Postcard Challenge Extravaganza!

At Inspiration Avenue we hosted a postcard swap back in May.  We each made five postcards and sent them to five different artists.  Names were drawn randomly.  Here are the wonderful postcards I received.

Donna

Louise

Marcia

Nora

Tammy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final postcard came as a special surprise from my IA sister Kim.  

Kim

 

Each postcard was unique and it was a thrill to receive them.  I was kind of anxious about my postcards because I'd never done this before.  The IA group told me to "just have fun."  They said that no one was judging.  Once I relaxed and  began playing with my own images, I could hardly stop.   The only reason I was able to finish was that it was reaching the deadline and I had to mail them.  This was the first swap I participated in and I hope to do many more.   I joined another postcard swap group before this one even ended and I can't wait to receive those cards.

Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine Freebies

I was just looking at my latest copy of Cloth, Paper, Scissors and found a fun project for making two different mermaid collages.   The cool thing is that the artwork is provided for you.  They've got all kinds of free stuff.  If you're like me, you love those freebies.   I've learned a lot from their site.
Mermaid Pictures



I also found a free e-book on art journal techniques so I downloaded that too.  Here's the link for it.
Free E-Book on Art Journals 
I've been wanting to do some art journaling and it seems like this might just be the right time.

So go collect your own free stuff.  Whether you're into felting, mixed media, or beading techniques you can find some fun projects to try. 

Inspiration Avenue Challenge-Fantasy Vacation

I would spend my fantasy vacation in Bora Bora with the other mermaids and lots of beautiful swimming creatures.  Of course, my husband would be invited.

Catherine's Mermaid

My friend Catherine posted this mermaid for me today.  It's a mono-print that she wanted to post when I had the Inspiration Ave. challenge for Mermaids.  It was such a great surprise that she put it up on Facebook today.  Thank you Catherine.

Inspiration Avenue Challenge-Chickens and Roosters

Hettienne challenged us this week with creating an image about chickens and roosters.    Her story was very touching and made me think back to our last trip to Hawaii, two years ago.  If you click on the Inspiration Ave. link you can see the entire challenge and Hettienne's touching introduction.

This is the lovely Henrietta Hen and her many chicks.  I don't know if there are any baby roosters in this portrait but odds are that some are boys.  Of course, the actual rooster, Big Daddy, strutted around and took credit for all of these beautiful babies while Henrietta carefully supervised, preened, and cared for the chicks.  Sadly, we had to leave our feathered family at Hale Ulili in Kauai.  We hope to return sometime soon.  Maybe we'll see some of the offspring of these little critters.

Digitalmania Challenge-Heather Galler

Heather Galler's work is very colorful and vibrant.  I borrowed a few fish from her mermaid painting to create this digital image.

Inspiration Avenue Challenge-Wishes

Jennifer challenged us this week to think about wishes.  I tried first to think of something I wished for and there really wasn't anything I could think of.  I'd like to take a trip to Kauai again, but I will do that eventually.   It would be fun to go to Bora Bora and stay in a hut on the ocean, looking at fish through a glass floor.  Millions of dollars wouldn't go to waste, if I were to have a sudden windfall or lotto win.  But most of what I'd wish for, I could probably achieve with some effort.  The truth is, I'm pretty happy with my life. I don't have to go to work every day, I have a husband who is my soulmate, and I am making images.  Life is wonderful.

I didn't want to make a post about wishing for a specific thing so I looked at some quotes on the internet.  Vincent Van Gogh said, "I wish they would only take me as I am."  That one touched me deeply and I couldn't agree more.  So much of who we are is hidden, sometimes even from ourselves. Perhaps the reason I make images is to delve deeper into the core of who I am.  Since you can't control what others see, I settled on a quote by Socrates that seemed to answer the wish Van Gogh made.  Socrates said, "Be as you wish to seem."  That's what my collage is about.

Take a Word Challenge-Weddings

The challenge this week for Take a Word was weddings.  This is one of the earlier collages I made as part of a Hawaii Box with a honeymoon theme.  I love these vintage brides.

So Artful Challenge-Power to the Flower

The So Artful challenge this week was Flower Power-Red, green, and yellow.  I had a lot of fun playing with the flowers in this one.

Inspiration Avenue Challenge-School's Out

So many memories came to mind with this challenge.  I remember the excitement of the end of school and the summer ahead of me when I was a kid.  I remember saying good-bye to all of my students at the end of the year, and feeling somewhat bittersweet about it.  We'd all worked so hard getting to know each other and all of the children had grown so much.  Summer was always wonderful, whether I was the student or the teacher.  It meant sleeping in and doing whatever I darn well wanted to do.  (Most of the time, that is.)