Eniko's Playhouse

Learning to Love White Space

Whatever happened to white paper? I must admit that as soon as I got seriously involved in scrapbooking, I lost interest in white. I remember purchasing my first pack of patterned paper and feeling like I discovered a new world! The patterns of the paper became my inspiration...often becoming the basis for my layouts. Many years and oodles of patterned paper stacks later, I am ready to revisit white.

As I was preparing for a recent post about different scrapbooking styles, Discovering Your Scrapbooking Style and Trying on a New One, I realized that the only one of the seven styles I was missing in my reperatoire was Artsy. In my research, I found that the Artsy scrapbooker often starts with white paper and manipulates it with mixed media techniques. Unique looks are accomplished with the addition of paint, or by misting ink over stencils and masks. Interesting layers of patterned paper, embellishments,stitching, washi tape, chipboard and fabric add artistic flare. Photos are usually limited to a few...or just one, and are often manipulated in some way for added interest.

The piece above, entitled "Always", was my first layout with a distinctly Artsy spin to it. I must say it was fun starting with a white textured cardstock...essentially, watercolor paper. The white 12x12 paper presented itself as a blank canvas...it didn't inspire or drive the process in the way that patterned scrapbooking paper does...it was there to receive more than to give.

As I misted and painted and stamped and added layer upon layer, the page took on an organic process that felt more like painting than scrapbooking. -And I loved it! I loved it so much that I wanted to repeat process and share it with you.

I created a mixed media piece entitled "Motherhood" for the annual Mother's Day Flower Show at Featherstone Center for the Arts, and selected a beautiful and touching vintage image of a mother caressing her baby. I played around with it in Photoshop Elements until I got the color and intensity just the way I wanted, then ripped it and inked it after printing...and out came the white paper. Masking is the process of covering the area where you don't want the ink to spray, thereby leaving an imprint of the shape you used for masking. I love these gorgeous paper ferns by Martha Stewart...the perfect background for a piece like this.
I wanted to give the alpha stickers that I was intending to use for the title a little more dimension, so I inked them with Tom Holtz's blending tool and Tea Dye Distress Ink.
Next, I inked paper ferns and began layering them.
Since it was to be for an art show that celebrates flowers, there had to be an abundance. I also added some interest with some very cool papr tape.
Next came the metal flourishes and some soft bling for the flower centers.
Some of the paper flowers and leaves were inked or otherwise manipulated to give them a more natural or interesting look. And then there it was...the finished piece.

...And somehow it doesn't look white at all!

I hope you let me know what you think about this process (have you rediscovered white?) in the comments section below.

Hugs, Enikö

In Celebration of Motherhood...

Happy Mother's Day!

I will post about the making of this layout soon...It was created in celebration of motherhood for the Mother's Day Flower Show at Featherstone Center for the Arts on Martha's Vineyard.

I just want to wish all the moms and all the nurturers out there a beautiful and loving day!

With Love, Enikö

Taking it to the Second Floor...an Addendum to the Upcycling Challenge

I wanted to say a few words about the importance of challenging ourselves as artists...to push ourselves in directions that are sometimes uncomfortable -or even unsuccessful. I've been following two amazing artists for a while now, Natalie Kalbach and Julie Fein-Fan Balzer...both extremely creative and inspiring women. They have teamed together to pose  The Second Floor Challenge. The idea is to encourage artists to step out of their comfort zone in their artwork. March 12th's inspiration was to use gold acrylic paint in your next layout. Both women took their own challenge, and both turned out work that they were not entirely 100% happy with. Gold paint can be tricky to work with, and as Natalie tried something new, the results were not quite as predictable as she was used to. Julie had a similar result, and she did the "silk purse out of a sow's ear" -thing and turned her "failed" piece into something else.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is more important to push ourselves in new directions, even if we at times fail, than it is to stick with what is safe and "tried & true", but utterly predictable, and therefore less creative. In my last post, I wrote about upcycling scrapbook packaging material and other items that we might normally toss out, but that can sometimes be given a second life as a part of our artwork (pushing myself further & further from my comfort zone) and you're probably wondering why I am including the same scrapbook pages here.

Well, unlike Natalie and Julie, at first I was perfectly happy with the results of my  layout created mostly of scrapbooking packaging materials and other "throw-a-ways" (and using a touch of gold paint), but the more I looked at the pages, the more I liked them better independently, rather than as a double-page layout. Especially the page below...I feel that it stands alone so beautifully and so completely as a piece of art.

