Art In The Family

I grew up around a very good artist- my father. It was just a fact that he would be involved in the creation of one or another painting at any given time during my childhood. He complains now that I never complimented his work. That's because I took it for granted. Weren't everyones' fathers painters? Unfortunately, one of my parents' faults was overprotecting me to the point that I never got out around other humans to find out that actually, no, NOT everyone's parents were artists! But, that's the way it was.

If you are a follower of mine on Facebook, you probably know that dad is now currently in a nursing home, whether to eventually come home or not is still to be decided. But I visited his neighbor last week (who is actually the owner of a business next to his house) and took some pics of a couple of paintings he purchased from Dad hanging in their office. 

I have a secret, though....that large painting spent many years under my bed, unfinished. only the Native Americans were painted - no background. When my husband saw it, he told Dad he would pay him just to FINISH it, not even to sell to us! Took him many more years to finally decide to complete the painting, his neighbor happened to see it just before it was finished and immediately made an offer on it! So it has lived in above pictured room ever since.

Also unfortunately, my dad is one of those artists who think that if you're not a PAINTER, you're not really an artist! So I keep hearing the sentence: "Too bad you never became an artist!"  {{{sigh....}}}

The Quest For The Unobtainable

I bet you think this post is about striving for wealth, or power, or fame - something along those lines. Well, no, it's about my great creative ideas using hardware or craft items UNTIL I find out no one makes the particular items I have in mind!

Well, here's what I mean...Example #1~ I normally don't like to add "silly" stuff to my leaves, but when I first began, I thought the waterlily pads were sort of boring (especially before I started painting my pieces), so I found little ceramic frogs/toads to attach to them, and discovered they were really popular. Enough so that I had trouble finding more! I finally found a local florist shop that agreed to wholesale ceramic toads, snails and turtles to me (they were floral picks), and they worked great! Then the store closed, so that was no longer an option (yes, they even gave me the name of the company, but they ignored my emails). Well, I'd just look online! Oh sure, I found lots of frogs and toads on Ebay - unfortunately, they were either the wrong size, too unrealistic (like wearing clothes or playing instruments ), or "collectible" - i.e., expensive!

 

...So here I am, making molds of the critters, and casting my OWN amphibians in cement! Then I have to paint them...yes, it was a good save, and it makes each one even MORE one of a kind, that's true, but it is also more labor intensive!

Example #2~...When I was much younger, I was fascinated by greeting cards that had glitter and rhinestones glued to them to enhance a scene, a flower, etc. I especially liked the "dewdrops"- tiny clear glass cabochons that looked like dew on flowers. I even got to the point that I would lift all the cards with dewdrops out of the rack, because inevitably, some of the stones would get knocked off loose in the card rack, then I'd pilfer them! (Well, I knew no one was going to go thru them and glue them back on, and I couldn't bear to see them thrown away!)

Here it is, thirty (or so) years later, and I decide that dewdrops would be perfect to add onto my leaf pendants. Simple; I'll just go to the local craft store, right? Well..., not so much. While they had faceted rhinestones up the wazoo, none were smooth! Still, I wasn't worried - again, I was sure I could find them online! Surprisingly, that didn't seem to be the case either. I found only ONE online store that carries them, and first, they are slightly larger than I'd like, and second, they're acrylic while I really had glass in mind.

So here I am, buying little clear glass beads that I'm actually physically BREAKING IN HALF to achieve the look I want! Again, more time and labor!

 

Example #3~I wanted to cast little steel nuts {no Iron Man jokes, please....I'm laughing though -"nuts" is a funny word! :-) } 

into my small bird feeders so I could just buy rods with threaded ends to screw them onto. Guess what? No one MAKES steel or aluminum rods with threaded ends - they are either threaded the entire length of the rod (which is unpleasant looking), or not at all!

.....So here I go again, manually threading aluminum rods individually because NO ONE MAKES WHAT I WANT!!! hmph.

Time For Resolutions

...They're watching me!...

Well, the holiday's over, so that means vacation's over! I have at least 40 cast leaves inside and outside, waiting to be painted. Every year I swear I'll have everything finished before the new leaves are ready to cast, but I always have a few left! So there are 3 leaves waiting for their final coating of sealer waiting for me right now in the studio (i.e., the laundry room), and I need to buckle down and paint at least one each day especially before March, which is when seed starting season begins! That is when I have to fit yet another purpose into the studio/laundry/cat's room! But that is hopefully when I will be able to transition some of my "leafin" work back outside! So my New Year's resolution is to get the paints out and continue with this commitment I began 4 years ago!

