Laced With Fairy Dust? A lot of people have come to this blog through searches for Annie Sloan Chalk paint so I decided it wasn't fair to be a skeptic, I needed to test this paint and do a review.

So I bought Annie Sloan Provence Blue paint and clear wax from Lady Butterburg. This paint and wax is fairly expensive, and I was too cheap to buy the dark wax, thinking I could glaze with my own paints here and then use the clear paste wax. Or maybe I could mix the clear wax with some oil paint. I was wrong about that. Anyway, they came quickly.

I chose a lowly step-stool to transform. I did wash the stool down, but didn't sand it at all, per the paint's claim to fame.

Above is the first coat. It dries flat looking and streaky. I put another coat on. The paint color is a little lighter than I expected it to be. I think the dark wax application must make a huge difference. It was easy to paint on. After the two coats were dry, I glazed it with a mix of artist's acrylic paints and glazing medium, wiping off the glaze in some spots with vigor. I was a little too vigorous in some spots. At this point I was wishing I hadn't been cheap and had just bought the darn dark wax. My bad.

I decided to keep going. I applied the clear paste wax to my stool and then waited a few days before buffing. Mostly because I was busy. I think a day would have been enough. Here's a closeup:

And here's the whole stool.

I think I'll buy the dark wax and try it out.

I can put the dark wax on top of this clear wax attempt.

The wax gives a nice sheen without being too shiny.

I think the wax is key to using this paint. And I missed out on that step. So now I will need to do *another* step after I order the dark wax. I even used the wax on one of my doll sculpts. I really liked it on that!

Dixie Redmond's Folk Art Dolls

2012-01-14T18:32:00.001-05:00

Here is a gallery of dolls that I've made over the years. Obviously I have been very inspired by Izannah Walker's wonderful dolls in my studies and in my own creations. The doll in the picture above on front left is made with my Izannah Walker doll pattern.

A recent very small sculpt in process above

Another doll in process above

The next three four dolls are made from my Izannah Walker pattern.

The doll above was featured in Prims magazine.

Below is the first doll I made from my Izannah inspired pattern,
her name is appropriately Honor Goodfolk.

Papier mache inspired doll

Snowgirl

A papier mache I rehabilitated.

A palm sized Izannah Walker inspired doll.

A papier mache inspired doll

How to Upload a Picture and Link to Linky Tools

2012-01-14T06:14:00.001-05:00

Upload your picture to your website, blog or a picture hosting site.

Click the blue "click here to enter" words at the bottom of the link party post.

Linky Tools will open a window where you input information and are given an opportunity to add an image of your creation (square is best).

There will be two options for uploading an image - from your computer and from the web. If your picture is already on your website, blog or picture hosting site, you're all set, because Linky Tools will give you the option of selecting an image from the URL you submit.

You do not have to give your email address, BUT it helps me if I have a question about your submission. If you don't and there is a question or issue, I will just delete the submission.

When you "click here to crop your image", it won't show up on the site yet. So don't keep doing it, you will just be making duplicates. It's set up to be approved by me (Dixie) to weed out spam or inappropriate links. Once each day I will approve the submissions.

Poor Little Thing

2012-01-12T18:36:00.004-05:00

Cleaning out, I found this little sculpt I made a while ago. So I experimented with Annie Sloan Paste Wax as a finish on the head (which is paperclay painted with acrylics). The paste wax gave it a sheen without it being too over the top shiny varnished. I'm glad to discover this and might use it on some future dolls. It does give the feeling of a wax over papier mache a bit. We don't even want to TALK about how many creatures I have in my work area that need arms and legs.

Love Your Studio or Office

2012-01-11T19:40:00.003-05:00

I made a joke in my last post that there ought to be quarterly magazine called Studio Cleanout. This is my spoof of a magazine. But Annie's comment gave me an idea that we actually do a link party on our cleaned areas.

Studio Cleanup Link Party

Sunday, January 15th

Mission:

Clean up studios

so you can make more art.

Begin Cleaning Now

for Sunday's Link Party:

Start with the floor

Clear the tables

Wipe tables clean

Purge supplies on shelves you don't use

Purge decor that gets in the way of function

Put seasonal supplies in out of the way storage

Sort unfinished projects into project baskets

Reconsider all those magazines you're saving

Give supplies you won't use to art teachers

Vacuum and wipe tables again.

Take a picture of something you were glad to find!

Then share here and link to your blog for the

Studio Cleanup Link Party

January 15th.

Ready, set, go!

I can't do everything, but I can do something.

2012-01-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

I dream in perfection and execute in imperfection. I want to do everything, but as my drawing teacher George Gabin said many years ago, "If everything's important, then nothing's important."

Uh-huh. He was talking about lines in a drawing - that if you make all the marks of equal width and intensity it makes the drawing kind of flat. Life is like that as well. Some things are important, and we should put a lot of intensity and effort into them. But not everything is important. Some things deserve what old Mainers call "a lick and a promise." I'm not exactly sure what that means but I think it means just "git-er-done."

My focus for the years is a variation on John Wooden's quote:

I can't do everything,

but I can do something.

Dixie Redmond

Nester's Home Goals Party Mean Studio Goals

2012-01-11T08:32:00.000-05:00

Nester is hosting a home goals link party today. I already posted my 3 main goals for my house on my house blog. I like the "Who are you trying to please?" angle of this. Because I firmly believe that houses are for people - the house should serve US and we should not be a slave to the house. I bought a swivel rocker chair recently for the express purpose of giving my husband and kids a chair that can turn to meditate on the aquarium. I'm not personally in love with the aquarium, but they are and that's what matters.

Yeah, I know I write about cleaning out my work area often. And that's a good thing to recognize. Maybe I could start a magazine called Studio Cleanout Quarterly? I keep thinking I will clean it out and be done with it, but work areas are not static places the way a formal living room might be. A work space should evolve as your art evolves.

My first goal is to get rid of everything (everything) I bought for inspiration for projects I've decided I'm not going to do. This goes along with the idea on Small Notebook's blog about inspiration overload. I've got some serious Pinspiration going on at Pinterest but you can only do so many actual ideas in real life.

Work Area Goals - what I want to do informs how the space will function:

I will continue to focus on doll designing and painting.
I want to learn to make molds and learn to do screenprinting.
I might do some small quilts.

What will go:

I will not be doing encaustic painting and large scale sculpture.
I will not be doing whimsical things with buttons (by-by jars of vintage buttons).
Stuff that I bought with the idea of making the space whimsical (a la Where Women Create) must go. I don't have space for stuff I don't use.

And you know, I want to revisit the idea that this area is a gift to myself. It's okay to please myself in this area and no one else needs to be considered.

A Goal Met: Give a High Five

2012-01-07T08:56:00.000-05:00

Drinking coffee this morning, I read a parenting blog about their child finally learning to use the potty. And the parent said, "Can I get an Amen?" This child and parent should get a million amens. This goal is such a wonderful one to meet, especially when it comes later than expected. If you have a second, give them a high five in the comment section. It's so fun to celebrate! :-) And I really enjoy annoying my family with this song when there's something to celebrate!

Immersion Blenders: Dixie Gets Respect

2012-01-05T05:18:00.001-05:00

Momcation is when I take a week to immerse myself in house reorganization and reading and think about my creative goals for the year. I do this in September and January. So I AM working, it's just in my head. Actually, I'm avoiding cleaning out my creativity zone (yes, again).

It's January, so I've been reading a lot of soup recipes lately. I bought the book New England Soup Factory after Christmas. It got 5 star ratings at Amazon, and it's available in a Kindle format. A lot of soup recipes talk about pureeing the soups with an immersion blender. For those of you climbing out of the 80's or 90's with me, an immersion blender is blender on a stick which you stick into the soup to puree in the pan. Very helpful when you're trying to make "creamy" soups without an actual cream. So I bought my Ninja Warrior through Amazon. Here's a video demonstration at Youtube. The by-line of this particular maker is that you can "Rule the Kitchen."

I unpacked this baby on New Year's Day when friends came over and you should have seen the sense of expectation in the eyes of the guys who like tools. After I crushed some ice into snow-cone consistency, I was shown some serious respect.

I'll close this post with one of my old favorite soup recipes - and no, you don't need a blender for this one:

Tortellini Stew

Group 1 Ingredients:

1 pound Italian Sausage sliced (I cook this in oven then slice)
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced

Group 2 Ingredients:

5 cups beef broth (or chicken)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cooking wine (I use red wine)
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
(OR a can of your favorite stewed tomatoes)
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 green pepper chopped
1 or 2 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped.

