Fourth of July, just a little delayed

It has been a very hot weekend here in Michigan. We spent Saturday celebrating my nephew's 15th birthday, Sunday was a fun outing with my Sis-in-law to shop Ann Arbor, and then today my hubby joined me for a 6 mile training walk that I turned into almost 8 miles by accident. Thankfully the walk was over before it got to the true heat of the day. It has been a pretty relaxing weekend considering everything and except for the firecrackers scaring my dog to the point of her hiding in the bathtub, its been very enjoyable.

Miss Suzi sent out a challenge I believe on Thursday to put together a patriotic Petit Girl and I've been working on mine in small bits here and there since then. I wasn't sure if I'd get her done. I missed the holiday, but the actual deadline was today so I did it! Suzi teaches the most amazing courses and I've been able to elevate the level of my drawings and painting to a new level thanks to her classes. She is amazingly supportive of her students and lots of fun as well. If you've never heard of her or her classes I encourage you to take a look. I'm sure you'll enjoy what you see at her site.

Marie Antoinette

This artwork was done for SuziBlu's "Petit Marie" class. I had a fantastic time working on this and really allowed myself to take my time and enjoy every layer without rushing to the final project. She is waiting at the bottom of the grand staircase for her beloved puppies. I think they're getting ready for a serene walk through the rose gardens. The mushroom birds are twittering in her ear that they are anxious to be in the sunshine. She cant wait to see the sparkling reflection of her new diamond necklace glint back at her from the pond. Her molded paper underskirt will surely twinkle as well since it has flakes of gold for embellishment.

I have always loved Vanessa's paper molded dresses and have wanted to try them out for quite some time. Marie seemed like just the over the top fashonista who would simply adore such a creation. The technique was lots of fun and I'll be continuing on with it employed in new work to see what else might evolve from this start.

In the real world away from art play, my studio is back to its full capacity and I'm really excited about this years students. Only 1 lesson that is a bit trying sometimes. Thats pretty darn good. I think this will be my favorite group of students as a whole that I've ever had. I have 3 adult students, who I adore teaching, and only 1 true beginning level child so we're going to be able to tackle some real music and have lots of fun instead of just learning how to read notes and rhythms. Very fun!!!!

Mixed-media meditation

I think the latest girl for my class is surely the most in-depth mixed media piece I have ever done. I lost track of the numbers of layers involved with her and I used just about everything you could imagine. Stamps, collage, modeling compound, gold leaf, glass beads, glitter, mica powders, rhinestones, stencils, colored pencils, acrylics, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things. Once I got the initial layers down it turned into a theraputic project. I cant really describe it, but I had some music on and allowed myself to get lost in the process and not overthink anything. I just kept pulling out new things, adding them in and repeating. No worries over misplacement or misuse of material. I think it was a very freeing experience for me. Hopefully I will remember some of that freeness the next time I sit down to do art. I really need to be better about controlling my worries about it being perfect. Really nothing in life is perfect and by striving and failing I allow myself to become stagnant and afraid to make any move.

Here's to getting past our various fears, warranted or not, and finding enjoyment in trying new things.

Have a wonderful week.