BLACK SWAMP ARTS FESTIVAL NEARLY HERE

Well, only a few more days! Here's a press release that gives all the info...

Planning is Complete…Donʼt Miss this HUGE Regional Event
Bowling Green, OH--Wood County - The 17th annual Black Swamp Arts Festival will feature a variety of visual artists from across the country, local and national musical acts, and an interactive youth art area
– all free of charge.
The Festival running from Friday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. thru Sunday, Sept. 13 5 p.m. It will open Friday with live music on the Main Stage. A large variety of food and drink
will be available in the Concessions Garden situated adjacent to the stage. Juried and Wood County Invitational Art shows will be open Saturday and Sunday. Festival guests will be entertained with live music and art throughout the weekend.
As music rings through the Downtown on Saturday and Sunday, patrons can enjoy the two fine art and fine craft shows featuring artists from across the nation as well as from the Wood County community.
The Juried Art Show features more than 100 artists in varied mediums ranging from watercolor, jewelry, sculpture, photography, multimedia and glass. Along with past festival winners and familiar favorites, many new and exciting artists will
display and sell their work.
Additionally, more than 40 local artists display their work in the Wood County Invitational Art Show. All art shows are open Saturday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
For more information visit www.blackswamparts.org

Wall Mural (sorta)

When we moved into this house (our current one), it was freshly painted in off whites, tans, and browns - VERY neutral! BUT we weren't about to paint over it! Still, after a while, the kitchen walls just about neutraled me into insanity! So I got the urge to do some stamping - bought a variety of green acrylic paints, foam stamps, paint markers, and dragged the ladder indoors. My only problem was controlling myself- if a few leaves look nice, wouldn't a LOT more look better?..... So,with DH's (requested) help and opinions, I eventually went around all 4 walls and I think it turned out quite well!

Here's a detail of the design above the sink area....

..And I sneaked in a heart shape in the vines above the stove! Awww.... I'm just a romantic at heart (so to speak :o)
.

...Those Shoes!

I cannot wear pretty shoes. Without going into a lot of detail, between bunions and my bones in my feet not really aligned like they should be, I never could wear high heels or anything without a lot of support to them. Since I began participating in art/craft festivals, I tried several types of shoes that were touted to be comfortable, but after standing 10-12 hours, (usually on concrete!), none of them could keep up, and my feet and legs ached for 2-3 days afterwards! Even some walking shoes don't make it. I still wanted something pretty or "artsy" though. So I found a lot of websites dedicated to "customizing your kicks", and here is my solution : paint!

Got many (positive) comments. They're still a work in progress - I think the blue may be changed to green, and the paint flaked some on the bends, so there will be some tweaks, but I'm happy with my first attempt!

The Life Of A Sandcast Leaf * Part 4

The "unveiling"- I always look forward to this part! (There's also a little Burdock leaf on the left to use up extra cement.) Most of the time, the leaf has sort of "cooked" from the warmth of the curing cement, so when I peel it off, the leaf has a distinctive fragrance that reminds me of hot tea!

...Almost all off. The leaf remains will go into the compost bin.
Ready to cure for a while

Here it is, sitting in the garden on a rainy day. Water helps cure the material, just like a freshly poured driveway or sidewalk! Next step- painting! :0)

Am I An Artist???

My father is - no question about it- these are a couple of his works of his that I own. Dad always believed that "art" was synonymous with "painting" - an "artist" is a "painter", not a glassblower, not a sculptor, nothing three dimensional. I'm not sure what exactly he thinks those disciplines are, but apparently they're just not Art. He's 86 years old, though, so I forgive him! ;o)

As for me, I like to think I'm an artist, too. O.K, not Fine Art, but definitely beyond crafts. There's the big question among craftspeople and artisans, "Is it Art or Crafts?"

I did read an article just recently that explained it well. Crafts are something that anyone who is creative can do with a little training, but Art is more specialized, and something not everyone can master. Hopefully what I do falls into that category! I know I shouldn't concern myself about it, but of course, I want to say I am an artist, and following in my father's footsteps!

I have had people tell me that my leaf castings are very artistic, which I'm very grateful for - what do YOU think? (I won't get upset if you don't agree, I promise!)