Group 3 Ingredients

8 oz. tortellini (your choice)
3 T fresh parsley, chopped

1. Brown Group 1 ingredients until onions are translucent.
2. Add Group 2 ingredients to onion/sausage/garlic mixture.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. I usually add the zucchini and green pepper at this point.
4. Add group 3 ingredients to stew, simmer until tortellini is done.
5. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and bread.

Don't try to stick your camera into the hot pot for a closeup.

In the Meantime: A Perfect Moment in My Imperfect Kitchen

2012-01-03T10:06:00.003-05:00

I used Paint to "paint" to see how our kitchen might look with other colors
Here's what it looks like now.

I re-read an old blog post of mine called "In a Perfect World." I don't live in a perfect world. I live in a messy not quite pulled together world. Last night my younger son was sharing some ad slogans he came up with for classmate's inventions while he was unloading the dishwasher. He and my husband and I were laughing because some of them were so funny and spot on. The boy is a very good writer. Anyway, at that moment it struck me what a perfect moment we were having in our imperfect kitchen. I could gut the kitchen and put in the latest and best of everything and it wouldn't make that moment any sweeter.

In the meantime....I use the phrase "in the meantime" a lot when coming up with solutions for our lives. What it means is "until the perfect world comes along this is what we will do that will improve our present situation." Well that's a mouthful. But what it really means is a "good enough" solution. Because anyone who reads this blog knows that "perfectionism is the enemy of production."

"In the meantime" is my friend. That phrase can give birth to some inventive solutions.

In the meantime, I am off to return items after Christmas.

Authenticity in Blogging

2012-01-02T16:28:00.002-05:00

Nester is talking about authenticity and blogging.

How authentic should a blogger be?

Should I share that while I was waiting to pick up my son from school I was eating BBQ potato chips while reading People Magazine's article "Half Their Size!"? This article is about people who lose half their size. I found last year's issue of "Half Their Size" tucked away between Real Solutions for Real Kitchens and clippings of dream gardens.

I love it when people are real. That's why I like Nesting Place But I want your opinion:

What does authenticity mean to you?
What do you enjoy about authentic bloggers?
When does authenticity cross the line and become something else?

New Year's Eve Cooking: Baked Sweet Crusted Coconut Onion Rings

2011-12-31T20:08:00.001-05:00

Source: skinnytaste.com via Dixie on Pinterest

First, I made this Baked Coconut Shrimp recipe from Skinnytaste.com. It was delicious and easy. My husband liked it a lot. I like baby shrimp but not big shrimp, so I left that to him.

With some panko crumbs and coconut coating left over, I decided to try making baked onion rings. It was a little bit of fly by the seat of my pants after looking at this recipe and this recipe for baked onion rings. I tried the second recipe, but couldn't get the coating to stick to the onions. So I tried again...

My photography skills could be a bit better....

But they were really good and crunchy.

Baked Sweet Crusted Onion Rings

1 large onion (I used an organic yellow onion.

3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon)

1/3 cup wings sauce (I used Budweiser Mild and Tangy, use more or less or hotter according to your taste buds)

2 to 3 tablespoons honey

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup panko crumbs

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Coat a sturdy baking dish with olive oil.

3. Combine the mustard, wing sauce and honey together well in a large bowl.

4. Mix together the panko crumbs and the coconut into another bowl.

5 Beat the eggs in a bowl big enough to dip onion rings into.

6. Slice the onion into 1/2 inch thick slabs.

7. Separate slabs into rings.

8. Drop the rings into the sauce and toss till well coated.

9. Put the 3/4 cup of flour into a large zip baggie.

10. Put the onion rings into the baggie with the flour, letting the excess sauce drip off.

11. Shake the bag until all the onion rings are well coated with flour.

12. Dip each onion ring individually in the egg misture, then carefully roll it in the panko/coconut coating.

13. Place onion rings an oiled baking sheet.

14. Bake at 450 for 5-7 minutes, turn, then bake another 5 to 7 minutes until golden brown. Serve with your favorite condiment.

What I Want to Do In the New Year

2011-12-30T16:35:00.003-05:00

Instead of making resolutions, I list what I want to do in the New Year. It's important that it not be the "ought" list, but the "want" list.

image via The Graphics Fairy

Things I want to do this year:

Learn how to do at least three things that are new to me. I really believe that learning new things is good for the heart and soul.

Learn about fabric design.
Learn about screen-printing
Learn how to convert a PDF book to a print-on-demand book through Amazon.
Learn to build a piece of furniture.

Design a doll pattern that would be a fun one for mothers and grandmothers to make for kids.

Complete some projects begun in 2011

Begin a book

Go on a trip with my family

Improve one of the bathrooms in my house:

Replace Floor
Paint walls and cabinetry
Replace toilet
Paint woodwork.

Improve my kitchen - not all the improvements will be done this year, but we can do a few:

Paint cabinets
Install pullouts in base cabinets
Replace countertop
Figure out the peninsula, there's a bottlenck walking into the ktichen
Apply molding to soffit

I want to enjoy nature more - as in do some easy hiking. This means leaving the house ;-)

This is not exhaustive. These are the first things that came to mind...

What about you?

What do you want for the coming year?

Post Titles That Would Be Fun to Write

2011-12-29T10:43:00.002-05:00

I will get back to art.

I'm incubating ideas while I do other organizing stuff.

My kids are on vacation and they need direction.

Source: themarthablog.com via Dixie on Pinterest

I have a house blog. It was my pre-Pinterest visual to-do list for changing the way my house functions and looks. On my house blog I write things like "The Happy Room Gets a Quilt." The Happy Room is a kind of metaphor in progress for my life. Moving from "dreary" to happy in a real physical space. I read somewhere (?) that making physical changes in your house leads to other kinds of changes. I think that's true. The energy of setting something in motion leads to other changes.

Small changes that cost little can net big results. I've been cleaning my kitchen cupboards out and reorganizing things to make it function better. I came across this solution for spices, which used a tension rod in the cupboard. I upsized the idea for a small shower stall in my house, and a $6 shower stall tension rod solved storage issues.

Anyway, back to post titles. In my search for ideas for improving my kitchen I came across a Martha Stewart picture, went to her blog and read a post entitled "Holiday Lunch for My Bedford Staff." That would be a fun title to write! It would be fun because it means she has a crew of people doing the stuff she doesn't want to do. HELLO, I would love that! Martha isn't cleaning her grout with a toothbrush. That's what the Bedford Staff do. Having no "Bedford Staff" I can't write that post title. I can write "New Ways With Old Grout." That will set the blogosphere all aflutter. I have 25 year old bathroom floors with one inch tiles I want to replace but in the meantime I could at least spiff up the grout.

Pinterest, You Owe Me Two Days of My Life

2011-12-28T07:24:00.000-05:00

Oh, Pinterest. I remember when I scoffed at joining your site. Who needs to join another site? I didn't know. I didn't know the sheer satisfaction I could derive from saving ideas found on the web into categorized pinboards. I've been doing this for years with images torn from magazines. It all started when I decided I wanted to paint my 26 year old cabinets in my kitchen. So I went to Pinterest in search of ideas and two days later I'm blinking away the spirals in front of my eyes. You are dangerous, Pinterest. But fun and useful, too. Because in the past I would have bought tons of magazines and torn out loads of pages from them and filed them in folders that took up half my filing storage. This is much better. So thank you. Now instead of being a paper hoarder I can be a digital hoarder.

And now it's time to tell myself:

I don't need more ideas,

I need to execute some that I already have.

The Best Gift

2011-12-24T06:24:00.000-05:00

My older son came home with this awesome drawing he made. I love it so much!

A White Christmas?

2011-12-23T08:31:00.002-05:00

It's snowing outside!

I hope it sticks for Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T19:05:00.002-05:00

Visiting Santa - I think I must have been around five years old (I'm in the middle with the brown checked coat). This was taken in a department store that was downtown in Bangor, Maine. It's my brother on the left and a neighbor boy named Kevin Motsinger on the right.

All the Way from Australia

2011-12-18T15:06:00.001-05:00

I received a lovely doll quilt

from Marian, who lives in Australia.

I had posted that I would like to create a wall like this one:

I sent Marian a book that she couldn't order from Australia,

and she sent me this lovingly made doll quilt.

She did such a wonderful job mixing in different fabrics
to create a quilt that has the feel and charm of an antique.

Thank you, Marian!

Not Feeling Christmasy? Remember Christmas in 5 Ways

2011-12-17T08:36:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine posted on Facebook that
he was not feeling very Christmas-y.

I replied,

"Define Christmas-y."

I'm not trying to discount his feelings. What I mean is,

"What makes you feel like it's Christmas?"

When we don't feel Christmasy it's because we're comparing our "now" with some memory from the past or some image that's presented in society. And often it doesn't measure up. Sometimes we have real reasons that we're feeling the Christmas blues. Maybe we're lonely or depressed. Maybe we're overwhelmed and harried.

