A Place to Bark Auction is Live! RAVEN

The Raven that I made for a book (more information in previous posts) and the auction that has gone live today. Image of raven wraps around 12" x12" profile canvas.

Proceeds will benefit A Place to Bark . I am a good friend of Bernie's and have seen first hand her care for animals. My Mom has Simon, a Pom and I have Rufus a Boston Terrier both saved by Bernie's rescue. Animal neglect and surrender to pounds is worse than ever and Bernie could really use the money.

About this nonprofit:
A PLACE TO BARK'S mission is: To provide assistance and care to animals in need. Working together closely with other animal welfare agencies to help end the needless killing of adoptable animals. Proactively working to save lives, by spaying and neutering, eliminating needless deaths. We are dedicated to educating the public on responsible pet ownership and to helping those who would like to have their animals fixed by providing low cost spay/ neuter assistance to them.

Here is the link to the Raven that I made for the auction on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Party-Animals-Auction_W0QQitemZ330366274766QQcmdZViewItemQQptZArt_Mixed_Media?hash=item4ceb5d4cce
Plus there are many other wonderful pieces up for bid. Check them out by typing in the words "Party Animals Auction" in the search box and all the listings will come up.

If you win the art consider purchasing the book that it is featured in too!

Party Animals Benefit Auction for A Place to Bark

Auction to Benefit a Place to Bark

Art Zine and Auction to Benefit

"A Place to Bark"

Earlier this year, I was contacted by Jill Beninato, an Artist/Pet Photographer, who was putting together a project to support Bernie Berlin's "A Place To Bark" animal rescue. Bernie has literally saved hundreds of dogs lives so far this year. Jill invited myself, along with 20 other artists to create an original piece of artwork based on the "Party Animals" theme, using any medium we wanted. Jill photographed each piece and created a zine featuring everyone’s work, along with other fun articles and info about A Place To Bark. The finished zine is full color, 43 pages, and printed professionally by Lulu Printing. You can get your very own copy by clicking here. You will also be able to view a loop of all the artwork by clicking on that link. ALL of the proceeds go directly to helping the animals at A Place To Bark! All the original artwork from this zine will be auctioned off on Ebay on October 15th, 2009.

Above is the cover of the zine...

Antique Sale Treasures

I found a lot of unique, odd and bizarre items at the rummage sale I went to on Friday. Above is my most bizarre find. What is it? Answer at the bottom of this post.

The above item didn't strike me as odd until the antique dealer told me what it was used for. Hint: It fits on the end of a pole. Answer at the bottom of the post.

I was planning on spending the afternoon with my friend Jill Shulse when she called me and asked if I wanted to go to an antique sale with her. She did a preview on the way to an appointment and said they had just the kind of stuff that I would like. Jill didn't have to ask me twice. I cruised to her house and we were on our way.

There was three wagons full of antique bits and pieces. Assemblage parts galore!

"Look Jill casters" I exclaimed giddy with excitement.

Hmmm I wonder what Jill has found. Maybe I should go over there and check it out!

These are the treasures that I left with plus a salesman's sample window (not pictured). Thank you Jill for sharing your sale with me :)

Afterwards Jill and I visited at her house. Popeye sat on my lap and his pug brother Junior sat on Jill's. Another fun day with Jill!

The first item above was a homemade device to put on a calf, so that when it wanted to nurse on the mother she wouldn't let it. Looks dumb to me, I wonder if that farmer's cow developed mastitis or tetanus when it was poked with the nail. I thought it would be a good base for an interesting assemblage piece.

The second item went on the end of a pole and was used to hook into the nose ring of a bull to lead it around. Anyone have any piercings that they would like to be led around by ? LOL!

Treasure Trove of Birthday Gifts!

Valentine loves to sing Happy Birthday! I had a wonderful Birthday with my Mom and kids. Mark was in Sturgis and my birthday wish was that he arrived home safe, which he did.

Jill gave me a the book Amulets and Talismans: Simple Techniques for Creating Meaningful Jewelry . I can't wait until her arm is better and we can try some of the projects in the book. She also gave me this box full of treasures for my birthday.

She had them all wrapped up even though her dominant hand is in a sling. How fun to unwrap each one!

I received a wonderful assortment of assemblage pieces. I am looking forward to creating some art with these. I'm such a fortunate girl!

I'm Teaching at Whispering Woodlands September 26 & 27

I am looking forward to teaching at Whispering Woodlands again. Last Spring I had a wonderful time teaching my first Interactive Art Book Class. This Summer I took a class there. I am now looking forward to visiting the retreat's beautiful surroundings in an Autumn setting. There is still plenty of space available.

