Life is a Minestrone...

"Life is a minestrone

Served up with Parmesan cheese

Death is a cold Lasagna

Suspended in deep freeze."

"Life is a Minestrone" - 10cc – Eric Stewart, Lol Creme

Who doesn’t like soup? Warm, comforting, encouraging you to release your creativity with each new recipe, it is just the thing to lift my spirits. As we trudge through more cold and snowy winter weather, the smiling woman in the vintage magazine ad carrying home her paper bag of Campbell’s soup and an article in a local magazine inspired me.

I have taken part in a particular charity postcard exchange for the last several years. For this submission, my mind was set on the image I wanted to use. I then needed to decide on how to create the design I had in mind. If you are like me, you know when an art supply is “just right”. The incredible range of Artistcellar stencils always help me find precisely what I am looking for in minutes. Spreading out my stencils, my eye was drawn to the Quasicrystals and Blocks Series. Yes…they were “just right”.

The card came together fairly quickly. I lightly coated a postcard size piece of cover stock with gesso. Choosing my sponge with the most texture, I applied several shades of Dylusion Paint. Working wet on wet I sponged the wonderful Bubble Gum Dylusion Ink Spray to build the background. I wanted to create a sensation of warmth and happiness. Using Dylusion products never disappoint. The colours are as rich and vibrant dry as they are wet. Again…they were “just right”.

Cutting out the image of the woman from the ad, I glued it to the card. A local monthly magazine runs the most amazing food column. The recipes are carefully thought out which makes them easy to successfully replicate. This month paid homage to a rich and robust Minestrone, one of my all-time favourites. Reading through the ingredients, an old song came to mind…"Life is a Minestrone". I cut out sections of the recipe to surround our shopper. I completed the postcard with a spray of colour in the shape of Quasicrystals Infra. Adding balance to the design, I stencilled Open Work Blocks in metallic gold.

Returning to my inspiration, I believe our lives always revolve around choosing a little bit of this, maybe a tad of that. We make the best of mixing what we have on hand. But I am convinced that with a dollop of creativity and a dash of invention our lives can be as truly nourishing as a simmering Minestrone.

MATERIALS USED:

• ARTISTCELLAR STENCILS: QUASICRYSTALS (Infra), BLOCKS (Open Work)
• LIQUITEX WHITE ACRYLIC GESSO
• LIQUITEX MATTE MEDIUM
• SCOTCH SCRAPBOOKERS GLUE
• DYLUSION PAINT: Squeezed Orange, Bubble Gum, Vibrant Turquoise, Fresh Lime
• DYLUSION INK SPRAY: Bubble Gum
• DINA WAKLEY MEDIA: Blushing
• PLAID: Sunflower
• DECO ART: Blue Harbor
• REEVES: Gold                                                                        
• PRO ART BRUSH: 1” Bristle
• NATURAL SPONGE
• 130 LB COVER STOCK
• VINTAGE ADVERTISEMENT IMAGE
• RECIPE FROM A MAGAZINE

Are You A Canvas?

MID-CENTURY MODERN DREAMS - Collage

 “Fashion is Art and You are the Canvas!” – Velvet Paper

Fashion truly is Art! From Haute Couture to Prêt-à-Porter the designer escorts us through their passionate journey.  Colour, form, and pattern: our shared tools of the trade inspire them to make their concepts tangible. And how heartening it is to be wrapped in someone’s dream!

When my Artistcellar box arrived in the mail I couldn’t wait to experiment with the Marked Series Stencils. With circles, X’s, and an interlocked ladder the graphic feel made me think of Mid-Century Modern art and interior design. And I was in luck: my Artistcellar treasure trove also contained Dylusion Bubble Gum Pink Ink Spray and Dina Wakley Lemon and Lime acrylics. The stencil pattern and my acrylic colours were perfect for taking me back to the time of Bakelite telephones and the Camel cigarette man wafting smoke rings across Times Square from his billboard.

I wanted to start with the background. I went to a new page in my Strathmore Mixed-Media Visual Journal. The ladder stencil and Dina’s Lemon acrylic came first. Slowly, I built up the layers using each stencil in the collection and a variety of acrylics. Then came time to throw caution to the wind! I grabbed my Dylusion Bubble Gum Pink ink and sprayed away. I loved the hot pink colour, mopped up a bit with my sponge and pushed it through the stencil. I really was pleased with the effect and will be adding it to my favored techniques. I completed the background with Punchinella, Artistcellar Halftone Dots Stencils and metallic acrylic.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I love the fact that the Artistcellar stencils hold up to anything I throw at, or push through them. Clean up leaves them in perfect condition ready for my next project.

Now that I had my background ready, and my colours were just as vibrant as they were wet, I knew the focal point needed to be just as bold. I am a great fan of black and white fashion photography of the 1950’s. I chose a photo of a woman, head titled back, with eyes slightly closed. What was she dreaming about… Perhaps a great adventure? And who would accompany her? And most of all, what clothing would she pack! I thought of the Bakelite phone…and the phone book she would peruse. To the left of the work you will see a page which I infused with bee’s wax.

This is what I love about Art. We have countless ways to express what comes from deep within us. With so many tools at our disposal we are only limited by our imaginations. By sharing what is essential to us we give it life, and hopefully nurture the spark in others. 

So the next time you put on that favourite piece of clothing, just think…you are the canvas helping to make a designers soul immortal!

MATERIALS USED: 

• ARTISTCELLAR MARKED SERIES STENCILS
• ARTISTCELLAR HALFTONE DOTS SERIES STENCILS
• PUNCHINELLA
• DYLUSION BUBBLE GUM INK SPRAY
• DINA WAKLEY LEMON & LIME ACRYLICS
• REEVES METALLIC ACRYLIC: GOLD, ROSE RED, BRONZE
• PLAID FOLK ART METALLIC ACRYLICS: AQUAMARINE, AMETHYST, CHAMPAGNE
• NATURAL SPONGE
• STRATHMORE MIXED-MEDIA VISUAL JOURNAL
• BEES WAX
• TELEPHONE BOOK PAPER
• DIGITAL IMAGE – FASHION OF THE 1950’S

An Attitude of Gratitude

Giving Thanks in the 50's - Digital Collage

Didn't life seem vibrant in the 1950's?

On the surface, the country had a decidedly optimistic vibe. Popular culture was in its heyday. Televisions were now in many homes. The flickering black and white screens televised  a range of viewing options from the hilarious antics of Lucy and Ethel to the wisdom of Fulton J. Sheen. The art, fashion, music, and automotive industries all pushed the boundaries of what was previously accepted behaviour. After the stark War years, Americans were grateful. They were thankful for the new and ever-changing opportunities now with their reach. It seemed as if there were no boundaries. The sky was the limit.

Embraced by these emotions I embarked on the next Lunagirl Moonbeam challenge. The Theme for November  is Thanksgiving/Harvest/ Gratitude. There are always so many choices to be had from Lunagirl's collage sheets. I chose a woman delightfully showing off  her new space age refrigerator from the Lunagirl Retro 1950's collection. 

The work is a digital collage. I kept the Mid-Century Modern ambiance by incorporating various 1950' s patterns as a background and on the woman's apron. And nothing says happiness and thanks to me better than sunflowers. But I do have to ask...did we really clean the house in heels, pearls, and a twinset?

As we Americans celebrate this Thanksgiving Day, my wish is that you find your sky-is-the-limit vibe. And may you share it with the people who support your attitude of gratitude.