Somehow, the composition of each of these pages work better for me when they are not opposite each other (SEE BELOW).

You may, or may not agree, but for me, it was an interesting and revealing realization. Generally, the composition of my double-page layouts is designed in such a way that the two pages work perfectly together. Perhaps I was so focused on other elements that I was briefly side-tracked...who knows?

In reality, the pages will probably remain together...partnered for life in the protective sleeves of a scrapbook, since side-by-side they do tell a more complete story...which is the point, after all. -But it was fun to step back and take a second look and experience first-hand the consequences of risk-taking. Honestly, though, I wouldn't have it any other way.

So I encourage all of you to take up the challenge and take your scrapbooking, cardmaking, art journaling...whatever your art...a little further, and take a chance on trying something new once in a while. It's good for the soul and who knows, you might discover something new about yourself as you "Take it to the Second Floor."

Happy Creating! -Enikö 

Speaking of challenges...I decided to "Take it to the Roof" when I responded to the Let's Scrap Design Team call. I love this group of creative women and I desperately wanted to have a spot on the Design Team. I found out early this morning that I made it! My "reign" begins on April Fool's Day...which just added to the joy of the whole thing.-More about all that in my next post...I just couldn't wait to share the news!

Your ideas, reactions and comments are deeply appreciated! -And if you decide to take on the "Take it to the Roof" challenge...or create something with upcycled products, I hope you will include a link, or post it on my

Upcycling Packaging from Scrapbook Supplies & Using Up Your Stash

I admit it...I am a bit of a pack-rat. When I open a package of new scrapbooking supplies, I often save the packaging as well as the embellishments inside. I can't seem to get myself to throw away that crisp cellophane envelope, which I just KNOW will make a wonderful enclosure for a future keepsake, and I simply can NOT toss that wonderful cardstock backing, which I certainly will make into a glorious tag someday! In fact, I don't stop there. I save tissue from gift bags, molded clear plastic packaging,  interesting tags from clothing purchases, bottle caps and twine, ribbon & string. But before you call Hoarders Anonymous and turn me in, hear me out.

I am actually en-point with the latest scrapbooking trend! (Purely coincidental, I assure you.) Recently, I've noticed several scrapbooking blogs and videos promote the use of packaging materials in a trend they refer to as upcycling. Prima Marketing is actually promoting their new "Green Concepts Projects" to encourage scrappers to upcycle -check out these great Valentines on Prima Marketing's blog that utilize packaging materials.

In fact, just the other day, as I ripped open a Jolee's Boutique packet of embellishments , I discovered (2) printed tags, just waiting to be cut-out and upcycled!

I caught a little video on You Tube in which an entire tutorial was devoted to making a mini-book from Prima Marketing packaging and I think I've even heard Tim Holtz mention something about utilizing the backing of scrapbooking supplies. And on Spiegel Mom Scraps lovely Jody offers a month-long challenge in honor of National Craft Month and encourages her readers to upcycle as they scrap. (She has some great examples of upcycled packaging materials, which I am absolutely lifting!)

So I took up the challenge and created a scrapbook page exclusively out of upcycled materials saved from packaging, found objects that were never originally intended for scrapbooking, and paper scraps. Even the photos were ones that I downloaded from MySpace in 2008 and tucked away, hoping to get my hands on better copies someday. -But why waste? This is a perfect time to scrap them!

So I pushed myself to the limit of upcycling...I even used the cardboard backing of scrapbook paper stacks as my background paper instead of cardstock! To make them a bit more interesting, I sprayed them (along with a couple chipboard elements that I've had hanging around for ages) with several colors of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (mostly Brick, Creme de Cocoa & Gold) and a touch of Perfect Pearls (Evergreen):
Next, I dug out my scrap paper bin and the stash of miscellaneous upcyclables that I'd been hoarding for years:

If you look closely, you'll crack up at all the seemingly silly things I've collected through the years. Besides my scrap bin, which clearly is over-flowing with close to ten years of scrapbooking paper remnants and my button drawer (that is only one of two...I also have a tin of buttons that once belonged to Jim's mom!) ...I've saved used tags galore, lots of interesting packaging materials, coffee cup sleeves, candy wrappers, bakers' twine (from a real bakery!) and Simplicity tissue sewing patterns.

So for this scrappbooking project, I decided on the two Prima Marketing packaging tags you see here...the green one and the printed one in the lower center of the photo, the yellow tag (which I flipped over to the blank side) and the natural colored string. I also found a cardboard heart that I had cut-out for an art journaling page, but never used.

