Creating Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) with the fabulous Helga Strauss Stevens of ARTchix Studio was a big part of how I discovered my love of making collage and mixed media art. It’s also how I made the e-acquaintance of the delightful artist, Lenna Young Andrews, who is hosting an Ocean & Sunset themed swap of these small, almost-business-card-sized works of heart—all made just for the love of art and sharing the joy with other artists and crafters!
I couldn’t resist this theme, especially with such glorious sunsets by the sea and crystal-clear aqua waters around here.
So, I set out to have some fun with warm tones and cool blues, making 3 of each theme (and a couple extras for personal swapping). I started with watercolor paper and acrylic paints for the Sunset cards … yellows and oranges and a touch of red mixed in with some gold highlights:
For the Ocean cards, I let my love of gelli-printing on tissue paper lead the way and started layering that in with various bits of collected paper (and vintage ARTchix sheets):
With all the backgrounds ready …
… I started browsing through my stash of image sheets from ARTchix, and paired pictures with some other wisps of paper, stamping, some typed “by the sea” words (on yellow tissue to blend with the paint), and little embellishments to bring the ATCs together … I kept the colors separate in the Sunset & Ocean themes (warm and cool), but loved playing and mixing the themes together in the content, with bathing beauties and sea creatures cavorting on the Sunset cards too! The little veined marks in the backgrounds of some of the Sunset cards (almost reef-like) was made by letting a little water into the paint mix and pressing the cards together … it added to the blending of the colors and I’m totally in love with how water creates these little rivulets—patterns that show up in paint, in tree roots and branches, in underwater coral fans, in our veins, in trickling raindrops … it’s an organic flow that shows up everywhere water makes its mark!
A quick picture of the fine line needle tip applicator that I used for putting little gold highlights on the cards—shown in front of my beloved trusty 1955 Royal Quiet Deluxe typewriter—I love pecking collage words out on this machine as much as I love hearing the carriage return bell DING!
I finished off the backs of the Sunset cards with snippets of polka dotted papers gleaned mostly from odd bits of wrapping paper and smudges of paint in the same warm tones … just because I love dots dots dots … and paint!
Totally enjoyed finding more bathing beauties and images and sea-inspired touches for the Ocean themed cards … snip, snip, glue, stamp … there’s even a thin layer of clear pouring medium over the blues to give them more of a water feel …
Finishing them off on the back with more polka dots, along with Starfish postage stamps from The Bahamas (they have especially pretty postage stamps in The Bahamas that I seem to use more in collage than in mailing letters! 🙂 )
Thank you, Lenna, for hosting such a wonderful swap—I really enjoyed the process of making these—and what fun it will be to find ATCs from other artists waiting for me in my mailbox in a few weeks!! Swaps swirl with shared joy and the glow of art enthusiasm … just like sunsets and the oceans of creativity sparkling out there … enjoy!!
Enjoying the afternoon at Banana Bay … a true Grand Bahama paradise kind of day … straight out of a picture postcard. The combination of brilliant and soft-blended blues, an intensely-gentle warming sun, a just-enough breeze, and low humidity all came together today in one stellar “Ahhhhh ….” that begs both simple enjoyment and a cyber-singing of its praises.