Many years ago, when my son who has autism was small, I had to adjust my views of Christmas. In my growing up, Christmas was about a big toy opening fest on Christmas Day. I thought I would bring that to my family tradition when I had kids. But my son at the time had no interest in toys. So shopping for Christmas presents was painful. It highlighted that the path we were traveling was a different one, and I didn't know the way. Sometimes I still feel that twinge when I walk the toy aisles. Going to Christmas events was either impossible or very hard when my son was young. My husband and I spent quite a few family Christmas parties off in another room sitting under a blanket with my son, who was completely overwhelmed I was sad during this time. And I felt lonely. This wasn't the expected path. I had to come to terms that the Christmas season for us was going to be different from what I had envisioned It wouldn't be a recreation of my childhood Christmases.

Here's the manger scene as set up by our son with autism....I'm not changing it.

Yesterday I saw a friend at the grocery store who wasn't going to be able to do all the things that Christmas brings because of a busy work schedule. My suggestion to her?

Pick 5 Things to Do

Pick 5 things to do that if you don't do them it doesn't feel like Christmas. And forget the rest. That list will be different for everyone.

Here's our list:

Get a Christmas tree and decorate it as a family.
Listen to and sing Christmas carols. Pandora.com is great for this. Type in your favorite Christmas carol, your favorite artist and listen to lots of wonderful Christmas songs.
Hang lights. This year we hung some colored outdoor lights that remind me of the giant ones that used to hang at Granddad's house when I was very small.
Make cookies and/or cinnamon dough ornaments.
Read the biblical Christmas story at Bible Gateway. Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20.

Of course, there's more. I didn't put presents in, and we do that. But you get the idea. Make a list that is YOUR list of what preparing for Christmas means. For some people, it means putting up 12 Christmas trees around their house. For others, it means volunteering.

Accept Your Un-Christmasy Feelings

Accept that in this year, you may feel like the tired shepherds away in the fields working the graveyard shift. You may feel like Joseph trying to find a place for his family to sleep in a strange city. Or like Mary, waiting and wondering what is to come. Perhaps you're the harried innkeeper trying to wedge in another paying customer. Or maybe you are like old Simeon and Anna, who had been waiting a long, long time for the birth of the promised Messiah.

Christmas still came for all of those people,
despite how they were feeling.

Artists and Egos

2011-12-13T09:06:00.001-05:00

Jan Conwell wrote an interesting post this morning. She's writing about really looking at her work sans ego.

Izannah Walker inspired dolls by Jan Conwell

Jan's earlier Izannah dolls are beautiful and have a lot of charm. But she felt she could go deeper. If we want to become better artists, we have to look at our work sans ego. This is hard, but important. Read Jan's post.

Here's one of my early attempts at an Izannah doll. That doll carries part of my journey in learning about Izannah, and I love her for her folkyness and honest searching. If I were to be making her today I'd be making some different choices. This is what we do as artists. Read Jan's post. You'll enjoy it and it will make you think.

One of Dixie Redmond's early attempts
at making an Izannah inspired doll.

Surprises in the Mail

2011-12-12T17:53:00.000-05:00

I got two surprises in the mail this week. One was a disk on the DCA's presentation of Izannah Walker dolls with lots of wonderful pictures and information. I loved seeing it. The other was this lovely box of quilt blocks from my internet friend Di. The fact that in this busy season they took the time to send these brought tears to my eyes. Thank you to both these lovely ladies for these packages.

Mini Izannah Walker Dolls in Progress

2011-12-12T07:11:00.002-05:00

This is after 5 sculpting sessions. The one in the back looks kind of nervous. But the one in the front is taking shape. I still have 2 - 3 sculpting sessions to go on the doll in front. The doll in back will get a new face.

Mini Izannahs in Progress

2011-12-11T07:12:00.001-05:00

I'm working on a couple of mini Izannah dolls. They will be somewhere between 8 and 10 inches tall, depending on how much clay gets added to the heads. You use less material in making dolls smaller than 12 inches but they require more time because sculpting is actually harder (at least for me). I've been working on getting a different shape for the body, moving a seam here and a seam there. I enjoy that part of doll designing.

Clay is the next step.

Sculpting at this scale is challenging.

This is the first base layer - facial features are next.

Visit Michele Made Me - Yes, Again!

2011-12-10T07:24:00.001-05:00

Michele makes the mundane marvelous. Alliteration alert! Making the mundane marvelous is an enormous gift. It encourages me that I can take the ho-hum in my life and make something beautiful. I haven't been keeping my junkmail and now I wish I had. But the holidays are not over yet! More junkmail to come! ;-)

Even More on Making Christmas Ornaments

2011-12-04T09:09:00.001-05:00

I don't know what I'll name this post next year. For the past few years I've done a post on making Christmas ornaments. This year we made an old stand-by - ornaments made with cinnamon dough. This is a fun thing for kids and adults. You get the fun of making cookies without any calories. Your house will have the aroma of cinnamon for the time that these dry. You leave them on the cookie sheets and flilp them periodically because as they dry they begin to curl up. So flip them to even that out. It will take several days for them to dry. But it's an easy recipe. Hint: Natural food stores sell spices in bulk for much less than grocery store prices. For the recipe click here.

I also made this heart in house ornament

based on a tutorial by Michele Made Me.

Michele's version below is made with recycled greeting cards.
Michele has a number of AWESOME tutorials at Michele Made Me.

via Michele Made Me

I've been looking for EASY ornaments because a family member has challenges with fine motor skills. The cinnamon dough ornaments are perfect and fun. But if you'd like to try other ornaments or see some offered for sale by artists, visit my Pinterest board for other ideas.

Have fun!

Previous posts on
making Christmas ornaments:

Making Christmas Ornaments
More on Making Christmas Ornaments

Making Art With Kids: Christmas Silhouettes

2011-12-03T08:18:00.001-05:00

Variations of making silhouettes abound. Linda Germain's Tiny Dancer print inspired the silhouettes we made with friends last night. First, you take a profile picture of your guests with your digital camera. Upload the pictures to your computer and print it out in a size of a common frame.

Have your guests scribble all over a white piece of paper using crayons. This is the part that any person from two to ninety-two can do. Of course, there are a number of other backgrounds you could use - strips of paper or cloth, pre-printed scrapbooking paper, a Wordle that describes the personality of the person whose silhouette it is.

See the heads above in the left of the picture?

We cut out these out and traced them onto black paper.

Then we cut out the black silhouette.

You take the black "background" and paste it on top of the scribbled paper. The cutting part is intricate. Kids 8 and above can handle it, but it might be frustrating for people under 8 or for those who have fine motor challenges. So we the moms did some cutting for some.

It was fun to do. I liked the black frames on these. It would be fun to explore some of the options I mentioend above. Here's mine....we found that those of us over 40 have quite a different profile than the younger people!

You can also take the positive shape -

the head silhouette and put it on patterned paper.

There are a lot of ways to approach this.

It was a way to mark this particular point in time and have fun, too!

Submit Your Item to the Maida Marketplace Gallery

2011-11-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

Please visit the Maida Marketplace, a networking site where artists & artisans self-submit an item you have for sale and link to your own selling site using Linky Tools. You can send people to your website, your blog or another selling site (like TDIPT or PFATT or whatever). I thought it might be a fun way for artists and collectors to connect. A little extra promotion never hurts and there's no cost to you. Artists have already submitted a few dolls there.

You are invited to self-submit one picture per category per artist by December 17th. You must have that particular item available for sale at your blog or selling site. It is fine if it links to another group selling site. The categories are:

Artist Made Dolls & Bears

Antique Dolls

Patterns and Classes

Doll Quilts & Accessories

I will leave these submissions up through December, then we'll start a whole new gallery in January. So please self-submit an artist doll, a pattern, a doll quilt or accessory you have for sale. I have ti set up to approve the selections to be sure they're going to legitimate sites. I'll be checking and approving the submissions daily until the 17th.

Visit the Maida Markettplace for directions in how you submit a picture and web address to your selling site.

-----------------------------------------------

Spread the word, please!

A little tweeting and FB sharing or blogging

about this with other artists would be great!

~ Dixie

Izannah Paper Doll & Works In Progress

2011-11-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

Izannah Paper Doll by Megan Holloway

I love the Izannah Paper doll I bought a few years ago from Megan Holloway. I was walking by the bookshelf in my office where I'd parked a couple of works in progress and saw this image. It looks like Meg's Izzy is telling them, "Shhhhh, it'll be okay....she'll finish you eventually."

Here she is standing with my antique carved folk art figurine who has stolen the Snowman basket from a Cart Before the Horse Creation.

