Mail Art Swap

Getting my postcards ready to mail for the first swap I've done in AGES.  I'm so happy to be back into it - just another of the many perks of retirement. This swap challenge is to use paint chips (those free color sample cards you get at paint departments) on your postcards.  I'm sure that the folks at my local Home Depot now have me on a watch list because I went in the other day and literally took a huge handful. Better not go back there for a while...

If you'd like to participate in mail art swaps, check out Karen Isaacson's  blog, Mail Me Some Art
She does an amazing job of hosting LOTS of swaps!

I'm Back!

Yes, after an inordinately long hiatus, I have returned to Blog-land. So many things have happened since my last post (over a year ago!) that I'm not sure where to begin.  I guess the biggest and most wonderful news is that my husband and I retired from teaching in June. He taught for 20 years and I survived taught for 24. No, we do not miss it. Yes, we are enjoying our freedom. No, we're not bored. In fact, I'm busier now than I was when I was teaching. I understand this is a common condition among the retired. Yes, we are very blessed to have been able to retire early and I thank the gods daily for it, especially each morning when we have our leisurely coffee in the front yard (also known as "the morning room") and the rest of the world is racing around getting to work.

One of my longstanding whiny refrains has been "Working cramps my style. I don't have time to work on my art..." Now that I HAVE time, I figured I'd better stop whining and start creating.  So I am pleased to announce the opening of my Zibbet shop! Some of you may not be familiar with Zibbet. It's much like Etsy, but I find them a bit friendlier to use. At present, I'm focusing on upcycled/repurposed stationery and mail art and have already made a sale! Stop by for a visit, when you have the chance: Enveloped In Art. Here are a few examples of what you'll find:

Halloween envelopes

Kokopelli postcard

Winter Trees postcard

Autumn Stationery Packet

Halloween Stationery packet

There's been a definite learning curve involved in the computer part of this.  I must say that I find the art part much more engaging! But, I'm determined to become part of the 21st century and find my way around technology. At least enough to get my work out there. I suspect it takes me three times longer than it would someone who knows what she's doing.  So much of my life is trial and error...

There are other adventures going on around here (like reworking our city plot of land into a permaculture homestead - click on this link to see some folks who are my heroes and role models), but they will have to wait for another post!

Oh. Hell...

You know that the "real" world is encroaching when your laundry eats your couch...

horrifying view of my couch last night

Fortunately, I was able to dodge a sock trying to snake its way around my ankle and escape to my art room where I made these:

op art postcard

another op art postcard

Unfortunately, today I absolutely must address the laundry situation, as my work environment is not clothing optional and summer vacation is still three weeks away...

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Well, not exactly pouring, but the sidewalks are wet and there is drizzliness outside.  I'm sure the beans I planted this weekend are loving it.  It will be an interesting day at school -- Valentines Day, everyone hopped up on sugar and no recess due to weather.  Mmm...those of you who teach or work with kids can just imagine how my day is going to be...

Here are a few pictures of recent postcards/bookmarks/magnets:

I came up with the magnet idea because I had little pieces of background paper left over after making the bookmarks and postcards.  I liked the paper so much I didn't want to waste it.  You'll notice that my pictures are beginning to bear watermarks.  Ever since I caught a young woman blatantly photographing my painted journals at First Friday, I've been pondering how to protect my work from thieves.  This is a start.  What a lot of work it is.  Why can't people just develop a sense of integrity?  Grrrr...

Lots of love to you all this Valentines Day!

New Stuff

Here's what I made from the background cardboard that I posted about the other day:

More from the Mail Art Class

Just a quick post to show off some wonderful postcards made by the artists who attended last week's mail art class.  Tomorrow we'll be creating inchies, ATCs, bookmarks, and tags.  Now I'm off to finish the examples for tomorrow's class. 

Am I ever going to have time to decorate for the holidays???

More Hogwarts Friends

Here are two more zettified Hogwarts professors.  These are great fun to do and I'll be making them into postcards to send off to folks who are Harry Potter fans.

Welcome, October!

Once October arrives, I know it's truly autumn, regardless of what's happening outside.  This morning started off quite cloudy, (wonderful for drinking coffee in the "morning room") but it got hotter and sunny in the afternoon.  I cleaned out the bed with my poor corn stalks and used them to make two wreaths and two shocks which will fit perfectly on my outdoor altar.  Pictures of those to come, as I haven't finished decorating them...

Here's what's growing:

Now, this might not look like much to those of you in more temperate climes, but to have this much robust color in the Mojave Desert just tickles me to no end.

Here we have beans (3 kinds - scarlet runner, purple, and yellow bush beans), radishes, and shelling peas.


Today, Morgan and I were going to decorate the house (once October hits, it's Halloween all month as far as we're concerned), but we were waylaid by the creative impulse.  The dining room table was clean this morning but now...

Hmmm...well, we got a lot of stuff done.  I worked on my zettified Hogwarts friends, did a section in my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project 2012:

and made this postcard for one of Morgan's friends who is on the other side of the country and needs some good mail days:

Any Twin Peaks fans out there?  I also worked on making a new art journal, using old magazines which I bound together with E-6000 and then covered with a brown paper bag from Trader Joe's.  Talk about repurposing!  I got the idea from Paula at Journal Artista (http://www.journalartistaart.com/2011/09/magazine-art-journal.html).  She doesn't give any directions, but I thought it was cool enough to give it a go myself.  The glue isn't dry yet and no embellishments, so I'll wait until I play with it and then I'll post some pictures.

That's what's going on around here.  Now off to make chicken fajitas...