It is after all High Gratitude season here. When I first moved here, people told me this idyllic time of year was sometimes referred to as “gloating season”—that is not my intent here. And we year-round island residents have waded through our share of summer heat and high humidity to get to these glorious days of dewy-free revelry. These slice-of-heaven days may already be well-enough celebrated in the tourism brochures, but those images don’t capture all the little moments of day-to-day warm winter bliss … the long rays of dawn glinting off the cat’s fur …
… the delight of finding that the avocado tree in the back garden is offering up yet one more late-ripening gift of green goodness …
the silhouette of a shorebird wading in late afternoon liquid gold glimmers …
Ahhhh indeed. Perhaps today is received with extra gratitude and thanks because it was blustery and somewhat gray yesterday—a grand day in its own way with the palm fronds applauding madly in gusts, as if cheering wildly for the cool front to get here—sweeping a path clear for silky sun and cyan sky kisses that take your breath away. And give you pause to take an extra-deep breath and offer up a quiet hallelujah for natural wonders—and absolutely exquisite island days. Here’s to the sunshine of the heart, wherever your paradise …
Enjoyed creating these mixed media collage postcards for iHanna International Postcard Swap. These cards are crafted out of recycled pieces of cardboard, along with some vintage ARTchix Studio images, scraps of old sewing patterns, bits of imprinted paper napkins, acrylic paint, gelli prints, and odd wisps of wrapping paper—a blend of textures and colors and fun celebrating the abundant sea and aqua blue waters that make this archipelago nation of 700 Bahama cays and isles extra delightful—along with a vibrant international community that calls these island home! These 10 cards are winging their way to various parts of the world, and I’ll soon photograph and post those that land here too! Handmade art. Snail mail. Adventuring art hearts! Thanks, iHanna.nu for coordinating this lovely exchange!
Yes, I’m smitten with mixed media collage—these were created for the ARTchix Studio artist trading card swap and are winging their way to other collage enthusiasts. Here’s to finding even a tiny bit more time for doing whatever makes your heart feel light—Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
It’s the last Saturday of the month—and that means it’s time for Grand Bahama’s Farmer’s Market, known as “Da Market” at the Bahamas National Trust Rand Nature Centre from 9 am to 1 pm each month (and possibly more often during the warm winter season!). You’ll find a small assortment of organically grown produce, fresh herbs, seedlings, fresh-from-the-henhouse-eggs, plus homemade jams, jellies and sweets.
Even exotic fruits can be found, such as these locally-grown Dragon Fruit, which have a marvelous fuchsia color and taste mildly sweet, like a kiwi fruit:
The market also has a small selection of ever-changing locally made arts and crafts …
handpainted stones by artist Shanin Hughes
The Farmer’s Market is just one of the signs that Grand Bahama is becoming greener. I’ll tell you more about local entrepreneurs who are providing fresh green menus, vegan foods, and even a local organic farm in another post …. right now I’m ten minutes late for the opening of “Da Market” … see you there!
P.S. SCHEDULING NOTE OOPS: If you’re reading this on December 28th before 1 pm and thinking of heading out in your car, hold off until next month! Da Farmer’s Market was moved up a week because of the holidays … still happy to spread the word and hope you’ll check Facebook under “Da Farmer’s Market” for updates and reminders of upcoming markets–and hooray for all the luscious green goodness that swirls through Grand Bahama all through our warm winter!
I created these scallop-shaped collages for an ARTchix Studio swap at the end of summer—all with a sea theme, and splashes of mixed media goodies: vintage bathing beauty images and laser wood cuts (from ARTchix), plus tropical umbrella-paper & stamped cupcake-liner toppers, colorful blue/green background papers, tissue paper, watercolor crayons, and even snippets of paper doily “scallops” painted with gelato sticks and fortified with layers of Mod Podge® to make them more durable. The art-scallops string together with ribbons and festive ties into one see-worthy garland 🙂 … oceans of fun!
And deep oceans of thanks to the amazing Helga Strauss Stevens, owner/creator of ARTchix for inspiring so much creative joy, not only with this theme and so many others over the years, but also as a pioneer in supplying vintage & contemporary mixed media images, custom-made embellishments, and ephemera and cool stuff of all kinds when she started ARTchix 12 years ago. She’s the one who started me on my collage journey, and I am heartily grateful, and ever in awe of her talents, generosity, kindnesses, and fun-loving spirit. Brava, Helga, Brava!!
p.s. … and here are the lovely, beautifully-detailed, whimsical, and smile-inducing scalloped artworks I received in the swap … waves of thanks to all the artists who made these and the extra bonus goodies in the packages too … thank you!