I wanted to tie-in my elements with the golden sheen of the lion's costume that my adorable grandson wore for Halloween when he was just a year-old, so I sponged some gold craft paint onto the background, the chipboard elements, and onto the cardboard heart.

(I just want to mention here that I am linking this to The Second Floor Challenge of Julie Fein-Fan Balzer and Natalie Kalbach -the idea is to encourage artists to step out of their comfort zone in their artwork. March 12th's inspiration was to use gold acrylic paint in your next layout. Well as you can see here, I didn't step...I JUMPED out of my comfort zone and right up to the second floor...gold paint and all!!!)

Instead of over-thinking and over-planning, as I often do, I just created art, following my instincts and my sense of design and whimsy. I began pulling random scraps of scrapbooking paper that matched my color scheme. I used the green Prima Marketing tag as a base for the title: "Lions & Tigers and Bears, oh my" -which was the title Rigel's mom gave the main photo on her MySpace page.
The process was very appropriately organic, and far different from my usual style of scrapbooking. Since I've been a member of Let's Scrap, I've been influenced by some the the layering that members use in their card designs and I just went at it. I had a die cut image of The Wizard of OZ that I tucked in by the title, I used the yellow tag that was once attached to a rug, I think, as my journaling tag and added some scraps from Graphic 45's Le Cirque (loved the lion image) and some animal paw prints left over from a child's craft project. I'm rather pleased at the outcome and the only thing that cost me money on this layout was the adhesive!

It's not too late to join in Jody's upcycling challenge...in fact, I'm on my way to Spiegel Mom Scraps to upload this. (I'd love comments and feedback!)

Happy Upcycling! -Enikö                                                                           

Deck the Halls with Paper-Collage Angels!

I've been playing around with mixed media for a while, now...using scrapbooking papers and scrapbooking techniques, but just in a different way. I was originally inspired by Christy Tomlinson's She Art on-line workshop, and have since taken my artwork in a new direction. I designed these two pieces for Featherstone's Holiday Gift Show, but fell in love with them instantly and decided to use them to make Christmas cards with.

The paper artwork is applied to 8"x10" Gessoed canvas, layer-by-layer, then painted, inked, and altered. So the first step was to adhere pretty background scrapbooking paper. I chose a sky-blue paper with dots of "snow" and a deep purplish paper with a plethora of stars: I decided that one of my Christmas Angels would be a "Snow Angel" and the other would be simply called "Noel Angel", and I went about to find the right papers for the angels' dresses and used a punch to cut out circles for halos the word "Noel" from a very pretty Christmas-themed scrapbook paper. The heads and arms of the angels were cut out from old Dictionary pages. I knew I had some lovely dried leaves and velum leaf stickers that would make perfect wings. I used sparkly white paper to create the ground-snow on one, and a pretty Christmas-y paper for the ground of the other. After sealing everything with Mod Podge, I painted on the hair and colored in the faces and the arms, and added dimension to the dresses with acrylic paint. I happened to have the perfect Jolee's paper evergreen stickers for the Snow Angel, but of course, needed to add some snow with Snow Stickles. I also added some glittery Stickles to random flakes of snow:
In case you're not familiar with Stickles, basically, they are a line of designer glitter glue by Ranger Ink and are loved by the scrapbooking community for ease of use and consistantly superior quality.

I used some scrapbooking and mixed media techniques to apply ink with a variety of rubber stamps, painted the edges of the canvas with metallic paints, and even added  cabochons at the necklines for 3-D embellishments. I absolutely love the way they turned out!

I'm finding it impossible to pick a favorite, but I may be partial to the Snow Angel because of the trees. They are great as seasonal Home Decor pieces, but I'll be turning them into Christmas cards in my next post... So which is your favorite?

(I hope you let me know in your comment below.)

Wishing you Christmas Joy, Enikö

Personal Altars Reflect Artists' Personal Expressions

Do you have a special corner of your house that you visit regularly for inspiration, meditation, prayer, reflection...or perhaps just for a moment of joy? If you do, then perhaps you already have a Personal Altar. By dictionary definition, altars are usually associated with religious rituals of some sort, but many of us have little shrines or areas of our homes or gardens that we turn to when we wish to step away from everyday routines and connect with whatever lifts us spiritually.

