When I Get A Little Money

I promised myself that I won't start any new projects until I finish a few that have been in the works for a while. In an attempt to keep that promise, I just finished two hand lettered bookmarks that I started about a month ago. I thought these quotes would be perfect for a book lover and would make great bookmarks. They were made with a black micron pen and watercolor pencils on watercolor paper.

For me, buying art books and magazines is something of a treat and I would choose to buy books over clothes or shoes or groceries any day. I gave the bookmarks to my daughter's friend Trisha because she loves books and I thought she would enjoy using them. She's also a talented young artist who let me borrow and read her entire Twilight series and what's not to love about that?

What do you buy when you get a little money?

Parade The Circle

Everyone loves a parade—especially one that celebrates the arts. On our most recent Artfits field trip, Annette and Cathy and I headed over to University Circle to view the free community arts parade presented annually by the Cleveland Museum of Art. International and national guest artists joined Greater Cleveland artists, families, schools and community groups in a spectacular display of bright costumes, giant puppets, stilt-dancers, handmade masks and colorful floats. It was another beautiful day in Cleveland and the parade was truly a visual extravaganza.

This costume was stunning and swirled so gracefully down the street.

A fantastic giant puppet with hair spilling out like a fountain of color.

What could be more fun than another giant puppet?

Two giant puppets!

I think it's obvious that I adore colorful giant puppet creatures.

There were actually about 2,000 people who marched in the parade including this group who painted themselves blue!

It was another fabulous, fun-filled Artfits field trip. If you’d like to see more photos, click here to go to the Artfits blog or here to check out Flickr group photos.

A Beautiful Day For A Sketchcrawl

Today was a beautiful day for the June sketchcrawl event at Wendy Park. Wendy Park is located on the lakefront and is a little hidden gem with a very cool view of the city from a different perspective. Neither Cathy nor I had ever been there before, so it's always fun to discover something new in your own background. Once everyone arrived we walked over to Whiskey Island, which is really more of a peninsula. There we decided to sit on the pier and sketch the old coast guard station which has not been in operation for over 30 years. It was so relaxing with the waves lapping, the gulls calling, the rumble of a nearby train in the background, and all under a gorgeous blue sky and the welcome warmth of the sun.

I guess I'm a bit of a slow poke when it comes to sketching because I'm lucky to get one sketch done compared to everyone else who will finish three or four. I haven't posted the sketches from the last few sketchcrawls because a couple are still unfinished and a few others were finished way after the fact. Today I felt really good to have completed a sketch on sketchcrawl day, although I ended up ending a bit more color once I got home.

Today was also a great day for rejectamenta! I came home with a bunch of rusted bottlecaps, a couple of fishing lures, some sort of cable things, and a fabulous rusted "no smoking" sign from the coast guard station. All in all, it was a fun and productive art adventure.

Support Group For Artists

Everyone should have an artist support group. There's nothing better than hanging out with like-minded souls who understand why a new set of sparkle pens is enough to make your day...who are content to doodle with you in silence or brainstorm ideas for your latest project...who are ready to ditch housework in favor of field trips...who inspire you to try new techniques and explore new ideas...who never get tired of talking about art or making art. I'm fortunate to have found just such a group that we call ARTFITS. We get together every other week and spend several hours together working on individual projects such as altered books or journals. We also venture out on field trips such as sketchcrawls, art shows, and studio open houses. Since some of us work together, we even spend lunch hours doodling, sketching, or journaling.

I highly recommend finding or starting your own artist support group if you don't already have one. All you need is a place to meet and a couple of people who like what you like. If you don't have a space where you can work, consider getting together to share ideas and show and tell. Surround yourself with creative people and let the fun begin.

