Category Archives: art

Oct9

Show & Tell #13

Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008 by Dianne

Today I want to share a pastel drawing of my son Sean that was done in Paris, France in 1989. My in-laws went to France several times back then as my father-in-law was there for business and my mother-in-law went along. I would too! They happened upon this artist who did a few drawings for them. Having a little artist training, I know a drawing or painting looks more like a person when they aren’t looking straight at the artist, so I picked the one with Sean looking away.

It looks a lot like him. I’m not crazy about the striped shirt. We obviously still have it hanging up-in the living/dining area.
Here’s the photo it was taken from.

My mom likes to draw and she said the artist didn’t quite get his chin and nose correct. I think she was very talented!

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I decided to rearrange my postage stamp collector’s album. I have been collecting mint US stamps since Sean was about the age he is above-3. Not all of them for each year, but quite a few. I had stuck a bunch of canceled postage from the US and around the world in the same book, but took them out. I did leave the uncanceled stamps from France in the book, as my in-laws had bought them for us while they were there.

Of course I wanted to use some of the stamps in my collage art and made these cards:

Here’s what’s cool about the above. I was making an Asia themed card the night before, (check Flickr side bar) and cut out this bamboo ‘deer chaser’ to use, but it didn’t quite fit. I cut it out and used it on a card and starting to go through the stamps and found the perfect Chinese stamp of the little boys with the bucket in a shallow pool of water. The verse says-“Not all those who wonder are lost’ by JRR Tolkien

I have done a few cards using Chinese fortune cookie fortunes. Used another Chinese stamp and the registered piece from an envelope that the first stamp was on. Apparently it came from Brian’s former place of employment.

Sep23

Mom’s birthday gift-Portrait of a Lady

Posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 by Dianne

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Mom’s birthday gift-Portrait of a Lady, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

To my mom Jeanne, this is your birthday card on an 18 x 20 recycled canvas!
I hope you see the special meaning in this collage, from the choice of flowers to the various images. It wasn’t that easy, but it also helped get my mind off my back.
Thanks for teaching me about music and creativity, things that have been a flagstone in my existence.
I pray for your eye to improve so you can see the beautiful colors of the world. I know you feel like the weight of the world is on your little shoulders, but it really isn’t when you have me.
Lots of love,
Dianne

Sep16

Wizard of Oz swap

Posted on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 by Dianne

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I was so happy to hear from my swap partner, especially since she is from Texas and had to deal in part with Hurricane Ike. She said she had people staying with her who didn’t have power and she would be a little late sending mine along. I said I understand completely.

Anyway, if you haven’t looked on my Flickr, here is what I sent Irma:

It’s clipboard! The above has a swag with a Dorothy bookmark and a Wicked Witch of the West ‘flight license’. I found the license in a little store in NJ. This is also funny as I live on the west end of a very long road that runs through Chadds Ford to the far end of my town. ; )

This is without the swag. I used part of a desktop I made for the middle which helped a lot! The paper on the bottom has a texture. So it is tactile too. Some of the art came from an old Oz book-Toto and the tree behind the Tinman. The poppies are from an old flower ID book. My friend sent me an assortment of papers and the green bubbly stuff represents ‘Oz’. Hope you like it!

Trying to get my crafty mojo back, as my mom’s project took a lot out of me. Did a little last night. I finally took Cos out for a walk too, though the part of the yard he loves (he scratches on the chestnut trees) are bombarding the yard with chestnut burrs. I almost got hit a few times earlier in the day. It looks like we are being invaded by alien pods. ; ) I had to move my pretty coleus and other plants as I am giving some to a lady from Flickr who was interested in some that I had. I can’t seem to overwinter them, so she can have her pick.

Keep my Uncle Don’s wife Mildred in your thoughts. They thought she had pneumonia, but here she aspirated water in her lungs. She’s in the hospital in a fragile state. She’s in her 90s, so it’s scary.

Sep14

This is September?

Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008 by Dianne

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The thermometer already reads 86 and expected to go up to at least 92 which will feel like 100. I think I’ll stay inside and do something quiet as my sinuses around my eyes are complaining.

My mom is seeing a little more each day, though she can’t watch tv. The anesthesia made her act a bit funny (feeling sorry for herself), but she is better today.

I’ve been working on a 18″x20″ canvas that I recycled. I’m giving it to my mom for her birthday. I’m almost finished, just trying to figure out if the top needs more. It’s a collage, with some things that reminds me of her. This lady, from the cover of a catalog, inspired me. I learned my lesson-that this particular paper is so thin and wrinkles or tears like crazy. I should have mounted it on card stock first.

I’ll show you the rest on the 23rd, which in my mom’s 78th birthday.

Brian’s dad is getting help in his house 3 days a week now. He is having a nurse dress his wounds and hopefully help him with other things. He hasn’t slept well for nights on end and is so disheartened. You get to be 85 and stuff like this happens to you. Also, Bri’s aunt has been there a few times now. I knew she would step up as that’s the kind of person she is. We appreciate it so much!

I’m keeping the people in Texas and Louisiana in my thoughts and prayers.

Sep12

Mom update, etc.

Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 by Dianne

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My older brother came and took Mom to her follow up visit. The eye doctor said it was healing slowly and she couldn’t even read the big ‘E’ on the chart yet. I had called her before she left and she was sweeping down the steps! OMG-with an eye so susceptible! What was she thinking? Thank goodness she is loading the eye up with 4-5 different drops. She said she had a monster headache all evening. The doctor said that was probably from the anesthesia. He also said she was probably ‘feeling’ it as the anesthesia was wearing off too soon. Mom said she didn’t sleep well, was thinking about all the mess in her house. I told her to worry about her eyes. My mom mom always said the dust will be around in 100 yrs and you won’t. Wise woman. Mom gets rechecked on Tuesday-keep thinking about her please. : )

I forgot to mention that we got a new t.v. on Wednesday night. We went with Courtney’s suggestion, and got a 26″ Samsung LCD-HDtv. We need to get the high def hooked up. It has a really great picture, she was correct. I am still getting use to the rectangular format over the square. I’d like it maybe 2″ higher too. I am so old-fashioned! We’re getting our Dishnet updated on Monday to HD-made those arrangements late in the afternoon. Won’t cost anything and we can sell back the old receivers too. I was talking with the young lady and she had cataract surgery as she got a hockey punk to the eye, sort of a coincidence.

It’s rainy here again. It couldn’t rain when we wanted tomatoes and peppers. And there was again another Philly police officer, a woman, who got killed by a 16 yr driver who went out of control in an SUV (I believe). Our local stations have been televising the funerals-so sad.

This evening-

Saw James Taylor selling his new CD ‘Covers’ on QVC tonight. You know, I wonder if I could have been in the stinkin’ audience? Ahhh! The QVC studio is about 25 minutes from here. I guess I’ll have to see if they have a calendar. James seems to have a deal with QVC as he’s been on before hawking CDs. He’s sure not comfortable doing PR and must have taken 8 sips from his water bottle in 1/2 hour.

I’m working on one of those canvases I bought to alter and so far it’s not proving easy. My main image was the front of a catalog and she is wrinkling-a lot. My friends swear by gel medium and I use tacky glue or Mod Podge. I’ve been sticking little holes in it to get the air out. I will just have to layer more. I painted it with Gesso first, that got a little crackled. Then I added red and gold acrylics. I can see ‘something’. My 3 pieces of large art that I found (two from a Christie’s auction catalog) are pretty. I’ll definitely share one way or another.

Aug27

What a coincidence

Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 by Dianne

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I’m working on the sleeping kitty xs design as I’ve shown you. A few days ago, I brought up a bag of old children’s books that were put and left in the basement-a no no to me. I found this one on cats from the 1960s-70s and look how much this kitty looks like the one I am stitching! Maybe the designer was inspired by this particular book? I just thought of all the books I own, I decided to thumb through this one.