Make Art Friday Revealed

2011-11-25T15:49:00.001-05:00

What would happen if Helen Frankethaler and Jackson Pollock collaborated on a project sponsored by Poland Spring Water on a snowy winter day in Maine?

It might look something like this:

After a while it might erupt into a snowball fight:

At the end you would hang it to

"dry" (or freeze?) on the snowplow.

It was a great way to avoid Black Friday

and get a start on the "Merry" part of Christmas.

I hope your holidays are beginning with joy.

Make Art Friday!

2011-11-25T07:21:00.001-05:00

Let's make Black Friday colorful!

Here's my plan. We're going to take a part of a painting drop-cloth and lay it out on the snow. And then we're going to mix up some paint colors in water bottles with the squirt top and go all Jackson Pollock on it to create a temporary free-form piece of art for my living room. We may end up liking it enough to KEEP it there, but we'll see.

But you could do something as simple as heat up some cider, dig out the crayolas and a coloring book and enjoy some coloring.

It's Make-Art Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

2011-11-24T09:34:00.001-05:00

Kittencal's pie crust recipe
with Ina Garten's
Deep Dish Apple Pie filling.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

No Black Friday for Me: It's Make Art Friday

2011-11-24T06:45:00.000-05:00

Let's make Black Friday colorful!

Let's start a revolution!

I just can't do Black Friday. It makes me grumpy. Too early. Too cold. Too many crowds. Not enough coffee can energize me. No 8 foot TV for $50 is worth getting trampled. So for me, there will be NO BLACK FRIDAY. I choose to stay at home and make some art with my kids instead. I think I will start a new tradition for our family.

I already have a plan.

Want to join in the fun?

Izannah Walker Inspired Doll Work in Progress

2011-11-21T08:32:00.001-05:00

Here's my Izannah Walker inspired doll in progress. She's inspired by Ella and this original antique Izannah Walker doll below. Yes, that's my kitchen counter with a bag of rice in the background. I like sculpting in my kitchen because I can be with my family while I work on creations. Taking pictures of your work is important and then writing on the picture (or the WIP) is helpful, too. The WIP above needs height at the top of the head.

Doll Quilt Fascination

2011-11-17T06:38:00.001-05:00

This quilt was sold on Ebay a while ago...

Maida Today, a site I write about making antique inspired dolls and accessories, is having a doll quilt party. I entered an image of a red and white quilt as a test and thought I would explain I didn't make the quilt, it was an antique one I saw selling on Ebay not long ago. I loved it so much! I wish I had saved more information about it.

If you like red and white quilts you should visit this Flickr photo album which shows “Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts", which was an exhibit of the Joanna Rose collection. Talk about having a focus for your collection! Wow. Below is a video explaining the exhibit of Joanna Rose's red and white quilt collection. Joanna was turning 80 and wanted to see all her red and white quilts in one place. So she decided to show them in NYC and have the exhibit be open to the public at no cost. Go Joanna! This exhibit was in partnership with the American Museum of Folk Art - a fabulous museum that you MUST go see if you're in NYC. The Museum of Folk Art website has a number of other resources about this exhibit and collection which you can view here.

Below is a video of the installation process

What a way to celebrate turning 80!

Rugs for My Red Cape Is Available in PDF E-book Format

2011-11-14T06:44:00.001-05:00

If you enjoy antiques, antique houses, collectibles, dolls, rug hooking, and quilts then you will enjoy reading Edyth's book Rugs for My Red Cape. It's a treat for the eye, showcasing not only her rug designs but many wonderful images of other antiques. Her restored cape is sadly lost, but this book shows Edyth's and Jack's eyes for antiques and design.

Visit Edyths blog
for more information.

Soldiers: A Different 1%

2011-11-11T07:19:00.001-05:00

I visited The Humble Stitcher after she left a comment on Maida Today. On her blog, Sandy mentions that the graphic in her banner was from a book called The Tribute Book, which was published in 1865 as "A Record of the Munificence, Self-Sacrifice and Patriotism of the American People During the War for the Union." The book is a detailed account of what regular people did to support not only the war effort, but the returning soldiers as well as the widows and children of those soldiers. The graphic is actually an illustration of a young girl who had too many dolls to know what to do with them. So she dressed up as The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe and auctioned off the dolls so that she might be able to give money herself. Visit the Humble Stitcher to see the graphic in greater detail.

I found the The Tribute Book online, intending to look for graphics. But what I found was even greater: amazing stories of citizenship. The people of that time didn't just send the soldiers off and then play the 1865 version of Call of Duty in the privacy of their homes while real soldiers fought real wars. They saw that every citizen needed to sacrifice. They saw that there was more than one battlefield to fight on.

Not long ago, I saw this interview with Tom Brokaw on the Daily Show. In the interview, Tom talks about how the soldiers serving our country represent 1% of our population. An extremely small portion of our population is bearing the cost for defending our nation. Many of these families have repeatedly sacrificed as a family member has been deployed not once but several times. Watch the video, it's interesting and highlights the importance of remembering our military not only on Veteran's Day but when they come home. Tom Brokaw, in this interview with Stephen Colbert, talks about how after 911 people volunteered for military service. He says they are likely The Next Great Generation. In talking about this 1% of our population, Tom says, "Not enough was asked of the rest of us."

It's not only the soldier who serves. The family of the soldier serves as well. The children of the family miss having one of their parents there for a portion of their formative years. The spouse takes on all the things that the loved one serving used to do. And sometimes children take on extra responsibilities as well, as shown in this 1865 graphic above. And sometimes these families make the greatest sacrifice:
The people at home not fighting themselves saw that they had a job to do, too, in serving our country. They served by helping the soldiers through nursing or knitting.

Those at home gave of their time and gave of themselves.

Having a day to honor those who have served our country is a good thing. In reading this you can see it's reminded me to remember. While it's wonderful, one day is not enough. These families without a parent or spouse need support all year long.

So what can we practically do?

United We Serve has a page that details ways regular citizens can help veterans:

http://www.serve.gov/stories_detail.asp?tbl_servestories_id=678

Oprah.com has a section on How You Can Help.

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/How-You-Can-Help-Veterans

I want to learn what I can do. I live in an area where people have been welcoming troops home in Bangor Maine since 2003. This makes me proud, but it's not practical for me, because I have kids that need watching. I may not be able to do that, but I can do something.

"Do not let what you cannot do

keep you from doing what you can do."

John Wooden

How the Light Falls

2011-11-10T10:15:00.001-05:00

How the light falls has fascinated me my whole life. Light can transform an object. Today I looked over and saw my son's glasses on top of the laundry that needs to be put away. It's a gray day outside in Maine but the glasses seemed important today, somehow. And not just because there were forgotten. The one below is funny to me because today's chore is highlighted pretty clearly.

A Beautiful Izannah Inspired Doll on Ebay

2011-11-06T07:40:00.001-05:00

This beautiful Izannah Walker inspired doll made by doll maker Peggy Flavin is on Ebay right now. I love this doll for so many reasons! It's obvious she has really studied original Izannah Walker dolls - it shows in her sculpt. But the other reason I love this sweet girl is because it's made with my Izannah Walker inspired pattern. I feel honored that someone used my pattern, and thrilled that they created a doll that evokes Izannah Walker's work so closely. Hand-sculpted over cloth doll. Truly a one of a kind beauty. Visit the auction page for more information.

Later note....Peggy's doll auction ended at $751.99 and is well deserved.

Making An Izannah Walker Inspired Doll: A PDF E-book

2011-10-31T16:42:00.000-04:00

I've traveled thousands of miles in search of knowledge about Izannah Walker dolls. I've taken hundreds of pictures of original Izannah Walker dolls and shared on the Izannah Walker Chronicles while learning about these wonderful dolls. I designed a pattern and led several sessions of an online class based on the information in this book. People who've made the pattern in the class left comments about their experience here. The pattern consists of making a cloth doll over which a one of a kind clay head is sculpted. My pattern and the instructions are inspired by Izannah Walker dolls but use modern materials like paperclay.

I've bundled all the tutorials used in the Izannah Walker Workshop as well as the pattern into a PDF downloadable E-book called Making an Izannah Walker Inspired Doll. The book has over 107 pages of tutorials using photographs of the doll making process. I tried to present the information so that if someone were only looking at the pictures they could make the doll. Here's a peak at the Table of Contents:

And here's a peak at one of the sections

on sculpting with paperclay:

What skill levels are required to make this doll?

It is best if you have sewing and sculpting experience. You will be sculpting your own Izannah Walker head using paperclay and looking at inspiration pictures I have provided. In the class, I suggested that people make 3 dolls at the beginning and give themselves permission for their first few dolls to be learning dolls. Some people did take the Izannah Workshop who had never made a doll and their efforts resulted in some lovely creations. But sculpting and sewing experience makes it much easier.