sea scallop collage by Michelle McLean of artfulembellishments.com
I had fun weaving some “exotic travel” thought-twigs & vintage glamour threads into these “Nest” inspired artist trading cards for an ARTchix Studio swap this past spring. Artist trading cards are little 2.5″ x 3.5″ mini mixed-media masterpieces created just for the joy of making art, and traded with other collage artists. It takes a bit longer to get lovely old-fashioned snail mail here in The Bahamas, and I was thrilled to find these Art Nest beauties (from fellow ARTchix swappers) waiting for me in the “post”:
Aren’t these sweet? And GORGEOUS?! These tiny treasures are so fun to look at and hold … so many layered and textural details and captivating images. Completely inspiring and heartwarming. From my cozy art nest to all the very talented creators of the cards pictured above: Thank You!! And to everyone out there having fun creating art in your own little studio or dining room table nook: art on!
ps … ARTchix hosts all kinds of themed swaps throughout the year and sends darling packets of little art goodies to participants … you can follow them on FB (here) or on their blog for swap announcements if you want to play along (& find occasional digi-freebie images; beautiful!). Like everything on m’blog, this is Not a paid commercial announcement. I just dig art and collage stuff and wanted to share! Tra-la …
I like this quote. It’s a great reminder for me, and for anyone who wants to rev up their writing, art, business, or any creative endeavor—including life! Lowered expectations at the beginning of a process helps obliterate the paralysis that comes from expecting yourself to be unrealistically amazing all the time. Is there somewhere you can lower your standards in order to get started? Can you trust (even just a little) that simply starting will lead you to take the next small step, and then the next … and that whatever you’re working on will develop (sort of like a Polaroid coming into focus), sharpening and getting clearer and more polished along the way?
I know that lowering expectations helps me get started. It will also help me get this quickly posted right now, in the midst of several other projects, rather than waiting for a more perfect moment to write a longer post about the many enthusiasms I have for the gentle and deceptively-powerful Kaizen Muse Creativity tools and philosophies—creative support and va-va-voom that I’ve already written about glowingly here! Enjoy …
This weekend, The Bahamas kicks off its celebration of 40 years as a sovereign, independent democratic nation—a stable country with a long history of 325 years of peaceful governance as a British colony prior to independence—and a country of 700 islands set in crystal clear waters that have carried peoples from many lands to its shores over the centuries. The Bahamas crest embraces the motto: Forward, Upward, Onward Together.
On July 10, 2013, The Bahamas will celebrate their 40th Anniversary as an independent nation
I love this animated video that celebrates “The Power of Outrospection” — an age of empathy and imagination: the twin pillars of lifting all of humanity forward, upward, onward together. It is produced by the RSA (a UK-based group that celebrates practical innovation and thought leadership in much the same way as TED—an organization of “…fascinating thinkers and doers …” that I have followed and long admired for their conferences championing the human imagination). RSA stands for The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce—and although it was founded in 1754 in a coffee shop in Covent Garden it has remained relevant through an ongoing focus on pioneering spirits and forward-thinking ideas that empower everyone. The RSA tag line … 21st century enlightenment … is beautifully illustrated in this short video that supports both that lofty goal while also raising awareness about the everyday moments of great empathy that have come together historically to uplift us all.
The modern day Bahamas was founded in just such moments of great empathy, and I hereby salute all the thought leaders and peaceful movements forward that are part of our world and part of The Bahamas today—as well as the keys to the country’s ongoing success and sustainability as part of a true paradise on earth. Happy Birthday, Bahamas!
So, I set out to have some fun with warm tones and cool blues, making 3 of each theme (and a couple extras for personal swapping). I started with watercolor paper and acrylic paints for the Sunset cards … yellows and oranges and a touch of red mixed in with some gold highlights:
For the Ocean cards, I let my love of gelli-printing on tissue paper lead the way and started layering that in with various bits of collected paper (and vintage ARTchix sheets):