The Society For The Easily Distracted

Not only am I a member of The Society For The Easily Distracted--I'm also the president! I started this society many years ago and I'm happy to report that nothing has changed since then. We still haven't had our first meeting because, well, I just keep getting distracted by so many other things. There's this blog and all the wonderful blogs out there that I need to read, a couple of moleskines, three or four altered books, a new found love for lettering, the big ball of happiness, some new bookmarks that I just started, those metal thingees I'm trying to figure out what to do with, a pile of felted sweaters, and the list goes on and on. I guess I'll always be a better project starter than a project finisher. As I'm working on one thing my mind takes off in a million different directions and the truth is I WANT TO DO IT ALL. Sometimes I tell myself that I can't start a new project until I finish something else. I've tried--but I just keep getting distracted.....

Industrial Surplus Fun

Last weekend Cathy and I went on a little art adventure. We headed off to Zygote Press to view the current exhibit RAISED VOICES: ARTISTS' BOOKS FOR TROUBLED TIMES. The show featured a variety of amazing handmade books that we were able to pick up and read. While we were there we discovered an artist open studio event going on in the neighborhood, so we took the opportunity to visit three artist studios located in the building next door. That was a nice, unexpected bonus.

Before going to Zygote Press we decided to check out an industrial surplus warehouse that I had seen featured on the local news. I'm always on the lookout for anything weird and unusual that can be used in art and this seemed like just the place. Holy Dooley! The place was HUGE and had the most bizarre stuff. I had no idea what most of it was--but it sure looked cool. Most items are sold by the lot so you can't just buy a little bit of this or that. But the longer the stuff is there, the cheaper it gets.

Here is mini-Arthur (our official field trip mascot) checking out a piece of surplus. I love the greasy grunginess of the control panel and all the type and numbers.

We managed to find a boxed lot of electric motor laminations that had been there for a couple of months. Of course, we didn't know that's what they were until we got home and I googled the company on the box labels. Until then they were just really cool little metal thingees. This is what we bought for $5!

This is what they look like out of the boxes and scanned. We're cooking up some ideas for what we can do with them. Stay tuned, I'm sure you'll be seeing them again.

I was so excited about our find that I did a journal page about it.

Postal Art

Pssst...Pass It On

I recently reconnected with an old mail art friend when she left a comment on one of my blog posts. So I hopped on over to Candace's blog and found the Pass It On, Random Act of Kindness, Give-Away posted there. It took me all of two minutes to decide to participate and now I am following the rules and posting a similar give-away here. The rules are simple and it seems like it will be a lot of fun.

The first five (5) people to comment on this post will get something from or made by me. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

• I make no guarantees that you will like what I make (if I decide to make something).

• What I create or give will be just for you.

• It’ll be done over the next 12 months.

• You have no clue what it’s going to be. It may be a watercolor postcard. It could be a felted monster. Might even be a book I think you will like. Could be a sculpture or a painting. It may be a gift certificate from a place I think you would like. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!

• I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

• I reserve the right to change the rules!

And in return, all you need to do is post this text into a post of your own and make or give 5 things for 5 others.

Of course, you’ll have to send me your mailing address...

Sound fun? Comment below and let me know you want to participate. Pass it on...

The Irony of Life

Yesterday I wrote about the irony of the sketchbook I was waiting to receive getting lost in the mail. It turns out it wasn't exactly lost--just delayed due to an incorrect zip code. Today it arrived and the sketchbook I randomly received in the swap was Cathy's sketchbook! She's the one who told me about the project and inspired me to join in the first place. How ironic is that? I couldn't BEE happier to get this wonderful little book filled with bee sketches and quotes.

This is the sketchbook cover which has been coated in beeswax giving it a wonderful patina. The yarn is attached to a tag which is tucked into the pocket at the back of the book.


I love Cathy's handwriting, her sketches, and her affection for bees. Check out her blog for more bee characters.

Spit the Dummy

I can totally relate to this bit of slang today. I'm about to spit the dummy because Cathy and Casey both received their sketchbooks in the mail yesterday from the Utrecht Sketchbook project. I thought I would get mine today but it still hasn't arrived--after I created an entire homage to mail!! Ironic?

I might have to console myself with a cuppa. At least we were able to get the computer repaired and I recovered the scans of the postcards that I mailed a few weeks ago, including the infamous "assie slang." What a bonza mistake that was!