How Do I Buy the Book?

To purchase the e-book, you will click on the "Add to Cart" button below. This will open a window which allows you to pay for the book through Paypal. Once you have paid for the book through Paypal it will open up a window with a link to download the book to your computer. I've tested this a couple of people and it went through fine.

Note: If you pay by e-check you will not be able to download until your payment has cleared through Paypal. This can take several days. If you pay using a credit card, the download link is offered immediately. The E-book is $35. To purchase, use the link in the sidebar, or visit the Izannah Walker Workshop blog.

If you have any questions, please

contact me

at northdixie @ gmail.com

Day 31 of 31 Days of Art: Meeting a Goal

2011-10-31T16:34:00.001-04:00

This post is the last post in the series.

Thank you for traveling along with me.

I'm excited to end 31 Days of Art by releasing my PDF Ebook on Making an Izannah Walker Inspired Doll. Studying Izannah Walker dolls has been a major part of my life for 5 years now. They are beautiful examples of American folk art. If I can design something half that wonderful in my lifetime that lasts over 150 years I will call it an achievement.

Here are each of the posts in order:

Deciding What to Do

Working Against a Colored Ground

Making Thumbnail Sketches

Tomato People Paintings

When to Begin Again

The Joy of Gesso

Say Yes to Art

Study A Common Object

A Color Assignment

The Art of Soccer Tournaments

Really Looking at Things

Day 12: Disappeared Into a Cloud of Soccer Dust!

Kinds of Art

Tomato Girl is Taking Shape

Managing the Beginner's Blues

Starting Over Again

Abstract Painting

Drawing on Pictures of Your Work

Paints and Palettes

Day 20: No Art Today

Is Sharing Dirty Dishes the Same As Airing Dirty Laundry?

Tried the Golden Open Acrylics

Tomato Boy Act II

Be Inspired by Dead People

Originality in Art

Making Art and Painting with Kids

Izannah Walker Inspired Doll in Progress

Editing an E-book

How to Get Out of a Creative Funk

Is Your Art Hackable?
The post above of hackable art is getting lots of hits.
I guess I hit a nerve.

31 Days of Art has been a blast. I've learned things about myself and art-making that I would not have learned if I hadn't taken on Nester's 31 Day Challenge. See all the other 31 Day topics here. On Day 1, I did a lot of dreaming about what I hoped to write about. I didn't get to all those topics. One of the things I learned is that I don't include enough white space for family life to impact my plans! But the good part is that I have quite a few topics yet to explore in the coming weeks. They are:

Finding Time for Art - I'll write about some ways to fit art into our busy lives.

How to Rescue a Bad Painting - I am pretty sure this is something all artists have laying around in their work areas. I know I do. So this will be one of my ideas.

How to Be Inspired by Others' Art in a Respectful Way

Making Art with Kids

Day 30 of 31 Days of Art: Is Your Art Hackable?

2011-10-30T07:53:00.002-04:00

Hackable. The term "hackable" shows up in so many places now. It used to mean that computer geeks could break into sites by "hacking the code." But now the word has come to mean something is "copy-able." It means you can make a reasonable imitation of it. You hear the word "hackable" a lot in the do it yourself interior design community.

In fact, there is a whole show based on hacking designs. It's an HGTV show called the "The High/Low Project". The premise of the show is designer Sabrina Soto designs a high-end room for clients, and then reinvents the design with low cost alternatives. I like that she is hacking her own design. This particular room in the high end version was $29,000. Sabrina recreated the look for $4,000. It was very cool how she expressed her room design in an upper end and lower budget way. I like befores and afters, and I've seen her on another show where she stages homes to get ready to sell. She's a very good designer. The art of creating a room is amazing to me - that someone can create a 3D art environment to live in is a gift. Interior designers use art and color pops the way a painter might use a single brushstroke of red in an otherwise neutral painting.

I was enjoying the show. But then Sabrina took an artist's piece off the wall and "hacked" the art in a low cost way using paper. It's interesting that I was fine with it as long as she was using a funky thrift couch to express the vibe of the designer sofa. Or even when they copied the kidney shaped ottoman exactly. But when it was someone's one of a kind ART it bothered me. Hmmmmm. She was not copying the art - more like creating something in the spirit of the high end art using the same colorways. But still, this brings up all kinds of thoughts for me in all kinds of directions.

How would you feel if it had been your art hanging in the high end room that got taken off the wall and hacked?

Is your art hackable?

If I am making art that is simple for someone else to mimic is it my own darn fault if I get copied?

Is an ottoman art? They copied the high end ottoman exactly. The high end ottoman itself was a copy of a mid-century modern design. Why wasn't I bothered when the ottoman was copied?

Has the DIY community undermined the place of art in our world or given it more of a place by inspiring people to make their own art?

Just because something is copyable, does that mean it's okay to copy it?

One of my focuses, studying antique folk art dolls, has been about re-creating a doll inspired by Izannah Walker's work. In a sense, I and many other people are "hacking" historical objects. Or continuing a tradition. Depending on your viewpoint.

I hacked this graphic (copied it) from an antique book.

Then I changed the color to sepia.

Hackable.

Your thoughts?

Day 29 of 31 Days of Art: How to Get Out of a Creative Funk

2011-10-29T09:51:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been in a creative funk? If you haven't, you will. In one of my online groups we were discussing this recently. Sometimes it's a result of a shift of life's circumstances that uses most of our energy. Sometimes it's that what we've been doing we've explored to the point that we can do it in our sleep - we're bored. But maybe we don't want to admit it? Sometimes it's because we feel our work isn't good enough and why bother trying.

When I'm in a creative funk I do the following:

Use a New Medium

A while ago I tried making monoprints with gelatin plates. I loved it. I want to do it again. I had some ideas of how to combine that technique with doll-making.

Acknowledge Life's Stressors
and Make Art About Your Life

Maybe you're dealing with a major loss or change in your life. Your mind is so occupied that there is no room for creativity. In that case, use a tried and true method, and make art about the themes in your life. Some of my best works have been me "thinking in paint" about a problem or a hope I have. One of the themes I'm worried about right now is where my son who has autism will live in his future. I want to envision a sense of place for him, a home. I want to do a series of small paintings with elements of maps and homes as a way of thinking this out.

Give Yourself Permission to Experiment

This helps you try some things without any risk, other than the paint or paper you're using. I've been making a painting in this 31 Days of Art that I hate. But I am learning while making it, so it's all good. I have a way of rescuing this later if all else fails.

Look at Others' Work

On Thursday night I went to a local exhibition called 10 by Ten. I saw some works that were so unique. I got an idea of an element to incorporate into my own work. Now, this is tricky territory, and will not in any way look like that person's art when I'm done.

Study An Artist or Art Movement In Depth

Source: google.com via paula on Pinterest

An artist I have always admired is Wolf Kahn. This relates to my thinking about sense of place. I also like works by Tracy Hegelson and Kathryn Milillo. There are similar themes involved.

Do a Different Kind of Art

If you're a visual artist, sing.
If you're a musician, paint.
If you're a writer, draw.

Read Other People's Writing About Creative Funks

10 Paths to Help You Emerge from a Creative Slump
Overcoming Artist's Block
Outliving the Creative Slump

Write About Your Creative Slump for 31 Days

Thank you Nester, for inviting us all to join in the 31 Days challenge. Check out the other 31 Day writers here.

Day 28 of 31 Days of Art: Editing an E-book

2011-10-28T08:31:00.002-04:00

I'm organizing the instructions and pattern pieces for my e-book Making an Izannah Walker Inspired Doll. I will be releasing the pattern on Halloween (yeah, I'm crazy). This e-book will include my Izannah Walker inspired pattern as well as the many pages of instruction that were used in the online Izannah Walker Workshop class.

Today my art is wrangling with a Word Processor to get placement of pictures where they need to be to go along with the text. Not all parts of art are la-di-da creative. Sometimes there is non-creative work to do which supports the creative work. But that's okay, I will also do a little painting later in the day to share tomorrow.

Day 27 of 31 Days of Art: Izannah Walker Inspired Doll in Progress

2011-10-27T09:43:00.000-04:00

When people in real life ask me what I do for artwork I've stopped saying "I make art dolls" and say, "I make art inspired by antiques." They don't get dolls, but they do get antiques. ;-) Studying Izannah Walker Dolls has been a focus of mine for the last 5 years or more. It's not all I do for artwork but it's what I'm most known for at this point in time. I'm in my "Izannah period". ;-)

This is the first time I have gotten the feeling of the downcast eyes that are such a hallmark of Izannah Walker's work. This doll has been sanded too much and I might lose what I have here in the next stage of painting. If I do, so be it. But I wanted to capture it with the camera in case I lose it This doll started off looking like one of my sisters as a girl and then morphed into one of my friends from young adulthood. Amazing how much we carry around other people's likenesses in our heads.

