Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen seemed like she might make a nice

big sister for Katie, so I paired them up in my sketchbook!

These pairings are fun to come across when I look back 

on the characters resulting from this challenge!

Thank you for visiting!

Carolyn

A new character in my series -

this time taken from real life!

Carolyn is my neighbor.

She loves her family and her dog Pedro,

and gardening in her back yard.

She calls the home she shares with her husband

"The Nest",

and their Mini Lite camper, with a newly

added screen porch,

situated in a wooded camp ground,

 is a happy escape for the members of her family.

She is a nature lover,

and enjoys her flowers

and home grown vegetables.

Her laughter rings out like

the soft wind chimes that hang from her house,

and she is a comfort

to all who know her.

Cast of Characters - Gina

GINA

Gina is a single mom who lives on 

one side of a two family home with her 

little girls, Carly and Angie.

On the other side live her mother and dad.

She works two jobs to keep her girls

happy with the toys and clothes they love,  

and while she works, her mom babysits.

Gina knows that she is lucky, despite the 

disappointment of a loser husband who 

walked out on her and his beautiful girls.

Every Sunday, she looks forward to dinner 

 at her mom's lace-covered dining room table,

with her girls, her brothers and sisters, and nieces and nephews.

She loves the nearly ceremonial meal of pasta and gravy,

and the laughter, warmth and security 

of family.

Gina dances and plays with her girls.
They love having their nails painted and 
trying on mom's jewelry. 
One day she will find a new love,
but for now her life is full
and she feels blessed.

Elizabeth

ELIZABETH

Elizabeth is the favorite nurse 

of the residents of Shady Elms Nursing Home.

When they see her, they think of 

springtime and daisies 

and Doris Day.

Her voice has a lilt

and her sense of humor brightens the

dull routine of the residents' lives. 

She is their advocate and treats them all 

with humor, care and respect,

 and because of these things

  she is greatly loved.

Sad to say, Elizabeth

does not love herself.

She hates what she considers her full cheeks
 and her plump figure,

and the freckles that sprinkle over her nose.

She compares herself to models and movie stars

and wishes that she could be someone else.

She has no idea how she lights up a room,

and how beauty shines out through

her wholesome face.

And so she dreams of a diet or face cream
or some other miracle

that will make her as beautiful

as, everyone knows,
 she already,

truly,

is.

A New Character

HELEN

Everyone knows that Helen is the cornerstone of her

neighborhood. She will pick up your children from 

school, feed your pets when you are away, console

you when you are overwhelmed, and bring you a

casserole when you are in need.

She loves vintage clothes and often refashions them

into rather odd outfits, but nobody cares. They seem

to suit her perfectly. She hums when she works, and

and sings slightly off-key. 

Her cheerfulness is contagious.

In spite of her kind heart, everybody knows

not to bother Helen on Wednesday nights.

For that is when she meets with Zeke, Ted,

Sal, Hank and Louie

in the back of Zeke's Auto Body Shop.

There they play a few hands of poker.

And she usually wins.

Fictional Portraits: Laura

This is Laura. She lives in a studio apartment in Maine and works in 

an orthodontist's office. She loves cream puffs and lighthouses, and, in the evenings, 

she plays drums in her boyfriend's rock band, Open Windows. 

She plans to make this her full time profession, when they make it big.

Meanwhile, she is looking for a used bicycle to ride to work,

since her car has two flat tires.

Often times people are not what they appear to be.

When I create a "person", I like to imagine what might be going

on in his or her life, and I love to reach for the unexpected.

Right now I'm experimenting with different presentations of

my "cast of characters" and trying to decide whether to 

continue with mixed media, add a background, make 

a border or go to simple pen, ink and watercolor drawings.

They are fun to make, so I'll continue to create them,

trying different techniques.

I'd love to know what you think.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

AEDM Day 4 - Weekly Word

  G is for...

...for the blessings, challenges, warmth, richness, difficulties, love,
 sadnesses, ecstasies, joys, pains and pleasures
of family.

Weekly Word

E is for...

Enjoy!!

It's the little things that make life sweet!

Have a lovely weekend!

  

Weekly Word

D is for...

Weekly Word

B is for... 

                            

Rosie and Angus' Big Adventure

This, of course, is a fictional story. You can create your own article here!

Here's wishing everyone who reads this

a very enjoyable weekend!!

See you soon!

Judy

Paper Portrait: Emily

I love to make "portraits" of imaginary people and then create little stories about them.

I'd like you to meet Emily.

She's a sweet girl, rather shy, but a very loyal friend to those who get close to her.

She plays the flute, writes poetry and likes to draw pictures of wild flowers.

And, once in a while, if you're at the park on a Saturday morning, 

you'll see Emily, wearing jeans and a baseball cap,

speed skating with her friend Duane.

There's more to Emily than meets the eye!