Currently at Featherstone Center for the Arts on Martha's Vineyard, the personal altars of 30 local artists are on display and collectively offer one of the most fascinating show I've seen in a long time. The pieces are as varied and original as their creators and illustrate the many ways in which we seek divine inspiration. One of my favorite pieces was this "Ode to Louisiana" by Suesan Stovell: I also really loved Elizabeth Tuett's "Inspirational Altar" with quotes by Buddha and Jung: This lovely niche of serenity titled "Offerings" was assembled by creative stylist Patrice Dunfro: "Tree of Life" was painted by ceramic artist and painter Washington Ledesma: -who also submitted the beautifully executed "Comeback": Valentine Estabrook and Kanta Lipsky exhibited three works made with twigs, "Lady of Guatalupe", "Tara" and "Egypt Woman": 


The variety of materials used and the vast array of objects collected in the different alters of personal expression is astounding. Many (like the twigs-based art above) were wall pieces, like Enid McEvoy's moving quilt, "Remember Me: and Marshall Pratt's whimsical, but thought-provoking "I'm With Stupid": Opening night was extremely well-attended- either a testament to the public's curiosity, or to their desire for inspiration. -There was certainly plenty of both to be had at this extraordinary exhibit.

 

 

One of the most popular pieces was the interactive "Prayer Wheel" by Paulette Hayes and Nick Mosey, which required the viewer's touch to be fully appreciated:
I entered two pieces, "Journey"
-an altered antique print tray, which I blogged about in detail last week. This mixed media artwork in which I used paint, ink and a myriad of scrapbooking and papercrafting techniques was intended as a source of inspiration for balance and creativity. There is no better reminder of what direction one should take in life than a little reflection on where one has been.

For many, many years, I have surrounded myself with numerous shrines that I scatter throughout my house. I create tableaux, dioramas and 3-dimensional displays using found objects that are centered around dolls. The joy I derive from my little shrines is unequaled by anything else. Mostly they are a nod to the joys of childhood fantasy and to the things in life I love most. Some of my friends say that they are goddesses that I turn to for inspiration, others chuckle at the notion that my artwork is just an adult excuse to play, but everyone who knows me well agrees that my little personal altars fill me  with joy. Here is my Alice in Wonderland-themed "We Thought You'd Never Arrive": Many of the personal altars on display at Featherstone's main gallery are more traditional in nature. Melissa Breeze's "Autorretrato", for instance- ...and Marsha Winsryg's beautiful "Durgha". -As well as "Light Unto Me" by Genevieve Jacobs...
The personal altars of several artists were much more than excersises in self-expression. Many were extremely personal in nature. Marsha Winsryg shared her "Altar for my Mother" - Photographer Kathy Rose included one of her greatest treasures, Mahatma Ghandhi's actual headrest, in her piece -shown here being viewed by visitor Noreen Baker: -And perhaps most touching of all, in his gorgeous sculpture, which he dedicated to his recently deceased wife, James Masek, actually nestled Maggie's ashes into the base of the petals in a ceramic crock under the candle: "The Art of the Personal Altar" is being shown daily through November 2, 2011 from 12-4pm. I do encourage everyone to see it, and if you can't attend, I hope you'll consider creating your own little personal altar. Look for a corner, tabletop, cabinet, or wall in your home where you glance often and turn it into a daily source of peace, joy, or serenity for yourself.

Thank you for taking this inspirational journey with me.

Namaste, Enikö

 

Exploring Love Through Mixed Media Art Journaling

I'm on a personal quest to study Love. It is a pivotal year for me...the year two thousand and eleven, and I have made a conscious decision to spend it reflecting and re-evaluating my life and it's greatest motivation: Love.

This summer I turned sixty and embarked upon the third, and final, trimester of my life. I admit that the realization of this milestone birthday was a bit daunting, since I've never been one to give aging much thought and in my head, I've always been much younger than my calendar years. -But reality is reality...I only have a limited time in my life to reach my dreams and to accomplish my goals, and I had better get on with it, pronto. First, I need to reflect upon my authentic self:

Art Journaling is an amazing tool. Combining creativity with reflection and focus, it provides an outlet like no other. There are no rules - there is simply desire and expression.