Day 26 of 31 Days of Art: Making Art and Painting with Kids

2011-10-26T10:24:00.000-04:00

The Painted House wrote a great post on Tips for Painting With Children. So go there. She's done such a wonderful job writing this! I may do a follow-up documentation on art-making here at home later. TPH makes it very clear that in order for art to be part of our kids' lives there has to be a place to do it. The dining room table won't make for worry-free expression for the kids or parent.

Here are two artworks by my older son:

Here are some pictures my younger son has made a while ago:

When he was two, above.

When he was eight. He has a great sense of humor.

Day 25 of 31 Days of Art: Originality in Art

2011-10-25T05:26:00.002-04:00

“Don't worry about your originality.

You couldn't get rid of it
even if you wanted to.

It will stick with you
and show up for better or worse

in spite of all you or anyone else can do.”

~Robert Henri

The Art Spirit by Robert Henri is a worthwhile book to read if you're an artist. It is filled, FILLED, with profound statements like the one above which really makes you think. We all search for (or against) our originality. Sometimes we want to shuck it like 1970's bell bottoms and other times we search for it high and low. We can't shuck it. We are who we are and it comes out in our artwork. We have to learn to work with it.

Day 24 of 31 Days of Art: Be Inspired by Dead People

2011-10-24T07:13:00.003-04:00

Milton Avery, 1944, Autumn

Dead artists don't send cease and desist letters. So if you want to copy another's work to learn from, choose a dead artist. Preferably someone who lived a hundred years or more ago. Five hundred is even better. Hello, Pieter Bruegel the Elder!

Copying paintings is a way to learn. This is a time honored tradtiion. At art museums, students copy famous paintings hanging on the wall. The National Gallery of Art even has a "copyist" program. If you have a chance to see paintings in person, take it! Seeing paintings live shows you texture and brush-stroke patterns you won't see in a photo. The image above is a good example. I would love to look at this painting from an angle. Some museums will allow you to take photos of master works, and this can be a great opportunity to study the details of a painting later. Take pictures from unusual angles that will show shadows of brushstrokes.

Milton Avery, 1944, Two Figures at Desk

What can we learn by copying someone else's work? Depending on the artist you choose, you can learn about

composition

color choices

line

shape

subject matter

history

We have a lot of images of master works at our fingertips. Seeing a photograph is not the same as seeing an actual painting, but we can still learn a lot about composition and color, if not brush stroke. So choose an artist (I'm choosing Milton Avery) and copy one of their works. Type in the artist's name in the search bar, and then click on images in the search result. Choose a painting and copy it. Then try to make an original painting in the style of that artist. It's like getting dressed up for the prom, maybe you won't ever wear the dress again, but it's fun to wear something different. Then you can hang that "style" back in the closet after your learning session.

Milton Avery, 1954, Bicycle Rider by the Loire

What do we do with the copied painting? Ah, ethics. You can display it with a clear label that says "after Milton Avery" or whatever your chosen artist's name is. Sign your name and then clearly state on the back it's "after" which means inspired by that artist. I wouldn't feel good about selling a painting that's a copy of someone else's work, dead or alive.

If you want to see more images of Milton Avery's work, visit It's About Time. He hasn't been dead a hundred years, but I have no plans to sell any of my copied paintings. They're purely about learning.

Day 23 of 31 Days of Art: Tomato Boy Act II

2011-10-23T19:41:00.000-04:00

So Tomato Boy is taking shape. He is a smaller canvas. It's obviously still wet. I used the Golden Open Acrylics and I'm starting to get the hang of them. I need to let this dry for a few days and then see what I want to do on it. As is usual, some things are a bit better, and other things get lost. In the painting below he looks more satisfied. In the one above he looks more like he's on a secret mission.

Before Open Acrylics Session

Day 22 of 31 Days of Art: Tried the Golden Open Acrylics

2011-10-22T21:15:00.001-04:00

I finally broke open the Golden Open Acrylics and painted on the abstract panel. I decided it needed more definition and went with a more map-like feeling. This is still an experimentation panel and I don't like it so well, but on the other hand I'm learning a lot. I want to try use these paints more before I give a review. Here's where this painting panel has come from:

Then I primed it red.

His ego needed deflating.

But then he was boring.
So I primed it red again.

I decided to make it more map like

and less landscape like.

The painting is not better

but I am having fun playing.

One thing I did like about the Open Acrylics was that I could scrub a thin layer of paint into the canvas panel and then wipe away areas, make some areas darker like I used to do a long time ago with oil/turpentine washes. It creates a good way to do an underpainting to show darks and lights.

Day 21 of 31 Days of Art: Is sharing dirty dishes the same as airing dirty laundry?

2011-10-21T12:38:00.002-04:00

Is sharing dirty dishes the same as airing dirty laundry?

The color and forms are kind of pretty.

Especially if you squint.

And dirty dishes are beautiful when they're in the dishwasher.

Squint your eyes.

Day 20 of 31 Days of Art: No Art Today

2011-10-20T21:31:00.001-04:00

I made no art today. Unless comforting a child who has lost an important person from their life is art. Unless folding a favorite shirt so it has no wrinkles is art. Unless buying wacky colored vegetables at the health food store is an art.

I made no art, but I did think about art. Tomorrow's another day.

Day 19 of 31 Days of Art: Paints and Palettes

2011-10-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

Tonight, after the kids are in bed, before I take the dog out for the last time, I will watch TV and paint at the same time. Preferably HGTV. Best of all worlds. This means cleaning off the kitchen counter to use as a painting area. Good goal!

I will break open the Golden Open Acrylic starter set I found when cleaning out my studio. I'm excited to try them out and will write a review later in this series. Open acrylics are touted to be THE solution for those who love the characteristics of oil paint but want to live a life without solvents and chemicals. Regular acrylics dry fast, and this can work FOR you, but it works against you if you like to paint in a more blended way.

My palette - This is my favorite. It's tinfoil over hardboard panel. When the paint dries I can just take the tin foil off the hardboard underneath and toss it. This is a good solution when you're not going to be putting gobs of paint out. If you're going to be putting gobs of paint out....

an Air Tight Palette is a great solution. You spritz your paints with water before sealing them up for painting another time. This works like a big Tupperware container. I've had mine long time. It came with some fancy stay-wet palettes that were supposed to keep acrylic paint viable longer. I didn't like those!

Cut a piece of foam-core so it fits snugly inside of the container bottom and top with a piece of glass the same size as the foam core. Tape around the edges with packing tape so that the glass and foam core are one unit. IN this way, after the paint has dried, a straight razor blade easily scrapes the paint off the glass.

Day 18 of 31 Days of Art: Drawing on Pictures of Your Work

2011-10-18T12:36:00.000-04:00

Remember Tomato Boy? I need to change some things on this painting. Instead of slogging away for hours with paint, at this point I print off some smaller scaled copies of the painting and play around with pencils on top of the printed copies.

Taking pictures of your work in process is important. You will see things that you didn't see while painting. For one thing, the shape of his mask is off. In the thumbnail prints above, I see that if I make his shirt black he will look too much like a priest, and that is just a weird image to contemplate - Masked Tomato Man Priest. NO. So I think I will keep his shirt white or paint it another color and then make the mask black or another color. Or make his shirt a color and keep the mask white. Or change both to colors. Time to print off a bunch and pull out my colored pencils while I wait for one of my sons at the dentist.

Abstract Painting Update: I printed off pictures of this as well. Using a plain old pencil, I experimented with darkening some areas.

Sometimes I write notes to myself on these in process thumbnails of paintings. If I hate it I can easily toss the idea. And I haven't wasted hours and hours and gallons of paint trying an idea out. Pssst. You can do this with home interiors as well. It's great fun. Take a picture of a room you want to change and color on it with crayons. I did that with exterior pictures of my house before we had it sided in red vinyl siding.

Day 17 of 31 Days of Art: Abstract Painting

2011-10-17T20:31:00.001-04:00

After I worked on Tomato Boy I had a lot of paint left on my palette. Since the paint would have dried on the palette anyway I used it abstractly on a large panel. If it were the kind of panel I could cut with a saw I would slice the painting in half as is cropped above. Here's the whole panel below. I like some of the colorations and movements but everything's too close to the same value so it needs to have some darker values put in. But still, I like some of the spots. The crop above shows some of the mark-making.

Oh, and here's Tomato Boy below.

I'm not sure how I will change him.

