Sunday Post Card Art

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by..."

                                                             (Sea-Fever, John Masefield)

I have loved that poem since I was a little girl and my aunt recited it to me.  In fact, you can't really tell, but the first layer on this card is that poem, which I wrote out in black marker. This is my entry for the challenge "Sea Voyages" for Sunday Post Card Art.  I used acrylic paints, black ink, stamps, a photocopy of a ship, and a faux jewel for the star.

http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/2010/06/20/sea-voyages/

TIO - Scene in the Garden

Well now, there's nothing quite like making a scene in the garden, is there?  I know it isn't in keeping with a garden handfasting, but I couldn't get the image of a big fuss in the garden out of my head.  Layered acrylic paints & stamping, the image is from an old Dover book, antique lace, ribbon roses and cording.
http://dragon-dragonsdream.blogspot.com/

4x4 Friday - Shakespeare

Here is my offering for this week's challenge:

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" (Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare)  The gulf oil spill grows more catastrophic with each passing day.  I am filled alternately with unspeakable rage and complete despair.  The pictures of the wildlife rip my heart out.  How can we, as a species, be so stupid?
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2010/06/4x4-friday-challenge-all-things.html

TIO - Acetate and Alcohol

Here is my entry for this week's challenge.  Alcohol ink...hmmmm...well, let me say that I LOVE the intensity of the colors BUT I found this stuff hideously hard to manipulate.  As in, I was ready to be drinking the alcohol long before I was done working with it.  Any tips that you can offer as to how to work with this stuff would be so appreciated.  The face is a stamp and after I got the ink the way I wanted it, I cut the piece out and used grommets to attach it to a piece of newspaper.  Then I attached it with wire to a piece of cardboard that I had painted ages ago and did nothing with.  There are bits of broken glass attached, too.  Thanks for visiting and taking a look!
http://dragon-dragonsdream.blogspot.com/2010/06/tio-42-acetate-and-alcohol.html

"Dress It Up"

Over at The Artist Trading Card club ( http://chriss-rollins.blogspot.com/ ) the theme is "Dress It Up."  I'm excited to be participating in this challenge, as it is my first venture into ATC's and I had a great time making these.  Here they are:

Here is each one by itself:

Thanks so much for stopping by to look!

Sunday Post Card Art - Roses

Here is my entry for this week's challenge.  I did this for my husband who directed a film with some of his high school students this past spring.  The film was called "Red Rose in a Yellow Moon."  How lovely to be able to use it for this week's challenge.  Thanks for stopping by to see! http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/roses/

Art on the Darkside Challenges

Here is my first digital art attempt, and although I'm not completely satisfied, it was an interesting experience trying to figure out how to do this.  This is my entry for the "Jack the Ripper" challenge.  I used a picture of the "Dear Boss" letter that was sent to Scotland Yard, supposedly by Jack the Ripper.  The "doctor" and woman were taken from Dover.  This was not an easy piece of work, mostly due to not understanding the technology.  But it makes me want to find a class that will show me how to manipulate this kind of thing.
http://artonthedarkside.blogspot.com/

Touch the water, heal Mother Earth

I found this over at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom http://www.confessionsofapagansoccermom.com/ and thought I'd pass it along.  I have been filled with such unspeakable rage and despair over this situation; at least this is a positive channeling of power...

4x4 Friday - Eclectic

Here is my entry for this week's 4x4 Friday challenge:  Eclectic.  Kokopelli is a pretty friendly sort who pops up a lot in the American Southwest.  I think of him as the desert's version of Pan.  This began with a brown paper bag and some newspaper.  I added distress ink, some acrylic paint on bubble wrap, the Kokopelli stamp, beads, raffia and a piece of turquoise.
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2010/06/4x4-friday-challenge-eclectic.html

Gardening on the South Side of Hell...

We've had temperatures in excess of 105 degrees for the past week and a half.  Needless to say, it's been all about keeping everything watered morning and evening and hiding out in the a/c for the rest of the day.  My husband, David dug a new bed around our other olive tree yesterday and I've been cleaning it out and prepping it a little at a time the past two mornings.  This will be my day lily bed and I have gotten two of them planted so far, as you can see here:

By Thursday, everything should be planted and I'll have mulch on the bed, in a desperate attempt to keep the soil cool and moist.  When we were at the nursery, we discovered a day lily named "Witches' Wink" that David insisted I purchase since our last name is Winkler and I follow the pagan spiritual path.  I also found one called "Crimson Pirate" which resonates with a persona of mine from a life a long time ago and far, far away in the SCA.  So they will be nestled in comfortably with a yellow lily and one called "Raspberry Fairy."  My hope is that after a few years, they will all spread out and fill the bed.

Here is a pic of my crazy tomato plant, complete with a ripe tomato, which I'm sure my daughter will eat the moment she realizes it's out there:

And here is a zucchini, with blossom:

Finally, a picture of my morning glories.  The idea here is that they will cover the fence with beautiful blooms.  Thus far, they don't seem too interested in blooming, but they are climbing the fence.

Theme Thursday - Bright Colors

Here is my entry for this week's Theme Thursday challenge.  Several layers of Astrobrite paper and doodles with a black marker form the background for figures that came from a stamp, but were cut apart.  You can't really tell, but I used different thicknesses of double-sided mounting tape to adhere the figures to the card.  Thanks for visiting my blog!
http://themethursday.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/theme-thursday-bright-colors/

Time Flies

It surely does...once again, I'm sliding in under the wire.  I've submitted this tag to two challenges, TIO's "Steampunk Influences" and Three Muses "Time."

http://dragon-dragonsdream.blogspot.com/2010/06/tio-41-steampunk-influences.html
http://thethreemuseschallenge.blogspot.com/2010/06/three-muses-challenge-53-time.html

HDH041 - Vile Vintage

Here are my three little ghouls.  Images are from Blanca at http://magicmoonlightfreeimages.blogspot.com/ (thank you, Blanca!), and only slightly retouched by me.  A little paper, a little ribbon, a little gold ink stamping, and just a bit of red glitter glue.  These were fiendish fun to make!

http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.com/