I'm not sure if my stars are misaligned or if karma has it in for me, but this week has been a little more stressful than I'd like.
The chief reason I'm stressed is technology. And I think a lot of people have the same stressors when it comes to technology.
This week I've had to bring my lovely HP laptop to the hospital to be repaired. I'd had to refresh the hard drive about 10 days ago, and when I started loading software and updates and...whatever...my laptop would not install the updates, and in fact got stuck at the very beginning of booting up.
Since much of my working life is spent on this laptop, I think you can understand the terror I felt. I'd backed up files on to my Google Drive (which is presenting its own set of problems) so that was fine. And I have another laptop that I could use.
In the meantime I knew I had to replace my cell phone because it was showing its age and needed to head into retirement. So that was something I had to take care of as soon as I could. That worked out beautifully as I got an $800 phone for $80 - $40 for an activation fee (thanks Verizon) and about $40 for state taxes.
The phone at least is not cause for concern.
I actually got the laptop back last Tuesday - there were a number of registry errors and whatnot. However, I had no desire to fight with it that day. I was tired from errands and such, and just couldn't face it.
I finally started checking it out Thursday and was in shock. I had been under the impression that my files would be left on my laptop - but they weren't. The tech had restored the laptop and when that happens, files get tossed.
I am sure that the world heard my shrieks of horror and pain on Thursday night. I had not realized either that the site where I stored my files (Google Drive) would make it very difficult for me to download files. Which may be a good thing - there won't be the possibility that they'll be lost. I hope.
After about 3 hours of effort, I managed to fix up my Adobe and Microsoft software. And downloaded two folders out of millions (it seems). That was all I could tolerate, and I gave up for the night.
Friday was much the same, though I was able to install some additional software I needed, and downloaded more folders. But frustrations abound. I cannot use my Amazon MP3 player because apparently I have way too many devices authorized by it. Huh? I checked that out and deleted 7 of the 10 devices authorized - all of which I no longer use or own. BUT the catch is this - they have to stay authorized for 31 days. So I can't use Amazon to play my music.
In the meantime (are you bored yet), my back up laptop seems to have gone into some kind of cardiac arrest or something. So right now it is repairing itself and has been for a while (2 hours so far). I don't know what will happen to that one. I can't bear to think that that one may have to go to the hospital.
So, dear reader, I'm talking about this because it's amazing what will interfere with one's life as an artist. I have been able to do very little art this week because I've been trying to make these darn computers work. And I have been obsessed with doing this because I need to use the computer to manage the shop and to edit photos, documents, and so on. And trying to download every document I need is going to be so agravavating
I suppose I could make it work, as Tim Gunn (of Project Runway) would say. But it's going to take such a loonnnnggg time.
Feel free to share your own computer travails in the comments section.
later,
lin
As I write this, I'm waiting for a phone call from my ex-mother-in-law. She fell yesterday (stumbled over a curbstone) and declined treatment at a hospital, thinking she was OK. (she's 85) The next day (Tuesday) she woke up with much swelling in her left wrist and decided to go to the ER, not allowing me to go with her (which is her way). I'm very close to her, even though she's my ex-mom-in-law, and we live in the same building, so I'm concerned.
When I am sitting around waiting, it's hard for me to figure out what to do. One needs an activity that can be easily put aside, so making art is difficult.
And even when I'm waiting for something to happen, like leaving the house for an appointment, it can be difficult to settle down.
Even so, I will often play around with things and see what I can accomplish, and these are some of the results of that waiting time...
One thing I started doing earlier this year but more seriously this summer is preparing old papers for reuse as something else. Normally I take sheet music or pages from old books and glue them as is to collages. But when I started playing with stencils and rubber stamps again, I decided to create backgrounds on these old papers and see what happened. Sometimes they're very messy, other times it can be fun.
While engaged in a waiting game, I took two of these papers and glued them to pages in the art journal I was sharing with my friend Lisa. I had to leave so they were left to dry til I got back home.