Either the mask needs to change color

or the shirt needs to change color.

Day 16 of 31 Days of Art: Starting Over Again

2011-10-16T22:12:00.002-04:00

All the same painting panel...

which started with a brown gesso base.

And now...Tomato Boy in process.
This is the first blocking in
after a pencil sketch.

Day 15 of 31 Days of Art: Managing the Beginner's Blues

2011-10-15T08:56:00.000-04:00

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Thanks to the Nester for sharing this cool transcript version of Ira.
I replaced the original Youtube video showing Ira Glass with the transcipt.

The Beginner's Blues.

Are they avoidable?

Ira Glass, of This American Life, talks about the gap for developing artists between what you envision and what you're actually able to do in the beginning. I wrote about this in sharing why I cried in art school. Watch the clip above, because Ira Glass has some encouragement for those of us who are in the beginning of our craft.

Seth Godin talks about the beginner's blues in his post about The Red Zone. Read his post, it sheds some light on the ups and downs of creativity and meeting goals. The red zone is that area where the hassle to learn to do the thing exceeds the joy of doing it. I call this time the beginner's blues. Seth says you need someone just over the summit of the learning curve who is an encouragement to you - that shows you it can be done. These are the "green dots" who help keep you fixed on the idea that your goal is do-able. They give you the energy to do the heavy work needed in the early stages of the learning curve.

Even seasoned artists can get The Beginner's Blues. Especially if you're trying some new materials and techniques. It's GOOD to be a beginner. It brings an element of humility to your work. The works show the creative struggle a bit more. You discover new perspectives along the way.

In what way are you a beginner?

Is there someone who is a green dot for you?

Day 14 of 31 Days of Art: Tomato Girl Is Taking Shape

2011-10-14T09:58:00.000-04:00

While I don't take commissions I DO take suggestions. The girl above is a suggestion. She still has a long way to go. Someone saw the other masked tomato girl in the sideline and asked if I would make a painting like that. I said, "I'll try to make something in the spirit of that but it will not be a direct copy."

I don't commit to timelines because it stresses me out. It's just the way I am. My life can be unpredictable and I hate feeling like I'm letting someone down if I'm really slow. Some people are really good about waiting for the suggested works to be done and they're the kind of people that I feel like are my partners in art.

Here's what the above tomato girl looked like before painting session #3. She still needs work. It's important to stop and let things dry and come back with fresh eyes. Sometimes what I do is print out the picture of the work in progress and write on the print what I think needs to be fixed. As you work, you lose some things you like and you gain some things as well. It's an interesting give and take process. You never feel done, you just find a point that feels okay to stop.

Day 13 of 31 Days of Art: Kinds of Art

2011-10-13T07:40:00.002-04:00

I was asked,
"Are you still going to make art dolls?"
Yes, I am.

I wanted to travel to a particular art workshop which was miles and miles away and hundreds of dollars. I just couldn't swing it on many levels. So this 31 Days of Art is my own personal workshop. :-)

This goes along with the Nester's theme of Lovely Limitations. This 31 Days of Art is about me widening my view a bit, trying some new techniques and mediums, which will hopefully enrich my art dolls.

Some of the techniques I am trying out on flat panels I intend to try on an art doll. But the flat panels are way easier to prepare for experiements. I don't want to sacrifice an art doll that has 100 hours of work to an experiment.

Edyth and I talked on the phone yesterday. What a gift Edyth's friendship is! We talked about hopes and dreams and meeting the needs of family and our need to make art. It was very encouraging.

My thoughts today are in response to my conversation with Edyth and something that Kat Soto wrote once upon a time on Facebook. Kat is a wonderful artist and thinks deeply about art. I am so happy to have connected with her through the magic of the internet.

What is Art?

Yes, I went there. There are a thousand good answers to that question. I don't have one good answer. But I'm going to try to express my personal viewpoint here.

Dictionary.com gives this definition of art:

For our purposes, I will define art as something you make that expresses your personal point of view. I know that's pretty broad and not everyone will agree with it. It separates art from craft. But it covers writers, dancers, fine artists, folk artists, etc. I wanted to put "with your hands" but that would leave out conceptual art. I am not going to deal with "styles" of art here. That is a many-headed hydra.

Craft means the skills you acquire that allow you to manage the materials of your art. When I took art classes at Montserrat College of Art, there was a lot of discussion about "honing your craft". Some people felt the art was in the expression. The craft (management of materials) didn't matter. But the truth is, if you don't know how to manage the materials, you might not be able to fully express yourself.

We create different kinds of art.

Kinds does not refer to style.

Art You Sell

A work that you make and then sell to an unknown buyer - such as when works are displayed in a gallery or other selling venue (online or offline) which is open to the public. You have considered the audience who might receive the work (possible buyers) but colors/designs/etc are all selected by you the artist.

Commissioned works: a buyer contacts you before the work is made and asks you to make a work of a particular kind or theme. They may make specific requests regarding colors, styles, themes, etc. This work might be a bit more specific or different than the work you prepare for a gallery show or artisan fair.

Art You Gift

A work you make with a particular person in mind.

Art for Yourself

This is art you make with no intention of selling, mostly with the idea of honing your craft (management of materials) or of experimenting with new ideas or techniques. Or maybe it's just to express an emotion or idea that's been running through your head. Sometimes these works end up being sellable, but they are not created with that end in mind.

You Can Make All Three Streams

Many, many artists work in all three streams. For instance, Rodin made sculptures which were iconaclistic but also made designs for porcelain vases for the Sevres factory. The challenge is really fitting the time in. This 31 Days of Art was my way of giving myself an art workshop without traveling.

Tomorrow I will be sharing about a new product I'm going to try. Read the other entries in 31 Days of Art here.

And also, don't forget to visit The Nester's page to see the other 31 Dayers.

Day 12 of 31 Days of Art Disappeared Into a Cloud of Soccer Dust! Sorry!

2011-10-13T06:11:00.001-04:00

Day 11 of 31 Days of Art: Really Looking At Things

2011-10-11T18:01:00.001-04:00

For the past few days my "art" has been about family

and taking photos on a mini-trip.

Boy meets beach.

The grass looked so soft as we walked up toward the beach.

The beach is a magical place at twilight.
Soon twilight gives way to night.
It was good.

Day 10 of 31 Days of Art: The Art of Soccer Tournaments

2011-10-11T06:45:00.000-04:00

I missed yesterday's post because our family

had traveled down state for a soccer tournament.

I saw a beautiful sunrise!

And some fun soccer.

Day 9 of 31 Days of Art: Color Assignment!

2011-10-09T05:30:00.000-04:00

Source: flickr.com via Dixie on Pinterest

This was suggested by my friend Dani, who is a photographer. The purpose is to sharpen your observations.

Pick a color. Using your digital camera, for one day, try to take as many pictures of things that are that color as possible. Upload them all to a folder and watch them in slide-show format.

This is an interesting one, because sometimes in nature some things are surprising colors!

Day 8 of 31 Days of Art

2011-10-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Assignment: Take a common object - a piece of fruit, a flower, a pinecone, a cut pumpkin....you decide and your camera and really focus on photographing it with a digital camera so that you see the parts. A cut onion is my example.

Here's another example - pine needles on my deck:

Beautiful Old Onion

2011-10-07T15:08:00.000-04:00

Day 7 of 31 Days of Art: YES

2011-10-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

Say YES to ART.

But that doesn't mean you have to say YES to every idea.

Here's a case in point.

YES is my word for this year. I bought these highway sign letters with the idea of doing an art project. I've had them a while and haven't done anything with them.

I decided that I needed to do SOMETHING with them, even if it was just to photograph them. So that's what I did today. The reflector thingies aren't there for every letter and that bothers me a bit. I tried to take them out but they are stuck in there on some letters and getting them out bends the letters. So I decided to just let go of this project. It's okay. By saying no to this I'm saying YES to something else.

Do you have a

project to let go of?

Check out the other 31 Days of Art posts

AND

Click here to see the other 31 Dayers' Topics

Day 6 of 31 Days of Art: The Joy of Gesso

2011-10-06T09:21:00.002-04:00

Sometimes your most creative action
is to give yourself a blank slate.

Gesso is your friend. Gesso is artist's primer. Gesso can rescue a bad painting and give you a new start. It is acid-free, so if you want your work to be around a thousand years from now then by all means use gesso. Gesso comes in a number of colors - you can get it in white, black, gray, yellow ochre and red ochre. Daniel Smith carries it in venetian red and yes, gold metallic gesso. I bought some of that by mistake, thinking it was golden ochre.