The Comfort of Creativity

Today I had a tooth pulled. Just imagine - it has been in my mouth for over 50 years and today someone pulled it out in less than a minute. Yes, it was in the very back corner of my mouth, cracked and infected and beyond hope, but I actually felt sad to lose it forever. I haven't lost a tooth since I had my wisdom teeth removed at 19.

On the way home, numb with novocaine, I treated myself to a tiny bit of retail therapy.

A small pad of scrapbook paper (this photo doesn't do justice to the colors)
and a little canister of half-size colored pencils,

plucked from the stationery department of a discount store. Cost? Less than five dollars!

I sat down and decided to use the limited color pallette of the paper pad,

 designed a little cut paper whimsy, and did the cutting while
watching tv after dinner.

The result - an impromptu spring design, and I'm feeling no pain.
Creativity is a wonderful distraction!

AEDM - Day 30 - Final Curtain Call

 Today is the last day of AEDM - Art Every Day Month - hosted by the inspiring Leah Piken Kolidas of Creative Every Day. Leah has hosted this energizing challenge every November for several years. Even though it is a busy time of the year and even though I can't seem to manage to post every day, nonetheless, it is month of awareness, creative ideas, artistic community and making art a priority. To Leah, I say, "Many thanks for making such a welcoming space for creative souls!"

I'm just getting over a stomach flu and not in the mood for sewing or ironing, so I pulled out my scrapbooking papers, did some fussy cutting and came up with this little landscape. I just couldn't miss the last day of the challenge!!
To all fellow AEDM participants, I've loved viewing your work, making some new friends and sharing this experience with you!
Let's keep the creativity going!!

Earth Day, 2010

"O Mother Earth, you are the source of all existence.

The fruits which you bear are the source of life for the Earth peoples.

You are always watching over Your fruits as does a mother.

May the steps which we take in life upon You

be sacred and not weak."

                                                                                                Oglala Sioux prayer

"I believe a leaf of grass is no less 

  than the journey-work of the stars."

                                          Walt Whitman

Wishing everyone a Happy Earth Day, with hopes that we all join in taking care of our precious earth.

AED Day 12 - Family Portrait

My art for today is this cut paper "portrait" done while I was watching reruns of Project Runway (my secret addiction) last night. I loved juxtaposing this sophisticated lady with her playful cat! I know so many people whose pets are companions, children, and definitely family! (including me!)
Although it is done in cut paper, I'm posting it here for AED and will also put it on my other blog, Paper Perks.
Hope everyone who is participating in Art Every Day Month is enjoying it as much as I am.
Thanks Leah!!

Diva Sighting

Last weekend Bill and I went to see Aretha Franklin at the Wang Center in Boston. The Queen of Soul put on an amazing performance! What a great show! The orchestra was excellent and Aretha's voice can only be described as an incredible instrument. A very moving evening!

I was thinking about it today and made this Aretha paper cutting after finding the perfect color of glitter paper to match the gown she wore! Not sure how good the resemblance is and the photo is a bit wonky, but it was a fun project!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

This is something I'm doing for my own amusement, and I hope you like it, too. 

For the longest time I've been thinking about all the phrases and bits of advice I've heard during my life and how they have affected me. This is one my mother said all the time. She was a very practical person and when she came up against a tough situation she felt she could do nothing about she'd say, very simply, "It is what it is." When I was younger I hated hearing that. When something bad happened, I'd think, this isn't fair, this shouldn't be happening, I don't deserve this!

But, do you know what? Now that I'm older, I can see the wisdom in those words. Don't get me wrong, if there's something wrong, unjust or evil going on, I'm all for doing everything I can to change things. But the situations in life that are just hard to take - a broken ankle, a big disappointment, a bout of illness - that's when my mom would do her best to accept what had happened, do what needed to be done, and move on.  I'm working on doing the same thing.

ATC Swap

In June, I received this wonderful ATC from my friend Janice.

The design is made entirely from triangles, and she has done some hand coloring in the sky. I love the crisp look of this card, and the texture of the paper.

Janice's card arrived right on schedule, while I didn't get my June card to her until last week!

I decided to include the sailboat image in my card also, zooming back to view it from the shore. I, too, used paper, cut and torn and did some shading with chalk and colored pencil.

We have exchanged July ATCs also, which I will show in a later post. Don't ask me why, but the tiny size (2"x3") of these cards seems to intimidate me, plus that always present desire for perfection! I'm working on getting over this, since it leads to all kinds of procrastination! 

Mum's Vase

                                     (click on picture to enlarge)

This paper cut took forever to finish, but it was a labor of love. It depicts my mother's milk glass vase, which reminds me so much of my childhood. In it are hydrangeas from my front garden, my sister Carol's favorite flower.

I'm having some work done on the staircase in my house, so it's a pain getting downstairs to the ironing board, and I'm abandoning fused fabric for the moment and did this piece in cut paper. I used scrapbook paper, cutting the vase with an x-acto knife, and the rest with scissors. I'm really happy with the results - well worth the effort!