And a few hours later this was the end result of one of those two pages. I don't seem to have the final version of the other page though, and the journal is back home with Lisa.
Another time where I was waiting around for something (I think to go out with Mama in Law), I started another page by gluing pieces of pages from an old novel on a journal page.
And on the other page, I used dictionary pages. And let them sit while I went out. When I came home, I started stamping them with random images but used the same pattern on both pages
And I finished off these pages with die cut squares that I'd punched out a long time ago and never used, and old bingo markers I'd bought from Lisa's shop, Collage Stuff.
I really, really like what I did with this set, and plan to do it again.
A lot of people, when waiting around for something to happen, really can't settle down and keep busy. I consider myself lucky that I have so much stuff hanging around that I can at least play with while in that position.
What do you do when waiting around?
later,
lin
Once again, we're taking a trip around Etsy and visiting some shops that I particularly like. I'm highlighting one item (always a challenge), and I hope you're intrigued enough to check out the other great listings in that shop.
Flea Fever is located in France, and is run by Myrthe Noordegraaf. She loves to sell quirky, vintage items and the item I've chosen is certainly that. It's an adorable, kitschy stuffie and so cute. Click on the shop name below the picture to visit the listing and read more about it.
You can find other items in her shop by clicking here
Another shop I've found that I like is The Old Block House, run by Gertie Tenilado. Recently re-established, Gertie likes to sell vintage housewares and refashioned furniture. There are all kinds of treasures in the shop, including these knobs that I like
You can find this item by clicking on the shop name below the photo, and you can visit her shop at this link.
My next shop is Paper Wood Vintage which can be found using this link. Let's just say there's tons of stuff here, almost 600 items. There's a wide variety of vintage here, and I picked out this French ad as one of my many favorites
Click on the name below the photo to check out this item. There's so much more stuff to salivate over too.
Our last stop, but certainly not least, is a fancy soap shop run by Silvia in Idaho. I will be the first to confess that I tend not to buy fancy soaps that are handmade, gourmet in other words. But I must say that Silvia's soaps may make me change my mind. Their colors are amazing, some look like bakery treats, and her shop just has a bunch of colorful items that would be great gift ideas for your loved ones and yourself. Find the shop here at this link.
One of my favorite soaps is this one which looks just like a piece of cake.
The description makes this soap appetitzing indeed. Check it out by clicking on the name below the image.
That's it for this week's journey around Etsy. If you have suggestions for special shops I should check out, please leave a note in the comment
later
lin
I still have a month before my self imposed sabbatical ends - a sabbatical from doing art that will be sold in the shop, but I must confess that the itch is getting a bit more obvious.
Part of the reason is that periodically I have occasions in which to make gifts and to start thinking about gifts for Christmas. And birthdays. Or get well or unbirthdays. And so when I do that sort of thing, I start thinking about making stuff for the shop.
One of those gifts happened to be for the daughter of my therapist who is moving on to college at the end of August. Since I give a handmade calendar to her mother each Christmas (I think she's got 4 of them at this point), Katie is getting jealous, I think, and sad that she won't be witnessing the ritual of turning the calendar page to see what's next. The calendars look like these unfinished ones (they don't have the usual funny sayings)
Of course, I do plan to make Katie a calendar of her own, but don't tell her - or her mother - that.
So I decided to make Katie a mini collage that could be set on a little easel and displayed in a small niche. I know space is at a premium in a dorm room so small is good. She loves red and cats, and this is what I came up with
This is before I added a saying to it. Of course I forget now exactly what I put but it was either "She and her cat had the same birthday" or "She secretly thought she was a cat."
The woman's image is from a bunch of Edwardian images that I found on a website offering free images. I found the background paper in a Cambridge (Massachusetts) stationery shop a number of years ago (and it's probably out of business now). I added a gold foil crown to the woman's head and a little flower at the top with a bead glued to the middle. I thought it came out pretty nice, and I may duplicate it for the shop. Not exactly, of course.
I wrote a little message to her on the back of the canvas. I hope she loves it - her mother assures me she will.