You'll notice I didn't use gesso above. I used a self-priming flat paint. It's an experiment. And the art world has a precedent for using house paints, although they are not as stable as paints designed for artists. So keep that in mind. One of my favorite ways to prime hardboard panels uses bonding house paint primers tinted to colors I love. There's something about working on a painting that has a color you LOVE as its base. All the while you're working you're seeing that color you love. And if you let it peek through here and there it gives the painting some cohesiveness.

This primer needs to dry for 4 hour before being recoated. So I'll come back to it later in the day to see if I need another coat of primer or if I think I can begin working on it as it is.

Check out the other 31 Days of Art posts.

Day 5 of 31 Days of Art: When to Begin Again

2011-10-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

I worked on two paintings.
Here's what the painting above looked like BEFORE

I may need to begin again on both paintings.

And that's okay.

I cannot get the red to photograph correctly.

It's not that bright.

I do like some details in the painting.

Check out the other 31 Days of Art posts.

Intermission - Something Beautiful

2011-10-05T10:32:00.002-04:00

One of the wonderful things about participating in the 31 Day challenge is checking out some of the other 31 Day campaigns. I've found some really interesting campaigns - one about 31 Days of Autism and one about Facing Your Fears. Today the Facing Your Fears post dealt with Facing Fears with Laughter. You should read it. It's beautiful. It's here.

Day 4 of 31 Days of Art: Tomato People Paintings

2011-10-04T19:28:00.001-04:00

I make tomato people paintings sometimes as a bridge between projects. Originally I made one because I wanted to flip around the colors in an Ammi Phillips painting. I like making these - they are a bit tongue in cheek. But I try to give them dignity as well. I have one in process and he is really need of rescuing. I took the picture when the paint was wet so the color is different than it looks in real life.

Poor Tomato Boy. He needs some fixing.

So I've repainted some and will work on him tomorrow again.

If I don't feel good after the next session of painting

I will begin a new tomato person painting.

Tomorrow will tell.

Check out the other 31 Days of Art posts.

Day 3 of 31 Days of Art: Making Thumbnail Sketches

2011-10-03T09:34:00.001-04:00

Plan your composition ahead of time. If you have a bad composition before you add paint you're going to have a bad composition after you have paint. You can change it after you've begun but it's a lot of effort and paint.

Prevent hours spent on a bad composition, make small versions of what you think you'd like your drawing or painting to look like. Doing quick sketches in small formats that are similar in proportion to your larger canvas will give you lots of information.

As a help for us, here are a couple of thumbnail worksheets for you to use in a rectangular format and in a square format. These are images, so you can save them to your hard drive by right clicking.

Here's a doodling assignmment: Draw three shapes in each square or rectangle that bleed off the edges of the square or rectagle. Then pick one to paint in an abstract way.

Day 2 of 31 Days of Art: Working Against a Colored Ground

2011-10-02T22:50:00.003-04:00

Hello, Cerulean Blue. It's been a while. For the past several years I have been focused on making antique inspired art dolls. I really like doing this but the color palette has been very restrained for making Izannah Walker inspired dolls. No bright blues, no bright greens or oranges. So today I pulled out all my colors. My plan was to paint on this wooden panel which I had primed with brown gesso. I decided to try to make a fun playful flag.

I wanted the brown background. to show through the top layer.

I taped off some lines using Frog Tape.

You use these rubber tipped paint pushers to draw in the wet paint.

It pushes the top coat away and reveals the brown ground underneath.

Here's where the brown shows through

a top coat of blue that I've drawn into.

I will probably paint over this tomorrow.

I'm not so into the brown lines.
I like the blue field.

Here's what my painting area looked like at the end.

Poor Tomato man.

His giant head is about to explode.

I need to fix that.

Other posts in 31 Days of Art

Overview 31 Days of Art

Day 1 - How to Decide What to Do

Day 2 - Painting on a Colored Ground

Click here to see the other 31 Dayers' Topics

The logos at the link above all lead to different blogs

where people are focusing on one topic for 31 Days.

Day 1 of 31 Days of Art: Deciding What to Do

2011-10-01T10:51:00.002-04:00

One blank canvas.

Now to decide what to DO on it.

Gather Ideas

Antique Artisan Works: I find old folk art and needlework very inspiring. It warms my heart that people often made the commonplace items of their world in an artistic way. Some examples are quilts, pie crimpers, signs, windows, canes....the list goes on and on.

Source: stellarubinantiques.com via Dixie on Pinterest

Other Creative Disciplines: Use music, poetry, writing, dance, etc as inspiration for our visual works. Paint while you listen to music. Express visually something you've seen or read or heard.

New Techniques to Try: These are probably things you've seen other people do. This is tricky, because as artists we don't want to copy another's creative ideas. But using a technique in a fresh way is fine. Be sure not to use the same subject matter or composition when you try the new technique.

Mistakes from Past Works: I think most new techniques start off as mistakes in using another technique. Here's how I imagine batik was discovered: Some tired B. C. mom was trying to dye purple robes late at night by candlelight for the marketplace. She didn't notice that some wax from her candle had dripped onto the fabric before putting it into the dye pot. The next day daylight reveals the spot where the dye didn't take. Her eyes open wide as she thinks about how to use this mistake on purpose.

Old Economy Village

Things You've Been Thinking About: Make a list of problems, memories, joys, hopes, dreams, questions, frustrations. You get the idea. One of these will pop out for you as a possible creative motif. Personal example: When I saw this map it engaged me so totally that I decided I have to do a series of paintings based on maps. But these won't be of real places, they'll be imaginary worlds. I have a need of a map now in many areas of my life.

Combine Two Techniques: When I was in college our art teacher had us make paper quilts. This was in a 2D design class. The quilt gave us a structure but using paper made it easier to do in a college dorm room. Sometimes it would be to use 3 colors, sometimes it would be to make each square a different texture, sometimes it would be to draw a different pattern on every square of our paper quilt pieces.

Other Artists: Here's my Pinterest board of art I love. Caution! If your inspired work looks exactly like another artist's work this is not inspired by this is copying. The trick is to figure out why you're inspired by the work. Sometimes I just like their work, but sometimes it reveals that I want to make something with those hallmarks. When being being inspired by others, use one feature as a jumping off point.

meet

Introduce Two Artists In Your Mind: Sometimes I like to take two artists and imagine they collaborated on a work together. What would happen if Rembrandt and Mondrian had collaborated? If Bono were a painter, what would his paintings look like? What about Art Garfunkel? You see what I'm getting at. This gets me outside of my head where I can swirl 'round and 'round and not get anything done in real life.

Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest

Use An Every Day Tool in Art Making: Once I used a rubber stamp to make a drawing by building up lights and darks with the repeated stampings. This was back when I was a teen and worked in an office - I did it on lunch break. The rubber stamp said, "Due in 30 Days or Less". Some ideas I've come up with is using kitchen tools for art making....or cleaning tools are super flexiible that way. Just ask or your husband before you dip the family broom in the paint. ;-)

Narrow the Idea Pool

Eliminate any idea that would require you to buy supplies.
Eliminate any idea that feels like it's a copy of someone else's work.
Cross off ideas that make you feel hopeless.
Circle three that make you feel happy or hopeful when you read them.
Look at the first two choices and eliminate one.
Now do the same thing with the last two choices.
That's your idea to explore.

My idea: make a grid-like structure and do different experiments with layering color in the gridded sections. This let's me off the hook as far as content goes. It's really about paint and color. I'm off to check out my Pinterest Quilt Board again for inspiration.

Click here to see the other 31 Dayers' Topics

The logos at the link above all lead to different blogs

where people are focusing on one topic for 31 Days.

31 Days of Art Overview

2011-09-30T07:29:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow 31 Days of Art begins. I spent the past 20 days cleaning out mentally and physically to get ready to make art every day for 31 Days. So what can you see here in the next 31 Days?

Specific Techniques - I don't want to call them tutorials, because I want to give myself permission to try some new things and fail. Let's just say I'll be documenting some experiments with new techniques.

Finding Time for Art - I'll write about some ways to fit art into our busy lives.

Deciding What to Do - this is a kicker. I hope I figure this one out before tomorrow! I'll write about it the day after.

Making Art with Kids - we have a wall in our Living Room aka The Happy Room aka The Cozy Room where I want something big and colorful and fun. I'm enlisting one of my sons to help. Let's just say we're going to get our Jackson Pollock on with a twist.

How to Be Inspired by Others' Art in a Respectful Way

Following the Muse - one of my problems is I don't let myself have flexibility room. I come up with a plan, sometimes hate the plan and don't give myself permission to decide not to do that.

How to Rescue a Bad Painting - I am pretty sure this is something all artists have laying around in their work areas. I know I do. So this will be one of my ideas.

And much more!

Swing by The Nester's Blog to see all the other people joining 31 Days of Change.

Join the fun!