The class is based on my book "Interactive Art Workshop - Set Your Mixed Media in Motion". Pull tabs, spinning circles and textures aren't just for children's books anymore. I'll teach you how to bring sophisticated style, meaning and movement to your art by learning how to create books with interactive components. With demonstrations and exposure to a variety of samples, I will share my passion for the creative process while guiding you through color theory, working with a limited palette, composition and background techniques. Quotes and embellishments may be added as time permits. Expect to take home an original art book with several interactive features.
This is a fun surface to write and draw on.

The pattern on my dress changes.

My arm moves.

Come join the fun!

Gift in the Mail

I was lucky enough to win this set of tags by posting a comment on Teresa Yates blog. Aren't they adorable. Thank you Teresa! I am looking forward to using them!

Teresa was celebrating her 300th etsy sale for her shop Cedar Junction, which is a reminder to me that I should get my etsy shop up and going.

Metronome Assemblage

I have been working on several assemblage pieces lately and thought I would share one with you. I bought this metronome at a friends auction several years ago. There were so many neat and wonderful things at the auction but I have been t r y i n g to buy only what I am going to use. The eye on the pendulum is from a tattered 1800's book.

According to the dictionary "A metronome is an instrument containing an inverted pendulum, set in motion by clockwork, and having a sliding weight attached to the pendulum rod, by the shifting of which the number of strokes per minute can be regulated to measure time in music." I am missing the sliding weight.

The metronome was broken and missing parts when I bought it. This is a perfect piece for assemblage as I feel I am not wrecking any antique for art's sake. It also gives me some design problems to solve, of which I love the challenge. Making something look like it was always meant to be that way.

The top was missing, so I fabricated an etched metal one to which I attached a metal eagle (or hawk). Check out the previous post and see if you can find the auction winnings that I used in this piece. The little round plate above the wind up mechanism was missing. I found a brass piece in my stash that had three tabs, so I cut them off and filed it smooth and round. There was also a large corner piece missing, so I fabricated a decorative etched brass piece to cover it. The bottom panel was missing, so I cut a piece of wood from a cigar box to replace it. The bottom front panel was also missing but I chose to not replace it as I liked that you could see the inner workings without it. The decorative feet are from the same clock auction as the bird.

To balance the brass piece on the other side I made up this brass plate and verse "Time knows no boundaries, and with the beat of majestic wings I am transported." by Kim Rae Nugent.

Chest of Drawers

A few weeks ago I bought 24 empty drawers for $20. Now this is an excellent deal if you actually use them. Determined not to let them sit in the pile of possibilities I sorted through our scrap lumber to see what kind of chest I could build to house them. With the wood widths and lengths of 3/4" plywood that I had, a 3 x 8 drawer configuration was a possibility. Luckily my husband is adept at the use of a table saw ( One of the few power tools I am scared of) and I was able to talk him into cutting the boards for me. I started assembling the chest but I was having a hard time holding the boards in place while turning in the screws (Usually I hammer my projects together with nails but I was anticipating a lot of weight per drawer) Mark again to the rescue. Now to fill all of the drawers with my assemblage treasures :) Did I mention? "I love drawers!"

I'm Teaching at Peninsula Art School

August 17,18 & 19 I am scheduled to teach an "Interactive Art Book" workshop at Peninsula Art School in Fish Creek Wisconsin. I have heard many wonderful things about Peninsula Art School and I am looking forward to teaching there this Summer.

The class is based on my book "Interactive Art Workshop - Set Your Mixed Media in Motion". Pull tabs, spinning circles and textures aren't just for children's books anymore. I'll teach you how to bring sophisticated style, meaning and movement to your art by learning how to create books with interactive components. With demonstrations and exposure to a variety of samples, I will share my passion for the creative process while guiding you through color theory, working with a limited palette, composition and background techniques. Quotes and embellishments may be added as time permits. Expect to take home an original art book with several interactive features.



Come join the fun!

Pin for My Sister

I sent my sister Jodi a present.

Surprise Jodi! I can finally post something about her pin.

Featured are her chickens which she refers to as "The Girls".

The back view of the pin.

Necklace for me!

I finally finished my necklace last week at Jill's studio. Thank you Jill for all of your help! The necklace portion is actually made from a boxing jump rope that I found at a rummage for 50cents. It is actually about 3/8" thick leather. Jill had been using leather cording for some of her necklaces and this is what sparked the idea for me. (Yes I did share the leather cord with Jill :)

The image on the necklace is my husband's great grandmother. The key is from an assortment that my Dad had. I really have been enjoying this medium and hope to create many more pieces for family, friends and myself.