I also decided to make a card for Katie with one of the two sentiments I mentioned earlier.
I see in this photo that there's a ragged edge of the gold paper in the lower right corner - I did indeed trim that. The top half is Italian paper that I picked up at the RISD shop, and the bottom half is actually textured scrapbook paper I bought somewhere. I added some gold paper to the bottom, and two vintage style buttons at the top. The trim in the middle was purchased at Lorraine Fabrics in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, across from the gallery where I volunteer. (the store's staff conspire to liberate me from my money every time I'm in the area)
I really like making gifts for people, and I hope they like what I give them. I think it's a great act of thoughtfulness to make a quality gift for a friend or relative who you know will love your gift.
later,
lin
Oh I could write a long philosophical post about one thing or another, or show you how I did something and all that.
And then I could show you some stuff in my shop that I particularly like.
Since I feel lazy today, shop stuff it is.
The first thing I want to show you is this card, one of the first I made to sell on Etsy. I'd previously done a collage on canvas version of this but in a different color. That sold at a one person show I'd done at one of the state office buildings.
As you will notice, the figure is rather distraught, and the description I have in the listing doesn't say much - "Jacob stares at the sky, hand on his forehead. He has sinned dearly and
he is prepared to pay the price. What did he do? I'm not telling." My later listings have more of a story, so when I revise the listing, I'll have to expand on this. In the meantime, you will have to use your imagination.
You can find this card by clicking on the title below the photo.
I blame this next card on my friend Michele. Several years ago, I was experimenting with how to make cards. At the time I had thought of doing the pieces on 4x4 inch squares and mounting them on square cards I had found at Joann's. I soon realized that the cards would cost extra to send through the mail, because of the odd size, and switched to more traditional sizes.
Anyway, one of the 4x4's was a collage of a gentleman who wore toupees that were so good that no one knew it (unlike one of Rhode Island's former mayors whose toupee was rather obvious, especially now that he doesn't wear it any longer [due to a stint in prison, but that's another story]). I had made the 4x4 at Michele's apartment on one of our 'crafty days' and she loved it and demanded that she be allowed to make a copy. Sure.
So, I decided that it'd be fun to make a regular card with the same theme. And if you love it, you can click on the name below the picture to take you to the listing.
Finally, here's a piece that plays on my fascination with tattoos. No, I don't have any - they're not for me. But I get great entertainment out of the idea of Victorian gentlemen and ladies getting them. Yes, tattoos have lost their shock value for the most part these days, but I cannot at all imagine anyone in high society (or pretenders) getting a tattoo. And that's the fun of it.
In that spirit, thus, I present this magnet with a couple, just married, who want to have their reception at a tattoo parlor. True, these folks are not Victorians, but it's the same spirit.
There are a lot of things that show up frequently in my work. These are just a few of the weird things that careen through my mind, such as it is. Hope you've been entertained.
later,
lin
I'm starting the first official Rhodyart Blog Hop
I follow a number of blogs I really like, and most of them, of course, are mixed media or art blogs. Some don't publish enough for my taste. Others can get annoying if I see posts from them constantly.
One of my real favorites is by a guy I've mentioned several times before on my Facebook and Twitter feed - not sure I've mentioned him here. His name is Seth Apter, and he's an outstanding mixed media artist.
He publishes a daily blog both about his adventures in art making, but also about art in general, and he loves to write about the classes he teaches and show off his students' work. You can find Seth's blog here at The Altered Page
Another blog I started subscribing to recently is by Quinn McDonald. I had actually learned of her way back when I was still subscribing to Somerset Studio, a very popular and long running magazine about mixed media art.
Quinn's blog is about the process of doing art and the impact it's had in her life. She also talks about life events that really resonate with her readers. I've come to really look forward to seeing her posts in my mailbox. You can find it here at Quinn Creative
A blog that doesn't publish nearly enough is Where is Paperwoman? by the company Paper Conection. Obviously it is all about paper art, and it's about fine papers. The company is local to Providence and also has a local base. The papers she sells are amazing, and I hope to be able to buy some soon.