In my quest to study Love, I signed up for an online workshop She Had Three Hearts by Christy Tomlinson. She based her class on an old Chinese Proverb which reads, " a woman has three hearts... one she shares with the world... one she shares with family..  and one she shares only with herself." Here is my interpretation:

Sometimes we share the best parts of ourselves with co-workers at our workplace and withhold them from those we love most -our family. Sometimes we hold the best parts of ourselves deep inside our own hearts and are fearful of sharing them with others. One of our greatest struggles is with finding the perfect partner to share our lives/loves with. This is how I expressed this challenge in my Art Journal:

Sadly, my partner, Jim, is battling stage four prostate cancer, and I am faced with the strong possibility of losing him after nearly a decade together. In the piece above, I was exploring the concept of hearts simply "resting with each-other a while." Hearts are seldom paired together for ever...and perhaps that's OK. As painful as that may be to accept, it is in fact a very real part of life and growth.

In this next piece, I expressed my frustration at how "messy" Love can be at times:

Christy's workshop has been a lot of fun -bursting with all sorts of mixed media techniques, and I'm grateful that it brought me back to the healing power of Art Journaling. I am also reading Be Love Now by Ram Dass and Rameshwar Das, which explores "the path of the heart". I will continue to share my Love-quest journey with you as I go, and I hope you will take a moment to share some of your similar journeys with me.

Fear not, scrapbooking friends...I will be posting some fun summer-themed scrapbook ideas soon.

Sharing the Love, Enikö

 

Scrapbooking & Mixed Media Techniques Merge in Introspective Self-Portraits

Last week I wrote about my latest passion: applying scrapbooking techniques to mixed media art. I had abandoned painting many years ago in favor of papercrafting and paper art. As new scrapbooking products emerged and new scrapbooking techniques mastered, my passion for anything paper only grew. I had managed to cultivate a business around my love of paper by teaching scrapbooking, creating scrapbook layouts and albums for others, and facilitating cardmaking and scrapbooking workshops. Who knew that an on-line mixed media workshop would reignite my love of painting in three short weeks?

The final project in week 3 of Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop, the assignment was to create two self-portraits, one of us as a child, and the other as an adult. These are the images that I chose as patterns for my mixed media projects:
The photo on the left is one of me at age five...most likely taken on my birthday...at our summer cottage in Erd, Hungary. It was the summer before the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956 would prompt my parents to uproot their family of six and risk their lives in an attempt to flee the communist regime of the time, and literally sneak across the border one night to freedom. Our lives would be changed forever, and we would never return to Erd. So you can only imagine the significance of this photo, of little Enikö holding up her pure white dress in a pose that is so endearing to me that I have embraced it as a logo of sorts for my business.

The photo on the right was taken just this past December, as I was on my way to the best party of the year here on Martha's Vineyard. I've been attending the Edgartown Yacht Club Christmas Party for over 30 years, I think. It is by far my favorite evening of the year - abundant with strong spirits, wonderful old friends, exuberant laughter, wild dancing and great joy - and especially enjoyable when I have a fabulous new outfit to wear!

Now for the most interesting, and surprisingly therapeutic, portion of the assignment. We had to hunt through our memorabilia - past and present - and copy items that were significant to us to incorporate into the backgrounds of our artwork.
Here, I'm showing the background for the adult self-portrait on the left. On the 12" x 6" Gesso-d canvas, I have applied love letters from my ex-husband as well as my current love, Jim. There are hand prints of both of my boys, and artwork made by them when they were little. There are various mementos of past history...I stuck to happy memories by choice. I also added an image of my blog banner and a badge from the Barbie Fan Club -something I joined well into my adulthood! Ha, ha, ha...

The 8" x 10" canvas of my childhood self-portrait was covered mostly with images of people I loved deeply as a little girl, moments that were significant to me, and icons I grew up with. The idea is to use these memories as a base for the mixed-media artwork more for the benefit of the artist than the viewer. It is the artist's choice to cover the images up, or not.
I decided to leave certain images visible in the background of my adult self-portrait...the ones that were still the most significant symbolically to me today. On the childhood self-portrait, I covered over the images with several layers of paint, deciding to make the memories mine alone. Many layers of paint, ink, scrapbooking paper cut-outs, die-cuts, rub-ons, pen doodling, rubber stamping were then applied as instinct, fancy, and vision dictated. I used nearly every scrapbooking technique I had mastered through the years in the process. One of my favorites is the unique acrylic stamp which I assembled myself by adhering random letters from different alphabet sets onto an adhesive-backed roller purchased from Christy Tomlinson's on-line mixed media shop, the Scarlet Lime Store.
When I'm in the midst of mad-creation, I am far too obsessed with the process to stop and remember to take photos, so I apologize for not being more thorough here, but I can tell you that after I was satisfied with the backgrounds, the layering of the figures began. I used a piece of vintage embroidery cut from an old cotton pillow case as the skirt for my little-girl Enikö. I soaked it in Mod Podge medium and manipulated it to achieve just the look I envisioned. Because I felt strongly that the dress needed to be bright white, I painted over it several times after the fabric was dry and stiff.  I was thrilled to find the perfect scrapbooking paper for my Yacht Club Party jacket & embellished it with rub-ons that mimicked the trim of the original. I also tried to express my feelings through the various additions to the backgrounds and through the words I chose to add as the final touches to the artwork.

