not a fan of the falling temperatures …but the falling leaves and colors are wonderful!
It’s fun to see how things work into your art – here is a recent project that I completed
echoing the colors of the season…
A glass mosaic staring a chandelier pendant and brass drawer pull
Bonaroo
http://trackunknown.com/
Milk Music Photo by Shannon Murphy Track:UnknownBlog
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Photo courtesy of Track:UnknownBlog
artist : Mann Ray 1941
The wings of angels are often found on the backs of the least likely people.
~Eric Honeycutt
I crafted another whimsical winged woman I named “free bird” – she allowed a tiny blue bird to nest a top her head. I dug in my salvaged treasure box and came up with a necklace, collar stays and pearl tear drops that all seemed to fit. But when it came to the wings ….
I decided to attach them differently and give her a bit of whimsy, so they are actually attached at what should be the bottom of the wing. She likes them just fine!
Who is she wearing you ask? Well a fine gelli print by yours truly!
When babies look beyond you and giggle, maybe they’re seeing angels.
~Quoted in The Angels’ Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994
The mountains calm us and bring us back to our centers…..Thankgoodness for these moments!
How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
John Muir
My interest was peaked after a visit to Lawendula’s paper-swap.blogspot.com back in Novemeber. She had posted a “Yummy Papers” swap that I couldn’t resist. It was my first time to participate in a swap via the internet so I anxiously awaited the instructions and who I would be matched up with. I had no idea it would be an international connection! I was put in touch with a woman from Germany – we contacted each other and exchanged mailing addresses and both determined the holidays were a busy time but it would be great fun to exchange an envelope of papers. We collected things through the month of December and when January arrived off my package went to Germany. Here is what I sent to my paper swap pal in Europe:
Yummy Papers leaving for Germany!
It included everything from food lables, napkins and my own personal photos to stamps and cards.
Meanwhile in Germany, Karen was doing the same and in Mid January I found this wonderful package in my mailbox – so much fun to open and look at all the treasure!
….On to January Swap….I had caught the bug and was taken in by the next theme for Lawendula’s swap – “Crazy Papers” What fun! I was matched up this time with an artist from South Africa who lived a very different life than mine. She is the wife of a sheep farmer living in a remote area and an extremely talented artist www.silvermere.africanpainting.com
Here are the “crazy papers and treasers” I collected and sent to Barbara:
A wonderful package arrived from South Africa for me a short time after that was sent. It was FILLED with wonderful pieces including a wonderful assortment of small copies of her personal work – what a wonderful exposure to her world. Here is a peak at what showed up in my mailbox:
notice the porcupine quills, seeds and feathers – even a leaf skelaton!
This was certainly a fun, fun, exchange between two people I otherwise would never been exposed too! It is so much fun to experience these moments! Thanks to Karen and Barbara for a great experience and to LaWendlua for putting it all together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve been busy making items for a craft show I will be in this weekend and thought I’d post a few of the items. I’ve been cleaning out and upcycling as much as I can.
Old tin cookie cutters made into ornaments:
“Forgotten Angel Ornaments” made from old jello mold tins, found objects, hand felted wings and bottle cap heads filled with air dry foam clay…these ladies are a second year running!
and rounding it out – the gangs all here! Snow People: glass bottles filled with snowflakes and beads, styrofoam heads coated with glitter and the rest are altered and found items to give them a character all their own!
Just a quick post to share an experiment the season let me try…I collect some leaves on a walk and then got out my Adirondak Sprays and a sketch pad. I used the leaves as masks and kept moving them around as I sprayed. I flipped a few of the leaves over and tried to capture a print with the built up spray on top of the leaf. Then to accent the shapes I went in with a white out pen and doodled and lettered…here it is…Happy Halloween !
True Colors
Another workshop provides me with an opportunity to use some “saved objects”. I had discovered some old house numbers in a garden shed on a recent renovation project and stashed them in a treasure box with other gems like the door knobs and hinges and pieces of who-knows -what! So as I walked into this Clock-in-a-Box workshop at our local community center art space I had hopes of using some of my stash. We were provided with a cigar box and the clock piece and let loose to design and craft away!
Front View
The numbers were origianlly a black metal which I aged with paint thanks to Michael DeMengsrecipes. I had an old acetate sheet with images similar to wall paper flourishes which I liked as a back ground on top of the wood surface. From there a whole lot arranging and rearranging happened !
back door opens to reveal the clock setting
I used a metalic flourished napking collaged on the sides and top with a little bit of type and butterfly images mixed in to brighten it up. Then I drilled, nailed and glued the accrutraments in place! Tick- Tock it’s complete….
side & front
back view
Lisa Murphy ~ Art 