Another blog that doesn't publish often is The Art of Collage by Nancy Egol Nikkal. She writes about the classes she teaches, about collage artists, and about collage art. I wish I could afford to take one of her classes.
Last, but definitely not least, is another favorite that I always read when I see posts. The blog is First Night Design and its owner Sarah Vernon writes lots of interesting items that range in topic. Her Twitter feed is also hugely active. You can find the blog here.
That is it for now. I hope you'll check out these great blogs, and see why I think they're great and fun.
later,
lin
No one can accuse me of not having ideas.
It's executing them that's the problem.
If you saw my living room right now, you would rightly think I am indeed a hoarder because stuff is everywhere, really, and there's not a lot of organization.
Well, there is of a sort. I know where things are and what they're there for, but it's not as orderly as I'd like it to be.
My problem is really that if something is not in view I forget about it. So if I have any hope of actually completing something I've started or that I'm thinking about, it has to be visible or close at hand. Which can lead (not can--DOES) to clutter. I spend time each day trying to rearrange things so that it's at least a little bit neat, but I don't usually succeed.
Getting back to ideas, I've been thinking a lot about walls. The walls we hide behind. The walls that keep out the sunshine. The walls that imprison us.
So my problem has been how to create that effect. Recently I thought about window mesh, as in screens. I thought, though, that the mesh would be too hard to see through - at least regular window screen, and I was thinking about something else. Last Friday, I traipsed over to Home Depot and with the help of a kind associate, found a bunch of screen wire mesh that might work.
The one I saw that I liked best is this one
It's 1/4 inch and I think that would be just perfect except for my having to buy a whole roll. Which isn't that expensive really - I think this one was $6.67 for the roll. It's just that I didn't want a whole roll. And I'd have to get snips to cut pieces out of it which would add to the price. My regular wire cutters would work but it'd take forever to cut pieces out of it.
On the other hand, I've been daydreaming about doing a wire sculpture that I'd collage over.
Then there's the possibility of brick or stone. After leaving behind the mesh, I wandered over to the paint department where I browsed among the paint cards and picked out a bunch that might work. Heck, I could even punch brick shapes out of the cards. So I took a bunch in the colors I wanted.
I also was looking for shades of a particular ivory white I wanted to mix for yet another idea. Found a bunch of those too.
One thing I really hadn't realized until I was waiting for a bus back to my home town is that brick walls are not all one color. When I was conceptualizing a brick wall as part of this wall idea, I was actually thinking that they were.
However, I observed several walls and discovered that depending on the age of the building, bricks can be a variety of shades, and even colors. And that bricks don't have to be red. And they can be painted over
Some examples I discovered (it may be hard to see the brick detail on buildings)
This building is relatively new in Providence. It houses condos and an elegant coffee ship. When I was looking at this building on Friday, I noticed that not only did it have bricks in the traditional color, but there were also black bricks in a pattern
I found this rather dilapidated wall on a street in my home town. It is what I think a lot of people think of when they think of a brick wall. Old, neglected, rather dirty. I was particularly interested in the color of the grout in between the bricks.
Then there are gray bricks. Until I really looked at this wall in front of the First Baptist Church in Providence, I thought it was stone. Perhaps it is, but the stone has been carved into brick shapes.
This wall is also in my town, and the bricks have been painted an odd red shade. The bricks also don't look like the usual bricks I see.
Then there are bricks that aren't really red, like the above at my apartment building. I almost always think of bricks as a shade of red (after all, there's a color called brick red).
Are you bored yet?
I do a lot of tinkering around with ideas, sometimes so much so that I become paralyzed with all the possibilities. Which is a kind of wall in itself, I suppose.
I do hope that I am able to get past the thinking and actually do this. At this point I'm thinking I can do several versions, wire and paper. And also there's also stone. Maybe I can actually build a stone wall - small of course.
But that's another project.
later,
lin
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