Also made a few cards from the squashed flower blossoms. Here is one of them-I’ll call it ‘Serenity’

I’m killing some time before the dentist appt. Of course I had to get a bill in the mail from them today too-grrrrrgh. I hope whoever becomes President, makes healthcare more affordable. I think we spend close to 10% of our income on the dentist-after what the insurance pays and not counting what they take out of Bri’s pay each month.

Aug13

Snap, crackle and pop!

Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 by Dianne

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I did hear some of the above noises today at the chiropractor! My neck cracked really well. He pressed on my spine and that was uncomfortable. Then I laid on a table that vibrated mostly my butt area for a few minutes. I told he I had a chair massager pad that I should use more. Our insurance won’t cover these visits, so I have to figure out what to do (they take the same credit plan as the dentist, but I’m kinda saving that for extreme bills from them). I guess I can go a few times a month. I’m going tomorrow too. I think my neck feels a bit looser.
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I won a big box of ephemera from eBay to scan and use in my art projects. What fun it is to look through old photos and cards! It can be sad too as the photos are unmarked. I am not saving all of them. I bought the lot mostly for the really old photos. I have seen just one on sale for $4 and I got 11 pounds of goods for around $10. I love this hobby! There is so much history involved-the clothing, the cars, the scenery and towns.

Here’s ‘sort of’ any oldie I found in my craft desk. It’s me at my Communion/Confirmation back in about 1983 with my grandmom Ruth and my mom Jeanne.

I know who I am getting a bod like. This has a few spots on it. And my mom is the height of my grandmom now-I am taller than her! I think my grandmom was about 80 here and mom is almost 78 now.
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Thanks to Jennifer for mentioning the Absecon Lighthouse. Think we’ll go there. Sounds great. I love gift shops too. ; )

Aug6

Art and cooking

Posted on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 by Dianne

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Different ideas same background ATCs, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

I was looking through stuff as I sorted last week. This week seems to be a bust because of my back issues. The sore spots like to move around, but Advil and the heating pad are my pals. It doesn’t bother my rest, just when I am sitting a lot which isn’t good.
I found a really neat page in a landscape catalog we picked up at the Philadelphia Flower show this year. These are what I made from the one page-all these cards’ backgrounds! I know, my imagination tends to run wild. I loved her eyes in the one image of Clara Bow, so they became the focus of the card. The other lady card is indeed Clara Bow again. She was gorgeous in my opinion.

The Michelangelo prophets are from a Dover Publications sticker book. I used both Isaiah and Jeremiah on my cards then did a google search to find out that Isaiah literally put the fear of God in people and Jeremiah was know as ‘the broken hearted’ prophet. Interesting!
Here is what we had for dinner last night called Frittata Al Tonno.

Found it on the Chicken of the Sea website. I wanted to use tuna, and it also has eggs (of course), zucchini, onion, basil and tomatoes-mostly fresh from our garden. The secret was to cover the pan and steam the eggs for about 5 minutes. Both guys asked if it was quiche!
And speaking of eating-on the opposite end of the spectrum, our cute little mop top and bottom moths are cannibals! I found a completely bare stem of milkweed and there was only bits and pieces of a bunch of the critters left on it. Not saying a bird or two didn’t get to them. But I am sure I haven’t seen too many of the moths around.

My mom has loved paperdolls since she’s been a little girl and has collected Tom Tierney (also from Dover Pubs) for many years. Look what Mr. Tierney just came up with, no surprise to me. I’m thinking their clothes can’t be too exciting, maybe Senator Obama’s?

And three cute little girls-two fairly famous-you know who they are (belong to B and A):

and a little girl I found on etsy-on her mom Adrianne’s store:

I photoshopped this a bit. As you can see, I live vicariously through those who have daughters. : ) I’m still hoping for a granddaughter or two someday.

Sean and I are off to BJs Wholesale Club tomorrow. I broke down and bought a membership there. Dangerous-big quantities of things-must buy-!!!!