So are you ready? Here's my little girl:

I surrounded my five-year-old self with all the colorful dreams of my pre-refugee childhood. The whimsical sun, the little bird singing in the tree, the fluttering butterflies, and the robust flowers blooming at my feet.

The adult self-portrait reflects the years after the little girl grows into a woman. Well- adjusted to her adopted homeland, having weathered several careers & businesses & love affairs, having raised two children and still playing with Barbies...reaching for the inner strength to succeed in her art.

I hope you enjoyed this journey with me...I certainly enjoyed sharing it with you. If you are interested in taking Christy's class, she just started a new cycle today. There is still plenty of time to sign-up.

Alot of you leave sweet notes on Facebook for me, but I would love to see some comments here on my blog, so please show me some blog-love & let me know what you think.

Sending hugs, Enikö

Please visit my website: Enikö's Scrapbooks

Scrapbooking Techniques Enhance Mixed Media Art

By now all my followers know how much I love Scrapbooking. What some of you may not know is that I have my BA in Fine Arts from Providence College, with a painting major. I am sharing this with you because I have discovered a new love - Mixed Media Art. It joyfully combines papercrafting with painting in a most wonderfully exciting way, and it has brought me full circle, back to my "roots".

So I was leaving a comment on one of my favorite blogs, Where Women Create and as a result, I won a spot in Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop. Christy has been featured in several magazines and has written a book about her mixed media artwork, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to take this course. You can see the first piece above, which I entitled, "She Saw Her Dreams Take Flight." The phrase was one that Christy had coined, and she kindly allowed her students to use. The piece is done on canvas primed with Gesso, and in this case, a piece of a vintage Simplicity dress pattern was applied as a background with Mod Podge...a very versatile glue that acts as a sealer & preservative as well. (I had used it ages ago for decoupage projects).

The background is then layered with textured paints, inks, patterned paper, and whatever else moves ones artistic fancy. The "girl" is cut out of old book paper (in this case I used a very dear paperback biography of Clarke Gable which was falling apart from age) and then "dressed" with patterned paper from my ample stash of scrapbooking supplies. After layers & layers of paint and ink and Mod Podge and paper cut-outs, the artwork is embellished with rub-ons and inked stamps (items which I normaly use for scrapbooking) and free-hand doodling.

The idea is to create lots & lots of interesting textures, while telling the story of the faceless "girl". Of course, the story is mine, and the girl reflects my desire to soar in this life with my artwork...to watch my dreams take flight (which I symbolized with the use of the empty birdcage & the image of the soaring bird).

This is my second mixed media artwork, created with my favorite scrapbooking techniques:

I love this girl! She represents the side of me that longs for never-ending summers, complete with bright sunshine, green lawns, blooming gardens and birds in trees. I used another Christy phrase: "She Felt the Sun Shine Down" to describe my love for the rays of the sun. (I'm sure all of you from New England can relate after this long harsh winter).

I wish this scan showed the lovely textures of this piece. The tree is crafted from a fine-grain corrugated cardboard, and the skirt is made by layering paper cut-outs in a way that mimics pleats. The addition of the watering can symbolizes the girl's responsibility to tend to her garden of life.

Who knew that I would discover an entirely new world by adding paint and a little creativity to my scrapbooking skills? I used paper punches, acrylic stamps, rubberstamps, and a plethora of scrapbooking supplies...all things that I used for papercrafting and scrapbooking, and learned to use them in a new and provocative way. Creating these mixed media pieces pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me to see possibilities in my art that I had not discovered before.

If you're interested in spreading your artistic wings, Christy will be starting a new workshop April 11th...and I believe she also has a journaling workshop that will begin soon. Check out this link for a sneak peak: She Art Workshop

Next week, I will share my two self-portraits that were inspired by this class.

Sharing the love, Enikö