Life Book 2015: Week 11 - Inner and Outer World with Jane Davenport

Oh wow, this week was challenging in that we had to add the start of a figure to a face, but very satisfying. Jane Davenport set us the task of exploring the following questions and then using our responses to create a collage upon which to build our creation - how our inner world creates or influences our outer world.

What makes you tick? What lights you up? Who lights you up! What is your favourite food? Colour! Place! Think about yourself and the things, people and places that you feel gratitude for. What makes you feel like celebrating? Small moments and big events you hold close to your heart. 

For me those things are music, robins, dolphins, butterflies, water lilies and, of course, the colour green.  I also brought in a little turquoise and cerise as accent colours because they are so very vibrant.   The clock is representative of how important time is to me - to make the most of what time I have, to make the most of life.

I started off with putting down a collage base and then adding some base colours.  The figure was added in pencil with the face having been cut from another painting I did and then photocopied and glued onto the collage.  The body was then drawn and everything outside of the figure was given a light coat of gesso thereby helping to define the figure.  Her hair was given a light wash of colour.  The skin tones were added to the face and body with the photocopy being painted to blend it all together and then the eyes, nose and mouth were defined.  Her dress was then given a wash of colour as well and linework added to define the bust etc.  Shading was added to bring the figure off the page and add dimension.  To finish I added the quote and a few lines to create wisps of hair.

I just love how she has turned out - thanks so much Jane.

Life Book 2015: Week 10 - Layers of your Heart

This weeks lesson came from Tamara Laporte.  We were to create a layered heart combining several collage elements.  She gave us two options as to how to do it - one being to make a fan with the hearts and put them into a pocket, the other being to have them stacked and pivot on a brad to reveal people/things I am grateful for.  While I loved the various techniques on the hearts I had some technical issues when it came to placement of the gratitude texts.  It's all there, but is now hidden under subsequent hearts. 

The text in the background is lyrics to a song from when I was a teenager about things I nearly forgot to say thank you for.  It seemed appropriate for this particular assignment.  I love the border.

I'd like to try the other option and see how that goes as I was not happy with the overall look of this one once finished and don't know that I want this particular piece in my completed Life Book.  It is growing on me however so time will tell.

Life Book 2015: Week 9 - Favourite Favourites with Lynn Whipple

Oh what fun, creating a jar and including on it all of my favourite things.  Where to start.

The shape of my jar is similar to a family heirloom that is handed down from eldest daughter to eldest daughter in my family .  I just love the shape and so used this for my jar of favourites.

What to add was the dilemma as it is hard to think when put into this type of situation.  I think I have covered the obvious things but I am sure I will think of a lot more I could have added.

After I finished I realised that I had spelt the word "favourites" in both the American and English way - oh well, never mind.

I finished off the jar with a butterfly charm and a piece of thread and love the overall effect of the jar and the background.  The frame around the outside makes the picture feel complete for me.  Thanks to Lynn Whipple for a fun lesson.

Life Book 2015: Bonus lesson - Tree of Life

A little bit of fun with Tamara Laporte.  I didn't follow the lesson, I just decided to draw with my watercolour pencils and paint markers.  My 'girl' is a girl at heart but not in years as you can tell from her face and the song lyrics (Gerry & The Pacemakers - boy that's going back a bit). I love that she is so happy being back on a swing after many years of trying to act her age but now she wants to just play.

 

a little bit of whimsy

Life Book 2015: Week 8 - Treasure Seeking

A wee bit of an epiphany this week.  The lesson was provided by Mati Rose McDonough and involved incorporating gold and/or silver leaf somewhere into your artwork.  

Mati Rose created her background and then added a boat.  I got part way through the background and loved how it was turning out.  I dutifully carried on following her instruction but came to a point where I felt I no longer liked it.  Ready to throw it away and start again a little voice told me to "just keep working through it".  I finished the background and went to bed still not happy with how it looked.  When I looked at it again the next day I could see a tree sitting there and knew that I needed to leave the boat and go with my vision. 

 

The quote, "when someone you lose becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure", came to me from last weeks 'heart community' which set me thinking about those gone before.  So, the tree represents my family tree with it's gold leaves made from gold leaf. I thought about the boat, and the owl and the pussycat were there in the mix, and I could not resist a gold moon. 

I feel that, for the first time, I was really conscious of my art speaking to me.  It was an 'aha' moment.

Life Book 2015: Week 7 - Your Heart Community & Magical Mystery Tour

I struggled a little with this weeks lesson, particularly the heart community.  This lesson was presented by Jill K Berry and involved making a book shaped like people.  Each page was to represent a person who was important in your life, had supported you in some way ... and that's where my dilemma began.  I had no problem with the technical aspects of making the book, and I wasn't even worried if the resulting people didn't actually look like who they were supposed to be, after all it was just supposed to be representational.  My problem was ... who do I include? 

I thought about all the people who had been and still are important in my life.  Teachers who made an impact on me, people who guided me through my life, people who supported me through illness, stood by my side when things got rough, the counsellor who helped me deal with a major trauma, people who were right beside me when life events challenged and changed me ... so many people, and how to decide who to include.  I thank you all for the influence you have had on my life - maybe I need to make a bigger book?

Anyway, I put off starting this assignment and got on to the second part - much easier and less emotionally challenging.  I didn't initially know why I was finding it so hard but then I realised that I was concerned that if I chose just four people then someone might be offended if they were not included and I didn't want to upset anyone.  I would not be who I am today without any of these amazing people but that need to keep everyone happy was stopping me from starting the lesson.

Then, just as I was waking one morning, the image of a four generation photo, taken when I was just a baby, came to me - it was of my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and me.  My gran passed away when I was ten after being hit by a car, my nana had a major stroke when I was only seven (although she did not pass away until I was in my mid thirties) and my mum is now in her late seventies.  How awesome would it be to recreate the four as adult women together - so that is what I did.  Gran, Nana, Mum - I will love you forever.

There is a little lift up flap on their dresses under which is written something about them.  Without these women I would not be the person I am today - and I am including me in that, each time I make a decision, I am effecting some sort of change in my life.

The Magical Mystery Tour with Violette Clark was a little different.  I think I actually missed the brief on this one and totally just did the assignment by following what the tutor did.  Now having seen some of the other students work I would like to have another go at this one and own it.  Some of the students had sandcastles, castles, cottages, motorhomes etc on theirs - they had made it their own, but not me.  I am happy with what I produced but it is not mine - I love the wings on the dragonfly and I love the hearts.

I am still searching for 'my style' but I am learning what is not me if that makes any sense.  As one of my elderly residents at work keeps saying "we'll get there".  Watch this space!

Life Book 2015: Week 6 - Seeds of Love

This week is right up my alley - doodling.  My challenge however was to get the background shading done including deliberately muddied colours.  Don't think I did too badly myself although I have worked out that I am a little heavy-handed when it comes to applying paint - my collage background completely disappeared.  Never mind - I completed the assignment and I will be doing more of these in the future (once I get the correct pens for doodling with, and get the background colours mastered).

I love the way the white paint pen has picked up the colours from beneath it - it kind of accentuates the shading.  This was my first attempt at 'structured' doodling (if you can call it that) - some of which I am happy with and some I wouldn't do again.  I quite like the wee butterflies - I think I am going to add them to all my artwork in the future, sort of like my signature.  

Unfortunately when I scanned this the doodled border was outside the scan boundaries but you get the general idea. 

Now, off to play some more and start making this technique my own.

Thanks for a great lesson Tamara Laporte and roll on week 7.