Paint Party Friday (Week 8)

"The World Grows Green Again"

It's PPF!

And I thought I'd bring a journal page I've been working on for Mind. Body. Soul. to the party. The last prompt in Leslie's e-course is based upon the words Anxiously Engaged, and after much consideration, a quote I read by Rumi finally determined what I would do with it. . . .

"The world grows green again and runs with gardens. Jewels from the mines glitter in each tree. 

Souls open like suns and link with one another."

-- Rumi

Acrylics, watercolor crayons, decorative papers, stamps and Swarovski crystals.

Elements from the previous pages peeking through

Only one more spread (and okay a front page, back page and cover ;) and I'm done with another journal. Oh happy days . . . 

And speaking of happy days, the next Summer of Color is just around the corner! Only one month to go until SOC 2: Ice Cream Inspirations . . . . Pop over here to read all about it . . . .

Yours,

Kristin xo

The Summer of Color - ORANGE

"Orange You Glad to See Me?"

8 x 10 Watercolor Journal Page

{This collage was inspired by the sections of an orange and a familiar joke. It was created using personal pictures (that's Kendra with the lollipop ;), vintage text, a portion of a soda can and images from Lisa's Altered Art}

The Color Purple

As we head into our last two weeks of The Summer of Color, I must say that I'm endlessly impressed by the work you've been creating and sharing with us here. Your Purple pieces were majestic, fun, feminine, whimsical and downright beautiful. I'm amazed at the outpouring of support you've given to one another and want to thank you for sharing your links with us here, your pictures on our Flickr group (we're nearing 350 contributions!) and for the creative community you've fostered on our Facebook page. It's been quite a ride . . .

So Who Won Purple Week?

The Purple giveaway (pictured in the post below) was won by:

YOU

Please Email me your address and I'll get your Purple goods right out . . .

And Now - Welcome to Orange Week! 

(Monday August 1st - Sunday August 7th)

We saved one of the boldest hues for last and I for one can not wait to see what you come up with. Should you choose to accept it, your Bonus! challenge is to in some way incorporate (or be inspired by) your favorite quote or poem. As always, please (A) link your blog or Flickr feed in the Widget below so that others can find you (B) leave one comment in the comment section at the end of this post if you created an Orange piece and (C) leave an additional comment if you completed the Bonus! challenge.

Here's What We've Got This Week . . .

{A vintage (1952) "Elsie's Cook Book" for your collage collection, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Spiced Marmalade, Prismacolor Premier broad marker in Orange, Prismacolor Premier fine line marker #005, Liquitex soft body acrylic in Cadmium Orange, a yard of rich orange satin ribbon and a sprinkling of iridescent and orange Swarovski crystals}

Good Luck!

And What Will We Do Next?

Our last challenge - Monday August 8 - Sunday August 14th - is rather simple: we're gonna have a good ole fashioned Show and Tell. Wether you joined every challenge or not, in order to participate next week, please share with us the body of work you created throughout The Summer of Color. Now, how you do that is up to you. If you created a series of journal pages as I have for example, you may want to make a journal cover and show us the pieces within it. If you created a series of canvas work, perhaps you can give us a gallery showing of how they look on the wall. Or if you've made a variety of items, you may just want to share pictures of your work. Wether it's a slideshow or a compilation of shots, the choice is yours. It will be the final adieu to our Summer of creativity and connection together. . . 

Will There be a Giveaway in the Last Week?

Yep. Although there will be no Bonus! challenge in our last week together, we will link our posts or Flickr feeds and there will be a beautiful, sparkling, colorful giveaway . . . see you then . . .

Kristin xo

MMM: Personal Symbols

"Birds of a Feather"

Clip art images on Balsa wood 

This week's Mixed Media Monday prompt asks us to examine the personal symbols that reoccur in our artwork. I used this opportunity to review the things I've done over the last year, and noticed that I often use birds, wings and children's illustrations in my work. I also use imagery that tells the story of our coming together as a family, including our hope to add another child to the mix. In addition to presenting something that represents us (in this case, Kendra, our future child and me), I also used some of the supplies that I often turn to in order to create this new piece, "Birds of a Feather."

I recently created a Butterfly Reminder for The Artistic Mother's Group that is going through Shona Cole's new book of the same name. I still had some of the supplies on hand (and inspiration from Shona in mind) when I decided to create this piece from some clip art that I found from The Graphics Fairy. The original bird is black and white and was enhanced (along with it's reduced twin) with stamps, water-soluble oil pastels, glitter and Swarovski crystals. It was then backed on Balsa wood and strung (along with the cage that hangs on the bottom) with wire. Final touches included more Swarovski crystals (beads) and a piece of satin ribbon.

Thank you for looking! I look forward to seeing what everyone does this week. . .

Kristin xo